Category: Job

Job’s Seventh Speech: A Response to Zophar

1 Then Job spoke again:

2 “Listen closely to what I am saying.

That’s one consolation you can give me.

3 Bear with me, and let me speak.

After I have spoken, you may resume mocking me.

4 “My complaint is with God, not with people.

I have good reason to be so impatient.

5 Look at me and be stunned.

Put your hand over your mouth in shock.

6 When I think about what I am saying, I shudder.

My body trembles.

7 “Why do the wicked prosper,

growing old and powerful?

8 They live to see their children grow up and settle down,

and they enjoy their grandchildren.

9 Their homes are safe from every fear,

and God does not punish them.

10 Their bulls never fail to breed.

Their cows bear calves and never miscarry.

11 They let their children frisk about like lambs.

Their little ones skip and dance.

12 They sing with tambourine and harp.

They celebrate to the sound of the flute.

13 They spend their days in prosperity,

then go down to the gravein peace.

14 And yet they say to God, ‘Go away.

We want no part of you and your ways.

15 Who is the Almighty, and why should we obey him?

What good will it do us to pray?’

16 (They think their prosperity is of their own doing,

but I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking.)

17 “Yet the light of the wicked never seems to be extinguished.

Do they ever have trouble?

Does God distribute sorrows to them in anger?

18 Are they driven before the wind like straw?

Are they carried away by the storm like chaff?

Not at all!

19 “‘Well,’ you say, ‘at least God will punish their children!’

But I say he should punish the ones who sin,

so that they understand his judgment.

20 Let them see their destruction with their own eyes.

Let them drink deeply of the anger of the Almighty.

21 For they will not care what happens to their family

after they are dead.

22 “But who can teach a lesson to God,

since he judges even the most powerful?

23 One person dies in prosperity,

completely comfortable and secure,

24 the picture of good health,

vigorous and fit.

25 Another person dies in bitter poverty,

never having tasted the good life.

26 But both are buried in the same dust,

both eaten by the same maggots.

27 “Look, I know what you’re thinking.

I know the schemes you plot against me.

28 You will tell me of rich and wicked people

whose houses have vanished because of their sins.

29 But ask those who have been around,

and they will tell you the truth.

30 Evil people are spared in times of calamity

and are allowed to escape disaster.

31 No one criticizes them openly

or pays them back for what they have done.

32 When they are carried to the grave,

an honor guard keeps watch at their tomb.

33 A great funeral procession goes to the cemetery.

Many pay their respects as the body is laid to rest,

and the earth gives sweet repose.

34 “How can your empty clichés comfort me?

All your explanations are lies!”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOB/21-c67e00375c7c2b901199ec43e7d193c5.mp3?version_id=116—

Eliphaz’s Third Response to Job

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

2 “Can a person do anything to help God?

Can even a wise person be helpful to him?

3 Is it any advantage to the Almighty if you are righteous?

Would it be any gain to him if you were perfect?

4 Is it because you’re so pious that he accuses you

and brings judgment against you?

5 No, it’s because of your wickedness!

There’s no limit to your sins.

6 “For example, you must have lent money to your friend

and demanded clothing as security.

Yes, you stripped him to the bone.

7 You must have refused water for the thirsty

and food for the hungry.

8 You probably think the land belongs to the powerful

and only the privileged have a right to it!

9 You must have sent widows away empty-handed

and crushed the hopes of orphans.

10 That is why you are surrounded by traps

and tremble from sudden fears.

11 That is why you cannot see in the darkness,

and waves of water cover you.

12 “God is so great—higher than the heavens,

higher than the farthest stars.

13 But you reply, ‘That’s why God can’t see what I am doing!

How can he judge through the thick darkness?

14 For thick clouds swirl about him, and he cannot see us.

He is way up there, walking on the vault of heaven.’

15 “Will you continue on the old paths

where evil people have walked?

16 They were snatched away in the prime of life,

the foundations of their lives washed away.

17 For they said to God, ‘Leave us alone!

What can the Almighty do to us?’

18 Yet he was the one who filled their homes with good things,

so I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking.

19 “The righteous will be happy to see the wicked destroyed,

and the innocent will laugh in contempt.

20 They will say, ‘See how our enemies have been destroyed.

The last of them have been consumed in the fire.’

21 “Submit to God, and you will have peace;

then things will go well for you.

22 Listen to his instructions,

and store them in your heart.

23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored—

so clean up your life.

24 If you give up your lust for money

and throw your precious gold into the river,

25 the Almighty himself will be your treasure.

He will be your precious silver!

26 “Then you will take delight in the Almighty

and look up to God.

