Study Desk

"To God belong wisdom^(u) and power;^(v) counsel and understanding are his.^(w)

What he tears down^(x) cannot be rebuilt;^(y) those he imprisons cannot be released.^(z)

If he holds back the waters,^(aa) there is drought;^(ab) if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.^(ac)

To him belong strength and insight;^(ad) both deceived and deceiver are his.^(ae)

He leads rulers away stripped^(af) and makes fools of judges.^(ag)

He takes off the shackles^(ah) put on by kings and ties a loincloth^[b] around their waist.^(ai)

He leads priests away stripped^(aj) and overthrows officials long established.^(ak)

He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders.^(al)

He pours contempt on nobles^(am) and disarms the mighty.^(an)

He reveals the deep things of darkness^(ao) and brings utter darkness^(ap) into the light.^(aq)

He makes nations great, and destroys them;^(ar) he enlarges nations,^(as) and disperses them.^(at)

He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason;^(au) he makes them wander in a trackless waste.^(av)

They grope in darkness with no light;^(aw) he makes them stagger like drunkards.^(ax)

"My eyes have seen all this,^(a) my ears have heard and understood it.

What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you.^(b)

But I desire to speak to the Almighty^(c) and to argue my case with God.^(d)

You, however, smear me with lies;^(e) you are worthless physicians,^(f) all of you!^(g)

If only you would be altogether silent!^(h) For you, that would be wisdom.⁽ⁱ⁾

Hear now my argument; listen to the pleas of my lips.^(j)

Will you speak wickedly on God's behalf? Will you speak deceitfully for him?^(k)

Will you show him partiality?^(l) Will you argue the case for God?

Would it turn out well if he examined you?^(m) Could you deceive him as you might deceive a mortal?⁽ⁿ⁾

He would surely call you to account if you secretly showed partiality.^(o)

Would not his splendor^(p) terrify you? Would not the dread of him fall on you?^(q)

Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay.^(r)

"Keep silent^(s) and let me speak;^(t) then let come to me what may.^(u)

Why do I put myself in jeopardy and take my life in my hands?^(v)

Though he slay me, yet will I hope^(w) in him;^(x) I will surely^[a] defend my ways to his face.^(y)

Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance,^(z) for no godless^(aa) person would dare come before him!^(ab)

Listen carefully to what I say;^(ac) let my words ring in your ears.

Now that I have prepared my case,^(ad) I know I will be vindicated.^(ae)

Can anyone bring charges against me?^(af) If so, I will be silent^(ag) and die.^(ah)

"Only grant me these two things, God, and then I will not hide from you:

Withdraw your hand^(ai) far from me, and stop frightening me with your terrors.^(aj)

Then summon me and I will answer,^(ak) or let me speak, and you reply to me.^(al)

How many wrongs and sins have I committed?^(am) Show me my offense and my sin.^(an)

Why do you hide your face^(ao) and consider me your enemy?^(ap)

Will you torment^(aq) a windblown leaf?^(ar) Will you chase^(as) after dry chaff?^(at)

For you write down bitter things against me and make me reap the sins of my youth.^(au)

You fasten my feet in shackles;^(av) you keep close watch on all my paths^(aw) by putting marks on the soles of my feet.

"So man wastes away like something rotten, like a garment^(ax) eaten by moths.^(ay)

"Mortals, born of woman,^(a) are of few days^(b) and full of trouble.^(c)

They spring up like flowers^(d) and wither away;^(e) like fleeting shadows,^(f) they do not endure.^(g)

Do you fix your eye on them?^(h) Will you bring them^[a] before you for judgment?⁽ⁱ⁾

Who can bring what is pure^(j) from the impure?^(k) No one!^(l)

A person's days are determined;^(m) you have decreed the number of his months⁽ⁿ⁾ and have set limits he cannot exceed.^(o)

So look away from him and let him alone,^(p) till he has put in his time like a hired laborer.^(q)

"At least there is hope for a tree:^(r) If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots^(s) will not fail.^(t)

Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump^(u) die in the soil,

yet at the scent of water^(v) it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant.^(w)

But a man dies and is laid low;^(x) he breathes his last and is no more.^(y)

As the water of a lake dries up or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,^(z)

so he lies down and does not rise;^(aa) till the heavens are no more,^(ab) people will not awake or be roused from their sleep.^(ac)

"If only you would hide me in the grave^(ad) and conceal me till your anger has passed!^(ae) If only you would set me a time and then remember^(af) me!^(ag)

If someone dies, will they live again? All the days of my hard service^(ah) I will wait for my renewal^[b](ai) to come.

