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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.

24 Why are times not laid up by the Almighty? And why do not they that know him see his days? ²There are they that remove the landmarks; They violently take away flocks, and feed them. ³They drive away the ass of the fatherless; They take the widow’s ox for a pledge. ⁴They turn the needy out of the way: The poor of the earth all hide themselves. ⁵Behold, as wild asses in the desert They go forth to their work, seeking diligently for food; The wilderness yields them bread for their children. ⁶They cut their provender in the field; And they glean the vintage of the wicked. ⁷They lie all night naked without clothing, And have no covering in the cold. ⁸They are wet with the showers of the mountains, And embrace the rock for want of a shelter. ⁹There are they that pluck the fatherless from the breast, And take a pledge of the poor; ¹⁰So that they go about naked without clothing, And being hungry they carry the sheaves. ¹¹They make oil within the walls of these men; They tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst. ¹²From out of the populous city men groan, And the soul of the wounded cries out: yet God regards not the folly.

¹³These are of them that rebel against the light; They know not the ways thereof, Nor abide in the paths thereof. ¹⁴The murderer rises with the light; He kills the poor and needy; And in the night he is as a thief. ¹⁵The eye also of the adulterer waits for the twilight, Saying, No eye shall see me: And he disguises his face. ¹⁶In the dark they dig through houses: They shut themselves up in the day-time; They know not the light. ¹⁷For the morning is to all of them as thick darkness; For they know the terrors of the thick darkness.

¹⁸Swiftly they pass away upon the face of the waters; Their portion is cursed in the earth: They turn not into the way of the vineyards. ¹⁹Drought and heat consume the snow waters: So does Sheol those that have sinned. ²⁰The womb shall forget him; The worm shall feed sweetly on him; He shall be no more remembered; And unrighteousness shall be broken as a tree. ²¹He devours the barren that bears not, And does not good to the widow. ²²yet God preserves the mighty by his power: He rises up that that has no assurance of life. ²³God gives them to be in security, and they rest thereon; And his eyes are upon their ways. ²⁴They are exalted; yet a little while, and they are gone; yes, they are brought low, they are taken out of the way as all others, And are cut off as the tops of the ears of grain. ²⁵And if it be not so now, who will prove me a liar, And make my speech worth nothing?

25 Then answered Bil-dad the Shu-hite, and said, ²Dominion and fear are with him; He makes peace in his high places. ³Is there any number of his armies? And upon whom does not his light arise? ⁴How then can man be just with God? Or how can he be clean that is born of a woman? ⁵Behold, even the moon has no brightness, And the stars are not pure in his sight: ⁶How much less man, that is a worm! And the son of man, that is a worm!

26 Then Job answered and said, ²How have you helped him that is without power! How have you saved the arm that has no strength! ³How have you counseled him that has no wisdom, And plentifully declared sound knowledge! ⁴To whom have you uttered words? And whose spirit came forth from you?

⁵They that are deceased tremble Beneath the waters and the inhabitants thereof. *** ⁶Sheol is naked before God, And Abaddon has no covering. ⁷He stretches out the north over empty space, And does the earth hang upon nothing. ⁸He binds up the waters in his thick clouds; And the cloud is not rent under them. ⁹He encloses the face of his throne, And spreads his cloud upon it. ¹⁰He has described a boundary upon the face of the waters, Unto the confines of light and darkness. ¹¹The pillars of heaven tremble And are astonished at his rebuke. ¹²He stirs up the sea with his power, And by his understanding he does smite through Rahab. ¹³By his Spirit the heavens are garnished; His hand has pierced the swift serpent. ¹⁴Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways: And how small a whisper do we hear of him! But who can understand the thunder of his power?

27 And Job again took up his parable, and said, ²As God lives, who has taken away my right, And the Almighty, who has vexed my soul: ³(For my life is yet whole in me, And the spirit of God is in my nostrils); ⁴Surely my lips shall not speak unrighteousness, Neither shall my tongue utter deceit. ⁵Far be it from me that I should justify you: Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. ⁶My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: My heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

⁷Let my enemy be as the wicked, And let him that rises up against me be as the unrighteous. ⁸For what is the hope of the godless, though he get himself gain, When God takes away his soul? ⁹Will God hear his cry, When trouble comes upon him? ¹⁰Will he delight himself in the Almighty, And call upon God at all times?

