1But now, Job, listen to my words,Give ear to all that I say.
2Now I open my lips;My tongue forms words in my mouth.
3My words bespeak the uprightness of my heart;My lips utter insight honestly.
4The spirit of God formed me;The breath of Shaddai sustains me.
5If you can, answer me;Argue against me, take your stand.
6You and I are the same before God;I too was nipped from clay.
7You are not overwhelmed by fear of me;My pressure does not weigh heavily on you.
8Indeed, you have stated in my hearing,I heard the words spoken,
9“I am guiltless, free from transgression;I am innocent, without iniquity.
10But [God] finds reasons to oppose me,And considers me an enemy.
11My feet are placed in stocks,And all my ways are watched.”
12In this you are not right;I will answer you: God is greater than any mortal.
13Why do you level the complaintThat there is no reply to anyone’s charges?
14For God speaks time and againatime and again Lit. “once…twice.”—Though no one perceives it—
15In a dream, a night vision,When deep sleep falls on everyone,While they slumber on their beds.
16Then everyone’s understanding is opened,And God’s signature is left by disciplining them—
17To turn a mortal away from an action,To suppress pride in a man.
18[God] spares him from the Pit,His person, from perishing by the sword.
19He is reproved by pains on his bed,And the trembling in his bones is constant.
20He detests food;Fine food [is repulsive] to him.
21His flesh wastes away till it cannot be seen,And his bones are rubbed away till they are invisible.
22He comes close to the Pit,His life [verges] on death.
23If he has a representative,One advocate against a thousandTo declare the person upright,
24Then [God] has mercy on him and decrees,“Redeem him from descending to the Pit,For I have obtained his ransom;
25Let his flesh be healthierbhealthier Meaning of Heb. uncertain. than in his youth;Let him return to his younger days.”
26He prays to God, who accepts him;He enters the divine presence with shouts of joy,For [God] requites humans for their righteousness.
27The contrite personcThe contrite person Heb. “he.” declaresddeclares Meaning of Heb. uncertain. to all,“I have sinned; I have perverted what was right;But I was not paid back for it.”
28He is redeemed from passing into the Pit;HeeHe…He Or with kethib, “me…I.” will enjoy the light.
29Truly, God does all these thingsTwo or three times to a man,
30To bring him back from the Pit,That he may bask in the light of life.
31Pay heed, Job, and hear me;Be still, and I will speak;
32If you have what to say, answer me;Speak, for I am eager to vindicate you.
33But if not, you listen to me;Be still, and I will teach you wisdom.