Job Says God Will Deal with the Wicked

1Then Job answered,

2“Listen carefully to my speech,

And let this be your way of consolation.

3Bear with me that I may speak;

Then after I have spoken, you may mock.

4As for me, is my complaint to man?

And why should I not be impatient?

5Look at me, and be astonished,

And put your hand over your mouth.

6Even when I remember, I am disturbed,

And horror takes hold of my flesh.

7Why do the wicked still live,

Continue on, also become very powerful?

8Their descendants are established with them in their sight,

And their offspring before their eyes,

9Their houses are safe from fear,

And the rod of God is not on them.

10His ox mates without fail;

His cow calves and does not abort.

11They send forth their little ones like the flock,

And their children skip about.

12They sing to the timbrel and harp

And rejoice at the sound of the flute.

13They spend their days in prosperity,

And suddenly they go down to Sheol.

14They say to God, ‘Depart from us!

We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.

15Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him,

And what would we gain if we entreat Him?’

16Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;

The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

17“How often is the lamp of the wicked put out,

Or does their calamity fall on them?

Does God apportion destruction in His anger?

18Are they as straw before the wind,

And like chaff which the storm carries away?

19You say, ‘God stores away a man’s iniquity for his sons.’

Let God repay him so that he may know it.

20Let his own eyes see his decay,

And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

21For what does he care for his household after him,

When the number of his months is cut off?

22Can anyone teach God knowledge,

In that He judges those on high?

23One dies in his full strength,

Being wholly at ease and satisfied;

24His sides are filled out with fat,

And the marrow of his bones is moist,

25While another dies with a bitter soul,

Never even tasting anything good.

26Together they lie down in the dust,

And worms cover them.

27“Behold, I know your thoughts,

And the plans by which you would wrong me.

28For you say, ‘Where is the house of the nobleman,

And where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’

29Have you not asked wayfaring men,

And do you not recognize their witness?

30For the wicked is reserved for the day of calamity;

They will be led forth at the day of fury.

31Who will confront him with his actions,

And who will repay him for what he has done?

32While he is carried to the grave,

Men will keep watch over his tomb.

33The clods of the valley will gently cover him;

Moreover, all men will follow after him,

While countless ones go before him.

34How then will you vainly comfort me,

For your answers remain full of falsehood?”

Eliphaz Accuses and Exhorts Job

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,

2“Can a vigorous man be of use to God,

Or a wise man be useful to himself?

3Is there any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous,

Or profit if you make your ways perfect?

4Is it because of your reverence that He reproves you,

That He enters into judgment against you?

5Is not your wickedness great,

And your iniquities without end?

6For you have taken pledges of your brothers without cause,

And stripped men naked.

7To the weary you have given no water to drink,

And from the hungry you have withheld bread.

8But the earth belongs to the mighty man,

And the honorable man dwells in it.

9You have sent widows away empty,

And the strength of the orphans has been crushed.

10Therefore snares surround you,

And sudden dread terrifies you,

11Or darkness, so that you cannot see,

And an abundance of water covers you.

12“Is not God in the height of heaven?

Look also at the distant stars, how high they are!

13You say, ‘What does God know?

Can He judge through the thick darkness?

14Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see;

And He walks on the vault of heaven.’

15Will you keep to the ancient path

Which wicked men have trod,

16Who were snatched away before their time,

Whose foundations were washed away by a river?

17They said to God, ‘Depart from us!’

And ‘What can the Almighty do to them?’

18Yet He filled their houses with good things;

But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

19The righteous see and are glad,

And the innocent mock them,

20Saying, ‘Truly our adversaries are cut off,

And their abundance the fire has consumed.’

21“Yield now and be at peace with Him;

Thereby good will come to you.

22Please receive instruction from His mouth

And establish His words in your heart.

23If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored;

If you remove unrighteousness far from your tent,

24And place your gold in the dust,

And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,

25Then the Almighty will be your gold

And choice silver to you.

26For then you will delight in the Almighty

And lift up your face to God.

27You will pray to Him, and He will hear you;

And you will pay your vows.

28You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you;

And light will shine on your ways.

29When you are cast down, you will speak with confidence,

And the humble person He will save.

30He will deliver one who is not innocent,

And he will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”

Job Says He Longs for God

1Then Job replied,

2“Even today my complaint is rebellion;

His hand is heavy despite my groaning.

3Oh that I knew where I might find Him,

That I might come to His seat!

4I would present my case before Him

And fill my mouth with arguments.

5I would learn the words which He would answer,

And perceive what He would say to me.

6Would He contend with me by the greatness of His power?

No, surely He would pay attention to me.

7There the upright would reason with Him;

And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

8“Behold, I go forward but He is not there,

And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;

9When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him;

He turns on the right, I cannot see Him.

10But He knows the way I take;

When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

11My foot has held fast to His path;

I have kept His way and not turned aside.

12I have not departed from the command of His lips;

I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.

13But He is unique and who can turn Him?

And what His soul desires, that He does.

14For He performs what is appointed for me,

And many such decrees are with Him.

15Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence;

When I consider, I am terrified of Him.

16It is God who has made my heart faint,

And the Almighty who has dismayed me,

17But I am not silenced by the darkness,

Nor deep gloom which covers me.