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24 “Why doesn’t God All-Powerful set times for judgment?
    And why can’t his followers know when those times will be?

“People move property markers to get more of their neighbor’s land.
    People steal flocks and lead them to other grasslands.
They steal a donkey that belongs to an orphan.
    They take a widow’s cow until she pays what she owes them.
[a] They take a nursing baby from its mother.
    They take a poor person’s child to guarantee a loan.
They force the poor to move out of their way
    and to get off the road.

“The poor are like wild donkeys that go out to the desert to find food.
    From morning to night they work to gather food for their children.
They have to work in the fields, harvesting grain.
    They work for the rich,[b] gathering grapes in their vineyards.
They must sleep all night without clothes.
    They have no covers to protect them from the cold.
They are soaked with rain in the mountains.
    They stay close to the large rocks for shelter.
10 They have no clothes, so they work naked.
    They carry piles of grain for others, but they go hungry.
11 They press out olive oil
    and walk on grapes in the winepress, but they have nothing to drink.
12 In the city you can hear the sad sounds of dying people.
    Those who are hurt cry out for help, but God does not listen.

13 “Some people rebel against the light.
    They don’t know what God wants.
    They don’t live the way he wants.
14 A murderer gets up at dawn and kills poor, helpless people.
    And at night he becomes a thief.
15 A man who commits adultery waits for the night to come.
    He thinks, ‘No one will see me,’ but still, he covers his face.
16 When it is dark, evil people go out and break into houses.
    But during the day they lock themselves in their homes to avoid the light.
17 The darkest night is their morning.
    They are friends with the terrors of darkness.

18 You say, ‘Evil people are taken away like things carried away in a flood.
    The land they own is cursed, so no one goes to work in their vineyards.
19 As hot, dry weather melts away the winter snows,
    so the grave takes away those who have sinned.
20 Their own mothers will forget them.
    Only the worms will want them.
No one will remember them.
    They will be broken like a rotten stick!
21 These evil people hurt women who have no children to protect them,
    and they refuse to help widows.
22 By his power God removes the powerful.
    Even if they have a high position, they cannot be sure of their lives.
23 They might feel safe and secure,
    but God is watching how they live.
24 They might be successful for a while, but then they will be gone.
    Like everyone else, they will be cut down like grain.’

25 “I swear these things are true!
    Who can prove that I lied?
    Who can show that I am wrong?”

Bildad Answers Job

25 Then Bildad from Shuah answered:

“God is the ruler.
    He makes people fear and respect him.
    He keeps peace in his kingdom above.
No one can count his stars.[c]
    His sun rises on all people.
How can anyone claim to be right before God?
    No human being[d] can really be pure.
In God’s eyes even the moon is not pure and bright;
    even the stars are not pure.
People are much less pure.
    They are like maggots, as worthless as worms!”

Job Answers Bildad

26 Then Job answered:

“Bildad, what a great help you are to this tired, weary man!
    You have really supported me!
You have given such wonderful advice to this foolish man!
    You have provided so much useful information![e]
Who helped you say these things?
    Whose spirit inspired you to speak?

“The ghosts and their neighbors
    in the underworld[f] shake with fear.
But God can see clearly into that place of death.
    Death[g] is not hidden from God.
God stretched the northern sky over empty space.
    He hung the earth on nothing.
He fills the thick clouds with water.
    But he does not let its heavy weight break the clouds open.
He covers the face of the full moon.
    He spreads his clouds over it and hides it.
10 He drew the horizon on the ocean,
    like a circle where light and darkness meet.
11 The foundations that hold up the sky
    shake with fear when God threatens them.
12 With his own power God calmed the sea.
    With his wisdom he destroyed Rahab.
13 His breath made the skies clear.
    His hand destroyed the snake that tried to get away.[h]
14 These are only a few of the amazing things God has done.
    We hear only a small whisper of God’s thundering power.”

27 Job continued his answer:

“God All-Powerful has been unfair to me;
    he has made my life bitter.
But I swear by his life,
    as long as I have life in me,
    as long as breath from God is in my nostrils,
I will not be a hypocrite.
    I will not lie.
You will never hear me say you men are right!
    Until the day I die I will not be untrue to myself.
I will hold on to my innocence and never let go!
    My conscience will always be clear!
May my enemies be punished like those who are evil.
    May those who stood against me end up like all who have done wrong.
What hope do people without God have when it is time to die,
    when God takes their life away?
When they have troubles and cry out for help,
    God will not listen to them!
10 It will be too late for them to enjoy talking with God All-Powerful.
    They should have prayed to God all the time.

