Category: Job

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—

1 Then Elihu continued, saying:

2 Do you think it is just when you say,

“I am righteous before God”?

3 For you ask, “What does it profit You,

and what benefit comes to me, if I do not sin? ”

4 I will answer you

and your friends with you.

5 Look at the heavens and see;

gaze at the clouds high above you.

6 If you sin, how does it affect God?

If you multiply your transgressions, what does it do to Him?

7 If you are righteous, what do you give Him,

or what does He receive from your hand?

8 Your wickedness affects a person like yourself,

and your righteousness another human being.

9 People cry out because of severe oppression;

they shout for help because of the arm of the mighty.

10 But no one asks, “Where is God my Maker,

who provides us with songs in the night,

11 who gives us more understanding than the animals of the earth

and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky? ”

12 There they cry out, but He does not answer,

because of the pride of evil men.

13 Indeed, God does not listen to empty cries,

and the Almighty does not take note of it —

14 how much less whenyou complain

that you do not see Him,

that your caseis before Him

and you are waitingfor Him.

15 But now, because God’s anger does not punish

and He does not pay attention to transgression,

16 Job opens his mouth in vain

and multiplies words without knowledge.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JOB/35-942d09de74eff5d5ce46fcfecfe4f75b.mp3?version_id=72—

1 Then Elihu continued, saying:

2 Be patient with me a little longer, and I will inform you,

for there is still more to be said on God’s behalf.

3 I will get my knowledge from a distant place

and ascribe justice to my Maker.

4 For my arguments are without flaw;

one who has perfect knowledge is with you.

5 Yes, God is mighty, but He despises no one;

He understands all things.

6 He does not keep the wicked alive,

but He gives justice to the afflicted.

7 He does not remove His gaze from the righteous,

but He seats them forever with enthroned kings,

and they are exalted.

8 If people are bound with chains

and trapped by the cords of affliction,

9 God tells them what they have done

and how arrogantly they have transgressed.

10 He opens their earsto correction

and insists they repent from iniquity.

11 If they serve Him obediently,

they will end their days in prosperity

and their years in happiness.

12 But if they do not obey,

they will cross the river of death

and die without knowledge.

13 Those who have a godless heart harbor anger;

even when God binds them, they do not cry for help.

14 They die in their youth;

their life ends among male cult prostitutes.

15 God rescues the afflicted by their affliction;

He instructs them by their torment.

16 Indeed, He lured you from the jawsof distress

to a spacious and unconfined place.

Your table was spread with choice food.

17 Yet now you are obsessed with the judgment due the wicked;

judgment and justice have seized you.

18 Be careful that no one lures you with riches;

do not let a large ransomlead you astray.

19 Can your wealthor all your physical exertion

keep you from distress?

20 Do not long for the night

when nations will disappear from their places.

21 Be careful that you do not turn to iniquity,

for that is why you have been tested byaffliction.

22 Look, God shows Himself exalted by His power.

Who is a teacher like Him?

23 Who has appointed His way for Him,

and who has declared, “You have done wrong”?

24 Remember that you should praise His work,

which people have sung about.

25 All mankind has seen it;

people have looked at it from a distance.

26 Yes, God is exalted beyond our knowledge;

the number of His years cannot be counted.

27 For He makes waterdrops evaporate;

they distill the rain into itsmist,

28 which the clouds pour out

and shower abundantly on mankind.

29 Can anyone understand how the clouds spread out

or how the thunder roars from God’s pavilion?

30 See how He spreads His lightningaround Him

and covers the depths of the sea.

31 For He judges the nations with these;

He gives food in abundance.

32 He covers His hands with lightning

and commands it to hit its mark.

33 Thethunder declares His presence;

the cattle also, the approaching storm.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JOB/36-3808d907cf9a78528b5248be663f73c7.mp3?version_id=72—

1 My heartpounds at this

and leaps from my chest.

2 Just listen to His thunderous voice

and the rumbling that comes from His mouth.

3 He lets it loose beneath the entire sky;

His lightning to the endsof the earth.

4 Then there comes a roaring sound;

God thunderswith His majestic voice.

He does not restrain the lightning

when His rumbling voice is heard.

5 God thunders marvelously with His voice;

He does great things that we cannot comprehend.

6 For He says to the snow,“Fall to the earth,”

and the torrential rains, His mighty torrential rains,

7 serve as His sign to all mankind,

so that all men may know His work.

