Sermon Central
Job 23:1-42:1
View Full ChapterJob 1Then Job replied:
2“Even today my complaint is bitter; his hand
3If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling!
4I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments.
5I would find out what he would answer me, and consider what he would say to me.
6Would he vigorously oppose me? No, he would not press charges against me.
7There the upright can establish their innocence before him, and there I would be delivered forever from my judge.
8“But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him.
9When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.
10But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
11My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside.
12I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.
13“But he stands alone, and who can oppose him? He does whatever he pleases.
14He carries out his decree against me, and many such plans he still has in store.
15That is why I am terrified before him; when I think of all this, I fear him.
16God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me. 17Yet I am not silenced by the darkness, by the thick darkness that covers my face.
1“Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment? Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?
2There are those who move boundary stones; they pasture flocks they have stolen.
3They drive away the orphan’s donkey and take the widow’s ox in pledge.
4They thrust the needy from the path and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
5Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go about their labor of foraging food; the wasteland provides food for their children.
6They gather fodder in the fields and glean in the vineyards of the wicked.
7Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked; they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.
8They are drenched by mountain rains and hug the rocks for lack of shelter.
9The fatherless child is snatched from the breast; the infant of the poor is seized for a debt.
10Lacking clothes, they go about naked; they carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
11They crush olives among the terraces
12The groans of the dying rise from the city, and the souls of the wounded cry out for help. But God charges no one with wrongdoing.
13“There are those who rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or stay in its paths.
14When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up, kills the poor and needy, and in the night steals forth like a thief.
15The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk; he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’ and he keeps his face concealed.
16In the dark, thieves break into houses, but by day they shut themselves in; they want nothing to do with the light.
17For all of them, midnight is their morning; they make friends with the terrors of darkness.
18“Yet they are foam on the surface of the water; their portion of the land is cursed, so that no one goes to the vineyards.
19As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow, so the grave snatches away those who have sinned.
20The womb forgets them, the worm feasts on them; the wicked are no longer remembered but are broken like a tree.
21They prey on the barren and childless woman, and to the widow they show no kindness.
22But God drags away the mighty by his power; though they become established, they have no assurance of life.
23He may let them rest in a feeling of security, but his eyes are on their ways.
24For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone; they are brought low and gathered up like all others; they are cut off like heads of grain. 25“If this is not so, who can prove me false and reduce my words to nothing?”
Bildad 1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
2“Dominion and awe belong to God; he establishes order in the heights of heaven.
3Can his forces be numbered? On whom does his light not rise?
4How then can a mortal be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure?
5If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his eyes, 6how much less a mortal, who is but a maggot— a human being, who is only a worm!”
Job 1Then Job replied:
2“How you have helped the powerless! How you have saved the arm that is feeble!
3What advice you have offered to one without wisdom! And what great insight you have displayed!
4Who has helped you utter these words? And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?
5“The dead are in deep anguish, those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
6The realm of the dead is naked before God; Destruction
7He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing.
8He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
9He covers the face of the full moon, spreading his clouds over it.
10He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters for a boundary between light and darkness.
11The pillars of the heavens quake, aghast at his rebuke.
12By his power he churned up the sea; by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.
13By his breath the skies became fair; his hand pierced the gliding serpent. 14And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”
Job’s Final Word to His Friends 1And Job continued his discourse:
2“As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made my life bitter,
3as long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils,
4my lips will not say anything wicked, and my tongue will not utter lies.
6I will maintain my innocence and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.
7“May my enemy be like the wicked, my adversary like the unjust!
8For what hope have the godless when they are cut off, when God takes away their life?
9Does God listen to their cry when distress comes upon them?
10Will they find delight in the Almighty? Will they call on God at all times?
11“I will teach you about the power of God; the ways of the Almighty I will not conceal.
12You have all seen this yourselves. Why then this meaningless talk?
13“Here is the fate God allots to the wicked, the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty:
14However many his children, their fate is the sword; his offspring will never have enough to eat.
