Category: Job

Zophar’s First Response to Job

1 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied to Job:

2 “Shouldn’t someone answer this torrent of words?

Is a person proved innocent just by a lot of talking?

3 Should I remain silent while you babble on?

When you mock God, shouldn’t someone make you ashamed?

4 You claim, ‘My beliefs are pure,’

and ‘I am clean in the sight of God.’

5 If only God would speak;

if only he would tell you what he thinks!

6 If only he would tell you the secrets of wisdom,

for true wisdom is not a simple matter.

Listen! God is doubtless punishing you

far less than you deserve!

7 “Can you solve the mysteries of God?

Can you discover everything about the Almighty?

8 Such knowledge is higher than the heavens—

and who are you?

It is deeper than the underworld—

what do you know?

9 It is broader than the earth

and wider than the sea.

10 If God comes and puts a person in prison

or calls the court to order, who can stop him?

11 For he knows those who are false,

and he takes note of all their sins.

12 An empty-headed person won’t become wise

any more than a wild donkey can bear a human child.

13 “If only you would prepare your heart

and lift up your hands to him in prayer!

14 Get rid of your sins,

and leave all iniquity behind you.

15 Then your face will brighten with innocence.

You will be strong and free of fear.

16 You will forget your misery;

it will be like water flowing away.

17 Your life will be brighter than the noonday.

Even darkness will be as bright as morning.

18 Having hope will give you courage.

You will be protected and will rest in safety.

19 You will lie down unafraid,

and many will look to you for help.

20 But the wicked will be blinded.

They will have no escape.

Their only hope is death.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOB/11-d7c2ccc8ea6dea82259a7093f7b5c767.mp3?version_id=116—

Job’s Fourth Speech: A Response to Zophar

1 Then Job spoke again:

2 “You people really know everything, don’t you?

And when you die, wisdom will die with you!

3 Well, I know a few things myself—

and you’re no better than I am.

Who doesn’t know these things you’ve been saying?

4 Yet my friends laugh at me,

for I call on God and expect an answer.

I am a just and blameless man,

yet they laugh at me.

5 People who are at ease mock those in trouble.

They give a push to people who are stumbling.

6 But robbers are left in peace,

and those who provoke God live in safety—

though God keeps them in his power.

7 “Just ask the animals, and they will teach you.

Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.

8 Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you.

Let the fish in the sea speak to you.

9 For they all know

that my disasterhas come from the hand of theLord.

10 For the life of every living thing is in his hand,

and the breath of every human being.

11 The ear tests the words it hears

just as the mouth distinguishes between foods.

12 Wisdom belongs to the aged,

and understanding to the old.

13 “But true wisdom and power are found in God;

counsel and understanding are his.

14 What he destroys cannot be rebuilt.

When he puts someone in prison, there is no escape.

15 If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert.

If he releases the waters, they flood the earth.

16 Yes, strength and wisdom are his;

deceivers and deceived are both in his power.

17 He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment;

wise judges become fools.

18 He removes the royal robe of kings.

They are led away with ropes around their waist.

19 He leads priests away, stripped of status;

he overthrows those with long years in power.

20 He silences the trusted adviser

and removes the insight of the elders.

21 He pours disgrace upon princes

and disarms the strong.

22 “He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness;

he brings light to the deepest gloom.

23 He builds up nations, and he destroys them.

He expands nations, and he abandons them.

24 He strips kings of understanding

and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland.

25 They grope in the darkness without a light.

He makes them stagger like drunkards.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOB/12-ee8d91fddc05a7db9e92fcd1d753f42c.mp3?version_id=116—

Job Wants to Argue His Case with God

1 “Look, I have seen all this with my own eyes

and heard it with my own ears, and now I understand.

2 I know as much as you do.

You are no better than I am.

3 As for me, I would speak directly to the Almighty.

I want to argue my case with God himself.

4 As for you, you smear me with lies.

As physicians, you are worthless quacks.

5 If only you could be silent!

That’s the wisest thing you could do.

6 Listen to my charge;

pay attention to my arguments.

7 “Are you defending God with lies?

Do you make your dishonest arguments for his sake?

8 Will you slant your testimony in his favor?

Will you argue God’s case for him?

9 What will happen when he finds out what you are doing?

Can you fool him as easily as you fool people?

10 No, you will be in trouble with him

if you secretly slant your testimony in his favor.

11 Doesn’t his majesty terrify you?

Doesn’t your fear of him overwhelm you?

12 Your platitudes are as valuable as ashes.

Your defense is as fragile as a clay pot.

13 “Be silent now and leave me alone.

Let me speak, and I will face the consequences.

14 Why should I put myself in mortal danger

and take my life in my own hands?

15 God might kill me, but I have no other hope.

I am going to argue my case with him.

