Job 27

1 Job also added, taking up his parable, and said:

Job replied again [to his three friends],

2 As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment, and the Almighty, who hath brought my soul to bitterness,

“Almighty God has refused to treat me justly/fairly. He has caused me to feel bitter/resentful. But [just as surely] as he lives,

3 As long as breath remaineth in me, and the spirit of God in my nostrils,

as long as God’s Spirit enables me to breathe,

4 My lips shall not speak iniquity, neither shall my tongue contrive lying.

I will not lie; I [SYN] will not say anything to deceive anyone.

5 God forbid that I should judge you to be just: till I die I will not depart from my innocence.

I will never admit that what you [three] have said is true; until the day that I die, I will insist that I have not done things that are wrong.

6 My justification, which I have begun to hold, I will not forsake: for my heart doth not reprehend me in all my life.

I will say that I am innocent, and never (say anything different/change what I say); my conscience will never reproach me as long as I live.

7 Let my enemy be as the ungodly, and my adversary as the wicked one.

“I want my enemies to be [punished] like all wicked [people are punished]; I want [God to punish] those who oppose me like [he punishes all] unrighteous [people].

8 For what is the hope of the hypocrite if through covetousness he take by violence, and God deliver not his soul?

When [it is time for] God [to] get rid of godless/wicked people and [to] cause them to die, there is absolutely nothing good [RHQ] that they can confidently expect [to happen to them].

9 Will God hear his cry, when distress shall come upon him?

When they experience troubles, (will God hear them call [out to him for help]?/God certainly will not hear them call out [to him for help].) [RHQ]

10 Or can he delight himself in the Almighty, and call upon God at all times?

(Will they be happy about what Almighty [God] does?/They certainly will not be happy about what Almighty [God] does.) [RHQ] (Will they [begin to] pray to him frequently?/They certainly will not [begin to] pray to him frequently.) [RHQ] [Certainly not!]

11 I will teach you by the hand of God, what the Almighty hath, and I will not conceal it.

“I will teach you [three] something about the power [MTY] of Almighty God [MTY]; I will reveal what he is thinking.

12 Behold you all know it, and why do you speak vain things without cause?

But you [three] have seen for yourselves [what God has done]; so (why are you saying such nonsense?/you should not be saying such nonsense.) [RHQ]

13 This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the inheritance of the violent, which they shall receive of the Almighty.

“[I will tell you] what Almighty God does to wicked people, the things that he does to people who oppress others.

14 If his sons be multiplied, they shall be for the sword, and his grandsons shall not be filled with bread.

[Even] if they have many children, [many of] those children will die in wars [MTY], and their [other] children will [die because they do] not have enough food to eat.

15 They that shall remain of him, shall be buried in death, and his widows shall not weep.

Their children who are still alive will die from diseases, and their widows will not [even] mourn for them.

16 If he shall heap together silver as earth, and prepare raiment as clay,

Sometimes [wicked people] accumulate a huge amount [SIM] of silver and pile up clothes like [SIM] those clothes were a pile of clay,

17 He shall prepare indeed, but the just man shall be clothed with it: and the innocent shall divide the silver.

but [those wicked people will die, and then] righteous people will wear those clothes, and honest/innocent people will get their silver and divide it [among themselves].

18 He hath built his house as a moth, and as a keeper he hath made a booth.

The houses that they build are [as frail/fragile] as [SIM] spider webs, or they are like flimsy huts that watchmen live in [while they guard people’s fields].

19 The rich man when he shall sleep shall take away nothing with him: he shall open his eyes and find nothing.

Wicked people are rich when they lie down [at night], but when they wake up [in the morning, they find out that] their money has disappeared.

20 Poverty like water shall take hold on him, a tempest shall oppress him in the night.

“Things that terrify them [PRS] strike them like a flood [SIM]; during the night a whirlwind carries them away.

21 A burning wind shall take him up, and carry him away, and as a whirlwind shall snatch him from his place.

[It is as though] the wind from the east picks them up and carries them away from their homes, and they disappear.

22 And he shall cast upon him, and shall not spare: out of his hand he would willingly flee.

That wind strikes them without pitying them while they are running away, trying to escape from its force/power [MTY].

23 He shall clasp his hands upon him, and shall hiss at him, beholding his place.

That wind [is like someone] clapping his hands [MET] at them [to ridicule them], howling at them wherever they run to.”