Study Desk

Then Job responded,

"In truth I know that this is so; But how can a ^(C1)person be in the right with God?

-"If one wished to ^(C1)dispute with Him, He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.

-"^(C1)Wise in heart and ^(C2)mighty in strength, Who has ^(F1)(C3)defied Him ^(F2)without harm?

-"^(C1)It is God who removes the mountains, and they do not know how, When He overturns them in His anger.

-"It is He who ^(C1)shakes the earth from its place, And its ^(C2)pillars tremble;

Who commands the ^(C1)sun ^(F1)not to shine, And puts a seal on the stars;

Who alone ^(C1)stretches out the heavens, And ^(F1)(C2)tramples down the waves of the sea;

Who makes the ^(C1)Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, And the ^(F1)(C2)constellations of the south.

-"It is He who ^(C1)does great things, ^(F1)the unfathomable, And wondrous works without number.

-"If He were to pass by me, ^(C1)I would not see Him; Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.

-"If He were to snatch away, who could ^(C1)restrain Him? Who could say to Him, '^(C2)What are You doing?'

"God will not turn back His anger; Beneath Him the helpers of ^(F1)(C1)Rahab cower.

-"How then can ^(C1)I ^(F1)answer Him, And choose my words ^(F2)before Him?

-"For ^(C1)though I were right, I could not ^(F1)answer; I would have to ^(C2)implore the mercy of my Judge.

-"If I called and He answered me, I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.

-"For He ^(C1)bruises me with a storm And multiplies my wounds without cause.

-"He will ^(C1)not allow me to get my breath, But He saturates me with ^(C2)bitterness.

-"If it is a matter of power, ^(C1)behold, He is the strong one! And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon ^(F1)Him?

-"^(C1)Though I am righteous, my mouth will ^(C2)condemn me; Though I am guiltless, He will declare me guilty.

-"I am ^(C1)guiltless; I do not take notice of myself; I ^(C2)reject my life.

-"It is all one; therefore I say, 'He ^(C1)destroys the guiltless and the wicked.'

-"If the whip kills suddenly, He ^(C1)mocks the despair of the innocent.

-"The earth ^(C1)is handed over to the wicked; He ^(C2)covers the faces of its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?

"Now ^(C1)my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, ^(C2)they see no good.

-"They slip by like ^(C1)reed boats, Like an ^(C2)eagle that swoops on ^(F1)its prey.

-"Though I say, 'I will forget ^(C1)my complaint, I will ^(F1)put my face in order and be cheerful,'

I am ^(C1)afraid of all my pains, I know that ^(C2)You will not acquit me.

-"I am ^(C1)guilty, Why then should I struggle in vain?

-"If I ^(C1)washed myself with snow, And cleansed ^(C2)my hands with lye,

Then You would plunge me into the pit, And my own clothes would loathe me.

-"For ^(C1)He is not a man, as I am, that ^(C2)I may answer Him— That we may go to ^(F1)court together!

-"There is no ^(C1)arbitrator between us, Who can place his hand upon us both.

-"Let Him ^(C1)remove His rod from me, And let not the dread of Him terrify me.

-"Then I ^(C1)would speak and not fear Him; But I am not like that in myself.

"^(F1)(C1)I am disgusted with my own life; I will express ^(C2)my complaint freely; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

-"I will say to God, '^(C1)Do not condemn me; Let me know why You contend with me.

-'Is it ^(F1)right for You indeed to ^(C1)oppress, To reject ^(C2)the work of Your hands, And ^(F2)to look favorably on ^(C3)the plan of the wicked?

-'Do You have eyes of flesh? Or do You ^(C1)see as mankind sees?

-'Are Your days like the days of a mortal, Or ^(C1)Your years like a man's year,

That ^(C1)You should search for my guilt And carefully seek my sin?

-'According to Your knowledge ^(C1)I am indeed not guilty, Yet there is ^(C2)no one to save me from Your hand.

'^(C1)Your hands fashioned and made me ^(F1)altogether, ^(C2)Yet would You destroy me?

-'Remember that You have made me as ^(C1)clay; Yet would You ^(C2)turn me into dust again?

-'Did You not pour me out like milk, And curdle me like cheese,

Clothe me with skin and flesh, And intertwine me with bones and tendons?

