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Job 15-21
Good News Translation
Job 15-21
Good News Translation
The Second Dialogue(A)
15 1-2 Empty words, Job! Empty words!
3 No one who is wise would talk the way you do
or defend himself with such meaningless words.
4 If you had your way, no one would fear God;
no one would pray to him.
5 Your wickedness is evident by what you say;
you are trying to hide behind clever words.
6 There is no need for me to condemn you;
you are condemned by every word you speak.
7 Do you think you were the first person born?
Were you there when God made the mountains?
8 Did you overhear the plans God made?
Does human wisdom belong to you alone?
9 There is nothing you know that we don't know.
10 We learned our wisdom from gray-haired people—
those born before your father.
11 God offers you comfort; why still reject it?
We have spoken for him with calm, even words.
12 But you are excited and glare at us in anger.
13 You are angry with God and denounce him.
14 (B)Can any human being be really pure?
Can anyone be right with God?
15 Why, God does not trust even his angels;
even they are not pure in his sight.
16 And we drink evil as if it were water;
yes, we are corrupt; we are worthless.
17 Now listen, Job, to what I know.
18 Those who are wise have taught me truths
which they learned from their ancestors,
and they kept no secrets hidden.
19 Their land was free from foreigners;
there was no one to lead them away from God.
20 The wicked who oppress others
will be in torment as long as they live.
21 Voices of terror will scream in their ears,
and robbers attack when they think they are safe.
22 They have no hope of escaping from darkness,
for somewhere a sword is waiting to kill them,
23 and vultures[a] are waiting[b] to eat their corpses.
They know their future is dark;
24 disaster, like a powerful king,
is waiting to attack them.
25 That is the fate of those
who shake their fists at God
and defy the Almighty.
26-27 They are proud and rebellious;
they stubbornly hold up their shields
and rush to fight against God.
28 They are the ones who captured cities
and seized houses whose owners had fled,
but war will destroy those cities and houses.
29 They will not remain rich for long;
nothing they own will last.
Even their shadows[c] will vanish,
30 and they will not escape from darkness.
They will be like trees
whose branches are burned by fire,
whose blossoms[d] are blown away by the wind.
31 If they are foolish enough to trust in evil,
then evil will be their reward.
32 Before their time is up they will wither,[e]
wither like a branch and never be green again.
33 They will be like vines that lose their unripe grapes;
like olive trees that drop their blossoms.
34 There will be no descendants for godless people,
and fire will destroy the homes built by bribery.
35 These are the ones who plan trouble and do evil;
their hearts are always full of deceit.
16 1-2 I have heard words like that before;
the comfort you give is only torment.
3 Are you going to keep on talking forever?
Do you always have to have the last word?
4 If you were in my place and I in yours,
I could say everything you are saying.
I could shake my head wisely
and drown you with a flood of words.
5 I could strengthen you with advice
and keep talking to comfort you.
6 But nothing I say helps,
and being silent does not calm my pain.
7 You have worn me out, God;
you have let my family be killed.
8 You have seized me; you are my enemy.
I am skin and bones,
and people take that as proof of my guilt.[f]
9 In anger God tears me limb from limb;
he glares at me with hate.
10 People sneer at me;
they crowd around me and slap my face.
11 God has handed me over to evil people.
12 I was living in peace,
but God took me by the throat
and battered me and crushed me.
God uses me for target practice
13 and shoots arrows at me from every side—
arrows that pierce and wound me;
and even then he shows no pity.
14 He wounds me again and again;
he attacks like a soldier gone mad with hate.
15 I mourn and wear clothes made of sackcloth,
and I sit here in the dust defeated.
16 I have cried until my face is red,
and my eyes are swollen and circled with shadows,
17 but I am not guilty of any violence,
and my prayer to God is sincere.
18 O Earth, don't hide the wrongs done to me!
Don't let my call for justice be silenced!
19 (C)There is someone in heaven
to stand up for me and take my side.
