Information Retrieved -> Job 1 - 42(NLT)

Book Chapter Verse Text
Job 1 1 There was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless, a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil.
Job 1 2 He had seven sons and three daughters.
Job 1 3 He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred teams of oxen, and five hundred female donkeys, and he employed many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area.
Job 1 4 Every year when Job's sons had birthdays, they invited their brothers and sisters to join them for a celebration. On these occasions they would get together to eat and drink.
Job 1 5 When these celebrations ended--and sometimes they lasted several days--Job would purify his children. He would get up early in the morning and offer a burnt offering for each of them. For Job said to himself, "Perhaps my children have sinned and have cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's regular practice.
Job 1 6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan the Accuser came with them.
Job 1 7 "Where have you come from?" the LORD asked Satan. And Satan answered the LORD, "I have been going back and forth across the earth, watching everything that's going on."
Job 1 8 Then the LORD asked Satan, "Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth--a man of complete integrity. He fears God and will have nothing to do with evil."
Job 1 9 Satan replied to the LORD, "Yes, Job fears God, but not without good reason!
Job 1 10 You have always protected him and his home and his property from harm. You have made him prosperous in everything he does. Look how rich he is!
Job 1 11 But take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!"
Job 1 12 "All right, you may test him," the LORD said to Satan. "Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don't harm him physically." So Satan left the LORD's presence.
Job 1 13 One day when Job's sons and daughters were dining at the oldest brother's house,
Job 1 14 a messenger arrived at Job's home with this news: "Your oxen were plowing, with the donkeys feeding beside them,
Job 1 15 when the Sabeans raided us. They stole all the animals and killed all the farmhands. I am the only one who escaped to tell you."
Job 1 16 While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: "The fire of God has fallen from heaven and burned up your sheep and all the shepherds. I am the only one who escaped to tell you."
Job 1 17 While he was still speaking, a third messenger arrived with this news: "Three bands of Chaldean raiders have stolen your camels and killed your servants. I am the only one who escaped to tell you."
Job 1 18 While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: "Your sons and daughters were feasting in their oldest brother's home.
Job 1 19 Suddenly, a powerful wind swept in from the desert and hit the house on all sides. The house collapsed, and all your children are dead. I am the only one who escaped to tell you."
Job 1 20 Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground before God.
Job 1 21 He said, "I came naked from my mother's womb, and I will be stripped of everything when I die. The LORD gave me everything I had, and the LORD has taken it away. Praise the name of the LORD!"
Job 1 22 In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.
Job 2 1 One day the angels came again to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan the Accuser came with them.
Job 2 2 "Where have you come from?" the LORD asked Satan. And Satan answered the LORD, "I have been going back and forth across the earth, watching everything that's going on."
Job 2 3 Then the LORD asked Satan, "Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth--a man of complete integrity. He fears God and will have nothing to do with evil. And he has maintained his integrity, even though you persuaded me to harm him without cause."
Job 2 4 Satan replied to the LORD, "Skin for skin--he blesses you only because you bless him. A man will give up everything he has to save his life.
Job 2 5 But take away his health, and he will surely curse you to your face!"
Job 2 6 "All right, do with him as you please," the LORD said to Satan. "But spare his life."
Job 2 7 So Satan left the LORD's presence, and he struck Job with a terrible case of boils from head to foot.
Job 2 8 Then Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes.
Job 2 9 His wife said to him, "Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die."
Job 2 10 But Job replied, "You talk like a godless woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?" So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.
Job 2 11 Three of Job's friends were Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. When they heard of the tragedy he had suffered, they got together and traveled from their homes to comfort and console him.
Job 2 12 When they saw Job from a distance, they scarcely recognized him. Wailing loudly, they tore their robes and threw dust into the air over their heads to demonstrate their grief.
Job 2 13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. And no one said a word, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words.
Job 3 1 At last Job spoke, and he cursed the day of his birth.
Job 3 2 He said:
Job 3 3 "Cursed be the day of my birth, and cursed be the night when I was conceived.
Job 3 4 Let that day be turned to darkness. Let it be lost even to God on high, and let it be shrouded in darkness.
Job 3 5 Yes, let the darkness and utter gloom claim it for its own. Let a black cloud overshadow it, and let the darkness terrify it.
Job 3 6 Let that night be blotted off the calendar, never again to be counted among the days of the year, never again to appear among the months.
Job 3 7 Let that night be barren. Let it have no joy.
Job 3 8 Let those who are experts at cursing--those who are ready to rouse the sea monster--curse that day.
Job 3 9 Let its morning stars remain dark. Let it hope for light, but in vain; may it never see the morning light.
Job 3 10 Curse it for its failure to shut my mother's womb, for letting me be born to all this trouble.
Job 3 11 "Why didn't I die at birth as I came from the womb?
Job 3 12 Why did my mother let me live? Why did she nurse me at her breasts?
Job 3 13 For if I had died at birth, I would be at peace now, asleep and at rest.
Job 3 14 I would rest with the world's kings and prime ministers, famous for their great construction projects.
Job 3 15 I would rest with wealthy princes whose palaces were filled with gold and silver.
Job 3 16 Why was I not buried like a stillborn child, like a baby who never lives to see the light?
Job 3 17 For in death the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest.
Job 3 18 Even prisoners are at ease in death, with no guards to curse them.
Job 3 19 Rich and poor are there alike, and the slave is free from his master.
Job 3 20 "Oh, why should light be given to the weary, and life to those in misery?
Job 3 21 They long for death, and it won't come. They search for death more eagerly than for hidden treasure.
Job 3 22 It is a blessed relief when they finally die, when they find the grave.
Job 3 23 Why is life given to those with no future, those destined by God to live in distress?
Job 3 24 I cannot eat for sighing; my groans pour out like water.
Job 3 25 What I always feared has happened to me. What I dreaded has come to be.
Job 3 26 I have no peace, no quietness. I have no rest; instead, only trouble comes."
Job 4 1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied to Job:
Job 4 2 "Will you be patient and let me say a word? For who could keep from speaking out?
Job 4 3 "In the past you have encouraged many a troubled soul to trust in God; you have supported those who were weak.
Job 4 4 Your words have strengthened the fallen; you steadied those who wavered.
Job 4 5 But now when trouble strikes, you faint and are broken.
Job 4 6 Does your reverence for God give you no confidence? Shouldn't you believe that God will care for those who are upright?
Job 4 7 "Stop and think! Does the innocent person perish? When has the upright person been destroyed?
Job 4 8 My experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate evil will harvest the same.
Job 4 9 They perish by a breath from God. They vanish in a blast of his anger.
Job 4 10 Though they are fierce young lions, they will all be broken and destroyed.
Job 4 11 The fierce lion will starve, and the cubs of the lioness will be scattered.
Job 4 12 "This truth was given me in secret, as though whispered in my ear.
Job 4 13 It came in a vision at night as others slept.
Job 4 14 Fear gripped me; I trembled and shook with terror.
Job 4 15 A spirit swept past my face. Its wind sent shivers up my spine.
Job 4 16 It stopped, but I couldn't see its shape. There was a form before my eyes, and a hushed voice said,
Job 4 17 `Can a mortal be just and upright before God? Can a person be pure before the Creator?'
Job 4 18 "If God cannot trust his own angels and has charged some of them with folly,
Job 4 19 how much less will he trust those made of clay! Their foundation is dust, and they are crushed as easily as moths.
Job 4 20 They are alive in the morning, but by evening they are dead, gone forever without a trace.
Job 4 21 Their tent collapses; they die in ignorance.
Job 5 1 "You may cry for help, but no one listens. You may turn to the angels, but they give you no help.
Job 5 2 Surely resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple.
Job 5 3 From my experience, I know that fools who turn from God may be successful for the moment, but then comes sudden disaster.
Job 5 4 Their children are abandoned far from help, with no one to defend them.
Job 5 5 Their harvests are stolen, and their wealth satisfies the thirst of many others, not themselves!
Job 5 6 But evil does not spring from the soil, and trouble does not sprout from the earth.
Job 5 7 People are born for trouble as predictably as sparks fly upward from a fire.
Job 5 8 "My advice to you is this: Go to God and present your case to him.
Job 5 9 For he does great works too marvelous to understand. He performs miracles without number.
Job 5 10 He gives rain for the earth. He sends water for the fields.
Job 5 11 He gives prosperity to the poor and humble, and he takes sufferers to safety.
Job 5 12 He frustrates the plans of the crafty, so their efforts will not succeed.
Job 5 13 He catches those who think they are wise in their own cleverness, so that their cunning schemes are thwarted.
Job 5 14 They grope in the daylight as though they were blind; they see no better in the daytime than at night.
Job 5 15 He rescues the poor from the cutting words of the strong. He saves them from the clutches of the powerful.
Job 5 16 And so at last the poor have hope, and the fangs of the wicked are broken.
Job 5 17 "But consider the joy of those corrected by God! Do not despise the chastening of the Almighty when you sin.
Job 5 18 For though he wounds, he also bandages. He strikes, but his hands also heal.
Job 5 19 He will rescue you again and again so that no evil can touch you.
Job 5 20 He will save you from death in time of famine, from the power of the sword in time of war.
Job 5 21 You will be safe from slander and will have no fear of destruction when it comes.
Job 5 22 You will laugh at destruction and famine; wild animals will not terrify you.
Job 5 23 You will be at peace with the stones of the field, and its wild animals will be at peace with you.
Job 5 24 You will know that your home is kept safe. When you visit your pastures, nothing will be missing.
Job 5 25 Your children will be many; your descendants will be as plentiful as grass!
Job 5 26 You will live to a good old age. You will not be harvested until the proper time!
Job 5 27 "We have found from experience that all this is true. Listen to my counsel, and apply it to yourself."
Job 6 1 Then Job spoke again:
Job 6 2 "If my sadness could be weighed and my troubles be put on the scales,
Job 6 3 they would be heavier than all the sands of the sea. That is why I spoke so rashly.
Job 6 4 For the Almighty has struck me down with his arrows. He has sent his poisoned arrows deep within my spirit. All God's terrors are arrayed against me.
Job 6 5 Don't I have a right to complain? Wild donkeys bray when they find no green grass, and oxen low when they have no food.
Job 6 6 People complain when there is no salt in their food. And how tasteless is the uncooked white of an egg!
Job 6 7 My appetite disappears when I look at it; I gag at the thought of eating it!
Job 6 8 "Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant my hope.
Job 6 9 I wish he would crush me. I wish he would reach out his hand and kill me.
Job 6 10 At least I can take comfort in this: Despite the pain, I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
Job 6 11 But I do not have the strength to endure. I do not have a goal that encourages me to carry on.
Job 6 12 Do I have strength as hard as stone? Is my body made of bronze?
Job 6 13 No, I am utterly helpless, without any chance of success.
