Job 12-15; Psalms 138 - Prayer Tents

Job’s Fourth Speech: A Response to Zophar

12Then Job spoke again.H347H6030H559 2"You people really know everything, don't you? And when you die, wisdom will die with you!H551H5971H2451H4191 3Well, I know a few things myself—and you're no better than I am. Who doesn't know these things you've been saying?H1571H3824H5307H3644 4Yet my friends laugh at me, for I call on God and expect an answer. I am a just and blameless man, yet they laugh at me.H7814H7453H7121H433H6030H6662H8549H7814 5People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling.H3559H4571H7272H3940H937H6248H7600 6But robbers are left in peace, and those who provoke God live in safety—though God keeps them in his power.H168H7703H7951H7264H410H987H3027H433H935 7"Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.H199H7592H929H3384H5775H8064H5046 8Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish in the sea speak to you.H7878H776H3384H1709H3220H5608 9For they all know that my disaster

has come from the hand of the LORD.H3045H3027H3068H6213 10For the life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being.H3027H5315H2416H7307H376H1320 11The ear tests the words it hears just as the mouth distinguishes between foods.H241H974H4405H2441H2938H400 12Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old.H3453H2451H753H3117H8394 13"But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are his.H2451H1369H6098H8394 14What he destroys cannot be rebuilt. When he puts someone in prison, there is no escape.H2040H1129H5462H376H6605 15If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert. If he releases the waters, they flood the earth.H6113H4325H3001H7971H2015H776 16Yes, strength and wisdom are his; deceivers and deceived are both in his power.H5797H8454H7683H7686 17He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment; wise judges become fools.H3212H3289H7758H8199H1984 18He removes the royal robe of kings. They are led away with ropes around their waist.H6605H4148H4428H631H4975H232 19He leads priests away, stripped of status; he overthrows those with long years in power.H3212H3548H7758H5557H386 20He silences the trusted adviser and removes the insight of the elders.H5493H8193H539H3947H2940H2205 21He pours disgrace upon princes and disarms the strong.H8210H937H5081H7503H4206H650 22"He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; he brings light to the deepest gloom.H1540H6013H2822H3318H216H6757 23He builds up nations, and he destroys them. He expands nations, and he abandons them.H7679H1471H6H7849H1471H5148 24He strips kings of understanding and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland.H5493H3820H7218H5971H776H8582H8414H1870 25They grope in the darkness without a light. He makes them stagger like drunkards.H4959H2822H216H8582H7910

Job Wants to Argue His Case with God

13"Look, I have seen all this with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears, and now I understand.H5869H7200H241H8085H995

2I know as much as you do. You are no better than I am.H1847H3045H5307

3As for me, I would speak directly to the Almighty. I want to argue my case with God himself.H199H1696H7706H2654H3198H410

4As for you, you smear me with lies. As physicians, you are worthless quacks.H199H2950H8267H7495H457

5If only you could be silent! That's the wisest thing you could do.H5414H2790H2790H2451

6Listen to my charge; pay attention to my arguments.H8085H8433H7181H7379H8193

7"Are you defending God with lies? Do you make your dishonest arguments for his sake?H1696H5766H410H1696H7423

8Will you slant your testimony in his favor? Will you argue God's case for him?H5375H6440H7378H410

9What will happen when he finds out what you are doing? Can you fool him as easily as you fool people?H2895H2713H582H2048H2048

10No, you will be in trouble with him if you secretly slant your testimony in his favor.H3198H3198H5643H5375H6440

11Doesn't his majesty terrify you? Doesn't your fear of him overwhelm you?H7613H1204H6343H5307

12Your platitudes are as valuable as ashes. Your defense is as fragile as a clay pot.H2146H4912H665H1354H1354H2563

13"Be silent now and leave me alone. Let me speak, and I will face the consequences.H2790H1696H5674

14Yes, I will take my life in my hands and say what I really think.H5375H1320H8127H7760H5315H3709

15God might kill me, but I have no other hope

. I am going to argue my case with him.H2005H6991H3176H3198H1870H6440

16But this is what will save me—I am not godless. If I were, I could not stand before him.H3444H2611H935H6440

