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1 <1> There was a man named Job who lived in the country of Uz. He was a good, honest man. He respected God and refused to do evil. <2> Job had seven sons and three daughters. <3> He owned 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 1000 oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He had many servants. He was the richest man in the east.
<4> Job’s sons took turns having parties in their homes, and they invited their sisters. <5> After the parties were over, Job got up early in the morning, sent for his children, and offered a burnt offering[1] for each of them. He thought, “Maybe my children were careless and sinned against God at their party.” Job always did this so that his children would be forgiven of their sins.
<6> Then the day came for the angels[2] to meet with the Lord. Even Satan[3] was there with them. <7> The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you been?”
Satan answered the Lord, “I have been roaming around the earth, going from place to place.”
<8> Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him. He is a good, faithful man. He respects God and refuses to do evil.”
<9> Satan answered, “But Job has a good reason to respect you. <10> You always protect him, his family, and everything he has. You have blessed him and made him successful in everything he does. He is so wealthy that his herds and flocks are all over the country. <11> But if you were to destroy everything he has, I promise you that he would curse[4] you to your face.”
<12> The Lord said to Satan, “All right, do whatever you want to anything that Job has, but don’t hurt Job himself.”
Then Satan left the meeting.
<13> One day Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house. <14> A messenger came to Job and said, “We were plowing the fields with the oxen and the donkeys were eating grass nearby, <15> when some Sabeans[5] attacked us and took your animals! They killed the other servants. I am the only one who escaped to come and tell you the news!”
<16> That messenger was still speaking when another one came in and said, “A bolt of lightning[6] struck your sheep and servants and burned them up. I am the only one who escaped to come and tell you the news!”
<17> That messenger was still speaking when another one came in and said, “The Chaldeans[7] sent out three raiding parties that attacked us and took the camels! They killed the other servants. I am the only one who escaped to come and tell you the news!”
<18> That messenger was still speaking when another one came in and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house. <19> A strong wind suddenly came in from across the desert and blew the house down. It fell on your sons and daughters, and they are all dead. I am the only one who escaped to come and tell you the news!”
<20> At this, Job got up, tore his clothes and shaved his head to show his sadness and then fell to the ground to bow down before God. <21> He said:
“When I was born into this world,
I was naked and had nothing.
When I die and leave this world,
I will be naked, and have nothing.
The Lord gives,
and the Lord takes away.
Praise the name of the Lord!”
<22> Even after all of that, Job did not sin. He did not accuse God of doing anything wrong.
2
<1> Then another day came for the angels[8] to meet with the Lord. Satan[9] was also there with them. <2> The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you been?”
Satan answered the Lord, “I have been roaming around the earth, going from place to place.”
<3> Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him. He is a good, faithful man. He respects God and refuses to do evil. He is still faithful, even though you asked me to let you destroy, without reason, everything he has.”
<4> Satan answered, “Skin for skin![10] A man will give everything he has to protect himself. <5> I swear, if you attack his flesh and bones, he will curse[11] you to your face!”
<6> So the Lord said to Satan, “All right, Job is in your hands, but you are not allowed to kill him.”
<7> So Satan left the meeting with the Lord and gave Job painful sores all over his body, from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head. <8> Job sat on the pile of ashes where he was mourning and used a piece of broken pottery to scrape his sores. <9> His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your faith? Why don’t you just curse God and die!”
<10> Job answered his wife, “You sound like one of those fools on the street corner! How can we accept all the good things that God gives us, and then not accept the problems?” So even after all of that, Job did not sin. He did not accuse God of doing anything wrong.
<11> Job’s three friends heard about all the bad things that happened to him, so Eliphaz came from Teman, Bildad from Shuah, and Zophar from Naamah. They met together and went to comfort Job and show him their sympathy. <12> But his friends didn’t even recognize him when they first saw him in the distance! They began to cry loudly. They tore their clothes and threw dirt in the air over their heads to show how sad they were. <13> Then they sat on the ground with Job for seven days and seven nights. They didn’t say a word, because they saw he was in so much pain.
3 <1> Then Job opened his mouth and cursed[12] the day he was born. <2-3> He said:
“I wish the day I was born
would be lost forever.
I wish that night they said, ‘It’s a boy!’
had never happened.
<4> I wish that day had remained dark.
I wish God above had forgotten that day
and not let any light shine on it.
<5> I wish that bitter day
had remained as dark as death,
covered with the darkest clouds.
<6> I wish the darkness had carried away that night,
that it was left off the calendar
and not included in any of the months.
<7> I wish that night had produced nothing,
and that no happy shouts were heard.
<8> Some magicians are always wanting
to wake Leviathan.[13]
So let them say their curses,
and curse the day I was born.
<9> I wish that day’s morning star was dark,
that the night waited for a morning that never came.
I wish it had never seen the first rays of sunlight.
<10> I wish it had stopped me from being born
and kept me from seeing all these troubles.
<11> Why didn’t I die when I was born?
Why didn’t I die as I came from my mother’s womb?
<12> Why did my mother hold me on her knees?
Why did her breasts feed me?
<13> If I had died when I was born,
I would be at peace now.
I wish I were asleep and at rest
<14> with the kings and advisors
who built palaces that are now in ruins.
<15> I wish I were buried with rulers
who filled their graves with gold and silver.
<16> Why wasn’t I a child who died at birth
and was buried in the ground?
I wish I had been like a baby
who never saw the light of day.
<17> There the wicked stop causing trouble
and the weary find rest.
<18> Even prisoners find relief there;
they no longer hear their guards shouting at them.
<19> Everyone—from the greatest to the least important—will be there,
and even the slave is free from his master.
<20> “Why must a suffering person continue to live?
Why give life to someone whose soul is bitter?
<21> Such people want to die, but death does not come.
They search for death more than for hidden treasure.
<22> They would be happy to find their grave.
They would rejoice to find their tomb.
<23> But God keeps their future a secret,
and builds a wall around them to protect them.
<24> When it is time to eat,
I only sigh with sadness, not with joy.
My complaints pour out like water.
<25> I was afraid something terrible would happen,
and what I feared most has happened.
<26> I cannot calm down or relax.
I cannot rest. I am too upset!”
4 <1-2> Eliphaz from Teman answered:
“I must say something.
Would it upset you if I speak?
<3> Job, you have taught many people.
You encouraged those who were ready to quit.
<4> Your words helped those who
were ready to fall.
You gave strength to those who
couldn’t stand by themselves.
<5> But now trouble comes to you,
and you are discouraged.
Trouble hits you,
and you are upset.
<6> You worship God.
You trust him.
You are a good man,
so let that be your hope.
<7> Can you think of any innocent person
who was ever destroyed?
Do you know of any place
where good people are punished?
<8> Yes, I have seen people whose lives were cut short,
but they were evil troublemakers.
<9> They lost the breath God gave them.
They were cut off from his breath of life.
<10> They were like roaring lions,
like growling lions who broke their teeth,
<11> like a lioness that couldn’t find prey.
They died and their cubs starved to death.
<12> “I happened to hear a message.
My ears caught a whisper of it.
<13> Like a bad dream[14] in the night,
it ruined my sleep.
<14> It frightened me,
and I trembled down to my bones.
<15> A ghost passed by my face.
The hair on my body stood up!
<16> The spirit stood still,
but I could not see what it was.
A shape stood before my eyes,
and there was silence.
Then I heard a very quiet voice:
<17> ‘A person cannot be more right than God.
People cannot be more pure than their Maker.
<18> Look, God cannot even trust his heavenly servants.
God sees faults even in his angels.
<19> So surely people are worse!
People live in houses of clay[15] built on dust.
They are crushed to death
as easily as a moth!
<20> People die from dawn to sunset,
and no one even notices.
They die and are gone forever.
<21> The ropes of their tent are pulled up,
and they die without wisdom.’
5 <1> “Job, call out if you want.
See if anyone answers you!
But to which of the angels will you turn?
<2> A fool’s anger will kill him.
His strong emotions will kill him.
<3> I saw a fool who thought he was safe,
but suddenly he died.[16]
<4> There was no one to help his children.
No one defended them in court.
<5> Hungry people ate all his crops
They even took the grain growing among the thorns.
Greedy people took all they had.
<6> Bad times don’t come up from the dirt.
Trouble does not grow from the ground.
<7> But people are born to have trouble,
as surely as sparks rise from a fire.
<8> If I were you, I would turn to God
and tell him about my problems.
<9> People cannot understand
the wonderful things God does.
His miracles are too many to count.
<10> He sends rain on the earth.
He sends water to the fields.
<11> He raises up the humble,
and makes sad people happy.
<12> He can spoil the plans
of even the smartest people so that they will not succeed.
<13> He catches even wise people in their own traps,
so their clever plans are not successful.
<14> Such people will not see it coming.
They will be like a blind man
stumbling around in broad daylight.
Even at noon they will be like someone
feeling their way in the dark.
<15> God saves the poor from the edge of the sword.
He saves them from powerful people.
<16> The poor have hope; God protects them
from those who would harm them.
<17> “You are fortunate when God corrects you.
So don’t complain when God All-Powerful punishes you.
<18> God might injure you,
but he will bandage those wounds.
He might hurt you,
but his hands also heal.
<19> He will save you again and again.
No evil will harm you.[17]
<20> God will save you from death
when there is famine.[18]
He will protect you from the sword
when there is war.
<21> People might say bad things about you with their sharp tongues.
But God will protect you.
You will not be afraid
when bad things happen!
<22> You will laugh at destruction and famine.
You will not be afraid of wild animals!
<23> It is as if you have a peace treaty
with the wild animals and the rocks in the field.
<24> You will live in peace
because your tent is safe.
You will count your property
and find nothing missing.
<25> You will have many children.
They will be as many as the blades of grass on the earth.
<26> You will be like the wheat that grows
until harvest time.
Yes, you will live to a ripe old age.
<27> “We have studied this, and we know it is true.
So listen to us, and learn it yourself.”
“If my suffering could be weighed,
and all my trouble could be
put on the weighing scales,
<3> you would understand my sadness.
My sadness would be heavier
than all the sand of the seas!
That is why my words seem foolish.
<4> God All-Powerful’s arrows are in me.
My spirit feels the poison from his arrows!
God’s terrible weapons are lined up against me.
<5> [Your words are easy to say
when nothing bad has happened.]
Even a wild donkey does not complain
when it has grass to eat.
And a cow does not complain
when it has its food.
<6> Food without salt does not taste good,
and the white of an egg has no taste.
<7> I refuse to touch it;
that kind of food makes me sick!
[And that is what your words are like to me now.]
<8> “I wish I could have what I ask for.
I wish God would give me what I want.
<9> I wish he would crush me,
just go ahead and kill me!
<10> Then I would be comforted by one thing:
even through all this pain,
I never refused to obey the commands of the Holy One.
<11> “My strength is gone,
so I have no hope to go on living.
I have nothing to look forward to,
so why should I be patient?
<12> I am not strong like a rock.
My body is not made from bronze.
<13> I don’t have the power to help myself.
That is because all my success has been taken away from me.
<14> “Friends should remain loyal in times of trouble,
even if you turn away from God All-Powerful.[19]
<15> But you, my brothers, have not been loyal.
I cannot depend on you.
You are like a riverbed
that is empty when the weather is dry
and flooded when the rains come.
<16> In the winter, it is choked with ice and melting snow.
<17> But when the weather is hot and dry,
the water stops flowing and the stream disappears.
<18> It twists and turns along the way
and then disappears out in the desert.
<19> Traders from Tema search for it.
Travelers from Sheba hope to find it.
<20> They are sure they can find water,
but they will be disappointed.
<21> Now, you are like those streams.
You see my troubles and are afraid.
<22> Did I ask for your help? No!
But you freely gave me your advice!
<23> Did I say to you,
‘Save me from the enemy!
Save me from cruel people!’
<24> “So now, teach me,
and I will be quiet.
Show me what I have done wrong.
<25> Honest words are powerful,
but your arguments prove nothing.
<26> Do you plan to criticize me?
Will you speak more tiring words?
<27> Are you the kind of people
who would gamble for orphans
and sell out your own friends?
<28> Now, look me in the face
and see that I am telling the truth!
<29> Change your mind
and stop being so cruel!
Think again and realize I am innocent.
<30> I am not lying.
I know right from wrong.
7 <1> “People have a hard struggle on earth.
Their life is like that of a hired worker.
<2> They are like a slave looking for cool shade,
or a hired worker waiting for payday.
<3> Month after frustrating month has gone by.
I have suffered night after night.
<4> When I lie down, I think,
‘How long before it’s time to get up?’
The night drags on.
I toss and turn until the sun comes up.
<5> My skin is covered with worms and caked with dirt.
It is cracked and covered with sores.
<6> “My days pass by faster than a weaver’s shuttle,[20]
and my life will end without hope.
<7> God, remember, my life is like a breath.
I will not get a second chance to enjoy it.
