To The Word – Day 168

_1-2You men are so wise, so clever;

listen now to what I am saying.

₃You know good food when you taste it,

but not wise words when you hear them.

₄It is up to us to decide the case.

₅Job claims that he is innocent,

that God refuses to give him justice.

₆He asks, “How could I lie and say I am wrong?

I am fatally wounded, but I am sinless.”

₇Have you ever seen anyone like this man Job?

He never shows respect for God.

₈He likes the company of evil people

and goes about with sinners.

₉He says that it never does any good

to try to follow God's will.

₁₀Listen to me, you men who understand!

Will Almighty God do what is wrong?

₁₁He rewards people for what they do

and treats them as they deserve.

₁₂Almighty God does not do evil;

he is never unjust to anyone.

₁₃Did God get his power from someone else?

Did someone put him in charge of the world?

₁₄If God took back the breath of life,

₁₅then everyone living would die

and turn into dust again.

₁₆Now listen to me, if you are wise.

₁₇Are you condemning the righteous God?

Do you think that he hates justice?

₁₈God condemns kings and rulers

when they are worthless or wicked.

₁₉He does not take the side of rulers

nor favour the rich against the poor,

for he created everyone.

₂₀Someone may suddenly die at night.

God strikes people down and they perish;

he kills the mighty with no effort at all.

₂₁He watches every step we take.

₂₂There is no darkness dark enough

to hide a sinner from God.

₂₃God does not need to set a time

for us to go and be judged by him.

₂₄He does not need an investigation

to remove leaders and replace them with others.

₂₅Because he knows what they do

he overthrows them and crushes them by night.

₂₆He punishes sinners where all can see it,

₂₇because they have stopped following him

and ignored all his commands.

₂₈They forced the poor to cry out to God,

and he heard their calls for help.

₂₉If God decided to do nothing at all,

no one could criticize him.

If he hid his face, we would be helpless.

₃₀There would be nothing that nations could do

to keep godless oppressors from ruling them.

₃₁Job, have you confessed your sins to God

and promised not to sin again?

₃₂Have you asked God to show you your faults,

and have you agreed to stop doing evil?

₃₃Since you object to what God does,

can you expect him to do what you want?

The decision is yours, not mine;

tell us now what you think.

₃₄Any sensible person will surely agree;

and the wise who hear me will say

₃₅that Job is speaking from ignorance

and that nothing he says makes sense.

₃₆Think through everything that Job says;

you will see that he talks like an evil man.

₃₇To his sins he adds rebellion;

in front of us all he mocks God.

_1-2It is not right, Job, for you to say

that you are innocent in God's sight,

₃or to ask God, “How does my sin affect you?

What have I gained by not sinning?”

₄I am going to answer you and your friends too.

₅Look at the sky! See how high the clouds are!

₆If you sin, that does no harm to God.

If you do wrong many times, does that affect him?

₇Do you help God by being so righteous?

There is nothing God needs from you.

₈Others suffer from your sins,

and the good you do helps them.

₉When people are oppressed, they groan;

they cry for someone to save them.

₁₀But they don't turn to God, their Creator,

who gives them hope in their darkest hours.

₁₁They don't turn to God, who makes us wise,

wiser than any animal or bird.

₁₂They cry for help, but God doesn't answer,

for they are proud and evil.

₁₃It is useless for them to cry out;

Almighty God does not see or hear them.

₁₄Job, you say you can't see God;

but wait patiently — your case is before him.

₁₅You think that God does not punish,

that he pays little attention to sin.

₁₆It is useless for you to go on talking;

it is clear you don't know what you are saying.

_1-2Be patient and listen a little longer

to what I am saying on God's behalf.

₃My knowledge is wide; I will use what I know

to show that God, my Creator, is just.

₄Nothing I say to you is false;

you see before you a truly wise man.

₅How strong God is! He despises no one;

there is nothing he doesn't understand.

₆He does not let sinners live on,

and he always treats the poor with justice.

₇He protects those who are righteous;

he allows them to rule like kings

and lets them be honoured for ever.

₈But if people are bound in chains,

suffering for what they have done,

₉God shows them their sins and their pride.

₁₀He makes them listen to his warning

to turn away from evil.

₁₁If they obey God and serve him,

they live out their lives in peace and prosperity.

₁₂But if not, they will die in ignorance

and cross the stream into the world of the dead.

₁₃Those who are godless keep on being angry,

and even when punished, they don't pray for help.

₁₄They die while they are still young,

worn out by a life of disgrace.

₁₅But God teaches people through suffering

and uses distress to open their eyes.

₁₆God brought you out of trouble,

and let you enjoy security;

your table was piled high with food.

₁₇But now you are being punished as you deserve.

₁₈Be careful not to let bribes deceive you,

or riches lead you astray.

₁₉It will do you no good to cry out for help;

all your strength can't help you now.

₂₀Don't wish for night to come,

the time when nations will perish.

₂₁Be careful not to turn to evil;

your suffering was sent to keep you from it.

₂₂Remember how great is God's power;

he is the greatest teacher of all.

₂₃No one can tell God what to do

or accuse him of doing evil.

₂₄He has always been praised for what he does;

you also must praise him.

₂₅Everyone has seen what he has done;

but we can only watch from a distance.

₂₆We cannot fully know his greatness

or count the number of his years.

₂₇It is God who takes water from the earth

and turns it into drops of rain.

₂₈He lets the rain pour from the clouds

in showers for the whole human race.

₂₉No one knows how the clouds move

or how the thunder roars

through the sky, where God dwells.

₃₀He sends lightning through all the sky,

but the depths of the sea remain dark.

₃₁This is how he feeds the people

and provides an abundance of food.

₃₂He seizes the lightning with his hands

and commands it to hit the mark.

₃₃Thunder announces the approaching storm,

and the cattle know it is coming.

₁The storm makes my heart beat wildly.

₂Listen, all of you, to the voice of God,

to the thunder that comes from his mouth.

₃He sends the lightning across the sky,

from one end of the earth to the other.

₄Then the roar of his voice is heard,

the majestic sound of thunder,

and all the while the lightning flashes.

₅At God's command amazing things happen,

wonderful things that we can't understand.

₆He commands snow to fall on the earth,

and sends torrents of drenching rain.

₇He brings our work to a stop;

he shows us what he can do.

₈The wild animals go to their dens.

₉The storm winds come from the south,

and the biting cold from the north.

₁₀The breath of God freezes the waters,

and turns them to solid ice.

₁₁Lightning flashes from the clouds,

₁₂as they move at God's will.

They do all that God commands,

everywhere throughout the world.

₁₃God sends rain to water the earth;

he may send it to punish us,

or to show us his favour.

₁₄Pause a moment, Job, and listen;

consider the wonderful things God does.

₁₅Do you know how God gives the command

and makes lightning flash from the clouds?

₁₆Do you know how clouds float in the sky,

the work of God's amazing skill?

₁₇No, you can only suffer in the heat

when the south wind oppresses the land.

₁₈Can you help God stretch out the sky

and make it as hard as polished metal?

₁₉Teach us what to say to God;

our minds are blank; we have nothing to say.

₂₀I won't ask to speak with God;

why should I give him a chance to destroy me?

₂₁And now the light in the sky is dazzling,

too bright for us to look at it;

and the sky has been swept clean by the wind.

₂₂A golden glow is seen in the north,

and the glory of God fills us with awe.

₂₃God's power is so great that we cannot come near him;

he is righteous and just in his dealings with us.

₂₄No wonder, then, that everyone stands in awe of him,

and that he ignores those who claim to be wise.