Job 6 14 "One should be kind to a fainting friend, but you have accused me without the slightest fear of the Almighty.
Job 6 15 My brother, you have proved as unreliable as a seasonal brook that overflows its banks in the spring
Job 6 16 when it is swollen with ice and melting snow.
Job 6 17 But when the hot weather arrives, the water disappears. The brook vanishes in the heat.
Job 6 18 The caravans turn aside to be refreshed, but there is nothing there to drink, and so they perish in the desert.
Job 6 19 With high hopes, the caravans from Tema and from Sheba stop for water,
Job 6 20 but finding none, their hopes are dashed.
Job 6 21 You, too, have proved to be of no help. You have seen my calamity, and you are afraid.
Job 6 22 But why? Have I ever asked you for a gift? Have I begged you to use any of your wealth on my behalf?
Job 6 23 Have I ever asked you to rescue me from my enemies? Have I asked you to save me from ruthless people?
Job 6 24 "All I want is a reasonable answer--then I will keep quiet. Tell me, what have I done wrong?
Job 6 25 Honest words are painful, but what do your criticisms amount to?
Job 6 26 Do you think your words are convincing when you disregard my cry of desperation?
Job 6 27 You would even send an orphan into slavery or sell a friend.
Job 6 28 Look at me! Would I lie to your face?
Job 6 29 Stop assuming my guilt, for I am righteous. Don't be so unjust.
Job 6 30 Do you think I am lying? Don't I know the difference between right and wrong?
Job 7 1 "Is this not the struggle of all humanity? A person's life is long and hard, like that of a hired hand,
Job 7 2 like a worker who longs for the day to end, like a servant waiting to be paid.
Job 7 3 I, too, have been assigned months of futility, long and weary nights of misery.
Job 7 4 When I go to bed, I think, `When will it be morning?' But the night drags on, and I toss till dawn.
Job 7 5 My skin is filled with worms and scabs. My flesh breaks open, full of pus.
Job 7 6 "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle flying back and forth. They end without hope.
Job 7 7 O God, remember that my life is but a breath, and I will never again experience pleasure.
Job 7 8 You see me now, but not for long. Your eyes will be on me, but I will be dead.
Job 7 9 Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes, those who die will not come back.
Job 7 10 They are gone forever from their home--never to be seen again.
Job 7 11 "I cannot keep from speaking. I must express my anguish. I must complain in my bitterness.
Job 7 12 Am I a sea monster that you place a guard on me?
Job 7 13 If I think, `My bed will comfort me, and I will try to forget my misery with sleep,'
Job 7 14 you shatter me with dreams. You terrify me with visions.
Job 7 15 I would rather die of strangulation than go on and on like this.
Job 7 16 I hate my life. I do not want to go on living. Oh, leave me alone for these few remaining days.
Job 7 17 "What are mere mortals, that you should make so much of us?
Job 7 18 For you examine us every morning and test us every moment.
Job 7 19 Why won't you leave me alone--even for a moment?
Job 7 20 Have I sinned? What have I done to you, O watcher of all humanity? Why have you made me your target? Am I a burden to you?
Job 7 21 Why not just pardon my sin and take away my guilt? For soon I will lie down in the dust and die. When you look for me, I will be gone."
Job 8 1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied to Job:
Job 8 2 "How long will you go on like this? Your words are a blustering wind.
Job 8 3 Does God twist justice? Does the Almighty twist what is right?
Job 8 4 Your children obviously sinned against him, so their punishment was well deserved.
Job 8 5 But if you pray to God and seek the favor of the Almighty,
Job 8 6 if you are pure and live with complete integrity, he will rise up and restore your happy home.
Job 8 7 And though you started with little, you will end with much.
Job 8 8 "Just ask the former generation. Pay attention to the experience of our ancestors.
Job 8 9 For we were born but yesterday and know so little. Our days on earth are as transient as a shadow.
Job 8 10 But those who came before us will teach you. They will teach you from the wisdom of former generations.
Job 8 11 "Can papyrus reeds grow where there is no marsh? Can bulrushes flourish where there is no water?
Job 8 12 While they are still flowering, not ready to be cut, they begin to wither.
Job 8 13 Such is the fate of all who forget God. The hope of the godless comes to nothing.
Job 8 14 Everything they count on will collapse. They are leaning on a spiderweb.
Job 8 15 They cling to their home for security, but it won't last. They try to hold it fast, but it will not endure.
Job 8 16 The godless seem so strong, like a lush plant growing in the sunshine, its branches spreading across the garden.
Job 8 17 Its roots grow down through a pile of rocks to hold it firm.
Job 8 18 But when it is uprooted, it isn't even missed!
Job 8 19 That is the end of its life, and others spring up from the earth to replace it.
Job 8 20 "But look! God will not reject a person of integrity, nor will he make evildoers prosper.
Job 8 21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.
Job 8 22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be destroyed."
Job 9 1 Then Job spoke again:
Job 9 2 "Yes, I know this is all true in principle. But how can a person be declared innocent in the eyes of God?
Job 9 3 If someone wanted to take God to court, would it be possible to answer him even once in a thousand times?
Job 9 4 For God is so wise and so mighty. Who has ever challenged him successfully?
Job 9 5 "Without warning, he moves the mountains, overturning them in his anger.
Job 9 6 He shakes the earth from its place, and its foundations tremble.
Job 9 7 If he commands it, the sun won't rise and the stars won't shine.
Job 9 8 He alone has spread out the heavens and marches on the waves of the sea.
Job 9 9 He made all the stars--the Bear, Orion, the Pleiades, and the constellations of the southern sky.
Job 9 10 His great works are too marvelous to understand. He performs miracles without number.
Job 9 11 "Yet when he comes near, I cannot see him. When he moves on, I do not see him go.
Job 9 12 If he sends death to snatch someone away, who can stop him? Who dares to ask him, `What are you doing?'
Job 9 13 And God does not restrain his anger. The mightiest forces against him are crushed beneath his feet.
Job 9 14 "And who am I, that I should try to answer God or even reason with him?
Job 9 15 Even if I were innocent, I would have no defense. I could only plead for mercy.
Job 9 16 And even if I summoned him and he responded, he would never listen to me.
Job 9 17 For he attacks me without reason, and he multiplies my wounds without cause.
Job 9 18 He will not let me catch my breath, but fills me instead with bitter sorrows.
Job 9 19 As for strength, he has it. As for justice, who can challenge him?
Job 9 20 Though I am innocent, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty. Though I am blameless, it would prove me wicked.
Job 9 21 "I am innocent, but it makes no difference to me--I despise my life.
Job 9 22 Innocent or wicked, it is all the same to him. That is why I say, `He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.'
Job 9 23 He laughs when a plague suddenly kills the innocent.
Job 9 24 The whole earth is in the hands of the wicked, and God blinds the eyes of the judges and lets them be unfair. If not he, then who?
Job 9 25 "My life passes more swiftly than a runner. It flees away, filled with tragedy.
Job 9 26 It disappears like a swift boat, like an eagle that swoops down on its prey.
Job 9 27 If I decided to forget my complaints, if I decided to end my sadness and be cheerful,
Job 9 28 I would dread all the pain he would send. For I know you will not hold me innocent, O God.
Job 9 29 Whatever happens, I will be found guilty. So what's the use of trying?
Job 9 30 Even if I were to wash myself with soap and cleanse my hands with lye to make them absolutely clean,
Job 9 31 you would plunge me into a muddy ditch, and I would be so filthy my own clothing would hate me.
Job 9 32 "God is not a mortal like me, so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial.
Job 9 33 If only there were a mediator who could bring us together, but there is none.
Job 9 34 The mediator could make God stop beating me, and I would no longer live in terror of his punishment.
Job 9 35 Then I could speak to him without fear, but I cannot do that in my own strength.
Job 10 1 "I am disgusted with my life. Let me complain freely. I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
Job 10 2 I will say to God, `Don't simply condemn me--tell me the charge you are bringing against me.
Job 10 3 What do you gain by oppressing me? Why do you reject me, the work of your own hands, while sending joy and prosperity to the wicked?
Job 10 4 Are your eyes only those of a human? Do you see things as people see them?
Job 10 5 Is your lifetime merely human? Is your life so short
Job 10 6 that you are in a hurry to probe for my guilt, to search for my sin?
Job 10 7 Although you know I am not guilty, no one can rescue me from your power.
Job 10 8 " `You formed me with your hands; you made me, and yet you completely destroy me.
Job 10 9 Remember that I am made of dust--will you turn me back to dust so soon?
Job 10 10 You guided my conception and formed me in the womb.
Job 10 11 You clothed me with skin and flesh, and you knit my bones and sinews together.
Job 10 12 You gave me life and showed me your unfailing love. My life was preserved by your care.
Job 10 13 " `Yet your real motive--I know this was your intent--
Job 10 14 was to watch me, and if I sinned, you would not forgive my iniquity.
Job 10 15 If I am guilty, too bad for me. And even if I'm innocent, I am filled with shame and misery so that I can't hold my head high.
Job 10 16 And if I hold my head high, you hunt me like a lion and display your awesome power against me.
Job 10 17 Again and again you witness against me. You pour out an ever-increasing volume of anger upon me and bring fresh armies against me.
Job 10 18 " `Why, then, did you bring me out of my mother's womb? Why didn't you let me die at birth?
Job 10 19 Then I would have been spared this miserable existence. I would have gone directly from the womb to the grave.
Job 10 20 I have only a little time left, so leave me alone--that I may have a little moment of comfort
Job 10 21 before I leave for the land of darkness and utter gloom, never to return.
Job 10 22 It is a land as dark as midnight, a land of utter gloom where confusion reigns and the light is as dark as midnight.'"
Job 11 1 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied to Job:
Job 11 2 "Shouldn't someone answer this torrent of words? Is a person proved innocent just by talking a lot?
Job 11 3 Should I remain silent while you babble on? When you mock God, shouldn't someone make you ashamed?
Job 11 4 You claim, `My teaching is pure,' and `I am clean in the sight of God.'
Job 11 5 If only God would speak; if only he would tell you what he thinks!
Job 11 6 If only he would tell you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom is not a simple matter. Listen! God is doubtless punishing you far less than you deserve!
Job 11 7 "Can you solve the mysteries of God? Can you discover everything there is to know about the Almighty?
Job 11 8 Such knowledge is higher than the heavens--but who are you? It is deeper than the underworld--what can you know in comparison to him?
Job 11 9 It is broader than the earth and wider than the sea.
Job 11 10 If God comes along and puts a person in prison, or if he calls the court to order, who is going to stop him?
Job 11 11 For he knows those who are false, and he takes note of all their sins.
Job 11 12 An empty-headed person won't become wise any more than a wild donkey can bear human offspring!