8 The wild animals enter their lairs

and stay in their dens.

9 The windstorm comes from its chamber,

and the cold from the driving north winds.

10 Ice is formed by the breath of God,

and watery expanses are frozen.

11 He saturates clouds with moisture;

He scatters His lightning through them.

12 They swirl about,

turning round and round at His direction,

accomplishing everything He commands them

over the surface of the inhabited world.

13 He causes this to happen for punishment,

for His land, or for His faithful love.

14 Listen to this, Job.

Stop and consider God’s wonders.

15 Do you know how God directs His clouds

or makes their lightning flash?

16 Do you understand how the clouds float,

those wonderful works of Him who has perfect knowledge?

17 You whose clothes get hot

when the south wind brings calm to the land,

18 can you help God spread out the skies

as hard as a cast metal mirror?

19 Teach us what we should say to Him;

we cannot prepare our case because of our darkness.

20 Should He be told that I want to speak?

Can a man speak when he is confused?

21 Now men cannot even look at the sun

when it is in the skies,

after a wind has swept through and cleared them away.

22 Yet out of the north He comes, shrouded in a golden glow;

awesomemajesty surrounds Him.

23 The Almighty — we cannot reach Him —

He is exalted in power!

He will not oppress justice and abundant righteousness,

24 Therefore, men fear Him.

He does not look favorably on any who are wisein heart.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JOB/37-e4364cb3901d45eb0a89c4793d3e14dc.mp3?version_id=72—

The Lord Speaks

1 Then theLordanswered Job from the whirlwind.He said:

2 Who is this who obscures My counsel

with ignorant words?

3 Get ready to answer Me like a man;

when I questionyou, you will inform Me.

4 Where were you when I establishedthe earth?

Tell Me, if you haveunderstanding.

5 Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know!

Who stretched a measuring line across it?

6 What supports its foundations?

Or who laid its cornerstone

7 while the morning stars sang together

and all the sons of Godshouted for joy?

8 Who enclosed the sea behind doors

when it burst from the womb,

9 when I made the clouds its garment

and thick darkness its blanket,

10 when I determined its boundaries

and put its bars and doors in place,

11 when I declared: “You may come this far, but no farther;

your proud waves stop here”?

12 Have you ever in your life commanded the morning

or assigned the dawn its place,

13 so it may seize the edges of the earth

and shake the wicked out of it?

14 The earth is changed as clay is by a seal;

its hills stand out like the folds of a garment.

15 Lightis withheld from the wicked,

and the arm raised in violence is broken.

16 Have you traveled to the sources of the sea

or walked in the depths of the oceans?

17 Have the gatesof death been revealed to you?

Have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

18 Have you comprehended the extent of the earth?

Tell Me, if you know all this.

19 Where is the road to the home of light?

Do you know where darkness lives,

20 so you can lead it back to its border?

Are you familiar with the paths to its home?

21 Don’t you know? You were already born;

you have lived so long!

22 Have you entered the place where the snow is stored?

Or have you seen the storehouses of hail,

23 which I hold in reserve for times of trouble,

for the day of warfare and battle?

24 What road leads to the place where light is dispersed?

Where is the source of the east wind that spreads across the earth?

25 Who cuts a channel for the flooding rain

or clears the way for lightning,

26 to bring rain on an uninhabited land,

on a desert with no human life,

27 to satisfy the parched wasteland

and cause the grass to sprout?

28 Does the rain have a father?

Who fathered the drops of dew?

29 Whose womb did the ice come from?

Who gave birth to the frost of heaven

30 when water becomes as hard as stone,

and the surface of the watery depths is frozen?

31 Can you fasten the chains of the Pleiades

or loosen the belt of Orion?

32 Can you bring out the constellationsin their season

and lead the Bearand her cubs?

33 Do you know the lawsof heaven?

Can you impose itsauthority on earth?

34 Can you commandthe clouds

so that a flood of water covers you?

35 Can you send out lightningbolts, and they go?

Do they report to you: “Here we are”?

36 Who put wisdomin the heart

or gave the mind understanding?

37 Who has the wisdom to number the clouds?

Or who can tilt the water jars of heaven

38 when the dust hardens like cast metal

and the clods of dirt stick together?

39 Can you hunt prey for a lioness

or satisfy the appetite of young lions

40 when they crouch in their dens

and lie in wait within their lairs?

