New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Bildad Says Man Is Inferior

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered,

2 “Dominion and awe belong to Him

Who establishes peace in His heights.

3 Is there any number to His troops?

And upon whom does His light not rise?

4 How then can a man be just with God?

Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?

5 If even the moon has no brightness

And the stars are not pure in His sight,

6 How much less man,thatmaggot,

And the son of man,thatworm!”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JOB/25-8ece31989772499bced5276e934a9bb2.mp3?version_id=100—

Job Rebukes Bildad

1 Then Job responded,

2 “What a help you are to the weak!

How you have saved the arm without strength!

3 What counsel you have given toonewithout wisdom!

What helpful insight you have abundantly provided!

4 To whom have you uttered words?

And whose spirit was expressed through you?

The Greatness of God

5 “The departed spirits tremble

Under the waters and their inhabitants.

6 Naked is Sheol before Him,

AndAbaddon has no covering.

7 He stretches out the north over empty space

And hangs the earth on nothing.

8 He wraps up the waters in His clouds,

And the cloud does not burst under them.

9 He obscures the face of the full moon

And spreads His cloud over it.

10 He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters

At the boundary of light and darkness.

11 The pillars of heaven tremble

And are amazed at His rebuke.

12 He quieted the sea with His power,

And by His understanding He shattered Rahab.

13 By His breath the heavens are cleared;

His hand has pierced the fleeing serpent.

14 Behold, these are the fringes of His ways;

And how faint a word we hear of Him!

But His mighty thunder, who can understand?”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JOB/26-596972d77eb7b6931c01dbbadb63380a.mp3?version_id=100—

Job Affirms His Righteousness

1 Then Job continued his discourse and said,

2 “As God lives, who has taken away my right,

And the Almighty, who has embittered my soul,

3 For as long as life is in me,

And the breath of God is in my nostrils,

4 My lips certainly will not speak unjustly,

Nor will my tongue mutter deceit.

5 Far be it from me that I should declare you right;

Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.

6 I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go.

My heart does not reproach any of my days.

The State of the Godless

7 “May my enemy be as the wicked

And my opponent as the unjust.

8 For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off,

When God requires his life?

9 Will God hear his cry

When distress comes upon him?

10 Will he take delight in the Almighty?

Will he call on God at all times?

11 I will instruct you in the power of God;

What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.

12 Behold, all of you have seenit;

Why then do you act foolishly?

13 “This is the portion of a wicked man from God,

And the inheritancewhichtyrants receive from the Almighty.

14 Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword;

And his descendants will not be satisfied with bread.

15 His survivors will be buried because of the plague,

And their widows will not be able to weep.

16 Though he piles up silver like dust

And prepares garments asplentiful asthe clay,

17 He may prepareit,but the just will wearit

And the innocent will divide the silver.

18 He has built his house like the spider’s web,

Or as a hutwhichthe watchman has made.

19 He lies down rich, but never again;

He opens his eyes, and it is no longer.

20 Terrors overtake him like a flood;

A tempest steals him away in the night.

21 The east wind carries him away, and he is gone,

For it whirls him away from his place.

22 For it will hurl at him without sparing;

He will surely try to flee from its power.

23 Menwill clap their hands at him

And will hiss him from his place.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JOB/27-1e5510038e99d6b2e2b7d23b48f96f22.mp3?version_id=100—

Job Tells of Earth’s Treasures

1 “Surely there is amine for silver

And a place where they refine gold.

2 Iron is taken from the dust,

And copper is smelted from rock.

3 Manputs an end to darkness,

And to the farthest limit he searches out

The rock in gloom and deep shadow.

4 He sinks a shaft far from habitation,

Forgotten by the foot;

They hang and swing to and fro far from men.

5 The earth, from it comes food,

And underneath it is turned up as fire.

6 Its rocks are the source of sapphires,

And its dustcontainsgold.

7 The path no bird of prey knows,

Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.

