Book of Job
by
Anonymous
Job
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[2] Chapter 1
[3]
[4]
[5] 1: There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was
[6] perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
[7]
[8] 2: And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.
[9]
[10] 3: His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels,
[11] and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very
[12] great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the
[13] east.
[14]
[15] 4: And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and
[16] sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.
[17]
[18] 5: And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that
[19] Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and
[20] offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said,
[21] It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus
[22] did Job continually.
[23]
[24] 6: Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves
[25] before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
[26]
[27] 7: And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered
[28] the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking
[29] up and down in it.
[30]
[31] 8: And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that
[32] there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one
[33] that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
[34]
[35] 9: Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
[36]
[37] 10: Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about
[38] all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands,
[39] and his substance is increased in the land.
[40]
[41] 11: But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will
[42] curse thee to thy face.
[43]
[44] 12: And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy
[45] power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth
[46] from the presence of the LORD.
[47]
[48] 13: And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and
[49] drinking wine in their eldest brother's house:
[50]
[51] 14: And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing,
[52] and the asses feeding beside them:
[53]
[54] 15: And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have
[55] slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone
[56] to tell thee.
[57]
[58] 16: While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire
[59] of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the
[60] servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
[61]
[62] 17: While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The
[63] Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried
[64] them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I
[65] only am escaped alone to tell thee.
[66]
[67] 18: While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons
[68] and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's
[69] house:
[70]
[71] 19: And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote
[72] the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they
[73] are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
[74]
[75] 20: Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell
[76] down upon the ground, and worshipped,
[77]
[78] 21: And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I
[79] return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be
[80] the name of the LORD.
[81]
[82] 22: In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.
[83]
[84]
[85] Chapter 2
[86]
[87]
[88] 1: Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves
[89] before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before
[90] the LORD.
[91]
[92] 2: And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan
[93] answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from
[94] walking up and down in it.
[95]
[96] 3: And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that
[97] there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one
[98] that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his
[99] integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without
[100] cause.
[101]
[102] 4: And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a
[103] man hath will he give for his life.
[104]
[105] 5: But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he
[106] will curse thee to thy face.
[107]
[108] 6: And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his
[109] life.
[110]
[111] 7: So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with
[112] sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
[113]
[114] 8: And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down
[115] among the ashes.
[116]
[117] 9: Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity?
[118] curse God, and die.
[119]
[120] 10: But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women
[121] speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not
[122] receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
[123]
[124] 11: Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon
[125] him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and
[126] Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an
[127] appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.
[128]
[129] 12: And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they
[130] lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and
[131] sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.
[132]
[133] 13: So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights,
[134] and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very
[135] great.
[136]
[137]
[138] Chapter 3
[139]
[140]
[141] 1: After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.
[142]
[143] 2: And Job spake, and said,
[144]
[145] 3: Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was
[146] said, There is a man child conceived.
[147]
[148] 4: Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let
[149] the light shine upon it.
[150]
[151] 5: Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon
[152] it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
[153]
[154] 6: As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined
[155] unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.
[156]
[157] 7: Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.
[158]
[159] 8: Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their
[160] mourning.
[161]
[162] 9: Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light,
[163] but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day:
[164]
[165] 10: Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow
[166] from mine eyes.
[167]
[168] 11: Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I
[169] came out of the belly?
[170]
[171] 12: Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck?
[172]
[173] 13: For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept:
[174] then had I been at rest,
[175]
[176] 14: With kings and counsellers of the earth, which built desolate places
[177] for themselves;
[178]
[179] 15: Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver:
[180]
[181] 16: Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never
[182] saw light.
[183]
[184] 17: There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.
[185]
[186] 18: There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the
[187] oppressor.
[188]
[189] 19: The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his
[190] master.
[191]
[192] 20: Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the
[193] bitter in soul;
[194]
[195] 21: Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for
[196] hid treasures;
[197]
[198] 22: Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?
[199]
[200] 23: Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged
[201] in?
[202]
[203] 24: For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out
[204] like the waters.
[205]
[206] 25: For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I
[207] was afraid of is come unto me.
[208]
[209] 26: I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet
[210] trouble came.
[211]
[212]
[213] Chapter 4
[214]
[215]
[216] 1: Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
[217]
[218] 2: If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can
[219] withhold himself from speaking?
[220]
[221] 3: Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak
[222] hands.
[223]
[224] 4: Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast
[225] strengthened the feeble knees.
[226]
[227] 5: But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and
[228] thou art troubled.
[229]
[230] 6: Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of
[231] thy ways?
[232]
[233] 7: Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were
[234] the righteous cut off?
