Job 27
A Protest of Innocence
27:1 And Job took up his discourse again:1
27:2 “As surely as God lives,2 who has denied me justice,3
the Almighty, who has made my life bitter4 –
27:3 for while5 my spirit6 is still in me,
and the breath from God is in my nostrils,
27:4 my7 lips will not speak wickedness,
and my tongue will whisper8 no deceit.
27:5 I will never9 declare that you three10 are in the right;
until I die, I will not set aside my integrity!
27:6 I will maintain my righteousness
and never let it go;
my conscience11 will not reproach me
for as long as I live.12
The Condition of the Wicked
27:7 “May my enemy be like the wicked,13
my adversary14 like the unrighteous.15
27:8 For what hope does the godless have when he is cut off,16
when God takes away his life?17
27:9 Does God listen to his cry
when distress overtakes him?
27:10 Will he find delight18 in the Almighty?
Will he call out to God at all times?
27:11 I will teach you19 about the power20 of God;
What is on the Almighty’s mind21 I will not conceal.
27:12 If you yourselves have all seen this,
Why in the world22 do you continue this meaningless talk?23
27:13 This is the portion of the wicked man
allotted by God,24
the inheritance that evildoers receive
from the Almighty.
27:14 If his children increase – it is for the sword!25
His offspring never have enough to eat.26
27:15 Those who survive him are buried by the plague,27
and their28 widows do not mourn for them.
27:16 If he piles up silver like dust
and stores up clothing like mounds of clay,
27:17 what he stores up29 a righteous man will wear,
and an innocent man will inherit his silver.
27:18 The house he builds is as fragile as a moth’s cocoon,30
like a hut31 that a watchman has made.
27:19 He goes to bed wealthy, but will do so no more.32
When he opens his eyes, it is all gone.33
27:20 Terrors overwhelm him like a flood;34
at night a whirlwind carries him off.
27:21 The east wind carries him away, and he is gone;
it sweeps him out of his place.
27:22 It hurls itself against him without pity35
as he flees headlong from its power.
27:23 It claps36 its hands at him in derision
and hisses him away from his place.37