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Job 9-18
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 9
1 Then Job responded,
2
'In truth I know that this is so; But how can a person be in the right with God?
3
If one wished to dispute with Him, He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.
4
Wise in heart and mighty in strength, Who has defied Him without harm?
5
It is God who removes the mountains, and they do not know how, When He overturns them in His anger.
6
It is He who shakes the earth from its place, And its pillars tremble;
7
Who commands the sun not to shine, And puts a seal on the stars;
8
Who alone stretches out the heavens, And tramples down the waves of the sea;
9
Who makes the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, And the constellations of the south.
10
It is He who does great things, the unfathomable, And wondrous works without number.
11
If He were to pass by me, I would not see Him; Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.
12
If He were to snatch away, who could restrain Him? Who could say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’
13
'God will not turn back His anger; Beneath Him the helpers of Rahab cower.
14
How then can I answer Him, And choose my words before Him?
15
For though I were right, I could not answer; I would have to implore the mercy of my Judge.
16
If I called and He answered me, I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.
17
For He bruises me with a storm And multiplies my wounds without cause.
18
He will not allow me to get my breath, But He saturates me with bitterness.
19
If it is a matter of power, behold, He is the strong one! And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?
20
Though I am righteous, my mouth will condemn me; Though I am guiltless, He will declare me guilty.
21
I am guiltless; I do not take notice of myself; I reject my life.
22
It is all one; therefore I say, ‘He destroys the guiltless and the wicked.’
23
If the whip kills suddenly, He mocks the despair of the innocent.
24
The earth is handed over to the wicked; He covers the faces of its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?
25
'Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good.
26
They slip by like reed boats, Like an eagle that swoops on its prey.
27
Though I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will put my face in order and be cheerful,’
28
I am afraid of all my pains, I know that You will not acquit me.
29
I am guilty, Why then should I struggle in vain?
30
If I washed myself with snow, And cleansed my hands with lye,
31
Then You would plunge me into the pit, And my own clothes would loathe me.
32
For He is not a man, as I am, that I may answer Him— That we may go to court together!
33
There is no arbitrator between us, Who can place his hand upon us both.
34
Let Him remove His rod from me, And let not the dread of Him terrify me.
35
Then I would speak and not fear Him; But I am not like that in myself.
Chapter 10
1 'I am disgusted with my own life; I will express my complaint freely; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. 2 I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me; Let me know why You contend with me. 3 Is it right for You indeed to oppress, To reject the work of Your hands, And to look favorably on the plan of the wicked? 4 Do You have eyes of flesh? Or do You see as mankind sees? 5 Are Your days like the days of a mortal, Or Your years like a man’s year, 6 That You should search for my guilt And carefully seek my sin? 7 According to Your knowledge I am indeed not guilty, Yet there is no one to save me from Your hand. 8 ‘Your hands fashioned and made me altogether, Yet would You destroy me? 9 Remember that You have made me as clay; Yet would You turn me into dust again? 10 Did You not pour me out like milk, And curdle me like cheese, 11 Clothe me with skin and flesh, And intertwine me with bones and tendons? 12 You have granted me life and goodness; And Your care has guarded my spirit. 13 Yet You have concealed these things in Your heart; I know that this is within You: 14 If I have sinned, You will take note of me, And will not acquit me of my guilt. 15 If I am wicked, woe to me! But if I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head. I am full of shame, and conscious of my misery. 16 And should my head be high, You would hunt me like a lion; And You would show Your power against me again. 17 You renew Your witnesses against me And increase Your anger toward me; Hardship after hardship is with me. 18 ‘Why then did You bring me out of the womb? If only I had died and no eye had seen me! 19 I should have been as though I had not been, Brought from womb to tomb.’ 20 Would He not leave my few days alone? Withdraw from me so that I may have a little cheerfulness 21 Before I go—and I shall not return— To the land of darkness and deep shadow, 22 The land of utter gloom like darkness itself, Of deep shadow without order, And it shines like darkness.'Chapter 11
1 Then Zophar the Naamathite responded,
2
'Shall a multitude of words go unanswered, And a talkative man be acquitted?
3
Shall your boasts silence people? And will you scoff, and no one rebuke?
4
For you have said, ‘My teaching is pure, And I am innocent in your eyes.’
5
But if only God would speak, And open His lips against you,
6
And show you the secrets of wisdom! For sound wisdom has two sides. Know then that God forgets part of your guilt.
7
'Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?
8
They are as high as the heavens; what can you do? Deeper than Sheol; what can you know?
9
Its measurement is longer than the earth And broader than the sea.
10
If He passes by or apprehends people, Or calls an assembly, who can restrain Him?
11
For He knows false people, And He sees injustice without investigating.
12
An idiot will become intelligent When a wild donkey is born a human.
13
'If you would direct your heart rightly And spread out your hands to Him,
14
If wrongdoing is in your hand, put it far away, And do not let malice dwell in your tents;
15
Then, indeed, you could lift up your face without moral blemish, And you would be firmly established and not fear.
16
For you would forget your trouble; Like waters that have passed by, you would remember it.
17
Your life would be brighter than noonday; Darkness would be like the morning.
18
Then you would trust, because there is hope; And you would look around and rest securely.
19
You would lie down and none would disturb you, And many would flatter you.
20
But the eyes of the wicked will fail, And there will be no escape for them; And their hope is to breathe their last.'
Chapter 12
1 Then Job responded,
2
'Truly then you are the people, And with you wisdom will die!
3
But I have intelligence as well as you; I am not inferior to you. And who does not know such things as these?
4
I am a joke to my friends, The one who called on God and He answered him; The just and blameless man is a joke.
5
He who is at ease holds disaster in contempt, As prepared for those whose feet slip.
6
The tents of the destroyers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure, Whom God brings into their power.
7
'But just ask the animals, and have them teach you; And the birds of the sky, and have them tell you.
8
Or speak to the earth, and have it teach you; And have the fish of the sea tell you.
9
Who among all these does not know That the hand of the LORD has done this,
10
In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?
11
Does the ear not put words to the test, As the palate tastes its food?
12
Wisdom is with the aged, And with long life comes understanding.
13
'Wisdom and might are with Him; Advice and understanding belong to Him.
14
Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt; He imprisons a person, and there is no release.
15
Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up; And He sends them out, and they inundate the earth.
16
Strength and sound wisdom are with Him. One who goes astray and one who leads astray belong to Him.
17
He makes advisers walk barefoot And makes fools of judges.
18
He undoes the binding of kings, And ties a loincloth around their waist.
19
He makes priests walk barefoot, And overthrows the secure ones.
20
He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders.
21
He pours contempt on nobles, And loosens the belt of the strong.
22
He reveals mysteries from the darkness, And brings the deep darkness into light.
23
He makes the nations great, then destroys them; He enlarges the nations, then leads them away.
24
He deprives the leaders of the earth’s people of intelligence And makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.
25
They grope in darkness with no light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken person.
Chapter 13
1 'Behold, my eye has seen all this, My ear has heard and understood it. 2 What you know I also know; I am not inferior to you. 3 'But I would speak to the Almighty, And I desire to argue with God. 4 But you smear me with lies; You are all worthless physicians. 5 Oh that you would be completely silent, And that it would become your wisdom! 6 Please hear my argument, And give your attention to the contentions of my lips. 7 Will you speak what is unjust for God, And speak what is deceitful for Him? 8 Will you show partiality for Him? Will you contend for God? 9 Will it go well when He examines you? Or will you deceive Him as one deceives a man? 10 He will certainly punish you If you secretly show partiality. 11 Will His majesty not terrify you, And the dread of Him fall upon you? 12 Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes, Your defenses are defenses of clay. 13 'Be silent before me so that I may speak; Then let come upon me what may. 14 Why should I take my flesh in my teeth, And put my life in my hands? 15 Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him. 16 This also will be my salvation, For a godless person cannot come before His presence. 17 Listen carefully to my speech, And let my declaration fill your ears. 18 Behold now, I have prepared my case; I know that I will be vindicated. 19 Who could contend with me? For then I would be silent and die. 20 'Only two things I ask that You do not do to me, Then I will not hide from Your face: 21 Remove Your hand from me, And may the dread of You not terrify me. 22 Then call and I will answer; Or let me speak, then reply to me. 23 How many are my guilty deeds and sins? Make known to me my wrongdoing and my sin. 24 Why do You hide Your face And consider me Your enemy? 25 Will You scare away a scattered leaf? Or will You pursue the dry chaff? 26 For You write bitter things against me And make me inherit the guilty deeds of my youth. 27 You put my feet in the stocks And watch all my paths; You set a limit for the soles of my feet, 28 While I am decaying like a rotten thing, Like a garment that is moth-eaten.Chapter 14
1 'Man, who is born of woman, Is short-lived and full of turmoil. 2 Like a flower he comes out and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain. 3 You also open Your eyes on him And bring him into judgment with Yourself. 4 Who can make the clean out of the unclean? No one! 5 Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; And You have set his limits so that he cannot pass. 6 Look away from him so that he may rest, Until he fulfills his day like a hired worker. 7 'For there is hope for a tree, When it is cut down, that it will sprout again, And its shoots will not fail. 8 Though its roots grow old in the ground, And its stump dies in the dry soil, 9 At the scent of water it will flourish And produce sprigs like a plant. 10 But a man dies and lies prostrate. A person passes away, and where is he? 11 As water evaporates from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dried up, 12 So a man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens no longer exist, He will not awake nor be woken from his sleep. 13 'Oh that You would hide me in Sheol, That You would conceal me until Your wrath returns to You, That You would set a limit for me and remember me! 14 If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait Until my relief comes. 15 You will call, and I will answer You; You will long for the work of Your hands. 16 For now You number my steps, You do not observe my sin. 17 My wrongdoing is sealed up in a bag, And You cover over my guilt. 18 'But the falling mountain crumbles away, And the rock moves from its place; 19 Water wears away stones, Its torrents wash away the dust of the earth; So You destroy a man’s hope. 20 You forever overpower him and he departs; You change his appearance and send him away. 21 His sons achieve honor, but he does not know it; Or they become insignificant, and he does not perceive it. 22 However, his body pains him, And his soul mourns for himself.'Chapter 15
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,
2
'Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, And fill himself with the east wind?
3
Should he argue with useless talk, Or with words which do not benefit?
4
Indeed, you do away with reverence, And hinder meditation before God.
5
For your wrongdoing teaches your mouth, And you choose the language of the cunning.
6
Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; And your own lips testify against you.
7
'Were you the first person to be born, Or were you brought forth before the hills?
8
Do you hear the secret discussion of God, And limit wisdom to yourself?
9
What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that we do not?
10
Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us, Older than your father.
11
Are the consolations of God too little for you, Or the word spoken gently to you?
12
Why does your heart take you away? And why do your eyes wink,
13
That you can turn your spirit against God And produce such words from your mouth?
14
What is man, that he would be pure, Or he who is born of a woman, that he would be righteous?
15
Behold, He has no trust in His holy ones, And the heavens are not pure in His sight;
16
How much less one who is detestable and corrupt: A person who drinks malice like water!
17
'I will tell you, listen to me; And what I have seen I will also declare;
18
What wise people have told, And have not concealed from their fathers,
19
To whom alone the land was given, And no stranger passed among them.
20
The wicked person writhes in pain all his days, And the years reserved for the ruthless are numbered.
21
Sounds of terror are in his ears; While he is at peace the destroyer comes upon him.
22
He does not believe that he will return from darkness, And he is destined for the sword.
23
He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’ He knows that a day of darkness is at hand.
24
Distress and anguish terrify him, They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,
25
Because he has reached out with his hand against God, And is arrogant toward the Almighty.
26
He rushes headlong at Him With his massive shield.
27
For he has covered his face with his fat, And put fat on his waist.
28
He has lived in desolate cities, In houses no one would inhabit, Which are destined to become ruins.
29
He will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure; And his property will not stretch out on the earth.
30
He will not escape from darkness; The flame will dry up his shoot, And he will go away by the breath of His mouth.
31
Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself; For his reward will be emptiness.
32
It will be accomplished before his time, And his palm branch will not be green.
33
He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine, And will cast off his flower like the olive tree.
34
For the company of the godless is barren, And fire consumes the tents of the corrupt.
35
They conceive harm and give birth to wrongdoing, And their mind prepares deception.'
Chapter 16
1 Then Job responded,
2
'I have heard many things like these; Miserable comforters are you all!
3
Is there no end to windy words? Or what provokes you that you answer?
4
I too could speak like you, If only I were in your place. I could compose words against you And shake my head at you.
5
Or I could strengthen you with my mouth, And the condolence of my lips could lessen your pain.
6
'If I speak, my pain is not lessened, And if I refrain, what pain leaves me?
7
But now He has exhausted me; You have laid waste all my group of loved ones.
8
And you have shriveled me up, It has become a witness; And my infirmity rises up against me, It testifies to my face.
9
His anger has torn me and hunted me down, He has gnashed at me with His teeth; My enemy glares at me.
10
They have gaped at me with their mouths, They have slapped me on the cheek with contempt; They have massed themselves against me.
11
God hands me over to criminals, And tosses me into the hands of the wicked.
12
I was at ease, but He shattered me, And He has grasped me by my neck and shaken me to pieces; He has also set me up as His target.
13
His arrows surround me. He splits my kidneys open without mercy; He pours out my bile on the ground.
14
He breaks through me with breach after breach; He runs at me like a warrior.
15
I have sewed sackcloth over my skin, And thrust my horn in the dust.
16
My face is flushed from weeping, And deep darkness is on my eyelids,
17
Although there is no violence in my hands, And my prayer is pure.
18
'Earth, do not cover my blood, And may there be no resting place for my cry.
19
Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, And my advocate is on high.
20
My friends are my scoffers; My eye weeps to God,
21
That one might plead for a man with God As a son of man with his neighbor!
22
For when a few years are past, I shall go the way of no return.
Chapter 17
1 'My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished, The grave is ready for me. 2 Mockers are certainly with me, And my eye gazes on their provocation. 3 'Make a pledge for me with Yourself; Who is there that will be my guarantor? 4 For You have kept their hearts away from understanding; Therefore You will not exalt them. 5 He who informs against friends for a share of the spoils, The eyes of his children also will perish. 6 'But He has made me a proverb among the people, And I am one at whom people spit. 7 My eye has also become inexpressive because of grief, And all my body parts are like a shadow. 8 The upright will be appalled at this, And the innocent will stir himself up against the godless. 9 Nevertheless the righteous will hold to his way, And the one who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger. 10 But come again all of you now, For I do not find a wise man among you. 11 My days are past, my plans are torn apart, The wishes of my heart. 12 They make night into day, saying, ‘The light is near,’ in the presence of darkness. 13 If I hope for Sheol as my home, I make my bed in the darkness; 14 If I call to the grave, ‘You are my father’; To the maggot, ‘my mother and my sister’; 15 Where then is my hope? And who looks at my hope? 16 Will it go down with me to Sheol? Shall we together go down into the dust?'Chapter 18
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite responded,
2
'How long will you hunt for words? Show understanding, and then we can talk.
3
Why are we regarded as animals, As stupid in your eyes?
4
You who tear yourself in your anger— Should the earth be abandoned for your sake, Or the rock moved from its place?
5
'Indeed, the light of the wicked goes out, And the spark from his fire does not shine.
6
The light in his tent is darkened, And his lamp goes out above him.
7
His vigorous stride is shortened, And his own plan brings him down.
8
For he is thrown into the net by his own feet, And he steps on the webbing.
9
A snare seizes him by the heel, And a trap snaps shut on him.
10
A noose for him is hidden in the ground, And a trap for him on the pathway.
11
All around sudden terrors frighten him, And harass him at every step.
12
His strength is famished, And disaster is ready at his side.
13
It devours parts of his skin, The firstborn of death devours his limbs.
14
He is torn from the security of his tent, And they march him before the king of terrors.
15
Nothing of his dwells in his tent; Brimstone is scattered on his home.
16
His roots are dried below, And his branch withers above.
17
The memory of him perishes from the earth, And he has no name abroad.
18
He is driven from light into darkness, And chased from the inhabited world.
19
He has no offspring or descendants among his people, Nor any survivor where he resided.
20
Those in the west are appalled at his fate, And those in the east are seized with horror.
21
Certainly these are the dwellings of the wicked, And this is the place of him who does not know God.'
King James Version
Chapter 9
1 Then Job answered and said, 2 I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God? 3 If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand. 4 He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered? 5 Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger. 6 Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble. 7 Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars. 8 Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea. 9 Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south. 10 Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number. 11 Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not. 12 Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou? 13 If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him.
14
How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him?
15
Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would make supplication to my judge.
16
If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice.
17
For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause.
18
He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness.
19
If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: and if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead?
20
If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.
21
Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life.
22
This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.
23
If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent.
24
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he?
25
Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good.
26
They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey.
27
If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself:
28
I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.
29
If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain?
30
If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean;
31
Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me.
32
For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment.
33
Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both.
34
Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me:
35
Then would I speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me.
Chapter 10
1 My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. 2 I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me. 3 Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked? 4 Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth? 5 Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man's days, 6 That thou inquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin? 7 Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand.
8
Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.
9
Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again?
10
Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese?
11
Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews.
12
Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.
13
And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this is with thee.
14
If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity.
15
If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction;
16
For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me.
17
Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me.
18
Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me!
19
I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.
20
Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little,
21
Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death;
22
A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.
Chapter 11
1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, 2 Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified? 3 Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed? 4 For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes. 5 But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee; 6 And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
7
Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?
8
It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
9
The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.
10
If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him?
11
For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it?
12
For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt.
13
If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;
14
If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.
15
For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear:
16
Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away:
17
And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.
18
And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.
19
Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee.
20
But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.
Chapter 12
1 And Job answered and said, 2 No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you. 3 But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these? 4 I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn. 5 He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease.
6
The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.
7
But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
8
Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.
9
Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?
10
In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
11
Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat?
12
With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.
13
With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.
14
Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.
15
Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.
16
With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his.
17
He leadeth counsellers away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools.
18
He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle.
19
He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty.
20
He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged.
21
He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty.
22
He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.
23
He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again.
24
He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
25
They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.
Chapter 13
1 Lo, mine eye hath seen all this, mine ear hath heard and understood it. 2 What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you. 3 Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God. 4 But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value. 5 O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom. 6 Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips. 7 Will ye speak wickedly for God? and talk deceitfully for him? 8 Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God? 9 Is it good that he should search you out? or as one man mocketh another, do ye so mock him? 10 He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons. 11 Shall not his excellency make you afraid? and his dread fall upon you? 12 Your remembrances are like unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay.
13
Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will.
14
Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in mine hand?
15
Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.
16
He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him.
17
Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration with your ears.
18
Behold now, I have ordered my cause; I know that I shall be justified.
19
Who is he that will plead with me? for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost.
20
Only do not two things unto me: then will I not hide myself from thee.
21
Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid.
22
Then call thou, and I will answer: or let me speak, and answer thou me.
23
How many are mine iniquities and sins? make me to know my transgression and my sin.
24
Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy?
25
Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?
26
For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth.
27
Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly unto all my paths; thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet.
28
And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth, as a garment that is moth eaten.
Chapter 14
1 Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. 2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. 3 And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? 4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one. 5 Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; 6 Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day.
7
For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
8
Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;
9
Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.
10
But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
11
As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up:
12
So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
13
O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
14
If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
15
Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.
16
For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin?
17
My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity.
18
And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place.
19
The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man.
20
Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
21
His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.
22
But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.
Chapter 15
1 Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said, 2 Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind? 3 Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he can do no good? 4 Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God. 5 For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty. 6 Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee. 7 Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills? 8 Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself? 9 What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us? 10 With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father. 11 Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee? 12 Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at, 13 That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth? 14 What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? 15 Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight. 16 How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?
17
I will shew thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare;
18
Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it:
19
Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them.
20
The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor.
21
A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.
22
He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword.
23
He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
24
Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.
25
For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.
26
He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers:
27
Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks.
28
And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps.
29
He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth.
30
He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away.
31
Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence.
32
It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green.
33
He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive.
34
For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery.
35
They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit.
Chapter 16
1 Then Job answered and said, 2 I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all. 3 Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest? 4 I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my soul's stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at you. 5 But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should asswage your grief.
6
Though I speak, my grief is not asswaged: and though I forbear, what am I eased?
7
But now he hath made me weary: thou hast made desolate all my company.
8
And thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me: and my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face.
9
He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.
10
They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me.
11
God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked.
12
I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.
13
His archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground.
14
He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon me like a giant.
15
I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust.
16
My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death;
17
Not for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer is pure.
18
O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place.
19
Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high.
20
My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God.
21
O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour!
22
When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.
Chapter 17
1 My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me. 2 Are there not mockers with me? and doth not mine eye continue in their provocation? 3 Lay down now, put me in a surety with thee; who is he that will strike hands with me? 4 For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: therefore shalt thou not exalt them. 5 He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail. 6 He hath made me also a byword of the people; and aforetime I was as a tabret. 7 Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, and all my members are as a shadow. 8 Upright men shall be astonied at this, and the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite. 9 The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.
10
But as for you all, do ye return, and come now: for I cannot find one wise man among you.
11
My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart.
12
They change the night into day: the light is short because of darkness.
13
If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness.
14
I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister.
15
And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who shall see it?
16
They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust.
Chapter 18
1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, 2 How long will it be ere ye make an end of words? mark, and afterwards we will speak. 3 Wherefore are we counted as beasts, and reputed vile in your sight? 4 He teareth himself in his anger: shall the earth be forsaken for thee? and shall the rock be removed out of his place?
5
Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine.
6
The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him.
7
The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down.
8
For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare.
9
The gin shall take him by the heel, and the robber shall prevail against him.
10
The snare is laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the way.
11
Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to his feet.
12
His strength shall be hungerbitten, and destruction shall be ready at his side.
13
It shall devour the strength of his skin: even the firstborn of death shall devour his strength.
14
His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors.
15
It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation.
16
His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off.
17
His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street.
18
He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.
19
He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings.
20
They that come after him shall be astonied at his day, as they that went before were affrighted.
21
Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 9
1 Then Job answered:
2
Yes, I know what you've said is true, but how can a person be justified before God?
3
If one wanted to take him to court, he could not answer God once in a thousand times.
4
God is wise and all-powerful. Who has opposed him and come out unharmed?
5
He removes mountains without their knowledge, overturning them in his anger.
6
He shakes the earth from its place so that its pillars tremble.
7
He commands the sun not to shine and seals off the stars.
8
He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.
9
He makes the stars: the Bear, Orion, the Pleiades, and the constellations of the southern sky.
10
He does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.
11
If he passed by me, I wouldn't see him; if he went by, I wouldn't recognize him.
12
If he snatches something, who can stop him? Who can ask him, "What are you doing? "
13
God does not hold back his anger; Rahab's assistants cringe in fear beneath him!
14
How then can I answer him or choose my arguments against him?
15
Even if I were in the right, I could not answer. I could only beg my Judge for mercy.
16
If I summoned him and he answered me, I do not believe he would pay attention to what I said.
17
He batters me with a whirlwind and multiplies my wounds without cause.
18
He doesn't let me catch my breath but fills me with bitter experiences.
19
If it is a matter of strength, look, he is the powerful one! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?
20
Even if I were in the right, my own mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, my mouth would declare me guilty.
21
Though I am blameless, I no longer care about myself; I renounce my life.
22
It is all the same. Therefore I say, "He destroys both the blameless and the wicked."
23
When catastrophe brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of the innocent.
24
The earth is handed over to the wicked; he blindfolds its judges. If it isn't he, then who is it?
25
My days fly by faster than a runner; they flee without seeing any good.
26
They sweep by like boats made of papyrus, like an eagle swooping down on its prey.
27
If I said, "I will forget my complaint, change my expression, and smile,"
28
I would still live in terror of all my pains. I know you will not acquit me.
29
Since I will be found guilty, why should I struggle in vain?
30
If I wash myself with snow, and cleanse my hands with lye,
31
then you dip me in a pit of mud, and my own clothes despise me!
32
For he is not a man like me, that I can answer him, that we can take each other to court.
33
There is no mediator between us, to lay his hand on both of us.
34
Let him take his rod away from me so his terror will no longer frighten me.
35
Then I would speak and not fear him. But that is not the case; I am on my own.