Job 11 13 "If only you would prepare your heart and lift up your hands to him in prayer!
Job 11 14 Get rid of your sins and leave all iniquity behind you.
Job 11 15 Then your face will brighten in innocence. You will be strong and free of fear.
Job 11 16 You will forget your misery. It will all be gone like water under the bridge.
Job 11 17 Your life will be brighter than the noonday. Any darkness will be as bright as morning.
Job 11 18 You will have courage because you will have hope. You will be protected and will rest in safety.
Job 11 19 You will lie down unafraid, and many will look to you for help.
Job 11 20 But the wicked will lose hope. They have no escape. Their hope becomes despair."
Job 12 1 Then Job spoke again:
Job 12 2 "You really know everything, don't you? And when you die, wisdom will die with you!
Job 12 3 Well, I know a few things myself--and you're no better than I am. Who doesn't know these things you've been saying?
Job 12 4 Yet my friends laugh at me. I am a man who calls on God and receives an answer. I am a just and blameless man, yet they laugh at me.
Job 12 5 People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling.
Job 12 6 But even robbers are left in peace, and those who provoke God--and God has them in his power--live in safety!
Job 12 7 "Ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.
Job 12 8 Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish of the sea speak to you.
Job 12 9 They all know that the LORD has done this.
Job 12 10 For the life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of all humanity.
Job 12 11 Just as the mouth tastes good food, so the ear tests the words it hears.
Job 12 12 Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to those who have lived many years.
Job 12 13 "But true wisdom and power are with God; counsel and understanding are his.
Job 12 14 What he destroys cannot be rebuilt. When he closes in on someone, there is no escape.
Job 12 15 If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert. If he releases the waters, they flood the earth.
Job 12 16 "Yes, strength and wisdom are with him; deceivers and deceived are both in his power.
Job 12 17 He leads counselors away stripped of good judgment; he drives judges to madness.
Job 12 18 He removes the royal robe of kings. With ropes around their waist, they are led away.
Job 12 19 He leads priests away stripped of status; he overthrows the mighty.
Job 12 20 He silences the trusted adviser, and he removes the insight of the elders.
Job 12 21 He pours disgrace upon princes and confiscates weapons from the strong.
Job 12 22 "He floods the darkness with light; he brings light to the deepest gloom.
Job 12 23 He raises up nations, and he destroys them. He makes nations expand, and he abandons them.
Job 12 24 He takes away the understanding of kings, and he leaves them wandering in a wasteland without a path.
Job 12 25 They grope in the darkness without a light. He makes them stagger like drunkards.
Job 13 1 "Look, I have seen many instances such as you describe. I understand what you are saying.
Job 13 2 I know as much as you do. You are no better than I am.
Job 13 3 Oh, how I long to speak directly to the Almighty. I want to argue my case with God himself.
Job 13 4 For you are smearing me with lies. As doctors, you are worthless quacks.
Job 13 5 Please be quiet! That's the smartest thing you could do.
Job 13 6 Listen to my charge; pay attention to my arguments.
Job 13 7 "Are you defending God by means of lies and dishonest arguments?
Job 13 8 You should be impartial witnesses, but will you slant your testimony in his favor? Will you argue God's case for him?
Job 13 9 Be careful that he doesn't find out what you are doing! Or do you think you can fool him as easily as you fool people?
Job 13 10 No, you will be in serious trouble with him if even in your hearts you slant your testimony in his favor.
Job 13 11 Doesn't his majesty strike terror into your heart? Does not your fear of him seize you?
Job 13 12 Your statements have about as much value as ashes. Your defense is as fragile as a clay pot.
Job 13 13 "Be silent now and leave me alone. Let me speak--and I will face the consequences.
Job 13 14 Yes, I will take my life in my hands and say what I really think.
Job 13 15 God might kill me, but I cannot wait. I am going to argue my case with him.
Job 13 16 But this is what will save me: that I am not godless. If I were, I would be thrown from his presence.
Job 13 17 "Listen closely to what I am about to say. Hear me out.
Job 13 18 I have prepared my case; I will be proved innocent.
Job 13 19 Who can argue with me over this? If you could prove me wrong, I would remain silent until I die.
Job 13 20 "O God, there are two things I beg of you, and I will be able to face you.
Job 13 21 Remove your hand from me, and don't terrify me with your awesome presence.
Job 13 22 Now summon me, and I will answer! Or let me speak to you, and you reply.
Job 13 23 Tell me, what have I done wrong? Show me my rebellion and my sin.
Job 13 24 Why do you turn away from me? Why do you consider me your enemy?
Job 13 25 Would you terrify a leaf that is blown by the wind? Would you chase a dry stalk of grass?
Job 13 26 "You write bitter accusations against me and bring up all the sins of my youth.
Job 13 27 You put my feet in stocks. You watch all my paths. You trace all my footprints.
Job 13 28 I waste away like rotting wood, like a moth-eaten coat.
Job 14 1 "How frail is humanity! How short is life, and how full of trouble!
Job 14 2 Like a flower, we blossom for a moment and then wither. Like the shadow of a passing cloud, we quickly disappear.
Job 14 3 Must you keep an eye on such a frail creature and demand an accounting from me?
Job 14 4 Who can create purity in one born impure? No one!
Job 14 5 You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer.
Job 14 6 So give us a little rest, won't you? Turn away your angry stare. We are like hired hands, so let us finish the task you have given us.
Job 14 7 "If a tree is cut down, there is hope that it will sprout again and grow new branches.
Job 14 8 Though its roots have grown old in the earth and its stump decays,
Job 14 9 at the scent of water it may bud and sprout again like a new seedling.
Job 14 10 "But when people die, they lose all strength. They breathe their last, and then where are they?
Job 14 11 As water evaporates from a lake and as a river disappears in drought,
Job 14 12 people lie down and do not rise again. Until the heavens are no more, they will not wake up nor be roused from their sleep.
Job 14 13 "I wish you would hide me with the dead and forget me there until your anger has passed. But mark your calendar to think of me again!
Job 14 14 If mortals die, can they live again? This thought would give me hope, and through my struggle I would eagerly wait for release.
Job 14 15 You would call and I would answer, and you would yearn for me, your handiwork.
Job 14 16 For then you would count my steps, instead of watching for my sins.
Job 14 17 My sins would be sealed in a pouch, and you would cover over my iniquity.
Job 14 18 "But as mountains fall and crumble and as rocks fall from a cliff,
Job 14 19 as water wears away the stones and floods wash away the soil, so you destroy people's hope.
Job 14 20 You always overpower them, and then they pass from the scene. You disfigure them in death and send them away.
Job 14 21 They never know if their sons grow up in honor or sink to insignificance.
Job 14 22 They are absorbed in their own pain and grief."
Job 15 1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
Job 15 2 "You are supposed to be a wise man, and yet you give us all this foolish talk. You are nothing but a windbag.
Job 15 3 It isn't right to speak so foolishly. What good do such words do?
Job 15 4 Have you no fear of God, no reverence for him?
Job 15 5 Your sins are telling your mouth what to say. Your words are based on clever deception.
Job 15 6 But why should I condemn you? Your own mouth does!
Job 15 7 "Were you the first person ever born? Were you born before the hills were made?
Job 15 8 Were you listening at God's secret council? Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?
Job 15 9 What do you know that we don't? What do you understand that we don't?
Job 15 10 On our side are aged, gray-haired men much older than your father!
Job 15 11 "Is God's comfort too little for you? Is his gentle word not enough?
Job 15 12 What has captured your reason? What has weakened your vision,
Job 15 13 that you turn against God and say all these evil things?
Job 15 14 Can a mortal be pure? Can a human be just?
Job 15 15 Why, God doesn't even trust the angels! Even the heavens cannot be absolutely pure in his sight.
Job 15 16 How much less pure is a corrupt and sinful person with a thirst for wickedness!
Job 15 17 "If you will listen, I will answer you from my own experience.
Job 15 18 And it is confirmed by the experience of wise men who have heard the same thing from their fathers,
Job 15 19 those to whom the land was given long before any foreigners arrived.
Job 15 20 "Wicked people are in pain throughout their lives.
Job 15 21 They are surrounded by terrors, and even on good days they fear the attack of the destroyer.
Job 15 22 They dare not go out into the darkness for fear they will be murdered.
Job 15 23 They wander abroad for bread, saying, `Where is it?' They know their ruin is certain.
Job 15 24 That dark day terrifies them. They live in distress and anguish, like a king preparing for an attack.
Job 15 25 For they have clenched their fists against God, defying the Almighty.
Job 15 26 Holding their strong shields, they defiantly charge against him.
Job 15 27 "These wicked people are fat and rich,
Job 15 28 but their cities will be ruined. They will live in abandoned houses that are ready to tumble down.
Job 15 29 They will not continue to be rich. Their wealth will not endure, and their possessions will no longer spread across the horizon.
Job 15 30 "They will not escape the darkness. The flame will burn them up, and the breath of God will destroy everything they have.
Job 15 31 Let them no longer trust in empty riches. They are only fooling themselves, for emptiness will be their only reward.
Job 15 32 They will be cut down in the prime of life, and all they counted on will disappear.
Job 15 33 They will be like a vine whose grapes are harvested before they are ripe, like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms so the fruit cannot form.
Job 15 34 For the godless are barren. Their homes, enriched through bribery, will be consumed by fire.
Job 15 35 They conceive trouble and evil, and their hearts give birth only to deceit."
Job 16 1 Then Job spoke again:
Job 16 2 "I have heard all this before. What miserable comforters you are!
Job 16 3 Won't you ever stop your flow of foolish words? What have I said that makes you speak so endlessly?
Job 16 4 I could say the same things if you were in my place. I could spout off my criticisms against you and shake my head at you.
Job 16 5 But that's not what I would do. I would speak in a way that helps you. I would try to take away your grief.
Job 16 6 But as it is, my grief remains no matter how I defend myself. And it does not help if I refuse to speak.
Job 16 7 "O God, you have ground me down and devastated my family.
Job 16 8 You have reduced me to skin and bones--as proof, they say, of my sins.
Job 16 9 God hates me and tears angrily at my flesh. He gnashes his teeth at me and pierces me with his eyes.
Job 16 10 People jeer and laugh at me. They slap my cheek in contempt. A mob gathers against me.
Job 16 11 God has handed me over to sinners. He has tossed me into the hands of the wicked.
Job 16 12 "I was living quietly until he broke me apart. He took me by the neck and dashed me to pieces. Then he set me up as his target.
Job 16 13 His archers surrounded me, and his arrows pierced me without mercy. The ground is wet with my blood.
Job 16 14 Again and again he smashed me, charging at me like a warrior.
Job 16 15 Here I sit in sackcloth. I have surrendered, and I sit in the dust.
Job 16 16 My eyes are red with weeping; darkness covers my eyes.
