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27 And Job continued ·speaking [L his discourse]:

“·As surely as God lives [By the living God], who has ·taken away [turned aside] my rights,
    ·the Almighty [Shaddai], who has made me ·unhappy [bitter],
as long as ·I am alive [my breath is in me]
    and God’s ·breath of life [L spirit; breath; Gen. 2:7; Eccl. 12:7] is in my nose,
my lips will not speak ·evil [or falsehood],
    and my tongue will not ·tell [L mutter] ·a lie [deceit].
·I will never [Far be it from me to] ·agree [concede] you are right;
    until I ·die [expire], I will never ·stop saying I am innocent [L turn aside my innocence].
I will ·insist that I am right [L embrace my righteousness]; I will not ·back down [weaken].
    ·My conscience will never bother me [L My heart will not reproach my days].

“Let my enemies be like evil people,
    ·my foes [those who rise up against me] like ·those who are wrong [the guilty].
What hope do the wicked have when they ·die [L are cut off],
    when God ·takes their life away [requires their life]?
God will not listen to their cries
    when trouble comes to them.
10 ·They will not [Will they…?] find joy in ·the Almighty [Shaddai],
    ·even though [or will…?] they call out to God all the time.

11 “I will ·teach [instruct] you about the ·power [L hand] of God
    and will not ·hide [conceal] ·the ways of [L that which is with] ·the Almighty [Shaddai].
12 You have all seen this yourselves.
    ·So why are we having all this talk that means nothing [L Why have you become so meaningless/vaporous/vain]?

13 “Here is ·what God has planned for evil people [L the lot of evil people with God],
    and ·that the Almighty will give to cruel people [L the inheritance that the cruel receive from the Almighty/Shaddai]:
14 They may have many children, but the sword will kill them.
    Their ·children [L offspring] will never have enough ·to eat [L bread; food].
15 Then those who are left will die of disease and be buried,
    and the widows will not even cry for them.
16 ·The wicked [L They] may heap up silver like ·piles of dirt [dust]
    and ·have so many clothes they are like piles of clay [pile up clothes like mounds of earth/clay].
17 But ·good people [the righteous] will wear ·what evil people have gathered [L them],
    and the innocent will ·divide up [distribute among themselves] their silver.
18 ·The houses the wicked build are [L They will build their houses] like a ·spider’s web [or moth’s cocoon],
    like a ·hut [booth; shelter] that a guard builds.
19 ·The wicked are rich when they go to bed [L They may lie down wealthy],
    but ·they are rich for the last time [L not again];
    when they open their eyes, everything is gone.
20 ·Fears [Terrors] ·come over [overtake] them like ·a flood [waters],
    and a storm snatches them away in the night.
21 The east wind will ·carry them away [L lift them up], and then they are gone,
    because it sweeps them out of their place.
22 ·The wind [or God; L He; It] will hit them without mercy
    as they ·try to run away [flee] from ·its power [or his power/hand].
23 It will be as if ·the wind [or God; L he; it] is clapping ·its [or his] hands;
    ·it [or he] will ·whistle [or hiss] at them as they run from their place [C clapping and hissing are gestures of contempt].

Job’s Final Word to His Friends

27 And Job continued his discourse:(A)

“As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,(B)
    the Almighty,(C) who has made my life bitter,(D)
as long as I have life within me,
    the breath of God(E) in my nostrils,
my lips will not say anything wicked,
    and my tongue will not utter lies.(F)
I will never admit you are in the right;
    till I die, I will not deny my integrity.(G)
I will maintain my innocence(H) and never let go of it;
    my conscience(I) will not reproach me as long as I live.(J)

“May my enemy be like the wicked,(K)
    my adversary(L) like the unjust!
For what hope have the godless(M) when they are cut off,
    when God takes away their life?(N)
Does God listen to their cry
    when distress comes upon them?(O)
10 Will they find delight in the Almighty?(P)
    Will they call on God at all times?

11 “I will teach you about the power of God;
    the ways(Q) of the Almighty I will not conceal.(R)
12 You have all seen this yourselves.
    Why then this meaningless talk?

13 “Here is the fate God allots to the wicked,
    the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty:(S)
14 However many his children,(T) their fate is the sword;(U)
    his offspring will never have enough to eat.(V)
15 The plague will bury those who survive him,
    and their widows will not weep for them.(W)
16 Though he heaps up silver like dust(X)
    and clothes like piles of clay,(Y)
17 what he lays up(Z) the righteous will wear,(AA)
    and the innocent will divide his silver.(AB)
18 The house(AC) he builds is like a moth’s cocoon,(AD)
    like a hut(AE) made by a watchman.
19 He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;(AF)
    when he opens his eyes, all is gone.(AG)
20 Terrors(AH) overtake him like a flood;(AI)
    a tempest snatches him away in the night.(AJ)
21 The east wind(AK) carries him off, and he is gone;(AL)
    it sweeps him out of his place.(AM)
22 It hurls itself against him without mercy(AN)
    as he flees headlong(AO) from its power.(AP)
23 It claps its hands(AQ) in derision
    and hisses him out of his place.”(AR)