Verse 1
A Protest of Innocence And Job took up his discourse again:
Verse 2
“As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made my life bitter–
Verse 3
for while my spirit is still in me, and the breath from God is in my nostrils,
Verse 4
my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will whisper no deceit.
Verse 5
I will never declare that you three are in the right; until I die, I will not set aside my integrity!
Verse 6
I will maintain my righteousness and never let it go; my conscience will not reproach me for as long as I live.
Verse 7
The Condition of the Wicked“May my enemy be like the wicked, my adversary like the unrighteous.
Verse 8
For what hope does the godless have when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
Verse 9
Does God listen to his cry when distress overtakes him?
Verse 10
Will he find delight in the Almighty? Will he call out to God at all times?
Verse 11
I will teach you about the power of God; What is on the Almighty’s mind I will not conceal.
Verse 12
If you yourselves have all seen this, Why in the world do you continue this meaningless talk?
Verse 13
This is the portion of the wicked man allotted by God, the inheritance that evildoers receive from the Almighty.
Verse 14
If his children increase– it is for the sword! His offspring never have enough to eat.
Verse 15
Those who survive him are buried by the plague, and their widows do not mourn for them.
Verse 16
If he piles up silver like dust and stores up clothing like mounds of clay,
Verse 17
what he stores up a righteous man will wear, and an innocent man will inherit his silver.
Verse 18
The house he builds is as fragile as a moth’s cocoon, like a hut that a watchman has made.
Verse 19
He goes to bed wealthy, but will do so no more. When he opens his eyes, it is all gone.
Verse 20
Terrors overwhelm him like a flood; at night a whirlwind carries him off.
Verse 21
The east wind carries him away, and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place.
Verse 22
It hurls itself against him without pity as he flees headlong from its power.
Verse 23
It claps its hands at him in derision and hisses him away from his place.