Eliphaz
I can't keep quiet any longer.
[4:3] You have taught many people and given strength to feeble hands.
[4:4] When someone stumbled, weak and tired, your words encouraged him to stand.
[4:5] Now it's your turn to be in trouble, and you are too stunned to face it.
[4:6] You worshiped God, and your life was blameless; and so you should have confidence and hope.
[4:7] Think back now. Name a single case where someone righteous met with disaster.
[4:8] I have seen people plow fields of evil and plant wickedness like seed; now they harvest wickedness and evil.
[4:9] Like a storm, God destroys them in his anger.
[4:10] The wicked roar and growl like lions, but God silences them and breaks their teeth.
[4:11] Like lions with nothing to kill and eat, they die, and all their children are scattered.
[4:12] Once a message came quietly, so quietly I could hardly hear it.
[4:13] Like a nightmare it disturbed my sleep.
[4:14] I trembled and shuddered; my whole body shook with fear.
[4:15] A light breeze touched my face, and my skin crawled with fright.
[4:16] I could see something standing there; I stared, but couldn't tell what it was. Then I heard a voice out of the silence:
[4:17] “Can anyone be righteous in the sight of God or be pure before his Creator?
[4:18] God does not trust his heavenly servants; he finds fault even with his angels.
[4:19] Do you think he will trust a creature of clay, a thing of dust that can be crushed like a moth?
[4:20] We may be alive in the morning, but die unnoticed before evening comes.
[4:21] All that we have is taken away; we die, still lacking wisdom.”
[5:1] Call out, Job. See if anyone answers. Is there any angel to whom you can turn?
[5:2] To worry yourself to death with resentment would be a foolish, senseless thing to do.
[5:3] I have seen fools who looked secure, but I called down a sudden curse on their homes.
[5:4] Their children can never find safety; no one stands up to defend them in court.
[5:5] Hungry people will eat the fool's crops— even the grain growing among thorns — and thirsty people will envy his wealth.
[5:6] Evil does not grow in the soil, nor does trouble grow out of the ground.
[5:7] No indeed! We bring trouble on ourselves, as surely as sparks fly up from a fire.
[5:8] If I were you, I would turn to God and present my case to him.
[5:9] We cannot understand the great things he does, and to his miracles there is no end.
[5:10] He sends rain on the land and he waters the fields.
[5:11] Yes, it is God who raises the humble and gives joy to all who mourn. and traps the wise in their own schemes, so that nothing they do succeeds;
[5:14] even at noon they grope in darkness.
[5:15] But God saves the poor from death; he saves the needy from oppression.
[5:16] He gives hope to the poor and silences the wicked.
[5:17] Happy is the person whom God corrects! Do not resent it when he rebukes you.
[5:18] God bandages the wounds he makes; his hand hurts you, and his hand heals.
[5:19] Time after time he will save you from harm;
[5:20] when famine comes, he will keep you alive, and in war protect you from death.
[5:21] God will rescue you from slander; he will save you when destruction comes.
[5:22] You will laugh at violence and hunger and not be afraid of wild animals.
[5:23] The fields you plow will be free of rocks; wild animals will never attack you.
[5:24] Then you will live at peace in your tent; when you look at your sheep, you will find them safe.
[5:25] You will have as many children as there are blades of grass in a pasture.
[5:26] Like wheat that ripens till harvest time, you will live to a ripe old age.
[5:27] Job, we have learned this by long study. It is true, so now accept it.
Job
[6:3] they would weigh more than the sands of the sea, so my wild words should not surprise you.
[6:4] Almighty God has shot me with arrows, and their poison spreads through my body. God has lined up his terrors against me.
[6:5] A donkey is content when eating grass, and a cow is quiet when eating hay.
[6:6] But who can eat flat, unsalted food? What taste is there in the white of an egg?
[6:7] I have no appetite for food like that, and everything I eat makes me sick.
[6:8] Why won't God give me what I ask? Why won't he answer my prayer?
[6:9] If only he would go ahead and kill me!
[6:10] If I knew he would, I would leap for joy, no matter how great my pain. I know that God is holy; I have never opposed what he commands.
[6:11] What strength do I have to keep on living? Why go on living when I have no hope?
[6:12] Am I made of stone? Is my body bronze?
[6:13] I have no strength left to save myself; there is nowhere I can turn for help.
[6:14] In trouble like this I need loyal friends— whether I've forsaken God or not.
[6:15] But you, my friends, you deceive me like streams that go dry when no rain comes.
[6:16] The streams are choked with snow and ice,
[6:17] but in the heat they disappear, and the stream beds lie bare and dry.
[6:18] Caravans get lost looking for water; they wander and die in the desert.
[6:19] Caravans from Sheba and Tema search,
[6:20] but their hope dies beside dry streams.