15The plague will bury those who survive him, and their widows will not weep for them.
16Though he heaps up silver like dust and clothes like piles of clay,
17what he lays up the righteous will wear, and the innocent will divide his silver.
18The house he builds is like a moth’s cocoon, like a hut made by a watchman.
19He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more; when he opens his eyes, all is gone.
20Terrors overtake him like a flood; a tempest snatches him away in the night.
21The east wind carries him off, and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place.
22It hurls itself against him without mercy as he flees headlong from its power. 23It claps its hands in derision and hisses him out of his place.”
Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found 1There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
2Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.
3Mortals put an end to the darkness; they search out the farthest recesses for ore in the blackest darkness.
4Far from human dwellings they cut a shaft, in places untouched by human feet; far from other people they dangle and sway.
5The earth, from which food comes, is transformed below as by fire;
6lapis lazuli comes from its rocks, and its dust contains nuggets of gold.
7No bird of prey knows that hidden path, no falcon’s eye has seen it.
8Proud beasts do not set foot on it, and no lion prowls there.
9People assault the flinty rock with their hands and lay bare the roots of the mountains.
10They tunnel through the rock; their eyes see all its treasures.
11They search
12But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell?
13No mortal comprehends its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living.
14The deep says, “It is not in me”; the sea says, “It is not with me.”
15It cannot be bought with the finest gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
16It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.
17Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it, nor can it be had for jewels of gold.
18Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
19The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it; it cannot be bought with pure gold.
20Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell?
21It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds in the sky.
22Destruction
23God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells,
24for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.
25When he established the force of the wind and measured out the waters,
26when he made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm,
27then he looked at wisdom and appraised it; he confirmed it and tested it. 28And he said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”
Job’s Final Defense 1Job continued his discourse:
2“How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me,
3when his lamp shone on my head and by his light I walked through darkness!
4Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house,
5when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me,
6when my path was drenched with cream and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.
7“When I went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square,
8the young men saw me and stepped aside and the old men rose to their feet;
9the chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands;
10the voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
11Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me,
12because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist them.
13The one who was dying blessed me; I made the widow’s heart sing.
14I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban.
16I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger.
17I broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth.
18“I thought, ‘I will die in my own house, my days as numerous as the grains of sand.
19My roots will reach to the water, and the dew will lie all night on my branches.
20My glory will not fade; the bow will be ever new in my hand.’
21“People listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel.
22After I had spoken, they spoke no more; my words fell gently on their ears.
23They waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain.
24When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them.
1“But now they mock me, men younger than I, whose fathers I would have disdained to put with my sheep dogs.
2Of what use was the strength of their hands to me, since their vigor had gone from them?
3Haggard from want and hunger, they roamed
4In the brush they gathered salt herbs, and their food
5They were banished from human society, shouted at as if they were thieves.
6They were forced to live in the dry stream beds, among the rocks and in holes in the ground.
7They brayed among the bushes and huddled in the undergrowth.
8A base and nameless brood, they were driven out of the land.
9“And now those young men mock me in song; I have become a byword among them.
10They detest me and keep their distance; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
11Now that God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they throw off restraint in my presence.
12On my right the tribe
13They break up my road; they succeed in destroying me. ‘No one can help him,’ they say.
14They advance as through a gaping breach; amid the ruins they come rolling in.
15Terrors overwhelm me; my dignity is driven away as by the wind, my safety vanishes like a cloud.
16“And now my life ebbs away; days of suffering grip me.
17Night pierces my bones; my gnawing pains never rest.
18In his great power God becomes like clothing to me
19He throws me into the mud, and I am reduced to dust and ashes.
20“I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you merely look at me.
21You turn on me ruthlessly; with the might of your hand you attack me.
22You snatch me up and drive me before the wind; you toss me about in the storm.
23I know you will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living.
24“Surely no one lays a hand on a broken man when he cries for help in his distress.
25Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor?
26Yet when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness.
27The churning inside me never stops; days of suffering confront me.
28I go about blackened, but not by the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.
29I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of owls.
30My skin grows black and peels; my body burns with fever. 31My lyre is tuned to mourning, and my pipe to the sound of wailing.
1“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.
2For what is our lot from God above, our heritage from the Almighty on high?
3Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster for those who do wrong?
4Does he not see my ways and count my every step?
5“If I have walked with falsehood or my foot has hurried after deceit—
6let God weigh me in honest scales and he will know that I am blameless—
7if my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has been led by my eyes, or if my hands have been defiled,
8then may others eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted.
9“If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,
10then may my wife grind another man’s grain, and may other men sleep with her.
11For that would have been wicked, a sin to be judged.
12It is a fire that burns to Destruction
13“If I have denied justice to any of my servants, whether male or female, when they had a grievance against me,
14what will I do when God confronts me? What will I answer when called to account?
15Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?
16“If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary,
17if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless—
18but from my youth I reared them as a father would, and from my birth I guided the widow—
19if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or the needy without garments,
20and their hearts did not bless me for warming them with the fleece from my sheep,
21if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court,
22then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint.
23For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.
24“If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’
25if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained,
26if I have regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,
27so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,
28then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.
29“If I have rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune or gloated over the trouble that came to him—
30I have not allowed my mouth to sin by invoking a curse against their life—
31if those of my household have never said, ‘Who has not been filled with Job’s meat?’—
32but no stranger had to spend the night in the street, for my door was always open to the traveler—
33if I have concealed my sin as people do,
34because I so feared the crowd and so dreaded the contempt of the clans that I kept silent and would not go outside—
36Surely I would wear it on my shoulder, I would put it on like a crown.
37I would give him an account of my every step; I would present it to him as to a ruler.)—
38“if my land cries out against me and all its furrows are wet with tears,
39if I have devoured its yield without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants, 40then let briers come up instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.
Elihu
1So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
2But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God.
3He was also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him.
5But when he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, his anger was aroused.
6So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said: “I am young in years, and you are old; that is why I was fearful, not daring to tell you what I know.
7I thought, ‘Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom.’
8But it is the spirit
9It is not only the old
10“Therefore I say: Listen to me; I too will tell you what I know.
11I waited while you spoke, I listened to your reasoning; while you were searching for words,
12I gave you my full attention. But not one of you has proved Job wrong; none of you has answered his arguments.
13Do not say, ‘We have found wisdom; let God, not a man, refute him.’
14But Job has not marshaled his words against me, and I will not answer him with your arguments.
15“They are dismayed and have no more to say; words have failed them.
16Must I wait, now that they are silent, now that they stand there with no reply?
17I too will have my say; I too will tell what I know.
18For I am full of words, and the spirit within me compels me;
19inside I am like bottled-up wine, like new wineskins ready to burst.
20I must speak and find relief; I must open my lips and reply.
21I will show no partiality, nor will I flatter anyone; 22for if I were skilled in flattery, my Maker would soon take me away.
1“But now, Job, listen to my words; pay attention to everything I say.
2I am about to open my mouth; my words are on the tip of my tongue.
3My words come from an upright heart; my lips sincerely speak what I know.
4The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
5Answer me then, if you can; stand up and argue your case before me.
6I am the same as you in God’s sight; I too am a piece of clay.
7No fear of me should alarm you, nor should my hand be heavy on you.
8“But you have said in my hearing— I heard the very words—
9‘I am pure, I have done no wrong; I am clean and free from sin.
10Yet God has found fault with me; he considers me his enemy.
11He fastens my feet in shackles; he keeps close watch on all my paths.’
12“But I tell you, in this you are not right, for God is greater than any mortal.
13Why do you complain to him that he responds to no one’s words
14For God does speak—now one way, now another— though no one perceives it.
