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Bildad Speaks

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

2 Dominion and dreadbelong to Him,

the One who establishes harmony in the heavens.

3 Can His troops be numbered?

Does His light not shine on everyone?

4 How can a person be justified before God?

How can one born of woman be pure?

5 If even the moon does not shine

and the stars are not pure in His sight,

6 how much less man, who is a maggot,

and the son of man, who is a worm!

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JOB/25-92b67166d46ef78f044667046de3af2e.mp3?version_id=72—

Job’s Reply to Bildad

1 Then Job answered:

2 How you have helpedthe powerless

and delivered the arm that is weak!

3 How you have counseled the unwise

and thoroughly explained the path to success!

4 Who did you speak these words to?

Whose breath came out of your mouth?

5 The departed spirits tremble

beneath the waters and all that inhabit them.

6 Sheolis naked before God,

and Abaddonhas no covering.

7 He stretches the northern skies over empty space;

He hangs the earth on nothing.

8 He wraps up the waters in His clouds,

yet the clouds do not burst beneath their weight.

9 He obscures the view of His throne,

spreading His cloud over it.

10 He laid out the horizon on the surface of the waters

at the boundary between light and darkness.

11 The pillars that hold up the sky tremble,

astounded at His rebuke.

12 By His power He stirredthe sea,

and by His understanding He crushed Rahab.

13 By His breath the heavens gained their beauty;

His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.

14 These are but the fringes of His ways;

how faint is the word we hear of Him!

Who can understand His mighty thunder?

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JOB/26-91cdf219378d3b8ba0569157db1460c9.mp3?version_id=72—

1 Job continued his discourse, saying:

2 As God lives, who has deprived me of justice,

and the Almighty who has made me bitter,

3 as long as my breath is still in me

and the breath from God remains in my nostrils,

4 my lips will not speak unjustly,

and my tongue will not utter deceit.

5 I will never affirm that you are right.

I will maintain my integrityuntil I die.

6 I will cling to my righteousness and never let it go.

My consciencewill not accuse me as long as I live!

7 May my enemy be like the wicked

and my opponent like the unjust.

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

when God takes away his life?

9 Will God hear his cry

when distress comes on him?

10 Will he delightin the Almighty?

Will he call on God at all times?

11 I will teach you about God’s power.

I will not conceal what the Almighty has planned.

12 All of you have seen this for yourselves,

why do you keep up this empty talk?

13 This is a wicked man’s lotfrom God,

the inheritance the ruthless receive from the Almighty.

14 Even if his children increase, they are destined for the sword;

his descendants will never have enough food.

15 Those who survive him will be buried by the plague,

yet their widows will not weep for them.

16 Though he piles up silver like dust

and heaps up a wardrobe like clay —

17 he may heap it up, but the righteous will wear it,

and the innocent will divide up his silver.

18 The house he built is like a moth’s cocoon

or a booth set up by a watchman.

19 He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;

when he opens his eyes, it is gone.

20 Terrors overtake him like a flood;

a stormwind sweeps him away at night.

21 An east wind picks him up, and he is gone;

it carries him away from his place.

22 It blasts at him without mercy,

while he flees desperately from its grasp.

23 It clapsits hands at him

and scorns him from its place.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JOB/27-0cb94f08e6b0a90bd6ce736360d6808c.mp3?version_id=72—

Job’s Hymn to Wisdom

1 Surely there is a mine for silver

and a place where gold is refined.

2 Iron is taken from the ground,

and copper is smelted from ore.

3 A miner puts an end to the darkness;

he probesthe deepest recesses

for ore in the gloomy darkness.

4 He cuts a shaft far from human habitation,

in places unknown to those who walk above ground.

Suspended far away from people,

the miners swing back and forth.

5 Food may come from the earth,

but below the surface the earth is transformed as by fire.

6 Its rocks are a source of sapphire,

containing flecks of gold.

7 No bird of prey knows that path;

no falcon’s eye has seen it.

8 Proud beasts have never walked on it;

no lion has ever prowled over it.