[235]
[236] 8: Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap
[237] the same.
[238]
[239] 9: By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are
[240] they consumed.
[241]
[242] 10: The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the
[243] teeth of the young lions, are broken.
[244]
[245] 11: The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's whelps
[246] are scattered abroad.
[247]
[248] 12: Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little
[249] thereof.
[250]
[251] 13: In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on
[252] men,
[253]
[254] 14: Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.
[255]
[256] 15: Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up:
[257]
[258] 16: It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was
[259] before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,
[260]
[261] 17: Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than
[262] his maker?
[263]
[264] 18: Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged
[265] with folly:
[266]
[267] 19: How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation
[268] is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?
[269]
[270] 20: They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever
[271] without any regarding it.
[272]
[273] 21: Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even
[274] without wisdom.
[275]
[276]
[277] Chapter 5
[278]
[279]
[280] 1: Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the
[281] saints wilt thou turn?
[282]
[283] 2: For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.
[284]
[285] 3: I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his
[286] habitation.
[287]
[288] 4: His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate,
[289] neither is there any to deliver them.
[290]
[291] 5: Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the
[292] thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.
[293]
[294] 6: Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble
[295] spring out of the ground;
[296]
[297] 7: Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
[298]
[299] 8: I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:
[300]
[301] 9: Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without
[302] number:
[303]
[304] 10: Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields:
[305]
[306] 11: To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be
[307] exalted to safety.
[308]
[309] 12: He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot
[310] perform their enterprise.
[311]
[312] 13: He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the
[313] froward is carried headlong.
[314]
[315] 14: They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in
[316] the night.
[317]
[318] 15: But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the
[319] hand of the mighty.
[320]
[321] 16: So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
[322]
[323] 17: Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not
[324] thou the chastening of the Almighty:
[325]
[326] 18: For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make
[327] whole.
[328]
[329] 19: He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no
[330] evil touch thee.
[331]
[332] 20: In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power
[333] of the sword.
[334]
[335] 21: Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou
[336] be afraid of destruction when it cometh.
[337]
[338] 22: At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be
[339] afraid of the beasts of the earth.
[340]
[341] 23: For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the
[342] beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.
[343]
[344] 24: And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou
[345] shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin.
[346]
[347] 25: Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring
[348] as the grass of the earth.
[349]
[350] 26: Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn
[351] cometh in in his season.
[352]
[353] 27: Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for
[354] thy good.
[355]
[356]
[357] Chapter 6
[358]
[359]
[360] 1: But Job answered and said,
[361]
[362] 2: Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the
[363] balances together!
[364]
[365] 3: For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my
[366] words are swallowed up.
[367]
[368] 4: For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof
[369] drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array
[370] against me.
[371]
[372] 5: Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his
[373] fodder?
[374]
[375] 6: Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any
[376] taste in the white of an egg?
[377]
[378] 7: The things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat.
[379]
[380] 8: Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing
[381] that I long for!
[382]
[383] 9: Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose
[384] his hand, and cut me off!
[385]
[386] 10: Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow:
[387] let him not spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.
[388]
[389] 11: What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I
[390] should prolong my life?
[391]
[392] 12: Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass?
[393]
[394] 13: Is not my help in me? and is wisdom driven quite from me?
[395]
[396] 14: To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend; but he
[397] forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.
[398]
[399] 15: My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of
[400] brooks they pass away;
[401]
[402] 16: Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid:
[403]
[404] 17: What time they wax warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they are
[405] consumed out of their place.
[406]
[407] 18: The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing, and
[408] perish.
[409]
[410] 19: The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them.
[411]
[412] 20: They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and
[413] were ashamed.
[414]
[415] 21: For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid.
[416]
[417] 22: Did I say, Bring unto me? or, Give a reward for me of your substance?
[418]
[419] 23: Or, Deliver me from the enemy's hand? or, Redeem me from the hand of
[420] the mighty?
[421]
[422] 24: Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand
[423] wherein I have erred.
[424]
[425] 25: How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove?
[426]
[427] 26: Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is
[428] desperate, which are as wind?
[429]
[430] 27: Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your friend.
[431]
[432] 28: Now therefore be content, look upon me; for it is evident unto you if
[433] I lie.
[434]
[435] 29: Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return again, my
[436] righteousness is in it.
[437]
[438] 30: Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse
[439] things?
[440]
[441]
[442] Chapter 7
[443]
[444]
[445] 1: Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also
[446] like the days of an hireling?
[447]
[448] 2: As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh
[449] for the reward of his work:
[450]
[451] 3: So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are
[452] appointed to me.
[453]
[454] 4: When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and
[455] I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.
[456]
[457] 5: My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken,
[458] and become loathsome.