Chapter 10
1 I am disgusted with my life. I will give vent to my complaint and speak in the bitterness of my soul. 2 I will say to God, "Do not declare me guilty! Let me know why you prosecute me. 3 Is it good for you to oppress, to reject the work of your hands, and favor the plans of the wicked? 4 Do you have eyes of flesh, or do you see as a human sees? 5 Are your days like those of a human, or your years like those of a man, 6 that you look for my iniquity and search for my sin,
7
even though you know that I am not wicked and that there is no one who can rescue from your power?
8
"Your hands shaped me and formed me. Will you now turn and destroy me?
9
Please remember that you formed me like clay. Will you now return me to dust?
10
Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese?
11
You clothed me with skin and flesh, and wove me together with bones and tendons.
12
You gave me life and faithful love, and your care has guarded my life.
13
"Yet you concealed these thoughts in your heart; I know that this was your hidden plan:
14
if I sin, you would notice, and would not acquit me of my iniquity.
15
If I am wicked, woe to me! And even if I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head. I am filled with shame and have drunk deeply of my affliction.
16
If I am proud, you hunt me like a lion and again display your miraculous power against me.
17
You produce new witnesses against me and multiply your anger toward me. Hardships assault me, wave after wave.
18
"Why did you bring me out of the womb? I should have died and never been seen.
19
I wish I had never existed but had been carried from the womb to the grave.
20
Are my days not few? Stop it! Leave me alone, so that I can smile a little
21
before I go to a land of darkness and gloom, never to return.
22
It is a land of blackness like the deepest darkness, gloomy and chaotic, where even the light is like the darkness."
Chapter 11
1 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
2
Should this abundance of words go unanswered and such a talker be acquitted?
3
Should your babbling put others to silence, so that you can keep on ridiculing with no one to humiliate you?
4
You have said, "My teaching is sound, and I am pure in your sight."
5
But if only God would speak and open his lips against you!
6
He would show you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know then that God has chosen to overlook some of your iniquity.
7
Can you fathom the depths of God or discover the limits of the Almighty?
8
They are higher than the heavens--what can you do? They are deeper than Sheol--what can you know?
9
Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.
10
If he passes by and throws someone in prison or convenes a court, who can stop him?
11
Surely he knows which people are worthless. If he sees iniquity, will he not take note of it?
12
But a stupid person will gain understanding as soon as a wild donkey is born a human!
13
As for you, if you redirect your heart and spread out your hands to him in prayer --
14
if there is iniquity in your hand, remove it, and don't allow injustice to dwell in your tents --
15
then you will hold your head high, free from fault. You will be firmly established and unafraid.
16
For you will forget your suffering, recalling it only as water that has flowed by.
17
Your life will be brighter than noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.
18
You will be confident, because there is hope. You will look carefully about and lie down in safety.
19
You will lie down with no one to frighten you, and many will seek your favor.
20
But the sight of the wicked will fail. Their way of escape will be cut off, and their only hope is their last breath.
Chapter 12
1 Then Job answered:
2
No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you!
3
But I also have a mind like you; I am not inferior to you. Who doesn't know the things you are talking about?
4
I am a laughingstock to my friends, by calling on God, who answers me. The righteous and blameless man is a laughingstock.
5
The one who is at ease holds calamity in contempt and thinks it is prepared for those whose feet are slipping.
6
The tents of robbers are safe, and those who trouble God are secure; God holds them in his hands.
7
But ask the animals, and they will instruct you; ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.
8
Or speak to the earth, and it will instruct you; let the fish of the sea inform you.
9
Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?
10
The life of every living thing is in his hand, as well as the breath of all humanity.
11
Doesn't the ear test words as the palate tastes food?
12
Wisdom is found with the elderly, and understanding comes with long life.
13
Wisdom and strength belong to God; counsel and understanding are his.
14
Whatever he tears down cannot be rebuilt; whoever he imprisons cannot be released.
15
When he withholds water, everything dries up, and when he releases it, it destroys the land.
16
True wisdom and power belong to him. The deceived and the deceiver are his.
17
He leads counselors away barefoot and makes judges go mad.
18
He releases the bonds put on by kings and fastens a belt around their waists.
19
He leads priests away barefoot and overthrows established leaders.
20
He deprives trusted advisers of speech and takes away the elders' good judgment.
21
He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the strong.
22
He reveals mysteries from the darkness and brings the deepest darkness into the light.
23
He makes nations great, then destroys them; he enlarges nations, then leads them away.
24
He deprives the world's leaders of reason, and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.
25
They grope around in darkness without light; he makes them stagger like a drunkard.
Chapter 13
1 Look, my eyes have seen all this; my ears have heard and understood it. 2 Everything you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you. 3 Yet I prefer to speak to the Almighty and argue my case before God. 4 You use lies like plaster; you are all worthless healers.
5
If only you would shut up and let that be your wisdom!
6
Hear now my argument, and listen to my defense.
7
Would you testify unjustly on God's behalf or speak deceitfully for him?
8
Would you show partiality to him or argue the case in his defense?
9
Would it go well if he examined you? Could you deceive him as you would deceive a man?
10
Surely he would rebuke you if you secretly showed partiality.
11
Would God's majesty not terrify you? Would his dread not fall on you?
12
Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ash; your defenses are made of clay.
13
Be quiet, and I will speak. Let whatever comes happen to me.
14
I will put myself at risk and take my life in my own hands.
15
Even if he kills me, I will hope in him. I will still defend my ways before him.
16
Yes, this will result in my deliverance, for no godless person can appear before him.
17
Pay close attention to my words; let my declaration ring in your ears.
18
Now then, I have prepared my case; I know that I am right.
19
Can anyone indict me? If so, I will be silent and die.
20
Only grant these two things to me, God, so that I will not have to hide from your presence:
21
remove your hand from me, and do not let your terror frighten me.
22
Then call, and I will answer, or I will speak, and you can respond to me.
23
How many iniquities and sins have I committed? Reveal to me my transgression and sin.
24
Why do you hide your face and consider me your enemy?
25
Will you frighten a wind-driven leaf? Will you chase after dry straw?
26
For you record bitter accusations against me and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.
27
You put my feet in the stocks and stand watch over all my paths, setting a limit for the soles of my feet.
28
A person wears out like something rotten, like a moth-eaten garment.
Chapter 14
1 Anyone born of woman is short of days and full of trouble. 2 He blossoms like a flower, then withers; he flees like a shadow and does not last. 3 Do you really take notice of one like this? Will you bring me into judgment against you? 4 Who can produce something pure from what is impure? No one! 5 Since a person's days are determined and the number of his months depends on you, and since you have set limits he cannot pass,
6
look away from him and let him rest so that he can enjoy his day like a hired worker.
7
There is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its shoots will not die.
8
If its roots grow old in the ground and its stump starts to die in the soil,
9
the scent of water makes it thrive and produce twigs like a sapling.
10
But a person dies and fades away; he breathes his last--where is he?
11
As water disappears from a lake and a river becomes parched and dry,
12
so people lie down never to rise again. They will not wake up until the heavens are no more; they will not stir from their sleep.
13
If only you would hide me in Sheol and conceal me until your anger passes. If only you would appoint a time for me and then remember me.
14
When a person dies, will he come back to life? If so, I would wait all the days of my struggle until my relief comes.
15
You would call, and I would answer you. You would long for the work of your hands.
16
For then you would count my steps but would not take note of my sin.
17
My rebellion would be sealed up in a bag, and you would cover over my iniquity.
18
But as a mountain collapses and crumbles and a rock is dislodged from its place,
19
as water wears away stones and torrents wash away the soil from the land, so you destroy a man's hope.
20
You completely overpower him, and he passes on; you change his appearance and send him away.
21
If his sons receive honor, he does not know it; if they become insignificant, he is unaware of it.
22
He feels only the pain of his own body and mourns only for himself.
Chapter 15
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2
Does a wise man answer with empty counsel or fill himself with the hot east wind?
3
Should he argue with useless talk or with words that serve no good purpose?
4
But you even undermine the fear of God and hinder meditation before him.
5
Your iniquity teaches you what to say, and you choose the language of the crafty.
6
Your own mouth condemns you, not I; your own lips testify against you.
7
Were you the first human ever born, or were you brought forth before the hills?
8
Do you listen in on the council of God, or have a monopoly on wisdom?
9
What do you know that we don't? What do you understand that is not clear to us?
10
Both the gray-haired and the elderly are with us-- older than your father.
11
Are God's consolations not enough for you, even the words that deal gently with you?
12
Why has your heart misled you, and why do your eyes flash
13
as you turn your anger against God and allow such words to leave your mouth?
14
What is a mere human, that he should be pure, or one born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
15
If God puts no trust in his holy ones and the heavens are not pure in his sight,
16
how much less one who is revolting and corrupt, who drinks injustice like water?
17
Listen to me and I will inform you. I will describe what I have seen,
18
what the wise have declared and not concealed, that came from their ancestors,
19
to whom alone the land was given when no foreigner passed among them.
20
A wicked person writhes in pain all his days, throughout the number of years reserved for the ruthless.
21
Dreadful sounds fill his ears; when he is at peace, a robber attacks him.
22
He doesn't believe he will return from darkness; he is destined for the sword.
23
He wanders about for food, asking, "Where is it? " He knows the day of darkness is at hand.
24
Trouble and distress terrify him, overwhelming him like a king prepared for battle.
25
For he has stretched out his hand against God and has arrogantly opposed the Almighty.
26
He rushes headlong at him with his thick, studded shields.
27
Though his face is covered with fat and his waistline bulges with it,
28
he will dwell in ruined cities, in abandoned houses destined to become piles of rubble.
29
He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure. His possessions will not increase in the land.
30
He will not escape from the darkness; flames will wither his shoots, and by the breath of God's mouth, he will depart.
31
Let him not put trust in worthless things, being led astray, for what he gets in exchange will prove worthless.
32
It will be accomplished before his time, and his branch will not flourish.
33
He will be like a vine that drops its unripe grapes and like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms.
34
For the company of the godless will have no children, and fire will consume the tents of those who offer bribes.
35
They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb prepares deception.
Chapter 16
1 Then Job answered:
2
I have heard many things like these. You are all miserable comforters.
3
Is there no end to your empty words? What provokes you that you continue testifying?
4
If you were in my place I could also talk like you. I could string words together against you and shake my head at you.
5
Instead, I would encourage you with my mouth, and the consolation from my lips would bring relief.
6
If I speak, my suffering is not relieved, and if I hold back, does any of it leave me?
7
Surely he has now exhausted me. You have devastated my entire family.
8
You have shriveled me up--it has become a witness; my frailty rises up against me and testifies to my face.
9
His anger tears at me, and he harasses me. He gnashes his teeth at me. My enemy pierces me with his eyes.
10
They open their mouths against me and strike my cheeks with contempt; they join themselves together against me.
11
God hands me over to the unjust; he throws me to the wicked.
12
I was at ease, but he shattered me; he seized me by the scruff of the neck and smashed me to pieces. He set me up as his target;
13
his archers surround me. He pierces my kidneys without mercy and pours my bile on the ground.
14
He breaks through my defenses again and again; he charges at me like a warrior.
15
I have sewn sackcloth over my skin; I have buried my strength in the dust.
16
My face has grown red with weeping, and darkness covers my eyes,
17
although my hands are free from violence and my prayer is pure.
18
Earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry for help find no resting place.
19
Even now my witness is in heaven, and my advocate is in the heights!
20
My friends scoff at me as I weep before God.
21
I wish that someone might argue for a man with God just as anyone would for a friend.
22
For only a few years will pass before I go the way of no return.
Chapter 17
1 My spirit is broken. My days are extinguished. A graveyard awaits me.
2
Surely mockers surround me, and my eyes must gaze at their rebellion.
3
Accept my pledge! Put up security for me. Who else will be my sponsor?
4
You have closed their minds to understanding, therefore you will not honor them.
5
If a man denounces his friends for a price, the eyes of his children will fail.
6
He has made me an object of scorn to the people; I have become a man people spit at.
7
My eyes have grown dim from grief, and my whole body has become but a shadow.
8
The upright are appalled at this, and the innocent are roused against the godless.
9
Yet the righteous person will hold to his way, and the one whose hands are clean will grow stronger.
10
But come back and try again, all of you. I will not find a wise man among you.
11
My days have slipped by; my plans have been ruined, even the things dear to my heart.
12
They turned night into day and made light seem near in the face of darkness.
13
If I await Sheol as my home, spread out my bed in darkness,
14
and say to corruption, "You are my father," and to the maggot, "My mother" or "My sister,"
15
where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me?
16
Will it go down to the gates of Sheol, or will we descend together to the dust?
Chapter 18
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
2
How long until you stop talking? Show some sense, and then we can talk.
3
Why are we regarded as cattle, as stupid in your sight?
4
You who tear yourself in anger -- should the earth be abandoned on your account, or a rock be removed from its place?
5
Yes, the light of the wicked is extinguished; the flame of his fire does not glow.
6
The light in his tent grows dark, and the lamp beside him is put out.
7
His powerful stride is shortened, and his own schemes trip him up.
8
For his own feet lead him into a net, and he strays into its mesh.
9
A trap catches him by the heel; a noose seizes him.
10
A rope lies hidden for him on the ground, and a snare waits for him along the path.
11
Terrors frighten him on every side and harass him at every step.
12
His strength is depleted; disaster lies ready for him to stumble.
13
Parts of his skin are eaten away; death's firstborn consumes his limbs.
14
He is ripped from the security of his tent and marched away to the king of terrors.
15
Nothing he owned remains in his tent. Burning sulfur is scattered over his home.
16
His roots below dry up, and his branches above wither away.
17
All memory of him perishes from the earth; he has no name anywhere.
18
He is driven from light to darkness and chased from the inhabited world.
19
He has no children or descendants among his people, no survivor where he used to live.
New Living Translation
Chapter 9
1 Then Job spoke again:
2
'Yes, I know all this is true in principle. But how can a person be declared innocent in God's sight?
3
If someone wanted to take God to court, would it be possible to answer him even once in a thousand times?
4
For God is so wise and so mighty. Who has ever challenged him successfully?
5
'Without warning, he moves the mountains, overturning them in his anger.
6
He shakes the earth from its place, and its foundations tremble.
7
If he commands it, the sun won't rise and the stars won't shine.
8
He alone has spread out the heavens and marches on the waves of the sea.
9
He made all the stars--the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the southern sky.
10
He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles.
11
'Yet when he comes near, I cannot see him. When he moves by, I do not see him go.
12
If he snatches someone in death, who can stop him? Who dares to ask, 'What are you doing?'
13
And God does not restrain his anger. Even the monsters of the sea are crushed beneath his feet.
14
'So who am I, that I should try to answer God or even reason with him?
15
Even if I were right, I would have no defense. I could only plead for mercy.
16
And even if I summoned him and he responded, I'm not sure he would listen to me.
17
For he attacks me with a storm and repeatedly wounds me without cause.
18
He will not let me catch my breath, but fills me instead with bitter sorrows.
19
If it's a question of strength, he's the strong one. If it's a matter of justice, who dares to summon him to court?
20
Though I am innocent, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty. Though I am blameless, it would prove me wicked.
21
'I am innocent, but it makes no difference to me--I despise my life.
22
Innocent or wicked, it is all the same to God. That's why I say, 'He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.'
23
When a plague sweeps through, he laughs at the death of the innocent.
24
The whole earth is in the hands of the wicked, and God blinds the eyes of the judges. If he's not the one who does it, who is?
25
'My life passes more swiftly than a runner. It flees away without a glimpse of happiness.
26
It disappears like a swift papyrus boat, like an eagle swooping down on its prey.
27
If I decided to forget my complaints, to put away my sad face and be cheerful,
28
I would still dread all the pain, for I know you will not find me innocent, O God.
29
Whatever happens, I will be found guilty. So what's the use of trying?
30
Even if I were to wash myself with soap and clean my hands with lye,
31
you would plunge me into a muddy ditch, and my own filthy clothing would hate me.
32
'God is not a mortal like me, so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial.
33
If only there were a mediator between us, someone who could bring us together.
34
The mediator could make God stop beating me, and I would no longer live in terror of his punishment.
35
Then I could speak to him without fear, but I cannot do that in my own strength.
Chapter 10
1 'I am disgusted with my life. Let me complain freely. My bitter soul must complain. 2 I will say to God, 'Don't simply condemn me--tell me the charge you are bringing against me. 3 What do you gain by oppressing me? Why do you reject me, the work of your own hands, while smiling on the schemes of the wicked? 4 Are your eyes like those of a human? Do you see things only as people see them? 5 Is your lifetime only as long as ours? Is your life so short 6 that you must quickly probe for my guilt and search for my sin? 7 Although you know I am not guilty, no one can rescue me from your hands.
8
''You formed me with your hands; you made me, yet now you completely destroy me.
9
Remember that you made me from dust--will you turn me back to dust so soon?
10
You guided my conception and formed me in the womb.
11
You clothed me with skin and flesh, and you knit my bones and sinews together.
12
You gave me life and showed me your unfailing love. My life was preserved by your care.
13
''Yet your real motive--your true intent--
14
was to watch me, and if I sinned, you would not forgive my guilt.
15
If I am guilty, too bad for me; and even if I'm innocent, I can't hold my head high, because I am filled with shame and misery.
16
And if I hold my head high, you hunt me like a lion and display your awesome power against me.
17
Again and again you witness against me. You pour out your growing anger on me and bring fresh armies against me.
18
''Why, then, did you deliver me from my mother's womb? Why didn't you let me die at birth?
19
It would be as though I had never existed, going directly from the womb to the grave.
20
I have only a few days left, so leave me alone, that I may have a moment of comfort
21
before I leave--never to return--for the land of darkness and utter gloom.
22
It is a land as dark as midnight, a land of gloom and confusion, where even the light is dark as midnight.''
Chapter 11
1 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied to Job:
2
'Shouldn't someone answer this torrent of words? Is a person proved innocent just by a lot of talking?
3
Should I remain silent while you babble on? When you mock God, shouldn't someone make you ashamed?
4
You claim, 'My beliefs are pure,' and 'I am clean in the sight of God.'
5
If only God would speak; if only he would tell you what he thinks!
6
If only he would tell you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom is not a simple matter. Listen! God is doubtless punishing you far less than you deserve!
7
'Can you solve the mysteries of God? Can you discover everything about the Almighty?
8
Such knowledge is higher than the heavens--and who are you? It is deeper than the underworld--what do you know?
9
It is broader than the earth and wider than the sea.
10
If God comes and puts a person in prison or calls the court to order, who can stop him?
11
For he knows those who are false, and he takes note of all their sins.
12
An empty-headed person won't become wise any more than a wild donkey can bear a human child.
13
'If only you would prepare your heart and lift up your hands to him in prayer!
14
Get rid of your sins, and leave all iniquity behind you.
15
Then your face will brighten with innocence. You will be strong and free of fear.
16
You will forget your misery; it will be like water flowing away.
17
Your life will be brighter than the noonday. Even darkness will be as bright as morning.
18
Having hope will give you courage. You will be protected and will rest in safety.
19
You will lie down unafraid, and many will look to you for help.
20
But the wicked will be blinded. They will have no escape. Their only hope is death.'
Chapter 12
1 Then Job spoke again:
2
'You people really know everything, don't you? And when you die, wisdom will die with you!
3
Well, I know a few things myself--and you're no better than I am. Who doesn't know these things you've been saying?
4
Yet my friends laugh at me, for I call on God and expect an answer. I am a just and blameless man, yet they laugh at me.
5
People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling.
6
But robbers are left in peace, and those who provoke God live in safety--though God keeps them in his power.
7
'Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.
8
Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish in the sea speak to you.
9
For they all know that my disaster has come from the hand of the LORD.
10
For the life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being.
11
The ear tests the words it hears just as the mouth distinguishes between foods.
12
Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old.
13
'But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are his.
14
What he destroys cannot be rebuilt. When he puts someone in prison, there is no escape.
15
If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert. If he releases the waters, they flood the earth.
16
Yes, strength and wisdom are his; deceivers and deceived are both in his power.
17
He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment; wise judges become fools.
18
He removes the royal robe of kings. They are led away with ropes around their waist.
19
He leads priests away, stripped of status; he overthrows those with long years in power.
20
He silences the trusted adviser and removes the insight of the elders.
21
He pours disgrace upon princes and disarms the strong.
22
'He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; he brings light to the deepest gloom.
23
He builds up nations, and he destroys them. He expands nations, and he abandons them.
24
He strips kings of understanding and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland.
25
They grope in the darkness without a light. He makes them stagger like drunkards.
Chapter 13
1 'Look, I have seen all this with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears, and now I understand. 2 I know as much as you do. You are no better than I am. 3 As for me, I would speak directly to the Almighty. I want to argue my case with God himself. 4 As for you, you smear me with lies. As physicians, you are worthless quacks. 5 If only you could be silent! That's the wisest thing you could do. 6 Listen to my charge; pay attention to my arguments.
7
'Are you defending God with lies? Do you make your dishonest arguments for his sake?
8
Will you slant your testimony in his favor? Will you argue God's case for him?
9
What will happen when he finds out what you are doing? Can you fool him as easily as you fool people?
10
No, you will be in trouble with him if you secretly slant your testimony in his favor.
11
Doesn't his majesty terrify you? Doesn't your fear of him overwhelm you?
12
Your platitudes are as valuable as ashes. Your defense is as fragile as a clay pot.
13
'Be silent now and leave me alone. Let me speak, and I will face the consequences.
14
Yes, I will take my life in my hands and say what I really think.
15
God might kill me, but I have no other hope. I am going to argue my case with him.
16
But this is what will save me--I am not godless. If I were, I could not stand before him.
17
'Listen closely to what I am about to say. Hear me out.
18
I have prepared my case; I will be proved innocent.
19
Who can argue with me over this? And if you prove me wrong, I will remain silent and die.
20
'O God, grant me these two things, and then I will be able to face you.
21
Remove your heavy hand from me, and don't terrify me with your awesome presence.
22
Now summon me, and I will answer! Or let me speak to you, and you reply.
23
Tell me, what have I done wrong? Show me my rebellion and my sin.
24
Why do you turn away from me? Why do you treat me as your enemy?
25
Would you terrify a leaf blown by the wind? Would you chase dry straw?
26
'You write bitter accusations against me and bring up all the sins of my youth.
27
You put my feet in stocks. You examine all my paths. You trace all my footprints.
28
I waste away like rotting wood, like a moth-eaten coat.
Chapter 14
1 'How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble! 2 We blossom like a flower and then wither. Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear. 3 Must you keep an eye on such a frail creature and demand an accounting from me? 4 Who can bring purity out of an impure person? No one! 5 You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer. 6 So leave us alone and let us rest! We are like hired hands, so let us finish our work in peace.
7
'Even a tree has more hope! If it is cut down, it will sprout again and grow new branches.
8
Though its roots have grown old in the earth and its stump decays,
9
at the scent of water it will bud and sprout again like a new seedling.
10
'But when people die, their strength is gone. They breathe their last, and then where are they?
11
As water evaporates from a lake and a river disappears in drought,
12
people are laid to rest and do not rise again. Until the heavens are no more, they will not wake up nor be roused from their sleep.
13
'I wish you would hide me in the grave and forget me there until your anger has passed. But mark your calendar to think of me again!
14
Can the dead live again? If so, this would give me hope through all my years of struggle, and I would eagerly await the release of death.
15
You would call and I would answer, and you would yearn for me, your handiwork.
16
For then you would guard my steps, instead of watching for my sins.
17
My sins would be sealed in a pouch, and you would cover my guilt.
18
'But instead, as mountains fall and crumble and as rocks fall from a cliff,
19
as water wears away the stones and floods wash away the soil, so you destroy people's hope.
20
You always overpower them, and they pass from the scene. You disfigure them in death and send them away.
21
They never know if their children grow up in honor or sink to insignificance.
22
They suffer painfully; their life is full of trouble.'
Chapter 15
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2
'A wise man wouldn't answer with such empty talk! You are nothing but a windbag.
3
The wise don't engage in empty chatter. What good are such words?
4
Have you no fear of God, no reverence for him?
5
Your sins are telling your mouth what to say. Your words are based on clever deception.
6
Your own mouth condemns you, not I. Your own lips testify against you.
7
'Were you the first person ever born? Were you born before the hills were made?
8
Were you listening at God's secret council? Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?
9
What do you know that we don't? What do you understand that we do not?
10
On our side are aged, gray-haired men much older than your father!
11
'Is God's comfort too little for you? Is his gentle word not enough?
