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Job

1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and turned away from evil. ²And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. ³His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the children of the east.

⁴And his sons went and held a feast in the house of each one upon his day; and they sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. ⁵And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt-offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and renounced God in their hearts. this did Job continually.

⁶Now it came to pass on the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, that Satan also came among them. ⁷And Jehovah said unto Satan, where do you come from? Then Satan answered Jehovah, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. ⁸And Jehovah said unto Satan, have you considered my servant Job? for there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God, and turns away from evil. ⁹Then Satan answered Jehovah, and said, does Job fear God for nothing? ¹⁰Have you not made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he has, on every side? you have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. ¹¹But put forth your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will renounce you to your face. ¹²And Jehovah said unto Satan, Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon his person put not forth your hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of Jehovah.

¹³And it fell on a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house, ¹⁴that there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them; ¹⁵and the Sa-be-ans fell upon them, and took them away: yes, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell you. ¹⁶While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and has burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell you. ¹⁷While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have taken them away, yes, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell you. ¹⁸While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house; ¹⁹and, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell you.

²⁰Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped; ²¹and he said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there: Jehovah gave, and Jehovah has taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah. ²²In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

2 Again it came to pass on *** the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, that Satan came also among them to present himself before Jehovah. ²And Jehovah said unto Satan, From where have you come? And Satan answered Jehovah, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. ³And Jehovah said unto Satan, have you considered my servant Job? for there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God, and turns away from evil: and he still holds fast his integrity, although you moved me against him, to destroy him without cause. ⁴And Satan answered Jehovah, and said, Skin for skin, yes, all that a man has will he give for his life. ⁵But put forth your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will renounce you to your face. ⁶And Jehovah said unto Satan, Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.

⁷So Satan went forth from the presence of Jehovah, and struck Job with great boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. ⁸And Job took a potsherd to scrape himself therewith; and he sat among the ashes. ⁹Then said his wife unto him, do you still hold fast your integrity? renounce God, and die. ¹⁰But he said unto her, you speak as one of the foolish women speaks. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did Job not sin with his lips.

¹¹Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place: E-li-phaz the Te-man-ite, and Bil-dad the Shu-hite, and Zo-phar the Na’a-math-ite, and they made an appointment together to come to bemoan him and to comfort him. ¹²And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his robe, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. ¹³So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spoke a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.

3 After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed his day. ²And Job answered and said: ³Let the day perish wherein I was born, And the night which said, There is a man-child conceived. ⁴Let that day be darkness; Let not God from above seek for it, Neither let the light shine upon it. ⁵Let darkness and the shadow of death claim it for their own; Let a cloud dwell upon it; Let all that makes the day black terrify it. ⁶As for that night, let thick darkness seize upon it: Let it not rejoice among the days of the year; Let it not come into the number of the months. ⁷Lo, let that night be barren; Let no joyful voice come therein. ⁸Let them curse it that curse the day, Who are ready to rouse up leviathan. ⁹Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark: Let it look for light, but have none; Neither let it behold the eyelids of the morning: ¹⁰Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb, Nor hid trouble from my eyes.

¹¹Why did I not died from the womb? Why did I not give up the ghost when my mother bare me? ¹²Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breast, that I should suck? ¹³For now should I have lain down and been quiet; *** I should have slept; then had I been at rest, ¹⁴With kings and counselors of the earth, Who built up waste places for themselves; ¹⁵Or with princes that had gold, Who filled their houses with silver: ¹⁶Or as a hidden untimely birth I had not been, As infants that never saw light. ¹⁷There the wicked cease from troubling; And there the weary are at rest. ¹⁸There the prisoners are at ease together; They hear not the voice of the taskmaster. ¹⁹The small and the great are there: And the servant is free from his master.

²⁰why is light given to him that is in misery, And life unto the bitter in soul; ²¹Who long for death, but it comes not, And dig for it more than for hidden treasures; ²²Who rejoice exceedingly, And are glad, when they can find the grave? ²³Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, And whom God has hedged in? ²⁴For my sighing comes before I eat, And my groanings are poured out like water. ²⁵For the thing which I fear comes upon me, And that which I am afraid of comes unto me. ²⁶I am not at ease, neither am I quiet, neither have I rest; But trouble comes.

4 Then answered E-li-phaz the Te-man-ite, and said, ²If one attempts to commune with you, will you be grieved? But who can withhold himself from speaking? ³Behold, you have instructed many, And you have strengthened the weak hands. ⁴Your words have upheld him that was falling, And you have made firm the feeble knees. ⁵But now it is come unto you, and you become faint; It touches you, and you are troubled. ⁶Is not your fear of God your confidence, And the integrity of your ways your hope?

⁷Remember, I pray you, who ever perished, being innocent? Or where were the upright cut off? ⁸According as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, And sow trouble, reap the same. ⁹By the breath of God they perish, And by the blast of his anger are they consumed. ¹⁰The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions, are broken. ¹¹The old lion perishes for lack of prey, And the whelps of the lioness are scattered abroad.

