Job

1There was a man named Job. He lived in a land called Uz. Job was honest and did what was right. He loved and obeyed God, and he stayed away from evil.

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

NoteJob's name sounds like "Johb," and it rhymes with robe. Uz was a land far from Israel, probably out east. The King James says Job "feared God." Feared here does not mean scared. It means he loved God and did what God said.

2Job had seven sons and three daughters.

And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.

3He owned 7,000 sheep and 3,000 camels. He had 500 pairs of oxen and 500 female donkeys. He also had a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man in all the East.

His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

NoteLong ago people did not count money in a bank. Rich people counted their animals instead. A "yoke of oxen" means two big strong cows joined together. They were joined by a wooden bar so they could pull a plow. "The East" means the dry lands east of Israel.

4Job's sons took turns having big meals in their homes. Each brother had his own day. They always invited their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

NoteA feast is a big meal with lots of food and family. These feasts could go on for several days.

5When the days of feasting were over, Job sent for his children. He helped them get clean and ready to come before God. Early in the morning, he burned a gift to God for each one of them. Job thought, "Maybe my children have sinned and said bad things about God in their hearts." Job did this every single time.

And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

NoteGetting clean and ready meant washing and doing what God asked first. Then people could come near to God. A burnt offering was a gift given to God. An animal was placed on a stone table and burned. The smoke went up like a present going to God. To sin means to do what God says is wrong.

6One day the heavenly beings, called the sons of God, came to stand before the LORD. Satan came along with them.

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

NoteThe sons of God are angels, God's helpers who live with him. Satan is a name that means "the accuser." An accuser is someone who says bad things about other people. When you see LORD in big letters, it stands for God's own special name.

7The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered, "I have been roaming around the earth. I walked back and forth in it."

And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

8Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you thought about my servant Job? No one on earth is like him. He is honest and does what is right. He loves and obeys God, and he stays away from evil."

And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

9Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job obey God for no reason at all?

Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

10You have put a safe wall around him, his family, and everything he owns. You bless the work he does. He has more and more animals and land.

Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

NoteA hedge is a thick wall of bushes. Farmers grew hedges around fields to keep animals safe inside.

11But reach out your hand and take away everything he has. Then he will curse you right to your face."

But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

12The LORD said to Satan, "Very well. Everything Job has is in your hands. But you must not hurt Job himself." Then Satan left the place where the LORD was.

And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

13One day Job's sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine. They were at their oldest brother's house.

And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:

14A messenger came to Job with news. He said, "The oxen were plowing, and the donkeys were eating grass nearby.

And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:

NoteA plow is a tool that cuts long lines in the dirt. Oxen pulled it so seeds could be planted.

15Then raiders called Sabeans attacked and took the animals away. They killed the servants with swords. I am the only one who got away to tell you."

And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

NoteThe Sabeans were people from a land far to the south. Sometimes they rode out and took other people's animals.

16While he was still talking, another messenger came. He said, "Fire from God fell from the sky. It burned up the sheep and the servants. I am the only one who got away to tell you."

While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

NoteLong ago people saw lightning and called it fire from God. Nobody knew any other name for it.

17While he was still talking, another messenger came. He said, "Raiders called Chaldeans came in three groups. They attacked the camels and took them away. They killed the servants with swords. I am the only one who got away to tell you."

While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

NoteThe Chaldeans were people from a land far to the east. Later their land was called Babylon.

18While he was still talking, another messenger came. He said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine at their oldest brother's house.

While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:

19Suddenly a strong wind came in from the desert. It hit all four corners of the house. The house fell on the young people, and they are dead. I am the only one who got away to tell you."

And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

NoteHouses then were made of mud bricks and wooden poles. A very strong desert wind could knock one down.

20Then Job stood up. He tore his robe and shaved his head. He fell down on the ground and worshiped God.

Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,

NoteTearing your coat and shaving your hair was not being naughty. It was how people showed everyone they were very, very sad.

21He said, "I had nothing when I was born. I will have nothing when I go back to the ground. The LORD gave me all that I had. The LORD has taken it away. May the name of the LORD be praised."

And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

Note"Naked shall I return thither" means going back to the ground. Job means we bring nothing with us when we die. "Blessed be the name of the LORD" means may God be praised.

22Through all of this, Job did not sin. He did not say that God had done anything wrong.

In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

1Another day came. The sons of God came to stand before the LORD. Satan came with them to stand before God too.

Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.

NoteThe LORD written in big letters is God's own special name. The sons of God are angels, God's helpers in heaven. Satan is God's enemy. His name means the one who accuses, someone who says bad things about other people.

2The LORD asked Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan said, "From roaming all over the earth, walking here and there."

