Bible in 90 Days
Bildad Speaks to Job
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 “How long will you say such things?
Your words are no more than wind.
3 God does not twist justice;
the Almighty does not make wrong what is right.
4 Your children sinned against God,
and he punished them for their sins.
5 But you should ask God for help
and pray to the Almighty for mercy.
6 If you are good and honest,
he will stand up for you
and bring you back where you belong.
7 Where you began will seem unimportant,
because your future will be so successful.
8 “Ask old people;
find out what their ancestors learned,
9 because we were only born yesterday and know nothing.
Our days on earth are only a shadow.
10 Those people will teach you and tell you
and speak about what they know.
11 Papyrus plants cannot grow where there is no swamp,
and reeds cannot grow tall without water.
12 While they are still growing and not yet cut,
they will dry up quicker than grass.
13 That is what will happen to those who forget God;
the hope of the wicked will be gone.
14 What they hope in is easily broken;
what they trust is like a spider’s web.
15 They lean on the spider’s web, but it breaks.
They grab it, but it does not hold up.
16 They are like well-watered plants in the sunshine
that spread their roots all through the garden.
17 They wrap their roots around a pile of rocks
and look for a place among the stones.
18 But if a plant is torn from its place,
then that place rejects it and says, ‘I never saw you.’
19 Now joy has gone away;
other plants grow up from the same dirt.
20 “Surely God does not reject the innocent
or give strength to those who do evil.
21 God will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.
22 Your enemies will be covered with shame,
and the tents of the wicked will be gone.”
Job Answers Bildad
9 Then Job answered:
2 “Yes, I know that this is true,
but how can anyone be right in the presence of God?
3 Someone might want to argue with God,
but no one could answer God,
not one time out of a thousand.
4 God’s wisdom is deep, and his power is great;
no one can fight him without getting hurt.
5 God moves mountains without anyone knowing it
and turns them over when he is angry.
6 He shakes the earth out of its place
and makes its foundations tremble.
7 He commands the sun not to shine
and shuts off the light of the stars.
8 He alone stretches out the skies
and walks on the waves of the sea.
9 It is God who made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades[a]
and the groups of stars in the southern sky.
10 He does wonders that cannot be understood;
he does so many miracles they cannot be counted.
11 When he passes me, I cannot see him;
when he goes by me, I do not recognize him.
12 If he snatches something away, no one can stop him
or say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
13 God will not hold back his anger.
Even the helpers of the monster Rahab lie at his feet in fear.
14 So how can I argue with God,
or even find words to argue with him?
15 Even if I were right, I could not answer him;
I could only beg God, my Judge, for mercy.
16 If I called to him and he answered,
I still don’t believe he would listen to me.
17 He would crush me with a storm
and multiply my wounds for no reason.
18 He would not let me catch my breath
but would overwhelm me with misery.
19 When it comes to strength, God is stronger than I;
when it comes to justice, no one can accuse him.
20 Even if I were right, my own mouth would say I was wrong;
if I were innocent, my mouth would say I was guilty.
21 “I am innocent,
but I don’t care about myself.
I hate my own life.
22 It is all the same. That is why I say,
‘God destroys both the innocent and the guilty.’
23 If the whip brings sudden death,
God will laugh at the suffering of the innocent.
24 When the land falls into the hands of evil people,
he covers the judges’ faces so they can’t see it.
If it is not God who does this, then who is it?
25 “My days go by faster than a runner;
they fly away without my seeing any joy.
26 They glide past like paper boats.
They attack like eagles swooping down to feed.
27 Even though I say, ‘I will forget my complaint;
I will change the look on my face and smile,’
28 I still dread all my suffering.
I know you will hold me guilty.
29 I have already been found guilty,
so why should I struggle for no reason?
30 I might wash myself with soap
and scrub my hands with strong soap,
31 but you would push me into a dirty pit,
and even my clothes would hate me.
32 “God is not human like me, so I cannot answer him.
We cannot meet each other in court.