15In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds,
16he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings,
17to turn them from wrongdoing and keep them from pride,
18to preserve them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword.
19“Or someone may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in their bones,
20so that their body finds food repulsive and their soul loathes the choicest meal.
21Their flesh wastes away to nothing, and their bones, once hidden, now stick out.
22They draw near to the pit, and their life to the messengers of death.
23Yet if there is an angel at their side, a messenger, one out of a thousand, sent to tell them how to be upright,
24and he is gracious to that person and says to God, ‘Spare them from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom for them—
25let their flesh be renewed like a child’s; let them be restored as in the days of their youth’—
26then that person can pray to God and find favor with him, they will see God’s face and shout for joy; he will restore them to full well-being.
27And they will go to others and say, ‘I have sinned, I have perverted what is right, but I did not get what I deserved.
28God has delivered me from going down to the pit, and I shall live to enjoy the light of life.’
29“God does all these things to a person— twice, even three times—
30to turn them back from the pit, that the light of life may shine on them.
31“Pay attention, Job, and listen to me; be silent, and I will speak.
32If you have anything to say, answer me; speak up, for I want to vindicate you. 33But if not, then listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”
1Then Elihu said:
2“Hear my words, you wise men; listen to me, you men of learning.
3For the ear tests words as the tongue tastes food.
4Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good.
5“Job says, ‘I am innocent, but God denies me justice.
6Although I am right, I am considered a liar; although I am guiltless, his arrow inflicts an incurable wound.’
7Is there anyone like Job, who drinks scorn like water?
8He keeps company with evildoers; he associates with the wicked.
9For he says, ‘There is no profit in trying to please God.’
10“So listen to me, you men of understanding. Far be it from God to do evil, from the Almighty to do wrong.
11He repays everyone for what they have done; he brings on them what their conduct deserves.
12It is unthinkable that God would do wrong, that the Almighty would pervert justice.
13Who appointed him over the earth? Who put him in charge of the whole world?
14If it were his intention and he withdrew his spirit
15all humanity would perish together and mankind would return to the dust.
16“If you have understanding, hear this; listen to what I say.
17Can someone who hates justice govern? Will you condemn the just and mighty One?
18Is he not the One who says to kings, ‘You are worthless,’ and to nobles, ‘You are wicked,’
19who shows no partiality to princes and does not favor the rich over the poor, for they are all the work of his hands?
20They die in an instant, in the middle of the night; the people are shaken and they pass away; the mighty are removed without human hand.
21“His eyes are on the ways of mortals; he sees their every step.
22There is no deep shadow, no utter darkness, where evildoers can hide.
23God has no need to examine people further, that they should come before him for judgment.
24Without inquiry he shatters the mighty and sets up others in their place.
25Because he takes note of their deeds, he overthrows them in the night and they are crushed.
26He punishes them for their wickedness where everyone can see them,
27because they turned from following him and had no regard for any of his ways.
28They caused the cry of the poor to come before him, so that he heard the cry of the needy.
29But if he remains silent, who can condemn him? If he hides his face, who can see him? Yet he is over individual and nation alike,
31“Suppose someone says to God, ‘I am guilty but will offend no more.
32Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do so again.’
33Should God then reward you on your terms, when you refuse to repent? You must decide, not I; so tell me what you know.
34“Men of understanding declare, wise men who hear me say to me,
35‘Job speaks without knowledge; his words lack insight.’
36Oh, that Job might be tested to the utmost for answering like a wicked man! 37To his sin he adds rebellion; scornfully he claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God.”
1Then Elihu said:
2“Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I am in the right, not God.’
3Yet you ask him, ‘What profit is it to me,
4“I would like to reply to you and to your friends with you.
5Look up at the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds so high above you.
6If you sin, how does that affect him? If your sins are many, what does that do to him?
7If you are righteous, what do you give to him, or what does he receive from your hand?
8Your wickedness only affects humans like yourself, and your righteousness only other people.
