Job 20:1-29 Zophar Answers Job with Baseless Claims

 

Zophar Answers Job with Baseless Claims

Job 20:1-29                                  Book of Job [in Smaller Chunks]

Then, Zophar, the Naamathite, answered & said, My thoughts cause me to [hurry] & answer. I have heard [you challenge my ridicule of you] & my understanding spirit causes me to answer.

[Didn't] you know this of [ancient times,] since man was placed on the earth, that the [triumph] of the wicked is short & the joy of a hypocrite is [only] for a moment.

[Although Job's] excellence [reaches] to heaven & his head to the clouds, he [still] shall perish in his own [feces.] [Those who] have seen him, shall say, Where is [Job?] He shall fly away [like] a dream [is no longer] found. [Job] shall [disappear like] a vision in the night.

Also, the eye [that] saw him, shall see him no [longer.] Neither shall [Job be looked at in] his place any more. HIs children will [try] to please the poor & restore their [possessions] [on his behalf.]

His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall go to the [grave] with him. [Although, words of] wickedness [are] sweet to [Job,] he hides it under his tongue. [Although,] he [doesn't abandon it,] but still [keeps] it within his mouth.

[Still,] the meat in his [stomach has] turned [sour] & [it has become like the poison of snakes] within him. [Job] has swallowed [up] riches & will vomit them [out] again. God will cast them out of his body.

[Job] shall no longer see the rivers, the floods, the brooks [in the land with] honey & butter. [Job] shall restore what he [worked] for & shall not [be able to eat of] it.

[Job] shall make] restitution according to his [wealth & possessions] & shall not rejoice [in them,] because [Job] has oppressed & has [abandoned] the poor & has violently taken away a house [that] he [didn't] build.

[Of course,] his [stomach will be upset] & he [can't] save what he desired. None of his [food] will be left, therefore no man shall look for his [possessions.] [Despite all of Job's wealth, Job shall be in anguish.]

[All][ the hands of the wicked shall come upon him. When He's about to fill his [stomach,] God shall cast the fury of His [anger] on [Job] while he's eating. [Job] shall flee from iron [weapons, but] the bow of steel shall strike through him. The glittering sword shall come out of his [liver.]

[Extreme fear is] upon him. All darkness shall be [hidden] in [its] secret places & an [unfanned] fire shall consume [Job.] It shall go [poorly] for [those who are] left in [Job's tent.]

The heaven shall reveal [Job's sin] & the earth shall rise up against him. The increase of his [wealth] shall depart & his [possessions] shall [fly] away [& disappear on] the day of [God's fury.] This is the portion[due] to a wicked man from God & the heritage God [has] appointed him.

Job 19:1-29 Job Answers Bildad's Arguments

 

Job Answers Bildad's Arguments

Job 19:1-29                                 Book of Job [in Smaller Chunks]

Then, Job answered & said, How long will you [trouble] my soul & [tear] me to pieces with [your] words?] You have [argued] with me 10 times. Aren't you ashamed that you have [treated me so harshly?]

If I have indeed erred, my errors [remain] with me. If it makes you [feel big & powerful to argue] against me [in my torment,] know now that the [Lord] God has overthrown me & [surrounded] me with His net.

[Look,] I cry out of wrong [doing,] but I'm not heard & there's no [justice.] [God] has stripped me of my glory & has taken the crown from my head. He has destroyed me on every side & I'm gone. He has removed my hope, like a tree [is removed.]

His anger against me [has grown] & I am [considered like one of God's] enemies. His troops come together & [set up camp around my tent.] [God] has put my brethren far from me & acquaintances are [distanced] from me.

My [relatives] have failed [to be supportive of me] & [close] friends have forgotten me. [Those who live] in [my] house & my maids [consider] me a stranger. I am an alien in their sight. I called my servants, but he [didn't] answer me.

My breath is strange to my wife [even though] I [begged on behalf of the] sake of the children [from] my own body. Young children [despise] me. I arose & they [spoke] against me. All my [close] friends are [disgusted by] me & [those] I love, have turned against me.