[459]
[460] 6: My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without
[461] hope.
[462]
[463] 7: O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good.
[464]
[465] 8: The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are
[466] upon me, and I am not.
[467]
[468] 9: As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to
[469] the grave shall come up no more.
[470]
[471] 10: He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him
[472] any more.
[473]
[474] 11: Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of
[475] my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
[476]
[477] 12: Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?
[478]
[479] 13: When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint;
[480]
[481] 14: Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions:
[482]
[483] 15: So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life.
[484]
[485] 16: I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are
[486] vanity.
[487]
[488] 17: What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest
[489] set thine heart upon him?
[490]
[491] 18: And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every
[492] moment?
[493]
[494] 19: How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow
[495] down my spittle?
[496]
[497] 20: I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why
[498] hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?
[499]
[500] 21: And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine
[501] iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the
[502] morning, but I shall not be.
[503]
[504]
[505] Chapter 8
[506]
[507]
[508] 1: Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,
[509]
[510] 2: How long wilt thou speak these things? and how long shall the words of
[511] thy mouth be like a strong wind?
[512]
[513] 3: Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?
[514]
[515] 4: If thy children have sinned against him, and he have cast them away for
[516] their transgression;
[517]
[518] 5: If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to
[519] the Almighty;
[520]
[521] 6: If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and
[522] make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.
[523]
[524] 7: Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly
[525] increase.
[526]
[527] 8: For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the
[528] search of their fathers:
[529]
[530] 9: (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon
[531] earth are a shadow:)
[532]
[533] 10: Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their
[534] heart?
[535]
[536] 11: Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water?
[537]
[538] 12: Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth
[539] before any other herb.
[540]
[541] 13: So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope
[542] shall perish:
[543]
[544] 14: Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web.
[545]
[546] 15: He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it
[547] fast, but it shall not endure.
[548]
[549] 16: He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his
[550] garden.
[551]
[552] 17: His roots are wrapped about the heap, and seeth the place of stones.
[553]
[554] 18: If he destroy him from his place, then it shall deny him, saying, I
[555] have not seen thee.
[556]
[557] 19: Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others
[558] grow.
[559]
[560] 20: Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the
[561] evil doers:
[562]
[563] 21: Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing.
[564]
[565] 22: They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwelling
[566] place of the wicked shall come to nought.
[567]
[568]
[569] Chapter 9
[570]
[571]
[572] 1: Then Job answered and said,
[573]
[574] 2: I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God?
[575]
[576] 3: If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand.
[577]
[578] 4: He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself
[579] against him, and hath prospered?
[580]
[581] 5: Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them
[582] in his anger.
[583]
[584] 6: Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof
[585] tremble.
[586]
[587] 7: Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.
[588]
[589] 8: Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of
[590] the sea.
[591]
[592] 9: Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the
[593] south.
[594]
[595] 10: Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without
[596] number.
[597]
[598] 11: Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I
[599] perceive him not.
[600]
[601] 12: Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him,
[602] What doest thou?
[603]
[604] 13: If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under
[605] him.
[606]
[607] 14: How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason
[608] with him?
[609]
[610] 15: Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would
[611] make supplication to my judge.
[612]
[613] 16: If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that
[614] he had hearkened unto my voice.
[615]
[616] 17: For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without
[617] cause.
[618]
[619] 18: He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with
[620] bitterness.
[621]
[622] 19: If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: and if of judgment, who
[623] shall set me a time to plead?
[624]
[625] 20: If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am
[626] perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.
[627]
[628] 21: Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise
[629] my life.
[630]
[631] 22: This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and
[632] the wicked.
[633]
[634] 23: If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the
[635] innocent.
[636]
[637] 24: The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces
[638] of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he?
[639]
[640] 25: Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good.
[641]
[642] 26: They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to
[643] the prey.
[644]
[645] 27: If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness,
[646] and comfort myself:
[647]
[648] 28: I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me
[649] innocent.
[650]
[651] 29: If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain?
[652]
[653] 30: If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean;
[654]
[655] 31: Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall
[656] abhor me.
[657]
[658] 32: For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should
[659] come together in judgment.
[660]
[661] 33: Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon
[662] us both.
[663]
[664] 34: Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me:
[665]
[666] 35: Then would I speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me.
[667]
[668]
[669] Chapter 10
[670]
[671]
[672] 1: My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I
[673] will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
[674]
[675] 2: I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou
[676] contendest with me.
[677]
[678] 3: Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest
[679] despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?
[680]
[681] 4: Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth?
[682]
[683] 5: Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man's days,
[684]
[685] 6: That thou inquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin?
