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Self-defense

13 Look, my eye has seen it all;
    my ear has heard and understood it.
Just as you know, I also know;
    I’m not inferior to you.
But I want to speak to the Almighty;
    I would gladly present my case to God.

Friends attacked

You, however, are plasterers of lies;
    ineffective healers, all of you.
Would that you were completely quiet;
    that would be your wisdom.
Hear my teaching
    and pay attention to the arguments of my lips.
Will you speak injustice for God,
    speak deceit on his behalf?
Will you be partial
    or contend for God?
Will it go well when he searches you,
    or can you fool him as you fool people?
10 He will certainly correct you
    if you’ve been secretly partial.
11 Wouldn’t his majesty scare you
    and dread of him fall on you?
12 Your old sayings are proverbs made of ashes,
    your sayings defenses made of clay.

Job will speak out

13 Be quiet and I will speak,
    come what may.
14 For what reason will I take my flesh in my teeth,
    put my life in jeopardy?
15 He will slay me; I’m without hope;[a]
    I will surely prove my way to his face.
16 Also this will be my vindication,
    that a godless person won’t come before him.
17 Listen closely to my words
    so that my remarks will be in your ears.

Against God

18 Look, I have laid out my case;
    I know that I’m innocent.
19 Who would dare contend with me,
    for then I would be quiet and die.
20 Only don’t do two things to me,
    then I won’t hide from your face.
21 Remove your hand far from me
    and don’t terrify me with your anger.
22 Then call and I’ll answer,
    or I’ll speak and you can reply.
23 How many are my offenses and sins?
    Inform me about my rebellions and sins.
24 Why hide your face from me
    and consider me your enemy?
25 Will you cause a wind-tossed leaf to tremble, or will you pursue dry straw?
26 You even write bitter things about me,
    make me inherit my youthful indiscretions.
27 You tie up my feet and restrict all actions;
    you stamp marks on the bottom of my feet.

Human destiny

28 Surely a person wastes away like refuse,
    like clothing that a moth eats.

14 All of us[b] are born of women,
    have few days, and are full of turmoil.
Like a flower, we[c] bloom, then wither,
    flee like a shadow, and don’t last.
(Yes, you open your eyes on this one;
    you bring me into trial against you.)
Who can make pure from impure?
    Nobody.
If our days are fixed, the number of our months with you,
    you set a statute and we can’t exceed it.
Look away from us that we may rest,
    until we are satisfied like a worker at day’s end.

Trees versus humans

Indeed there is hope for a tree.
    If it’s cut down and still sprouting
    and its shoots don’t fail,
    if its roots age in the ground
        and its stump dies in the dust,
    at the scent of water, it will bud
        and produce sprouts like a plant.
10 But a human dies and lies there;
    a person expires, and where is he?
11 Water vanishes from the sea;
    a river dries up completely.
12 But a human lies down and doesn’t rise
        until the heavens cease;
    they don’t get up and awaken from sleep.

Momentary hope

13 I wish you would hide me in the underworld,[d]
    conceal me until your anger passes,
    set a time for me, and remember me.
14 If people die, will they live again?
    All the days of my service I would wait
        until my restoration took place.
15 You would call, and I would answer you;
    you would long for your handiwork.
16 Though you now number my steps,
    you would not keep a record of my sin.
17 My rebellion is sealed in a bag;
    you would cover my sin.

God crushes hope

18 But an eroding mountain breaks up,
    and rock is displaced.
19 Water wears away boulders;
    floods carry away soil;
    you destroy a people’s hope.
20 You overpower them relentlessly, and they die;
    you change their appearance and send them away.
21 Their children achieve honor, and they don’t know it;
    their children become insignificant, and they don’t see it.
22 They only feel the pain of their body,
    and they mourn for themselves.

Footnotes

  1. Job 13:15 Or Though he slay me, yet I will trust him.
  2. Job 14:1 Heb adam
  3. Job 14:2 Or he; also he in 14:5-6
  4. Job 14:13 Heb Sheol

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