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Job 21-24
New King James Version
Job 21-24
New King James Version
Job’s Discourse on the Wicked
21 Then Job answered and said:
2 “Listen carefully to my speech,
And let this be your [a]consolation.
3 Bear with me that I may speak,
And after I have spoken, keep (A)mocking.
4 “As for me, is my complaint against man?
And if it were, why should I not be impatient?
5 Look at me and be astonished;
(B)Put your hand over your mouth.
6 Even when I remember I am terrified,
And trembling takes hold of my flesh.
7 (C)Why do the wicked live and become old,
Yes, become mighty in power?
8 Their descendants are established with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes.
9 Their houses are safe from fear,
(D)Neither is [b]the rod of God upon them.
10 Their bull breeds without failure;
Their cow calves (E)without miscarriage.
11 They send forth their little ones like a flock,
And their children dance.
12 They sing to the tambourine and harp,
And rejoice to the sound of the flute.
13 They (F)spend their days in wealth,
And [c]in a moment go down to the [d]grave.
14 (G)Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us,
For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.
15 (H)Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
And (I)what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’
16 Indeed [e]their prosperity is not in their hand;
(J)The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
17 “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
How often does their destruction come upon them,
The sorrows God (K)distributes in His anger?
18 (L)They are like straw before the wind,
And like chaff that a storm [f]carries away.
19 They say, ‘God [g]lays up [h]one’s iniquity (M)for his children’;
Let Him recompense him, that he may know it.
20 Let his eyes see his destruction,
And (N)let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21 For what does he care about his household after him,
When the number of his months is cut in half?
22 “Can(O) anyone teach God knowledge,
Since He judges those on high?
23 One dies in his full strength,
Being wholly at ease and secure;
24 His [i]pails are full of milk,
And the marrow of his bones is moist.
25 Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul,
Never having eaten with pleasure.
26 They (P)lie down alike in the dust,
And worms cover them.
27 “Look, I know your thoughts,
And the schemes with which you would wrong me.
28 For you say,
‘Where is the house of the prince?
And where is [j]the tent,
The dwelling place of the wicked?’
29 Have you not asked those who travel the road?
And do you not know their signs?
30 (Q)For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom;
They shall be brought out on the day of wrath.
31 Who condemns his way to his face?
And who repays him for what he has done?
32 Yet he shall be brought to the grave,
And a vigil kept over the tomb.
33 The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him;
(R)Everyone shall follow him,
As countless have gone before him.
34 How then can you comfort me with empty words,
Since [k]falsehood remains in your answers?”
Eliphaz Accuses Job of Wickedness
22 Then (S)Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
2 “Can(T) a man be profitable to God,
Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself?
3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous?
Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless?
4 “Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you,
And enters into judgment with you?
5 Is not your wickedness great,
And your iniquity without end?
6 For you have (U)taken pledges from your brother for no reason,
And stripped the naked of their clothing.
7 You have not given the weary water to drink,
And you (V)have withheld bread from the hungry.
8 But the [l]mighty man possessed the land,
And the honorable man dwelt in it.
9 You have sent widows away empty,
And the [m]strength of the fatherless was crushed.
10 Therefore snares are all around you,
And sudden fear troubles you,
11 Or darkness so that you cannot see;
And an abundance of (W)water covers you.
12 “Is not God in the height of heaven?
And see the highest stars, how lofty they are!
13 And you say, (X)‘What does God know?
Can He judge through the deep darkness?
14 (Y)Thick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see,
And He walks above the circle of heaven.’
15 Will you keep to the old way
Which wicked men have trod,
16 Who (Z)were cut down before their time,
Whose foundations were swept away by a flood?
17 (AA)They said to God, ‘Depart from us!
What can the Almighty do to [n]them?’
18 Yet He filled their houses with good things;
But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19 “The(AB) righteous see it and are glad,
And the innocent laugh at them:
20 ‘Surely our [o]adversaries are cut down,
And the fire consumes their remnant.’
