Bible in 90 Days
Bildad Answers
25 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 “God rules and he must be honored;
he set up order in his high heaven.
3 No one can count God’s armies.
His light shines on all people.
4 So no one can be good in the presence of God,
and no one born to a woman can be pure.
5 Even the moon is not bright
and the stars are not pure in his eyes.
6 People are much less! They are like insects.
They are only worms!”
Job Answers Bildad
26 Then Job answered:
2 “You are no help to the helpless!
You have not aided the weak!
3 Your advice lacks wisdom!
You have shown little understanding!
4 Who has helped you say these words?
And where did you get these ideas?
5 “The spirits of the dead tremble,
those who are beneath and in the waters.
6 Death is naked before God;
destruction is uncovered before him.
7 God stretches the northern sky out over empty space
and hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He wraps up the waters in his thick clouds,
but the clouds do not break under their weight.
9 He covers the face of the moon,
spreading his clouds over it.
10 He draws the horizon like a circle on the water
at the place where light and darkness meet.
11 Heaven’s foundations shake
when he thunders at them.
12 With his power he quiets the sea;
by his wisdom he destroys Rahab, the sea monster.
13 He breathes, and the sky clears.
His hand stabs the fleeing snake.
14 And these are only a small part of God’s works.
We only hear a small whisper of him.
Who could understand God’s thundering power?”
27 And Job continued speaking:
2 “As surely as God lives, who has taken away my rights,
the Almighty, who has made me unhappy,
3 as long as I am alive
and God’s breath of life is in my nose,
4 my lips will not speak evil,
and my tongue will not tell a lie.
5 I will never agree you are right;
until I die, I will never stop saying I am innocent.
6 I will insist that I am right; I will not back down.
My conscience will never bother me.
7 “Let my enemies be like evil people,
my foes like those who are wrong.
8 What hope do the wicked have when they die,
when God takes their life away?
9 God will not listen to their cries
when trouble comes to them.
10 They will not find joy in the Almighty,
even though they call out to God all the time.
11 “I will teach you about the power of God
and will not hide the ways of the Almighty.
12 You have all seen this yourselves.
So why are we having all this talk that means nothing?
13 “Here is what God has planned for evil people,
and what the Almighty will give to cruel people:
14 They may have many children, but the sword will kill them.
Their children who are left will never have enough to eat.
15 Then they will die of disease and be buried,
and the widows will not even cry for them.
16 The wicked may heap up silver like piles of dirt
and have so many clothes they are like piles of clay.
17 But good people will wear what evil people have gathered,
and the innocent will divide up their silver.
18 The houses the wicked build are like a spider’s web,
like a hut that a guard builds.
19 The wicked are rich when they go to bed,
but they are rich for the last time;
when they open their eyes, everything is gone.
20 Fears come over them like a flood,
and a storm snatches them away in the night.
21 The east wind will carry them away, and then they are gone,
because it sweeps them out of their place.
22 The wind will hit them without mercy
as they try to run away from its power.
23 It will be as if the wind is clapping its hands;
it will whistle at them as they run from their place.
28 “There are mines where people dig silver
and places where gold is made pure.
2 Iron is taken from the ground,
and copper is melted out of rocks.
3 Miners bring lights
and search deep into the mines
for ore in thick darkness.
4 Miners dig a tunnel far from where people live,
where no one has ever walked;
they work far from people, swinging and swaying from ropes.
5 Food grows on top of the earth,
but below ground things are changed as if by fire.
6 Sapphires are found in rocks,
and gold dust is also found there.
7 No hawk knows that path;
the falcon has not seen it.
8 Proud animals have not walked there,
and no lions cross over it.
9 Miners hit the rocks of flint
and dig away at the bottom of the mountains.
10 They cut tunnels through the rock
and see all the treasures there.
11 They search for places where rivers begin
and bring things hidden out into the light.
12 “But where can wisdom be found,
and where does understanding live?
13 People do not understand the value of wisdom;
it cannot be found among those who are alive.
14 The deep ocean says, ‘It’s not in me;’
the sea says, ‘It’s not in me.’
15 Wisdom cannot be bought with gold,
and its cost cannot be weighed in silver.
16 Wisdom cannot be bought with fine gold
or with valuable onyx or sapphire gems.
