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27 1-2 I swear by the living Almighty God,
    who refuses me justice and makes my life bitter—
    as long as God gives me breath,
    my lips will never say anything evil,
    my tongue will never tell a lie.
I will never say that you men are right;
    I will insist on my innocence to my dying day.
I will never give up my claim to be right;
    my conscience is clear.

May all who oppose me and fight against me
    be punished like the wicked and the unrighteous.
What hope is there for the godless
    in the hour when God demands their life?
When trouble comes, will God hear their cries?
10 They should have desired the joy he gives;
    they should have constantly prayed to him.

11 Let me teach you how great is God's power,
    and explain what Almighty God has planned.
12 But no, after all, you have seen for yourselves;
    so why do you talk such nonsense?

[Zophar][a]

13 This is how Almighty God
    punishes wicked, violent people.
14 They may have many sons,
    but all will be killed in war;
    their children never have enough to eat.
15 Those who survive will die from disease,
    and even their widows will not mourn their death.
16 The wicked may have too much silver to count
    and more clothes than anyone needs;
17 but some good person will wear the clothes,
    and someone honest will get the silver.
18 The wicked build houses like a spider's web[b]
    or like the hut of a slave guarding the fields.
19 One last time[c] they will lie down rich,
    and when they wake up, they will find their wealth gone.
20 Terror will strike like a sudden flood;
    a wind in the night will blow them away;
21     the east wind will sweep them from their homes;
22     it will blow down on them without pity
    while they try their best to escape.
23 The wind howls at them as they run,
    frightening them with destructive power.

Footnotes

  1. Job 27:13 Zophar is not named in the text, but this speech is usually assigned to him.
  2. Job 27:18 Some ancient translations spider's web; Hebrew moth or bird's nest.
  3. Job 27:19 Some ancient translations One last time; Hebrew They will not be gathered.

Job’s Final Word to His Friends

27 And Job continued his discourse:(A)

“As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,(B)
    the Almighty,(C) who has made my life bitter,(D)
as long as I have life within me,
    the breath of God(E) in my nostrils,
my lips will not say anything wicked,
    and my tongue will not utter lies.(F)
I will never admit you are in the right;
    till I die, I will not deny my integrity.(G)
I will maintain my innocence(H) and never let go of it;
    my conscience(I) will not reproach me as long as I live.(J)

“May my enemy be like the wicked,(K)
    my adversary(L) like the unjust!
For what hope have the godless(M) when they are cut off,
    when God takes away their life?(N)
Does God listen to their cry
    when distress comes upon them?(O)
10 Will they find delight in the Almighty?(P)
    Will they call on God at all times?

11 “I will teach you about the power of God;
    the ways(Q) of the Almighty I will not conceal.(R)
12 You have all seen this yourselves.
    Why then this meaningless talk?

13 “Here is the fate God allots to the wicked,
    the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty:(S)
14 However many his children,(T) their fate is the sword;(U)
    his offspring will never have enough to eat.(V)
15 The plague will bury those who survive him,
    and their widows will not weep for them.(W)
16 Though he heaps up silver like dust(X)
    and clothes like piles of clay,(Y)
17 what he lays up(Z) the righteous will wear,(AA)
    and the innocent will divide his silver.(AB)
18 The house(AC) he builds is like a moth’s cocoon,(AD)
    like a hut(AE) made by a watchman.
19 He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;(AF)
    when he opens his eyes, all is gone.(AG)
20 Terrors(AH) overtake him like a flood;(AI)
    a tempest snatches him away in the night.(AJ)
21 The east wind(AK) carries him off, and he is gone;(AL)
    it sweeps him out of his place.(AM)
22 It hurls itself against him without mercy(AN)
    as he flees headlong(AO) from its power.(AP)
23 It claps its hands(AQ) in derision
    and hisses him out of his place.”(AR)