New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Eliphaz Says Job Presumes Much

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,

2 “Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge

And fill himself with the east wind?

3 Should he argue with useless talk,

Or with words which are not profitable?

4 Indeed, you do away with reverence

And hinder meditation before God.

5 For your guilt teaches your mouth,

And you choose the language of the crafty.

6 Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;

And your own lips testify against you.

7 “Were you the first man to be born,

Or were you brought forth before the hills?

8 Do you hear the secret counsel of God,

And limit wisdom to yourself?

9 What do you know that we do not know?

Whatdo you understand that we do not?

10 Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,

Older than your father.

11 Are the consolations of God too small for you,

Even the wordspokengently with you?

12 Why does your heart carry you away?

And why do your eyes flash,

13 That you should turn your spirit against God

And allowsuchwords to go out of your mouth?

14 What is man, that he should be pure,

Or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

15 Behold, He puts no trust in His holy ones,

And the heavens are not pure in His sight;

16 How much less one who is detestable and corrupt,

Man, who drinks iniquity like water!

What Eliphaz Has Seen of Life

17 “I will tell you, listen to me;

And what I have seen I will also declare;

18 What wise men have told,

And have not concealed from their fathers,

19 To whom alone the land was given,

And no alien passed among them.

20 The wicked man writhes in pain allhisdays,

And numbered are the years stored up for the ruthless.

21 Sounds of terror are in his ears;

While at peace the destroyer comes upon him.

22 He does not believe that he will return from darkness,

And he is destined for the sword.

23 He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’

He knows that a day of darkness is at hand.

24 Distress and anguish terrify him,

They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,

25 Because he has stretched out his hand against God

And conducts himself arrogantly against the Almighty.

26 He rushes headlong at Him

With his massive shield.

27 For he has covered his face with his fat

And made his thighs heavy with flesh.

28 He has lived in desolate cities,

In houses no one would inhabit,

Which are destined to become ruins.

29 He will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure;

And his grain will not bend down to the ground.

30 He will not escape from darkness;

The flame will wither his shoots,

And by the breath of His mouth he will go away.

31 Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself;

For emptiness will be his reward.

32 It will be accomplished before his time,

And his palm branch will not be green.

33 He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine,

And will cast off his flower like the olive tree.

34 For the company of the godless is barren,

And fire consumes the tents of the corrupt.

35 They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity,

And their mind prepares deception.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JOB/15-ef13bf06231a8f698d264943d7ae6d1b.mp3?version_id=100—

Job Says Friends Are Sorry Comforters

1 Then Job answered,

2 “I have heard many such things;

Sorry comforters are you all.

3 Is therenolimit to windy words?

Or what plagues you that you answer?

4 I too could speak like you,

If I were in your place.

I could compose words against you

And shake my head at you.

5 I could strengthen you with my mouth,

And the solace of my lips could lessenyour pain.

Job Says God Shattered Him

6 “If I speak, my pain is not lessened,

And if I hold back, what has left me?

7 But now He has exhausted me;

You have laid waste all my company.

8 You have shriveled me up,

It has become a witness;

And my leanness rises up against me,

It testifies to my face.

9 His anger has torn me and hunted me down,

He has gnashed at me with His teeth;

My adversary glares at me.

10 They have gaped at me with their mouth,

They have slapped me on the cheek with contempt;

They have massed themselves against me.

11 God hands me over to ruffians

And tosses me into the hands of the wicked.

12 I was at ease, but He shattered me,

And He has grasped me by the neck and shaken me to pieces;

He has also set me up as His target.

13 His arrows surround me.

Without mercy He splits my kidneys open;

He pours out my gall on the ground.

14 He breaks through me with breach after breach;

He runs at me like a warrior.

15 I have sewed sackcloth over my skin

And thrust my horn in the dust.

16 My face is flushed from weeping,

And deep darkness is on my eyelids,

17 Although there is no violence in my hands,

And my prayer is pure.

18 “O earth, do not cover my blood,

And let there be norestingplace for my cry.