8 The proud beasts have not trodden it,

Nor has thefiercelion passed over it.

9 He puts his hand on the flint;

He overturns the mountains at the base.

10 He hews out channels through the rocks,

And his eye sees anything precious.

11 He dams up the streams from flowing,

And what is hidden he brings out to the light.

The Search for Wisdom Is Harder

12 “But where can wisdom be found?

And where is the place of understanding?

13 Man does not know its value,

Nor is it found in the land of the living.

14 The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;

And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

15 Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it,

Nor can silver be weighed as its price.

16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,

In precious onyx, or sapphire.

17 Gold or glass cannot equal it,

Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.

18 Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;

And the acquisition of wisdom is abovethat ofpearls.

19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,

Nor can it be valued in pure gold.

20 Where then does wisdom come from?

And where is the place of understanding?

21 Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living

And concealed from the birds of the sky.

22 Abaddon and Death say,

‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’

23 “God understands its way,

And He knows its place.

24 For He looks to the ends of the earth

And sees everything under the heavens.

25 When He imparted weight to the wind

And meted out the waters by measure,

26 When He set a limit for the rain

And a course for the thunderbolt,

27 Then He saw it and declared it;

He established it and also searched it out.

28 And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;

And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JOB/28-92bb51c7a541eea147e54cb728b1c82c.mp3?version_id=100—

Job’s Past Was Glorious

1 And Job again took up his discourse and said,

2 “Oh that I were as in months gone by,

As in the days when God watched over me;

3 When His lamp shone over my head,

Andby His light I walked through darkness;

4 As I was inthe prime of my days,

When the friendship of Godwasover my tent;

5 When the Almighty was yet with me,

Andmy children were around me;

6 When my steps were bathed in butter,

And the rock poured out for me streams of oil!

7 When I went out to the gate of the city,

When I took my seat in the square,

8 The young men saw me and hid themselves,

And the old men aroseandstood.

9 The princes stopped talking

And puttheirhands on their mouths;

10 The voice of the nobles was hushed,

And their tongue stuck to their palate.

11 For when the ear heard, it called me blessed,

And when the eye saw, it gave witness of me,

12 Because I delivered the poor who cried for help,

And the orphan who had no helper.

13 The blessing of the one ready to perish came upon me,

And I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.

14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;

My justice was like a robe and a turban.

15 I was eyes to the blind

And feet to the lame.

16 I was a father to the needy,

And I investigated the case which I did not know.

17 I broke the jaws of the wicked

And snatched the prey from his teeth.

18 Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest,

And I shall multiplymydays as the sand.

19 My root is spread out to the waters,

And dew lies all night on my branch.

20 My glory isevernew with me,

And my bow is renewed in my hand.’

21 “To me they listened and waited,

And kept silent for my counsel.

22 After my words they did not speak again,

And my speech dropped on them.

23 They waited for me as for the rain,

And opened their mouth as for the spring rain.

24 I smiled on them when they did not believe,

And the light of my face they did not cast down.

25 I chose a way for them and sat as chief,

And dwelt as a king among the troops,

As one who comforted the mourners.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JOB/29-2e5af7bb03d57cd5cb5ed8534beb979f.mp3?version_id=100—

Job’s Present State Is Humiliating

1 “But now those younger than I mock me,

Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.

2 Indeed, whatgood wasthe strength of their hands to me?

Vigor had perished from them.

3 From want and famine they are gaunt

Who gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,

4 Who pluckmallow by the bushes,

And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.

5 They are driven from the community;

They shout against them asagainsta thief,

6 So that they dwell in dreadful valleys,

In holes of the earth and of the rocks.

7 Among the bushes they cry out;

Under the nettles they are gathered together.

8 Fools, even those without a name,

They were scourged from the land.

9 “And now I have become their taunt,

I have even become a byword to them.

10 They abhor meandstand aloof from me,

And they do not refrain from spitting at my face.

