Job Answers His Critics

12 Then Job answered and said:

2 “No doubt you are the people,

And wisdom will die with you!

3 But I have 1understanding as well as you;

I am not ainferior to you.

Indeed, who does not know such things as these?

4 “I bam one mocked by his friends,

Who ccalled on God, and He answered him,

The just and blameless who is ridiculed.

5 A 2lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease;

It is made ready for dthose whose feet slip.

6 eThe tents of robbers prosper,

And those who provoke God are secure—

In what God provides by His hand.

7 “But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;

And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;

8 Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;

And the fish of the sea will explain to you.

9 Who among all these does not know

That the hand of the Lord has done this,

10 fIn whose hand is the 3life of every living thing,

And the gbreath of 4all mankind?

11 Does not the ear test words

And the 5mouth taste its food?

12 Wisdom is with aged men,

And with 6length of days, understanding.

13 “With Him are hwisdom and strength,

He has counsel and understanding.

14 If iHe breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt;

If He imprisons a man, there can be no release.

15 If He jwithholds the waters, they dry up;

If He ksends them out, they overwhelm the earth.

16 With Him are strength and prudence.

The deceived and the deceiver are His.

17 He leads counselors away plundered,

And makes fools of the judges.

18 He loosens the bonds of kings,

And binds their waist with a belt.

19 He leads 7princes away plundered,

And overthrows the mighty.

20 lHe deprives the trusted ones of speech,

And takes away the discernment of the elders.

21 mHe pours contempt on princes,

And 8disarms the mighty.

22 He nuncovers deep things out of darkness,

And brings the shadow of death to light.

23 oHe makes nations great, and destroys them;

He 9enlarges nations, and guides them.

24 He takes away the 1understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth,

And pmakes them wander in a pathless wilderness.

25 qThey grope in the dark without light,

And He makes them rstagger like a drunken man.

13 “Behold, my eye has seen all this, My ear has heard and understood it.

2 aWhat you know, I also know;

I am not inferior to you.

3 bBut I would speak to the Almighty,

And I desire to reason with God.

4 But you forgers of lies,

cYou are all worthless physicians.

5 Oh, that you would be silent,

And dit would be your wisdom!

6 Now hear my reasoning,

And heed the pleadings of my lips.

7 eWill you speak 1wickedly for God,

And talk deceitfully for Him?

8 Will you show partiality for Him?

Will you contend for God?

9 Will it be well when He searches you out?

Or can you mock Him as one mocks a man?

10 He will surely rebuke you

If you secretly show partiality.

11 Will not His 2excellence make you afraid,

And the dread of Him fall upon you?

12 Your platitudes are proverbs of ashes,

Your defenses are defenses of clay.

13 “Hold 3your peace with me, and let me speak,

Then let come on me what may!

14 Why fdo I take my flesh in my teeth,

And put my life in my hands?

15 gThough He slay me, yet will I trust Him.

hEven so, I will defend my own ways before Him.

16 He also shall be my salvation,

For a ihypocrite could not come before Him.

17 Listen carefully to my speech,

And to my declaration with your ears.

18 See now, I have prepared my case,

I know that I shall be jvindicated.

19 kWho is he who will contend with me?

If now I hold my tongue, I perish.

Job’s Despondent Prayer

20 “Only ltwo things do not do to me,

Then I will not hide myself from You:

21 mWithdraw Your hand far from me,

And let not the dread of You make me afraid.

22 Then call, and I will nanswer;

Or let me speak, then You respond to me.

23 How many are my iniquities and sins?

Make me know my transgression and my sin.

24 oWhy do You hide Your face,

And pregard me as Your enemy?

25 qWill You frighten a leaf driven to and fro?

And will You pursue dry stubble?

26 For You write bitter things against me,

And rmake me inherit the iniquities of my youth.

27 sYou put my feet in the stocks,

And watch closely all my paths.

You 4set a limit for the 5soles of my feet.

28 “Man 6decays like a rotten thing,

Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

14 “Man who is born of woman

Is of few days and afull of 1trouble.

2 bHe comes forth like a flower and fades away;

He flees like a shadow and does not continue.

3 And cdo You open Your eyes on such a one,

And dbring 2me to judgment with Yourself?