16 But this is what will save me—I am not godless.

If I were, I could not stand before him.

17 “Listen closely to what I am about to say.

Hear me out.

18 I have prepared my case;

I will be proved innocent.

19 Who can argue with me over this?

And if you prove me wrong, I will remain silent and die.

Job Asks How He Has Sinned

20 “O God, grant me these two things,

and then I will be able to face you.

21 Remove your heavy hand from me,

and don’t terrify me with your awesome presence.

22 Now summon me, and I will answer!

Or let me speak to you, and you reply.

23 Tell me, what have I done wrong?

Show me my rebellion and my sin.

24 Why do you turn away from me?

Why do you treat me as your enemy?

25 Would you terrify a leaf blown by the wind?

Would you chase dry straw?

26 “You write bitter accusations against me

and bring up all the sins of my youth.

27 You put my feet in stocks.

You examine all my paths.

You trace all my footprints.

28 I waste away like rotting wood,

like a moth-eaten coat.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOB/13-f8109882d8310d73e0f58cd0fc03b9c2.mp3?version_id=116—

1 “How frail is humanity!

How short is life, how full of trouble!

2 We blossom like a flower and then wither.

Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear.

3 Must you keep an eye on such a frail creature

and demand an accounting from me?

4 Who can bring purity out of an impure person?

No one!

5 You have decided the length of our lives.

You know how many months we will live,

and we are not given a minute longer.

6 So leave us alone and let us rest!

We are like hired hands, so let us finish our work in peace.

7 “Even a tree has more hope!

If it is cut down, it will sprout again

and grow new branches.

8 Though its roots have grown old in the earth

and its stump decays,

9 at the scent of water it will bud

and sprout again like a new seedling.

10 “But when people die, their strength is gone.

They breathe their last, and then where are they?

11 As water evaporates from a lake

and a river disappears in drought,

12 people are laid to rest and do not rise again.

Until the heavens are no more, they will not wake up

nor be roused from their sleep.

13 “I wish you would hide me in the grave

and forget me there until your anger has passed.

But mark your calendar to think of me again!

14 Can the dead live again?

If so, this would give me hope through all my years of struggle,

and I would eagerly await the release of death.

15 You would call and I would answer,

and you would yearn for me, your handiwork.

16 For then you would guard my steps,

instead of watching for my sins.

17 My sins would be sealed in a pouch,

and you would cover my guilt.

18 “But instead, as mountains fall and crumble

and as rocks fall from a cliff,

19 as water wears away the stones

and floods wash away the soil,

so you destroy people’s hope.

20 You always overpower them, and they pass from the scene.

You disfigure them in death and send them away.

21 They never know if their children grow up in honor

or sink to insignificance.

22 They suffer painfully;

their life is full of trouble.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOB/14-606e643799f8e37b92116c056e7491c2.mp3?version_id=116—

Eliphaz’s Second Response to Job

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

2 “A wise man wouldn’t answer with such empty talk!

You are nothing but a windbag.

3 The wise don’t engage in empty chatter.

What good are such words?

4 Have you no fear of God,

no reverence for him?

5 Your sins are telling your mouth what to say.

Your words are based on clever deception.

6 Your own mouth condemns you, not I.

Your own lips testify against you.

7 “Were you the first person ever born?

Were you born before the hills were made?

8 Were you listening at God’s secret council?

Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?

9 What do you know that we don’t?

What do you understand that we do not?

10 On our side are aged, gray-haired men

much older than your father!

11 “Is God’s comfort too little for you?

Is his gentle word not enough?

12 What has taken away your reason?

What has weakened your vision,

13 that you turn against God

and say all these evil things?

14 Can any mortal be pure?

Can anyone born of a woman be just?

15 Look, God does not even trust the angels.

Even the heavens are not absolutely pure in his sight.

16 How much less pure is a corrupt and sinful person

with a thirst for wickedness!

17 “If you will listen, I will show you.

I will answer you from my own experience.

18 And it is confirmed by the reports of wise men

who have heard the same thing from their fathers—

19 from those to whom the land was given

long before any foreigners arrived.

20 “The wicked writhe in pain throughout their lives.

Years of trouble are stored up for the ruthless.

21 The sound of terror rings in their ears,

and even on good days they fear the attack of the destroyer.

22 They dare not go out into the darkness

for fear they will be murdered.

23 They wander around, saying, ‘Where can I find bread?’

They know their day of destruction is near.

24 That dark day terrifies them.

They live in distress and anguish,

like a king preparing for battle.

25 For they shake their fists at God,

defying the Almighty.

26 Holding their strong shields,

they defiantly charge against him.

27 “These wicked people are heavy and prosperous;

their waists bulge with fat.

28 But their cities will be ruined.

They will live in abandoned houses

that are ready to tumble down.

29 Their riches will not last,

and their wealth will not endure.

