Font Size
Job 8-10
The Message
Job 8-10
The Message
Bildad’s Response
Does God Mess Up?
8 1-7 Bildad from Shuhah was next to speak:
“How can you keep on talking like this?
You’re talking nonsense, and noisy nonsense at that.
Does God mess up?
Does God Almighty ever get things backward?
It’s plain that your children sinned against him—
otherwise, why would God have punished them?
Here’s what you must do—and don’t put it off any longer:
Get down on your knees before God Almighty.
If you’re as innocent and upright as you say,
it’s not too late—he’ll come running;
he’ll set everything right again, reestablish your fortunes.
Even though you’re not much right now,
you’ll end up better than ever.
To Hang Your Life from One Thin Thread
8-19 “Put the question to our ancestors,
study what they learned from their ancestors.
For we’re newcomers at this, with a lot to learn,
and not too long to learn it.
So why not let the ancients teach you, tell you what’s what,
instruct you in what they knew from experience?
Can mighty pine trees grow tall without soil?
Can luscious tomatoes flourish without water?
Blossoming flowers look beautiful before they’re cut or picked,
but without soil or water they wither more quickly than grass.
That’s what happens to all who forget God—
all their hopes come to nothing.
They hang their life from one thin thread,
they hitch their fate to a spider web.
One jiggle and the thread breaks,
one jab and the web collapses.
Or they’re like weeds springing up in the sunshine,
invading the garden,
Spreading everywhere, overtaking the flowers,
getting a foothold even in the rocks.
But when the gardener rips them out by the roots,
the garden doesn’t miss them one bit.
The sooner the godless are gone, the better;
then good plants can grow in their place.
20-22 “There’s no way that God will reject a good person,
and there is no way he’ll help a bad one.
God will let you laugh again;
you’ll raise the roof with shouts of joy,
With your enemies thoroughly discredited,
their house of cards collapsed.”
Job Continues
How Can Mere Mortals Get Right with God?
9 1-13 Job continued by saying:
“So what’s new? I know all this.
The question is, ‘How can mere mortals get right with God?’
If we wanted to bring our case before him,
what chance would we have? Not one in a thousand!
God’s wisdom is so deep, God’s power so immense,
who could take him on and come out in one piece?
He moves mountains before they know what’s happened,
flips them on their heads on a whim.
He gives the earth a good shaking up,
rocks it down to its very foundations.
He tells the sun, ‘Don’t shine,’ and it doesn’t;
he pulls the blinds on the stars.
All by himself he stretches out the heavens
and strides on the waves of the sea.
He designed the Big Dipper and Orion,
the Pleiades and Alpha Centauri.
We’ll never comprehend all the great things he does;
his miracle-surprises can’t be counted.
Somehow, though he moves right in front of me, I don’t see him;
quietly but surely he’s active, and I miss it.
If he steals you blind, who can stop him?
Who’s going to say, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’
God doesn’t hold back on his anger;
even dragon-bred monsters cringe before him.
14-20 “So how could I ever argue with him,
construct a defense that would influence God?
Even though I’m innocent I could never prove it;
I can only throw myself on the Judge’s mercy.
If I called on God and he himself answered me,
then, and only then, would I believe that he’d heard me.
As it is, he knocks me about from pillar to post,
beating me up, black-and-blue, for no good reason.
He won’t even let me catch my breath,
piles bitterness upon bitterness.
If it’s a question of who’s stronger, he wins, hands down!
If it’s a question of justice, who’ll serve him the subpoena?
Even though innocent, anything I say incriminates me;
blameless as I am, my defense just makes me sound worse.
If God’s Not Responsible, Who Is?
21-24 “Believe me, I’m blameless.
I don’t understand what’s going on.
I hate my life!
Since either way it ends up the same, I can only conclude
that God destroys the good right along with the bad.
When calamity hits and brings sudden death,
he folds his arms, aloof from the despair of the innocent.
He lets the wicked take over running the world,
he installs judges who can’t tell right from wrong.
If he’s not responsible, who is?
25-31 “My time is short—what’s left of my life races off
too fast for me to even glimpse the good.
My life is going fast, like a ship under full sail,
like an eagle plummeting to its prey.
Even if I say, ‘I’ll put all this behind me,
I’ll look on the bright side and force a smile,’
All these troubles would still be like grit in my gut
since it’s clear you’re not going to let up.
The verdict has already been handed down—‘Guilty!’—
so what’s the use of protests or appeals?
Even if I scrub myself all over
and wash myself with the strongest soap I can find,
It wouldn’t last—you’d push me into a pigpen, or worse,
so nobody could stand me for the stink.