33 I wish there were someone to make peace between us,
someone to decide our case.
34 Maybe he could remove God’s punishment
so his terror would no longer frighten me.
35 Then I could speak without being afraid,
but I am not able to do that.
10 “I hate my life,
so I will complain without holding back;
I will speak because I am so unhappy.
2 I will say to God: Do not hold me guilty,
but tell me what you have against me.
3 Does it make you happy to trouble me?
Don’t you care about me, the work of your hands?
Are you happy with the plans of evil people?
4 Do you have human eyes
that see as we see?
5 Are your days like the days of humans,
and your years like our years?
6 You look for the evil I have done
and search for my sin.
7 You know I am not guilty,
but no one can save me from your power.
8 “Your hands shaped and made me.
Do you now turn around and destroy me?
9 Remember that you molded me like a piece of clay.
Will you now turn me back into dust?
10 You formed me inside my mother
like cheese formed from milk.
11 You dressed me with skin and flesh;
you sewed me together with bones and muscles.
12 You gave me life and showed me kindness,
and in your care you watched over my life.
13 “But in your heart you hid other plans.
I know this was in your mind.
14 If I sinned, you would watch me
and would not let my sin go unpunished.
15 How terrible it will be for me if I am guilty!
Even if I am right, I cannot lift my head.
I am full of shame
and experience only pain.
16 If I hold up my head, you hunt me like a lion
and again show your terrible power against me.
17 You bring new witnesses against me
and increase your anger against me.
Your armies come against me.
18 “So why did you allow me to be born?
I wish I had died before anyone saw me.
19 I wish I had never lived,
but had been carried straight from birth to the grave.
20 The few days of my life are almost over.
Leave me alone so I can have a moment of joy.
21 Soon I will leave; I will not return
from the land of darkness and gloom,
22 the land of darkest night,
from the land of gloom and confusion,
where even the light is darkness.”
Zophar Speaks to Job
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:
2 “Should these words go unanswered?
Is this talker in the right?
3 Your lies do not make people quiet;
people should correct you when you make fun of God.
4 You say, ‘My teachings are right,
and I am clean in God’s sight.’
5 I wish God would speak
and open his lips against you
6 and tell you the secrets of wisdom,
because wisdom has two sides.
Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.
7 “Can you understand the secrets of God?
Can you search the limits of the Almighty?
8 His limits are higher than the heavens; you cannot reach them!
They are deeper than the grave; you cannot understand them!
9 His limits are longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.
10 “If God comes along and puts you in prison
or calls you into court, no one can stop him.
11 God knows who is evil,
and when he sees evil, he takes note of it.
12 A fool cannot become wise
any more than a wild donkey can be born tame.
13 “You must give your whole heart to him
and hold out your hands to him for help.
14 Put away the sin that is in your hand;
let no evil remain in your tent.
15 Then you can lift up your face without shame,
and you can stand strong without fear.
16 You will forget your trouble
and remember it only as water gone by.
17 Your life will be as bright as the noonday sun,
and darkness will seem like morning.
18 You will feel safe because there is hope;
you will look around and rest in safety.
19 You will lie down, and no one will scare you.
Many people will want favors from you.
20 But the wicked will not be able to see,
so they will not escape.
Their only hope will be to die.”
Job Answers Zophar
12 Then Job answered:
2 “You really think you are the only wise people
and that when you die, wisdom will die with you!
3 But my mind is as good as yours;
you are not better than I am.
Everyone knows all these things.
4 My friends all laugh at me
when I call on God and expect him to answer me;
they laugh at me even though I am right and innocent!
5 Those who are comfortable don’t care that others have trouble;
they think it right that those people should have troubles.
6 The tents of robbers are not bothered,
and those who make God angry are safe.
They have their god in their pocket.
7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
or ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you.
8 Speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
or let the fish of the sea tell you.
9 Every one of these knows
that the hand of the Lord has done this.
10 The life of every creature
and the breath of all people are in God’s hand.
11 The ear tests words
as the tongue tastes food.
