Chapter 12

Job Chides His Accusers

1 Then Job 1responded,

2 “Truly then ayou are the people,

And with you wisdom will die!

3 “But aI have intelligence as well as you;

I am not inferior to you.

And 1who does not know such things as these?

4 “I am a ajoke to 1my friends,

The one who called on God and He answered him;

The just and bblameless man is a joke.

5 “1He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt,

As prepared for those whose feet slip.

6 “The atents of the destroyers prosper,

And those who provoke God bare secure,

1Whom God brings cinto their power.

7 “But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you;

And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you.

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

And let the fish of the sea declare to you.

9 “Who among all these does not know

That athe hand of the Lord has done this,

10 aIn whose hand is the life of every living thing,

And bthe breath of all mankind?

11 “Does not athe ear test words,

As the palate 1tastes its food?

12 “Wisdom is with aaged men,

With 1long life is understanding.

Job Speaks of the Power of God

13 “With Him are awisdom and amight;

To Him belong counsel and bunderstanding.

14 “Behold, He atears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;

He 1bimprisons a man, and 2there can be no release.

15 “Behold, He arestrains the waters, and they dry up;

And He bsends them out, and they 1inundate the earth.

16 “With Him are strength and sound wisdom,

The amisled and the misleader belong to Him.

17 “He makes acounselors walk 1barefoot

And makes fools of bjudges.

18 “He aloosens the 1bond of kings

And binds their loins with a girdle.

19 “He makes priests walk 1barefoot

And overthrows athe secure ones.

20 “He deprives the trusted ones of speech

And atakes away the discernment of the elders.

21 “He apours contempt on nobles

And bloosens the belt of the strong.

22 “He areveals mysteries from the darkness

And brings the deep darkness into light.

23 “He amakes the nations great, then destroys them;

He 1enlarges the nations, then leads them away.

24 “He adeprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth’s people

And makes them wander in a pathless waste.

25 “They agrope in darkness with no light,

And He makes them bstagger like a drunken man.

Chapter 13

Job Says His Friends’ Proverbs Are Ashes

1 “aBehold, 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 “But aI would speak to 1the Almighty,

And I desire to bargue with God.

4 “But you asmear with lies;

You are all bworthless physicians.

5 “O that you would abe completely silent,

And that it would become your wisdom!

6 “Please hear my argument

And listen to the contentions of my lips.

7 “Will you aspeak what is unjust for God,

And speak what is deceitful for Him?

8 “Will you ashow partiality for Him?

Will you contend for God?

9 “Will it be well when He examines you?

Or awill you deceive Him as one deceives a man?

10 “He will surely reprove you

If you secretly ashow partiality.

11 “Will not aHis 1majesty terrify you,

And the dread of Him fall on you?

12 “Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes,

Your defenses are defenses of clay.

Job Is Sure He Will Be Vindicated

13 “aBe silent before me so that I may speak;

Then let come on me what may.

14 “Why should I take my flesh in my teeth

And aput my life in my 1hands?

15 “aThough He slay me,

I will hope in Him.

Nevertheless I bwill argue my ways 1before Him.

16 “This also will be my asalvation,

For ba godless man may not come before His presence.

17 “Listen carefully to my speech,

And let my declaration fill your ears.

18 “Behold now, I have aprepared my case;

I know that bI will be vindicated.

19 “aWho will contend with me?

For then I would be silent and bdie.

20 “Only two things do not do to me,

Then I will not hide from Your face:

21 aRemove Your 1hand from me,

And let not the dread of You terrify me.

22 “Then call, and aI will answer;

Or let me speak, then reply to me.

23 “aHow many are my iniquities and sins?

Make known to me my 1rebellion and my sin.

24 “Why do You ahide Your face

And consider me bYour enemy?

25 “Will You cause a adriven leaf to tremble?

Or will You pursue the dry bchaff?

26 “For You write abitter things against me

And bmake me to inherit the iniquities of my youth.

27 “You aput my feet in the stocks

And watch all my paths;

You 1set a limit for the soles of my feet,

28 While 1I am decaying like a arotten thing,

Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

Chapter 14

Job Speaks of the Finality of Death

1 “aMan, who is born of woman,

Is 1short-lived and bfull of turmoil.

2 “aLike a flower he comes forth and withers.

He also flees like ba shadow and does not remain.

3 “You also aopen Your eyes on him

And bbring 1him into judgment with Yourself.

4 “aWho can make the clean out of the unclean?

No one!

5 “Since his days are determined,

The anumber of his months is with You;

And his limits You have 1set so that he cannot pass.

6 “aTurn Your gaze from him that he may 1rest,

Until he 2fulfills his day like a hired man.

7 “For there is hope for a tree,

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

And its shoots will not 1fail.

8 “Though its roots grow old in the ground

And its stump dies in the dry soil,

9 At the scent of water it will flourish

And put forth sprigs like a plant.

10 “But aman dies and lies prostrate.

Man bexpires, and where is he?

11 “As awater 1evaporates from the sea,

And a river becomes parched and dried up,

12 So aman lies down and does not rise.

Until the heavens are no longer,

1He will not awake nor be aroused out of 2his sleep.

13 “Oh that You would hide me in 1Sheol,

That You would conceal me auntil Your wrath returns to You,

That You would set a limit for me and remember me!

14 “If a man dies, will he live again?

All the days of my struggle I will wait

Until my change comes.

15 “You will call, and I will answer You;

You will long for athe work of Your hands.

16 “For now You anumber my steps,

You do not bobserve my sin.

17 “My transgression is asealed up in a bag,

And You 1wrap up my iniquity.

18 “But the falling mountain 1crumbles away,

And the rock moves from its place;

19 Water wears away stones,

Its torrents wash away the dust of the earth;

So You adestroy man’s hope.

20 “You forever overpower him and he adeparts;

You change his appearance and send him away.

21 “His sons achieve honor, but ahe does not know it;

Or they become insignificant, but he does not perceive it.

22 “But his 1body pains him,

And he mourns only for himself.”