Chapter 23

Job Says He Longs for God

1 Then Job 1replied,

2 “Even today my acomplaint is rebellion;

1His hand is bheavy despite my groaning.

3 “Oh that I knew where I might find Him,

That I might come to His seat!

4 “I would apresent my case before Him

And fill my mouth with arguments.

5 “I would learn the words which He would 1answer,

And perceive what He would say to me.

6 “Would He contend with me by athe greatness of His power?

No, surely He would pay attention to me.

7 “There the upright would areason with Him;

And I 1would be bdelivered forever from my Judge.

8 “Behold, I go forward but He is not there,

And backward, but I acannot perceive Him;

9 When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him;

He turns on the right, I cannot see Him.

10 “But He knows the 1way I take;

When He has atried me, I shall come forth as gold.

11 “My foot has aheld fast to His path;

I have kept His way and not turned aside.

12 “I have not departed from the command of His lips;

I have treasured the awords of His mouth 1more than my 2necessary food.

13 “But He is unique and who can turn Him?

And what His soul desires, that He does.

14 “For He performs what is appointed for me,

And many such decrees are with Him.

15 “Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence;

When I consider, I am terrified of Him.

16 “It is God who has made my aheart faint,

And the Almighty who has dismayed me,

17 But I aam not silenced by the darkness,

Nor bdeep gloom which covers me.

Chapter 24

Job Says God Seems to Ignore Wrongs

1 “aWhy are 1times not stored up by the Almighty,

And why do those who know Him not see bHis days?

2 “1Some aremove the landmarks;

They seize and 2devour flocks.

3 “They drive away the donkeys of the aorphans;

They take the bwidow’s ox for a pledge.

4 “They push athe needy aside from the road;

The bpoor of the land are made to hide themselves altogether.

5 “Behold, as awild donkeys in the wilderness

They bgo forth seeking food in their activity,

As 1bread for their children in the desert.

6 “They harvest their fodder in the field

And glean the vineyard of the wicked.

7 “aThey spend the night naked, without clothing,

And have no covering against the cold.

8 “They are wet with the mountain rains

And hug the rock for want of a shelter.

9 “1Others snatch the aorphan from the breast,

And against the poor they take a pledge.

10 “They cause the poor to go about naked without clothing,

And they take away the sheaves from the hungry.

11 “Within the walls they produce oil;

They tread wine presses but thirst.

12 “From the city men groan,

And the souls of the wounded cry out;

Yet God adoes not pay attention to folly.

13 “1Others have been with those who rebel against the light;

They do not want to know its ways

Nor abide in its paths.

14 “The murderer aarises at dawn;

He bkills the poor and the needy,

And at night he is as a thief.

15 “The eye of the aadulterer waits for the twilight,

Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’

And he 1disguises his face.

16 “In the dark they adig into houses,

They bshut themselves up by day;

They do not know the light.

17 “For the morning is the same to him as thick darkness,

For he is familiar with the aterrors of thick darkness.

18 “They are 1ainsignificant on the surface of the water;

Their portion is bcursed on the earth.

They do not turn 2toward the cvineyards.

19 “Drought and heat 1aconsume the snow waters,

So does 2bSheol those who have sinned.

20 “A 1amother will forget him;

The bworm feeds sweetly till he is cno longer remembered.

And wickedness will be broken dlike a tree.

21 “He wrongs the 1barren woman

And does no good for athe widow.

22 “But He drags off the valiant by aHis power;

He rises, but bno one has assurance of life.

23 “He provides them awith security, and they are supported;

And His beyes are on their ways.

24 “They are exalted a alittle while, then they are gone;

Moreover, they are bbrought low and like everything gathered up;

Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.

25 “Now if it is not so, awho can prove me a liar,

And make my speech worthless?”

Chapter 25

Bildad Says Man Is Inferior

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite 1answered,

2 “aDominion and awe 1belong to Him

Who establishes peace in bHis heights.

3 “Is there any number to aHis troops?

And upon whom does His light not rise?

4 “How then can a man be ajust with God?

Or how can he be bclean who is born of woman?

5 “If even athe moon has no brightness

And the bstars are not pure in His sight,

6 How much less aman, that bmaggot,

And the son of man, that worm!”

Chapter 26

Job Rebukes Bildad

1 Then Job 1responded,

2 “What a help you are to 1athe weak!

How you have saved the arm bwithout strength!

3 “What counsel you have given to one without wisdom!

What helpful insight you have abundantly 1provided!

4 “To whom have you uttered words?

And whose 1spirit was expressed through you?

The Greatness of God

5 “The 1adeparted spirits tremble

Under the waters and their inhabitants.

6 “Naked is 1aSheol before Him,

And 2bAbaddon has no covering.

7 “He astretches out the north over empty space

And hangs the earth on nothing.

8 “He awraps up the waters in His clouds,

And the cloud does not burst under them.

9 “He 1aobscures the face of the 2full moon

And spreads His cloud over it.

10 “He has inscribed a acircle on the surface of the waters

At the bboundary of light and darkness.

11 “The pillars of heaven tremble

And are amazed at His rebuke.

12 “He aquieted the sea with His power,

And by His bunderstanding He shattered cRahab.

13 “By His breath the aheavens are 1cleared;

His hand has pierced bthe fleeing serpent.

14 “Behold, these are the fringes of His ways;

And how faint aa word we hear of Him!

But His mighty bthunder, who can understand?”

Chapter 27

Job Affirms His Righteousness

1 Then Job 1continued his adiscourse and said,

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

And the Almighty, bwho has embittered my soul,

3 For as long as 1life is in me,

And the 2abreath of God is in my nostrils,

4 My lips certainly will not speak unjustly,

Nor will amy tongue mutter deceit.

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

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

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

My heart does not reproach any of my days.

The State of the Godless

7 “May my enemy be as the wicked

And 1my opponent as the unjust.

8 “For what is athe hope of the godless 1when he is cut off,

When God requires bhis 2life?

9 “Will God ahear his cry

When bdistress comes upon him?

10 “Will he take adelight in the Almighty?

Will he call on God at all times?

11 “I will instruct you in the 1power of God;

What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.

12 “Behold, all of you have seen it;

Why then do you 1act foolishly?

13 “This is athe portion of a wicked man from God,

And the inheritance which btyrants receive from the Almighty.

14 “Though his sons are many, 1they are destined afor the sword;

And his bdescendants will not be satisfied with bread.

15 “His survivors will be buried because of the plague,

And 1their awidows will not be able to weep.

16 “Though he piles up silver like dust

And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay,

17 He may prepare it, abut the just will wear it

And the innocent will divide the silver.

18 “He has built his ahouse like the 1spider’s web,

Or as a hut which the watchman has made.

19 “He lies down rich, but never 1again;

He opens his eyes, and ait is no longer.

20 “aTerrors overtake him like a flood;

A tempest steals him away bin the night.

21 “The east awind carries him away, and he is gone,

For it whirls him baway from his place.

22 “For it will hurl at him awithout sparing;

He will surely try to bflee from its 1power.

23 “Men will clap their hands at him

And will ahiss him from his place.