New American Standard Bible 1995

New Living Translation

1"However now, Job, please hear my speech, And listen to all my words.

1“Listen to my words, Job; pay attention to what I have to say.

2"Behold now, I open my mouth, My tongue in my mouth speaks.

2Now that I have begun to speak, let me continue.

3"My words are from the uprightness of my heart, And my lips speak knowledge sincerely.

3I speak with all sincerity; I speak the truth.

4"The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

4For the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

5"Refute me if you can; Array yourselves before me, take your stand.

5Answer me, if you can; make your case and take your stand.

6"Behold, I belong to God like you; I too have been formed out of the clay.

6Look, you and I both belong to God. I, too, was formed from clay.

7"Behold, no fear of me should terrify you, Nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you.

7So you don’t need to be afraid of me. I won’t come down hard on you.

8"Surely you have spoken in my hearing, And I have heard the sound of your words:

8“You have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard your very words.

9'I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent and there is no guilt in me.

9You said, ‘I am pure; I am without sin; I am innocent; I have no guilt.

10'Behold, He invents pretexts against me; He counts me as His enemy.

10God is picking a quarrel with me, and he considers me his enemy.

11'He puts my feet in the stocks; He watches all my paths.'

11He puts my feet in the stocks and watches my every move.’

12"Behold, let me tell you, you are not right in this, For God is greater than man.

12“But you are wrong, and I will show you why. For God is greater than any human being.

13"Why do you complain against Him That He does not give an account of all His doings?

13So why are you bringing a charge against him? Why say he does not respond to people’s complaints?

14"Indeed God speaks once, Or twice, yet no one notices it.

14For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it.

15"In a dream, a vision of the night, When sound sleep falls on men, While they slumber in their beds,

15He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds.

16Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction,

16He whispers in their ears and terrifies them with warnings.

17That He may turn man aside from his conduct, And keep man from pride;

17He makes them turn from doing wrong; he keeps them from pride.

18He keeps back his soul from the pit, And his life from passing over into Sheol.

18He protects them from the grave, from crossing over the river of death.

19"Man is also chastened with pain on his bed, And with unceasing complaint in his bones;

19“Or God disciplines people with pain on their sickbeds, with ceaseless aching in their bones.

20So that his life loathes bread, And his soul favorite food.

20They lose their appetite for even the most delicious food.

21"His flesh wastes away from sight, And his bones which were not seen stick out.

21Their flesh wastes away, and their bones stick out.

22"Then his soul draws near to the pit, And his life to those who bring death.

22They are at death’s door; the angels of death wait for them.

23"If there is an angel as mediator for him, One out of a thousand, To remind a man what is right for him,

23“But if an angel from heaven appears— a special messenger to intercede for a person and declare that he is upright—

24Then let him be gracious to him, and say, 'Deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom';

24he will be gracious and say, ‘Rescue him from the grave, for I have found a ransom for his life.’

25Let his flesh become fresher than in youth, Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor;

25Then his body will become as healthy as a child’s, firm and youthful again.

26Then he will pray to God, and He will accept him, That he may see His face with joy, And He may restore His righteousness to man.

26When he prays to God, he will be accepted. And God will receive him with joy and restore him to good standing.

27"He will sing to men and say, 'I have sinned and perverted what is right, And it is not proper for me.

27He will declare to his friends, ‘I sinned and twisted the truth, but it was not worth it.

28'He has redeemed my soul from going to the pit, And my life shall see the light.'

28God rescued me from the grave, and now my life is filled with light.’

29"Behold, God does all these oftentimes with men,

29“Yes, God does these things again and again for people.

30To bring back his soul from the pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of life.

30He rescues them from the grave so they may enjoy the light of life.

31"Pay attention, O Job, listen to me; Keep silent, and let me speak.

31Mark this well, Job. Listen to me, for I have more to say.

32"Then if you have anything to say, answer me; Speak, for I desire to justify you.

32But if you have anything to say, go ahead. Speak, for I am anxious to see you justified.

33"If not, listen to me; Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom."

33But if not, then listen to me. Keep silent and I will teach you wisdom!”

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.