Historical
Chapter 21
Job’s Sixth Reply. 1 Then Job answered and said:
2 At least listen to my words,(A)
and let that be the consolation you offer.
3 Bear with me while I speak;
and after I have spoken, you can mock!
4 Is my complaint toward any human being?
Why should I not be impatient?
5 Look at me and be appalled,
put your hands over your mouths.
6 When I think of it, I am dismayed,
and shuddering seizes my flesh.
7 [a]Why do the wicked keep on living,
grow old, become mighty in power?(B)
8 Their progeny is secure in their sight;
their offspring are before their eyes.
9 Their homes are safe, without fear,
and the rod of God is not upon them.
10 Their bulls breed without fail;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.
11 They let their young run free like sheep,
their children skip about.
12 They sing along with drum and lyre,
and make merry to the sound of the pipe.
13 They live out their days in prosperity,
and tranquilly go down to Sheol.(C)
14 Yet they say to God, “Depart from us,(D)
for we have no desire to know your ways!
15 What is the Almighty that we should serve him?
And what do we gain by praying to him?”(E)
16 Their happiness is not in their own hands.
The designs of the wicked are far from me!(F)
17 How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
How often does destruction come upon them,
the portion God allots in his anger?
18 Let them be like straw before the wind,
like chaff the storm carries away!
19 “God is storing up the man’s misery for his children”?—
let him requite the man himself so that he knows it!
20 Let his own eyes behold his calamity,
and the wrath of the Almighty let him drink!
21 For what interest has he in his family after him,
when the number of his months is finished?
22 Can anyone teach God knowledge,
seeing that he judges those on high?[b]
23 One dies in his full vigor,
wholly at ease and content;
24 His figure is full and nourished,
his bones are moist with marrow.
25 Another dies with a bitter spirit,
never having tasted happiness.
26 Alike they lie down in the dust,
and worms cover them both.
27 See, I know your thoughts,
and the arguments you plot against me.
28 For you say, “Where is the house of the great,
and where the dwelling place of the wicked?”
29 Have you not asked the wayfarers
and do you not acknowledge the witness they give?
30 On the day of calamity the evil man is spared,
on the day that wrath is released.
31 Who will charge him to his face about his conduct,
and for what he has done who will repay him?
32 He is carried to the grave
and at his tomb they keep watch.
33 Sweet to him are the clods of the valley.
All humankind will follow after him,
and countless others before him.
34 How empty the consolation you offer me!
Your arguments remain a fraud.
IV. Third Cycle of Speeches[c]
Chapter 22
Eliphaz’s Third Speech. 1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
2 Can a man be profitable to God?(G)
Can a wise man be profitable to him?
3 Does it please the Almighty that you are just?(H)
Does he gain if your ways are perfect?[d]
4 Is it because of your piety that he reproves you—
that he enters into judgment with you?
5 Is not your wickedness great,
your iniquity endless?
6 You keep your relatives’ goods in pledge unjustly,[e]
leave them stripped naked of their clothing.(I)
7 To the thirsty you give no water to drink,
and from the hungry you withhold bread;
8 As if the land belonged to the powerful,
and only the privileged could dwell in it!
9 You sent widows away empty-handed,
and the resources of orphans are destroyed.(J)
10 Therefore snares are round about you,(K)
sudden terror makes you panic,
11 Or darkness—you cannot see!
A deluge of waters covers you.
12 Does not God, in the heights of the heavens,(L)
behold the top of the stars, high though they are?
13 Yet you say, “What does God know?(M)
Can he judge through the thick darkness?
14 Clouds hide him so that he cannot see
as he walks around the circuit of the heavens!”
15 Do you indeed keep to the ancient way
trodden by the worthless?
16 They were snatched before their time;
their foundations a river swept away.
17 They said to God, “Let us alone!”
and, “What can the Almighty do to us?”
18 Yet he had filled their houses with good things.
The designs of the wicked are far from me
19 The just look on and are glad,
and the innocent deride them:[g](O)
20 “Truly our enemies are destroyed,
and what was left to them, fire has consumed!”
21 Settle with him and have peace.
That way good shall come to you:
22 Receive instruction from his mouth,
and place his words in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored;
if you put iniquity far from your tent,
24 And treat raw gold as dust,
the fine gold of Ophir[h] as pebbles in the wadi,
25 Then the Almighty himself shall be your gold
and your sparkling silver.
26 For then you shall delight in the Almighty,
you shall lift up your face toward God.
27 Entreat him and he will hear you,(P)
and your vows you shall fulfill.
28 What you decide shall succeed for you,
and upon your ways light shall shine.
29 For when they are brought low, you will say, “It is pride!”
But downcast eyes he saves.(Q)
30 He will deliver whoever is innocent;
you shall be delivered if your hands are clean.(R)
Chapter 23
Job’s Seventh Reply. 1 Then Job answered and said:
2 Today especially my complaint is bitter,
his hand is heavy upon me in my groanings.
3 Would that I knew how to find him,
that I might come to his dwelling!
4 I would set out my case before him,
fill my mouth with arguments;
5 I would learn the words he would answer me,
understand what he would say to me.
6 Would he contend against me with his great power?
No, he himself would heed me!
7 There an upright man might argue with him,
and I would once and for all be delivered from my judge.
8 But if I go east, he is not there;[i]
or west, I cannot perceive him;
9 The north enfolds him, and I cannot catch sight of him;
The south hides him, and I cannot see him.
10 Yet he knows my way;
if he tested me, I should come forth like gold.(S)
11 My foot has always walked in his steps;
I have kept his way and not turned aside.
12 From the commands of his lips I have not departed;
the words of his mouth I have treasured in my heart.
13 But once he decides, who can contradict him?
What he desires, that he does.(T)
14 For he will carry out what is appointed for me,
and many such things he has in store.
15 Therefore I am terrified before him;
when I take thought, I dread him.
16 For it is God who has made my heart faint,
the Almighty who has terrified me.
17 Yes, would that I had vanished in darkness,
hidden by the thick gloom before me.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.