12 Older people are wise,
and long life brings understanding.
13 “But only God has wisdom and power,
good advice and understanding.
14 What he tears down cannot be rebuilt;
anyone he puts in prison cannot be let out.
15 If God holds back the waters, there is no rain;
if he lets the waters go, they flood the land.
16 He is strong and victorious;
both the one who fools others and the one who is fooled belong to him.
17 God leads the wise away as captives
and turns judges into fools.
18 He takes off chains that kings put on
and puts a garment on their bodies.
19 He leads priests away naked
and destroys the powerful.
20 He makes trusted people be silent
and takes away the wisdom of elders.
21 He brings disgrace on important people
and takes away the weapons of the strong.
22 He uncovers the deep things of darkness
and brings dark shadows into the light.
23 He makes nations great and then destroys them;
he makes nations large and then scatters them.
24 He takes understanding away from the leaders of the earth
and makes them wander through a pathless desert.
25 They feel around in darkness with no light;
he makes them stumble like drunks.
13 “Now my eyes have seen all this;
my ears have heard and understood it.
2 What you know, I also know.
You are not better than I am.
3 But I want to speak to the Almighty
and to argue my case with God.
4 But you smear me with lies.
You are worthless doctors, all of you!
5 I wish you would just stop talking;
then you would really be wise!
6 Listen to my argument,
and hear the pleading of my lips.
7 You should not speak evil in the name of God;
you cannot speak God’s truth by telling lies.
8 You should not unfairly choose his side against mine;
you should not argue the case for God.
9 You will not do well if he examines you;
you cannot fool God as you might fool humans.
10 God would surely scold you
if you unfairly took one person’s side.
11 His bright glory would scare you,
and you would be very much afraid of him.
12 Your wise sayings are worth no more than ashes,
and your arguments are as weak as clay.
13 “Be quiet and let me speak.
Let things happen to me as they will.
14 Why should I put myself in danger
and take my life in my own hands?
15 Even if God kills me, I have hope in him;
I will still defend my ways to his face.
16 This is my salvation.
The wicked cannot come before him.
17 Listen carefully to my words;
let your ears hear what I say.
18 See, I have prepared my case,
and I know I will be proved right.
19 No one can accuse me of doing wrong.
If someone can, I will be quiet and die.
20 “God, please just give me these two things,
and then I will not hide from you:
21 Take your punishment away from me,
and stop frightening me with your terrors.
22 Then call me, and I will answer,
or let me speak, and you answer.
23 How many evil things and sins have I done?
Show me my wrong and my sin.
24 Don’t hide your face from me;
don’t think of me as your enemy.
25 Don’t punish a leaf that is blown by the wind;
don’t chase after straw.
26 You write down cruel things against me
and make me suffer for my boyhood sins.
27 You put my feet in chains
and keep close watch wherever I go.
You even mark the soles of my feet.
28 “Everyone wears out like something rotten,
like clothing eaten by moths.
14 “All of us born to women
live only a few days and have lots of trouble.
2 We grow up like flowers and then dry up and die.
We are like a passing shadow that does not last.
3 Lord, do you need to watch me like this?
Must you bring me before you to be judged?
4 No one can bring something clean from something dirty.
5 Our time is limited.
You have given us only so many months to live
and have set limits we cannot go beyond.
6 So look away from us and leave us alone
until we put in our time like a laborer.
7 “If a tree is cut down,
there is hope that it will grow again
and will send out new branches.
8 Even if its roots grow old in the ground,
and its stump dies in the dirt,
9 at the smell of water it will bud
and put out new shoots like a plant.
10 But we die, and our bodies are laid in the ground;
we take our last breath and are gone.
11 Water disappears from a lake,
and a river loses its water and dries up.
12 In the same way, we lie down and do not rise again;
we will not get up or be awakened
until the heavens disappear.
13 “I wish you would hide me in the grave;
hide me until your anger is gone.
I wish you would set a time
and then remember me!