41 Who provides the raven’s food

when its young cry out to God

and wander about for lack of food?

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JOB/38-071d9599e446fe780b85357d3aa4ecb4.mp3?version_id=72—

1 Do you know when mountain goats give birth?

Have you watched the deer in labor?

2 Can you count the months they are pregnant

so you can know the time they give birth?

3 They crouch down to give birth to their young;

they deliver their newborn.

4 Their offspring are healthy and grow up in the open field.

They leave and do not return.

5 Who set the wild donkey free?

Who released the swift donkey from its harness?

6 I made the wildernessits home,

and the saltywasteland its dwelling.

7 It scoffs at the noise of the village

and never hears the shouts of a driver.

8 It roams the mountains for its pastureland,

searching for anything green.

9 Would the wild ox be willing to serve you?

Would it spend the night by your feeding trough?

10 Can you hold the wild oxto a furrow by its harness?

Will it plow the valleys behind you?

11 Can you depend on it because its strength is great?

Would you leave it to do your hard work?

12 Can you trust the wild ox to harvest your grain

and bring it to your threshing floor?

13 The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,

but are her feathers and plumage like the stork’s?

14 She abandons her eggs on the ground

and lets them be warmed in the sand.

15 She forgets that a foot may crush them

or that some wild animal may trample them.

16 She treats her young harshly, as if they were not her own,

with no fear that her labor may have been in vain.

17 For God has deprived her of wisdom;

He has not endowed her with understanding.

18 When she proudlyspreads her wings,

she laughs at the horse and its rider.

19 Do you give strength to the horse?

Do you adorn his neck with a mane?

20 Do you make him leap like a locust?

His proud snorting fills one with terror.

21 He pawsin the valley and rejoices in his strength;

He charges into battle.

22 He laughs at fear, since he is afraid of nothing;

he does not run from the sword.

23 A quiver rattles at his side,

along with a flashing spear and a lance.

24 He charges aheadwith trembling rage;

he cannot stand still at the trumpet’s sound.

25 When the trumpet blasts, he snorts defiantly.

He smells the battle from a distance;

he hears the officers’ shouts and the battle cry.

26 Does the hawk take flight by your understanding

and spread its wings to the south?

27 Does the eagle soar at your command

and make its neston high?

28 It lives on a cliff where it spends the night;

its stronghold is on a rocky crag.

29 From there it searches for prey;

its eyes penetrate the distance.

30 Its brood gulps down blood,

and where the slain are, it is there.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JOB/39-bf8d2bf944b357057e7bb4dddd3c590c.mp3?version_id=72—

1 TheLordanswered Job:

2 Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?

Let him who argues with God give an answer.

3 Then Job answered theLord:

4 I am so insignificant. How can I answer You?

I place my hand over my mouth.

5 I have spoken once, and I will not reply;

twice, but now I can add nothing.

6 Then theLordanswered Job from the whirlwind:

7 Get ready to answer Me like a man;

When I questionyou, you will inform Me.

8 Would you really challenge My justice?

Would you declare Me guiltyto justify yourself?

9 Do you have an arm like God’s?

Can you thunder with a voice like His?

10 Adorn yourself with majestyand splendor,

and clothe yourself with honor and glory.

11 Unleash your raging anger;

look on every proud person and humiliate him.

12 Look on every proud person and humble him;

trample the wicked where they stand.

13 Hide them together in the dust;

imprison them in the grave.

14 Then I will confess to you

that your own right handcan deliver you.

15 Look at Behemoth,

which I made along with you.

He eats grass like an ox.

16 Look at the strength of his loins

and the power in the muscles of his belly.

17 He stiffens his tail like a cedar tree;

the tendons of his thighs are woven firmly together.

18 His bones are bronze tubes;

his limbs are like iron rods.

19 He is the foremost of God’s works;

only his Maker can draw the sword against him.

20 The hills yield food for him,

while all sorts of wild animals play there.

21 He lies under the lotus plants,

hiding in the protectionof marshy reeds.

22 Lotus plants cover him with their shade;

the willows by the brook surround him.

23 Though the river rages, Behemoth is unafraid;

he remains confident, even if the Jordan surges up to his mouth.

24 Can anyone capture him while he looks on,

or pierce his nose with snares?

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JOB/40-58b5153296aa40ed2d58cd530816dff2.mp3?version_id=72—