27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you,

and you will fulfill your vows to him.

28 You will succeed in whatever you choose to do,

and light will shine on the road ahead of you.

29 If people are in trouble and you say, ‘Help them,’

God will save them.

30 Even sinners will be rescued;

they will be rescued because your hands are pure.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOB/22-ca3f487b5fec6ba6fc1ef1f8129b9930.mp3?version_id=116—

Job’s Eighth Speech: A Response to Eliphaz

1 Then Job spoke again:

2 “My complaint today is still a bitter one,

and I try hard not to groan aloud.

3 If only I knew where to find God,

I would go to his court.

4 I would lay out my case

and present my arguments.

5 Then I would listen to his reply

and understand what he says to me.

6 Would he use his great power to argue with me?

No, he would give me a fair hearing.

7 Honest people can reason with him,

so I would be forever acquitted by my judge.

8 I go east, but he is not there.

I go west, but I cannot find him.

9 I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden.

I look to the south, but he is concealed.

10 “But he knows where I am going.

And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.

11 For I have stayed on God’s paths;

I have followed his ways and not turned aside.

12 I have not departed from his commands,

but have treasured his words more than daily food.

13 But once he has made his decision, who can change his mind?

Whatever he wants to do, he does.

14 So he will do to me whatever he has planned.

He controls my destiny.

15 No wonder I am so terrified in his presence.

When I think of it, terror grips me.

16 God has made me sick at heart;

the Almighty has terrified me.

17 Darkness is all around me;

thick, impenetrable darkness is everywhere.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOB/23-dd029a7f2820970833c54f20c4412425.mp3?version_id=116—

Job Asks Why the Wicked Are Not Punished

1 “Why doesn’t the Almighty bring the wicked to judgment?

Why must the godly wait for him in vain?

2 Evil people steal land by moving the boundary markers.

They steal livestock and put them in their own pastures.

3 They take the orphan’s donkey

and demand the widow’s ox as security for a loan.

4 The poor are pushed off the path;

the needy must hide together for safety.

5 Like wild donkeys in the wilderness,

the poor must spend all their time looking for food,

searching even in the desert for food for their children.

6 They harvest a field they do not own,

and they glean in the vineyards of the wicked.

7 All night they lie naked in the cold,

without clothing or covering.

8 They are soaked by mountain showers,

and they huddle against the rocks for want of a home.

9 “The wicked snatch a widow’s child from her breast,

taking the baby as security for a loan.

10 The poor must go about naked, without any clothing.

They harvest food for others while they themselves are starving.

11 They press out olive oil without being allowed to taste it,

and they tread in the winepress as they suffer from thirst.

12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,

and the wounded cry for help,

yet God ignores their moaning.

13 “Wicked people rebel against the light.

They refuse to acknowledge its ways

or stay in its paths.

14 The murderer rises in the early dawn

to kill the poor and needy;

at night he is a thief.

15 The adulterer waits for the twilight,

saying, ‘No one will see me then.’

He hides his face so no one will know him.

16 Thieves break into houses at night

and sleep in the daytime.

They are not acquainted with the light.

17 The black night is their morning.

They ally themselves with the terrors of the darkness.

18 “But they disappear like foam down a river.

Everything they own is cursed,

and they are afraid to enter their own vineyards.

19 The graveconsumes sinners

just as drought and heat consume snow.

20 Their own mothers will forget them.

Maggots will find them sweet to eat.

No one will remember them.

Wicked people are broken like a tree in the storm.

21 They cheat the woman who has no son to help her.

They refuse to help the needy widow.

22 “God, in his power, drags away the rich.

They may rise high, but they have no assurance of life.

23 They may be allowed to live in security,

but God is always watching them.

24 And though they are great now,

in a moment they will be gone like all others,

cut off like heads of grain.

25 Can anyone claim otherwise?

Who can prove me wrong?”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOB/24-bd9645a55053be077a1e59f3a1694c41.mp3?version_id=116—

Bildad’s Third Response to Job

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

2 “God is powerful and dreadful.

He enforces peace in the heavens.

3 Who is able to count his heavenly army?

Doesn’t his light shine on all the earth?

4 How can a mortal be innocent before God?

Can anyone born of a woman be pure?

5 God is more glorious than the moon;

he shines brighter than the stars.

6 In comparison, people are maggots;

we mortals are mere worms.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOB/25-419b6e084702f763fc8f69eb9fb64244.mp3?version_id=116—

Job’s Ninth Speech: A Response to Bildad

1 Then Job spoke again:

2 “How you have helped the powerless!

How you have saved the weak!

3 How you have enlightened my stupidity!

What wise advice you have offered!