14 Will the dead live again?
All my days are a struggle;
I will wait until my change comes.
15 You will call, and I will answer you;
you will desire the creature your hands have made.
16 Then you will count my steps,
but you will not keep track of my sin.
17 My wrongs will be closed up in a bag,
and you will cover up my sin.
18 “A mountain washes away and crumbles;
and a rock can be moved from its place.
19 Water washes over stones and wears them down,
and rushing waters wash away the dirt.
In the same way, you destroy hope.
20 You defeat people forever, and they are gone;
you change their appearance and send them away.
21 Their children are honored, but they do not know it;
their children are disgraced, but they do not see it.
22 They only feel the pain of their body
and feel sorry for themselves.”
Eliphaz Answers Job
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “A wise person would not answer with empty words
or fill his stomach with the hot east wind.
3 He would not argue with useless words
or make speeches that have no value.
4 But you even destroy respect for God
and limit the worship of him.
5 Your sin teaches your mouth what to say;
you use words to trick others.
6 It is your own mouth, not mine, that shows you are wicked;
your own lips testify against you.
7 “You are not the first man ever born;
you are not older than the hills.
8 You did not listen in on God’s secret council.
But you limit wisdom to yourself.
9 You don’t know any more than we know.
You don’t understand any more than we understand.
10 Old people with gray hair are on our side;
they are even older than your father.
11 Is the comfort God gives you not enough for you,
even when words are spoken gently to you?
12 Has your heart carried you away from God?
Why do your eyes flash with anger?
13 Why do you speak out your anger against God?
Why do these words pour out of your mouth?
14 “How can anyone be pure?
How can someone born to a woman be good?
15 God places no trust in his holy ones,
and even the heavens are not pure in his eyes.
16 How much less pure is one who is terrible and rotten
and drinks up evil as if it were water!
17 “Listen to me, and I will tell you about it;
I will tell you what I have seen.
18 These are things wise men have told;
their ancestors told them, and they have hidden nothing.
19 (The land was given to their fathers only,
and no foreigner lived among them.)
20 The wicked suffer pain all their lives;
the cruel suffer during all the years saved up for them.
21 Terrible sounds fill their ears,
and when things seem to be going well, robbers attack them.
22 Evil people give up trying to escape from the darkness;
it has been decided that they will die by the sword.
23 They wander around and will become food for vultures.
They know darkness will soon come.
24 Worry and suffering terrify them;
they overwhelm them, like a king ready to attack,
25 because they shake their fists at God
and try to get their own way against the Almighty.
26 They stubbornly charge at God
with thick, strong shields.
27 “Although the faces of the wicked are thick with fat,
and their bellies are fat with flesh,
28 they will live in towns that are ruined,
in houses where no one lives,
which are crumbling into ruins.
29 The wicked will no longer get rich,
and the riches they have will not last;
the things they own will no longer spread over the land.
30 They will not escape the darkness.
A flame will dry up their branches;
God’s breath will carry the wicked away.
31 The wicked should not fool themselves by trusting what is useless.
If they do, they will get nothing in return.
32 Their branches will dry up before they finish growing
and will never turn green.
33 They will be like a vine whose grapes are pulled off before they are ripe,
like an olive tree that loses its blossoms.
34 People without God can produce nothing.
Fire will destroy the tents of those who take money to do evil,
35 who plan trouble and give birth to evil,
whose hearts plan ways to trick others.”
Job Answers Eliphaz
16 Then Job answered:
2 “I have heard many things like these.
You are all painful comforters!
3 Will your long-winded speeches never end?
What makes you keep on arguing?
4 I also could speak as you do
if you were in my place.
I could make great speeches against you
and shake my head at you.
5 But, instead, I would encourage you,
and my words would bring you relief.
6 “Even if I speak, my pain is not less,
and if I don’t speak, it still does not go away.
7 God, you have surely taken away my strength
and destroyed my whole family.
8 You have made me thin and weak,
and this shows I have done wrong.