9 The miner strikes the flint

and transforms the mountains at their foundations.

10 He cuts out channels in the rocks,

and his eyes spot every treasure.

11 He dams up the streams from flowing

so that he may bring to light what is hidden.

12 But where can wisdombe found,

and where is understanding located?

13 No man can know its value,

since it cannot be found in the land of the living.

14 The ocean depths say, “It’s not in me,”

while the sea declares, “I don’t have it.”

15 Gold cannot be exchanged for it,

and silver cannot be weighed out for its price.

16 Wisdom cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,

in precious onyx or sapphire.

17 Gold and glass do not compare with it,

and articles of fine gold cannot be exchanged for it.

18 Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning.

The price of wisdom is beyond pearls.

19 Topaz from Cush cannot compare with it,

and it cannot be valued in pure gold.

20 Where then does wisdom come from,

and where is understanding located?

21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing

and concealed from the birds of the sky.

22 Abaddon and Deathsay,

“We have heard news of it with our ears.”

23 But God understands the way to wisdom,

and He knows its location.

24 For He looks to the ends of the earth

and sees everything under the heavens.

25 When God fixed the weight of the wind

and limited the water by measure,

26 when He established a limitfor the rain

and a path for the lightning,

27 He considered wisdom and evaluated it;

He established it and examined it.

28 He said to mankind,

“The fear of the Lord is this: wisdom.

And to turn from evil is understanding.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JOB/28-537e7da15d75b4de3c481cf61da54577.mp3?version_id=72—

Job’s Final Claim of Innocence

1 Job continued his discourse, saying:

2 If only I could be as in months gone by,

in the days when God watched over me,

3 when His lamp shone above my head,

and I walked through darkness by His light!

4 I would be as I was in the days of my youth

when God’s friendshiprested on my tent,

5 when the Almighty was still with me

and my children were around me,

6 when my feet were bathed in cream

and the rockpoured out streams of oil for me!

7 When I went out to the city gate

and took my seat in the town square,

8 the young men saw me and withdrew,

while older men stood to their feet.

9 City officials stopped talking

and covered their mouths with their hands.

10 The noblemen’s voices were hushed,

and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.

11 When they heard me, they blessed me,

and when they saw me, they spoke well of me.

12 For I rescued the poor man who cried out for help,

and the fatherless child who had no one to support him.

13 The dying man blessed me,

and I made the widow’s heart rejoice.

14 I clothed myself in righteousness,

and it enveloped me;

my just decisions were 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 examined the case of the stranger.

17 I shattered the fangs of the unjust

and snatched the prey from his teeth.

18 So I thought: I will die in my own nest

and multiply my days as the sand.

19 My roots will have access to water,

and the dew will rest on my branches all night.

20 My strength will be refreshed within me,

and my bow will be renewed in my hand.

21 Men listened to me with expectation,

waiting silently for my advice.

22 After a word from me they did not speak again;

my speech settled on them like dew.

23 They waited for me as for the rain

and opened their mouths as for spring showers.

24 If I smiled at them, they couldn’t believe it;

they were thrilled atthe light of my countenance.

25 I directed their course and presided as chief.

I lived as a king among his troops,

like one who comforts those who mourn.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JOB/29-64d6b5b8e8d2b8825924f4e3d490deed.mp3?version_id=72—

1 But now they mockme,

men younger than I am,

whose fathers I would have refused to put

with my sheep dogs.

2 What use to me was the strength of their hands?

Their vigor had left them.

3 Emaciated from poverty and hunger,

they gnawed the dry land,

the desolate wasteland by night.

4 They plucked mallowamong the shrubs,

and the roots of the broom tree were their food.

5 They were expelled from human society;

people shouted at them as if they were thieves.

6 They are living on the slopes of the wadis,

among the rocks and in holes in the ground.

7 They bray among the shrubs;

they huddle beneath the thistles.

8 Foolishmen, without even a name.

They were forced to leave the land.

9 Now I am mocked by their songs;

I have become an object of scorn to them.

