Book of Job Chapter 18

Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

2 “How long till you put an end to words?
Gain understanding, and afterward we will speak.
3 Why are we counted as beasts,
And regarded as stupid in your sight?
4 You who tear yourself in anger,
Shall the earth be forsaken for you?
Or shall the rock be removed from its place?
5 “The light of the wicked indeed goes out,
And the flame of his fire does not shine.
6 The light is dark in his tent,
And his lamp beside him is put out.
7 The steps of his strength are shortened,
And his own counsel casts him down.
8 For he is cast into a net by his own feet,
And he walks into a snare.
9 The net takes him by the heel,
And a snare lays hold of him.
10 A noose is hidden for him on the ground,
And a trap for him in the road.
11 Terrors frighten him on every side,
And drive him to his feet.
12 His strength is starved,
And destruction is ready at his side.
13 It devours patches of his skin;
The firstborn of death devours his limbs.
14 He is uprooted from the shelter of his tent,
And they parade him before the king of terrors.
15 They dwell in his tent who are none of his;
Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling.
16 His roots are dried out below,
And his branch withers above.
17 The memory of him perishes from the earth,
And he has no name among the renowned.[a]
18 He is driven from light into darkness,
And chased out of the world.
19 He has neither son nor posterity among his people,
Nor any remaining in his dwellings.
20 Those in the west are astonished at his day,
As those in the east are frightened.
21 Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked,
And this is the place of him who does not know God.”

Book of Job Chapter 17

Job Prays for Relief

17 “My spirit is broken,
My days are extinguished,
The grave is ready for me.
2 Are not mockers with me?
And does not my eye dwell on their provocation?
3 “Now put down a pledge for me with Yourself.
Who is he who will shake hands with me?
4 For You have hidden their heart from understanding;
Therefore You will not exalt them.
5 He who speaks flattery to his friends,
Even the eyes of his children will fail.
6 “But He has made me a byword of the people,
And I have become one in whose face men spit.
7 My eye has also grown dim because of sorrow,
And all my members are like shadows.
8 Upright men are astonished at this,
And the innocent stirs himself up against the hypocrite.
9 Yet the righteous will hold to his way,
And he who has clean hands will be stronger and stronger.
10 “But please, come back again, all of you,[a]
For I shall not 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 near,’ they say, in the face of darkness.
13 If I wait for the grave as my house,
If I make my bed in the darkness,
14 If I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’
And to the worm, ‘You are my mother and my sister,’
15 Where then is my hope?
As for my hope, who can see it?
16 Will they go down to the gates of Sheol?
Shall we have rest together in the dust?”

Book of Job Chapter 16

Then Job replied:

2 “I have heard many things like these;
    miserable comforters are you all!
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, O God, you have worn me out;
    you have devastated my entire household.
8 You have bound me—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 Men 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 evil men
    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,
    deep shadows ring my eyes;
17 yet my hands have been free of violence
    and my prayer is pure.
18 “O 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[a]
    as my eyes pour out tears to God;
21 on behalf of a man he pleads with God
    as a man pleads for his friend.
22 “Only a few years will pass
    before I go on the journey of no return.

Book of Job Chapter 15 Eliphaz

Eliphaz

15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

2 “Would a wise man answer with empty notions

    or fill his belly with the hot east wind?

3 Would he 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 limit wisdom to yourself?

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 is man, that he could be pure,

    or one born of woman, that he 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 man, who is vile and corrupt,

    who drinks up evil like water!

17 “Listen to me and I will explain to you;

    let me tell you what I have seen,

18 what wise men have declared,

    hiding nothing received from their fathers

19 (to whom alone the land was given

    when no alien passed among them):

20 All his days the wicked man suffers torment,

    the ruthless 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 darkness;

    he is marked for the sword.

23 He wanders about—food for vultures[a];

    he knows the day of darkness is at hand.

24 Distress and anguish fill him with terror;

    they 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 be paid in full,

    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.”

Book of Job Chapter 14

“Man born of woman
    is of few days and full of trouble.
2 He springs up like a flower and withers away;
    like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.
3 Do you fix your eye on such a one?
    Will you bring him[a] before you for judgment?
4 Who can bring what is pure from the impure?
    No one!
5 Man’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 man.
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 man dies and is laid low;
    he breathes his last and is no more.
11 As water disappears from the sea
    or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,
12 so man lies down and does not rise;
    till the heavens are no more, men will not awake
    or be roused from their sleep.
13 “If only you would hide me in the grave[b]
    and conceal me till your anger has passed!
If only you would set me a time
    and then remember me!
14 If a man dies, will he live again?
    All the days of my hard service
    I will wait for my renewal[c] 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 man’s hope.
20 You overpower him once for all, and he is gone;
    you change his countenance and send him away.
21 If his sons are honored, he does not know it;
    if they are brought low, he does not see it.
22 He feels but the pain of his own body
    and mourns only for himself.”

Book of Job Chapter 13

International Version (NIV)

13 “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^[a] 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.