[686]
[687] 7: Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver
[688] out of thine hand.
[689]
[690] 8: Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet
[691] thou dost destroy me.
[692]
[693] 9: Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt
[694] thou bring me into dust again?
[695]
[696] 10: Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese?
[697]
[698] 11: Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with
[699] bones and sinews.
[700]
[701] 12: Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath
[702] preserved my spirit.
[703]
[704] 13: And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this is
[705] with thee.
[706]
[707] 14: If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine
[708] iniquity.
[709]
[710] 15: If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not
[711] lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine
[712] affliction;
[713]
[714] 16: For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou
[715] shewest thyself marvellous upon me.
[716]
[717] 17: Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine
[718] indignation upon me; changes and war are against me.
[719]
[720] 18: Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I
[721] had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me!
[722]
[723] 19: I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been
[724] carried from the womb to the grave.
[725]
[726] 20: Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take
[727] comfort a little,
[728]
[729] 21: Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness
[730] and the shadow of death;
[731]
[732] 22: A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death,
[733] without any order, and where the light is as darkness.
[734]
[735]
[736] Chapter 11
[737]
[738]
[739] 1: Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
[740]
[741] 2: Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of
[742] talk be justified?
[743]
[744] 3: Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall
[745] no man make thee ashamed?
[746]
[747] 4: For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes.
[748]
[749] 5: But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee;
[750]
[751] 6: And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double
[752] to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine
[753] iniquity deserveth.
[754]
[755] 7: Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty
[756] unto perfection?
[757]
[758] 8: It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what
[759] canst thou know?
[760]
[761] 9: The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.
[762]
[763] 10: If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder
[764] him?
[765]
[766] 11: For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then
[767] consider it?
[768]
[769] 12: For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt.
[770]
[771] 13: If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;
[772]
[773] 14: If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness
[774] dwell in thy tabernacles.
[775]
[776] 15: For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be
[777] stedfast, and shalt not fear:
[778]
[779] 16: Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that
[780] pass away:
[781]
[782] 17: And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine
[783] forth, thou shalt be as the morning.
[784]
[785] 18: And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig
[786] about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.
[787]
[788] 19: Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many
[789] shall make suit unto thee.
[790]
[791] 20: But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and
[792] their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.
[793]
[794]
[795] Chapter 12
[796]
[797]
[798] 1: And Job answered and said,
[799]
[800] 2: No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.
[801]
[802] 3: But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea,
[803] who knoweth not such things as these?
[804]
[805] 4: I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he
[806] answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn.
[807]
[808] 5: He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the
[809] thought of him that is at ease.
[810]
[811] 6: The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are
[812] secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.
[813]
[814] 7: But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the
[815] air, and they shall tell thee:
[816]
[817] 8: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the
[818] sea shall declare unto thee.
[819]
[820] 9: Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought
[821] this?
[822]
[823] 10: In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all
[824] mankind.
[825]
[826] 11: Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat?
[827]
[828] 12: With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.
[829]
[830] 13: With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.
[831]
[832] 14: Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up
[833] a man, and there can be no opening.
[834]
[835] 15: Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth
[836] them out, and they overturn the earth.
[837]
[838] 16: With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are
[839] his.
[840]
[841] 17: He leadeth counsellers away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools.
[842]
[843] 18: He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle.
[844]
[845] 19: He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty.
[846]
[847] 20: He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the
[848] understanding of the aged.
[849]
[850] 21: He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the
[851] mighty.
[852]
[853] 22: He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light
[854] the shadow of death.
[855]
[856] 23: He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the
[857] nations, and straiteneth them again.
[858]
[859] 24: He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and
[860] causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
[861]
[862] 25: They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger
[863] like a drunken man.
[864]
[865]
[866] Chapter 13
[867]
[868]
[869] 1: Lo, mine eye hath seen all this, mine ear hath heard and understood it.
[870]
[871] 2: What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you.
[872]
[873] 3: Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God.
[874]
[875] 4: But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.
[876]
[877] 5: O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your
[878] wisdom.
[879]
[880] 6: Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips.
[881]
[882] 7: Will ye speak wickedly for God? and talk deceitfully for him?
[883]
[884] 8: Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God?
[885]
[886] 9: Is it good that he should search you out? or as one man mocketh
[887] another, do ye so mock him?
[888]
[889] 10: He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons.
[890]
[891] 11: Shall not his excellency make you afraid? and his dread fall upon you?
[892]
[893] 12: Your remembrances are like unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay.
[894]
[895] 13: Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me
[896] what will.
[897]
[898] 14: Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in mine
[899] hand?
[900]
[901] 15: Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine
[902] own ways before him.