And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

3The LORD said, "Have you thought about my servant Job? No one on earth is like him. He does what is right and does not do wrong. He respects God and stays away from evil. He still holds on to doing right. You pushed me to destroy him for no reason."

And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.

NoteThe old words say Job "feareth God." That does not mean Job was scared of God. It means he loved God and took him seriously. Calling Job "my servant" was high praise. It meant Job belonged to God and did God's work.

4Satan answered the LORD, "Skin for skin! A man will give away everything he owns to stay alive.

And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.

Note"Skin for skin" was an old saying. It meant a person will trade away anything to stay safe himself.

5But reach out and hurt his body and his bones. Then he will curse you right to your face."

But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.

NoteTo curse someone means to say angry words against them. Satan says Job will do this to God.

6The LORD said to Satan, "All right. He is in your power. But you must let him live."

And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.

7So Satan left the LORD. He covered Job with painful sores. They went from his feet to the top of his head.

So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

NoteBoils are big sore bumps on the skin. They hurt and itch and take a long time to heal. Job had them everywhere, even on the top of his head.

8Job picked up a piece of broken pot. He used it to scrape his skin. He sat down in the ashes.

And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.

NotePeople long ago used clay pots every day, and broken pieces lay all around. A sharp piece worked like a tool for scratching itchy skin. Sitting down in ashes was how people showed they were very, very sad.

9Then Job's wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to doing right? Curse God and die!"

Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.

10Job said, "You talk like a foolish woman. We take good things from God. Should we not also take hard things?" In all this, Job said nothing wrong.

But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

NoteIn the Bible, calling someone foolish does not mean silly. It means a person who will not listen to God.

11Job had three friends. They heard about all the trouble that had come to him. Their names were Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Each one came from his own home. They planned together to go and be sad with Job and comfort him.

Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.

NoteThese three friends each came from a town far away. Long ago people were often named for the place they came from. To comfort someone means to sit with them and help them feel less sad.

12They looked up while they were still far away. They could hardly tell it was Job. They cried out loud. Each man tore his coat. They threw dust in the air over their heads.

And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.

NoteTearing your coat showed everyone that you were very sad. Throwing dust over your head did the same thing. These were the ways people showed big sorrow, the way we might cry at a funeral.

13They sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him. They saw that his pain was very great.

So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.

NoteSeven days was how long people usually mourned when someone died. Sitting quietly beside a hurting friend was a way of showing love.

1After this, Job began to speak. He cursed the day he was born.

After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.

NoteTo curse something means to wish bad things on it. Job had just lost his children, his animals, and his health. Now he wishes the day he was born had never come.

2Job said these words:

And Job spake, and said,

3"I wish the day I was born had never happened. I wish that night had never come. That was the night people said, 'A baby boy is on the way.'"

Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.

NoteIn Job's time, a new baby boy brought great joy. People shouted the good news to the whole family. Job wishes no one had ever said those happy words about him.

4Let that day be dark. Let God above pay it no attention. Let no light shine on it.

Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.

5Let darkness and deep shadow take that day back. Let a cloud sit on top of it. Let the blackness of the day scare it.

Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.

NoteThe old words say "the shadow of death." That was a way of saying darkness so deep it feels scary.

6As for that night, let thick darkness carry it away. Let it not be counted with the days of the year. Let it never be part of any month.

As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.

7Look, let that night be empty. Let no happy voice be heard in it.

Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.

8Let the people who curse days curse that night. They are the ones ready to wake the great sea monster.

Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.

NoteLong ago, people told stories about a huge monster that lived in the sea. Its name was Leviathan. Some people thought special words could wake it up. Job is asking those people to help him curse that night.

9Let its morning stars stay dark. Let that night wait for light and never get any. Let it never see the sun come up.

Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day:

NoteMorning stars are the last stars you can see. They shine just before the sun comes up.

10All this is because that night did not keep me from being born. It did not hide this sadness from my eyes.

Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.

11Why did I not die when I was born? Why did I not stop breathing as soon as I came out?

Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?

NoteThe old words say "give up the ghost." Here "ghost" means breath, not a spooky ghost. To give up your breath means to die.

12Why were there knees to hold me? Why were there breasts to feed me?

Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck?

NoteIn Job's time, a father held a new baby on his knees. That showed everyone the baby was his. And babies drank milk from their mothers. Job wishes no one had welcomed him or fed him.

13If I had died, I would be lying down quietly now. I would be asleep and resting.

For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,

14I would be resting with kings and wise helpers of the earth. They built places for themselves that are now empty ruins.

With kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves;

NoteWise helpers were people who gave kings advice. Kings often built huge buildings and tombs so people would remember them. Years later, many of those places stood empty and broken.

15Or I would rest with rulers who owned gold. They filled their houses with silver.

Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver:

NoteThere were no banks then. Rich people kept piles of gold and silver right in their houses.

16Or I could have been a baby who died before being born. I would be like babies who never saw daylight.

Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light.

17In that place, bad people stop making trouble. In that place, tired people rest.

There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.

Note"That place" means where people go when they die. Job is talking about the grave. He pictures everyone there lying still and quiet together.

18There the prisoners rest together. They do not hear anyone shouting orders at them.

There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor.

NoteIn Job's time, prisoners were often made to work very hard. A guard stood over them and shouted orders all day.

19Small people and important people are both there. A servant is free from his master.

The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.

NoteMany servants back then were slaves. A master owned them, and they could not leave. Job says that when a servant dies, that is over.

20Why is light given to a person who is in so much pain? Why is life given to someone so sad inside?

Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul;

NoteHere "light" is a way of saying life. To see the light meant to be alive.

21They want to die, but death does not come. They search for it harder than for hidden treasure.

Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures;

NotePeople long ago buried their gold in the ground to keep it safe. Others dug and dug, hoping to find it.

22They would be very happy and full of joy if they could find a grave.

Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?

NoteA grave is the hole in the ground where a dead body is buried.

23Why is life given to a man who cannot see the way ahead? God has put a wall all around him.

Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?

NoteA hedge is a thick wall of bushes planted around a field. It keeps animals from wandering out. Job feels shut in like that, with nowhere to go.

24I sigh when food is set in front of me. My cries pour out like water.

For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters.

NoteThe old word here is "roarings." It means deep, loud groans of pain. Job is not shouting at anyone. He is hurting.

25The thing I was most afraid of has happened to me. What I dreaded has come true.

For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.

26I have no peace. I have no quiet. I have no rest. Trouble has come.

I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.

1Then Job answered his friends. He said:

But Job answered and said,

NoteJob was a good man who lost everything he had. Three friends came to sit with him. They kept saying his trouble was his own fault. Now Job answers them back.

2I wish someone could weigh my sadness. I wish my troubles could be set on a scale.

Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together!

NoteLong ago people weighed things on a scale with two pans. Job wishes his sadness could be put in one pan.

3It would weigh more than all the sand by the sea. That is why my words came out wild.

For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up.

NoteNobody can count the grains of sand by the sea. Job means his sadness is bigger than anyone can measure.

4God the Almighty has shot arrows into me. My spirit drinks in their poison. God's terrors stand in a line against me.

For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.

NoteAlmighty means the strongest one of all. It is a name for God. Nobody really shot Job with arrows. He means his pain feels like being hit by arrows.

5A wild donkey does not bray when it has grass. An ox does not low when it has food.

Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder?

NoteBray is the loud, honking sound a donkey makes. Low is the deep sound a cow or ox makes. Animals only make those sounds when something is wrong. Job means he would not cry out for no reason.

6Nobody eats food with no taste unless salt is added. The white of an egg has no flavor at all.

Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

NoteSalt is what makes food taste like something. Job means his friends' words are like food nobody wants to eat.

7I refuse even to touch such food. But now this is the sad food I live on.

The things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat.

8I wish I could have what I ask for. I wish God would give me the thing I long for.

Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for!

9I wish God would be willing to crush me. I wish he would reach out and end my life.

Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!

NoteJob hurts so much that he wishes his life would end. He is telling God exactly how bad he feels.

10That would still comfort me. Even in pain that never stops, I would be glad. I never hid away the words of the Holy One, who is God.

Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.

11I am not strong enough to keep on hoping. I have nothing ahead worth waiting for.

What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong my life?

12I am not made out of stone. My body is not made out of metal.

Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass?

13There is no help left inside me. Every way to get better has been pushed far away.

Is not my help in me? and is wisdom driven quite from me?

14A man in despair should get kindness from his friend. He should get it even if he stops honoring God the Almighty.

To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.

NoteHonoring God here means obeying him and treating him as great. It does not mean being scared of him.

15My brothers have let me down. They are like a stream that runs full and then goes away.

My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away;

NoteJob lived in a dry, hot land. Some streams there are full in winter and empty in summer. A thirsty traveler who trusts one can be badly let down.

16In cold weather the streams look dark with ice. Melting snow fills them up.

Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid:

17But in the dry season they stop. In the heat they dry up and disappear.

What time they wax warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.

NoteThe dry season is the long, hot part of the year with no rain.

18Travelers turn off the road to look for them. They wander into empty land and die there.

The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing, and perish.

NoteTravelers crossed the desert in big groups called caravans. They planned their trip around places to find water.

19Groups of travelers from Tema look for that water. Travelers from Sheba hope to find it.

The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them.

NoteTema and Sheba were faraway desert lands. Traders from there walked long, hot roads.