19 Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven,

And my advocate is on high.

20 My friends are my scoffers;

My eye weeps to God.

21 O that a man might plead with God

As a man with his neighbor!

22 For when a few years are past,

I shall go the way of no return.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JOB/16-3403c2fada46c800b98b8bc5a224c413.mp3?version_id=100—

Job Says He Has Become a Byword

1 “My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished,

The grave isreadyfor me.

2 Surely mockers are with me,

And my eye gazes on their provocation.

3 “Lay down, now, a pledge for me with Yourself;

Who is there that will be my guarantor?

4 For You have kept their heart from understanding,

Therefore You will not exaltthem.

5 He who informs against friends for a shareof the spoil,

The eyes of his children also will languish.

6 “But He has made me a byword of the people,

And I am one at whom men spit.

7 My eye has also grown dim because of grief,

And all my members are as a shadow.

8 The upright will be appalled at this,

And the innocent will stir up himself against the godless.

9 Nevertheless the righteous will hold to his way,

And he who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.

10 But come again all of you now,

For I do not find a wise man among you.

11 My days are past, my plans are torn apart,

Eventhe wishes of my heart.

12 They make night into day,saying,

‘The light is near,’ in the presence of darkness.

13 If I look for Sheol as my home,

I make my bed in the darkness;

14 If I call to the pit, ‘You are my father’;

To the worm, ‘my mother and my sister’;

15 Where now is my hope?

And who regards my hope?

16 Will it go down with me to Sheol?

Shall we together go down into the dust?”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JOB/17-4c374ca0cf38df82b20ea4637a853d33.mp3?version_id=100—

Bildad Speaks of the Wicked

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite responded,

2 “How long will you hunt for words?

Show understanding and then we can talk.

3 Why are we regarded as beasts,

As stupid in your eyes?

4 O you who tear yourself in your anger—

For your sake is the earth to be abandoned,

Or the rock to be moved from its place?

5 “Indeed, the light of the wicked goes out,

And the flame of his fire gives no light.

6 The light in his tent is darkened,

And his lamp goes out above him.

7 His vigorous stride is shortened,

And his own scheme brings him down.

8 For he is thrown into the net by his own feet,

And he steps on the webbing.

9 A snare seizeshimby the heel,

Anda trap snaps shut on him.

10 A noose for him is hidden in the ground,

And a trap for him on the path.

11 All around terrors frighten him,

And harry him at every step.

12 His strength is famished,

And calamity is ready at his side.

13 His skin is devoured by disease,

The firstborn of death devours his limbs.

14 He is torn from the security of his tent,

And they march him before the king of terrors.

15 There dwells in his tent nothing of his;

Brimstone is scattered on his habitation.

16 His roots are dried below,

And his branch is cut off above.

17 Memory of him perishes from the earth,

And he has no name abroad.

18 He is driven from light into darkness,

And chased from the inhabited world.

19 He has no offspring or posterity among his people,

Nor any survivor where he sojourned.

20 Those in the west are appalled at his fate,

And those in the east are seized with horror.

21 Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked,

And this is the place of him who does not know God.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JOB/18-a940c83221383d60c294f6293cae496b.mp3?version_id=100—

Job Feels Insulted

1 Then Job responded,

2 “How long will you torment me

And crush me with words?

3 These ten times you have insulted me;

You are not ashamed to wrong me.

4 Even if I have truly erred,

My error lodges with me.

5 If indeed you vaunt yourselves against me

And prove my disgrace to me,

6 Know then that God has wronged me

And has closed His net around me.

Everything Is against Him

7 “Behold, I cry, ‘Violence!’ but I get no answer;

I shout for help, but there is no justice.

8 He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass,

And He has put darkness on my paths.

9 He has stripped my honor from me

And removed the crown from my head.

10 He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone;

And He has uprooted my hope like a tree.

11 He has also kindled His anger against me

And considered me as His enemy.

12 His troops come together,

And build up their way against me

And camp around my tent.