Job 16 17 Yet I am innocent, and my prayer is pure.
Job 16 18 "O earth, do not conceal my blood. Let it cry out on my behalf.
Job 16 19 Even now my witness is in heaven. My advocate is there on high.
Job 16 20 My friends scorn me, but I pour out my tears to God.
Job 16 21 Oh, that someone would mediate between God and me, as a person mediates between friends.
Job 16 22 For soon I must go down that road from which I will never return.
Job 17 1 "My spirit is crushed, and I am near death. The grave is ready to receive me.
Job 17 2 I am surrounded by mockers. I watch how bitterly they taunt me.
Job 17 3 "You must defend my innocence, O God, since no one else will stand up for me.
Job 17 4 You have closed their minds to understanding, but do not let them triumph.
Job 17 5 They denounce their companions for their own advantage, so let their children faint with hunger.
Job 17 6 "God has made a mockery of me among the people; they spit in my face.
Job 17 7 My eyes are dim with weeping, and I am but a shadow of my former self.
Job 17 8 The upright are astonished when they see me. The innocent are aroused against the ungodly.
Job 17 9 The righteous will move onward and forward, and those with pure hearts will become stronger and stronger.
Job 17 10 "As for all of you, come back and try again! But I will not find a wise man among you.
Job 17 11 My days are over. My hopes have disappeared. My heart's desires are broken.
Job 17 12 They say that night is day and day is night; how they pervert the truth!
Job 17 13 I might go to the grave and make my bed in darkness.
Job 17 14 And I might call the grave my father, and the worm my mother and my sister.
Job 17 15 But where then is my hope? Can anyone find it?
Job 17 16 No, my hope will go down with me to the grave. We will rest together in the dust!"
Job 18 1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
Job 18 2 "How long before you stop talking? Speak sense if you want us to answer!
Job 18 3 Do you think we are cattle? Do you think we have no intelligence?
Job 18 4 You may tear your hair out in anger, but will that cause the earth to be abandoned? Will it make rocks fall from a cliff?
Job 18 5 "The truth remains that the light of the wicked will be snuffed out. The sparks of their fire will not glow.
Job 18 6 The light in their tent will grow dark. The lamp hanging above them will be quenched.
Job 18 7 The confident stride of the wicked will be shortened. Their own schemes will be their downfall.
Job 18 8 "The wicked walk into a net. They fall into a pit that's been dug in the path.
Job 18 9 A trap grabs them by the heel. A noose tightens around them.
Job 18 10 A snare lies hidden in the ground. A rope lies coiled on their path.
Job 18 11 "Terrors surround the wicked and trouble them at every step.
Job 18 12 Their vigor is depleted by hunger, and calamity waits for them to stumble.
Job 18 13 Disease eats their skin; death devours their limbs.
Job 18 14 They are torn from the security of their tent, and they are brought down to the king of terrors.
Job 18 15 The home of the wicked will disappear beneath a fiery barrage of burning sulfur.
Job 18 16 Their roots will dry up, and their branches will wither.
Job 18 17 All memory of their existence will perish from the earth. No one will remember them.
Job 18 18 They will be thrust from light into darkness, driven from the world.
Job 18 19 They will have neither children nor grandchildren, nor any survivor in their home country.
Job 18 20 People in the west are appalled at their fate; people in the east are horrified.
Job 18 21 They will say, `This was the home of a wicked person, the place of one who rejected God.'"
Job 19 1 Then Job spoke again:
Job 19 2 "How long will you torture me? How long will you try to break me with your words?
Job 19 3 Ten times now you have meant to insult me. You should be ashamed of dealing with me so harshly.
Job 19 4 And even if I have sinned, that is my concern, not yours.
Job 19 5 You are trying to overcome me, using my humiliation as evidence of my sin,
Job 19 6 but it is God who has wronged me. I cannot defend myself, for I am like a city under siege.
Job 19 7 "I cry out for help, but no one hears me. I protest, but there is no justice.
Job 19 8 God has blocked my way and plunged my path into darkness.
Job 19 9 He has stripped me of my honor and removed the crown from my head.
Job 19 10 He has demolished me on every side, and I am finished. He has destroyed my hope.
Job 19 11 His fury burns against me; he counts me as an enemy.
Job 19 12 His troops advance. They build up roads to attack me. They camp all around my tent.
Job 19 13 "My relatives stay far away, and my friends have turned against me.
Job 19 14 My neighbors and my close friends are all gone.
Job 19 15 The members of my household have forgotten me. The servant girls consider me a stranger. I am like a foreigner to them.
Job 19 16 I call my servant, but he doesn't come; I even plead with him!
Job 19 17 My breath is repulsive to my wife. I am loathsome to my own family.
Job 19 18 Even young children despise me. When I stand to speak, they turn their backs on me.
Job 19 19 My close friends abhor me. Those I loved have turned against me.
Job 19 20 I have been reduced to skin and bones and have escaped death by the skin of my teeth.
Job 19 21 "Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy, for the hand of God has struck me.
Job 19 22 Why must you persecute me as God does? Why aren't you satisfied with my anguish?
Job 19 23 "Oh, that my words could be written. Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument,
Job 19 24 carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead, engraved forever in the rock.
Job 19 25 "But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he will stand upon the earth at last.
Job 19 26 And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God!
Job 19 27 I will see him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought!
Job 19 28 "How dare you go on persecuting me, saying, `It's his own fault'?
Job 19 29 I warn you, you yourselves are in danger of punishment for your attitude. Then you will know that there is judgment."
Job 20 1 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
Job 20 2 "I must reply because I am greatly disturbed.
Job 20 3 I have had to endure your insults, but now my spirit prompts me to reply.
Job 20 4 "Don't you realize that ever since people were first placed on the earth,
Job 20 5 the triumph of the wicked has been short-lived and the joy of the godless has been only temporary?
Job 20 6 Though the godless man's pride reaches to the heavens and though his head touches the clouds,
Job 20 7 yet he will perish forever, thrown away like his own dung. Those who knew him will ask, `Where is he?'
Job 20 8 He will fade like a dream and not be found. He will vanish like a vision in the night.
Job 20 9 Neither his friends nor his family will ever see him again.
Job 20 10 His children will beg from the poor, for he must give back his ill-gotten wealth.
Job 20 11 He was just a young man, but his bones will lie in the dust.
Job 20 12 "He enjoyed the taste of his wickedness, letting it melt under his tongue.
Job 20 13 He savored it, holding it long in his mouth.
Job 20 14 But suddenly, the food he has eaten turns sour within him, a poisonous venom in his stomach.
Job 20 15 He will vomit the wealth he swallowed. God won't let him keep it down.
Job 20 16 He will suck the poison of snakes. The viper will kill him.
Job 20 17 He will never again enjoy abundant streams of olive oil or rivers of milk and honey.
Job 20 18 His labors will not be rewarded. His wealth will bring him no joy.
Job 20 19 For he oppressed the poor and left them destitute. He foreclosed on their homes.
Job 20 20 He was always greedy but never satisfied. Of all the things he dreamed about, nothing remains.
Job 20 21 Nothing is left after he finishes gorging himself; therefore, his prosperity will not endure.
Job 20 22 "In the midst of plenty, he will run into trouble, and disasters will destroy him.
Job 20 23 May God give him a bellyful of trouble. May God rain down his anger upon him.
Job 20 24 He will try to escape, but God's arrow will pierce him.
Job 20 25 The arrow is pulled from his body, and the arrowhead glistens with blood. The terrors of death are upon him.
Job 20 26 "His treasures will be lost in deepest darkness. A wildfire will devour his goods, consuming all he has left.
Job 20 27 The heavens will reveal his guilt, and the earth will give testimony against him.
Job 20 28 A flood will sweep away his house. God's anger will descend on him in torrents.
Job 20 29 This is the fate that awaits the wicked. It is the inheritance decreed by God."
Job 21 1 Then Job spoke again:
Job 21 2 "Listen closely to what I am saying. You can console me by listening to me.
Job 21 3 Bear with me, and let me speak. After I have spoken, you may mock me.
Job 21 4 "My complaint is with God, not with people. No wonder I'm so impatient.
Job 21 5 Look at me and be stunned. Put your hand over your mouth in shock.
Job 21 6 When I think about what I am saying, I shudder. My body trembles.
Job 21 7 "The truth is that the wicked live to a good old age. They grow old and wealthy.
Job 21 8 They live to see their children grow to maturity, and they enjoy their grandchildren.
Job 21 9 Their homes are safe from every fear, and God does not punish them.
Job 21 10 Their bulls never fail to breed. Their cows bear calves without miscarriage.
Job 21 11 Their children skip about like lambs in a flock of sheep.
Job 21 12 They sing with tambourine and harp. They make merry to the sound of the flute.
Job 21 13 They spend their days in prosperity; then they go down to the grave in peace.
Job 21 14 All this, even though they say to God, `Go away. We want no part of you and your ways.
Job 21 15 Who is the Almighty, and why should we obey him? What good will it do us if we pray?'
Job 21 16 But their prosperity is not of their own doing, so I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking.
Job 21 17 "Yet the wicked get away with it time and time again. They rarely have trouble, and God skips them when he distributes sorrows in his anger.
Job 21 18 Are they driven before the wind like straw? Are they carried away by the storm? Not at all!
Job 21 19 " `Well,' you say, `at least God will punish their children!' But I say that God should punish the ones who sin, not their children! Let them feel their own penalty.
Job 21 20 Let their own eyes see their destruction. Let them drink deeply of the anger of the Almighty.
Job 21 21 For when they are dead, they will not care what happens to their family.
Job 21 22 "But who can teach a lesson to God, the supreme Judge?
Job 21 23 One person dies in prosperity and security,
Job 21 24 the very picture of good health.
Job 21 25 Another person dies in bitter poverty, never having tasted the good life.
Job 21 26 Both alike are buried in the same dust, both eaten by the same worms.
Job 21 27 "Look, I know your thoughts. I know the schemes you plot against me.
Job 21 28 You will tell me of rich and wicked people who came to disaster because of their sins.
Job 21 29 But I tell you to ask those who have been around, and they can tell you the truth.
Job 21 30 Evil people are spared in times of calamity and are allowed to escape.
Job 21 31 No one rebukes them openly. No one repays them for what they have done.
Job 21 32 When they are carried to the grave, an honor guard keeps watch at their tomb.
Job 21 33 A great funeral procession goes to the cemetery. Many pay their respects as the body is laid to rest and the earth gives sweet repose.
Job 21 34 "How can you comfort me? All your explanations are wrong!"
Job 22 1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
Job 22 2 "Can a person's actions be of benefit to God? Can even a wise person be helpful to him?
Job 22 3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous? Would it be any gain to him if you were perfect?
