Job’s Fourth Speech Continues
13 “Look, my eye has seen everything;
my ear has heard and has understood it.
2 What you[a] know,[b] I myself[c] also know—
I am not more inferior than you.[d]
3 But I would speak to Shaddai,
and I desire to argue with God.
4 “But[e] you[f] whitewash with lies;[g]
all of you[h] are worthless healers.[i]
5 O that[j] you[k] would keep completely silent,
and that it would become wisdom for you.[l]
6 Please hear my argument,
and listen attentively to the pleadings of my lips.
7 “Will you[m] speak falsely for God?
And will you[n] speak deceitfully for him?
8 Will you[o] show partiality for him?[p]
Or do you[q] want to plead God’s case?
9 Will it be well, if he examines you?[r]
Or can you[s] deceive him like deceiving a human being?
10 “Surely he will rebuke you[t]
if you[u] show partiality[v] in secret.
11 Will not his majesty terrify you,[w]
and his dread fall upon you?[x]
12 Your[y] maxims are proverbs of ashes;
your[z] defenses are defenses of clay.
13 “Let me have silence,[aa] and I myself[ab] will speak,
and let come over me whatever may.
14 Why should I take my flesh in my teeth
and[ac] put[ad] my life in my hand?
15 Look,[ae] though he kill me, I will hope in[af] him;
however, I will defend my ways before him.[ag]
16 Moreover, this is salvation to me,
that the godless would not come before him.[ah]
17 “Listen carefully to my words,
and let my exposition be in your ears.
18 Please look,[ai] I have prepared my case;
I know that I myself[aj] will be vindicated.
19 Who is he who will contend with me?
For then I would be silent, and I would pass away.
Job Argues His Case with God
20 “Only you[ak] must not do these two things to me;
then I will not hide from your face:
21 withdraw your[al] hand from me,
and let not your[am] dread terrify me.
22 Then[an] call, and I myself[ao] will answer;
or let me speak, then[ap] reply to me.
23 “How many[aq] are my iniquities and sins?
Make known to me my transgression and my sin.
24 Why do you[ar] hide your[as] face
and count me as your[at] enemy?
25 Will you[au] terrify a blown leaf?
And will you[av] pursue dry stubble?
26 “Indeed, you[aw] write bitter things against me,
and you[ax] make me reap the iniquities of my childhood.
27 And you[ay] put my feet in the block,
and you[az] watch all my paths;
you carve a mark on the soles of my feet.[ba]
28 And he himself [bb]wastes away like something rotten,
like a garment that the moth has eaten.
Footnotes
- Job 13:2 Plural
- Job 13:2 Literally “Like your knowledge”
- Job 13:2 Emphatic personal pronoun
- Job 13:2 Plural
- Job 13:4 Or “And but”
- Job 13:4 Plural
- Job 13:4 Literally “coverers of lies”
- Job 13:4 Plural
- Job 13:4 Literally “healers of worthlessness”
- Job 13:5 Literally “Who shall give”
- Job 13:5 Plural
- Job 13:5 Plural
- Job 13:7 Plural
- Job 13:7 Plural
- Job 13:8 Plural
- Job 13:8 Literally “his faces will you raise”
- Job 13:8 Plural
- Job 13:9 Plural
- Job 13:9 Plural
- Job 13:10 Plural
- Job 13:10 Plural
- Job 13:10 Literally “faces you lift up”
- Job 13:11 Plural
- Job 13:11 Plural
- Job 13:12 Plural
- Job 13:12 Plural
- Job 13:13 Literally “Be silent away from me”
- Job 13:13 Emphatic personal pronoun
- Job 13:14 Hebrew “now”
- Job 13:14 Or “should I put,” or “will I put”
- Job 13:15 Or “Though”
- Job 13:15 Or “for”
- Job 13:15 Literally “to his faces”
- Job 13:16 Literally “to his faces”
- Job 13:18 Or “Look here”
- Job 13:18 Emphatic personal pronoun
- Job 13:20 Singular; the antecedent is God
- Job 13:21 Singular
- Job 13:21 Singular
- Job 13:22 Hebrew “And”
- Job 13:22 Emphatic personal pronoun
- Job 13:22 Hebrew “and”
- Job 13:23 Literally “Like what”
- Job 13:24 Singular
- Job 13:24 Singular
- Job 13:24 Singular
- Job 13:25 Singular
- Job 13:25 Singular
- Job 13:26 Singular
- Job 13:26 Singular
- Job 13:27 Singular
- Job 13:27 Singular
- Job 13:27 Or “You mark/note my footprints”
- Job 13:28 Emphatic personal pronoun