Chronological Plan

¹“Why are times not stored up by the Almighty, And why do those who know Him not see His days?

²People remove landmarks; They seize and devour flocks.

³They drive away the donkeys of orphans; They seize the widow’s ox as a pledge.

⁴They push the needy aside from the road; The poor of the land have to hide themselves together.

⁵Behold, like wild donkeys in the wilderness They go out scavenging for food in their activity, As bread for their children in the desert.

⁶They harvest their feed in the field And glean the vineyard of the wicked.

⁷They spend the night naked, without clothing, And have no covering against the cold.

⁸They are wet from the mountain rains, And they hug the rock for lack of a shelter.

⁹Others snatch an orphan from the breast, And they seize it as a pledge against the poor.

¹⁰The poor move about naked without clothing, And they carry sheaves, while going hungry.

¹¹Within the walls they produce oil; They tread wine presses but go thirsty.

¹²From the city people groan, And the souls of the wounded cry for help; Yet God does not pay attention to the offensiveness.

¹³“Others have been with those who rebel against the light; They do not want to know its ways Nor stay in its paths.

¹⁴The murderer arises at dawn; He kills the poor and the needy, And at night he is like a thief.

¹⁵The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight, Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’ And he disguises his face.

¹⁶In the darkness they dig into houses, They shut themselves up by day; They do not know the light.

¹⁷For the morning is the same to him as thick darkness, For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness.

¹⁸“They are insignificant on the surface of the water; Their plot of land on the earth is cursed. They do not turn toward the vineyards.

¹⁹Dryness and heat snatch away the snow waters, As Sheol snatches those who have sinned.

²⁰A mother will forget him; The maggot feeds sweetly until he is no longer remembered. And injustice will be broken like a tree.

²¹He wrongs the infertile woman, And does no good for the widow.

²²But He drags off the mighty by His power; He rises, but no one has assurance of life.

²³He provides them with security, and they are supported; And His eyes are on their ways.

²⁴They are exalted a little while, then they are gone; Moreover, they are brought low, and like everything they are gathered up; Like the heads of grain they wither.

²⁵Now if it is not so, who can prove me a liar, And make my speech worthless?”

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite responded,

²“Dominion and awe belong to Him Who makes peace in His heights.

³Is there any number to His troops? And upon whom does His light not rise?

⁴How then can mankind be righteous with God? Or how can anyone who is born of woman be pure?

⁵If even the moon has no brightness And the stars are not pure in His sight,

⁶How much less man, that maggot, And a son of man, that worm!”

¹Then Job responded,

²“What a help you are to the weak! You have saved the arm without strength!

³What advice you have given to one without wisdom! What helpful insight you have abundantly provided!

⁴To whom have you uttered words? And whose spirit was expressed through you?

⁵“The departed spirits are made to tremble Under the waters and their inhabitants.

⁶Sheol is naked before Him, And Abaddon has no covering.

⁷He stretches out the north over empty space And hangs the earth on nothing.

⁸He wraps up the waters in His clouds, And the cloud does not burst under them.

⁹He obscures the face of the full moon And spreads His cloud over it.

¹⁰He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters At the boundary of light and darkness.

¹¹The pillars of heaven tremble And are amazed at His rebuke.

¹²With His power He quieted the sea, And by His understanding He shattered Rahab.

¹³By His breath the heavens are cleared; His hand has pierced the fleeing serpent.

¹⁴Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; And how faint a word we hear of Him! But His mighty thunder, who can understand?”

¹Job again took up his discourse and said,

²“As God lives, who has taken away my right, And the Almighty, who has embittered my soul,

³For as long as life is in me, And the breath of God is in my nostrils,

⁴My lips certainly will not speak unjustly, Nor will my tongue mutter deceit.

⁵Far be it from me that I should declare you right; Until I die, I will not give up my integrity.

⁶I have kept hold of my righteousness and will not let it go. My heart does not rebuke any of my days.

⁷“May my enemy be as the wicked, And my opponent as the criminal.

⁸For what is the hope of the godless when he makes an end of life, When God requires his life?

⁹Will God hear his cry When distress comes upon him?

¹⁰Or will he take pleasure in the Almighty? Will he call on God at all times?

¹¹I will instruct you in the power of God; What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.

¹²Behold, all of you have seen it; Why then do you talk of nothing?

¹³“This is the portion of a wicked person from God, And the inheritance which tyrants receive from the Almighty:

¹⁴Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword; And his descendants will not be satisfied with bread.

¹⁵His survivors will be buried because of the plague, And their widows will not be able to weep.

¹⁶Though he piles up silver like dust, And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay,

¹⁷He may prepare it, but the righteous will wear it And the innocent will divide the silver.

¹⁸He has built his house like the spider’s web, Or a hut which the watchman has made.

¹⁹He lies down rich, but never again; He opens his eyes, and it no longer exists.

²⁰Terrors overtake him like a flood; A storm steals him away in the night.

²¹The east wind carries him away, and he is gone; For it sweeps him away from his place.

²²For it will hurl at him without mercy; He will certainly try to flee from its power.

²³People will clap their hands at him, And will whistle at him from their places.

¹“Certainly there is a mine for silver And a place for refining gold.

²Iron is taken from the dust, And copper is smelted from rock.

³Man puts an end to darkness, And to the farthest limit he searches out The rock in gloom and deep shadow.

⁴He sinks a shaft away from inhabited areas, Forgotten by the foot; They hang and swing, away from people.

⁵From the earth comes food, And underneath, it is turned over like fire.

⁶Its rocks are the source of sapphires, And its dust contains gold.

⁷No bird of prey knows the path, Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.

⁸The proud animals have not trodden it, Nor has the lion passed over it.

⁹He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the base.

¹⁰He carves out channels through the rocks, And his eye sees anything precious.

¹¹He dams up the streams from flowing, And brings to light what is hidden.

¹²“But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

¹³Mankind does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living.

¹⁴The ocean depth says, ‘It is not in me’; And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

¹⁵Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, Nor can silver be weighed as its price.

¹⁶It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx, or sapphire.

¹⁷Gold or glass cannot equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for articles of pure gold.

¹⁸Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned; And the acquisition of wisdom is more valuable than pearls.

¹⁹The topaz of Cush cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold.

²⁰Where then does wisdom come from? And where is this place of understanding?

²¹It is hidden from the eyes of every living creature, And concealed from the birds of the sky.

²²Abaddon and Death say, ‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’

²³“God understands its way, And He knows its place.

²⁴For He looks to the ends of the earth; He sees everything under the heavens.

²⁵When He imparted weight to the wind, And assessed the waters by measure,

²⁶When He made a limit for the rain, And a course for the thunderbolt,

²⁷Then He saw it and declared it; He established it and also searched it out.

²⁸And to mankind He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to turn away from evil is understanding.’ ”