<8> Those who see me now will never see me again.
You watch me for a while, but then I am gone.
<9> Just as clouds that come and go,
people are put in the grave, never to rise again.
<10> They don’t come back to their old homes.
The people there wouldn’t recognize them.
<11> “So I will not be quiet!
I will let my suffering spirit speak!
I will let my bitter soul complain!
<12> Am I one of your enemies?
Is that why you put a guard over me?[21]
<13> My bed should bring me comfort.
My couch should give me rest and relief.
<14> But when I lie down you scare me with dreams,
you frighten with visions.[22]
<15> So I would rather be choked to death
than to live like this.
<16> I hate my life—I give up.
I don’t want to live forever.
Leave me alone!
My life means nothing!
<17> God, why are people so important to you?
Why do you even notice them?
<18> Why do you visit them every morning
and test them at every moment?
<19> You never look away from me
or leave me alone for a second.
<20> You watch over people.
If I have sinned,
what could I do to you?
Why did you use me for target practice?
Did I become a problem for you?
<21> Why don’t you just pardon me for doing wrong?
Why don’t you just forgive me for my sins?
Soon I will die and be in my grave.
Then you will search for me, but I will be gone.”
8 <1> Then Bildad from Shuah answered:
<2> “How long will you talk like that?
Your words are nothing but hot air!
<3> God is always fair.
God All-Powerful does what is right.
<4> If your children sinned against God,
he punished them.
They paid for their sins.
<5> But now, look to God
and pray to the All-Powerful.
<6> If you are pure and good,
he will quickly come to help you.
He will give your family back to you.
<7> Then you will have a lot more
than you had in the beginning!
<8> “Ask the old people.
Find out what their ancestors[23] learned.
<9> It seems as though we were born yesterday.
We are too young to know for sure.
Our days on earth are very short, like a shadow.
<10> Maybe the old people can tell you about it.
Maybe they will teach you what they learned.
<11> “Can papyrus[24] grow tall on a dry land?
Can reeds grow without water?
<12> No, they will dry up before harvest.
They will be too small to cut and use.
<13> People who forget God are like that.
Those who oppose him have no hope.
<14> They have nothing to trust in.
Their courage will snap like a spider’s web
<15> when someone leans against it.
They might reach out to it for support,
but it will break and they will fall.
<16> People are like a grapevine.
If it has plenty of water and sunshine,
its branches will spread throughout the garden.
<17> Its roots will spread among the rocks,
searching for good soil.
<18> But if you move it, it will die,
and you couldn’t tell it had been there.
<19> Everything might have been going well,
but another vine will take its place.
<20> God does not support evil people
and he does not abandon the innocent.
<21> So perhaps you might laugh again.
Maybe shouts of joy will come from your lips.
<22> Maybe your enemies will be humiliated,
and the homes of the wicked will be destroyed.”
<2> “Of course, I know that is true.
But how can a human being
win an argument with God?
<3> If someone chose to argue with him,
they couldn’t answer one question in a thousand!
<4> God is so wise and powerful
no one could oppose him and survive.
<5> When God is angry, he moves mountains
before they know what happened.
<6> He can shake the earth,
and it will tremble down to its foundations.
<7> With one command,
he can stop the sun from rising.
He can lock up the stars,
and they will not come out.
<8> He alone made the skies,
and he walks on the ocean waves.
<9> “God made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades.[25]
He made the planets that cross the southern sky.[26]
<10> He does things too marvelous for people to understand.
He does too many miracles to count!
<11> When he goes past me, I cannot see him.
When he goes by, I don’t notice him.
<12> If he takes something away,
no one can stop him.
No one can say to him,
‘What are you doing?’
<13> God will not hold his anger back.
Even Rahab’s[27] helpers are afraid of God.
<14> So I cannot argue with God.
I wouldn’t know what to say to him.
<15> I am innocent,
but I cannot give him an answer.
All I can do is beg my Judge for mercy.
<16> Even if I called and he answered,
I still wouldn’t believe that he really would listen to me.
<17> He would just send storms to crush me.
He would just give me more wounds for no reason.
<18> He wouldn’t let me catch my breath again.
He would just give me more trouble.
<19> I cannot defeat God.
He is too powerful!
I cannot take him to court
and force him to be fair to me.
Who could force God to come to court?
<20> I am innocent,
but anything I say makes me seem guilty.
I am innocent,
but if I speak, my mouth proves me guilty.
<21> I am innocent,
but I don’t know what to think.
I hate my own life.
<22> I say to myself,
‘The same thing happens to everyone.
Innocent people die just as the guilty.
God ends all their lives.’
<23> Does God just laugh
when some disaster kills innocent people?
<24> Is it God who keeps the leaders from seeing
when some evil person takes control?
If it is not him, who is it?
<25> “My days are passing faster than a runner.
They are flying by without happiness.
<26> They go by as quickly as papyrus[28] boats,
as fast as an eagle swooping down on its prey.
<27> “If I say, ‘I will not complain,
I will forget my pain,
I will put a smile on my face,’
<28> the suffering still scares me,
and I know I cannot win.
<29> I would lose any argument with God,
so why should I even think about it.
I would be found guilty.
<30> Even if I scrubbed my hands with soap
and washed myself whiter than snow,
<31> God would still push me into the slime pit,[29]
so even my clothes would hate to touch me.
<32> God is not a human like me,
so if we met together in court,
I couldn’t answer him
as I would another man.
<33> I wish there were someone
to listen to both sides.[30]
I wish there were someone
to judge both of us in a fair way.
<34> I wish there were someone to take away
the rod that God uses to punish me.
Then he would not scare me any more.
<35> Then I could say what I wanted to say
without being afraid of him.
But I cannot do that now.
so I will complain freely.
My soul is very bitter,
so now I will speak.
<2> I will say to God:
‘Don’t just say I am guilty!
Tell me what I did wrong.
What do you have against me?
<3> Do you enjoy hurting me?
Do you enjoy ignoring me
while smiling at what evil people say?
<4> God, do you have human eyes?
Do you see things the way people do?
<5> Is your life as short as ours?
Is your life as short as a man’s life?
No! [So how do you know what it’s like?]
<6> You look for my wrong
and search for my sin.
<7> You know I am innocent,
but no one can save me from your power!
<8> Your hands made me
and shaped my body.
But now they are closing around me
and squeezing me to death!
<9> Remember, you molded me like clay.
Will you turn me into clay again?
<10> You poured me out like milk.
You spun me around and squeezed me
like someone making cheese.
<11> You put me together with bones and muscles,
and then you clothed me with skin and flesh.
<12> You gave me life and were very kind to me.
You cared for me and watched over my spirit.
<13> But this is what you hid in your heart.
Now I know what you were planning for me:
<14> If I sinned, you would be watching me,
so you could punish me for doing wrong.
<15> If I sin, I am guilty
and I should be cursed.
But I cannot lift up my head
even when I am innocent!
I am so ashamed and embarrassed.
<16> If I have any success and feel proud,
you hunt me down like a lion,
and show your power over me.
<17> You bring witness after witness
to prove that I am wrong.
Again and again you show your anger
as you send army after army against me.
<18> So why did you let me be born?
I wish I had died before anyone saw me.
<19> I wish I had never lived.
I wish they had carried me
from my mother’s womb straight to the grave.
<20> My life is almost finished.
So leave me alone!
Let me enjoy the little time I have left,
<21> before I go to the place of no return.
that place of death and darkness.
<22> Let me enjoy the little time I have left
before I go to the place no one can see,
that place of darkness, shadows, and confusion.
In that place even the light is dark.’”
11 <1> Then Zophar from Naamah answered Job and said:
<2> “This flood of words should be answered!
Does all this talking make Job right?
<3> Do you think we don’t have
an answer for you?
Do you think no one will warn you
when you laugh at God?
<4> You say to God,
‘My arguments are right,
and you can see I am pure.’
<5> I wish God would answer you
and tell you that you are wrong.
<6> He could tell you the secret of wisdom.
He would tell you that every story has two sides.
Listen to me,
God is not punishing you as much as he should.
<7> “Do you think you really understand God?
Do you completely understand God All-Powerful?
<8> That knowledge is higher than the heavens
and deeper than the place of death.
So what can you do?
How can you learn it all?
<9> It is greater than the earth
and bigger than the seas.
<10> “If God decides to arrest you,
and to bring you to court,
then no one could stop him.
<11> God knows who is worthless.
When he sees evil, he remembers it.
<12> A wild donkey cannot give birth to a man,
and a stupid person will never become wise.
<13> Prepare your heart to serve only God.
Lift your arms and pray to him.
<14> Put away the sin that you still hold on to.
Don’t keep evil in your tent.
<15> If you would do that,
you could look to God without shame.
You could stand strong and not be afraid.
<16> Then you could forget your troubles,
like water that has already passed by.
<17> Then your life would be brighter
than the sunshine at noon.
Life’s darkest hours would shine
like the morning sun.
<18> Then you would feel safe,
because there would be hope.
God would care for you and give you rest.
<19> You could lie down to rest,
and no one would bother you.
Many people would come to you for help.
<20> Evil people might look for help,
but they will not escape their troubles.
Their hope leads only to death.”
12 <1> Then Job answered them:
<2> “I’m sure you think you are
the only wise people left.
You think that when you die,
wisdom will be gone with you.
<3> But my mind is as good as yours.
You aren’t any smarter than I am.
You haven’t said anything
that people don’t already know.
<4> “My friends laugh at me now.
They say,
‘He prayed to God and got his answer.’
“I am a good man.
I am innocent,
but still they laugh at me.
<5> Those who have no troubles
make fun of those who do.
They hit a man when he is down.
<6> But robbers’ tents are not bothered.
Those who make God angry live in peace,
even though God has them in his power.
<7> “But ask the animals,
they will teach you.
Or ask the birds of the air,
they will tell you.
<8> Or speak to the earth,
it will teach you.
Or let the fish in the sea
tell you their wisdom.
<9> Everyone knows the Lord made these things.
<10> Every animal that lives,
and everyone who breathes,
is under God’s power.
<11> But just as the tongue tastes food,
the ears test the words they hear.
<12> [People say,]
‘Wisdom is to be found in old people.
Long life brings understanding.’
<13> But wisdom and power belong to God.
Good advice and understanding are his.
<14> Anything God tears down cannot be rebuilt again.
Anyone he puts in prison cannot be set free.
<15> If God holds back the rain, the earth will dry up.
If he lets the rain loose, it will flood the earth.
<16> God is strong and always wins.
He controls those who fool others and those who are fooled.
<17> God strips advisors of their wisdom
and makes leaders act like fools.
<18> He strips kings of their authority
and makes them slaves.
<19> He strips priests of their power
and removes those who feel so secure in their position.
<20> God makes the trusted advisors be silent.
He takes away the wisdom of old people.
<21> He makes leaders unimportant.
He takes power away from rulers.
<22> God exposes even the darkest secrets.
He sends light into places that are as dark as death.
<23> God makes nations big and powerful,
and then he destroys them.
He makes nations grow large,
then he scatters their people.
<24> He makes leaders foolish.
He makes them wander aimlessly through the desert.
<25> They are like someone
feeling their way in the dark.
They are like drunks
who don’t know where they are going.
13 <1> “I have seen all this before.
I have already heard everything you say.
I understand all of these things.
<2> I know as much as you do.
I am as smart as you are.
<3> But I don’t want to argue with you.
I want to speak to God All-Powerful.
I want to argue with God about my troubles.
<4> But you three men try to cover up your ignorance with lies.
You are like worthless doctors who cannot heal anyone.
<5> I wish you would just be quiet.
That would be the wisest thing you could do.
<6> “Now, listen to my argument.
Listen to what I have to say.
<7> Will you speak lies for God?
Do you really believe your lies are what
God wants you to say?
<8> Are you trying to defend God against me?
You are not being fair—
You are choosing God’s side simply because he is God.
<9> If God checked you very closely,
would he show you are right?
Do you really think you can fool God
the same as you fool people?
<10> You know God would criticize you
if you chose someone’s side in court
simply because that person was important.
<11> God’s majesty scares you.
You are afraid of him.
<12> Your arguments are worth nothing.
Your answers are worthless.
<13> “Be quiet and let me talk!
I accept whatever happens to me.
<14> I will put myself in danger,
and take my life in my own hands.
<15> I will continue to trust God
even if he kills me.[31]
But I will defend myself to his face.
<16> And if God lets me live, it will be
because I was brave enough to speak.
No evil person would dare meet God face to face.
<17> Listen carefully to what I say.
Let me explain.
<18> I am ready now to defend myself.
I will carefully present my arguments.
I know I will be shown to be right.
<19> If anyone can prove I am wrong,
I will shut up and wait to die.
<20> “God, just give me two things,
and then I will not hide from you:
<21> Stop punishing me,
and stop scaring me with your terrors.
<22> Then call to me and I will answer you.
Or let me speak, and you answer me.
