Add parallel Print Page Options

Job Says His Friends’ Proverbs Are Ashes

13 [Job continued:] “Behold, my eye has seen all this,
My ear has heard and understood it.

“What you know I also know;
I am not inferior to you.


“But I wish to speak to [a]the Almighty,
And I desire to argue with God.

“But you smear me with lies [you defame my character most untruthfully];
You are all worthless physicians and have no remedy to offer.

“Oh, that you would be completely silent,
And that silence would be your wisdom!

“Please hear my argument
And listen to the pleadings of my lips.

“Will you speak what is unjust for God,
And speak what is deceitful for Him?

“Will you show partiality for Him [and be unjust to me so that you may gain favor with Him]?
Will you contend and plead for God?

“Will it be well for you when He investigates you [and your tactics against me]?
Or will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?
10 
“He will surely reprimand you
If you secretly show partiality.
11 
“Will not His majesty terrify you,
And will not the dread of Him fall upon you?
12 
“Your memorable sayings are [worthless, merely] proverbs of ashes;
Your defenses are defenses of [crumbling] clay.

Job Is Sure He Will Be Vindicated

13 
“Be silent before me so that I may speak;
And let happen to me what may.
14 
“Why should I take my flesh in my teeth
And put my life in my hands [incurring the wrath of God]?
15 
“Even though He kills me;
I will hope in Him.
Nevertheless, I will argue my ways to His face.
16 
“This also will be my salvation,
For a godless man may not come before Him.
17 
“Listen diligently to my speech,
And let my declaration fill your ears.
18 
“Behold now, I have prepared my case;
I know that I will be vindicated.
19 
“Who will argue and contend with me?
For then I would be silent and die.

20 
“Only [O Lord,] do not do two things to me,
And then I will not hide myself from Your face:
21 
Withdraw Your hand from me and remove this bodily suffering,
And let not the dread of You terrify me.
22 
“Then [Lord,] call, and I will answer;
Or let me speak, and then reply to me.
23 
“How many are my iniquities and sins [that so much sorrow should come to me]?
Make me recognize and understand my transgression and my sin.(A)
24 
“Why do You hide Your face [as if offended]
And consider me Your enemy?
25 
“Will You cause a windblown leaf to tremble?
Will You pursue the chaff of the dry stubble?
26 
“For You write bitter things against me [in Your indictment]
And make me inherit and suffer for the iniquities of my youth.
27 
“You also put my feet in the stocks [as punishment]
And [critically] observe all my paths;
You set a circle and limit around the soles of my feet [which I must not overstep],
28 
While I waste away like a rotten thing,
Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

Job Speaks of the Finality of Death

14 “Man, who is born of a woman,
Is short-lived and full of turmoil.

“Like a flower he comes forth and withers;
He also flees like a shadow and does not remain.

“You also open Your eyes upon him
And bring him into judgment with Yourself.

“Who can make a clean thing out of the unclean?
No one!(B)

“Since his days are determined,
The number of his months is with You [in Your control],
And You have made his limits so he cannot pass [his allotted time].

“[O God] turn your gaze from him so that he may rest,
Until he fulfills his day [on earth] like a hired man.


“For there is hope for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that the shoots of it will not cease nor fail, [but there is no such hope for man].

“Though its roots grow old in the earth
And its stump dies in the dry soil,

Yet at the scent of water [the stump of the tree] will flourish
And bring forth sprigs and shoots like a seedling.
10 
“But [the brave, strong] man must die and lie face down;
Man breathes his last, and where is he?
11 
“As water evaporates from the sea,
And a river drains and dries up,
12 
So man lies down and does not rise [again].
Until the heavens are no longer,
The dead will not awake nor be raised from their sleep.

13 
“Oh, that You would hide me in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),
That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,
That You would set a definite time and then remember me [and in Your lovingkindness imprint me on your heart]!
14 
“If a man dies, will he live again?
I will wait all the days of my struggle
Until my change and release will come.(C)
15 
“[Then] You will call, and I will answer You;
You will long for [me] the work of Your hands.
16 
“But now You number [each of] my steps;
You do not observe nor take note of my sin.
17 
“My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
And You cover my wickedness [from Your view].

18 
“But as a mountain, if it falls, crumbles into nothing,
And as the rock is moved from its place,
19 
Water wears away the stones,
Its floods and torrents wash away the soil of the earth,
So You [O Lord] destroy the hope of man.
20 
“You prevail forever against him and overpower him, and he passes on;
You change his appearance and send him away [from the presence of the living].
21 
“His sons achieve honor, and he does not know it;
They become insignificant, and he is not aware of it.
22 
“But his body [lamenting its decay] grieves in pain over it,
And his soul mourns over [the loss of] himself.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 13:3 Heb Shaddai.