20 My friends scorn me;
my eyes pour out tears to God.
21 I want someone to plead with God for me,
as one pleads for a friend.
22 My years are passing now,
and I walk the road of no return.
17 The end of my life is near. I can hardly breathe;
there is nothing left for me but the grave.
2 I watch how bitterly everyone mocks me.
3 I am being honest, God. Accept my word.
There is no one else to support what I say.
4 You have closed their minds to reason;
don't let them triumph over me now.
5 In the old proverb someone betrays his friends for money,
and his children suffer for it.[g]
6 And now people use this proverb against me;
they come and spit in my face.
7 My grief has almost made me blind;
my arms and legs are as thin as shadows.
8 Those who claim to be honest are shocked,
and they all condemn me as godless.
9 Those who claim to be respectable
are more and more convinced they are right.
10 But if all of them came and stood before me,
I would not find even one of them wise.
11 My days have passed; my plans have failed;
my hope is gone.
12 But my friends say night is daylight;
they say that light is near,
but I know I remain in darkness.
13 My only hope is the world of the dead,
where I will lie down to sleep in the dark.
14 I will call the grave my father,
and the worms that eat me
I will call my mother and my sisters.
15 Where is there any hope for me?
Who sees any?
16 Hope will not go with me[h]
when I go down to the world of the dead.
18 1-2 Job, can't people like you ever be quiet?
If you stopped to listen, we could talk to you.
3 What makes you think we are as stupid as cattle?
4 You are only hurting yourself with your anger.
Will the earth be deserted because you are angry?
Will God move mountains to satisfy you?
5 (D)The light of the wicked will still be put out;
its flame will never burn again.
6 The lamp in their tents will be darkened.
7 Their steps were firm, but now they stumble;
they fall—victims of their own advice.
8 They walk into a net, and their feet are caught;
9 a trap catches their heels and holds them.
10 On the ground a snare is hidden;
a trap has been set in their path.
11 All around them terror is waiting;
it follows them at every step.
12 They used to be rich, but now they go hungry;
disaster stands and waits at their side.
13 A deadly disease spreads over their bodies
and causes their arms and legs to rot.
14 They are torn from the tents where they lived secure,
and are dragged off to face King Death.
15 Now anyone may live in their tents—[i]
after sulfur is sprinkled to disinfect them![j]
16 Their roots and branches are withered and dry.
17 Their fame is ended at home and abroad;
no one remembers them any more.
18 They will be driven out of the land of the living,
driven from light into darkness.
19 They have no descendants, no survivors.
20 From east to west, all who hear of their fate
shudder and tremble with fear.
21 That is the fate of evil people,
the fate of those who care nothing for God.
19 1-2 Why do you keep tormenting me with words?
3 Time after time you insult me
and show no shame for the way you abuse me.
4 Even if I have done wrong,
how does that hurt you?
5 You think you are better than I am,
and regard my troubles as proof of my guilt.
6 Can't you see it is God who has done this?
He has set a trap to catch me.
7 I protest his violence,
but no one is listening;
no one hears my cry for justice.
8 God has blocked the way, and I can't get through;
he has hidden my path in darkness.
9 He has taken away all my wealth
and destroyed my reputation.
10 He batters me from every side.
He uproots my hope
and leaves me to wither and die.
11 God is angry and rages against me;
he treats me like his worst enemy.
12 He sends his army to attack me;
they dig trenches and lay siege to my tent.
13 God has made my own family forsake me;
I am a stranger to those who knew me;
14 my relatives and friends are gone.
15 Those who were guests in my house have forgotten me;
my servant women treat me like a stranger and a foreigner.
16 When I call a servant, he doesn't answer—
even when I beg him to help me.
17 My wife can't stand the smell of my breath,
and my own brothers won't come near me.
18 Children despise me and laugh when they see me.
19 (E)My closest friends look at me with disgust;
those I loved most have turned against me.