9 God attacks me and tears me with anger;
he grinds his teeth at me;
my enemy stares at me with his angry eyes.
10 People open their mouths to make fun of me
and hit my cheeks to insult me.
They join together against me.
11 God has turned me over to evil people
and has handed me over to the wicked.
12 Everything was fine with me,
but God broke me into pieces;
he held me by the neck and crushed me.
He has made me his target;
13 his archers surround me.
He stabs my kidneys without mercy;
he spills my blood on the ground.
14 Again and again God attacks me;
he runs at me like a soldier.
15 “I have sewed rough cloth over my skin to show my sadness
and have buried my face in the dust.
16 My face is red from crying;
I have dark circles around my eyes.
17 Yet my hands have never done anything cruel,
and my prayer is pure.
18 “Earth, please do not cover up my blood.
Don’t let my cry ever stop being heard!
19 Even now I have one who speaks for me in heaven;
the one who is on my side is high above.
20 The one who speaks for me is my friend.
My eyes pour out tears to God.
21 He begs God on behalf of a human
as a person begs for his friend.
22 “Only a few years will pass
before I go on the journey of no return.
17 My spirit is broken;
the days of my life are almost gone.
The grave is waiting for me.
2 Those who laugh at me surround me;
I watch them insult me.
3 “God, make me a promise.
No one will make a pledge for me.
4 You have closed their minds to understanding.
Do not let them win over me.
5 People might speak against their friends for money,
but if they do, the eyes of their children go blind.
6 “God has made my name a curse word;
people spit in my face.
7 My sight has grown weak because of my sadness,
and my body is as thin as a shadow.
8 Honest people are upset about this;
innocent people are upset with those who do wrong.
9 But those who do right will continue to do right,
and those whose hands are not dirty with sin will grow stronger.
10 “But, all of you, come and try again!
I do not find a wise person among you.
11 My days are gone, and my plans have been destroyed,
along with the desires of my heart.
12 These men think night is day;
when it is dark, they say, ‘Light is near.’
13 If the only home I hope for is the grave,
if I spread out my bed in darkness,
14 if I say to the grave, ‘You are my father,’
and to the worm, ‘You are my mother’ or ‘You are my sister,’
15 where, then, is my hope?
Who can see any hope for me?
16 Will hope go down to the gates of death?
Will we go down together into the dust?”
Bildad Answers Job
18 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 “When will you stop these speeches?
Be sensible, and then we can talk.
3 You think of us as cattle,
as if we are stupid.
4 You tear yourself to pieces in your anger.
Should the earth be vacant just for you?
Should the rocks move from their places?
5 “The lamp of the wicked will be put out,
and the flame in their lamps will stop burning.
6 The light in their tents will grow dark,
and the lamps by their sides will go out.
7 Their strong steps will grow weak;
they will fall into their own evil traps.
8 Their feet will be caught in a net
when they walk into its web.
9 A trap will catch them by the heel
and hold them tight.
10 A trap for them is hidden on the ground,
right in their path.
11 Terrible things startle them from every side
and chase them at every step.
12 Hunger takes away their strength,
and disaster is at their side.
13 Disease eats away parts of their skin;
death gnaws at their arms and legs.
14 They are torn from the safety of their tents
and dragged off to Death, the King of Terrors.
15 Their tents are set on fire,
and sulfur is scattered over their homes.
16 Their roots dry up below ground,
and their branches die above ground.
17 People on earth will not remember them;
their names will be forgotten in the land.
18 They will be driven from light into darkness
and chased out of the world.
19 They have no children or descendants among their people,
and no one will be left alive where they once lived.
20 People of the west will be shocked at what has happened to them,
and people of the east will be very frightened.
21 Surely this is what will happen to the wicked;
such is the place of one who does not know God.”
Job Answers Bildad
19 Then Job answered:
2 “How long will you hurt me
and crush me with your words?
3 You have insulted me ten times now
and attacked me without shame.
4 Even if I have sinned,
it is my worry alone.
