| 1 | “But now, hear my speech, O Job, and listen to all my words. |
| 2 | See, I open my mouth; the tongue in my mouth speaks. |
| 3 | My words declare the uprightness of my heart, and what my lips know they speak sincerely. |
| 4 | The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. |
| 5 | Answer me, if you can; set your words in order before me; take your stand. |
| 6 | See, before God I am as you are; I too was formed from a piece of clay. |
| 7 | No fear of me need terrify you; my pressure will not be heavy on you. |
| 8 | “Surely, you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard the sound of your words. |
| 9 | You say, ‘I am clean, without transgression; I am pure, and there is no iniquity in me. |
| 10 | Look, he finds occasions against me, he counts me as his enemy; |
| 11 | he puts my feet in the stocks, and watches all my paths.’ |
| 12 | “But in this you are not right. I will answer you: God is greater than any mortal. |
| 13 | Why do you contend against him, saying, ‘He will answer none of my words’? |
| 14 | For God speaks in one way, and in two, though people do not perceive it. |
| 15 | In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on mortals, while they slumber on their beds, |
| 16 | then he opens their ears, and terrifies them with warnings, |
| 17 | that he may turn them aside from their deeds, and keep them from pride, |
| 18 | to spare their souls from the Pit, their lives from traversing the River. |
| 19 | They are also chastened with pain upon their beds, and with continual strife in their bones, |
| 20 | so that their lives loathe bread, and their appetites dainty food. |
| 21 | Their flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen; and their bones, once invisible, now stick out. |
| 22 | Their souls draw near the Pit, and their lives to those who bring death. |
| 23 | Then, if there should be for one of them an angel, a mediator, one of a thousand, one who declares a person upright, |
| 24 | and he is gracious to that person, and says, ‘Deliver him from going down into the Pit; I have found a ransom; |
| 25 | let his flesh become fresh with youth; let him return to the days of his youthful vigor’; |
| 26 | then he prays to God, and is accepted by him, he comes into his presence with joy, and God repays him for his righteousness. |
| 27 | That person sings to others and says, ‘I sinned, and perverted what was right, and it was not paid back to me. |
| 28 | He has redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit, and my life shall see the light.’ |
| 29 | “God indeed does all these things, twice, three times, with mortals, |
| 30 | to bring back their souls from the Pit, so that they may see the light of life. |
| 31 | Pay heed, Job, listen to me; be silent, and I will speak. |
| 32 | If you have anything to say, answer me; speak, for I desire to justify you. |
| 33 | If not, listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.” |