20 My skin hangs loose on my bones;
I have barely escaped with my life.[k]
21 You are my friends! Take pity on me!
The hand of God has struck me down.
22 Why must you persecute me the way God does?
Haven't you tormented me enough?
23 How I wish that someone would remember my words
and record them in a book!
24 Or with a chisel carve my words in stone
and write them so that they would last forever.[l]
25 But I know there is someone in heaven
who will come at last to my defense.
26 Even after my skin is eaten by disease,
while still in this body[m] I will see God.[n]
27 I will see him with my own eyes,
and he will not be a stranger.
My courage failed because you said,
28 “How can we torment him?”
You looked for some excuse to attack me.
29 But now, be afraid of the sword—
the sword that brings God's wrath on sin,
so that you will know there is one who judges.[o]
20 1-2 Job, you upset me. Now I'm impatient to answer.
3 What you have said is an insult,
but I know how to reply to you.
4 Surely you know that from ancient times,
when we humans were first placed on earth,
5 no wicked people have been happy for long.
6 They may grow great, towering to the sky,
so great that their heads reach the clouds,
7 but they will be blown away like dust.
Those who used to know them
will wonder where they have gone.
8 (F)They will vanish like a dream, like a vision at night,
and never be seen again.
9 The wicked will disappear from the place where they used to live;
10 and their children will make good what they stole from the poor.
11 Their bodies used to be young and vigorous,
but soon they will turn to dust.
12-13 Evil tastes so good to them
that they keep some in their mouths to enjoy its flavor.
14 But in their stomachs the food turns bitter,
as bitter as any poison could be.
15 The wicked vomit up the wealth they stole;
God takes it back, even out of their stomachs.
16 What the evil people swallow is like poison;
it kills them like the bite of a deadly snake.
17 They will not live to see rivers of olive oil[p]
or streams that flow with milk and honey.
18 They will have to give up all they have worked for;
they will have no chance to enjoy their wealth,
19 because they oppressed and neglected the poor
and seized houses someone else had built.
20 Their greed is never satisfied.
21 When they eat, there is nothing left over,
but now their prosperity comes to an end.
22 At the height of their success
all the weight of misery will crush them.
23 Let them eat all they want!
God will punish them in fury and anger.
24 (G)When they try to escape from an iron sword,
a bronze bow will shoot them down.
25 Arrows stick through their bodies;
the shiny points drip with their blood,
and terror grips their hearts.
26 Everything they have saved is destroyed;
a fire not lit by human hands
burns them and all their family.
27 Heaven reveals their sin,
and the earth gives testimony against them.
28 All their wealth will be destroyed
in the flood of God's anger.
29 This is the fate of wicked people,
the fate that God assigns to them.
21 1-2 Listen to what I am saying;
that is all the comfort I ask from you.
3 Give me a chance to speak and then,
when I am through, sneer if you like.
4 My quarrel is not with mortals;
I have good reason to be impatient.
5 Look at me. Isn't that enough
to make you stare in shocked silence?
6 When I think of what has happened to me,
I am stunned, and I tremble and shake.
7 Why does God let evil people live,
let them grow old and prosper?
8 They have children and grandchildren,
and live to watch them all grow up.
9 God does not bring disaster on their homes;
they never have to live in terror.
10 Yes, all their cattle breed
and give birth without trouble.
11 Their children run and play like lambs
12 and dance to the music of harps and flutes.
13 They live out their lives in peace
and quietly die without suffering.
14 The wicked tell God to leave them alone;
they don't want to know his will for their lives.
15 They think there is no need to serve God
nor any advantage in praying to him.
16 They claim they succeed by their own strength,
but their way of thinking I can't accept.
17 Was a wicked person's light ever put out?
Did one of them ever meet with disaster?
Did God ever punish the wicked in anger
18 and blow them away like straw in the wind,
or like dust carried away in a storm?
