Job 11:1–17:16
11 Then Zophar the Naamathiteg replied:
2 “Are all these words to go unanswered?h
Is this talker to be vindicated?i
3 Will your idle talkj reduce others to silence?
Will no one rebuke you when you mock?k
4 You say to God, ‘My beliefs are flawlessl
and I am purem in your sight.’
5 Oh, how I wish that God would speak,n
that he would open his lips against you
6 and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom,o
for true wisdom has two sides.
Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.p
7 “Can you fathomq the mysteries of God?
Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
8 They are higherr than the heavenss above—what can you do?
They are deeper than the depths belowt—what can you know?u
9 Their measurev is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.w
10 “If he comes along and confines you in prison
and convenes a court, who can oppose him?x
11 Surely he recognizes deceivers;
and when he sees evil, does he not take note?y
12 But the witless can no more become wise
than a wild donkey’s coltz can be born human.a a
13 “Yet if you devote your heartb to him
and stretch out your handsc to him,d
14 if you put awaye the sin that is in your hand
and allow no evilf to dwell in your tent,g
15 then, free of fault, you will lift up your face;h
you will stand firmi and without fear.j
16 You will surely forget your trouble,k
recalling it only as waters gone by.l
17 Life will be brighter than noonday,m
and darkness will become like morning.n
18 You will be secure, because there is hope;
you will look about you and take your resto in safety.p
19 You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid,q
and many will court your favor.r
20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail,s
and escape will elude them;t
their hope will become a dying gasp.”u
12 Then Job replied:
2 “Doubtless you are the only people who matter,
and wisdom will die with you!v
3 But I have a mind as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know all these things?w
4 “I have become a laughingstockx to my friends,y
though I called on God and he answeredz—
a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!a
5 Those who are at ease have contemptb for misfortune
as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.c
6 The tents of marauders are undisturbed,d
and those who provoke God are securee—
those God has in his hand.a
7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you,f
or the birds in the sky,g and they will tell you;h
8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
or let the fish in the sea inform you.
9 Which of all these does not knowi
that the hand of the Lord has done this?j
10 In his hand is the lifek of every creature
and the breath of all mankind.l
11 Does not the ear test words
as the tongue tastes food?m
12 Is not wisdom found among the aged?n
Does not long life bring understanding?o
13 “To God belong wisdomp and power;q
counsel and understanding are his.r
14 What he tears downs cannot be rebuilt;t
those he imprisons cannot be released.u
15 If he holds back the waters,v there is drought;w
if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.x
16 To him belong strength and insight;y
both deceived and deceiver are his.z
17 He leads rulers away strippeda
and makes fools of judges.b
18 He takes off the shacklesc put on by kings
and ties a loinclothb around their waist.d
19 He leads priests away strippede
and overthrows officials long established.f
20 He silences the lips of trusted advisers
and takes away the discernment of elders.g
21 He pours contempt on noblesh
and disarms the mighty.i
22 He reveals the deep things of darknessj
and brings utter darknessk into the light.l
23 He makes nations great, and destroys them;m
he enlarges nations,n and disperses them.o
24 He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason;p
he makes them wander in a trackless waste.q
25 They grope in darkness with no light;r
he makes them stagger like drunkards.s
13 “My eyes have seen all this,t
my ears have heard and understood it.
I am not inferior to you.u
3 But I desire to speak to the Almightyv
and to argue my case with God.w
4 You, however, smear me with lies;x
you are worthless physicians,y all of you!z
5 If only you would be altogether silent!a
For you, that would be wisdom.b
listen to the pleas of my lips.c
7 Will you speak wickedly on God’s behalf?
Will you speak deceitfully for him?d
8 Will you show him partiality?e
Will you argue the case for God?
9 Would it turn out well if he examined you?f
Could you deceive him as you might deceive a mortal?g
10 He would surely call you to account
if you secretly showed partiality.h
11 Would not his splendori terrify you?
Would not the dread of him fall on you?j
12 Your maxims are proverbs of ashes;
your defenses are defenses of clay.k
13 “Keep silentl and let me speak;m
then let come to me what may.n
14 Why do I put myself in jeopardy
and take my life in my hands?o
15 Though he slay me, yet will I hopep in him;q
I will surelya defend my ways to his face.r
16 Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance,s
for no godlesst person would dare come before him!u
17 Listen carefully to what I say;v
let my words ring in your ears.
