A Protest of Innocence

1And Job took up his discourse again:

2“As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,

the Almighty, who has made my life bitter –

3for while my spirit is still in me,

and the breath from God is in my nostrils,

4my lips will not speak wickedness,

and my tongue will whisper no deceit.

5I will never declare that you three are in the right;

until I die, I will not set aside my integrity!

6I will maintain my righteousness

and never let it go;

my conscience will not reproach me

for as long as I live.

The Condition of the Wicked

7“May my enemy be like the wicked,

my adversary like the unrighteous.

8For what hope does the godless have when he is cut off,

when God takes away his life?

9Does God listen to his cry

when distress overtakes him?

10Will he find delight in the Almighty?

Will he call out to God at all times?

11I will teach you about the power of God;

What is on the Almighty’s mind I will not conceal.

12If you yourselves have all seen this,

Why in the world do you continue this meaningless talk?

13This is the portion of the wicked man

allotted by God,

the inheritance that evildoers receive

from the Almighty.

14If his children increase – it is for the sword!

His offspring never have enough to eat.

15Those who survive him are buried by the plague,

and their widows do not mourn for them.

16If he piles up silver like dust

and stores up clothing like mounds of clay,

17what he stores up a righteous man will wear,

and an innocent man will inherit his silver.

18The house he builds is as fragile as a moth’s cocoon,

like a hut that a watchman has made.

19He goes to bed wealthy, but will do so no more.

When he opens his eyes, it is all gone.

20Terrors overwhelm him like a flood;

at night a whirlwind carries him off.

21The east wind carries him away, and he is gone;

it sweeps him out of his place.

22It hurls itself against him without pity

as he flees headlong from its power.

23It claps its hands at him in derision

and hisses him away from his place.