12TH CHAPTER

Job Speaks:

My Friends Have No Wisdom

1 Then Job replied ⸤to his friends⸥, 

2  “You certainly are ⸤wise⸥ people, 

and when you die, wisdom will die. 

3  Like you, I have a mind. 

I am not inferior to you. 

But who doesn’t know these things? 

4  I am a laughingstock to my neighbors. 

I am one who calls on God and expects an answer. 

A man of integrity, a man who is righteous, has become a laughingstock. 

5  “A person who has an easy life has no appreciation for misfortune. 

He thinks it is the fate of those who slip up. 

6  ⸤But⸥ robbers’ tents are prosperous, 

and there is security for those who provoke God, 

for those whose god is their power. 

7  “Instead, ask the animals, and they will teach you. 

Ask the birds, and they will tell you. 

8  Or speak with the earth, and it will teach you. 

Even the fish will relate ⸤the story⸥ to you. 

9  What creature doesn’t know that the Lord’s hands made it? 

10  The life of every living creature 

and the spirit in every human body are in his hands. 

11  Doesn’t the ear distinguish sounds 

and the tongue taste food? 

Wisdom Comes from God

12  “Wisdom is with the ancient one. 

The one who has had many days has insight.b

13  God has wisdom and strength. 

Advice and insight are his. 

14  When he tears ⸤something⸥ down, it cannot be rebuilt. 

When he puts someone in prison, that person cannot be freed. 

15  When he holds back the waters, there is a drought. 

When he releases them, they flood the earth. 

16  “God has power and priceless wisdom. 

He owns ⸤both⸥ the deceiver and the person who is deceived. 

17  He leads counselors away barefoot 

and makes fools out of judges. 

18  He loosens kings’ belts 

and strips them of their pants. 

19  He leads priests away barefoot 

and misleads those who serve in a temple. 

20  He makes trusted advisers unable to speak 

and takes away the good judgment of respected leaders. 

21  He pours contempt on influential people 

and unbuckles the belt of the mighty. 

22  He uncovers mysteries ⸤hidden⸥ in the darkness 

and brings gloom into the light. 

23  He makes nations important and then destroys them. 

He makes nations large and leads them away. 

24  He takes away the common sense of a country’s leaders 

and makes them stumble about in a pathless wilderness. 

25  They grope in the dark with no light, 

and he makes them stumble like drunks. 

13TH CHAPTER

Job Continues: You Are Not Listening to Me

1  “My eye has certainly seen all of this! 

My ear has heard and understood it. 

2  After all, I know it as well as you do. 

I am not inferior to you. 

3  However, I want to speak to the Almighty, 

and I wish to argue my case in front of God. 

4  But you are smearing me with lies. 

All of you are worthless physicians. 

5  I wish you would keep silent. 

For you, that would be wisdom. 

6  Please listen to my argument, 

and pay attention to my plea. 

Your Wisdom Misrepresents God

7  “Will you talk wickedly for God 

and talk deceitfully on his behalf? 

8  Will you favor him 

⸤as⸥ if you were arguing in court on God’s behalf? 

9  Will it go well when he cross-examines you? 

Will you try to trick him as one mortal tricks another? 

10  Will he really defend you 

if you secretly favor ⸤him⸥? 

11  Doesn’t his majesty terrify you? 

Doesn’t the fear of him fall upon you? 

12  “Your recollections are worthless proverbs.a

Your answers are absolutely useless.b

13  Be quiet, because I want to speak. 

Let whatever may happen to me ⸤happen⸥! 

14  I am biting off more than I can chew 

and taking my life in my own hands. 

15  If God would kill me, I would have no hope ⸤left⸥.c

Nevertheless, I will defend my behavior to his face. 

16  This also will be my salvation 

because no godless person could face him. 

Job Speaks to God

17  “Listen carefully to my words. 

Hear my declaration. 

18  I have prepared my case. 

I know that I will be declared righteous. 

19  Who can make a case against me? 

If someone could, I’d be silent and die. 

20  “Please don’t do two things to me 

so that I won’t have to hide from you: 

21  Stop oppressing me. 

Don’t let your terror frighten me. 