11 “I will teach you about God’s power.
    I will not hide anything about God All-Powerful.
12 But you have seen it all with your own eyes.
    So why do you say such useless things?

13 [i] “Here is what God has planned for those who are evil.
    This is what cruel people will get from God All-Powerful.
14 They may have many children, but all of them will be killed in war.
    Or their children will not have enough to eat.
15 All those who are left will die,
    and the widows will not even cry for them.
16 Evil people collect silver as easily as dirt.
    They may have so many clothes that they are piled up like clay.
17 But their piles of clothes will be worn by those who have lived right.
    All that silver will be given to those who have done no wrong.
18 Evil people might build houses, but they will not last long.
    They will be like a spider’s web or a guard’s tent.
19 They might be rich when they go to bed,
    but when they open their eyes, all their riches will be gone.
20 Terrible fears will come over them like a flood,
    like a storm in the night that blows everything away.
21 The east wind will carry them away, and they will be gone.
    The storm will sweep them out of their homes.
22 They may try to run away from the power of the storm,
    but it will come down on them without mercy.
23 It will make a sound like clapping hands as they run away.
    It will whistle at them as they run from their homes.”

The Value of Wisdom

28 “There are mines where people get silver
    and places where people melt gold to make it pure.
Iron is dug out of the ground,
    and copper is melted out of the rocks.
Miners carry lights deep into caves
    to search for these rocks in the deepest darkness.
Far from where people live, they dig deep into the ground,
    down where no one else has been before.
    There they work all alone, hanging from ropes.
Food grows on the ground above.
    But underground it is different,
    as if everything were melted by fire.
In the rocks there are sapphires
    and grains of pure gold.
Wild birds know nothing about the way to these places.
    No falcon[j] has ever seen it.
Wild animals have never been there.
    Lions have not traveled that way.
Miners dig the hardest rocks.
    They dig away at the mountains and make them bare.
10 They cut tunnels through the rocks
    and see all the treasures they hold.
11 They even find places where rivers begin.
    They bring to light what once was hidden.

12 “But where can anyone find wisdom?
    Where can we get understanding?
13 People don’t know where wisdom is.
    It cannot be found by anyone on earth.
14 The deep ocean says, ‘It’s not here with me.’
    The sea says, ‘It’s not here with me.’
15 You cannot buy wisdom with even the purest gold.
    There’s not enough silver in the world to pay for it.
16 You cannot buy it with gold from Ophir
    or with precious onyx or sapphires.
17 Wisdom is worth more than gold or crystal.
    It cannot be bought with expensive jewels set in gold.
18 It is far more valuable than coral and jasper,
    more precious than rubies.
19 The topaz from Ethiopia cannot match its value,
    which is greater than the purest gold.

20 “So where does wisdom come from?
    Where can we find understanding?
21 Wisdom is hidden from every living thing on earth.
    Even birds in the sky cannot see it.
22 Death and destruction[k] say,
    ‘We have never seen wisdom;
    we have only heard rumors about it.’

23 “Only God knows the way to wisdom.
    Only he knows where wisdom is.
24 He can see to the very ends of the earth.
    He sees everything under the sky.
25 God gave the wind its power.
    He decided how big to make the oceans.
26 He decided where to send the rain
    and where the thunderstorms should go.
27 He looked at wisdom and discussed it.
    He examined it and saw how much it is worth.
28 Then he said to humans,
    ‘To fear and respect the Lord is wisdom.
    To turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Footnotes

  1. Job 24:9 In the Hebrew text this verse follows verse 8.
  2. Job 24:6 the rich Or “the wicked.”
  3. Job 25:3 his stars Or “his troops.” This means God’s heavenly army. It could be all the angels or all the stars in the sky.
  4. Job 25:4 No human being Literally, “No one born from woman.”
  5. Job 26:3 Job is being sarcastic here—showing by the way he speaks that he does not really mean it.
  6. Job 26:5 The ghosts … underworld Literally, “The ghosts under the water.” This refers to Sheol, the place of death.
  7. Job 26:6 Death Or “Abaddon,” a Hebrew name meaning “death” or “destruction.” See Rev. 9:11.
  8. Job 26:13 snake … get away Or “the escaping monster.” This might be another name for Rahab. See Isa. 27:1.
  9. Job 27:13 Though Zophar is not mentioned in the text, many scholars think he answers Job in verses 13-23.
  10. Job 28:7 falcon A kind of bird, like a hawk.
  11. Job 28:22 Death and destruction Or “Abaddon,” a Hebrew name meaning “death” or “destruction.” See Rev. 9:11.

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