Job 27

1 Job replied again [to his three friends],

Job began to speak again.

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,

“I promise you—as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made my life bitter,

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

for as long as I have life, while the breath of God remains in my nostrils—

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

my lips will never speak lies, my tongue will never be dishonest.

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.

I will never agree that you are right; I will insist on my innocence until the day I die.

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.

I'm convinced I'm right and will never give up believing this; my conscience will not condemn me as long as I live.

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].

May my enemy become like the wicked; may those who oppose me become like those who do evil.

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 hope do those who reject God have when he cuts them down, when God brings their lives to an end?

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]

When times of trouble come to them, will God hear their cry for help?

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!]

Do they have a good relationship with the Almighty? Can they call on God at any time?

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

Let me explain God's power to you. I will not keep anything back that the Almighty has planned.

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]

If all of you have recognized this, why do you talk such vain nonsense?

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

This is what God provides as the destiny for the wicked, this is the inheritance that the ruthless will receive from 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.

even if they have many children, they will experience violent deaths or die of starvation.

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

Those who survive will die from disease, and even their widows will not mourn for them.

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

Even though they pile up silver like dust, and clothes like heaps of 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].

those who do good will wear the clothes and the innocent will divide the silver among them.

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].

They build their houses like a moth; like some flimsy shelter made by a watchman.

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.

They go to bed rich, but never again! For when they wake up, it's all gone.

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

Waves of panic flood over them; in the night a whirlwind snatches them away.

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

The east wind picks them up and they're gone, carried away from where they were.

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

The wind blows at them with full force; they try desperately to escape.

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

People clap their hands at them and hiss at them wherever they are.