² “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?
    You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”

⁴ “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers?
    I will cover my mouth with my hand.
⁵ I have said too much already.
    I have nothing more to say.”

⁷ “Brace yourself like a man,
    because I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them.

⁸ “Will you discredit my justice
    and condemn me just to prove you are right?
⁹ Are you as strong as God?
    Can you thunder with a voice like his?
¹⁰ All right, put on your glory and splendor,
    your honor and majesty.
¹¹ Give vent to your anger.
    Let it overflow against the proud.
¹² Humiliate the proud with a glance;
    walk on the wicked where they stand.
¹³ Bury them in the dust.
    Imprison them in the world of the dead.
¹⁴ Then even I would praise you,
    for your own strength would save you.

¹⁵ “Take a look at Behemoth,^[a]
    which I made, just as I made you.
    It eats grass like an ox.
¹⁶ See its powerful loins
    and the muscles of its belly.
¹⁷ Its tail is as strong as a cedar.
    The sinews of its thighs are knit tightly together.
¹⁸ Its bones are tubes of bronze.
    Its limbs are bars of iron.
¹⁹ It is a prime example of God’s handiwork,
    and only its Creator can threaten it.
²⁰ The mountains offer it their best food,
    where all the wild animals play.
²¹ It lies under the lotus plants,^[b]
    hidden by the reeds in the marsh.
²² The lotus plants give it shade
    among the willows beside the stream.
²³ It is not disturbed by the raging river,
    not concerned when the swelling Jordan rushes around it.
²⁴ No one can catch it off guard
    or put a ring in its nose and lead it away.

² “Listen to me, you wise men.
    Pay attention, you who have knowledge.
³ Job said, ‘The ear tests the words it hears
    just as the mouth distinguishes between foods.’
⁴ So let us discern for ourselves what is right;
    let us learn together what is good.
⁵ For Job also said, ‘I am innocent,
    but God has taken away my rights.
⁶ I am innocent, but they call me a liar.
    My suffering is incurable, though I have not sinned.’

⁷ “Tell me, has there ever been a man like Job,
    with his thirst for irreverent talk?
⁸ He chooses evil people as companions.
    He spends his time with wicked men.
⁹ He has even said, ‘Why waste time
    trying to please God?’

¹⁰ “Listen to me, you who have understanding.
    Everyone knows that God doesn’t sin!
    The Almighty can do no wrong.
¹¹ He repays people according to their deeds.
    He treats people as they deserve.
¹² Truly, God will not do wrong.
    The Almighty will not twist justice.
¹³ Did someone else put the world in his care?
    Who set the whole world in place?
¹⁴ If God were to take back his spirit
    and withdraw his breath,
¹⁵ all life would cease,
    and humanity would turn again to dust.

¹⁶ “Now listen to me if you are wise.
    Pay attention to what I say.
¹⁷ Could God govern if he hated justice?
    Are you going to condemn the almighty judge?
¹⁸ For he says to kings, ‘You are wicked,’
    and to nobles, ‘You are unjust.’
¹⁹ He doesn’t care how great a person may be,
    and he pays no more attention to the rich than to the poor.
    He made them all.
²⁰ In a moment they die.
    In the middle of the night they pass away;
    the mighty are removed without human hand.

²¹ “For God watches how people live;
    he sees everything they do.
²² No darkness is thick enough
    to hide the wicked from his eyes.
²³ We don’t set the time
    when we will come before God in judgment.
²⁴ He brings the mighty to ruin without asking anyone,
    and he sets up others in their place.
²⁵ He knows what they do,
    and in the night he overturns and destroys them.
²⁶ He strikes them down because they are wicked,
    doing it openly for all to see.
²⁷ For they turned away from following him.
    They have no respect for any of his ways.
²⁸ They cause the poor to cry out, catching God’s attention.
    He hears the cries of the needy.
²⁹ But if he chooses to remain quiet,
    who can criticize him?
When he hides his face, no one can find him,
    whether an individual or a nation.
³⁰ He prevents the godless from ruling
    so they cannot be a snare to the people.

³¹ “Why don’t people say to God, ‘I have sinned,
    but I will sin no more’?
³² Or ‘I don’t know what evil I have done—tell me.
    If I have done wrong, I will stop at once’?

³³ “Must God tailor his justice to your demands?
    But you have rejected him!
The choice is yours, not mine.
    Go ahead, share your wisdom with us.
³⁴ After all, bright people will tell me,
    and wise people will hear me say,
³⁵ ‘Job speaks out of ignorance;
    his words lack insight.’
³⁶ Job, you deserve the maximum penalty
    for the wicked way you have talked.
³⁷ For you have added rebellion to your sin;
    you show no respect,
    and you speak many angry words against God.”