10 They despise me and keep their distance from me;

they do not hesitate to spitin my face.

11 Because God has loosened mybowstring and oppressed me,

they have cast off restraint in my presence.

12 The rabblerise up at my right;

they trapmy feet

and construct their siege rampagainst me.

13 They tear up my path;

they contribute to my destruction,

without anyone to help them.

14 They advance as through a gaping breach;

they keep rolling in through the ruins.

15 Terrorsare turned loose against me;

they chase my dignity away like the wind,

and my prosperity has passed by like a cloud.

16 Now my life is poured out before my eyes,

and days of sufferinghave seized me.

17 Night pierces my bones,

but my gnawing pains never rest.

18 My clothing is distorted with great force;

He chokes me by the neck of my garment.

19 He throws me into the mud,

and I have become like dust and ashes.

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

when I stand up, You merely look at me.

21 You have turned against me with cruelty;

You harassme with Your strong hand.

22 You lift me up on the wind and make me ride it;

You scatter me in the storm.

23 Yes, I know that You will lead me to death —

the placeappointed for all who live.

24 Yet no one would stretch out his hand

against a ruined man

when he cries out to him for help

because of his distress.

25 Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times?

Has my soul not grieved for the needy?

26 But when I hoped for good, evil came;

when I looked for light, darknesscame.

27 I am churning withinand cannot rest;

days of suffering confront me.

28 I walk about blackened, but not by the sun.

I stood in the assembly and cried out for help.

29 I have become a brother to jackals

and a companion of ostriches.

30 My skin blackens and flakes off,

and my bones burn with fever.

31 My lyre is used for mourning

and my flute for the sound of weeping.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JOB/30-dff1043d22e66c86d97458766e7eb0cf.mp3?version_id=72—

1 I have made a covenant with my eyes.

How then could I look at a young woman?

2 For what portionwould I have from God above,

or what inheritance from the Almighty on high?

3 Doesn’t disaster come to the unjust

and misfortune to evildoers?

4 Does He not see my ways

and number all my steps?

5 If I have walked in falsehood

or my foot has rushed to deceit,

6 let God weigh me in accurate scales,

and He will recognize my integrity.

7 If my step has turned from the way,

my heart has followed my eyes,

or impurity has stained my hands,

8 let someone else eat what I have sown,

and let my crops be uprooted.

9 If my heart has been seduced by my neighbor’s wife

or I have lurked at his door,

10 let my own wife grind grain for another man,

and let other men sleep withher.

11 For that would be a disgrace;

it would be a crime deserving punishment.

12 For it is a fire that consumes down to Abaddon;

it would destroy my entire harvest.

13 If I have dismissed the case of my male or female servants

when they made a complaint against me,

14 what could I do when God stands up to judge?

How should I answer Him when He calls me to account?

15 Did not the One who made me in the womb also make them?

Did not the same God form us both in the womb?

16 If I have refused the wishes of the poor

or let the widow’seyes go blind,

17 if I have eaten my few crumbs alone

without letting the fatherless eat any of it —

18 for from my youth, I raised him as his father,

and since the day I was bornI guided the widow —

19 if I have seen anyone dying for lack of clothing

or a needy person without a cloak,

20 if hedid not bless me

while warming himself with the fleece from my sheep,

21 if I ever cast my voteagainst a fatherless child

when I saw that I had support in the city gate,

22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my back,

and my arm be pulled from its socket.

23 For disaster from God terrifies me,

and because of His majesty I could not do these things.

24 If I placed my confidence in gold

or called fine gold my trust,

25 if I have rejoiced because my wealth is great

or because my own hand has acquired so much,

26 if I have gazed at the sun when it was shining

or at the moon moving in splendor,

27 so that my heart was secretly enticed

and I threw them a kiss,

28 this would also be a crime deserving punishment,

for I would have denied God above.

29 Have I rejoiced over my enemy’s distress,

or become excited when trouble came his way?

30 I have not allowed my mouth to sin

by asking for his life with a curse.