13 “He has removed my brothers far from me,

And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.

14 My relatives have failed,

And my intimate friends have forgotten me.

15 Those who live in my house and my maids consider me a stranger.

I am a foreigner in their sight.

16 I call to my servant, but he does not answer;

I have to implore him with my mouth.

17 My breath is offensive to my wife,

And I am loathsome to my own brothers.

18 Even young children despise me;

I rise up and they speak against me.

19 All my associates abhor me,

And those I love have turned against me.

20 My bone clings to my skin and my flesh,

And I have escapedonlyby the skin of my teeth.

21 Pity me, pity me, O you my friends,

For the hand of God has struck me.

22 Why do you persecute me as Goddoes,

And are not satisfied with my flesh?

Job Says, “My Redeemer Lives”

23 “Oh that my words were written!

Oh that they were inscribed in a book!

24 That with an iron stylus and lead

They were engraved in the rock forever!

25 As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,

And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.

26 Even after my skin is destroyed,

Yet from my flesh I shall see God;

27 Whom I myself shall behold,

And whom my eyes will see and not another.

My heart faints within me!

28 If you say, ‘How shall we persecute him?’

And ‘What pretext for a case against him can we find?’

29 Thenbe afraid of the sword for yourselves,

For wrathbringsthe punishment of the sword,

So that you may know there is judgment.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JOB/19-c556ee1c55b510e134f41d51cd6e6db1.mp3?version_id=100—

Zophar Says, “The Triumph of the Wicked Is Short”

1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered,

2 “Therefore my disquieting thoughts make me respond,

Even because of my inward agitation.

3 I listened to the reproof which insults me,

And the spirit of my understanding makes me answer.

4 Do you know this from of old,

From the establishment of man on earth,

5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short,

And the joy of the godless momentary?

6 Though his loftiness reaches the heavens,

And his head touches the clouds,

7 He perishes forever like his refuse;

Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’

8 He flies away like a dream, and they cannot find him;

Even like a vision of the night he is chased away.

9 The eye which saw him sees him no longer,

And his place no longer beholds him.

10 His sons favor the poor,

And his hands give back his wealth.

11 His bones are full of his youthful vigor,

But it lies down with him in the dust.

12 “Though evil is sweet in his mouth

Andhe hides it under his tongue,

13 Thoughhe desires it and will not let it go,

But holds it in his mouth,

14 Yethis food in his stomach is changed

To the venom of cobras within him.

15 He swallows riches,

But will vomit them up;

God will expel them from his belly.

16 He sucks the poison of cobras;

The viper’s tongue slays him.

17 He does not look at the streams,

The rivers flowing with honey and curds.

18 He returns what he has attained

And cannot swallowit;

As to the riches of his trading,

He cannot even enjoythem.

19 For he has oppressedandforsaken the poor;

He has seized a house which he has not built.

20 “Because he knew no quiet within him,

He does not retain anything he desires.

21 Nothing remains for him to devour,

Therefore his prosperity does not endure.

22 In the fullness of his plenty he will be cramped;

The hand of everyone who suffers will comeagainsthim.

23 When he fills his belly,

Godwill send His fierce anger on him

And will rainiton him while he is eating.

24 He may flee from the iron weapon,

Butthe bronze bow will pierce him.

25 It is drawn forth and comes out of his back,

Even the glittering point from his gall.

Terrors come upon him,

26 Complete darkness is held in reserve for his treasures,

And unfanned fire will devour him;

It will consume the survivor in his tent.

27 The heavens will reveal his iniquity,

And the earth will rise up against him.

28 The increase of his house will depart;

His possessionswill flow away in the day of His anger.

29 This is the wicked man’s portion from God,

Even the heritage decreed to him by God.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JOB/20-86ed0787021126edfe2de02e797319b0.mp3?version_id=100—

Job Says God Will Deal with the Wicked

1 Then Job answered,

2 “Listen carefully to my speech,

And let this be yourway ofconsolation.