17"Listen closely to what I am about to say. Hear me out.H8085H8085H4405H262H241

18I have prepared my case; I will be proved innocent.H6186H4941H3045H6663

19Who can argue with me over this? And if you prove me wrong, I will remain silent and die.H7378H2790H1478

Job Asks How He Has Sinned

20"O God, grant me these two things, and then I will be able to face you.H6213H8147H5641H6440

21Remove your heavy hand from me, and don't terrify me with your awesome presence.H7368H3709H7368H367H1204

22Now summon me, and I will answer! Or let me speak to you, and you reply.H7121H6030H1696H7725

23Tell me, what have I done wrong? Show me my rebellion and my sin.H5771H2403H3045H6588H2403

24Why do you turn away from me? Why do you treat me as your enemy?H5641H6440H2803H341

25Would you terrify a leaf blown by the wind? Would you chase dry straw?H6206H5929H5086H7291H3002H7179

26"You write bitter accusations against me and bring up all the sins of my youth.H3789H4846H3423H5771H5271

27You put my feet in stocks. You examine all my paths. You trace all my footprints.H7760H7272H5465H8104H734H2707H8328H7272

28I waste away like rotting wood, like a moth-eaten coat.H7538H1086H899H6211H398

14"How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble!H120H3205H802H7116H3117H7649H7267 2We blossom like a flower and then wither. Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear.H3318H6731H5243H1272H6738H5975 3Must you keep an eye on such a frail creature and demand an accounting from me?H6491H5869H2088H935H4941 4Who can bring purity out of an impure person? No one!H5414H2889H2931H259 5You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer.H518H3117H2782H4557H2320H6213H2706H5674 6So leave us alone and let us rest! We are like hired hands, so let us finish our work in peace.H8159H2308H7521H7916H3117 7"Even a tree has more hope! If it is cut down, it will sprout again and grow new branches.H3426H8615H6086H3772H2498H3127H2308 8Though its roots have grown old in the earth and its stump decays,H8328H2204H776H1503H4191H6083 9at the scent of water it will bud and sprout again like a new seedling.H7381H4325H6524H6213H7105H5194 10"But when people die, their strength is gone. They breathe their last, and then where are they?H1397H4191H2522H120H1478 11As water evaporates from a lake and a river disappears in drought,H4325H235H3220H5104H2717H3001 12people are laid to rest and do not rise again. Until the heavens are no more, they will not wake up nor be roused from their sleep.H376H7901H6965H8064H1115H6974H5782H8142 13"I wish you would hide me in the grave

and forget me there until your anger has passed. But mark your calendar to think of me again!H5414H6845H7585H5641H639H7725H7896H2706H2142 14Can the dead live again? If so, this would give me hope through all my years of struggle, and I would eagerly await the release of death.H1397H4191H2421H3117H6635H3176H2487H935 15You would call and I would answer, and you would yearn for me, your handiwork.H7121H6030H3700H4639H3027 16For then you would guard my steps, instead of watching for my sins.H5608H6806H8104H2403 17My sins would be sealed in a pouch, and you would cover my guilt.H6588H2856H6872H2950H5771 18"But instead, as mountains fall and crumble and as rocks fall from a cliff,H199H2022H5307H5034H6697H6275H4725 19as water wears away the stones and floods wash away the soil, so you destroy people's hope.H4325H7833H68H7857H5599H6083H776H6H8615H582 20You always overpower them, and they pass from the scene. You disfigure them in death and send them away.H8630H5331H1980H8138H6440H7971 21They never know if their children grow up in honor or sink to insignificance.H1121H3513H3045H6819H995 22They suffer painfully; their life is full of trouble."H1320H3510H5315H56

Eliphaz’s Second Response to Job

15Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied.H6030H464H8489H559

2"A wise man wouldn't answer with such empty talk! You are nothing but a windbag.H2450H6030H7307H1847H4390H990H6921

3The wise don't engage in empty chatter. What good are such words?H3198H5532H1697H4405H3276

4Have you no fear of God, no reverence for him?H6565H3374H1639H7881H6440H410

5Your sins are telling your mouth what to say. Your words are based on clever deception.H6310H502H5771H977H3956H6175