[903]
[904] 16: He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before
[905] him.
[906]
[907] 17: Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration with your ears.
[908]
[909] 18: Behold now, I have ordered my cause; I know that I shall be justified.
[910]
[911] 19: Who is he that will plead with me? for now, if I hold my tongue, I
[912] shall give up the ghost.
[913]
[914] 20: Only do not two things unto me: then will I not hide myself from thee.
[915]
[916] 21: Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid.
[917]
[918] 22: Then call thou, and I will answer: or let me speak, and answer thou
[919] me.
[920]
[921] 23: How many are mine iniquities and sins? make me to know my
[922] transgression and my sin.
[923]
[924] 24: Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy?
[925]
[926] 25: Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry
[927] stubble?
[928]
[929] 26: For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess
[930] the iniquities of my youth.
[931]
[932] 27: Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly unto all
[933] my paths; thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet.
[934]
[935] 28: And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth, as a garment that is moth eaten.
[936]
[937]
[938] Chapter 14
[939]
[940]
[941] 1: Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.
[942]
[943] 2: He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a
[944] shadow, and continueth not.
[945]
[946] 3: And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into
[947] judgment with thee?
[948]
[949] 4: Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
[950]
[951] 5: Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee,
[952] thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;
[953]
[954] 6: Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an
[955] hireling, his day.
[956]
[957] 7: For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout
[958] again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
[959]
[960] 8: Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die
[961] in the ground;
[962]
[963] 9: Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like
[964] a plant.
[965]
[966] 10: But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and
[967] where is he?
[968]
[969] 11: As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up:
[970]
[971] 12: So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they
[972] shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
[973]
[974] 13: O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me
[975] secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time,
[976] and remember me!
[977]
[978] 14: If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time
[979] will I wait, till my change come.
[980]
[981] 15: Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to
[982] the work of thine hands.
[983]
[984] 16: For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin?
[985]
[986] 17: My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine
[987] iniquity.
[988]
[989] 18: And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is
[990] removed out of his place.
[991]
[992] 19: The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow
[993] out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man.
[994]
[995] 20: Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest
[996] his countenance, and sendest him away.
[997]
[998] 21: His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought
[999] low, but he perceiveth it not of them.
[1000]
[1001] 22: But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall
[1002] mourn.
[1003]
[1004]
[1005] Chapter 15
[1006]
[1007]
[1008] 1: Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,
[1009]
[1010] 2: Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the
[1011] east wind?
[1012]
[1013] 3: Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he
[1014] can do no good?
[1015]
[1016] 4: Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God.
[1017]
[1018] 5: For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of
[1019] the crafty.
[1020]
[1021] 6: Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify
[1022] against thee.
[1023]
[1024] 7: Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the
[1025] hills?
[1026]
[1027] 8: Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to
[1028] thyself?
[1029]
[1030] 9: What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is
[1031] not in us?
[1032]
[1033] 10: With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy
[1034] father.
[1035]
[1036] 11: Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing
[1037] with thee?
[1038]
[1039] 12: Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at,
[1040]
[1041] 13: That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go
[1042] out of thy mouth?
[1043]
[1044] 14: What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman,
[1045] that he should be righteous?
[1046]
[1047] 15: Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not
[1048] clean in his sight.
[1049]
[1050] 16: How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity
[1051] like water?
[1052]
[1053] 17: I will shew thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare;
[1054]
[1055] 18: Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it:
[1056]
[1057] 19: Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among
[1058] them.
[1059]
[1060] 20: The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of
[1061] years is hidden to the oppressor.
[1062]
[1063] 21: A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall
[1064] come upon him.
[1065]
[1066] 22: He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is
[1067] waited for of the sword.
[1068]
[1069] 23: He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that
[1070] the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
[1071]
[1072] 24: Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against
[1073] him, as a king ready to the battle.
[1074]
[1075] 25: For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself
[1076] against the Almighty.
[1077]
[1078] 26: He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his
[1079] bucklers:
[1080]
[1081] 27: Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of
[1082] fat on his flanks.
[1083]
[1084] 28: And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man
[1085] inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps.
[1086]
[1087] 29: He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither
[1088] shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth.
[1089]
[1090] 30: He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his
[1091] branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away.
[1092]
[1093] 31: Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his
[1094] recompence.
[1095]
[1096] 32: It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be
[1097] green.
[1098]
[1099] 33: He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off
[1100] his flower as the olive.
[1101]
[1102] 34: For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall
[1103] consume the tabernacles of bribery.
[1104]
[1105] 35: They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly
[1106] prepareth deceit.