[6:21] You are like those streams to me, you see my fate and draw back in fear.
[6:22] Have I asked you to give me a gift or to bribe someone on my behalf
[6:23] or to save me from some enemy or tyrant?
[6:24] All right, teach me; tell me my faults. I will be quiet and listen to you.
[6:25] Honest words are convincing, but you are talking nonsense.
[6:26] You think I am talking nothing but wind; then why do you answer my words of despair?
[6:27] You would even roll dice for orphan slaves and make yourselves rich off your closest friends!
[6:28] Look me in the face. I won't lie.
[6:29] You have gone far enough. Stop being unjust. Don't condemn me. I'm in the right.
[6:30] But you think I am lying— you think I can't tell right from wrong.
[7:1] Human life is like forced army service, like a life of hard manual labor,
[7:2] like a slave longing for cool shade; like a worker waiting to be paid.
[7:3] Month after month I have nothing to live for; night after night brings me grief.
[7:4] When I lie down to sleep, the hours drag; I toss all night and long for dawn.
[7:5] My body is full of worms; it is covered with scabs; pus runs out of my sores.
[7:6] My days pass by without hope, pass faster than a weaver's shuttle.
[7:7] Remember, O God, my life is only a breath; my happiness has already ended.
[7:8] You see me now, but never again. If you look for me, I'll be gone. we humans die and never return; we are forgotten by all who knew us.
[7:11] No! I can't be quiet! I am angry and bitter. I have to speak.
[7:12] Why do you keep me under guard? Do you think I am a sea monster?
[7:13] I lie down and try to rest; I look for relief from my pain.
[7:14] But you—you terrify me with dreams; you send me visions and nightmares
[7:15] until I would rather be strangled than live in this miserable body.
[7:16] I give up; I am tired of living. Leave me alone. My life makes no sense.
[7:17] Why are people so important to you? Why pay attention to what they do?
[7:18] You inspect them every morning and test them every minute.
[7:19] Won't you look away long enough for me to swallow my spit?
[7:20] Are you harmed by my sin, you jailer? Why use me for your target practice? Am I so great a burden to you?
[7:21] Can't you ever forgive my sin? Can't you pardon the wrong I do? Soon I will be in my grave, and I'll be gone when you look for me.
Bildad
[8:3] God never twists justice; he never fails to do what is right.
[8:4] Your children must have sinned against God, and so he punished them as they deserved.
[8:5] But turn now and plead with Almighty God;
[8:6] if you are so honest and pure, then God will come and help you and restore your household as your reward.
[8:7] All the wealth you lost will be nothing compared with what God will give you then.
[8:8] Look for a moment at ancient wisdom; consider the truths our ancestors learned.
[8:9] Our life is short, we know nothing at all; we pass like shadows across the earth.
[8:10] But let the ancient wise people teach you; listen to what they had to say:
[8:11] “Reeds can't grow where there is no water; they are never found outside a swamp.
[8:12] If the water dries up, they are the first to wither, while still too small to be cut and used.
[8:13] Godless people are like those reeds; their hope is gone, once God is forgotten.
[8:14] They trust a thread—a spider's web.
[8:15] If they lean on a web, will it hold them up? If they grab for a thread, will it help them stand?”
[8:16] Evil people sprout like weeds in the sun, like weeds that spread all through the garden.
[8:17] Their roots wrap around the stones and hold fast to every rock.
[8:18] But then pull them up— no one will ever know they were there.
[8:19] Yes, that's all the joy evil people have; others now come and take their places.
[8:20] But God will never abandon the faithful or ever give help to evil people.
[8:21] He will let you laugh and shout again,
[8:22] but he will bring disgrace on those who hate you, and the homes of the wicked will vanish.
Job
But how can a human being win a case against God?
[9:3] How can anyone argue with him? He can ask a thousand questions that no one could ever answer.
[9:4] God is so wise and powerful; no one can stand up against him.
[9:5] Without warning he moves mountains and in anger he destroys them.
[9:6] God sends earthquakes and shakes the ground; he rocks the pillars that support the earth.
[9:7] He can keep the sun from rising, and the stars from shining at night.
[9:8] No one helped God spread out the heavens or trample the sea monster's back.
[9:9] God hung the stars in the sky—the Dipper, Orion, the Pleiades, and the stars of the south.
[9:10] We cannot understand the great things he does, and to his miracles there is no end.
[9:11] God passes by, but I cannot see him.
[9:12] He takes what he wants, and no one can stop him; no one dares ask him, “What are you doing?”
[9:13] God's anger is constant. He crushed his enemies who helped Rahab, the sea monster, oppose him.
[9:14] So how can I find words to answer God?
[9:15] Though I am innocent, all I can do is beg for mercy from God my judge.
[9:16] Yet even then, if he lets me speak, I can't believe he would listen to me.
