Job 10-12
Expanded Bible
10 “I ·hate [am disgusted with] my life,
so I will ·complain without holding back [L abandon myself to my sighs];
I will speak ·because I am so unhappy [L in my bitterness].
2 I will say to God: Do not ·hold [declare] me guilty,
but tell me ·what you have against [why you accuse] me.
3 ·Does it make you happy [or Is it right for you] to ·trouble [oppress] me?
·Don’t you care about [L Must you despise] me, the work of your hands?
·Are you happy with [or Do you favor] the plans of evil people?
4 Do you have ·human eyes [L eyes of flesh]
that see ·as we see [L with human vision]?
5 Are your days like the days of humans,
and your years like our years?
6 [L For] You ·look for the evil I have done [L investigate my transgression]
and search for my sin.
7 You know I am not guilty,
but no one can ·save [rescue] me from your ·power [L hand].
8 “Your hands shaped and made me.
Do you now turn around and ·destroy [L swallow] me?
9 Remember that you molded me like a piece of clay.
Will you now turn me back into dust [Gen. 2:7; Eccl. 12:7]?
10 ·You formed me inside my mother
like cheese formed from milk [L Do you not pour me out like milk, curdle me like cheese?].
11 You dressed me with skin and flesh;
you ·sewed [knit] me together with bones and ·muscles [sinews].
12 You gave me life and showed me ·kindness [loyalty],
and in your care you ·watched over my life [L set a watch over me].
13 “But in your heart you hid ·other plans [L these things].
I know this was in your mind.
14 If I sinned, you would watch me
and would not ·let my sin go unpunished [L declare me innocent of my transgression].
15 ·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] me if I am guilty!
Even if I am ·right [righteous], I cannot lift my head.
I am full of shame
and ·experience [L look on] only ·pain [affliction].
16 ·If I hold up my head, you hunt me like a lion [or Proud like a lion you hunt me]
and again show your terrible power against me.
17 You bring new witnesses against me
and increase your anger against me.
Your armies come against me.
18 “So why did you ·allow me to be born [L bring me out of the womb]?
·I wish I had died [L Why did I not die…?] before ·anyone [L any eye] saw me.
19 I wish I had never lived,
but had been carried straight from ·birth [L womb] to the grave.
20 The few days of my life are almost over.
Leave me alone so I can have a moment of joy [Eccl. 2:24–26; 3:12–14, 22; 8:15; 5:19–20; 9:7–10].
21 Soon I will leave; I will not return
from the land of darkness and gloom,
22 the land of ·darkest night [or dimness and blackness],
from the land of gloom and ·confusion [chaos],
where even the light is darkness.”
Zophar Speaks to Job
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:
2 “Should ·these [L such a large number of] words go unanswered?
·Is this talker in the right [or Should a talkative man be declared righteous]?
3 Your ·lies [L empty words] do not make people quiet;
people should ·correct [L shame] you when you ·make fun of God [L mock].
4 You ·say [claim], ‘My teachings are ·right [L pure],
and I am clean in ·God’s sight [L your eyes].’
5 I wish God would speak
and open his ·lips [L mouth] against you
6 and tell you the secrets of wisdom,
because ·wisdom [resourcefulness] has ·two [or many] sides.
Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin [C he has been tolerant of Job’s sin].
7 “Can you ·understand [L discover] the ·secrets [L deep things] of God?
Can you ·search [L discover] the limits of ·the Almighty [Shaddai]?
8 His limits are higher than the heavens; ·you cannot reach them [L what can you do]!
They are deeper than ·the grave [L Sheol]; you cannot understand them!
9 His limits are longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.
10 “If God ·comes along [L passes by] and puts you in prison
or ·calls you into court [L assembles for judgment], ·no one can stop him [L who can turn him back?].
11 God knows who is ·evil [worthless],
and when he sees ·evil [or an evil person], ·he takes [L does he not take…?] note of it.
12 A ·fool [L empty-headed person] cannot ·become wise [get understanding]
any more than a wild donkey can ·be born tame [or give birth to a human; C Zophar insults Job’s wisdom].