11 Because He has loosed His bowstring and afflicted me,

They have cast off the bridle before me.

12 On the right hand their brood arises;

They thrust aside my feet and build up against me their ways of destruction.

13 They break up my path,

They profit from my destruction;

No one restrains them.

14 Asthrougha wide breach they come,

Amid the tempest they roll on.

15 Terrors are turned against me;

They pursue my honor as the wind,

And my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.

16 “And now my soul is poured out within me;

Days of affliction have seized me.

17 At night it pierces my bones within me,

And my gnawingpainstake no rest.

18 By a great force my garment is distorted;

It binds me about as the collar of my coat.

19 He has cast me into the mire,

And I have become like dust and ashes.

20 I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;

I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.

21 You have become cruel to me;

With the might of Your hand You persecute me.

22 You lift me up to the windandcause me to ride;

And You dissolve me in a storm.

23 For I know that You will bring me to death

And to the house of meeting for all living.

24 “Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch outhishand,

Or in his disaster therefore cry out for help?

25 Have I not wept for the one whose life is hard?

Was not my soul grieved for the needy?

26 When I expected good, then evil came;

When I waited for light, then darkness came.

27 I am seething within and cannot relax;

Days of affliction confront me.

28 I go about mourning without comfort;

I stand up in the assemblyandcry out for help.

29 I have become a brother to jackals

And a companion of ostriches.

30 My skin turns black on me,

And my bones burn with fever.

31 Therefore my harp is turned to mourning,

And my flute to the sound of those who weep.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JOB/30-54a1cdca8828ac590d2847b8b8aade6f.mp3?version_id=100—

Job Asserts His Integrity

1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes;

How then could I gaze at a virgin?

2 And what is the portion of God from above

Or the heritage of the Almighty from on high?

3 Is it not calamity to the unjust

And disaster to those who work iniquity?

4 Does He not see my ways

And number all my steps?

5 “If I have walked with falsehood,

And my foot has hastened after deceit,

6 Let Him weigh me with accurate scales,

And let God know my integrity.

7 If my step has turned from the way,

Or my heart followed my eyes,

Or if any spot has stuck to my hands,

8 Let me sow and another eat,

And let my crops be uprooted.

9 “If my heart has been enticed by a woman,

Or I have lurked at my neighbor’s doorway,

10 May my wife grind for another,

And let others kneel down over her.

11 For that would be a lustful crime;

Moreover, it would be an iniquitypunishable byjudges.

12 For it would be fire that consumes to Abaddon,

And would uproot all my increase.

13 “If I have despised the claim of my male or female slaves

When they filed a complaint against me,

14 What then could I do when God arises?

And when He calls me to account, what will I answer Him?

15 Did not He who made me in the womb make him,

And the same one fashion us in the womb?

16 “If I have kept the poor fromtheirdesire,

Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

17 Or have eaten my morsel alone,

And the orphan has not shared it

18 (But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,

And from infancy I guided her),

19 If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,

Or that the needy had no covering,

20 If his loins have not thanked me,

And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,

21 If I have lifted up my hand against the orphan,

Because I saw I had support in the gate,

22 Let my shoulder fall from the socket,

And my arm be broken off at the elbow.

23 For calamity from God is a terror to me,

And because of His majesty I can do nothing.

24 “If I have put my confidenceingold,

And called fine gold my trust,

25 If I have gloated because my wealth was great,

And because my hand had securedsomuch;

26 If I have looked at the sun when it shone

Or the moon going in splendor,

27 And my heart became secretly enticed,

And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,

28 That too would have been an iniquitycalling forjudgment,

For I would have denied God above.

29 “Have I rejoiced at the extinction of my enemy,

Or exulted when evil befell him?

30 No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin

By asking for his life in a curse.

31 Have the men of my tent not said,

‘Who can find one who has not been satisfied with his meat’?

32 The alien has not lodged outside,

ForI have opened my doors to the traveler.