My [bones cling] to my flesh & skin. I [have] escaped [by] the skin of my teeth. Have pity on me, O friend; for the hand of God has touched me. Have pity on me. Why do you persecute me & aren't satisfied with my flesh, [like] God?

Oh, that my words were [already] written & were printed in a book! That they were [engraved] with an iron pen with lead [like ink] in the rock forever.

* For I know that my Redeemer lives & that He shall stand [on the Last] Day upon the earth, [even] though [it's] after the worms destroy this body. Yet, in my flesh I shall see God; Whom I shall see for myself.

[Revelation 21:6-7 And He said to me, It is done. I am [the] Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give to him [who is thirsty from] the fountain of the water of life freely. He [who] overcomes shall inherit all things & I will be His God & he shall be [like] My Son.]

Any [my] eyes shall & [see God] & not another, [although my heart strings are destroyed] within me. But you should say, Why [do] we persecute him, seeing [that] the [cause] of the [problem] is found in me?

[You should] be afraid of the sword. For [fury] brings the sword of [punishment, so] you may know there is [justice.]

Job 18:1-21 Bildad Responds to Job

 

Bildad Responds to Job

Job 18:1-21                                  Book of Job [in Smaller Chunks]

Then, Bildad, the Shuhite, answered & said, How long will it be before [you stop talking?] [Write it down] & afterward we will speak. Why are we [considered like wild animals & disgusting] in your sight?

In his anger, he tears [at] himself. Shall the earth be [abandoned] for you? And shall the rock be removed out of [its] place? The light of the wicked shall be put out & the spark of [its] fire shall not shine.

The light shall be dark in his [tent] & [Job's] candle shall be put out with him. [Job 21:17 How [often] the candle of the wicked [is] put out! And how [often] comes their destruction upon them! In His anger, God distributes sorrows.]

The steps shall [become narrow, taken with Job's remaining] strength & [he] shall [be] cast down by his own [advice.] His own feet have walked [into a trap] & he is [thrown] into the net.

The [trap] shall [catch] him by the heel & the robber shall prevail against him. The [trap] is laid [& prepared] for him in the ground & [another trap] in the [road.]

[Extreme fear] shall make him afraid on every side & drive him to his feet. [Starvation shall deplete] his strength & destruction shall be [prepared.] It shall devour the strength of his [body.]

Even the firstborn of death [could] devour his strength. His confidence shall be [uprooted from his tent] & it shall bring him to the king of terrors. [They] shall dwell in his [tent who are] not his [family.]

Brimstone shall be scattered [where he lives.] His roots shall be [shriveled] up [below] & his branch shall [be] cut off above. The [memory] of him shall perish from the earth & [his] name shall [not be remembered] in the street.

[Job] shall be driven from [the] light into darkness & [be] chased out of the world. Neither shall [Job] have a son, a nephew, or any remaining among his people & in his dwellings.

[Those who] come after him, shall be [astonished] at [the] day [of his death] [like those who] went before [him] were frightened. Surely, such are the dwellings of the wicked & the place of [those who don't know] God.

Job 17:1-16 Job Continues Speaking

 

Job Continues Speaking

Job 17:1-16                                  Book of Job [in Smaller Chunks]

My breath is [rotten like death] & [I am soon to be] extinct, the [grave is] ready for me.

[Psalm 88:3-4 For my soul is full of troubles & my life draws [near to] the grave. I am [considered] with [those who] go down into the pit. I am [like] a man without] strength.]

Aren't [these] mockers with me? Doesn't [my] eye continue to [focus on the Lord God, despite] their [provoking] me? [Job 12:4 Am I [like] [someone] mocked [by] his neighbor, [who] calls upon God & He answers him. The [self-righteous] man is laughed [at & looked down upon.]

[Let me] [secure a deal with You [Lord God] & lay down now [in death.] Who will [shake] hands [to seal the deal] with me? For You [Lord God,] have [kept] their [hearts] from understanding.

Therefore, You shall not exalt them. He & even the eyes of his children shall fail, [who] speaks [flattering] lies to his friends. [God] made me [a parable of warning for] the people.

[Before this,] I was [like a tambourine for joy, but now I'm like one they spit upon.] [Because of] sorrow, [my] eyes are dim & all my [body] members are [like] a shadow.