3 Bear with me that I may speak;

Then after I have spoken, you may mock.

4 As for me, is my complaint to man?

And why should I not be impatient?

5 Look at me, and be astonished,

And putyourhand overyourmouth.

6 Even when I remember, I am disturbed,

And horror takes hold of my flesh.

7 Why do the wickedstilllive,

Continue on, also become very powerful?

8 Their descendants are established with them in their sight,

And their offspring before their eyes,

9 Their houses are safe from fear,

And the rod of God is not on them.

10 His ox mates without fail;

His cow calves and does not abort.

11 They send forth their little ones like the flock,

And their children skip about.

12 They sing to the timbrel and harp

And rejoice at the sound of the flute.

13 They spend their days in prosperity,

And suddenly they go down to Sheol.

14 They say to God, ‘Depart from us!

We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.

15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him,

And what would we gain if we entreat Him?’

16 Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;

The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

17 “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out,

Or does their calamity fall on them?

Does God apportion destruction in His anger?

18 Are they as straw before the wind,

And like chaff which the storm carries away?

19 You say,‘God stores away a man’s iniquity for his sons.’

Let God repay him so that he may knowit.

20 Let his own eyes see his decay,

And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

21 For what does he care for his householdafter him,

When the number of his months is cut off?

22 Can anyone teach God knowledge,

In that He judges those on high?

23 One dies in his full strength,

Being wholly at ease and satisfied;

24 His sides are filled out with fat,

And the marrow of his bones is moist,

25 While another dies with a bitter soul,

Never even tastinganythinggood.

26 Together they lie down in the dust,

And worms cover them.

27 “Behold, I know your thoughts,

And the plans by which you would wrong me.

28 For you say, ‘Where is the house of the nobleman,

And where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’

29 Have you not asked wayfaring men,

And do you not recognize their witness?

30 For the wicked is reserved for the day of calamity;

They will be led forth at the day of fury.

31 Who will confront him with his actions,

And who will repay him for what he has done?

32 While he is carried to the grave,

Menwill keep watch overhistomb.

33 The clods of the valley will gently cover him;

Moreover, all men will follow after him,

While countless onesgobefore him.

34 How then will you vainly comfort me,

For your answers remainfull offalsehood?”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JOB/21-2438cf80d00986e71f67e7cb8ebb94ec.mp3?version_id=100—

Eliphaz Accuses and Exhorts Job

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,

2 “Can a vigorous man be of use to God,

Or a wise man be useful to himself?

3 Is there any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous,

Or profit if you make your ways perfect?

4 Is it because of your reverence that He reproves you,

That He enters into judgment against you?

5 Is not your wickedness great,

And your iniquities without end?

6 For you have taken pledges of your brothers without cause,

And stripped men naked.

7 To the weary you have given no water to drink,

And from the hungry you have withheld bread.

8 But the earth belongs to the mighty man,

And the honorable man dwells in it.

9 You have sent widows away empty,

And the strength of the orphans has been crushed.

10 Therefore snares surround you,

And sudden dread terrifies you,

11 Or darkness, so that you cannot see,

And an abundance of water covers you.

12 “Is not Godinthe height of heaven?

Look also at the distant stars, how high they are!

13 You say, ‘What does God know?

Can He judge through the thick darkness?

14 Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see;

And He walks on the vault of heaven.’

15 Will you keep to the ancient path

Which wicked men have trod,

16 Who were snatched away before their time,

Whose foundations were washed away by a river?

17 They said to God, ‘Depart from us!’

And ‘What can the Almighty do to them?’

18 Yet He filled their houses with goodthings;

But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

19 The righteous see and are glad,

And the innocent mock them,

20 Saying,‘Truly our adversaries are cut off,

And their abundance the fire has consumed.’

21 “Yield now and be at peace with Him;

Thereby good will come to you.

22 Please receive instruction from His mouth

And establish His words in your heart.

23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored;

If you remove unrighteousness far from your tent,

24 And placeyourgold in the dust,

Andthe gold ofOphir among the stones of the brooks,

25 Then the Almighty will be your gold

And choice silver to you.

