Job 42:1–17
Job’s Confession and Repentance
42 Then Job answered the Lord and said:
2 “I know that you can hdo all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 i‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things jtoo wonderful for me, which I did not know.
kI will question you, and you make it known to me.’
5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you;
and repent1 in ldust and ashes.”
The Lord Rebukes Job’s Friends
7 After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz mthe Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. 8 Now therefore take nseven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and ooffer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall ppray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” 9 qSo Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the Lord had told them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.
The Lord Restores Job’s Fortunes
10 And the Lord rrestored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job stwice as much as he had before. 11 Then came to him all his tbrothers and sisters and all who had tknown him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they ushowed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil2 that the Lord had brought upon him. And each of them gave him va piece of money3 and wa ring of gold.
12 And the Lord blessed xthe latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had y14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He had also zseven sons and three daughters. 14 And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch. 15 And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job’s daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance aamong their brothers. 16 And after this Job lived 140 years, and bsaw his sons, and his sons’ sons, four generations. 17 And Job died, an old man, and cfull of days.
Job 10:1–17:16
10 “I uloathe my life;
I will give free utterance to my vcomplaint;
I will speak in wthe bitterness of my soul.
2 I will say to God, Do not xcondemn me;
let me know why you ycontend against me.
3 zDoes it seem good to you to oppress,
to despise athe work of your hands
band favor the designs of the wicked?
4 Have you ceyes of flesh?
dDo you see as man sees?
5 Are your days as the days of man,
or your eyears as a man’s years,
6 that you fseek out my iniquity
and search for my sin,
7 although you gknow that I am not guilty,
and there is hnone to deliver out of your hand?
8 iYour hands fashioned and made me,
and now you have destroyed me altogether.
9 Remember that you have made me like jclay;
and will you return me to the kdust?
10 Did you not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese?
11 You clothed me with skin and flesh,
and knit me together with bones and sinews.
12 You have granted me life and steadfast love,
and your care has preserved my spirit.
13 Yet these things you hid in your heart;
I know that lthis was your purpose.
14 If I sin, you mwatch me
and do not nacquit me of my iniquity.
15 oIf I am guilty, woe to me!
If I am pin the right, I cannot lift up my head,
for I am filled with disgrace
and qlook on my affliction.
16 And were my head lifted up,1 you would hunt me like ra lion
and again work swonders against me.
17 You renew your twitnesses against me
and increase your vexation toward me;
you ubring fresh troops against me.
18 v“Why did you bring me out from the womb?
Would that I had died before any eye had seen me
19 wand were as though I had not been,
carried from the womb to the grave.
20 xAre not my days few?
yThen cease, and leave me alone, zthat I may find a little cheer
21 before I go—and aI shall not return—
to the land of bdarkness and cdeep shadow,
22 the land of gloom like thick darkness,
like deep shadow without any order,
where light is as thick darkness.”
Zophar Speaks: You Deserve Worse
11 Then dZophar the Naamathite answered and said:
2 “Should ea multitude of words go unanswered,
and a man full of talk be judged right?
3 Should your babble silence men,
and when you mock, shall no one shame you?
4 For fyou say, ‘My gdoctrine is pure,
and I am clean in God’s1 eyes.’
5 But oh, that God would speak
and open his lips to you,
6 and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom!
For he is manifold in hunderstanding.2
Know then that God iexacts of you less than your guilt deserves.
7 j“Can you find out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?
8 It is khigher than heaven3—what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?
9 Its measure is longer than the earth
and broader than the sea.
10 If he lpasses through and mimprisons
and summons the court, who can nturn him back?
11 For he knows oworthless men;
when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it?
12 But a stupid man will get understanding
when pa wild donkey’s colt is qborn a man!
13 “If you rprepare your heart,
you will sstretch out your hands toward him.
14 If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,
and let not injustice dwell in your tents.
15 Surely then you will tlift up your face without ublemish;
you will be secure and will not fear.
16 You will vforget your misery;
you will remember it as waters that have passed away.
17 And your life will be wbrighter than the noonday;
its darkness will be like the morning.
18 And you will feel secure, because there is hope;
you will look around and xtake your rest in security.
19 You will xlie down, and none will make you afraid;
many will ycourt your favor.
20 But zthe eyes of the wicked will fail;
all way of escape will be lost to them,
and their hope is ato breathe their last.”
Job Replies: The Lord Has Done This
12 Then Job answered and said:
2 “No doubt you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you.
3 But I have bunderstanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know csuch things as these?
4 I am da laughingstock to my friends;
I, who ecalled to God and he answered me,
a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.
5 In the thought of one who is fat ease there is contempt for misfortune;
it is ready for those whose feet slip.
6 gThe tents of robbers are at peace,
and those who provoke God are secure,
who bring their god in their hand.1
7 “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;
8 or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you;2
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
that hthe hand of the Lord has done this?
10 In ihis hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind.
11 Does not jthe ear test words
as the palate tastes food?
12 Wisdom is with kthe aged,
and understanding in length of days.
13 l“With God3 are wisdom and might;
he has counsel and understanding.
14 If he tears down, none can rebuild;
if he mshuts a man in, none can open.
15 If he nwithholds the waters, they dry up;
if he