[9:17] He sends storms to batter and bruise me without any reason at all.
[9:18] He won't let me catch my breath; he has filled my life with bitterness.
[9:19] Should I try force? Try force on God? Should I take him to court? Could anyone make him go?
[9:20] I am innocent and faithful, but my words sound guilty, and everything I say seems to condemn me. I am sick of living. Nothing matters; innocent or guilty, God will destroy us.
[9:23] When an innocent person suddenly dies, God laughs.
[9:24] God gave the world to the wicked. He made all the judges blind. And if God didn't do it, who did?
[9:25] My days race by, not one of them good.
[9:26] My life passes like the swiftest boat, as fast as an eagle swooping down on a rabbit. all my suffering comes back to haunt me; I know that God does hold me guilty.
[9:29] Since I am held guilty, why should I bother?
[9:30] No soap can wash away my sins.
[9:31] God throws me into a pit with filth, and even my clothes are ashamed of me.
[9:32] If God were human, I could answer him; we could go to court to decide our quarrel.
[9:33] But there is no one to step between us— no one to judge both God and me.
[9:34] Stop punishing me, God! Keep your terrors away!
[9:35] I am not afraid. I am going to talk because I know my own heart.
[10:1] I am tired of living. Listen to my bitter complaint.
[10:2] Don't condemn me, God. Tell me! What is the charge against me?
[10:3] Is it right for you to be so cruel? To despise what you yourself have made? And then to smile on the schemes of wicked people?
[10:4] Do you see things as we do?
[10:5] Is your life as short as ours?
[10:6] Then why do you track down all my sins and hunt down every fault I have?
[10:7] You know that I am not guilty, that no one can save me from you.
[10:8] Your hands formed and shaped me, and now those same hands destroy me.
[10:9] Remember that you made me from clay; are you going to crush me back to dust?
[10:10] You gave my father strength to beget me; you made me grow in my mother's womb.
[10:11] You formed my body with bones and sinews and covered the bones with muscles and skin.
[10:12] You have given me life and constant love, and your care has kept me alive.
[10:13] But now I know that all that time you were secretly planning to harm me.
[10:14] You were watching to see if I would sin, so that you could refuse to forgive me.
[10:15] As soon as I sin, I'm in trouble with you, but when I do right, I get no credit. I am miserable and covered with shame.
[10:16] If I have any success at all, you hunt me down like a lion; to hurt me you even work miracles.
[10:17] You always have some witness against me; your anger toward me grows and grows; you always plan some new attack.
[10:18] Why, God, did you let me be born? I should have died before anyone saw me.
[10:19] To go from the womb straight to the grave would have been as good as never existing.
[10:20] Isn't my life almost over? Leave me alone! Let me enjoy the time I have left.
[10:21] I am going soon and will never come back— going to a land that is dark and gloomy,
[10:22] a land of darkness, shadows, and confusion, where the light itself is darkness.
Zophar
Does talking so much put you in the right?
[11:3] Job, do you think we can't answer you? That your mocking words will leave us speechless?
[11:4] You claim that what you say is true; you claim you are pure in the sight of God.
[11:5] How I wish God would answer you!
[11:6] He would tell you there are many sides to wisdom; there are things too deep for human knowledge. God is punishing you less than you deserve.
[11:7] Can you discover the limits and bounds of the greatness and power of God?
[11:8] The sky is no limit for God, but it lies beyond your reach. God knows the world of the dead, but you do not know it.
[11:9] God's greatness is broader than the earth, wider than the sea.
[11:10] If God arrests you and brings you to trial, who is there to stop him?
[11:11] God knows which people are worthless; he sees all their evil deeds.
[11:12] Stupid people will start being wise when wild donkeys are born tame.
[11:13] Put your heart right, Job. Reach out to God.
[11:14] Put away evil and wrong from your home.
[11:15] Then face the world again, firm and courageous.
[11:16] Then all your troubles will fade from your memory, like floods that are past and remembered no more.
[11:17] Your life will be brighter than sunshine at noon, and life's darkest hours will shine like the dawn.
[11:18] You will live secure and full of hope; God will protect you and give you rest.
[11:19] You won't be afraid of your enemies; many people will ask you for help.
[11:20] But the wicked will look around in despair and find that there is no way to escape. Their one hope is that death will come.
Job
When you die, wisdom will die with you.
[12:3] But I have as much sense as you have; I am in no way inferior to you; everyone knows all that you have said.
[12:4] Even my friends laugh at me now; they laugh, although I am righteous and blameless; but there was a time when God answered my prayers.
[12:5] You have no troubles, and yet you make fun of me; you hit someone who is about to fall.
[12:6] But thieves and godless people live in peace, though their only god is their own strength.