6Your own mouth condemns you, not I. Your own lips testify against you.H6310H7561H8193H6030

7"Were you the first person ever born? Were you born before the hills were made?H7223H7223H120H3205H2342H6440H1389

8Were you listening at God's secret council? Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?H8085H5475H433H1639H2451

9What do you know that we don't? What do you understand that we do not?H3045H3045H995

10On our side are aged, gray-haired men much older than your father!H7867H3453H3524H3117H1

11"Is God's comfort too little for you? Is his gentle word not enough?H8575H410H4592H328H1697

12What has taken away your reason? What has weakened your vision

,H3820H3947H5869H7335

13that you turn against God and say all these evil things?H7725H7307H410H4405H3318H6310

14Can any mortal be pure? Can anyone born of a woman be just?H582H2135H3205H802H6663

15Look, God does not even trust the angels

. Even the heavens are not absolutely pure in his sight.H539H6918H8064H2141H5869

16How much less pure is a corrupt and sinful person with a thirst for wickedness!H8581H444H376H8354H5766H5766H4325

17"If you will listen, I will show you. I will answer you from my own experience.H2331H8085H2372H5608

18And it is confirmed by the reports of wise men who have heard the same thing from their fathers—H2450H5046H1H3582

19from those to whom the land was given long before any foreigners arrived.H776H5414H2114H5674H8432

20"The wicked writhe in pain throughout their lives. Years of trouble are stored up for the ruthless.H7563H2342H3117H4557H8141H6845H6184

21The sound of terror rings in their ears, and even on good days they fear the attack of the destroyer.H6343H6963H241H7965H7703H935

22They dare not go out into the darkness for fear they will be murdered.H539H7725H2822H6822H2719

23They wander around, saying, 'Where can I find bread?'

They know their day of destruction is near.H5074H3899H3045H3117H2822H3559H3027

24That dark day terrifies them. They live in distress and anguish, like a king preparing for battle.H6862H4691H1204H8630H4428H6264H3593

25For they shake their fists at God, defying the Almighty.H5186H3027H410H1396H7706

26Holding their strong shields, they defiantly charge against him.H7323H6677H5672H1354H4043

27"These wicked people are heavy and prosperous; their waists bulge with fat.H3680H6440H2459H6213H6371H3689

28But their cities will be ruined. They will live in abandoned houses that are ready to tumble down.H7931H3582H5892H1004H3427H6257H1530

29Their riches will not last, and their wealth will not endure. Their possessions will no longer spread across the horizon.H6238H2428H6965H5186H4512H776

30"They will not escape the darkness. The burning sun will wither their shoots, and the breath of God will destroy them.H5493H2822H7957H3001H3127H7307H6310H5493

31Let them no longer fool themselves by trusting in empty riches, for emptiness will be their only reward.H8582H539H7723H7723H8545

32Like trees, they will be cut down in the prime of life; their branches will never again be green.H4390H3808H3117H3712H7488

33They will be like a vine whose grapes are harvested too early, like an olive tree that loses its blossoms before the fruit can form.H2554H1154H1612H7993H5328H2132

34For the godless are barren. Their homes, enriched through bribery, will burn.H5712H2611H1565H784H398H168H7810

35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil. Their womb produces deceit."H2029H5999H3205H205H990H3559H4820

138[A psalm of David.] I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart; I will sing your praises before the gods.H1732H3034H3820H430H2167 2I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.H7812H6944H1964H3034H8034H2617H571H1431H565H8034 3As soon as I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength.H3117H7121H6030H7292H5797H5315 4Every king in all the earth will thank you, Lord, for all of them will hear your words.H4428H776H3034H3068H8085H561H6310 5Yes, they will sing about the Lord’s ways, for the glory of the Lord is very great.H7891H1870H3068H1419H3519H3068 6Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud.H3068H7311H7200H8217H1364H3045H4801 7Though I am surrounded by troubles, you will protect me from the anger of my enemies. You reach out your hand, and the power of your right hand saves me.H3212H7130H6869H2421H7971H3027H639H341H3225H3467 8The Lord will work out his plans for my life—for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me.H3068H1584H2617H3068H5769H7503H4639H3027