Job 22 4 Is it because of your reverence for him that he accuses and judges you?
Job 22 5 Not at all! It is because of your wickedness! Your guilt has no limit!
Job 22 6 "For example, you must have lent money to your friend and then kept the clothing he gave you as a pledge. Yes, you stripped him to the bone.
Job 22 7 You must have refused water for the thirsty and food for the hungry.
Job 22 8 After all, you think the land belongs to the powerful and that those who are privileged have a right to it!
Job 22 9 You must have sent widows away without helping them and crushed the strength of orphans.
Job 22 10 That is why you are surrounded by traps and sudden fears.
Job 22 11 That is why you cannot see in the darkness, and waves of water cover you.
Job 22 12 "God is so great--higher than the heavens, higher than the farthest stars.
Job 22 13 But you reply, `That's why God can't see what I am doing! How can he judge through the thick darkness?
Job 22 14 For thick clouds swirl about him, and he cannot see us. He is way up there, walking on the vault of heaven.'
Job 22 15 "Will you continue on the old paths where evil people have walked?
Job 22 16 They were snatched away in the prime of life, and the foundations of their lives were washed away forever.
Job 22 17 For they said to God, `Leave us alone! What can the Almighty do for us?'
Job 22 18 But they forgot that he had filled their homes with good things, so I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking.
Job 22 19 "Now the righteous will be happy to see the wicked destroyed, and the innocent will laugh them to scorn.
Job 22 20 They will say, `Surely our enemies have been destroyed. The last of them have been consumed in the fire.'
Job 22 21 "Stop quarreling with God! If you agree with him, you will have peace at last, and things will go well for you.
Job 22 22 Listen to his instructions, and store them in your heart.
Job 22 23 If you return to the Almighty and clean up your life, you will be restored.
Job 22 24 Give up your lust for money, and throw your precious gold into the river.
Job 22 25 Then the Almighty himself will be your treasure. He will be your precious silver!
Job 22 26 "Then you will delight yourself in the Almighty and look up to God.
Job 22 27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows to him.
Job 22 28 Whatever you decide to do will be accomplished, and light will shine on the road ahead of you.
Job 22 29 If someone is brought low and you say, `Help him up,' God will save the downcast.
Job 22 30 Then even sinners will be rescued by your pure hands."
Job 23 1 Then Job spoke again:
Job 23 2 "My complaint today is still a bitter one, and I try hard not to groan aloud.
Job 23 3 If only I knew where to find God, I would go to his throne and talk with him there.
Job 23 4 I would lay out my case and present my arguments.
Job 23 5 Then I would listen to his reply and understand what he says to me.
Job 23 6 Would he merely argue with me in his greatness? No, he would give me a fair hearing.
Job 23 7 Fair and honest people can reason with him, so I would be acquitted by my Judge.
Job 23 8 "I go east, but he is not there. I go west, but I cannot find him.
Job 23 9 I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden. I turn to the south, but I cannot find him.
Job 23 10 But he knows where I am going. And when he has tested me like gold in a fire, he will pronounce me innocent.
Job 23 11 "For I have stayed in God's paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside.
Job 23 12 I have not departed from his commands but have treasured his word in my heart.
Job 23 13 Nevertheless, his mind concerning me remains unchanged, and who can turn him from his purposes? Whatever he wants to do, he does.
Job 23 14 So he will do for me all he has planned. He controls my destiny.
Job 23 15 No wonder I am so terrified in his presence. When I think of it, terror grips me.
Job 23 16 God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me.
Job 23 17 Darkness is all around me; thick, impenetrable darkness is everywhere.
Job 24 1 "Why doesn't the Almighty open the court and bring judgment? Why must the godly wait for him in vain?
Job 24 2 Evil people steal land by moving the boundary markers. They steal flocks of sheep,
Job 24 3 and they even take donkeys from the poor and fatherless. A poor widow must surrender her valuable ox as collateral for a loan.
Job 24 4 The poor are kicked aside; the needy must hide together for safety.
Job 24 5 Like the wild donkeys in the desert, the poor must spend all their time just getting enough to keep body and soul together. They go into the desert to search for food for their children.
Job 24 6 They harvest a field they do not own, and they glean in the vineyards of the wicked.
Job 24 7 All night they lie naked in the cold, without clothing or covering.
Job 24 8 They are soaked by mountain showers, and they huddle against the rocks for want of a home.
Job 24 9 "The wicked snatch a widow's child from her breast; they take the baby as a pledge for a loan.
Job 24 10 The poor must go about naked, without any clothing. They are forced to carry food while they themselves are starving.
Job 24 11 They press out olive oil without being allowed to taste it, and they tread in the winepress as they suffer from thirst.
Job 24 12 The groans of the dying rise from the city, and the wounded cry for help, yet God does not respond to their moaning.
Job 24 13 "Wicked people rebel against the light. They refuse to acknowledge its ways. They will not stay in its paths.
Job 24 14 The murderer rises in the early dawn to kill the poor and needy; at night he is a thief.
Job 24 15 The adulterer waits for the twilight, for he says, `No one will see me then.' He masks his face so no one will know him.
Job 24 16 They break into houses at night and sleep in the daytime. They are not acquainted with the light.
Job 24 17 The black night is their morning. They ally themselves with the terrors of the darkness.
Job 24 18 "But they disappear from the earth as quickly as foam is swept down a river. Everything they own is cursed, so that no one enters their vineyard.
Job 24 19 Death consumes sinners just as drought and heat consume snow.
Job 24 20 Even the sinner's own mother will forget him. Worms will find him sweet to eat. No one will remember him. Wicked people are broken like a tree in the storm.
Job 24 21 For they have taken advantage of the childless who have no protecting sons. They refuse to help the needy widows.
Job 24 22 "God, in his power, drags away the rich. They may rise high, but they have no assurance in life.
Job 24 23 They may be allowed to live in security, but God is always watching them.
Job 24 24 And though they are great now, in a moment they will be gone like all others, withered like heads of grain.
Job 24 25 "Can anyone claim otherwise? Who can prove me wrong?"
Job 25 1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
Job 25 2 "God is powerful and dreadful. He enforces peace in the heavens.
Job 25 3 Who is able to count his heavenly army? Does his light not shine on all the earth?
Job 25 4 How can a mere mortal stand before God and claim to be righteous? Who in all the earth is pure?
Job 25 5 God is so glorious that even the moon and stars scarcely shine compared to him.
Job 25 6 How much less are mere people, who are but worms in his sight?"
Job 26 1 Then Job spoke again:
Job 26 2 "How you have helped the powerless! How you have saved a person who has no strength!
Job 26 3 How you have enlightened my stupidity! What wise things you have said!
Job 26 4 Where have you gotten all these wise sayings? Whose spirit speaks through you?
Job 26 5 "The dead tremble in their place beneath the waters.
Job 26 6 The underworld is naked in God's presence. There is no cover for the place of destruction.
Job 26 7 God stretches the northern sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing.
Job 26 8 He wraps the rain in his thick clouds, and the clouds do not burst with the weight.
Job 26 9 He shrouds his throne with his clouds.
Job 26 10 He created the horizon when he separated the waters; he set the boundaries for day and night.
Job 26 11 The foundations of heaven tremble at his rebuke.
Job 26 12 By his power the sea grew calm. By his skill he crushed the great sea monster.
Job 26 13 His Spirit made the heavens beautiful, and his power pierced the gliding serpent.
Job 26 14 "These are some of the minor things he does, merely a whisper of his power. Who can understand the thunder of his power?"
Job 27 1 Job continued speaking:
Job 27 2 "I make this vow by the living God, who has taken away my rights, by the Almighty who has embittered my soul.
Job 27 3 As long as I live, while I have breath from God,
Job 27 4 my lips will speak no evil, and my tongue will speak no lies.
Job 27 5 I will never concede that you are right; until I die, I will defend my innocence.
Job 27 6 I will maintain my innocence without wavering. My conscience is clear for as long as I live.
Job 27 7 "May my enemy be punished like the wicked, my adversary like evil men.
Job 27 8 For what hope do the godless have when God cuts them off and takes away their life?
Job 27 9 Will God listen to their cry when trouble comes upon them?
Job 27 10 Can they take delight in the Almighty? Can they call to God at any time?
Job 27 11 "I will teach you about God's power. I will not conceal anything that concerns the Almighty.
Job 27 12 But I don't need to, for you yourselves have seen all this; yet you are saying all these useless things to me.
Job 27 13 "This is what the wicked will receive from God; this is their inheritance from the Almighty.
Job 27 14 If they have a multitude of children, their children will die in war or starve to death.
Job 27 15 Those who survive will be brought down to the grave by a plague, with no one to mourn them, not even their wives.
Job 27 16 "Evil people may have all the money in the world, and they may store away mounds of clothing.
Job 27 17 But the righteous will wear that clothing, and the innocent will divide all that money.
Job 27 18 The houses built by the wicked are as fragile as a spiderweb, as flimsy as a shelter made of branches.
Job 27 19 "The wicked go to bed rich but wake up to find that all their wealth is gone.
Job 27 20 Terror overwhelms them, and they are blown away in the storms of the night.
Job 27 21 The east wind carries them away, and they are gone. It sweeps them away.
Job 27 22 It whirls down on them without mercy. They struggle to flee from its power.
Job 27 23 But everyone jeers at them and mocks them.
Job 28 1 "People know how to mine silver and refine gold.
Job 28 2 They know how to dig iron from the earth and smelt copper from stone.
Job 28 3 They know how to put light into darkness and explore the farthest, darkest regions of the earth as they search for ore.
Job 28 4 They sink a mine shaft into the earth far from where anyone lives. They descend on ropes, swinging back and forth.
Job 28 5 Bread comes from the earth, but below the surface the earth is melted as by fire.
Job 28 6 "People know how to find sapphires and gold dust--
Job 28 7 treasures that no bird of prey can see, no falcon's eye observe--
Job 28 8 for they are deep within the mines. No wild animal has ever walked upon those treasures; no lion has set his paw there.
Job 28 9 People know how to tear apart flinty rocks and overturn the roots of mountains.
Job 28 10 They cut tunnels in the rocks and uncover precious stones.
Job 28 11 They dam up the trickling streams and bring to light the hidden treasures.
Job 28 12 "But do people know where to find wisdom? Where can they find understanding?
Job 28 13 No one knows where to find it, for it is not found among the living.
Job 28 14 `It is not here,' says the ocean. `Nor is it here,' says the sea.
Job 28 15 "It cannot be bought for gold or silver.
Job 28 16 Its value is greater than all the gold of Ophir, greater than precious onyx stone or sapphires.
Job 28 17 Wisdom is far more valuable than gold and crystal. It cannot be purchased with jewels mounted in fine gold.
Job 28 18 Coral and valuable rock crystal are worthless in trying to get it. The price of wisdom is far above pearls.
