Job Despairs of God’s Dealings

10 [a](A)I am disgusted with my own life;
I will express (B)my complaint freely;
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
I will say to God, ‘(C)Do not condemn me;
Let me know why You contend with me.
Is it [b]right for You indeed to (D)oppress,
To reject (E)the work of Your hands,
And [c]to look favorably on (F)the plan of the wicked?
Do You have eyes of flesh?
Or do You (G)see as mankind sees?
Are Your days like the days of a mortal,
Or (H)Your years like a man’s year,
That (I)You should search for my guilt
And carefully seek my sin?
According to Your knowledge (J)I am indeed not guilty,
Yet there is (K)no one to save me from Your hand.

(L)Your hands fashioned and made me [d]altogether,
(M)Yet would You destroy me?
Remember that You have made me as (N)clay;
Yet would You (O)turn me into dust again?
10 Did You not pour me out like milk,
And curdle me like cheese,
11 Clothe me with skin and flesh,
And intertwine me with bones and tendons?
12 You have (P)granted me life and [e]goodness;
And Your care has guarded my spirit.
13 Yet You have concealed (Q)these things in Your heart;
I know that this is within You:
14 If I have sinned, You will (R)take note of me,
And (S)will not acquit me of my guilt.
15 If (T)I am wicked, woe to me!
But if (U)I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head.
I am full of shame, and [f]conscious of my misery.
16 And should my head be high, (V)You would hunt me like a lion;
And You would show Your (W)power against me again.
17 You renew (X)Your witnesses against me
And increase Your anger toward me;
[g](Y)Hardship after hardship is with me.

18 (Z)Why then did You bring me out of the womb?
If only I had died and no eye had seen me!
19 I should have been as though I had not been,
Brought from womb to tomb.’
20 Would He not leave (AA)my few days alone?
[h](AB)Withdraw from me so that I may have a little cheerfulness
21 Before I go—(AC)and I shall not return—
(AD)To the land of darkness and (AE)deep shadow,
22 The land of utter gloom like darkness itself,
Of deep shadow without order,
And it shines like darkness.”

Zophar Rebukes Job

11 Then Zophar the Naamathite responded,

“Shall a multitude of words go unanswered,
And a (AF)talkative man be acquitted?
Shall your boasts silence people?
And will you (AG)scoff, and no one rebuke?
For (AH)you have said, ‘My teaching is pure,
And (AI)I am innocent in your eyes.’
But if only God would speak,
And open His lips against you,
And show you the secrets of wisdom!
For sound wisdom [i](AJ)has two sides.
Know then that God [j]forgets part of (AK)your guilt.

(AL)Can you discover the depths of God?
Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?
They are as (AM)high as [k]the heavens; what can you do?
Deeper than [l](AN)Sheol; what can you know?
Its measurement is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea.
10 If He passes by or apprehends people,
Or calls an assembly, (AO)who can restrain Him?
11 For (AP)He knows false people,
And He (AQ)sees injustice [m]without investigating.
12 [n](AR)An idiot will become intelligent
When a (AS)wild donkey is born a human.

13 (AT)If you would (AU)direct your heart rightly
And (AV)spread out your hands to Him,
14 If wrongdoing is in your hand, (AW)put it far away,
And do not let malice dwell in your tents;
15 Then, indeed, you could (AX)lift up your face without moral blemish,
And you would be firmly established and (AY)not fear.
16 For you would (AZ)forget your trouble;
Like (BA)waters that have passed by, you would remember it.
17 Your [o]life would [p]be (BB)brighter than noonday;
Darkness would be like the morning.
18 Then you would trust, because there is hope;
And you would look around and rest securely.
19 You would (BC)lie down and none would disturb you,
And many would [q](BD)flatter you.
20 But the (BE)eyes of the wicked will fail,
And [r]there will (BF)be no escape for them;
And their (BG)hope is [s](BH)to breathe their last.”

Job Chides His Accusers

12 Then Job responded,

“Truly then (BI)you are the people,
And with you wisdom will die!
But (BJ)I have intelligence as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
And [t]who does not know such things as these?
I am a (BK)joke to [u]my friends,
The one who called on God and He answered him;
The just and (BL)blameless man is a joke.
[v]He who is at ease holds disaster in contempt,
As prepared for those whose feet slip.
The (BM)tents of the destroyers prosper,
And those who provoke God (BN)are secure,
[w]Whom God brings (BO)into their power.

“But just ask the animals, and have them teach you;
And the birds of the sky, and have them tell you.
Or speak to the earth, and have it teach you;
And have the fish of the sea tell you.
Who among all these does not know
That (BP)the hand of the Lord has done this,
10 (BQ)In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And (BR)the breath of all mankind?
11 Does (BS)the ear not put words to the test,
As the palate [x]tastes its food?
12 Wisdom is with the (BT)aged,
And with [y]long life comes understanding.

