Bible Reading Plan – Day 265

₁We are all born weak and helpless.

All lead the same short, troubled life.

₂We grow and wither as quickly as flowers;

we disappear like shadows.

₃Will you even look at me, God,

or put me on trial and judge me?

₄Nothing clean can ever come

from anything as unclean as human beings.

₅The length of their lives is decided beforehand —

the number of months they will live.

You have settled it, and it can't be changed.

₆Look away from them and leave them alone;

let them enjoy their hard life — if they can.

₇There is hope for a tree that has been cut down;

it can come back to life and sprout.

₈Even though its roots grow old,

and its stump dies in the ground,

₉with water it will sprout like a young plant.

₁₀But people die, and that is the end of them;

they die, and where are they then?

₁₁Like rivers that stop running,

and lakes that go dry,

₁₂people die, never to rise.

They will never wake up while the sky endures;

they will never stir from their sleep.

₁₃I wish you would hide me in the world of the dead;

let me be hidden until your anger is over,

and then set a time to remember me.

₁₄If people die, can they come back to life?

But I will wait for better times,

wait till this time of trouble is ended.

₁₅Then you will call, and I will answer,

and you will be pleased with me, your creature.

₁₆Then you will watch every step I take,

but you will not keep track of my sins.

₁₇You will forgive them and put them away;

you will wipe out all the wrongs I have done.

₁₈There comes a time when mountains fall

and solid cliffs are moved away.

₁₉Water will wear down rocks,

and heavy rain will wash away the soil;

so you destroy our hope for life.

₂₀You overpower someone and send him away for ever;

his face is twisted in death.

₂₁His sons win honour, but he never knows it,

nor is he told when they are disgraced.

₂₂He feels only the pain of his own body

and the grief of his own mind.

_1-2Empty words, Job! Empty words!

₃No wise person would talk as you do

or defend himself with such meaningless words.

₄If you had your way, no one would fear God;

no one would pray to him.

₅Your wickedness is evident by what you say;

you are trying to hide behind clever words.

₆There is no need for me to condemn you;

you are condemned by every word you speak.

₇Do you think you were the first person born?

Were you there when God made the mountains?

₈Did you overhear the plans God made?

Does human wisdom belong to you alone?

₉There is nothing you know that we don't know.

₁₀We learnt our wisdom from grey-haired people —

those born before your father.

₁₁God offers you comfort; why still reject it?

We have spoken for him with calm, even words.

₁₂But you are excited and glare at us in anger.

₁₃You are angry with God and denounce him.

₁₄Can any human being be really pure?

Can anyone be right with God?

₁₅Why, God does not trust even his angels;

even they are not pure in his sight.

₁₆And people drink evil as if it were water;

yes, they are corrupt; they are worthless.

₁₇Now listen, Job, to what I know.

₁₈Those who are wise have taught me truths

which they learnt from their ancestors,

and they kept no secrets hidden.

₁₉Their land was free from foreigners;

there was no one to lead them away from God.

₂₀The wicked who oppress others

will be in torment as long as they live.

₂₁Voices of terror will scream in their ears,

and robbers attack when they think they are safe.

₂₂They have no hope of escaping from darkness,

for somewhere a sword is waiting to kill them,

₂₃and vultures are waiting to eat their corpses.

They know their future is dark;

₂₄disaster, like a powerful king,

is waiting to attack them.

₂₅That is the fate of those

who shake their fists at God

and defy the Almighty.

_26-27They are proud and rebellious;

they stubbornly hold up their shields

and rush to fight against God.

₂₈They are the ones who captured cities

and seized houses whose owners had fled,

but war will destroy those cities and houses.

₂₉They will not remain rich for long;

nothing they own will last.

Even their shadows will vanish,

₃₀and they will not escape from darkness.

They will be like trees

whose branches are burnt by fire,

whose blossoms are blown away by the wind.

₃₁If they are foolish enough to trust in evil,

then evil will be their reward.

₃₂Before their time is up they will wither,

wither like a branch and never be green again.

₃₃They will be like vines that lose their unripe grapes;

like olive trees that drop their blossoms.

₃₄There will be no descendants for godless people,

and fire will destroy the homes built by bribery.

₃₅These are the ones who plan trouble and do evil;

their hearts are always full of deceit.

_1-2I have heard words like that before;

the comfort you give is only torment.

₃Are you going to keep on talking for ever?

Do you always have to have the last word?

₄If you were in my place and I in yours,

I could say everything you are saying.

I could shake my head wisely

and drown you with a flood of words.

₅I could strengthen you with advice

and keep talking to comfort you.

₆But nothing I say helps,

and being silent does not calm my pain.

₇You have worn me out, God;

you have let my family be killed.

₈You have seized me; you are my enemy.

I am skin and bones,

and people take that as proof of my guilt.

₉In anger God tears me limb from limb;

he glares at me with hate.

₁₀People sneer at me;

they crowd round me and slap my face.

₁₁God has handed me over to evil people.

₁₂I was living in peace,

but God took me by the throat

and battered me and crushed me.

God uses me for target practice

₁₃and shoots arrows at me from every side —

arrows that pierce and wound me;

and even then he shows no pity.

₁₄He wounds me again and again;

he attacks like a soldier gone mad with hate.

₁₅I mourn and wear clothes made of sackcloth,

and I sit here in the dust defeated.

₁₆I have cried until my face is red,

and my eyes are swollen and circled with shadows,

₁₇but I am not guilty of any violence,

and my prayer to God is sincere.

₁₈O Earth, don't hide the wrongs done to me!

Don't let my call for justice be silenced!

₁₉There is someone in heaven

to stand up for me and take my side.

₂₀My friends scorn me;

my eyes pour out tears to God.

₂₁I want someone to plead with God for me,

as one pleads for a friend.

₂₂My years are passing now,

and I walk the road of no return.

₁The end of my life is near. I can hardly breathe;

there is nothing left for me but the grave.

₂I watch how bitterly everyone mocks me.

₃I am being honest, God. Accept my word.

There is no one else to support what I say.

₄You have closed their minds to reason;

don't let them triumph over me now.

₅In the old proverb someone betrays his friends for money,

and his children suffer for it.

₆And now people use this proverb against me;

they come and spit in my face.

₇My grief has almost made me blind;

my arms and legs are as thin as shadows.

₈Those who claim to be honest are shocked,

and they all condemn me as godless.

₉Those who claim to be respectable

are more and more convinced they are right.

₁₀But if all of them came and stood before me,

I would not find even one of them wise.

₁₁My days have passed; my plans have failed;

my hope is gone.

₁₂But my friends say night is daylight;

they say that light is near,

but I know I remain in darkness.

₁₃My only hope is the world of the dead,

where I will lie down to sleep in the dark.

₁₄I will call the grave my father,

and the worms that eat me

I will call my mother and my sisters.

₁₅Where is there any hope for me?

Who sees any?

₁₆Hope will not go with me

when I go down to the world of the dead.