Job 28 19 Topaz from Ethiopia cannot be exchanged for it. Its value is greater than the purest gold.
Job 28 20 "But do people know where to find wisdom? Where can they find understanding?
Job 28 21 For it is hidden from the eyes of all humanity. Even the sharp-eyed birds in the sky cannot discover it.
Job 28 22 But Destruction and Death say, `We have heard a rumor of where wisdom can be found.'
Job 28 23 "God surely knows where it can be found,
Job 28 24 for he looks throughout the whole earth, under all the heavens.
Job 28 25 He made the winds blow and determined how much rain should fall.
Job 28 26 He made the laws of the rain and prepared a path for the lightning.
Job 28 27 Then, when he had done all this, he saw wisdom and measured it. He established it and examined it thoroughly.
Job 28 28 And this is what he says to all humanity: `The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding.'"
Job 29 1 Job continued speaking:
Job 29 2 "I long for the years gone by when God took care of me,
Job 29 3 when he lighted the way before me and I walked safely through the darkness.
Job 29 4 In my early years, the friendship of God was felt in my home.
Job 29 5 The Almighty was still with me, and my children were around me.
Job 29 6 In those days my cows produced milk in abundance, and my olive groves poured out streams of olive oil.
Job 29 7 "Those were the days when I went to the city gate and took my place among the honored leaders.
Job 29 8 The young stepped aside when they saw me, and even the aged rose in respect at my coming.
Job 29 9 The princes stood in silence and put their hands over their mouths.
Job 29 10 The highest officials of the city stood quietly, holding their tongues in respect.
Job 29 11 "All who heard of me praised me. All who saw me spoke well of me.
Job 29 12 For I helped the poor in their need and the orphans who had no one to help them.
Job 29 13 I helped those who had lost hope, and they blessed me. And I caused the widows' hearts to sing for joy.
Job 29 14 All I did was just and honest. Righteousness covered me like a robe, and I wore justice like a turban.
Job 29 15 I served as eyes for the blind and feet for the lame.
Job 29 16 I was a father to the poor and made sure that even strangers received a fair trial.
Job 29 17 I broke the jaws of godless oppressors and made them release their victims.
Job 29 18 "I thought, `Surely I will die surrounded by my family after a long, good life.
Job 29 19 For I am like a tree whose roots reach the water, whose branches are refreshed with the dew.
Job 29 20 New honors are constantly bestowed on me, and my strength is continually renewed.'
Job 29 21 "Everyone listened to me and valued my advice. They were silent as they waited for me to speak.
Job 29 22 And after I spoke, they had nothing to add, for my counsel satisfied them.
Job 29 23 They longed for me to speak as they longed for rain. They waited eagerly, for my words were as refreshing as the spring rain.
Job 29 24 When they were discouraged, I smiled at them. My look of approval was precious to them.
Job 29 25 I told them what they should do and presided over them as their chief. I lived as a king among his troops and as one who comforts those who mourn.
Job 30 1 "But now I am mocked by those who are younger than I, by young men whose fathers are not worthy to run with my sheepdogs.
Job 30 2 A lot of good they are to me--those worn-out wretches!
Job 30 3 They are gaunt with hunger and flee to the deserts and the wastelands, desolate and gloomy.
Job 30 4 They eat coarse leaves, and they burn the roots of shrubs for heat.
Job 30 5 They are driven from civilization, and people shout after them as if they were thieves.
Job 30 6 So now they live in frightening ravines and in caves and among the rocks.
Job 30 7 They sound like animals as they howl among the bushes; they huddle together for shelter beneath the nettles.
Job 30 8 They are nameless fools, outcasts of civilization.
Job 30 9 "And now their sons mock me with their vulgar song! They taunt me!
Job 30 10 They despise me and won't come near me, except to spit in my face.
Job 30 11 For God has cut the cords of my tent. He has humbled me, so they have thrown off all restraint.
Job 30 12 These outcasts oppose me to my face. They send me sprawling; they lay traps in my path.
Job 30 13 They block my road and do everything they can to hasten my calamity, knowing full well that I have no one to help me.
Job 30 14 They come at me from all directions. They rush upon me when I am down.
Job 30 15 I live in terror now. They hold me in contempt, and my prosperity has vanished as a cloud before a strong wind.
Job 30 16 "And now my heart is broken. Depression haunts my days.
Job 30 17 My weary nights are filled with pain as though something were relentlessly gnawing at my bones.
Job 30 18 With a strong hand, God grabs my garment. He grips me by the collar of my tunic.
Job 30 19 He has thrown me into the mud. I have become as dust and ashes.
Job 30 20 "I cry to you, O God, but you don't answer me. I stand before you, and you don't bother to look.
Job 30 21 You have become cruel toward me. You persecute me with your great power.
Job 30 22 You throw me into the whirlwind and destroy me in the storm.
Job 30 23 And I know that you are sending me to my death--the destination of all who live.
Job 30 24 "Surely no one would turn against the needy when they cry for help.
Job 30 25 Did I not weep for those in trouble? Was I not deeply grieved for the needy?
Job 30 26 So I looked for good, but evil came instead. I waited for the light, but darkness fell.
Job 30 27 My heart is troubled and restless. Days of affliction have come upon me.
Job 30 28 I walk in gloom, without sunlight. I stand in the public square and cry for help.
Job 30 29 But instead, I am considered a brother to jackals and a companion to ostriches.
Job 30 30 My skin has turned dark, and my bones burn with fever.
Job 30 31 My harp plays sad music, and my flute accompanies those who weep.
Job 31 1 "I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust upon a young woman.
Job 31 2 What has God above chosen for us? What is our inheritance from the Almighty on high?
Job 31 3 It is calamity for the wicked, misfortune for those who do evil.
Job 31 4 He sees everything I do and every step I take.
Job 31 5 "Have I lied to anyone or deceived anyone?
Job 31 6 Let God judge me on the scales of justice, for he knows my integrity.
Job 31 7 If I have strayed from his pathway, or if my heart has lusted for what my eyes have seen, or if I am guilty of any other sin,
Job 31 8 then let someone else harvest the crops I have planted, and let all that I have planted be uprooted.
Job 31 9 "If my heart has been seduced by a woman, or if I have lusted for my neighbor's wife,
Job 31 10 then may my wife belong to another man; may other men sleep with her.
Job 31 11 For lust is a shameful sin, a crime that should be punished.
Job 31 12 It is a devastating fire that destroys to hell. It would wipe out everything I own.
Job 31 13 "If I have been unfair to my male or female servants, if I have refused to hear their complaints,
Job 31 14 how could I face God? What could I say when he questioned me about it?
Job 31 15 For God created both me and my servants. He created us both.
Job 31 16 "Have I refused to help the poor, or crushed the hopes of widows who looked to me for help?
Job 31 17 Have I been stingy with my food and refused to share it with hungry orphans?
Job 31 18 No, from childhood I have cared for orphans, and all my life I have cared for widows.
Job 31 19 Whenever I saw someone who was homeless and without clothes,
Job 31 20 did they not praise me for providing wool clothing to keep them warm?
Job 31 21 If my arm has abused an orphan because I thought I could get away with it,
Job 31 22 then let my shoulder be wrenched out of place! Let my arm be torn from its socket!
Job 31 23 That would be better than facing the judgment sent by God. For if the majesty of God opposes me, what hope is there?
Job 31 24 "Have I put my trust in money or felt secure because of my gold?
Job 31 25 Does my happiness depend on my wealth and all that I own?
Job 31 26 Have I looked at the sun shining in the skies, or the moon walking down its silver pathway,
Job 31 27 and been secretly enticed in my heart to worship them?
Job 31 28 If so, I should be punished by the judges, for it would mean I had denied the God of heaven.
Job 31 29 "Have I ever rejoiced when my enemies came to ruin or become excited when harm came their way?
Job 31 30 No, I have never cursed anyone or asked for revenge.
Job 31 31 My servants have never let others go hungry.
Job 31 32 I have never turned away a stranger but have opened my doors to everyone.
Job 31 33 Have I tried to hide my sins as people normally do, hiding my guilt in a closet?
Job 31 34 Have I feared the crowd and its contempt, so that I refused to acknowledge my sin and would not go outside?
Job 31 35 "If only I had someone who would listen to me and try to see my side! Look, I will sign my name to my defense. Let the Almighty show me that I am wrong. Let my accuser write out the charges against me.
Job 31 36 I would face the accusation proudly. I would treasure it like a crown.
Job 31 37 For I would tell him exactly what I have done. I would come before him like a prince.
Job 31 38 "If my land accuses me and all its furrows weep together,
Job 31 39 or if I have stolen its crops or murdered its owners,
Job 31 40 then let thistles grow on that land instead of wheat and weeds instead of barley." Job's words are ended.
Job 32 1 Job's three friends refused to reply further to him because he kept insisting on his innocence.
Job 32 2 Then Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the clan of Ram, became angry. He was angry because Job refused to admit that he had sinned and that God was right in punishing him.
Job 32 3 He was also angry with Job's three friends because they had condemned God by their inability to answer Job's arguments.
Job 32 4 Elihu had waited for the others to speak because they were older than he.
Job 32 5 But when he saw that they had no further reply, he spoke out angrily.
Job 32 6 Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said, "I am young and you are old, so I held back and did not dare to tell you what I think.
Job 32 7 I thought, `Those who are older should speak, for wisdom comes with age.'
Job 32 8 Surely it is God's Spirit within people, the breath of the Almighty within them, that makes them intelligent.
Job 32 9 But sometimes the elders are not wise. Sometimes the aged do not understand justice.
Job 32 10 So listen to me and let me express my opinion.
Job 32 11 "I have waited all this time, listening very carefully to your arguments, listening to you grope for words.
Job 32 12 I have listened, but not one of you has refuted Job or answered his arguments.
Job 32 13 And don't tell me, `He is too wise for us. Only God can convince him.'
Job 32 14 If Job had been arguing with me, I would not answer with that kind of logic!
Job 32 15 You sit there baffled, with no further response.
Job 32 16 Should I continue to wait, now that you are silent? Must I also remain silent?
Job 32 17 No, I will say my piece. I will speak my mind. I surely will.
Job 32 18 For I am pent up and full of words, and the spirit within me urges me on.
Job 32 19 I am like a wine cask without a vent. My words are ready to burst out!
Job 32 20 I must speak to find relief, so let me give my answers.
Job 32 21 I won't play favorites or try to flatter anyone.
Job 32 22 And if I tried, my Creator would soon do away with me.
Job 33 1 "Listen, Job, to what I have to say.
Job 33 2 Now that I have begun to speak, let me continue.
Job 33 3 I speak with all sincerity; I speak the truth.
Job 33 4 For the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Job 33 5 Answer me, if you can; make your case and take your stand.
