only take His rod away from me
And not let His terror frighten me,
35Then I would speak out without fear of Him;
For I know myself not to be so.
10
I am disgusted with life;
I will give rein to my complaint,
Speak in the bitterness of my soul.
2I say to God, “Do not condemn me;
Let me know what You charge me with.
3Does it benefit You to defraud,
To despise the toil of Your hands,
While smiling on the counsel of the wicked?
4Do You have the eyes of flesh?
Is Your vision that of mere men?
5Are Your days the days of a mortal,
Are Your years the years of a man,
6That You seek my iniquity
And search out my sin?
7You know that I am not guilty,
And that there is none to deliver from Your hand.
8“Your hands shaped and fashioned me,
Then destroyed every part of me.
9Consider that You fashioned me like clay;
Will You then turn me back into dust?
10You poured me out like milk,
Congealed me like cheese;
11You clothed me with skin and flesh
And wove me of bones and sinews;
12You bestowed on me life and care;
Your providence watched over my spirit.
13Yet these things You hid in Your heart;
I know that You had this in mind:
14To watch me when I sinned
And not clear me of my iniquity;
15Should I be guilty—the worse for me!
And even when innocent, I cannot lift my head;
So sated am I with shame,
And drenched in my misery.
16a-It is something to be proud of-a to hunt me like a lion,
To b-show Yourself wondrous through-b me time and again!
17You keep sending fresh witnesses against me,
Letting Your vexation with me grow.
a-I serve my term and am my own replacement.-a
18“Why did You let me come out of the womb?
Better had I expired before any eye saw me,
19Had I been as though I never was,
Had I been carried from the womb to the grave.
20My days are few, so desist!
Leave me alone, let me be diverted a while
21Before I depart—never to return—
For the land of deepest gloom;
22A land whose light is darkness,
All gloom and disarray,
Whose light is like darkness.”
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite said in reply:
2Is a multitude of words unanswerable?
Must a loquacious person be right?
3Your prattle may silence men;
You may mock without being rebuked,
4And say, “My doctrine is pure,
And I have been innocent in Your sight.”
5But would that God might speak,
And talk to you Himself.
6He would tell you the secrets of wisdom,
a-For there are many sides to sagacity;
And know that God has overlooked for you some of your
iniquity.-a
7Would you discover the mystery of God?
Would you discover the limit of the Almighty?
8Higher than heaven—what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?
9Its measure is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea.
10a-Should He pass by, or confine,
Or call an assembly, who can stop Him?-a
11For He knows deceitful men;
When He sees iniquity, does He not discern it?
12a-A hollow man will get understanding,
When a wild ass is born a man.-a
13But if you direct your mind,
And spread forth your hands toward Him—
14If there is iniquity with you, remove it,
And do not let injustice reside in your tent—
15Then, free of blemish, you will hold your head high,
And, b-when in straits,-b be unafraid.
16You will then put your misery out of mind,
Consider it as water that has flowed past.
17a-Life will be brighter than noon;-a
You will shine, you will be like the morning.
18You will be secure, for there is hope,
a-And, entrenched,-a you will rest secure;
19You will lie down undisturbed;
The great will court your favor.
20But the eyes of the wicked pine away;
Escape is cut off from them;
They have only their last breath to look forward to.
12 Then Job said in reply:
2Indeed, you are the [voice of] the people,
And wisdom will die with you.
3But I, like you, have a mind,
And am not less than you.
Who does not know such things?
4I have become a laughingstock to my friend—
“One who calls to God and is answered,
Blamelessly innocent”—a laughingstock.
5a-In the thought of the complacent there is contempt for calamity;
It is ready for those whose foot slips.-a
6Robbers live untroubled in their tents,
And those who provoke God are secure,
a-Those whom God’s hands have produced.-a
7But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
The birds of the sky, they will tell you,
8Or speak to the earth, it will teach you;
The fish of the sea, they will inform you.
9Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the LORD has done this?
10In His hand is every living soul
And the breath of all mankind.
11Truly, the ear tests arguments
As the palate tastes foods.
12Is wisdom in the aged
And understanding in the long-lived?
13With Him are wisdom and courage;
His are counsel and understanding.
14Whatever He tears down cannot be rebuilt;
Whomever He imprisons cannot be set free.
15When He holds back the waters, they dry up;
When He lets them loose, they tear up the land.
16With Him are strength and resourcefulness;
Erring and causing to err are from Him.
17He makes counselors go about nakedb
And causes judges to go mad.
18He undoes the belts of kings,
And fastens loincloths on them.