21 “Now acquaint yourself with Him, and (AC)be at peace;
Thereby good will come to you.
22 Receive, please, (AD)instruction from His mouth,
And (AE)lay up His words in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up;
You will remove iniquity far from your tents.
24 Then you will (AF)lay your gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.
25 Yes, the Almighty will be your [p]gold
And your precious silver;
26 For then you will have your (AG)delight in the Almighty,
And lift up your face to God.
27 (AH)You will make your prayer to Him,
He will hear you,
And you will pay your vows.
28 You will also declare a thing,
And it will be established for you;
So light will shine on your ways.
29 When they cast you down, and you say, ‘Exaltation will come!’
Then (AI)He will save the humble person.
30 He will even deliver one who is not innocent;
Yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands.”
Job Proclaims God’s Righteous Judgments
23 Then Job answered and said:
2 “Even today my (AJ)complaint is bitter;
[q]My hand is listless because of my groaning.
3 (AK)Oh, that I knew where I might find Him,
That I might come to His seat!
4 I would present my case 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 to me.
6 (AL)Would He contend with me in His great power?
No! But He would take note of me.
7 There the upright could reason with Him,
And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.
8 “Look,(AM) I go forward, but He is not there,
And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;
9 When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him;
When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.
10 But (AN)He knows the way that I take;
When (AO)He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
11 (AP)My foot has held fast to His steps;
I have kept His way and not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from the (AQ)commandment of His lips;
(AR)I have treasured the words of His mouth
More than my [r]necessary food.
13 “But He is unique, and who can make Him change?
And whatever (AS)His soul desires, that He does.
14 For He performs what is (AT)appointed for me,
And many such things are with Him.
15 Therefore I am terrified at His presence;
When I consider this, I am afraid of Him.
16 For God (AU)made my heart weak,
And the Almighty terrifies me;
17 Because I was not (AV)cut off [s]from the presence of darkness,
And He did not hide deep darkness from my face.
Job Complains of Violence on the Earth
24 “Since (AW)times are not hidden from the Almighty,
Why do those who know Him see not His (AX)days?
2 “Some remove (AY)landmarks;
They seize flocks violently and feed on them;
3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless;
They (AZ)take the widow’s ox as a pledge.
4 They push the needy off the road;
All the (BA)poor of the land are forced to hide.
5 Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert,
They go out to their work, searching for food.
The wilderness yields food for them and for their children.
6 They gather their fodder in the field
And glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
7 They (BB)spend the night naked, without clothing,
And have no covering in the cold.
8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains,
And (BC)huddle around the rock for want of shelter.
9 “Some snatch the fatherless from the breast,
And take a pledge from the poor.
10 They cause the poor to go naked, without (BD)clothing;
And they take away the sheaves from the hungry.
11 They press out oil within their walls,
And tread winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
12 The dying groan in the city,
And the souls of the wounded cry out;
Yet God does not charge them with wrong.
13 “There are those who rebel against the light;
They do not know its ways
Nor abide in its paths.
14 (BE)The murderer rises with the light;
He kills the poor and needy;
And in the night he is like a thief.
15 (BF)The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,
(BG)Saying, ‘No eye will see me’;
And he [t]disguises his face.
16 In the dark they break into houses
Which they marked for themselves in the daytime;
(BH)They do not know the light.
17 For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death;
If someone recognizes them,
They are in the terrors of the shadow of death.
18 “They should be swift on the face of the waters,
Their portion should be cursed in the earth,
So that no one would turn into the way of their vineyards.
19 As drought and heat [u]consume the snow waters,
So [v]the grave consumes those who have sinned.
20 The womb should forget him,
The worm should feed sweetly on him;
(BI)He should be remembered no more,
And wickedness should be broken like a tree.
21 For he [w]preys on the barren who do not bear,
And does no good for the widow.
22 “But God draws the mighty away with His power;
He rises up, but no man is sure of life.
