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Job 14-16
Contemporary English Version
Job 14-16
Contemporary English Version
Job Continues His Prayer
Life Is Short and Sorrowful
14 (A) Life is short and sorrowful
for every living soul.
2 We are flowers that fade
and shadows that vanish.
3 And so, I ask you, God,
why pick on me?
4 There's no way a human
can be completely pure.
5 Our time on earth is brief;
the number of our days
is already decided by you.
6 Why don't you leave us alone
and let us find some happiness
while we toil and labor?
When a Tree Is Chopped Down
7 When a tree is chopped down,
there is always the hope
that it will sprout again.
8 Its roots and stump may rot,
9 but at the touch of water,
it sprouts once again.
10 Humans are different—
we die, and that's the end.
11 We are like streams and lakes
after the water has gone;
12 we fall into the sleep of death,
never to rise again,
until the sky disappears.
13 Please hide me, God,
deep in the ground—
and when you are angry no more,
remember to rescue me.
Will We Humans Live Again?
14 Will we humans live again?
I would gladly suffer
and wait for my time.
15 My Creator, you would want me;
you would call out,
and I would answer.
16 You would take care of me,
but not count my sins—
17 you would put them in a bag,
tie it tight,
and toss them away.
18 But in the real world,
mountains tumble,
and rocks crumble;
19 streams wear away stones
and wash away soil.
And you destroy our hopes!
20 You change the way we look,
then send us away,
wiped out forever.
21 We never live to know
if our children are praised
or disgraced.
22 We feel no pain but our own,
and when we mourn,
it's only for ourselves.
Eliphaz's Second Speech
If You Had Any Sense
15 Eliphaz from Teman[a] said:
* 2 Job, if you had any sense,
3 you would stop spreading
all of this hot air.
4 Your words are enough
to make others turn from God
and lead them to doubt.
5 And your sinful, scheming mind
is the source of all you say.
6 I am not here as your judge;
your own words are witnesses
against you.
7 Were you the first human?
Are you older than the hills?
8 Have you ever been present
when God's council[b] meets?
Do you alone have wisdom?
9 Do you know and understand
something we don't?
10 We have the benefit of wisdom
older than your father.
11 And you have been offered
comforting words from God.
Isn't this enough?
12 Your emotions are out of control,
making you look fierce;
13 that's why you attack God
with everything you say.
14 (B) No human is pure and innocent,
15 and neither are angels—
not in the sight of God.
If God doesn't trust his angels,
16 what chance do humans have?
We are so terribly evil
that we thirst for sin.
Just Listen to What I Know
17 Just listen to what I know,
and you will learn
18 wisdom known by others
since ancient times.
19 Those who gained such insights
also gained the land,
and they were not influenced
by foreign teachings.
20 But suffering is in store
each day for those who sin.
21 Even in times of success,
they constantly hear
the threat of doom.
22 Darkness, despair, and death
are their destiny.
23 They scrounge around for food,
all the while dreading
the approaching darkness.
24 They are overcome with despair,
like frightened soldiers facing
a fearsome king in battle.
25 This is because they rebelled
against God All-Powerful
26 and have attacked him
with their weapons.
27 They may be rich and fat,
28 but they will live in the ruins
of deserted towns.
29 Their property and wealth
will shrink and disappear.
30 They won't escape the darkness,
and the blazing breath of God
will set their future aflame.
* 31 They have put their trust
in something worthless;
now they will become worthless
32 like a date palm tree
without a leaf.[c]
33 Or like vineyards or orchards
whose blossoms and unripe fruit
drop to the ground.
34 Yes, the godless and the greedy
will have nothing but flames
feasting on their homes,
35 because they are the parents
of trouble and vicious lies.
Job's Reply to Eliphaz
I Have Often Heard This
16 Job said:
2 I have often heard this,
and it offers no comfort.
3 So why don't you keep quiet?
What's bothering you?
4 If I were in your place,
it would be easy to criticize
or to give advice.
5 But I would offer hope
and comfort instead.
6 If I speak, or if I don't,
I hurt all the same.
My torment continues.
7 God has worn me down
and destroyed my family;
8 my shriveled up skin proves
that I am his prisoner.
9 God is my hateful enemy,
glaring at me and attacking
with his sharp teeth.
10 Everyone is against me;
they sneer and slap my face.