9“People cry out under a load of oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful.
10But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night,
11who teaches us more than he teaches
12He does not answer when people cry out because of the arrogance of the wicked.
13Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea; the Almighty pays no attention to it.
14How much less, then, will he listen when you say that you do not see him, that your case is before him and you must wait for him,
15and further, that his anger never punishes and he does not take the least notice of wickedness.
1Elihu continued:
2“Bear with me a little longer and I will show you that there is more to be said in God’s behalf.
3I get my knowledge from afar; I will ascribe justice to my Maker.
4Be assured that my words are not false; one who has perfect knowledge is with you.
5“God is mighty, but despises no one; he is mighty, and firm in his purpose.
6He does not keep the wicked alive but gives the afflicted their rights.
7He does not take his eyes off the righteous; he enthrones them with kings and exalts them forever.
8But if people are bound in chains, held fast by cords of affliction,
9he tells them what they have done— that they have sinned arrogantly.
10He makes them listen to correction and commands them to repent of their evil.
11If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment.
12But if they do not listen, they will perish by the sword
13“The godless in heart harbor resentment; even when he fetters them, they do not cry for help.
14They die in their youth, among male prostitutes of the shrines.
15But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction.
16“He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food.
17But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked; judgment and justice have taken hold of you.
18Be careful that no one entices you by riches; do not let a large bribe turn you aside.
19Would your wealth or even all your mighty efforts sustain you so you would not be in distress?
20Do not long for the night, to drag people away from their homes.
21Beware of turning to evil, which you seem to prefer to affliction.
22“God is exalted in his power. Who is a teacher like him?
23Who has prescribed his ways for him, or said to him, ‘You have done wrong’?
24Remember to extol his work, which people have praised in song.
25All humanity has seen it; mortals gaze on it from afar.
26How great is God—beyond our understanding! The number of his years is past finding out.
27“He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams
28the clouds pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind.
29Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds, how he thunders from his pavilion?
30See how he scatters his lightning about him, bathing the depths of the sea.
31This is the way he governs
32He fills his hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark.
33His thunder announces the coming storm; even the cattle make known its approach.
1“At this my heart pounds and leaps from its place.
2Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice, to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.
3He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth.
4After that comes the sound of his roar; he thunders with his majestic voice. When his voice resounds, he holds nothing back.
5God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding.
6He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’
7So that everyone he has made may know his work, he stops all people from their labor.
8The animals take cover; they remain in their dens.
9The tempest comes out from its chamber, the cold from the driving winds.
10The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen.
11He loads the clouds with moisture; he scatters his lightning through them.
12At his direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever he commands them.
13He brings the clouds to punish people, or to water his earth and show his love.
14“Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God’s wonders.
15Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash?
16Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge?
17You who swelter in your clothes when the land lies hushed under the south wind,
18can you join him in spreading out the skies, hard as a mirror of cast bronze?
19“Tell us what we should say to him; we cannot draw up our case because of our darkness.
20Should he be told that I want to speak? Would anyone ask to be swallowed up?
21Now no one can look at the sun, bright as it is in the skies after the wind has swept them clean.
22Out of the north he comes in golden splendor; God comes in awesome majesty.
23The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress.
24Therefore, people revere him, for does he not have regard for all the wise in heart?
The LORD Speaks 1Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
2“Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?
3Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.
4“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.
5Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—
7while the morning stars sang together and all the angels
8“Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,
9when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place,
11when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’?
12“Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place,
13that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it?
14The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment.
15The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken.
16“Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
18Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this.
19“What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside?
20Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
21Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years!
22“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail,
23which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle?
24What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
25Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm,
26to water a land where no one lives, an uninhabited desert,
27to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass?
28Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew?
29From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
30when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen?
31“Can you bind the chains
32Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons
33Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s
34“Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36Who gives the ibis wisdom
37Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
38when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together?
39“Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions
40when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket? 41Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?
1“Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?
2Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth?