5 If you want to make yourselves look better than I,
you can blame me for my suffering.
6 Then know that God has wronged me
and pulled his net around me.
7 “I shout, ‘I have been wronged!’
But I get no answer.
I scream for help
but I get no justice.
8 God has blocked my way so I cannot pass;
he has covered my paths with darkness.
9 He has taken away my honor
and removed the crown from my head.
10 He beats me down on every side until I am gone;
he destroys my hope like a fallen tree.
11 His anger burns against me,
and he treats me like an enemy.
12 His armies gather;
they prepare to attack me.
They camp around my tent.
13 “God has made my brothers my enemies,
and my friends have become strangers.
14 My relatives have gone away,
and my friends have forgotten me.
15 My guests and my female servants treat me like a stranger;
they look at me as if I were a foreigner.
16 I call for my servant, but he does not answer,
even when I beg him with my own mouth.
17 My wife can’t stand my breath,
and my own family dislikes me.
18 Even the little boys hate me
and talk about me when I leave.
19 All my close friends hate me;
even those I love have turned against me.
20 I am nothing but skin and bones;
I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
21 Pity me, my friends, pity me,
because the hand of God has hit me.
22 Why do you chase me as God does?
Haven’t you hurt me enough?
23 “How I wish my words were written down,
written on a scroll.
24 I wish they were carved with an iron pen into lead,
or carved into stone forever.
25 I know that my Defender lives,
and in the end he will stand upon the earth.
26 Even after my skin has been destroyed,
in my flesh I will see God.
27 I will see him myself;
I will see him with my very own eyes.
How my heart wants that to happen!
28 “If you say, ‘We will continue to trouble Job,
because the problem lies with him,’
29 you should be afraid of the sword yourselves.
God’s anger will bring punishment by the sword.
Then you will know there is judgment.”
Zophar Answers
20 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:
2 “My troubled thoughts cause me to answer,
because I am very upset.
3 You correct me and I am insulted,
but I understand how to answer you.
4 “You know how it has been for a long time,
ever since people were first put on the earth.
5 The happiness of evil people is brief,
and the joy of the wicked lasts only a moment.
6 Their pride may be as high as the heavens,
and their heads may touch the clouds,
7 but they will be gone forever, like their own dung.
People who knew them will say, ‘Where are they?’
8 They will fly away like a dream
and not be found again;
they will be chased away like a vision in the night.
9 Those who saw them will not see them again;
the places where they lived will see them no more.
10 Their children will have to pay back the poor,
and they will have to give up their wealth.
11 They had the strength of their youth in their bones,
but it will lie with them in the dust of death.
12 “Evil may taste sweet in their mouths,
and they may hide it under their tongues.
13 They cannot stand to let go of it;
they keep it in their mouths.
14 But their food will turn sour in their stomachs,
like the poison of a snake inside them.
15 They have swallowed riches, but they will spit them out;
God will make them vomit their riches up.
16 They will suck the poison of snakes,
and the snake’s fangs will kill them.
17 They will not admire the sparkling streams
or the rivers flowing with honey and cream.
18 They must give back what they worked for without eating it;
they will not enjoy the money they made from their trading,
19 because they troubled the poor and left them with nothing.
They have taken houses they did not build.
20 “Evil people never lack an appetite,
and nothing escapes their selfishness.
21 But nothing will be left for them to eat;
their riches will not continue.
22 When they still have plenty, trouble will catch up to them,
and great misery will come down on them.
23 When the wicked fill their stomachs,
God will send his burning anger against them,
and blows of punishment will fall on them like rain.
24 The wicked may run away from an iron weapon,
but a bronze arrow will stab them.
25 They will pull the arrows out of their backs
and pull the points out of their livers.
Terrors will come over them;
26 total darkness waits for their treasure.
A fire not fanned by people will destroy them
and burn up what is left of their tents.
27 The heavens will show their guilt,
and the earth will rise up against them.
28 A flood will carry their houses away,
swept away on the day of God’s anger.