Their possessions will no longer spread across the horizon.

30 “They will not escape the darkness.

The burning sun will wither their shoots,

and the breath of God will destroy them.

31 Let them no longer fool themselves by trusting in empty riches,

for emptiness will be their only reward.

32 They will be cut down in the prime of life;

their branches will never again be green.

33 They will be like a vine whose grapes are harvested too early,

like an olive tree that loses its blossoms before the fruit can form.

34 For the godless are barren.

Their homes, enriched through bribery, will burn.

35 They conceive trouble and give birth to evil.

Their womb produces deceit.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOB/15-2e8c6931eab0627d6c3da8cc53a3ebf6.mp3?version_id=116—

Job’s Fifth Speech: A Response to Eliphaz

1 Then Job spoke again:

2 “I have heard all this before.

What miserable comforters you are!

3 Won’t you ever stop blowing hot air?

What makes you keep on talking?

4 I could say the same things if you were in my place.

I could spout off criticism and shake my head at you.

5 But if it were me, I would encourage you.

I would try to take away your grief.

6 Instead, I suffer if I defend myself,

and I suffer no less if I refuse to speak.

7 “O God, you have ground me down

and devastated my family.

8 As if to prove I have sinned, you’ve reduced me to skin and bones.

My gaunt flesh testifies against me.

9 God hates me and angrily tears me apart.

He snaps his teeth at me

and pierces me with his eyes.

10 People jeer and laugh at me.

They slap my cheek in contempt.

A mob gathers against me.

11 God has handed me over to sinners.

He has tossed me into the hands of the wicked.

12 “I was living quietly until he shattered me.

He took me by the neck and broke me in pieces.

Then he set me up as his target,

13 and now his archers surround me.

His arrows pierce me without mercy.

The ground is wet with my blood.

14 Again and again he smashes against me,

charging at me like a warrior.

15 I wear burlap to show my grief.

My pride lies in the dust.

16 My eyes are red with weeping;

dark shadows circle my eyes.

17 Yet I have done no wrong,

and my prayer is pure.

18 “O earth, do not conceal my blood.

Let it cry out on my behalf.

19 Even now my witness is in heaven.

My advocate is there on high.

20 My friends scorn me,

but I pour out my tears to God.

21 I need someone to mediate between God and me,

as a person mediates between friends.

22 For soon I must go down that road

from which I will never return.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOB/16-d7f78873d5226275a0671ed68900424f.mp3?version_id=116—

Job Continues to Defend His Innocence

1 “My spirit is crushed,

and my life is nearly snuffed out.

The grave is ready to receive me.

2 I am surrounded by mockers.

I watch how bitterly they taunt me.

3 “You must defend my innocence, O God,

since no one else will stand up for me.

4 You have closed their minds to understanding,

but do not let them triumph.

5 They betray their friends for their own advantage,

so let their children faint with hunger.

6 “God has made a mockery of me among the people;

they spit in my face.

7 My eyes are swollen with weeping,

and I am but a shadow of my former self.

8 The virtuous are horrified when they see me.

The innocent rise up against the ungodly.

9 The righteous keep moving forward,

and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger.

10 “As for all of you, come back with a better argument,

though I still won’t find a wise man among you.

11 My days are over.

My hopes have disappeared.

My heart’s desires are broken.

12 These men say that night is day;

they claim that the darkness is light.

13 What if I go to the grave

and make my bed in darkness?

14 What if I call the grave my father,

and the maggot my mother or my sister?

15 Where then is my hope?

Can anyone find it?

16 No, my hope will go down with me to the grave.

We will rest together in the dust!”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOB/17-cb98b1cbbaa63dda2847925bf4c54767.mp3?version_id=116—

Bildad’s Second Response to Job

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

2 “How long before you stop talking?

Speak sense if you want us to answer!

3 Do you think we are mere animals?

Do you think we are stupid?

4 You may tear out your hair in anger,

but will that destroy the earth?

Will it make the rocks tremble?

5 “Surely the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.

The sparks of their fire will not glow.

6 The light in their tent will grow dark.

The lamp hanging above them will be quenched.

7 The confident stride of the wicked will be shortened.

Their own schemes will be their downfall.

8 The wicked walk into a net.

They fall into a pit.

9 A trap grabs them by the heel.

A snare holds them tight.

10 A noose lies hidden on the ground.

A rope is stretched across their path.

11 “Terrors surround the wicked

and trouble them at every step.

12 Hunger depletes their strength,

and calamity waits for them to stumble.

13 Disease eats their skin;

death devours their limbs.

14 They are torn from the security of their homes

and are brought down to the king of terrors.

15 The homes of the wicked will burn down;

burning sulfur rains on their houses.

16 Their roots will dry up,

and their branches will wither.

17 All memory of their existence will fade from the earth;

no one will remember their names.