12
What has taken away your reason? What has weakened your vision,
13
that you turn against God and say all these evil things?
14
Can any mortal be pure? Can anyone born of a woman be just?
15
Look, God does not even trust the angels. Even the heavens are not absolutely pure in his sight.
16
How much less pure is a corrupt and sinful person with a thirst for wickedness!
17
'If you will listen, I will show you. I will answer you from my own experience.
18
And it is confirmed by the reports of wise men who have heard the same thing from their fathers--
19
from those to whom the land was given long before any foreigners arrived.
20
'The wicked writhe in pain throughout their lives. Years of trouble are stored up for the ruthless.
21
The sound of terror rings in their ears, and even on good days they fear the attack of the destroyer.
22
They dare not go out into the darkness for fear they will be murdered.
23
They wander around, saying, 'Where can I find bread?' They know their day of destruction is near.
24
That dark day terrifies them. They live in distress and anguish, like a king preparing for battle.
25
For they shake their fists at God, defying the Almighty.
26
Holding their strong shields, they defiantly charge against him.
27
'These wicked people are heavy and prosperous; their waists bulge with fat.
28
But their cities will be ruined. They will live in abandoned houses that are ready to tumble down.
29
Their riches will not last, and their wealth will not endure. Their possessions will no longer spread across the horizon.
30
'They will not escape the darkness. The burning sun will wither their shoots, and the breath of God will destroy them.
31
Let them no longer fool themselves by trusting in empty riches, for emptiness will be their only reward.
32
Like trees, they will be cut down in the prime of life; their branches will never again be green.
33
They will be like a vine whose grapes are harvested too early, like an olive tree that loses its blossoms before the fruit can form.
34
For the godless are barren. Their homes, enriched through bribery, will burn.
35
They conceive trouble and give birth to evil. Their womb produces deceit.'
Chapter 16
1 Then Job spoke again:
2
'I have heard all this before. What miserable comforters you are!
3
Won't you ever stop blowing hot air? What makes you keep on talking?
4
I could say the same things if you were in my place. I could spout off criticism and shake my head at you.
5
But if it were me, I would encourage you. I would try to take away your grief.
6
Instead, I suffer if I defend myself, and I suffer no less if I refuse to speak.
7
'O God, you have ground me down and devastated my family.
8
As if to prove I have sinned, you've reduced me to skin and bones. My gaunt flesh testifies against me.
9
God hates me and angrily tears me apart. He snaps his teeth at me and pierces me with his eyes.
10
People jeer and laugh at me. They slap my cheek in contempt. A mob gathers against me.
11
God has handed me over to sinners. He has tossed me into the hands of the wicked.
12
'I was living quietly until he shattered me. He took me by the neck and broke me in pieces. Then he set me up as his target,
13
and now his archers surround me. His arrows pierce me without mercy. The ground is wet with my blood.
14
Again and again he smashes against me, charging at me like a warrior.
15
I wear burlap to show my grief. My pride lies in the dust.
16
My eyes are red with weeping; dark shadows circle my eyes.
17
Yet I have done no wrong, and my prayer is pure.
18
'O earth, do not conceal my blood. Let it cry out on my behalf.
19
Even now my witness is in heaven. My advocate is there on high.
20
My friends scorn me, but I pour out my tears to God.
21
I need someone to mediate between God and me, as a person mediates between friends.
22
For soon I must go down that road from which I will never return.
Chapter 17
1 'My spirit is crushed, and my life is nearly snuffed out. The grave is ready to receive me. 2 I am surrounded by mockers. I watch how bitterly they taunt me.
3
'You must defend my innocence, O God, since no one else will stand up for me.
4
You have closed their minds to understanding, but do not let them triumph.
5
They betray their friends for their own advantage, so let their children faint with hunger.
6
'God has made a mockery of me among the people; they spit in my face.
7
My eyes are swollen with weeping, and I am but a shadow of my former self.
8
The virtuous are horrified when they see me. The innocent rise up against the ungodly.
9
The righteous keep moving forward, and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger.
10
'As for all of you, come back with a better argument, though I still won't find a wise man among you.
11
My days are over. My hopes have disappeared. My heart's desires are broken.
12
These men say that night is day; they claim that the darkness is light.
13
What if I go to the grave and make my bed in darkness?
14
What if I call the grave my father, and the maggot my mother or my sister?
15
Where then is my hope? Can anyone find it?
16
No, my hope will go down with me to the grave. We will rest together in the dust!'
Chapter 18
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
2
'How long before you stop talking? Speak sense if you want us to answer!
3
Do you think we are mere animals? Do you think we are stupid?
4
You may tear out your hair in anger, but will that destroy the earth? Will it make the rocks tremble?
5
'Surely the light of the wicked will be snuffed out. The sparks of their fire will not glow.
6
The light in their tent will grow dark. The lamp hanging above them will be quenched.
7
The confident stride of the wicked will be shortened. Their own schemes will be their downfall.
8
The wicked walk into a net. They fall into a pit.
9
A trap grabs them by the heel. A snare holds them tight.
10
A noose lies hidden on the ground. A rope is stretched across their path.
11
'Terrors surround the wicked and trouble them at every step.
12
Hunger depletes their strength, and calamity waits for them to stumble.
13
Disease eats their skin; death devours their limbs.
14
They are torn from the security of their homes and are brought down to the king of terrors.
15
The homes of the wicked will burn down; burning sulfur rains on their houses.
16
Their roots will dry up, and their branches will wither.
17
All memory of their existence will fade from the earth, no one will remember their names.
18
They will be thrust from light into darkness, driven from the world.
19
They will have neither children nor grandchildren, nor any survivor in the place where they lived.
20
People in the west are appalled at their fate; people in the east are horrified.
21
They will say, 'This was the home of a wicked person, the place of one who rejected God.''
English Standard Version
Chapter 9
1 Then Job answered and said:
2
“Truly I know that it is so: But how can a man be in the right before God?
3
If one wished to contend with him, one could not answer him once in a thousand times.
4
He is wise in heart and mighty in strength—who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?—
5
he who removes mountains, and they know it not, when he overturns them in his anger,
6
who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble;
7
who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the stars;
8
who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea;
9
who made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the chambers of the south;
10
who does great things beyond searching out, and marvelous things beyond number.
11
Behold, he passes by me, and I see him not; he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
12
Behold, he snatches away; who can turn him back? Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
13
“God will not turn back his anger; beneath him bowed the helpers of Rahab.
14
How then can I answer him, choosing my words with him?
15
Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him; I must appeal for mercy to my accuser.
16
If I summoned him and he answered me, I would not believe that he was listening to my voice.
17
For he crushes me with a tempest and multiplies my wounds without cause;
18
he will not let me get my breath, but fills me with bitterness.
19
If it is a contest of strength, behold, he is mighty! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?
20
Though I am in the right, my own mouth would condemn me; though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.
21
I am blameless; I regard not myself; I loathe my life.
22
It is all one; therefore I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
23
When disaster brings sudden death, he mocks at the calamity of the innocent.
24
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; he covers the faces of its judges— if it is not he, who then is it?
25
“My days are swifter than a runner; they flee away; they see no good.
26
They go by like skiffs of reed, like an eagle swooping on the prey.
27
If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad face, and be of good cheer,’
28
I become afraid of all my suffering, for I know you will not hold me innocent.
29
I shall be condemned; why then do I labor in vain?
30
If I wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye,
31
yet you will plunge me into a pit, and my own clothes will abhor me.
32
For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him, that we should come to trial together.
33
There is no arbiter between us, who might lay his hand on us both.
34
Let him take his rod away from me, and let not dread of him terrify me.
35
Then I would speak without fear of him, for I am not so in myself.
Chapter 10
1 “I loathe my life; I will give free utterance to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. 2 I will say to God, Do not condemn me; let me know why you contend against me. 3 Does it seem good to you to oppress, to despise the work of your hands and favor the designs of the wicked? 4 Have you eyes of flesh? Do you see as man sees? 5 Are your days as the days of man, or your years as a man’s years, 6 that you seek out my iniquity and search for my sin, 7 although you know that I am not guilty, and there is none to deliver out of your hand? 8 Your hands fashioned and made me, and now you have destroyed me altogether. 9 Remember that you have made me like clay; and will you return me to the dust? 10 Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese? 11 You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews. 12 You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit. 13 Yet these things you hid in your heart; I know that this was your purpose. 14 If I sin, you watch me and do not acquit me of my iniquity. 15 If I am guilty, woe to me! If I am in the right, I cannot lift up my head, for I am filled with disgrace and look on my affliction. 16 And were my head lifted up, you would hunt me like a lion and again work wonders against me. 17 You renew your witnesses against me and increase your vexation toward me; you bring fresh troops against me. 18 “Why did you bring me out from the womb? Would that I had died before any eye had seen me 19 and were as though I had not been, carried from the womb to the grave. 20 Are not my days few? Then cease, and leave me alone, that I may find a little cheer 21 before I go—and I shall not return— to the land of darkness and deep shadow, 22 the land of gloom like thick darkness, like deep shadow without any order, where light is as thick darkness.”Chapter 11
1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:
2
“Should a multitude of words go unanswered, and a man full of talk be judged right?
3
Should your babble silence men, and when you mock, shall no one shame you?
4
For you say, ‘My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in God’s eyes.’
5
But oh, that God would speak and open his lips to you,
6
and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom! For he is manifold in understanding. Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.
7
“Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?
8
It is higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?
9
Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.
10
If he passes through and imprisons and summons the court, who can turn him back?
11
For he knows worthless men; when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it?
12
But a stupid man will get understanding when a wild donkey’s colt is born a man!
13
“If you prepare your heart, you will stretch out your hands toward him.
14
If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, and let not injustice dwell in your tents.
15
Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish; you will be secure and will not fear.
16
You will forget your misery; you will remember it as waters that have passed away.
17
And your life will be brighter than the noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.
18
And you will feel secure, because there is hope; you will look around and take your rest in security.
19
You will lie down, and none will make you afraid; many will court your favor.
20
But the eyes of the wicked will fail; all way of escape will be lost to them, and their hope is to breathe their last.”
Chapter 12
1 Then Job answered and said:
2
“No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you.
3
But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these?
4
I am a laughingstock to my friends; I, who called to God and he answered me, a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.
5
In the thought of one who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune; it is ready for those whose feet slip.
6
The tents of robbers are at peace, and those who provoke God are secure, who bring their god in their hand.
7
“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;
8
or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
9
Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?
10
In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.
11
Does not the ear test words as the palate tastes food?
12
Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.
13
“With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding.
14
If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open.
15
If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.
16
With him are strength and sound wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are his.
17
He leads counselors away stripped, and judges he makes fools.
18
He looses the bonds of kings and binds a waistcloth on their hips.
19
He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the mighty.
20
He deprives of speech those who are trusted and takes away the discernment of the elders.
21
He pours contempt on princes and loosens the belt of the strong.
22
He uncovers the deeps out of darkness and brings deep darkness to light.
23
He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away.
24
He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in a trackless waste.
25
They grope in the dark without light, and he makes them stagger like a drunken man.
Chapter 13
1 “Behold, my eye has seen all this, my ear has heard and understood it. 2 What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you. 3 But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God. 4 As for you, you whitewash with lies; worthless physicians are you all. 5 Oh that you would keep silent, and it would be your wisdom! 6 Hear now my argument and listen to the pleadings of my lips. 7 Will you speak falsely for God and speak deceitfully for him? 8 Will you show partiality toward him? Will you plead the case for God? 9 Will it be well with you when he searches you out? Or can you deceive him, as one deceives a man? 10 He will surely rebuke you if in secret you show partiality. 11 Will not his majesty terrify you, and the dread of him fall upon you? 12 Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay. 13 “Let me have silence, and I will speak, and let come on me what may. 14 Why should I take my flesh in my teeth and put my life in my hand? 15 Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face. 16 This will be my salvation, that the godless shall not come before him. 17 Keep listening to my words, and let my declaration be in your ears. 18 Behold, I have prepared my case; I know that I shall be in the right. 19 Who is there who will contend with me? For then I would be silent and die. 20 Only grant me two things, then I will not hide myself from your face: 21 withdraw your hand far from me, and let not dread of you terrify me. 22 Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, and you reply to me. 23 How many are my iniquities and my sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin. 24 Why do you hide your face and count me as your enemy? 25 Will you frighten a driven leaf and pursue dry chaff? 26 For you write bitter things against me and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth. 27 You put my feet in the stocks and watch all my paths; you set a limit for the soles of my feet. 28 Man wastes away like a rotten thing, like a garment that is moth-eaten.Chapter 14
1 “Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble. 2 He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not. 3 And do you open your eyes on such a one and bring me into judgment with you? 4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one. 5 Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass, 6 look away from him and leave him alone, that he may enjoy, like a hired hand, his day. 7 “For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease. 8 Though its root grow old in the earth, and its stump die in the soil, 9 yet at the scent of water it will bud and put out branches like a young plant. 10 But a man dies and is laid low; man breathes his last, and where is he? 11 As waters fail from a lake and a river wastes away and dries up, 12 so a man lies down and rises not again; till the heavens are no more he will not awake or be roused out of his sleep. 13 Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath be past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me! 14 If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my service I would wait, till my renewal should come. 15 You would call, and I would answer you; you would long for the work of your hands. 16 For then you would number my steps; you would not keep watch over my sin; 17 my transgression would be sealed up in a bag, and you would cover over my iniquity. 18 “But the mountain falls and crumbles away, and the rock is removed from its place; 19 the waters wear away the stones; the torrents wash away the soil of the earth; so you destroy the hope of man. 20 You prevail forever against him, and he passes; you change his countenance, and send him away. 21 His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; they are brought low, and he perceives it not. 22 He feels only the pain of his own body, and he mourns only for himself.”Chapter 15
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
2
“Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?
3
Should he argue in unprofitable talk, or in words with which he can do no good?
4
But you are doing away with the fear of God and hindering meditation before God.
5
For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the crafty.
6
Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; your own lips testify against you.
7
“Are you the first man who was born? Or were you brought forth before the hills?
8
Have you listened in the council of God? And do you limit wisdom to yourself?
9
What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not clear to us?
10
Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us, older than your father.
11
Are the comforts of God too small for you, or the word that deals gently with you?
12
Why does your heart carry you away, and why do your eyes flash,
13
that you turn your spirit against God and bring such words out of your mouth?
14
What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?
15
Behold, God puts no trust in his holy ones, and the heavens are not pure in his sight;
16
how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks injustice like water!
17
“I will show you; hear me, and what I have seen I will declare
18
(what wise men have told, without hiding it from their fathers,
19
to whom alone the land was given, and no stranger passed among them).
20
The wicked man writhes in pain all his days, through all the years that are laid up for the ruthless.
21
Dreadful sounds are in his ears; in prosperity the destroyer will come upon him.
22
He does not believe that he will return out of darkness, and he is marked for the sword.
23
He wanders abroad for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’ He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand;
24
distress and anguish terrify him; they prevail against him, like a king ready for battle.
25
Because he has stretched out his hand against God and defies the Almighty,
26
running stubbornly against him with a thickly bossed shield;
27
because he has covered his face with his fat and gathered fat upon his waist
28
and has lived in desolate cities, in houses that none should inhabit, which were ready to become heaps of ruins;
29
he will not be rich, and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the earth;
30
he will not depart from darkness; the flame will dry up his shoots, and by the breath of his mouth he will depart.
31
Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself, for emptiness will be his payment.
32
It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not be green.
33
He will shake off his unripe grape like the vine, and cast off his blossom like the olive tree.
34
For the company of the godless is barren, and fire consumes the tents of bribery.
35
They conceive trouble and give birth to evil, and their womb prepares deceit.”
Chapter 16
1 Then Job answered and said:
2
“I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all.
3
Shall windy words have an end? Or what provokes you that you answer?
4
I also could speak as you do, if you were in my place; I could join words together against you and shake my head at you.
5
I could strengthen you with my mouth, and the solace of my lips would assuage your pain.
6
“If I speak, my pain is not assuaged, and if I forbear, how much of it leaves me?
7
Surely now God has worn me out; he has made desolate all my company.
8
And he has shriveled me up, which is a witness against me, and my leanness has risen up against me; it testifies to my face.
9
He has torn me in his wrath and hated me; he has gnashed his teeth at me; my adversary sharpens his eyes against me.
10
Men have gaped at me with their mouth; they have struck me insolently on the cheek; they mass themselves together against me.
11
God gives me up to the ungodly and casts me into the hands of the wicked.
12
I was at ease, and he broke me apart; he seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces; he set me up as his target;
13
his archers surround me. He slashes open my kidneys and does not spare; he pours out my gall on the ground.
14
He breaks me with breach upon breach; he runs upon me like a warrior.
15
I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin and have laid my strength in the dust.
16
My face is red with weeping, and on my eyelids is deep darkness,
17
although there is no violence in my hands, and my prayer is pure.
18
“O earth, cover not my blood, and let my cry find no resting place.
19
Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and he who testifies for me is on high.
20
My friends scorn me; my eye pours out tears to God,
21
that he would argue the case of a man with God, as a son of man does with his neighbor.
22
For when a few years have come I shall go the way from which I shall not return.
Chapter 17
1 “My spirit is broken; my days are extinct; the graveyard is ready for me. 2 Surely there are mockers about me, and my eye dwells on their provocation. 3 “Lay down a pledge for me with you; who is there who will put up security for me? 4 Since you have closed their hearts to understanding, therefore you will not let them triumph. 5 He who informs against his friends to get a share of their property— the eyes of his children will fail. 6 “He has made me a byword of the peoples, and I am one before whom men spit. 7 My eye has grown dim from vexation, and all my members are like a shadow. 8 The upright are appalled at this, and the innocent stirs himself up against the godless. 9 Yet the righteous holds to his way, and he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger. 10 But you, come on again, all of you, and I shall not find a wise man among you. 11 My days are past; my plans are broken off, the desires of my heart. 12 They make night into day: ‘The light,’ they say, ‘is near to the darkness.’ 13 If I hope for Sheol as my house, if I make my bed in darkness, 14 if I say to the pit, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’ 15 where then is my hope? Who will see my hope? 16 Will it go down to the bars of Sheol? Shall we descend together into the dust?”Chapter 18
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2
“How long will you hunt for words? Consider, and then we will speak.
3
Why are we counted as cattle? Why are we stupid in your sight?
4
You who tear yourself in your anger, shall the earth be forsaken for you, or the rock be removed out of its place?
5
“Indeed, the light of the wicked is put out, and the flame of his fire does not shine.
6
The light is dark in his tent, and his lamp above him is put out.
7
His strong steps are shortened, and his own schemes throw him down.
8
For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walks on its mesh.
9
A trap seizes him by the heel; a snare lays hold of him.
10
A rope is hidden for him in the ground, a trap for him in the path.
11
Terrors frighten him on every side, and chase him at his heels.
12
His strength is famished, and calamity is ready for his stumbling.
13
It consumes the parts of his skin; the firstborn of death consumes his limbs.
14
He is torn from the tent in which he trusted and is brought to the king of terrors.
15
In his tent dwells that which is none of his; sulfur is scattered over his habitation.
16
His roots dry up beneath, and his branches wither above.
17
His memory perishes from the earth, and he has no name in the street.
18
He is thrust from light into darkness, and driven out of the world.
19
He has no posterity or progeny among his people, and no survivor where he used to live.
20
They of the west are appalled at his day, and horror seizes them of the east.
21
Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous, such is the place of him who knows not God.”
New International Version
Chapter 9
1 Then Job replied:
2
Indeed, I know that this is true. But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God?
3
Though they wished to dispute with him, they could not answer him one time out of a thousand.
4
His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?
5
He moves mountains without their knowing it and overturns them in his anger.
6
He shakes the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble.
7
He speaks to the sun and it does not shine; he seals off the light of the stars.
8
He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.
9
He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.
10
He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.
11
When he passes me, I cannot see him; when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.
12
If he snatches away, who can stop him? Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?'
13
God does not restrain his anger; even the cohorts of Rahab cowered at his feet.
14
How then can I dispute with him? How can I find words to argue with him?
15
Though I were innocent, I could not answer him; I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.
16
Even if I summoned him and he responded, I do not believe he would give me a hearing.
17
He would crush me with a storm and multiply my wounds for no reason.
18
He would not let me catch my breath but would overwhelm me with misery.
19
If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty! And if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge him?
20
Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.
21
Although I am blameless, I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life.
22
It is all the same; that is why I say, 'He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.'
23
When a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of the innocent.
24
When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, he blindfolds its judges. If it is not he, then who is it?
25
My days are swifter than a runner; they fly away without a glimpse of joy.
26
They skim past like boats of papyrus, like eagles swooping down on their prey.
27
If I say, 'I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression, and smile,'
28
I still dread all my sufferings, for I know you will not hold me innocent.
29
Since I am already found guilty, why should I struggle in vain?
30
Even if I washed myself with soap and my hands with cleansing powder,
31
you would plunge me into a slime pit so that even my clothes would detest me.
32
He is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court.
33
If only there were someone to mediate between us, someone to bring us together,
34
someone to remove God's rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more.
35
Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot.
Chapter 10
1 I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul. 2 I say to God: Do not declare me guilty, but tell me what charges you have against me. 3 Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands, while you smile on the plans of the wicked? 4 Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as a mortal sees? 5 Are your days like those of a mortal or your years like those of a strong man, 6 that you must search out my faults and probe after my sin--
7
though you know that I am not guilty and that no one can rescue me from your hand?
8
Your hands shaped me and made me. Will you now turn and destroy me?
9
Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again?
10
Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese,
11
clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews?
12
You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit.
13
But this is what you concealed in your heart, and I know that this was in your mind:
14
If I sinned, you would be watching me and would not let my offense go unpunished.
15
If I am guilty--woe to me! Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head, for I am full of shame and drowned in my affliction.
16
If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion and again display your awesome power against me.
17
You bring new witnesses against me and increase your anger toward me; your forces come against me wave upon wave.
18
Why then did you bring me out of the womb? I wish I had died before any eye saw me.
19
If only I had never come into being, or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave!
20
Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment's joy
21
before I go to the place of no return, to the land of gloom and utter darkness,
22
to the land of deepest night, of utter darkness and disorder, where even the light is like darkness.'
Chapter 11
1 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
2
Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated?
3
Will your idle talk reduce others to silence? Will no one rebuke you when you mock?
4
You say to God, 'My beliefs are flawless and I am pure in your sight.'
5
Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you
6
and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.
7
Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
8
They are higher than the heavens above--what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below--what can you know?
9
Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.
10
If he comes along and confines you in prison and convenes a court, who can oppose him?
11
Surely he recognizes deceivers; and when he sees evil, does he not take note?
12
But the witless can no more become wise than a wild donkey's colt can be born human.
13
Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him,
14
if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,
15
then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear.
16
You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by.
17
Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning.
18
You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety.
19
You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor.
20
But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; their hope will become a dying gasp.'
Chapter 12
1 Then Job replied:
2
Doubtless you are the only people who matter, and wisdom will die with you!
3
But I have a mind as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know all these things?
4
I have become a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God and he answered-- a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!
5
Those who are at ease have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.
6
The tents of marauders are undisturbed, and those who provoke God are secure-- those God has in his hand.
7
But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
8
or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.
9
Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?
10
In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.
11
Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food?
12
Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?
13
To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.
14
What he tears down cannot be rebuilt; those he imprisons cannot be released.
15
If he holds back the waters, there is drought; if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.
16
To him belong strength and insight; both deceived and deceiver are his.
17
He leads rulers away stripped and makes fools of judges.
18
He takes off the shackles put on by kings and ties a loincloth around their waist.
19
He leads priests away stripped and overthrows officials long established.
20
He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders.
21
He pours contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty.
22
He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light.
23
He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them.
24
He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason; he makes them wander in a trackless waste.
25
They grope in darkness with no light; he makes them stagger like drunkards.
Chapter 13
1 My eyes have seen all this, my ears have heard and understood it. 2 What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you. 3 But I desire to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God. 4 You, however, smear me with lies; you are worthless physicians, all of you! 5 If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom. 6 Hear now my argument; listen to the pleas of my lips. 7 Will you speak wickedly on God's behalf? Will you speak deceitfully for him? 8 Will you show him partiality? Will you argue the case for God? 9 Would it turn out well if he examined you? Could you deceive him as you might deceive a mortal? 10 He would surely call you to account if you secretly showed partiality. 11 Would not his splendor terrify you? Would not the dread of him fall on you?
