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Job 21-23
GOD’S WORD Translation
Job 21-23
GOD’S WORD Translation
Job Speaks: Comfort Me by Listening to Me
21 Then Job replied ⌞to his friends⌟,
2 “Listen carefully to my words,
and let that be the comfort you offer me.
3 Bear with me while I speak.
Then after I’ve spoken, you may go on mocking.
4 Am I complaining about a person?
Why shouldn’t I be impatient?
5 Look at me, and be shocked,
and put ⌞your⌟ hand over ⌞your⌟ mouth.
6 When I remember it, I’m terrified,
and shuddering seizes my body.
Wicked People Do Not Suffer for Their Sins
7 “Why do the wicked go on living, grow old,
and even become more powerful?
8 They see their children firmly established with them,
and they get to see their descendants.
9 Their homes are free from fear,
and God doesn’t use his rod on them.
10 Their bulls are fertile when they breed.
Their cows give birth to calves and never miscarry.
11 They send their little children out ⌞to play⌟
like a flock of lambs,
and their children dance around.
12 They sing with the tambourine and lyre,
and they are happy with the music of the flute.
13 They spend their days in happiness,
and they go peacefully to the grave.
14 But they say to God,
‘Leave us alone.
We don’t want to know your ways.
15 Who is the Almighty that we should serve him?
What do we gain if we pray to him?’
16 Anyhow, isn’t their happiness in their own power?
(The plan of the wicked is foreign to my way of thinking.)
17 “How often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?
How often does disaster happen to them?
How often does an angry God give them pain?
18 How often are they like straw in the wind
or like husks that the storm sweeps away?
19 “⌞You say,⌟ ‘God saves a person’s punishment for his children.’
God should pay back that person
so that he would know that it is a punishment.
20 His eyes should see his own ruin.
He should drink from the wrath of the Almighty.
21 How can he be interested in his family after he’s gone,
when the number of his months is cut short?
No One Understands How God Deals with Humans
22 “Can anyone teach God knowledge?
Can anyone judge the Most High?
23 One person dies in his prime
and feels altogether happy and contented.
24 His stomach is full of milk,
and his bones are strong and healthy.
25 Another person, never having tasted happiness,
dies with a bitter soul.
26 Together they lie down in the dust,
and worms cover them.
My Friends Have Betrayed Me
27 “You see, I know your thoughts
and the schemes you plot against me
28 because you ask,
‘Where is the house of the influential person?
Where is the tent where wicked people live?’
29 Haven’t you asked travelers?
But you didn’t pay attention to their directions.
30 On the day of disaster the wicked person is spared.
On the day of ⌞God’s⌟ anger he is rescued.
31 Who will tell him to his face how he lived?
Who will pay him back for what he did?
32 He is carried to the cemetery,
and his grave is guarded.
33 The soil in the creekbed is sweet to him.
Everyone follows him.
Countless others went before him.
34 How can you comfort me with this nonsense
when your answers continue to betray me?”
Eliphaz Speaks: Admit You Are Wicked, Job
22 Then Eliphaz from Teman replied ⌞to Job⌟,
2 “Can a human be of any use to God
when even a wise person is only useful to himself?
3 Is the Almighty pleased when you are righteous?
Does he gain anything when you follow the path of integrity?
4 Does God correct you
and bring you into a court of law because you fear him?
5 “Aren’t you really very wicked?
Is there no end to your wrongdoing?
6 For no reason you take your brothers’ goods as security for a loan
and strip them of their clothes.[a]
7 You don’t even give a tired person a drink of water,
and you take food away from hungry people.
8 A strong person owns the land.
A privileged person lives in it.
9 You send widows away empty-handed,
and the arms of orphans are broken.
10 That is why traps are all around you
and great fear suddenly grips you.
11 ⌞That is why⌟ darkness surrounds you and you cannot see
and a flood of water covers you.
12 “Isn’t God high above in the heavens?
