1    2   
Is there any man, even the wisest,
  who could ever be of use to God?

3   
Does your doing right benefit God,
  or does your being good help him at all? ^note

4   
It is not because you stand in awe of God
  that he reprimands you and brings you to trial.

5   
No, it's because you have sinned so much;
  it's because of all the evil you do.

6   
To make a brother repay you the money he owed,
  you took away his clothes and left him nothing to wear.

7   
You refused water to those who were tired,
  and refused to feed those who were hungry.

8   
You used your power and your position
  to take over the whole land.

9   
You not only refused to help widows,
  but you also robbed and mistreated orphans.

10   
So now there are pitfalls all around you,
  and suddenly you are full of fear.

11   
It has grown so dark that you cannot see,
  and a flood overwhelms you.

12   
Doesn't God live in the highest heavens
  and look down on the stars, even though they are high?

13   
And yet you ask, “What does God know?
  He is hidden by clouds—how can he judge us?”

14   
You think the thick clouds keep him from seeing,

  as he walks on the dome of the sky.

15   
Are you determined to walk in the paths
  that evil men have always followed?

16   
Even before their time had come,
  they were washed away by a flood.

17   
These are the men who rejected God
  and believed that he could do nothing to them.

18   
And yet it was God who made them prosperous—
  I can't understand the thoughts of the wicked.

19   
Good men are glad and innocent men laugh
  when they see the wicked punished.

20   
All that the wicked own is destroyed,
  and fire burns up anything that is left.

21   
Now, Job, make peace with God
  and stop treating him like an enemy;
  if you do, then he will bless you.

22   
Accept the teaching he gives;
  keep his words in your heart.

23   
Yes, you must humbly ^note return to God
  and put an end to all the evil
  that is done in your house.

24   
Throw away your gold;
  dump your finest gold in the dry stream bed.

25   
Let Almighty God be your gold,
  and let him be silver, piled high for you.

26   
Then you will always trust in God
  and find that he is the source of your joy.

27   
When you pray, he will answer you,
  and you will keep the vows you made.

28   
You will succeed in all you do,
  and light will shine on your path.

29   
God brings down the proud ^note
  and saves the humble.

30   
He will rescue you if you are innocent, ^note
  if what you do is right. ^note

Previous section

Next section