19 You claim God punishes a child for the sins of his father.
No! Let God punish the sinners themselves;
let him show that he does it because of their sins.
20 Let sinners bear their own punishment;
let them feel the wrath of Almighty God.
21 When our lives are over,
do we really care whether our children are happy?
22 Can anyone teach God,
who judges even those in high places?
23-24 Some people stay healthy till the day they die;
they die happy and at ease,
their bodies well-nourished.
25 Others have no happiness at all;
they live and die with bitter hearts.
26 But all alike die and are buried;
they all are covered with worms.
27 I know what spiteful thoughts you have.
28 You ask, “Where are the homes of great people now,
those who practiced evil?”
29 Haven't you talked with people who travel?
Don't you know the reports they bring back?
30 On the day God is angry and punishes,
it is the wicked who are always spared.
31 There is no one to accuse the wicked
or pay them back for all they have done.
32 When they are carried to the graveyard,
to their well-guarded tombs,
33 thousands join the funeral procession,
and even the earth lies gently on their bodies.
34 And you! You try to comfort me with nonsense!
Every answer you give is a lie!
Footnotes
- Job 15:23 One ancient translation vultures; Hebrew where is he?
- Job 15:23 One ancient translation are waiting; Hebrew he wanders.
- Job 15:29 One ancient translation shadows; Hebrew unclear.
- Job 15:30 One ancient translation blossoms; Hebrew mouth.
- Job 15:32 Some ancient translations wither; Hebrew be filled.
- Job 16:8 Verses 7-8 in Hebrew are unclear.
- Job 17:5 someone … suffer for it; or someone entertains his friends while his children go hungry.
- Job 17:16 One ancient translation with me; Hebrew unclear.
- Job 18:15 Now anyone may live in their tents; Hebrew unclear.
- Job 18:15 Sulfur was used in the ancient world as a disinfectant and to clean rooms that had contained corpses.
- Job 19:20 Verse 20 in Hebrew is unclear.
- Job 19:24 last forever; or be on record.
- Job 19:26 while still in this body; or although not in this body.
- Job 19:26 Verse 26 in Hebrew is unclear.
- Job 19:29 one who judges; or a judgment.
- Job 20:17 Probable text They will … oil; Hebrew unclear.
Job 15-21
New International Version
Job 15-21
New International Version
Eliphaz
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite(A) replied:
2 “Would a wise person answer with empty notions
or fill their belly with the hot east wind?(B)
3 Would they argue with useless words,
with speeches that have no value?(C)
4 But you even undermine piety
and hinder devotion to God.(D)
5 Your sin(E) prompts your mouth;(F)
you adopt the tongue of the crafty.(G)
6 Your own mouth condemns you, not mine;
your own lips testify against you.(H)
7 “Are you the first man ever born?(I)
Were you brought forth before the hills?(J)
8 Do you listen in on God’s council?(K)
Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?(L)