17 Gold and crystal are not as valuable as wisdom,
and you cannot buy it with jewels of gold.
18 Coral and jasper are not worth talking about,
and the price of wisdom is much greater than rubies.
19 The topaz from Cush cannot compare to wisdom;
it cannot be bought with the purest gold.
20 “So where does wisdom come from,
and where does understanding live?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
even from the birds of the air.
22 The places of destruction and death say,
‘We have heard reports about it.’
23 Only God understands the way to wisdom,
and he alone knows where it lives,
24 because he looks to the farthest parts of the earth
and sees everything under the sky.
25 When God gave power to the wind
and measured the water,
26 when he made rules for the rain
and set a path for a thunderstorm to follow,
27 then he looked at wisdom and decided its worth;
he set wisdom up and tested it.
28 Then he said to humans,
‘The fear of the Lord is wisdom;
to stay away from evil is understanding.’”
Job Continues
29 Job continued to speak:
2 “How I wish for the months that have passed
and the days when God watched over me.
3 God’s lamp shined on my head,
and I walked through darkness by his light.
4 I wish for the days when I was strong,
when God’s close friendship blessed my house.
5 The Almighty was still with me,
and my children were all around me.
6 It was as if my path were covered with cream
and the rocks poured out olive oil for me.
7 I would go to the city gate
and sit in the public square.
8 When the young men saw me, they would step aside,
and the old men would stand up in respect.
9 The leading men stopped speaking
and covered their mouths with their hands.
10 The voices of the important men were quiet,
as if their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
11 Anyone who heard me spoke well of me,
and those who saw me praised me,
12 because I saved the poor who called out
and the orphan who had no one to help.
13 The dying person blessed me,
and I made the widow’s heart sing.
14 I put on right living as if it were clothing;
I wore fairness like a robe and a turban.
15 I was eyes for the blind
and feet for the lame.
16 I was like a father to needy people,
and I took the side of strangers who were in trouble.
17 I broke the fangs of evil people
and snatched the captives from their teeth.
18 “I thought, ‘I will live for as many days as there are grains of sand,
and I will die in my own house.
19 My roots will reach down to the water.
The dew will lie on the branches all night.
20 New honors will come to me continually,
and I will always have great strength.’
21 “People listened to me carefully
and waited quietly for my advice.
22 After I finished speaking, they spoke no more.
My words fell very gently on their ears.
23 They waited for me as they would for rain
and drank in my words like spring rain.
24 I smiled at them when they doubted,
and my approval was important to them.
25 I chose the way for them and was their leader.
I lived like a king among his army,
like a person who comforts sad people.
30 “But now those who are younger than I
make fun of me.
I would not have even let their fathers
sit with my sheep dogs.
2 What use did I have for their strength
since they had lost their strength to work?
3 They were thin from hunger
and wandered the dry and ruined land at night.
4 They gathered desert plants among the brush
and ate the root of the broom tree.
5 They were forced to live away from people;
people shouted at them as if they were thieves.
6 They lived in dried-up streambeds,
in caves, and among the rocks.
7 They howled like animals among the bushes
and huddled together in the brush.
8 They are worthless people without names
and were forced to leave the land.
9 “Now they make fun of me with songs;
my name is a joke among them.
10 They hate me and stay far away from me,
but they do not mind spitting in my face.
11 God has taken away my strength and made me suffer,
so they attack me with all their anger.
12 On my right side they rise up like a mob.
They lay traps for my feet
and prepare to attack me.
13 They break up my road
and work to destroy me,
and no one helps me.
14 They come at me as if through a hole in the wall,
and they roll in among the ruins.
15 Great fears overwhelm me.
They blow my honor away as if by a great wind,
and my safety disappears like a cloud.
16 “Now my life is almost over;
my days are full of suffering.
17 At night my bones ache;
gnawing pains never stop.
18 In his great power God grabs hold of my clothing
and chokes me with the collar of my coat.
19 He throws me into the mud,
and I become like dirt and ashes.
20 “I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer;
I stand up, but you just look at me.
21 You have turned on me without mercy;
with your powerful hand you attacked me.
22 You snatched me up and threw me into the wind
and tossed me about in the storm.
