a spider’s web.
15He leans on his house—it will not stand;
He seizes hold of it, but it will not hold.
16He stays fresh even in the sun;
His shoots spring up in his garden;
17a-His roots are twined around a heap,
They take hold of a house of stones.-a
18When he is uprooted from his place,
It denies him, [saying,]
“I never saw you.”
19Such is his happy lot;
And from the earth others will grow.
20Surely God does not despise the blameless;
He gives no support to evildoers.
21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter,
And your lips with shouts of joy.
22Your enemies will be clothed in disgrace;
The tent of the wicked will vanish.
9 Job said in reply:
2Indeed I know that it is so:
Man cannot win a suit against God.
3If he insisted on a trial with Him,
He would not answer one charge in a thousand.
4Wise of heart and mighty in power—
Who ever challenged Him and came out whole?—
5Him who moves mountains without their knowing it,
Who overturns them in His anger;
6Who shakes the earth from its place,
Till its pillars quake;
7Who commands the sun not to shine;
Who seals up the stars;
8Who by Himself spread out the heavens,
And trod on the back of the sea;
9Who made the Beara and Orion,
Pleiades, and the chambers of the south wind;
10Who performs great deeds which cannot be fathomed,
And wondrous things without number.
11He passes me by—I do not see Him;
He goes by me, but I do not perceive Him.
12He snatches away—who can stop Him?
Who can say to Him, “What are You doing?”
13God does not restrain His anger;
Under Him Rahab’sb helpers sink down.
14How then can I answer Him,
Or choose my arguments against Him?
15Though I were in the right, I could not speak out,
But I would plead for mercy with my judge.
16If I summoned Him and He responded,
I do not believe He would lend me His ear.
17For He crushes me c-for a hair;-c
He wounds me much for no cause.
18He does not let me catch my breath,
But sates me with bitterness.
19If a trial of strength—He is the strong one;
If a trial in court—who will summon Him for me?
20Though I were innocent,
My mouth would condemn me;
Though I were blameless, He would prove me crooked.
21I am blameless—I am distraught;
I am sick of life.
22It is all one; therefore I say,
“He destroys the blameless and the guilty.”
23When suddenly a scourge brings death,
He mocks as the innocent fail.
24The earth is handed over to the wicked one;
He covers the eyes of its judges.
If it is not He, then who?
25My days fly swifter than a runner;
They flee without seeing happiness;
26They pass like reed-boats,
Like an eagle swooping onto its prey.
27If I say, “I will forget my complaint;
Abandon my sorrowd and be diverted,”
28I remain in dread of all my suffering;
I know that You will not acquit me.
29It will be I who am in the wrong;
Why then should I waste effort?
30If I washed with soap,
Cleansed my hands with lye,
31You would dip me in muck
Till my clothes would abhor me.
32He is not a man, like me, that I can answer Him,
That we can go to law together.
33No arbiter is between us
To lay his hand on us both.
34If He would 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