9 What do you know that we do not know?
What insights do you have that we do not have?(M)
10 The gray-haired and the aged(N) are on our side,
men even older than your father.(O)
11 Are God’s consolations(P) not enough for you,
words(Q) spoken gently to you?(R)
12 Why has your heart(S) carried you away,
and why do your eyes flash,
13 so that you vent your rage(T) against God
and pour out such words(U) from your mouth?(V)
14 “What are mortals, that they could be pure,
or those born of woman,(W) that they could be righteous?(X)
15 If God places no trust in his holy ones,(Y)
if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,(Z)
16 how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt,(AA)
who drink up evil(AB) like water!(AC)
17 “Listen to me and I will explain to you;
let me tell you what I have seen,(AD)
18 what the wise have declared,
hiding nothing received from their ancestors(AE)
19 (to whom alone the land(AF) was given
when no foreigners moved among them):
20 All his days the wicked man suffers torment,(AG)
the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him.(AH)
21 Terrifying sounds fill his ears;(AI)
when all seems well, marauders attack him.(AJ)
22 He despairs of escaping the realm of darkness;(AK)
he is marked for the sword.(AL)
23 He wanders about(AM) for food like a vulture;(AN)
he knows the day of darkness(AO) is at hand.(AP)
24 Distress and anguish(AQ) fill him with terror;(AR)
troubles overwhelm him, like a king(AS) poised to attack,
25 because he shakes his fist(AT) at God
and vaunts himself against the Almighty,(AU)
26 defiantly charging against him
with a thick, strong shield.(AV)
27 “Though his face is covered with fat
and his waist bulges with flesh,(AW)
28 he will inhabit ruined towns
and houses where no one lives,(AX)
houses crumbling to rubble.(AY)
29 He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure,(AZ)
nor will his possessions spread over the land.(BA)
30 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)
31 Let him not deceive(BG) himself by trusting what is worthless,(BH)
for he will get nothing in return.(BI)
32 Before his time(BJ) he will wither,(BK)
and his branches will not flourish.(BL)
33 He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,(BM)
like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.(BN)
34 For the company of the godless(BO) will be barren,
and fire will consume(BP) the tents of those who love bribes.(BQ)
35 They conceive trouble(BR) and give birth to evil;(BS)
their womb fashions deceit.”
Job
16 Then Job replied:
2 “I have heard many things like these;
you are miserable comforters,(BT) all of you!(BU)
3 Will your long-winded speeches never end?(BV)
What ails you that you keep on arguing?(BW)
4 I also could speak like you,
if you were in my place;
I could make fine speeches against you
and shake my head(BX) at you.
5 But my mouth would encourage you;
comfort(BY) from my lips would bring you relief.(BZ)
6 “Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved;
and if I refrain, it does not go away.(CA)
7 Surely, God, you have worn me out;(CB)
you have devastated my entire household.(CC)
8 You have shriveled me up—and it has become a witness;
my gauntness(CD) rises up and testifies against me.(CE)
9 God assails me and tears(CF) me in his anger(CG)
and gnashes his teeth at me;(CH)
my opponent fastens on me his piercing eyes.(CI)
10 People open their mouths(CJ) to jeer at me;(CK)
they strike my cheek(CL) in scorn
and unite together against me.(CM)
11 God has turned me over to the ungodly
and thrown me into the clutches of the wicked.(CN)
12 All was well with me, but he shattered me;
he seized me by the neck and crushed me.(CO)
He has made me his target;(CP)
13 his archers surround me.(CQ)
Without pity, he pierces(CR) my kidneys
and spills my gall on the ground.
14 Again and again(CS) he bursts upon me;
he rushes at me like a warrior.(CT)
15 “I have sewed sackcloth(CU) over my skin
and buried my brow in the dust.(CV)
16 My face is red with weeping,(CW)
dark shadows ring my eyes;(CX)
17 yet my hands have been free of violence(CY)
and my prayer is pure.(CZ)
18 “Earth, do not cover my blood;(DA)
may my cry(DB) never be laid to rest!(DC)
19 Even now my witness(DD) is in heaven;(DE)
my advocate is on high.(DF)
20 My intercessor(DG) is my friend[a](DH)
as my eyes pour out(DI) tears(DJ) to God;
21 on behalf of a man he pleads(DK) with God
as one pleads for a friend.
22 “Only a few years will pass
before I take the path of no return.(DL)
17 1 My spirit(DM) is broken,
my days are cut short,(DN)
the grave awaits me.(DO)
2 Surely mockers(DP) surround me;(DQ)
my eyes must dwell on their hostility.
3 “Give me, O God, the pledge you demand.(DR)
Who else will put up security(DS) for me?(DT)
4 You have closed their minds to understanding;(DU)
therefore you will not let them triumph.
5 If anyone denounces their friends for reward,(DV)
the eyes of their children will fail.(DW)
6 “God has made me a byword(DX) to everyone,(DY)
a man in whose face people spit.(DZ)
7 My eyes have grown dim with grief;(EA)
my whole frame is but a shadow.(EB)
8 The upright are appalled at this;
the innocent are aroused(EC) against the ungodly.
