Chronological Plan

¹Then Job answered and said:

²“Oh, that my grief were fully weighed, And my calamity laid with it on the scales!

³For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea— Therefore my words have been rash.

⁴For the arrows of the Almighty are within me; My spirit drinks in their poison; The terrors of God are arrayed against me.

⁵Does the wild donkey bray when it has grass, Or does the ox low over its fodder?

⁶Can flavorless food be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

⁷My soul refuses to touch them; They are as loathsome food to me.

⁸“Oh, that I might have my request, That God would grant me the thing that I long for!

⁹That it would please God to crush me, That He would loose His hand and cut me off!

¹⁰Then I would still have comfort; Though in anguish I would exult, He will not spare; For I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.

¹¹“What strength do I have, that I should hope? And what is my end, that I should prolong my life?

¹²Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh bronze?

¹³Is my help not within me? And is success driven from me?

¹⁴“To him who is afflicted, kindness should be shown by his friend, Even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵My brothers have dealt deceitfully like a brook, Like the streams of the brooks that pass away,

¹⁶Which are dark because of the ice, And into which the snow vanishes.

¹⁷When it is warm, they cease to flow; When it is hot, they vanish from their place.

¹⁸The paths of their way turn aside, They go nowhere and perish.

¹⁹The caravans of Tema look, The travelers of Sheba hope for them.

²⁰They are disappointed because they were confident; They come there and are confused.

²¹For now you are nothing, You see terror and are afraid.

²²Did I ever say, ‘Bring something to me’? Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth’?

²³Or, ‘Deliver me from the enemy’s hand’? Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of oppressors’?

²⁴“Teach me, and I will hold my tongue; Cause me to understand wherein I have erred.

²⁵How forceful are right words! But what does your arguing prove?

²⁶Do you intend to rebuke my words, And the speeches of a desperate one, which are as wind?

²⁷Yes, you overwhelm the fatherless, And you undermine your friend.

²⁸Now therefore, be pleased to look at me; For I would never lie to your face.

²⁹Yield now, let there be no injustice! Yes, concede, my righteousness still stands!

³⁰Is there injustice on my tongue? Cannot my taste discern the unsavory?

¹“Is there not a time of hard service for man on earth? Are not his days also like the days of a hired man?

²Like a servant who earnestly desires the shade, And like a hired man who eagerly looks for his wages,

³So I have been allotted months of futility, And wearisome nights have been appointed to me.

⁴When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise, And the night be ended?’ For I have had my fill of tossing till dawn.

⁵My flesh is caked with worms and dust, My skin is cracked and breaks out afresh.

⁶“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And are spent without hope.

⁷Oh, remember that my life is a breath! My eye will never again see good.

⁸The eye of him who sees me will see me no more; While your eyes are upon me, I shall no longer be.

⁹As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, So he who goes down to the grave does not come up.

¹⁰He shall never return to his house, Nor shall his place know him anymore.

¹¹“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

¹²Am I a sea, or a sea serpent, That You set a guard over me?

¹³When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me, My couch will ease my complaint,’

¹⁴Then You scare me with dreams And terrify me with visions,

¹⁵So that my soul chooses strangling And death rather than my body.

¹⁶I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone, For my days are but a breath.

¹⁷“What is man, that You should exalt him, That You should set Your heart on him,

¹⁸That You should visit him every morning, And test him every moment?

¹⁹How long? Will You not look away from me, And let me alone till I swallow my saliva?

²⁰Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden to myself?

²¹Why then do You not pardon my transgression, And take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust, And You will seek me diligently, But I will no longer be.”

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

²“How long will you speak these things, And the words of your mouth be like a strong wind?

³Does God subvert judgment? Or does the Almighty pervert justice?

⁴If your sons have sinned against Him, He has cast them away for their transgression.

⁵If you would earnestly seek God And make your supplication to the Almighty,

⁶If you were pure and upright, Surely now He would awake for you, And prosper your rightful dwelling place.

⁷Though your beginning was small, Yet your latter end would increase abundantly.

⁸“For inquire, please, of the former age, And consider the things discovered by their fathers;

⁹For we were born yesterday, and know nothing, Because our days on earth are a shadow.

¹⁰Will they not teach you and tell you, And utter words from their heart?

¹¹“Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh? Can the reeds flourish without water?

¹²While it is yet green and not cut down, It withers before any other plant.

¹³So are the paths of all who forget God; And the hope of the hypocrite shall perish,

¹⁴Whose confidence shall be cut off, And whose trust is a spider’s web.

¹⁵He leans on his house, but it does not stand. He holds it fast, but it does not endure.

¹⁶He grows green in the sun, And his branches spread out in his garden.

¹⁷His roots wrap around the rock heap, And look for a place in the stones.

¹⁸If he is destroyed from his place, Then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have not seen you.’

¹⁹“Behold, this is the joy of His way, And out of the earth others will grow.

²⁰Behold, God will not cast away the blameless, Nor will He uphold the evildoers.

²¹He will yet fill your mouth with laughing, And your lips with rejoicing.

²²Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, And the dwelling place of the wicked will come to nothing.”

¹Then Job answered and said:

²“Truly I know it is so, But how can a man be righteous before God?

³If one wished to contend with Him, He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.

⁴God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?

⁵He removes the mountains, and they do not know When He overturns them in His anger;

⁶He shakes the earth out of its place, And its pillars tremble;

⁷He commands the sun, and it does not rise; He seals off the stars;

⁸He alone spreads out the heavens, And treads on the waves of the sea;

⁹He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, And the chambers of the south;

¹⁰He does great things past finding out, Yes, wonders without number.

¹¹If He goes by me, I do not see Him; If He moves past, I do not perceive Him;

¹²If He takes away, who can hinder Him? Who can say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’

¹³God will not withdraw His anger, The allies of the proud lie prostrate beneath Him.

¹⁴“How then can I answer Him, And choose my words to reason with Him?

¹⁵For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him; I would beg mercy of my Judge.

¹⁶If I called and He answered me, I would not believe that He was listening to my voice.

¹⁷For He crushes me with a tempest, And multiplies my wounds without cause.

¹⁸He will not allow me to catch my breath, But fills me with bitterness.

¹⁹If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong; And if of justice, who will appoint my day in court?

²⁰Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me; Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse.

²¹“I am blameless, yet I do not know myself; I despise my life.

²²It is all one thing; Therefore I say, ‘He destroys the blameless and the wicked.’

²³If the scourge slays suddenly, He laughs at the plight of the innocent.

²⁴The earth is given into the hand of the wicked. He covers the faces of its judges. If it is not He, who else could it be?

²⁵“Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good.

²⁶They pass by like swift ships, Like an eagle swooping on its prey.

²⁷If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad face and wear a smile,’

²⁸I am afraid of all my sufferings; I know that You will not hold me innocent.

²⁹If I am condemned, Why then do I labor in vain?

³⁰If I wash myself with snow water, And cleanse my hands with soap,

³¹Yet You will plunge me into the pit, And my own clothes will abhor me.

³²“For He is not a man, as I am, That I may answer Him, And that we should go to court together.

³³Nor is there any mediator between us, Who may lay his hand on us both.

³⁴Let Him take His rod away from me, And do not let dread of Him terrify me.

³⁵Then I would speak and not fear Him, But it is not so with me.