| New Living Translation | New International Version |
| 1“Listen to my words, Job; pay attention to what I have to say. | 1"But now, Job, listen to my words; pay attention to everything I say. |
| 2Now that I have begun to speak, let me continue. | 2I am about to open my mouth; my words are on the tip of my tongue. |
| 3I speak with all sincerity; I speak the truth. | 3My words come from an upright heart; my lips sincerely speak what I know. |
| 4For the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. | 4The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life. |
| 5Answer me, if you can; make your case and take your stand. | 5Answer me then, if you can; stand up and argue your case before me. |
| 6Look, you and I both belong to God. I, too, was formed from clay. | 6I am the same as you in God's sight; I too am a piece of clay. |
| 7So you don’t need to be afraid of me. I won’t come down hard on you. | 7No fear of me should alarm you, nor should my hand be heavy on you. |
| 8“You have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard your very words. | 8"But you have said in my hearing-- I heard the very words-- |
| 9You said, ‘I am pure; I am without sin; I am innocent; I have no guilt. | 9I am pure, I have done no wrong; I am clean and free from sin. |
| 10God is picking a quarrel with me, and he considers me his enemy. | 10Yet God has found fault with me; he considers me his enemy. |
| 11He puts my feet in the stocks and watches my every move.’ | 11He fastens my feet in shackles; he keeps close watch on all my paths.' |
| 12“But you are wrong, and I will show you why. For God is greater than any human being. | 12"But I tell you, in this you are not right, for God is greater than any mortal. |
| 13So why are you bringing a charge against him? Why say he does not respond to people’s complaints? | 13Why do you complain to him that he responds to no one's words? |
| 14For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it. | 14For God does speak--now one way, now another-- though no one perceives it. |
| 15He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds. | 15In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds, |
| 16He whispers in their ears and terrifies them with warnings. | 16he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, |
| 17He makes them turn from doing wrong; he keeps them from pride. | 17to turn them from wrongdoing and keep them from pride, |
| 18He protects them from the grave, from crossing over the river of death. | 18to preserve them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword. |
| 19“Or God disciplines people with pain on their sickbeds, with ceaseless aching in their bones. | 19"Or someone may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in their bones, |
| 20They lose their appetite for even the most delicious food. | 20so that their body finds food repulsive and their soul loathes the choicest meal. |
| 21Their flesh wastes away, and their bones stick out. | 21Their flesh wastes away to nothing, and their bones, once hidden, now stick out. |
| 22They are at death’s door; the angels of death wait for them. | 22They draw near to the pit, and their life to the messengers of death. |
| 23“But if an angel from heaven appears— a special messenger to intercede for a person and declare that he is upright— | 23Yet if there is an angel at their side, a messenger, one out of a thousand, sent to tell them how to be upright, |
| 24he will be gracious and say, ‘Rescue him from the grave, for I have found a ransom for his life.’ | 24and he is gracious to that person and says to God, 'Spare them from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom for them-- |
| 25Then his body will become as healthy as a child’s, firm and youthful again. | 25let their flesh be renewed like a child's; let them be restored as in the days of their youth'-- |
| 26When he prays to God, he will be accepted. And God will receive him with joy and restore him to good standing. | 26then that person can pray to God and find favor with him, they will see God's face and shout for joy; he will restore them to full well-being. |
| 27He will declare to his friends, ‘I sinned and twisted the truth, but it was not worth it. | 27And they will go to others and say, 'I have sinned, I have perverted what is right, but I did not get what I deserved. |
| 28God rescued me from the grave, and now my life is filled with light.’ | 28God has delivered me from going down to the pit, and I shall live to enjoy the light of life.' |
| 29“Yes, God does these things again and again for people. | 29"God does all these things to a person-- twice, even three times-- |
| 30He rescues them from the grave so they may enjoy the light of life. | 30to turn them back from the pit, that the light of life may shine on them. |
| 31Mark this well, Job. Listen to me, for I have more to say. | 31"Pay attention, Job, and listen to me; be silent, and I will speak. |
| 32But if you have anything to say, go ahead. Speak, for I am anxious to see you justified. | 32If you have anything to say, answer me; speak up, for I want to vindicate you. |
| 33But if not, then listen to me. Keep silent and I will teach you wisdom!” | 33But if not, then listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom." |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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