Job Speaks of the Power of God

13 (BU)Wisdom and (BV)might are with Him;
Advice and (BW)understanding belong to Him.
14 Behold, He (BX)tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He [z](BY)imprisons a person, and [aa]there is no release.
15 Behold, He (BZ)restrains the waters, and they dry up;
And He (CA)sends them out, and they [ab]inundate the earth.
16 Strength and sound wisdom are with Him.
One who (CB)goes astray and one who leads astray belong to Him.
17 He makes (CC)advisers walk [ac]barefoot
And makes fools of (CD)judges.
18 He (CE)undoes the binding of kings,
And ties a loincloth around their waist.
19 He makes priests walk [ad]barefoot,
And overthrows (CF)the secure ones.
20 He deprives the trusted ones of speech,
And (CG)takes away the discernment of the elders.
21 He (CH)pours contempt on nobles,
And (CI)loosens the belt of the strong.
22 He (CJ)reveals mysteries from the darkness,
And brings the deep darkness into light.
23 He (CK)makes the nations great, then destroys them;
He [ae]enlarges the nations, then leads them away.
24 He (CL)deprives the leaders of the earth’s people of [af]intelligence
And makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.
25 They (CM)grope in darkness with no light,
And He makes them (CN)stagger like a drunken person.

Job Says His Friends’ Proverbs Are Ashes

13 (CO)Behold, my eye has seen all this,
My ear has heard and understood it.
(CP)What you know I also know;
I am not inferior to you.

“But (CQ)I would speak to [ag]the Almighty,
And I desire to (CR)argue with God.
But you (CS)smear me with lies;
You are all (CT)worthless physicians.
Oh that you would (CU)be completely silent,
And that it would become your wisdom!
Please hear my argument,
And give your attention to the contentions of my lips.
Will you (CV)speak what is unjust for God,
And speak what is deceitful for Him?
Will you (CW)show partiality for Him?
Will you contend for God?
Will it go well when He examines you?
Or (CX)will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?
10 He will certainly punish you
If you secretly (CY)show partiality.
11 Will (CZ)His [ah]majesty not terrify you,
And the dread of Him fall upon you?
12 Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes,
Your defenses are defenses of clay.

Job Is Sure He Will Be Vindicated

13 (DA)Be silent before me so that I may speak;
Then let come upon me what may.
14 Why should I take my flesh in my teeth,
And (DB)put my life in my [ai]hands?
15 (DC)Though He slay me,
I will [aj]hope in Him.
Nevertheless I (DD)will argue my ways [ak]before Him.
16 This also will be my (DE)salvation,
For (DF)a godless person cannot come before His presence.
17 Listen carefully to my speech,
And let my declaration fill your ears.
18 Behold now, I have (DG)prepared my case;
I know that (DH)I will be vindicated.
19 (DI)Who could contend with me?
For then I would be silent and (DJ)die.

20 “Only two things I ask that You do not do to me,
Then I will not hide from Your face:
21 (DK)Remove Your [al]hand from me,
And may the dread of You not terrify me.
22 Then call and (DL)I will answer;
Or let me speak, then reply to me.
23 (DM)How many are my guilty deeds and sins?
Make known to me my wrongdoing and my sin.
24 Why do You (DN)hide Your face
And consider me (DO)Your enemy?
25 Will You scare away a (DP)scattered leaf?
Or will You pursue the dry (DQ)chaff?
26 For You write (DR)bitter things against me
And (DS)make me inherit the guilty deeds of my youth.
27 You (DT)put my feet in the stocks
And watch all my paths;
You [am]set a limit for the soles of my feet,
28 While [an]I am decaying like a (DU)rotten thing,
Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

Footnotes

  1. Job 10:1 Lit My soul loathes
  2. Job 10:3 Lit good
  3. Job 10:3 Lit You shine forth
  4. Job 10:8 Lit together round about
  5. Job 10:12 See Job 1:1-2
  6. Job 10:15 Lit see
  7. Job 10:17 Lit Changes and warfare are with me
  8. Job 10:20 Lit Put
  9. Job 11:6 Lit is double
  10. Job 11:6 Lit causes to be forgotten for you
  11. Job 11:8 Lit the heights of heaven
  12. Job 11:8 I.e., the netherworld
  13. Job 11:11 Or and does not investigate
  14. Job 11:12 Lit A hollow man
  15. Job 11:17 Lit lifespan
  16. Job 11:17 Lit rise above noonday
  17. Job 11:19 Lit soften your face
  18. Job 11:20 Lit escape has perished from them
  19. Job 11:20 Lit the expiring of the soul
  20. Job 12:3 Lit with whom is there not like these?
  21. Job 12:4 Lit his
  22. Job 12:5 Lit Contempt for calamity is the thought of him who is at ease
  23. Job 12:6 Or He who brings God into his hand.
  24. Job 12:11 Lit tastes food for itself
  25. Job 12:12 Lit length of days
  26. Job 12:14 Lit shuts against
  27. Job 12:14 Lit it is not opened
  28. Job 12:15 Lit overturn
  29. Job 12:17 Or stripped
  30. Job 12:19 Or stripped
  31. Job 12:23 Or spreads out
  32. Job 12:24 Lit heart
  33. Job 13:3 Heb Shaddai
  34. Job 13:11 Lit exaltation
  35. Job 13:14 Lit palm
  36. Job 13:15 Lit wait for
  37. Job 13:15 Lit to His face
  38. Job 13:21 Lit palm
  39. Job 13:27 Lit carve for
  40. Job 13:28 Lit he is

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