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Job 14-16
Complete Jewish Bible
Job 14-16
Complete Jewish Bible
14 “A human being, born from a woman,
lives a short, trouble-filled life.
2 He comes up like a flower and withers away,
flees like a shadow, doesn’t last.
3 You fix your eyes on a creature like this?
You drag him to court with you?
4 Who can bring what is pure from something impure?
No one!
5 Since his days are fixed in advance,
the number of his months is known to you,
and you have fixed the limits which he can’t cross;
6 look away from him, and let him be;
so that, like a hired worker,
he can finish his day in peace.
7 “For a tree, there is hope
that if cut down, it will sprout again,
that its shoots will continue to grow.
8 Even if its roots grow old in the earth
and its stump dies in the ground,
9 yet at the scent of water it will bud
and put forth branches like a young plant.
10 But when a human being grows weak and dies,
he expires; and then where is he?
11 Just as water in a lake disappears,
as a river shrinks and dries up;
12 so a person lies down and doesn’t arise —
until the sky no longer exists;
it will not awaken,
it won’t be roused from its sleep.
13 “I wish you would hide me in Sh’ol,
conceal me until your anger has passed,
then fix a time and remember me!
14 If a man dies, will he live again?
I will wait all the days of my life
for my change to come.
15 You will call, and I will answer you;
you will long to see what you made again.
16 Whereas now you count each step of mine,
then you will not keep watch for my sin.
17 You will seal up my crime in a bag
and cover over my iniquity.
18 “Just as a mountain erodes and falls away,
its rock is removed from its place,
19 the water wears away its stones,
and the floods wash away its soil,
so you destroy a person’s hope.
20 You overpower him, and he passes on;
you change his appearance and send him away.
21 His children earn honor, but he doesn’t know it;
or they are brought low, but he doesn’t notice.
22 He feels pain only for his own flesh;
he laments only for himself.”
15 Then Elifaz the Teimani spoke:
2 “Should a wise man answer with hot-air arguments?
Should he fill up his belly with the hot east wind?
3 Should he reason with useless talk
or make speeches that do him no good?
4 “Why, you are abolishing fear of God
and hindering prayer to him!
5 Your iniquity is teaching you how to speak,
and deceit is your language of choice.
6 Your own mouth condemns you, not I;
your own lips testify against you.
7 “Were you the firstborn of the human race,
brought forth before the hills?
8 Do you listen in on God’s secrets?
Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
9 What do you know that we don’t know?
What discernment do you have that we don’t?
10 With us are gray-haired men, old men,
men much older than your father.
11 Are the comfortings of God not enough for you,
or a word that deals gently with you?
12 Why does your heart carry you away,
and why do your eyes flash angrily,
13 so that you turn your spirit against God
and let such words escape your mouth?
14 “What is a human being, that he could be innocent,
someone born from a woman, that he could be righteous?
15 God doesn’t trust even his holy ones;
no, even the heavens are not innocent in his view.
16 How much less one loathesome and corrupt,
a human being, who drinks iniquity like water.
17 “I will tell you — hear me out!
I will recount what I have seen;
18 wise men have told it,
and it wasn’t hidden from their fathers either,
19 to whom alone the land was given —
no foreigner passed among them.
20 “The wicked is in torment all his life,
for all the years allotted to the tyrant.
21 Terrifying sounds are in his ears;
in prosperity, robbers swoop down on him.
22 He despairs of returning from darkness —
he is destined to meet the sword.
23 He wanders and looks for food, which isn’t there.
He knows the day of darkness is ready, at hand.
24 Distress and anguish overwhelm him,
assaulting him like a king about to enter battle.
25 “He raises his hand against God
and boldly defies Shaddai,
26 running against him with head held high
and thickly ornamented shield.
27 “He lets his face grow gross and fat,
and the rest of him bulges with blubber;
28 he lives in abandoned cities,
in houses no one would inhabit,
houses about to become ruins;
29 therefore he will not remain rich,
his wealth will not endure,
his produce will not bend
[the grain stalks] to the earth.
30 “He will not escape from darkness.
The flame will dry up his branches.
By a breath from the mouth of [God],
he will go away.
31 Let him not rely on futile methods,
thereby deceiving himself;
for what he will receive in exchange
will be only futility.
32 This will be accomplished in advance of its day.
His palm frond will not be fresh and green;
33 he will be like a vine that sheds its unripe grapes,
like an olive tree that drops its flowers.
34 “For the community of the ungodly is sterile;
fire consumes the tents of bribery.
35 They conceive trouble and give birth to evil;
their womb prepares deceit.”
16 In response Iyov said:
2 “I have heard this stuff so often!
Such sorry comforters, all of you!
3 Is there no end to words of wind?
What provokes you to answer this way?
4 “If I were in your place,
I too could speak as you do —
I could string phrases together against you
and shake my head at you.
5 I could ‘strengthen’ you with my mouth,
with lip service I could ‘ease your grief.’
6 If I speak, my own pain isn’t eased;
and if I don’t speak, it still doesn’t leave.
7 “But now he has worn me out;
you have desolated this whole community of mine.
8 Besides, you have shriveled me up;
and this serves to witness against me.
My being so thin rises up against me
and testifies to my face.
9 He tears me apart in his anger;
he holds a grudge against me;
he gnashes on me with his teeth.
“My enemies look daggers at me.
10 Wide-mouthed, they gape at me;
with scorn, they slap my cheeks;
they gather themselves together against me.
11 “God delivers me to the perverse,
throws me into the hands of the wicked.
12 I was at peace, and he shook me apart.
Yes, he grabbed me by the neck and dashed me to pieces.
He set me up as his target —
13 his archers surrounded me.
He slashes my innards and shows no mercy,
he pours my gall on the ground.
14 He breaks in on me again and again,
attacking me like a warrior.
15 “I sewed sackcloth together to cover my skin
and laid my pride in the dust;
16 my face is red from crying,
and on my eyelids is a death-dark shadow.
17 Yet my hands are free from violence,
and my prayer is pure.
18 “Earth, don’t cover my blood;
don’t let my cry rest [without being answered].
19 Even now, my witness is in heaven;
my advocate is there on high.
20 With friends like these as intercessors,
my eyes pour out tears to God,
21 that he would arbitrate between a man and God,
just as one does for his fellow human being.
22 For I have but few years left
before I leave on the road of no return.
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)
Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.