23 I know you will bring me down to death,
to the place where all living people must go.
24 “Surely no one would hurt those who are ruined
when they cry for help in their time of trouble.
25 I cried for those who were in trouble;
I have been very sad for poor people.
26 But when I hoped for good, only evil came to me;
when I looked for light, darkness came.
27 I never stop being upset;
days of suffering are ahead of me.
28 I have turned black, but not by the sun.
I stand up in public and cry for help.
29 I have become a brother to wild dogs
and a friend to ostriches.
30 My skin has become black and peels off,
as my body burns with fever.
31 My harp is tuned to sing a sad song,
and my flute is tuned to moaning.
31 “But I made an agreement with my eyes
not to look with desire at a girl.
2 What has God above promised for people?
What has the Almighty planned from on high?
3 It is ruin for evil people
and disaster for those who do wrong.
4 God sees my ways
and counts every step I take.
5 “If I have been dishonest
or lied to others,
6 then let God weigh me on honest scales.
Then he will know I have done nothing wrong.
7 If I have turned away from doing what is right,
or my heart has been led by my eyes to do wrong,
or my hands have been made unclean,
8 then let other people eat what I have planted,
and let my crops be plowed up.
9 “If I have desired another woman
or have waited at my neighbor’s door for his wife,
10 then let my wife grind another man’s grain,
and let other men have sexual relations with her.
11 That would be shameful,
a sin to be punished.
12 It is like a fire that burns and destroys;
all I have done would be plowed up.
13 “If I have been unfair to my male and female slaves
when they had a complaint against me,
14 how could I tell God what I did?
What will I answer when he asks me to explain what I’ve done?
15 God made me in my mother’s womb, and he also made them;
the same God formed both of us in our mothers’ wombs.
16 “I have never refused the appeals of the poor
or let widows give up hope while looking for help.
17 I have not kept my food to myself
but have given it to the orphans.
18 Since I was young, I have been like a father to the orphans.
From my birth I guided the widows.
19 I have not let anyone die for lack of clothes
or let a needy person go without a coat.
20 That person’s heart blessed me,
because I warmed him with the wool of my sheep.
21 I have never hurt an orphan
even when I knew I could win in court.
22 If I have, then let my arm fall off my shoulder
and be broken at the joint.
23 I fear destruction from God,
and I fear his majesty, so I could not do such things.
24 “I have not put my trust in gold
or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security.’
25 I have not celebrated my great wealth
or the riches my hands had gained.
26 I have not thought about worshiping the sun in its brightness
nor admired the moon moving in glory
27 so that my heart was pulled away from God.
My hand has never offered the sun and moon a kiss of worship.
28 If I had, these also would have been sins to be punished,
because I would have been unfaithful to God.
29 “I have not been happy when my enemies fell
or laughed when they had trouble.
30 I have not let my mouth sin
by cursing my enemies’ life.
31 The servants of my house have always said,
‘All have eaten what they want of Job’s food.’
32 No stranger ever had to spend the night in the street,
because I always let travelers stay in my home.
33 I have not hidden my sin as others do,
secretly keeping my guilt to myself.
34 I was not so afraid of the crowd
that I kept quiet and stayed inside
because I feared being hated by other families.
35 (“How I wish a court would hear my case!
Here I sign my name to show I have told the truth.
Now let the Almighty answer me;
let the one who accuses me write it down.
36 I would wear the writing on my shoulder;
I would put it on like a crown.
37 I would explain to God every step I took,
and I would come near to him like a prince.)
38 “If my land cries out against me
and its plowed rows are not wet with tears,
39 if I have taken the land’s harvest without paying
or have broken the spirit of those who worked the land,
40 then let thorns come up instead of wheat,
and let weeds come up instead of barley.”
The words of Job are finished.
Elihu Speaks
32 These three men stopped trying to answer Job, because he was so sure he was right. 2 But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, from the family of Ram, became very angry with Job, because Job claimed he was right instead of God. 3 Elihu was also angry with Job’s three friends who had no answer to show that Job was wrong, yet continued to blame him. 4 Elihu had waited before speaking to Job, because the three friends were older than he was. 5 But when Elihu saw that the three men had nothing more to say, he became very angry.
6 So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said this:
“I am young,
and you are old.
