Job 13:20–15:35
20 “Only youk must not do these two things to me;
then I will not hide from your face:
21 withdraw yourl hand from me,
and let not yourm dread terrify me.
22 Thenn call, and I myselfo will answer;
or let me speak, thenp reply to me.
23 “⌊How many⌋q are my iniquities and sins?
Make known to me my transgression and my sin.
24 Why do your hide yours face
and count me as yourt enemy?
25 Will youu terrify a blown leaf?
And will youv pursue dry stubble?
26 “Indeed, youw write bitter things against me,
and youx make me reap the iniquities of my childhood.
27 And youy put my feet in the block,
and youz watch all my paths;
you carve a mark on the soles of my feet.a
28 And he himself bwastes away like something rotten,
like a garment that the moth has eaten.
Job Continues to Argue His Case with God
14 “A human being born of a woman
is short of days and full of troubles.a
2 Like a flower he comes up, and he withers away;
and he flees like ab shadow, butc he does not last.
3 Even on such a one you fix your eyes,
and you bring me into judgment with you.
4 “Who can bring a clean thing from an unclean thing?
No one!d
5 If his days are determined, the number of his months is with you;
you have appointed his boundaries, and he cannot cross them.
6 Look away from him, and let him desist
until he enjoys his days like a laborer.
7 “Indeed, there is hope for a tree:
if it is cut down, thene it will sprout again,
and its new shoots will not cease;
8 though its root grows old in the earth,
and its stump dies in the dust,
9 atf the scent of water it will bud,
and it will put forth branches like a young plant.
10 “Butg a man dies, and he dwindles away;
thush a human being passes away, and where is he?i
11 As water disappears from a lake,
and a river withers away and dries up,j
12 ⌊so⌋k a man lies down, and he does not arise.
⌊Until the heavens are no more⌋,l they will not awaken,
and they will not be roused out of their sleep.
13 “⌊O that⌋m you would conceal me in Sheol,
that you would hide me ⌊until your wrath is past⌋,n
that you would appoint a set time for me and remember me.
14 If a man dies, will he live again?
All the days of my compulsory service I will wait,
until the coming of my relief.
15 You would call, and I myselfo would answer you;
you would long for the work of your hand.
16 For thenp you would count my steps,
but you would not keep watch over my sin.
17 My transgression would be sealed in a bag,
and you would cover over my guilt.
18 “Butq a mountain falls; it crumbles away,
and a rock moves away from its place.
its torrents wash away the soil of the earth;
sor you destroy the hope of human beings.
20 You overpower him forever, and he passes away;
you change ⌊his countenance⌋,s ⌊then⌋t you send him away.
21 His children may come to honor, butu he does not know it;
orv they may become lowly, butw he does not realize it.x
22 He feels only the pain of his own body,y
and his inner selfz mourns for him.”a
Eliphaz’s Second Response to Job
15 Thena Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2 “Should the wise answer with windy knowledge,
and should he fill his stomach with the east wind?
3 Should he argue in talk that is not profitable
or in words with which he cannot do good?
4 “⌊What is worse⌋,b you yourselfc are doing away with fear,
and you are lessening meditation ⌊before⌋d God.
5 For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
and you choose the tongue of the crafty.
6 Your mouth condemns you, and not I;
and your lips testify against you.
7 “Were you born the firstborn of the human race?
And were you brought forth ⌊before⌋e the hills?
8 Have you listened in God’s confidential discussion?
And do you limit wisdom to yourself?
9 What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not clear to us?
10 Both the gray-haired and the old are among us—
⌊those older than your father⌋.f
11 “Are the consolations of God too small for you,
a word spoken gently with you?
12 Why does your heart carry you away?
And why do your eyes flash,
13 that you turn your spirit against God,
and you let such words go out of your mouth?
14 “What is a human being, that he can be clean,
org that one born of a woman can be righteous?
15 Look, he does not trust his holy ones,
and the heavens are not clean in his eyes.
16 ⌊How much less⌋h he who is abominable and corrupt,i
a man drinking wickedness like water.
17 “I will show you, listen to me;
and what I have seen, I will tellj—
and they have not hidden that which is from their ancestors,
19 ⌊to whom alone⌋k the land was given,
and no stranger passed through their midst.
20 “All of the wicked one’s days he is writhing,
evenl through the number of years that are laid up for the tyrant.
21 Sounds of terror are in his ears;
in prosperity the destroyer will come against him.
22 ⌊He cannot trust that he will return⌋m from darkness,
and he himselfn is destined for the sword.
23 “He is wandering for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that a day of darkness is ready ⌊at hand⌋.o
24 Anguish and distress terrify him;
theyp overpower him like a king ready for the battle.
25 Because he stretched out his hand against God,
and he was arrogant to Shaddai;
26 he ⌊stubbornly⌋q runs against him
⌊with his thick-bossed shield⌋.r
27 “Because he has covered his face with his fat
and has gathered fat upon his loins,
28 ⌊he will dwell⌋s in desolate cities,
in houses that they should not inhabit,
which are destined for rubble.
29 He will not become rich, and his wealth will not endure,
and their possessions will not stretch across the earth.t
30 “He will not escape from darkness;
a flame will dry up his new shoot,
and by the wind of his mouth he shall be removed.
31 Let him not trust in emptiness—he will be deceiving himself—
for worthlessness will be his recompense.
32 It will be paid in full ⌊before his time⌋,u
and his branch will not flourish.
33 “He will shake off his unripe fruit like the vine,
and he will cast off his blossom like the olive tree;
34 for the company of the godless is barren,
and fire consumes the tents of those who accept bribes.
35 They conceive trouble and bring forth mischief,
and their womb prepares deceit.”