| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1“But please, Job, hear my speech, And listen to all my words. | 1"But now, O Job, listen to my words, and hear everything I have to say! |
| 2Now, I open my mouth; My tongue speaks in my mouth. | 2See now, I have opened my mouth; my tongue in my mouth has spoken. |
| 3My words come from my upright heart; My lips utter pure knowledge. | 3My words come from the uprightness of my heart, and my lips will utter knowledge sincerely. |
| 4The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life. | 4The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. |
| 5If you can answer me, Set your words in order before me; Take your stand. | 5Reply to me, if you can; set your arguments in order before me and take your stand! |
| 6Truly I am as your spokesman before God; I also have been formed out of clay. | 6Look, I am just like you in relation to God; I too have been molded from clay. |
| 7Surely no fear of me will terrify you, Nor will my hand be heavy on you. | 7Therefore no fear of me should terrify you, nor should my pressure be heavy on you. |
| 8“Surely you have spoken in my hearing, And I have heard the sound of your words, saying, | 8"Indeed, you have said in my hearing (I heard the sound of the words!): |
| 9‘I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me. | 9I am pure, without transgression; I am clean and have no iniquity. |
| 10Yet He finds occasions against me, He counts me as His enemy; | 10Yet God finds occasions with me; he regards me as his enemy! |
| 11He puts my feet in the stocks, He watches all my paths.’ | 11He puts my feet in shackles; he watches closely all my paths.' |
| 12“Look, in this you are not righteous. I will answer you, For God is greater than man. | 12Now in this, you are not right--I answer you, for God is greater than a human being. |
| 13Why do you contend with Him? For He does not give an accounting of any of His words. | 13Why do you contend against him, that he does not answer all a person's words? |
| 14For God may speak in one way, or in another, Yet man does not perceive it. | 14"For God speaks, the first time in one way, the second time in another, though a person does not perceive it. |
| 15In a dream, in a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls upon men, While slumbering on their beds, | 15In a dream, a night vision, when deep sleep falls on people as they sleep in their beds. |
| 16Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction. | 16Then he gives a revelation to people, and terrifies them with warnings, |
| 17In order to turn man from his deed, And conceal pride from man, | 17to turn a person from his sin, and to cover a person's pride. |
| 18He keeps back his soul from the Pit, And his life from perishing by the sword. | 18He spares a person's life from corruption, his very life from crossing over the river. |
| 19“Man is also chastened with pain on his bed, And with strong pain in many of his bones, | 19Or a person is chastened by pain on his bed, and with the continual strife of his bones, |
| 20So that his life abhors bread, And his soul succulent food. | 20so that his life loathes food, and his soul rejects appetizing fare. |
| 21His flesh wastes away from sight, And his bones stick out which once were not seen. | 21His flesh wastes away from sight, and his bones, which were not seen, are easily visible. |
| 22Yes, his soul draws near the Pit, And his life to the executioners. | 22He draws near to the place of corruption, and his life to the messengers of death. |
| 23“If there is a messenger for him, A mediator, one among a thousand, To show man His uprightness, | 23If there is an angel beside him, one mediator out of a thousand, to tell a person what constitutes his uprightness; |
| 24Then He is gracious to him, and says, ‘Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom’; | 24and if God is gracious to him and says, 'Spare him from going down to the place of corruption, I have found a ransom for him,' |
| 25His flesh shall be young like a child’s, He shall return to the days of his youth. | 25then his flesh is restored like a youth's; he returns to the days of his youthful vigor. |
| 26He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him, He shall see His face with joy, For He restores to man His righteousness. | 26He entreats God, and God delights in him, he sees God's face with rejoicing, and God restores to him his righteousness. |
| 27Then he looks at men and says, ‘I have sinned, and perverted what was right, And it did not profit me.’ | 27That person sings to others, saying: 'I have sinned and falsified what is right, but I was not punished according to what I deserved. |
| 28He will redeem his soul from going down to the Pit, And his life shall see the light. | 28He redeemed my life from going down to the place of corruption, and my life sees the light!' |
| 29“Behold, God works all these things, Twice, in fact, three times with a man, | 29"Indeed, God does all these things, twice, three times, in his dealings with a person, |
| 30To bring back his soul from the Pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of life. | 30to turn back his life from the place of corruption, that he may be enlightened with the light of life. |
| 31“Give ear, Job, listen to me; Hold your peace, and I will speak. | 31Pay attention, Job--listen to me; be silent, and I will speak. |
| 32If you have anything to say, answer me; Speak, for I desire to justify you. | 32If you have any words, reply to me; speak, for I want to justify you. |
| 33If not, listen to me; Hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom.” | 33If not, you listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom." |
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