12
Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay.
13
Keep silent and let me speak; then let come to me what may.
14
Why do I put myself in jeopardy and take my life in my hands?
15
Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.
16
Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance, for no godless person would dare come before him!
17
Listen carefully to what I say; let my words ring in your ears.
18
Now that I have prepared my case, I know I will be vindicated.
19
Can anyone bring charges against me? If so, I will be silent and die.
20
Only grant me these two things, God, and then I will not hide from you:
21
Withdraw your hand far from me, and stop frightening me with your terrors.
22
Then summon me and I will answer, or let me speak, and you reply to me.
23
How many wrongs and sins have I committed? Show me my offense and my sin.
24
Why do you hide your face and consider me your enemy?
25
Will you torment a windblown leaf? Will you chase after dry chaff?
26
For you write down bitter things against me and make me reap the sins of my youth.
27
You fasten my feet in shackles; you keep close watch on all my paths by putting marks on the soles of my feet.
28
So man wastes away like something rotten, like a garment eaten by moths.
Chapter 14
1 Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble. 2 They spring up like flowers and wither away; like fleeting shadows, they do not endure. 3 Do you fix your eye on them? Will you bring them before you for judgment? 4 Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one! 5 A person's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.
6
So look away from him and let him alone, till he has put in his time like a hired laborer.
7
At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail.
8
Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil,
9
yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant.
10
But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last and is no more.
11
As the water of a lake dries up or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,
12
so he lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, people will not awake or be roused from their sleep.
13
If only you would hide me in the grave and conceal me till your anger has passed! If only you would set me a time and then remember me!
14
If someone dies, will they live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come.
15
You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made.
16
Surely then you will count my steps but not keep track of my sin.
17
My offenses will be sealed up in a bag; you will cover over my sin.
18
But as a mountain erodes and crumbles and as a rock is moved from its place,
19
as water wears away stones and torrents wash away the soil, so you destroy a person's hope.
20
You overpower them once for all, and they are gone; you change their countenance and send them away.
21
If their children are honored, they do not know it; if their offspring are brought low, they do not see it.
22
They feel but the pain of their own bodies and mourn only for themselves.'
Chapter 15
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2
Would a wise person answer with empty notions or fill their belly with the hot east wind?
3
Would they argue with useless words, with speeches that have no value?
4
But you even undermine piety and hinder devotion to God.
5
Your sin prompts your mouth; you adopt the tongue of the crafty.
6
Your own mouth condemns you, not mine; your own lips testify against you.
7
Are you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills?
8
Do you listen in on God's council? Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?
9
What do you know that we do not know? What insights do you have that we do not have?
10
The gray-haired and the aged are on our side, men even older than your father.
11
Are God's consolations not enough for you, words spoken gently to you?
12
Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash,
13
so that you vent your rage against God and pour out such words from your mouth?
14
What are mortals, that they could be pure, or those born of woman, that they could be righteous?
15
If God places no trust in his holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,
16
how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt, who drink up evil like water!
17
Listen to me and I will explain to you; let me tell you what I have seen,
18
what the wise have declared, hiding nothing received from their ancestors
19
(to whom alone the land was given when no foreigners moved among them):
20
All his days the wicked man suffers torment, the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him.
21
Terrifying sounds fill his ears; when all seems well, marauders attack him.
22
He despairs of escaping the realm of darkness; he is marked for the sword.
23
He wanders about for food like a vulture; he knows the day of darkness is at hand.
24
Distress and anguish fill him with terror; troubles overwhelm him, like a king poised to attack,
25
because he shakes his fist at God and vaunts himself against the Almighty,
26
defiantly charging against him with a thick, strong shield.
27
Though his face is covered with fat and his waist bulges with flesh,
28
he will inhabit ruined towns and houses where no one lives, houses crumbling to rubble.
29
He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the land.
30
He will not escape the darkness; a flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God's mouth will carry him away.
31
Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless, for he will get nothing in return.
32
Before his time he will wither, and his branches will not flourish.
33
He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes, like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.
34
For the company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of those who love bribes.
35
They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb fashions deceit.'
Chapter 16
1 Then Job replied:
2
I have heard many things like these; you are miserable comforters, all of you!
3
Will your long-winded speeches never end? What ails you that you keep on arguing?
4
I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could make fine speeches against you and shake my head at you.
5
But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief.
6
Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved; and if I refrain, it does not go away.
7
Surely, God, you have worn me out; you have devastated my entire household.
8
You have shriveled me up--and it has become a witness; my gauntness rises up and testifies against me.
9
God assails me and tears me in his anger and gnashes his teeth at me; my opponent fastens on me his piercing eyes.
10
People open their mouths to jeer at me; they strike my cheek in scorn and unite together against me.
11
God has turned me over to the ungodly and thrown me into the clutches of the wicked.
12
All was well with me, but he shattered me; he seized me by the neck and crushed me. He has made me his target;
13
his archers surround me. Without pity, he pierces my kidneys and spills my gall on the ground.
14
Again and again he bursts upon me; he rushes at me like a warrior.
15
I have sewed sackcloth over my skin and buried my brow in the dust.
16
My face is red with weeping, dark shadows ring my eyes;
17
yet my hands have been free of violence and my prayer is pure.
18
Earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry never be laid to rest!
19
Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high.
20
My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God;
21
on behalf of a man he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend.
22
Only a few years will pass before I take the path of no return.
Chapter 17
1 My spirit is broken, my days are cut short, the grave awaits me.
2
Surely mockers surround me; my eyes must dwell on their hostility.
3
Give me, O God, the pledge you demand. Who else will put up security for me?
4
You have closed their minds to understanding; therefore you will not let them triumph.
5
If anyone denounces their friends for reward, the eyes of their children will fail.
6
God has made me a byword to everyone, a man in whose face people spit.
7
My eyes have grown dim with grief; my whole frame is but a shadow.
8
The upright are appalled at this; the innocent are aroused against the ungodly.
9
Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger.
10
But come on, all of you, try again! I will not find a wise man among you.
11
My days have passed, my plans are shattered. Yet the desires of my heart
12
turn night into day; in the face of the darkness light is near.
13
If the only home I hope for is the grave, if I spread out my bed in the realm of darkness,
14
if I say to corruption, 'You are my father,' and to the worm, 'My mother' or 'My sister,'
15
where then is my hope-- who can see any hope for me?
16
Will it go down to the gates of death? Will we descend together into the dust?'
Chapter 18
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
2
When will you end these speeches? Be sensible, and then we can talk.
3
Why are we regarded as cattle and considered stupid in your sight?
4
You who tear yourself to pieces in your anger, is the earth to be abandoned for your sake? Or must the rocks be moved from their place?
5
The lamp of a wicked man is snuffed out; the flame of his fire stops burning.
6
The light in his tent becomes dark; the lamp beside him goes out.
7
The vigor of his step is weakened; his own schemes throw him down.
8
His feet thrust him into a net; he wanders into its mesh.
9
A trap seizes him by the heel; a snare holds him fast.
10
A noose is hidden for him on the ground; a trap lies in his path.
11
Terrors startle him on every side and dog his every step.
12
Calamity is hungry for him; disaster is ready for him when he falls.
13
It eats away parts of his skin; death's firstborn devours his limbs.
14
He is torn from the security of his tent and marched off to the king of terrors.
15
Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur is scattered over his dwelling.
16
His roots dry up below and his branches wither above.
17
The memory of him perishes from the earth; he has no name in the land.
18
He is driven from light into the realm of darkness and is banished from the world.
19
He has no offspring or descendants among his people, no survivor where once he lived.
20
People of the west are appalled at his fate; those of the east are seized with horror.
21
Surely such is the dwelling of an evil man; such is the place of one who does not know God.'
La Biblia de las Américas
Chapter 9
1 Entonces respondió Job y dijo:
2
En verdad yo sé que es así, pero ¿cómo puede un hombre ser justo delante de Dios ?
3
Si alguno quisiera contender con El, no podría contestarle ni una vez entre mil.
4
Sabio de corazón y robusto de fuerzas, ¿quién le ha desafiado sin sufrir daño ?
5
El es el que remueve los montes, y éstos no saben cómo cuando los vuelca en su furor ;
6
el que sacude la tierra de su lugar, y sus columnas tiemblan ;
7
el que manda al sol que no brille, y pone sello a las estrellas ;
8
el que solo extiende los cielos, y holla las olas del mar ;
9
el que hace la Osa, el Orión y las Pléyades, y las cámaras del sur ;
10
el que hace grandes cosas, inescrutables, y maravillas sin número.
11
Si El pasara junto a mí, no le vería; si me pasara adelante, no le percibiría.
12
Si El arrebatara algo, ¿quién le estorbaría ? Quién podrá decirle: “¿Qué haces ?”
13
Dios no retirará su ira; bajo El quedan humillados los que ayudan a Rahab.
14
¿Cómo puedo yo responderle, y escoger mis palabras delante de El?
15
Porque aunque yo tuviera razón, no podría responder ; tendría que implorar la misericordia de mi juez.
16
Si yo llamara y El me respondiera, no podría creer que escuchara mi voz.
17
Porque El me quebranta con tempestad, y sin causa multiplica mis heridas.
18
No me permite cobrar aliento, sino que me llena de amarguras.
19
Si es cuestión de poder, he aquí, El es poderoso ; y si es cuestión de justicia, ¿quién le citará?
20
Aunque soy justo, mi boca me condenará ; aunque soy inocente, El me declarará culpable.
21
Inocente soy, no hago caso de mí mismo, desprecio mi vida.
22
Todo es lo mismo, por tanto digo: “El destruye al inocente y al malvado.”
23
Si el azote mata de repente, El se burla de la desesperación del inocente.
24
La tierra es entregada en manos de los impíos ; El cubre el rostro de sus jueces ; si no es El, ¿quién será?
25
Mis días son más ligeros que un corredor ; huyen, no ven el bien.
26
Se deslizan como barcos de juncos, como águila que se arroja sobre su presa.
27
Aunque yo diga: “Olvidaré mi queja, cambiaré mi triste semblante y me alegraré”,
28
temeroso estoy de todos mis dolores, sé que tú no me absolverás.
29
Si soy impío, ¿para qué, pues, esforzarme en vano?
30
Si me lavara con nieve y limpiara mis manos con lejía,
31
aun así me hundirías en la fosa, y mis propios vestidos me aborrecerían.
32
Porque El no es hombre como yo, para que le responda, para que juntos vengamos a juicio.
33
No hay árbitro entre nosotros, que ponga su mano sobre ambos.
34
Que El quite de mí su vara, y no me espante su terror.
35
Entonces yo hablaré y no le temeré ; porque en mi opinión yo no soy así.
Chapter 10
1 Hastiado estoy de mi vida : daré rienda suelta a mi queja, hablaré en la amargura de mi alma. 2 Le diré a Dios: “No me condenes, hazme saber por qué contiendes conmigo. 3 “¿Es justo para ti oprimir, rechazar la obra de tus manos, y mirar con favor los designios de los malos ? 4 “¿Acaso tienes tú ojos de carne, o ves como el hombre ve ? 5 “¿Son tus días como los días de un mortal, o tus años como los años del hombre, 6 para que andes averiguando mi culpa, y buscando mi pecado ? 7 “Según tu conocimiento ciertamente no soy culpable ; sin embargo no hay salvación de tu mano.
8
“Tus manos me formaron y me hicieron, ¿y me destruirás ?
9
“Acuérdate ahora que me has modelado como a barro, ¿y me harás volver al polvo ?
10
“¿No me derramaste como leche, y como queso me cuajaste?
11
“¿No me vestiste de piel y de carne, y me entretejiste con huesos y tendones?
12
“Vida y misericordia me has concedido, y tu cuidado ha guardado mi espíritu.
13
“Sin embargo, tienes escondidas estas cosas en tu corazón, yo sé que esto está dentro de ti :
14
si pecara, me lo tomarías en cuenta, y no me absolverías de mi culpa.
15
“Si soy malvado, ¡ay de mí!, y si soy justo, no me atrevo a levantar la cabeza. Estoy harto de deshonra y consciente de mi aflicción.
16
“Si mi cabeza se levantara, como león me cazarías, y mostrarías tu poder contra mí.
17
“Renuevas tus pruebas contra mí, y te ensañas conmigo; tropas de relevo vienen contra mí.
18
“¿ Por qué, pues, me sacaste de la matriz? ¡Ojalá que hubiera muerto y nadie me hubiera visto!
19
“Sería como si no hubiera existido, llevado del vientre a la sepultura.”
20
¿No dejará El en paz mis breves días ? Apártate de mí para que me consuele un poco
21
antes que me vaya, para no volver, a la tierra de tinieblas y sombras profundas ;
22
tierra tan lóbrega como las mismas tinieblas, de sombras profundas, sin orden, y donde la luz es como las tinieblas.
Chapter 11
1 Entonces respondió Zofar naamatita, y dijo:
2
¿Quedará sin respuesta esa multitud de palabras, y será absuelto el que mucho habla ?
3
¿Harán tus jactancias callar a los hombres? ¿Harás escarnio sin que nadie te reprenda?
4
Pues has dicho: “Mi enseñanza es pura, y soy inocente ante tus ojos.”
5
Mas, ¡quién diera que Dios hablara, abriera sus labios contra ti
6
y te declarara los secretos de la sabiduría!; porque la verdadera sabiduría tiene dos lados. Sabrías entonces que Dios olvida parte de tu iniquidad.
7
¿Descubrirás tú las profundidades de Dios? ¿Descubrirás los límites del Todopoderoso ?
8
Altos son como los cielos ; ¿qué harás tú? Más profundos son que el Seol ; ¿qué puedes tú saber?
9
Más extensa que la tierra es su dimensión, y más ancha que el mar.
10
Si El pasa, o encierra, o convoca una asamblea, ¿quién podrá estorbarle ?
11
Porque El conoce a los hombres falsos, y ve la iniquidad sin investigar.
12
Y el hombre tonto se hará inteligente cuando el pollino de un asno montés nazca hombre.
13
Si diriges bien tu corazón y extiendes a El tu mano,
14
si en tu mano hay iniquidad y la alejas de ti y no permites que la maldad more en tus tiendas,
15
entonces, ciertamente levantarás tu rostro sin mancha, estarás firme y no temerás.
16
Porque olvidarás tu aflicción, como aguas que han pasado la recordarás.
17
Tu vida será más radiante que el mediodía, y hasta la oscuridad será como la mañana.
18
Entonces confiarás, porque hay esperanza, mirarás alrededor y te acostarás seguro.
19
Descansarás y nadie te atemorizará, y muchos procurarán tu favor.
20
Pero los ojos de los malvados languidecerán, y no habrá escape para ellos ; su esperanza es dar su último suspiro.
Chapter 12
1 Entonces respondió Job, y dijo:
2
En verdad que sois el pueblo, y con vosotros morirá la sabiduría.
3
Pero yo también tengo inteligencia como vosotros, no soy inferior a vosotros. ¿Y quién no sabe esto ?
4
Soy motivo de burla para mis amigos, el que clamaba a Dios, y El le respondía. Motivo de burla es el justo e intachable.
5
El que está en holgura desprecia la calamidad, como cosa preparada para aquellos cuyos pies resbalan.
6
Las tiendas de los destructores prosperan, y los que provocan a Dios están seguros, a quienes Dios ha dado el poder que tienen.
7
Y ahora pregunta a las bestias, y que ellas te instruyan, y a las aves de los cielos, y que ellas te informen.
8
O habla a la tierra y que ella te instruya, y que los peces del mar te lo declaren.
9
¿Quién entre todos ellos no sabe que la mano del SEÑOR ha hecho esto,
10
que en su mano está la vida de todo ser viviente, y el aliento de toda carne de hombre ?
11
¿No distingue el oído las palabras como el paladar prueba la comida ?
12
En los ancianos está la sabiduría, y en largura de días el entendimiento.
13
En El están la sabiduría y el poder, y el consejo y el entendimiento son suyos.
14
He aquí, El derriba, y no se puede reedificar ; aprisiona a un hombre, y no hay liberación.
15
He aquí, El retiene las aguas, y todo se seca, y las envía e inundan la tierra.
16
En El están la fuerza y la prudencia, suyos son el engañado y el engañador.
17
El hace que los consejeros anden descalzos, y hace necios a los jueces.
18
Rompe las cadenas de los reyes y ata sus cinturas con cuerda.
19
Hace que los sacerdotes anden descalzos y derriba a los que están seguros.
20
Priva del habla a los hombres de confianza y quita a los ancianos el discernimiento.
21
Vierte desprecio sobre los nobles y afloja el cinto de los fuertes.
22
El revela los misterios de las tinieblas y saca a la luz la densa oscuridad.
23
Engrandece las naciones, y las destruye; ensancha las naciones, y las dispersa.
24
Priva de inteligencia a los jefes de la gente de la tierra y los hace vagar por un yermo sin camino;
25
andan a tientas en tinieblas, sin luz, y los hace tambalearse como ebrios.
Chapter 13
1 He aquí todo esto han visto mis ojos, lo ha escuchado y entendido mi oído. 2 Lo que vosotros sabéis yo también lo sé; no soy menos que vosotros.
3
Pero quiero hablar al Todopoderoso, y deseo argumentar con Dios.
4
Mas vosotros sois forjadores de mentiras ; todos vosotros sois médicos inútiles.
5
¡Quién diera que guardarais completo silencio y se convirtiera esto en vuestra sabiduría !
6
Oíd, os ruego, mi razonamiento, y prestad atención a los argumentos de mis labios.
7
¿Hablaréis por Dios lo que es injusto y diréis por El lo que es engañoso?
8
¿Mostraréis por El parcialidad ? ¿Contenderéis por Dios?
9
¿Os irá bien cuando El os escudriñe, o le engañaréis como se engaña a un hombre ?
10
Ciertamente El os reprenderá si en secreto mostráis parcialidad.
11
¿No os llenará de temor su majestad, y no caerá sobre vosotros su terror ?
12
Vuestras máximas son proverbios de ceniza, vuestras defensas son defensas de barro.
13
Callad delante de mí para que pueda hablar yo; y venga sobre mí lo que venga.
14
¿Por qué me he de quitar la carne con mis dientes, y poner mi vida en mis manos ?
15
Aunque El me mate, en El esperaré ; pero defenderé mis caminos delante de El.
16
Esta también será mi salvación, porque un impío no comparecería en su presencia.
17
Escuchad atentamente mis palabras, y que mi declaración llene vuestros oídos.
18
He aquí ahora, yo he preparado mi causa ; sé que seré justificado.
19
¿Quién contenderá conmigo ?, porque entonces me callaría y moriría.
20
Sólo dos cosas deseo que hagas conmigo, y no me esconderé de tu rostro:
21
Que retires de mí tu mano, y que tu terror no me espante.
22
Entonces llámame, y yo responderé ; o déjame hablar, y respóndeme tú.
23
¿Cuántas son mis iniquidades y pecados? Hazme conocer mi rebelión y mi pecado.
24
¿Por qué escondes tu rostro y me consideras tu enemigo ?
25
¿Harás que tiemble una hoja llevada por el viento, o perseguirás a la paja seca?
26
Pues escribes contra mí cosas amargas, y me haces responsable de las iniquidades de mi juventud.
27
Pones mis pies en el cepo, y vigilas todas mis sendas ; pones límite a las plantas de mis pies,
28
mientras me deshago como cosa podrida, como vestido comido de polilla.
Chapter 14
1 El hombre, nacido de mujer, corto de días y lleno de turbaciones, 2 como una flor brota y se marchita, y como una sombra huye y no permanece. 3 Sobre él ciertamente abres tus ojos, y lo traes a juicio contigo. 4 ¿Quién hará algo limpio de lo inmundo ? ¡Nadie! 5 Ya que sus días están determinados, el número de sus meses te es conocido, y has fijado sus límites para que no pueda pasarlos. 6 Aparta de él tu mirada para que descanse, hasta que cumpla su día como jornalero.
7
Porque hay esperanza para un árbol cuando es cortado, que volverá a retoñar, y sus renuevos no le faltarán.
8
Aunque envejezcan sus raíces en la tierra, y muera su tronco en el polvo,
9
al olor del agua reverdecerá y como una planta joven echará renuevos.
10
Pero el hombre muere y yace inerte. El hombre expira, ¿y dónde está?
11
Como las aguas se evaporan del mar, como un río se agota y se seca,
12
así el hombre yace y no se levanta; hasta que los cielos ya no existan no se despertará ni se levantará de su sueño.
13
¡Oh, si me escondieras en el Seol, si me ocultaras hasta que tu ira se pasara, si me pusieras un plazo y de mí te acordaras!
14
Si el hombre muere, ¿volverá a vivir? Todos los días de mi batallar esperaré hasta que llegue mi relevo.
15
Tú llamarás, y yo te responderé; anhelarás la obra de tus manos.
16
Porque ahora cuentas mis pasos, no observas mi pecado.
17
Sellada está en un saco mi transgresión, y tienes cubierta mi iniquidad.
18
Pero el monte que cae se desmorona, y se cambia la roca de su lugar;
19
el agua desgasta las piedras, sus torrentes se llevan el polvo de la tierra; así destruyes tú la esperanza del hombre.
20
Prevaleces para siempre contra él, y se va ; cambias su apariencia, y lo despides.
21
Alcanzan honra sus hijos, pero él no lo sabe; o son humillados, pero él no lo percibe.
22
Mas su cuerpo le da dolores, y se lamenta sólo por sí mismo.
Chapter 15
1 Entonces respondió Elifaz temanita, y dijo:
2
¿Debe responder un sabio con hueca sabiduría y llenarse de viento solano ?
3
¿Debe argumentar con razones inútiles o con palabras sin provecho?
4
Ciertamente, tú rechazas el temor, e impides la meditación delante de Dios.
5
Porque tu iniquidad enseña a tu boca, y escoges el lenguaje de los astutos.
6
Tu propia boca, y no yo, te condena, y tus propios labios testifican contra ti.
7
¿Fuiste tú el primer hombre en nacer, o fuiste dado a luz antes que las colinas ?
8
¿Oyes tú el secreto de Dios, y retienes para ti la sabiduría?
9
¿Qué sabes tú que nosotros no sepamos? ¿Qué entiendes tú que nosotros no entendamos ?
10
También entre nosotros hay canosos y ancianos de más edad que tu padre.
11
¿Te parecen poco los consuelos de Dios, y la palabra hablada a ti con dulzura?
12
¿Por qué te arrebata el corazón, y por qué centellean tus ojos,
13
para volver tu espíritu contra Dios y dejar salir de tu boca tales palabras?
14
¿Qué es el hombre para que sea puro, o el nacido de mujer para que sea justo ?
15
He aquí, Dios no confía en sus santos, y ni los cielos son puros ante sus ojos ;
16
¡cuánto menos el hombre, un ser abominable y corrompido, que bebe como agua la iniquidad !
17
Yo te mostraré, escúchame, y te contaré lo que he visto;
18
lo que los sabios han dado a conocer, sin ocultar nada de sus padres ;
19
a ellos solos se les dio la tierra, y ningún extranjero pasó entre ellos.
20
Todos sus días el impío se retuerce de dolor, y contados están los años reservados para el tirano.
21
Ruidos de espanto hay en sus oídos, mientras está en paz, el destructor viene sobre él.
22
El no cree que volverá de las tinieblas, y que está destinado para la espada.
23
Vaga en busca de pan, diciendo: “¿Dónde está?” Sabe que es inminente el día de las tinieblas.
24
La ansiedad y la angustia lo aterran, lo dominan como rey dispuesto para el ataque;
25
porque él ha extendido su mano contra Dios, y se porta con soberbia contra el Todopoderoso.
26
Corre contra El con cuello erguido, con su escudo macizo ;
27
porque ha cubierto su rostro de grosura, se le han hecho pliegues de grasa sobre sus lomos,
28
y ha vivido en ciudades desoladas, en casas inhabitables, destinadas a convertirse en ruinas.
29
No se enriquecerá, ni sus bienes perdurarán, ni su espiga se inclinará a tierra.
30
No escapará de las tinieblas, secará la llama sus renuevos, y por el soplo de su boca desaparecerá.
31
Que no confíe en la vanidad, engañándose a sí mismo, pues vanidad será su recompensa.
32
Antes de su tiempo se cumplirá, y la hoja de su palmera no reverdecerá.
33
Dejará caer su agraz como la vid, y como el olivo arrojará su flor.