33 Have I covered my transgressions like Adam,

By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,

34 Because I feared the great multitude,

And the contempt of families terrified me,

And kept silent and did not go out of doors?

35 Oh that I had one to hear me!

Behold, here is my signature;

Let the Almighty answer me!

And the indictment which my adversary has written,

36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder,

I would bind it to myself like a crown.

37 I would declare to Him the number of my steps;

Like a prince I would approach Him.

38 “If my land cries out against me,

And its furrows weep together;

39 If I have eaten its fruit without money,

Or have caused its owners to lose their lives,

40 Let briars grow instead of wheat,

And stinkweed instead of barley.”

The words of Job are ended.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JOB/31-9bb5d6e586da42f194251a042a10c2f2.mp3?version_id=100—

Elihu in Anger Rebukes Job

1 Then these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

2 But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram burned; against Job his anger burned because he justified himself before God.

3 And his anger burned against his three friends because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.

4 Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were years older than he.

5 And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men his anger burned.

6 So Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite spoke out and said,

“I am young in years and you are old;

Therefore I was shy and afraid to tell you what I think.

7 I thought age should speak,

And increased years should teach wisdom.

8 But it is a spirit in man,

And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.

9 The abundantin yearsmay not be wise,

Nor may elders understand justice.

10 So I say, ‘Listen to me,

I too will tell what I think.’

11 “Behold, I waited for your words,

I listened to your reasonings,

While you pondered what to say.

12 I even paid close attention to you;

Indeed, there was no one who refuted Job,

Not one of you who answered his words.

13 Do not say,

‘We have found wisdom;

God will rout him, not man.’

14 For he has not arrangedhiswords against me,

Nor will I reply to him with your arguments.

15 “They are dismayed, they no longer answer;

Words have failed them.

16 Shall I wait, because they do not speak,

Because they stopandno longer answer?

17 I too will answer my share,

I also will tell my opinion.

18 For I am full of words;

The spirit within me constrains me.

19 Behold, my belly is like unvented wine,

Like new wineskins it is about to burst.

20 Let me speak that I may get relief;

Let me open my lips and answer.

21 Let me now be partial to no one,

Nor flatteranyman.

22 For I do not know how to flatter,

Elsemy Maker would soon take me away.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JOB/32-2cbcedad7668a3d10acc7875f0916d55.mp3?version_id=100—

Elihu Claims to Speak for God

1 “However now, Job, please hear my speech,

And listen to all my words.

2 Behold now, I open my mouth,

My tongue in my mouth speaks.

3 My words arefromthe uprightness of my heart,

And my lips speak knowledge sincerely.

4 The Spirit of God has made me,

And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

5 Refute me if you can;

Array yourselves before me, take your stand.

6 Behold, I belong to God like you;

I too have been formed out of the clay.

7 Behold, no fear of me should terrify you,

Nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you.

8 “Surely you have spoken in my hearing,

And I have heard the sound ofyourwords:

9 ‘I am pure, without transgression;

I am innocent and there is no guilt in me.

10 Behold, He invents pretexts against me;

He counts me as His enemy.

11 He puts my feet in the stocks;

He watches all my paths.’

12 Behold, let me tell you, you are not right in this,

For God is greater than man.

13 “Why do you complain against Him

That He does not give an account of all His doings?

14 Indeed God speaks once,

Or twice,yetno one notices it.

15 In a dream, a vision of the night,

When sound sleep falls on men,

While they slumber in their beds,

16 Then He opens the ears of men,

And seals their instruction,

17 That He may turn man asidefrom hisconduct,

And keep man from pride;

18 He keeps back his soul from the pit,

And his life from passing over into Sheol.

19 “Man is also chastened with pain on his bed,

And with unceasing complaint in his bones;

20 So that his life loathes bread,

And his soul favorite food.

21 His flesh wastes away from sight,

And his bones which were not seen stick out.

