Job 27:1–10

1 And Job continued his discourse:

2 “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,

the Almighty, who has made my life bitter,

3 as long as I have life within me,

the breath of God in my nostrils,

4 my lips will not say anything wicked,

and my tongue will not utter lies.

5 I will never admit you are in the right;

till I die, I will not deny my integrity.

6 I will maintain my innocence and never let go of it;

my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.

7 “May my enemy be like the wicked,

my adversary like the unjust!

8 For what hope have the godless when they are cut off,

when God takes away their life?

9 Does God listen to their cry

when distress comes upon them?

10 Will they find delight in the Almighty?

Will they call on God at all times?

1 And Job again took up his discourse, and said:

2 “As God lives, who has taken away my right,

and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,

3 as long as my breath is in me,

and the spirit of God is in my nostrils,

4 my lips will not speak falsehood,

and my tongue will not utter deceit.

5 Far be it from me to say that you are right;

till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.

6 I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;

my heart does not reproach me for any of my days.

7 “Let my enemy be as the wicked,

and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.

8 For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off,

when God takes away his life?

9 Will God hear his cry

when distress comes upon him?

10 Will he take delight in the Almighty?

Will he call upon God at all times?

1 Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,

2 As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment;

And the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;

3 All the while my breath is in me,

And the spirit of God is in my nostrils;

4 My lips shall not speak wickedness,

Nor my tongue utter deceit.

5 God forbid that I should justify you:

Till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.

6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go:

My heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

7 Let mine enemy be as the wicked,

And he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.

8 For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained,

When God taketh away his soul?

9 Will God hear his cry

When trouble cometh upon him?

10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty?

Will he always call upon God?

1 Job continued speaking:

2 “I vow by the living God, who has taken away my rights,

by the Almighty who has embittered my soul—

3 As long as I live,

while I have breath from God,

4 my lips will speak no evil,

and my tongue will speak no lies.

5 I will never concede that you are right;

I will defend my integrity until I die.

6 I will maintain my innocence without wavering.

My conscience is clear for as long as I live.

7 “May my enemy be punished like the wicked,

my adversary like those who do evil.

8 For what hope do the godless have when God cuts them off

and takes away their life?

9 Will God listen to their cry

when trouble comes upon them?

10 Can they take delight in the Almighty?

Can they call to God at any time?

1 And Job continued speaking:

2 “As surely as God lives, who has taken away my rights,

the Almighty, who has made me unhappy,

3 as long as I am alive

and God’s breath of life is in my nose,

4 my lips will not speak evil,

and my tongue will not tell a lie.

5 I will never agree you are right;

until I die, I will never stop saying I am innocent.

6 I will insist that I am right; I will not back down.

My conscience will never bother me.

7 “Let my enemies be like evil people,

my foes like those who are wrong.

8 What hope do the wicked have when they die,

when God takes their life away?

9 God will not listen to their cries

when trouble comes to them.

10 They will not find joy in the Almighty,

even though they call out to God all the time.

1 And Job again took up his parable, and said,

2 As God liveth, who hath taken away my right,

And the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul:

3 (For my life is yet whole in me,

And the spirit of God is in my nostrils);

4 Surely my lips shall not speak unrighteousness,

Neither shall my tongue utter deceit.

5 Far be it from me that I should justify you:

Till I die I will not put away mine integrity from me.

6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go:

My heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

7 Let mine enemy be as the wicked,

And let him that riseth up against me be as the unrighteous.

8 For what is the hope of the godless, though he get him gain,

When God taketh away his soul?

9 Will God hear his cry,

When trouble cometh upon him?

10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty,

And call upon God at all times?

1 And Job continued his parable and said, 2 As •God liveth, who hath taken away my right, and the Almighty, who hath embittered my soul, 3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of †God is in my nostrils, 4 My lips shall not speak unrighteousness, nor my tongue utter deceit! 5 Be it far from me that I should justify you; till I die I will not remove my blamelessness from me. 6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart reproacheth me not one of my days.

7 Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous. 8 For what is the hope of the ungodly, when God cutteth him off, when †God taketh away his soul? 9 Will •God hear his cry when distress cometh upon him? 10 Doth he delight himself in the Almighty? will he at all times call upon †God?