23 He gives them security, and they rely on it;
Yet (BJ)His eyes are on their ways.
24 They are exalted for a little while,
Then they are gone.
They are brought low;
They are [x]taken out of the way like all others;
They dry out like the heads of grain.
25 “Now if it is not so, who will prove me a liar,
And make my speech worth nothing?”
Footnotes
- Job 21:2 comfort
- Job 21:9 The rod of God’s chastisement
- Job 21:13 Without lingering
- Job 21:13 Or Sheol
- Job 21:16 Lit. their goal
- Job 21:18 steals away
- Job 21:19 stores up
- Job 21:19 Lit. his
- Job 21:24 LXX, Vg. bowels; Syr. sides; Tg. breasts
- Job 21:28 Vg. omits the tent
- Job 21:34 faithlessness
- Job 22:8 Lit. man of arm
- Job 22:9 Lit. arms
- Job 22:17 LXX, Syr. us
- Job 22:20 LXX substance is
- Job 22:25 Ancient vss. suggest defense; MT gold, as in v. 24
- Job 23:2 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Syr. His
- Job 23:12 Lit. appointed portion
- Job 23:17 Or by or before
- Job 24:15 Lit. puts a covering on his face
- Job 24:19 Lit. seize
- Job 24:19 Or Sheol
- Job 24:21 Lit. feeds on
- Job 24:24 Lit. gathered up
Job 21-24
New International Version
Job 21-24
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.
24 “Why does the Almighty not set times(FC) for judgment?(FD)
Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?(FE)
2 There are those who move boundary stones;(FF)
they pasture flocks they have stolen.(FG)
3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey
and take the widow’s ox in pledge.(FH)
4 They thrust the needy(FI) from the path
and force all the poor(FJ) of the land into hiding.(FK)
5 Like wild donkeys(FL) in the desert,
the poor go about their labor(FM) of foraging food;
the wasteland(FN) provides food for their children.
6 They gather fodder(FO) in the fields
and glean in the vineyards(FP) of the wicked.(FQ)
7 Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.(FR)
8 They are drenched(FS) by mountain rains
and hug(FT) the rocks for lack of shelter.(FU)
9 The fatherless(FV) child is snatched(FW) from the breast;
the infant of the poor is seized(FX) for a debt.(FY)
10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked;(FZ)
they carry the sheaves,(GA) but still go hungry.
11 They crush olives among the terraces[g];
they tread the winepresses,(GB) yet suffer thirst.(GC)
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.(GD)
But God charges no one with wrongdoing.(GE)
13 “There are those who rebel against the light,(GF)
who do not know its ways
or stay in its paths.(GG)
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up,
kills(GH) the poor and needy,(GI)
and in the night steals forth like a thief.(GJ)
15 The eye of the adulterer(GK) watches for dusk;(GL)
he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’(GM)
and he keeps his face concealed.
16 In the dark, thieves break into houses,(GN)
but by day they shut themselves in;
they want nothing to do with the light.(GO)
17 For all of them, midnight is their morning;
they make friends with the terrors(GP) of darkness.(GQ)
18 “Yet they are foam(GR) on the surface of the water;(GS)
their portion of the land is cursed,(GT)
so that no one goes to the vineyards.(GU)
19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,(GV)
so the grave(GW) snatches away those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them,
the worm(GX) feasts on them;(GY)
the wicked are no longer remembered(GZ)
but are broken like a tree.(HA)
21 They prey on the barren and childless woman,
and to the widow they show no kindness.(HB)
22 But God drags away the mighty by his power;(HC)
though they become established,(HD) they have no assurance of life.(HE)
23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security,(HF)
but his eyes(HG) are on their ways.(HH)
24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;(HI)
they are brought low and gathered up like all others;(HJ)
they are cut off like heads of grain.(HK)
25 “If this is not so, who can prove me false
and reduce my words to nothing?”(HL)
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 24:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.