13 “My eyes have seen all this,(A)
    my ears have heard and understood it.
What you know, I also know;
    I am not inferior to you.(B)
But I desire to speak to the Almighty(C)
    and to argue my case with God.(D)
You, however, smear me with lies;(E)
    you are worthless physicians,(F) all of you!(G)
If only you would be altogether silent!(H)
    For you, that would be wisdom.(I)
Hear now my argument;
    listen to the pleas of my lips.(J)
Will you speak wickedly on God’s behalf?
    Will you speak deceitfully for him?(K)
Will you show him partiality?(L)
    Will you argue the case for God?
Would it turn out well if he examined you?(M)
    Could you deceive him as you might deceive a mortal?(N)
10 He would surely call you to account
    if you secretly showed partiality.(O)
11 Would not his splendor(P) terrify you?
    Would not the dread of him fall on you?(Q)
12 Your maxims are proverbs of ashes;
    your defenses are defenses of clay.(R)

13 “Keep silent(S) and let me speak;(T)
    then let come to me what may.(U)
14 Why do I put myself in jeopardy
    and take my life in my hands?(V)
15 Though he slay me, yet will I hope(W) in him;(X)
    I will surely[a] defend my ways to his face.(Y)
16 Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance,(Z)
    for no godless(AA) person would dare come before him!(AB)
17 Listen carefully to what I say;(AC)
    let my words ring in your ears.
18 Now that I have prepared my case,(AD)
    I know I will be vindicated.(AE)
19 Can anyone bring charges against me?(AF)
    If so, I will be silent(AG) and die.(AH)

20 “Only grant me these two things, God,
    and then I will not hide from you:
21 Withdraw your hand(AI) far from me,
    and stop frightening me with your terrors.(AJ)
22 Then summon me and I will answer,(AK)
    or let me speak, and you reply to me.(AL)
23 How many wrongs and sins have I committed?(AM)
    Show me my offense and my sin.(AN)
24 Why do you hide your face(AO)
    and consider me your enemy?(AP)
25 Will you torment(AQ) a windblown leaf?(AR)
    Will you chase(AS) after dry chaff?(AT)
26 For you write down bitter things against me
    and make me reap the sins of my youth.(AU)
27 You fasten my feet in shackles;(AV)
    you keep close watch on all my paths(AW)
    by putting marks on the soles of my feet.

28 “So man wastes away like something rotten,
    like a garment(AX) eaten by moths.(AY)

14 “Mortals, born of woman,(AZ)
    are of few days(BA) and full of trouble.(BB)
They spring up like flowers(BC) and wither away;(BD)
    like fleeting shadows,(BE) they do not endure.(BF)
Do you fix your eye on them?(BG)
    Will you bring them[b] before you for judgment?(BH)
Who can bring what is pure(BI) from the impure?(BJ)
    No one!(BK)
A person’s days are determined;(BL)
    you have decreed the number of his months(BM)
    and have set limits he cannot exceed.(BN)
So look away from him and let him alone,(BO)
    till he has put in his time like a hired laborer.(BP)

“At least there is hope for a tree:(BQ)
    If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
    and its new shoots(BR) will not fail.(BS)
Its roots may grow old in the ground
    and its stump(BT) die in the soil,
yet at the scent of water(BU) it will bud
    and put forth shoots like a plant.(BV)
10 But a man dies and is laid low;(BW)
    he breathes his last and is no more.(BX)
11 As the water of a lake dries up
    or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,(BY)
12 so he lies down and does not rise;(BZ)
    till the heavens are no more,(CA) people will not awake
    or be roused from their sleep.(CB)

13 “If only you would hide me in the grave(CC)
    and conceal me till your anger has passed!(CD)
If only you would set me a time
    and then remember(CE) me!(CF)
14 If someone dies, will they live again?
    All the days of my hard service(CG)
    I will wait for my renewal[c](CH) to come.
15 You will call and I will answer you;(CI)
    you will long for the creature your hands have made.(CJ)
16 Surely then you will count my steps(CK)
    but not keep track of my sin.(CL)
17 My offenses will be sealed(CM) up in a bag;(CN)
    you will cover over my sin.(CO)

18 “But as a mountain erodes and crumbles(CP)
    and as a rock is moved from its place,(CQ)
19 as water wears away stones
    and torrents(CR) wash away the soil,(CS)
    so you destroy a person’s hope.(CT)
20 You overpower them once for all, and they are gone;(CU)
    you change their countenance and send them away.(CV)
21 If their children are honored, they do not know it;
    if their offspring are brought low, they do not see it.(CW)
22 They feel but the pain of their own bodies(CX)
    and mourn only for themselves.(CY)

Footnotes

  1. Job 13:15 Or He will surely slay me; I have no hope — / yet I will
  2. Job 14:3 Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew me
  3. Job 14:14 Or release