Job 33 6 "Look, you and I are the same before God. I, too, was formed from clay.
Job 33 7 So you don't need to be afraid of me. I am not some great person to make you nervous and afraid.
Job 33 8 "You have said it in my hearing. I have heard your very words.
Job 33 9 You said, `I am pure; I am innocent; I have not sinned.
Job 33 10 God is picking a quarrel with me, and he considers me to be his enemy.
Job 33 11 He puts my feet in the stocks and watches every move I make.'
Job 33 12 "In this you are not right, and I will show you why. As you yourself have said, `God is greater than any person.'
Job 33 13 So why are you bringing a charge against him? You say, `He does not respond to people's complaints.'
Job 33 14 But God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it.
Job 33 15 He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in bed.
Job 33 16 He whispers in their ear and terrifies them with his warning.
Job 33 17 He causes them to change their minds; he keeps them from pride.
Job 33 18 He keeps them from the grave, from crossing over the river of death.
Job 33 19 Or God disciplines people with sickness and pain, with ceaseless aching in their bones.
Job 33 20 They lose their appetite and do not care for even the most delicious food.
Job 33 21 They waste away to skin and bones.
Job 33 22 They are at death's door; the angels of death wait for them.
Job 33 23 "But if a special messenger from heaven is there to intercede for a person, to declare that he is upright,
Job 33 24 God will be gracious and say, `Set him free. Do not make him die, for I have found a ransom for his life.'
Job 33 25 Then his body will become as healthy as a child's, firm and youthful again.
Job 33 26 When he prays to God, he will be accepted. And God will receive him with joy and restore him to good standing.
Job 33 27 He will declare to his friends, `I sinned, but it was not worth it.
Job 33 28 God rescued me from the grave, and now my life is filled with light.'
Job 33 29 "Yes, God often does these things for people.
Job 33 30 He rescues them from the grave so they may live in the light of the living.
Job 33 31 Mark this well, Job. Listen to me, and let me say more.
Job 33 32 But if you have anything to say, go ahead. I want to hear it, for I am anxious to see you justified.
Job 33 33 But if not, then listen to me. Keep silent and I will teach you wisdom!"
Job 34 1 Then Elihu said:
Job 34 2 "Listen to me, you wise men. Pay attention, you who have knowledge.
Job 34 3 `Just as the mouth tastes good food, the ear tests the words it hears.'
Job 34 4 So let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good.
Job 34 5 For Job has said, `I am innocent, but God has taken away my rights.
Job 34 6 I am innocent, but they call me a liar. My suffering is incurable, even though I have not sinned.'
Job 34 7 "Has there ever been a man as arrogant as Job, with his thirst for irreverent talk?
Job 34 8 He seeks the companionship of evil people. He spends his time with wicked men.
Job 34 9 He has even said, `Why waste time trying to please God?'
Job 34 10 "Listen to me, you who have understanding. Everyone knows that God doesn't sin! The Almighty can do no wrong.
Job 34 11 He repays people according to their deeds. He treats people according to their ways.
Job 34 12 There is no truer statement than this: God will not do wrong. The Almighty cannot twist justice.
Job 34 13 Who put the world in his care? Who has set the whole world in place?
Job 34 14 If God were to take back his spirit and withdraw his breath,
Job 34 15 all life would cease, and humanity would turn again to dust.
Job 34 16 "Listen now and try to understand.
Job 34 17 Could God govern if he hated justice? Are you going to condemn the almighty Judge?
Job 34 18 For he says to kings and nobles, `You are wicked and unjust.'
Job 34 19 He doesn't care how great a person may be, and he doesn't pay any more attention to the rich than to the poor. He made them all.
Job 34 20 In a moment they die. At midnight they all pass away; the mighty are removed without human hand.
Job 34 21 "For God carefully watches the way people live; he sees everything they do.
Job 34 22 No darkness is thick enough to hide the wicked from his eyes.
Job 34 23 For it is not up to mortals to decide when to come before God in judgment.
Job 34 24 He brings the mighty to ruin without asking anyone, and he sets up others in their places.
Job 34 25 He watches what they do, and in the night he overturns them, destroying them.
Job 34 26 He openly strikes them down for their wickedness.
Job 34 27 For they turned aside from following him. They have no respect for any of his ways.
Job 34 28 So they cause the poor to cry out, catching God's attention. Yes, he hears the cries of the needy.
Job 34 29 When he is quiet, who can make trouble? But when he hides his face, who can find him?
Job 34 30 He prevents the godless from ruling so they cannot be a snare to the people.
Job 34 31 "Why don't people say to God, `I have sinned, but I will sin no more'?
Job 34 32 Or `I don't know what evil I have done; tell me, and I will stop at once'?
Job 34 33 "Must God tailor his justice to your demands? But you have rejected him! The choice is yours, not mine. Go ahead, share your wisdom with us.
Job 34 34 After all, bright people will tell me, and wise people will hear me say,
Job 34 35 `Job speaks without knowledge; his words lack insight.'
Job 34 36 Job, you deserve the maximum penalty for the wicked way you have talked.
Job 34 37 For now you have added rebellion and blasphemy against God to your other sins."
Job 35 1 Then Elihu said:
Job 35 2 "Do you think it is right for you to claim, `I am righteous before God'?
Job 35 3 Yet you also ask, `What's the use of living a righteous life? How will it benefit me?'
Job 35 4 "I will answer you and all your friends, too.
Job 35 5 Look up into the sky and see the clouds high above you.
Job 35 6 If you sin, what do you accomplish against him? Even if you sin again and again, what effect will it have on him?
Job 35 7 If you are good, is this some great gift to him? What could you possibly give him?
Job 35 8 No, your sins affect only people like yourself, and your good deeds affect only other people.
Job 35 9 "The oppressed cry out beneath the wrongs that are done to them. They groan beneath the power of the mighty.
Job 35 10 Yet they don't ask, `Where is God my Creator, the one who gives songs in the night?
Job 35 11 Where is the one who makes us wiser than the animals and birds?'
Job 35 12 "And if they do cry out and God does not answer, it is because of their pride.
Job 35 13 But it is wrong to say God doesn't listen, to say the Almighty isn't concerned.
Job 35 14 And it is even more false to say he doesn't see what is going on. He will bring about justice if you will only wait.
Job 35 15 But do you cry out against him because he does not respond in anger?
Job 35 16 Job, you have protested in vain. You have spoken like a fool."
Job 36 1 Elihu continued speaking:
Job 36 2 "Let me go on, and I will show you the truth of what I am saying. For I have not finished defending God!
Job 36 3 I will give you many illustrations of the righteousness of my Creator.
Job 36 4 I am telling you the honest truth, for I am a man of well-rounded knowledge.
Job 36 5 "God is mighty, yet he does not despise anyone! He is mighty in both power and understanding.
Job 36 6 He does not let the wicked live but gives justice to the afflicted.
Job 36 7 His eyes never leave the innocent, but he establishes and exalts them with kings forever.
Job 36 8 If troubles come upon them and they are enslaved and afflicted,
Job 36 9 he takes the trouble to show them the reason. He shows them their sins, for they have behaved proudly.
Job 36 10 He gets their attention and says they must turn away from evil.
Job 36 11 "If they listen and obey God, then they will be blessed with prosperity throughout their lives. All their years will be pleasant.
Job 36 12 But if they refuse to listen to him, they will perish in battle and die from lack of understanding.
Job 36 13 For the godless are full of resentment. Even when he punishes them, they refuse to cry out to him for help.
Job 36 14 They die young after wasting their lives in immoral living.
Job 36 15 But by means of their suffering, he rescues those who suffer. For he gets their attention through adversity.
Job 36 16 "God has led you away from danger, giving you freedom. You have prospered in a wide and pleasant valley.
Job 36 17 But you are too obsessed with judgment on the godless. Don't worry, justice will be upheld.
Job 36 18 But watch out, or you may be seduced with wealth. Don't let yourself be bribed into sin.
Job 36 19 Could all your wealth and mighty efforts keep you from distress?
Job 36 20 Do not long for the cover of night, for that is when people will be destroyed.
Job 36 21 Be on guard! Turn back from evil, for it was to prevent you from getting into a life of evil that God sent this suffering.
Job 36 22 "Look, God is all-powerful. Who is a teacher like him?
Job 36 23 No one can tell him what to do. No one can say to him, `You have done wrong.'
Job 36 24 Instead, glorify his mighty works, singing songs of praise.
Job 36 25 Everyone has seen these things, but only from a distance.
Job 36 26 "Look, God is exalted beyond what we can understand. His years are without number.
Job 36 27 He draws up the water vapor and then distills it into rain.
Job 36 28 The rain pours down from the clouds, and everyone benefits from it.
Job 36 29 Can anyone really understand the spreading of the clouds and the thunder that rolls forth from heaven?
Job 36 30 See how he spreads the lightning around him and how it lights up the depths of the sea.
Job 36 31 By his mighty acts he governs the people, giving them food in abundance.
Job 36 32 He fills his hands with lightning bolts. He hurls each at its target.
Job 36 33 The thunder announces his presence; the storm announces his indignant anger.
Job 37 1 "My heart pounds as I think of this. It leaps within me.
Job 37 2 Listen carefully to the thunder of God's voice as it rolls from his mouth.
Job 37 3 It rolls across the heavens, and his lightning flashes out in every direction.
Job 37 4 Then comes the roaring of the thunder--the tremendous voice of his majesty. He does not restrain the thunder when he speaks.
Job 37 5 God's voice is glorious in the thunder. We cannot comprehend the greatness of his power.
Job 37 6 "He directs the snow to fall on the earth and tells the rain to pour down.
Job 37 7 Everyone stops working at such a time so they can recognize his power.
Job 37 8 The wild animals hide in the rocks or in their dens.
Job 37 9 The stormy wind comes from its chamber, and the driving winds bring the cold.
Job 37 10 God's breath sends the ice, freezing wide expanses of water.
Job 37 11 He loads the clouds with moisture, and they flash with his lightning.
Job 37 12 The clouds turn around and around under his direction. They do whatever he commands throughout the earth.
Job 37 13 He causes things to happen on earth, either as a punishment or as a sign of his unfailing love.
Job 37 14 "Listen, Job; stop and consider the wonderful miracles of God!
Job 37 15 Do you know how God controls the storm and causes the lightning to flash forth from his clouds?
Job 37 16 Do you understand how he balances the clouds with wonderful perfection and skill?
Job 37 17 When you are sweltering in your clothes and the south wind dies down and everything is still,
Job 37 18 he makes the skies reflect the heat like a giant mirror. Can you do that?
Job 37 19 "You think you know so much, so teach the rest of us what to say to God. We are too ignorant to make our own arguments.
