Job’s Final Reply to His Friends
1Job continued to speak. He said,
2“God hasn’t treated me fairly.
The Mighty One has made my life bitter.
You can be sure that God lives.
And here’s something else you can be sure of.
3As long as I have life
and God gives me breath,
4my mouth won’t say evil things.
My lips won’t tell lies.
5I’ll never admit you people are right.
Until I die, I’ll say I’m telling the truth.
6I’ll continue to say I’m right.
I’ll never let go of that.
I won’t blame myself as long as I live.
7“May my enemies suffer like sinful people!
May my attackers be punished like those who aren’t fair!
8What hope do ungodly people have when their lives are cut short?
What hope do they have when God takes away their lives?
9God won’t listen to their cry
when trouble comes on them.
10They won’t take delight in the Mighty One.
They’ll never call out to God.
11“I’ll teach all of you about God’s power.
I won’t hide the things the Mighty One does.
12You have seen those things yourselves.
So why do you continue your useless talk?
13“Here’s what God does to sinful people.
Here’s what those who are mean receive from the Mighty One.
14All their children will be killed by swords.
They’ll never have enough to eat.
15A plague will kill those who are left alive.
The widows of sinful men
won’t even weep over their own children.
16Sinners might store up silver like dust
and clothes like piles of clay.
17But people who do what is right will wear those clothes.
People who haven’t done anything wrong
will divide up that silver.
18The house an evil person builds is like a moth’s cocoon.
It’s like a hut that’s made by someone on guard duty.
19Sinful people lie down wealthy, but their wealth is taken away.
When they open their eyes, everything is gone.
20Terrors sweep over them like a flood.
A storm takes them away during the night.
21The east wind carries them off, and they are gone.
It sweeps them out of their houses.
22It blows against them without mercy.
They try to escape from its power.
23It claps its hands and makes fun of them.
It hisses them out of their houses.”
Noveno discurso de Job
1Job, retomando la palabra, dijo:
2«Vive Dios, el Todopoderoso,
quien se niega a hacerme justicia,
quien me ha amargado el ánimo,
3que mientras haya vida en mí
y aliento divino en mi nariz,
4mis labios no pronunciarán maldad alguna
ni mi lengua proferirá mentiras.
5Jamás podré admitir que ustedes tengan la razón;
mientras viva, insistiré en mi integridad.
6Insistiré en mi inocencia; no cederé.
Mientras viva, no me remorderá la conciencia.
7»¡Que terminen mis enemigos como los malvados
y mis adversarios como los injustos!
8¿Qué esperanza tienen los impíos
cuando son eliminados,
cuando Dios les quita la vida?
9¿Escucha Dios su clamor
cuando les sobreviene la angustia?
10¿Acaso se deleitan en el Todopoderoso,
o claman a Dios en todo tiempo?
11»¡Yo les voy a mostrar algo del poder de Dios!
¡No les voy a ocultar los planes del Todopoderoso!
12Si ustedes mismos han visto todo esto,
¿a qué viene tanta palabrería?
13»Este es el destino que Dios tiene reservado para los malvados;
esta es la herencia que los tiranos recibirán del Todopoderoso:
14No importa cuántos hijos tengan,
la espada los aguarda;
jamás sus descendientes comerán hasta saciarse.
15La plaga sepultará a quienes les sobrevivan;
sus viudas no llorarán por ellos.
16Y aunque amontonen plata como polvo,
y apilen vestidos como arcilla,
17será el justo quien se ponga esos vestidos,
y el inocente quien reparta esa plata.
18Las casas que construyen parecen larvas de polilla,
parecen cobertizo de vigilancia.
19Se acuestan siendo ricos, pero por última vez;
cuando abren los ojos, sus riquezas se han esfumado.
20Les sobreviene un diluvio de terrores;
la tempestad los arrebata por la noche.
21El viento del este se los lleva y desaparecen;
los arranca de su lugar.
22Se lanza contra ellos sin clemencia,
mientras ellos tratan de huir de su poder.
23Agita las manos y aplaude burlón;
entre silbidos, los arranca de su lugar».