<23> How many sins have I done?
What have I done wrong?
Show me my sins and my wrongs.
<24> God, why do you avoid me
and treat me like your enemy?
<25> Are you trying to scare me?
I am only a leaf blowing in the wind.
You are attacking a little piece of straw!
<26> God, you say bitter things against me.
Are you making me suffer
for the sins I did when I was young.
<27> You have put chains on my feet.
You watch every step I take.
You watch every move I make.
<28> So I am becoming weaker and weaker
like a piece of wood rotting away,
like a piece of cloth eaten by moths.
14 <1> “We are all human beings.[32]
Our life is short and full of trouble.
<2> Our life is like a flower.
It grows quickly, and then dies away.
Our life is like a shadow
that is here for a short time, and then it is gone.
<3> God, do you need to keep an eye on something like that,
and bring charges against me in court?
<4> “What does something clean
have in common with something dirty?
Nothing!
<5> Our life is limited.
God, you decide how long we live.
You set the limits for us and nothing can change them.
<6> So God, stop watching us.
Leave us alone.
Let us enjoy our hard life until our time is finished.
<7> “There is hope for a tree.
If it is cut down, it can grow again.
It will keep sending out new branches.
<8> Its roots might grow old in the ground
and its stump die in the dirt,
<9> but with water it will grow again.
It will grow branches like a new plant.
<10> But when a man dies,
he becomes weak and sick, and then he is gone!
<11> You could bring all the water in every ocean
until ever river runs dry, and that dead man
<12> would still never get up!
The skies would all pass away
before he would rise from death.
The skies will all disappear before
anyone wakes up from that sleep!
<13> “I wish you would hide me in my grave.
I wish you would hide me there, until your anger is gone.
Then you could pick a time to remember me.
<14> If a man dies, will he live again?
If so, I would wait my whole tour of duty
for my replacement to come.
<15> God, you would call me,
and I would answer you.
Then I, the one you made,
would be important to you.
<16> You would still watch every step I take,
but you wouldn’t remember my sins.
<17> It would be as if you had
sealed my sins in an envelope.
It would be as if you had
covered my guilt with plaster.
<18> “Mountains fall and crumble away.
Large rocks break loose and fall.
<19> Water flowing over stones wears them down.
Floods wash away the soil on the ground.
In the same way, God,
you destroy a man’s hope.
<20> You defeat him completely
and then he leaves.
You make him sad
and send him away forever to the place of death.
<21> If his sons are honored, he will never know it.
If his sons do wrong, he will never see it.
<22> He only feels the pain in his body,
and he alone cries for himself.”
15 <1> Then Eliphaz from Teman answered Job:
<2> “If you were really wise,
you wouldn’t answer with your worthless personal opinions!
A wise man would not be so full of hot air.
<3> Do you think a wise man
would use empty words
and meaningless speeches to win his arguments?
<4> If you had your way,
no one would respect God and pray to him.
<5> What you say clearly shows your sin.
Job, you are trying to hide your sin
by using clever words.
<6> I don’t need to prove to you that you are wrong.
The words from your own mouth
show that you are wrong.
Your own lips speak against you.
<7> “Do you think you were the first
person ever to be born?
Were you born before the hills?
<8> Did you listen to God’s secret plans?
Do you think you are the only wise person?
<9> We know as much as you do!
We understand as well as you.
<10> The old, gray-haired men agree with us.
People older than your father are on our side.
<11> God tries to comfort you,
but that is not enough for you.
We have spoken his message to you in a gentle way.
<12> Why will you not understand?
Why can you not see the truth?
<13> You are against God
when you say these angry words.
<14> “People cannot really be pure.
They[33] cannot be more right than God!
<15> God does not even trust his angels.[34]
He does not even think the sky is pure.
<16> People are even worse.
They are disgusting and dirty.
They drink up evil like water.
<17> “Listen to me.
I will explain it to you.
Let me tell you what I have seen.
<18> I will tell you what wise men would say.
They heard these things from their fathers,
and they freely passed it on.
They didn’t hide any secrets from me.
<19> These are important people in our country!
Everyone knows who they are.
<20> And they said that an evil man suffers all his life.
A cruel man suffers all his numbered years.
<21> Every noise scares him.
His enemy will attack him when he thinks he is safe.
<22> An evil man will be frustrated,
and there is no hope for him to escape the darkness.
There is a sword somewhere
that is waiting to kill him.
<23> He wanders from place to place,
looking for food.
But he knows that a dark day is coming,
and that he brought it on himself.
<24> Worry and suffering frighten him
like a king who is ready to attack.
<25> That is because that evil man
refused to obey God.
He shook his fist at God
and tried to defeat God All-Powerful.
<26> He is like a soldier with a thick, strong shield
who runs at his enemy to strike him in the neck.
<27> He might be rich and fat,
<28> but his town will be ruined;
his home will be destroyed;
his house will be empty.
<29> He will not be rich for long.
His wealth will not last.
His crops will not grow large.
<30> He will not escape the darkness.
He will be like a tree
whose leaves die from disease
and a wind blows them all away.
<31> That evil man shouldn’t fool himself
by trusting in worthless things,
because he will keep nothing.
<32> He will die before his time.
He will be like a tree whose top branches
have already begun to die.
<33> He will be like a vine
that loses its grapes before they ripen.
He will be like an olive tree
that loses its buds.
<34> That is because people without God have nothing.
People who love money
will have their homes destroyed by fire.
<35> Evil people are always planning ways
to do evil and cause trouble.
They are always planning ways
to cheat people.”
“I have heard
<2> all these things before.
You three men give me trouble, not comfort.
<3> Your long speeches never end!
Why do you continue arguing?
<4> I also could say the same things you say,
if you had my troubles.
I could say wise things against you
and shake my head at you.
<5> But I could encourage you
and give you hope with the things I say.
<6> “Nothing I say makes my pain go away.
But keeping quiet does not help either.
<7> God, you surely took away my strength.
You destroyed my whole family.
<8> You have made me thin and weak,
and people think that means I am guilty.
<9> “God attacks me;
he is angry with me and tears my body apart.
He grinds his teeth against me.
My enemy looks at me with hate.
<10> People have crowded around me.
They make fun of me and slap my face.
<11> God has given me to evil people.
He let the wicked hurt me.
<12> Everything was fine with me,
but then God crushed me.
Yes, he took me by the neck
and broke me into pieces.
He used me for target practice.
<13> His archers[35] are all around me.
He shoots arrows in my kidneys.
He shows no mercy.
He spills my gall[36] on the ground.
<14> Again and again God attacks me.
He runs at me like a soldier in battle.
<15> “I am very sad,
so I wear these clothes of sadness.
I sit here in the dust and ashes,
and I feel defeated.
<16> My face is red from crying.
There are dark rings around my eyes.
<17> I was never cruel to anyone.
My prayers are pure.
<18> “Earth, don’t hide the wrong things
that were done to me.[37]
Don’t let my begging for fairness be stopped.
<19> Even now there is someone in heaven
who will speak for me.
There is someone above
who will testify for me.
<20> My friend speaks for me
while my eyes pour out tears to God.
<21> He speaks to God for me
like someone[38] presenting an argument for a friend.
<22> “In only a few years I will go to that
place of no return.
I am ready to give up.
My life is almost gone,
the grave is waiting for me.
<2> People stand around me and laugh at me.
I watch them as they tease and insult me.
<3> “God, give me some support.
No one else will!
<4> You have closed my friends’ minds,
and they don’t understand.
Please don’t let them win.
<5> You know what people say,
‘A man neglects his own children
to help his friends.’[39]
But my friends have turned against me.
<6> God has made my name
a bad word to everyone.
People spit in my face.
<7> My eyes have almost become blind
because I am very sad and in great pain.
My whole body has become very thin,
like a shadow.
<8> Good people are upset
that this could happen.
The innocent become angry with
those who make fun of God.
<9> But good people continue to do what is right.
Those who are pure grow stronger and stronger.
<10> “But come on, all of you,
try to show me that it is all my fault.
None of you are wise.
<11> My life is passing away.
My plans are destroyed.
My hope is gone.
<12> Everything is confused—
night is day, and evening comes when it should be dawn.
<13> “I might hope for the grave
to be my new home.
I might hope to make my bed
in the dark grave.
<14> I might say to the grave,
‘You are my father,’
and to the worms,
‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister.’
<15> But if that is my only hope,
I have no hope at all.
If that is my only hope,
people have found me no hope at all.
<16> Will it also go down to the place of death?
Will we go down into the dirt together?”
18 <1> Then Bildad from Shuah answered:
<2> “When will you stop talking?
Be sensible.
Let us say something.
<3> Why do you think we are stupid like dumb cows?
<4> Your anger is only hurting yourself.
Do you think this world was made only for you?
Do you think God should move mountains just to satisfy you?
<5> “Yes, the light of the evil people will go out.
Their fire will stop burning.
<6> The light in their houses will become dark.
The lamps next to them will go out.
<7> Their steps will not be strong and fast again,
but they will walk slowly and be weak.
Their own evil plans will make them fall.
<8> Their own feet will lead them into a trap.
They will walk into a trap and be caught.
<9> A trap will catch their heels and hold them tight.
<10> A rope in the ground will trap them.
A trap is waiting in their path.
<11> Terror is waiting for them all around.
Fears will follow every step they take.
<12> Bad troubles are hungry for them.
Ruin and disaster are ready for them when they fall.
<13> Diseases will eat away their skin.
Death’s Firstborn[40] will eat their arms and legs.
<14> The evil people will be taken away
from the safety of their own houses.
They will be led away to meet
the King of Terrors.[41]
<15> They will be in their new homes
with none of their belongings.
Sulfur will be sprinkled over their new fields.
<16> Their roots below will dry up,
and their branches above will die.
<17> People on earth will not remember them.
Their names will be forgotten.
<18> People will push them away
from the light into the darkness.
They will chase them out of this world.
<19> They will have no children or grandchildren.
None of their people will be left alive.
<20> People in the west will be shocked
when they hear what happened to them.
People in the east will be numb with fear.
<21> This really will happen
to the homes of the evil people.
This is what will happen to those who
don’t care about God!”
<2> “How long will you hurt me
and crush me with your words?
<3> You have insulted me ten times now.
You show no shame when you attack me!
<4> Even if I have sinned,
it is my problem, not yours!
<5> You just want to make yourselves
look good and make me look bad.
You say that my troubles
are proof that I did wrong.
<6> I want you to know that
it was God who did this to me.
He is the one who set this trap for me.
<7> I shout, ‘He hurt me!’
But I get no answer.
Even if I call loudly for help,
no one hears my cry for fairness.
<8> God has blocked my way
so that I cannot go through.
He has hidden my path in darkness.
<9> He took away my honor.
He took the crown from my head.
<10> He hits me from every side until I am worn out.
He takes away my hope
like a tree pulled up by the roots.
<11> His anger burns against me.
He calls me his enemy.
<12> He sends his army to attack me.
They build attack towers around me.
They camp around my tent.
<13> “God has made my brothers hate me.
I am a stranger to all my friends.
<14> My relatives have left me.
My friends have forgotten me.
<15> My servant girls and visitors in my home
look at me like I am a stranger and a foreigner.
<16> I call for my servant, but he does not answer.
Even if I beg for help, he will not answer.
<17> My wife hates the smell of my breath.
My own brothers hate me.
<18> Even little children make fun of me.
When I get up, they say bad things about me.
<19> All my close friends hate me.
Even my loved ones turned against me.
<20> “I am so thin, my skin hangs loose on my bones.
I have little life left in me.
<21> “Pity me, my friends, pity me,
because God is against me.
<22> Why do you persecute me like God does?
Don’t you get tired of hurting me?
<23> “I wish someone would remember
what I say and write it in a book.
I wish my words were written on a scroll.
<24> I wish the things I say were carved
with an iron tool on lead or scratched on a rock
so they would last forever.
<25> I know there is someone to defend me.
I know he lives!
And in the end, he will stand here on earth
and defend me,
<26> after my skin has been destroyed.
But I want to see God while I am still in my body.
I want to see him for myself.
<27> I want to see him with my own eyes,
not through someone else’s eyes.
And I cannot tell you how much
I want that to happen![42]
<28> “Maybe you will say,
‘How can we push Job a little harder?
How can we make him realize
that he is the source of his problems?’
<29> But you need to worry
about your own punishment.
God might use the sword against you
so you will know that there is a time of judgment.”
20 <1> Then Zophar from Naamah answered:
<2> “You upset me, so I must answer you.
I must tell you what I am thinking.
<3> You insulted me with your answers!
But I am wise, I know how to answer you.
<4-5> “You know the joy of evil people does not last long.
That has been true a long time,
from the time Adam was[43] put on earth.
Those who don’t care about God
are happy for only a short time.
<6> Maybe an evil man’s pride will
reach up to the sky,
and his head will touch the clouds.
<7> But he will be gone forever,
like his own body waste.