9 Nevertheless, the righteous(ED) will hold to their ways,
and those with clean hands(EE) will grow stronger.(EF)
10 “But come on, all of you, try again!
I will not find a wise man among you.(EG)
11 My days have passed,(EH) my plans are shattered.
Yet the desires of my heart(EI)
12 turn night into day;(EJ)
in the face of the darkness light is near.(EK)
13 If the only home I hope for is the grave,(EL)
if I spread out my bed(EM) in the realm of darkness,(EN)
14 if I say to corruption,(EO) ‘You are my father,’
and to the worm,(EP) ‘My mother’ or ‘My sister,’
15 where then is my hope—(EQ)
who can see any hope for me?(ER)
16 Will it go down to the gates of death?(ES)
Will we descend together into the dust?”(ET)
Bildad
18 Then Bildad the Shuhite(EU) replied:
2 “When will you end these speeches?(EV)
Be sensible, and then we can talk.
3 Why are we regarded as cattle(EW)
and considered stupid in your sight?(EX)
4 You who tear yourself(EY) to pieces in your anger,(EZ)
is the earth to be abandoned for your sake?
Or must the rocks be moved from their place?(FA)
5 “The lamp of a wicked man is snuffed out;(FB)
the flame of his fire stops burning.(FC)
6 The light in his tent(FD) becomes dark;(FE)
the lamp beside him goes out.(FF)
7 The vigor(FG) of his step is weakened;(FH)
his own schemes(FI) throw him down.(FJ)
8 His feet thrust him into a net;(FK)
he wanders into its mesh.
9 A trap seizes him by the heel;
a snare(FL) holds him fast.(FM)
10 A noose(FN) is hidden for him on the ground;
a trap(FO) lies in his path.(FP)
11 Terrors(FQ) startle him on every side(FR)
and dog(FS) his every step.
12 Calamity(FT) is hungry(FU) for him;
disaster(FV) is ready for him when he falls.(FW)
13 It eats away parts of his skin;(FX)
death’s firstborn devours his limbs.(FY)
14 He is torn from the security of his tent(FZ)
and marched off to the king(GA) of terrors.(GB)
15 Fire resides[b] in his tent;(GC)
burning sulfur(GD) is scattered over his dwelling.
16 His roots dry up below(GE)
and his branches wither above.(GF)
17 The memory of him perishes from the earth;(GG)
he has no name(GH) in the land.(GI)
18 He is driven from light into the realm of darkness(GJ)
and is banished(GK) from the world.(GL)
19 He has no offspring(GM) or descendants(GN) among his people,
no survivor(GO) where once he lived.(GP)
20 People of the west are appalled(GQ) at his fate;(GR)
those of the east are seized with horror.
21 Surely such is the dwelling(GS) of an evil man;(GT)
such is the place(GU) of one who does not know God.”(GV)
Job
19 Then Job replied:
2 “How long will you torment(GW) me
and crush(GX) me with words?
3 Ten times(GY) now you have reproached(GZ) me;
shamelessly you attack me.
4 If it is true that I have gone astray,
my error(HA) remains my concern alone.
5 If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me(HB)
and use my humiliation against me,
6 then know that God has wronged me(HC)
and drawn his net(HD) around me.(HE)
7 “Though I cry, ‘Violence!’ I get no response;(HF)
though I call for help,(HG) there is no justice.(HH)
8 He has blocked my way so I cannot pass;(HI)
he has shrouded my paths in darkness.(HJ)
9 He has stripped(HK) me of my honor(HL)
and removed the crown from my head.(HM)
10 He tears me down(HN) on every side till I am gone;
he uproots my hope(HO) like a tree.(HP)
11 His anger(HQ) burns against me;
he counts me among his enemies.(HR)
12 His troops advance in force;(HS)
they build a siege ramp(HT) against me
and encamp around my tent.(HU)
13 “He has alienated my family(HV) from me;
my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.(HW)
14 My relatives have gone away;
my closest friends(HX) have forgotten me.