32-35 “God and I are not equals; I can’t bring a case against him.
We’ll never enter a courtroom as peers.
How I wish we had an arbitrator
to step in and let me get on with life—
To break God’s death grip on me,
to free me from this terror so I could breathe again.
Then I’d speak up and state my case boldly.
As things stand, there is no way I can do it.”
To Find Some Skeleton in My Closet
10 “I can’t stand my life—I hate it!
I’m putting it all out on the table,
all the bitterness of my life—I’m holding back nothing.”
2-7 Job prayed:
“Here’s what I want to say:
Don’t, God, bring in a verdict of guilty
without letting me know the charges you’re bringing.
How does this fit into what you once called ‘good’—
giving me a hard time, spurning me,
a life you shaped by your very own hands,
and then blessing the plots of the wicked?
You don’t look at things the way we mortals do.
You’re not taken in by appearances, are you?
Unlike us, you’re not working against a deadline.
You have all eternity to work things out.
So what’s this all about, anyway—this compulsion
to dig up some dirt, to find some skeleton in my closet?
You know good and well I’m not guilty.
You also know no one can help me.
8-12 “You made me like a handcrafted piece of pottery—
and now are you going to smash me to pieces?
Don’t you remember how beautifully you worked my clay?
Will you reduce me now to a mud pie?
Oh, that marvel of conception as you stirred together
semen and ovum—
What a miracle of skin and bone,
muscle and brain!
You gave me life itself, and incredible love.
You watched and guarded every breath I took.
13-17 “But you never told me about this part.
I should have known that there was more to it—
That if I so much as missed a step, you’d notice and pounce,
wouldn’t let me get by with a thing.
If I’m truly guilty, I’m doomed.
But if I’m innocent, it’s no better—I’m still doomed.
My belly is full of bitterness.
I’m up to my ears in a swamp of affliction.
I try to make the best of it, try to brave it out,
but you’re too much for me,
relentless, like a lion on the prowl.
You line up fresh witnesses against me.
You compound your anger
and pile on the grief and pain!
18-22 “So why did you have me born?
I wish no one had ever laid eyes on me!
I wish I’d never lived—a stillborn,
buried without ever having breathed.
Isn’t it time to call it quits on my life?
Can’t you let up, and let me smile just once
Before I die and am buried,
before I’m nailed into my coffin, sealed in the ground,
And banished for good to the land of the dead,
blind in the final dark?”
Job 8-10
New International Version
Job 8-10
New International Version
Bildad
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite(A) replied:
2 “How long will you say such things?(B)
Your words are a blustering wind.(C)
3 Does God pervert justice?(D)
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?(E)
4 When your children sinned against him,
he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.(F)
5 But if you will seek God earnestly
and plead(G) with the Almighty,(H)
6 if you are pure and upright,
even now he will rouse himself on your behalf(I)
and restore you to your prosperous state.(J)
7 Your beginnings will seem humble,
so prosperous(K) will your future be.(L)
8 “Ask the former generation(M)
and find out what their ancestors learned,
9 for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,(N)
and our days on earth are but a shadow.(O)
10 Will they not instruct(P) you and tell you?
Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?(Q)
11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?(R)
Can reeds(S) thrive without water?
12 While still growing and uncut,
they wither more quickly than grass.(T)
13 Such is the destiny(U) of all who forget God;(V)
so perishes the hope of the godless.(W)
14 What they trust in is fragile[a];
what they rely on is a spider’s web.(X)
15 They lean on the web,(Y) but it gives way;
they cling to it, but it does not hold.(Z)
16 They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
spreading its shoots(AA) over the garden;(AB)
17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
and looks for a place among the stones.
18 But when it is torn from its spot,
that place disowns(AC) it and says, ‘I never saw you.’(AD)
19 Surely its life withers(AE) away,
and[b] from the soil other plants grow.(AF)
20 “Surely God does not reject one who is blameless(AG)
or strengthen the hands of evildoers.(AH)
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter(AI)
and your lips with shouts of joy.(AJ)
22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame,(AK)
and the tents(AL) of the wicked will be no more.”(AM)
Job
9 Then Job replied:
2 “Indeed, I know that this is true.