11 And God is the one
who handed me over
to this merciless mob.
Everything Was Going Well
12 Everything was going well,
until God grabbed my neck
and shook me to pieces.
God set me up as the target
13 for his arrows,
and without showing mercy,
he slashed my stomach open,
spilling out my insides.
14 God never stops attacking,
15 and so, in my sorrow
I dress in sackcloth[d]
and sit in the dust.
16 My face is red with tears,
and dark shadows
circle my eyes,
17 though I am not violent,
and my prayers are sincere.
18 If I should die,
I beg the earth not to cover
my cry for justice.
19 (C) Even now, God in heaven
is both my witness
and my protector.
20 My friends have rejected me,
but God is the one I beg[e]
21 to show that I am right,
just as a friend should.
22 Because in only a few years,
I will be dead and gone.
Footnotes
- 15.1 Teman: See the note at 2.11.
- 15.8 God's council: The angels and others who gather to discuss matters with God (see 1.6; 2.1).
- 15.32 leaf: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 32.
- 16.15 sackcloth: A rough, dark-colored cloth made from goat hair and used to make grain sacks. It was worn in times of trouble or sorrow.
- 16.20 My friends … beg: Or “God is my friend, and he is the one I beg.”
Job 14-16
New International Version
Job 14-16
New International Version
14 “Mortals, born of woman,(A)
are of few days(B) and full of trouble.(C)
2 They spring up like flowers(D) and wither away;(E)
like fleeting shadows,(F) they do not endure.(G)
3 Do you fix your eye on them?(H)
Will you bring them[a] before you for judgment?(I)
4 Who can bring what is pure(J) from the impure?(K)
No one!(L)
5 A person’s days are determined;(M)
you have decreed the number of his months(N)
and have set limits he cannot exceed.(O)
6 So look away from him and let him alone,(P)
till he has put in his time like a hired laborer.(Q)
7 “At least there is hope for a tree:(R)
If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
and its new shoots(S) will not fail.(T)
8 Its roots may grow old in the ground
and its stump(U) die in the soil,
9 yet at the scent of water(V) it will bud
and put forth shoots like a plant.(W)
10 But a man dies and is laid low;(X)
he breathes his last and is no more.(Y)
11 As the water of a lake dries up
or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,(Z)
12 so he lies down and does not rise;(AA)
till the heavens are no more,(AB) people will not awake
or be roused from their sleep.(AC)
13 “If only you would hide me in the grave(AD)
and conceal me till your anger has passed!(AE)
If only you would set me a time
and then remember(AF) me!(AG)
14 If someone dies, will they live again?
All the days of my hard service(AH)
I will wait for my renewal[b](AI) to come.
15 You will call and I will answer you;(AJ)
you will long for the creature your hands have made.(AK)
16 Surely then you will count my steps(AL)
but not keep track of my sin.(AM)
17 My offenses will be sealed(AN) up in a bag;(AO)
you will cover over my sin.(AP)
18 “But as a mountain erodes and crumbles(AQ)
and as a rock is moved from its place,(AR)
19 as water wears away stones
and torrents(AS) wash away the soil,(AT)
so you destroy a person’s hope.(AU)
20 You overpower them once for all, and they are gone;(AV)
you change their countenance and send them away.(AW)
21 If their children are honored, they do not know it;
if their offspring are brought low, they do not see it.(AX)
22 They feel but the pain of their own bodies(AY)
and mourn only for themselves.(AZ)”
Eliphaz
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite(BA) replied:
2 “Would a wise person answer with empty notions
or fill their belly with the hot east wind?(BB)
3 Would they argue with useless words,
with speeches that have no value?(BC)
4 But you even undermine piety
and hinder devotion to God.(BD)
5 Your sin(BE) prompts your mouth;(BF)
you adopt the tongue of the crafty.(BG)
6 Your own mouth condemns you, not mine;
your own lips testify against you.(BH)
7 “Are you the first man ever born?(BI)
Were you brought forth before the hills?(BJ)
8 Do you listen in on God’s council?(BK)
Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?(BL)
