Chronological Plan

¹Then Job answered and said:

²“Listen carefully to my speech, And let this be your consolation.

³Bear with me that I may speak, And after I have spoken, keep mocking.

⁴“As for me, is my complaint against man? And if it were, why should I not be impatient?

⁵Look at me and be astonished; Put your hand over your mouth.

⁶Even when I remember I am terrified, And trembling takes hold of my flesh.

⁷Why do the wicked live and become old, Yes, become mighty in power?

⁸Their descendants are established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes.

⁹Their houses are safe from fear, Neither is the rod of God upon them.

¹⁰Their bull breeds without failure; Their cow calves without miscarriage.

¹¹They send forth their little ones like a flock, And their children dance.

¹²They sing to the tambourine and harp, And rejoice to the sound of the flute.

¹³They spend their days in wealth, And in a moment go down to the grave.

¹⁴Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us, For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.

¹⁵Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’

¹⁶Indeed 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? How often does their destruction come upon them, The sorrows God distributes in His anger?

¹⁸They are like straw before the wind, And like chaff that a storm carries away.

¹⁹They say, ‘God lays up one’s iniquity for his children’; Let Him recompense him, that he may know it.

²⁰Let his eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

²¹For what does he care about his household after him, When the number of his months is cut in half?

²²“Can anyone teach God knowledge, Since He judges those on high?

²³One dies in his full strength, Being wholly at ease and secure;

²⁴His pails are full of milk, And the marrow of his bones is moist.

²⁵Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, Never having eaten with pleasure.

²⁶They lie down alike in the dust, And worms cover them.

²⁷“Look, I know your thoughts, And the schemes with which you would wrong me.

²⁸For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince? And where is the tent, The dwelling place of the wicked?’

²⁹Have you not asked those who travel the road? And do you not know their signs?

³⁰For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom; They shall be brought out on the day of wrath.

³¹Who condemns his way to his face? And who repays him for what he has done?

³²Yet he shall be brought to the grave, And a vigil kept over the tomb.

³³The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him; Everyone shall follow him, As countless have gone before him.

³⁴How then can you comfort me with empty words, Since falsehood remains in your answers?”

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

²“Can a man be profitable to God, Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself?

³Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous? Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless?

⁴“Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you, And enters into judgment with you?

⁵Is not your wickedness great, And your iniquity without end?

⁶For you have taken pledges from your brother for no reason, And stripped the naked of their clothing.

⁷You have not given the weary water to drink, And you have withheld bread from the hungry.

⁸But the mighty man possessed the land, And the honorable man dwelt in it.

⁹You have sent widows away empty, And the strength of the fatherless was crushed.

¹⁰Therefore snares are all around you, And sudden fear troubles you,

¹¹Or darkness so that you cannot see; And an abundance of water covers you.

¹²“Is not God in the height of heaven? And see the highest stars, how lofty they are!

¹³And you say, ‘What does God know? Can He judge through the deep darkness?

¹⁴Thick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see, And He walks above the circle of heaven.’

¹⁵Will you keep to the old way Which wicked men have trod,

¹⁶Who were cut down before their time, Whose foundations were swept away by a flood?

¹⁷They said to God, ‘Depart from us! 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.

¹⁹“The righteous see it and are glad, And the innocent laugh at them:

²⁰‘Surely our adversaries are cut down, And the fire consumes their remnant.’

²¹“Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace; Thereby good will come to you.

²²Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, And lay up His words in your heart.

²³If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; You will remove iniquity far from your tents.

²⁴Then you will lay your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.

²⁵Yes, the Almighty will be your gold And your precious silver;

²⁶For then you will have your delight in the Almighty, And lift up your face to God.

²⁷You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you, And you will pay your vows.

²⁸You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways.

²⁹When they cast you down, and you say, ‘Exaltation will come!’ Then He will save the humble person.

³⁰He will even deliver one who is not innocent; Yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands.”

¹Then Job answered and said:

²“Even today my complaint is bitter; My hand is listless because of 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 know the words which He would answer me, And understand what He would say to me.

⁶Would He contend with me in His great power? No! But He would take note of me.

⁷There the upright could reason with Him, And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

⁸“Look, I go forward, but He is not there, And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;

⁹When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him; When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.

¹⁰But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.

¹¹My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside.

¹²I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food.

¹³“But He is unique, and who can make Him change? And whatever His soul desires, that He does.

¹⁴For He performs what is appointed for me, And many such things are with Him.

¹⁵Therefore I am terrified at His presence; When I consider this, I am afraid of Him.

¹⁶For God made my heart weak, And the Almighty terrifies me;

¹⁷Because I was not cut off from the presence of darkness, And He did not hide deep darkness from my face.