¹¹I will teach you concerning the hand of God; That which is with the Almighty will I not conceal. ¹²Behold, all you yourselves have seen it; Why then are you become altogether vain? ¹³This is the portion of a wicked man with God, And the heritage of oppressors, which they receive from the Almighty: ¹⁴If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword; And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. ¹⁵Those that remain of him shall be buried in death, And his widows shall make no lamentation. ¹⁶yough he heap up silver as the dust, And prepare raiment as the clay; ¹⁷He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, And the innocent shall divide the silver. ¹⁸He builds his house as the moth, And as a booth which the keeper makes. ¹⁹He lies down rich, but he shall not be gathered to his fathers; He opened his eyes, and he is not. ²⁰Terrors overtake him like waters; A tempest steals him away in the night. ²¹The east wind carries him away, and he departs; And it sweeps him out of his place. ²²For God shall hurl at him, and not spare: He would fain flee out of his hand. ²³Men shall clap their hands at him, And shall hiss him out of his place.

28 Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place for gold which they refine. ²Iron is taken out of the earth, And copper is molten out of the stone. ³Man sets an end to darkness, And searches out, to the furthest bound, The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness. ⁴He breaks open a shaft away from where men sojourn; They are forgotten of the foot; They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro. ⁵As for the earth, out of it comes bread; And underneath it is turned up as it were by fire. ⁶The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, And it has dust of gold. ⁷That path no bird of prey knows, Neither has the falcon’s eye seen it: ⁸The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed thereby. ⁹He puts forth his hand upon the flinty rock; He overturns the mountains by the roots. ¹⁰He cuts out channels among the rocks; And his eye sees every precious thing. ¹¹He binds the streams that they trickle not; And the thing that is hid he brings forth to light. ¹²But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? ¹³Man knows not the price thereof; Neither is it found in the land of the living.

¹⁴The deep says, It is not in me; And the sea says, It is not with me. ¹⁵It cannot be gotten for gold, Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. ¹⁶It cannot be valued with the gold of O-phir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire. ¹⁷Gold and glass cannot equal it, Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. ¹⁸No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: yes, the price of wisdom is above rubies. ¹⁹The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

²⁰From where then comes wisdom? And where is the place of understanding? ²¹Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the birds of the heavens. ²²Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears. ²³God understands the way thereof, And he knows the place thereof. ²⁴For he looks to the ends of the earth, And sees under the whole heaven; ²⁵To make a weight for the wind: yes, he metes out the waters by measure. ²⁶When he made a decree for the rain, And a way for the lightning of the thunder; ²⁷Then did he see it, and declare it; He established it, yes, and searched it out. ²⁸And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.

29 And Job again took up his parable, and said, ²Oh that I were as in the months of old, As in the days when God watched over me; ³When his lamp shined upon my head, *** And by his light I walked through darkness; ⁴As I was in the ripeness of my days, When the friendship of God was upon my tent; ⁵When the Almighty was yet with me, And my children were about me; ⁶When my steps were washed with butter, And the rock poured me out streams of oil!

⁷When I went forth to the gate unto the city, When I prepared my seat in the street, ⁸The young men saw me and hid themselves, And the aged rose up and stood; ⁹The princes refrained from talking, And laid their hand on their mouth; ¹⁰The voice of the nobles was hushed, And their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth. ¹¹For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me; And when the eye saw me, it gave witness unto me: ¹²Because I delivered the poor that cried, The fatherless also, that had none to help him. ¹³The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me; And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. ¹⁴I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: My justice was as a robe and a diadem. ¹⁵I was eyes to the blind, And feet was I to the lame. ¹⁶I was a father to the needy: And the cause of him that I knew not I searched out. ¹⁷And I broke the jaws of the unrighteous, And plucked the prey out of his teeth.