[1107]
[1108]
[1109] Chapter 16
[1110]
[1111]
[1112] 1: Then Job answered and said,
[1113]
[1114] 2: I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all.
[1115]
[1116] 3: Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth thee that thou
[1117] answerest?
[1118]
[1119] 4: I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my soul's stead, I
[1120] could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at you.
[1121]
[1122] 5: But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips
[1123] should asswage your grief.
[1124]
[1125] 6: Though I speak, my grief is not asswaged: and though I forbear, what am
[1126] I eased?
[1127]
[1128] 7: But now he hath made me weary: thou hast made desolate all my company.
[1129]
[1130] 8: And thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me:
[1131] and my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face.
[1132]
[1133] 9: He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his
[1134] teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.
[1135]
[1136] 10: They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon
[1137] the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against
[1138] me.
[1139]
[1140] 11: God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the
[1141] hands of the wicked.
[1142]
[1143] 12: I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by
[1144] my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.
[1145]
[1146] 13: His archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and
[1147] doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground.
[1148]
[1149] 14: He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon me like a
[1150] giant.
[1151]
[1152] 15: I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust.
[1153]
[1154] 16: My face is foul with weeping, and my eyelids is the shadow of death;
[1155]
[1156] 17: Not for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer is pure.
[1157]
[1158] 18: O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place.
[1159]
[1160] 19: Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high.
[1161]
[1162] 20: My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God.
[1163]
[1164] 21: O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his
[1165] neighbour!
[1166]
[1167] 22: When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not
[1168] return.
[1169]
[1170]
[1171] Chapter 17
[1172]
[1173]
[1174] 1: My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me.
[1175]
[1176] 2: Are there not mockers with me? and doth not mine eye continue in their
[1177] provocation?
[1178]
[1179] 3: Lay down now, put me in a surety with thee; who is he that will strike
[1180] hands with me?
[1181]
[1182] 4: For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: therefore shalt thou
[1183] not exalt them.
[1184]
[1185] 5: He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children
[1186] shall fail.
[1187]
[1188] 6: He hath made me also a byword of the people; and aforetime I was as a
[1189] tabret.
[1190]
[1191] 7: Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, and all my members are as a
[1192] shadow.
[1193]
[1194] 8: Upright men shall be astonied at this, and the innocent shall stir up
[1195] himself against the hypocrite.
[1196]
[1197] 9: The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands
[1198] shall be stronger and stronger.
[1199]
[1200] 10: But as for you all, do ye return, and come now: for I cannot find one
[1201] wise man among you.
[1202]
[1203] 11: My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my
[1204] heart.
[1205]
[1206] 12: They change the night into day: the light is short because of
[1207] darkness.
[1208]
[1209] 13: If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the
[1210] darkness.
[1211]
[1212] 14: I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou are
[1213] my mother, and my sister.
[1214]
[1215] 15: And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who shall see it?
[1216]
[1217] 16: They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is
[1218] in the dust.
[1219]
[1220]
[1221] Chapter 18
[1222]
[1223]
[1224] 1: Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,
[1225]
[1226] 2: How long will it be ere ye make an end of words? mark, and afterwards
[1227] we will speak.
[1228]
[1229] 3: Wherefore are we counted as beasts, and reputed vile in your sight?
[1230]
[1231] 4: He teareth himself in his anger: shall the earth be forsaken for thee?
[1232] and shall the rock be removed out of his place?
[1233]
[1234] 5: Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his
[1235] fire shall not shine.
[1236]
[1237] 6: The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put
[1238] out with him.
[1239]
[1240] 7: The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel
[1241] shall cast him down.
[1242]
[1243] 8: For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare.
[1244]
[1245] 9: The gin shall take him by the heel, and the robber shall prevail
[1246] against him.
[1247]
[1248] 10: The snare is laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the
[1249] way.
[1250]
[1251] 11: Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to
[1252] his feet.
[1253]
[1254] 12: His strength shall be hungerbitten, and destruction shall be ready at
[1255] his side.
[1256]
[1257] 13: It shall devour the strength of his skin: even the firstborn of death
[1258] shall devour his strength.
[1259]
[1260] 14: His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall
[1261] bring him to the king of terrors.
[1262]
[1263] 15: It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: brimstone
[1264] shall be scattered upon his habitation.
[1265]
[1266] 16: His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut
[1267] off.
[1268]
[1269] 17: His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name
[1270] in the street.
[1271]
[1272] 18: He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the
[1273] world.
[1274]
[1275] 19: He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any
[1276] remaining in his dwellings.
[1277]
[1278] 20: They that come after him shall be astonied at his day, as they that
[1279] went before were affrighted.