20They were so sure the water was there. They arrive, and they go away let down.

They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed.

21Now you are no help at all. You see something frightening, and you get afraid.

For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid.

22Did I ever say to you, Give me something? Did I ask you to pay money for me?

Did I say, Bring unto me? or, Give a reward for me of your substance?

NoteJob means he never asked his friends for money or gifts. He only wanted them to be kind.

23Did I ask you to save me from an enemy? Did I ask you to buy me back from a cruel man?

Or, Deliver me from the enemy’s hand? or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty?

NoteBack then, a person could be taken away by an enemy. A family member might pay money to get them back. That was called buying someone back.

24Teach me, and I will be quiet. Help me understand what I did wrong.

Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.

25Honest words can hurt a lot. But what does your arguing prove?

How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove?

26Do you plan to correct the words I say? I am hurting badly, and you treat my cries like wind.

Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as wind?

NoteWind blows past and then is gone. Job says his friends treat his sad words as if they mean nothing.

27You would even cast lots to take a child whose father has died. You would trade away your own friend.

Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your friend.

NoteCasting lots was like rolling dice to decide something. People used it to split up what they had won or taken. A child with no father had nobody to protect him. Taking such a child was a very cruel thing to do.

28Please stop now and look right at me. You can see that I would not lie to your face.

Now therefore be content, look upon me; for it is evident unto you if I lie.

29Think it over again. Do not be unfair to me. Think again, because I have done nothing wrong.

Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return again, my righteousness is in it.

30Is there any lie on my tongue? Can my mouth not taste when something is wrong?

Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse things?

NoteJob compares telling right from wrong to tasting food. He says he can still tell the difference.

1Then Job answered Bildad.

Then Job answered and said,

NoteBildad is one of Job's three friends. He had just finished telling Job what he thought.

2"I know all this is true. But how can a person be right in front of God?"

I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God?

NoteBeing right in front of God means being able to show you did nothing wrong. Job is thinking about a courtroom, where a judge decides who is right.

3Someone might want to argue with God. He could not answer one question out of a thousand.

If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand.

NoteJob imagines taking God to court. In court, each side has to answer the other side's questions.

4God is wise and God is strong. No one has fought against him and won.

He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?

5He moves mountains before they even know it. He turns them over when he is angry.

Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger.

NoteMountains seemed like the heaviest, strongest things in the whole world. Job says God moves them easily.

6He shakes the earth out of its place. The ground under it trembles.

Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.

NoteLong ago people pictured the earth resting on big posts, like a house on legs. Job says God can shake even those.

7He tells the sun not to shine. He shuts the stars away.

Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.

NoteShutting the stars away means keeping them from showing their light.

8He alone spread out the heavens. He walks on the waves of the sea.

Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.

NoteThe sky is pictured like a huge tent that God pulled open. And the sea was wild and scary to people then, but God walks on it like a floor.

9He made the star groups: the Bear, Orion, the Pleiades, and the stars of the south.

Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.

NoteThese are star groups. People saw shapes in the stars and gave them names. Farmers and sailors watched them to tell the time of year.

10He does great things too big for anyone to figure out. His wonders cannot be counted.

Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number.

11If he walked right past me, I would not see him. I would not even notice.

Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not.

12If he takes something away, who can stop him? Who would dare ask, "What are you doing?"

Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou?

13God does not hold his anger back. Even the proudest helpers bow low under him.

If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him.

NoteThe old words here talk about the helpers of Rahab. Rahab was a giant sea monster in very old stories.

14So how could I ever answer him? How could I pick words to argue with him?

How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him?

15Even if I were in the right, I could not answer. I could only beg my judge for mercy.

Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would make supplication to my judge.

NoteA judge is the person who decides who is right in court. Begging for mercy means asking to be treated kindly anyway.

16Say I called him and he answered me. I still would not believe he had listened.

If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice.

17He would crush me with a storm. He would wound me again and again for no reason.

For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause.

18He does not let me catch my breath. He fills me up with bitter pain.

He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness.

19If this is about strength, he is the strong one. If it is about fairness, who can call him to court?

If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: and if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead?

NoteCalling someone to court means making them come and explain what they did.

20If I said I had done nothing wrong, my own words would still prove me guilty.

If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.

21I have done nothing wrong, but I do not care about myself now. I hate my own life.

Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life.

22It is all the same. So here is what I say: God destroys good people and bad people alike.

This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.

23When sudden trouble kills people, he laughs at the pain of those who did nothing wrong.

If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent.

24The earth is handed to wicked people. He covers the eyes of its judges. If he is not doing it, then who is?

The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he?

NoteCovering a judge's eyes means the judge cannot see what is fair. Then bad people get away with things.