That is why I was afraid
to tell you what I know.
7 I thought, ‘Older people should speak,
and those who have lived many years should teach wisdom.’
8 But it is the spirit in a person,
the breath of the Almighty, that gives understanding.
9 It is not just older people who are wise;
they are not the only ones who understand what is right.
10 So I say, listen to me.
I too will tell you what I know.
11 I waited while you three spoke,
and listened to your explanations.
While you looked for words to use,
12 I paid close attention to you.
But not one of you has proved Job wrong;
none of you has answered his arguments.
13 Don’t say, ‘We have found wisdom;
only God will show Job to be wrong, not people.’
14 Job has not spoken his words against me,
so I will not use your arguments to answer Job.
15 “These three friends are defeated and have no more to say;
words have failed them.
16 Now they are standing there with no answers for Job.
Now that they are quiet, must I wait to speak?
17 No, I too will speak
and tell what I know.
18 I am full of words,
and the spirit in me causes me to speak.
19 I am like wine that has been bottled up;
I am ready to burst like a new leather wine bag.
20 I must speak so I will feel relief;
I must open my mouth and answer.
21 I will be fair to everyone
and not flatter anyone.
22 I don’t know how to flatter,
and if I did, my Maker would quickly take me away.
33 “Now, Job, listen to my words.
Pay attention to everything I say.
2 I open my mouth
and am ready to speak.
3 My words come from an honest heart,
and I am sincere in saying what I know.
4 The Spirit of God created me,
and the breath of the Almighty gave me life.
5 Answer me if you can;
get yourself ready and stand before me.
6 I am just like you before God;
I too am made out of clay.
7 Don’t be afraid of me;
I will not be hard on you.
8 “But I heard what you have said;
I heard every word.
9 You said, ‘I am pure and without sin;
I am innocent and free from guilt.
10 But God has found fault with me;
he considers me his enemy.
11 He locks my feet in chains
and closely watches everywhere I go.’
12 “But I tell you, you are not right in saying this,
because God is greater than we are.
13 Why do you accuse God
of not answering anyone?
14 God does speak—sometimes one way and sometimes another—
even though people may not understand it.
15 He speaks in a dream or a vision of the night
when people are in a deep sleep,
lying on their beds.
16 He speaks in their ears
and frightens them with warnings
17 to turn them away from doing wrong
and to keep them from being proud.
18 God does this to save people from death,
to keep them from dying.
19 People may be corrected while in bed in great pain;
they may have continual pain in their very bones.
20 They may be in such pain that they even hate food,
even the very best meal.
21 Their body becomes so thin there is almost nothing left of it,
and their bones that were hidden now stick out.
22 They are near death,
and their life is almost over.
23 “But there may be an angel to speak for him,
one out of a thousand, who will tell him what to do.
24 The angel will beg for mercy and say:
‘Save him from death.
I have found a way to pay for his life.’
25 Then his body is made new like a child’s.
It will return to the way it was when he was young.
26 That person will pray to God, and God will listen to him.
He will see God’s face and will shout with happiness.
And God will set things right for him again.
27 Then he will say to others,
‘I sinned and twisted what was right,
but I did not receive the punishment I should have received.
28 God bought my life back from death,
and I will continue to enjoy life.’
29 “God does all these things to a person
two or even three times
30 so he won’t die as punishment for his sins
and so he may still enjoy life.
31 “Job, pay attention and listen to me;
be quiet, and I will speak.
32 If you have anything to say, answer me;
speak up, because I want to prove you right.
33 But if you have nothing to say, then listen to me;
be quiet, and I will teach you wisdom.”
34 Then Elihu said:
2 “Hear my words, you wise men;
listen to me, you who know a lot.
3 The ear tests words
as the tongue tastes food.
4 Let’s decide for ourselves what is right,
and let’s learn together what is good.
5 “Job says, ‘I am not guilty,
and God has refused me a fair trial.
6 Instead of getting a fair trial,
I am called a liar.
I have been seriously hurt,
even though I have not sinned.’
7 There is no other man like Job;
he takes insults as if he were drinking water.
8 He keeps company with those who do evil
and spends time with wicked men,
9 because he says, ‘It is no use
to try to please God.’
