[1] Job continued speaking: [2] "I vow by the living God, who has taken away my rights, by the Almighty who has embittered my soul- [3] As long as I live, while I have breath from God, [4] my lips will speak no evil, and my tongue will speak no lies. [5] I will never concede that you are right; I will defend my integrity until I die. [6] I will maintain my innocence without wavering. My conscience is clear for as long as I live. [7] "May my enemy be punished like the wicked, my adversary like those who do evil. [8] For what hope do the godless have when God cuts them off and takes away their life? [9] Will God listen to their cry when trouble comes upon them? [10] Can they take delight in the Almighty? Can they call to God at any time? [11] I will teach you about God's power. I will not conceal anything concerning the Almighty. [12] But you have seen all this, yet you say all these useless things to me. [13] "This is what the wicked will receive from God; this is their inheritance from the Almighty. [14] They may have many children, but the children will die in war or starve to death. [15] Those who survive will die of a plague, and not even their widows will mourn them. [16] "Evil people may have piles of money and may store away mounds of clothing. [17] But the righteous will wear that clothing, and the innocent will divide that money. [18] The wicked build houses as fragile as a spider's web, as flimsy as a shelter made of branches. [19] The wicked go to bed rich but wake to find that all their wealth is gone. [20] Terror overwhelms them like a flood, and they are blown away in the storms of the night. [21] The east wind carries them away, and they are gone. It sweeps them away. [22] It whirls down on them without mercy. They struggle to flee from its power. [23] But everyone jeers at them and mocks them.