30 But now they that are younger than I have me in shame, Whose fathers I disdained to set with the dogs of my flock. ²yous, the strength of their hands, whereto should it profit me? Men in whom ripe age is perished. ³They are gaunt with want and famine; They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of wasteness and desolation. ⁴They pluck salt-wort by the bushes; And the roots of the broom are their food. ⁵They are driven forth from the midst of men; They cry after them as after a thief; ⁶So that they dwell in frightful valleys, In holes of the earth and of the rocks. ⁷Among the bushes they bray; Under the nettles they are gathered together. ⁸They are children of fools, yes, children of base men; They were scourged out of the land. ⁹And now I am become their song, yes, I am a byword unto them. ¹⁰They abhor me, they stand aloof from me, And spare not to spit in my face. ¹¹For he has loosed his cord, and afflicted me; And they have cast off the bridle before me. ¹²Upon my right hand rises the rabble; They thrust aside my feet, And they cast up against me their ways of destruction. ¹³They mar my path, They set forward my calamity, Even men that have no helper. ¹⁴As through a wide breach they come: In the midst of the ruin they roll themselves upon me.

¹⁵Terrors are turned upon me; They chase my honor as the wind; And my welfare is passed away as a cloud. ¹⁶And now my soul is poured out within me; Days of affliction have taken hold upon me. ¹⁷In the night season my bones are pierced in me, And the pains that gnaw me take no rest. ¹⁸By God’s great force is my garment disfigured; It binds me about as the collar of my coat. ¹⁹He has cast me into the mire, And I am become like dust and ashes. ²⁰I cry unto you, and you do not answer me: I stand up, and you gaze at me. ²¹You are turned to be cruel to me; With the might of your hand you persecute me. ²²You lifts me up to the wind, you cause me to ride upon it; And you dissolve me in the storm. ²³For I know that you will bring me to death, And to *** the house appointed for all living. ²⁴Howbeit does not one stretch out the hand in his fall? Or in his calamity therefore cry for help? ²⁵Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? Was not my soul grieved for the needy? ²⁶When I looked for good, then evil came; And when I waited for light, there came darkness. ²⁷My heart is troubled, and rests not; Days of affliction are come upon me. ²⁸I go mourning without the sun: I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help. ²⁹I am a brother to jackals, And a companion to ostriches. ³⁰My skin is black, and falls from me, And my bones are burned with heat. ³¹Therefore is my harp turned to mourning, And my pipe into the voice of them that weep.

31 I made a covenant with my eyes; How then should I look upon a virgin? ²For what is the portion from God above, And the heritage from the Almighty on high? ³Is it not calamity to the unrighteous, And disaster to the workers of iniquity? ⁴Does not he see my ways, And number all my steps? ⁵If I have walked with falsehood, And my foot has hurried to deceit ⁶(Let me be weighed in an even balance, That God may know my integrity); ⁷If my step has turned out of the way, And my heart has walked after my eyes, And if any spot has cleaved to my hands: ⁸Then let me sow, and let another eat; yes, let the produce of my field be rooted out.

⁹If my heart has been enticed unto a woman, And I have laid wait at my neighbor’s door; ¹⁰Then let my wife grind unto another, And let others bow down upon her. ¹¹For that would be a heinous crime; yes, it would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges: ¹²For it is a fire that consume unto Destruction, And would root out all my increase. ¹³If I have despised the cause of my man-servant or of my maid-servant, When they contended with me; ¹⁴What then shall I do when God rises up? And when he visits, what shall I answer him? ¹⁵Did not he that made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?

¹⁶If I have withheld the poor from their desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, ¹⁷Or have eaten my morsel alone, And the fatherless have not eaten thereof ¹⁸(no, from my yeth he grew up with me as with a father, And her have I guided from my mother’s womb); ¹⁹If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering; ²⁰If his loins have not blessed me, And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep; ²¹If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, Because I saw my help in the gate: ²²Then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder-blade, And my arm be broken from the bone. ²³For calamity from God is a terror to me, And by reason of his majesty I can do nothing.