People who know him will say,
‘Where is he?’
<8> Like a dream, he will fly away
and no one will ever find him.
He will be forced away and forgotten
like a bad dream.[44]
<9> The people who saw him will not see him again.
His family will never look at him again.
<10> His children will give back what he took from the poor,
and his own hands must give back his wealth.
<11> When he was young, his bones were strong.
But, like the rest of his body, they soon will lie in the dirt.
<12> “Evil tastes sweet in the evil man’s mouth.
He keeps it under his tongue to enjoy it fully.
<13> He enjoys evil.
He hates to let it go.
It is like a sweet candy
he keeps in his mouth.
<14> But that evil will become poison in his stomach.
It will be like bitter poison inside him,
like a snake’s poison.
<15> The evil man has swallowed riches,
but he will vomit them out.
God will make him vomit them out.
<16> It will be as if he drank snake poison,
and that venom from under the snake’s tongue will kill him.
<17> Then the evil man will not enjoy
seeing the rivers that flow with honey and cream.
<18> He will be forced
to give back his profits.
He will not be allowed to enjoy what he worked for,
<19> because he hurt the poor and treated them wrong.
He didn’t care about them,
and he took their things.
He took houses someone else built.
<20> “The evil man is never satisfied.
His wealth cannot save him.
<21> When he eats, there is nothing left.
His success will not continue.
<22> While he has plenty,
he will become pressed down with trouble.
His problems will come down on him!
<23> If he does get all he wants,
God will throw his burning anger against him.
God will attack him and rain down punishment on him.
<24> Maybe the evil man will run away from an iron sword,
but a bronze arrow[45] will shoot him down.
<25> The bronze arrow will go
all the way through his body,
and stick out from his back.
Its shining point will pierce his liver,
and he will be shocked with terror.
<26> All his treasures will be destroyed.
A fire will destroy him—
a fire that no human started.
The fire will destroy everything left in his house.
<27> Heaven will prove that he is guilty.
The earth will be a witness against him.
<28> Everything in his house will be
carried away in the flood of God’s anger.
<29> That is what God will do to evil people.
That is what he plans to give them.”
<2> “Listen to what I say.
Let that be your way of comforting me.
<3> Be patient while I speak.
Then after I have finished speaking,
you may make fun of me.
<4> “I am not complaining against people.
There is a good reason
why I am not patient.
<5> Look at me and be shocked.
Put your hand over your mouth,
and stare at me in shock!
<6> When I think about what happened to me
I feel afraid, and my body shakes!
<7> Why do evil people live long lives?
Why do they grow old and successful?
<8> Evil people watch their children grow up.
Evil people live to see their grandchildren.
<9> Their homes are safe, and they are not afraid.
God does not use a stick to punish evil people.
<10> Their bulls never fail to mate.
Their cows have healthy calves.
<11> Evil people send their children out
to play like lambs.
Their children dance around.
<12> They sing and dance
to the sound of harps and flutes.
<13> Evil people enjoy success during their lives
and then go to their grave without suffering.
<14> But evil people say to God,
‘Leave us alone!
We don’t care what you want us to do!’
<15> They also say,
‘Who is God All-Powerful?
We don’t need to serve him!
It will not help to pray to him!’
<16> “True, evil people don’t make their own success.
I cannot follow their advice.
<17> But how often does God blow out the light of evil people?
How often does trouble come to them?
When does God become angry with them and punish them?
<18> Does God blow the evil people away,
like the wind blows straw,
like strong winds blow the grain husks?
<19> But you say,
‘God punishes a child for their father’s sins.’
No! Let God punish the evil people himself.
Then those evil people will know that they are being punished for their own sins!
<20> Let them see their own punishment.
Let them feel the anger of God All-Powerful.
<21> When their life is finished, and they are dead,
they will not care about the family they leave behind.
<22> “No one can teach knowledge to God.
God judges even those in high places.
<23> One person dies after living a full and successful life,
a life completely safe and comfortable,
<24> with a body that was well fed
and bones that were still strong.
<25> But someone else dies after a hard life, with a bitter soul,
never having enjoyed anything good.
<26> In the end, both of these people
will lie together in the dirt.
The worms will cover them both.
<27> “But I know what you are thinking,
and I know you want to hurt me.
<28> You might say:
‘Show me a good man’s house.
Now, show me where evil people live.’[46]
<29> “Surely you have talked with travelers.
Surely you will accept their stories.
<30> Evil people are spared when disaster comes.
They survive when God shows his anger.
<31> No one criticizes evil people
to their faces for the bad things they have done.
No one punishes them for the evil they have done.
<32> When those evil people are carried to the grave,
they will have someone to watch over their graves.
<33> So even the soil in the valley will be pleasant for them,
and thousands of people will join the march to their graves.
<34> “So you cannot comfort me with your empty words.
Your answers don’t help at all!”
22 <1> Then Eliphaz from Teman answered:
<2> “Does God need our help?
Even a very wise person isn’t really useful to God.
<3> Does your living right help God?
Does God All-Powerful gain anything
if you follow him?
<4> Why does God punish and blame you?
Is it because you worship him?
<5> No, it is because you have sinned much.
You never stop sinning.
<6> Maybe you loaned someone money,
and without reason, took something
to make sure that they paid you back.
Maybe you took some poor man’s clothes
to make sure that he paid the loan.[47]
<7> Maybe you didn’t give water and food
to tired, hungry people.
<8> You have a lot of farmland,
and people respect you.
<9> But maybe you sent widows away
without giving them anything.
Maybe you cheated orphans.
<10> That is why traps are all around you,
and sudden trouble makes you afraid.
<11> That is why it is so dark you cannot see,
and why a flood of water covers you.
<12> “God lives in the highest part of heaven
and looks down on the highest stars.
<13> But you might say,
‘What does God know?
Can God see through the dark clouds and judge us?
<14> Thick clouds hide him from us,
so he cannot see us as he walks beyond the edge of the sky.’
<15> “Job, you are walking on the old path
that evil people walked on long ago.
<16> They were destroyed before it was their time to die.
They were washed away by the flood.
<17> They told God,
‘Leave us alone!
God All-Powerful cannot do anything to us!’
<18> And it was God who filled their houses
with good things.
No, I cannot follow the advice of evil people.
<19> Those who do what is right
will be happy to see them destroyed.
The innocent will laugh at them and say,
<20> ‘Surely our enemies are destroyed!
Their wealth burned in the fire!’
<21> “Now, Job, give yourself to God
and make peace with him.
Do this, and you will get many good things.
<22> Accept his teaching.
Pay attention to what he says.
<23> If you return to God All-Powerful, you will be restored.
But remove the evil from your house.
<24> Think of your gold as nothing but dirt;
think of your best gold[48] as pebbles from a stream.
<25> And let God All-Powerful be your gold.
Let him be your pile of silver.
<26> Then you will enjoy God All-Powerful,
and you will look up to him.
<27> You will pray to him, and he will hear you.
And you will be able to do what you promised to do.
<28> If you decide to do something,
it will be successful.
And your future will be bright indeed!
<29> When people are brought down,
you can help them up,
and God will rescue those humble people.
<30> Then you can help those who made mistakes.
You will pray to God and he will forgive them,
because you will be so pure.”
<2> “I am still complaining today,
because I am still suffering.
<3> I wish I knew where to find God.
I wish I knew how to go to him!
<4> I would present my case to him.
I would give my arguments to show that I am innocent.
<5> He could give his response,
and I would understand.
I would listen closely to what he says.
<6> Would God use his power against me?
No, he would listen to me!
<7> I am an honest man.
God would let me tell my story.
Then my Judge would set me free!
<8> “But if I go to the east,
God is not there.
If I go to the west,
I still don’t see God.
<9> When God is working in the north,
I don’t see him.
When God turns to the south,
I still don’t see him.
<10> But God knows me.
He is testing me and he will see
that I am as pure as gold.
<11> I have always lived the way God wants.
I have never stopped following him.
<12> I always obey his commands.
I love the words from his mouth more than I love my food.
<13> “But God never changes.
No one can stand against him.
He does anything he wants.
<14> He will do what he planned to me,
and he has many other plans for me.
<15> That is why I am afraid of God.
I understand these things.
That is why I am afraid of him.
<16> God makes my heart weak,
and I lose my courage.
God All-Powerful makes me afraid.
<17> The bad things that happened to me
are like a black cloud over my face.
But that darkness will not keep me quiet.
24 <1> “Why is it that God All-Powerful
knows when [bad] things are going to happen,
but his followers cannot predict when he is going to do something about it?
<2> “People move the property markers
to get more of their neighbor’s land.
People steal flocks and lead them
to other grasslands.
<3> They steal the donkey
that belongs to children without parents.
They take a widow’s cow away from her
until she pays what she owes them.
<9>[49] Evil people take a nursing baby from its mother.
They take a poor person’s child
as security[50] for a loan.
<4> They force the poor
to move out of their way and to get off the road.
<5> “The poor are like wild donkeys
that wander in the desert searching for food for their children.
They get up early in the morning to search for food.
They work late into the evening
gathering food for their children.
<6> They must work late into the night
cutting hay and straw in fields.
They must work for the rich[51]
gathering the grapes in their vineyards.[52]
<7> They must sleep all night without clothes.
They have no covers to protect them from the cold.
<8> They are soaked with rain in the mountains.
They have nothing to protect them from the cold,
so they huddle close to the large rocks.
<10> They have no clothes,
so they work naked.
They carry piles of grain for evil people,
but still they go hungry.
<11> They press out olive oil.
They walk on grapes in the winepress,[53]
but they have nothing to drink.
<12> In the city you can hear
the sad sounds of dying people.
Those who are hurt cry out for help,
but God does not listen.
<13> “Some people rebel against the light.
They don’t know what God wants.
They don’t live the way he wants.
<14> A murderer gets up early in the morning,
and kills poor, helpless people.
And at night he becomes a thief.
<15> A man who commits adultery,[54]
waits for the night to come.
He thinks, ‘No one will see me.’
But still, he covers his face.
<16> At night when it is dark,
evil people go out and break into houses.
But during the daylight,
they lock themselves in their homes and avoid the light.
<17> The darkest night is like morning
for these evil people.
Yes, they know the terrors of that
deadly darkness very well.
<18> “[You say,] ‘But evil people are taken away
like things carried away in a flood.
The land they own is cursed,[55]
so they will not gather grapes from their vineyards.
<19> Hot, dry weather takes away their water
that came from the winter snows.
In the same way sinners will be carried to the grave.
<20> These evil people will die;
even their own mothers will forget them.
Their sweethearts will be the worms eating their bodies.
People will not remember them.
These evil people will be broken like a rotten stick!
<21> Evil men hurt women who have no children to protect them,
and they refuse to help widows.
<22> They use their power
to ruin powerful men.
They might become powerful,
but they cannot be sure of their own lives.
<23> They might feel safe and secure for a short time.
They might want to be powerful.
<24> Evil people might be successful for a while,
but then they will be gone.
They will be cut down like grain,
like everyone else.’
<25> “I swear these things are true!
Who can prove that I lied?
Who can show that I am wrong?”
25 <1> Then Bildad from Shuah answered:
<2> “God is the ruler.
He makes people fear and respect him.
He keeps peace in his kingdom above.
<3> No one can count his stars.[56]
His sun rises on all people.
<4> How can a man
win an argument with God?
No human being[57] can really be pure.
<5> In God’s eyes,
even the moon is not pure and bright,
even the stars are not pure.
<6> People are much less pure.
They are like maggots and other worthless worms!”
<2> “Bildad, you have really been
a great help to this tired, weary man!
You have really supported me!
<3> You have given wonderful advice
to this foolish man!
You have really given me
a lot of useful information![58]
<4> Who helped you say these things?
Whose spirit inspired you?
<5> “The ghosts and their neighbors
in the underworld[59] are shaking with fear.
<6> But God can see clearly into that place of death.
Death[60] is not hidden from God.
<7> God stretched the northern sky over empty space.
He hung the earth on nothing.
<8> He fills the thick clouds with water.
But he does not let that heavy weight
break the clouds open.
<9> He covers the face of the full moon.
He spreads his clouds over it and hides it.
<10> He drew the horizon on the ocean,
like a circle where light and darkness meet.
<11> The foundations that hold up the sky
shake with fear when God threatens them.
<12> With his own power God calmed the sea.
With his wisdom he destroyed Rahab.[61]
<13> His breath made the skies clear.
His hand destroyed the snake that tried to get away.[62]
<14> These are only a few
of the amazing things that God did.
We only hear a small whisper
from God’s thundering power.”
27 <1> Then Job continued telling his story:
<2> “God All-Powerful has been unfair to me;
he has made my life bitter.
But I swear by his life,
<3> as long as I have the breath of life in me,
as long as God’s spirit is in my nostrils,
<4> I will not be a hypocrite.[63]
I will not lie.
<5> And by God,
I will never say you men are right!
