1 "But now, Job, listen to my words; pay attention to everything I say. |
2 I am about to open my mouth; my words are on the tip of my tongue. |
3 My words come from an upright heart; my lips sincerely speak what I know. |
4 The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life. |
5 Answer me then, if you can; prepare yourself and confront me. |
6 I am just like you before God; I too have been taken from clay. |
7 No fear of me should alarm you, nor should my hand be heavy upon you. |
8 "But you have said in my hearing--I heard the very words-- |
9 'I am pure and without sin; I am clean and free from guilt. |
10 Yet God has found fault with me; he considers me his enemy. |
11 He fastens my feet in shackles; he keeps close watch on all my paths.' |
12 "But I tell you, in this you are not right, for God is greater than man. |
13 Why do you complain to him that he answers none of man's words? |
14 For God does speak--now one way, now another--though man may not perceive it. |
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds, |
16 he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, |
17 to turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride, |
18 to preserve his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword. |
19 Or a man may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in his bones, |
20 so that his very being finds food repulsive and his soul loathes the choicest meal. |
21 His flesh wastes away to nothing, and his bones, once hidden, now stick out. |
22 His soul draws near to the pit, and his life to the messengers of death. |
23 "Yet if there is an angel on his side as a mediator, one out of a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him, |
24 to be gracious to him and say, 'Spare him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom for him'-- |
25 then his flesh is renewed like a child's; it is restored as in the days of his youth. |
26 He prays to God and finds favor with him, he sees God's face and shouts for joy; he is restored by God to his righteous state. |
27 Then he comes to men and says, 'I sinned, and perverted what was right, but I did not get what I deserved. |
28 He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit, and I will live to enjoy the light.' |
29 "God does all these things to a man--twice, even three times-- |
30 to turn back his soul from the pit, that the light of life may shine on him. |
31 "Pay attention, Job, and listen to me; be silent, and I will speak. |
32 If you have anything to say, answer me; speak up, for I want you to be cleared. |
33 But if not, then listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom." |