1 Job continued his poems and said, 

2 “I swear an oath 

by God, the one who has taken away my rights, 

by the Almighty, who has made my life bitter: 

3 ‘As long as there is one breath ⸤left⸥ in me 

and God’s breath fills my nostrils, 

4 my lips will not say anything wrong, 

and my tongue will not mumble anything deceitful.’ 

5 It’s unthinkable for me to admit that you are right. 

Until I breathe my last breath, I will never give up my claim of integrity. 

6 I cling to my righteousness and won’t let go. 

My conscience won’t accuse me as long as I live. 

7 “Let my enemy be ⸤treated⸥ like wicked people. 

Let anyone who attacks me be ⸤treated⸥ like unrighteous people. 

8 After all, what hope does the godless person have when he is cut off, 

when God takes away his life? 

9 Will God hear his cry when trouble comes upon him? 

10 Can he be happy with the Almighty? 

Can he call on God at all times? 

1 Job continued his discourse, saying:

2 As God lives, who has deprived me of justice,

and the Almighty who has made me bitter,

3 as long as my breath is still in me

and the breath from God remains in my nostrils,

4 my lips will not speak unjustly,

and my tongue will not utter deceit.

5 I will never affirm that you are right.

I will maintain my integrity until I die.

6 I will cling to my righteousness and never let it go.

My conscience will not accuse me as long as I live!

7 May my enemy be like the wicked

and my opponent like the unjust.

8 For what hope does the godless man have when he is cut off,

when God takes away his life?

9 Will God hear his cry

when distress comes on him?

10 Will he delight in the Almighty?

Will he call on God at all times?

1 Job again took up his discourse and said:

2 “As God lives, who has taken away my right,

and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,

3 as long as my breath is in me

and the spirit of God is in my nostrils,

4 my lips will not speak falsehood,

and my tongue will not utter deceit.

5 Far be it from me to say that you are right;

until I die I will not put away my integrity from me.

6 I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;

my heart will not reproach me as long as I live.

7 “May my enemy be like the wicked,

and may my opponent be like the unrighteous.

8 For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts them off,

when God takes away their lives?

9 Will God hear their cry

when trouble comes upon them?

10 Will they take delight in the Almighty?

Will they call upon God at all times?

1 Then Job again took up his discourse and said,

2 “As God lives, he has removed my justice,

and Shaddai has made my inner self bitter.

3 For as long as my breath is in me,

and the spirit of God is in my nose,

4 my lips surely will not speak falseness,

and my tongue surely will not utter deceit.

5 Far be it from me that I would say that you are right;

until I pass away, I will not put away from me my blamelessness.

6 I hold fast to my righteousness, and I will not let it go;

my heart will not blame any of my days.

7 “Let my enemy be like the wicked

and my opponent like the unrighteous,

8 for what is the hope of the godless when he cuts them off,

when God takes away his life?

9 Will God hear his cry of distress

when distress comes upon him?

10 Or, in Shaddai will he find delight?

Will he call upon God at all times?

1 Job continued to speak. He said,

2 “God hasn’t treated me fairly.

The Mighty One has made my spirit bitter.

You can be sure that God lives.

And here’s something else you can be sure of.

3 As long as I have life

and God gives me breath,

4 my mouth won’t say evil things.

My lips won’t tell lies.

5 I’ll never admit you people are right.

Until I die, I’ll say I’m telling the truth.

6 I’ll continue to say I’m right.

I’ll never let go of that.

I won’t blame myself as long as I live.

7 “May my enemies suffer like sinful people!

May my attackers be punished like those who aren’t fair!

8 What hope do ungodly people have when their lives are cut off?

What hope do they have when God takes away their lives?

9 God won’t listen to their cry

when trouble comes on them.

10 They won’t take delight in the Mighty One.

They’ll never call out to God.

1 Then Job continued his discourse and said,

2 “As God lives, who has taken away my right,

And the Almighty, who has embittered my soul,

3 For as long as life is in me,

And the breath of God is in my nostrils,

4 My lips certainly will not speak unjustly,

Nor will my tongue mutter deceit.

5 “Far be it from me that I should declare you right;

Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.

6 “I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go.

My heart does not reproach any of my days.

7 “May my enemy be as the wicked

And my opponent as the unjust.

8 “For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off,

When God requires his life?

9 “Will God hear his cry

When distress comes upon him?

10 “Will he take delight in the Almighty?

Will he call on God at all times?