34
Porque estéril es la compañía de los impíos, y el fuego consume las tiendas del corrupto.
35
Conciben malicia, dan a luz iniquidad, y en su mente traman engaño.
Chapter 16
1 Entonces respondió Job, y dijo:
2
He oído muchas cosas como éstas; consoladores gravosos sois todos vosotros.
3
¿No hay fin a las palabras vacías ? ¿O qué te provoca para que así respondas?
4
Yo también hablaría como vosotros, si vuestra alma estuviera en lugar de mi alma. Podría hilvanar palabras contra vosotros, y mover ante vosotros la cabeza.
5
Os podría alentar con mi boca, y el consuelo de mis labios podría aliviar vuestro dolor.
6
Si hablo, mi dolor no disminuye, y si callo, no se aparta de mí.
7
Pero ahora El me ha agobiado ; tú has asolado toda mi compañía,
8
y me has llenado de arrugas que en testigo se han convertido ; mi flacura se levanta contra mí, testifica en mi cara.
9
Su ira me ha despedazado y me ha perseguido, contra mí El ha rechinado los dientes ; mi adversario aguza los ojos contra mí.
10
Han abierto contra mí su boca, con injurias me han abofeteado ; a una se aglutinan contra mí.
11
Dios me entrega a los impíos, y me echa en manos de los malvados.
12
Estaba yo tranquilo, y El me sacudió, me agarró por la nuca y me hizo pedazos ; también me hizo su blanco.
13
Me rodean sus flechas, parte mis riñones sin compasión, derrama por tierra mi hiel.
14
Abre en mí brecha tras brecha ; arremete contra mí como un guerrero.
15
Sobre mi piel he cosido cilicio, y he hundido en el polvo mi poder.
16
Mi rostro está enrojecido por el llanto, y cubren mis párpados densa oscuridad,
17
aunque no hay violencia en mis manos, y es pura mi oración.
18
¡Oh tierra, no cubras mi sangre, y no haya lugar para mi clamor!
19
He aquí, aun ahora mi testigo está en el cielo, y mi defensor está en las alturas.
20
Mis amigos son mis escarnecedores ; mis ojos lloran a Dios.
21
¡Ah, si un hombre pudiera argüir con Dios como un hombre con su vecino!
22
Porque cuando hayan pasado unos pocos años, me iré por el camino sin retorno.
Chapter 17
1 Mi espíritu está quebrantado, mis días extinguidos, el sepulcro está preparado para mí. 2 No hay sino escarnecedores conmigo, y mis ojos miran su provocación.
3
Coloca, pues, contigo una fianza para mí ; ¿quién hay que sea mi fiador ?
4
Porque has escondido su corazón del entendimiento, por tanto no los exaltarás.
5
Al que denuncie a sus amigos por una parte del botín, a sus hijos se les debilitarán los ojos.
6
Porque El me ha hecho proverbio del pueblo, y soy uno a quien los hombres escupen.
7
Mis ojos se oscurecen también por el sufrimiento, y mis miembros todos son como una sombra.
8
Los rectos se quedarán pasmados de esto, y el inocente se indignará contra el impío.
9
Sin embargo el justo se mantendrá en su camino, y el de manos limpias más y más se fortalecerá.
10
Pero volveos todos vosotros, y venid ahora, pues no hallo entre vosotros a ningún sabio.
11
Mis días han pasado, se deshicieron mis planes, los deseos de mi corazón.
12
Algunos convierten la noche en día, diciendo: “La luz está cerca”, en presencia de las tinieblas.
13
Si espero que el Seol sea mi casa, hago mi lecho en las tinieblas;
14
si digo al hoyo: “Mi padre eres tú”, y al gusano : “Mi madre y mi hermana”,
15
¿dónde está, pues, mi esperanza ?, y mi esperanza ¿quién la verá?
16
¿Descenderá conmigo al Seol? ¿Nos hundiremos juntos en el polvo?
Chapter 18
1 Entonces respondió Bildad suhita y dijo:
2
¿Hasta cuándo estaréis rebuscando palabras? Mostrad entendimiento y entonces hablaremos.
3
¿Por qué somos considerados como bestias, y torpes a vuestros ojos?
4
¡Oh tú, que te desgarras en tu ira! ¿Ha de ser abandonada la tierra por tu causa, o removida la roca de su lugar?
5
Ciertamente la luz de los impíos se apaga, y no brillará la llama de su fuego.
6
La luz en su tienda se oscurece, y su lámpara sobre él se apaga.
7
Su vigoroso paso es acortado, y su propio designio lo hace caer.
8
Porque es arrojado en la red por sus propios pies, y sobre mallas camina.
9
Por el calcañar lo aprisiona un lazo, y una trampa se cierra sobre él.
10
Escondido está en la tierra un lazo para él, y una trampa le aguarda en la senda.
11
Por todas partes le atemorizan terrores, y le hostigan a cada paso.
12
Se agota por el hambre su vigor, y la desgracia está presta a su lado.
13
Devora su piel la enfermedad, devora sus miembros el primogénito de la muerte.
14
Es arrancado de la seguridad de su tienda, y se le conduce al rey de los terrores.
15
Nada suyo mora en su tienda; azufre es esparcido sobre su morada.
16
Por abajo se secan sus raíces, y por arriba se marchita su ramaje.
17
Su memoria perece de la tierra, y no tiene nombre en toda la región.
18
Es lanzado de la luz a las tinieblas, y de la tierra habitada lo echan.
19
No tiene descendencia ni posteridad entre su pueblo, ni sobreviviente alguno donde él peregrinó.
20
De su destino se asombran los del occidente, y los del oriente se sobrecogen de terror.
21
Ciertamente tales son las moradas del impío, este es el lugar del que no conoce a Dios.
Nueva Biblia de las Américas
Chapter 9
1 Entonces Job respondió:
2
“En verdad yo sé que es así, Pero ¿cómo puede un hombre ser justo delante de Dios?
3
Si alguien quisiera discutir con El, No podría contestar ni una vez entre mil.
4
Sabio de corazón y robusto de fuerzas, ¿Quién Lo ha desafiado sin sufrir daño?
5
Dios es el que remueve los montes, y éstos no saben cómo Cuando los vuelca en Su furor;
6
El es el que sacude la tierra de su lugar, Y sus columnas tiemblan.
7
El que manda al sol que no brille, Y pone sello a las estrellas;
8
El que solo extiende los cielos, Y anda sobre las olas del mar;
9
El es el que hace la Osa, el Orión y las Pléyades, Y las cámaras del sur;
10
El que hace grandes cosas, inescrutables, Y maravillas sin número.
11
Si El pasara junto a mí, no Lo vería; Si me pasara adelante, no Lo percibiría.
12
Si El arrebatara algo, ¿quién Lo impediría? Quién podrá decirle: ‘¿Qué haces?’
13
Dios no retirará Su ira; Debajo de El quedan humillados los que ayudan al Rahab (monstruo marino).
14
¿Cómo puedo yo responderle, Y escoger mis palabras delante de El?
15
Porque aunque yo tuviera razón, no podría responder; Tendría que implorar la misericordia de mi Juez.
16
Si yo llamara y El me respondiera, No podría creer que escuchara mi voz.
17
Porque El me quebranta con tempestad, Y sin causa multiplica mis heridas.
18
No me permite cobrar aliento, Sino que me llena de amarguras.
19
Si es cuestión de poder, El es poderoso; Y si es cuestión de justicia, ¿quién Lo citará?
20
Aunque soy justo, mi boca me condenará; Aunque soy inocente (íntegro), El me declarará culpable.
21
Inocente soy, No hago caso de mí mismo, Desprecio mi vida.
22
Todo es lo mismo, por tanto digo: ‘El destruye al inocente y al impío.’
23
Si el azote mata de repente, El se burla de la desesperación del inocente.
24
La tierra es entregada en manos de los impíos; El cubre el rostro de sus jueces; Si no es El, ¿entonces quién será?
25
Mis días son más ligeros que un corredor; Huyen, no ven el bien;
26
Se deslizan como barcos de juncos, Como águila que se arroja sobre su presa.
27
Aunque yo diga: ‘Olvidaré mi queja, Cambiaré mi triste semblante y me alegraré,’
28
Temeroso estoy de todos mis dolores, Sé que Tú no me absolverás.
29
Si soy impío, ¿Para qué, pues, esforzarme en vano?
30
Si me lavara con nieve Y limpiara mis manos con lejía,
31
Aun así me hundirías en la fosa, Y mis propios vestidos me aborrecerían.
32
Porque El no es hombre como yo, para que Le responda, Para que juntos vengamos a juicio.
33
No hay árbitro entre nosotros, Que ponga su mano sobre ambos.
34
Que El quite de mí Su vara, Y no me espante Su terror.
35
Entonces yo hablaré y no Le temeré; Porque en mi opinión yo no soy así.
Chapter 10
1 “Hastiado estoy de mi vida: Daré rienda suelta a mi queja, Hablaré en la amargura de mi alma. 2 Le diré a Dios: ‘No me condenes, Hazme saber que tienes contra mí. 3 ¿Es justo para Ti oprimir, Rechazar la obra de Tus manos, Y mirar con favor los designios de los malos? 4 ¿Acaso tienes Tú ojos de carne, O ves como el hombre ve? 5 ¿Son Tus días como los días de un mortal, O Tus años como los años del hombre, 6 Para que andes averiguando mi culpa, Y buscando mi pecado? 7 Según Tu conocimiento ciertamente no soy culpable; Sin embargo no hay salvación de Tu mano.
8
Tus manos me formaron y me hicieron, ¿Y me destruirás?
9
Acuérdate ahora que me has modelado como a barro, ¿Y me harás volver al polvo?
10
¿No me derramaste como leche, Y como queso me cuajaste?
11
¿No me vestiste de piel y de carne, Y me entretejiste con huesos y tendones?
12
Vida y misericordia me has concedido, Y Tu cuidado ha guardado mi espíritu.
13
Sin embargo, tienes escondidas estas cosas en Tu corazón, Yo sé que esto está dentro de Ti:
14
Si pecara, me lo tomarías en cuenta, Y no me absolverías de mi culpa.
15
Si soy malvado, ¡ay de mí!, Y si soy justo, no me atrevo a levantar la cabeza. Estoy lleno de deshonra y consciente de mi aflicción.
16
Si mi cabeza se levantara, como león me cazarías, Y mostrarías Tu poder contra mí.
17
Renuevas Tus pruebas contra mí, Y Te ensañas conmigo; Tropas de relevo vienen contra mí.
18
¿Por qué, pues, me sacaste de la matriz? ¡Ojalá que hubiera muerto y nadie me hubiera visto!
19
Sería como si no hubiera existido, Llevado del vientre a la sepultura.’
20
¿No dejará El en paz mis breves días? Apártate de mí para que me consuele un poco
21
Antes que me vaya, para no volver, A la tierra de tinieblas y de sombras profundas;
22
Tierra tan lóbrega como las mismas tinieblas, De sombras profundas, sin orden, Y donde la luz es como las tinieblas.”
Chapter 11
1 Entonces Zofar, el Naamatita respondió:
2
“¿Quedará sin respuesta esa multitud de palabras? ¿Será absuelto el que mucho habla?
3
¿Hará callar a los hombres tu palabrería? ¿Harás escarnio sin que nadie te reprenda?
4
Pues has dicho: ‘Mi enseñanza es pura, Y soy inocente ante tus ojos.’
5
Pero, ¡quién diera que Dios hablara, Que abriera Sus labios contra ti
6
Y te declarara los secretos de la sabiduría! Porque la verdadera sabiduría tiene dos lados. Sabrías entonces que Dios da por olvidada parte de tu iniquidad.
7
¿Podrás tú descubrir las profundidades de Dios? ¿Podrás descubrir los límites del Todopoderoso (Shaddai)?
8
Altos son como los cielos; ¿qué puedes tú hacer? Más profundos son que el Seol (región de los muertos); ¿qué puedes tú saber?
9
Más extensa que la tierra es su dimensión, Y más ancha que el mar.
10
Si El pasa, o encierra, O convoca una asamblea, ¿quién podrá impedírselo?
11
Porque El conoce a los hombres falsos, Y ve la iniquidad sin investigar.
12
El hombre tonto se hará inteligente Cuando el pollino de un asno montés nazca hombre.
13
Si diriges bien tu corazón Y extiendes a El tu mano,
14
Si en tu mano hay iniquidad y la alejas de ti Y no permites que la maldad more en tus tiendas,
15
Entonces, ciertamente levantarás tu rostro sin mancha, Estarás firme y no temerás.
16
Porque olvidarás tu aflicción, Como aguas que han pasado la recordarás.
17
Tu vida será más radiante que el mediodía, Y hasta la oscuridad será como la mañana.
18
Entonces confiarás, porque hay esperanza, Mirarás alrededor y te acostarás seguro.
19
Descansarás y nadie te atemorizará, Y muchos buscarán tu favor.
20
Pero los ojos de los malvados languidecerán, Y no habrá escape para ellos; Su esperanza es dar su último suspiro.”
Chapter 12
1 Entonces respondió Job:
2
“En verdad que ustedes son el pueblo, Y con ustedes morirá la sabiduría.
3
Pero yo también tengo inteligencia como ustedes; No soy inferior a ustedes. ¿Y quién no sabe esto?
4
Soy motivo de burla para mis amigos, Yo, el que clamaba a Dios, y El le respondía. Motivo de burla es el justo e intachable.
5
El que está en holgura desprecia la calamidad, Como cosa preparada para aquéllos cuyos pies resbalan.
6
Las tiendas de los destructores prosperan, Y los que provocan a Dios están seguros, A quienes Dios ha dado el poder que tienen.
7
Ahora pregunta a los animales, y que ellos te instruyan, Y a las aves de los cielos, y que ellas te informen.
8
O habla a la tierra, y que ella te instruya, Y que los peces del mar te lo declaren.
9
¿Quién entre todos ellos no sabe Que la mano del SEÑOR ha hecho esto,
10
Que en Su mano está la vida de todo ser viviente, Y el aliento de todo ser humano?
11
¿No distingue el oído las palabras Como el paladar prueba la comida?
12
En los ancianos está la sabiduría, Y en largura de días el entendimiento.
13
En El están la sabiduría y el poder, Y el consejo y el entendimiento son Suyos.
14
El derriba, y no se puede reedificar; Aprisiona a un hombre, y no puede ser liberado.
15
El retiene las aguas, y todo se seca, Y las envía, e inundan la tierra.
16
En El están la fuerza y la prudencia, Suyos son el engañado y el engañador.
17
El hace que los consejeros anden descalzos, Y hace necios a los jueces.
18
Rompe las cadenas de los reyes Y ata sus cinturas con cuerda.
19
Hace que los sacerdotes anden descalzos Y derriba a los que están seguros.
20
Priva del habla a los hombres de confianza Y quita a los ancianos el discernimiento.
21
Vierte desprecio sobre los nobles Y afloja el cinto de los fuertes.
22
El revela los misterios de las tinieblas Y saca a la luz la densa oscuridad.
23
Engrandece las naciones, y las destruye; Ensancha las naciones, y las dispersa.
24
Priva de inteligencia a los jefes de la gente de la tierra Y los hace vagar por un desierto sin camino;
25
Andan a tientas en tinieblas, sin luz, Y los hace tambalearse como borrachos.
Chapter 13
1 “Todo esto han visto mis ojos, Lo han escuchado mis oídos y lo han entendido. 2 Lo que ustedes saben yo también lo sé; No soy menos que ustedes.
3
Pero quiero hablarle al Todopoderoso (Shaddai), Y deseo argumentar con Dios.
4
Porque ustedes son forjadores de mentiras; Todos ustedes son médicos inútiles.
5
¡Quién diera que guardaran completo silencio Y se convirtiera esto en sabiduría suya!
6
Oigan, les ruego, mi razonamiento, Y presten atención a los argumentos de mis labios.
7
¿Hablarán ustedes por Dios lo que es injusto Y dirán por El lo que es engañoso?
8
¿Mostrarán por El parcialidad? ¿Lucharán ustedes por Dios?
9
¿Les irá bien cuando El los escudriñe, O Lo engañarán como se engaña a un hombre?
10
Ciertamente El los reprenderá Si en secreto muestran parcialidad.
11
¿No los llenará de temor Su majestad, Y no caerá sobre ustedes Su terror?
12
Las máximas de ustedes son proverbios de ceniza, Sus defensas son defensas de barro.
13
Cállense delante de mí para que yo pueda hablar; Y que venga lo que venga sobre mí.
14
¿Por qué he de quitarme la carne con mis dientes, Y poner mi vida en mis manos?
15
Aunque El me mate, En El esperaré. Sin embargo defenderé mis caminos delante de El;
16
Esto también será mi salvación, Porque un impío no comparecería en Su presencia.
17
Escuchen atentamente mis palabras, Y que mi declaración llene sus oídos.
18
Pues yo he preparado mi causa; Sé que seré justificado.
19
¿Quién discutirá conmigo? Porque entonces me callaría y moriría.
20
Sólo dos cosas deseo que Tú hagas conmigo, Y no me esconderé de Tu rostro:
21
Que retires de mí Tu mano, Y que no me espante Tu terror.
22
Entonces llámame, y yo responderé; O déjame hablar, y respóndeme Tú.
23
¿Cuántas son mis iniquidades y pecados? Hazme conocer mi rebelión y mi pecado.
24
¿Por qué escondes Tu rostro Y me consideras Tu enemigo?
25
¿Harás que tiemble una hoja llevada por el viento, O perseguirás a la paja seca?
26
Pues escribes contra mí cosas amargas, Y me haces responsable de las iniquidades de mi juventud.
27
Pones mis pies en el cepo, Y vigilas todas mis sendas; Pones límite a las plantas de mis pies,
28
Mientras me deshago como cosa podrida, Como vestido comido de polilla.
Chapter 14
1 “El hombre, nacido de mujer, Corto de días y lleno de tormentos, 2 Como una flor brota y se marchita, Y como una sombra huye y no permanece. 3 Sobre él ciertamente abres Tus ojos, Y lo traes a juicio contigo. 4 ¿Quién hará algo limpio de lo inmundo? ¡Nadie! 5 Ya que sus días están determinados, El número de sus meses Te es conocido, Y has fijado sus límites para que no pueda pasarlos. 6 Aparta de él Tu mirada para que descanse, Hasta que cumpla su día como jornalero.
7
Porque hay esperanza para un árbol Cuando es cortado, que volverá a retoñar, Y sus renuevos no le faltarán.
8
Aunque envejezcan sus raíces en la tierra, Y muera su tronco en el polvo,
9
Al olor del agua reverdecerá Y como una planta joven echará renuevos.
10
Pero el hombre muere y yace inerte. El hombre expira, ¿y dónde está?
11
Como las aguas se evaporan del mar, Como un río se agota y se seca,
12
Así el hombre se acuesta y no se levanta; Hasta que los cielos ya no existan, No se despertará ni se levantará de su sueño.
13
¡Oh, si me escondieras en el Seol (región de los muertos), Si me ocultaras hasta que Tu ira se pasara, Si me pusieras un plazo y de mí te acordaras!
14
Si el hombre muere, ¿volverá a vivir? Todos los días de mi batallar esperaré Hasta que llegue mi relevo.
15
Tú llamarás, y yo Te responderé; Anhelarás la obra de Tus manos.
16
Porque ahora cuentas mis pasos, No observas mi pecado.
17
Sellada está en un saco mi transgresión, Y tienes cubierta mi iniquidad.
18
Pero el monte que cae se desmorona, Y se cambia la roca de su lugar;
19
El agua desgasta las piedras, Sus torrentes se llevan el polvo de la tierra; Así destruyes Tú la esperanza del hombre.
20
Prevaleces para siempre contra él, y se va; Cambias su apariencia, y lo despides.
21
Alcanzan honra sus hijos, pero él no lo sabe; O son humillados, pero él no lo percibe.
22
Pero su cuerpo le da dolores, Y se lamenta sólo por sí mismo.”
Chapter 15
1 Entonces Elifaz, el Temanita respondió:
2
“¿Debe responder un sabio con hueca sabiduría Y llenarse de viento del este?
3
¿Debe argumentar con razones inútiles O con palabras sin provecho?
4
Ciertamente, tú rechazas la reverencia, E impides la meditación delante de Dios.
5
Porque tu culpa enseña a tu boca, Y escoges el lenguaje de los astutos.
6
Tu propia boca te condena, y no yo, Y tus propios labios testifican contra ti.
7
¿Fuiste tú el primer hombre en nacer, O fuiste dado a luz antes que las colinas?
8
¿Oyes tú el secreto de Dios, Y retienes para ti la sabiduría?
9
¿Qué sabes tú que nosotros no sepamos? ¿Qué entiendes tú que nosotros no entendamos?
10
También entre nosotros hay canosos y ancianos De más edad que tu padre.
11
¿Te parecen poco los consuelos de Dios, Y la palabra hablada a ti con dulzura?
12
¿Por qué te arrebata el corazón, Y por qué centellean tus ojos,
13
Para volver tu espíritu contra Dios Y dejar salir de tu boca tales palabras?
14
¿Qué es el hombre para que sea puro, O el nacido de mujer para que sea justo?
15
Si Dios no confía en Sus santos, Y ni los cielos son puros ante Sus ojos;
16
¡cuánto menos el hombre, un ser abominable y corrompido, Que bebe la iniquidad como agua!
17
Yo te mostraré, escúchame, Y te contaré lo que he visto;
18
Lo que los sabios han dado a conocer, Sin ocultar nada de sus padres;
19
A ellos solos se les dio la tierra, Y ningún extranjero pasó entre ellos.
20
Todos sus días el impío se retuerce de dolor, Y contados están los años reservados para el tirano.
21
Ruidos de espanto hay en sus oídos, Mientras está en paz, el destructor viene sobre él.
22
El no cree que volverá de las tinieblas, Y que está destinado para la espada.
23
Vaga en busca de pan, diciendo: ‘¿Dónde está?’ Sabe que es inminente el día de las tinieblas.
24
La ansiedad y la angustia lo aterran, Lo dominan como rey dispuesto para el ataque;
25
Porque él ha extendido su mano contra Dios, Y se porta con soberbia contra el Todopoderoso (Shaddai).
26
Corre contra El con cuello erguido, Con su escudo macizo;
27
Porque ha cubierto su rostro con su gordura, Se le han hecho pliegues de grasa sobre la cintura,
28
Y ha vivido en ciudades desoladas, En casas inhabitables, Destinadas a convertirse en ruinas.
29
No se enriquecerá, ni sus bienes perdurarán, Ni su espiga se inclinará a tierra.
30
No escapará de las tinieblas, Secará la llama sus renuevos, Y por el soplo de Su boca desaparecerá.
31
Que no confíe en la vanidad, engañándose a sí mismo, Pues vanidad será su recompensa.
32
Antes de su tiempo se cumplirá, Y la hoja de su palmera no reverdecerá.
33
Dejará caer sus uvas verdes como la vid, Y como el olivo dejará caer su flor.
34
Porque estéril es la compañía de los impíos, Y el fuego consume las tiendas del corrupto.
35
Conciben malicia, dan a luz iniquidad, Y en su mente traman engaño.”
Chapter 16
1 Respondió entonces Job:
2
“He oído muchas cosas como éstas; Consoladores molestos son todos ustedes.
3
¿No hay fin a las palabras vacías? ¿O qué te provoca para que así respondas?
4
Yo también hablaría como ustedes, Si yo estuviera en su lugar. Podría recopilar palabras contra ustedes, Y mover ante ustedes la cabeza.
5
Les podría alentar con mi boca, Y el consuelo de mis labios podría aliviar su dolor.
6
Si hablo, mi dolor no disminuye, Y si callo, no se aparta de mí.
7
Pero ahora El me ha agobiado; Tú has asolado toda mi compañía,
8
Y me has llenado de arrugas Que en testigo se han convertido; Mi flacura se levanta contra mí, Testifica en mi cara.
9
Su ira me ha despedazado y me ha perseguido, Contra mí El ha rechinado los dientes; Mi adversario aguza los ojos contra mí.
10
Han abierto contra mí su boca, Con injurias me han abofeteado; A una se han juntado contra mí.
11
Dios me entrega a los impíos, Y me echa en manos de los malvados.
12
Estaba yo tranquilo, y El me sacudió, Me agarró por la nuca y me hizo pedazos; También me hizo Su blanco.
13
Me rodean Sus flechas, Parte mis riñones sin compasión, Derrama por tierra mi hiel.