⁸ “You have spoken in my hearing,
    and I have heard your very words.
⁹ You said, ‘I am pure; I am without sin;
    I am innocent; I have no guilt.
¹⁰ God is picking a quarrel with me,
    and he considers me his enemy.
¹¹ He puts my feet in the stocks
    and watches my every move.’

¹² “But you are wrong, and I will show you why.
    For God is greater than any human being.
¹³ So why are you bringing a charge against him?
    Why say he does not respond to people’s complaints?
¹⁴ For God speaks again and again,
    though people do not recognize it.
¹⁵ He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night,
    when deep sleep falls on people
    as they lie in their beds.
¹⁶ He whispers in their ears
    and terrifies them with warnings.
¹⁷ He makes them turn from doing wrong;
    he keeps them from pride.
¹⁸ He protects them from the grave,
    from crossing over the river of death.

¹⁹ “Or God disciplines people with pain on their sickbeds,
    with ceaseless aching in their bones.
²⁰ They lose their appetite
    for even the most delicious food.
²¹ Their flesh wastes away,
    and their bones stick out.
²² They are at death’s door;
    the angels of death wait for them.

²³ “But if an angel from heaven appears—
    a special messenger to intercede for a person
    and declare that he is upright—
²⁴ he will be gracious and say,
‘Rescue him from the grave,
    for I have found a ransom for his life.’
²⁵ Then his body will become as healthy as a child’s,
    firm and youthful again.
²⁶ When he prays to God,
    he will be accepted.
And God will receive him with joy
    and restore him to good standing.
²⁷ He will declare to his friends,
‘I sinned and twisted the truth,
    but it was not worth it.^[a]
28 God rescued me from the grave,
    and now my life is filled with light.’

²⁹ “Yes, God does these things
    again and again for people.
³⁰ He rescues them from the grave
    so they may enjoy the light of life.
³¹ Mark this well, Job. Listen to me,
    for I have more to say.
³² But if you have anything to say, go ahead.
    Speak, for I am anxious to see you justified.
³³ But if not, then listen to me.
    Keep silent and I will teach you wisdom!”

² “How long will you torture me?
    How long will you try to crush me with your words?
³ You have already insulted me ten times.
    You should be ashamed of treating me so badly.
⁴ Even if I have sinned,
    that is my concern, not yours.
⁵ You think you’re better than I am,
    using my humiliation as evidence of my sin.
⁶ But it is God who has wronged me,
    capturing me in his net.^[a]

⁷ “I cry out, ‘Help!’ but no one answers me.
    I protest, but there is no justice.
⁸ God has blocked my way so I cannot move.
    He has plunged my path into darkness.
⁹ He has stripped me of my honor
    and removed the crown from my head.
¹⁰ He has demolished me on every side, and I am finished.
    He has uprooted my hope like a fallen tree.
¹¹ His fury burns against me;
    he counts me as an enemy.
¹² His troops advance.
    They build up roads to attack me.
    They camp all around my tent.

¹³ “My relatives stay far away,
    and my friends have turned against me.
¹⁴ My family is gone,
    and my close friends have forgotten me.
¹⁵ My servants and maids consider me a stranger.
    I am like a foreigner to them.
¹⁶ When I call my servant, he doesn’t come;
    I have to plead with him!
¹⁷ My breath is repulsive to my wife.
    I am rejected by my own family.
¹⁸ Even young children despise me.
    When I stand to speak, they turn their backs on me.
¹⁹ My close friends detest me.
    Those I loved have turned against me.
²⁰ I have been reduced to skin and bones
    and have escaped death by the skin of my teeth.

²¹ “Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy,
    for the hand of God has struck me.
²² Must you also persecute me, like God does?
    Haven’t you chewed me up enough?

²³ “Oh, that my words could be recorded.
    Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument,
²⁴ carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead,
    engraved forever in the rock.

²⁵ “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and he will stand upon the earth at last.
²⁶ And after my body has decayed,
    yet in my body I will see God!^[b]
27 I will see him for myself.
    Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.
    I am overwhelmed at the thought!

²⁸ “How dare you go on persecuting me,
    saying, ‘It’s his own fault’?
²⁹ You should fear punishment yourselves,
    for your attitude deserves punishment.
    Then you will know that there is indeed a judgment.”