19He makes priests go about naked,b
And leads temple-servantsc astray.
20He deprives trusty men of speech,
And takes away the reason of elders.
21He pours disgrace upon great men,
And loosens the belt of the mighty.
22He draws mysteries out of the darkness,
And brings obscurities to light.
23He exalts nations, then destroys them;
He expands nations, then leads them away.
24He deranges the leaders of the people,
And makes them wander in a trackless waste.
25They grope without light in the darkness;
He makes them wander as if drunk.
13
My eye has seen all this;
My ear has heard and understood it.
2What you know, I know also;
I am not less than you.
3Indeed, I would speak to the Almighty;
I insist on arguing with God.
4But you invent lies;
All of you are quacks.
5If you would only keep quiet
It would be considered wisdom on your part.
6Hear now my arguments,
Listen to my pleading.
7Will you speak unjustly on God’s behalf?
Will you speak deceitfully for Him?
8Will you be partial toward Him?
Will you plead God’s cause?
9Will it go well when He examines you?
Will you fool Him as one fools men?
10He will surely reprove you
If in a-your heart-a you are partial toward Him.
11His threat will terrify you,
And His fear will seize you.
12Your briefs are emptyb platitudes;
Your responses are unsubstantial.c
13Keep quiet; I will have my say,
Come what may upon me.
14How long! I will take my flesh in my teeth;
I will take my life in my hands.
15d-He may well slay me; I may have no hope;-d
Yet I will argue my case before Him.
16In this too is my salvation:
That no impious man can come into His presence.
17Listen closely to my words;
Give ear to my discourse.
18See now, I have prepared a case;
I know that I will win it.
19For who is it that would challenge me?
I should then keep silent and expire.
20But two things do not do to me,
So that I need not hide from You:
21Remove Your hand from me,
And let not Your terror frighten me.
22Then summon me and I will respond,
Or I will speak and You reply to me.
23How many are my iniquities and sins?
Advise me of my transgression and sin.
24Why do You hide Your face,
And treat me like an enemy?
25Will You harass a driven leaf,
Will You pursue dried-up straw,
26That You decree for me bitter things
And make me e-answer for-e the iniquities of my youth,
27That You put my feet in the stocks
And watch all my ways,
f-Hemming in my footsteps?-f
28Man wastes away like a rotten thing,
Like a garment eaten by moths.
14
Man born of woman is short-lived and sated with trouble.
2He blossoms like a flower and withers;
He vanishes like a shadow and does not endure.
3Do You fix Your gaze on such a one?
Will You go to law with me?
4a-Who can produce a clean thing out of an unclean one? No one!-a
5His days are determined;
You know the number of his months;
You have set him limits that he cannot pass.
6Turn away from him, that he may be at ease
Until, like a hireling, he finishes out his day.
7There is hope for a tree;
If it is cut down it will renew itself;
Its shoots will not cease.
8If its roots are old in the earth,
And its stump dies in the ground,
9At the scent of water it will bud
And produce branches like a sapling.
10But mortals languish and die;
Man expires; where is he?
11The waters of the sea fail,
And the river dries up and is parched.
12So man lies down never to rise;
He will awake only when the heavens are no more,
Only then be aroused from his sleep.
13O that You would hide me in Sheol,
Conceal me until Your anger passes,
Set me a fixed time to attend to me.
14If a man dies, can he live again?
All the time of my service I wait
Until my replacement comes.
15You would call and I would answer You;
You would set Your heart on Your handiwork.
16Then You would not count my steps,
Or keep watch over my sin.
17My transgression would be sealed up in a pouch;
You would coat over my iniquity.
18Mountains collapse and crumble;
Rocks are dislodged from their place.
19Water wears away stone;
Torrents wash away earth;
So you destroy man’s hope,
20You overpower him forever and he perishes;
You alter his visage and dispatch him.
21His sons attain honor and he does not know it;
They are humbled and he is not aware of it.
22He feels only the pain of his flesh,
And his spirit mourns in him.
15 Eliphaz the Temanite said in reply:
2Does a wise man answer with windy opinions,
And fill his belly with the east wind?
3Should he argue with useless talk,
With words that are of no worth?
4You subvert piety
And restrain prayer to God.
5Your sinfulness dictates your speech,
So you choose crafty language.
6Your own mouth condemns you—not I;
Your lips testify against you.
7Were you the first man born?
Were you created before the hills?
8Have you listened in on the council of God?
Have you sole possession of wisdom?
9What do you know that we do not know,
Or understand that we do not?
10Among us are gray-haired old men,
Older by far than your father.
11Are God’s