22  Then call, and I’ll answer. 

Otherwise, I’ll speak, and you’ll answer me. 

23  How many crimes and sins have I committed? 

Make me aware of my disobedience and my sin. 

24  Why do you hide your face ⸤from me⸥ and consider me your enemy? 

25  Are you trying to make a fluttering leaf tremble 

or trying to chase dry husks? 

26  You write down bitter accusations against me. 

You make me suffer for the sins of my youth. 

27  You put my feet in shackles. 

You follow my trail by engraving marks on the soles of my feet. 

28  I am like worn-out wineskins, 

like moth-eaten clothes. 

14TH CHAPTER

Job Continues: Consider My Frail Human Nature, God

1  “A person who is born of a woman is short-lived 

and is full of trouble. 

2  He comes up like a flower; then he withers. 

He is like a fleeting shadow; he doesn’t stay long. 

3  You observe this 

and call me to account to you. 

4  “If only an unclean person could become clean!a

It’s not possible. 

5  If the number of his days 

and the number of his months are determined by you, 

and you set his limit, 

then he cannot go past it. 

6  Look away from him, and he will cease to be. 

Meanwhile, he loves life as a laborer loves work. 

7  There is hope for a tree when it is cut down. 

It will sprout again. 

Its shoots will not stop sprouting. 

8  If its roots grow old in the ground 

and its stump dies in the soil, 

9  merely a scent of water will make it sprout 

and grow branches like a plant. 

10  But a human dies and is powerless. 

A person breathes his last breath, and where is he? 

11  ⸤As⸥ water drains out of a lake, 

or ⸤as⸥ a river dries up completely, 

12  so each person lies down 

and does not rise until the heavens cease to exist. 

He does not wake up. 

He is not awakened from his sleep. 

13  I wish you would hide me in Sheol 

and keep me hidden there until your anger cools. 

Set a specific time for me when you will remember me. 

14  “If a person dies, will he go on living? 

I will wait for my relief to come 

as long as my hard labor continues. 

15  You will call, and I will answer you. 

You will long for the person your hands have made. 

16  Though now you count my steps, 

you will not keep ⸤a record of⸥ my sins. 

17  My disobedience will be closed up in a bag, 

and you will cover over my sins. 

18  As surely as a mountain falls 

and rocks are dislodged, 

19  ⸤so⸥ water wears away stone, 

floods wash away soil from the land, 

and you destroy a mortal’s hope. 

20  You overpower him forever, and he passes away. 

You change his appearance and send him away. 

21  His sons are honored, and he doesn’t know it. 

Or they become unimportant, and he doesn’t realize it. 

22  He feels only his body’s pain. 

He is only worried about himself.” 

15TH CHAPTER

Eliphaz Speaks:

You Are Speaking Sinfully, Job

1 Then Eliphaz from Teman replied ⸤to Job⸥, 

2  “Should a wise person answer with endless details 

and fill his stomach with the east wind? 

3  Should he argue with words that don’t help, 

with speeches that don’t help ⸤anyone⸥? 

4  Yes, you destroy the fear ⸤of God⸥ 

and diminish devotion to God. 

5  Your sin teaches you what to say. 

You choose ⸤to talk with⸥ a sly tongue. 

6  Your ⸤own⸥ mouth condemns you, not I. 

Your lips testify against you. 

You Are Not the Only Wise Person, Job

7  “Were you the first human to be born? 

Were you delivered before the hills ⸤existed⸥? 

8  Did you listen in on God’s council meeting 

and receive a monopoly on wisdom? 

9  What do you know that we don’t know? 

What do you understand that we don’t? 

10  Both the old and the gray-haired are among us. 

They are older than your father. 

11  Isn’t God’s comfort enough for you, 

even when gently spoken to you? 

12  Why have your emotions carried you away? 

Why do your eyes flash 

13  when you turn against God 

and spit these words out of your mouth? 

14  Why should a mortal be considered faultless 

or someone born of a woman be considered righteous? 