31 Haven’t the members of my household said,

“Who is there who has not had enough to eat at Job’s table? ”

32 No stranger had to spend the night on the street,

for I opened my door to the traveler.

33 Have I covered my transgressionsas others do

by hiding my guilt in my heart,

34 because I greatly feared the crowds,

and the contempt of the clans terrified me,

so I grew silent and would not go outside?

35 If only I had someone to hear my case!

Here is my signature; let the Almighty answer me.

Let my Opponent compose His indictment.

36 I would surely carry it on my shoulder

and wear it like a crown.

37 I would give Him an account of all my steps;

I would approach Him like a prince.

38 If my land cries out against me

and its furrows join in weeping,

39 if I have consumed its produce without payment

or shown contempt for its tenants,

40 then let thornsgrow instead of wheat

and stinkweedinstead of barley.

The words of Job are concluded.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JOB/31-2ef35d630a8d1aca2a1d27666f229140.mp3?version_id=72—

Elihu’s Angry Response

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

2 Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzitefrom the family of Ram became angry. He was angry at Job because he had justifiedhimself rather than God.

3 He was also angry at Job’s three friends because they had failed to refute him and yet had condemned him.

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

5 But when he saw that the three men could not answer Job, he became angry.

6 So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite replied:

I am young in years,

while you are old;

therefore I was timid and afraid

to tellyou what I know.

7 I thought that age should speak

and maturity should teach wisdom.

8 But it is a spirit in man

and the breathof the Almighty

that give him understanding.

9 It is not only the old who are wise

or the elderly who understand how to judge.

10 Therefore I say, “Listen to me.

I too will declare what I know.”

11 Look, I waited for your conclusions;

I listened to your insights

as you sought for words.

12 I paid close attention to you.

Yet no one proved Job wrong;

not one of you refuted his arguments.

13 So do not claim, “We have found wisdom;

let God deal with him, not man.”

14 But Job has not directed his argument to me,

and I will not respond to him with your arguments.

15 Job’s friends are dismayed and can no longer answer;

words have left them.

16 Should I continue to wait now that they are silent,

now that they stand there and no longer answer?

17 I too will answer;

yes, I will tell what I know.

18 For I am full of words,

and my spiritcompels me to speak.

19 My heartis like unvented wine;

it is about to burst like new wineskins.

20 I must speak so that I can find relief;

I must open my lips and respond.

21 I will be partial to no one,

and I will not give anyone an undeserved title.

22 For I do not know how to give such titles;

otherwise, my Maker would remove me in an instant.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JOB/32-886a1a2a76f6012ec131308105096206.mp3?version_id=72—

Elihu Confronts Job

1 But now, Job, pay attention to my speech,

and listen to all my words.

2 I am going to open my mouth;

my tongue will form words on my palate.

3 My words come from my uprightheart,

and my lips speak with sincerity what they know.

4 The Spirit of God has made me,

and the breath of the Almightygives me life.

5 Refute me if you can.

Prepareyour case against me; take your stand.

6 I am just like you before God;

I was also pinched off from a piece of clay.

7 Fearof me should not terrify you;

the pressure I exertagainst you will be light.

8 Surely you have spoken in my hearing,

and I have heard these verywords:

9 “I am pure, without transgression;

I am clean and have no guilt.

10 But He finds reasons to oppose me;

He regards me as His enemy.

11 He puts my feet in the stocks;

He stands watchover all my paths.”

12 But I tell you that you are wrong in this matter,

since God is greater than man.

13 Why do you takeHim to court

for not answering anything a person asks?

14 For God speaks time and again,

but a person may not notice it.

15 In a dream, a visionin the night,

when deep sleep falls on people

as they slumber on their beds,

16 He uncovers their earsat that time

and terrifies themwith warnings,

17 in order to turn a person from his actions

and suppress his pride.

18 God spares his soul from the Pit,

his life from crossing the river of death.

19 A person may be disciplined on his bedwith pain

and constant distress in his bones,

20 so that he detests bread,

and his soul despises his favorite food.