14
Abre en mí brecha tras brecha; Me ataca como un guerrero.
15
Sobre mi piel he cosido cilicio, Y he hundido en el polvo mi poder (mi cuerno).
16
Mi rostro está enrojecido por el llanto, Y cubren mis párpados densa oscuridad,
17
Aunque no hay violencia en mis manos, Y es pura mi oración.
18
¡Oh tierra, no cubras mi sangre, Y no deje de haber lugar para mi clamor!
19
Aun ahora mi testigo está en el cielo, Y mi defensor está en las alturas.
20
Mis amigos son mis escarnecedores; Mis ojos lloran a Dios.
21
¡Ah, si un hombre pudiera discutir con Dios Como un hombre con su vecino!
22
Pues cuando hayan pasado unos pocos años Me iré por el camino sin regreso.
Chapter 17
1 “Mi espíritu está quebrantado, mis días extinguidos, El sepulcro está preparado para mí. 2 No hay sino escarnecedores conmigo, Y mis ojos ven su provocación.
3
Coloca, pues, junto a Ti una fianza para mí; ¿Quién hay que quiera ser mi fiador?
4
Porque has escondido su corazón del entendimiento, Por tanto no los exaltarás.
5
Al que denuncie a sus amigos por una parte del botín, A sus hijos se les debilitarán los ojos.
6
Porque El me ha hecho burla del pueblo, Y soy uno a quien los hombres escupen.
7
Mis ojos se oscurecen también por el sufrimiento, Y todos mis miembros son como una sombra.
8
Los hombres rectos se quedarán pasmados de esto, Y el inocente se indignará contra el impío.
9
Sin embargo el justo se mantendrá en su camino, Y el de manos limpias se fortalecerá más y más.
10
Pero vuélvanse todos ustedes, y vengan ahora, Pues no hallo entre ustedes a ningún sabio.
11
Mis días han pasado, se deshicieron mis planes, Los deseos de mi corazón.
12
Algunos convierten la noche en día, diciendo: ‘La luz está cerca,’ en presencia de las tinieblas.
13
Si espero que el Seol (región de los muertos) sea mi casa, Hago mi lecho en las tinieblas;
14
Si digo al hoyo: ‘Mi padre eres tú,’ Y al gusano: ‘Mi madre y mi hermana.’
15
¿Dónde está, pues, mi esperanza? Y mi esperanza ¿quién la verá?
16
¿Descenderá conmigo al Seol? ¿Nos hundiremos juntos en el polvo?”
Chapter 18
1 Entonces Bildad, el Suhita respondió:
2
“¿Hasta cuándo estarán rebuscando palabras? Muestren entendimiento y entonces hablaremos.
3
¿Por qué somos considerados como bestias, Y torpes a sus ojos?
4
¡Oh tú, que te desgarras en tu ira! ¿Ha de ser abandonada la tierra por tu causa, O removida la roca de su lugar?
5
Ciertamente la luz de los impíos se apaga, Y no brillará la llama de su fuego.
6
La luz en su tienda se oscurece, Y su lámpara sobre él se apaga.
7
Su vigoroso paso es acortado, Y su propio designio lo hace caer.
8
Porque es arrojado en la red por sus propios pies, Y sobre mallas camina.
9
Por el talón lo aprisiona un lazo, Y una trampa se cierra sobre él.
10
Escondido está en la tierra un lazo para él, Y una trampa lo aguarda en la senda.
11
Por todas partes lo atemorizan terrores, Y lo hostigan a cada paso.
12
Se agota por el hambre su vigor, Y la desgracia está presta a su lado.
13
Devora su piel la enfermedad, Devora sus miembros el primogénito de la muerte.
14
Es arrancado de la seguridad de su tienda, Es conducido al rey de los terrores.
15
Nada suyo mora en su tienda; Azufre es esparcido sobre su morada.
16
Por abajo se secan sus raíces, Y por arriba se marchita su ramaje.
17
Su memoria perece de la tierra, Y no tiene nombre en toda la región.
18
Es lanzado de la luz a las tinieblas, Y de la tierra habitada lo echan.
19
No tiene descendencia ni posteridad entre su pueblo, Ni sobreviviente alguno donde él peregrinó.
20
De su destino se asombran los del occidente, Y los del oriente se sobrecogen de terror.
21
Ciertamente tales son las moradas del impío, Este es el lugar del que no conoce a Dios.”
Nueva Versión Internacional
Chapter 9
1 Job entonces replicó: 2 «Aunque sé muy bien que esto es cierto, ¿cómo puede un mortal justificarse ante Dios? 3 Si uno quisiera disputar con él, de mil cosas no podría responderle una sola. 4 Profunda es su sabiduría, vasto su poder. ¿Quién puede desafiarlo y salir bien librado? 5 Él mueve montañas sin que estas lo sepan, y en su enojo las trastorna. 6 Él remueve los cimientos de la tierra y hace que se estremezcan sus columnas. 7 Reprende al sol, y su brillo se apaga; eclipsa la luz de las estrellas. 8 Él se basta para extender los cielos; somete a su dominio las olas del mar. 9 Él creó la Osa y el Orión, las Pléyades y las constelaciones del sur. 10 Él realiza maravillas insondables, portentos que no pueden contarse. 11 Si pasara junto a mí, no podría verlo; si se alejara, no alcanzaría a percibirlo. 12 Si de algo se adueñara, ¿quién lo haría desistir? ¿Quién puede cuestionar sus actos? 13 Dios no depone el enojo; aun Rahab y sus secuaces se postran a sus pies.
14
»¿Cómo entonces podré yo responderle? ¿Dónde hallar palabras para contradecirle?
15
Aunque fuera yo inocente, no puedo defenderme; de mi juez solo puedo pedir misericordia.
16
Y aunque lo llamara y me respondiera, no creo que me concedería audiencia.
17
Me despedazaría con una tormenta, y por la menor cosa multiplicaría mis heridas.
18
No me dejaría recobrar el aliento; más bien, me saturaría de amargura.
19
Si de fuerza se trata, ¡él es más poderoso! Si es cuestión de juicio, ¿quién lo hará comparecer?
20
Aun siendo inocente, me condenará mi boca; aun siendo íntegro, resultaré culpable.
21
»Soy intachable, pero ya no me importa; tengo en poco mi propia vida.
22
Todo es lo mismo; por eso digo: “A buenos y a malos destruye por igual”.
23
Si alguna plaga acarrea la muerte repentina, él se burla de la angustia del inocente.
24
Si algún malvado se apodera de un terreno, él les tapa los ojos a los jueces. Si no lo hace él, ¿entonces quién?
25
»Transcurren mis días con más rapidez que un corredor; vuelan sin que hayan conocido la dicha.
26
Se deslizan como barcas de papiro, como veloces águilas al caer sobre su presa.
27
Si acaso digo: “Olvidaré mi queja, cambiaré de expresión, esbozaré una sonrisa”,
28
me queda el miedo de tanto sufrimiento, pues bien sé que no me consideran inocente.
29
Y ya que me tienen por culpable, ¿para qué voy a luchar en vano?
30
Aunque me restriegue con jabón y me limpie las manos con lejía,
31
tú me lanzarás al muladar, ¡y hasta mis ropas me aborrecerán!
32
»Dios no es hombre como yo, para que juntos comparezcamos ante un tribunal.
33
¡No hay un juez aquí que decida el caso entre nosotros dos!
34
¡No hay quien aleje de mí el báculo divino para que ya no me asuste su terror!
35
Quisiera hablar sin temor, pero no puedo hacerlo.
Chapter 10
1 »¡Ya estoy harto de esta vida! Por eso doy rienda suelta a mi queja; desahogo la amargura de mi alma. 2 Le he dicho a Dios: No me condenes. Dime qué es lo que tienes contra mí. 3 ¿Te parece bien el oprimirme y despreciar la obra de tus manos mientras te muestras complaciente ante los planes del malvado? 4 ¿Son tus ojos los de un simple mortal? ¿Ves las cosas como las vemos nosotros? 5 ¿Son tus días como los nuestros, tus años como los de un mortal, 6 para que andes investigando mis faltas y averiguándolo todo acerca de mi pecado? 7 ¡Tú bien sabes que no soy culpable y que de tus manos no tengo escapatoria!
8
»Tú me hiciste con tus propias manos; tú me diste forma. ¿Vas ahora a cambiar de parecer y a ponerle fin a mi vida?
9
Recuerda que tú me modelaste, como al barro; ¿Vas ahora a devolverme al polvo?
10
¿No fuiste tú quien me derramó como leche, quien me hizo cuajar como queso?
11
Fuiste tú quien me vistió de carne y piel, quien me tejió con huesos y tendones.
12
Me diste vida, me favoreciste con tu amor, y tus cuidados me han infundido aliento.
13
»Pero una cosa mantuviste en secreto, y sé muy bien que la tuviste en mente:
14
Que, si yo peco, tú me vigilas y no pasas por alto mi pecado.
15
Si soy culpable, ¡ay de mí! Si soy inocente, no puedo dar la cara. ¡Lleno estoy de vergüenza, y consciente de mi aflicción!
16
Si me levanto, me acechas como un león y despliegas contra mí tu gran poder.
17
Contra mí presentas nuevos testigos, contra mí acrecientas tu enojo. ¡Una tras otra, tus tropas me atacan!
18
»¿Por qué me hiciste salir del vientre? ¡Quisiera haber muerto, sin que nadie me viera!
19
¡Preferiría no haber existido, y haber pasado del vientre a la tumba!
20
¿Acaso mis contados días no llegan ya a su fin? ¡Déjame disfrutar de un momento de alegría
21
antes de mi partida sin regreso a la tierra de la penumbra y de las sombras,
22
al país de la más profunda de las noches, al país de las sombras y del caos, donde aun la luz se asemeja a las tinieblas!»
Chapter 11
1 A esto respondió Zofar de Namat: 2 «¿Quedará sin respuesta toda esta perorata? ¿Resultará inocente este hablador? 3 ¿Toda esa palabrería nos dejará callados? ¿Te burlarás sin que nadie te reprenda? 4 Tú afirmas: “Mi postura es la correcta; soy puro a los ojos de Dios”. 5 ¡Cómo me gustaría que Dios interviniera y abriera sus labios contra ti 6 para mostrarte los secretos de la sabiduría, pues esta es muy compleja! Sabrías entonces que buena parte de tu pecado Dios no lo ha tomado en cuenta.
7
»¿Puedes adentrarte en los misterios de Dios o alcanzar la perfección del Todopoderoso?
8
Son más altos que los cielos; ¿qué puedes hacer? Son más profundos que el sepulcro; ¿qué puedes saber?
9
Son más extensos que toda la tierra; ¡son más anchos que todo el mar!
10
»Si viene y te pone en un calabozo, y luego te llama a cuentas, ¿quién lo hará desistir?
11
Bien conoce Dios a la gente sin escrúpulos; cuando percibe el mal, no lo pasa por alto.
12
¡El necio llegará a ser sabio cuando de un asno salvaje nazca un hombre!
13
»Pero, si le entregas tu corazón y hacia él extiendes las manos,
14
si te apartas del pecado que has cometido y en tu morada no das cabida al mal,
15
entonces podrás llevar la frente en alto y mantenerte firme y libre de temor.
16
Ciertamente olvidarás tus pesares, o los recordarás como el agua que pasó.
17
Tu vida será más radiante que el sol de mediodía, y la oscuridad será como el amanecer.
18
Vivirás tranquilo, porque hay esperanza; estarás protegido y dormirás confiado.
19
Descansarás sin temer a nadie, y muchos querrán ganarse tu favor.
20
Pero los ojos de los malvados se apagarán; no tendrán escapatoria. ¡Su esperanza es exhalar el último suspiro!»
Chapter 12
1 A esto respondió Job: 2 «¡No hay duda de que ustedes son el pueblo! ¡Muertos ustedes, morirá la sabiduría! 3 Pero yo tengo tanto cerebro como ustedes; en nada siento que me aventajen. ¿Quién no sabe todas esas cosas?
4
»Yo, que llamaba a Dios y él me respondía, me he vuelto el hazmerreír de mis amigos; ¡soy un hazmerreír, recto e intachable!
5
Dice la gente que vive tranquila: “¡Al daño se añade la injuria!”, “¡Al que está por caer, hay que empujarlo!”
6
Los salteadores viven tranquilos en sus carpas; confiados viven esos que irritan a Dios y piensan que pueden controlarlo.
7
»Pero interroga a los animales, y ellos te darán una lección; pregunta a las aves del cielo, y ellas te lo contarán;
8
habla con la tierra, y ella te enseñará; con los peces del mar, y te lo harán saber.
9
¿Quién de todos ellos no sabe que la mano del SEÑOR ha hecho todo esto?
10
En sus manos está la vida de todo ser vivo, y el hálito que anima a todo ser humano.
11
¿Acaso no comprueba el oído las palabras como la lengua prueba la comida?
12
Entre los ancianos se halla la sabiduría; en los muchos años, el entendimiento.
13
»Con Dios están la sabiduría y el poder; suyos son el consejo y el entendimiento.
14
Lo que él derriba, nadie lo levanta; a quien él apresa, nadie puede liberarlo.
15
Si él retiene las lluvias, hay sequía; si las deja caer, se inunda la tierra.
16
Suyos son el poder y el buen juicio; suyos son los engañados y los que engañan.
17
Él pone en ridículo a los consejeros y hace que los jueces pierdan la cabeza.
18
Despoja de su autoridad a los reyes, y les ata a la cintura un simple taparrabo.
19
Él pone en ridículo a los sacerdotes, y derroca a los que detentan el poder.
20
Acalla los labios de los consejeros y deja sin discernimiento a los ancianos.
21
Derrama ignominia sobre los nobles y deja en vergüenza a los poderosos.
22
Pone al descubierto los más oscuros abismos y saca a la luz las sombras más profundas.
23
Engrandece o destruye a las naciones; las hace prosperar o las dispersa.
24
Priva de sensatez a los poderosos, y los hace vagar por desiertos sin senderos.
25
Andan a tientas en medio de la oscuridad, y se tambalean como borrachos.
Chapter 13
1 »Todo esto lo han visto mis ojos; lo han captado y entendido mis oídos. 2 Yo tengo tanto conocimiento como ustedes; en nada siento que me aventajen. 3 Más bien quisiera hablar con el Todopoderoso; me gustaría discutir mi caso con Dios. 4 Porque ustedes son unos incriminadores; ¡como médicos no valen nada! 5 ¡Si tan solo se callaran la boca! Eso, en ustedes, ¡ya sería sabiduría! 6 Ahora les toca escuchar mi defensa; presten atención a mi alegato. 7 ¿Se atreverán a mentir en nombre de Dios? ¿Argumentarán en su favor con engaños? 8 ¿Le harán el favor de defenderlo? ¿Van a resultar sus abogados defensores? 9 ¿Qué pasaría si él los examinara? ¿Podrían engañarlo como se engaña a la gente? 10 Lo más seguro es que él los reprendería si en secreto se mostraran parciales. 11 ¿Acaso no les infundiría miedo su esplendor? ¿Y no caería sobre ustedes su terror? 12 ¡Han memorizado proverbios sin sentido! ¡Se defienden con apologías endebles!
13
»¡Cállense la boca y déjenme hablar, y que venga lo que venga!
14
¿Por qué me pongo en peligro y me juego el pellejo?
15
¡Que me mate! ¡Ya no tengo esperanza! Pero en su propia cara defenderé mi conducta.
16
En esto radica mi liberación: en que ningún impío comparecería ante él.
17
»Presten atención a mis palabras; presten oído a lo que digo:
18
Vean que ya he preparado mi caso, y sé muy bien que seré declarado inocente.
19
¿Hay quien pueda presentar cargos contra mí? Si lo hay, me quedaré callado hasta morir.
20
»Concédeme, oh Dios, solo dos cosas, y no tendré que esconderme de ti:
21
Quítame la mano de encima y deja de infundirme temor.
22
Llámame a comparecer y te responderé; o déjame hablar y contéstame.
23
Enumera mis iniquidades y pecados; hazme ver mis transgresiones y ofensas.
24
¿Por qué no me das la cara? ¿Por qué me tienes por enemigo?
25
¿Acosarás a una hoja arrebatada por el viento? ¿Perseguirás a la paja seca?
26
Has dictado contra mí penas amargas; me estás cobrando los pecados de mi juventud.
27
Me has puesto cadenas en los pies; vigilas todos mis pasos; ¡examinas las huellas que dejo al caminar!
28
»El hombre es como un odre desgastado; como ropa carcomida por la polilla.
Chapter 14
1 »Pocos son los días, y muchos los problemas, que vive el hombre nacido de mujer. 2 Es como las flores, que brotan y se marchitan; es como efímera sombra que se esfuma. 3 ¿Y en alguien así has puesto los ojos? ¿Con alguien como yo entrarás en juicio? 4 ¿Quién de la inmundicia puede sacar pureza? ¡No hay nadie que pueda hacerlo! 5 Los días del hombre ya están determinados; tú has decretado los meses de su vida; le has puesto límites que no puede rebasar. 6 Aparta de él la mirada; déjalo en paz, hasta que haya gozado de su día de asalariado.
7
»Si se derriba un árbol, queda al menos la esperanza de que retoñe y de que no se marchiten sus renuevos.
8
Tal vez sus raíces envejezcan en la tierra y su tronco muera en su terreno,
9
pero, al sentir el agua, florecerá; echará ramas como árbol recién plantado.
10
El hombre, en cambio, muere y pierde su fuerza; exhala el último suspiro, y deja de existir.
11
Y así como del mar desaparece el agua, y los ríos se agotan y se secan,
12
así los mortales, cuando se acuestan, no se vuelven a levantar. Mientras exista el cielo, no se levantarán los mortales ni se despertarán de su sueño.
13
»¡Si al menos me ocultaras en el sepulcro y me escondieras hasta que pase tu enojo! ¡Si al menos me pusieras un plazo, y luego me recordaras!
14
Si el hombre muere, ya no vuelve a la vida. Cada día de mi servicio obligatorio esperaré que llegue mi relevo.
15
Tú me llamarás, y yo te responderé; desearás ver la obra de tus manos.
16
Desearás también contar mis pasos, pero no tomarás en cuenta mi pecado.
17
En saco sellado guardarás mis transgresiones, y perdonarás del todo mi pecado.
18
»Pero, así como un monte se erosiona y se derrumba, y las piedras cambian de lugar;
19
así como las aguas desgastan las rocas y los torrentes erosionan el suelo, así tú pones fin a la esperanza del hombre.
20
Lo apabullas del todo, y él desaparece; lo desfiguras, y entonces lo despides.
21
Si sus hijos reciben honores, él no lo sabe; si se les humilla, él no se da cuenta.
22
Solo siente el dolor de su propio cuerpo, y solo de sí mismo se conduele».
Chapter 15
1 Replicó entonces Elifaz de Temán: 2 «El sabio no responde con vana sabiduría ni explota en violenta verborrea. 3 Tampoco discute con argumentos vanos ni con palabras huecas. 4 Tú, en cambio, restas valor al temor a Dios y tomas a la ligera la devoción que él merece. 5 Tu maldad pone en acción tu boca; hablas igual que los pícaros. 6 Tu propia boca te condena, no la mía; tus propios labios atestiguan contra ti.
7
»¿Eres acaso el primer hombre que ha nacido? ¿Naciste acaso antes que los montes?
8
¿Tienes parte en el consejo de Dios? ¿Acaso eres tú el único sabio?
9
¿Qué sabes tú que nosotros no sepamos? ¿Qué has percibido que nosotros ignoremos?
10
Las canas y la edad están de nuestra parte, tenemos más experiencia que tu padre.
11
¿No te basta que Dios mismo te consuele y que se te hable con cariño?
12
¿Por qué te dejas llevar por el enojo? ¿Por qué te relampaguean los ojos?
13
¿Por qué desatas tu enojo contra Dios y das rienda suelta a tu lengua?
14
»¿Qué es el hombre para creerse puro, y el nacido de mujer para alegar inocencia?
15
Si Dios no confía ni en sus santos siervos, y ni siquiera considera puros a los cielos,
16
¡cuánto menos confiará en el hombre, que es vil y corrupto y tiene sed del mal!
17
»Escúchame, y te lo explicaré; déjame decirte lo que he visto.
18
Es lo que han declarado los sabios, sin ocultar nada de lo aprendido de sus padres.
19
Solo a ellos se les dio la tierra, y ningún extraño pasó entre ellos.
20
El impío se ve atormentado toda la vida, el desalmado tiene sus años contados.
21
Sus oídos perciben sonidos espantosos; cuando está en paz, los salteadores lo atacan.
22
No espera escapar de las tinieblas; condenado está a morir a filo de espada.
23
Vaga sin rumbo; es comida de los buitres; sabe que el día de las tinieblas le ha llegado.
24
La desgracia y la angustia lo llenan de terror; lo abruman como si un rey fuera a atacarlo,
25
y todo por levantar el puño contra Dios y atreverse a desafiar al Todopoderoso.
26
Contra Dios se lanzó desafiante, blandiendo grueso y resistente escudo.
27
»Aunque su rostro esté hinchado de grasa, y le sobre carne en la cintura,
28
habitará en lugares desolados, en casas deshabitadas, en casas a punto de derrumbarse.
29
Dejará de ser rico; no durarán sus riquezas ni se extenderán sus posesiones en la tierra.
30
No podrá escapar de las tinieblas; una llama de fuego marchitará sus renuevos, y el aliento de Dios lo arrebatará.
31
Que no se engañe ni confíe en cosas vanas, porque nada obtendrá a cambio de ellas.
32
Antes de su término recibirá su merecido, y sus ramas no reverdecerán.
33
Quedará como vid que pierde sus uvas verdes, como olivo que no llega a florecer.
34
La compañía de los impíos no es de provecho; ¡las moradas de los que aman el soborno serán consumidas por el fuego!
35
Conciben iniquidad, y dan a luz maldad; en su vientre se genera el engaño».
Chapter 16
1 A esto, Job contestó: 2 «Cosas como estas he escuchado muchas; ¡valiente consuelo el de todos ustedes! 3 ¿No habrá fin a sus peroratas? ¿Qué les irrita tanto que siguen contendiendo? 4 ¡También yo podría hablar del mismo modo si estuvieran ustedes en mi lugar! ¡También yo pronunciaría bellos discursos en su contra, meneando con sarcasmo la cabeza! 5 ¡Les infundiría nuevos bríos con la boca; les daría consuelo con los labios!
6
»Si hablo, mi dolor no disminuye; si me callo, tampoco se me calma.
7
Ciertamente Dios me ha destruido; ha exterminado a toda mi familia.
8
Me tiene acorralado, y da testimonio contra mí; mi deplorable estado se levanta y me condena.
9
»En su enojo Dios me desgarra y me persigue; rechina los dientes contra mí; mi adversario me clava la mirada.
10
La gente se mofa de mí abiertamente; burlones, me dan de bofetadas, y todos juntos se ponen en mi contra.
11
Dios me ha entregado en manos de gente inicua; me ha arrojado en las garras de los malvados.
12
Yo vivía tranquilo, pero él me destrozó; me agarró por el cuello y me hizo pedazos; ¡me hizo blanco de sus ataques!
13
Sus arqueros me rodearon. Sin piedad me perforaron los riñones, y mi hígado se derramó por el suelo.
14
Abriéndome herida tras herida, se lanzaron contra mí como un guerrero.
15
»El luto es parte de mi cuerpo; en el polvo tengo enterrada la frente.
16
De tanto llorar tengo enrojecida la cara, profundas ojeras tengo en torno a los ojos;
17
pero mis manos están libres de violencia, y es pura mi oración.
18
»¡Ah, tierra, no cubras mi sangre! ¡No dejes que se acalle mi clamor!
19
Ahora mismo tengo en los cielos un testigo; en lo alto se encuentra mi abogado.
20
Mi intercesor es mi amigo, y ante él me deshago en lágrimas
21
para que interceda ante Dios en favor mío, como quien apela por su amigo.
22
Pasarán solo unos cuantos años antes de que yo emprenda el viaje sin regreso.
Chapter 17
1 »Mi ánimo se agota, mis días se acortan, la tumba me espera. 2 Estoy rodeado de burlones; ¡sufren mis ojos su hostilidad!
3
»Dame, oh Dios, la fianza que demandas. ¿Quién más podría responder por mí?
