Job: Week 6 (Wednesday, November 22 2017)

 

Job 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14

 

Chapter 10

1 I do not enjoy my life now. I do not want to live. I am very, very sad.

    So I will speak about the thoughts that are in my mind.

2 This is what I will say to God. “Do not say that I am a bad person.

    You may believe that I have done wrong things. Tell me what they are.

3 You seem to enjoy it when you hurt me. You made me. So I do not know why you refuse to help me.

    And you seem to help very bad people even when they are doing very bad things.

4 Sometimes you seem not to have eyes like men have eyes.

    And you seem not to see things as people see them.

5 Your life is not like the life of a human being.

    You life does not have an end like ours does.

6 But you seem to be in a hurry to discover the wrong things that I have done.

    I do not know why you have to do that.

7 You know that I have not done wrong things.

    But you also know that no one can save me from you.

8 You made me with your hands.

    But now it seems that you want to kill me.

9 Remember that you made me from dust.

    Now it seems that you want to make me into dust again.

10 People make cheese with only a little milk.

    So you made my body with only a little material.

11 You joined my bones together

    and you covered them with skin.

12 You gave my life to me and you have always loved me.

    You have always watched me to save me from danger.

13 But I know what you decided to do.

    I know the thoughts that were in your mind.

14 You were watching me to see if I did wrong things.

    And then you would not forgive me.

15 If I do wrong things, then you punish me.

    But you never see the good things that I do.

Whatever I do, I am ashamed.

    Whatever I do, my life is full of trouble.

16 If I do something well, I am happy.

    But then you catch me as a lion catches other animals.

And you use your power against me.

17 You continue to say that I do wrong things.

You become more and more angry with me.

    You attack me again and again.

18 I do not know why you let me be born.

    I should have died before anyone saw me.

19 It would have been better if I had never been born.

    Or perhaps I should have died straight after my birth.

20 It seems that I will die soon.

    Turn yourself from me so I can be happy for a moment.

21 I want to be happy before I die. I will soon die.

    Then I will go to a place from which I cannot return.

22 I will go to a dark place where there are only shadows.

    In that place, it is as dark as midnight in the middle of the day.” ’

 

Chapter 11

Job’s friend Zophar speaks to him

Now Zophar is really angry with Job. He tells Job that only God knows everything. And he says that Job will be happy again. But he must stop doing wrong things. And Job must say sorry to God for the wrong things that he has done.

1 Job’s friend Zophar lived in a place called Naamah. He spoke to Job. And this is what he said.

2 ‘Someone must answer all the questions that you ask.

    Even if you talk a lot, God will still not excuse you.

3 We will not be quiet while you continue to speak.

    You are saying wrong things about God. Someone should stop you doing that.

4 You say to God, “The things that I believe are true.

    I am an honest man and I live the right way.”

5 I wish that God would speak to you.

    And I wish that he would explain to you his thoughts.

6 Then he might tell you the secret of wisdom.

    True wisdom is not easy to understand. But know this:

You have done things that were wrong.

    But God has forgotten some of those wrong things.

7 You cannot understand the things that God does.

    You do not know how powerful he is.

8 His power can reach beyond the sky.

    You cannot do that.

He knows what happens after death.

    You do not know that.

9 The earth itself could not contain everything that God knows.

    Neither is the sea big enough to contain it.

10 If he puts you in prison you will not be able to stop him.

    If he accuses you in a court,

    you will not be able to answer him.

11 I am sure about this. God knows the people who do wrong things.

    He sees the wrong things that they do.

12 Wild donkeys do not change their nature and become friendly.

    And fools do not change their nature and become wise.

13 You should live the right way, Job.

    You should raise your hands and pray to God.

14 Stop doing things that are wrong.

    Do not let people do wrong things in your home.

15 If you do this, you will not be ashamed any more.

    Instead, you will be strong. And you will not be afraid.

16 I am sure that you will forget your trouble.

    It will be like water that has gone under a bridge long ago. No one remembers it.

17 Your life will be good. And you will be happy again.

    All day, it will seem brighter than noon. Even the dark night will seem like the morning.

18 You will be able to hope, so you will trust God.

    Then you will know that it is safe to rest.

19 When you sleep, you will not be afraid.

    Many people will ask you to help them.

20 But bad people will not be able to hope for a better life.

    God will punish them because of the things that they have done.

It would be better if they died.’

 

Chapter 12

Job replies to Zophar

In chapters 12 to 14, Job speaks, first to Zophar and then to God. The things that Zophar has said do not help Job. Job knows everything that Zophar has told him. The wrong things that he has done have not caused his troubles. He knows that. Then Job speaks to God. He asks God to stop making him afraid. And he asks God to stop all the bad things that are happening.

1 Then Job replied. And this is what he said.

2 ‘You seem to think that you know everything.

    And you think that, after your death, no one else will be wise.

3 But I have a mind too. And you are no better than I am.

    Everyone knows the things that you have told me.

4 All my friends think that I am a fool.

    But I pray to God and he answers me.

I have always lived the right way.

    But still my friends think that I am a fool.

5 Some people have no troubles.

    It is easy for them to think that they are better than people with troubles.

It is easy to push a man who is nearly falling already.

    And those people with no troubles are doing something like that.

6 Men who rob other people are safe in their homes.

    They make God angry. But they think that they are safe.

7 But ask the animals, and they will teach you.

    Or ask the birds in the air. They will tell you things that are true.

8 Speak to the earth, and it will teach you.

    Or let the fish that are in the sea speak to you.

9 Any of them can tell you what the LORD has done.

10 He gives life to all the animals.

    And he decides what the lives of men will be like.

11 We can taste food when we put it into our mouths.

    And we learn the things that we hear with our ears.