18 Now that I have prepared my case,w
I know I will be vindicated.x
19 Can anyone bring charges against me?y
If so, I will be silentz and die.a
20 “Only grant me these two things, God,
and then I will not hide from you:
21 Withdraw your handb far from me,
and stop frightening me with your terrors.c
22 Then summon me and I will answer,d
or let me speak, and you reply to me.e
23 How many wrongs and sins have I committed?f
Show me my offense and my sin.g
24 Why do you hide your faceh
and consider me your enemy?i
25 Will you tormentj a windblown leaf?k
Will you chasel after dry chaff?m
26 For you write down bitter things against me
and make me reap the sins of my youth.n
27 You fasten my feet in shackles;o
you keep close watch on all my pathsp
by putting marks on the soles of my feet.
28 “So man wastes away like something rotten,
like a garmentq eaten by moths.r
14 “Mortals, born of woman,s
are of few dayst and full of trouble.u
2 They spring up like flowersv and wither away;w
like fleeting shadows,x they do not endure.y
3 Do you fix your eye on them?z
Will you bring thema before you for judgment?a
4 Who can bring what is pureb from the impure?c
No one!d
5 A person’s days are determined;e
you have decreed the number of his monthsf
and have set limits he cannot exceed.g
6 So look away from him and let him alone,h
till he has put in his time like a hired laborer.i
7 “At least there is hope for a tree:j
If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
and its new shootsk will not fail.l
8 Its roots may grow old in the ground
and its stumpm die in the soil,
9 yet at the scent of watern it will bud
and put forth shoots like a plant.o
10 But a man dies and is laid low;p
he breathes his last and is no more.q
11 As the water of a lake dries up
or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,r
12 so he lies down and does not rise;s
till the heavens are no more,t people will not awake
or be roused from their sleep.u
13 “If only you would hide me in the gravev
and conceal me till your anger has passed!w
If only you would set me a time
14 If someone dies, will they live again?
All the days of my hard servicez
I will wait for my renewalb a to come.
15 You will call and I will answer you;b
you will long for the creature your hands have made.c
16 Surely then you will count my stepsd
but not keep track of my sin.e
17 My offenses will be sealedf up in a bag;g
you will cover over my sin.h
18 “But as a mountain erodes and crumblesi
and as a rock is moved from its place,j
and torrentsk wash away the soil,l
so you destroy a person’s hope.m
20 You overpower them once for all, and they are gone;n
you change their countenance and send them away.o
21 If their children are honored, they do not know it;
if their offspring are brought low, they do not see it.p
22 They feel but the pain of their own bodiesq
and mourn only for themselves.r”
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanites replied:
2 “Would a wise person answer with empty notions
or fill their belly with the hot east wind?t
3 Would they argue with useless words,
with speeches that have no value?u
4 But you even undermine piety
and hinder devotion to God.v
5 Your sinw prompts your mouth;x
you adopt the tongue of the crafty.y
6 Your own mouth condemns you, not mine;
your own lips testify against you.z
7 “Are you the first man ever born?a
Were you brought forth before the hills?b
8 Do you listen in on God’s council?c
Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?d
9 What do you know that we do not know?
What insights do you have that we do not have?e
10 The gray-haired and the agedf are on our side,
men even older than your father.g
11 Are God’s consolationsh not enough for you,
12 Why has your heartk carried you away,
and why do your eyes flash,
13 so that you vent your ragel against God
and pour out such wordsm from your mouth?n
14 “What are mortals, that they could be pure,
or those born of woman,o that they could be righteous?p
15 If God places no trust in his holy ones,q
if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,r
16 how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt,s
who drink up evilt like water!u
17 “Listen to me and I will explain to you;
let me tell you what I have seen,v
18 what the wise have declared,
hiding nothing received from their ancestorsw
19 (to whom alone the landx was given
when no foreigners moved among them):
20 All his days the wicked man suffers torment,y
the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him.z
21 Terrifying sounds fill his ears;a
when all seems well, marauders attack him.b
22 He despairs of escaping the realm of darkness;c
he is marked for the sword.d
23 He wanders aboute for food like a vulture;f
he knows the day of darknessg is at hand.h
24 Distress and anguishi fill him with terror;j
troubles overwhelm him, like a kingk poised to attack,