Job 27

1 Job again took up his parable, and said,

Job replied again [to his three friends],

2 “As God lives, who has taken away my right, the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter

“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 (for the length of my life is still in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils);

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

4 surely my lips will not speak unrighteousness, neither will my tongue utter deceit.

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

5 Far be it from me that I should justify you. Until I die I will not put away my integrity from me.

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 I hold fast to my righteousness, and will not let it go. My heart will not reproach me so long as I live.

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 wicked. Let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.

“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 godless, when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?

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 trouble comes on 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 Will he delight himself in the Almighty, and call on 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 about the hand of God. I will not conceal that which is with the Almighty.

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

12 Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves; why then have you become altogether vain?

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, the heritage of oppressors, which they receive from 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 children are multiplied, it is for the sword. His offspring will not be satisfied 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 Those who remain of him will be buried in death. His widows will make no lamentation.

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

16 Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare clothing as the 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 may prepare it, but the just will put it on, and the innocent will 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 builds his house as the moth, as a booth which the watchman makes.

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 He lies down rich, but he will not do so again. He opens his eyes, and he is not.

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 Terrors overtake him like waters. A storm steals him away in the night.

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

21 The east wind carries him away, and he departs. It sweeps him out of 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 For it hurls at him, and does not spare, as he flees away from his hand.

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

23 Men will clap their hands at him, and will hiss him out of his place.

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