13 “You must ·give your whole heart to him [focus your heart]
and ·hold [spread] out your hands to him for help.
14 ·Put away [Remove] the sin that is in your hand;
let no ·evil [iniquity] ·remain [L take up residence] in your tent [C Zophar urges Job to repent].
15 Then you can lift up your face without ·shame [L blemish],
and you can ·stand strong [L be secure] without fear.
16 You will forget your trouble
and remember it only as water ·gone by [running away].
17 Your life will be ·as bright as [brighter than] the noonday sun,
and darkness will seem like morning.
18 You will ·feel safe [be secure] because there is hope;
you will ·look around [explore] and ·rest [L lie down] in safety.
19 You will lie down, and ·no one will scare you [L not tremble with fear].
Many people will want favors from you.
20 But the ·wicked will not be able to see [L eyes of the wicked will fail],
so ·they will not escape [L their escape route will be lost to them].
Their only ·hope [expectation] will be to die.”
Job Answers Zophar
12 Then Job answered:
2 “You ·really [truly] think you are the ·only wise people [L people]
and that when you die, wisdom will die with you [C Job attacks the friends’ confidence in their wisdom]!
3 But my ·mind [L heart; C the heart was considered the location of thought] is as good as yours;
·you are not better than I am [L I am not inferior to you].
·Everyone knows all these things [L Who is not like these?; C probably a reference to the three friends and their intelligence].
4 ·My friends all laugh at me [L I am a joke to my friends],
I who called on God and he answered me [C a reference to his earlier days, which the friends now think are a joke];
they laugh at me even though I am right and innocent!
5 Those who are ·comfortable [at ease] ·don’t care that [L have contempt when] others have trouble;
they think it right that those people ·should have troubles [L have shaky/unstable feet].
6 The tents of ·robbers [marauders] ·are not bothered [L have peace and quiet],
and those who make God angry are ·safe [confident].
They have their god in their ·pocket [control; L hand].
7 “But ask the ·animals [beasts; cattle], and they will teach you [C that God is unjust],
or ask the birds of the ·air [sky], and they will ·tell [inform] you.
8 Speak to the plants of the earth, and they will teach you,
or let the fish of the sea ·tell [recount it to] you.
9 ·Every one of these knows [L Who does not know…?]
that the hand of the Lord has done this.
10 The ·life [L breath] of ·every creature [all living things]
and the ·breath [or spirit] of all people are in God’s hand.
11 ·The ear tests [Does not the ear test…?] words
as the ·tongue [palate] tastes food.
12 Older people are wise,
and long life brings understanding.
13 “But only God has wisdom and power,
·good advice [L advice] and understanding.
14 What he tears down cannot be rebuilt;
anyone he ·puts in prison [L shuts up] cannot be let out.
15 If God holds back the waters, ·there is no rain [L they dry up];
if he lets the waters go, they flood the land.
16 He is strong and ·victorious [successful; or resourceful];
both the one who ·fools others [deceives] and the one who is ·fooled [deceived] belong to him.
17 God leads ·the wise away [counselors] ·as captives [plundered]
and ·turns judges into fools [L renders judges deluded].
18 He ·takes off chains that kings put on [or loosens the sash of kings]
and ·puts a garment on their bodies [or tightens the waistcloth around their hips; C he undermines their royal prerogatives and powers and causes them pain].
19 He leads priests away ·naked [L plundered]
and destroys the ·powerful [L long-established].
20 He makes trusted people be silent
and takes away the ·wisdom [discernment] of elders.
21 He brings disgrace on ·important people [princes]
and ·takes away the weapons [L loosens the belt] of the strong.
22 He uncovers the deep things ·of [L from the] darkness
and brings dark shadows ·into [or to overshadow] the light [C can mean either that God lightens the dark or darkens the light].
23 He makes nations great and then destroys them;
he makes nations large and then scatters them.
24 He takes ·understanding [L heart] away from the leaders of the earth
and makes them wander through a ·pathless desert [chaos/wasteland without a path].
25 They ·feel around [grope] in darkness with no light;
he makes them ·stumble [L wander around] like drunks.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
