Job 24:1–28:28

24 Why doesn’t God set a time for judging,

a day of justice for those who serve him?

2 People move boundary stones to get more land;

they steal sheep and put them with their own flocks.

3 They take donkeys that belong to orphans,

and keep a widow’s ox till she pays her debts.

4 They prevent the poor from getting their rights

and force the needy to run and hide.

5 So the poor, like wild donkeys,

search for food in the dry wilderness;

nowhere else can they find food for their children.

6 They have to harvest fields they don’t own,x

and gather grapes in the vineyards of the wicked.

7 At night they sleep with

nothing to cover them, nothing to keep them from the cold.

8 They are drenched by the rain that falls on the mountains,

and they huddle beside the rocks for shelter.

9 Evil people make slaves of fatherless infants

and take the children of the poor in payment for debts.

10 But the poor must go out with no clothes to protect them;

they must go hungry while harvesting wheat.

11 They press olives for oil, and grapes for wine,

but they themselves are thirsty.

12 In the cities the wounded and dying cry out,

but God ignores their prayers.

13 There are those who reject the light;

they don’t understand it or go where it leads.

14 At dawn the murderer gets up

and goes out to kill the poor,

and at night he steals.

15 The adulterer waits for twilight to come;

he covers his face so that no one can see him.

16 At night thieves break into houses,

but by day they hide and avoid the light.

17 They fear the light of day,

but darkness holds no terror for them.

[Zophar]y

18 The wicked are swept away by floods,

and the land they own is under God’s curse;

they no longer go to work in their vineyards.

19 As snow vanishes in heat and drought,

so sinners vanish from the land of the living.

20 Not even their mothers remember them now;

they are eaten by worms and destroyed like fallen trees.

21 That happens because they ill-treated widows

and showed no kindness to childless women.

22 God, in his strength, destroys the mighty;

God acts—and the wicked die.

23 God may let them live secure,

but keeps an eye on them all the time.

24 For a while the wicked prosper,

but then they wither like weeds,

like ears of corn that have been cut off.

25 Can anyone deny that this is so? Can anyone prove that my words are not true?

Bildad

25 1–2 God is powerful; all must stand in awe of him;

he keeps his heavenly kingdom in peace.

3 Can anyone count the angels who serve him?

Is there any place where God’s light does not shine?

4 Can anyone be righteous or pure in God’s sight?

5 In his eyes even the moon is not bright,

nor the stars pure.

6 Then what about a human being, that worm, that insect?

What is a human life worth in God’s eyes?

Job

26 1–2 What a fine help you are to me—

poor, weak man that I am!

3 You give such good advice

and share your knowledge with a fool like me!

4 Who do you think will hear all your words?

Who inspired you to speak like this?

[Bildad]z

5 The spirits of the dead tremble

in the waters under the earth.

6 The world of the dead lies open to God;

no covering shields it from his sight.

7 God stretched out the northern sky

and hung the earth in empty space.

8 It is God who fills the clouds with water

and keeps them from bursting with the weight.

9 He hides the full moon behind a cloud.

10 He divided light from darkness

by a circle drawn on the face of the sea.

11 When he threatens the pillars that hold up the sky,

they shake and tremble with fear.

12 It is his strength that conquered the sea;a

by his skill he destroyed the monster Rahab.b

13 It is his breath that made the sky clear,

and his hand that killed the escaping monster.c

14 But these are only hints of his power,

only the whispers that we have heard.

Who can know how truly great God is?

Job

27 1–2 I swear by the living Almighty God,

who refuses me justice and makes my life bitter-

3 as long as God gives me breath,

4 my lips will never say anything evil,

my tongue will never tell a lie.

5 I will never say that you men are right;

I will insist on my innocence to my dying day.

6 I will never give up my claim to be right;

my conscience is clear.

7 May all who oppose me and fight against me

be punished like the wicked and the unrighteous.

8 What hope is there for the godless

in the hour when God demands their life?

9 When trouble comes, will God hear their cries?

10 They should have desired the joy he gives;

they should have constantly prayed to him.

11 Let me teach you how great is God’s power,

and explain what Almighty God has planned.

12 But no, after all, you have seen for yourselves;

so why do you talk such nonsense?

[Zophar]d

13 This is how Almighty God

punishes wicked, violent people.

14 They may have many sons,

but all will be killed in war;

their children never have enough to eat.

15 Those who survive will die from disease,

and even their widows will not mourn their death.

16 The wicked may have too much silver to count

and more clothes than anyone needs;

17 but some good person will wear the clothes,

and some honest person will get the silver.

18 The wicked build houses like a spider’s webe

or like the hut of a slave guarding the fields.

19 One last timef they will lie down rich,

and when they wake up, they will find their wealth gone.

20 Terror will strike like a sudden flood;

a wind in the night will blow them away;

21 the east wind will sweep them from their homes;

22 it will blow down on them without pity

while they try their best to escape.

23 The wind howls at them as they run,

frightening them with destructive power.g

In Praise of Wisdom

28 There are mines where silver is dug;

There are places where gold is refined.

2 Miners dig iron out of the ground

And melt copper out of the stones.

3 They explore the deepest darkness.

They search the depths of the earth

And dig for rocks in the darkness.

4 Far from where anyone lives

Or human feet ever travel,

They dig the shafts of mines.

There they work in loneliness,

Clinging to ropes in the pits.

5 Food grows out of the earth,

But underneath the same earth

All is torn up and crushed.

6 The stones of the earth contain sapphires,

And its dust contains gold.

7 No hawk sees the roads to the mines,

And no vulture ever flies over them.

8 No lion or other fierce beast

Ever travels those lonely roads.

9 Miners dig the hardest rocks,

Dig mountains away at their base.

10 As they tunnel through the rocks,

They discover precious stones.

11 They dig to the sources ofh rivers

And bring to light what is hidden.

12 But where can wisdom be found?

Where can we learn to understand?

13 Wisdom is not to be found among mortals;

No one knows its true value.

14 The depths of the oceans and seas

Say that wisdom is not found there.

15 It cannot be bought with silver or gold.

16 The finest gold and jewels

Cannot equal its value.

17 It is worth more than gold,

Than a gold vase or finest glass.

18 The value of wisdom is more

Than coral or crystal or rubies.

19 The finest topaz and the purest gold

Cannot compare with the value of wisdom.

20 Where, then, is the source of wisdom?

Where can we learn to understand?

21 No living creature can see it,

Not even a bird in flight.

22 Even death and destruction

Admit they have heard only rumours.

23 God alone knows the way,

Knows the place where wisdom is found,

24 Because he sees the ends of the earth,

Sees everything under the sky.

25 When God gave the wind its power

And determined the size of the sea;

26 When God decided where the rain would fall,

And the path that the thunderclouds travel;

27 It was then he saw wisdom and tested its worth—

He gave it his approval.

28* God said to human beings,

“To be wise, you must have reverence for the Lord.

To understand, you must turn from evil.”