[1] Job continued his discourse and said, [2] “As God lives, who has taken away my right and denied me justice, And the Almighty, who has caused bitterness and grief for my soul, [3] As long as my life is within me, And the breath of God is [still] in my nostrils, [4] My lips will not speak unjustly, Nor will my tongue utter deceit. [5] Far be it from me that I should admit you are right [in your accusations against me]; Until I die, I will not remove my integrity from me. [6] I hold fast my uprightness and my right standing with God and I will not let them go; My heart does not reproach me for any of my days. [7] “May my enemy be as the wicked, And he who rises up against me be as the unrighteous (unjust). [8] For what is the hope of the godless, even though he has gained [in this world], When God takes his life? [9] Will God hear his cry When trouble and distress come upon him? [10] Will he take delight in the Almighty? Will he call on God at all times? [11] I will teach you regarding the hand (power) of God; I will not conceal what is with the Almighty [God’s actual treatment of the wicked]. [12] Behold, all of you have seen it; Why then do you act vainly and foolishly [cherishing worthless concepts]? [13] “This [which I am about to explain] is the portion of a wicked man from God, And the inheritance which tyrants and oppressors receive from the Almighty: [14] Though his children are many, they are destined for the sword; And his descendants will not have sufficient bread. [15] Those who survive him will be buried because of the plague, And [their] widows will not be able to weep. [16] Though he heaps up silver like dust And piles up clothing like clay, [17] He may prepare it, but the just will wear it And the innocent will divide the silver. [18] He builds his house like a spider’s web, Like a (temporary) hut which a watchman makes. [19] He lies down rich, but never will again; He opens his eyes, and it is gone. [20] Terrors overtake him like a [suddenly rising] flood; A windstorm steals him away in the night. [21] The east wind lifts him up, and he is gone; It sweeps him out of his place. [22] For it will hurl [thunderbolts of God’s wrath] at him unsparingly and without compassion; He flees in haste from its power. [23] People will clap their hands at him [to mock and ridicule him] And hiss him out of his place.