Job 37 20 Should God be told that I want to speak? Can we speak when we are confused?
Job 37 21 We cannot look at the sun, for it shines brightly in the sky when the wind clears away the clouds.
Job 37 22 Golden splendor comes from the mountain of God. He is clothed in dazzling splendor.
Job 37 23 We cannot imagine the power of the Almighty, yet he is so just and merciful that he does not oppress us.
Job 37 24 No wonder people everywhere fear him. People who are truly wise show him reverence."
Job 38 1 Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind:
Job 38 2 "Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?
Job 38 3 Brace yourself, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.
Job 38 4 "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much.
Job 38 5 Do you know how its dimensions were determined and who did the surveying?
Job 38 6 What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone
Job 38 7 as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?
Job 38 8 "Who defined the boundaries of the sea as it burst from the womb,
Job 38 9 and as I clothed it with clouds and thick darkness?
Job 38 10 For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores.
Job 38 11 I said, `Thus far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!'
Job 38 12 "Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east?
Job 38 13 Have you ever told the daylight to spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end to the night's wickedness?
Job 38 14 For the features of the earth take shape as the light approaches, and the dawn is robed in red.
Job 38 15 The light disturbs the haunts of the wicked, and it stops the arm that is raised in violence.
Job 38 16 "Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? Have you walked about and explored their depths?
Job 38 17 Do you know where the gates of death are located? Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?
Job 38 18 Do you realize the extent of the earth? Tell me about it if you know!
Job 38 19 "Where does the light come from, and where does the darkness go?
Job 38 20 Can you take it to its home? Do you know how to get there?
Job 38 21 But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!
Job 38 22 "Have you visited the treasuries of the snow? Have you seen where the hail is made and stored?
Job 38 23 I have reserved it for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war.
Job 38 24 Where is the path to the origin of light? Where is the home of the east wind?
Job 38 25 "Who created a channel for the torrents of rain? Who laid out the path for the lightning?
Job 38 26 Who makes the rain fall on barren land, in a desert where no one lives?
Job 38 27 Who sends the rain that satisfies the parched ground and makes the tender grass spring up?
Job 38 28 "Does the rain have a father? Where does dew come from?
Job 38 29 Who is the mother of the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?
Job 38 30 For the water turns to ice as hard as rock, and the surface of the water freezes.
Job 38 31 "Can you hold back the movements of the stars? Are you able to restrain the Pleiades or Orion?
Job 38 32 Can you ensure the proper sequence of the seasons or guide the constellation of the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?
Job 38 33 Do you know the laws of the universe and how God rules the earth?
Job 38 34 "Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain?
Job 38 35 Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct it?
Job 38 36 Who gives intuition and instinct?
Job 38 37 Who is wise enough to count all the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven,
Job 38 38 turning the dry dust to clumps of mud?
Job 38 39 "Can you stalk prey for a lioness and satisfy the young lions' appetites
Job 38 40 as they lie in their dens or crouch in the thicket?
Job 38 41 Who provides food for the ravens when their young cry out to God as they wander about in hunger?
Job 39 1 "Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Have you watched as the wild deer are born?
Job 39 2 Do you know how many months they carry their young? Are you aware of the time of their delivery?
Job 39 3 They crouch down to give birth to their young and deliver their offspring.
Job 39 4 Their young grow up in the open fields, then leave their parents and never return.
Job 39 5 "Who makes the wild donkey wild?
Job 39 6 I have placed it in the wilderness; its home is the wasteland.
Job 39 7 It hates the noise of the city, and it has no driver to shout at it.
Job 39 8 The mountains are its pastureland, where it searches for every blade of grass.
Job 39 9 "Will the wild ox consent to being tamed? Will it stay in your stall?
Job 39 10 Can you hitch a wild ox to a plow? Will it plow a field for you?
Job 39 11 Since it is so strong, can you trust it? Can you go away and trust the ox to do your work?
Job 39 12 Can you rely on it to return, bringing your grain to the threshing floor?
Job 39 13 "The ostrich flaps her wings grandly, but they are no match for the feathers of the stork.
Job 39 14 She lays her eggs on top of the earth, letting them be warmed in the dust.
Job 39 15 She doesn't worry that a foot might crush them or that wild animals might destroy them.
Job 39 16 She is harsh toward her young, as if they were not her own. She is unconcerned though they die,
Job 39 17 for God has deprived her of wisdom. He has given her no understanding.
Job 39 18 But whenever she jumps up to run, she passes the swiftest horse with its rider.
Job 39 19 "Have you given the horse its strength or clothed its neck with a flowing mane?
Job 39 20 Did you give it the ability to leap forward like a locust? Its majestic snorting is something to hear!
Job 39 21 It paws the earth and rejoices in its strength. When it charges to war,
Job 39 22 it is unafraid. It does not run from the sword.
Job 39 23 The arrows rattle against it, and the spear and javelin flash.
Job 39 24 Fiercely it paws the ground and rushes forward into battle when the trumpet blows.
Job 39 25 It snorts at the sound of the bugle. It senses the battle even at a distance. It quivers at the noise of battle and the shout of the captain's commands.
Job 39 26 "Are you the one who makes the hawk soar and spread its wings to the south?
Job 39 27 Is it at your command that the eagle rises to the heights to make its nest?
Job 39 28 It lives on the cliffs, making its home on a distant, rocky crag.
Job 39 29 From there it hunts its prey, keeping watch with piercing eyes.
Job 39 30 Its nestlings gulp down blood, for it feeds on the carcass of the slaughtered."
Job 40 1 Then the LORD said to Job,
Job 40 2 "Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God's critic, but do you have the answers?"
Job 40 3 Then Job replied to the LORD,
Job 40 4 "I am nothing--how could I ever find the answers? I will put my hand over my mouth in silence.
Job 40 5 I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say."
Job 40 6 Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind:
Job 40 7 "Brace yourself, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.
Job 40 8 Are you going to discredit my justice and condemn me so you can say you are right?
Job 40 9 Are you as strong as God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?
Job 40 10 All right then, put on your robes of state, your majesty and splendor.
Job 40 11 Give vent to your anger. Let it overflow against the proud.
Job 40 12 Humiliate the proud with a glance; walk on the wicked where they stand.
Job 40 13 Bury them in the dust. Imprison them in the world of the dead.
Job 40 14 Then even I would praise you, for your own strength would save you.
Job 40 15 "Take a look at the mighty hippopotamus. I made it, just as I made you. It eats grass like an ox.
Job 40 16 See its powerful loins and the muscles of its belly.
Job 40 17 Its tail is as straight as a cedar. The sinews of its thighs are tightly knit together.
Job 40 18 Its bones are tubes of bronze. Its limbs are bars of iron.
Job 40 19 It is a prime example of God's amazing handiwork. Only its Creator can threaten it.
Job 40 20 The mountains offer it their best food, where all the wild animals play.
Job 40 21 It lies down under the lotus plants, hidden by the reeds.
Job 40 22 The lotus plants give it shade among the willows beside the stream.
Job 40 23 It is not disturbed by raging rivers, not even when the swelling Jordan rushes down upon it.
Job 40 24 No one can catch it off guard or put a ring in its nose and lead it away.
Job 41 1 "Can you catch a crocodile with a hook or put a noose around its jaw?
Job 41 2 Can you tie it with a rope through the nose or pierce its jaw with a spike?
Job 41 3 Will it beg you for mercy or implore you for pity?
Job 41 4 Will it agree to work for you? Can you make it be your slave for life?
Job 41 5 Can you make it a pet like a bird, or give it to your little girls to play with?
Job 41 6 Will merchants try to buy it? Will they sell it in their shops?
Job 41 7 Will its hide be hurt by darts, or its head by a harpoon?
Job 41 8 If you lay a hand on it, you will never forget the battle that follows, and you will never try it again!
Job 41 9 "No, it is useless to try to capture it. The hunter who attempts it will be thrown down.
Job 41 10 And since no one dares to disturb the crocodile, who would dare to stand up to me?
Job 41 11 Who will confront me and remain safe? Everything under heaven is mine.
Job 41 12 "I want to emphasize the tremendous strength in the crocodile's limbs and throughout its enormous frame.
Job 41 13 Who can strip off its hide, and who can penetrate its double layer of armor?
Job 41 14 Who could pry open its jaws? For its teeth are terrible!
Job 41 15 The overlapping scales on its back make a shield.
Job 41 16 They are close together so no air can get between them.
Job 41 17 They lock together so nothing can penetrate them.
Job 41 18 "When it sneezes, it flashes light! Its eyes are like the red of dawn.
Job 41 19 Fire and sparks leap from its mouth.
Job 41 20 Smoke streams from its nostrils like steam from a boiling pot on a fire of dry rushes.
Job 41 21 Yes, its breath would kindle coals, for flames shoot from its mouth.
Job 41 22 "The tremendous strength in its neck strikes terror wherever it goes.
Job 41 23 Its flesh is hard and firm, not soft and fat.
Job 41 24 Its heart is as hard as rock, as hard as a millstone.
Job 41 25 When it rises, the mighty are afraid, gripped by terror.
Job 41 26 No sword can stop it, nor spear nor dart nor pointed shaft.
Job 41 27 To the crocodile, iron is nothing but straw, and bronze is rotten wood.
Job 41 28 Arrows cannot make it flee. Stones shot from a sling are as ineffective as straw.
Job 41 29 Clubs do no good, and it laughs at the swish of the javelins.
Job 41 30 Its belly is covered with scales as sharp as glass. They tear up the ground as it drags through the mud.
Job 41 31 "The crocodile makes the water boil with its commotion. It churns the depths.
Job 41 32 The water glistens in its wake. One would think the sea had turned white.
Job 41 33 There is nothing else so fearless anywhere on earth.
Job 41 34 Of all the creatures, it is the proudest. It is the king of beasts."
Job 42 1 Then Job replied to the LORD:
Job 42 2 "I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you.
Job 42 3 You ask, `Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?' It is I. And I was talking about things I did not understand, things far too wonderful for me.
Job 42 4 "You said, `Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.'
Job 42 5 "I had heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.
Job 42 6 I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance."
Job 42 7 After the LORD had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: "I am angry with you and with your two friends, for you have not been right in what you said about me, as my servant Job was.
Job 42 8 Now take seven young bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. I will not treat you as you deserve, for you have not been right in what you said about me, as my servant Job was."
Job 42 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did as the LORD commanded them, and the LORD accepted Job's prayer.
Job 42 10 When Job prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes. In fact, the LORD gave him twice as much as before!
Job 42 11 Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the LORD had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money and a gold ring.
Job 42 12 So the LORD blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand teams of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys.
Job 42 13 He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters.
Job 42 14 He named his first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch.
Job 42 15 In all the land there were no other women as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers.
Job 42 16 Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren.
Job 42 17 Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, good life.
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