¹²Now a thing was secretly brought to me, And my ear received a whisper thereof. ¹³In thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, ¹⁴Fear came upon me, and trembling, Which made all my bones to shake. ¹⁵Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair of my flesh stood up. ¹⁶It stood still, but I could not discern the appearance thereof; A form was before my eyes: There was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, ¹⁷Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his Maker? ¹⁸Behold, he puts no trust in his servants; And his angels he charges with folly: ¹⁹How much more them that dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth! ²⁰between morning and evening they are destroyed: They perish for ever without any regarding it. ²¹Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die, and that without wisdom.

5 Call now; is there any that will answer you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn? ²For vexation kills the foolish man, And jealousy slays the silly one. ³I have seen the foolish taking root: But suddenly I cursed his habitation. ⁴His children are far from safety, And they are crushed in the gate, Neither is there any to deliver them: ⁵Whose harvest the hungry eats up, And takes it even out of the thorns; And the snare opens for their substance.

⁶For affliction comes not forth from the dust, Neither does trouble spring out of the ground; ⁷But man is born unto trouble, As the sparks fly upward. ⁸But as for me, I would seek unto God, And unto God would I commit my cause; ⁹Who does great things and unsearchable, Marvelous things without number: ¹⁰Who gives rain upon the earth, And sent waters upon the fields; ¹¹So that he sets up on high those that are low, And those that mourn are exalted to safety. ¹²He frustrates the devices of the crafty, So that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. ¹³He takes the wise in their own craftiness; And the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong. ¹⁴They meet with darkness in the day-time, And grope at noonday as in the night. ¹⁵But he saves from the sword of their mouth, Even the needy from the hand of the mighty. ¹⁶So the poor has hope, And iniquity stops her mouth.

¹⁷Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects: Therefore despise not the chastening of the Almighty. ¹⁸For he bruises greatly, and he binds up; He wounds, and his hands make whole. ¹⁹He will deliver you in six troubles; yes, in seven there shall no evil touch you. ²⁰In famine he will redeem you from death; And in war from the power of the sword. ²¹You shall be hid from the scourge of the tongue; Neither shall you be afraid of destruction when it comes. ²²At destruction and dearth you shall laugh; Neither shall you be afraid of the beasts of the earth. ²³For you shall be in league with the stones of the field; And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you. ²⁴And you shall know that your tent is in peace; And you shall visit your fold, and shall miss nothing. ²⁵You shall know also that your seed shall be great, And your offspring as the grass of the earth. ²⁶You shall come to your grave in a full age, Like as a shock of grain comes in in its season. ²⁷Consider this, we have searched it, so it is; Hear it, and know it for your good.

6 Then Job answered and said, ²Oh that my vexation were but weighed, And all my calamity laid in the balances! ³For now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas: Therefore have my words been rash. ⁴For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, The poison whereof my spirit drinks up: The terrors of God do set themselves in array against me. ⁵Does the wild ass bray when he has grass? Or does the ox low over his fodder? ⁶Can that which has no savor be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg? ⁷My soul refuses to touch them; They are as loathsome food to me.

⁸Oh that I might have my request; And that God would grant me the thing that I long for! ⁹Even that it would please God to crush me; That he would let free his hand, and cut me off! ¹⁰And be it still my consolation, yes, let me exult in pain that spares not, That I have not denied the words of the Holy One. ¹¹What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should be patient? ¹²Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh of brass? ¹³Is it not that I have no help in me, And that wisdom is driven from me?

¹⁴To him that is ready to faint kindness should be showed from his friend; Even to him that forsakes the fear of the Almighty. ¹⁵My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, As the channel of brooks that pass away; ¹⁶Which are black by reason of the ice, And wherein the snow hides itself: ¹⁷The time they become warm, they vanish; When it is hot, they are consumed out of their place. ¹⁸The caravans that travel by the way of them turn aside; They go up into the waste, and perish. ¹⁹The caravans of Te-ma looked, The companies of She-ba waited for them. ²⁰They were put to shame because they had hoped; They came there, and were confounded. ²¹For now you are nothing; you see a terror, and are afraid.

²²Did I say, Give unto me? Or, Offer a present for me of your substance? ²³Or, Deliver me from the adversary’s hand? Or, Redeem me from the hand of the oppressors? ²⁴Teach me, and I will hold my peace; And cause me to understand wherein I have erred. ²⁵How forcible are words of uprightness! But your reproof, what does it reprove? ²⁶Do you think to reprove words, Seeing that the speeches of one that is desperate are as wind? ²⁷yous, you would cast lots upon the fatherless, And make merchandise of your friend. ²⁸Now therefore be pleased to look upon me; For surely I shall not lie to your face. ²⁹Return, I pray you, let there be no injustice; yes, return again, my cause is righteous. ³⁰Is there injustice on my tongue? Cannot my taste discern mischievous things?

7 Is there not a warfare to man upon earth? And are not his days like the days of a hireling? ²As a servant that earnestly desires the shadow, And as a hireling that looks for his wages: ³So am I made to possess months of misery, And wearisome nights are appointed to me. ⁴When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? And I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day. ⁵My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; My skin closes up, and breaks out afresh. ⁶My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And are spent without hope.