²⁴If I have made gold my hope, And have said to the fine gold, you are my confidence; ²⁵If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my hand had gotten much; ²⁶If I have beheld the sun when it shined, Or the moon walking in brightness, ²⁷And my heart has been secretly enticed, And my mouth has kissed my hand: ²⁸This also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges; For I should have denied the God that is above. ²⁹If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, Or lifted up myself when evil found him; ³⁰(yes, I have not suffered by mouth to sin By asking his life with a curse); ³¹If the men of my tent have not said, Who can find one that has not been filled with his meat? ³²(The sojourner has not lodged in the street; But I have opened my doors to the traveler);

³³If like Adam I have covered my transgressions, By hiding my iniquity in my bosom, ³⁴Because I feared the great multitude, And the contempt of families terrified me, So that I kept silence, and went not out of the door-- ³⁵Oh that I had one to hear me! (Lo, here is my signature, let the Almighty answer me); And that I had the indictment which my adversary has written! ³⁶Surely I would carry it upon my shoulder; I would bind it unto me as a crown: ³⁷I would declare unto him the number of my steps; As a prince would I go near unto him. ³⁸If my land cries out against me, And the furrows thereof weep together; ³⁹If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, Or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life: ⁴⁰Let thistles grow instead of wheat, And cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.

32 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. ²Then was kindled the wrath of E-li-hu the son of Bar-a-chel the Bu-zite, of the family of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God. ³Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job. ⁴Now E-li-hu had waited to speak unto Job, because they were elder than he. ⁵And when E-li-hu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was kindled.

⁶And E-li-hu the son of Bar-a-chel the Bu-zite answered and said, I am young, and you are very old; why I held back, and did not show you my opinion. ⁷I said, Days should speak, And multitude of years should teach wisdom. ⁸But there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding. ⁹It is not the great that are wise, Nor the aged that understand justice. ¹⁰Therefore I said, listen to me; I also will show my opinion. ¹¹Behold, I waited for your words, I listened for your reasonings, while you searched out what to say. ¹²yous, I attended unto you, And, behold, there was none that convinced Job, Or that answered his words, among you. ¹³Beware unless you say, We have found wisdom; God may vanquish him, not man: ¹⁴For he has not directed his words against me; Neither will I answer him with your speeches.

¹⁵They are amazed, they answer no more: They have not a word to say. ¹⁶And shall I wait, because they speak not, Because they stand still, and answer no more? ¹⁷I also will answer my part, I also will show my opinion. ¹⁸For I am full of words; The spirit within me constrains me. ¹⁹Behold, my breast is as wine which has no vent; Like new wine-skins it is ready to burst. ²⁰I will speak, that I may be refreshed; I will open my lips and answer. ²¹Let me not, I pray you, respect any man’s person; Neither will I give flattering titles unto any man. ²²For I know not to give flattering titles; Else would my Maker soon take me away.

33 Therefore, Job, I pray you, hear my speech, And listen to all my words. ²Behold now, I have opened my mouth; My tongue has spoken in my mouth. ³My words shall utter the uprightness of my heart; And that which my lips know they shall speak sincerely. ⁴The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life. ⁵If you can, answer me; Set your words in order before me, stand forth. ⁶Behold, I am toward God even as you are: I also am formed out of the clay. ⁷Behold, my terror shall not make you afraid, Neither shall my pressure be heavy upon you.

⁸Surely you have spoken in my hearing, And I have heard the voice of your words, saying, ⁹I am clean, without transgression; I am innocent, neither is there iniquity in me: ¹⁰Behold, he finds occasions against me, He counts me for his enemy: ¹¹He puts my feet in the stocks, He marks all my paths. ¹²Behold, I will answer you, in this you are not just; For God is greater than man. ¹³Why do you strive against him, Because he does not give account of any of his matters?

¹⁴For God speaks once, yes twice, though man regards it not. ¹⁵In a dream, in a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls upon men, In slumberings upon the bed; ¹⁶Then he opened the ears of men, And seals their instruction, ¹⁷That he may withdraw man from his purpose, And hide pride from man; ¹⁸He keeps back his soul from the pit, And his life from perishing by the sword.

¹⁹He is also chastened with pain upon his bed, And with continual strife in his bones; ²⁰So that his life abhors bread, And his soul dainty food. ²¹His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; And his bones that were not seen stick out. ²²yous, his soul draws near unto the pit, And his life to the destroyers. ²³If there be with him an angel, An interpreter, one among a thousand, To show unto man what is right for him; ²⁴Then God is gracious unto him, and says, Deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom. ²⁵His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s; He returns to the days of his youth. ²⁶He prays unto God, and he is favorable unto him, So that he sees his face with joy: And he restores unto man his righteousness. ²⁷He sings before men, and says, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, And it profited me not: ²⁸He has redeemed my soul from going into the pit, And my life shall behold the light.