[1280]
[1281] 21: Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of
[1282] him that knoweth not God.
[1283]
[1284]
[1285] Chapter 19
[1286]
[1287]
[1288] 1: Then Job answered and said,
[1289]
[1290] 2: How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?
[1291]
[1292] 3: These ten times have ye reproached me: ye are not ashamed that ye make
[1293] yourselves strange to me.
[1294]
[1295] 4: And be it indeed that I have erred, mine error remaineth with myself.
[1296]
[1297] 5: If indeed ye will magnify yourselves against me, and plead against me
[1298] my reproach:
[1299]
[1300] 6: Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his
[1301] net.
[1302]
[1303] 7: Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there
[1304] is no judgment.
[1305]
[1306] 8: He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness
[1307] in my paths.
[1308]
[1309] 9: He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head.
[1310]
[1311] 10: He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone: and mine hope hath
[1312] he removed like a tree.
[1313]
[1314] 11: He hath also kindled his wrath against me, and he counteth me unto him
[1315] as one of his enemies.
[1316]
[1317] 12: His troops come together, and raise up their way against me, and
[1318] encamp round about my tabernacle.
[1319]
[1320] 13: He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily
[1321] estranged from me.
[1322]
[1323] 14: My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me.
[1324]
[1325] 15: They that dwell in mine house, and my maids, count me for a stranger:
[1326] I am an alien in their sight.
[1327]
[1328] 16: I called my servant, and he gave me no answer; I intreated him with my
[1329] mouth.
[1330]
[1331] 17: My breath is strange to my wife, though I intreated for the children's
[1332] sake of mine own body.
[1333]
[1334] 18: Yea, young children despised me; I arose, and they spake against me.
[1335]
[1336] 19: All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned
[1337] against me.
[1338]
[1339] 20: My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the
[1340] skin of my teeth.
[1341]
[1342] 21: Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of
[1343] God hath touched me.
[1344]
[1345] 22: Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh?
[1346]
[1347] 23: Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a
[1348] book!
[1349]
[1350] 24: That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!
[1351]
[1352] 25: For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the
[1353] latter day upon the earth:
[1354]
[1355] 26: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh
[1356] shall I see God:
[1357]
[1358] 27: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not
[1359] another; though my reins be consumed within me.
[1360]
[1361] 28: But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter
[1362] is found in me?
[1363]
[1364] 29: Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the
[1365] sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.
[1366]
[1367]
[1368] Chapter 20
[1369]
[1370]
[1371] 1: Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
[1372]
[1373] 2: Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste.
[1374]
[1375] 3: I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my
[1376] understanding causeth me to answer.
[1377]
[1378] 4: Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,
[1379]
[1380] 5: That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the
[1381] hypocrite but for a moment?
[1382]
[1383] 6: Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto
[1384] the clouds;
[1385]
[1386] 7: Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen
[1387] him shall say, Where is he?
[1388]
[1389] 8: He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be
[1390] chased away as a vision of the night.
[1391]
[1392] 9: The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his
[1393] place any more behold him.
[1394]
[1395] 10: His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall
[1396] restore their goods.
[1397]
[1398] 11: His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with
[1399] him in the dust.
[1400]
[1401] 12: Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his
[1402] tongue;
[1403]
[1404] 13: Though he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his
[1405] mouth:
[1406]
[1407] 14: Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within
[1408] him.
[1409]
[1410] 15: He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God
[1411] shall cast them out of his belly.
[1412]
[1413] 16: He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper's tongue shall slay him.
[1414]
[1415] 17: He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and
[1416] butter.
[1417]
[1418] 18: That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it
[1419] down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall
[1420] not rejoice therein.
[1421]
[1422] 19: Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath
[1423] violently taken away an house which he builded not;
[1424]
[1425] 20: Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of
[1426] that which he desired.
[1427]
[1428] 21: There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for
[1429] his goods.
[1430]
[1431] 22: In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand
[1432] of the wicked shall come upon him.
[1433]
[1434] 23: When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his
[1435] wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.
[1436]
[1437] 24: He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike
[1438] him through.
[1439]
[1440] 25: It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword
[1441] cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him.
[1442]
[1443] 26: All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall
[1444] consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.
[1445]
[1446] 27: The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up
[1447] against him.
[1448]
[1449] 28: The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away
[1450] in the day of his wrath.
[1451]
[1452] 29: This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage
[1453] appointed unto him by God.
[1454]
[1455]
[1456] Chapter 21
[1457]
[1458]
[1459] 1: But Job answered and said,
[1460]
[1461] 2: Hear diligently my speech, and let this be your consolations.
[1462]
[1463] 3: Suffer me that I may speak; and after that I have spoken, mock on.