⁷Oh remember that my life is a breath: my eye shall no more see good. ⁸The eye of him that sees me shall behold me no more; your eyes shall be upon me, but I shall not be. ⁹As the cloud is consumed and vanishes away, So he that goes down to Sheol shall come up no more. ¹⁰He shall return no more to his house, Neither shall his place know him any more. ¹¹Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. ¹²Am I a sea, or a sea-monster, That you set a watch over me? ¹³When I say, My bed shall comfort me, My couch shall ease my complaint; ¹⁴Then you scare me with dreams, And terrify me through visions: ¹⁵So that my soul chooses strangling, And death rather than these my bones. ¹⁶I loathe my life; I would not live alway: Let me alone; for my days are vanity.

¹⁷What is man, that you should magnify him, And that you should set your mind upon him, ¹⁸And that you should visit him every morning, And try him every moment? ¹⁹How long will you not look away from me, Nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle? ²⁰If I have sinned, what did I do unto you, O you watcher of men? Why have you set me as a mark for you, So that I am a burden to myself? ²¹And why do you not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity? For now shall I lie down in the dust; And you will seek me diligently, but I shall not be.

8 Then answered Bil-dad the Shu-hite, and said, ²How long will you speak these things? And how long shall the words of your mouth be like a mighty wind? ³Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert righteousness? ⁴If your children have sinned against him, And he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression; ⁵If you would seek diligently unto God, And make your supplication to the Almighty; ⁶If you were pure and upright: Surely now he would awake for you, And make the habitation of your righteousness prosperous. ⁷And though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would greatly increase.

⁸For inquire, I pray you, of the former age, And apply yourself to that which their fathers have searched out: ⁹(For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, Because our days upon earth are a shadow); ¹⁰Shall not they teach you, and tell you, And utter words out of their heart? ¹¹Can the rush grow up without mire? Can the flag grow without water? ¹²While it is yet in its greenness, and not cut down, It withers before any other herb. ¹³So are the paths of all that forget God; And the hope of the godless man shall perish: ¹⁴Whose confidence shall be cut off, And whose trust is a spider’s web. ¹⁵He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: He shall hold fast, but it shall not endure. ¹⁶He is green before the sun, And his shoots go forth over his garden. ¹⁷His roots are wrapped about the stone-heap, He beholds the place of stones. ¹⁸If he be destroyed from his place, Then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen you. ¹⁹Behold, this is the joy of his way; And out of the earth shall others spring.

²⁰Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, Neither will he uphold the evil-doers. ²¹He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, And your lips with shouting. ²²They that hate you shall be clothed with shame; And the tent of the wicked shall be no more.

9 Then Job answered and said, ²Of a truth I know that it is so: But how can man be just with God? ³If he be pleased to contend with him, He cannot answer him one of a thousand. ⁴He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: Who has hardened himself against him, and prospered?-- ⁵Him that removes the mountains, and they know it not, When he overturns them in his anger; ⁶That shakes the earth out of its place, And the pillars thereof tremble; ⁷That commanded the sun, and it rises not, And seals up the stars; ⁸That alone stretches out the heavens, And treads upon the waves of the sea; ⁹That makes the Bear, O-ri’on, and the ple-ia-des, And the chambers of the south; ¹⁰That does great things past finding out, yes, marvelous things without number. ¹¹Lo, he goes by me, and I see him not: He passes on also, but I perceive him not. ¹²Behold, he seizes the prey, who can hinder him? Who will say unto him, What are you doing? ¹³God will not withdraw his anger; The helpers of Rahab do stoop under him.

¹⁴How much less shall I answer him, And choose out my words to reason with him? ¹⁵Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer; I would make supplication to my judge. ¹⁶If I had called, and he had answered me, yet would I not believe that he listened unto my voice. ¹⁷For he breaks me with a tempest, And multiplies my wounds without cause. ¹⁸He will not suffer me to take my breath, But fills me with bitterness. ¹⁹If we speak of strength, lo, he is mighty! And if of justice, Who, says he, will summon me? ²⁰yough I be righteous, my own mouth shall condemn me: though I be perfect, it shall prove me perverse. ²¹I am perfect; I regard not myself; I despise my life.

²²It is all one; therefore I say, He destroys the perfect and the wicked. ²³If the scourge slay suddenly, He will mock at the trial of the innocent. ²⁴The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He covers the faces of the judges thereof: If it be not he, who then is it?

²⁵Now my days are swifter than a post: They flee away, they see no good, ²⁶They are passed away as the swift ships; As the eagle that swoops on the prey. ²⁷If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad countenance, and be of good cheer; ²⁸I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that you will not hold me innocent. ²⁹I shall be condemned; Why then do I labor in vain? ³⁰If I wash myself with snow water, And make my hands never so clean; ³¹yet will you plunge me in the ditch, And my own clothes shall abhor me. ³²For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, That we should come together in judgment. ³³There is no umpire between us, That might lay his hand upon us both. ³⁴Let him take his rod away from me, And let not his terror make me afraid: ³⁵Then would I speak, and not fear him; For I am not so in myself.