4
Tú has ofuscado su pensamiento, por eso no dejarás que triunfen.
5
Quien por una recompensa denuncia a sus amigos verá a sus hijos desfallecer.
6
»Dios me ha puesto en boca de todos; no falta quien me escupa en la cara.
7
Los ojos se me apagan a causa del dolor; todo mi esqueleto no es más que una sombra.
8
Los justos ven esto, y se quedan asombrados; los inocentes se indignan contra el impío,
9
la gente recta se aferra a su camino y los de manos limpias aumentan su fuerza.
10
»Vengan, pues, todos ustedes; ¡arremetan contra mí! No hallaré entre ustedes a un solo sabio.
11
Mis días van pasando, mis planes se frustran junto con los anhelos de mi corazón.
12
Esta gente convierte la noche en día; todo está oscuro, pero insisten: “La luz se acerca”.
13
Si el único hogar que espero es el sepulcro, he de tenderme a dormir en las tinieblas;
14
he de llamar “Padre mío” a la corrupción, y “Madre” y “Hermana” a los gusanos.
15
¿Dónde queda entonces mi esperanza? ¿Quién ve alguna esperanza para mí?
16
¿Bajará conmigo hasta las puertas de la muerte? ¿Descenderemos juntos hasta el polvo?»
Chapter 18
1 Respondió entonces Bildad de Súah: 2 «¿Cuándo pondrás fin a tanta palabrería? Entra en razón, y entonces hablaremos. 3 ¿Por qué nos tratas como si fuéramos bestias? ¿Por qué nos consideras unos tontos? 4 Es tal tu enojo que te desgarras el alma; ¡mas no por ti quedará desierta la tierra, ni se moverán de su lugar las rocas!
5
»La lámpara del malvado se apagará; la llama de su fuego dejará de arder.
6
Languidece la luz de su morada; la lámpara que lo alumbra se apagará.
7
El vigor de sus pasos se irá debilitando; sus propios planes lo derribarán.
8
Sus pies lo harán caer en una trampa, y entre sus redes quedará atrapado.
9
Quedará sujeto por los tobillos; quedará atrapado por completo.
10
Un lazo le espera escondido en el suelo; una trampa está tendida a su paso.
11
El terror lo asalta por doquier, y anda tras sus pasos.
12
La calamidad lo acosa sin descanso; el desastre no lo deja un solo instante.
13
La enfermedad le carcome el cuerpo; la muerte le devora las manos y los pies.
14
Lejos de la seguridad de su morada, marcha ahora hacia el rey de los terrores.
15
El fuego se ha apoderado de su carpa; hay azufre ardiente esparcido en su morada.
16
En el tronco, sus raíces se han secado; en la copa, sus ramas se marchitan.
17
Borrada de la tierra ha sido su memoria; de su fama nada queda en el país.
18
De la luz es lanzado a las tinieblas; ha sido expulsado de este mundo.
19
No tiene entre su pueblo hijos ni parientes; nadie le sobrevive donde él habitó.
20
Del oriente al occidente los pueblos se asombran de su suerte y se estremecen de terror.
21
Así es la morada del malvado, el lugar del que no conoce a Dios».
Reina-Valera 1960
Chapter 9
1 Respondió Job, y dijo: 2 Ciertamente yo sé que es así; ¿Y cómo se justificará el hombre con Dios? 3 Si quisiere contender con él, No le podrá responder a una cosa entre mil. 4 Él es sabio de corazón, y poderoso en fuerzas; ¿Quién se endureció contra él, y le fue bien? 5 Él arranca los montes con su furor, Y no saben quién los trastornó; 6 Él remueve la tierra de su lugar, Y hace temblar sus columnas; 7 Él manda al sol, y no sale; Y sella las estrellas; 8 Él solo extendió los cielos, Y anda sobre las olas del mar; 9 Él hizo la Osa, el Orión y las Pléyades, Y los lugares secretos del sur; 10 Él hace cosas grandes e incomprensibles, Y maravillosas, sin número. 11 He aquí que él pasará delante de mí, y yo no lo veré; Pasará, y no lo entenderé. 12 He aquí, arrebatará; ¿quién le hará restituir? ¿Quién le dirá: Qué haces?
13
Dios no volverá atrás su ira, Y debajo de él se abaten los que ayudan a los soberbios.
14
¿Cuánto menos le responderé yo, Y hablaré con él palabras escogidas?
15
Aunque fuese yo justo, no respondería; Antes habría de rogar a mi juez.
16
Si yo le invocara, y él me respondiese, Aún no creeré que haya escuchado mi voz.
17
Porque me ha quebrantado con tempestad, Y ha aumentado mis heridas sin causa.
18
No me ha concedido que tome aliento, Sino que me ha llenado de amarguras.
19
Si habláremos de su potencia, por cierto es fuerte; Si de juicio, ¿quién me emplazará?
20
Si yo me justificare, me condenaría mi boca; Si me dijere perfecto, esto me haría inicuo.
21
Si fuese íntegro, no haría caso de mí mismo; Despreciaría mi vida.
22
Una cosa resta que yo diga: Al perfecto y al impío él los consume.
23
Si azote mata de repente, Se ríe del sufrimiento de los inocentes.
24
La tierra es entregada en manos de los impíos, Y él cubre el rostro de sus jueces. Si no es él, ¿quién es? ¿Dónde está?
25
Mis días han sido más ligeros que un correo; Huyeron, y no vieron el bien.
26
Pasaron cual naves veloces; Como el águila que se arroja sobre la presa.
27
Si yo dijere: Olvidaré mi queja, Dejaré mi triste semblante, y me esforzaré,
28
Me turban todos mis dolores; Sé que no me tendrás por inocente.
29
Yo soy impío; ¿Para qué trabajaré en vano?
30
Aunque me lave con aguas de nieve, Y limpie mis manos con la limpieza misma,
31
Aún me hundirás en el hoyo, Y mis propios vestidos me abominarán.
32
Porque no es hombre como yo, para que yo le responda, Y vengamos juntamente a juicio.
33
No hay entre nosotros árbitro Que ponga su mano sobre nosotros dos.
34
Quite de sobre mí su vara, Y su terror no me espante.
35
Entonces hablaré, y no le temeré; Porque en este estado no estoy en mí.
Chapter 10
1 Está mi alma hastiada de mi vida; Daré libre curso a mi queja, Hablaré con amargura de mi alma. 2 Diré a Dios: No me condenes; Hazme entender por qué contiendes conmigo. 3 ¿Te parece bien que oprimas, Que deseches la obra de tus manos, Y que favorezcas los designios de los impíos? 4 ¿Tienes tú acaso ojos de carne? ¿Ves tú como ve el hombre? 5 ¿Son tus días como los días del hombre, O tus años como los tiempos humanos, 6 Para que inquieras mi iniquidad, Y busques mi pecado, 7 Aunque tú sabes que no soy impío, Y que no hay quien de tu mano me libre? 8 Tus manos me hicieron y me formaron; ¿Y luego te vuelves y me deshaces? 9 Acuérdate que como a barro me diste forma; ¿Y en polvo me has de volver? 10 ¿No me vaciaste como leche, Y como queso me cuajaste? 11 Me vestiste de piel y carne, Y me tejiste con huesos y nervios. 12 Vida y misericordia me concediste, Y tu cuidado guardó mi espíritu. 13 Estas cosas tienes guardadas en tu corazón; Yo sé que están cerca de ti. 14 Si pequé, tú me has observado, Y no me tendrás por limpio de mi iniquidad. 15 Si fuere malo, ¡ay de mí! Y si fuere justo, no levantaré mi cabeza, Estando hastiado de deshonra, y de verme afligido. 16 Si mi cabeza se alzare, cual león tú me cazas; Y vuelves a hacer en mí maravillas. 17 Renuevas contra mí tus pruebas, Y aumentas conmigo tu furor como tropas de relevo.
18
¿Por qué me sacaste de la matriz? Hubiera yo expirado, y ningún ojo me habría visto.
19
Fuera como si nunca hubiera existido, Llevado del vientre a la sepultura.
20
¿No son pocos mis días? Cesa, pues, y déjame, para que me consuele un poco,
21
Antes que vaya para no volver, A la tierra de tinieblas y de sombra de muerte;
22
Tierra de oscuridad, lóbrega, Como sombra de muerte y sin orden, Y cuya luz es como densas tinieblas.
Chapter 11
1 Respondió Zofar naamatita, y dijo: 2 ¿Las muchas palabras no han de tener respuesta? ¿Y el hombre que habla mucho será justificado? 3 ¿Harán tus falacias callar a los hombres? ¿Harás escarnio y no habrá quien te avergüence? 4 Tú dices: Mi doctrina es pura, Y yo soy limpio delante de tus ojos. 5 Mas ¡oh, quién diera que Dios hablara, Y abriera sus labios contigo, 6 Y te declarara los secretos de la sabiduría, Que son de doble valor que las riquezas! Conocerías entonces que Dios te ha castigado menos de lo que tu iniquidad merece.
7
¿Descubrirás tú los secretos de Dios? ¿Llegarás tú a la perfección del Todopoderoso?
8
Es más alta que los cielos; ¿qué harás? Es más profunda que el Seol; ¿cómo la conocerás?
9
Su dimensión es más extensa que la tierra, Y más ancha que el mar.
10
Si él pasa, y aprisiona, y llama a juicio, ¿Quién podrá contrarrestarle?
11
Porque él conoce a los hombres vanos; Ve asimismo la iniquidad, ¿y no hará caso?
12
El hombre vano se hará entendido, Cuando un pollino de asno montés nazca hombre.
13
Si tú dispusieres tu corazón, Y extendieres a él tus manos;
14
Si alguna iniquidad hubiere en tu mano, y la echares de ti, Y no consintieres que more en tu casa la injusticia,
15
Entonces levantarás tu rostro limpio de mancha, Y serás fuerte, y nada temerás;
16
Y olvidarás tu miseria, O te acordarás de ella como de aguas que pasaron.
17
La vida te será más clara que el mediodía; Aunque oscureciere, será como la mañana.
18
Tendrás confianza, porque hay esperanza; Mirarás alrededor, y dormirás seguro.
19
Te acostarás, y no habrá quien te espante; Y muchos suplicarán tu favor.
20
Pero los ojos de los malos se consumirán, Y no tendrán refugio; Y su esperanza será dar su último suspiro.
Chapter 12
1 Respondió entonces Job, diciendo: 2 Ciertamente vosotros sois el pueblo, Y con vosotros morirá la sabiduría. 3 También tengo yo entendimiento como vosotros; No soy yo menos que vosotros; ¿Y quién habrá que no pueda decir otro tanto? 4 Yo soy uno de quien su amigo se mofa, Que invoca a Dios, y él le responde; Con todo, el justo y perfecto es escarnecido. 5 Aquel cuyos pies van a resbalar Es como una lámpara despreciada de aquel que está a sus anchas. 6 Prosperan las tiendas de los ladrones, Y los que provocan a Dios viven seguros, En cuyas manos él ha puesto cuanto tienen.
7
Y en efecto, pregunta ahora a las bestias, y ellas te enseñarán; A las aves de los cielos, y ellas te lo mostrarán;
8
O habla a la tierra, y ella te enseñará; Los peces del mar te lo declararán también.
9
¿Qué cosa de todas estas no entiende Que la mano de Jehová la hizo?
10
En su mano está el alma de todo viviente, Y el hálito de todo el género humano.
11
Ciertamente el oído distingue las palabras, Y el paladar gusta las viandas.
12
En los ancianos está la ciencia, Y en la larga edad la inteligencia.
13
Con Dios está la sabiduría y el poder; Suyo es el consejo y la inteligencia.
14
Si él derriba, no hay quien edifique; Encerrará al hombre, y no habrá quien le abra.
15
Si él detiene las aguas, todo se seca; Si las envía, destruyen la tierra.
16
Con él está el poder y la sabiduría; Suyo es el que yerra, y el que hace errar.
17
Él hace andar despojados de consejo a los consejeros, Y entontece a los jueces.
18
Él rompe las cadenas de los tiranos, Y les ata una soga a sus lomos.
19
Él lleva despojados a los príncipes, Y trastorna a los poderosos.
20
Priva del habla a los que dicen verdad, Y quita a los ancianos el consejo.
21
Él derrama menosprecio sobre los príncipes, Y desata el cinto de los fuertes.
22
Él descubre las profundidades de las tinieblas, Y saca a luz la sombra de muerte.
23
Él multiplica las naciones, y él las destruye; Esparce a las naciones, y las vuelve a reunir.
24
Él quita el entendimiento a los jefes del pueblo de la tierra, Y los hace vagar como por un yermo sin camino.
25
Van a tientas, como en tinieblas y sin luz, Y los hace errar como borrachos.
Chapter 13
1 He aquí que todas estas cosas han visto mis ojos, Y oído y entendido mis oídos. 2 Como vosotros lo sabéis, lo sé yo; No soy menos que vosotros. 3 Mas yo hablaría con el Todopoderoso, Y querría razonar con Dios. 4 Porque ciertamente vosotros sois fraguadores de mentira; Sois todos vosotros médicos nulos. 5 Ojalá callarais por completo, Porque esto os fuera sabiduría. 6 Oíd ahora mi razonamiento, Y estad atentos a los argumentos de mis labios. 7 ¿Hablaréis iniquidad por Dios? ¿Hablaréis por él engaño? 8 ¿Haréis acepción de personas a su favor? ¿Contenderéis vosotros por Dios? 9 ¿Sería bueno que él os escudriñase? ¿Os burlaréis de él como quien se burla de algún hombre? 10 Él os reprochará de seguro, Si solapadamente hacéis acepción de personas. 11 De cierto su alteza os habría de espantar, Y su pavor habría de caer sobre vosotros. 12 Vuestras máximas son refranes de ceniza, Y vuestros baluartes son baluartes de lodo.
13
Escuchadme, y hablaré yo, Y que me venga después lo que viniere.
14
¿Por qué quitaré yo mi carne con mis dientes, Y tomaré mi vida en mi mano?
15
He aquí, aunque él me matare, en él esperaré; No obstante, defenderé delante de él mis caminos,
16
Y él mismo será mi salvación, Porque no entrará en su presencia el impío.
17
Oíd con atención mi razonamiento, Y mi declaración entre en vuestros oídos.
18
He aquí ahora, si yo expusiere mi causa, Sé que seré justificado.
19
¿Quién es el que contenderá conmigo? Porque si ahora yo callara, moriría.
20
A lo menos dos cosas no hagas conmigo; Entonces no me esconderé de tu rostro:
21
Aparta de mí tu mano, Y no me asombre tu terror.
22
Llama luego, y yo responderé; O yo hablaré, y respóndeme tú.
23
¿Cuántas iniquidades y pecados tengo yo? Hazme entender mi transgresión y mi pecado.
24
¿Por qué escondes tu rostro, Y me cuentas por tu enemigo?
25
¿A la hoja arrebatada has de quebrantar, Y a una paja seca has de perseguir?
26
¿Por qué escribes contra mí amarguras, Y me haces cargo de los pecados de mi juventud?
27
Pones además mis pies en el cepo, y observas todos mis caminos, Trazando un límite para las plantas de mis pies.
28
Y mi cuerpo se va gastando como de carcoma, Como vestido que roe la polilla.
Chapter 14
1 El hombre nacido de mujer, Corto de días, y hastiado de sinsabores, 2 Sale como una flor y es cortado, Y huye como la sombra y no permanece. 3 ¿Sobre éste abres tus ojos, Y me traes a juicio contigo? 4 ¿Quién hará limpio a lo inmundo? Nadie. 5 Ciertamente sus días están determinados, Y el número de sus meses está cerca de ti; Le pusiste límites, de los cuales no pasará. 6 Si tú lo abandonares, él dejará de ser; Entre tanto deseará, como el jornalero, su día.
7
Porque si el árbol fuere cortado, aún queda de él esperanza; Retoñará aún, y sus renuevos no faltarán.
8
Si se envejeciere en la tierra su raíz, Y su tronco fuere muerto en el polvo,
9
Al percibir el agua reverdecerá, Y hará copa como planta nueva.
10
Mas el hombre morirá, y será cortado; Perecerá el hombre, ¿y dónde estará él?
11
Como las aguas se van del mar, Y el río se agota y se seca,
12
Así el hombre yace y no vuelve a levantarse; Hasta que no haya cielo, no despertarán, Ni se levantarán de su sueño.
13
¡Oh, quién me diera que me escondieses en el Seol, Que me encubrieses hasta apaciguarse tu ira, Que me pusieses plazo, y de mí te acordaras!
14
Si el hombre muriere, ¿volverá a vivir? Todos los días de mi edad esperaré, Hasta que venga mi liberación.
15
Entonces llamarás, y yo te responderé; Tendrás afecto a la hechura de tus manos.
16
Pero ahora me cuentas los pasos, Y no das tregua a mi pecado;
17
Tienes sellada en saco mi prevaricación, Y tienes cosida mi iniquidad.
18
Ciertamente el monte que cae se deshace, Y las peñas son removidas de su lugar;
19
Las piedras se desgastan con el agua impetuosa, que se lleva el polvo de la tierra; De igual manera haces tú perecer la esperanza del hombre.
20
Para siempre serás más fuerte que él, y él se va; Demudarás su rostro, y le despedirás.
21
Sus hijos tendrán honores, pero él no lo sabrá; O serán humillados, y no entenderá de ello.
22
Mas su carne sobre él se dolerá, Y se entristecerá en él su alma.
Chapter 15
1 Respondió Elifaz temanita, y dijo: 2 ¿Proferirá el sabio vana sabiduría, Y llenará su vientre de viento solano? 3 ¿Disputará con palabras inútiles, Y con razones sin provecho? 4 Tú también disipas el temor, Y menoscabas la oración delante de Dios. 5 Porque tu boca declaró tu iniquidad, Pues has escogido el hablar de los astutos. 6 Tu boca te condenará, y no yo; Y tus labios testificarán contra ti.
7
¿Naciste tú primero que Adán? ¿O fuiste formado antes que los collados?
8
¿Oíste tú el secreto de Dios, Y está limitada a ti la sabiduría?
9
¿Qué sabes tú que no sepamos? ¿Qué entiendes tú que no se halle en nosotros?
10
Cabezas canas y hombres muy ancianos hay entre nosotros, Mucho más avanzados en días que tu padre.
11
¿En tan poco tienes las consolaciones de Dios, Y las palabras que con dulzura se te dicen?
12
¿Por qué tu corazón te aleja, Y por qué guiñan tus ojos,
13
Para que contra Dios vuelvas tu espíritu, Y saques tales palabras de tu boca?
14
¿Qué cosa es el hombre para que sea limpio, Y para que se justifique el nacido de mujer?
15
He aquí, en sus santos no confía, Y ni aun los cielos son limpios delante de sus ojos;
16
¿Cuánto menos el hombre abominable y vil, Que bebe la iniquidad como agua?
17
Escúchame; yo te mostraré, Y te contaré lo que he visto;
18
Lo que los sabios nos contaron De sus padres, y no lo encubrieron;
19
A quienes únicamente fue dada la tierra, Y no pasó extraño por en medio de ellos.
20
Todos sus días, el impío es atormentado de dolor, Y el número de sus años está escondido para el violento.
21
Estruendos espantosos hay en sus oídos; En la prosperidad el asolador vendrá sobre él.
22
Él no cree que volverá de las tinieblas, Y descubierto está para la espada.
23
Vaga alrededor tras el pan, diciendo: ¿En dónde está? Sabe que le está preparado día de tinieblas.
24
Tribulación y angustia le turbarán, Y se esforzarán contra él como un rey dispuesto para la batalla,
25
Por cuanto él extendió su mano contra Dios, Y se portó con soberbia contra el Todopoderoso.
26
Corrió contra él con cuello erguido, Con la espesa barrera de sus escudos.
27
Porque la gordura cubrió su rostro, E hizo pliegues sobre sus ijares;
28
Y habitó las ciudades asoladas, Las casas inhabitadas, Que estaban en ruinas.
29
No prosperará, ni durarán sus riquezas, Ni extenderá por la tierra su hermosura.
30
No escapará de las tinieblas; La llama secará sus ramas, Y con el aliento de su boca perecerá.
31
No confíe el iluso en la vanidad, Porque ella será su recompensa.
32
Él será cortado antes de su tiempo, Y sus renuevos no reverdecerán.
33
Perderá su agraz como la vid, Y derramará su flor como el olivo.
34
Porque la congregación de los impíos será asolada, Y fuego consumirá las tiendas de soborno.
35
Concibieron dolor, dieron a luz iniquidad, Y en sus entrañas traman engaño.
Chapter 16
1 Respondió Job, y dijo: 2 Muchas veces he oído cosas como éstas; Consoladores molestos sois todos vosotros. 3 ¿Tendrán fin las palabras vacías? ¿O qué te anima a responder? 4 También yo podría hablar como vosotros, Si vuestra alma estuviera en lugar de la mía; Yo podría hilvanar contra vosotros palabras, Y sobre vosotros mover mi cabeza. 5 Pero yo os alentaría con mis palabras, Y la consolación de mis labios apaciguaría vuestro dolor.
6
Si hablo, mi dolor no cesa; Y si dejo de hablar, no se aparta de mí.
7
Pero ahora tú me has fatigado; Has asolado toda mi compañía.
8
Tú me has llenado de arrugas; testigo es mi flacura, Que se levanta contra mí para testificar en mi rostro.
9
Su furor me despedazó, y me ha sido contrario; Crujió sus dientes contra mí; Contra mí aguzó sus ojos mi enemigo.
10
Abrieron contra mí su boca; Hirieron mis mejillas con afrenta; Contra mí se juntaron todos.
11
Me ha entregado Dios al mentiroso, Y en las manos de los impíos me hizo caer.
12
Próspero estaba, y me desmenuzó; Me arrebató por la cerviz y me despedazó, Y me puso por blanco suyo.
13
Me rodearon sus flecheros, Partió mis riñones, y no perdonó; Mi hiel derramó por tierra.
14
Me quebrantó de quebranto en quebranto; Corrió contra mí como un gigante.
15
Cosí cilicio sobre mi piel, Y puse mi cabeza en el polvo.
16
Mi rostro está inflamado con el lloro, Y mis párpados entenebrecidos,
17
A pesar de no haber iniquidad en mis manos, Y de haber sido mi oración pura.
18
¡Oh tierra! no cubras mi sangre, Y no haya lugar para mi clamor.
19
Mas he aquí que en los cielos está mi testigo, Y mi testimonio en las alturas.
20
Disputadores son mis amigos; Mas ante Dios derramaré mis lágrimas.
21
¡Ojalá pudiese disputar el hombre con Dios, Como con su prójimo!
22
Mas los años contados vendrán, Y yo iré por el camino de donde no volveré.
Chapter 17
1 Mi aliento se agota, se acortan mis días, Y me está preparado el sepulcro. 2 No hay conmigo sino escarnecedores, En cuya amargura se detienen mis ojos.
3
Dame fianza, oh Dios; sea mi protección cerca de ti. Porque ¿quién querría responder por mí?
4
Porque a éstos has escondido de su corazón la inteligencia; Por tanto, no los exaltarás.
5
Al que denuncia a sus amigos como presa, Los ojos de sus hijos desfallecerán.
6
Él me ha puesto por refrán de pueblos, Y delante de ellos he sido como tamboril.
7
Mis ojos se oscurecieron por el dolor, Y mis pensamientos todos son como sombra.
8
Los rectos se maravillarán de esto, Y el inocente se levantará contra el impío.
9
No obstante, proseguirá el justo su camino, Y el limpio de manos aumentará la fuerza.
10
Pero volved todos vosotros, y venid ahora, Y no hallaré entre vosotros sabio.
11
Pasaron mis días, fueron arrancados mis pensamientos, Los designios de mi corazón.
12
Pusieron la noche por día, Y la luz se acorta delante de las tinieblas.
13
Si yo espero, el Seol es mi casa; Haré mi cama en las tinieblas.
14
A la corrupción he dicho: Mi padre eres tú; A los gusanos: Mi madre y mi hermana.
15
¿Dónde, pues, estará ahora mi esperanza? Y mi esperanza, ¿quién la verá?
16
A la profundidad del Seol descenderán, Y juntamente descansarán en el polvo.