I will maintain my integrity until the day I die.
<6> I will hold onto my innocence and will not let go!
I will not be untrue to myself as long as I live!
<7> People have stood against me.
May my enemies be punished
like bad men should be punished.
<8> What hope does a hypocrite have when it is time to die?
They have no hope
when God takes their life away.
<9> When they have troubles,
they might cry to God for help,
but he will not listen to them!
<10> They should have enjoyed
talking with God All-Powerful.
They should have prayed to God all the time.
<11> “I will teach you about God’s power.
I will not hide God All-Powerful’s plans.
<12> You have seen God’s power with your own eyes.
So why do you say such useless things?
<13>[64] “This is what God planned for evil people.
This is what cruel people will get from God All-Powerful:
<14> They might have many children,
but their children will be killed in war.
Their children will not have enough to eat.
<15> All of their children will die,
and the widows will not be sad.
<16> Evil people might get so much silver
that it is like dirt to them.
They might have so many clothes
that they are like piles of clay.
<17> But those piles of clothes will be worn
by those who do right.
All that silver will be given
to those who have done no wrong.
<18> Evil people might build houses,
but they will not last a long time.
They will be like a spider’s web
or a guard’s tent.
<19> Evil people might be rich when they go to bed,
but when they open their eyes, all their riches will be gone.
<20> They will be scared.
It will be like a flood, like a storm came
and carried everything away.
<21> The east wind will carry them away,
and they will be gone.
The storm will sweep them out of their homes.
<22> Evil people might try to run away
from the power of the storm.
But the storm will hit them without mercy.
<23> Men will clap their hands
as the evil people run away.
They will whistle at them
as they run from their homes.”
28 <1> There are mines where people get silver
and places where people melt gold to make it pure.
<2> Miners dig iron from the ground.
Copper is melted from the rocks.
<3> Miners carry lights into the caves.
They search deep into the caves
and look for rocks in the deep darkness.
<4> Miners dig deep into the ground,
following the veins of ore.
They go deep down into the ground
far away from where people live,
down where no one else has been before.
They hang from ropes far below ground,
far away from others.
<5> Food grows on the ground above.
But underground, it is different—
as if everything were melted by fire.
<6> Underground there are sapphires[65]
and grains of pure gold.
<7> Wild birds know nothing about
the paths under the ground.
No falcon[66] has ever seen those dark paths.
<8> Wild animals haven’t walked there.
Lions haven’t traveled that way.
<9> Miners dig the hardest rocks.
They dig away at the mountains and make them bare.
<10> They cut tunnels through the rocks.
They see all the rock’s treasures.
<11> They make dams to stop the water.
They bring hidden things out into the light.
<12> “But where can a person find wisdom?
Where can we go to find understanding?
<13> We don’t know how valuable wisdom is.
People on earth cannot dig in the ground and find wisdom.
<14> The deep ocean says,
‘Wisdom is not here with me.’
The sea says,
‘Wisdom is not here with me.’
<15> You cannot buy wisdom with even the purest gold.
There isn’t enough silver in the world to buy wisdom.
<16> You cannot buy wisdom with gold from Ophir
or precious onyx[67] or sapphires.
<17> Wisdom is worth more than gold or crystal.
Expensive jewels set in gold cannot buy wisdom.
<18> Wisdom is worth more than coral[68] and jasper.[69]
Wisdom is more precious than rubies.
<19> The topaz[70] from the country of Ethiopia
is not as precious as wisdom.
You cannot buy wisdom with pure gold.
<20> “So where does wisdom come from?
Where can we find understanding?
<21> Wisdom is hidden from every living thing on earth.
Even birds in the sky cannot see wisdom.
<22> Death and destruction[71] say,
‘We haven’t found wisdom;
we have only heard rumors about it.’
<23> “Only God knows the way to wisdom.
Only he knows where wisdom is.
<24> He can see to the very ends of the earth.
He sees everything under the sky.
<25> God gave the wind its power.
He decided how big to make the oceans.
<26> He decided where to send the rain
and where the thunderstorms should go.
<27> He saw wisdom and discussed it.
He examined wisdom and saw how much it was worth.
<28> Then he said to humans,
‘To fear and respect the Lord is wisdom.
To turn away from evil is understanding.’”
29 <1> Job continued to speak:
<2> “I wish my life was as it was a few months ago,
when God watched over me and cared for me.
<3> God’s light shined above me,
so I could walk through the darkness.
<4> I wish for the days when I was successful,
and God was my close friend.
In those days God blessed my home.
<5> I wish for the time when
God All-Powerful was still with me,
and my children were all around me.
<6> Life was very good then.
I washed my feet in cream,
and I had plenty of the finest oils.[72]
<7> “Those were the days
when I went to the city gate
and sat with the elders of the city in the public meeting place.
<8> All the people there respected me.
The young men stepped out of my way
when they saw me coming.
And the old men stood up
to show they respected me.
<9> The leaders of the people stopped talking
and put their hand to their mouth.
<10> Even the most important leaders
lowered their voices when they spoke.
Yes, it seemed as if their tongues
stuck to the roof of their mouths.
<11> People listened to what I said
and then said good things about me.
They watched what I did,
and then they praised me.
<12> That is because when the poor
cried out for help, I helped.
I helped the orphans who
had no one to care for them.
<13> Those who were dying blessed me.
I helped widows who were in need.
<14> Right living was my clothing.
Fairness was like my robe and turban.[73]
<15> I was the eyes for the blind.
I was the feet for the crippled.
<16> I was like a father to the poor.
I helped people I didn’t even know
win their arguments in court.
<17> I stopped evil people from abusing their power
and saved innocent people from them.[74]
<18> “I always thought I would live a long life,
growing old with my family around me.
<19> I thought I would always be able to produce
like a healthy plant with roots that have plenty of water
and branches that are wet with dew.
<20> I thought each new day
would be bright and full of new possibilities.[75]
<21> “In the past people listened to me.
They were quiet while they waited for my advice.
<22> After I had finished speaking,
those listening to me didn’t have anything else to say.
My words fell gently into their ears.
<23> People waited for me to speak,
as they would wait for rain.
They drank in my words,
as if there were rain in the springtime.
<24> I laughed with them,
and they couldn’t believe it.
My smile made them feel better.
<25> I chose to be with them,
even though I was their leader.
I was like a king in camp with his troops,
comforting those who were sad.
30 <1> But now men who are younger than I am are making fun of me.
And these are men whose fathers are so worthless
that I wouldn’t put them with the dogs guarding my sheep.
<2> Their fathers are still too weak to help me,
but now they are old and tired.
Their muscles are not hard and strong any more.
<3> They are starving with nothing to eat,
so they eat the dry dust of the desert.
<4> They pull up salt plants in the desert
and eat the roots from the broom tree.
<5> They are forced away from other people.
People shout at them as if they were thieves.
<6> They must live in the dry riverbeds,
hillside caves, and holes in the ground.
<7> They howl in the bushes,
and huddle together under thornbushes.
<8> They are a group of worthless people
with no names who were forced to leave their country.
<9> “Now their sons sing songs about me
to make fun of me.
My name has become a bad word to them.
<10> Those young men hate me;
they stand away from me.
They even spit in my face!
<11> God has taken the string
from my bow and made me weak.
Those young men don’t stop themselves
but turn against me with all their anger.
<12> They attack me on my right side.
They knock my feet out from under me.
I feel like a city being attacked:
They build dirt ramps against my walls
to attack and destroy me.
<13> They guard the road so that I cannot escape.
They succeed in destroying me,
without help from anyone.
<14> They break a hole in the wall.
They come rushing through it,
and the crashing rocks fall on me.
<15> I am shaking with fear.
They chased my honor away like dust in the wind.
My safety disappears like a cloud.
<16> “Now my life is almost gone, and soon I will die.
Days of suffering have grabbed me.
<17> All my bones ache at night.
Pain never stops chewing on me.
<18> God grabbed the collar of my coat
and twisted my clothes out of shape.
<19> He threw me into the mud,
and I became like dust and ashes.
<20> “God, I cry out to you for help,
but you don’t answer.
I stand up and pray,
but you don’t pay attention to me.
<21> You have become cruel to me;
you use your power to hurt me.
<22> You let the strong wind blow me away.
You throw me around in the storm.
<23> I know you will lead me to my death.
Every living being must die.
<24> “Surely no one will hurt anyone
who is already ruined and crying for help.
<25> God, you know that I cried for those who were in trouble.
You know that I mourned for the poor.
<26> But when I looked for good things,
bad things came instead.
When I looked for light, darkness came.
<27> I am torn up inside.
The suffering never stops,
it has only just started.
<28> I am always sad and depressed, without relief.
I stand up in the assembly and yell for help,
<29> like the wild dogs and ostriches in the desert.
<30> My skin is burned and peeling away.
My body is hot with fever.
<31> My harp is tuned to play sad songs.
My flute makes sounds like sad crying.
31 <1> I made an agreement with my eyes
not to look at a young woman in a way
that would make me want her.
<2> What does God All-Powerful do to people?
How does God pay people back
from his home high in heaven?[76]
<3> God is the one who sends
trouble to the wicked
and disaster to those who do wrong.
<4> God is the one who knows what I do
and sees every step I take.
<5> “I have not lied and tried to cheat people!
<6> If God would use accurate scales,[77]
he would know that I am innocent.
<7> Then God would know
if I walked off the right path,
if my eyes led my heart to do evil,
or if my hands are dirty with sin,
<8> Then it would be right for others
to eat the crops I planted
and to pull up the plants I grew.
<9> “If I have desired another woman
or waited at my neighbor’s door to sin with his wife,
<10> then let my wife cook another man’s food,
and let other men sleep with her.
<11> Why? Because sexual sin is shameful.
It is a sin that must be punished.
<12> Sexual sin is like a fire that burns
until it destroys everything.
It could ruin everything I have ever done.
<13> “If I refuse to be fair to my slaves
when they have a complaint against me,
<14> then what will I do when I must face God?
What will I say when he asks me
to explain what I did?
<15> He made me in my mother’s womb,
and he also made my slaves.
He shaped us all inside our mothers.
<16> “I have never refused to help the poor.
I always gave widows what they needed.
<17> I have never been selfish with my food.
I always gave food to orphans.
<18> All my life, I have been like a father
to children who had no father.
All my life, I have taken care of widows.
<19> When I found people suffering
because they didn’t have clothes,
or a poor man with no coat,
<20> I always gave them clothes.
I used the wool from my own sheep
to make them warm.
And they blessed me with all their heart.
<21> I never shook my fist at an orphan,
who I saw at the gate asking for help.[78]
<22> If I ever did that, may my arm
be pulled from its socket
and fall from my shoulder!
<23> But I didn’t do any of these bad things.
I am afraid of God’s punishment.
His majesty scares me.[79]
<24> “I have never trusted in my riches.
I never said to pure gold,
‘You are my hope.’
<25> I have been wealthy,
but that didn’t make me proud.
I earned a lot of money,
but that is not what made me happy.
<26> I have never worshiped the bright sun,
or the beautiful moon.
<27> I was never foolish enough
to worship the sun and the moon.
<28> This is also a sin that must be punished.
If I had worshiped them,
I would have been unfaithful to God All-Powerful.
<29> “I have never been happy
when my enemies were destroyed.
I have never laughed at my enemies
when bad things happened to them.
<30> I have never let my mouth sin
by cursing[80] my enemies,
and wishing for them to die.
<31> All the people in my house know that
I have always given food to strangers.
<32> I always invited strangers into my home
so they would not have to sleep in the streets at night.
<33> Others try to hide their sins,
but I have not hidden my guilt.
<34> I have never been afraid
of what people might say.
That fear never made me keep quiet.
It never made me refuse to go outside.
I am not afraid of people’s hate for me.
<35> “Oh, I wish someone would listen to me!
I will sign my name,
if God All-Powerful will write down
what he thinks I did wrong.
<36> Then I would wear that sign around my neck.
I would put it on my head like a crown.
<37> If God did that, I could explain
everything that I have done.
I could come to God like a leader
with my head held high.
<38> “I didn’t steal my land from anyone.
No one can accuse me of stealing it.
<39> I always paid the farmers for the food
that I got from the land.
And I never tried to take land away from
the one who owned it.
<40> If I ever did any of these bad things,
let thorns and weeds grow in my fields
instead of wheat and barley!”
Job’s words are finished.
32 <1> Then Job’s three friends gave up trying to answer Job because he was so sure that he was innocent. <2> But there was a young man there named Elihu son of Barakel. He was a descendant of a man named Buz. Elihu was from the family of Ram. He became very angry because Job kept saying he was innocent—that he was right and God was wrong. <3> Elihu was also angry with Job’s three friends because they could not answer him, and yet they still considered him guilty of doing wrong. <4> Elihu was the youngest one there, so he had waited until everyone had finished talking. <5> When Elihu saw that Job’s three friends had nothing more to say, he became angry. <6> So Elihu said:
“I am only a young man, and you are old men.