21 His flesh wastes away to nothing,

and his unseen bones stick out.

22 He draws near to the Pit,

and his life to the executioners.

23 If there is an angelon his side,

one mediator out of a thousand,

to tell a person what is right for him

24 and to be gracious to him and say,

“Spare him from going down to the Pit;

I have found a ransom,”

25 then his flesh will be healthierthan in his youth,

and he will return to the days of his youthful vigor.

26 He will pray to God, and God will delight in him.

That man will see His facewith a shout of joy,

and God will restore his righteousness to him.

27 He will look at men and say,

“I have sinned and perverted what was right;

yet I did not get what I deserved.

28 He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit,

and I will continue to see the light.”

29 God certainly does all these things

two or three times to a man

30 in order to turn him back from the Pit,

so he may shine with the light of life.

31 Pay attention, Job, and listen to me.

Be quiet, and I will speak.

32 But if you have something to say,answer me;

speak, for I would like to justify you.

33 If not, then listen to me;

be quiet, and I will teach you wisdom.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JOB/33-57f56b9e0705ccc1ea7be923218e5aa5.mp3?version_id=72—

1 Then Elihu continued,saying:

2 Hear my words, you wise men,

and listen to me, you knowledgeable ones.

3 Doesn’t the ear test words

as the palate tastes food?

4 Let us judge for ourselves what is right;

let us decide together what is good.

5 For Job has declared, “I am righteous,

yet God has deprived me of justice.

6 Would I lie about my case?

My woundis incurable,

though I am without transgression.”

7 What man is like Job?

He drinks derisionlike water.

8 He keeps company with evildoers

and walks with wicked men.

9 For he has said, “A man gains nothing

when he becomes God’s friend.”

10 Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding.

It is impossible for God to do wrong,

and for the Almighty to act unjustly.

11 For He repaysa person according to his deeds,

and He brings his ways on him.

12 Indeed, it is true that God does not act wickedly

and the Almighty does not pervert justice.

13 Who gave Him authority over the earth?

Who put Him in charge of the entire world?

14 If He put His mind to it

and withdrew the spiritand breath He gave,

15 every living thing would perish together

and mankind would return to the dust.

16 If you have understanding, hear this;

listen to what I have to say.

17 Could one who hates justice govern the world?

Will you condemn the mighty Righteous One,

18 who says to a king, “Worthless man! ”

and to nobles, “Wicked men! ”?

19 God is not partialto princes

and does not favor the rich over the poor,

for they are all the work of His hands.

20 They die suddenly in the middle of the night;

people shudder, then pass away.

Even the mighty are removed without effort.

21 For His eyes watch over a man’s ways,

and He observes all his steps.

22 There is no darkness, no deep darkness,

where evildoers can hide themselves.

23 God does not need to examine a person further,

that one shouldapproach Him in court.

24 He shatters the mighty without an investigation

and sets others in their place.

25 Therefore, He recognizes their deeds

and overthrows them by night, and they are crushed.

26 In full view of the public,

He strikes them for their wickedness,

27 because they turned aside from following Him

and did not understand any of His ways

28 but caused the poor to cry out to Him,

and He heard the outcry of the afflicted.

29 But when God is silent, who can declare Him guilty?

When He hides His face, who can see Him?

Yet He watches over both individuals and nations,

30 so that godless men should not rule

or ensnare the people.

31 Suppose someone says to God,

“I have endured my punishment;

I will no longer act wickedly.

32 Teach me what I cannot see;

if I have done wrong, I won’t do it again.”

33 Should God repay you on your terms

when you have rejected His?

You must choose, not I!

So declare what you know.

34 Reasonable men will say to me,

along with the wise men who hear me,

35 “Job speaks without knowledge;

his words are without insight.”

36 If only Job were tested to the limit,

because his answers are like those of wicked men.

37 For he adds rebellion to his sin;

he scornfully clapsin our presence,

while multiplyinghis words against God.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JOB/34-860f1f410a7243ab359abe4518a5d74a.mp3?version_id=72—