²⁹Lo, all these things does God work, Twice, yes thrice, with a man, ³⁰To bring back his soul from the pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of the living. ³¹Mark well, O Job, listen unto me: Hold your peace, and I will speak. ³²If you have anything to say, answer me: Speak, for I desire to justify you. ³³If not, listen unto me: Hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom.

34 Moreover E-li-hu answered and said, ²Hear my words, you wise men; And give ear unto me, you that have knowledge. ³For the ear tries words, As the palate tastes food. ⁴Let us choose for us that which is right: Let us know among ourselves what is good. ⁵For Job has said, I am righteous, And God has taken away my right: ⁶Notwithstanding my right I am accounted a liar; My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression. ⁷What man is like Job, Who drinks up scoffing like water, ⁸Who goes in company with the workers of iniquity, And walks with wicked men? ⁹For he has said, It profits a man nothing That he should delight himself with God.

¹⁰Therefore listen unto me, you men of understanding: Far be it from God, that he should do wickedness, And from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity. ¹¹For the work of a man will he render unto him, And cause every man to find according to his ways. ¹²yous, of a surety, God will not do wickedly, Neither will the Almighty pervert justice. ¹³Who gave him a charge over the earth? Or who has disposed the whole world? ¹⁴If he set his heart upon himself, If he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath; ¹⁵All flesh shall perish together, And man shall turn again unto dust.

¹⁶If now you have understanding, hear this: listen to the voice of my words. ¹⁷Shall even one that hates justice govern? And will you condemn him that is righteous and mighty?-- ¹⁸Him that says to a king, you are vile, Or to nobles, you are wicked; ¹⁹That respects not the persons of princes, Nor regards the rich more than the poor; For they all are the work of his hands. ²⁰In a moment they die, even at midnight; The people are shaken and pass away, And the mighty are taken away without hand. ²¹For his eyes are upon the ways of a man, And he sees all his goings. ²²There is no darkness, nor thick gloom, Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. ²³For he need not further to consider a man, That he should go before God in judgment. ²⁴He breaks in pieces mighty men in ways past finding out, And sets others in their stead. ²⁵Therefore he takes knowledge of their works; And he overturns them in the night, so that they are destroyed. ²⁶He strikes them as wicked men In the open sight of others; ²⁷Because they turned aside from following him, And would not have regard in any of his ways: ²⁸So that they caused the cry of the poor to come unto him, And he heard the cry of the afflicted. ²⁹When he gives quietness, who then can condemn? And when he hides his face, who then can behold him? Alike whether it be done unto a nation, or unto a man: ³⁰That the godless man reign not, That there be none to ensnare the people.

³¹For has any said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more: ³²That which I see not you teach me: If I have done iniquity, I will do it no more? ³³Shall his recompense be as you will, that you refuse it? For you must choose, and not I: Therefore speak what you know. ³⁴Men of understanding will say unto me, yes, every wise man that hears me: ³⁵Job speaks without knowledge, And his words are without wisdom. ³⁶Would that Job were tried unto the end, Because of his answering like wicked men. ³⁷For he adds rebellion unto his sin; He claps his hands among us, And multiplies his words against God.

35 Moreover E-li-hu answered and said, ²do you think this to be your right, Or say you, My righteousness is more than God’s, ³That you say, What advantage will it be unto you? And, What profit shall I have, more than if I had sinned? ⁴I will answer you, And your companions with you. ⁵Look unto the heavens, and see; And behold the skies, which are higher than you. ⁶If you have sinned, what effects you against him? And if your transgressions be multiplied, what do you do unto him? ⁷If you be righteous, what do you give him? Or what does he receive of your hand? ⁸Your wickedness may hurt a man as you are; And your righteousness may profit a son of man.

⁹By reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out; They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty. ¹⁰But none says, Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs in the night, ¹¹Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, And makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens? ¹²There they cry, but none gives answer, Because of the pride of evil men. ¹³Surely God will not hear an empty cry, Neither will the Almighty regard it.