You will call and I will answer you;^(aj) you will long for the creature your hands have made.^(ak)

Surely then you will count my steps^(al) but not keep track of my sin.^(am)

My offenses will be sealed^(an) up in a bag;^(ao) you will cover over my sin.^(ap)

"But as a mountain erodes and crumbles^(aq) and as a rock is moved from its place,^(ar)

as water wears away stones and torrents^(as) wash away the soil,^(at) so you destroy a person's hope.^(au)

You overpower them once for all, and they are gone;^(av) you change their countenance and send them away.^(aw)

If their children are honored, they do not know it; if their offspring are brought low, they do not see it.^(ax)

They feel but the pain of their own bodies^(ay) and mourn only for themselves.^(az)"

Then Eliphaz the Temanite^(a) replied:

"Would a wise person answer with empty notions or fill their belly with the hot east wind?^(b)

Would they argue with useless words, with speeches that have no value?^(c)

But you even undermine piety and hinder devotion to God.^(d)

Your sin^(e) prompts your mouth;^(f) you adopt the tongue of the crafty.^(g)

Your own mouth condemns you, not mine; your own lips testify against you.^(h)

"Are you the first man ever born?⁽ⁱ⁾ Were you brought forth before the hills?^(j)

Do you listen in on God's council?^(k) Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?^(l)

What do you know that we do not know? What insights do you have that we do not have?^(m)

The gray-haired and the aged⁽ⁿ⁾ are on our side, men even older than your father.^(o)

Are God's consolations^(p) not enough for you, words^(q) spoken gently to you?^(r)

Why has your heart^(s) carried you away, and why do your eyes flash,

so that you vent your rage^(t) against God and pour out such words^(u) from your mouth?^(v)

"What are mortals, that they could be pure, or those born of woman,^(w) that they could be righteous?^(x)

If God places no trust in his holy ones,^(y) if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,^(z)

how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt,^(aa) who drink up evil^(ab) like water!^(ac)

"Listen to me and I will explain to you; let me tell you what I have seen,^(ad)

what the wise have declared, hiding nothing received from their ancestors^(ae)

(to whom alone the land^(af) was given when no foreigners moved among them):

All his days the wicked man suffers torment,^(ag) the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him.^(ah)

Terrifying sounds fill his ears;^(ai) when all seems well, marauders attack him.^(aj)

He despairs of escaping the realm of darkness;^(ak) he is marked for the sword.^(al)

He wanders about^(am) for food like a vulture;^(an) he knows the day of darkness^(ao) is at hand.^(ap)

Distress and anguish^(aq) fill him with terror;^(ar) troubles overwhelm him, like a king^(as) poised to attack,

because he shakes his fist^(at) at God and vaunts himself against the Almighty,^(au)

defiantly charging against him with a thick, strong shield.^(av)

"Though his face is covered with fat and his waist bulges with flesh,^(aw)

he will inhabit ruined towns and houses where no one lives,^(ax) houses crumbling to rubble.^(ay)

He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure,^(az) nor will his possessions spread over the land.^(ba)

He will not escape the darkness;^(bb) a flame^(bc) will wither his shoots,^(bd) and the breath of God's mouth^(be) will carry him away.^(bf)

Let him not deceive^(bg) himself by trusting what is worthless,^(bh) for he will get nothing in return.^(bi)

Before his time^(bj) he will wither,^(bk) and his branches will not flourish.^(bl)

He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,^(bm) like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.^(bn)

For the company of the godless^(bo) will be barren, and fire will consume^(bp) the tents of those who love bribes.^(bq)

They conceive trouble^(br) and give birth to evil;^(bs) their womb fashions deceit."

Then Job replied:

"I have heard many things like these; you are miserable comforters,^(a) all of you!^(b)

Will your long-winded speeches never end?^(c) What ails you that you keep on arguing?^(d)

I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could make fine speeches against you and shake my head^(e) at you.

But my mouth would encourage you; comfort^(f) from my lips would bring you relief.^(g)

"Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved; and if I refrain, it does not go away.^(h)

Surely, God, you have worn me out;⁽ⁱ⁾ you have devastated my entire household.^(j)

You have shriveled me up—and it has become a witness; my gauntness^(k) rises up and testifies against me.^(l)

God assails me and tears^(m) me in his anger⁽ⁿ⁾ and gnashes his teeth at me;^(o) my opponent fastens on me his piercing eyes.^(p)

People open their mouths^(q) to jeer at me;^(r) they strike my cheek^(s) in scorn and unite together against me.^(t)