29 This is what God plans for evil people;
this is what he has decided they will receive.”
Job Answers Zophar
21 Then Job answered:
2 “Listen carefully to my words,
and let this be the way you comfort me.
3 Be patient while I speak.
After I have finished, you may continue to make fun of me.
4 “My complaint is not just against people;
I have reason to be impatient.
5 Look at me and be shocked;
put your hand over your mouth in shock.
6 When I think about this, I am terribly afraid
and my body shakes.
7 Why do evil people live a long time?
They grow old and become more powerful.
8 They see their children around them;
they watch them grow up.
9 Their homes are safe and without fear;
God does not punish them.
10 Their bulls never fail to mate;
their cows have healthy calves.
11 They send out their children like a flock;
their little ones dance about.
12 They sing to the music of tambourines and harps,
and the sound of the flute makes them happy.
13 Evil people enjoy successful lives
and then go peacefully to the grave.
14 They say to God, ‘Leave us alone!
We don’t want to know your ways.
15 Who is the Almighty that we should serve him?
What would we gain by praying to him?’
16 The success of the wicked is not their own doing.
Their way of thinking is different from mine.
17 Yet how often are the lamps of evil people turned off?
How often does trouble come to them?
How often do they suffer God’s angry punishment?
18 How often are they like straw in the wind
or like chaff that is blown away by a storm?
19 It is said, ‘God saves up a person’s punishment for his children.’
But God should punish the wicked themselves so they will know it.
20 Their eyes should see their own destruction,
and they should suffer the anger of the Almighty.
21 They do not care about the families they leave behind
when their lives have come to an end.
22 “No one can teach knowledge to God;
he is the one who judges even the most important people.
23 One person dies while he still has all his strength,
feeling completely safe and comfortable.
24 His body was well fed,
and his bones were strong and healthy.
25 But another person dies with an unhappy heart,
never enjoying any happiness.
26 They are buried next to each other,
and worms cover them both.
27 “I know very well your thoughts
and your plans to wrong me.
28 You ask about me, ‘Where is this great man’s house?
Where are the tents where the wicked live?’
29 Have you never asked those who travel?
Have you never listened to their stories?
30 On the day of God’s anger and punishment,
it is the wicked who are spared.
31 Who will accuse them to their faces?
Who will pay them back for the evil they have done?
32 They are carried to their graves,
and someone keeps watch over their tombs.
33 The dirt in the valley seems sweet to them.
Everybody follows after them,
and many people go before them.
34 “So how can you comfort me with this nonsense?
Your answers are only lies!”
Eliphaz Answers
22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “Can anyone be of real use to God?
Can even a wise person do him good?
3 Does it help the Almighty for you to be good?
Does he gain anything if you are innocent?
4 Does God punish you for respecting him?
Does he bring you into court for this?
5 No! It is because your evil is without limits
and your sins have no end.
6 You took your brothers’ things for a debt they didn’t owe;
you took clothes from people and left them naked.
7 You did not give water to tired people,
and you kept food from the hungry.
8 You were a powerful man who owned land;
you were honored and lived in the land.
9 But you sent widows away empty-handed,
and you mistreated orphans.
10 That is why traps are all around you
and sudden danger frightens you.
11 That is why it is so dark you cannot see
and a flood of water covers you.
12 “God is in the highest part of heaven.
See how high the highest stars are!
13 But you ask, ‘What does God know?
Can he judge us through the dark clouds?
14 Thick clouds cover him so he cannot see us
as he walks around high up in the sky.’
15 Are you going to stay on the old path
where evil people walk?
16 They were carried away before their time was up,
and their foundations were washed away by a flood.
17 They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!
The Almighty can do nothing to us.’
18 But it was God who filled their houses with good things.
Their way of thinking is different from mine.
19 “Good people can watch and be glad;
the innocent can laugh at them and say,
20 ‘Surely our enemies are destroyed,
and fire burns up their wealth.’
21 “Obey God and be at peace with him;
this is the way to happiness.
