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Job rejects Bildad’s argument

27 Then Job took up his topic again:

As God lives, who rejected my legal claim,
        the Almighty, who made me bitter,
    as long as breath is in me
        and God’s breath is in my nostrils—
    my lips will utter no wickedness;
        my tongue will mumble no deceit.
I will not agree that you are right.
    Until my dying day, I won’t give up my integrity.
I will insist on my innocence, never surrendering it;
    my conscience will never blame me for what I have done.[a]

Job curses his enemies

Let my enemy be like the wicked,
    my opposition like the vicious.
For what hope has the godless when God cuts them off,
    when he takes them away.
Will God hear their cries
        when distress comes to them;
10     will they delight in the Almighty,
        call God at any time?

Job’s view of his enemies’ fate

11 I will teach you God’s power,
    not hide what pertains to the Almighty.
12 Look, those of you who recognize this—
    why then this empty talk?
13 This is the wicked’s portion with God,
    the inheritance that the ruthless receive from the Almighty.
14 If their children increase, they belong to the sword;
    their offspring won’t have enough bread.
15 Their survivors will be buried with the dead;
    their widows won’t weep.
16 If they store up silver like dust,
    amass clothing like clay,
17     they may amass, but the righteous will wear it;
            the innocent will divide the silver.
18 They built their houses like nests,
    like a hut made by a watchman.
19 They lie down rich, but no longer;
    open their eyes, but it’s missing.
20 Terrors overtake them like waters;
        a tempest snatches them by night;
21     an east wind lifts them, and they are gone,
        removes them from their places,
22     throws itself on them without mercy;
        they flee desperately from its force.
23 It claps its hands over them,
    hisses at them from their place.

Footnotes

  1. Job 27:6 Or for my days

Job’s Final Word to His Friends

27 And Job continued his discourse:(A)

“As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,(B)
    the Almighty,(C) who has made my life bitter,(D)
as long as I have life within me,
    the breath of God(E) in my nostrils,
my lips will not say anything wicked,
    and my tongue will not utter lies.(F)
I will never admit you are in the right;
    till I die, I will not deny my integrity.(G)
I will maintain my innocence(H) and never let go of it;
    my conscience(I) will not reproach me as long as I live.(J)

“May my enemy be like the wicked,(K)
    my adversary(L) like the unjust!
For what hope have the godless(M) when they are cut off,
    when God takes away their life?(N)
Does God listen to their cry
    when distress comes upon them?(O)
10 Will they find delight in the Almighty?(P)
    Will they call on God at all times?

11 “I will teach you about the power of God;
    the ways(Q) of the Almighty I will not conceal.(R)
12 You have all seen this yourselves.
    Why then this meaningless talk?

13 “Here is the fate God allots to the wicked,
    the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty:(S)
14 However many his children,(T) their fate is the sword;(U)
    his offspring will never have enough to eat.(V)
15 The plague will bury those who survive him,
    and their widows will not weep for them.(W)
16 Though he heaps up silver like dust(X)
    and clothes like piles of clay,(Y)
17 what he lays up(Z) the righteous will wear,(AA)
    and the innocent will divide his silver.(AB)
18 The house(AC) he builds is like a moth’s cocoon,(AD)
    like a hut(AE) made by a watchman.
19 He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;(AF)
    when he opens his eyes, all is gone.(AG)
20 Terrors(AH) overtake him like a flood;(AI)
    a tempest snatches him away in the night.(AJ)
21 The east wind(AK) carries him off, and he is gone;(AL)
    it sweeps him out of his place.(AM)
22 It hurls itself against him without mercy(AN)
    as he flees headlong(AO) from its power.(AP)
23 It claps its hands(AQ) in derision
    and hisses him out of his place.”(AR)