Look how high the highest stars are!
13 You ask, ‘What does God know?
Can he judge ⌞anything⌟ from behind a dark cloud?
14 Thick clouds surround him so that he cannot see.
He walks above the clouds.’
15 “Are you following the old path that wicked people have taken?
16 They are snatched up before their time.
A river washes their foundation away.
17 They told God, ‘Leave us alone!
What can the Almighty do for us?’
18 Yet, he filled their homes with good things.
(The plan of the wicked is foreign to my way of thinking.)
19 The righteous saw it and were glad,
and the innocent made fun of them by saying,
20 ‘Indeed, their wealth has been wiped out,
and a fire has burned up what ⌞little⌟ they had left.’
Make Peace with God
21 “Be in harmony and at peace with God.
In this way you will have prosperity.
22 Accept instruction from his mouth,
and keep his words in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty, you will prosper.
If you put wrongdoing out of your tent,
24 and lay your gold down in the dust,
and put your gold from Ophir among the pebbles in the rivers,
25 then the Almighty will become your gold
and your large supply of silver.
26 Then you will be happy with the Almighty
and look up toward God.
27 You will pray to him, and he will listen to you,
and you will keep your vow to him.
28 When you promise to do something, you will succeed,
and light will shine on your path.
29 When others are discouraged, you will say, ‘Cheer up!’
Then he will save the humble person.[b]
30 He will rescue one who is not innocent.
That person will be rescued by your purity.”
Job Speaks: Where Can I Find God?
23 Then Job replied ⌞to his friends⌟,
2 “My complaint is bitter again today.
I try hard to control my sighing.
3 “If only I knew where I could find God!
I would go where he lives.
4 I would present ⌞my⌟ case to him.
I would have a mouthful of arguments.
5 I want to know the words he would use to answer me.
I want to understand the things he would say to me.
6 Would he sue me and hide behind great legal maneuvers?
No, he certainly would press charges against me.
7 Then decent people could argue with him,
and I would escape my judgment forever.
8 However, if I go east, he isn’t there.
If I go west, I can’t find him.
9 If I go northward, where he is at work, I can’t observe him.
If I turn southward, I can’t see him.
10 ⌞I can’t find him⌟ because he knows the road I take.
When he tests me,
I’ll come out as pure as gold.
11 I have followed his footsteps closely.
I have stayed on his path and did not turn from it.
12 I have not left his commands behind.
I have treasured his words in my heart.
God Is Against Me
13 “But God is one of a kind.
Who can make him change his mind?
He does whatever he wants!
14 He will carry out ⌞his⌟ orders concerning me
as he does with so many other things.
15 That is why I’m terrified of him.
When I think of it, I’m afraid of him.
16 God has discouraged me.
The Almighty has filled me with terror.
17 But I am not silenced by the dark
or by the thick darkness that covers my face.
Job 21-23
New International Version
Job 21-23
New International Version
Job
21 Then Job replied:
2 “Listen carefully to my words;(A)
let this be the consolation you give me.(B)
3 Bear with me while I speak,
and after I have spoken, mock on.(C)
4 “Is my complaint(D) directed to a human being?
Why should I not be impatient?(E)
5 Look at me and be appalled;
clap your hand over your mouth.(F)
6 When I think about this, I am terrified;(G)
trembling seizes my body.(H)
7 Why do the wicked live on,
growing old and increasing in power?(I)
8 They see their children established around them,
their offspring before their eyes.(J)
9 Their homes are safe and free from fear;(K)
the rod of God is not on them.(L)
10 Their bulls never fail to breed;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.(M)
11 They send forth their children as a flock;(N)
their little ones dance about.
