Job 25

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

2 “Dominion and awe belong to God;
he establishes order in the heights of heaven.

3 Can his forces be numbered?
Upon whom does his light not rise?

4 How then can a man be righteous before God?
How can one born of woman be pure?

5 If even the moon is not bright
and the stars are not pure in his eyes,

6 how much less man, who is but a maggot—
a son of man, who is only a worm!”

Job 24

1 “Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment?
Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?

2 Men move boundary stones;
they pasture flocks they have stolen.

3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey
and take the widow’s ox in pledge.

4 They thrust the needy from the path
and force all the poor of the land into hiding.

5 Like wild donkeys in the desert,
the poor go about their labor of foraging food;
the wasteland provides food for their children.

6 They gather fodder in the fields
and glean in the vineyards of the wicked.

7 Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.

8 They are drenched by mountain rains
and hug the rocks for lack of shelter.

9 The fatherless child is snatched from the breast;
the infant of the poor is seized for a debt.

10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked;
they carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.

11 They crush olives among the terraces [a] ;
they tread the winepresses, yet suffer thirst.

12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.
But God charges no one with wrongdoing.

13 “There are those who rebel against the light,
who do not know its ways
or stay in its paths.

14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up
and kills the poor and needy;
in the night he steals forth like a thief.

15 The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk;
he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’
and he keeps his face concealed.

16 In the dark, men break into houses,
but by day they shut themselves in;
they want nothing to do with the light.

17 For all of them, deep darkness is their morning [b] ;
they make friends with the terrors of darkness. [c]

18 “Yet they are foam on the surface of the water;
their portion of the land is cursed,
so that no one goes to the vineyards.

19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,
so the grave [d] snatches away those who have sinned.

20 The womb forgets them,
the worm feasts on them;
evil men are no longer remembered
but are broken like a tree.

21 They prey on the barren and childless woman,
and to the widow show no kindness.

22 But God drags away the mighty by his power;
though they become established, they have no assurance of life.

23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security,
but his eyes are on their ways.

24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;
they are brought low and gathered up like all others;
they are cut off like heads of grain.

25 “If this is not so, who can prove me false
and reduce my words to nothing?”

Job 23

1 Then Job replied:

2 “Even today my complaint is bitter;
his hand [a] is heavy in spite of [b] my groaning.

3 If only I knew where to find him;
if only I could go to his dwelling!

4 I would state my case before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.

5 I would find out what he would answer me,
and consider what he would say.

6 Would he oppose me with great power?
No, he would not press charges against me.

7 There an upright man could present his case before him,
and I would be delivered forever from my judge.

8 “But if I go to the east, he is not there;
if I go to the west, I do not find him.

9 When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;
when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.

10 But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

11 My feet have closely followed his steps;
I have kept to his way without turning aside.

12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.

13 “But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?
He does whatever he pleases.

14 He carries out his decree against me,
and many such plans he still has in store.

15 That is why I am terrified before him;
when I think of all this, I fear him.

16 God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me.

17 Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,
by the thick darkness that covers my face.

Job 22

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

2 “Can a man be of benefit to God?
Can even a wise man benefit him?

3 What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?
What would he gain if your ways were blameless?

4 “Is it for your piety that he rebukes you
and brings charges against you?

5 Is not your wickedness great?
Are not your sins endless?

6 You demanded security from your brothers for no reason;
you stripped men of their clothing, leaving them naked.

7 You gave no water to the weary
and you withheld food from the hungry,

8 though you were a powerful man, owning land—
an honored man, living on it.

9 And you sent widows away empty-handed
and broke the strength of the fatherless.

10 That is why snares are all around you,
why sudden peril terrifies you,

11 why it is so dark you cannot see,
and why a flood of water covers you.

12 “Is not God in the heights of heaven?
And see how lofty are the highest stars!

13 Yet you say, ‘What does God know?
Does he judge through such darkness?

14 Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us
as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.’

15 Will you keep to the old path
that evil men have trod?

16 They were carried off before their time,
their foundations washed away by a flood.

17 They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!
What can the Almighty do to us?’

18 Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,
so I stand aloof from the counsel of the wicked.

19 “The righteous see their ruin and rejoice;
the innocent mock them, saying,

20 ‘Surely our foes are destroyed,
and fire devours their wealth.’

21 “Submit to God and be at peace with him;
in this way prosperity will come to you.

22 Accept instruction from his mouth
and lay up his words in your heart.

23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored:
If you remove wickedness far from your tent

24 and assign your nuggets to the dust,
your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,

25 then the Almighty will be your gold,
the choicest silver for you.

26 Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty
and will lift up your face to God.

27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows.

28 What you decide on will be done,
and light will shine on your ways.

29 When men are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’
then he will save the downcast.

30 He will deliver even one who is not innocent,
who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”

Job 21

1 Then Job replied:

2 “Listen carefully to my words;
let this be the consolation you give me.

3 Bear with me while I speak,
and after I have spoken, mock on.

4 “Is my complaint directed to man?
Why should I not be impatient?