But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God?(AN)
3 Though they wished to dispute with him,(AO)
they could not answer him one time out of a thousand.(AP)
4 His wisdom(AQ) is profound, his power is vast.(AR)
Who has resisted(AS) him and come out unscathed?(AT)
5 He moves mountains(AU) without their knowing it
and overturns them in his anger.(AV)
6 He shakes the earth(AW) from its place
and makes its pillars tremble.(AX)
7 He speaks to the sun and it does not shine;(AY)
he seals off the light of the stars.(AZ)
8 He alone stretches out the heavens(BA)
and treads on the waves of the sea.(BB)
9 He is the Maker(BC) of the Bear[c] and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.(BD)
10 He performs wonders(BE) that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted.(BF)
11 When he passes me, I cannot see him;
when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.(BG)
12 If he snatches away, who can stop him?(BH)
Who can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’(BI)
13 God does not restrain his anger;(BJ)
even the cohorts of Rahab(BK) cowered at his feet.
14 “How then can I dispute with him?
How can I find words to argue with him?(BL)
15 Though I were innocent, I could not answer him;(BM)
I could only plead(BN) with my Judge(BO) for mercy.(BP)
16 Even if I summoned him and he responded,
I do not believe he would give me a hearing.(BQ)
17 He would crush me(BR) with a storm(BS)
and multiply(BT) my wounds for no reason.(BU)
18 He would not let me catch my breath
but would overwhelm me with misery.(BV)
19 If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty!(BW)
And if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge him[d]?(BX)
20 Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me;
if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.(BY)
21 “Although I am blameless,(BZ)
I have no concern for myself;(CA)
I despise my own life.(CB)
22 It is all the same; that is why I say,
‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’(CC)
23 When a scourge(CD) brings sudden death,
he mocks the despair of the innocent.(CE)
24 When a land falls into the hands of the wicked,(CF)
he blindfolds its judges.(CG)
If it is not he, then who is it?(CH)
25 “My days are swifter than a runner;(CI)
they fly away without a glimpse of joy.(CJ)
26 They skim past(CK) like boats of papyrus,(CL)
like eagles swooping down on their prey.(CM)
27 If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,(CN)
I will change my expression, and smile,’
28 I still dread(CO) all my sufferings,
for I know you will not hold me innocent.(CP)
29 Since I am already found guilty,
why should I struggle in vain?(CQ)
30 Even if I washed myself with soap(CR)
and my hands(CS) with cleansing powder,(CT)
31 you would plunge me into a slime pit(CU)
so that even my clothes would detest me.(CV)
32 “He is not a mere mortal(CW) like me that I might answer him,(CX)
that we might confront each other in court.(CY)
33 If only there were someone to mediate between us,(CZ)
someone to bring us together,(DA)
34 someone to remove God’s rod from me,(DB)
so that his terror would frighten me no more.(DC)
35 Then I would speak up without fear of him,(DD)
but as it now stands with me, I cannot.(DE)
10 “I loathe my very life;(DF)
therefore I will give free rein to my complaint
and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.(DG)
2 I say to God:(DH) Do not declare me guilty,
but tell me what charges(DI) you have against me.(DJ)
3 Does it please you to oppress me,(DK)
to spurn the work of your hands,(DL)
while you smile on the plans of the wicked?(DM)
4 Do you have eyes of flesh?
Do you see as a mortal sees?(DN)
5 Are your days like those of a mortal
or your years like those of a strong man,(DO)
6 that you must search out my faults
and probe after my sin(DP)—
7 though you know that I am not guilty(DQ)
and that no one can rescue me from your hand?(DR)
8 “Your hands shaped(DS) me and made me.
Will you now turn and destroy me?(DT)
9 Remember that you molded me like clay.(DU)
Will you now turn me to dust again?(DV)
10 Did you not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese,
11 clothe me with skin and flesh
and knit me together(DW) with bones and sinews?
12 You gave me life(DX) and showed me kindness,(DY)
and in your providence(DZ) watched over(EA) my spirit.
13 “But this is what you concealed in your heart,
and I know that this was in your mind:(EB)
14 If I sinned, you would be watching me(EC)
and would not let my offense go unpunished.(ED)
15 If I am guilty(EE)—woe to me!(EF)
Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head,(EG)
for I am full of shame
and drowned in[e] my affliction.(EH)
16 If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion(EI)
and again display your awesome power against me.(EJ)
17 You bring new witnesses against me(EK)
and increase your anger toward me;(EL)
your forces come against me wave upon wave.(EM)
18 “Why then did you bring me out of the womb?(EN)
I wish I had died before any eye saw me.(EO)
19 If only I had never come into being,
or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave!(EP)
20 Are not my few days(EQ) almost over?(ER)
Turn away from me(ES) so I can have a moment’s joy(ET)
21 before I go to the place of no return,(EU)
to the land of gloom and utter darkness,(EV)
22 to the land of deepest night,
of utter darkness(EW) and disorder,
where even the light is like darkness.”(EX)
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
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.