[Honorable] men shall be astonished at this & the innocent shall [be stirred up] against the hypocrite. [Mark 7:6 He answered & said, Well has [Isaiah] prophesied of you hypocrites, [like] it is written, This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.]

Also, the righteous shall hold on to his [path] & hw [who] has clean hands shall [become] stronger & stronger. But as for all of you, [please] return & come [back again.

For now, I can't find one wise man among you. My days are past & the [desires] of my heart & my purposes [have ended.] They change [what is night] into day; the light is short, because of [the] darkness.

If I wait, the grave is [my home] & I have made my bed in the darkness. I have said to [decomposing,] You are my father & to the worm, You are my mother & my sister.

Where is my hope now? Who shall see [what I] hope [for?] [My hopes] shall go down to the pit [in death,] when our rest together is in the [dirt.]

Job 16:1-22 Job Doesn't Appreciate Their So-Called Advice

 

Job Doesn't Appreciate Their So-Called Advice

Job 16:1-22                                  Book of Job [in Smaller Chunks]

Then, Job answered & said, I have heard many things such [as this.] You all are miserable comforters. Shall [your] vain [worthless] words [ever] have an end? What [provokes] you [to answer?]

If [you] were in my [place,] I also could speak [like] you do. I could heap up words against you & shake my head against you. But, [instead,] I would strengthen you with [the words of] my mouth. And my lips moving [would relieve] your grief.

[Although] I speak, my grief isn't [relieved] & [although I remain silent, how] am I eased? But now, [God] has made me [tired] & you, all my company [of friends,] have made me [feel] desolate [& alone.]

And You have filled me with wrinkles, [that] witness against me. The [thinness] that rises up [against] me, is [visible] in my face. My enemy sharpens His eyes on me & tears at me in His [anger & bites] upon me with His teeth.

They have gathered themselves together against me & gaped upon me, with their [mouths wide open] & have [struck] me on the cheek in [disgust.] God has delivered me to the ungodly & has turned me over into the hands of the wicked.

I was at ease [with this,] but He has broken me [[down] & taken me by the neck & shaken me to pieces & [put] me as His target. His archers [surround me] & He [cuts out] my [heart into pieces] & doesn't spare [me.]

He pours out [the bitterness of my liver] upon the ground. He breaks me [down,] wound upon wound & [tramples] on me like a giant. I have sewed sackcloth to [put on] my [body in mourning] & [buried my dignity] in the dust.

[Psalm 7:5 Let the enemy persecute my soul & take it. [Yet,] let him [trample] down my life upon the earth & lay my honor in the dust.] My face is [flushed from] weeping & my eyelids [look like] the shadow of death, not [from] any injustice [done by] my hands.

My prayer is also [without blame.] O earth, [don't] cover [up] my blood & [don't let there be] no place for my [cries for help.] [Look] now, my witness & my record [are] in heaven, on high [with the Lord God.]

My friends [look down on] me, but my [eyes] pour out tears to God. O that [someone] might plead with God for a man, [like] a man pleads for his neighbor!

[Romans 9:20 [No] but, O man, who are you that you [talk back] against God? Shall the thing formed say to HIm Who formed it, Why have You made me [like this?] [After] a few years, I shall [die] & go the way [from which] I shall not return.

[Job 10:21-22 Before I go [from where] I shall not return, even to the land of darkness & the shadow of death. A land of darkness, [like] darkness itself & of the shadow of death, without order & where the light is [like] darkness.]

Job 15:1-35 Eliphaz Questions Job

 

Eliphaz Questions Job

Job 15:1-35                                 Book of Job [in Smaller Chunks]

Then, Eliphaz, the Temanite, answered & said, Should a wise man utter [worthless] vain knowledge & fill his [stomach] with [hot air from] the east wind? Should [his reasoning be unbeneficial] talk? Or with [unproductive] speeches?

[Yet,] you cast [away] fear [respect] & [limit] prayer before God. For your mouth utters your [sinfulness] & you choose the [words of the devious.] Your own mouth condemns you, not I. [Yet,] your own lips testify against you. Are you the first man [who] was born? Or [were] you made before the hills?

