1,21He said,
'Naked I came out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return,
the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.'
1,22In all this, Job did not
sin, nor charge God with wrongdoing.
2,1Again it happened on
the day when the God's sons came to present themselves before the Lord,
that Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.
2,2And the Lord said to Satan, Where
have you come from?
Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going back and forth in the
earth, and from walking up and down in it.
2,3And the Lord said to Satan,
Have you considered my servant Job? For there is none like him in the
earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away
from evil. He still maintains his integrity, although you incited me
against him, to ruin him without cause.
2,4Satan answered the Lord,
and said, Skin for skin. Yes, all that a man has he will give for his
life. 2,5But put forth your
hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will renounce you to
your face.
2,6And the Lord said to Satan,
Behold, he is in your hand. Only spare his life.
10,1 My soul is weary
of my life.
I will give free course to my complaint.
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
- 10,2I will tell God,
'Do not condemn me.
Show me why You contend with me.
- 10,3Is it good to you
that You should oppress,
that You should despise the work of your hands,
and smile on the counsel of the wicked?
- 10,4Do You have eyes of
flesh?
Or do You see as man sees?
10,5Are your days as the
days of mortals,
or your years as man's years,
10,6that You inquire
after my iniquity,
and search after my sin?
- 10,7Although You know
that I am not wicked,
there is no one who can deliver out of Your hand.
- 10,8 'Your hands have
framed me and fashioned me altogether,
yet You destroy me.
10,9Remember, I beg you,
that You fashioned me as clay.
Will you bring me into dust again?
- 10,10Haven't You poured
me out like milk,
and curdled me like cheese?
10,11You have clothed me
with skin and flesh,
and knit me together with bones and sinews.
10,12You have granted me
life and loving kindness.
Your visitation has preserved my spirit.
10,13Yet you hid these
things in your heart.
I know that this is with You.
- 10,14if I sin, then You
mark me.
You will not acquit me from my iniquity.
- 10,15If I am wicked, woe
to me.
If I am righteous, I still shall not lift up my head,
being filled with disgrace,
and conscious of my affliction.
10,16If my head is held
high, You hunt me like a lion.
Again you show yourself powerful to me.
10,17You renew your
witnesses against me,
and increase your indignation on me.
Changes and warfare are with me.
- 10,18 'Why, then,
have You brought me forth out of the womb?
I wish I had given up the spirit, and no eye had seen me.
10,19I should have been
as though I had not been.
I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.
10,20Aren't my days few?
Cease then.
Leave me alone, that I may find a little comfort,
10,21before I go where I
shall not return from,
to the land of darkness and of the shadow of death;
10,22the land dark as
midnight,
of the shadow of death,
without any order,
where the light is as midnight.'
11,1Then Zophar, the
Naamathite, answered,
- 11,2 Shouldn't the
multitude of words be answered?
Should a man full of talk be justified?
- 11,3Should your boastings
make men hold their peace?
When you mock, shall no man make you ashamed?
- 11,4For you say, 'My
doctrine is pure.
I am clean in your eyes.'
- 11,5But oh that God would
speak,
and open His lips against you,
- 11,6that He would show
you the secrets of wisdom!
For true wisdom has two sides.
Know therefore that God exacts of you less than your iniquity deserves.
-
- 11,7 Can you fathom the
mystery of God?
Or can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
- 11,8They are high as
heaven. What can you do?
They are deeper than Hell. What can you know?
- 11,9Its measure is longer
than the earth,
and broader than the sea.
- 11,10If He passes by, or
confines,
or convenes a court, then who can oppose Him?
- 11,11For He knows false
men.
He sees iniquity also, even though He doesn't consider it.
- 11,12An empty-headed man
becomes wise
when a man is born as a wild donkey's colt.
- 11,13 If you set your
heart aright,
stretch out your hands toward Him.
- 11,14If iniquity is in
your hand, put it far away.
Don't let unrighteousness dwell in your tents.
- 11,15Surely then you
shall lift up your face without spot;
You shall be steadfast, and shall not fear;
- 11,16for you shall forget
your misery.
You shall remember it as waters that are passed away.
- 11,17Life shall be
clearer than the noonday.
Though there is darkness, it shall be as the morning.
- 11,18You shall be secure,
because there is hope.
You shall search, and shall take your rest in safety.
- 11,19Also you shall lie
down, and none shall make you afraid.
Many shall court your favor.
- 11,20But the eyes of the
wicked shall fail.
They shall have no way to flee.
Their hope shall be the giving up of the spirit.
12,1Then Job answered, and said,
12,2 No doubt, but you
are the people,
and wisdom shall die with you.
12,3But I have
understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who doesn't know such things as these?
12,4I am like one who is
a joke to his neighbor,
I, who called on God, and He answered.
The just, the blameless man is a joke.
12,5In the thought of him
who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune.
It is ready for them whose foot slips.
12,6The tents of robbers
prosper.
Those who provoke God are secure,
who carry their God in their hands.
12,7 But ask the
animals, now, and they shall teach you;
the birds of the sky, and they shall tell you.
12,8Or speak to the
earth, and it shall teach you.
The fish of the sea shall declare to you.
- 12,9Who doesn't know
that in all these,
the hand of the Lord has done this,
12,10in whose hand is the
life of every living thing,
and the breath of all mankind?
- 12,11Doesn't the ear
try words,
even as the palate tastes its food?
- 12,12With aged men is
wisdom,
in length of days understanding.
-
- 12,13 With God is
wisdom and might.
He has counsel and understanding.
- 12,14Behold, he breaks
down, and it can't be built again.
He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.
12,15Behold, he withholds
the waters, and they dry up.
Again, he sends them out, and they overturn the earth.
12,16With him is strength
and wisdom.
The deceived and the deceiver are his.
12,17He leads counselors
away stripped.
He makes judges fools.
12,18He loosens the bond
of kings.
He binds their waist with a belt.
12,19He leads priests
away stripped,
and overthrows the mighty.
12,20He removes the
speech of those who are trusted,
and takes away the understanding of the elders.
12,21He pours contempt on
princes,
and loosens the belt of the strong.
12,22He uncovers deep
things out of darkness,
and brings out to light the shadow of death.
12,23He increases the
nations, and he destroys them.
He enlarges the nations, and he leads them captive.
12,24He takes away
understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth,
and causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
12,25They grope in the
dark without light.
He makes them stagger like a drunken man.
13,1 Behold, my eye has
seen all this.
My ear has heard and understood it.
13,2What you know, I know
also.
I am not inferior to you.
13,3 Surely I would
speak to the Almighty.
I desire to reason with God.
- 13,4But you are forgers
of lies.
You are all physicians of no value.
- 13,5Oh that you would be
completely silent!
Then you would be wise.
- 13,6Hear now my reasoning.
Listen to the pleadings of my lips.
13,7Will you speak
unrighteously for God,
and talk deceitfully for him?
13,8Will you show
partiality to him?
Will you contend for God?
13,9Is it good that He
should search you out?
Or as one deceives a man, will you deceive Him?
- 13,10He will surely
reprove you
if you secretly show partiality.
13,11Shall not His
majesty make you afraid,
And His dread fall on you?
13,12Your memorable
sayings are proverbs of ashes,
Your defenses are defenses of clay.
- 13,13 Be silent, leave
me alone, that I may speak.
Let come on me what will.
13,14Why should I take my
flesh in my teeth,
and put my life in my hand?
13,15Behold, He will kill
me.
I have no hope.
Nevertheless, I will maintain my ways before Him.
- 13,16This also shall be
my salvation,
that a godless man shall not come before him.
13,17Hear diligently my
speech.
Let my declaration be in your ears.
13,18See now, I have set
my cause in order.
I know that I am righteous.
- 13,19Who is he who will
contend with me?
For then would I hold my peace and give up the spirit.
- 13,20 Only don't do
two things to me;
then I will not hide myself from your face:
13,21withdraw your hand
far from me;
and don't let your terror make me afraid.
- 13,22Then call, and I
will answer;
or let me speak, and you answer me.
- 13,23How many are my
iniquities and sins?
Make me know my disobedience and my sin.
13,24Why hide you your
face,
and hold me for your enemy?
13,25Will you harass a
driven leaf?
Will you pursue the dry stubble?
- 13,26For you write bitter
things against me,
and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth:
- 13,27You also put my feet
in the stocks,
and mark all my paths.
You set a bound to the soles of my feet,
- 13,28though I am decaying
like a rotten thing,
like a garment that is moth-eaten.
14,1 Man, who is born
of a woman,
is of few days, and full of trouble.
- 14,2He comes forth like a
flower, and is cut down.
He also flees like a shadow, and doesn't continue.
- 14,3Do you open your eyes
on such a one,
and bring me into judgment with you?
- 14,4Who can bring a clean
thing out of an unclean?
Not one.
- 14,5Seeing his days are
determined,
the number of his months is with you,
and you have appointed his bounds that he can't pass;
- 14,6Look away from him,
that he may rest,
until he shall accomplish, as a hireling, his day.
-
- 14,7 For there is hope
for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
that the tender branch of it will not cease.
- 14,8Though its root grows
old in the earth,
and its stock dies in the ground,
- 14,9yet through the scent
of water it will bud,
and put forth boughs like a plant.
- 14,10But man dies, and is
laid low.
Man gives up the spirit, and where is he?
- 14,11As the waters fail
from the sea,
and the river wastes and dries up,
- 14,12so man lies down and
doesn't rise.
Until the heavens are no more, they shall not awake,
nor be roused out of their sleep.
-
- 14,13 Oh that you would
hide me in Hell,
that you would keep me secret, until your wrath is past,
that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!
- 14,14If a man dies, shall
he live again?
All the days of my warfare would I wait,
until my release should come.
- 14,15You would call, and
I would answer you.
You would have a desire to the work of your hands.
- 14,16But now you number
my steps.
Don't you watch over my sin?
- 14,17My disobedience is
sealed up in a bag.
You fasten up my iniquity.
-
- 14,18 But the mountain
falling comes to nothing.
The rock is removed out of its place;
- 14,19The waters wear the
stones.
The torrents of it wash away the dust of the earth.
So you destroy the hope of man.
- 14,20You forever prevail
against him, and he departs.
You change his face, and send him away.
- 14,21His sons come to
honor, and he doesn't know it.
They are brought low, but he doesn't perceive it of them.
- 14,22But his flesh on him
has pain,
and his soul within him mourns.
- 15,1Then Eliphaz the
Temanite answered, and said,
- 15,2 Should a wise man
answer with vain knowledge,
and fill himself with the east wind?
15,3Should he reason with
unprofitable talk,
or with speeches with which he can do no good?
- 15,4You do away with
fear,
and hinder devotion before God.
15,5For your iniquity
teaches your mouth,
and you choose the language of the crafty.
15,6Your own mouth
condemns you, and not I.
Your own lips testify against you.
- 15,7 Are you the first
man who was born?
Or were you brought forth before the hills?
15,8Have you heard the
secret counsel of God?
Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
15,9What do you know,
that we don't know?
What do you understand, which is not in us?
- 15,10With us are both the
gray-headed and the very aged men,
much elder than your father.
15,11Are the consolations
of God too small for you,
even the word that is gentle toward you?
- 15,12Why does your heart
carry you away?
Why do your eyes flash,
15,13That you turn your
spirit against God,
and let such words go out of your mouth?
- 15,14What is man, that he
should be clean?
What is he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
15,15Behold, he puts no
trust in his holy ones.
The heavens are not clean in his sight;
15,16how much less one
who is abominable and corrupt,
a man who drinks iniquity like water!
- 15,17 I will show you,
listen to me;
that which I have seen I will declare:
- 15,18Which wise men have
told by their fathers,
and have not hidden it;
15,19to whom alone the
land was given,
and no stranger passed among them.
- 15,20The wicked man
writhes in pain all his days,
even the number of years that are laid up for the oppressor.
- 15,21A sound of terrors
is in his ears.
In prosperity the destroyer shall come on him.
- 15,22He doesn't believe
that he shall return out of darkness.
He is waited for by the sword.
15,23He wanders abroad
for bread, saying, 'Where is it?'
He knows that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
15,24Distress and anguish
make him afraid.
They prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.
- 15,25Because he has
stretched out his hand against God,
and behaves himself proudly against the Almighty;
15,26he runs at him with
a stiff neck,
with the thick shields of his bucklers;
15,27because he has
covered his face with his fatness,
and gathered fat on his thighs.
15,28He has lived in
desolate cities,
in houses which no one inhabited,
which were ready to become heaps.
15,29He shall not be
rich, neither shall his substance continue,
neither shall their possessions be extended on the earth.
15,30He shall not depart
out of darkness.
The flame shall dry up his branches.
By the breath of God's mouth shall he go away.
- 15,31Let him not trust in
emptiness, deceiving himself;
for emptiness shall be his reward.
15,32It shall be
accomplished before his time.
His branch shall not be green.
15,33He shall shake off
his unripe grape as the vine,
and shall cast off his flower as the olive tree.
- 15,34For the company of
the godless shall be barren,
and fire shall consume the tents of bribery.
15,35They conceive
mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
Their heart prepares deceit.
-
16,1Then Job answered, and said,
16,2 I have heard many
such things.
You are all miserable comforters!
16,3Shall vain words have
an end?
Or what provokes you that you answer?
16,4I also could speak as
you do.
If your soul were in my soul's place,
I could join words together against you,
and shake my head at you,
16,5but I would
strengthen you with my mouth.
The solace of my lips would relieve you.
16,6 Though I speak, my
grief is not subsided.
Though I forbear, what am I eased?
- 16,7But now, God, You
have surely worn me out.
You have made desolate all my company.
- 16,8You have shriveled me
up. This is a witness against me.
My leanness rises up against me.
It testifies to my face.
- 16,9He has torn me in His
wrath, and persecuted me.
He has gnashed on me with His teeth.
My adversary sharpens his eyes on me.
- 16,10They have gaped on
me with their mouth.
They have struck me on the cheek reproachfully.
They gather themselves together against me.
- 16,11God delivers me to
the ungodly,
and casts me into the hands of the wicked.
- 16,12I was at ease, and
he broke me apart.
He has taken me by the neck, and dashed me to pieces.
He has also set me up for his target.
- 16,13His archers surround
me.
He splits my kidneys apart, and does not spare.
He pours out my gall on the ground.
- 16,14He breaks me with
breach on breach.
He runs on me like a giant.
- 16,15I have sewed
sackcloth on my skin,
and have thrust my horn in the dust.
- 16,16My face is red with
weeping.
Deep darkness is on my eyelids.
- 16,17Although there is no
violence in my hands,
and my prayer is pure.
-
- 16,18 Earth, don't
cover my blood.
Let my cry have no place to rest.
- 16,19Even now, behold, my
witness is in heaven.
He who vouches for me is on high.
- 16,20My friends scoff at
me.
My eyes pour out tears to God,
- 16,21That He would
maintain the right of a man with God,
of a son of man with his neighbor!
- 16,22For when a few years
have come,
I shall go the way of no return.
- 17,1 My spirit is
consumed.
My days are extinct,
And the grave is ready for me.
- 17,2Surely there are
mockers with me.
My eye dwells on their provocation.
-
- 17,3 Now give a pledge,
be collateral for me with yourself.
Who is there who will strike hands with me?
- 17,4For you have hidden
their heart from understanding,
Therefore you shall not exalt them.
- 17,5He who denounces his
friends for a prey,
Even the eyes of his children shall fail.
-
- 17,6 But he has made me
a byword of the people.
They spit in my face.
- 17,7My eye also is dim by
reason of sorrow.
All my members are as a shadow.
- 17,8Upright men shall be
astonished at this.
The innocent shall stir up himself against the godless.
- 17,9Yet shall the
righteous hold on his way.
He who has clean hands shall grow stronger and stronger.
- 17,10But as for you all,
come on now again;
I shall not find a wise man among you.
- 17,11My days are past, my
plans are broken off,
as are the thoughts of my heart.
- 17,12They change the
night into day,
saying 'The light is near' in the presence of darkness.
- 17,13If I look for Hell as my house,
if I have spread my couch in the darkness,
- 17,14If I have said to
corruption, 'You are my father;'
to the worm, 'My mother,' and 'my sister;'
- 17,15where then is my
hope?
as for my hope, who shall see it?
- 17,16Shall it go down
with me to the gates of Hell,
or descend together into the dust?
-
18,1Then Bildad the
Shuhite answered,
- 18,2 How long will you
hunt for words?
Consider, and afterwards we will speak.
- 18,3Why are we counted as
animals,
which have become unclean in your sight?
- 18,4You who tear yourself
in your anger,
shall the earth be forsaken for you?
Or shall the rock be removed out of its place?
-
- 18,5 And the light of
the wicked shall be put out,
The spark of his fire shall not shine.
- 18,6The light shall be
dark in his tent.
His lamp above him shall be put out.
- 18,7The steps of his
strength shall be shortened.
His own counsel shall cast him down.
- 18,8For he is cast into a
net by his own feet,
and he wanders into its mesh.
- 18,9A snare will take him
by the heel.
A trap will catch him.
- 18,10A noose is hidden
for him in the ground,
a trap for him in the way.
- 18,11Terrors shall make
him afraid on every side,
and shall chase him at his heels.
- 18,12His strength shall
be famished.
Calamity shall be ready at his side.
- 18,13The members of his
body shall be devoured.
The firstborn of death shall devour his members.
- 18,14He shall be rooted
out of his tent where he trusts.
He shall be brought to the king of terrors.
- 18,15There shall dwell in
his tent that which is none of his.
Sulfur shall be scattered on his habitation.
- 18,16His roots shall be
dried up beneath.
Above shall his branch be cut off.
- 18,17His memory shall
perish from the earth.
He shall have no name in the street.
- 18,18He shall be driven
from light into darkness,
and chased out of the world.
- 18,19He shall have
neither son nor grandson among his people,
nor any remaining where he lived.
- 18,20Those who come after
shall be astonished at his day,
as those who went before were frightened.
- 18,21Surely such are the
dwellings of the unrighteous.
This is the place of him who doesn't know God.
19,1Then Job answered, and said,
19,2 How long will you
torment me,
and crush me with words?
19,3You have reproached
me ten times.
You aren't ashamed that you attack me.
- 19,4If it is true that I
have erred,
my error remains with myself.
- 19,5If indeed you will
magnify yourselves against me,
and plead against me my reproach;
19,6Know now that God has
subverted me,
and has surrounded me with His net.
-
- 19,7 Behold, I cry out
of wrong, but I am not heard.
I cry for help, but there is no justice.
- 19,8He has walled up my
way so that I can't pass,
and has set darkness in my paths.
- 19,9He has stripped me of
my glory,
and taken the crown from my head.
- 19,10He has broken me
down on every side, and I am gone.
My hope he has plucked up like a tree.
- 19,11He has also kindled
his wrath against me.
He counts me among His adversaries.
- 19,12His troops come on
together,
build a siege ramp against me,
and encamp around my tent.
- 19,13 He has put my
brothers far from me.
My acquaintances are wholly estranged from me.
- 19,14My relatives have
gone away.
My familiar friends have forgotten me.
- 19,15Those who dwell in
my house, and my maids, count me for a stranger.
I am an alien in their sight.
- 19,16I call to my
servant, and he gives me no answer.
I beg him with my mouth.
- 19,17My breath is
offensive to my wife.
I am loathsome to the children of my own mother.
- 19,18Even young children
despise me.
If I arise, they speak against me.
- 19,19All my familiar
friends abhor me.
They whom I loved have turned against me.
- 19,20My bones stick to my
skin and to my flesh.
I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
- 19,21 Have pity on me,
have pity on me, you my friends;
for the hand of God has touched me.
- 19,22Why do you persecute
me as God,
and are not satisfied with my flesh?
- 19,23 Oh that my words
were now written!
Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
- 19,24That with an iron
pen and lead
they were engraved in the rock forever!
- 19,25But as for me, I
know that my Redeemer lives.
In the end, He will stand upon the earth.
- 19,26After my skin is
destroyed,
then in my flesh shall I see God,
- 19,27Whom I, even I,
shall see on my side.
My eyes shall see, and not as a stranger. My heart is consumed within me.
- 19,28If you say, 'How
we will persecute him!'
because the root of the matter is found in me,
- 19,29Be afraid of the
sword,
for wrath brings the punishments of the sword,
that you may know there is a judgment.
-
20,1Then Zophar the
Naamathite answered,
20,2 Therefore do my
thoughts give answer to me,
even by reason of my haste that is in me.
20,3I have heard the
reproof which puts me to shame.
The spirit of my understanding answers me.
- 20,4Don't you know this
from old time,
since man was placed on earth,
20,5that the triumphing
of the wicked is short,
the joy of the godless but for a moment?
20,6Though his height
mount up to the heavens,
and his head reach to the clouds,
20,7yet he shall perish
forever like his own dung.
Those who have seen him shall say, 'Where is he?'
- 20,8He shall fly away as
a dream, and shall not be found.
He shall be chased away like a vision of the night.
20,9The eye which saw him
shall see him no more,
neither shall his place any more see him.
20,10His children shall
seek the favor of the poor.
His hands shall give back his wealth.
20,11His bones are full
of his youth,
but youth shall lie down with him in the dust.
20,12 Though wickedness
is sweet in his mouth,
though he hide it under his tongue,
20,13though he spare it,
and will not let it go,
but keep it still within his mouth;
- 20,14Yet his food in his
bowels is turned.
It is cobra venom within him.
20,15He has swallowed
down riches, and he shall vomit them up again.
God will cast them out of his belly.
20,16He shall suck cobra
venom.
The viper's tongue shall kill him.
20,17He shall not look at
the rivers,
the flowing streams of honey and butter.
- 20,18That needing
labored shall be restored and not swallowed.
The goods he traded and he won't rejoice.
- 20,19For he has oppressed
and forsaken the poor.
He has violently taken away a house, and he shall not build it up.
- 20,20 Because he knew
no quietness within him,
he shall not save anything of that in which he delights.
- 20,21There was nothing
left that he didn't devour,
therefore his prosperity shall not endure.
- 20,22In the fullness of
his sufficiency, distress shall overtake him.
The hand of everyone who is in misery shall come on him.
- 20,23When he is about to
fill his belly, God will cast the fierceness of His wrath on him.
It will rain on him while he is eating.
- 20,24He shall flee from
the iron weapon.
The bronze arrow shall strike him through.
- 20,25He draws it forth,
and it comes out of his body.
The glittering point comes out of his liver.
Terrors are on him.
- 20,26All darkness is laid
up for his treasures.
An unfanned fire shall devour him.
It shall consume that which is left in his tent.
- 20,27The heavens shall
reveal his iniquity.
The earth shall rise up against him.
- 20,28The increase of his
house shall depart.
They shall rush away in the day of his wrath.
- 20,29This is the portion
of a wicked man from God,
the heritage appointed to him by God.
21,1Then Job answered, and said,
21,2 Listen diligently
to my speech.
Let this be your consolation.
- 21,3Allow me, and I also
will speak;
After I have spoken, mock on.
21,4As for me, is my
complaint to man?
Why shouldn't I be impatient?
- 21,5Look at me, and be
astonished.
Lay your hand on your mouth.
21,6When I remember, I am
troubled.
Horror takes hold of my flesh.
- 21,7 Why do the wicked
live,
become old, yes, and grow mighty in power?
21,8Their child is
established with them in their sight,
their offspring before their eyes.
21,9Their houses are safe
from fear,
neither is the rod of God upon them.
21,10Their bulls breed
without fail.
Their cows calve, and don't miscarry.
21,11They send forth
their little ones like a flock.
Their children dance.
21,12They sing to the
tambourine and harp,
and rejoice at the sound of the pipe.
21,13They spend their
days in prosperity.
In an instant they go down to Hell.
- 21,14They tell God,
'Depart from us,
for we don't want to know about your ways.
21,15What is the
Almighty, that we should serve Him?
What profit should we have, if we pray to Him?'
21,16Behold, their
prosperity is not in their hand.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
- 21,17 How often is it
that the lamp of the wicked is put out,
that their calamity comes on them,
that God distributes sorrows in His anger?
- 21,18How often is it that
they are as stubble before the wind,
as chaff that the storm carries away?
- 21,19You say, 'God lays
up iniquity for his children.'
Let him recompense it to himself, that he may know it.
- 21,20Let his own eyes see
his destruction.
Let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
- 21,21For what does he
care for his house after him,
when the number of his months is cut off?
- 21,22 Can anyone teach
God knowledge,
as He judges on high?
21,23One dies in his full
strength,
being wholly at ease and quiet.
21,24His pails are full
of milk.
The marrow of his bones is moistened.
21,25Another dies in
bitterness of soul,
and never tastes of good.
21,26They lie down alike
in the dust.
The worm covers them.
- 21,27 Behold, I know
your thoughts,
the devices with which you would wrong me.
21,28For you say,
'Where is the house of the prince?
Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?'
21,29Haven't you asked
wayfaring men?
Don't you know their evidences,
21,30that the evil man is
reserved to the day of calamity,
That they are led forth to the day of wrath?
- 21,31Who shall declare
his way to his face?
Who shall repay him what he has done?
21,32Yet he will be borne
to the grave.
Men shall keep watch over the tomb.
21,33The clods of the
valley shall be sweet to him.
All men shall draw after him,
as there were innumerable before him.
- 21,34So how can you
comfort me with nonsense,
because in your answers there remains only falsehood?
-
22,1Then Eliphaz the
Temanite answered,
- 22,2 Can a man be
profitable to God?
Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself.
- 22,3Is it any pleasure to
the Almighty, that you are righteous?
Or does it benefit Him, that you make your ways perfect?
- 22,4Is it for your piety
that He reproves you,
that He enters into judgment?
- 22,5Isn't your
wickedness great?
Neither is there any end to your iniquities.
22,6For you have taken
pledges from your brother for nothing,
and stripped the naked of their clothing.
22,7You haven't given
water to the weary to drink,
and you have withheld bread from the hungry.
- 22,8But as for the mighty
man, he had the earth.
The honorable man, he lived in it.
- 22,9You have sent widows
away empty,
and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
- 22,10Therefore snares are
around you.
Sudden fear troubles you,
- 22,11or darkness, so that
you can not see,
and floods of waters cover you.
- 22,12 Isn't God in
the heights of Heaven?
See the height of the stars, how high they are!
- 22,13You say, 'What
does God know?
Can he judge through the thick darkness?
22,14Thick clouds are a
covering to Him, so that he doesn't see.
He walks on the vault of the sky.'
- 22,15Will you keep the
old way,
which wicked men have trodden,
22,16who were snatched
away before their time,
whose foundation was poured out as a stream,
22,17who said to God,
'Depart from us;'
and, 'What can the Almighty do for us?'
- 22,18Yet he filled their
houses with good things,
but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
- 22,19The righteous see
it, and are glad.
The innocent ridicule them,
22,20saying, 'Surely
those who rose up against us are cut off.
The fire has consumed their remnant.'
- 22,21 Acquaint yourself
with Him, now, and be at peace.
Thereby good shall come to you.
22,22Please receive
instruction from His mouth,
and lay up His words in your heart.
22,23If you return to the
Almighty, you shall be built up,
if you put away unrighteousness far from your tents.
- 22,24Lay your treasure in
the dust,
the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.
- 22,25The Almighty will be
your treasure,
and precious silver to you.
- 22,26For then you will
delight yourself in the Almighty,
and shall lift up your face to God.
- 22,27You shall make your
prayer to Him, and He will hear you.
You shall pay your vows.
- 22,28You shall also
decree a thing, and it shall be established to you.
Light shall shine on your ways.
- 22,29When they cast down,
you shall say, 'be lifted up.'
He will save the humble person.
- 22,30He will even deliver
him who is not innocent.
He shall be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.
-
23,1Then Job answered, and said,
23,2 Even today my
complaint is rebellious.
His hand is heavy in spite of my groaning.
23,3Oh that I knew where
I might find Him!
That I might come even to His seat!
23,4I would set my cause
in order before him,
and fill my mouth with arguments.
23,5I would know the
words which He would answer me,
and understand what He would tell me.
- 23,6Would he contend with
me in the greatness of His power?
No, but He would listen to me.
- 23,7There the upright
might reason with Him,
so I should be delivered forever from my judge.
23,8 If I go east, He
is not there;
if west, I can't find Him;
23,9He works to the
north, but I can't see Him.
He turns south, but I can't catch a glimpse.
- 23,10But He knows the way
that I take.
When He has tried me, I shall come forth like gold.
23,11My foot has held
fast to His steps.
I have kept His way, and not turned aside.
23,12I haven't gone
back from the commandment of his lips.
I have treasured up the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
- 23,13He stands alone,
and who can oppose Him?
What His soul desires, He does.
23,14For He performs that
which is appointed for me.
Many such things are with Him.
23,15Therefore I am
terrified at His presence.
When I consider, I am afraid of Him.
- 23,16For God has made my
heart faint.
The Almighty has terrified me.
- 23,17Because I was not
cut off before the darkness,
and my face was covered with gloom.
- 24,1 Why aren't times
laid up by the Almighty?
Why don't those who know Him see his days?
- 24,2There are people who
remove the landmarks.
They violently take away flocks, and feed them.
24,3They drive away the
donkey of the fatherless,
and they take the widow's ox for a pledge.
24,4They turn the needy
out of the way.
The poor of the earth all hide themselves.
24,5Behold, as wild
donkeys in the desert,
they go forth to their work, seeking diligently for food.
24,6They cut their
provender in the field.
They glean the vineyard of the wicked.
24,7They lie all night
naked without clothing,
and have no covering in the cold.
24,8They are wet with the
showers of the mountains,
and embrace the rock for lack of a shelter.
24,9There are those who
pluck the fatherless from the breast,
and take a pledge of the poor,
24,10So that they go
around naked without clothing.
Being hungry, they carry the sheaves.
24,11They make oil within
the walls of these men.
They tread wine presses, and suffer thirst.
- 24,12From out of the
populous city, men groan.
The soul of the wounded cries out,
yet God doesn't regard the folly.
- 24,13 These are of
those who rebel against the light.
They don't know its ways,
nor stay in its paths.
- 24,14The murderer rises
with the light.
He kills the poor and needy.
In the night he is like a thief.
- 24,15The eye also of the
adulterer waits for the twilight,
saying, 'No eye shall see me.'
He disguises his face.
- 24,16In the dark they dig
through houses.
They shut themselves up in the daytime.
They don't know the light.
- 24,17For the morning is
to all of them like thick darkness,
for they know the terrors of the thick darkness.
24,18 They are foam on
the surface of the waters.
Their portion is cursed in the earth.
They don't turn into the way of the vineyards.
- 24,19Drought and heat
consume the snow waters,
as does Hell to sinners.
- 24,20The womb shall
forget him.
The worm shall feed sweetly on him.
He shall be no more remembered.
Unrighteousness shall be broken as a tree.
- 24,21He devours the
barren who don't bear.
He shows no kindness to the widow.
- 24,22Yet God preserves
the mighty by His power.
He rises up who has no assurance of life.
24,23God gives them
security, and they rest in it.
His eyes are on their ways.
- 24,24They are exalted;
yet a little while, and they are gone.
They are brought low, they are taken out of the way as all others,
and are cut off as the tops of the ears of grain.
- 24,25If it isn't so
now, who will prove me a liar,
and make my speech worth nothing?
-
25,1Then Bildad the
Shuhite answered,
- 25,2 Dominion and fear
are with Him.
He makes peace in His high places.
- 25,3Can His armies be
counted?
On whom does His light not arise?
- 25,4How then can man be
just with God?
Or how can he who is born of a woman be clean?
25,5Behold, even the moon
has no brightness,
and the stars are not pure in His sight;
- 25,6How much less man,
who is a worm,
the son of man, who is a worm!
-
26,1Then Job answered, and said,
- 26,2 How have you
helped him who is without power!
How have you saved the arm that has no strength!
- 26,3How have you
counseled him who has no wisdom,
and plentifully declared sound knowledge!
- 26,4To whom have you
uttered words?
Whose spirit came forth from you?
-
- 26,5 Those who are
deceased tremble,
those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
- 26,6Hell is naked before God,
and Abaddon has no covering.
- 26,7He stretches out the
north over empty space,
and hangs the earth on nothing.
- 26,8He binds up the
waters in his thick clouds,
and the cloud is not burst under them.
- 26,9He encloses the face
of His throne,
and spreads His cloud on it.
- 26,10He has described a
boundary on the surface of the waters,
and to the confines of light and darkness.
- 26,11The pillars of
heaven tremble
and are astonished at His rebuke.
- 26,12He stirs up the sea
with His power,
and by His understanding He strikes Rahab.
- 26,13By His Spirit the
Heavens are garnished.
His hand has pierced the swift serpent.
- 26,14Behold, these are
but the outskirts of His ways.
How small a whisper do we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?
-
27,1Job again took up his
parable, and said,
- 27,2 As God lives, who
has taken away my right,
the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter.
- 27,3For the length of my
life is still in me,
and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;
- 27,4Surely my lips shall
not speak unrighteousness,
neither shall my tongue utter deceit.
- 27,5Far be it from me
that I should justify you.
Until I die I will not put away my integrity from me.
- 27,6I hold fast to my
righteousness, and will not let it go.
My heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.
- 27,7 Let my enemy be as
the wicked.
Let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
- 27,8For what is the hope
of the godless, when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
27,9Will God hear his cry
when trouble comes on him?
- 27,10Will he delight
himself in the Almighty,
and call on God at all times?
- 27,11I will teach you
about the hand of God.
That which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.
- 27,12Behold, all of you
have seen it yourselves;
why then have you become altogether vain?
- 27,13 This is the
portion of a wicked man with God,
the heritage of oppressors, which they receive from the Almighty.
- 27,14If his children are
multiplied, it is for the sword.
His offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.
- 27,15Those who remain of
him shall be buried in death.
His widows shall make no lamentation.
- 27,16Though he heap up
silver as the dust,
and prepare clothing as the clay;
- 27,17He may prepare it,
but the just shall put it on,
and the innocent shall divide the silver.
- 27,18He builds his house
as the moth,
as a booth which the watchman makes.
- 27,19He lies down rich,
but he shall not do so again.
He opens his eyes, and he is not.
- 27,20Terrors overtake him
like waters.
A storm steals him away in the night.
- 27,21The east wind
carries him away, and he departs.
It sweeps him out of his place.
- 27,22For it hurls at him,
and does not spare,
as he flees away from his hand.
- 27,23Men shall clap their
hands at him,
and shall hiss him out of his place.
- 28,1 Surely there is a
mine for silver,
and a place for gold which they refine.
28,2Iron is taken out of
the earth,
and copper is smelted out of the ore.
- 28,3Man sets an end to
darkness,
and searches out, to the furthest bound,
the stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.
- 28,4He breaks open a
shaft away from where people live.
They are forgotten by the foot.
They hang far from men, they swing back and forth.
- 28,5As for the earth, out
of it comes bread;
Underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
- 28,6Sapphires come from
its rocks.
It has dust of gold.
- 28,7That path no bird of
prey knows,
neither has the falcon's eye seen it.
- 28,8The proud animals
have not trodden it,
nor has the fierce lion passed by there.
- 28,9He puts forth His
hand on the flinty rock,
and he overturns the mountains by the roots.
- 28,10He cuts out channels
among the rocks.
His eye sees every precious thing.
- 28,11He binds the streams
that they don't trickle.
The thing that is hidden he brings forth to light.
28,12 But where shall
wisdom be found?
Where is the place of understanding?
28,13Man doesn't know
its price;
Neither is it found in the land of the living.
- 28,14The deep says, 'It
isn't in me.'
The sea says, 'It isn't with me.'
28,15It can't be gotten
for gold,
neither shall silver be weighed for its price.
28,16It can't be valued
with the gold of Ophir,
with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
28,17Gold and glass
can't equal it,
neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
28,18No mention shall be
made of coral or of crystal.
The price of wisdom is above rubies.
28,19The topaz of
Ethiopia shall not equal it,
Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
- 28,20Where then does
wisdom come from?
Where is the place of understanding?
28,21Seeing it is hidden
from the eyes of all living,
and kept close from the birds of the sky.
28,22Destruction and
Death say,
'We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.'
- 28,23 God understands
its way,
and He knows its place.
28,24For He looks to the
ends of the earth,
and sees under the whole sky.
28,25He establishes the
force of the wind.
He measures out the waters by measure.
- 28,26When He made a
decree for the rain,
and a way for the lightning of the thunder;
28,27then He saw it, and
declared it.
He established it, and searched it out.
- 28,28To man He said,
'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom.
To depart from evil is understanding.'
29,1Job again took up his
parable, and said,
- 29,2 Oh that I were as
in the months of old,
as in the days when God watched over me;
29,3when His lamp shone
on my head,
and by His light I walked through darkness,
29,4as I was in the
ripeness of my days,
when the friendship of God was in my tent,
29,5when the Almighty was
yet with me,
and my children were around me,
29,6when my steps were
washed with butter,
and the rock poured out streams of oil for me,
29,7when I went forth to
the city gate,
when I prepared my seat in the street.
29,8The young men saw me
and hid themselves.
The aged rose up and stood.
29,9The princes refrained
from talking,
and laid their hand on their mouth.
29,10The voice of the
nobles was hushed,
and their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
- 29,11For when the ear
heard me, then it blessed me;
and when the eye saw me, it commended me:
29,12Because I delivered
the poor who cried,
and the fatherless also, who had none to help him,
29,13the blessing of him
who was ready to perish came on me,
and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
29,14I put on
righteousness, and it clothed me.
My justice was as a robe and a diadem.
29,15I was eyes to the
blind,
and feet to the lame.
29,16I was a father to
the needy.
The cause of him who I didn't know, I searched out.
29,17I broke the jaws of
the unrighteous,
and plucked the prey out of his teeth.
- 29,18Then I said, 'I
shall die in my own house,
I shall number my days as the sand.
29,19My root is spread
out to the waters.
The dew lies all night on my branch.
29,20My glory is fresh in
me.
My bow is renewed in my hand.'
- 29,21 Men listened to
me, waited,
and kept silence for my counsel.
29,22After my words they
didn't speak again.
My speech fell on them.
29,23They waited for me
as for the rain.
Their mouths drank as with the spring rain.
29,24I smiled on them
when they had no confidence.
They didn't reject the light of my face.
29,25I chose out their
way, and sat as chief.
I lived as a king in the army,
as one who comforts the mourners.
- 30,1 But now those who
are younger than I have me in derision,
whose fathers I would have disdained to put with my sheep dogs.
- 30,2Of what use is the
strength of their hands to me,
men in whom ripe age has perished?
- 30,3They are gaunt from
lack and famine.
They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of waste and desolation.
- 30,4They pluck salt herbs
by the bushes.
The roots of the broom are their food.
- 30,5They are driven out
from the midst of men.
They cry after them as after a thief;
- 30,6So that they dwell in
frightful valleys,
and in holes of the earth and of the rocks.
- 30,7Among the bushes they
bray;
and under the nettles they are gathered together.
- 30,8They are children of
fools, yes, children of base men.
They were flogged out of the land.
-
- 30,9 Now I have become
their song.
I am a byword to them.
- 30,10They abhor me, they
stand aloof from me,
and don't hesitate to spit in my face.
- 30,11For He has untied
his cord, and afflicted me;
and they have thrown off restraint before me.
- 30,12On my right hand
rise the rabble.
They thrust aside my feet,
They cast up against me their ways of destruction.
- 30,13They mar my path,
They set forward my calamity,
without anyone's help.
- 30,14As through a wide
breach they come,
in the midst of the ruin they roll themselves in.
- 30,15Terrors have turned
on me.
They chase my honor as the wind.
My welfare has passed away as a cloud.
-
- 30,16 Now my soul is
poured out within me.
Days of affliction have taken hold on me.
- 30,17In the night season
my bones are pierced in me,
and the pains that gnaw me take no rest.
- 30,18By great force is my
garment disfigured.
It binds me about as the collar of my coat.
- 30,19He has cast me into
the mire.
I have become like dust and ashes.
- 30,20I cry to you, and
you do not answer me.
I stand up, and you gaze at me.
- 30,21You have turned to
be cruel to me.
With the might of your hand you persecute me.
- 30,22You lift me up to
the wind, and drive me with it.
You dissolve me in the storm.
- 30,23For I know that you
will bring me to death,
To the house appointed for all living.
- 30,24 However doesn't
one stretch out a hand in his fall?
Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?
- 30,25Didn't I weep for
him who was in trouble?
Wasn't my soul grieved for the needy?
- 30,26When I looked for
good, then evil came;
When I waited for light, there came darkness.
- 30,27My heart is
troubled, and doesn't rest.
Days of affliction have come on me.
- 30,28I go mourning
without the sun.
I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.
- 30,29I am a brother to
jackals,
and a companion to ostriches.
- 30,30My skin grows black
and peels from me.
My bones are burned with heat.
- 30,31Therefore my harp
has turned to mourning,
and my pipe into the voice of those who weep.
- 31,1 I made a covenant
with my eyes,
how then should I look lustfully at a young woman?
- 31,2For what is the
portion from God above,
and the heritage from the Almighty on high?
- 31,3Is it not calamity to
the unrighteous,
and disaster to the workers of iniquity?
- 31,4Doesn't He see my
ways,
and number all my steps?
- 31,5 If I have walked
with falsehood,
and my foot has hurried to deceit
31,6let me be weighed in
an even balance,
that God may know my integrity;
31,7if my step has turned
out of the way,
if my heart walked after my eyes,
if any defilement has stuck to my hands,
31,8then let me sow, and
let another eat.
Let the produce of my field be rooted out.
- 31,9 If my heart has
been enticed to a woman,
and I have laid wait at my neighbor's door,
31,10then let my wife
grind for another,
and let others sleep with her.
31,11For that would be an
incest,
and an evil action.
- 31,12For it is a fire
that consumes and destroys,
and would uproot all my produce.
- 31,13 If I have
despised the cause of my male servant
or of my female servant,
when they contended with me;
- 31,14What then shall I do
when God rises up?
When He visits, what shall I answer Him?
- 31,15Didn't He who made
me in the womb make him?
Weren't we both fashion in a womb?
- 31,16 If I have
withheld the poor from their desire,
or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
31,17or have eaten my
morsel alone,
and the fatherless has not eaten of it
31,18from my youth
he grew up with me as with a father,
her have I guided from my mother's womb;
31,19if I have seen any
perish for want of clothing,
or that the needy had no covering;
31,20if his heart
hasn't blessed me,
if he hasn't been warmed with my sheep's fleece;
31,21if I have lifted up
my hand against the fatherless,
because I saw my help in the gate,
- 31,22Then let my shoulder
fall from the shoulder blade,
and my arm be broken from the bone.
- 31,23For calamity from
God is a terror to me.
His judgement can't be withstood.
- 31,24 If I have made
gold my hope,
and said to fine gold, 'You are my confidence;'
31,25If I rejoiced
because my wealth was great,
and because my hand had had much;
31,26if I have seen the
sun when it shined,
or the moon moving in splendor,
31,27and my heart has
been secretly enticed,
and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,
31,28this also would be
an iniquity to be punished by the judges;
for I should have denied the God who is above.
- 31,29 If I have
rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me,
or lifted up myself when evil found him;
31,30I didn't
allow my mouth to sin,
by wishing him dead;
- 31,31if the men of my
tent have not said,
'Who can find one who has not been filled with his meat?'
31,32the foreigner has
not lodged in the street,
but I have opened my doors to the traveler;
- 31,33if like Adam I have
covered my transgressions,
by hiding my iniquity in my heart,
31,34because I feared the
great multitude,
and the contempt of families terrified me,
so that I kept silence, and didn't go out of the door,
31,35oh that I had one to
hear me!
Here is my signature, let the Almighty answer me;
let the accuser write my indictment!
- 31,36Surely I would carry
it on my shoulder;
and I would bind it to me as a crown.
31,37I would declare to
Him the number of my steps.
as a prince would I go near to Him.
- 31,38If my land cries out
against me,
and its furrows weep together;
31,39if I have eaten its
fruits without money,
or have caused its owners to lose their life,
31,40let briars grow
instead of wheat,
and stinkweed instead of barley.
The words of Job are ended.
- 32,1So these three men
ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
32,2Then the wrath of Elihu the son
of Barachel, the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was kindled against Job.
His wrath was kindled because he justified himself rather than God.
32,3Also his wrath was
kindled against his three friends, because they had found no answer, and
yet had condemned Job.
32,4Now Elihu had waited to speak to
Job, because they were elder than he.
32,5When Elihu saw that there was no
answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was kindled.
- 32,6Elihu the son of
Barachel the Buzite answered,
I am young, and you are very old;
Therefore I held back, and didn't dare show you my opinion.
32,7I said, 'Days
should speak,
and multitude of years should teach wisdom.'
32,8There is a spirit
in man,
and the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.
32,9It is not the great
who are wise,
nor the aged who understand justice.
32,10Therefore I said,
'Listen to me;
I also will show my opinion.'
- 32,11 Behold, I waited
for your words,
and I listened for your reasoning,
while you searched out what to say.
32,12I gave you my
full attention,
but there was no one who convinced Job,
or who answered his words, among you.
- 32,13Beware lest you say,
'We have found wisdom,
God may refute him, not man;'
32,14for he has not
directed his words against me;
neither will I answer him with your speeches.
32,15 They are amazed.
They answer no more.
They don't have a word to say.
32,16Shall I wait,
because they don't speak,
because they stand still, and answer no more?
- 32,17I also will answer
my part,
and I also will show my opinion.
32,18For I am full of
words.
The spirit within me constrains me.
32,19Behold, my breast is
as wine which has no vent;
like new wineskins it is ready to burst.
32,20I will speak, that I
may be refreshed.
I will open my lips and answer.
- 32,21Please don't let
me respect any man's person,
neither will I give flattering titles to any man.
32,22For I don't know
how to give flattering titles;
or else my Maker would soon take me away.
- 33,1 However, Job,
please hear my speech,
and listen to all my words.
- 33,2See now, I have
opened my mouth.
My tongue has spoken in my mouth.
33,3My words shall utter
the uprightness of my heart.
That which my lips know they shall speak sincerely.
- 33,4The Spirit of God has
made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
- 33,5If you can, answer me.
Set your words in order before me, and stand forth.
- 33,6Behold, I am toward
God even as you are.
I am also formed out of the clay.
- 33,7Behold, my terror
shall not make you afraid,
neither shall my pressure be heavy on you.
- 33,8 Surely you have
spoken in my hearing,
I have heard the voice of your words, saying,
33,9'I am clean,
without disobedience.
I am innocent, neither is there iniquity in me.
- 33,10Behold, He finds
occasions against me.
He counts me for His enemy.
33,11He puts my feet in
the stocks.
He marks all my paths.'
- 33,12 Behold, I will
answer you. In this you are not just,
for God is greater than man.
- 33,13Why do you strive
against Him,
because He doesn't give an account?
33,14For God speaks once,
yes twice, though man pays no attention.
33,15In a dream, in a
vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls on men,
in slumbering on the bed;
33,16Then he opens the
ears of men,
and seals their instruction,
33,17That he may withdraw
man from his purpose,
and hide pride from man.
- 33,18He keeps back his
soul from the pit,
and his life from perishing by the sword.
33,19He is chastened also
with pain on his bed,
with continual strife in his bones;
33,20So that his life
abhors bread,
and his soul dainty food.
- 33,21His flesh is so
consumed away, that it can't be seen.
His bones that were not seen stick out.
33,22And his soul draws
near to the pit,
and his life to the destroyers.
- 33,23 If there is
beside him an angel,
an interpreter, one among a thousand,
to show to man what is right for him;
33,24then God is gracious
to him, and says,
'Deliver him from going down to the pit,
I have found a ransom.'
- 33,25His flesh shall be
fresher than a child's.
He returns to the days of his youth.
33,26He prays to God, and
he is favorable to Him,
so that he sees his face with joy.
He restores to man his righteousness.
- 33,27He sings before men,
and says,
'I have sinned, and perverted that which was right,
and it didn't profit me.
33,28He has redeemed my
soul from going into the pit.
My life shall see the light.'
- 33,29 Behold, God works
all these things,
twice, yes three times, with a man,
33,30to bring back his
soul from the pit,
that he may be enlightened with the light of the living.
- 33,31Mark well, Job, and
listen to me.
Hold your peace, and I will speak.
33,32If you have anything
to say, answer me.
Speak, for I desire to justify you.
- 33,33If not, listen to me.
Hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom.
- 34,1Moreover Elihu
answered,
- 34,2 Hear my words, you
wise men.
Give ear to me, you who have knowledge.
- 34,3For the ear tries
words,
as the palate tastes food.
- 34,4Let us choose for us
that which is right.
Let us know among ourselves what is good.
- 34,5For Job has said,
'I am righteous,
God has taken away my right:
- 34,6Notwithstanding my
right I am considered a liar.
My wound is incurable, though I am without disobedience.'
- 34,7What man is like Job,
who drinks scorn like water,
- 34,8Who goes in company
with the workers of iniquity,
and walks with wicked men?
- 34,9For he has said,
'It profits a man nothing
that he should delight himself with God.'
-
- 34,10 Therefore listen
to me, you men of understanding:
far be it from God, that He should do wickedness,
from the Almighty, that He should commit iniquity.
- 34,11For the work of a
man he will render to Him,
and cause every man to find according to His ways.
- 34,12Surely, God will
not do wickedly,
neither will the Almighty pervert justice.
- 34,13Who put Him in
charge of the earth?
or who has appointed Him over the whole world?
- 34,14If He set his heart
on Himself,
If He gathered His spirit and breath,
- 34,15All flesh would
perish together,
and man would turn again to dust.
- 34,16 If now you have
understanding, hear this.
Listen to the voice of my words.
- 34,17Shall even one who
hates justice govern?
Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty?
- 34,18Who says to a king,
'Vile!'
or to nobles, 'Wicked!'?
- 34,19Who doesn't
respect the persons of princes,
nor respects the rich more than the poor;
for they all are the work of His hands.
- 34,20In a moment they
die, even at midnight.
The people are shaken and pass away.
The mighty are taken away without a hand.
- 34,21 For His eyes are
on the ways of a man.
He sees all his goings.
- 34,22There is no
darkness, nor thick gloom,
where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
- 34,23For He doesn't
need to consider a man further,
that he should go before God in judgment.
- 34,24He breaks in pieces
mighty men in ways past finding out,
and sets others in their place.
- 34,25Therefore He takes
knowledge of their works.
He overturns them in the night, so that they are destroyed.
- 34,26He strikes them as
wicked men
in the open sight of others;
34,27because they turned
aside from following Him,
and misunderstood His ways,
34,28so that they caused
the cry of the poor to come to Him.
He heard the cry of the afflicted.
- 34,29When he gives
quietness, who then can condemn?
When he hides His face, who then can see Him?
Alike whether to a nation, or to a man,
34,30that the godless man
may not reign,
that there be no one to ensnare the people.
- 34,31 For has any said
to God,
'I am guilty, but I will not offend any more.
34,32Teach me that which
I don't see.
If I have done iniquity, I will do it no more'?
- 34,33Shall His recompense
be as you desire, that you refuse it?
For you must choose, and not I.
Therefore speak what you know.
- 34,34Men of understanding tell me,
every wise man who hears me:
34,35'Job speaks
without knowledge.
His words are without wisdom.'
- 34,36I wish that Job were
tried to the end,
because of his answering like wicked men.
34,37For he adds
rebellion to his sin.
He claps his hands among us,
and multiplies his words against God.
- 35,1Moreover Elihu
answered,
- 35,2 Do you think this
to be your right,
or do you say, 'My righteousness is more than God's,'
35,3That you ask, 'What
advantage will it be to you?
What profit shall I have, more than if I had sinned?'
- 35,4I will answer you,
and your companions with you.
35,5Look to the Heavens,
and see.
See the skies, which are higher than you.
- 35,6If you have sinned,
what effect do you have against Him?
If your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to Him?
35,7If you are righteous,
what do you give Him?
Or what does He receive from your hand?
- 35,8Your wickedness may
hurt a man as you are,
and your righteousness may profit a son of man.
- 35,9 By reason of the
multitude of oppressions they cry out.
They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty.
- 35,10But none says,
'Where is God my Maker,
who gives songs in the night,
35,11who teaches us more
than the animals of the earth,
and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?'
- 35,12There they cry, but
none gives answer,
because of the pride of evil men.
- 35,13Surely God will not
hear an empty cry,
neither will the Almighty regard it.
35,14How much less when
you say you don't see Him.
The cause is before Him, and you wait for Him!
- 35,15But now, because He
has not visited in His anger,
neither does He greatly regard arrogance.
35,16Therefore Job opens
his mouth with empty talk,
and he multiplies words without knowledge.
- 36,1Elihu continued,
and said,
- 36,2 Bear with me a
little, and I will show you,
for I still have something to say on God's behalf.
- 36,3I will get my
knowledge from afar,
and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
- 36,4For truly my words
are not false.
One who is perfect in knowledge is with you.
-
- 36,5 Behold, God is
mighty, and doesn't despise anyone.
He is mighty in strength of understanding.
36,6He doesn't preserve
the life of the wicked,
but gives to the afflicted their right.
36,7He doesn't withdraw
His eyes from the righteous,
but with kings on the throne,
he sets them forever, and they are exalted.
36,8If they are bound in
fetters,
and are taken in the cords of afflictions,
36,9He then shows them
their work,
and their transgressions, that they have behaved themselves proudly.
36,10He also opens their
ears to instruction,
and commands that they return from iniquity.
36,11If they listen and
serve Him,
they shall spend their days in prosperity,
and their years in pleasures.
- 36,12But if they don't
listen, they shall perish by the sword;
they shall die without knowledge.
- 36,13 But those who are
godless in heart lay up anger.
They don't cry for help when He binds them.
36,14They die in youth.
Their life perishes among the unclean.
36,15He delivers the
afflicted by their affliction,
and opens their ear in oppression.
36,16He would have
allured you out of distress,
into a broad place, where there is no restriction.
That which is set on your table would be full of fatness.
36,17 But you are full
of the judgment of the wicked.
Judgment and justice take hold of you.
- 36,18Don't let riches
entice you to wrath,
neither let the great size of a bribe turn you aside.
36,19Would your wealth
sustain you in distress,
or all the might of your strength?
- 36,20Don't desire the
night,
when people are cut off in their place.
- 36,21Take heed, don't
regard iniquity;
for you have chosen this rather than affliction.
- 36,22Behold, God is
exalted in His power.
Who is a teacher like Him?
36,23Who has prescribed
His way for Him?
Or who can say, 'You have committed unrighteousness?'
36,24 Remember to
magnify His work,
whereof men have sung.
36,25All men have looked
thereon.
Man sees it afar off.
- 36,26Behold, God is
great, and we don't know Him.
The number of His years is unsearchable.
36,27For he draws up the
drops of water,
which distill in rain from his vapor,
36,28Which the skies pour
down
and which drop on man abundantly.
36,29Can anyone
understand the spreading of the clouds,
and the thunderings of His pavilion?
36,30Behold, He spreads light around him.
He covers the bottom of the sea.
36,31For by these He
judges the people.
He gives food in abundance.
- 36,32He covers his hands
with the lightning,
and commands it to strike the mark.
36,33Its noise tells
about Him,
and anger that comes up.
- 37,1At this my
heart trembles,
and is moved out of its place.
- 37,2Hear, the
noise of His voice,
the sound that goes out of His mouth.
37,3He sends it forth
under the whole sky,
and His lightning to the ends of the earth.
37,4After it a voice
roars.
He thunders with the voice of majesty.
He doesn't hold back anything when His voice is heard.
37,5God thunders
marvelously with a voice.
He does great things, which we can't comprehend.
- 37,6For He says to the
snow, 'Fall on the earth;'
likewise to the shower of rain,
and to the showers of mighty rain.
37,7He seals up the hand
of every man,
that all men whom He made may know it.
37,8Then the animals take
cover,
and remain in their dens.
37,9Out of its room comes
the storm,
and cold out of the north.
37,10By the breath of
God, ice is given,
and the breadth of the waters is frozen.
37,11He loads the
thick cloud with moisture.
He spreads abroad the cloud of His lightning.
37,12It is turned around
by His guidance,
that they may do whatever He commands them
on the surface of the habitable world,
37,13Whether it is for
correction, or for His land,
or for loving kindness, that He causes it to come.
- 37,14 Listen to this,
Job.
Stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.
37,15Do you know how God
controls them,
and causes the lightning of His cloud to shine?
37,16Do you know the
workings of the clouds,
the wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge?
37,17You whose clothing
is warm,
when the earth is still by reason of the south wind?
37,18Can you, spread out the sky like Him,
which is strong as a cast metal mirror?
- 37,19Teach us what we
shall tell Him,
for we can't make our case by reason of darkness.
37,20Shall it be told Him
that I would speak?
Or should a man wish that he were swallowed up?
- 37,21Now men don't see
the light which is bright in the skies,
but the wind passes, and clears them.
37,22Out of the north
comes golden splendor.
With God is awesome majesty.
37,23We can't reach the
Almighty.
He is exalted in power.
In justice and great righteousness, he will not oppress.
37,24Therefore men revere
Him.
He doesn't regard any who are wise of heart.
- 38,1Then the Lord answered
Job out of a whirlwind,
- 38,2 Who is this who
darkens counsel
by words without knowledge?
- 38,3Brace yourself like a
man,
for I will question you, then you answer Me!
- 38,4 Where were you
when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Declare, if you have understanding.
38,5Who determined its
measures, if you know?
Or who stretched the line on it?
38,6Whereupon were its
foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
38,7when the morning
stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
- 38,8 Or who shut up the
sea with doors,
when it broke forth from the womb,
38,9when I made clouds
its garment,
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
- 38,10marked out for it My
bound,
set bars and doors,
38,11and said, 'Here
you may come, but no further.
Here your proud waves shall be stayed.'
- 38,12 Have you
commanded the morning in your days,
and caused the dawn to know its place;
38,13that it might take
hold of the ends of the earth,
and shake the wicked out of it?
38,14It is changed as
clay under the seal,
and stands forth as a garment.
38,15From the wicked,
their light is withheld.
The high arm is broken.
- 38,16 Have you entered
into the springs of the sea?
Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?
- 38,17Have the gates of
death been revealed to you?
Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
- 38,18Have you
comprehended the earth in its breadth?
Declare, if you know it all.
- 38,19 What is the way
to the dwelling of light?
As for darkness, where is its place,
38,20that you should take
it to its bound,
that you should discern the paths to its house?
38,21Surely you know, for
you were born then,
and the number of your days is great!
- 38,22Have you entered the
treasuries of the snow,
or have you seen the treasures of the hail,
38,23which I have
reserved against the time of trouble,
against the day of battle and war?
38,24By what way is the
lightning distributed,
or the east wind scattered on the earth?
38,25Who has cut a
channel for the flood water,
or the path for the thunderstorm;
38,26To cause it to rain
on a land where no man is;
on the wilderness, in which there is no man;
38,27to satisfy the waste
and desolate ground,
to cause the tender grass to spring forth?
- 38,28Does the rain have a
father?
Or who fathers the drops of dew?
38,29Out of whose womb
came the ice?
The gray frost of the sky, who has given birth to it?
- 38,30The waters become
hard like stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen.
- 38,31 Can you bind the
cluster of the Pleiades,
or loosen the cords of Orion?
38,32Can you lead forth
the constellations in their season?
Or can you guide the Bear with her cubs?
- 38,33Do you know the laws
of the Heavens?
Can you establish its dominion over the earth?
- 38,34 Can you lift up
your voice to the clouds,
That abundance of waters may cover you?
- 38,35Can you send forth
lightnings, that they may go?
Do they report to you, 'Here we are?'
- 38,36Who has put wisdom
in the inward parts?
Or who has given understanding to the mind?
- 38,37Who can number the
clouds by wisdom?
Or who can pour out the bottles of the sky,
38,38when the dust runs
into a mass,
and the clods of earth stick together?
- 38,39 Can you hunt the
prey for the lioness,
or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
38,40when they crouch in
their dens,
and lie in wait in the thicket?
- 38,41Who provides for the
raven his prey,
when his young ones cry to God,
and wander for lack of food?
