Job 27

^1-2I swear by the living Almighty God,

who refuses me justice and makes my life bitter —

³as long as God gives me breath,

⁴my lips will never say anything evil,

my tongue will never tell a lie.

⁵I will never say that you men are right;

I will insist on my innocence to my dying day.

⁶I will never give up my claim to be right;

my conscience is clear.

⁷May all who oppose me and fight against me

be punished like the wicked and the unrighteous.

⁸What hope is there for the godless

in the hour when God demands their life?

⁹When trouble comes, will God hear their cries?

¹⁰They should have desired the joy he gives;

they should have constantly prayed to him.

¹¹Let me teach you how great is God's power,

and explain what Almighty God has planned.

¹²But no, after all, you have seen for yourselves;

so why do you talk such nonsense?

¹³This is how Almighty God

punishes wicked, violent people.

¹⁴They may have many sons,

but all will be killed in war;

their children never have enough to eat.

¹⁵Those who survive will die from disease,

and even their widows will not mourn their death.

¹⁶The wicked may have too much silver to count

and more clothes than anyone needs;

¹⁷but some good person will wear the clothes,

and some honest person will get the silver.

¹⁸The wicked build houses like a spider's web[#27.18 Some ancient translations spider's web ; Hebrew moth or bird's nest.]

or like the hut of a slave guarding the fields.

¹⁹One last time they will lie down rich,[#27.19 Some ancient translations One last time ; Hebrew They will not be gathered.]

and when they wake up, they will find their wealth gone.

²⁰Terror will strike like a sudden flood;

a wind in the night will blow them away;

²¹the east wind will sweep them from their homes;

²²it will blow down on them without pity

while they try their best to escape.

²³The wind howls at them as they run,

frightening them with destructive power.