12 They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre;(O)
they make merry to the sound of the pipe.(P)
13 They spend their years in prosperity(Q)
and go down to the grave(R) in peace.[a](S)
14 Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!(T)
We have no desire to know your ways.(U)
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
What would we gain by praying to him?’(V)
16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands,
so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.(W)
17 “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?(X)
How often does calamity(Y) come upon them,
the fate God allots in his anger?(Z)
18 How often are they like straw before the wind,
like chaff(AA) swept away(AB) by a gale?(AC)
19 It is said, ‘God stores up the punishment of the wicked for their children.’(AD)
Let him repay the wicked, so that they themselves will experience it!(AE)
20 Let their own eyes see their destruction;(AF)
let them drink(AG) the cup of the wrath of the Almighty.(AH)
21 For what do they care about the families they leave behind(AI)
when their allotted months(AJ) come to an end?(AK)
22 “Can anyone teach knowledge to God,(AL)
since he judges even the highest?(AM)
23 One person dies in full vigor,(AN)
completely secure and at ease,(AO)
24 well nourished(AP) in body,[b]
bones(AQ) rich with marrow.(AR)
25 Another dies in bitterness of soul,(AS)
never having enjoyed anything good.
26 Side by side they lie in the dust,(AT)
and worms(AU) cover them both.(AV)
27 “I know full well what you are thinking,
the schemes by which you would wrong me.
28 You say, ‘Where now is the house of the great,(AW)
the tents where the wicked lived?’(AX)
29 Have you never questioned those who travel?
Have you paid no regard to their accounts—
30 that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity,(AY)
that they are delivered from[c] the day of wrath?(AZ)
31 Who denounces their conduct to their face?
Who repays them for what they have done?(BA)
32 They are carried to the grave,
and watch is kept over their tombs.(BB)
33 The soil in the valley is sweet to them;(BC)
everyone follows after them,
and a countless throng goes[d] before them.(BD)
34 “So how can you console me(BE) with your nonsense?
Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!”(BF)
Eliphaz
22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite(BG) replied:
2 “Can a man be of benefit to God?(BH)
Can even a wise person benefit him?(BI)
3 What pleasure(BJ) would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?(BK)
What would he gain if your ways were blameless?(BL)
4 “Is it for your piety that he rebukes you
and brings charges against you?(BM)
5 Is not your wickedness great?
Are not your sins(BN) endless?(BO)
6 You demanded security(BP) from your relatives for no reason;(BQ)
you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked.(BR)
7 You gave no water(BS) to the weary
and you withheld food from the hungry,(BT)
8 though you were a powerful man, owning land(BU)—
an honored man,(BV) living on it.(BW)
9 And you sent widows(BX) away empty-handed(BY)
and broke the strength of the fatherless.(BZ)
10 That is why snares(CA) are all around you,(CB)
why sudden peril terrifies you,(CC)
11 why it is so dark(CD) you cannot see,
and why a flood of water covers you.(CE)
12 “Is not God in the heights of heaven?(CF)
And see how lofty are the highest stars!
13 Yet you say, ‘What does God know?(CG)
Does he judge through such darkness?(CH)
14 Thick clouds(CI) veil him, so he does not see us(CJ)
as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.’(CK)
15 Will you keep to the old path
that the wicked(CL) have trod?(CM)
16 They were carried off before their time,(CN)
their foundations(CO) washed away by a flood.(CP)
17 They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!
What can the Almighty do to us?’(CQ)
18 Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,(CR)
so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.(CS)
19 The righteous see their ruin and rejoice;(CT)
the innocent mock(CU) them, saying,
20 ‘Surely our foes are destroyed,(CV)
and fire(CW) devours their wealth.’
