Bible Reading Plan – Day 264

₂₅My days race by, not one of them good.

₂₆My life passes like the swiftest boat,

as fast as an eagle swooping down on a rabbit.

_27-28If I smile and try to forget my pain,

all my suffering comes back to haunt me;

I know that God does hold me guilty.

₂₉Since I am held guilty, why should I bother?

₃₀No soap can wash away my sins.

₃₁God throws me into a pit of filth,

and even my clothes are ashamed of me.

₃₂If God were human, I could answer him;

we could go to court to decide our quarrel.

₃₃But there is no one to step between us —

no one to judge both God and me.

₃₄Stop punishing me, God!

Keep your terrors away!

₃₅I am not afraid. I am going to talk

because I know my own heart.

₁I am tired of living.

Listen to my bitter complaint.

₂Don't condemn me, God.

Tell me! What is the charge against me?

₃Is it right for you to be so cruel?

To despise what you yourself have made?

And then to smile on the schemes of wicked people?

₄Do you see things as we do?

₅Is your life as short as ours?

₆Then why do you track down all my sins

and hunt down every fault I have?

₇You know that I am not guilty,

that no one can save me from you.

₈Your hands formed and shaped me,

and now those same hands destroy me.

₉Remember that you made me from clay;

are you going to crush me back to dust?

₁₀You gave my father strength to beget me;

you made me grow in my mother's womb.

₁₁You formed my body with bones and sinews

and covered the bones with muscles and skin.

₁₂You have given me life and constant love,

and your care has kept me alive.

₁₃But now I know that all that time

you were secretly planning to harm me.

₁₄You were watching to see if I would sin,

so that you could refuse to forgive me.

₁₅As soon as I sin, I'm in trouble with you,

but when I do right, I get no credit.

I am miserable and covered with shame.

₁₆If I have any success at all,

you hunt me down like a lion;

to hurt me you even work miracles.

₁₇You always have some witness against me;

your anger towards me grows and grows;

you always plan some new attack.

₁₈Why, God, did you let me be born?

I should have died before anyone saw me.

₁₉To go from the womb straight to the grave

would have been as good as never existing.

₂₀Isn't my life almost over? Leave me alone!

Let me enjoy the time I have left.

₂₁I am going soon and will never come back —

going to a land that is dark and gloomy,

₂₂a land of darkness, shadows, and confusion,

where the light itself is darkness.

_1-2Will no one answer all this nonsense?

Does talking so much put you in the right?

₃Job, do you think we can't answer you?

That your mocking words will leave us speechless?

₄You claim that what you say is true;

you claim you are pure in the sight of God.

₅How I wish God would answer you!

₆He would tell you there are many sides to wisdom;

there are things too deep for human knowledge.

God is punishing you less than you deserve.

₇Can you discover the limits and bounds

of the greatness and power of God?

₈The sky is no limit for God,

but it lies beyond your reach.

God knows the world of the dead,

but you do not know it.

₉God's greatness is broader than the earth,

wider than the sea.

₁₀If God arrests you and brings you to trial,

who is there to stop him?

₁₁God knows which people are worthless;

he sees all their evil deeds.

₁₂Stupid people will start being wise

when wild donkeys are born tame.

₁₃Put your heart right, Job. Reach out to God.

₁₄Put away evil and wrong from your home.

₁₅Then face the world again, firm and courageous.

₁₆Then all your troubles will fade from your memory,

like floods that are past and remembered no more.

₁₇Your life will be brighter than sunshine at noon,

and life's darkest hours will shine like the dawn.

₁₈You will live secure and full of hope;

God will protect you and give you rest.

₁₉You won't be afraid of your enemies;

many people will ask you for help.

₂₀But the wicked will look round in despair

and find that there is no way to escape.

Their one hope is that death will come.

_1-2Yes, you are the voice of the people.

When you die, wisdom will die with you.

₃But I have as much sense as you have;

I am in no way inferior to you;

everyone knows all that you have said.

₄Even my friends laugh at me now;

they laugh, although I am righteous and blameless;

but there was a time when God answered my prayers.

₅You have no troubles, and yet you make fun of me;

you hit someone who is about to fall.

₆But thieves and godless people live in peace,

though their only god is their own strength.

₇Even birds and animals have much they could teach you;

₈ask the creatures of earth and sea for their wisdom.

₉All of them know that the LORD's hand made them.

₁₀It is God who directs the lives of his creatures;

everyone's life is in his power.

₁₁But just as your tongue enjoys tasting food,

your ears enjoy hearing words.

_12-13Old people have wisdom,

but God has wisdom and power.

Old people have insight;

God has insight and power to act.

₁₄When God tears down, who can rebuild,

and who can free those God imprisons?

₁₅Drought comes when God withholds rain;

floods come when he turns water loose.

₁₆God is strong and always victorious;

both deceived and deceiver are in his power.

₁₇He takes away the wisdom of rulers

and makes leaders act like fools.

₁₈He dethrones kings and makes them prisoners;

₁₉he humbles priests and men of power.

₂₀He silences those who are trusted,

and takes the wisdom of old people away.

₂₁He disgraces those in power

and puts an end to the strength of rulers.

₂₂He sends light to places dark as death.

₂₃He makes nations strong and great,

but then he defeats and destroys them.

₂₄He makes their leaders foolish

and lets them wander confused and lost;

₂₅they grope in the dark and stagger like drunkards.

_1-2Everything you say, I have heard before.

I understand it all; I know as much as you do.

I'm not your inferior.

₃But my dispute is with God, not you;

I want to argue my case with him.

₄You cover up your ignorance with lies;

you are like doctors who can't heal anyone.

₅Say nothing, and someone may think you are wise!

₆Listen while I state my case.

₇Why are you lying?

Do you think your lies will benefit God?

₈Are you trying to defend him?

Are you going to argue his case in court?

₉If God looks at you closely, will he find anything good?

Do you think you can fool God as you fool others?

₁₀Even though your prejudice is hidden,

he will reprimand you,

₁₁and his power will fill you with terror.

₁₂Your proverbs are as useless as ashes;

your arguments crumble like clay.

₁₃Be quiet and give me a chance to speak,

and let the results be what they will.

₁₄I am ready to risk my life.

₁₅I've lost all hope, so what if God kills me?

I am going to state my case to him.

₁₆It may even be that my boldness will save me,

since no wicked person would dare to face God.

₁₇Now listen to my words of explanation.

₁₈I am ready to state my case,

because I know I am in the right.

₁₉Are you coming to accuse me, God?

If you do, I am ready to be silent and die.

₂₀Let me ask for two things; agree to them,

and I will not try to hide from you;

₂₁stop punishing me, and don't crush me with terror.

₂₂Speak first, O God, and I will answer.

Or let me speak, and you answer me.

₂₃What are my sins? What wrongs have I done?

What crimes am I charged with?

₂₄Why do you avoid me?

Why do you treat me like an enemy?

₂₅Are you trying to frighten me? I'm nothing but a leaf;

you are attacking a piece of dry straw.

₂₆You bring bitter charges against me,

even for what I did when I was young.

₂₇You bind chains on my feet;

you watch every step I take,

and even examine my footprints.

₂₈As a result, I crumble like rotten wood,

like a moth-eaten coat.