10 My soul is weary of my life; I will give free course to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. ²I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; Show me why you contend with me. ³Is it good unto you that you should oppress, That you should despise the work of your hands, And shine upon the counsel of the wicked? ⁴Have you eyes of flesh? Or do you see as man sees? ⁵Are your days as the days of man, Or your years as man’s days, ⁶That you inquire after my iniquity, And search after my sin, ⁷Alyough you know that I am not wicked, And there is none that can deliver out of your hand?

⁸Your hands have framed me and fashioned me Together round about; yet you do destroy me. ⁹Remember, I beseech you, that you have fashioned me as clay; And will you bring me into dust again? ¹⁰Have you not poured me out as milk, And curdled me like cheese? ¹¹You have clothed me with skin and flesh, And knit me together with bones and sinews. ¹²You have granted me life and lovingkindness; And your visitation has preserved my spirit. ¹³yet these things you did hide in your heart; I know that this is with you:

¹⁴If I sin, then you mark me, And you will not acquit me from my iniquity. ¹⁵If I be wicked, woe unto me; And if I be righteous, yet shall I not lift up my head; Being filled with dishonor, And looking upon my affliction. ¹⁶And if my head exalt itself, you hunt me as a lion; And again you show yourself marvelous upon me. ¹⁷You renew your witnesses against me, And increase your indignation upon me: Changes and warfare are with me. ¹⁸why then have you brought me forth out of the womb? I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me. ¹⁹I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave. ²⁰Are not my days few? cease then, And let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, ²¹Before I go where I shall not return, Even to the land of darkness and of the shadow of death; ²²The land dark as midnight, The land of the shadow of death, without any order, And where the light is as midnight.

11 Then answered Zo-phar the Na’a-math-ite, and said, ²Should not the multitude of words be answered? And should a man full of talk be justified? ³Should your boastings make men hold their peace? And when you mock, shall no man make you ashamed? ⁴For you say, My doctrine is pure, And I am clean in your eyes. ⁵But oh that God would speak, And open his lips against you, ⁶And that he would show you the secrets of wisdom! For he is manifold in understanding. Know therefore that God exacts of you less than your iniquity deserves.

⁷can you by searching find out God? can you find out the Almighty unto perfection? ⁸It is high as heaven; what can you do? Deeper than Sheol; What can you know? ⁹The measure thereof is longer than the earth, And broader than the sea. ¹⁰If he pass through, and shut up, And all unto judgment, then who can hinder him? ¹¹For he knows false men: He sees iniquity also, even though he consider it not. ¹²But vain man is void of understanding, yes, man is born as a wild ass’s colt.

¹³If you set your heart aright, And stretch out your hands toward him; ¹⁴If iniquity be in your hand, put it far away, And let not unrighteousness dwell in your tents. ¹⁵Surely then shall you lift up your face without spot; yes, you shall be steadfast, and shall not fear: ¹⁶For you shall forget your misery; you shall remember it as waters that are passed away, ¹⁷And your life shall be clearer than the noonday; though there be darkness, it shall be as the morning. ¹⁸And you shall be secure, because there is hope; yes, you shall search about you, and shall take your rest in safety. ¹⁹Also you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid; yes, many shall make suit unto you. ²⁰But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, And they shall have no way to flee; And their hope shall be the giving up of the ghost.

12 Then Job answered and said, ²No doubt but you are the people, And wisdom shall die with you. ³But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yes, who knows not such things as these? ⁴I am as one that is a laughing-stock to his neighbor, I who called upon God, and he answered: The just, the perfect man is a laughing-stock. ⁵In the thought of him that is at ease there is contempt for misfortune; It is ready for them whose foot slips.

⁶The tents of robbers prosper, And they that provoke God are secure; Into whose hand God brings abundantly. ⁷But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach you; And the birds of the heavens, and they shall tell you: ⁸Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach you; And the fishes of the sea shall declare unto you. ⁹Who knows not in all these, That the hand of Jehovah has worked this, ¹⁰In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? ¹¹Doesh not the ear try words, Even as the palate tastes its food?

¹²With aged men is wisdom, And in length of days understanding. ¹³With God is wisdom and might; He has counsel and understanding. ¹⁴Behold, he breaks down, and it cannot be built again; He shuts up a man, and there can be no opening. ¹⁵Behold, he withholds the waters, and they dry up; Again, he sent them out, and they overturn the earth. ¹⁶With him is strength and wisdom; The deceived and the deceiver are his. ¹⁷He leads counselors away stripped, And of judges he makes fools. ¹⁸He loosens the bond of kings, And he binds their loins with a girdle. ¹⁹He leads priests away stripped, And overthrows the mighty. ²⁰He removes the speech of the trusty, And takes away the understanding of the elders. ²¹He pours contempt upon princes, And loosens the belt of the strong. ²²He uncovers deep things out of darkness, And brings out to light the shadow of death. ²³He increases the nations, and he destroys them: He enlarges the nations, and he leads them captive. ²⁴He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, And causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. ²⁵They grope in the dark without light; And he makes them to stagger like a drunken man.

