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Job 13:20-14:22
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Job 13:20-14:22
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
20 Two things only do not use against me,[a]
then from your presence I need not hide:
21 Withdraw your hand far from me,
do not let the terror of you frighten me.
22 Then call me, and I will respond;
or let me speak first, and answer me.
23 What are my faults and my sins?
My misdeed, my sin make known to me!
24 Why do you hide your face
and consider me your enemy?[b](A)
25 Will you harass a wind-driven leaf
or pursue a withered straw?
26 For you draw up bitter indictments against me,
and punish in me the faults of my youth.
27 You put my feet in the stocks;
you watch all my paths
and trace out all my footsteps,
28 Though I wear out like a leather bottle,
like a garment the moth has consumed.
Chapter 14
1 Man born of woman
is short-lived and full of trouble,[c](B)
2 Like a flower that springs up and fades,(C)
swift as a shadow that does not abide.
3 Upon such a one will you set your eyes,
bringing me into judgment before you?
4 Can anyone make the unclean clean?(D)
No one can.
5 Since his days are determined—
you know the number of his months;
you have fixed the limit which he cannot pass—
6 Look away from him and let him be,
while, like a hireling, he completes his day.
7 For a tree there is hope;
if it is cut down, it will sprout again,
its tender shoots will not cease.
8 Even though its root grow old in the earth
and its stump die in the dust,
9 Yet at the first whiff of water it sprouts
and puts forth branches like a young plant.
10 But when a man dies, all vigor leaves him;(E)
when a mortal expires, where then is he?
11 As when the waters of a lake fail,
or a stream shrivels and dries up,
12 So mortals lie down, never to rise.
Until the heavens are no more, they shall not awake,
nor be roused out of their sleep.(F)
13 Oh, that you would hide me in Sheol,
shelter me till your wrath is past,
fix a time to remember me!
14 If a man were to die, and live again,
all the days of my drudgery I would wait(G)
for my relief to come.
15 You would call, and I would answer you;
you would long for the work of your hands.
16 Surely then you would count my steps,(H)
and not keep watch for sin in me.
17 My misdeeds would be sealed up in a pouch,[d]
and you would cover over my guilt.
18 Mountains fall and crumble,
rocks move from their place,
19 And water wears away stone,
and floods wash away the soil of the land—
so you destroy the hope of mortals!
20 You prevail once for all against them and they pass on;
you dismiss them with changed appearance.
21 If their children are honored, they are not aware of it;
or if disgraced, they do not know about them.
22 Only for themselves, their pain;
only for themselves, their mourning.
Footnotes
- 13:20 In 13:20–14:22, Job directs his address to God; cf. 7:8–21; 9:28–10:22. His three friends never do this.
- 13:24 The Hebrew word for “enemy” (‘oyeb) is very close to the Hebrew form of Job’s name (‘iyyob). The play on the word implies that God has confused the two.
- 14:1 The sorrowful lament of Job is that God should relent in view of the limited life of human beings. When compared to plant life, which dies but can revive, the death of human beings is final. Job’s wild and “unthinkable” wish in vv. 13–17 is a bold stroke of imagination and desire: if only in Sheol he were protected till God would remember him! Were he to live again (v. 14), things would be different, but alas, God destroys “the hope of mortals” (v. 19).
- 14:17 Sealed up in a pouch: hidden away and forgotten.
Job 13:20-14:22
New International Version
Job 13:20-14:22
New International Version
20 “Only grant me these two things, God,
and then I will not hide from you:
21 Withdraw your hand(A) far from me,
and stop frightening me with your terrors.(B)
22 Then summon me and I will answer,(C)
or let me speak, and you reply to me.(D)
23 How many wrongs and sins have I committed?(E)
Show me my offense and my sin.(F)
24 Why do you hide your face(G)
and consider me your enemy?(H)
25 Will you torment(I) a windblown leaf?(J)
Will you chase(K) after dry chaff?(L)
26 For you write down bitter things against me
and make me reap the sins of my youth.(M)
27 You fasten my feet in shackles;(N)
you keep close watch on all my paths(O)
by putting marks on the soles of my feet.
14 “Mortals, born of woman,(R)
are of few days(S) and full of trouble.(T)
2 They spring up like flowers(U) and wither away;(V)
like fleeting shadows,(W) they do not endure.(X)
3 Do you fix your eye on them?(Y)
Will you bring them[a] before you for judgment?(Z)
4 Who can bring what is pure(AA) from the impure?(AB)
No one!(AC)
5 A person’s days are determined;(AD)
you have decreed the number of his months(AE)
and have set limits he cannot exceed.(AF)
6 So look away from him and let him alone,(AG)
till he has put in his time like a hired laborer.(AH)
7 “At least there is hope for a tree:(AI)
If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
and its new shoots(AJ) will not fail.(AK)
8 Its roots may grow old in the ground
and its stump(AL) die in the soil,
9 yet at the scent of water(AM) it will bud
and put forth shoots like a plant.(AN)
10 But a man dies and is laid low;(AO)
he breathes his last and is no more.(AP)
11 As the water of a lake dries up
or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,(AQ)
12 so he lies down and does not rise;(AR)
till the heavens are no more,(AS) people will not awake
or be roused from their sleep.(AT)
13 “If only you would hide me in the grave(AU)
and conceal me till your anger has passed!(AV)
If only you would set me a time
and then remember(AW) me!(AX)
14 If someone dies, will they live again?
All the days of my hard service(AY)
I will wait for my renewal[b](AZ) to come.
15 You will call and I will answer you;(BA)
you will long for the creature your hands have made.(BB)
16 Surely then you will count my steps(BC)
but not keep track of my sin.(BD)
17 My offenses will be sealed(BE) up in a bag;(BF)
you will cover over my sin.(BG)
18 “But as a mountain erodes and crumbles(BH)
and as a rock is moved from its place,(BI)
19 as water wears away stones
and torrents(BJ) wash away the soil,(BK)
so you destroy a person’s hope.(BL)
20 You overpower them once for all, and they are gone;(BM)
you change their countenance and send them away.(BN)
21 If their children are honored, they do not know it;
if their offspring are brought low, they do not see it.(BO)
22 They feel but the pain of their own bodies(BP)
and mourn only for themselves.(BQ)”
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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