Job 27

1 Job replied again [to his three friends],

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5 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.

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

6 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.

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

7 “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].

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

8 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].

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

9 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]

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

10 (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!]

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

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

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

12 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]

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

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

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

14 [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.

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

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

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

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

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

17 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].

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

18 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].

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

19 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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