5 Look at me and be astonished;
clap your hand over your mouth.

6 When I think about this, I am terrified;
trembling seizes my body.

7 Why do the wicked live on,
growing old and increasing in power?

8 They see their children established around them,
their offspring before their eyes.

9 Their homes are safe and free from fear;
the rod of God is not upon them.

10 Their bulls never fail to breed;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.

11 They send forth their children as a flock;
their little ones dance about.

12 They sing to the music of tambourine and harp;
they make merry to the sound of the flute.

13 They spend their years in prosperity
and go down to the grave [a] in peace. [b]

14 Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!
We have no desire to know your ways.

15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
What would we gain by praying to him?’

16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands,
so I stand aloof from the counsel of the wicked.

17 “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?
How often does calamity come upon them,
the fate God allots in his anger?

18 How often are they like straw before the wind,
like chaff swept away by a gale?

19 It is said, ‘God stores up a man’s punishment for his sons.’
Let him repay the man himself, so that he will know it!

20 Let his own eyes see his destruction;
let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty. [c]

21 For what does he care about the family he leaves behind
when his allotted months come to an end?

22 “Can anyone teach knowledge to God,
since he judges even the highest?

23 One man dies in full vigor,
completely secure and at ease,

24 his body [d] well nourished,
his bones rich with marrow.

25 Another man dies in bitterness of soul,
never having enjoyed anything good.

26 Side by side they lie in the dust,
and worms cover them both.

27 “I know full well what you are thinking,
the schemes by which you would wrong me.

28 You say, ‘Where now is the great man’s house,
the tents where wicked men lived?’

29 Have you never questioned those who travel?
Have you paid no regard to their accounts-

30 that the evil man is spared from the day of calamity,
that he is delivered from [e] the day of wrath?

31 Who denounces his conduct to his face?
Who repays him for what he has done?

32 He is carried to the grave,
and watch is kept over his tomb.

33 The soil in the valley is sweet to him;
all men follow after him,
and a countless throng goes [f] before him.

34 “So how can you console me with your nonsense?
Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!”

Job 20

1 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

2 “My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer
because I am greatly disturbed.

3 I hear a rebuke that dishonors me,
and my understanding inspires me to reply.

4 “Surely you know how it has been from of old,
ever since man [a] was placed on the earth,

5 that the mirth of the wicked is brief,
the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.

6 Though his pride reaches to the heavens
and his head touches the clouds,

7 he will perish forever, like his own dung;
those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’

8 Like a dream he flies away, no more to be found,
banished like a vision of the night.

9 The eye that saw him will not see him again;
his place will look on him no more.

10 His children must make amends to the poor;
his own hands must give back his wealth.

11 The youthful vigor that fills his bones
will lie with him in the dust.

12 “Though evil is sweet in his mouth
and he hides it under his tongue,

13 though he cannot bear to let it go
and keeps it in his mouth,

14 yet his food will turn sour in his stomach;
it will become the venom of serpents within him.

15 He will spit out the riches he swallowed;
God will make his stomach vomit them up.

16 He will suck the poison of serpents;
the fangs of an adder will kill him.

17 He will not enjoy the streams,
the rivers flowing with honey and cream.

18 What he toiled for he must give back uneaten;
he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.

19 For he has oppressed the poor and left them destitute;
he has seized houses he did not build.

20 “Surely he will have no respite from his craving;
he cannot save himself by his treasure.

21 Nothing is left for him to devour;
his prosperity will not endure.

22 In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him;
the full force of misery will come upon him.

23 When he has filled his belly,
God will vent his burning anger against him
and rain down his blows upon him.

24 Though he flees from an iron weapon,
a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.

25 He pulls it out of his back,
the gleaming point out of his liver.
Terrors will come over him;

26 total darkness lies in wait for his treasures.
A fire unfanned will consume him
and devour what is left in his tent.

27 The heavens will expose his guilt;
the earth will rise up against him.

28 A flood will carry off his house,
rushing waters [b] on the day of God’s wrath.

29 Such is the fate God allots the wicked,
the heritage appointed for them by God.”

Job 19

1 Then Job replied:

2 “How long will you torment me
and crush me with words?

3 Ten times now you have reproached me;
shamelessly you attack me.

4 If it is true that I have gone astray,
my error remains my concern alone.

5 If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me
and use my humiliation against me,

6 then know that God has wronged me
and drawn his net around me.

7 “Though I cry, ‘I’ve been wronged!’ I get no response;
though I call for help, there is no justice.

8 He has blocked my way so I cannot pass;
he has shrouded my paths in darkness.

9 He has stripped me of my honor
and removed the crown from my head.

10 He tears me down on every side till I am gone;
he uproots my hope like a tree.

11 His anger burns against me;
he counts me among his enemies.

12 His troops advance in force;
they build a siege ramp against me
and encamp around my tent.

13 “He has alienated my brothers from me;
my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.

