Job 29; Job 30; Job 31

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Job 29

1 Job began speaking again.

2 If only my life could once again be as it was when God watched over me.

3 God was always with me then and gave me light as I walked through the darkness.

4 Those were the days when I was prosperous, and the friendship of God protected my home.

5 Almighty God was with me then, and I was surrounded by all my children.

6 My cows and goats gave plenty of milk, and my olive trees grew in the rockiest soil.

7 Whenever the city elders met and I took my place among them,

8 young men stepped aside as soon as they saw me, and old men stood up to show me respect.

9 The leaders of the people would stop talking;

10 even the most important men kept silent.

11 Everyone who saw me or heard of me had good things to say about what I had done.

12 When the poor cried out, I helped them; I gave help to orphans who had nowhere to turn.

13 People who were in deepest misery praised me, and I helped widows find security.

14 I have always acted justly and fairly.

15 I was eyes for the blind, and feet for the lame.

16 I was like a father to the poor and took the side of strangers in trouble.

17 I destroyed the power of cruel men and rescued their victims.

18 I always expected to live a long life and to die at home in comfort.

19 I was like a tree whose roots always have water and whose branches are wet with dew.

20 Everyone was always praising me, and my strength never failed me.

21 When I gave advice, people were silent and listened carefully to what I said;

22 they had nothing to add when I had finished. My words sank in like drops of rain;

23 everyone welcomed them just as farmers welcome rain in spring.

24 I smiled on them when they had lost confidence; my cheerful face encouraged them.

25 I took charge and made the decisions; I led them as a king leads his troops, and gave them comfort in their despair.

Job 30

1 But men younger than I am make fun of me now! Their fathers have always been so worthless that I wouldn't let them help my dogs guard sheep.

2 They were a bunch of worn-out men, too weak to do any work for me.

3 They were so poor and hungry that they would gnaw dry roots - at night, in wild, desolate places.

4 They pulled up the plants of the desert and ate them, even the tasteless roots of the broom tree!

5 Everyone drove them away with shouts, as if they were shouting at thieves.

6 They had to live in caves, in holes dug in the sides of cliffs.

7 Out in the wilds they howled like animals and huddled together under the bushes.

8 A worthless bunch of nameless nobodies! They were driven out of the land.

9 Now they come and laugh at me; I am nothing but a joke to them.

10 They treat me with disgust; they think they are too good for me, and even come and spit in my face.

11 Because God has made me weak and helpless, they turn against me with all their fury.

12 This mob attacks me head-on; they send me running; they prepare their final assault.

13 They cut off my escape and try to destroy me; and there is no one to stop them.

14 They pour through the holes in my defenses and come crashing down on top of me;

15 I am overcome with terror; my dignity is gone like a puff of wind, and my prosperity like a cloud.

16 Now I am about to die; there is no relief for my suffering.

17 At night my bones all ache; the pain that gnaws me never stops.

18 God seizes me by my collar and twists my clothes out of shape.

19 He throws me down in the mud; I am no better than dirt.

20 I call to you, O God, but you never answer; and when I pray, you pay no attention.

21 You are treating me cruelly; you persecute me with all your power.

22 You let the wind blow me away; you toss me about in a raging storm.

23 I know you are taking me off to my death, to the fate in store for everyone.

24 Why do you attack a ruined man, one who can do nothing but beg for pity?

25 Didn't I weep with people in trouble and feel sorry for those in need?

26 I hoped for happiness and light, but trouble and darkness came instead.

27 I am torn apart by worry and pain; I have had day after day of suffering.

28 I go about in gloom, without any sunshine; I stand up in public and plead for help.

29 My voice is as sad and lonely as the cries of a jackal or an ostrich.

30 My skin has turned dark; I am burning with fever.

31 Where once I heard joyful music, now I hear only mourning and weeping.

Job 31

1 I have made a solemn promise never to look with lust at a woman.

2 What does Almighty God do to us? How does he repay human deeds?

3 He sends disaster and ruin to those who do wrong.

4 God knows everything I do; he sees every step I take.

5 I swear I have never acted wickedly and never tried to deceive others.

6 Let God weigh me on honest scales, and he will see how innocent I am.

7 If I have turned from the right path or let myself be attracted to evil, if my hands are stained with sin,

8 then let my crops be destroyed, or let others eat the food I grow.

9 If I have been attracted to my neighbor's wife, and waited, hidden, outside her door,

10 then let my wife cook another man's food and sleep in another man's bed.

11 Such wickedness should be punished by death.

12 It would be like a destructive, hellish fire, consuming everything I have.

13 When any of my servants complained against me, I would listen and treat them fairly.

14 If I did not, how could I then face God? What could I say when God came to judge me?

15 The same God who created me created my servants also.

16 I have never refused to help the poor; never have I let widows live in despair

17 or let orphans go hungry while I ate.

18 All my life I have taken care of them.

19 When I found someone in need, too poor to buy clothes,

20 I would give him clothing made of wool that had come from my own flock of sheep. Then he would praise me with all his heart.

21 If I have ever cheated an orphan, knowing I could win in court,

22 then may my arms be broken; may they be torn from my shoulders.

23 Because I fear God's punishment, I could never do such a thing.

24 I have never trusted in riches

25 or taken pride in my wealth.

26 I have never worshiped the sun in its brightness or the moon in all its beauty.

27 I have not been led astray to honor them by kissing my hand in reverence to them.

28 Such a sin should be punished by death; it denies Almighty God.

29 I have never been glad when my enemies suffered, or pleased when they met with disaster;

30 I never sinned by praying for their death.

31 All those who work for me know that I have always welcomed strangers.

32 I invited travelers into my home and never let them sleep in the streets.

33 Others try to hide their sins, but I have never concealed mine.

34 I have never feared what people would say; I have never kept quiet or stayed indoors because I feared their scorn.

35 Will no one listen to what I am saying? I swear that every word is true. Let Almighty God answer me. If the charges my opponent brings against me were written down so that I could see them,

36 I would wear them proudly on my shoulder and place them on my head like a crown.

37 I would tell God everything I have done, and hold my head high in his presence.

38 If I have stolen the land I farm and taken it from its rightful owners -

39 if I have eaten the food that grew there but let the farmers that grew it starve -

40 then instead of wheat and barley, may weeds and thistles grow. The words of Job are ended.