26 For then you will delight in the Almighty

And lift up your face to God.

27 You will pray to Him, and He will hear you;

And you will pay your vows.

28 You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you;

And light will shine on your ways.

29 When you are cast down, you will speak with confidence,

And the humble person He will save.

30 He will deliver one who is not innocent,

And he will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JOB/22-d3a946364743866e0f5e45accdc52fb8.mp3?version_id=100—

Job Says He Longs for God

1 Then Job replied,

2 “Even today my complaint is rebellion;

His hand is heavy despite my groaning.

3 Oh that I knew where I might find Him,

That I might come to His seat!

4 I would presentmycase before Him

And fill my mouth with arguments.

5 I would learn the wordswhichHe would answer,

And perceive what He would say to me.

6 Would He contend with me by the greatness ofHispower?

No, surely He would pay attention to me.

7 There the upright would reason with Him;

And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

8 “Behold, I go forward but He is notthere,

And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;

9 When He acts on the left, I cannot beholdHim;

He turns on the right, I cannot see Him.

10 But He knows the way I take;

WhenHe has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

11 My foot has held fast to His path;

I have kept His way and not turned aside.

12 I have not departed from the command of His lips;

I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.

13 But He is unique and who can turn Him?

AndwhatHis soul desires, that He does.

14 For He performs what is appointed for me,

And many suchdecreesare with Him.

15 Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence;

WhenI consider, I am terrified of Him.

16 It isGodwhohas made my heart faint,

And the Almightywhohas dismayed me,

17 But I am not silenced by the darkness,

Nor deep gloomwhichcovers me.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JOB/23-f5948eb0469753689efebb31e7623fa0.mp3?version_id=100—

Job Says God Seems to Ignore Wrongs

1 “Why are times not stored up by the Almighty,

And why do those who know Him not see His days?

2 Some remove the landmarks;

They seize and devour flocks.

3 They drive away the donkeys of the orphans;

They take the widow’s ox for a pledge.

4 They push the needy aside from the road;

The poor of the land are made to hide themselves altogether.

5 Behold, as wild donkeys in the wilderness

They go forth seeking food in their activity,

As bread fortheirchildren in the desert.

6 They harvest their fodder in the field

And glean the vineyard of the wicked.

7 They spend the night naked, without clothing,

And have no covering against the cold.

8 They are wet with the mountain rains

And hug the rock for want of a shelter.

9 Others snatch the orphan from the breast,

And against the poor they take a pledge.

10 They causethe poorto go about naked without clothing,

And they take away the sheaves from the hungry.

11 Within the walls they produce oil;

They tread wine presses but thirst.

12 From the city men groan,

And the souls of the wounded cry out;

Yet God does not pay attention to folly.

13 “Others have been with those who rebel against the light;

They do not want to know its ways

Nor abide in its paths.

14 The murderer arises at dawn;

He kills the poor and the needy,

And at night he is as a thief.

15 The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,

Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’

And he disguises his face.

16 In the dark they dig into houses,

They shut themselves up by day;

They do not know the light.

17 For the morning is the same to him as thick darkness,

For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness.

18 “They are insignificant on the surface of the water;

Their portion is cursed on the earth.

They do not turn toward the vineyards.

19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters,

So doesSheolthose whohave sinned.

20 A mother will forget him;

The worm feeds sweetly till he is no longer remembered.

And wickedness will be broken like a tree.

21 He wrongs the barren woman

And does no good for the widow.

22 But He drags off the valiant by His power;

He rises, but no one has assurance of life.

23 He provides them with security, and they are supported;

And His eyes are on their ways.

24 They are exalted a little while, then they are gone;

Moreover, they are brought low and like everything gathered up;

Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.

25 Now if it is not so, who can prove me a liar,

And make my speech worthless?”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JOB/24-458340acbc5cfefb9b01bdfd9c0e54cc.mp3?version_id=100—