14 My kinsmen have gone away;
my friends have forgotten me.

15 My guests and my maidservants count me a stranger;
they look upon me as an alien.

16 I summon my servant, but he does not answer,
though I beg him with my own mouth.

17 My breath is offensive to my wife;
I am loathsome to my own brothers.

18 Even the little boys scorn me;
when I appear, they ridicule me.

19 All my intimate friends detest me;
those I love have turned against me.

20 I am nothing but skin and bones;
I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth. [a]

21 “Have pity on me, my friends, have pity,
for the hand of God has struck me.

22 Why do you pursue me as God does?
Will you never get enough of my flesh?

23 “Oh, that my words were recorded,
that they were written on a scroll,

24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool on [b] lead,
or engraved in rock forever!

25 I know that my Redeemer [c] lives,
and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. [d]

26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet [e] in [f] my flesh I will see God;

27 I myself will see him
with my own eyes—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!

28 “If you say, ‘How we will hound him,
since the root of the trouble lies in him, [g] ‘

29 you should fear the sword yourselves;
for wrath will bring punishment by the sword,
and then you will know that there is judgment.

Job 18

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

2 “When will you end these speeches?
Be sensible, and then we can talk.

3 Why are we regarded as cattle
and considered stupid in your sight?

4 You who tear yourself to pieces in your anger,
is the earth to be abandoned for your sake?
Or must the rocks be moved from their place?

5 “The lamp of the wicked is snuffed out;
the flame of his fire stops burning.

6 The light in his tent becomes dark;
the lamp beside him goes out.

7 The vigor of his step is weakened;
his own schemes throw him down.

8 His feet thrust him into a net
and he wanders into its mesh.

9 A trap seizes him by the heel;
a snare holds him fast.

10 A noose is hidden for him on the ground;
a trap lies in his path.

11 Terrors startle him on every side
and dog his every step.

12 Calamity is hungry for him;
disaster is ready for him when he falls.

13 It eats away parts of his skin;
death’s firstborn devours his limbs.

14 He is torn from the security of his tent
and marched off to the king of terrors.

15 Fire resides [a] in his tent;
burning sulfur is scattered over his dwelling.

16 His roots dry up below
and his branches wither above.

17 The memory of him perishes from the earth;
he has no name in the land.

18 He is driven from light into darkness
and is banished from the world.

19 He has no offspring or descendants among his people,
no survivor where once he lived.

20 Men of the west are appalled at his fate;
men of the east are seized with horror.

21 Surely such is the dwelling of an evil man;
such is the place of one who knows not God.”

Job 17

1 My spirit is broken,
my days are cut short,
the grave awaits me.

2 Surely mockers surround me;
my eyes must dwell on their hostility.

3 “Give me, O God, the pledge you demand.
Who else will put up security for me?

4 You have closed their minds to understanding;
therefore you will not let them triumph.

5 If a man denounces his friends for reward,
the eyes of his children will fail.

6 “God has made me a byword to everyone,
a man in whose face people spit.

7 My eyes have grown dim with grief;
my whole frame is but a shadow.

8 Upright men are appalled at this;
the innocent are aroused against the ungodly.

9 Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways,
and those with clean hands will grow stronger.

10 “But come on, all of you, try again!
I will not find a wise man among you.

11 My days have passed, my plans are shattered,
and so are the desires of my heart.

12 These men turn night into day;
in the face of darkness they say, ‘Light is near.’

13 If the only home I hope for is the grave, [a]
if I spread out my bed in darkness,

14 if I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’
and to the worm, ‘My mother’ or ‘My sister,’

15 where then is my hope?
Who can see any hope for me?

16 Will it go down to the gates of death [b] ?
Will we descend together into the dust?”

Job 16

1 Then Job replied:
2 “I have heard many things like these;
miserable comforters are you all!

3 Will your long-winded speeches never end?
What ails you that you keep on arguing?

4 I also could speak like you,
if you were in my place;
I could make fine speeches against you
and shake my head at you.

5 But my mouth would encourage you;
comfort from my lips would bring you relief.

6 “Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved;
and if I refrain, it does not go away.

7 Surely, O God, you have worn me out;
you have devastated my entire household.

8 You have bound me—and it has become a witness;
my gauntness rises up and testifies against me.

9 God assails me and tears me in his anger
and gnashes his teeth at me;
my opponent fastens on me his piercing eyes.

10 Men open their mouths to jeer at me;
they strike my cheek in scorn
and unite together against me.

11 God has turned me over to evil men
and thrown me into the clutches of the wicked.

12 All was well with me, but he shattered me;
he seized me by the neck and crushed me.
He has made me his target;

13 his archers surround me.
Without pity, he pierces my kidneys
and spills my gall on the ground.

14 Again and again he bursts upon me;
he rushes at me like a warrior.

15 “I have sewed sackcloth over my skin
and buried my brow in the dust.

16 My face is red with weeping,
deep shadows ring my eyes;

17 yet my hands have been free of violence
and my prayer is pure.

18 “O earth, do not cover my blood;
may my cry never be laid to rest!

19 Even now my witness is in heaven;
my advocate is on high.

20 My intercessor is my friend [a]
as my eyes pour out tears to God;

21 on behalf of a man he pleads with God
as a man pleads for his friend.

22 “Only a few years will pass
before I go on the journey of no return.