13 Lo, my eye has seen all this, my ear has heard and understood it. ²What you know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you. ³Surely I would speak to the Almighty, And I desire to reason with God. ⁴But you are forgers of lies; you are all physicians of no value. ⁵Oh that you would altogether hold your peace! And it would be your wisdom. ⁶Hear now my reasoning, And listen to the pleadings of my lips. ⁷Will you speak unrighteously for God, And talk deceitfully for him? ⁸Will you show partiality to him? Will you contend for God? ⁹Is it good that he should search you out? Or as one deceives a man, will you deceive him? ¹⁰He will surely reprove you, If you do secretly show partiality. ¹¹Shall not his majesty make you afraid, And his dread fall upon you? ¹²Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes, Your defenses are defenses of clay.

¹³Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak; And let come on me what will. ¹⁴why should I take my flesh in my teeth, And put my life in my hand? ¹⁵Behold, he will slay me; I have no hope: Nevertheless I will maintain my ways before him. ¹⁶This also shall be my salvation, That a godless man shall not come before him. ¹⁷Hear diligently my speech, And let my declaration be in your ears. ¹⁸Behold now, I have set my cause in order; I know that I am righteous. ¹⁹Who is he that will contend with me? For then would I hold my peace and give up the ghost. ²⁰Only do not two things unto me; Then will I not hide myself from your face: ²¹Withdraw your hand far from me; And let not your terror make me afraid. ²²Then call, and I will answer; Or let me speak, and you answer me.

²³How many are my iniquities and sins? Make me to know my transgression and my sin. ²⁴why hide your face, And hold me for your enemy? ²⁵Will you harass a driven leaf? And will you pursue the dry stubble? ²⁶For you write bitter things against me, And make me to inherit the iniquities of my youth: ²⁷You also put my feet in the stocks, And mark all my paths; you set a bound to the soles of my feet: ²⁸yough I am like a rotten thing that consume, Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

14 Man, that is born of a woman, Is of few days, and full of trouble. ²He comes forth like a flower, and is cut down: He flees also as a shadow, and continues not. ³And do you open your eyes upon such a one, And bring me into judgment with you? ⁴Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? no one. ⁵Seeing his days are determined, The number of his months is with you, And you have appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; ⁶Look away from him, that he may rest, Till he shall accomplish, as a hireling, his day.

⁷For there is hope for a tree, If it be cut down, that it will sprout again, And that the tender branch will not cease. ⁸yough the root wax old in the earth, And the stock die in the ground; ⁹yet through the scent of water it will bud, And put forth boughs like a plant. ¹⁰But man dies, and is laid low: yes, man gives up the ghost, and where is he? ¹¹As the waters fail from the sea, And the river waste and dries up; ¹²So man lies down and rises not: *** Till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, Nor be roused out of their sleep. ¹³Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, That you would keep me secret, until your wrath be past, That you would appoint me a set time, and remember me! ¹⁴If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my warfare would I wait, Till my release should come. ¹⁵You would call, and I would answer you: you would have a desire for the work of your hands.

¹⁶But now you number my steps: do you not watch over my sin? ¹⁷My transgression is sealed up in a bag, And you fasten up my iniquity. ¹⁸But the mountain falling comes to nothing; And the rock is removed out of its place; ¹⁹The waters wear the stones; The overflowings thereof wash away the dust of the earth: So you destroy the hope of man. ²⁰You prevail for ever against him, and he passes; you change his countenance, and send him away. ²¹His sons come to honor, and he knows it not; And they are brought low, but he perceives it not of them. ²²But his flesh upon him has pain, And his soul within him mourns.

15 Then answered E-li-phaz the Te-man-ite, and said, ²Should a wise man make answer with vain knowledge, And fill himself with the east wind? ³Should he reason with unprofitable talk, Or with speeches wherewith he can do no good? ⁴yous, you do away with fear, And hinder devotion before God. ⁵For your iniquity teaches your mouth, And you choose the tongue of the crafty. ⁶Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; yes, your own lips testify against you. ⁷Are you the first man that was born? Or were you brought forth before the hills? ⁸Have you heard the secret counsel of God? And do you limit wisdom to yourself? ⁹What do you know, that we know not? What do you understand, which is not in us? ¹⁰With us are both the gray-headed and the very aged men, Much older than your father. ¹¹Are the consolations of God too small for you, Even the word that is gentle toward you? ¹²Why does your heart carry you away? And why do your eyes flash, ¹³That against God you turn your spirit, And let words go out of your mouth? ¹⁴What is man, that he should be clean? And he that is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? ¹⁵Behold, he puts no trust in his holy ones; yes, the heavens are not clean in his sight: ¹⁶How much less one that is abominable and corrupt, A man that drinks iniquity like water!