-'You have ^(C1)granted me life and ^(F1)goodness; And Your care has guarded my spirit.

-'Yet You have concealed ^(C1)these things in Your heart; I know that this is within You:

If I have sinned, You will ^(C1)take note of me, And ^(C2)will not acquit me of my guilt.

-'If ^(C1)I am wicked, woe to me! But if ^(C2)I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head. I am full of shame, and ^(F1)conscious of my misery.

-'And should my head be high, ^(C1)You would hunt me like a lion; And You would show Your ^(C2)power against me again.

-'You renew ^(C1)Your witnesses against me And increase Your anger toward me; ^(F1)(C2)Hardship after hardship is with me.

'^(C1)Why then did You bring me out of the womb? If only I had died and no eye had seen me!

-'I should have been as though I had not been, Brought from womb to tomb.'

-"Would He not leave ^(C1)my few days alone? ^(F1)(C2)Withdraw from me so that I may have a little cheerfulness

Before I go—^(C1)and I shall not return— ^(C2)To the land of darkness and ^(C3)deep shadow,

The land of utter gloom like darkness itself, Of deep shadow without order, And it shines like darkness."

Then Zophar the Naamathite responded,

"Shall a multitude of words go unanswered, And a ^(C1)talkative man be acquitted?

-"Shall your boasts silence people? And will you ^(C1)scoff, and no one rebuke?

-"For ^(C1)you have said, 'My teaching is pure, And ^(C2)I am innocent in your eyes.'

-"But if only God would speak, And open His lips against you,

And show you the secrets of wisdom! For sound wisdom ^(F1)(C1)has two sides. Know then that God ^(F2)forgets part of ^(C2)your guilt.

"^(C1)Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?

-"They are as ^(C1)high as ^(F1)the heavens; what can you do? Deeper than ^(F2)(C2)Sheol; what can you know?

-"Its measurement is longer than the earth And broader than the sea.

-"If He passes by or apprehends people, Or calls an assembly, ^(C1)who can restrain Him?

-"For ^(C1)He knows false people, And He ^(C2)sees injustice ^(F1)without investigating.

-"^(F1)(C1)An idiot will become intelligent When a ^(C2)wild donkey is born a human.

"^(C1)If you would ^(C2)direct your heart rightly And ^(C3)spread out your hands to Him,

If wrongdoing is in your hand, ^(C1)put it far away, And do not let malice dwell in your tents;

Then, indeed, you could ^(C1)lift up your face without moral blemish, And you would be firmly established and ^(C2)not fear.

-"For you would ^(C1)forget your trouble; Like ^(C2)waters that have passed by, you would remember it.

-"Your ^(F1)life would ^(F2)be ^(C1)brighter than noonday; Darkness would be like the morning.

-"Then you would trust, because there is hope; And you would look around and rest securely.

-"You would ^(C1)lie down and none would disturb you, And many would ^(F1)(C2)flatter you.

-"But the ^(C1)eyes of the wicked will fail, And ^(F1)there will ^(C2)be no escape for them; And their ^(C3)hope is ^(F2)(C4)to breathe their last."

Then Job responded,

"Truly then ^(C1)you are the people, And with you wisdom will die!

-"But ^(C1)I have intelligence as well as you; I am not inferior to you. And ^(F1)who does not know such things as these?

-"I am a ^(C1)joke to ^(F1)my friends, The one who called on God and He answered him; The just and ^(C2)blameless man is a joke.

-"^(F1)He who is at ease holds disaster in contempt, As prepared for those whose feet slip.

-"The ^(C1)tents of the destroyers prosper, And those who provoke God ^(C2)are secure, ^(F1)Whom God brings ^(C3)into their power.

"But just ask the animals, and have them teach you; And the birds of the sky, and have them tell you.

-"Or speak to the earth, and have it teach you; And have the fish of the sea tell you.

-"Who among all these does not know That ^(C1)the hand of the LORD has done this,

^(C1)In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And ^(C2)the breath of all mankind?

-"Does ^(C1)the ear not put words to the test, As the palate ^(F1)tastes its food?

-"Wisdom is with the ^(C1)aged, And with ^(F1)long life comes understanding.