18 They will be thrust from light into darkness,

driven from the world.

19 They will have neither children nor grandchildren,

nor any survivor in the place where they lived.

20 People in the west are appalled at their fate;

people in the east are horrified.

21 They will say, ‘This was the home of a wicked person,

the place of one who rejected God.’”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOB/18-b3d0faad5ae136435c3c989befbdc98b.mp3?version_id=116—

Job’s Sixth Speech: A Response to Bildad

1 Then Job spoke again:

2 “How long will you torture me?

How long will you try to crush me with your words?

3 You have already insulted me ten times.

You should be ashamed of treating me so badly.

4 Even if I have sinned,

that is my concern, not yours.

5 You think you’re better than I am,

using my humiliation as evidence of my sin.

6 But it is God who has wronged me,

capturing me in his net.

7 “I cry out, ‘Help!’ but no one answers me.

I protest, but there is no justice.

8 God has blocked my way so I cannot move.

He has plunged my path into darkness.

9 He has stripped me of my honor

and removed the crown from my head.

10 He has demolished me on every side, and I am finished.

He has uprooted my hope like a fallen tree.

11 His fury burns against me;

he counts me as an enemy.

12 His troops advance.

They build up roads to attack me.

They camp all around my tent.

13 “My relatives stay far away,

and my friends have turned against me.

14 My family is gone,

and my close friends have forgotten me.

15 My servants and maids consider me a stranger.

I am like a foreigner to them.

16 When I call my servant, he doesn’t come;

I have to plead with him!

17 My breath is repulsive to my wife.

I am rejected by my own family.

18 Even young children despise me.

When I stand to speak, they turn their backs on me.

19 My close friends detest me.

Those I loved have turned against me.

20 I have been reduced to skin and bones

and have escaped death by the skin of my teeth.

21 “Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy,

for the hand of God has struck me.

22 Must you also persecute me, like God does?

Haven’t you chewed me up enough?

23 “Oh, that my words could be recorded.

Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument,

24 carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead,

engraved forever in the rock.

25 “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,

and he will stand upon the earth at last.

26 And after my body has decayed,

yet in my body I will see God!

27 I will see him for myself.

Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.

I am overwhelmed at the thought!

28 “How dare you go on persecuting me,

saying, ‘It’s his own fault’?

29 You should fear punishment yourselves,

for your attitude deserves punishment.

Then you will know that there is indeed a judgment.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOB/19-c635539125aff72e547c5e21afa2d774.mp3?version_id=116—

Zophar’s Second Response to Job

1 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

2 “I must reply

because I am greatly disturbed.

3 I’ve had to endure your insults,

but now my spirit prompts me to reply.

4 “Don’t you realize that from the beginning of time,

ever since people were first placed on the earth,

5 the triumph of the wicked has been short lived

and the joy of the godless has been only temporary?

6 Though the pride of the godless reaches to the heavens

and their heads touch the clouds,

7 yet they will vanish forever,

thrown away like their own dung.

Those who knew them will ask,

‘Where are they?’

8 They will fade like a dream and not be found.

They will vanish like a vision in the night.

9 Those who once saw them will see them no more.

Their families will never see them again.

10 Their children will beg from the poor,

for they must give back their stolen riches.

11 Though they are young,

their bones will lie in the dust.

12 “They enjoyed the sweet taste of wickedness,

letting it melt under their tongue.

13 They savored it,

holding it long in their mouths.

14 But suddenly the food in their bellies turns sour,

a poisonous venom in their stomach.

15 They will vomit the wealth they swallowed.

God won’t let them keep it down.

16 They will suck the poison of cobras.

The viper will kill them.

17 They will never again enjoy streams of olive oil

or rivers of milk and honey.

18 They will give back everything they worked for.

Their wealth will bring them no joy.

19 For they oppressed the poor and left them destitute.

They foreclosed on their homes.

20 They were always greedy and never satisfied.

Nothing remains of all the things they dreamed about.

21 Nothing is left after they finish gorging themselves.

Therefore, their prosperity will not endure.

22 “In the midst of plenty, they will run into trouble

and be overcome by misery.

23 May God give them a bellyful of trouble.

May God rain down his anger upon them.

24 When they try to escape an iron weapon,

a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce them.

25 The arrow is pulled from their back,

and the arrowhead glistens with blood.

The terrors of death are upon them.

26 Their treasures will be thrown into deepest darkness.

A wildfire will devour their goods,

consuming all they have left.

27 The heavens will reveal their guilt,

and the earth will testify against them.

28 A flood will sweep away their house.

God’s anger will descend on them in torrents.

29 This is the reward that God gives the wicked.

It is the inheritance decreed by God.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOB/20-2a10fc31f3439b1743ad39e4cbdad9c0.mp3?version_id=116—