9 What do you know that we do not know?
What insights do you have that we do not have?(BM)
10 The gray-haired and the aged(BN) are on our side,
men even older than your father.(BO)
11 Are God’s consolations(BP) not enough for you,
words(BQ) spoken gently to you?(BR)
12 Why has your heart(BS) carried you away,
and why do your eyes flash,
13 so that you vent your rage(BT) against God
and pour out such words(BU) from your mouth?(BV)
14 “What are mortals, that they could be pure,
or those born of woman,(BW) that they could be righteous?(BX)
15 If God places no trust in his holy ones,(BY)
if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,(BZ)
16 how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt,(CA)
who drink up evil(CB) like water!(CC)
17 “Listen to me and I will explain to you;
let me tell you what I have seen,(CD)
18 what the wise have declared,
hiding nothing received from their ancestors(CE)
19 (to whom alone the land(CF) was given
when no foreigners moved among them):
20 All his days the wicked man suffers torment,(CG)
the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him.(CH)
21 Terrifying sounds fill his ears;(CI)
when all seems well, marauders attack him.(CJ)
22 He despairs of escaping the realm of darkness;(CK)
he is marked for the sword.(CL)
23 He wanders about(CM) for food like a vulture;(CN)
he knows the day of darkness(CO) is at hand.(CP)
24 Distress and anguish(CQ) fill him with terror;(CR)
troubles overwhelm him, like a king(CS) poised to attack,
25 because he shakes his fist(CT) at God
and vaunts himself against the Almighty,(CU)
26 defiantly charging against him
with a thick, strong shield.(CV)
27 “Though his face is covered with fat
and his waist bulges with flesh,(CW)
28 he will inhabit ruined towns
and houses where no one lives,(CX)
houses crumbling to rubble.(CY)
29 He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure,(CZ)
nor will his possessions spread over the land.(DA)
30 He will not escape the darkness;(DB)
a flame(DC) will wither his shoots,(DD)
and the breath of God’s mouth(DE) will carry him away.(DF)
31 Let him not deceive(DG) himself by trusting what is worthless,(DH)
for he will get nothing in return.(DI)
32 Before his time(DJ) he will wither,(DK)
and his branches will not flourish.(DL)
33 He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,(DM)
like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.(DN)
34 For the company of the godless(DO) will be barren,
and fire will consume(DP) the tents of those who love bribes.(DQ)
35 They conceive trouble(DR) and give birth to evil;(DS)
their womb fashions deceit.”
Job
16 Then Job replied:
2 “I have heard many things like these;
you are miserable comforters,(DT) all of you!(DU)
3 Will your long-winded speeches never end?(DV)
What ails you that you keep on arguing?(DW)
4 I also could speak like you,
if you were in my place;
I could make fine speeches against you
and shake my head(DX) at you.
5 But my mouth would encourage you;
comfort(DY) from my lips would bring you relief.(DZ)
6 “Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved;
and if I refrain, it does not go away.(EA)
7 Surely, God, you have worn me out;(EB)
you have devastated my entire household.(EC)
8 You have shriveled me up—and it has become a witness;
my gauntness(ED) rises up and testifies against me.(EE)
9 God assails me and tears(EF) me in his anger(EG)
and gnashes his teeth at me;(EH)
my opponent fastens on me his piercing eyes.(EI)
10 People open their mouths(EJ) to jeer at me;(EK)
they strike my cheek(EL) in scorn
and unite together against me.(EM)
11 God has turned me over to the ungodly
and thrown me into the clutches of the wicked.(EN)
12 All was well with me, but he shattered me;
he seized me by the neck and crushed me.(EO)
He has made me his target;(EP)
13 his archers surround me.(EQ)
Without pity, he pierces(ER) my kidneys
and spills my gall on the ground.
14 Again and again(ES) he bursts upon me;
he rushes at me like a warrior.(ET)
15 “I have sewed sackcloth(EU) over my skin
and buried my brow in the dust.(EV)
16 My face is red with weeping,(EW)
dark shadows ring my eyes;(EX)
17 yet my hands have been free of violence(EY)
and my prayer is pure.(EZ)
18 “Earth, do not cover my blood;(FA)
may my cry(FB) never be laid to rest!(FC)
19 Even now my witness(FD) is in heaven;(FE)
my advocate is on high.(FF)
20 My intercessor(FG) is my friend[c](FH)
as my eyes pour out(FI) tears(FJ) to God;
21 on behalf of a man he pleads(FK) with God
as one pleads for a friend.
22 “Only a few years will pass
before I take the path of no return.(FL)
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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