10 “So listen to me, you who can understand.
God can never do wrong!
It is impossible for the Almighty to do evil.
11 God pays people back for what they have done
and gives them what their actions deserve.
12 Truly God will never do wrong;
the Almighty will never twist what is right.
13 No one chose God to rule over the earth
or put him in charge of the whole world.
14 If God should decide
to take away life and breath,
15 then everyone would die together
and turn back into dust.
16 “If you can understand, hear this;
listen to what I have to say.
17 Can anyone govern who hates what is right?
How can you blame God who is both fair and powerful?
18 God is the one who says to kings, ‘You are worthless,’
or to important people, ‘You are evil.’
19 He is not nicer to princes than other people,
nor kinder to rich people than poor people,
because he made them all with his own hands.
20 They can die in a moment, in the middle of the night.
They are struck down, and then they pass away;
powerful people die without help.
21 “God watches where people go;
he sees every step they take.
22 There is no dark place or deep shadow
where those who do evil can hide from him.
23 He does not set a time
for people to come before him for judging.
24 Without asking questions, God breaks powerful people into pieces
and puts others in their place.
25 Because God knows what people do,
he defeats them in the night, and they are crushed.
26 He punishes them for the evil they do
so that everyone else can watch,
27 because they stopped following God
and did not care about any of his ways.
28 The cry of the poor comes to God;
he hears the cry of the needy.
29 But if God keeps quiet, who can blame him?
If he hides his face, who can see him?
God still rules over both nations and persons alike.
30 He keeps the wicked from ruling
and from trapping others.
31 “But suppose someone says to God,
‘I am guilty, but I will not sin anymore.
32 Teach me what I cannot see.
If I have done wrong, I will not do it again.’
33 So, Job, should God reward you as you want
when you refuse to change?
You must decide, not I,
so tell me what you know.
34 “Those who understand speak,
and the wise who hear me say,
35 ‘Job speaks without knowing what is true;
his words show he does not understand.’
36 I wish Job would be tested completely,
because he answered like an evil man!
37 Job now adds to his sin by turning against God.
He claps his hands in protest,
speaking more and more against God.”
35 Then Elihu said:
2 “Do you think this is fair?
You say, ‘God will show that I am right,’
3 but you also ask, ‘What’s the use?
I don’t gain anything by not sinning.’
4 “I will answer you
and your friends who are with you.
5 Look up at the sky
and see the clouds so high above you.
6 If you sin, it does nothing to God;
even if your sins are many, they do nothing to him.
7 If you are good, you give nothing to God;
he receives nothing from your hand.
8 Your evil ways only hurt others like yourself,
and the good you do only helps other human beings.
9 “People cry out when they are in trouble;
they beg for relief from powerful people.
10 But no one asks, ‘Where is God, my Maker,
who gives us songs in the night,
11 who makes us smarter than the animals of the earth
and wiser than the birds of the air?’
12 God does not answer evil people when they cry out,
because the wicked are proud.
13 God does not listen to their useless begging;
the Almighty pays no attention to them.
14 He will listen to you even less
when you say that you do not see him,
that your case is before him,
that you must wait for him,
15 that his anger never punishes,
and that he doesn’t notice evil.
16 So Job is only speaking nonsense,
saying many words without knowing what is true.”
Elihu’s Speech Continues
36 Elihu continued:
2 “Listen to me a little longer, and I will show you
that there is more to be said for God.
3 What I know comes from far away.
I will show that my Maker is right.
4 You can be sure that my words are not false;
one who really knows is with you.
5 “God is powerful, but he does not hate people;
he is powerful and sure of what he wants to do.
6 He will not keep evil people alive,
but he gives the poor their rights.
7 He always watches over those who do right;
he sets them on thrones with kings
and they are honored forever.
8 If people are bound in chains,
or if trouble, like ropes, ties them up,
9 God tells them what they have done,
that they have sinned in their pride.
10 God makes them listen to his warning
and commands them to change from doing evil.
11 If they obey and serve him,
the rest of their lives will be successful,
and the rest of their years will be happy.
12 But if they do not listen,
they will die by the sword,
and they will die without knowing why.
13 “Those who have wicked hearts hold on to anger.
Even when God punishes them, they do not cry for help.