¹⁷I will show you, hear me; And that which I have seen I will declare: ¹⁸(Which wise men have told From their fathers, and have not hid it; ¹⁹Unto whom alone the land was given, And no stranger passed among them): ²⁰The wicked man travails with pain all his days, Even the number of years that are laid up for the oppressor. ²¹A sound of terrors is in his ears; In prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him. ²²He believes not that he shall return out of darkness, And he is waited for of the sword. ²³He wanders abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? He knows that the day of darkness is ready at his hand. ²⁴Distress and anguish make him afraid; They prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle. ²⁵Because he has stretched out his hand against God, And behaves himself proudly against the Almighty; ²⁶He runs upon him with a stiff neck, With the thick bosses of his bucklers; ²⁷Because he has covered his face with his fatness, And gathered fat upon his loins; ²⁸And he has dwelt in desolate cities, In houses which no man inhabited, Which were ready to become heaps; ²⁹He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, Neither shall their possessions be extended on the earth. ³⁰He shall not depart out of darkness; The flame shall dry up his branches, And by the breath of God’s mouth shall he go away. ³¹Let him not trust in vanity, deceiving himself; For vanity shall be his recompense. ³²It shall be accomplished before his time, And his branch shall not be green. ³³He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, And shall cast off his flower as the olive-tree. ³⁴For the company of the godless shall be barren, And fire shall consume the tents of bribery. ³⁵They conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity, And their heart prepares deceit.

16 Then Job answered and said, ²I have heard many such things: Miserable comforters are you all. ³Shall vain words have an end? Or what provokes you that you answer? ⁴I also could speak as you do; If your soul were in my soul’s stead, I could join words together against you, And shake my head at you. ⁵But I would strengthen you with my mouth, And the solace of my lips would assuage your grief.

⁶yough I speak, my grief is not assuaged; And though I forbear, how am I eased? ⁷But now he has made me weary: you have made desolate all my company. ⁸And you have laid fast hold on me, which is a witness against me: And my leanness rises up against me, It testifies to my face. ⁹He has torn me in his wrath, and persecuted me; He has gnashed upon me with his teeth: my adversary sharpens his eyes upon me. ¹⁰They have gaped upon me with their mouth; They have struck me upon the cheek reproachfully: They gather themselves together against me. ¹¹God delivers me to the ungodly, And castes me into the hands of the wicked. ¹²I was at ease, and he shattered me; yes, he has taken me by the neck, and dashed me to pieces: He has also set me up for his mark. ¹³His archers compass me round about; He clings my reins asunder, and does not spare; He pours out my gall upon the ground. ¹⁴He breaks me with breach upon breach; He runs upon me like a giant. ¹⁵I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, And have laid my horn in the dust. ¹⁶My face is red with weeping, And on my eyelids is the shadow of death;

¹⁷Alyough there is no violence in my hands, And my prayer is pure. ¹⁸O earth, cover not my blood, And let my cry have no resting-place. ¹⁹Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, And he that vouches for me is on high. ²⁰My friends scoff at me: But my eye pours out tears unto God, ²¹That he would maintain the right of a man with God, And of a son of man with his neighbor! ²²For when a few years are come, I shall go the way where I shall not return.

17 My spirit is consumed, my days are extinct, The grave is ready for me. ²Surely there are mockers with me, And my eye dwells upon their provocation. ³Give now a pledge, be surety for me with yourself; Who is there that will strike hands with me? ⁴For you have hid their heart from understanding: Therefore shall you not exalt them. ⁵He that denounces his friends for a prey, Even the eyes of his children shall fail. ⁶But he has made me a byword of the people; And they spit in my face. ⁷My eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, And all my members are as a shadow. ⁸Upright men shall be astonished at this, And the innocent shall stir up himself against the godless. ⁹yet shall the righteous hold on his way, And he that has clean hands shall wax stronger and stronger.

¹⁰But as for you all, come on now again; And I shall not find a wise man among you. ¹¹My days are past, my purposes are broken off, Even the thoughts of my heart. ¹²They change the night into day: The light, say they, is near unto the darkness. ¹³If I look for Sheol as my house; If I have spread my couch in the darkness; ¹⁴If I have said to corruption, you are my father; To the worm, you are my mother, and my sister; ¹⁵Where then is my hope? And as for my hope, who shall see it? ¹⁶It shall go down to the bars of Sheol, When once there is rest in the dust.

18 Then answered Bil-dad the Shu-hite, and said, ²How long will you hunt for words? Consider, and afterwards we will speak. ³why are we counted as beasts, And are become unclean in your sight? ⁴You that tear yourself in your anger, Shall the earth be forsaken for you? Or shall the rock be removed out of its place?

⁵yous, the light of the wicked shall be put out, And the spark of his fire shall not shine. ⁶The light shall be dark in his tent, And his lamp above him shall be put out. ⁷The steps of his strength shall be straitened, And his own counsel shall cast him down. ⁸For he is cast into a net by his own feet, And he walks upon the toils. ⁹A gin shall take him by the heel, And a snare shall lay hold on him. ¹⁰A noose is hid for him in the ground, And a trap for him in the way.

¹¹Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, And shall chase him at his heels. ¹²His strength shall be hunger-bitten, And calamity shall be ready at his side. ¹³The members of his body shall be devoured, yes, the first-born of death shall devour his members. ¹⁴He shall be rooted out of his tent where he trusts; And he shall be brought to the king of terrors. ¹⁵There shall dwell in his tent that which is none of his: Brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation. ¹⁶His roots shall be dried up beneath, And above shall his branch be cut off. ¹⁷His remembrance shall perish from the earth, And he shall have no name in the street. ¹⁸He shall be driven from light into darkness, And chased out of the world. ¹⁹He shall have neither son nor son’s son among his people, Nor any remaining where he sojourned. ²⁰They that come after shall be astonished at his day, As they that went before were affrighted. ²¹Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous, And this is the place of him that knows not God.