22 Then his soul draws near to the pit,

And his life to those who bring death.

23 “If there is an angelasmediator for him,

One out of a thousand,

To remind a man what is right for him,

24 Then let him be gracious to him, and say,

‘Deliver him from going down to the pit,

I have found a ransom’;

25 Let his flesh become fresher than in youth,

Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor;

26 Then he will pray to God, and He will accept him,

That he may see His face with joy,

And He may restore His righteousness to man.

27 He will sing to men and say,

‘I have sinned and perverted what is right,

And it is not proper for me.

28 He has redeemed my soul from going to the pit,

And my life shall see the light.’

29 “Behold, God does all these oftentimes with men,

30 To bring back his soul from the pit,

That he may be enlightened with the light of life.

31 Pay attention, O Job, listen to me;

Keep silent, and let me speak.

32 Thenif you have anything to say, answer me;

Speak, for I desire to justify you.

33 If not, listen to me;

Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JOB/33-4d05a2b6118fa27637070c633d9e4ecb.mp3?version_id=100—

Elihu Vindicates God’s Justice

1 Then Elihu continued and said,

2 “Hear my words, you wise men,

And listen to me, you who know.

3 For the ear tests words

As the palate tastes food.

4 Let us choose for ourselves what is right;

Let us know among ourselves what is good.

5 For Job has said, ‘I am righteous,

But God has taken away my right;

6 Should I lie concerning my right?

My wound is incurable,though I amwithout transgression.’

7 What man is like Job,

Who drinks up derision like water,

8 Who goes in company with the workers of iniquity,

And walks with wicked men?

9 For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing

When he is pleased with God.’

10 “Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding.

Far be it from God to do wickedness,

And from the Almighty to do wrong.

11 For He pays a man according to his work,

And makes him find it according to his way.

12 Surely, God will not act wickedly,

And the Almighty will not pervert justice.

13 Who gave Him authority over the earth?

And who has laidon Himthe whole world?

14 If He should determine to do so,

If He should gather to Himself His spirit and His breath,

15 All flesh would perish together,

And man would return to dust.

16 “But ifyou haveunderstanding, hear this;

Listen to the sound of my words.

17 Shall one who hates justice rule?

And will you condemn the righteous mighty One,

18 Who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’

To nobles, ‘Wicked ones’;

19 Who shows no partiality to princes

Nor regards the rich above the poor,

For they all are the work of His hands?

20 In a moment they die, and at midnight

People are shaken and pass away,

And the mighty are taken away without a hand.

21 “For His eyes are upon the ways of a man,

And He sees all his steps.

22 There is no darkness or deep shadow

Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.

23 For He does notneed toconsider a man further,

That he should go before God in judgment.

24 He breaks in pieces mighty men without inquiry,

And sets others in their place.

25 Therefore He knows their works,

And He overthrowsthemin the night,

And they are crushed.

26 He strikes them like the wicked

In a public place,

27 Because they turned aside from following Him,

And had no regard for any of His ways;

28 So that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him,

And that He might hear the cry of the afflicted—

29 When He keeps quiet, who then can condemn?

And when He hides His face, who then can behold Him,

That is, in regard to both nation and man?—

30 So that godless men would not rule

Nor be snares of the people.

31 “For has anyone said to God,

‘I have bornechastisement;

I will not offendanymore;

32 Teach me what I do not see;

If I have done iniquity,

I will not do it again’?

33 Shall He recompense on your terms, because you have rejectedit?

For you must choose, and not I;

Therefore declare what you know.

34 Men of understanding will say to me,

And a wise man who hears me,

35 ‘Job speaks without knowledge,

And his words are without wisdom.

36 Job ought to be tried to the limit,

Because he answers like wicked men.

37 For he adds rebellion to his sin;

He claps his hands among us,

And multiplies his words against God.’ ”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JOB/34-c386af8abdf6743d3f1977b3df914999.mp3?version_id=100—