Job 16

International Children’s Bible

Job Answers Eliphaz

16 Then Job answered:

²“I have heard many things like these.
    You are all painful comforters!
³Will your long, useless speeches never end?
    What makes you keep on arguing?
⁴I also could speak as you do
    if you were in my place.
I could make great speeches against you.
    And I could shake my head at you.
⁵But, instead, my words would encourage you.
    I would speak words of comfort to bring you relief.

⁶“But if I speak, my pain does not become less.
    And if I don’t speak, it still does not go away.
⁷God, you have surely taken away my strength.
    You have destroyed my whole family.
⁸You have made me thin and weak.
    And people feel that this shows I have done wrong.
⁹God attacks me and tears me with anger.
    He grinds his teeth at me.
    My enemy stares at me with his angry eyes.
¹⁰People open their mouths to make fun of me.
    They hit my cheeks to insult me.
    They join together against me.
¹¹God has turned me over to evil men.
    He has thrown me into the clutches of the wicked.
¹²Everything was fine with me.
    But then God broke me into pieces.
    He held me by the neck and crushed me.
He has made me his target.
¹³    God’s archers surround me.
He stabs my kidneys and has no mercy.
    He spills my blood on the ground.
¹⁴Again and again God attacks me.
    He runs at me like a soldier.

¹⁵“I have sewed rough cloth over my skin to show my sadness.
    I have buried my face in the dust.
¹⁶My face is red from crying.
    I have dark circles around my eyes.
¹⁷And yet my hands have never done anything cruel.
    And my prayer is pure.

¹⁸“Earth, please do not cover up my blood.
    Don’t let my cry ever stop being heard!
¹⁹Even now I have one who speaks for me in heaven.
    The one who is on my side is high above.
²⁰The one who speaks for me is my friend.
    While he does this, my eyes pour out tears to God.
²¹He begs God on behalf of a man
    as a man begs for his friend.