4 Where have you gotten all these wise sayings?

Whose spirit speaks through you?

5 “The dead tremble—

those who live beneath the waters.

6 The underworldis naked in God’s presence.

The place of destructionis uncovered.

7 God stretches the northern sky over empty space

and hangs the earth on nothing.

8 He wraps the rain in his thick clouds,

and the clouds don’t burst with the weight.

9 He covers the face of the moon,

shrouding it with his clouds.

10 He created the horizon when he separated the waters;

he set the boundary between day and night.

11 The foundations of heaven tremble;

they shudder at his rebuke.

12 By his power the sea grew calm.

By his skill he crushed the great sea monster.

13 His Spirit made the heavens beautiful,

and his power pierced the gliding serpent.

14 These are just the beginning of all that he does,

merely a whisper of his power.

Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of his power?”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOB/26-f9a711bbe53b9f71aafea59a02149b84.mp3?version_id=116—

Job’s Final Speech

1 Job continued speaking:

2 “I vow by the living God, who has taken away my rights,

by the Almighty who has embittered my soul—

3 As long as I live,

while I have breath from God,

4 my lips will speak no evil,

and my tongue will speak no lies.

5 I will never concede that you are right;

I will defend my integrity until I die.

6 I will maintain my innocence without wavering.

My conscience is clear for as long as I live.

7 “May my enemy be punished like the wicked,

my adversary like those who do evil.

8 For what hope do the godless have when God cuts them off

and takes away their life?

9 Will God listen to their cry

when trouble comes upon them?

10 Can they take delight in the Almighty?

Can they call to God at any time?

11 I will teach you about God’s power.

I will not conceal anything concerning the Almighty.

12 But you have seen all this,

yet you say all these useless things to me.

13 “This is what the wicked will receive from God;

this is their inheritance from the Almighty.

14 They may have many children,

but the children will die in war or starve to death.

15 Those who survive will die of a plague,

and not even their widows will mourn them.

16 “Evil people may have piles of money

and may store away mounds of clothing.

17 But the righteous will wear that clothing,

and the innocent will divide that money.

18 The wicked build houses as fragile as a spider’s web,

as flimsy as a shelter made of branches.

19 The wicked go to bed rich

but wake to find that all their wealth is gone.

20 Terror overwhelms them like a flood,

and they are blown away in the storms of the night.

21 The east wind carries them away, and they are gone.

It sweeps them away.

22 It whirls down on them without mercy.

They struggle to flee from its power.

23 But everyone jeers at them

and mocks them.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOB/27-2518ba9c7c0f7ac1e2d99d4db8d2417f.mp3?version_id=116—

Job Speaks of Wisdom and Understanding

1 “People know where to mine silver

and how to refine gold.

2 They know where to dig iron from the earth

and how to smelt copper from rock.

3 They know how to shine light in the darkness

and explore the farthest regions of the earth

as they search in the dark for ore.

4 They sink a mine shaft into the earth

far from where anyone lives.

They descend on ropes, swinging back and forth.

5 Food is grown on the earth above,

but down below, the earth is melted as by fire.

6 Here the rocks contain precious lapis lazuli,

and the dust contains gold.

7 These are treasures no bird of prey can see,

no falcon’s eye observe.

8 No wild animal has walked upon these treasures;

no lion has ever set his paw there.

9 People know how to tear apart flinty rocks

and overturn the roots of mountains.

10 They cut tunnels in the rocks

and uncover precious stones.

11 They dam up the trickling streams

and bring to light the hidden treasures.

12 “But do people know where to find wisdom?

Where can they find understanding?

13 No one knows where to find it,

for it is not found among the living.

14 ‘It is not here,’ says the ocean.

‘Nor is it here,’ says the sea.

15 It cannot be bought with gold.

It cannot be purchased with silver.

16 It’s worth more than all the gold of Ophir,

greater than precious onyx or lapis lazuli.

17 Wisdom is more valuable than gold and crystal.

It cannot be purchased with jewels mounted in fine gold.

18 Coral and jasper are worthless in trying to get it.

The price of wisdom is far above rubies.

19 Precious peridot from Ethiopiacannot be exchanged for it.

It’s worth more than the purest gold.

20 “But do people know where to find wisdom?

Where can they find understanding?

21 It is hidden from the eyes of all humanity.

Even the sharp-eyed birds in the sky cannot discover it.

22 Destructionand Death say,

‘We’ve heard only rumors of where wisdom can be found.’

23 “God alone understands the way to wisdom;

he knows where it can be found,

24 for he looks throughout the whole earth

and sees everything under the heavens.

25 He decided how hard the winds should blow

and how much rain should fall.