4 Who ecan bring a clean thing out of an unclean?

No one!

5 fSince his days are determined,

The number of his months is with You;

You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass.

6 gLook away from him that he may 3rest,

Till hlike a hired man he finishes his day.

7 “For there is hope for a tree,

If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,

And that its tender shoots will not cease.

8 Though its root may grow old in the earth,

And its stump may die in the ground,

9 Yet at the scent of water it will bud

And bring forth branches like a plant.

10 But man dies and 4is laid away;

Indeed he 5breathes his last

And where is ihe?

11 As water disappears from the sea,

And a river becomes parched and dries up,

12 So man lies down and does not rise.

jTill the heavens are no more,

They will not awake

Nor be roused from their sleep.

13 “Oh, that You would hide me in the grave,

That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,

That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!

14 If a man dies, shall he live again?

All the days of my hard service kI will wait,

Till my change comes.

15 lYou shall call, and I will answer You;

You shall desire the work of Your hands.

16 For now mYou number my steps,

But do not watch over my sin.

17 nMy transgression is sealed up in a bag,

And You 6cover my iniquity.

18 “But as a mountain falls and crumbles away,

And as a rock is moved from its place;

19 As water wears away stones,

And as torrents wash away the soil of the earth;

So You destroy the hope of man.

20 You prevail forever against him, and he passes on;

You change his countenance and send him away.

21 His sons come to honor, and ohe does not know it;

They are brought low, and he does not perceive it.

22 But his flesh will be in pain over it,

And his soul will mourn over it.”

Eliphaz Accuses Job of Folly

15 Then aEliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

2 “Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge,

And fill 1himself with the east wind?

3 Should he reason with unprofitable talk,

Or by speeches with which he can do no good?

4 Yes, you cast off fear,

And restrain 2prayer before God.

5 For your iniquity teaches your mouth,

And you choose the tongue of the crafty.

6 bYour own mouth condemns you, and not I;

Yes, your own lips testify against you.

7 “Are you the first man who was born?

cOr were you made before the hills?

8 dHave you heard the counsel of God?

Do you limit wisdom to yourself?

9 eWhat do you know that we do not know?

What do you understand that is not in us?

10 fBoth the gray-haired and the aged are among us,

Much older than your father.

11 Are the consolations of God too small for you,

And the word spoken 3gently with you?

12 Why does your heart carry you away,

And 4what do your eyes wink at,

13 That you turn your spirit against God,

And let such words go out of your mouth?

14 “What gis man, that he could be pure?

And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?

15 hIf God puts no trust in His saints,

And the heavens are not pure in His sight,

16 iHow much less man, who is abominable and filthy,

jWho drinks iniquity like water!

17 “I will tell you, hear me;

What I have seen I will declare,

18 What wise men have told,

Not hiding anything received kfrom their fathers,

19 To whom alone the 5land was given,

And lno alien passed among them:

20 The wicked man writhes with pain all his days,

mAnd the number of years is hidden from the oppressor.

21 6Dreadful sounds are in his ears;

nIn prosperity the destroyer comes upon him.

22 He does not believe that he will oreturn from darkness,

For a sword is waiting for him.

23 He pwanders about for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’

He knows qthat a day of darkness is ready at his hand.

24 Trouble and anguish make him afraid;

They overpower him, like a king ready for 7battle.

25 For he stretches out his hand against God,

And acts defiantly against the Almighty,

26 Running stubbornly against Him

With his strong, embossed shield.

27 “Though rhe has covered his face with his fatness,

And made his waist heavy with fat,

28 He dwells in desolate cities,

In houses which no one inhabits,

Which are destined to become ruins.

29 He will not be rich,

Nor will his wealth scontinue,

Nor will his possessions overspread the earth.

30 He will not depart from darkness;

The flame will dry out his branches,

And tby the breath of His mouth he will go away.

31 Let him not utrust in futile things, deceiving himself,

For futility will be his reward.

32 It will be accomplished vbefore his time,

And his branch will not be green.

33 He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine,

And cast off his blossom like an olive tree.

34 For the company of hypocrites will be barren,

And fire will consume the tents of bribery.

35 wThey conceive trouble and bring forth futility;

Their womb prepares deceit.”