Chapter 18
1 Respondió Bildad suhita, y dijo: 2 ¿Cuándo pondréis fin a las palabras? Entended, y después hablemos. 3 ¿Por qué somos tenidos por bestias, Y a vuestros ojos somos viles? 4 Oh tú, que te despedazas en tu furor, ¿Será abandonada la tierra por tu causa, Y serán removidas de su lugar las peñas?
5
Ciertamente la luz de los impíos será apagada, Y no resplandecerá la centella de su fuego.
6
La luz se oscurecerá en su tienda, Y se apagará sobre él su lámpara.
7
Sus pasos vigorosos serán acortados, Y su mismo consejo lo precipitará.
8
Porque red será echada a sus pies, Y sobre mallas andará.
9
Lazo prenderá su calcañar; Se afirmará la trampa contra él.
10
Su cuerda está escondida en la tierra, Y una trampa le aguarda en la senda.
11
De todas partes lo asombrarán temores, Y le harán huir desconcertado.
12
Serán gastadas de hambre sus fuerzas, Y a su lado estará preparado quebrantamiento.
13
La enfermedad roerá su piel, Y a sus miembros devorará el primogénito de la muerte.
14
Su confianza será arrancada de su tienda, Y al rey de los espantos será conducido.
15
En su tienda morará como si no fuese suya; Piedra de azufre será esparcida sobre su morada.
16
Abajo se secarán sus raíces, Y arriba serán cortadas sus ramas.
17
Su memoria perecerá de la tierra, Y no tendrá nombre por las calles.
18
De la luz será lanzado a las tinieblas, Y echado fuera del mundo.
19
No tendrá hijo ni nieto en su pueblo, Ni quien le suceda en sus moradas.
20
Sobre su día se espantarán los de occidente, Y pavor caerá sobre los de oriente.
21
Ciertamente tales son las moradas del impío, Y éste será el lugar del que no conoció a Dios.
Biblia del Jubileo
Chapter 9
1 Y respondió Job, y dijo: 2 Ciertamente yo conozco que es así; ¿y cómo se justificará el hombre con Dios? 3 Si quisiere contender con él, no le podrá responder a una cosa de mil. 4 El es sabio de corazón, y fuerte en fuerza, ¿quién se endureció contra él, y quedó en paz? 5 Que arranca los montes con su furor, y no conocen quién los trastornó; 6 que remueve la tierra de su lugar, y hace temblar sus columnas; 7 que manda al sol, y no sale; y sella las estrellas. 8 El solo extiende los cielos, y anda sobre las alturas del mar. 9 El que hizo la Osa, y el Orión, y las Pléyades, y los lugares secretos del mediodía; 10 el que hace cosas grandes e incomprensibles, y maravillosas, sin número. 11 He aquí que él pasará delante de mí, y yo no lo veré; y pasará, y no lo entenderé. 12 He aquí, arrebatará; ¿quién le hará restituir? ¿Quién le dirá: Qué haces? 13 Dios no tornará atrás su ira, y debajo de él se encorvan los que ayudan a la soberbia. 14 ¿Cuánto menos le responderé yo, y eligiré mis palabras con él? 15 Que aunque yo sea justo, no responderé; antes habré de rogar a mi juez. 16 Que si yo le invocase, y él me respondiese, aún no creeré que haya escuchado mi voz. 17 Porque me ha quebrado con tempestad, y ha aumentado mis heridas sin causa. 18 Que aún no me ha concedido que tome mi aliento; mas me ha llenado de amarguras. 19 Si habláramos de su potencia, fuerte por cierto es; si de su juicio, ¿quién me emplazará? 20 Si yo me justificare, me condenará mi boca; si me predicare perfecto, él me hará inicuo. 21 Si yo me predicare imperfecto, no conozco mi alma; condenaré mi vida. 22 Una cosa resta es a saber que yo diga: Al perfecto y al impío él los consume. 23 Si es azote, mate de presto, y no se ría de la prueba de los inocentes. 24 La tierra es entregada en manos de los impíos, y él cubre el rostro de sus jueces. Si no es él el que lo hace, ¿quién es? ¿Dónde está? 25 Mis días han sido más ligeros que un correo; huyeron, y nunca vieron bien. 26 Pasaron con los navíos de Ebeh; o como el águila que se arroja a la presa. 27 Si digo: Quiero olvidar mi queja, dejaré mi aburrimiento, y me esforzaré. 28 Temo todos mis trabajos; sé que no me perdonarás. 29 Si yo soy impío, ¿para qué trabajaré en vano? 30 Aunque me lave con aguas de nieve, y aunque limpie mis manos con la misma limpieza, 31 aún me hundirás en el hoyo; y mis propios vestidos me abominarán. 32 Porque no es hombre como yo, para que yo le responda, y vengamos juntamente a juicio. 33 No hay entre nosotros árbitro que ponga su mano sobre nosotros ambos. 34 Quite de sobre mí su verdugo, y su terror no me perturbe. 35 Y hablaré, y no le temeré; porque en este estado no estoy en mí.Chapter 10
1 Mi alma es cortada en mi vida; por tanto soltaré mi queja sobre mí, y hablaré con amargura de mi alma. 2 Diré a Dios: No me condenes; hazme entender por qué pleiteas conmigo. 3 ¿Te parece bien que oprimas, y que deseches la obra de tus manos, y que resplandezcas sobre el consejo de los impíos? 4 ¿Tienes tú ojos de carne? ¿Ves tú como ve el hombre? 5 ¿Son tus días como los días del hombre, o tus años como los tiempos humanos, 6 para que inquieras mi iniquidad, y busques mi pecado, 7 sobre saber tú que no soy impío, y que no hay quien de tu mano me libre? 8 Tus manos me formaron y me compusieron todo en contorno, ¿y así me deshaces? 9 Acuérdate ahora que como a lodo me diste forma; ¿y en polvo me has de tornar? 10 ¿No me fundiste como leche, y como un queso me cuajaste? 11 Me vestiste de piel y carne, y me cubriste de huesos y nervios. 12 Vida y misericordia me concediste, y tu visitación guardó mi espíritu. 13 Y estas cosas tienes guardadas en tu corazón; yo sé que esto está cerca de ti. 14 Si pequé, ¿me acecharás, y no me limpiarás de mi iniquidad? 15 Si fuere malo, ¡ay de mí! Y si fuere justo, no levantaré mi cabeza, estando hastiado de deshonra, y de verme afligido. 16 Y vas creciendo, cazándome como león; tornando y haciendo en mí maravillas. 17 Renovando tus plagas contra mí, y aumentando conmigo tu furor, remudándose sobre mí ejércitos. 18 ¿Por qué me sacaste del vientre? Habría yo muerto, y no me vieran ojos. 19 Fuera, como si nunca hubiera sido, llevado desde el vientre a la sepultura. 20 ¿No son mis días poca cosa? Cesa pues, y déjame, para que me esfuerce un poco. 21 Antes que vaya para no volver, a la tierra de tinieblas y de sombra de muerte; 22 tierra de oscuridad, y tenebrosa sombra de muerte, donde no hay orden, y que resplandece como la misma oscuridad.Chapter 11
1 Y respondió Zofar naamatita, y dijo: 2 ¿Las muchas palabras no han de tener respuesta? ¿Y el hombre parlero será justificado? 3 ¿Tus mentiras harán callar a los hombres? ¿Y harás escarnio, y no habrá quien te avergüence? 4 Tú dices: Mi manera de vivir es pura, y yo soy limpio delante de tus ojos. 5 Mas ¡oh, quién diera que Dios hablara, y abriera sus labios contigo, 6 y que te declarara los secretos de la sabiduría! Porque mereces dos tantos según la ley; y sabe que Dios te ha olvidado por tu iniquidad. 7 ¿Alcanzarás tú el rastro de Dios? ¿Llegarás tú a la perfección del Todopoderoso? 8 Es más alto que los cielos; ¿qué harás? Es más profundo que el infierno; ¿cómo lo conocerás? 9 Su dimensión es más larga que la tierra, y más ancha que el mar. 10 Si cortare, o encerrare, o juntare, ¿quién le responderá? 11 Porque él conoce a los hombres vanos; y ve la iniquidad, ¿y no entenderá? 12 El hombre vano se hará entendido, aunque nazca como el pollino del asno montés. 13 Si tú preparares tu corazón, y extendieres a él tus manos; 14 si alguna iniquidad hubiere en tu mano, y la echares de ti, y no consintieres que more maldad en tus habitaciones; 15 entonces levantarás tu rostro limpio de mancha, y serás fuerte y no temerás; 16 y olvidarás tu trabajo, y te acordarás de él como de aguas que pasaron; 17 y en mitad de la siesta se levantará bonanza; resplandecerás, y serás como la misma mañana; 18 y confiarás, que habrá esperanza; y cavarás, y dormirás seguro; 19 y te acostarás, y no habrá quien te espante; y muchos te rogarán. 20 Mas los ojos de los malos se consumirán, y no tendrán refugio; y su esperanza será agonía del alma.Chapter 12
1 Y respondió Job, y dijo: 2 Ciertamente que vosotros sois el pueblo; y con vosotros morirá la sabiduría. 3 También tengo yo seso como vosotros; no soy yo menos que vosotros; ¿y quién habrá que no pueda decir otro tanto? 4 El que invoca a Dios, y él le responde, es burlado de su amigo; y el justo y perfecto es escarnecido. 5 La antorcha es tenida en poco en el pensamiento del próspero; la cual se aparejó contra las caídas de los pies. 6 Las tiendas de los ladrones están en paz; y los que provocan a Dios, y los que traen dioses en sus manos viven seguros. 7 Y en efecto, pregunta ahora a las bestias, que ellas te enseñarán; y a las aves de los cielos, que ellas te lo mostrarán; 8 o habla a la tierra, que ella te enseñará; los peces del mar te lo declararán también. 9 ¿Qué cosa de todas éstas no entiende que la mano del SEÑOR la hizo? 10 En su mano está el alma de todo viviente, y el espíritu de toda carne humana. 11 Ciertamente el oído prueba las palabras, y el paladar gusta las viandas. 12 En los viejos está la ciencia, y en la larga edad la inteligencia. 13 Con Dios está la sabiduría y la fortaleza; suyo es el consejo y la inteligencia. 14 He aquí, él derribará, y no será edificado; encerrará al hombre, y no habrá quien le abra. 15 He aquí, él detendrá las aguas, y se secarán; él las enviará, y destruirán la tierra. 16 Con él está la fortaleza y la existencia; suyo es el que yerra, y el que hace errar. 17 El hace andar a los consejeros desnudos de consejo, y hace enloquecer a los jueces. 18 El suelta la atadura de los tiranos, y les ata el cinto a sus lomos. 19 El lleva despojados a los príncipes, y trastorna a los valientes. 20 El impide el labio a los que dicen verdad, y quita a los ancianos el consejo. 21 El derrama menosprecio sobre los príncipes, y enflaquece la fuerza de los esforzados. 22 El descubre las profundidades de las tinieblas, y saca a luz la sombra de muerte. 23 El multiplica los gentiles, y él las destruye; esparce los gentiles, y las torna a recoger. 24 El quita el seso de las cabezas del pueblo de la tierra, y les hace que se pierdan vagando sin camino; 25 que palpen las tinieblas, y no la luz; y los hace errar como borrachos.Chapter 13
1 He aquí que todas estas cosas han visto mis ojos, y oído y entendido mis oídos. 2 Como vosotros lo sabéis, lo sé yo; no soy menos que vosotros. 3 Mas yo hablaría con el Todopoderoso, y querría disputar con Dios. 4 Que ciertamente vosotros sois fraguadores de mentira; sois todos vosotros médicos nulos. 5 Ojalá callarais del todo, porque os fuera en lugar de sabiduría. 6 Oíd, pues, ahora mi disputa, y estad atentos a los argumentos de mis labios. 7 ¿Habéis de hablar iniquidad por Dios? ¿Habéis de hablar por él engaño? 8 ¿Habéis vosotros de hacerle honra? ¿Habéis de pleitear vosotros por Dios? 9 ¿Sería bueno que él os escudriñase? ¿Os burlaréis de él como quien se burla de algún hombre? 10 El os redargüirá duramente, si en lo secreto le hicieses tal honra. 11 De cierto su alteza os había de espantar, y su pavor había de caer sobre vosotros. 12 Vuestras memorias serán comparadas a la ceniza, y vuestros cuerpos como cuerpos de lodo. 13 Escuchadme, y hablaré yo, y que me venga después lo que viniere. 14 ¿Por qué quitaré yo mi carne con mis dientes, y pondré mi alma en mi palma? 15 He aquí, aunque me matare, en él esperaré; pero defenderé delante de él mis caminos. 16 Y él mismo me será salud, porque no entrará en su presencia el impío. 17 Oíd con atención mi razón, y mi denuncia con vuestros oídos. 18 He aquí ahora, si yo me apercibiere a juicio, sé que seré justificado. 19 ¿Quién es el que pleiteará conmigo? Porque si ahora yo callara, moriría. 20 A lo menos dos cosas no hagas conmigo; y entonces no me esconderé de tu rostro: 21 Aparta de mí tu mano, y no me asombre tu terror. 22 Llama luego, y yo responderé; o yo hablaré, y respóndeme tú. 23 ¿Cuántas iniquidades y pecados tengo yo? Hazme entender mi prevaricación y mi pecado. 24 ¿Por qué escondes tu rostro, y me cuentas por tu enemigo? 25 ¿A la hoja arrebatada has de quebrantar? ¿Y a una arista seca has de perseguir? 26 ¿Por qué escribes contra mí amarguras, y me haces cargo de los pecados de mi juventud? 27 Pones además mis pies en el cepo, y guardas todos mis caminos, imprimiéndolo a las raíces de mis pies. 28 Siendo el hombre como carcoma que se va gastando, como vestido que se come de polilla.Chapter 14
1 El hombre nacido de mujer, corto de días, y harto de sinsabores; 2 que sale como una flor y es cortado; y huye como la sombra, y no permanece. 3 ¿Y sobre éste abres tus ojos, y me traes a juicio contigo? 4 ¿Quién hará limpio de inmundo? Nadie. 5 Si sus días están determinados, y el número de sus meses está cerca de ti; tú le pusiste términos, de los cuales no pasará. 6 Si tú lo dejares, él dejará de ser; entre tanto deseará, como el jornalero, su día. 7 Porque si el árbol fuere cortado, aún queda de él esperanza; retoñecerá aún, y sus renuevos no faltarán. 8 Si se envejeciere en la tierra su raíz, y su tronco fuere muerto en el polvo, 9 al olor del agua reverdecerá, y hará copa como nueva planta. 10 Mas cuando el hombre morirá, y será cortado; y perecerá el hombre, ¿adónde estará él? 11 Las aguas del mar se fueron, y se agotó el río, se secó. 12 Así el hombre yace, y no se tornará a levantar; hasta que no haya cielo no despertarán, ni recordarán de su sueño. 13 ¡Oh quién me diera que me escondieses en la sepultura, que me encubrieras hasta apaciguarse tu ira, que me pusieses plazo, y de mí te acordaras! 14 Si el hombre muriere, ¿por ventura vivirá? Todos los días de mi edad esperaré, hasta que venga mi transformación. 15 Entonces llamarás, y yo te responderé, a la obra de tus manos desearás. 16 Pues ahora me cuentas los pasos, y no das dilación a mi pecado. 17 Tienes sellada en manojo mi prevaricación, y enmiendas a mi iniquidad. 18 Y ciertamente el monte que cae se deshace, y las peñas son traspasadas de su lugar; 19 las piedras son quebrantadas con el agua impetuosa, que se lleva el polvo de la tierra, de tal manera haces perder al hombre la esperanza. 20 Para siempre serás más fuerte que él, y él se va; demudarás su rostro, y lo enviarás. 21 Sus hijos serán honrados, y él no lo sabrá; o serán afligidos, y no entenderá de ellos. 22 Mas mientras su carne estuviere sobre él se dolerá, y su alma se entristecerá en él.Chapter 15
1 Y respondió Elifaz temanita, y dijo: 2 ¿Por ventura el sabio responderá sabiduría ventosa, y llenará su vientre de viento solano? 3 ¿Disputará con palabras inútiles, y con razones sin provecho? 4 Tú también disipas el temor, y menoscabas la oración delante de Dios. 5 Porque tu boca declaró tu iniquidad, pues has escogido el hablar de los astutos. 6 Tu misma boca te condenará, y no yo; y tus mismos labios testificarán contra ti. 7 ¿Naciste tú primero que Adán? ¿O fuiste formado antes que los collados? 8 ¿Oíste tú por ventura el secreto de Dios, que detienes en ti solo la sabiduría? 9 ¿Qué sabes tú que no sepamos? ¿Qué entiendes que no se halle en nosotros? 10 Entre nosotros también hay cano, también hay viejo, mayor en días que tu padre. 11 ¿En tan poco tienes las consolaciones de Dios? ¿Tienes acaso alguna cosa oculta cerca de ti? 12 ¿Por qué te enajena tu corazón, y por qué guiñan tus ojos, 13 que respondas a Dios con tu espíritu, y sacas tales palabras de tu boca? 14 ¿Qué cosa es el hombre para que sea limpio, y que se justifique el nacido de mujer? 15 He aquí que en sus santos no confía, y ni los cielos son limpios delante de sus ojos, 16 ¿cuánto menos el hombre abominable y vil, que bebe la iniquidad como agua? 17 Escúchame; yo te mostraré, y te contaré lo que he visto; 18 lo que los sabios nos contaron de sus padres, y no lo encubrieron; 19 a los cuales fue dada la tierra a ellos sólos, y no pasó extraño por medio de ellos. 20 Todos los días del impío, él es atormentado de dolor, y el número de años es escondido al violento. 21 Estruendos espantosos hay en sus oídos; en la paz le vendrá quién lo asuele. 22 El no creerá que ha de volver de las tinieblas, y siempre está mirando al cuchillo. 23 Desasosegado viene a comer siempre, porque sabe que le está aparejado día de tinieblas. 24 Tribulación y angustia le asombrarán, y se esforzarán contra él como un rey apercibido para la batalla. 25 Por cuanto él extendió su mano contra Dios, y se esforzó contra el Todopoderoso, 26 él le acometerá en la cerviz, en lo grueso de las hombreras de sus escudos; 27 porque cubrió su rostro con su gordura, e hizo pliegues sobre los ijares; 28 y habitó las ciudades asoladas, las casas inhabitadas, que estaban puestas en montones. 29 No enriquecerá, ni será firme su potencia, ni extenderá por la tierra su hermosura. 30 No se escapará de las tinieblas; la llama secará sus ramas, y con el aliento de su boca perecerá. 31 No será afirmado; en vanidad yerra; por lo cual en vanidad será trocado. 32 El será cortado antes de su tiempo, y sus renuevos no reverdecerán. 33 El perderá su agraz como la vid, y derramará su flor como la oliva. 34 Porque la congregación de los hipócritas será asolada, y fuego consumirá las tiendas de soborno. 35 Concibieron dolor, y dieron a luz iniquidad; y las entrañas de ellos meditan engaño.Chapter 16
1 Y respondió Job, y dijo: 2 Muchas veces he oído cosas como estas; consoladores molestos sois todos vosotros. 3 ¿Tendrán fin las palabras ventosas? O ¿qué es lo que te anima a responder? 4 También yo hablaría como vosotros. Deseo que vuestra alma estuviera en lugar de la mía, que yo os tendría compañía en las palabras, y sobre vosotros movería mi cabeza. 5 Pero yo os alentaría con mis palabras, y la consolación de mis labios detendría el dolor. 6 Mas si hablo, mi dolor no cesa; y si dejo de hablar, no se aparta de mí. 7 Pero ahora me ha fatigado; has tú asolado toda mi compañía. 8 Tú me has arrugado; el testigo es mi magrez, que se levanta contra mí para testificar en mi rostro. 9 Su furor me arrebató, y me ha sido contrario; crujió sus dientes contra mí; contra mí aguzó sus ojos mi enemigo. 10 Abrieron contra mí su boca; hirieron mis mejillas con afrenta; contra mí se juntaron todos. 11 Me ha entregado Dios al mentiroso, y en las manos de los impíos me hizo temblar. 12 Próspero estaba, y me desmenuzó; y me arrebató por la cerviz, y me despedazó, y me puso por blanco suyo. 13 Me cercaron sus flecheros, partió mis riñones, y no perdonó; mi hiel derramó por tierra. 14 Me quebrantó de quebranto sobre quebranto; corrió contra mí como un gigante. 15 Yo cosí saco sobre mi piel, y cargué mi cabeza de polvo. 16 Mi rostro está enlodado con lloro, y mis párpados entenebrecidos; 17 a pesar de no haber iniquidad en mis manos, y de haber sido limpia mi oración. 18 ¡Oh tierra! No cubras mi sangre, y no haya lugar donde se esconda mi clamor. 19 Por cierto aún ahora en los cielos está mi testigo, y mi testigo en las alturas. 20 Mis disputadores son mis amigos; mas a Dios destilarán mis ojos. 21 ¡Deseo que pudiese disputar el hombre con Dios, como puede con su prójimo! 22 Mas los años contados vendrán, y yo andaré el camino por donde no volveré.Chapter 17
1 Mi aliento está corrompido, mis días son cortados, y me está aparejado el sepulcro. 2 Ya no hay conmigo sino escarnecedores, en cuyas amarguras se detienen mis ojos. 3 Pon ahora, dame fianzas contigo; ¿quién tocará ahora mi mano? 4 Porque a éstos has tú escondido su corazón de entendimiento; por tanto, no los ensalzarás. 5 El que denuncia lisonjas a su prójimo, los ojos de sus hijos desfallezcan. 6 El me ha puesto por parábola de pueblos, y delante de ellos he sido como tamboril. 7 Y mis ojos se oscurecieron de desabrimiento, y todos mis pensamientos han sido como sombra. 8 Los rectos se maravillarán de esto, y el inocente se despertará contra el hipócrita. 9 El justo retendrá su carrera, y el limpio de manos aumentará la fuerza. 10 Pero volved todos vosotros, y venid ahora, que no hallaré entre vosotros sabio. 11 Mis días se pasaron, y mis pensamientos fueron arrancados, los designios de mi corazón. 12 Me pusieron la noche por día, y la luz se acorta delante de las tinieblas. 13 Si yo espero, el sepulcro es mi casa; en las tinieblas hice mi cama. 14 A la huesa tengo dicho: Mi padre eres tú; a los gusanos: Mi madre y mi hermano. 15 ¿Dónde pues estará ahora mi esperanza? Y mi esperanza ¿quién la verá? 16 A los rincones de la huesa descenderán, y juntamente descansarán en el polvo.Chapter 18
1 Y respondió Bildad suhita, y dijo: 2 ¿Cuándo pondréis fin a las palabras? Entended, y después hablemos. 3 ¿Por qué somos tenidos por bestias? ¿En vuestros ojos somos viles? 4 Oh tú, que despedazas tu alma con tu furor, ¿será dejada la tierra por tu causa, y serán traspasadas de su lugar las peñas? 5 Ciertamente la luz de los impíos será apagada, y no resplandecerá la centella de su fuego. 6 La luz se oscurecerá en su tienda, y su candil se apagará sobre él. 7 Los pasos de su potencia serán acortados, y su mismo consejo lo echará a perder. 8 Porque red será echada en sus pies, y sobre red andará. 9 Lazo prenderá su calcañar; esforzará contra él los sedientos. 10 Su cuerda está escondida en la tierra, y su torzuelo sobre la senda. 11 De todas partes lo asombrarán temores, y con sus mismos pies lo ahuyentarán. 12 Su fuerza será hambrienta, y a su costilla estará aparejado quebrantamiento. 13 Comerán los ramos de su cuero, y el primogénito de la muerte tragará sus miembros. 14 Su confianza será arrancada de su tienda, y al rey de los espantos será conducido. 15 En su tienda morará como si no fuese suya; piedra de azufre será esparcida sobre su morada. 16 Abajo se secarán sus raíces, y arriba serán cortadas sus ramas. 17 Su memoria perecerá de la tierra, y no tendrá nombre por las calles. 18 De la luz será lanzado a las tinieblas, y echado fuera del mundo. 19 No tendrá hijo ni nieto en su pueblo, ni quien le suceda en sus moradas. 20 Sobre su día se espantarán los por venir, como ocupó el pavor a los que fueron antes. 21 Ciertamente tales son las moradas del impío, y éste es el lugar del que no conoció a Dios.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® Copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New American Standard Bible Copyright© 1960 - 2020 by The Lockman Foundation.
Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright© 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers.