The Book of Job,
chapter 1
1: There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and
that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God, and turned away
from evil.
2: There were born to him seven sons and three daughters.
3: He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five
hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and very many
servants; so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the
east.
4: His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each on
his day; and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and
drink with them.
5: And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would
send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer
burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said,
"It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their
hearts." Thus Job did continually.
6: Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.
7: The Lord said to Satan, "Whence have you come?"
Satan answered the Lord, "From going to and fro on the earth, and
from walking up and down on it."
8: And the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my
servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and
upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?"
9: Then Satan answered the Lord, "Does Job fear God for naught?
10: Hast thou not put a hedge about him and his house and all
that he has, on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and
his possessions have increased in the land.
11: But put forth Thy hand now, and touch all that he has, and he
will curse Thee to Thy face."
12: And the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is
in your power; only upon himself do not put forth your hand." So
Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.
13: Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating
and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house;
14: and there came a messenger to Job, and said, "The oxen
were plowing and the asses feeding beside them;
15: and the Sabe'ans fell upon them and took them, and slew the
servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell
you."
16: While he was yet speaking, there came another, and said,
"The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the
servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you."
17: While he was yet speaking, there came another, and said,
"The Chalde'ans formed three companies, and made a raid upon the
camels and took them, and slew the servants with the edge of the sword;
and I alone have escaped to tell you."
18: While he was yet speaking, there came another, and said,
"Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their
eldest brother's house;
19: and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness, and
struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people,
and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you."
20: Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and
fell upon the ground, and worshiped.
21: And he said, "Naked I came from 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."
22: In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
The Book of Job,
chapter 2
1: Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present
himself before the Lord.
2: And the Lord said to Satan, "Whence have you come?"
Satan answered the Lord, "From going to and fro on the earth, and
from walking up and down on it."
3: And the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered My
servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and
upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast
his integrity, although you moved Me against him, to destroy him without
cause."
4: Then Satan answered the Lord, "Skin for skin! All that a
man has he will give for his life.
5: But put forth Thy hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh,
and he will curse Thee to Thy face."
6: And the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your power;
only spare his life."
7: So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord, and
afflicted Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the
crown of his head.
8: And he took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat
among the ashes.
9: Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast your
integrity? Curse God, and die."
10: But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish
women would speak. Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall
we not receive evil?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
11: Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had
come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eli'phaz the Te'manite,
Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Na'amathite. They made an appointment
together to come to condole with him and comfort him.
12: And when they saw him from afar, they did not recognize him;
and they raised their voices and wept; and they rent their robes and
sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.
13: And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven
nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering
was very great.
The Book of Job,
chapter 3
1: After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his
birth.
2: And Job said:
3: "Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night
which said, `A man-child is conceived.'
4: Let that day be darkness! May God above not seek it, nor light
shine upon it.
5: Let gloom and deep darkness claim it. Let clouds dwell upon
it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
6: That night -- let thick darkness seize it! let it not rejoice
among the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the
months.
7: Yea, let that night be barren; let no joyful cry be heard in
it.
8: Let those curse it who curse the day, who are skilled to rouse
up Levi'athan.
9: Let the stars of its dawn be dark; let it hope for light, but
have none, nor see the eyelids of the morning;
10: because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb, nor
hide trouble from my eyes.
11: "Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb
and expire?
12: Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I
should suck?
13: For then I should have lain down and been quiet; I should
have slept; then I should have been at rest,
14: with kings and counselors of the earth who rebuilt ruins for
themselves,
15: or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with
silver.
16: Or why was I not as a hidden untimely birth, as infants that
never see the light?
17: There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary
are at rest.
18: There the prisoners are at ease together; they hear not the
voice of the taskmaster.
19: The small and the great are there, and the slave is free from
his master.
20: "Why is light given to him that is in misery, and life
to the bitter in soul,
21: who long for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more
than for hid treasures;
22: who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they find the
grave?
23: Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, whom God has
hedged in?
24: For my sighing comes as my bread, and my groaning are poured
out like water.
25: For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread
befalls me.
26: I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest; but trouble
comes
The Book of Job,
chapter 4
1: Then Eli'phaz the Te'manite answered:
2: "If one ventures a word with you, will you be offended?
Yet who can keep from speaking?
3: Behold, you have instructed many, and you have strengthened
the weak hands.
4: Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have
made firm the feeble knees.
5: But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches
you, and you are dismayed.
6: Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of
your ways your hope?
7: "Think now, who that was innocent ever perished? Or where
were the upright cut off?
8: As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap
the same.
9: By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of His
anger they are consumed.
10: The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion, the teeth
of the young lions, are broken.
11: The strong lion perishes for lack of prey, and the whelps of
the lioness are scattered.
12: "Now a word was brought to me stealthily, my ear
received the whisper of it.
13: Amid thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep
falls on men,
14: dread came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones
shake.
15: A spirit glided past my face; the hair of my flesh stood up.
16: It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance. A
form was before my eyes; there was silence, then I heard a voice:
17: `Can mortal man be righteous before God? Can a man be pure
before His Maker?
18: Even in His servants He puts no trust, and His angels He
charges with error;
19: how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose
foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth.
20: Between morning and evening they are destroyed; they perish
for ever without any regarding it.
21: If their tent-cord is plucked up within them, do they not
die, and that without wisdom?'
The Book of Job,
chapter 5
1: "Call now; is there any one who will answer you? To which
of the holy ones will you turn?
2: Surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple.
3: I have seen the fool taking root, but suddenly I cursed his
dwelling.
4: His sons are far from safety, they are crushed in the gate,
and there is no one to deliver them.
5: His harvest the hungry eat, and he takes it even out of
thorns; and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
6: For affliction does not come from the dust, nor does trouble
sprout from the ground;
7: but man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.
8: "As for me, I would seek God, and to God would I commit
my cause;
9: who does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things
without number:
10: He gives rain upon the earth and sends waters upon the
fields;
11: He sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are
lifted to safety.
12: He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands
achieve no success.
13: He takes the wise in their own craftiness; and the schemes of
the wily are brought to a quick end.
14: They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope at noonday
as in the night.
15: But He saves the fatherless from their mouth, the needy from
the hand of the mighty.
16: So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts her mouth.
17: "Behold, happy is the man whom God reproves; therefore
despise not the chastening of the Almighty.
18: For He wounds, but He binds up; He smites, but His hands
heal.
19: He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven there shall
no evil touch you.
20: In famine He will redeem you from death, and in war from the
power of the sword.
21: You shall be hid from the scourge of the tongue, and shall
not fear destruction when it comes.
22: At destruction and famine you shall laugh, and shall not fear
the beasts of the earth.
23: For you shall be in league with the stones of the field, and
the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.
24: You shall know that your tent is safe, and you shall inspect
your fold and miss nothing.
25: You shall know also that your descendants shall be many, and
your offspring as the grass of the earth.
26: You shall come to your grave in ripe old age, as a shock of
grain comes up to the threshing floor in its season.
27: Lo, this we have searched out; it is true. Hear, and know it
for your good."
The Book of Job,
chapter 6
1: Then Job answered:
2: "O that my vexation were weighed, and all my calamity
laid in the balances!
3: For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;
therefore my words have been rash.
4: For the arrows of the Almighty are in me; my spirit drinks
their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
5: Does the wild ass bray when he has grass, or the ox low over
his fodder?
6: Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt, or is there
any taste in the slime of the purslane?
7: My appetite refuses to touch them; they are as food that is
loathsome to me.
8: "O that I might have my request, and that God would grant
my desire;
9: that it would please God to crush me, that He would let loose
His hand and cut me off!
10: This would be my consolation; I would even exult in pain
unsparing; for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
11: What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end,
that I should be patient?
12: Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?
13: In truth I have no help in me, and any resource is driven
from me.
14: "He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the
fear of the Almighty.
15: My brethren are treacherous as a torrent-bed, as freshets
that pass away,
16: which are dark with ice, and where the snow hides itself.
17: In time of heat they disappear; when it is hot, they vanish
from their place.
18: The caravans turn aside from their course; they go up into
the waste, and perish.
19: The caravans of Tema look, the travelers of Sheba hope.
20: They are disappointed because they were confident; they come
thither and are confounded.
21: Such you have now become to me; you see my calamity, and are
afraid.
22: Have I said, `Make me a gift'? Or, `From your wealth offer a
bribe for me'?
23: Or, `Deliver me from the adversary's hand'? Or, `Ransom me
from the hand of oppressors'?
24: "Teach me, and I will be silent; make me understand how
I have erred.
25: How forceful are honest words! But what does reproof from you
reprove?
26: Do you think that you can reprove words, when the speech of a
despairing man is wind?
27: You would even cast lots over the fatherless, and bargain
over your friend.
28: "But now, be pleased to look at me; for I will not lie
to your face.
29: Turn, I pray, let no wrong be done. Turn now, my vindication
is at stake.
30: Is there any wrong on my tongue? Cannot my taste discern
calamity?
The Book of Job,
chapter 7
1: "Has not man a hard service upon earth, and are not his
days like the days of a hireling?
2: Like a slave who longs for the shadow, and like a hireling who
looks for his wages,
3: so I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are
apportioned to me.
4: When I lie down I say, `When shall I arise?' But the night is
long, and I am full of tossing till the dawn.
5: My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt; my skin hardens, then
breaks out afresh.
6: My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and come to their
end without hope.
7: "Remember that my life is a breath; my eye will never
again see good.
8: The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more; while Thy
eyes are upon me, I shall be gone.
9: As the cloud fades and vanishes, so he who goes down to Sheol
does not come up;
10: he returns no more to his house, nor does his place know him
any more.
11: "Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in
the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12: Am I the sea, or a sea monster, that thou set a guard
over me?
13: When I say, `My bed will comfort me, my couch will ease my
complaint,'
14: then thou dost scare me with dreams and terrify me with
visions,
15: so that I would choose strangling and death rather than my
bones.
16: I loathe my life; I would not live for ever. Let me alone,
for my days are a breath.
17: What is man, that thou dost make so much of him, and that
thou dost set Thy mind upon him,
18: dost visit him every morning, and test him every moment?
19: How long wilt thou not look away from me, nor let me alone
till I swallow my spittle?
20: If I sin, what do I do to Thee,
Thou watcher of men? Why hast Thou made me Thy mark? Why have I become a burden to Thee?
21: Why dost thou not pardon my transgression and take away my
iniquity? For now I shall lie in the earth; Thou wilt seek me, but I
shall not be."
The Book of Job,
chapter 8
1: Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2: "How long will you say these things, and the words of
your mouth be a great wind?
3: Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the
right?
4: If your children have sinned against him, He has delivered
them into the power of their transgression.
5: If you will seek God and make supplication to the Almighty,
6: if you are pure and upright, surely then He will rouse himself
for you and reward you with a rightful habitation.
7: And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be
very great.
8: "For inquire, I pray you, of bygone ages, and consider
what the fathers have found;
9: for we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, for our days on
earth are a shadow.
10: Will they not teach you, and tell you, and utter words out of
their understanding?
11: "Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds
flourish where there is no water?
12: While yet in flower and not cut down, they wither before any
other plant.
13: Such are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the
godless man shall perish.
14: His confidence breaks in sunder, and his trust is a spider's
web.
15: He leans against his house, but it does not stand; he lays
hold of it, but it does not endure.
16: He thrives before the sun, and his shoots spread over his
garden.
17: His roots twine about the stone heap; he lives among the
rocks.
18: If he is destroyed from his place, then it will deny him,
saying, `I have never seen you.'
19: Behold, this is the joy of his way; and out of the earth
others will spring.
20: "Behold, God will not reject a blameless man, nor take
the hand of evildoers.
21: He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with
shouting.
22: Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent
of the wicked will be no more."
The Book of Job,
chapter 9
1: Then Job answered:
2: "Truly I know that it is so: But how can a man be just
before God?
3: If one wished to contend with Him, one could not answer Him
once in a thousand times.
4: He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength -- who has
hardened himself against Him, and succeeded? --
5: He who removes mountains, and they know it not, when He
overturns them in His anger;
6: who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars
tremble;
7: who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the
stars;
8: who alone stretched out the heavens, and trampled the waves of
the sea;
9: who made the Bear and Orion, the Plei'ades and the chambers of
the south;
10: who does great things beyond understanding, and marvelous
things without number.
11: Lo, He passes by me, and I see Him not; He moves on, but I do
not perceive Him.
12: Behold, He snatches away; who can hinder Him? Who will say to
Him, `What doest thou'?
13: "God will not turn back His anger; beneath Him bowed the
helpers of Rahab.
14: How then can I answer Him, choosing my words with Him?
15: Though I am innocent, I cannot answer Him; I must appeal for
mercy to my accuser.
16: If I summoned Him and He answered me, I would not believe
that He was listening to my voice.
17: For He crushes me with a tempest, and multiplies my wounds
without cause;
18: He will not let me get my breath, but fills me with
bitterness.
19: If it is a contest of strength, behold Him! If it is a matter
of justice, who can summon Him?
20: Though I am innocent, my own mouth would condemn me; though I
am blameless, He would prove me perverse.
21: I am blameless; I regard not myself; I loathe my life.
22: It is all one; therefore I say, He destroys both the
blameless and the wicked.
23: When disaster brings sudden death, He mocks at the calamity
of the innocent.
24: The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He covers the
faces of its judges -- if it is not He, who then is it?
25: "My days are swifter than a runner; they flee away, they
see no good.
26: They go by like skiffs of reed, like an eagle swooping on the
prey.
27: If I say, `I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad
countenance, and be of good cheer,'
28: I become afraid of all my suffering, for I know thou wilt not
hold me innocent.
29: I shall be condemned; why then do I labor in vain?
30: If I wash myself with snow, and cleanse my hands with lye,
31: yet thou wilt plunge me into a pit, and my own clothes will
abhor me.
32: For He is not a man, as I am, that I might answer Him, that
we should come to trial together.
33: There is no umpire between us, who might lay his hand upon us
both.
34: Let Him take His rod away from me, and let not dread of Him
terrify me.
35: Then I would speak without fear of Him, for I am not so in
myself.
The Book of Job,
chapter 10
1: "I loathe my life; I will give free utterance to my
complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
2: I will say to God, Do not condemn me; let me know why thou
dost contend against me.
3: Does it seem good to Thee to oppress, to despise the work of
Thy hands and favor the designs of the wicked?
4: Hast thou eyes of flesh? Dost thou see as man sees?
5: Are Thy days as the days of man, or Thy years as man's years,
6: that thou dost seek out my iniquity and search for my sin,
7: although thou knows that I am not guilty, and there is none
to deliver out of Thy hand?
8: Thy hands fashioned and made me; and now thou dost turn about
and destroy me.
9: Remember that thou hast made me of clay; and wilt thou turn me
to dust again?
10: Did thou not pour me out like milk and curdle me like
cheese?
11: Thou did clothe me with skin and flesh, and knit me
together with bones and sinews.
12: Thou hast granted me life and steadfast love; and Thy care
has preserved my spirit.
13: Yet these things thou did hide in Thy heart; I know that
this was Thy purpose.
14: If I sin, thou dost mark me, and dost not acquit me of my
iniquity.
15: If I am wicked, woe to me! If I am righteous, I cannot lift
up my head, for I am filled with disgrace and look upon my affliction.
16: And if I lift myself up, thou dost hunt me like a lion, and
again work wonders against me;
17: thou dost renew Thy witnesses against me, and increase Thy
vexation toward me; thou dost bring fresh hosts against me.
18: "Why did thou bring me forth from the womb? Would that
I had died before any eye had seen me,
19: and were as though I had not been, carried from the womb to
the grave.
20: Are not the days of my life few? Let me alone, that I may
find a little comfort
21: before I go whence I shall not return, to the land of gloom
and deep darkness,
22: the land of gloom and chaos, where light is as
darkness."
The Book of Job,
chapter 11
1: Then Zophar the Na'amathite answered:
2: "Should a multitude of words go unanswered, and a man
full of talk be vindicated?
3: Should your babble silence men, and when you mock, shall no
one shame you?
4: For you say, `My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in God's
eyes.'
5: But oh, that God would speak, and open His lips to you,
6: and that He would tell you the secrets of wisdom! For He is
manifold in understanding. Know then that God exacts of you less than
your guilt deserves.
7: "Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find
out the limit of the Almighty?
8: It is higher than heaven -- what can you do? Deeper than Sheol
-- what can you know?
9: Its measure is longer than the earth, and broader than the
sea.
10: If He passes through, and imprisons, and calls to judgment,
who can hinder Him?
11: For He knows worthless men; when He sees iniquity, will He
not consider it?
12: But a stupid man will get understanding, when a wild ass's
colt is born a man.
13: "If you set your heart aright, you will stretch out your
hands toward Him.
14: If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, and let not
wickedness dwell in your tents.
15: Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish; you
will be secure, and will not fear.
16: You will forget your misery; you will remember it as waters
that have passed away.
17: And your life will be brighter than the noonday; its darkness
will be like the morning.
18: And you will have confidence, because there is hope; you will
be protected and take your rest in safety.
19: You will lie down, and none will make you afraid; many will
entreat your favor.
20: But the eyes of the wicked will fail; all way of escape will
be lost to them, and their hope is to breathe their last."
The Book of Job,
chapter 12
1: Then Job answered:
2: "No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with
you.
3: But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to
you. Who does not know such things as these?
4: I am a laughingstock to my friends; I, who called upon God and
He answered me, a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.
5: In the thought of one who is at ease there is contempt for
misfortune; it is ready for those whose feet slip.
6: The tents of robbers are at peace, and those who provoke God
are secure, who bring their god in their hand.
7: "But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds
of the air, and they will tell you;
8: or the plants of the earth, and they will teach you; and the
fish of the sea will declare to you.
9: Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord
has done this?
10: In His hand is the life of every living thing and the breath
of all mankind.
11: Does not the ear try words as the palate tastes food?
12: Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.
13: "With God are wisdom and might; He has counsel and
understanding.
14: If He tears down, none can rebuild; if He shuts a man in,
none can open.
15: If He withholds the waters, they dry up; if He sends them
out, they overwhelm the land.
16: With Him are strength and wisdom; the deceived and the
deceiver are His.
17: He leads counselors away stripped, and judges He makes fools.
18: He looses the bonds of kings, and binds a waistcloth on their
loins.
19: He leads priests away stripped, and overthrows the mighty.
20: He deprives of speech those who are trusted, and takes away
the discernment of the elders.
21: He pours contempt on princes, and looses the belt of the
strong.
22: He uncovers the deeps out of darkness, and brings deep
darkness to light.
23: He makes nations great, and He destroys them: He enlarges
nations, and leads them away.
24: He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of
the earth, and makes them wander in a pathless waste.
25: They grope in the dark without light; and He makes them
stagger like a drunken man.
The Book of Job,
chapter 13
1: "Lo, my eye has seen all this, my ear has heard and
understood it.
2: What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you.
3: But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my
case with God.
4: As for you, you whitewash with lies; worthless physicians are
you all.
5: Oh that you would keep silent, and it would be your wisdom!
6: Hear now my reasoning, and listen to the pleadings of my lips.
7: Will you speak falsely for God, and speak deceitfully for Him?
8: Will you show partiality toward Him, will you plead the case
for God?
9: Will it be well with you when He searches you out? Or can you
deceive Him, as one deceives a man?
10: He will surely rebuke you if in secret you show partiality.
11: Will not His majesty terrify you, and the dread of Him fall
upon you?
12: Your maxims are proverbs of ashes, your defenses are defenses
of clay.
13: "Let me have silence, and I will speak, and let come on
me what may.
14: I will take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in my hand.
15: Behold, He will slay me; I have no hope; yet I will defend my
ways to His face.
16: This will be my salvation, that a godless man shall not come
before Him.
17: Listen carefully to my words, and let my declaration be in
your ears.
18: Behold, I have prepared my case; I know that I shall be
vindicated.
19: Who is there that will contend with me? For then I would be
silent and die.
20: Only grant two things to me, then I will not hide myself from
Thy face:
21: withdraw Thy hand far from me, and let not dread of Thee
terrify me.
22: Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, and do thou
reply to me.
23: How many are my iniquities and my sins? Make me know my
transgression and my sin.
24: Why dost thou hide Thy face, and count me as Thy enemy?
25: Wilt thou frighten a driven leaf and pursue dry chaff?
26: For thou writes bitter things against me, and make me
inherit the iniquities of my youth.
27: Thou put my feet in the stocks, and watches all my
paths; thou set a bound to the soles of my feet.
28: Man wastes away like a rotten thing, like a garment that is
moth-eaten.
The Book of Job,
chapter 14
1: "Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of
trouble.
2: He comes forth like a flower, and withers; he flees like a
shadow, and continues not.
3: And dost thou open Thy eyes upon such a one and bring Him into
judgment with Thee?
4: Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not
one.
5: Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is
with Thee, and thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass,
6: look away from him, and desist, that he may enjoy, like a
hireling, his day.
7: "For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it
will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease.
8: Though its root grow old in the earth, and its stump die in
the ground,
9: yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth branches
like a young plant.
10: But man dies, and is laid low; man breathes his last, and
where is he?
11: As waters fail from a lake, and a river wastes away and dries
up,
12: so man lies down and rises not again; till the heavens are no
more he will not awake, or be roused out of his sleep.
13: Oh that thou would hide me in Sheol, that thou would
conceal me until Thy wrath be past, that thou would appoint me a set
time, and remember me!
14: If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my service
I would wait, till my release should come.
15: Thou would call, and I would answer Thee; Thou would
long for the work of Thy hands.
16: For then Thou would number my steps, Thou would not
keep watch over my sin;
17: my transgression would be sealed up in a bag, and Thou would cover over my iniquity.
18: "But the mountain falls and crumbles away, and the rock
is removed from its place;
19: the waters wear away the stones; the torrents wash away the
soil of the earth; so Thou destroys the hope of man.
20: Thou prevails for ever against him, and he passes; Thou
changes his countenance, and sends him away.
21: His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; they are
brought low, and he perceives it not.
22: He feels only the pain of his own body, and he mourns only
for himself."
The Book of Job,
chapter 14
1: "Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of
trouble.
2: He comes forth like a flower, and withers; he flees like a
shadow, and continues not.
3: And dost Thou open Thy eyes upon such a one and bring him into
judgment with Thee?
4: Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not
one.
5: Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is
with Thee, and Thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass,
6: look away from him, and desist, that he may enjoy, like a
hireling, his day.
7: "For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it
will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease.
8: Though its root grow old in the earth, and its stump die in
the ground,
9: yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth branches
like a young plant.
10: But man dies, and is laid low; man breathes his last, and
where is he?
11: As waters fail from a lake, and a river wastes away and dries
up,
12: so man lies down and rises not again; till the heavens are no
more he will not awake, or be roused out of his sleep.
13: Oh that Thou would hide me in Sheol, that Thou would
conceal me until Thy wrath be past, that Thou would appoint me a set
time, and remember me!
14: If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my service
I would wait, till my release should come.
15: Thou would call, and I would answer Thee; Thou would
long for the work of Thy hands.
16: For then Thou would number my steps, Thou would not
keep watch over my sin;
17: my transgression would be sealed up in a bag, and Thou would cover over my iniquity.
18: "But the mountain falls and crumbles away, and the rock
is removed from its place;
19: the waters wear away the stones; the torrents wash away the
soil of the earth; so Thou destroys the hope of man.
20: Thou prevails for ever against him, and he passes; Thou
changes his countenance, and sends him away.
21: His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; they are
brought low, and he perceives it not.
22: He feels only the pain of his own body, and he mourns only
for himself."
The Book of Job,
chapter 15
1: Then Eli'phaz the Te'manite answered:
2: "Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, and fill
himself with the east wind?
3: Should he argue in unprofitable talk, or in words with which
he can do no good?
4: But you are doing away with the fear of God, and hindering
meditation before God.
5: For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the
tongue of the crafty.
6: Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; your own lips testify
against you.
7: "Are you the first man that was born? Or were you brought
forth before the hills?
8: Have you listened in the council of God? And do you limit
wisdom to yourself?
9: What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand
that is not clear to us?
10: Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us, older than
your father.
11: Are the consolations of God too small for you, or the word
that deals gently with you?
12: Why does your heart carry you away, and why do your eyes
flash,
13: that you turn your spirit against God, and let such words go
out of your mouth?
14: What is man, that he can be clean? Or he that is born of a
woman, that he can be righteous?
15: Behold, God puts no trust in His holy ones, and the heavens
are not clean in His sight;
16: how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, a man who
drinks iniquity like water!
17: "I will show you, hear me; and what I have seen I will
declare
18: (what wise men have told, and their fathers have not hidden,
19: to whom alone the land was given, and no stranger passed
among them).
20: The wicked man writhes in pain all his days, through all the
years that are laid up for the ruthless.
21: Terrifying sounds are in his ears; in prosperity the
destroyer will come upon him.
22: He does not believe that he will return out of darkness, and
he is destined for the sword.
23: He wanders abroad for bread, saying, `Where is it?' He knows
that a day of darkness is ready at His hand;
24: distress and anguish terrify him; they prevail against him,
like a king prepared for battle.
25: Because he has stretched forth his hand against God, and bids
defiance to the Almighty,
26: running stubbornly against him with a thick-bossed shield;
27: because he has covered his face with his fat, and gathered
fat upon his loins,
28: and has lived in desolate cities, in houses which no man
should inhabit, which were destined to become heaps of ruins;
29: he will not be rich, and his wealth will not endure, nor will
he strike root in the earth;
30: he will not escape from darkness; the flame will dry up his
shoots, and his blossom will be swept away by the wind.
31: Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself; for
emptiness will be his recompense.
32: It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will
not be green.
33: He will shake off his unripe grape, like the vine, and cast
off his blossom, like the olive tree.
34: For the company of the godless is barren, and fire consumes
the tents of bribery.
35: They conceive mischief and bring forth evil and their heart
prepares deceit."
The Book of Job,
chapter 16
1: Then Job answered:
2: "I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are
you all.
3: Shall windy words have an end? Or what provokes you that you
answer?
4: I also could speak as you do, if you were in my place; I could
join words together against you, and shake my head at you.
5: I could strengthen you with my mouth, and the solace of my
lips would assuage your pain.
6: "If I speak, my pain is not assuaged, and if I forbear,
how much of it leaves me?
7: Surely now God has worn me out; He has made desolate all my
company.
8: And He has shriveled me up, which is a witness against me; and
my leanness has risen up against me, it testifies to my face.
9: He has torn me in His wrath, and hated me; He has gnashed His
teeth at me; my adversary sharpens His eyes against me.
10: Men have gaped at me with their mouth, they have struck me
insolently upon the cheek, they mass themselves together against me.
11: God gives me up to the ungodly, and casts me into the hands
of the wicked.
12: I was at ease, and He broke me asunder; He seized me by the
neck and dashed me to pieces; He set me up as His target,
13: His archers surround me. He slashes open my kidneys, and does
not spare; He pours out my gall on the ground.
14: He breaks me with breach upon breach; He runs upon me like a
warrior.
15: I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and have laid my
strength in the dust.
16: My face is red with weeping, and on my eyelids is deep
darkness;
17: although there is no violence in my hands, and my prayer is
pure.
18: "O earth, cover not my blood, and let my cry find no
resting place.
19: Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and He that
vouches for me is on high.
20: My friends scorn me; my eye pours out tears to God,
21: that He would maintain the right of a man with God, like that
of a man with his neighbor.
22: For when a few years have come I shall go the way whence I
shall not return.
The Book of Job,
chapter 17
1: My spirit is broken, my days are extinct, the grave is ready
for me.
2: Surely there are mockers about me, and my eye dwells on their
provocation.
3: "Lay down a pledge for me with thyself; who is there that
will give surety for me?
4: Since Thou hast closed their minds to understanding, therefore
Thou wilt not let them triumph.
5: He who informs against his friends to get a share of their
property, the eyes of his children will fail.
6: "He has made me a byword of the peoples, and I am one
before whom men spit.
7: My eye has grown dim from grief, and all my members are like a
shadow.
8: Upright men are appalled at this, and the innocent stirs
himself up against the godless.
9: Yet the righteous holds to his way, and He that has clean
hands grows stronger and stronger.
10: But you, come on again, all of you, and I shall not find a
wise man among you.
11: My days are past, my plans are broken off, the desires of my
heart.
12: They make night into day; `The light,' they say, `is near to
the darkness.'
13: If I look for Sheol as my house, if I spread my couch in
darkness,
14: if I say to the pit, `You are my father,' and to the worm,
`My mother,' or `My sister,'
15: where then is my hope? Who will see my hope?
16: Will it go down to the bars of Sheol? Shall we descend
together into the dust?"
The Book of Job,
chapter 18
1: Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2: "How long will you hunt for words? Consider, and then we
will speak.
3: Why are we counted as cattle? Why are we stupid in your sight?
4: You who tear yourself in your anger, shall the earth be
forsaken for you, or the rock be removed out of its place?
5: "Yea, the light of the wicked is put out, and the flame
of his fire does not shine.
6: The light is dark in his tent, and his lamp above him is put
out.
7: His strong steps are shortened and his own schemes throw him
down.
8: For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walks on a
pitfall.
9: A trap seizes him by the heel, a snare lays hold of him.
10: A rope is hid for him in the ground, a trap for him in the
path.
11: Terrors frighten him on every side, and chase him at his
heels.
12: His strength is hunger-bitten, and calamity is ready for his
stumbling.
13: By disease his skin is consumed, the first-born of death
consumes his limbs.
14: He is torn from the tent in which he trusted, and is brought
to the king of terrors.
15: In his tent dwells that which is none of his; brimstone is
scattered upon his habitation.
16: His roots dry up beneath, and his branches wither above.
17: His memory perishes from the earth, and he has no name in the
street.
18: He is thrust from light into darkness, and driven out of the
world.
19: He has no offspring or descendant among his people, and no
survivor where he used to live.
20: They of the west are appalled at his day, and horror seizes
them of the east.
21: Surely such are the dwellings of the ungodly, such is the
place of him who knows not God."
The Book of Job,
chapter 19
1: Then Job answered:
2: "How long will you torment me, and break me in pieces
with words?
3: These ten times you have cast reproach upon me; are you not
ashamed to wrong me?
4: And even if it be true that I have erred, my error remains
with myself.
5: If indeed you magnify yourselves against me, and make my
humiliation an argument against me,
6: know then that God has put me in the wrong, and closed His net
about me.
7: Behold, I cry out, `Violence!' but I am not answered; I call
aloud, but there is no justice.
8: He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass, and He has set
darkness upon my paths.
9: He has stripped from me my glory, and taken the crown from my
head.
10: He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone, and my hope
has He pulled up like a tree.
11: He has kindled His wrath against me, and counts me as His
adversary.
12: His troops come on together; they have cast up siegeworks
against me, and encamp round about my tent.
13: "He has put my brethren far from me, and my
acquaintances are wholly estranged from me.
14: My kinsfolk and my close friends have failed me;
15: the guests in my house have forgotten me; my maidservants
count me as a stranger; I have become an alien in their eyes.
16: I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer; I must
beseech him with my mouth.
17: I am repulsive to my wife, loathsome to the sons of my own
mother.
18: Even young children despise me; when I rise they talk against
me.
19: All my intimate friends abhor me, and those whom I loved have
turned against me.
20: My bones cleave to my skin and to my flesh, and I have
escaped by the skin of my teeth.
21: Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends, for the
hand of God has touched me!
22: Why do you, like God, pursue me? Why are you not satisfied
with my flesh?
23: "Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were
inscribed in a book!
24: Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were graven in the
rock for ever!
25: For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at last He will stand
upon the earth;
26: and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then from my flesh
I shall see God,
27: whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and
not another. My heart faints within me!
28: If you say, `How we will pursue him!' and, `The root of the
matter is found in him';
29: be afraid of the sword, for wrath brings the punishment of
the sword, that you may know there is a judgment."
The Book of Job,
chapter 20
1: Then Zophar the Na'amathite answered:
2: "Therefore my thoughts answer me, because of my haste
within me.
3: I hear censure which insults me, and out of my understanding a
spirit answers me.
4: Do you not know this from of old, since man was placed upon
earth,
5: that the exulting of the wicked is short, and the joy of the
godless but for a moment?
6: Though his height mount up to the heavens, and his head reach
to the clouds,
7: he will perish for ever like his own dung; those who have seen
him will say, `Where is he?'
8: He will fly away like a dream, and not be found; he will be
chased away like a vision of the night.
9: The eye which saw him will see him no more, nor will his place
any more behold him.
10: His children will seek the favor of the poor, and his hands
will give back his wealth.
11: His bones are full of youthful vigor, but it will lie down
with him in the dust.
12: "Though wickedness is sweet in his mouth, though he
hides it under his tongue,
13: though he is loath to let it go, and holds it in his mouth,
14: yet his food is turned in his stomach; it is the gall of asps
within him.
15: He swallows down riches and vomits them up again; God casts
them out of his belly.
16: He will suck the poison of asps; the tongue of a viper will
kill him.
17: He will not look upon the rivers, the streams flowing with
honey and curds.
18: He will give back the fruit of his toil, and will not swallow
it down; from the profit of his trading he will get no enjoyment.
19: For he has crushed and abandoned the poor, he has seized a
house which he did not build.
20: "Because his greed knew no rest, he will not save
anything in which he delights.
21: There was nothing left after he had eaten; therefore his
prosperity will not endure.
22: In the fullness of his sufficiency he will be in straits; all
the force of misery will come upon him.
23: To fill his belly to the full God will send his fierce anger
into him, and rain it upon him as his food.
24: He will flee from an iron weapon; a bronze arrow will strike
him through.
25: It is drawn forth and comes out of his body, the glittering
point comes out of his gall; terrors come upon him.
26: Utter darkness is laid up for his treasures; a fire not blown
upon will devour him; what is left in his tent will be consumed.
27: The heavens will reveal his iniquity, and the earth will rise
up against him.
28: The possessions of his house will be carried away, dragged
off in the day of God's wrath.
29: This is the wicked man's portion from God, the heritage
decreed for him by God."
The Book of Job,
chapter 21
1: Then Job answered:
2: "Listen carefully to my words, and let this be your
consolation.
3: Bear with me, and I will speak, and after I have spoken, mock
on.
4: As for me, is my complaint against man? Why should I not be
impatient?
5: Look at me, and be appalled, and lay your hand upon your
mouth.
6: When I think of it I am dismayed, and shuddering seizes my
flesh.
7: Why do the wicked live, reach old age, and grow mighty in
power?
8: Their children are established in their presence, and their
offspring before their eyes.
9: Their houses are safe from fear, and no rod of God is upon
them.
10: Their bull breeds without fail; their cow calves, and does
not cast her calf.
11: They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their
children dance.
12: They sing to the tambourine and the lyre, and rejoice to the
sound of the pipe.
13: They spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go
down to Sheol.
14: They say to God, `Depart from us! We do not desire the
knowledge of Thy ways.
15: What is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what
profit do we get if we pray to Him?'
16: Behold, is not their prosperity in their hand? The counsel of
the wicked is far from me.
17: "How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out?
That their calamity comes upon them? That God distributes pains in his
anger?
18: That they are like straw before the wind, and like chaff that
the storm carries away?
19: You say, `God stores up their iniquity for their sons.' Let
Him recompense it to themselves, that they may know it.
20: Let their own eyes see their destruction, and let them drink
of the wrath of the Almighty.
21: For what do they care for their houses after them, when the
number of their months is cut off?
22: Will any teach God knowledge, seeing that He judges those
that are on high?
23: One dies in full prosperity, being wholly at ease and secure,
24: his body full of fat and the marrow of his bones moist.
25: Another dies in bitterness of soul, never having tasted of
good.
26: They lie down alike in the dust, and the worms cover them.
27: "Behold, I know your thoughts, and your schemes to wrong
me.
28: For you say, `Where is the house of the prince? Where is the
tent in which the wicked dwelt?'
29: Have you not asked those who travel the roads, and do you not
accept their testimony
30: that the wicked man is spared in the day of calamity, that he
is rescued in the day of wrath?
31: Who declares his way to his face, and who requites him for
what he has done?
32: When he is borne to the grave, watch is kept over his tomb.
33: The clods of the valley are sweet to him; all men follow
after him, and those who go before him are innumerable.
34: How then will you comfort me with empty nothings? There is
nothing left of your answers but falsehood."
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The Book of Job,
chapter 22
1: Then Eli'phaz the Te'manite answered:
2: "Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is
profitable to himself.
3: Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous, or is
it gain to him if you make your ways blameless?
4: Is it for your fear of Him that He reproves you, and enters
into judgment with you?
5: Is not your wickedness great? There is no end to your
iniquities.
6: For you have exacted pledges of your brothers for nothing, and
stripped the naked of their clothing.
7: You have given no water to the weary to drink, and you have
withheld bread from the hungry.
8: The man with power possessed the land, and the favored man
dwelt in it.
9: You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the
fatherless were crushed.
10: Therefore snares are round about you, and sudden terror
overwhelms you;
11: your light is darkened, so that you cannot see, and a flood
of water covers you.
12: "Is not God high in the heavens? See the highest stars,
how lofty they are!
13: Therefore you say, `What does God know? Can He judge through
the deep darkness?
14: Thick clouds enwrap Him, so that he does not see, and he
walks on the vault of heaven.'
15: Will you keep to the old way which wicked men have trod?
16: They were snatched away before their time; their foundation
was washed away.
17: They said to God, `Depart from us,' and `What can the
Almighty do to us?'
18: Yet He filled their houses with good things -- but the
counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19: The righteous see it and are glad; the innocent laugh them to
scorn,
20: saying, `Surely our adversaries are cut off, and what they
left the fire has consumed.'
21: "Agree with God, and be at peace; thereby good will come
to you.
22: Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up His words in
your heart.
23: If you return to the Almighty and humble yourself, if you
remove unrighteousness far from your tents,
24: if you lay gold in the dust, and gold of Ophir among the
stones of the torrent bed,
25: and if the Almighty is your gold, and your precious silver;
26: then you will delight yourself in the Almighty, and lift up
your face to God.
27: You will make your prayer to Him, and He will hear you; and
you will pay your vows.
28: You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for
you, and light will shine on your ways.
29: For God abases the proud, but He saves the lowly.
30: He delivers the innocent man; you will be delivered through
the cleanness of your hands."
The Book of Job,
chapter 23
1: Then Job answered:
2: "Today also my complaint is bitter, His hand is heavy in
spite of my groaning.
3: Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come even
to His seat!
4: I would lay my case before Him and fill my mouth with
arguments.
5: I would learn what He would answer me, and understand what He
would say to me.
6: Would He contend with me in the greatness of His power? No; He
would give heed to me.
7: There an upright man could reason with Him, and I should be
acquitted for ever by my Judge.
8: "Behold, I go forward, but He is not there; and backward,
but I cannot perceive Him;
9: on the left hand I seek Him, but I cannot behold Him; I turn
to the right hand, but I cannot see Him.
10: But He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I
shall come forth as gold.
11: My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and
have not turned aside.
12: I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have
treasured in my bosom the words of His mouth.
13: But He is unchangeable and who can turn Him? What He desires,
that He does.
14: For He will complete what He appoints for me; and many such
things are in His mind.
15: Therefore I am terrified at His presence; when I consider, I
am in dread of Him.
16: God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me;
17: for I am hemmed in by darkness, and thick darkness covers my
face.
The Book of Job,
chapter 24
1: "Why are not times of judgment kept by the Almighty, and
why do those who know Him never see his days?
2: Men remove landmarks; they seize flocks and pasture them.
3: They drive away the ass of the fatherless; they take the
widow's ox for a pledge.
4: They thrust the poor off the road; the poor of the earth all
hide themselves.
5: Behold, like wild asses in the desert they go forth to their
toil, seeking prey in the wilderness as food for their children.
6: They gather their fodder in the field and they glean the
vineyard of the wicked man.
7: They lie all night naked, without clothing, and have no
covering in the cold.
8: They are wet with the rain of the mountains, and cling to the
rock for want of shelter.
9: (There are those who snatch the fatherless child from the
breast, and take in pledge the infant of the poor.)
10: They go about naked, without clothing; hungry, they carry the
sheaves;
11: among the olive rows of the wicked they make oil; they tread
the wine presses, but suffer thirst.
12: From out of the city the dying groan, and the soul of the
wounded cries for help; yet God pays no attention to their prayer.
13: "There are those who rebel against the light, who are
not acquainted with its ways, and do not stay in its paths.
14: The murderer rises in the dark, that he may kill the poor and
needy; and in the night he is as a thief.
15: The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight, saying,
`No eye will see me'; and he disguises his face.
16: In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut
themselves up; they do not know the light.
17: For deep darkness is morning to all of them; for they are
friends with the terrors of deep darkness.
18: "You say, "They are swiftly carried away upon the
face of the waters; their portion is cursed in the land; no treader
turns toward their vineyards.
19: Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters; so does Sheol
those who have sinned.
20: The squares of the town forget them; their name is no longer
remembered; so wickedness is broken like a tree.'
21: "They feed on the barren childless woman, and do no good
to the widow.
22: Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by His power; they
rise up when they despair of life.
23: He gives them security, and they are supported; and His eyes
are upon their ways.
24: They are exalted a little while, and then are gone; they
wither and fade like the mallow; they are cut off like the heads of
grain.
25: If it is not so, who will prove me a liar, and show that
there is nothing in what I say?"
The Book of Job,
chapter 25
1: Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2: "Dominion and fear are with God; He makes peace in His
high heaven.
3: Is there any number to His armies? Upon whom does His light
not arise?
4: How then can man be righteous before God? How can he who is
born of woman be clean?
5: Behold, even the moon is not bright and the stars are not
clean in His sight;
6: how much less man, who is a maggot, and the son of man, who is
a worm!"
The Book of Job,
chapter 26
1: Then Job answered:
2: "How you have helped him who has no power! How you have
saved the arm that has no strength!
3: How you have counseled him who has no wisdom, and plentifully
declared sound knowledge!
4: With whose help have you uttered words, and whose spirit has
come forth from you?
5: The shades below tremble, the waters and their inhabitants.
6: Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering.
7: He stretches out the north over the void, and hangs the earth
upon nothing.
8: He binds up the waters in His thick clouds, and the cloud is
not rent under them.
9: He covers the face of the moon, and spreads over it His cloud.
10: He has described a circle upon the face of the waters at the
boundary between light and darkness.
11: The pillars of heaven tremble, and are astounded at His
rebuke.
12: By His power He stilled the sea; by His understanding He
smote Rahab.
13: By His wind the heavens were made fair; His hand pierced the
fleeing serpent.
14: Lo, these are but the outskirts of His ways; and how small a
whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of His power who can
understand?"
The Book of Job,
chapter 27
1: And Job again took up his discourse, and said:
2: "As God lives, who has taken away my right, and the
Almighty, who has made my soul bitter;
3: as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my
nostrils;
4: my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter
deceit.
5: Far be it from me to say that you are right; till I die I will
not put away my integrity from me.
6: I hold fast my righteousness, and will not let it go; my heart
does not reproach me for any of my days.
7: "Let my enemy be as the wicked, and let him that rises up
against me be as the unrighteous.
8: For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off,
when God takes away his life?
9: Will God hear his cry, when trouble comes upon him?
10: Will he take delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God
at all times?
11: I will teach you concerning the hand of God; what is with the
Almighty I will not conceal.
12: Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves; why then have you
become altogether vain?
13: "This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the
heritage which oppressors receive from the Almighty:
14: If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword; and his
offspring have not enough to eat.
15: Those who survive him the pestilence buries, and their widows
make no lamentation.
16: Though he heap up silver like dust, and pile up clothing like
clay;
17: he may pile it up, but the just will wear it, and the
innocent will divide the silver.
18: The house which he builds is like a spider's web, like a
booth which a watchman makes.
19: He goes to bed rich, but will do so no more; he opens his
eyes, and his wealth is gone.
20: Terrors overtake him like a flood; in the night a whirlwind
carries him off.
21: The east wind lifts him up and he is gone; it sweeps him out
of his place.
22: It hurls at him without pity; he flees from its power in
headlong flight.
23: It claps its hands at him, and hisses at him from its place.
The Book of Job,
chapter 28
1: "Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold
which they refine.
2: Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted from the
ore.
3: Men put an end to darkness, and search out to the farthest
bound the ore in gloom and deep darkness.
4: They open shafts in a valley away from where men live; they
are forgotten by travelers, they hang afar from men, they swing to and
fro.
5: As for the earth, out of it comes bread; but underneath it is
turned up as by fire.
6: Its stones are the place of sapphires, and it has dust of
gold.
7: "That path no bird of prey knows, and the falcon's eye
has not seen it.
8: The proud beasts have not trodden it; the lion has not passed
over it.
9: "Man puts his hand to the flinty rock, and overturns
mountains by the roots.
10: He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eye sees every
precious thing.
11: He binds up the streams so that they do not trickle, and the
thing that is hid He brings forth to light.
12: "But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place
of understanding?
13: Man does not know the way to it, and it is not found in the
land of the living.
14: The deep says, `It is not in me,' and the sea says, `It is
not with me.'
15: It cannot be gotten for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as
its price.
16: It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or
sapphire.
17: Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for
jewels of fine gold.
18: No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; the price of
wisdom is above pearls.
19: The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it, nor can it be
valued in pure gold.
20: "Whence then comes wisdom? And where is the place of
understanding?
21: It is hid from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the
birds of the air.
22: Abaddon and Death say, `We have heard a rumor of it with our
ears.'
23: "God understands the way to it, and He knows its place.
24: For He looks to the ends of the earth, and sees everything
under the heavens.
25: When He gave to the wind its weight, and meted out the waters
by measure;
26: when He made a decree for the rain, and a way for the
lightning of the thunder;
27: then He saw it and declared it; He established it, and
searched it out.
28: And He said to man, `Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is
wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.'"
The Book of Job,
chapter 29
1: And Job again took up his discourse, and said:
2: "Oh, that I were as in the months of old, as in the days
when God watched over me;
3: when His lamp shone upon my head, and by His light I walked
through darkness;
4: as I was in my autumn days, when the friendship of God was
upon my tent;
5: when the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about
me;
6: when my steps were washed with milk, and the rock poured out
for me streams of oil!
7: When I went out to the gate of the city, when I prepared my
seat in the square,
8: the young men saw me and withdrew, and the aged rose and
stood;
9: the princes refrained from talking, and laid their hand on
their mouth;
10: the voice of the nobles was hushed, and their tongue cleaved
to the roof of their mouth.
11: When the ear heard, it called me blessed, and when the eye
saw, it approved;
12: because I delivered the poor who cried, and the fatherless
who had none to help him.
13: The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me, and
I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
14: I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was
like a robe and a turban.
15: I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame.
16: I was a father to the poor, and I searched out the cause of
him whom I did not know.
17: I broke the fangs of the unrighteous, and made him drop his
prey from his teeth.
18: Then I thought, `I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply
my days as the sand,
19: my roots spread out to the waters, with the dew all night on
my branches,
20: my glory fresh with me, and my bow ever new in my hand.'
21: "Men listened to me, and waited, and kept silence for my
counsel.
22: After I spoke they did not speak again, and my word dropped
upon them.
23: They waited for me as for the rain; and they opened their
mouths as for the spring rain.
24: I smiled on them when they had no confidence; and the light
of my countenance they did not cast down.
25: I chose their way, and sat as chief, and I dwelt like a king
among his troops, like one who comforts mourners.
The Book of Job,
chapter 30
1: "But now they make sport of me, men who are younger than
I, whose fathers I would have disdained to set with the dogs of my
flock.
2: What could I gain from the strength of their hands, men whose
vigor is gone?
3: Through want and hard hunger they gnaw the dry and desolate
ground;
4: they pick mallow and the leaves of bushes, and to warm
themselves the roots of the broom.
5: They are driven out from among men; they shout after them as
after a thief.
6: In the gullies of the torrents they must dwell, in holes of
the earth and of the rocks.
7: Among the bushes they bray; under the nettles they huddle
together.
8: A senseless, a disreputable brood, they have been whipped out
of the land.
9: "And now I have become their song, I am a byword to them.
10: They abhor me, they keep aloof from me; they do not hesitate
to spit at the sight of me.
11: Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me, they have cast
off restraint in my presence.
12: On my right hand the rabble rise, they drive me forth, they
cast up against me their ways of destruction.
13: They break up my path, they promote my calamity; no one
restrains them.
14: As through a wide breach they come; amid the crash they roll
on.
15: Terrors are turned upon me; my honor is pursued as by the
wind, and my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.
16: "And now my soul is poured out within me; days of
affliction have taken hold of me.
17: The night racks my bones, and the pain that gnaws me takes no
rest.
18: With violence it seizes my garment; it binds me about like
the collar of my tunic.
19: God has cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust
and ashes.
20: I cry to Thee and Thou dost not answer me; I stand, and Thou
dost not heed me.
21: Thou hast turned cruel to me; with the might of Thy hand Thou
dost persecute me.
22: Thou lifts me up on the wind, Thou make me ride on it,
and thou toss me about in the roar of the storm.
23: Yea, I know that Thou wilt bring me to death, and to the
house appointed for all living.
24: "Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his
hand, and in his disaster cry for help?
25: Did not I weep for him whose day was hard? Was not my soul
grieved for the poor?
26: But when I looked for good, evil came; and when I waited for
light, darkness came.
27: My heart is in turmoil, and is never still; days of
affliction come to meet me.
28: I go about blackened, but not by the sun; I stand up in the
assembly, and cry for help.
29: I am a brother of jackals, and a companion of ostriches.
30: My skin turns black and falls from me, and my bones burn with
heat.
31: My lyre is turned to mourning, and my pipe to the voice of
those who weep.
The Book of Job,
chapter 31
1: "I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I
look upon a virgin?
2: What would be my portion from God above, and my heritage from
the Almighty on high?
3: Does not calamity befall the unrighteous, and disaster the
workers of iniquity?
4: Does not He see my ways, and number all my steps?
5: "If I have walked with falsehood, and my foot has
hastened to deceit;
6: (Let me be weighed in a just balance, and let God know my
integrity!)
7: if my step has turned aside from the way, and my heart has
gone after my eyes, and if any spot has cleaved to my hands;
8: then let me sow, and another eat; and let what grows for me be
rooted out.
9: "If my heart has been enticed to a woman, and I have lain
in wait at my neighbor's door;
10: then let my wife grind for another, and let others bow down
upon her.
11: For that would be a heinous crime; that would be an iniquity
to be punished by the judges;
12: for that would be a fire which consumes unto Abaddon, and it
would burn to the root all my increase.
13: "If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my
maidservant, when they brought a complaint against me;
14: what then shall I do when God rises up? When He makes
inquiry, what shall I answer Him?
15: Did not He who made me in the womb make him? And did not One
fashion us in the womb?
16: "If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or
have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17: or have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless has not
eaten of it
18: (for from his youth I reared him as a father, and from his
mother's womb I guided him);
19: if I have seen any one perish for lack of clothing, or a poor
man without covering;
20: if his loins have not blessed me, and if he was not warmed
with the fleece of my sheep;
21: if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, because I
saw help in the gate;
22: then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder, and let my
arm be broken from its socket.
23: For I was in terror of calamity from God, and I could not
have faced his majesty.
24: "If I have made gold my trust, or called fine gold my
confidence;
25: if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, or because my
hand had gotten much;
26: if I have looked at the sun when it shone, or the moon moving
in splendor,
27: and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has
kissed my hand;
28: this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges,
for I should have been false to God above.
29: "If I have rejoiced at the ruin of him that hated me, or
exulted when evil overtook him
30: (I have not let my mouth sin by asking for his life with a
curse);
31: if the men of my tent have not said, `Who is there that has
not been filled with his meat?'
32: (the sojourner has not lodged in the street; I have opened my
doors to the wayfarer);
33: if I have concealed my transgressions from men, by hiding my
iniquity in my bosom,
34: because I stood in great fear of the multitude, and the
contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and did not
go out of doors --
35: Oh, that I had one to hear me! (Here is my signature! let the
Almighty answer me!) Oh, that I had the indictment written by my
adversary!
36: Surely I would carry it on my shoulder; I would bind it on me
as a crown;
37: I would give him an account of all my steps; like a prince I
would approach him.
38: "If my land has cried out against me, and its furrows
have wept together;
39: if I have eaten its yield without payment, and caused the
death of its owners;
40: let thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of
barley." The words of Job are ended.
The Book of Job,
chapter 32
1: So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was
righteous in his own eyes.
2: Then Eli'hu the son of Bar'achel the Buzite, of the family of
Ram, became angry. He was angry at Job because he justified himself
rather than God;
3: He was angry also at Job's three friends because they had
found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong.
4: Now Eli'hu had waited to speak to Job because they were older
than he.
5: And when Eli'hu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of
these three men, he became angry.
6: And Eli'hu the son of Bar'achel the Buzite answered: "I
am young in years, and you are aged; therefore I was timid and afraid to
declare my opinion to you.
7: I said, `Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom.'
8: But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty,
that makes him understand.
9: It is not the old that are wise, nor the aged that understand
what is right.
10: Therefore I say, `Listen to me; let me also declare my
opinion.'
11: "Behold, I waited for your words, I listened for your
wise sayings, while you searched out what to say.
12: I gave you my attention, and, behold, there was none that
confuted Job, or that answered his words, among you.
13: Beware lest you say, `We have found wisdom; God may vanquish
him, not man.'
14: He has not directed his words against me, and I will not
answer Him with your speeches.
15: "They are discomfited, they answer no more; they have
not a word to say.
16: And shall I wait, because they do not speak, because they
stand there, and answer no more?
17: I also will give my answer; I also will declare my opinion.
18: For I am full of words, the spirit within me constrains me.
19: Behold, my heart is like wine that has no vent; like new
wineskins, it is ready to burst.
20: I must speak, that I may find relief; I must open my lips and
answer.
21: I will not show partiality to any person or use flattery
toward any man.
22: For I do not know how to flatter, else would my Maker soon
put an end to me.
The Book of Job,
chapter 33
1: "But now, hear my speech, O Job, and listen to all my
words.
2: Behold, I open my mouth; the tongue in my mouth speaks.
3: My words declare the uprightness of my heart, and what my lips
know they speak sincerely.
4: The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty
gives me life.
5: Answer me, if you can; set your words in order before me; take
your stand.
6: Behold, I am toward God as you are; I too was formed from a
piece of clay.
7: Behold, no fear of me need terrify you; my pressure will not
be heavy upon you.
8: "Surely, you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard
the sound of your words.
9: You say, `I am clean, without transgression; I am pure, and
there is no iniquity in me.
10: Behold, He finds occasions against me, He counts me as His
enemy;
11: He puts my feet in the stocks, and watches all my paths.'
12: "Behold, in this you are not right. I will answer you.
God is greater than man.
13: Why do you contend against him, saying, `He will answer none
of my words'?
14: For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not
perceive it.
15: In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls
upon men, while they slumber on their beds,
16: then He opens the ears of men, and terrifies them with
warnings,
17: that He may turn man aside from his deed, and cut off pride
from man;
18: He keeps back his soul from the Pit, his life from perishing
by the sword.
19: "Man is also chastened with pain upon his bed, and with
continual strife in his bones;
20: so that his life loathes bread, and his appetite dainty food.
21: His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen; and his
bones which were not seen stick out.
22: His soul draws near the Pit, and his life to those who bring
death.
23: If there be for him an angel, a mediator, one of the
thousand, to declare to man what is right for him;
24: and He is gracious to him, and says, `Deliver him from going
down into the Pit, I have found a ransom;
25: let his flesh become fresh with youth; let him return to the
days of his youthful vigor';
26: then man prays to God, and He accepts him, He comes into his
presence with joy. He recounts to men His salvation,
27: and he sings before men, and says: `I sinned and perverted
what was right, and it was not requited to me.
28: He has redeemed my soul from going down into the Pit, and my
life shall see the light.'
29: "Behold, God does all these things, twice, three times,
with a man,
30: to bring back his soul from the Pit, that he may see the
light of life.
31: Give heed, O Job, listen to me; be silent, and I will speak.
32: If you have anything to say, answer me; speak, for I desire
to justify you.
33: If not, listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you
wisdom."
The Book of Job,
chapter 34
1: Then Eli'hu said:
2: "Hear my words, you wise men, and give ear to me, you who
know;
3: for the ear tests words as the palate tastes food.
4: Let us choose what is right; let us determine among ourselves
what is good.
5: For Job has said, `I am innocent, and God has taken away my
right;
6: in spite of my right I am counted a liar; my wound is
incurable, though I am without transgression.'
7: What man is like Job, who drinks up scoffing like water,
8: who goes in company with evildoers and walks with wicked men?
9: For he has said, `It profits a man nothing that he should take
delight in God.'
10: "Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding, far be it
from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that He
should do wrong.
11: For according to the work of a man He will requite him, and
according to his ways He will make it befall him.
12: Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will
not pervert justice.
13: Who gave Him charge over the earth and who laid on Him the
whole world?
14: If he should take back his spirit to himself, and gather to
himself his breath,
15: all flesh would perish together, and man would return to
dust.
16: "If you have understanding, hear this; listen to what I
say.
17: Shall one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn Him who
is righteous and mighty,
18: who says to a king, `Worthless one,' and to nobles, `Wicked
man';
19: who shows no partiality to princes, nor regards the rich more
than the poor, for they are all the work of his hands?
20: In a moment they die; at midnight the people are shaken and
pass away, and the mighty are taken away by no human hand.
21: "For His eyes are upon the ways of a man, and He sees
all His steps.
22: There is no gloom or deep darkness where evildoers may hide
themselves.
23: For He has not appointed a time for any man to go before God
in judgment.
24: He shatters the mighty without investigation, and sets others
in their place.
25: Thus, knowing their works, He overturns them in the night,
and they are crushed.
26: He strikes them for their wickedness in the sight of men,
27: because they turned aside from following Him, and had no
regard for any of his ways,
28: so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him, and
He heard the cry of the afflicted --
29: When He is quiet, who can condemn? When He hides His face,
who can behold Him, whether it be a nation or a man? --
30: that a godless man should not reign, that He should not
ensnare the people.
31: "For has any one said to God, `I have borne
chastisement; I will not offend any more;
32: teach me what I do not see; if I have done iniquity, I will
do it no more'?
33: Will He then make requital to suit you, because you reject
it? For you must choose, and not I; therefore declare what you know.
34: Men of understanding will say to me, and the wise man who
hears me will say:
35: `Job speaks without knowledge, his words are without
insight.'
36: Would that Job were tried to the end, because he answers like
wicked men.
37: For he adds rebellion to his sin; he claps his hands among
us, and multiplies his words against God."
The Book of Job,
chapter 35
1: And Eli'hu said:
2: "Do you think this to be just? Do you say, `It is my
right before God,'
3: that you ask, `What advantage have I? How am I better off than
if I had sinned?'
4: I will answer you and your friends with you.
5: Look at the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds, which are
higher than you.
6: If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against Him? And if
your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to Him?
7: If you are righteous, what do you give to Him; or what does He
receive from your hand?
8: Your wickedness concerns a man like yourself, and your
righteousness a son of man.
9: "Because of the multitude of oppressions people cry out;
they call for help because of the arm of the mighty.
10: But none says, `Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the
night,
11: who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, and makes
us wiser than the birds of the air?'
12: There they cry out, but He does not answer, because of the
pride of evil men.
13: Surely God does not hear an empty cry, nor does the Almighty
regard it.
14: How much less when you say that you do not see Him, that the
case is before Him, and you are waiting for Him!
15: And now, because his anger does not punish, and He does not
greatly heed transgression,
16: Job opens his mouth in empty talk, he multiplies words
without knowledge."
The Book of Job,
chapter 36
1: And Eli'hu continued, and said:
2: "Bear with me a little, and I will show you, for I have
yet something to say on God's behalf.
3: I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and ascribe righteousness
to my Maker.
4: For truly my words are not false; one who is perfect in
knowledge is with you.
5: "Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise any; He is
mighty in strength of understanding.
6: He does not keep the wicked alive, but gives the afflicted
their right.
7: He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous, but with
kings upon the throne He sets them for ever, and they are exalted.
8: And if they are bound in fetters and caught in the cords of
affliction,
9: then He declares to them their work and their transgressions,
that they are behaving arrogantly.
10: He opens their ears to instruction, and commands that they
return from iniquity.
11: If they hearken and serve Him, they complete their days in
prosperity, and their years in pleasantness.
12: But if they do not hearken, they perish by the sword, and die
without knowledge.
13: "The godless in heart cherish anger; they do not cry for
help when He binds them.
14: They die in youth, and their life ends in shame.
15: He delivers the afflicted by their affliction, and opens
their ear by adversity.
16: He also allured you out of distress into a broad place where
there was no cramping, and what was set on your table was full of
fatness.
17: "But you are full of the judgment on the wicked;
judgment and justice seize you.
18: Beware lest wrath entice you into scoffing; and let not the
greatness of the ransom turn you aside.
19: Will your cry avail to keep you from distress, or all the
force of your strength?
20: Do not long for the night, when peoples are cut off in their
place.
21: Take heed, do not turn to iniquity, for this you have chosen
rather than affliction.
22: Behold, God is exalted in His power; who is a teacher like
Him?
23: Who has prescribed for Him his way, or who can say, `Thou
hast done wrong'?
24: "Remember to extol His work, of which men have sung.
25: All men have looked on it; man beholds it from afar.
26: Behold, God is great, and we know Him not; the number of His
years is unsearchable.
27: For He draws up the drops of water, He distils His mist in
rain
28: which the skies pour down, and drop upon man abundantly.
29: Can any one understand the spreading of the clouds, the thundering
of His pavilion?
30: Behold, He scatters His lightning about Him, and covers the
roots of the sea.
31: For by these He judges peoples; He gives food in abundance.
32: He covers His hands with the lightning, and commands it to
strike the mark.
33: Its crashing declares concerning Him, who is jealous with
anger against iniquity.
The Book of Job,
chapter 37
1: "At this also my heart trembles, and leaps out of its
place.
2: Hearken to the thunder of His voice and the rumbling that
comes from His mouth.
3: Under the whole heaven He lets it go, and His lightning to the
corners of the earth.
4: After it His voice roars; He thunders with His majestic voice
and He does not restrain the lightning's when His voice is heard.
5: God thunders wondrously with His voice; He does great things
which we cannot comprehend.
6: For to the snow He says, `Fall on the earth'; and to the
shower and the rain, `Be strong.'
7: He seals up the hand of every man, that all men may know His
work.
8: Then the beasts go into their lairs, and remain in their dens.
9: From its chamber comes the whirlwind, and cold from the
scattering winds.
10: By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are
frozen fast.
11: He loads the thick cloud with moisture; the clouds scatter
His lightning.
12: They turn round and round by His guidance, to accomplish all
that He commands them on the face of the habitable world.
13: Whether for correction, or for his land, or for love, He
causes it to happen.
14: "Hear this, O Job; stop and consider the wondrous works
of God.
15: Do you know how God lays His command upon them, and causes
the lightning of His cloud to shine?
16: Do you know the balancing of the clouds, the wondrous works
of Him who is perfect in knowledge,
17: you whose garments are hot when the earth is still because of
the south wind?
18: Can you, like Him, spread out the skies, hard as a molten
mirror?
19: Teach us what we shall say to Him; we cannot draw up our case
because of darkness.
20: Shall it be told Him that I would speak? Did a man ever wish
that he would be swallowed up?
21: "And now men cannot look on the light when it is bright
in the skies, when the wind has passed and cleared them.
22: Out of the north comes golden splendor; God is clothed with
terrible majesty.
23: The Almighty -- we cannot find Him; He is great in power and
justice, and abundant righteousness He will not violate.
24: Therefore men fear Him; He does not regard any who are wise
in their own conceit."
The Book of Job,
chapter 38
1: Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:
2: "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without
knowledge?
3: Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you
shall declare to me.
4: "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
5: Who determined its measurements -- surely you know! Or who
stretched the line upon it?
6: On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone,
7: when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God
shouted for joy?
8: "Or who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth
from the womb;
9: when I made clouds its garment, and thick darkness its
swaddling band,
10: and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors,
11: and said, `Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here
shall your proud waves be stayed'?
12: "Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
and caused the dawn to know its place,
13: that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the
wicked be shaken out of it?
14: It is changed like clay under the seal, and it is dyed like a
garment.
15: From the wicked their light is withheld, and their uplifted
arm is broken.
16: "Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked
in the recesses of the deep?
17: Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you
seen the gates of deep darkness?
18: Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if
you know all this.
19: "Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is
the place of darkness,
20: that you may take it to its territory and that you may
discern the paths to its home?
21: You know, for you were born then, and the number of your days
is great!
22: "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have
you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23: which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of
battle and war?
24: What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,
or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?
25: "Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain, and a
way for the thunderbolt,
26: to bring rain on a land where no man is, on the desert in
which there is no man;
27: to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the
ground put forth grass?
28: "Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of
dew?
29: From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given
birth to the hoarfrost of heaven?
30: The waters become hard like stone, and the face of the deep
is frozen.
31: "Can you bind the chains of the Plei'ades, or loose the
cords of Orion?
32: Can you lead forth the Maz'zaroth in their season, or can you
guide the Bear with its children?
33: Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish
their rule on the earth?
34: "Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that a flood
of waters may cover you?
35: Can you send forth lightning's, that they may go and say to
you, `Here we are'?
36: Who has put wisdom in the clouds, or given understanding to
the mists?
37: Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can tilt the water skins
of the heavens,
38: when the dust runs into a mass and the clods cleave fast
together?
39: "Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the
appetite of the young lions,
40: when they crouch in their dens, or lie in wait in their
covert?
41: Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry
to God, and wander about for lack of food?
The Book of Job,
chapter 39
1: "Do you know when the mountain goats bring forth? Do you
observe the calving of the hinds?
2: Can you number the months that they fulfil, and do you know
the time when they bring forth,
3: when they crouch, bring forth their offspring, and are
delivered of their young?
4: Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open; they
go forth, and do not return to them.
5: "Who has let the wild ass go free? Who has loosed the
bonds of the swift ass,
6: to whom I have given the steppe for his home, and the salt
land for his dwelling place?
7: He scorns the tumult of the city; He hears not the shouts of
the driver.
8: He ranges the mountains as his pasture, and he searches after
every green thing.
9: "Is the wild ox willing to serve you? Will he spend the
night at your crib?
10: Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes, or will he harrow
the valleys after you?
11: Will you depend on him because his strength is great, and
will you leave to him your labor?
12: Do you have faith in him that he will return, and bring your
grain to your threshing floor?
13: "The wings of the ostrich wave proudly; but are they the
pinions and plumage of love?
14: For she leaves her eggs to the earth, and lets them be warmed
on the ground,
15: forgetting that a foot may crush them, and that the wild
beast may trample them.
16: She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers;
though her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear;
17: because God has made her forget wisdom, and given her no
share in understanding.
18: When she rouses herself to flee, she laughs at the horse and
his rider.
19: "Do you give the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck
with strength?
20: Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting
is terrible.
21: He paws in the valley, and exults in his strength; he goes
out to meet the weapons.
22: He laughs at fear, and is not dismayed; he does not turn back
from the sword.
23: Upon him rattle the quiver, the flashing spear and the
javelin.
24: With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground; he cannot
stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
25: When the trumpet sounds, he says `Aha!' He smells the battle
from afar, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26: "Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars, and spreads
his wings toward the south?
27: Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his
nest on high?
28: On the rock he dwells and makes his home in the fastness of
the rocky crag.
29: Thence he spies out the prey; his eyes behold it afar off.
30: His young ones suck up blood; and where the slain are, there
is he."
The Book of Job,
chapter 40
1: And the Lord said to Job:
2: "Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who
argues with God, let him answer it."
3: Then Job answered the Lord:
4: "Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer thee?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
5: I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will
proceed no further."
6: Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:
7: "Gird up your loins like a man; I will question you, and
you declare to me.
8: Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that
you may be justified?
9: Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice
like his?
10: "Deck yourself with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself
with glory and splendor.
11: Pour forth the overflowing of your anger, and look on every
one that is proud, and abase him.
12: Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread
down the wicked where they stand.
13: Hide them all in the dust together; bind their faces in the
world below.
14: Then will I also acknowledge to you, that your own right hand
can give you victory.
15: "Behold, Be'hemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats
grass like an ox.
16: Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the
muscles of his belly.
17: He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his
thighs are knit together.
18: His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron.
19: "He is the first of the works of God; let him who made
him bring near his sword!
20: For the mountains yield food for him where all the wild
beasts play.
21: Under the lotus plants he lies, in the covert of the reeds
and in the marsh.
22: For his shade the lotus trees cover him; the willows of the
brook surround him.
23: Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened; he is
confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
24: Can one take him with hooks, or pierce his nose with a snare?
The Book of Job,
chapter 41
1: "Can you draw out Levi'athan with a fishhook, or press
down his tongue with a cord?
2: Can you put a rope in his nose, or pierce his jaw with a hook?
3: Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak to you
soft words?
4: Will he make a covenant with you to take him for your servant
for ever?
5: Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you put him on
leash for your maidens?
6: Will traders bargain over him? Will they divide him up among
the merchants?
7: Can you fill his skin with harpoons, or his head with fishing
spears?
8: Lay hands on him; think of the battle; you will not do it
again!
9: Behold, the hope of a man is disappointed; he is laid low even
at the sight of him.
10: No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up. Who then is
he that can stand before me?
11: Who has given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is
under the whole heaven is mine.
12: "I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, or his
mighty strength, or his goodly frame.
13: Who can strip off his outer garment? Who can penetrate his
double coat of mail?
14: Who can open the doors of his face? Round about his teeth is
terror.
15: His back is made of rows of shields, shut up closely as with
a seal.
16: One is so near to another that no air can come between them.
17: They are joined one to another; they clasp each other and
cannot be separated.
18: His sneezing flash forth light, and his eyes are like the
eyelids of the dawn.
19: Out of his mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap
forth.
20: Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke, as from a boiling pot
and burning rushes.
21: His breath kindles coals, and a flame comes forth from his
mouth.
22: In his neck abides strength, and terror dances before him.
23: The folds of his flesh cleave together, firmly cast upon him
and immovable.
24: His heart is hard as a stone, hard as the nether millstone.
25: When he raises himself up the mighty are afraid; at the
crashing they are beside themselves.
26: Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail; nor the
spear, the dart, or the javelin.
27: He counts iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood.
28: The arrow cannot make him flee; for him sling stones are
turned to stubble.
29: Clubs are counted as stubble; he laughs at the rattle of
javelins.
30: His under part's are like sharp potsherds; he spreads himself
like a threshing sledge on the mire.
31: He makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a
pot of ointment.
32: Behind him he leaves a shining wake; one would think the deep
to be hoary.
33: Upon earth there is not his like, a creature without fear.
34: He beholds everything that is high; he is king over all the
sons of pride."
The Book of Job,
chapter 42
1: Then Job answered the Lord:
2: "I know that Thou canst do all things, and that no
purpose of Thine can be thwarted.
3: `Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore
I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me,
which I did not know.
4: `Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you declare
to me.'
5: I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye
sees thee;
6: therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and
ashes."
7: After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to
Eli'phaz the Te'manite: "My wrath is kindled against you and
against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me what is right,
as My servant Job has.
8: Now therefore take 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 his prayer not to deal
with you according to your folly; for you have not spoken of me what is
right, as My servant Job has."
9: So Eli'phaz the Te'manite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar
the Na'amathite went and did what the Lord had told them; and the Lord
accepted Job's prayer.
10: And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed
for his friends; and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.
11: Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had
known him before, and ate bread with him in his house; and they showed
him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had
brought upon him; and each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring
of gold.
12: And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his
beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a
thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses.
13: He had also seven sons and three daughters.
14: And he called the name of the first Jemi'mah; and the name of
the second Kezi'ah; and the name of the third Ker'en-hap'puch.
15: And in all the land there were no women so fair as Job's
daughters; and their father gave them inheritance among their brothers.
16: And after this Job lived a hundred and forty years, and saw
his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations.
17: And Job died, an old man, and full of days.
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