15  If God doesn’t trust his holy ones, 

and the heavens are not pure in his sight, 

16  how much less will he trust the one who is disgusting and corrupt, 

the one who drinks wickedness like water. 

I Want to Tell You What I Know

17  “I’ll tell you; listen to me! 

I’ll relate what I have seen. 

18  I’ll tell you what wise people have declared 

and what was not kept secret from their ancestors. 

19  (The land was given to them alone, 

and no stranger passed through their land.) 

The Tortured Life of the Wicked Person

20  “The wicked person is tortured all his days. 

Only a few years are reserved for the ruthless person. 

21  Terrifying sounds are in his ears. 

While he enjoys peace, the destroyer comes to him. 

22  He doesn’t believe he’ll return from the dark. 

He is destined ⸤to be killed⸥ with a sword. 

23  He wanders around for food and asks, ‘Where is it?’a

He knows that his ruin is close at hand. 

24  “The day of darknessb troubles him. 

Distress and anguish terrify him 

like a king ready for battle. 

25  He stretches out his hand against God 

and attacks the Almighty like a warrior. 

26  He stubbornly charges at him with a thick shield. 

27  “His face is bloated with fat, 

and he is fat around the waist. 

28  He lives in ruined cities 

where no one dwells, 

in houses that are doomed to be piles of rubble. 

29  He won’t get rich, 

and his wealth won’t last. 

His possessions won’t spread out over the land. 

30  “He won’t escape the darkness. 

A flame will shrivel his branches. 

He will be blown away by his own breath. 

31  He shouldn’t trust in worthless things and deceive himself 

because he will get worthless things in return. 

32  It will happen before his time has come, 

and his branch will not become green. 

33  He will drop his unripened grapes like a vine 

and throw off his blossoms like an olive tree 

34  because a mob of godless people produces nothing, 

and fire burns up the tents of those who offer bribes.c

35  They conceive trouble and give birth to evil. 

Their wombs produce deception.” 

16TH CHAPTER

Job Speaks:

My Friends Do Not Help Ease My Pain

1 Then Job replied ⸤to his friends⸥, 

2  “I have heard many things like this before. 

You are all pathetic at comforting me. 

3  Will ⸤your⸥ long-winded speeches never end? 

What disturbs you that you keep on answering ⸤me⸥? 

4  I, too, could speak like you 

if we could trade places. 

I could string words together against you 

and shake my head at you. 

5  I could encourage you with my mouth, 

and my quivering lips could ease ⸤your pain⸥. 

6  If I speak, my pain is not eased. 

If I stop talking, how much of it will go away? 

7  “But now, God has worn me out. 

You, ⸤God,⸥ have destroyed everyone who supports me. 

8  You have shriveled me up, which itself is a witness ⸤against me⸥. 

My frail body rises up and testifies against me. 

Job Describes What God Has Done to Him

9  “God’s anger tore me ⸤apart⸥ and attacked me. 

He gritted his teeth at me. 

My opponent looked sharply at me. 

10  People ridiculed me with their mouths. 

They slapped my cheeks with contempt. 

They united against me. 

11  God handed me over to unjust people 

and threw me into the hands of wicked people. 

12  I was at ease, and he shattered me. 

He grabbed me by the back of the neck and smashed ⸤my skull⸥. 

He set me up as his target, 

13  and his archers surrounded me. 

He slashes open my kidneys without mercy 

and spills my blooda on the ground. 

14  He inflicts wound after wound on me. 

He lunges at me like a warrior. 

15  “I have sewn sackcloth over my skin, 

and I have thrown my strength in the dust. 

16  My face is red from crying, 

and dark shadows encircle my eyes, 

17  although my hands have done nothing violent, 

and my prayer is sincere. 

Job Appeals His Case to Heaven

18  “Earth, don’t cover my blood. 

Don’t ever let my cry ⸤for justice⸥ be stopped. 

19  Even now, look! My witness is in heaven, 

and the one who testifies for me is above, 

20  the spokesman for my thoughts.b

My eyes drip ⸤with tears⸥ to God 

22  because in a few short years I will take the path of no return.c

21  But my witness will plead for a human in front of God. 

The Son of Man will plead for his friend!