26 He made the laws for the rain

and laid out a path for the lightning.

27 Then he saw wisdom and evaluated it.

He set it in place and examined it thoroughly.

28 And this is what he says to all humanity:

‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom;

to forsake evil is real understanding.’”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOB/28-13ee3bc338e9e2f982c6f95935d46ff3.mp3?version_id=116—

Job Speaks of His Former Blessings

1 Job continued speaking:

2 “I long for the years gone by

when God took care of me,

3 when he lit up the way before me

and I walked safely through the darkness.

4 When I was in my prime,

God’s friendship was felt in my home.

5 The Almighty was still with me,

and my children were around me.

6 My steps were awash in cream,

and the rocks gushed olive oil for me.

7 “Those were the days when I went to the city gate

and took my place among the honored leaders.

8 The young stepped aside when they saw me,

and even the aged rose in respect at my coming.

9 The princes stood in silence

and put their hands over their mouths.

10 The highest officials of the city stood quietly,

holding their tongues in respect.

11 “All who heard me praised me.

All who saw me spoke well of me.

12 For I assisted the poor in their need

and the orphans who required help.

13 I helped those without hope, and they blessed me.

And I caused the widows’ hearts to sing for joy.

14 Everything I did was honest.

Righteousness covered me like a robe,

and I wore justice like a turban.

15 I served as eyes for the blind

and feet for the lame.

16 I was a father to the poor

and assisted strangers who needed help.

17 I broke the jaws of godless oppressors

and plucked their victims from their teeth.

18 “I thought, ‘Surely I will die surrounded by my family

after a long, good life.

19 For I am like a tree whose roots reach the water,

whose branches are refreshed with the dew.

20 New honors are constantly bestowed on me,

and my strength is continually renewed.’

21 “Everyone listened to my advice.

They were silent as they waited for me to speak.

22 And after I spoke, they had nothing to add,

for my counsel satisfied them.

23 They longed for me to speak as people long for rain.

They drank my words like a refreshing spring rain.

24 When they were discouraged, I smiled at them.

My look of approval was precious to them.

25 Like a chief, I told them what to do.

I lived like a king among his troops

and comforted those who mourned.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOB/29-d477af351343c00992bc5e6b5bb9b5eb.mp3?version_id=116—

Job Speaks of His Anguish

1 “But now I am mocked by people younger than I,

by young men whose fathers are not worthy to run with my sheepdogs.

2 A lot of good they are to me—

those worn-out wretches!

3 They are gaunt from poverty and hunger.

They claw the dry ground in desolate wastelands.

4 They pluck wild greens from among the bushes

and eat from the roots of broom trees.

5 They are driven from human society,

and people shout at them as if they were thieves.

6 So now they live in frightening ravines,

in caves and among the rocks.

7 They sound like animals howling among the bushes,

huddled together beneath the nettles.

8 They are nameless fools,

outcasts from society.

9 “And now they mock me with vulgar songs!

They taunt me!

10 They despise me and won’t come near me,

except to spit in my face.

11 For God has cut my bowstring.

He has humbled me,

so they have thrown off all restraint.

12 These outcasts oppose me to my face.

They send me sprawling

and lay traps in my path.

13 They block my road

and do everything they can to destroy me.

They know I have no one to help me.

14 They come at me from all directions.

They jump on me when I am down.

15 I live in terror now.

My honor has blown away in the wind,

and my prosperity has vanished like a cloud.

16 “And now my life seeps away.

Depression haunts my days.

17 At night my bones are filled with pain,

which gnaws at me relentlessly.

18 With a strong hand, God grabs my shirt.

He grips me by the collar of my coat.

19 He has thrown me into the mud.

I’m nothing more than dust and ashes.

20 “I cry to you, O God, but you don’t answer.

I stand before you, but you don’t even look.

21 You have become cruel toward me.

You use your power to persecute me.

22 You throw me into the whirlwind

and destroy me in the storm.

23 And I know you are sending me to my death—

the destination of all who live.

24 “Surely no one would turn against the needy

when they cry for help in their trouble.

25 Did I not weep for those in trouble?

Was I not deeply grieved for the needy?

26 So I looked for good, but evil came instead.

I waited for the light, but darkness fell.

27 My heart is troubled and restless.

Days of suffering torment me.

28 I walk in gloom, without sunlight.

I stand in the public square and cry for help.

29 Instead, I am considered a brother to jackals

and a companion to owls.

30 My skin has turned dark,

and my bones burn with fever.

31 My harp plays sad music,

and my flute accompanies those who weep.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOB/30-cdc609c759394a9590f0403e93544941.mp3?version_id=116—