21 “Submit to God and be at peace(CX) with him;(CY)
in this way prosperity will come to you.(CZ)
22 Accept instruction from his mouth(DA)
and lay up his words(DB) in your heart.(DC)
23 If you return(DD) to the Almighty, you will be restored:(DE)
If you remove wickedness far from your tent(DF)
24 and assign your nuggets(DG) to the dust,
your gold(DH) of Ophir(DI) to the rocks in the ravines,(DJ)
25 then the Almighty will be your gold,(DK)
the choicest silver for you.(DL)
26 Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty(DM)
and will lift up your face(DN) to God.(DO)
27 You will pray to him,(DP) and he will hear you,(DQ)
and you will fulfill your vows.(DR)
28 What you decide on will be done,(DS)
and light(DT) will shine on your ways.(DU)
29 When people are brought low(DV) and you say, ‘Lift them up!’
then he will save the downcast.(DW)
30 He will deliver even one who is not innocent,(DX)
who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”(DY)
Job
23 Then Job replied:
2 “Even today my complaint(DZ) is bitter;(EA)
his hand[e] is heavy in spite of[f] my groaning.(EB)
3 If only I knew where to find him;
if only I could go to his dwelling!(EC)
4 I would state my case(ED) before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.(EE)
5 I would find out what he would answer me,(EF)
and consider what he would say to me.
6 Would he vigorously oppose me?(EG)
No, he would not press charges against me.(EH)
7 There the upright(EI) can establish their innocence before him,(EJ)
and there I would be delivered forever from my judge.(EK)
8 “But if I go to the east, he is not there;
if I go to the west, I do not find him.
9 When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;
when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.(EL)
10 But he knows the way that I take;(EM)
when he has tested me,(EN) I will come forth as gold.(EO)
11 My feet have closely followed his steps;(EP)
I have kept to his way without turning aside.(EQ)
12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;(ER)
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.(ES)
13 “But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?(ET)
He does whatever he pleases.(EU)
14 He carries out his decree against me,
and many such plans he still has in store.(EV)
15 That is why I am terrified before him;(EW)
when I think of all this, I fear him.(EX)
16 God has made my heart faint;(EY)
the Almighty(EZ) has terrified me.(FA)
17 Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,(FB)
by the thick darkness that covers my face.
Footnotes
- Job 21:13 Or in an instant
- Job 21:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Job 21:30 Or wicked are reserved for the day of calamity, / that they are brought forth to
- Job 21:33 Or them, / as a countless throng went
- Job 23:2 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew / the hand on me
- Job 23:2 Or heavy on me in
Job 21-23
King James Version
Job 21-23
King James Version
21 But Job answered and said,
2 Hear diligently my speech, and let this be your consolations.
3 Suffer me that I may speak; and after that I have spoken, mock on.
4 As for me, is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled?
5 Mark me, and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth.
6 Even when I remember I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my flesh.
7 Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?
8 Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes.
9 Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.
10 Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.
11 They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.
12 They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ.
13 They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave.
14 Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?
16 Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
17 How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger.
18 They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away.
19 God layeth up his iniquity for his children: he rewardeth him, and he shall know it.
20 His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21 For what pleasure hath he in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the midst?
22 Shall any teach God knowledge? seeing he judgeth those that are high.
23 One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet.
24 His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow.
25 And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure.
26 They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them.
27 Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices which ye wrongfully imagine against me.
28 For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked?
29 Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye not know their tokens,
30 That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.
31 Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done?
32 Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb.
33 The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him.
34 How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answers there remaineth falsehood?
22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2 Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself?
3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?
4 Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment?
5 Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite?
6 For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing.
7 Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
8 But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it.
9 Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
10 Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee;
11 Or darkness, that thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover thee.
12 Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!
13 And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud?
14 Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven.
15 Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?
16 Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood:
17 Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?
18 Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19 The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn.
20 Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth.
21 Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.
22 Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.
23 If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.
24 Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.
25 Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.
26 For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.
27 Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.
28 Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.
29 When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.
30 He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.
23 Then Job answered and said,
2 Even to day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning.
3 Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!
4 I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me.
6 Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me.
7 There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge.
8 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:
9 On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:
10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
11 My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.
12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
13 But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.
14 For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.
15 Therefore am I troubled at his presence: when I consider, I am afraid of him.
16 For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me:
17 Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
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