3They crouch down and bring forth their young; their labor pains are ended.
4Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds; they leave and do not return.
5“Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied its ropes?
6I gave it the wasteland as its home, the salt flats as its habitat.
7It laughs at the commotion in the town; it does not hear a driver’s shout.
8It ranges the hills for its pasture and searches for any green thing.
9“Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will it stay by your manger at night?
10Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness? Will it till the valleys behind you?
11Will you rely on it for its great strength? Will you leave your heavy work to it?
12Can you trust it to haul in your grain and bring it to your threshing floor?
13“The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, though they cannot compare with the wings and feathers of the stork.
14She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand,
15unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them.
16She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labor was in vain,
17for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense.
18Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider.
19“Do you give the horse its strength or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?
20Do you make it leap like a locust, striking terror with its proud snorting?
21It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength, and charges into the fray.
22It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; it does not shy away from the sword.
23The quiver rattles against its side, along with the flashing spear and lance.
24In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground; it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.
25At the blast of the trumpet it snorts, ‘Aha!’ It catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry.
26“Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread its wings toward the south?
27Does the eagle soar at your command and build its nest on high?
28It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is its stronghold.
29From there it looks for food; its eyes detect it from afar. 30Its young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there it is.”
1The LORD said to Job:
2“Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!”
3Then Job answered the LORD :
4“I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth.
5I spoke once, but I have no answer— twice, but I will say no more.”
6Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm:
7“Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.
8“Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?
9Do you have an arm like God’s, and can your voice thunder like his?
10Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.
11Unleash the fury of your wrath, look at all who are proud and bring them low,
12look at all who are proud and humble them, crush the wicked where they stand.
13Bury them all in the dust together; shroud their faces in the grave.
14Then I myself will admit to you that your own right hand can save you.
15“Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox.
16What strength it has in its loins, what power in the muscles of its belly!
17Its tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.
18Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like rods of iron.
19It ranks first among the works of God, yet its Maker can approach it with his sword.
20The hills bring it their produce, and all the wild animals play nearby.
21Under the lotus plants it lies, hidden among the reeds in the marsh.
22The lotuses conceal it in their shadow; the poplars by the stream surround it.
23A raging river does not alarm it; it is secure, though the Jordan should surge against its mouth. 24Can anyone capture it by the eyes, or trap it and pierce its nose?
1
2Can you put a cord through its nose or pierce its jaw with a hook?
3Will it keep begging you for mercy? Will it speak to you with gentle words?
4Will it make an agreement with you for you to take it as your slave for life?
5Can you make a pet of it like a bird or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?
6Will traders barter for it? Will they divide it up among the merchants?
7Can you fill its hide with harpoons or its head with fishing spears?
8If you lay a hand on it, you will remember the struggle and never do it again!
9Any hope of subduing it is false; the mere sight of it is overpowering.
10No one is fierce enough to rouse it. Who then is able to stand against me?
11Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.
12“I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs, its strength and its graceful form.
13Who can strip off its outer coat? Who can penetrate its double coat of armor
14Who dares open the doors of its mouth, ringed about with fearsome teeth?
15Its back has
16each is so close to the next that no air can pass between.
17They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted.
18Its snorting throws out flashes of light; its eyes are like the rays of dawn.
19Flames stream from its mouth; sparks of fire shoot out.
20Smoke pours from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.
21Its breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from its mouth.
22Strength resides in its neck; dismay goes before it.
23The folds of its flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable.
24Its chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone.
25When it rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before its thrashing.
26The sword that reaches it has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.
27Iron it treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood.
28Arrows do not make it flee; slingstones are like chaff to it.
29A club seems to it but a piece of straw; it laughs at the rattling of the lance.
30Its undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
31It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.
32It leaves a glistening wake behind it; one would think the deep had white hair.
33Nothing on earth is its equal— a creature without fear. 34It looks down on all that are haughty; it is king over all that are proud.”
Job 1Then Job replied to the LORD :