15 My guests(HY) and my female servants(HZ) count me a foreigner;
they look on me as on a stranger.
16 I summon my servant, but he does not answer,
though I beg him with my own mouth.
17 My breath is offensive to my wife;
I am loathsome(IA) to my own family.
18 Even the little boys(IB) scorn me;
when I appear, they ridicule me.(IC)
19 All my intimate friends(ID) detest me;(IE)
those I love have turned against me.(IF)
20 I am nothing but skin and bones;(IG)
I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.[c]
21 “Have pity on me, my friends,(IH) have pity,
for the hand of God has struck(II) me.
22 Why do you pursue(IJ) me as God does?(IK)
Will you never get enough of my flesh?(IL)
23 “Oh, that my words were recorded,
that they were written on a scroll,(IM)
24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool(IN) on[d] lead,
or engraved in rock forever!(IO)
25 I know that my redeemer[e](IP) lives,(IQ)
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.[f]
26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet[g] in[h] my flesh I will see God;(IR)
27 I myself will see him
with my own eyes(IS)—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns(IT) within me!
28 “If you say, ‘How we will hound(IU) him,
since the root of the trouble lies in him,[i]’
29 you should fear the sword yourselves;
for wrath will bring punishment by the sword,(IV)
and then you will know that there is judgment.[j]”(IW)
Zophar
20 Then Zophar the Naamathite(IX) replied:
2 “My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer
because I am greatly disturbed.(IY)
3 I hear a rebuke(IZ) that dishonors me,
and my understanding inspires me to reply.
4 “Surely you know how it has been from of old,(JA)
ever since mankind[k] was placed on the earth,
5 that the mirth of the wicked(JB) is brief,
the joy of the godless(JC) lasts but a moment.(JD)
6 Though the pride(JE) of the godless person reaches to the heavens(JF)
and his head touches the clouds,(JG)
7 he will perish forever,(JH) like his own dung;
those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’(JI)
8 Like a dream(JJ) he flies away,(JK) no more to be found,
banished(JL) like a vision of the night.(JM)
9 The eye that saw him will not see him again;
his place will look on him no more.(JN)
10 His children(JO) must make amends to the poor;
his own hands must give back his wealth.(JP)
11 The youthful vigor(JQ) that fills his bones(JR)
will lie with him in the dust.(JS)
12 “Though evil(JT) is sweet in his mouth
and he hides it under his tongue,(JU)
13 though he cannot bear to let it go
and lets it linger in his mouth,(JV)
14 yet his food will turn sour in his stomach;(JW)
it will become the venom of serpents(JX) within him.
15 He will spit out the riches(JY) he swallowed;
God will make his stomach vomit(JZ) them up.
16 He will suck the poison(KA) of serpents;
the fangs of an adder will kill him.(KB)
17 He will not enjoy the streams,
the rivers(KC) flowing with honey(KD) and cream.(KE)
18 What he toiled for he must give back uneaten;(KF)
he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.(KG)
19 For he has oppressed the poor(KH) and left them destitute;(KI)
he has seized houses(KJ) he did not build.
20 “Surely he will have no respite from his craving;(KK)
he cannot save himself by his treasure.(KL)
21 Nothing is left for him to devour;
his prosperity will not endure.(KM)
22 In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him;(KN)
the full force of misery will come upon him.(KO)
23 When he has filled his belly,(KP)
God will vent his burning anger(KQ) against him
and rain down his blows on him.(KR)
24 Though he flees(KS) from an iron weapon,
a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.(KT)
25 He pulls it out of his back,
the gleaming point out of his liver.
Terrors(KU) will come over him;(KV)
26 total darkness(KW) lies in wait for his treasures.
