Study Desk

Or darkness, so that you cannot see, And a flood of water covers you.

'Thick clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see, And He walks on the vault (circle) of the heavens.'

"There the righteous and upright could reason with Him; So I would be acquitted forever by my Judge.

"Drought and heat consume the snow waters; So does Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) [consume] those who have sinned.

"And if this is not so, who can prove me a liar And make my speech worthless?"

"Man dams up the streams from flowing [so that they do not trickle into the mine], And what is hidden he brings out to the light.

If I gloated and rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my [powerful] hand [alone] had obtained so much,

Because I feared the great multitude, And the contempt of families terrified me, So that I kept silence and did not acknowledge my sin and did not go out of the door?

Let thorns grow instead of wheat, And stinkweed and cockleburs instead of barley." So the words of Job [with his friends] are finished.

So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes [and could not be persuaded otherwise by them].

"I must speak so that I may get relief; I will open my lips and answer.

So that his life makes him loathe food, And his soul [loathe] even his favorite dishes.

"His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen, And his bones which were not seen now stick out.

"He will pray to God, and He shall be favorable to him, So that he looks at His face with joy; For God restores to man His righteousness [that is, his right standing with God—with its joys].

"Hear my words, you wise men, And listen to me, you who have [so much] knowledge.

"If God should determine to do so, If He should gather to Himself [that is, withdraw from man] His [life-giving] spirit and His breath,

"Therefore He knows of their works, And He overthrows them in the night, So that they are crushed and destroyed.

So that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him, And He heard the cry of the afflicted.

"So that godless men would not rule Nor be snares for the people.

"He rescues the afflicted in their affliction, And opens their ears [so that they pay attention to His voice] in times of oppression.