14 They die while they are still young,
and their lives end in disgrace.
15 But God saves those who suffer through their suffering;
he gets them to listen through their pain.
16 “God is gently calling you from the jaws of trouble
to an open place of freedom
where he has set your table full of the best food.
17 But now you are being punished like the wicked;
you are getting justice.
18 Be careful! Don’t be led away from God by riches;
don’t let much money turn you away.
19 Neither your wealth nor all your great strength
will keep you out of trouble.
20 Don’t wish for the night
when people are taken from their homes.
21 Be careful not to turn to evil,
which you seem to want more than suffering.
22 “God is great and powerful;
no other teacher is like him.
23 No one has planned his ways for him;
no one can say to God, ‘You have done wrong.’
24 Remember to praise his work,
about which people have sung.
25 Everybody has seen it;
people look at it from far off.
26 God is so great, greater than we can understand!
No one knows how old he is.
27 “He evaporates the drops of water from the earth
and turns them into rain.
28 The rain then pours down from the clouds,
and showers fall on people.
29 No one understands how God spreads out the clouds
or how he sends thunder from where he lives.
30 Watch how God scatters his lightning around him,
lighting up the deepest parts of the sea.
31 This is the way God governs the nations;
this is how he gives us enough food.
32 God fills his hands with lightning
and commands it to strike its target.
33 His thunder announces the coming storm,
and even the cattle know it is near.
37 “At the sound of his thunder, my heart pounds
as if it will jump out of my chest.
2 Listen! Listen to the thunder of God’s voice
and to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.
3 He turns his lightning loose under the whole sky
and sends it to the farthest parts of the earth.
4 After that you can hear the roar
when he thunders with a great sound.
He does not hold back the flashing
when his voice is heard.
5 God’s voice thunders in wonderful ways;
he does great things we cannot understand.
6 He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’
and to the shower, ‘Be a heavy rain.’
7 With it, he stops everyone from working
so everyone knows it is the work of God.
8 The animals take cover from the rain
and stay in their dens.
9 The storm comes from where it was stored;
the cold comes with the strong winds.
10 The breath of God makes ice,
and the wide waters become frozen.
11 He fills the clouds with water
and scatters his lightning through them.
12 At his command they swirl around
over the whole earth,
doing whatever he commands.
13 He uses the clouds to punish people
or to water his earth and show his love.
14 “Job, listen to this:
Stop and notice God’s miracles.
15 Do you know how God controls the clouds
and makes his lightning flash?
16 Do you know how the clouds hang in the sky?
Do you know the miracles of God, who knows everything?
17 You suffer in your clothes
when the land is silenced by the hot, south wind.
18 You cannot stretch out the sky like God
and make it look as hard as polished bronze.
19 Tell us what we should say to him;
we cannot get our arguments ready because we do not have enough understanding.
20 Should God be told that I want to speak?
Would a person ask to be swallowed up?
21 No one can look at the sun
when it is bright in the sky
after the wind has blown all the clouds away.
22 God comes out of the north in golden light,
in overwhelming greatness.
23 The Almighty is too high for us to reach.
He has great strength;
he is always right and never punishes unfairly.
24 That is why people honor him;
he does not respect those who say they are wise.”
The Lord Questions Job
38 Then the Lord answered Job from the storm. He said:
2 “Who is this that makes my purpose unclear
by saying things that are not true?
3 Be strong like a man!
I will ask you questions,
and you must answer me.
4 Where were you when I made the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off how big it should be? Surely you know!
Who stretched a ruler across it?
6 What were the earth’s foundations set on,
or who put its cornerstone in place
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted with joy?
8 “Who shut the doors to keep the sea in
when it broke through and was born,
9 when I made the clouds like a coat for the sea
and wrapped it in dark clouds,
10 when I put limits on the sea
and put its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said to the sea, ‘You may come this far, but no farther;
this is where your proud waves must stop’?
12 “Have you ever ordered the morning to begin,
or shown the dawn where its place was
13 in order to take hold of the earth by its edges
and shake evil people out of it?
14 At dawn the earth changes like clay being pressed by a seal;
the hills and valleys stand out like folds in a coat.
15 Light is not given to evil people;
their arm is raised to do harm, but it is broken.
16 “Have you ever gone to where the sea begins
or walked in the valleys under the sea?
17 Have the gates of death been opened to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deep darkness?
18 Do you understand how wide the earth is?
Tell me, if you know all these things.
19 “What is the path to light’s home,
and where does darkness live?
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the way to their homes?
21 Surely you know, if you were already born when all this happened!
Have you lived that many years?
22 “Have you ever gone into the storehouse of the snow
or seen the storehouses for hail,
23 which I save for times of trouble,
for days of war and battle?
24 Where is the place from which light comes?
Where is the place from which the east winds blow over the earth?
25 Who cuts a waterway for the heavy rains
and sets a path for the thunderstorm?
26 Who waters the land where no one lives,
the desert that has no one in it?
27 Who sends rain to satisfy the empty land
so the grass begins to grow?
28 Does the rain have a father?
Who is father to the drops of dew?
29 Who is the mother of the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the sky
30 when the water becomes hard as stone,
and even the surface of the ocean is frozen?
31 “Can you tie up the stars of the Pleiades
or loosen the ropes of the stars in Orion?
32 Can you bring out the stars on time
or lead out the stars of the Bear with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the sky
and understand their rule over the earth?
34 “Can you shout an order to the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Can you send lightning bolts on their way?
Do they come to you and say, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who put wisdom inside the mind
or understanding in the heart?
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can pour water from the jars of the sky
38 when the dust becomes hard
and the clumps of dirt stick together?
39 “Do you hunt food for the female lion
to satisfy the hunger of the young lions
40 while they lie in their dens
or hide in the bushes waiting to attack?
41 Who gives food to the birds
when their young cry out to God
and wander about without food?
39 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you watch when the deer gives birth to her fawn?
2 Do you count the months until they give birth
and know the right time for them to give birth?
3 They lie down, their young are born,
and then the pain of giving birth is over.
4 Their young ones grow big and strong in the wild country.
Then they leave their homes and do not return.
5 “Who let the wild donkey go free?
Who untied its ropes?
6 I am the one who gave the donkey the desert as its home;
I gave it the desert lands as a place to live.
7 The wild donkey laughs at the confusion in the city,
and it does not hear the drivers shout.
8 It roams the hills looking for pasture,
looking for anything green to eat.
9 “Will the wild ox agree to serve you
and stay by your feeding box at night?
10 Can you hold it to the plowed row with a harness
so it will plow the valleys for you?
11 Will you depend on the wild ox for its great strength
and leave your heavy work for it to do?
12 Can you trust the ox to bring in your grain
and gather it to your threshing floor?
13 “The wings of the ostrich flap happily,
but they are not like the feathers of the stork.
14 The ostrich lays its eggs on the ground
and lets them warm in the sand.
15 It does not stop to think that a foot might step on them and crush them;
it does not care that some animal might walk on them.
16 The ostrich is cruel to its young, as if they were not even its own.
It does not care that its work is for nothing,
17 because God did not give the ostrich wisdom;
God did not give it a share of good sense.
18 But when the ostrich gets up to run, it is so fast
that it laughs at the horse and its rider.
19 “Job, are you the one who gives the horse its strength
or puts a flowing mane on its neck?
20 Do you make the horse jump like a locust?
It scares people with its proud snorting.
21 It paws wildly, enjoying its strength,
and charges into battle.
22 It laughs at fear and is afraid of nothing;
it does not run away from the sword.
23 The bag of arrows rattles against the horse’s side,
along with the flashing spears and swords.
24 With great excitement, the horse races over the ground;
and it cannot stand still when it hears the trumpet.
25 When the trumpet blows, the horse snorts, ‘Aha!’
It smells the battle from far away;
it hears the shouts of commanders and the battle cry.
26 “Is it through your wisdom that the hawk flies
and spreads its wings toward the south?
27 Are you the one that commands the eagle to fly
and build its nest so high?
28 It lives on a high cliff and stays there at night;
the rocky peak is its protected place.
29 From there it looks for its food;
its eyes can see it from far away.
30 Its young eat blood,
and where there is something dead, the eagle is there.”
40 The Lord said to Job:
2 “Will the person who argues with the Almighty correct him?
Let the person who accuses God answer him.”
3 Then Job answered the Lord:
4 “I am not worthy; I cannot answer you anything,
so I will put my hand over my mouth.
5 I spoke one time, but I will not answer again;
I even spoke two times, but I will say nothing more.”
6 Then the Lord spoke to Job from the storm:
7 “Be strong, like a man!
I will ask you questions,
and you must answer me.
8 Would you say that I am unfair?
Would you blame me to make yourself look right?
9 Are you as strong as God?
Can your voice thunder like his?
10 If so, then decorate yourself with glory and beauty;
dress in honor and greatness as if they were clothing.
11 Let your great anger punish;
look at the proud and bring them down.
12 Look at the proud and make them humble.
Crush the wicked wherever they are.
13 Bury them all in the dirt together;
cover their faces in the grave.
14 If you can do that, then I myself will praise you,
because you are strong enough to save yourself.
15 “Look at Behemoth,[a]
which I made just as I made you.
It eats grass like an ox.
16 Look at the strength it has in its body;
the muscles of its stomach are powerful.
17 Its tail is like a cedar tree;
the muscles of its thighs are woven together.
18 Its bones are like tubes of bronze;
its legs are like bars of iron.
19 It is one of the first of God’s works,
but its Maker can destroy it.
20 The hills, where the wild animals play,
provide food for it.
21 It lies under the lotus plants,
hidden by the tall grass in the swamp.
22 The lotus plants hide it in their shadow;
the poplar trees by the streams surround it.
23 If the river floods, it will not be afraid;
it is safe even if the Jordan River rushes to its mouth.
24 Can anyone blind its eyes and capture it?
Can anyone put hooks in its nose?
41 “Can you catch Leviathan[b] on a fishhook
or tie its tongue down with a rope?
2 Can you put a cord through its nose
or a hook in its jaw?
3 Will it keep begging you for mercy
and speak to you with gentle words?
4 Will it make an agreement with you
and let you take it as your slave for life?
5 Can you make a pet of Leviathan as you would a bird
or put it on a leash for your girls?
6 Will traders try to bargain with you for it?
Will they divide it up among the merchants?
7 Can you stick darts all over its skin
or fill its head with fishing spears?
8 If you put one hand on it,
you will never forget the battle,
and you will never do it again!
9 There is no hope of defeating it;
just seeing it overwhelms people.
10 No one is brave enough to make it angry,
so who would be able to stand up against me?
11 No one has ever given me anything that I must pay back,
because everything under the sky belongs to me.
12 “I will speak about Leviathan’s arms and legs,
its great strength and well-formed body.
13 No one can tear off its outer hide
or poke through its double armor.
14 No one can force open its great jaws;
they are filled with frightening teeth.
15 It has rows of shields on its back
that are tightly sealed together.
16 Each shield is so close to the next one
that no air can go between them.
17 They are joined strongly to one another;
they hold on to each other and cannot be separated.
18 When it snorts, flashes of light are thrown out,
and its eyes look like the light at dawn.
19 Flames blaze from its mouth;
sparks of fire shoot out.
20 Smoke pours out of its nose,
as if coming from a large pot over a hot fire.
21 Its breath sets coals on fire,
and flames come out of its mouth.
22 There is great strength in its neck.
People are afraid and run away.
23 The folds of its skin are tightly joined;
they are set and cannot be moved.
24 Its chest is as hard as a rock,
even as hard as a grinding stone.
25 The powerful fear its terrible looks
and draw back in fear as it moves.
26 The sword that hits it does not hurt it,
nor the arrows, darts, and spears.
27 It treats iron as if it were straw
and bronze metal as if it were rotten wood.
28 It does not run away from arrows;
stones from slings are like chaff to it.
29 Clubs feel like pieces of straw to it,
and it laughs when they shake a spear at it.
30 The underside of its body is like broken pieces of pottery.
It leaves a trail in the mud like a threshing board.
31 It makes the deep sea bubble like a boiling pot;
it stirs up the sea like a pot of oil.
32 When it swims, it leaves a shining path in the water
that makes the sea look as if it had white hair.
33 Nothing else on earth is equal to it;
it is a creature without fear.
34 It looks down on all those who are too proud;
it is king over all proud creatures.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.