Job 27:1-23
27 Job continued his discourse,* saying:
2 “As surely as God lives, who has deprived me of justice,+As the Almighty lives, who has made me* bitter,+
3 As long as my breath is within meAnd spirit from God is in my nostrils,+
4 My lips will not speak unrighteousness;Nor will my tongue mutter deceit!
5 It is unthinkable for me to declare you men righteous!
Until I die, I will not renounce* my integrity!+
6 I will maintain my righteousness and never let it go;+My heart will not condemn* me as long as I live.*
7 May my enemy become like the wicked,Those assaulting me like the unrighteous.
8 For what hope does the godless man* have when he is destroyed,+When God takes away his life?*
9 Will God hear his outcryWhen distress comes upon him?+
10 Or will he find delight in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?
11 I will teach you about the power* of God;I will not hide anything about the Almighty.
12 Look! If you have all seen visions,Why are your speeches completely empty?
13 This is the wicked man’s share from God,+The inheritance that tyrants receive from the Almighty.
14 If his sons become many, they will fall by the sword,+And his descendants will not have enough food.
15 Those who survive him will be buried by the plague,And their widows will not weep for them.
16 Even if he piles up silver like the dustAnd stores up fine clothing like the clay,
17 Though he may gather it,The righteous man will wear it,+And the innocent will divide up his silver.
18 The house he builds is as fragile as a moth’s cocoon,Like a shelter+ made by a watchman.
19 He will go to bed rich but will gather nothing;When he opens his eyes, nothing will be there.
20 Terror overtakes him like a flood;A storm snatches him away by night.+
21 An east wind will carry him off, and he will be gone;It sweeps him away from his place.+
22 It will hurl itself at him without pity+As he desperately tries to flee from its force.+
23 It claps its hands at himAnd whistles+ at him from its place.*
Footnotes
^ Lit., “proverb.”
^ Or “my soul.”
^ Or “I will not take away from myself; I will maintain.”
^ Or “taunt.”
^ Or “for any of my days.”
^ Or “soul.”
^ Or “the apostate.”
^ Or possibly, “by the hand.”
^ Or possibly, “They clap their hands at him and whistle at him from their place.”