A fire(KX) unfanned will consume him(KY)
and devour what is left in his tent.(KZ)
27 The heavens will expose his guilt;
the earth will rise up against him.(LA)
28 A flood will carry off his house,(LB)
rushing waters[l] on the day of God’s wrath.(LC)
29 Such is the fate God allots the wicked,
the heritage appointed for them by God.”(LD)
Job
21 Then Job replied:
2 “Listen carefully to my words;(LE)
let this be the consolation you give me.(LF)
3 Bear with me while I speak,
and after I have spoken, mock on.(LG)
4 “Is my complaint(LH) directed to a human being?
Why should I not be impatient?(LI)
5 Look at me and be appalled;
clap your hand over your mouth.(LJ)
6 When I think about this, I am terrified;(LK)
trembling seizes my body.(LL)
7 Why do the wicked live on,
growing old and increasing in power?(LM)
8 They see their children established around them,
their offspring before their eyes.(LN)
9 Their homes are safe and free from fear;(LO)
the rod of God is not on them.(LP)
10 Their bulls never fail to breed;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.(LQ)
11 They send forth their children as a flock;(LR)
their little ones dance about.
12 They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre;(LS)
they make merry to the sound of the pipe.(LT)
13 They spend their years in prosperity(LU)
and go down to the grave(LV) in peace.[m](LW)
14 Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!(LX)
We have no desire to know your ways.(LY)
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
What would we gain by praying to him?’(LZ)
16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands,
so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.(MA)
17 “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?(MB)
How often does calamity(MC) come upon them,
the fate God allots in his anger?(MD)
18 How often are they like straw before the wind,
like chaff(ME) swept away(MF) by a gale?(MG)
19 It is said, ‘God stores up the punishment of the wicked for their children.’(MH)
Let him repay the wicked, so that they themselves will experience it!(MI)
20 Let their own eyes see their destruction;(MJ)
let them drink(MK) the cup of the wrath of the Almighty.(ML)
21 For what do they care about the families they leave behind(MM)
when their allotted months(MN) come to an end?(MO)
22 “Can anyone teach knowledge to God,(MP)
since he judges even the highest?(MQ)
23 One person dies in full vigor,(MR)
completely secure and at ease,(MS)
24 well nourished(MT) in body,[n]
bones(MU) rich with marrow.(MV)
25 Another dies in bitterness of soul,(MW)
never having enjoyed anything good.
26 Side by side they lie in the dust,(MX)
and worms(MY) cover them both.(MZ)
27 “I know full well what you are thinking,
the schemes by which you would wrong me.
28 You say, ‘Where now is the house of the great,(NA)
the tents where the wicked lived?’(NB)
29 Have you never questioned those who travel?
Have you paid no regard to their accounts—
30 that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity,(NC)
that they are delivered from[o] the day of wrath?(ND)
31 Who denounces their conduct to their face?
Who repays them for what they have done?(NE)
32 They are carried to the grave,
and watch is kept over their tombs.(NF)
33 The soil in the valley is sweet to them;(NG)
everyone follows after them,
and a countless throng goes[p] before them.(NH)
Footnotes
- Job 16:20 Or My friends treat me with scorn
- Job 18:15 Or Nothing he had remains
- Job 19:20 Or only by my gums
- Job 19:24 Or and
- Job 19:25 Or vindicator
- Job 19:25 Or on my grave
- Job 19:26 Or And after I awake, / though this body has been destroyed, / then
- Job 19:26 Or destroyed, / apart from
- Job 19:28 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts me
- Job 19:29 Or sword, / that you may come to know the Almighty
- Job 20:4 Or Adam
- Job 20:28 Or The possessions in his house will be carried off, / washed away
- Job 21:13 Or in an instant
- Job 21:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Job 21:30 Or wicked are reserved for the day of calamity, / that they are brought forth to
- Job 21:33 Or them, / as a countless throng went
Good News Translation (GNT) 
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.