19 Then Job answered and said, ²How long will you vex my soul, And break me in pieces with words? ³These ten times have you reproached me: you are not ashamed that you have wronged me. ⁴And be it indeed that I have erred, my error remains with myself. ⁵If indeed you will magnify yourselves against me, And plead against me my reproach; ⁶Know now that God has subverted me in my cause, And has compassed me with his net. ⁷Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry for help, but there is no justice.

⁸He has walled up my way that I cannot pass, And has set darkness in my paths. ⁹He has stripped me of my glory, And taken the crown from my head. ¹⁰He has broken me down on every side, and I am gone; And my hope has he plucked up like a tree. ¹¹He has also kindled his wrath against me, And he counts me unto him as one of his adversaries. ¹²His troops come on together, And cast up their way against me, And camp round about my tent. ¹³He has put my brethren far from me, And my acquaintance are wholly estranged from me. ¹⁴My kinsfolk have failed, And my familiar friends have forgotten me. ¹⁵They that dwell in my house, and my maids, count me for a stranger; I am an alien in their sight. ¹⁶I call unto my servant, and he gives me no answer, though I entreat him with my mouth. ¹⁷My breath is strange to my wife, And my supplication to the children of my own mother. ¹⁸Even young children despise me; If I arise, they speak against me. ¹⁹All my familiar friends abhor me, And they whom I loved are turned against me. ²⁰My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh, And I am escaped with the skin of my teeth. ²¹Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O you my friends; For the hand of God has touched me. ²²Why do you persecute me as God, And are not satisfied with my flesh?

²³Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! ²⁴That with an iron pen and lead They were graven in the rock for ever!  ^{*** 25}But as for me I know that my Redeemer lives, And at last he will stand up upon the earth: ²⁶And after my skin, even this body, is destroyed, Then without my flesh shall I see God; ²⁷Whom I, even I, shall see, on my side, And my eyes shall behold, and not as a stranger. My heart is consumed within me. ²⁸If you say, How we will persecute him! And that the root of the matter is found in me; ²⁹Be afraid of the sword: For wrath brings the punishments of the sword, That you may know there is a judgment.

20 Then answered Zo-phar the Na’a-math-ite, and said, ²Therefore do my thoughts give answer to me, Even by reason of my hurry that is in me. ³I have heard the reproof which puts me to shame; And the spirit of my understanding answered me. ⁴know you not this of old time, Since man was placed upon earth, ⁵That the triumphing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the godless but for a moment? ⁶yough his height mount up to the heavens, And his head reach unto the clouds; ⁷yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: They that have seen him shall say, Where is he? ⁸He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yes, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night. ⁹The eye which saw him shall see him no more; Neither shall his place any more behold him.

¹⁰His children shall seek the favor of the poor, And his hands shall give back his wealth. ¹¹His bones are full of his yeth, But it shall lie down with him in the dust. ¹²yough wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue, ¹³yough he spare it, and will not let it go, But keep it still within his mouth; ¹⁴yet his food in his bowels is turned, It is the gall of asps within him. ¹⁵He has swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again; God will cast them out of his belly. ¹⁶He shall suck the poison of asps: The viper’s tongue shall slay him. ¹⁷He shall not look upon the rivers, The flowing streams of honey and butter. ¹⁸That which he labored for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down; According to the substance that he has gotten, he shall not rejoice. ¹⁹For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; He has violently taken away a house, and he shall not build it up. ²⁰Because he knew no quietness within him, He shall not save anything of that wherein he delights. ²¹There was nothing left that he devoured not; Therefore his prosperity shall not endure. ²²In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: The hand of every one that is in misery shall come upon him.

²³When he is about to fill his belly, God will cast the fierceness of his wrath upon him, And will rain it upon him while he is eating. ²⁴He shall flee from the iron weapon, And the bow of brass shall strike him through. ²⁵He draws it forth, and it comes out of his body; yes, the glittering point comes out of his gall: Terrors are upon him. ²⁶All darkness is laid up for his treasures: A fire not blown by man shall devour him; It shall consume that which is left in his tent. ²⁷The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, And the earth shall rise up against him. ²⁸The increase of his house shall depart; His goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath. ²⁹This is the portion of a wicked man from God, And the heritage appointed unto him by God.

21 Then Job answered and said, ²Hear diligently my speech; And let this be your consolations. ³Suffer me, and I also will speak; And after that I have spoken, mock on. ⁴As for me, my complaint is to man? And why should I not be impatient? ⁵Mark me, and be astonished, And lay your hand upon your mouth. ⁶Even when I remember I am troubled, And horror takes hold on my flesh.