[12:7] Even birds and animals have much they could teach you;
[12:8] ask the creatures of earth and sea for their wisdom.
[12:9] All of them know that the Lord's hand made them.
[12:10] It is God who directs the lives of his creatures; everyone's life is in his power.
[12:11] But just as your tongue enjoys tasting food, your ears enjoy hearing words. but God has wisdom and power. Old people have insight; God has insight and power to act.
[12:14] When God tears down, who can rebuild, and who can free those God imprisons?
[12:15] Drought comes when God withholds rain; floods come when he turns water loose.
[12:16] God is strong and always victorious; both deceived and deceiver are in his power.
[12:17] He takes away the wisdom of rulers and makes leaders act like fools.
[12:18] He dethrones kings and makes them prisoners;
[12:19] he humbles priests and men of power.
[12:20] He silences those who are trusted, and takes the wisdom of old people away.
[12:21] He disgraces those in power and puts an end to the strength of rulers.
[12:22] He sends light to places dark as death.
[12:23] He makes nations strong and great, but then he defeats and destroys them.
[12:24] He makes their leaders foolish and lets them wander confused and lost;
[12:25] they grope in the dark and stagger like drunkards. I understand it all; I know as much as you do. I'm not your inferior.
[13:3] But my dispute is with God, not you; I want to argue my case with him.
[13:4] You cover up your ignorance with lies; you are like doctors who can't heal anyone.
[13:5] Say nothing, and someone may think you are wise!
[13:6] Listen while I state my case.
[13:7] Why are you lying? Do you think your lies will benefit God?
[13:8] Are you trying to defend him? Are you going to argue his case in court?
[13:9] If God looks at you closely, will he find anything good? Do you think you can fool God the way you fool others?
[13:10] Even though your prejudice is hidden, he will reprimand you,
[13:11] and his power will fill you with terror.
[13:12] Your proverbs are as useless as ashes; your arguments are as weak as clay.
[13:13] Be quiet and give me a chance to speak, and let the results be what they will.
[13:14] I am ready to risk my life.
[13:15] I've lost all hope, so what if God kills me? I am going to state my case to him.
[13:16] It may even be that my boldness will save me, since no wicked person would dare to face God.
[13:17] Now listen to my words of explanation.
[13:18] I am ready to state my case, because I know I am in the right.
[13:19] Are you coming to accuse me, God? If you do, I am ready to be silent and die.
[13:20] Let me ask for two things; agree to them, and I will not try to hide from you:
[13:21] stop punishing me, and don't crush me with terror.
[13:22] Speak first, O God, and I will answer. Or let me speak, and you answer me.
[13:23] What are my sins? What wrongs have I done? What crimes am I charged with?
[13:24] Why do you avoid me? Why do you treat me like an enemy?
[13:25] Are you trying to frighten me? I'm nothing but a leaf; you are attacking a piece of dry straw.
[13:26] You bring bitter charges against me, even for what I did when I was young.
[13:27] You bind chains on my feet; you watch every step I take, and even examine my footprints.
[13:28] As a result, I crumble like rotten wood, like a moth-eaten coat.
[14:1] We are all born weak and helpless. All lead the same short, troubled life.
[14:2] We grow and wither as quickly as flowers; we disappear like shadows.
[14:3] Will you even look at me, God, or put me on trial and judge me?
[14:4] Nothing clean can ever come from anything as unclean as human beings.
[14:5] The length of our lives is decided beforehand— the number of months we will live. You have settled it, and it can't be changed.
[14:6] Look away from us and leave us alone; let us enjoy our hard life—if we can.
[14:7] There is hope for a tree that has been cut down; it can come back to life and sprout.
[14:8] Even though its roots grow old, and its stump dies in the ground,
[14:9] with water it will sprout like a young plant.
[14:10] But we die, and that is the end of us; we die, and where are we then?
[14:11] Like rivers that stop running, and lakes that go dry,
[14:12] people die, never to rise. They will never wake up while the sky endures; they will never stir from their sleep.
[14:13] I wish you would hide me in the world of the dead; let me be hidden until your anger is over, and then set a time to remember me.
[14:14] If a man dies, can he come back to life? But I will wait for better times, wait till this time of trouble is ended.
[14:15] Then you will call, and I will answer, and you will be pleased with me, your creature.
[14:16] Then you will watch every step I take, but you will not keep track of my sins.
[14:17] You will forgive them and put them away; you will wipe out all the wrongs I have done.
[14:18] There comes a time when mountains fall and solid cliffs are moved away.
[14:19] Water will wear down rocks, and heavy rain will wash away the soil; so you destroy our hope for life.
[14:20] You overpower us and send us away forever; our faces are twisted in death.
[14:21] Our children win honor, but we never know it, nor are we told when they are disgraced.
[14:22] We feel only the pain of our own bodies and the grief of our own minds.