- 39,1 Do you know the
time when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you watch when the doe bears fawns?
- 39,2Can you number the
months that they fulfill?
Or do you know the time when they give birth?
- 39,3They bow themselves,
they bring forth their young,
they end their labor pains.
- 39,4Their young ones
become strong.
They grow up in the open field.
They go forth, and don't return again.
-
- 39,5 Who has set the
wild donkey free?
Or who has loosened the bonds of the swift donkey,
- 39,6Whose home I have
made the wilderness,
and the salt land his dwelling place?
- 39,7He scorns the tumult
of the city,
neither does he hear the shouting of the driver.
- 39,8The range of the
mountains is his pasture,
He searches after every green thing.
- 39,9 Will the wild ox
be content to serve you?
Or will he stay by your feeding trough?
- 39,10Can you hold the
wild ox in the furrow with his harness?
Or will he till the valleys after you?
- 39,11Will you trust him,
because his strength is great?
Or will you leave to him your labor?
- 39,12Will you confide in
him, that he will bring home your seed,
and gather the grain of your threshing floor?
- 39,13 The wings of the
ostrich wave proudly;
but are they the feathers and plumage of love?
- 39,14For she leaves her
eggs on the earth,
warms them in the dust,
- 39,15and forgets that the
foot may crush them,
or that the wild animal may trample them.
- 39,16She deals harshly
with her young ones, as if they were not hers.
Though her labor is in vain, she is without fear,
- 39,17because God has
deprived her of wisdom,
neither has he imparted to her understanding.
- 39,18When she lifts up
herself on high,
she scorns the horse and his rider.
- 39,19 Have you given
the horse might?
Have you clothed his neck with a quivering mane?
- 39,20Have you made him to
leap as a locust?
The glory of his snorting is awesome.
- 39,21He paws in the
valley, and rejoices in his strength.
He goes out to meet the armed men.
- 39,22He mocks at fear,
and is not dismayed,
neither does he turn back from the sword.
- 39,23The quiver rattles
against him,
the flashing spear and the javelin.
- 39,24He eats up the
ground with fierceness and rage,
neither does he stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
- 39,25As often as the
trumpet sounds he snorts, 'Aha!'
He smells the battle afar off,
the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
- 39,26 Is it by your
wisdom that the hawk soars,
and stretches her wings toward the south?
- 39,27Is it at your
command that the eagle mounts up,
and makes his nest on high?
- 39,28On the cliff he
dwells, and makes his home,
on the point of the cliff, and the stronghold.
- 39,29From there he spies
out the prey.
His eyes see it afar off.
- 39,30His young ones also
suck up blood.
Where the slain are, there he is.
- 40,1Moreover the Lord
answered Job,
- 40,2 Shall he who
argues contend with the Almighty?
He who argues with God, let him answer it.
40,3Then Job answered
the Lord,
- 40,4 Behold, I am of
small account. What shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
- 40,5I have spoken once,
and I will not answer;
and twice, but I will proceed no further.
40,6Then the Lord answered
Job out of the whirlwind,
- 40,7 Now brace yourself
like a man.
I will question you, and you will answer me.
- 40,8Will you even annul
My judgment?
Will you condemn Me, that you may be justified?
- 40,9Or do you have an arm
like God?
Can you thunder with a voice like Him?
- 40,10 Now deck yourself
with excellency and dignity.
Array yourself with honor and majesty.
- 40,11Pour out the fury of
your anger.
Look at everyone who is proud, and bring him low.
- 40,12Look at everyone who
is proud, and humble him.
Crush the wicked in their place.
- 40,13Hide them in the
dust together.
Bind their faces in the hidden place.
- 40,14Then I will also
admit to you
that your own right hand can save you.
- 40,15 See now,
behemoth, which I made as well as you.
He eats grass as an ox.
- 40,16Look now, his
strength is in his thighs.
His force is in the muscles of his belly.
- 40,17He moves his tail
like a cedar.
The sinews of his thighs are knit together.
- 40,18His bones are like
tubes of brass.
His limbs are like bars of iron.
- 40,19He is the chief of
the ways of God.
He who made him gives him his sword.
- 40,20Surely the mountains
produce food for him,
where all the animals of the field play.
- 40,21He lies under the
lotus trees,
in the covert of the reed, and the marsh.
- 40,22The lotuses cover
him with their shade.
The willows of the brook surround him.
- 40,23Behold, if a river
overflows, he doesn't tremble.
He is confident, though the Jordan swells even to his mouth.
- 40,24Shall any take him
when he is on the watch,
or pierce through his nose with a snare?
41,1 Can you draw out
Leviathan with a fishhook,
or press down his tongue with a cord?
- 41,2Can you put a rope
into his nose,
or pierce his jaw through with a hook?
- 41,3Will he make many
petitions to you,
or will he speak soft words to you?
- 41,4Will he make a
covenant with you,
that you should take him for a servant forever?
- 41,5Will you play with
him as with a bird?
Or will you bind him for your girls?
- 41,6Will traders barter
for him?
Will they part him among the merchants?
- 41,7Can you fill his skin
with barbed irons,
or his head with fish spears?
- 41,8Lay your hand on him.
Remember the battle, and do so no more.
- 41,9Behold, the hope of
him is in vain.
Won't one be cast down even at the sight of him?
- 41,10None is so fierce
that he dare stir him up.
Who then is he who can stand before Me?
- 41,11Who has first given
to Me, that I should repay him?
Everything under the heavens is mine.
- 41,12 I will not keep
silence concerning his limbs,
nor his mighty strength, nor his goodly frame.
- 41,13Who can strip off
his outer garment?
Who shall come within his jaws?
- 41,14Who can open the
doors of his face?
Around his teeth is terror.
- 41,15Strong scales are
his pride,
shut up together with a close seal.
- 41,16One is so near to
another,
that no air can come between them.
- 41,17They are joined one
to another.
They stick together, so that they can't be pulled apart.
- 41,18His sneezing flashes
out light.
His eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
- 41,19Out of his mouth go
burning torches.
Sparks of fire leap forth.
- 41,20Out of his nostrils
a smoke goes,
as of a boiling pot over a fire of reeds.
- 41,21His breath kindles
coals.
A flame goes forth from his mouth.
- 41,22There is strength in
his neck.
Terror dances before him.
- 41,23The flakes of his
flesh are joined together.
They are firm on him.
They can't be moved.
- 41,24His heart is as firm
as a stone,
as firm as the lower millstone.
- 41,25When he raises
himself up, the mighty are afraid.
They retreat before his thrashing.
- 41,26If one attacks him
with the sword, it can't prevail;
nor the spear, the dart, nor the pointed shaft.
- 41,27He counts iron as
straw;
and brass as rotten wood.
- 41,28The arrow can't
make him flee.
Sling stones are like chaff to him.
- 41,29Clubs are counted as
stubble.
He laughs at the rushing of the javelin.
- 41,30His undersides are
like sharp potsherds,
leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
- 41,31He makes the deep to
boil like a pot.
He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
- 41,32He makes a path
shine after him.
One would think the deep had white hair.
- 41,33On earth there is
not his equal,
that is made without fear.
- 41,34He sees everything
that is high.
He is king over all the sons of pride.
- 42,1Then Job answered
the Lord,
- 42,2 I know that You
can do all things,
and that no purpose of Yours can be restrained.
42,3You asked, 'Who is
this who hides counsel without knowledge?'
therefore I have uttered that which I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I didn't know.
42,4You said, 'Listen,
now, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you will answer Me.'
42,5I had heard of You by
the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees You.
- 42,6Therefore I abhor
myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.
- 42,7It was so, that after
the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite,
My wrath is kindled against you, and against your two friends; for you
have not spoken of Me the thing that is right, as My servant Job has.
42,8Now therefore, take to
yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer
up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you,
for I will accept him, that I not deal with you according to your folly.
For you have not spoken of Me the thing that is right, as My servant Job
has.
42,9So Eliphaz the
Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did
what the Lord commanded them, and the Lord accepted Job.
- 42,10The Lord reversed the
captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends; and the Lord gave Job twice as
much as he had before.
42,11Then came there to him all his
brothers, and all his sisters, and all those who had been of his
acquaintance before, and ate bread with him in his house. They comforted
him, and consoled him concerning all the evil that the Lord had brought on
him. Everyone also gave him one kesitah, and
one ring of gold.
- 42,12So the Lord blessed the
latter end of Job more than his beginning. He had fourteen thousand sheep,
six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female
donkeys. 42,13He had also
seven sons and three daughters.
42,14He called the name of the first,
Jemimah; and the name of the second, Keziah; and the name of the third,
Keren Happuch. 42,15In all
the land were no women found so beautiful as the daughters of Job. Their
father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.
42,16After this Job lived one hundred
forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, to four generations.
42,17So Job died, being old
and full of days.
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