That is why I was afraid to tell you what I think.
<7> I thought to myself,
‘Older people should speak first.
They have lived many years.
So they have learned many things.’
<8> But God’s Spirit makes a person wise.
That ‘breath’ from God All-Powerful
makes people understand.
<9> Old men are not the only wise people.
They are not the only people who understand what is right.
<10> “So please listen to me,
and I will tell you what I think.
<11> I waited patiently while you men talked.
I listened to the answers you gave to Job
as you searched for the right words.
<12> I listened carefully to what you said.
Not one of you proved Job was wrong.
Not one of you answered his arguments.
<13> You three men cannot say
that you have found wisdom.
God must answer Job’s arguments, not people.
<14> Job did not present his arguments to me,
so I will not use the arguments you three men have used.
<15> “Job, these men lost the argument.
They don’t have anything more to say.
They don’t have any more answers.
<16> I waited for them to answer you.
But now, they are quiet.
They have stopped arguing with you.
<17> So now I will give you my answer.
Yes, I will tell you what I think.
<18> I have so much to say,
that I am about to explode.
<19> I am like a bottle of new wine
that hasn’t been opened.
I am like a new wineskin
that is ready to break open.
<20> So I must speak.
Then I will feel better.
I must answer your arguments.
<21> I must treat you the same
as I would treat any other person.
I will not try to say nice things to you.
<22> I cannot treat one person better another person.
If I did that, God my Maker would punish me!
33 <1> “Now, Job, listen to me.
Listen carefully to what I say.
<2> I am ready to speak.
<3> My heart is honest,
so I will speak honest words.
I will speak the truth about what I know.
<4> God’s Spirit made me.
My life comes from God All-Powerful.
<5> Listen to me,
and answer me if you can.
Get your answers ready,
so you can argue with me.
<6> You and I are the same in front of God.
God used clay to make both of us.
<7> Don’t be afraid of me.
I will not be hard on you.
<8> “But Job, I heard what you said.
<9> You said:
‘I am pure.
I am innocent
I did nothing wrong.
I am not guilty!
<10> I did nothing wrong,
but God found an excuse to treat me like an enemy.
<11> He put chains on my feet
and watches everything I do.’
<12> “But you are wrong about this,
and I will prove you are wrong,
because God knows more than anyone.[81]
<13> You are arguing with God!
You think he should explain everything to you.
<14> But maybe God does explain what he does.
Maybe he speaks in ways that people don’t understand.
<15-16> Maybe he speaks to people in a dream,
or in a vision[82] at night,
when they are in a deep sleep.
Then they become very afraid
when they hear his warnings.
<17> He warns people to stop them
from doing wrong things
and to stop them from becoming proud.
<18> God warns people so that he can save them
from going to the place of death.[83]
He does that to save a person
from being destroyed.
<19> “Or, those who are sick in bed
might be suffering a punishment from God.
That pain might be a warning from him.
The pain might be so strong that all their bones hurt.
<20> So they cannot eat
and they hate even the best food.
<21> Their bodies might waste away until they becomes thin
and all their bones stick out.
<22> They might be so close to the place of death
that their lives are about to end.
<23> God has thousands of angels.
Maybe one of them is watching over them.
That angel might speak for them
and tell about the good things they have done.
<24> Maybe that angel will be kind to him and say [to God],
‘Save this one from the place of death!
I have found a way to pay for his life.’
<25> Then that person’s body
will become young and strong again.
He will be as he was when he was young.
<26> Then he would pray to God,
and God would answer his prayer.
That person would shout with joy
and worship God.
He would live a good life again.
<27> Then he would confess to others,
‘I sinned.
I changed good into bad,
but God didn’t give me the punishment I deserved!
<28> God saved my soul from going down
to the place of death.
Now I can enjoy life again.’
<29> “God might do all these things
for those people again and again.
<30> Why would God do that?
To warn them and save their souls from death so that they can enjoy their lives.
<31> “Job, pay attention to me.
Listen to me.
Be quiet and let me talk.
<32> If you want to disagree with me,
go ahead and talk.
Tell me your argument.
I would be happy to know that you are innocent!
<33> But if you have nothing to say,
listen to me.
Be quiet, and I will teach you wisdom.”
34 <1> Then Elihu continued his speech. He said:
<2> “Listen to what I say, you wise men.
Pay attention to me, you smart men.
<3> Your tongue tastes the food it touches,
and your ear tests the words it hears.
<4> So let us test these arguments
and decide for ourselves what is right.
Together we will learn what is good.
<5> Job says,
‘I am innocent,
and God is not fair to me.
<6> I am innocent,
but the judgment against me says that I am a liar.
I am innocent,
but I have been hurt very badly.’
<7> “Is there any other person like Job?
Job does not care if you insult him.
<8> Job is a friend of evil people.
He likes to be with the wicked.
<9> Why do I say that?
Because Job says, ‘You will gain nothing
if you try to please God.’
<10> “You men can understand, so listen to me.
God would never do what is evil!
God All-Powerful would never do wrong.
<11> He will pay you back for what you have done.
He gives us what we deserve.
<12> This is the truth:
God does not do wrong.
God All-Powerful is always fair.
<13> No one chose God to be in charge over the earth.
No one gave God responsibility for the whole world.
<14> If God decides to take away
his spirit and his breath of life,
<15> then everything on earth will die,
and all people would become dust again.
<16> “If you men are wise,
you will listen to what I say.
<17> A person who hates to be fair cannot be a ruler.
Job, God is strong and good.
Do you think you can judge him guilty?
<18> God is the one who says to kings,
‘You are worthless!’
He says to leaders,
‘You are evil!’
<19> God does not respect leaders
more than other people.
And he does not respect the rich
more than the poor.
God made everyone.
<20> People can suddenly die, in the middle of the night.
They can get sick and pass away.
Even powerful people die for no apparent reason.
<21> “God watches what people do.
God knows every step they take.
<22> There is no place dark enough
for evil people to hide from God.
<23> It is not up to people
to set a time to take God to court!
<24> God does not have to ask questions
when people do wrong,
even if they are powerful leaders.
He simply destroys them,
and chooses others to take their place.
<25> When he learns
what people have done,
he defeats them and overnight they are gone.
<26> He will punish bad people
because of the evil things they did.
And he will punish them
where others can see it happen.
<27> He will do this because
they rebelled against him
and ignored what he wanted.
<28> They hurt the poor
and made them cry to God for help.
And he hears that cry!
<29> But if he decides not to help them,
no one can judge God guilty.
If he hides himself from people,
no one can find him.
He is the ruler over peoples and nations.
<30> And if a ruler causes people to sin,
God will remove him from power.
<31> That will happen unless he says to God,
‘I am guilty. I will not sin anymore.
<32> God, even if I cannot see you,
please teach me the right way to live.[84]
If I have done wrong, I will not do it again.’
<33> “Job, you want God to reward you,
but you refuse to change.
It is your decision, not mine.
Tell me what you think.
<34> A wise person would listen to me.
A wise person would say,
<35> ‘Job talks like an ignorant person.
What Job says doesn’t make sense!’
<36> I think Job should be punished even more,
because he answers us like an evil person!
<37> He adds rebellion to his other sins.
He sits there insulting us and arguing with God!”
35 <1> Elihu continued talking. He said:
<2> “Job, it is not fair for you to say,
‘I am more right than God.’
<3> And you ask God,
‘What will I gain if you try to please God?
What good will it do me if I don’t sin?’
<4> “Job, I want to answer you
and your friends here with you.
<5> Job, look up at the sky.
Look up at the clouds that are higher than you.
<6> Job, if you sin, it does not hurt God.
If you have many sins, that does nothing to God.
<7> And Job, if you are good, that does not help God.
He gets nothing from you.
<8> Job, the good and bad things you do
affect only other people like yourself.
<9> “If people are being hurt,
they will cry out for help
and beg for protection from those who hurt them.
<10> But bad people will not ask God for help.
They will not say,
‘Where is the God who made me?
He gives us songs to sing in the night.
So where is he?
<11> God makes us wiser than the birds and animals.
[So where is he?]’
<12> “Or, if bad people ask God for help
then he will not answer them,
because they are too proud.
They still think they are too important.
<13> True, God will not listen
to their worthless begging.
God All-Powerful will not pay attention to them.
<14> So Job, God will not listen to you
when you say that you don’t see him.
You say you are waiting for your chance
to meet with God
and prove that you are innocent.
<15> “Job thinks that God
does not punish bad people,
and that he does not pay attention to sin.
<16> So Job continues his worthless talking.
He is acting as if he were important.
It is easy to see that he
does not know what he is talking about.”
36 <1> Elihu continued talking. He said:
<2> “Be patient with me a little longer.
God has a few more words that he wants me to say.
<3> I will share my knowledge with everyone.
I will prove that my Maker is right.
<4> Job, I am telling the truth.
I know what I am talking about.
<5> “God is very powerful,
but he does not hate people.
He is very powerful,
but he is also very wise.
<6> He will not let evil people live.
He brings justice to the poor.
<7> He watches over those who live right.
He lets them rule in high places.
<8> So if people are punished,
if they are tied with chains and ropes,
they did something wrong.
<9> And God will tell them what they did.
He will tell him that they sinned.
He will tell him that they were proud.
<10> He will force them to listen to his warning.
He will command them to stop sinning.
<11> If they serve and obey him,
he will make them successful
and they will live a happy life.
<12> But if they refuse to obey him,
they will be destroyed.
They will die like fools.
<13> “People who don’t care about God
are always bitter.
Even when he punishes them,
they refuse to pray to him for help.
<14> They will die when they are still young,
like the male prostitutes.
<15> God could rescue the poor
from all their troubles.
But he uses these pressures
to open their ears so that they will listen to him.
<16> “In fact, God wants to help you out of your troubles.
He wants to take away your burdens
that are crushing you.
He wants to load your table with plenty of food.
<17> But you are full of this talk
about guilt, justice and legal decisions!
<18> Job, don’t let your anger
fill you with doubt about God.
And don’t let the price of forgiveness turn you away.
<19> Do you think it helps to deny that you are in trouble?
Does this show of strength set things right?
<20> Don’t be one of those who wish darkness would quickly come to cover them.
People try to disappear into the night.[85]
<21> Job, you have suffered a lot,
but don’t choose evil.
Be careful not to do wrong.
<22> “Look, God’s power makes him great!
He is the greatest teacher of all.
<23> No one can tell him what to do.
No one can say to him,
‘God, you have done wrong.’
<24> Remember to praise him for what he has done.
People have written many songs praising God.
<25> Everyone can see what he has done,
even people in faraway countries.
<26> Yes, God is great.
But we cannot understand his greatness.
We don’t know how long he has lived.
<27> “God takes up water from the earth
and changes it into mist and rain.
<28> So the clouds pour out the water,
and the rain falls on many people.
<29> No one can understand
how he spreads the clouds out
or how the thunder rumbles from his home in the sky.
<30> Look, he spread lightning over the earth
and covered the deepest part of the ocean.
<31> He uses them to control the nations
and to give them plenty of food.
<32> He grabs the lightning with his hands,
and commands it to hit where he wants.
<33> The thunder warns that a storm is coming.
So even the cattle know it is coming.
37 <1> “The thunder and lightning frighten me;
my heart pounds in my chest.
<2> Listen to God’s thundering voice!
Listen to sound coming from his mouth.
<3> He sends his lightning
to flash across the whole sky.
It lights up the whole earth.
<4> After the flashes of lightning
you can hear his roaring voice.
He thunders with his wonderful voice!
After the lightning flashes,
His voice thunders.
<5> God’s thundering voice is wonderful!
He does great things that we cannot understand.
<6> He says to the snow,
‘Fall on the earth.’
And he says to the rain,
‘Pour down on the earth.’
<7> God does that to prove
to the people he made what he can do.
<8> The animals run into their dens and stay there.
<9> Whirlwinds come from the south.
The cold winds come from the north.
<10> God’s breath makes ice
and freezes the oceans.
<11> He fills the clouds with water
and scatters these thunderclouds.
<12> He orders the clouds
to blow all around the earth.
The clouds do whatever he commands.
<13> He brings out the clouds
to punish people with floods
or to water his earth
or to show his love.
<14> “Job, stop for a minute and listen.
Think about the wonderful things God does.
<15> Do you know how God controls the clouds?
Do you know how he makes his lightning flash?
<16> Do you know how the clouds hang in the sky?
Well, they are just one of the things that were made
by the one who knows everything.
<17> All you know is that you sweat,
your clothes stick to you,
and everything is still and quiet when the heat wave comes from the south.
<18> Can you help God spread out the sky,
and make it shine like polished brass?
<19> “Job, tell us what we should say to God!
We cannot think of what to say
because of our ignorance.[86]
<20> I wouldn’t tell God
that I wanted to talk to him.
That would be like asking
to be destroyed.