⁷why do the wicked live, Become old, yes, wax mighty in power? ⁸Their seed is established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes. ⁹Their houses are safe from fear, Neither is the rod of God upon them. ¹⁰Their bull genders, and fails not; Their cow calves, and castes not her calf. ¹¹They send forth their little ones like a flock, And their children dance. ¹²They sing to the timbrel and harp, And rejoice at the sound of the pipe. ¹³They spend their days in prosperity, And in a moment they go down to Sheol. ¹⁴And they say unto God, Depart from us; For we desire not the knowledge of your ways. ¹⁵What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit should we have, if we pray unto him? ¹⁶Lo, their prosperity is not in their hand: The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁷How oft is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? That their calamity comes upon them? That God distributes sorrows in his anger? ¹⁸That they are as stubble before the wind, And as chaff that the storm carries away? ¹⁹You say, God lays up his iniquity for his children. Let him recompense it unto himself, that he may know it: ²⁰Let his own eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty. ²¹For what care has he for his house after him, When the number of his months is cut off? ²²Shall any teach God knowledge, Seeing he judges those that are high? ²³One dies in his full strength, Being wholly at ease and quiet: ²⁴His pails are full of milk, And the marrow of his bones is moistened. ²⁵And another dies in bitterness of soul, And never tastes of good. ²⁶They lie down alike in the dust, And the worm covers them.

²⁷Behold, I know your thoughts, And the devices wherewith you would wrong me. ²⁸For you say, Where is the house of the prince? And where is the tent wherein the wicked dwelt? ²⁹Have you not asked wayfaring men? And do you not know their evidences, ³⁰That the evil man is reserved to the day of calamity? That they are led forth to the day of wrath? ³¹Who shall declare his way to his face? And who shall repay him what he has done? ³²yet shall he be borne to the grave, And men shall keep watch over the tomb. ³³The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, And all men shall draw after him, As there were innumerable before him. ³⁴How then can you comfort me in vain, Seeing in your answers there remains only falsehood?

22 Then answered E-li-phaz the Te-man-ite, and said, ²Can a man be profitable unto God? Surely he that is wise is profitable unto himself. ³Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that you are righteous? Or is it gain to him, that you makes your ways perfect? ⁴Is it for your fear of him that he reproves you, That he enters with you into judgment?

⁵Is not your wickedness great? Neither is there any end to your iniquities. ⁶For you have taken pledges of your brother for nothing, And stripped the naked of their clothing. ⁷You have not given water to the weary to drink, And you have withheld bread from the hungry. ⁸But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; And the honorable man, he dwelt in it. ⁹You have sent widows away empty, And the arms of the fatherless have been broken. ¹⁰Therefore snares are round about you, And sudden fear troubles you, ¹¹Or darkness, so that you can not see, And abundance of waters cover you. ¹²Is not God in the height of heaven? And behold the height of the stars, how high they are! ¹³And you say, What does God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness? ¹⁴Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he sees not; And he walks on the vault of heaven.

¹⁵Will you keep the old way Which wicked men have trodden? ¹⁶Who were snatched away before their time, Whose foundation was poured out as a stream, ¹⁷Who said unto God, Depart from us; And, What can the Almighty do for us? ¹⁸yet he filled their houses with good things: But the counsel of the wicked is far from me. ¹⁹The righteous see it, and are glad; And the innocent laugh them to scorn, ²⁰Saying, Surely they that did rise up against us are cut off, And the remnant of them the fire has consumed.

²¹Acquaint yourself with him now, and be at peace: Thereby good shall come unto you. ²²Receive, I pray you, the law from his mouth, And lay up his words in your heart. ²³If you return to the Almighty, you shall be built up, If you put away unrighteousness far from your tents. ²⁴And lay your treasure in the dust, And the gold of O-phir among the stones of the brooks; ²⁵And the Almighty will be your treasure, And precious silver unto you. ²⁶For then shall you delight yourself in the Almighty, And shall lift up your face unto God. ²⁷You shall make your prayer unto him, and he will hear you; And you shall pay your vows. ²⁸You shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto you; And light shall shine upon your ways. ²⁹When they cast you down, you shall say, There is lifting up; And the humble person he will save. ³⁰He will deliver even him that is not innocent: yes, he shall be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.

23 Then Job answered and said, ²Even today is my complaint rebellious: My stroke is heavier than my groaning. ³Oh that I knew where I might find him! That I might come even to his seat! ⁴I would set my cause in order before him, And fill my mouth with arguments. ⁵I would know the words which he would answer me, And understand what he would say unto me. ⁶Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? no; but he would give heed unto me. ⁷There the upright might reason with him; So should I be delivered for ever from my judge.

⁸Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; And backward, but I cannot perceive him; ⁹On the left hand, when he does work, but I cannot behold him; He hides himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him. ¹⁰But he knows the way that I take; When he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. ¹¹My foot has held fast to his steps; His way have I kept, and turned not aside. ¹²I have not gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured up the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

¹³But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? And what his soul desires, even that he does. ¹⁴For he performs that which is appointed for me: And many such things are with him. ¹⁵Therefore am I terrified at his presence; When I consider, I am afraid of him. ¹⁶For God has made my heart faint, And the Almighty has terrified me; ¹⁷Because I was not cut off before the darkness, Neither did he cover the thick darkness from my face.