12 Old people are often wise.

    And they understand more things if they live for a long time.

13 But God is wise. And he helps us to be wise too.

    He is strong and he makes us strong too.

14 No one can repair something that he has destroyed.

    And if God puts someone in prison he must stay there. No one can help that person.

15 If God stops the rain, the land becomes a desert.

    If he sends too much rain, there are floods.

16 God is strong. He will always beat anyone who fights against him.

    He has power over good people and over bad people.

17 He takes away the wisdom of rulers.

    And he causes leaders to seem like fools.

18 He takes from kings the special clothes that they wear.

    He gives them instead cloths to tie round them.

19 God causes priests to lose their jobs.

    Because of what he decides, important men lose their jobs too.

20 He confuses wise men.

    And he removes wisdom from old men.

21 He causes rulers to be ashamed.

    And he destroys the power of strong men.

22 He shows to us things that nobody knew.

    And he makes the shadows of the night shine like the day.

23 He makes nations great, and then he destroys them.

    He makes nations bigger. Then he sends the people in those nations away.

24 He destroys the understanding of kings.

    And then he sends them to walk about in the desert.

25 They have no light while they walk in the dark.

    And he causes them to walk like men who have drunk a lot of alcohol.

 

Chapter 13

1 I have seen with my own eyes all the things that you have told me.

    I have heard everything that you have said. And I have understood all of it.

2 I know as much as you do.

    You are no better than I am.

3 But I want to speak to the Almighty. I want to tell him how I feel.

    And I want him to explain the things that he has done to me.

4 But you tell me things that are not true.

    You are like doctors who cannot make sick people better.

5 It would be better if you said nothing.

    That would be a wise thing to do.

6 Listen now to me when I speak to you.

    Listen to the things that I say.

7 You should not speak on behalf of God!

    You are saying things on his behalf; but they are not true.

8 You should be fair when you speak on his behalf.

    But I cannot believe that you are really trying to explain his thoughts to me.

9 God may check what you have been doing.

    Other people may not understand.

But he will see the wrong things that you have done.

10 It may be a secret that you have not been fair.

    Even so, God will still punish you.

11 I am sure that his power will frighten you.

    I am sure that you will be afraid of him.

12 The things that you say are worth no more than ashes.

    You are not strong enough to save yourself.

13 So be quiet and let me speak.

    Then I will not cry about the things that happen to me.

14 If anything happens to me, it will be my mistake.

    But I do want to say what I really think.

15 Even if God kills me, I will still believe him.

    But I will explain to him the reason why he should not kill me.

16 No bad man would be brave enough to speak with God.

    So if I speak to him, it will save me.

17 Listen well when I speak.

    Do not forget the things that I say to you.

18 Now I have prepared the things that I want to say.

I have not done anything that was wrong. So I know that he will excuse me.

19 Nobody can tell me any wrong thing that I have done.

    If you can do that, I will be quiet. And then I will die.

20 God, I do not want to hide myself from you any more.

    So I want to ask you to do two things.

21 Stop causing bad things to happen to me.

    And stop making me afraid of you.

22 Call to me and I will answer you.

    Or let me speak, and then reply to me.

23 Tell me how many wrong things I have done.

    Show me one wrong thing that I have done.

24 I would like to know why you hide yourself from me.

    You seem to think that I am your enemy. I would like to know why you think that.

25 I am as weak as a leaf that the wind blows along the road.

    I am only as strong as dry grass.

So I do not understand why you want to frighten me.

26 You write down bad things about me.

    I may have done wrong things when I was young. And you remember them.

27 You fasten my feet with metal ties.

    You watch me to see where I am going.

You even put marks on my feet so that you can follow me.

28 So my life is worth nothing.

    I am like an old coat that the insects have eaten.

 

Chapter 14

1 Every man that is born will only live for a few years.

    And his life will be full of trouble.

2 Flowers grow and soon die. Our lives are not long, either.

    We are like shadows that soon pass by.

3 So I would like to know why you always watch a weak person like me.

    You always want me to explain the wrong things that I have done.

    I would like to know why you want me to do that.

4 People who are bad do not know the right way to live.

    No one can change them so that they live like that.

5 You have decided whether we will live for a long time or for a short time.

    You know the number of months that we will live. And we cannot change that.

6 So do not watch me any more.

    I may live like a servant. But please let me enjoy my life.

7 If someone cuts branches off a tree, the tree will not die.

    Instead, new branches will grow.

8 Its roots may be old.

    Its branches may have fallen off and the tree may be nearly dead.

9 But if there is even a little water, the tree will not die.

    And its branches will start to grow again.

10 But when people are dying, they become very weak.

    Then they die and they can never live again.

11 When there is no water in the river or the lake,

    they both become dry.

12 People are like that. They die and they never live again.

    They will not wake while the sky is above the earth.

13 I want you to hide me among all the dead people.

    Hide me until you are no longer angry with me.

    Then decide when you will remember me.

14 If a man dies, he will not live again.

    So I will wait until my troubles have stopped.

Then I might hope to have a better life.

15 You will call me and I will answer you.

    Then you will have pleasure, because you made me.

16 Then you will watch what I do. And you will watch where I go.

    But you will not still remember the wrong things that I have done.

17 You will forgive me for those wrong things.

    And you will hide them so that you never see them again.

18 In the end, mountains fall

    and rocks move from their places.

19 In the end, water will break stones.

    When the rain falls, nothing remains on the earth.

And in the end, because of the things that you do,

    no man can hope to have a better life.

20 In the end, you kill him. Then he is gone for always.

    You change his face and you send him away.

21 He does not know if his sons become famous.

    Nor does he know if they have wasted their lives.

22 He thinks only about the pain that he feels.

    He does not think about the pain that other people feel.

And when he is sad, he thinks only about himself.’