<21> A person cannot look at the sun.
It is very bright as it shines in the sky
after the wind blows the clouds away.
<22> In the same way God’s golden glory
shines from the Holy Mountain.[87]
There is a bright light around him.
<23> We have seen that God All-Powerful
really is all powerful!
He does not respond to us
when we try to sue him for justice!
<24> That is why people
fear and respect him.
God does not fear and respect
those who think they are wise.”
38 <1> Then the Lord spoke to Job from a
whirlwind and said:
<2> “Who is this ignorant person
saying these foolish things?”[88]
<3> Brace yourself[89]
and get ready to answer the questions that I will ask you.
<4> “Where were you when I made the earth?
If you are so smart, answer me.
<5> If you are so smart,
Who decided how big the world would be?
Who measured the world with a measuring line?
<6> What is the earth resting on?
Who put the first stone in its place
<7> when the morning stars sang together
and the angels[90] shouted with joy!
<8> “Who closed the flood gates
as the sea gushed from the womb.
<9> Who covered it with clouds
and wrapped it in darkness.
<10> I set the limits for the sea
and put it behind locked gates.
<11> I said to the sea,
‘You can come this far, but no farther.
This is where your proud waves will stop.’
<12> “Did you ever in your life
command the morning to start
or the day to begin?
<13> Did you ever tell the morning light
to grab the earth and shake those who are evil out of their hiding places?
<14> The morning light makes the hills
and the valleys easy to see.
When the daylight comes to the earth,
the shapes of these places stand out like the folds of a coat.
They take shape like soft clay
that is pressed with a stamp.
<15> Evil people don’t like the daylight.
When it shines bright, it stops them
from doing their bad things.
<16> “Have you ever gone
to the deepest parts of the sea?
Have you ever walked
on the ocean bottom?
<17> Have you ever seen the gates
leading to the world of the dead?
Have you ever seen the gates
leading to that dark place of death?
<18> Do you really understand
how large the earth is?
Tell me, if you know all this.
<19> “Where does light come from?
Where does darkness come from?
<20> Can you take light and dark
back to where they came from?
Do you know how to get there?
<21> Surely you know these things.
You are very old and wise.
You were alive when I made them, weren’t you?[91]
<22> “Have you ever gone into
the storerooms where I keep
the snow and the hail?
<23> I save the snow and the hail
for times of trouble,
for the times of war and battle.
<24> Have you ever gone to the place
where the sun comes up,
where it makes the east wind blow all over the earth?[92]
<25> Who dug ditches in the sky for the heavy rain?
Who made a path for the thunderstorm?
<26> Who makes it rain even in places
where no one lives?
<27> That rain gives plenty of water
to that empty land and grass begins to grow.
<28> Does the rain have a father?
Who produces the drops of dew?
<29> Does ice have a mother?
Who gives birth to the frost?
<30> Water freezes as hard as a rock.
Even the ocean freezes over!
<31> “Can you tie up the Pleiades?[93]
Can you unfasten the belt of Orion?[94]
<32> Can you bring out the constellations[95]
at the right times?
Or can you lead out the Bear[96] with its cubs?
<33> Do you know the laws that control the sky?
Can you put each star in its place above the earth?[97]
<34> “Can you shout at the clouds
and command them to cover you with rain?
<35> Can you give a command to the lightning?
Will it come to you and say,
‘Here we are.
What do you want, sir?’
Will it go wherever you want it to go?
<36> “Who makes people wise?
Who puts wisdom deep inside of them?
<37> Who is wise enough to count the clouds
and tip them over to pour out their rain?
<38> So the dust becomes mud
and the clods of dirt stick together.
<39> “Do you find food for the lions?
Do you feed their hungry babies?
<40> No. Lions lie down in their caves,
they crouch down in the grass ready to attack their prey.
<41> Who feeds the ravens
when their babies yell out to God
and wander around without food?
the mountain goats are born?
Do you watch when the mother deer has her baby?
<2> Do you know how many months
they must carry their babies?
Do you know when it is the right time
for them to be born?
<3> These animals lie down, they feel their birth pains,
and their babies are born.
<4> Their babies grow strong out in the wild.
Then they leave their mothers and never come back.
<5> “Who let the wild donkeys go free?
Who untied their ropes and let them loose?
<6> I let the wild donkey have the desert for a home.
I gave the salt lands to them for a place to live.
<7> Wild donkeys are happy to be away from the noise of the city.
They never have to listen to their drivers shouting at them.
<8> Wild donkeys live in the mountains.
That is their pasture.
That is where they look for food to eat.
<9> “Will a wild bull agree to serve you?
Will he stay in your barn at night?
<10> Will a wild bull let you put ropes on him
so you can plow your fields?
<11> A wild bull is very strong,
but can you trust him to do your work?
<12> Can you trust him
to gather your grain and bring it
to your threshing[98] place?
<13> “An ostrich gets excited and flaps his wings.
But an ostrich cannot fly.
Its wings and feathers are not like the wings of a stork.
<14> An ostrich lays her eggs on the ground
and they become warm in the sand.
<15> The ostrich forgets
that someone might walk on her eggs
or that some wild animal might break them.
<16> An ostrich leaves her little babies.
She treats them as if they were not her own.
If her babies die, she does not care
that all her work was for nothing.
<17> Why? Because I didn’t give wisdom to the ostrich.
The ostrich is foolish,
and I made her that way.
<18> But when the ostrich gets up to run,
she laughs at the horse and its rider,
because she can run faster than any horse.
<19> “Did you give the horse its strength?
Did you put the mane[99] on its neck?
<20> Did you make the horse able to
jump far like a locust?
The horse snorts[100] loudly, and it scares people.
<21> A horse is happy that he is so strong.
He scratches the ground with his foot
and runs quickly into battle.
<22> The horse laughs at fear.
He is not afraid!
He does not run away from a battle.
<23> The soldier’s quiver[101] shakes on the horse’s side.
The spear and weapons his rider carries shine in the sun.
<24> The horse is very excited!
He runs fast over the ground.[102]
When the horse hears the trumpet blow,
he cannot stand still.
<25> When the trumpet sounds,
the horse shouts, ‘Hurray!’
He smells the battle from far away.
He hears the commanders shouting orders
and all the other sounds of the battle.
<26> “Did you teach the hawk
how to spread his wings and fly south.[103]
<27> Are you the one who told the eagle[104]
to fly high into the sky.
Did you tell him to build his nest
high in the mountains?
<28> He lives high on a peak at the top of a cliff.
That is his fortress.[105]
<29> From there he looks far into the distance,
searching for his food.
<30> The eagles will gather around dead bodies,
and the babies will drink the blood.”
40 <1> The Lord answered Job and said to him:
<2> “You wanted to argue with God All-Powerful.
You wanted to correct me
and prove that I was wrong.
So give me your answer!”
<3> Then Job answered the Lord and said:
<4> “I am too insignificant to speak!
What can I say to you?
I cannot answer you!
I will put my hand over my mouth.
<5> I spoke once, but I will not speak again.
I spoke twice, but I will not say anything more.”
<6> Then the Lord again spoke to Job from the storm:
<7> “Brace yourself[106]
and get ready to answer the questions that I will ask you.
<8> “Do you think that I am not fair?
You say that I am guilty of doing wrong
so that you will appear innocent!
<9> Are your arms as strong as mine?
Do you have a voice like mine
that sounds loud like thunder?
<10> If you are like God,
you can be proud.
If you are like God
you can wear glory and honor like clothes.
<11> If you are like God,
you can show your anger
and punish those who are proud.
Make them humble.
<12> Yes, look at the proud
and make them humble.
Crush those wicked people where they stand.
<13> Bury them all in the dirt.
Wrap their bodies up and put them in their graves.
<14> If you can do all these things,
even I will praise you.
And I will admit that you are able
to save yourself with your own power.
<15> “Look at the behemoth.[107]
I made the behemoth, and I made you.
The behemoth eats grass like a cow.
<16> The behemoth has much strength in his body.
The muscles in his stomach are very powerful.
<17> The behemoth’s tail stands strong like a cedar tree.
His leg muscles are very strong.
<18> His bones are strong like bronze.
His legs are like iron bars.
<19> The behemoth is the most amazing animal that I made,
but I can defeat him.
<20> The behemoth eats the grass
that grows on the hills
where the wild animals play.
<21> The behemoth lies under the lotus plants.[108]
He hides in the reeds in the swamp.
<22> The lotus plants hide the behemoth in their shade.
He lives under the willow trees that grow near the river.
<23> If the river floods, the behemoth will not run away.
He is not afraid if the Jordan River splashes on his face.
<24> No one can blind the behemoth’s eyes
and catch him in a trap.
41 <1> “Can you catch Leviathan[109] with a fishhook?
Can you tie his tongue with a rope?
<2> Can you put a rope through his nose,
or a hook through his jaw?
<3> Will Leviathan beg you to let him go free?
Will he speak to you with gentle words?
<4> Will he make an agreement with you
and promise to serve you forever?
<5> Will you play with Leviathan
as you would play with a bird?
Will you put a rope on him
so your servant girls can play with him?
<6> Will fishermen try to buy
him from you?
Will they cut him into pieces
and sell him to the merchants[110]?
<7> Can you throw spears
into his skin or head?
<8> “If you ever lay a hand on Leviathan,
you will never do it again!
Just think about the battle that would be!
<9> Do you think you can defeat him?
Well, forget it!
There is no hope!
Just looking at him will scare you!
<10> No one is brave enough to wake him up
and make him angry.
“Well, no one can challenge me either![111]
<11> I owe nothing to anyone.
Everything under heaven belongs to me.[112]
<12> “I will tell you about Leviathan’s legs,
his strength and graceful shape.
<13> No one can pierce his skin.
His skin is like armor![113]
<14> No one can force him to open his jaws.
The teeth in his mouth scare people.
<15> His back has rows of shields
tightly sealed together.
<16> The shields are so close to each other
that no air can pass between them.
<17> The shields are joined to each other.
They hold together so tightly
that they cannot be pulled apart.
<18> When Leviathan sneezes,
it is like lightning flashing out.
His eyes shine like the light of dawn.
<19> Burning torches come out from his mouth.
Sparks of fire shoot out.
<20> Smoke pours from his nose
like burning weeds under a boiling pot.
<21> His breath makes coals burn,
and flames shoot from his mouth.
<22> His neck is very powerful.
People are afraid and run away from him.
<23> There is no soft spot in his skin.
It is hard like iron.
<24> His heart is like a rock;
he has no fear.
It is hard like a lower millstone.[114]
<25> When he gets up,
strong people[115] are afraid.
They run away
when he swings his tail.
<26> Swords, spears, and darts hit him,
but they only bounce off.
These weapons don’t hurt him at all!
<27> He breaks iron as easily as straw.
He breaks bronze like rotten wood.
<28> Arrows don’t make him run away.
Rocks bounce off him like straw.
<29> When a wood club hits him,
it feels like a piece of straw to him.
He laughs when men throw spears at him.
<30> The skin on his belly
is like sharp pieces of broken pottery.
He leaves tracks in the mud
like a threshing[116] board.
<31> He stirs up the water like a boiling pot.
He makes it bubble like a pot of boiling oil.
<32> When he swims,
he leaves a path behind himself.
He stirs up the water,
and leaves white foam behind him.
<33> No animal on earth is like him.
He is an animal made without fear.
<34> He looks down on the proudest of animals.
He is king over all the wild animals.
[And I, the Lord, made Leviathan!]”
42 <1> Then Job answered the Lord:
<2> “I know you can do everything.
You make plans, and nothing
can change or stop your plans.
<3> You asked this question:
‘Who is this ignorant person
that is saying these foolish things?’[117]
I talked about things
that I didn’t understand.
I talked about things that were
too amazing for me to understand.
<4> “You said to me,
‘Listen, and I will speak.
I will ask you questions,
and you will answer me.’
<5> In the past I heard about you,
but now I have seen you with my own eyes.
<6> And I am ashamed of myself.[118]
I am so sorry.
As I sit in the dust and ashes,[119]
I promise to change my heart and my life.”
<7> After the Lord finished talking to Job, he spoke to Eliphaz from Teman. He said to Eliphaz, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you didn’t tell the truth about me as Job did. <8> So now Eliphaz, get seven bulls and seven rams. Take them to my servant Job. Kill them and offer them as a burnt offering[120] for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will answer his prayer. Then I will not give you the punishment you deserve. You should be punished because you were very foolish. You didn’t say right things about me. But my servant Job said right things about me.”
<9> So Eliphaz from Teman, and Bildad from Shuah, and Zophar from Naamah obeyed the Lord. Then the Lord answered Job’s prayer.
<10> Job prayed for his friends, and the Lord made Job successful again. God gave Job twice as much as he had before. <11> Then all his brothers and sisters and all the people who knew him before came to his house. They all ate a big meal with him. They comforted him and were sorry that the Lord had brought him so much trouble. Each person gave Job a piece of silver[121] and a gold ring.