[Psalm 90:1-2 Lord, You have been our dwelling place [through] all generations. Before the mountains were brought [out,] or You ever formed the earth & the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.]

Have you heard the secret of God And [do] you [withhold] wisdom [for] yourself? What [do] you know, that we [don't] know? What [do] you understand [that] isn't [within] us?

[Between] us are both the gray-headed & the very aged men, much [older] than your father. [Is God's comfort too little for] you? [Do you have knowledge kept from others that is only] with you?

Why does your heart [go astray?] And [who] do you wink at with your eyes, [so] that you turn your spirit against God & let such words [come] out of your mouth?

[Psalm 35:19-20 Let [those who] are [My] enemies wrongfully rejoice over Me & & neither let [those] wink with the eye [who] hated Me without a cause. For they [don't] speak [peacefully;] but they [plan] deceitful [plots] against [those who] are [living quietly] in the land.]

What is man, that he should be [pure?] And should he be righteous [who] is born of a woman? [Look, God] has no [confidence] in His saints; [yet,] the heavens aren't [without impurities] in His sight.

How much more [detestable] & filthy is man, who] drinks [up] [sin] like water? I will [explain, listen to] me & I will declare [what] I've seen. [What] wise men have told, from their [forefathers] & haven't [hidden] it; Unto whom alone the [land] was given & no stranger passed among them.

[Joshua 21:43-45 And the Lord gave to Israel all the land [that] He [had sworn] to give to their [forefathers] & they possessed it & [lived in it there.] And the Lord gave them rest [all around,] according to all that [God swore] to their [forefathers.]

And there [wasn't] a man of all their enemies [who] stood before them. The Lord delivered all their enemies into their [hands.] [Nothing] failed [to happen] of any good thing [that] the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.]

The wicked man [writhes] with pain all his days & the number of years is hidden [from] the oppressor. A dreadful sound [rings] in his ears, [during] prosperity, the destroyer shall come upon him.

[1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 For [you,] yourselves know perfectly that the Day of the Lord, [shall] come [like] a thief in the night. For when they shall say, [There's] peace & safety; then sudden destruction comes upon them, [like] the [labor pains] upon the woman [delivering] a child & they shall not escape.]

[Job] doesn't believe he shall come out of darkness & he is [waiting] for the sword. He wanders [around] for bread, saying, Where is it? He knows that the day of darkness is [already] at hand.

[Psalm 59:15 Let them wander up & down for [food] & [be displeased] if they aren't [full.] Trouble & anguish shall make him afraid. They shall [accomplish what is attempted] against him, [like] a king [who prepares for] the battle.

For he [stretched] out his hand against God & [is defiant] against the Almighty. He runs toward [God,] even [butting against] His neck, with a thick, [strong shield,] because his face & ribs are protected by fat.

And he dwells in [the abandoned & empty] cities & in houses, which are ready to become [garbage] heaps, that no man [lives in.] [His life of] perfection shall not [be lengthened.] He shall not  be rich & neither shall his [possessions] continue.

[Job 20:29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God & the heritage appointed to him by God.] He shall not depart [from] darkness. The flame [of God's anger] shall dry up his branches [descendants] & by the breath of [God's] mouth, he shall [blow] away.

[Don't] let him [who] is deceived trust in [worthless] vanity. For vanity shall be his [repayment.] [Job 35:12-13 There they cry [out,] but [no one answers,] because of the pride of evil men. Surely, God won't hear vanity, neither will the Almighty [pay attention to] it.]

[His death] shall be accomplished before his time & his [branches] shall not be green. He shall shake off his [unripened grapes] as [if it were] a vine & shall cast off his flower [like] the olive [tree.]

For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate [& empty] & fire shall consume the [tents of] bribery. [Those who plan] mischief & [produce what is worthless] vanity, [prepare] their [stomach] for deceit.

[Isaiah 33:1 Woe to you [who plunder] & you weren't [plundered] & [you who behave deceitfully] & they [didn't behave deceitfully to] you! When you [stop plundering,] you shall be [plundered.] And when you [finish behaving deceitfully,] they shall [behave deceitfully] with you.]