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¹“Cry for help, but will anyone answer you? Which of the angels will help you?

²Surely resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple.

³I have seen that fools may be successful for the moment, but then comes sudden disaster.

⁴Their children are abandoned far from help; they are crushed in court with no one to defend them.

⁵The hungry devour their harvest, even when it is guarded by brambles. The thirsty pant after their wealth.

⁶But evil does not spring from the soil, and trouble does not sprout from the earth.

⁷People are born for trouble as readily as sparks fly up from a fire.

⁸“If I were you, I would go to God and present my case to him.

⁹He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles.

¹⁰He gives rain for the earth and water for the fields.

¹¹He gives prosperity to the poor and protects those who suffer.

¹²He frustrates the plans of schemers so the work of their hands will not succeed.

¹³He traps the wise in their own cleverness so their cunning schemes are thwarted.

¹⁴They find it is dark in the daytime, and they grope at noon as if it were night.

¹⁵He rescues the poor from the cutting words of the strong, and rescues them from the clutches of the powerful.

¹⁶And so at last the poor have hope, and the snapping jaws of the wicked are shut.

¹⁷“But consider the joy of those corrected by God! Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin.

¹⁸For though he wounds, he also bandages. He strikes, but his hands also heal.

¹⁹From six disasters he will rescue you; even in the seventh, he will keep you from evil.

²⁰He will save you from death in time of famine, from the power of the sword in time of war.

²¹You will be safe from slander and have no fear when destruction comes.

²²You will laugh at destruction and famine; wild animals will not terrify you.

²³You will be at peace with the stones of the field, and its wild animals will be at peace with you.

²⁴You will know that your home is safe. When you survey your possessions, nothing will be missing.

²⁵You will have many children; your descendants will be as plentiful as grass!

²⁶You will go to the grave at a ripe old age, like a sheaf of grain harvested at the proper time!

²⁷“We have studied life and found all this to be true. Listen to my counsel, and apply it to yourself.”

¹Then Job spoke again:

²“If my misery could be weighed and my troubles be put on the scales,

³they would outweigh all the sands of the sea. That is why I spoke impulsively.

⁴For the Almighty has struck me down with his arrows. Their poison infects my spirit. God’s terrors are lined up against me.

⁵Don’t I have a right to complain? Don’t wild donkeys bray when they find no grass, and oxen bellow when they have no food?

⁶Don’t people complain about unsalted food? Does anyone want the tasteless white of an egg?

⁷My appetite disappears when I look at it; I gag at the thought of eating it!

⁸“Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant my desire.

⁹I wish he would crush me. I wish he would reach out his hand and kill me.

¹⁰At least I can take comfort in this: Despite the pain, I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

¹¹But I don’t have the strength to endure. I have nothing to live for.

¹²Do I have the strength of a stone? Is my body made of bronze?

¹³No, I am utterly helpless, without any chance of success.

¹⁴“One should be kind to a fainting friend, but you accuse me without any fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵My brothers, you have proved as unreliable as a seasonal brook that overflows its banks in the spring

¹⁶when it is swollen with ice and melting snow.

¹⁷But when the hot weather arrives, the water disappears. The brook vanishes in the heat.

¹⁸The caravans turn aside to be refreshed, but there is nothing to drink, so they die.

¹⁹The caravans from Tema search for this water; the travelers from Sheba hope to find it.

²⁰They count on it but are disappointed. When they arrive, their hopes are dashed.

²¹You, too, have given no help. You have seen my calamity, and you are afraid.

²²But why? Have I ever asked you for a gift? Have I begged for anything of yours for myself?

²³Have I asked you to rescue me from my enemies, or to save me from ruthless people?

²⁴Teach me, and I will keep quiet. Show me what I have done wrong.

²⁵Honest words can be painful, but what do your criticisms amount to?

²⁶Do you think your words are convincing when you disregard my cry of desperation?

²⁷You would even send an orphan into slavery or sell a friend.

²⁸Look at me! Would I lie to your face?

²⁹Stop assuming my guilt, for I have done no wrong.

³⁰Do you think I am lying? Don’t I know the difference between right and wrong?

¹“Is not all human life a struggle? Our lives are like that of a hired hand,

²like a worker who longs for the shade, like a servant waiting to be paid.

³I, too, have been assigned months of futility, long and weary nights of misery.

⁴Lying in bed, I think, ‘When will it be morning?’ But the night drags on, and I toss till dawn.

⁵My body is covered with maggots and scabs. My skin breaks open, oozing with pus.

⁶“My days fly faster than a weaver’s shuttle. They end without hope.

⁷O God, remember that my life is but a breath, and I will never again feel happiness.

⁸You see me now, but not for long. You will look for me, but I will be gone.

⁹Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes, those who die will not come back.

¹⁰They are gone forever from their home — never to be seen again.

¹¹“I cannot keep from speaking. I must express my anguish. My bitter soul must complain.

¹²Am I a sea monster or a dragon that you must place me under guard?

¹³I think, ‘My bed will comfort me, and sleep will ease my misery,’

¹⁴but then you shatter me with dreams and terrify me with visions.

¹⁵I would rather be strangled — rather die than suffer like this.

¹⁶I hate my life and don’t want to go on living. Oh, leave me alone for my few remaining days.

¹⁷“What are people, that you should make so much of us, that you should think of us so often?

¹⁸For you examine us every morning and test us every moment.

¹⁹Why won’t you leave me alone, at least long enough for me to swallow!

²⁰If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of all humanity? Why make me your target? Am I a burden to you?

²¹Why not just forgive my sin and take away my guilt? For soon I will lie down in the dust and die. When you look for me, I will be gone.”

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite replied to Job:

²“How long will you go on like this? You sound like a blustering wind.

³Does God twist justice? Does the Almighty twist what is right?

⁴Your children must have sinned against him, so their punishment was well deserved.

⁵But if you pray to God and seek the favor of the Almighty,

⁶and if you are pure and live with integrity, he will surely rise up and restore your happy home.

⁷And though you started with little, you will end with much.

⁸“Just ask the previous generation. Pay attention to the experience of our ancestors.

⁹For we were born but yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are as fleeting as a shadow.

¹⁰But those who came before us will teach you. They will teach you the wisdom of old.

¹¹“Can papyrus reeds grow tall without a marsh? Can marsh grass flourish without water?

¹²While they are still flowering, not ready to be cut, they begin to wither more quickly than grass.

¹³The same happens to all who forget God. The hopes of the godless evaporate.

¹⁴Their confidence hangs by a thread. They are leaning on a spider’s web.

¹⁵They cling to their home for security, but it won’t last. They try to hold it tight, but it will not endure.

¹⁶The godless seem like a lush plant growing in the sunshine, its branches spreading across the garden.

¹⁷Its roots grow down through a pile of stones; it takes hold on a bed of rocks.

¹⁸But when it is uprooted, it’s as though it never existed!

¹⁹That’s the end of its life, and others spring up from the earth to replace it.

²⁰“But look, God will not reject a person of integrity, nor will he lend a hand to the wicked.

²¹He will once again fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.

²²Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the home of the wicked will be destroyed.”