<12> The Lord blessed Job with even more than he had in the beginning. Job got 14,000 sheep, 6000 camels, 2000 oxen, and 1000 female donkeys. <13> He also got seven sons and three daughters. <14> He named the first daughter Jemimah and the second daughter Keziah. He named the third daughter Keren Happuch. <15> Job’s daughters were among the most beautiful women in all the country. He even gave part of his property to his daughters. They each got a share of the property,[122] just as their brothers had.
<16> So Job lived for 140 years more. He lived to see his children, his grandchildren, his great-grandchildren, and his great-great-grandchildren. <17> Job lived to be a very old man who had lived a good, long life.
[1] 1:5 burnt offering A gift to God. Usually these were animals that were killed and completely burned on the altar.
[2] 1:6 angels Literally, “sons of God.”
[3] 1:6 Satan A name for the devil meaning “the enemy,” or “the accuser.”
[4] 1:11 curse To ask for bad things to happen to a person or thing. As a noun it is a request for or warning about bad things to come.
[5] 1:15 Sabeans A group of people from the Arabian Desert, probably south of Uz.
[6] 1:16 A bolt of lightning Or, “God’s fire fell from the sky.”
[7] 1:17 Chaldeans A group of people from Aram, north of Uz.
[8] 2:1 angels Literally, “sons of God.”
[9] 2:1 Satan A name for the devil meaning “the enemy,” or “the accuser.”
[10] 2:4 Skin for skin This means a person will do anything he can to avoid pain.
[11] 2:5 curse To ask for bad things to happen to a person or thing. As a noun it is a request for or warning about bad things to come.
[12] 3:1 curse To ask for bad things to happen to a person or thing. As a noun it is a request for or warning about bad things to come.
[13] 3:8 Leviathan Here, this is probably a giant sea monster. Some people thought magicians were able to make it “swallow the sun”; that is, cause an eclipse of the sun.
[14] 4:13 bad dream Or, “vision of the night.”
[15] 4:19 houses of clay This means the human body.
[16] 5:3 suddenly he died Or, “suddenly his home was cursed.”
[17] 5:19 Literally, “In six troubles, he will rescue you, and in seven, evil will not touch you.”
[18] 5:20 famine A time when there is not enough rain for crops to grow, causing people and animals to die without enough food or water.
[19] 6:14 Or, “People who fail to be loyal to their friends have also failed to respect God All-Powerful.”
[20] 7:6 weaver’s shuttle The tool a person who makes cloth uses to pass the thread between the other threads.
[21] 7:12 Literally, “Am I Yam or Tannin that you should appoint a guard to watch me?” In ancient Canaanite stories, Yam was the god of the sea and Tannin was a sea monster.
[22] 7:14 vision Something like a dream used by God to speak to people.
[23] 8:8 ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents, grandparents, and all the other people that person is descended from. In the New Testament it usually refers to people who lived during Old Testament times.
[24] 8:11 papyrus A reed-like plant used to make a type of paper used for writing. It was also used to make many other things, such as baskets, rope, sandals, roofing material, and even boats.
[25] 9:9 Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades Names of well-known constellations (groups of stars) in the night sky.
[26] 9:9 planets … sky Literally, “Rooms of the South” or “Rooms of Teman.” This might be the planets or the twelve constellations of the Zodiac. North of the equator, these seem to move across the southern sky.
[27] 9:13 Rahab A dragon or sea monster that people thought controlled the sea. Rahab is often a symbol for God’s enemies or for anything evil.
[28] 9:26 papyrus A reed-like plant used to make a type of paper used for writing. It was also used to make many other things, such as baskets, rope, sandals, roofing material, and even boats.
[29] 9:31 slime pit The grave, a place where bodies rot.
[30] 9:33 someone … sides Literally, “mediator” or “an umpire.”
[31] 13:15 I will … kills me Or, “If he decides to kill me, I have no hope.”
[32] 14:1 human beings Literally, “born of woman.”
[33] 15:14 They Literally, “a man born of woman.”
[34] 15:15 angels Literally, “holy ones.”
[35] 16:13 archer A person skilled in using a bow to shoot arrows.
[36] 16:13 gall The gall bladder is a pouch on the liver where bile or gall is stored. When the gall bladder is torn open, gall or bile comes out. Here, this means enduring something bitter and painful.
[37] 16:18 Earth … done to me Literally, “Earth, don’t cover my blood.” See Gen. 4:10-11.
[38] 16:21 someone Literally, “son of man.”
[39] 17:5 You know … friends Literally, “He promises a share to his friends and his children’s eyes go blind.”
[40] 18:13 Death’s Firstborn A name for a deadly disease or the worms that eat a dead body.
[41] 18:14 King of Terrors Another name for death.
[42] 19:27 Or, “And in the end, he will stand here on earth and defend me. After I leave my body and my skin has been destroyed, I know I will still see God. I will see God with my own eyes. I myself, not someone else, will see God. And I cannot tell you how excited that makes me feel!”
[43] 20:4-5 Adam was Or, “people were.”
[44] 20:8 bad dream Or, “vision of the night.”
[45] 20:24 bronze arrow Literally, “bronze bow.” Or, “powerful bow,” possibly a bow made of sinew, wood and horn.
[46] 21:28 Show me … live Or, “Show me a wicked ruler’s house. Show me where evil people live.”
[47] 22:6 he paid the loan See Deut. 24:12-13 for the rules about making loans to the poor.
[48] 22:24 best gold Literally, “Ophir.”
[49] 24:9 In the Hebrew text this verse follows verse 8.
[50] 24:9 security Anything given to show that a loan will be repaid. If the loan is not paid back, the one who made the loan can keep whatever was given as security.
[51] 24:6 the rich Or, “the wicked.”
[52] 24:6 vineyard A garden or farm where grapes are grown.
[53] 24:11 winepress A place dug in rock used to mash grapes and collect the juice for making wine.
[54] 24:15 adultery Breaking a marriage promise by committing sexual sin.
[55] 24:18 curse To ask for bad things to happen to a person or thing. As a noun it is a request for or warning about bad things to come.
[56] 25:3 his stars Or, “his troops.” This means God’s heavenly army. It could be all the angels or all the stars in the sky.
[57] 25:4 No human being Literally, “No one born from woman.”
[58] 26:3 Job does not really mean what he is saying here. Job is being sarcastic—saying these things in a way that shows he does not really mean it.
[59] 26:5 The ghosts … underworld Literally, “The ghosts under the water.” This refers to Sheol, the place of death.
[60] 26:6 Death Or, “Abaddon, Destruction.” See Rev. 9:11.
[61] 26:12 Rahab A dragon or sea monster that people thought controlled the sea. Rahab is often a symbol for God’s enemies or for anything evil.
[62] 26:13 snake … get away Or, “the escaping monster.” This might be another name for Rahab. See Isa. 27:1.
[63] 27:4 hypocrite A person with wrong motives who pretends to be good.
[64] 27:13 Though Zophar is not mentioned in the text, many scholars think he answers Job in verses 13-23.
[65] 28:6 sapphire A rare and valuable blue stone.
[66] 28:7 falcon A kind of bird, like a hawk.
[67] 28:16 onyx A precious stone with layers of blue or gray.
[68] 28:18 coral A hard, stone-like substance, usually pink, red, or black, that is formed from the skeletons of tiny sea animals and covers the ocean floor in certain areas.
[69] 28:18 jasper A semiprecious stone that is often dark green.
[70] 28:19 topaz A semiprecious stone that is usually yellow.
[71] 28:22 Death and destruction Literally, “Abaddon.” The Hebrew word for “death and destruction,” “destroyer,” or “place of destruction.”
[72] 29:6 I had plenty of the finest oils Literally, “Around the anointed rock near me were streams of oil.” This probably means Job had so much olive oil that there were streams of oil running down the altar from the part Job gave as a gift to God.
[73] 29:14 turban A head covering made by wrapping a long piece of cloth around the top part of the head or around a cap worn on the head.
[74] 29:17 Literally, “I shattered the teeth of the crooked and snatched the victims from their teeth.”
[75] 29:20 Literally, “My glory is new with me and my bow in my hand renewed.” The words “glory” and “bow” might both refer to a rainbow—the promise of good weather after a storm. Or, this might be understood as, “My soul feels new every day, my hand always strong enough to shoot a new bow.”
[76] 31:2 Or possibly, “I made an agreement with my eyes not to look with desire at the Virgin or the sacred things that belong to God All-Powerful.” Here, “the Virgin” refers to a goddess worshiped by the Canaanites.
[77] 31:6 accurate scales Literally, “scales of righteousness.” As a wordplay, this could mean either “accurate scales” or “scales that show a person is good.”
[78] 31:21 Or, “I never threatened an orphan, even when I saw that I was supported in court.”
[79] 31:23 His majesty … me Or, “I couldn’t stand before his majesty.”
[80] 31:30 curse To ask for bad things to happen to a person or thing. As a noun it is a request for or warning about bad things to come.
[81] 33:12 God … anyone Or, “God is much greater than anyone.”
[82] 33:15-16 vision Something like a dream used by God to speak to people.
[83] 33:18 place of death Literally, “the Pit,” the place where people go when they die.
[84] 34:32 Or, “Teach me about the sins I can see.”
[85] 36:20 Verses 19-20 This is very hard to understand in Hebrew.
[86] 37:19 We cannot … ignorance Literally, “We cannot arrange [our thoughts] because of the darkness.”
[87] 37:22 Holy Mountain Or, “the north” or “Zaphon.”
[88] 38:2 Or, “Who is this person darkening advice with ignorant words.”
[89] 38:3 brace yourself Literally, “gird yourself like a man.” This means “get ready for battle.”
[90] 38:7 angels Literally, “sons of God.”
[91] 38:21 Verses 19-21 God does not really mean this. This kind of talking is called sarcasm. It is saying something that is not true in a way that everyone knows it is not true.
[92] 38:24 Or, “Where is the place that the fog disperses and the place where the east wind scatters it all over the earth?”
[93] 38:31 Pleiades A famous group of stars. It is often called “The Seven Sisters.”
[94] 38:31 Orion A famous group of stars. It looks like a hunter or powerful soldier.
[95] 38:32 constellations Groups of stars in the night sky. Here, this probably means the twelve constellations of the Zodiac. They seem to pass through the sky so that a new constellation is in a certain part of the sky each month.
[96] 38:32 Bear A famous group of stars. It looks like a bear. It is often called, “the Big Dipper.” Near it is a smaller constellation that looks like a small bear. It is often called, “the Little Dipper.”
[97] 38:33 Can you … earth Or, “Can you put it in charge over the earth?”
[98] 39:12 threshing Putting newly harvested wheat or other grain on a hard floor and walking on it or beating it with special tools to separate the hulls from the grain.
[99] 39:19 mane The hair on a horse’s neck.
[100] 39:20 snorts The sound a horse makes from breathing very hard through the nose.
[101] 39:23 quiver A bag or container for carrying arrows.
[102] 39:24 runs fast over the ground Literally, “swallows up the ground.”
[103] 39:26 south Or, “to Teman.”
[104] 39:27 eagle Or, “vulture.”
[105] 39:28 fortress A building or city with tall, strong walls for protection.
[106] 40:7 Brace yourself Literally, “Gird yourself like a man.” This means “get ready for battle.”
[107] 40:15 behemoth This might be a hippopotamus, a rhinoceros, or possibly an elephant.
[108] 40:21 lotus plants A kind of tree. Its leaves give much shade.
[109] 41:1 Leviathan We are not sure what this animal is. It might be a crocodile or a giant sea monster.
[110] 41:6 merchant A person who earns a living by buying and selling things.
[111] 41:10 Well, no one … either Or, “No one can stand and fight him.”
[112] 41:11 Or, “No one has come near to Leviathan and survived—no one under heaven!”
[113] 41:13 His skin is like armor Or, “No one can approach him with a bridle.”
[114] 41:24 lower millstone A flat rock for grinding grain. Another stone was put on top of this flat rock. Then the grain was ground into flour between the stones.
[115] 41:25 strong people Or, “gods.”
[116] 41:30 threshing Putting newly harvested wheat or other grain on a hard floor and walking on it or beating it with special tools to separate the hulls from the grain.
[117] 42:3 Who … things Or, “Who is this person darkening advice with ignorant words.”
[118] 42:6 I am ashamed of myself Or, “I take back what I said.”
[119] 42:6 dust and ashes People sat in dust and ashes to show that they were very sad about something.
[120] 42:8 burnt offering A gift to God. Usually these were animals that were killed and completely burned on the altar.
[121] 42:11 piece of silver Literally, “a Keshitah.” This was a measure used in the time of the Patriarchs. See Gen. 33:19 and Josh. 24:32.
[122] 42:15 Job … property Usually a person’s property was divided only among the sons, but here, even Job’s daughters also got part of his property.