[1464]
[1465] 4: As for me, is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my
[1466] spirit be troubled?
[1467]
[1468] 5: Mark me, and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth.
[1469]
[1470] 6: Even when I remember I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my
[1471] flesh.
[1472]
[1473] 7: Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?
[1474]
[1475] 8: Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring
[1476] before their eyes.
[1477]
[1478] 9: Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.
[1479]
[1480] 10: Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth
[1481] not her calf.
[1482]
[1483] 11: They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children
[1484] dance.
[1485]
[1486] 12: They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ.
[1487]
[1488] 13: They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave.
[1489]
[1490] 14: Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the
[1491] knowledge of thy ways.
[1492]
[1493] 15: What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should
[1494] we have, if we pray unto him?
[1495]
[1496] 16: Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far
[1497] from me.
[1498]
[1499] 17: How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their
[1500] destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger.
[1501]
[1502] 18: They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm
[1503] carrieth away.
[1504]
[1505] 19: God layeth up his iniquity for his children: he rewardeth him, and he
[1506] shall know it.
[1507]
[1508] 20: His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of
[1509] the Almighty.
[1510]
[1511] 21: For what pleasure hath he in his house after him, when the number of
[1512] his months is cut off in the midst?
[1513]
[1514] 22: Shall any teach God knowledge? seeing he judgeth those that are high.
[1515]
[1516] 23: One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet.
[1517]
[1518] 24: His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow.
[1519]
[1520] 25: And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with
[1521] pleasure.
[1522]
[1523] 26: They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them.
[1524]
[1525] 27: Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices which ye wrongfully
[1526] imagine against me.
[1527]
[1528] 28: For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and where are the
[1529] dwelling places of the wicked?
[1530]
[1531] 29: Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye not know their
[1532] tokens,
[1533]
[1534] 30: That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be
[1535] brought forth to the day of wrath.
[1536]
[1537] 31: Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he
[1538] hath done?
[1539]
[1540] 32: Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb.
[1541]
[1542] 33: The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall
[1543] draw after him, as there are innumerable before him.
[1544]
[1545] 34: How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answers there remaineth
[1546] falsehood?
[1547]
[1548]
[1549] Chapter 22
[1550]
[1551]
[1552] 1: Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
[1553]
[1554] 2: Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable
[1555] unto himself?
[1556]
[1557] 3: Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it
[1558] gain to him that thou makest thy ways perfect?
[1559]
[1560] 4: Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into
[1561] judgment?
[1562]
[1563] 5: Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite?
[1564]
[1565] 6: For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped
[1566] the naked of their clothing.
[1567]
[1568] 7: Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast
[1569] withholden bread from the hungry.
[1570]
[1571] 8: But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man
[1572] dwelt in it.
[1573]
[1574] 9: Thou has sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have
[1575] been broken.
[1576]
[1577] 10: Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee;
[1578]
[1579] 11: Or darkness, that thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover
[1580] thee.
[1581]
[1582] 12: Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the
[1583] stars, how high they are!
[1584]
[1585] 13: And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark
[1586] cloud?
[1587]
[1588] 14: Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh
[1589] in the circuit of heaven.
[1590]
[1591] 15: Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?
[1592]
[1593] 16: Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a
[1594] flood:
[1595]
[1596] 17: Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for
[1597] them?
[1598]
[1599] 18: Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the
[1600] wicked is far from me.
[1601]
[1602] 19: The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to
[1603] scorn.
[1604]
[1605] 20: Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the
[1606] fire consumeth.
[1607]
[1608] 21: Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall
[1609] come unto thee.
[1610]
[1611] 22: Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in
[1612] thine heart.
[1613]
[1614] 23: If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put
[1615] away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.
[1616]
[1617] 24: Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the
[1618] stones of the brooks.
[1619]
[1620] 25: Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of
[1621] silver.
[1622]
[1623] 26: For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift
[1624] up thy face unto God.
[1625]
[1626] 27: Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou
[1627] shalt pay thy vows.
[1628]
[1629] 28: Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee:
[1630] and the light shall shine upon thy ways.
[1631]
[1632] 29: When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and
[1633] he shall save the humble person.
[1634]
[1635] 30: He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by
[1636] the pureness of thine hands.
[1637]
[1638]
[1639] Chapter 23
[1640]
[1641]
[1642] 1: Then Job answered and said,
[1643]
[1644] 2: Even to day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my
[1645] groaning.
[1646]
[1647] 3: Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his
[1648] seat!
[1649]
[1650] 4: I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments.
[1651]
[1652] 5: I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he
[1653] would say unto me.
[1654]
[1655] 6: Will he plead against me