22 Accept teaching from his mouth,
and keep his words in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be blessed again.
So remove evil from your house.
24 Throw your gold nuggets into the dust
and your fine gold among the rocks in the ravines.
25 Then the Almighty will be your gold
and the best silver for you.
26 You will find pleasure in the Almighty,
and you will look up to him.
27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
and you will keep your promises to him.
28 Anything you decide will be done,
and light will shine on your ways.
29 When people are made humble and you say, ‘Have courage,’
then the humble will be saved.
30 Even a guilty person will escape
and be saved because your hands are clean.”
Job Answers
23 Then Job answered:
2 “My complaint is still bitter today.
I groan because God’s heavy hand is on me.
3 I wish I knew where to find God
so I could go to where he lives.
4 I would present my case before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would learn how he would answer me
and would think about what he would say.
6 Would he not argue strongly against me?
No, he would really listen to me.
7 Then an honest person could present his case to God,
and I would be saved forever by my judge.
8 “If I go to the east, God is not there;
if I go to the west, I do not see him.
9 When he is at work in the north, I catch no sight of him;
when he turns to the south, I cannot see him.
10 But God knows the way that I take,
and when he has tested me, I will come out like gold.
11 My feet have closely followed his steps;
I have stayed in his way;
I did not turn aside.
12 I have never left the commands he has spoken;
I have treasured his words more than my own.
13 “But he is the only God.
Who can come against him?
He does anything he wants.
14 He will do to me what he said he would do,
and he has many plans like this.
15 That is why I am frightened of him;
when I think of this, I am afraid of him.
16 God has made me afraid;
the Almighty terrifies me.
17 But I am not hidden by the darkness,
by the thick darkness that covers my face.
24 “I wish the Almighty would set a time for judging.
Those who know God do not see such a day.
2 Wicked people take other people’s land;
they steal flocks and take them to new pastures.
3 They chase away the orphan’s donkey
and take the widow’s ox when she has no money.
4 They push needy people off the path;
all the poor of the land hide from them.
5 The poor become like wild donkeys in the desert
who go about their job of finding food.
The desert gives them food for their children.
6 They gather hay and straw in the fields
and pick up leftover grapes from the vineyard of the wicked.
7 They spend the night naked, because they have no clothes,
nothing to cover themselves in the cold.
8 They are soaked from mountain rains
and stay near the large rocks because they have no shelter.
9 The fatherless child is grabbed from its mother’s breast;
they take a poor mother’s baby to pay for what she owes.
10 So the poor go around naked without any clothes;
they carry bundles of grain but still go hungry;
11 they crush olives to get oil
and grapes to get wine, but they still go thirsty.
12 Dying people groan in the city,
and the injured cry out for help,
but God accuses no one of doing wrong.
13 “Those who fight against the light
do not know God’s ways
or stay in his paths.
14 When the day is over, the murderers get up
to kill the poor and needy.
At night they go about like thieves.
15 Those who are guilty of adultery watch for the night,
thinking, ‘No one will see us,’
and they keep their faces covered.
16 In the dark, evil people break into houses.
In the daytime they shut themselves up in their own houses,
because they want nothing to do with the light.
17 Darkness is like morning to all these evil people
who make friends with the terrors of darkness.
18 “They are like foam floating on the water.
Their part of the land is cursed;
no one uses the road that goes by their vineyards.
19 As heat and dryness quickly melt the snow,
so the grave quickly takes away the sinners.
20 Their mothers forget them,
and worms will eat their bodies.
They will not be remembered,
so wickedness is broken in pieces like a stick.
21 These evil people abuse women who cannot have children
and show no kindness to widows.
22 But God drags away the strong by his power.
Even though they seem strong, they do not know how long they will live.
23 God may let these evil people feel safe,
but he is watching their ways.
24 For a little while they are important, and then they die;
they are laid low and buried like everyone else;
they are cut off like the heads of grain.
25 If this is not true, who can prove I am wrong?
Who can show that my words are worth nothing?”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.