Job Wants to Argue His Case with God: Job 13-14

Job 13

Job Wants to Argue His Case with God

1"Look, I have seen many instances such as you describe. I understand what you are saying. 2I know as much as you do. You are no better than I am. 3Oh, how I long to speak directly to the Almighty. I want to argue my case with God himself. 4For you are smearing me with lies. As doctors, you are worthless quacks. 5Please be quiet! That's the smartest thing you could do. 6Listen to my charge; pay attention to my arguments.
7"Are you defending God by means of lies and dishonest arguments? 8You should be impartial witnesses, but will you slant your testimony in his favor? Will you argue God's case for him? 9Be careful that he doesn't find out what you are doing! Or do you think you can fool him as easily as you fool people? 10No, you will be in serious trouble with him if even in your hearts you slant your testimony in his favor. 11Doesn't his majesty strike terror into your heart? Does not your fear of him seize you? 12Your statements have about as much value as ashes. Your defense is as fragile as a clay pot.

13"Be silent now and leave me alone. Let me speak--and I will face the consequences. 14Yes, I will take my life in my hands and say what I really think. 15God might kill me, but I cannot wait. I am going to argue my case with him. 16But this is what will save me: that I am not godless. If I were, I would be thrown from his presence.

17"Listen closely to what I am about to say. Hear me out. 18I have prepared my case; I will be proved innocent. 19Who can argue with me over this? If you could prove me wrong, I would remain silent until I die.



Job Asks How He Has Sinned

20"O God, there are two things I beg of you, and I will be able to face you. 21Remove your hand from me, and don't terrify me with your awesome presence. 22Now summon me, and I will answer! Or let me speak to you, and you reply. 23Tell me, what have I done wrong? Show me my rebellion and my sin. 24Why do you turn away from me? Why do you consider me your enemy? 25Would you terrify a leaf that is blown by the wind? Would you chase a dry stalk of grass?
26"You write bitter accusations against me and bring up all the sins of my youth. 27You put my feet in stocks. You watch all my paths. You trace all my footprints. 28I waste away like rotting wood, like a moth-eaten coat.



Job 14


1 "How frail is humanity! How short is life, and how full of trouble! 2Like a flower, we blossom for a moment and then wither. Like the shadow of a passing cloud, we quickly disappear. 3Must you keep an eye on such a frail creature and demand an accounting from me? 4Who can create purity in one born impure? No one! 5You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer. 6So give us a little rest, won't you? Turn away your angry stare. We are like hired hands, so let us finish the task you have given us.
7"If a tree is cut down, there is hope that it will sprout again and grow new branches. 8Though its roots have grown old in the earth and its stump decays, 9at the scent of water it may bud and sprout again like a new seedling.

10"But when people die, they lose all strength. They breathe their last, and then where are they? 11As water evaporates from a lake and as a river disappears in drought, 12people lie down and do not rise again. Until the heavens are no more, they will not wake up nor be roused from their sleep.

13"I wish you would hide me with the dead and forget me there until your anger has passed. But mark your calendar to think of me again! 14If mortals die, can they live again? This thought would give me hope, and through my struggle I would eagerly wait for release. 15You would call and I would answer, and you would yearn for me, your handiwork. 16For then you would count my steps, instead of watching for my sins. 17My sins would be sealed in a pouch, and you would cover over my iniquity.

18"But as mountains fall and crumble and as rocks fall from a cliff, 19as water wears away the stones and floods wash away the soil, so you destroy people's hope. 20You always overpower them, and then they pass from the scene. You disfigure them in death and send them away. 21They never know if their sons grow up in honor or sink to insignificance. 22They are absorbed in their own pain and grief."