¹⁴How much less when you say you behold him not, The cause is before him, and you wait for him! ¹⁵But now, because he has not visited in his anger, Neither does he greatly regard arrogance; ¹⁶Therefore does Job open his mouth in vanity; He multiplies words without knowledge.

36 E-li-hu also proceeded, and said, ²Suffer me a little, and I will show you; For I have yet somewhat to say on God’s behalf. ³I will bring my knowledge from afar, And will ascribe righteousness to my Maker. ⁴For truly my words are not false: One that is perfect in knowledge is with you.

⁵Behold, God is mighty, and despises not any: He is mighty in strength of understanding. ⁶He preserves not the life of the wicked, But gives to the afflicted their right. ⁷He withdraws not his eyes from the righteous: But with kings upon the throne He sets them for ever, and they are exalted. ⁸And if they be bound in fetters, And be taken in the cords of afflictions; ⁹Then he shows them their work, And their transgressions, that they have behaved themselves proudly. ¹⁰He opened also their ear to instruction, And commanded that they return from iniquity. ¹¹If they listen and serve him, They shall spend their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasures. ¹²But if they listen not, they shall perish by the sword, And they shall die without knowledge. ¹³But they that are godless in heart lay up anger: They cry not for help when he binds them. ¹⁴They die in yeth, And their life perishes among the unclean.

¹⁵He delivers the afflicted by their affliction, And opened their ear in oppression. ¹⁶Yes, he would have allured you out of distress Into a broad place, where there is no restraint; And that which is set on your table would be full of fatness. ¹⁷But you are full of the judgment of the wicked: Judgment and justice take hold on you. ¹⁸For let not wrath stir you up against chastisements; Neither let the greatness of the ransom turn you aside. ¹⁹Will your cry avail, that you be not in distress, Or all the forces of your strength? ²⁰Desire not the night, When peoples are cut off in their place. ²¹Take heed, regard not iniquity: For this have you chosen rather than affliction. ²²Behold, God does loftily in his power: Who is a teacher like unto him? ²³Who has commanded him his way? Or who can say, you have worked unrighteousness?

²⁴Remember that you magnify his work, Whereof men have sung. ²⁵All men have looked thereon; Man beholds it afar off. ²⁶Behold, God is great, and we know him not; The number of his years is unsearchable. ²⁷For he draws up the drops of water, Which distil in rain from his vapor, ²⁸Which the skies pour down And drop upon man abundantly. ²⁹Yes, can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, The thunderings of his pavilion? ³⁰Behold, he spreads his light around him; And he covers the bottom of the sea. ³¹For by these he judges the peoples; He gives food in abundance. ³²He covers his hands with the lightning, And gives it a charge that it strike the mark. ³³The noise thereof tells concerning him, The cattle also concerning the storm that comes up.

37 Yes, at this my heart trembles, And is moved out of its place. ²Hear, oh, hear the noise of his voice, And the sound that goes out of his mouth. ³He sent it forth under the whole heaven, And his lightening unto the ends of the earth. ⁴After it a voice roars; He thunders with the voice of his majesty; And he restrains not the lightnings when his voice is heard. ⁵God thunders marvelously with his voice; Great things does he, which we cannot comprehend.

⁶For he says to the snow, Fall on the earth; Likewise to the shower of rain, And to the showers of his mighty rain. ⁷He seals up the hand of every man, That all men whom he has made may know it. ⁸Then the beasts go into coverts, And remain in their dens. ⁹Out of the chamber of the south comes the storm, And cold out of the north. ¹⁰By the breath of God ice is given; And the breadth of the waters is straitened. ¹¹yous, he loads the thick cloud with moisture; He spreads abroad the cloud of his lightning: ¹²And it is turned round about by his guidance, That they may do whatsoever he commanded them Upon the face of the habitable world, ¹³Whether it be for correction, or for his land, Or for lovingkindness, that he cause it to come.

¹⁴listen unto this, O Job: Stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God. ¹⁵do you know how God lays his charge upon them, And causes the lightning of his cloud to shine? ¹⁶do you know the balancing of the clouds, The wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge? ¹⁷How your garments are warm, When the earth is still by reason of the south wind? ¹⁸can you with him spread out the sky, Which is strong as a molten mirror? ¹⁹Teach us what we shall say unto him; For we cannot set our speech in order by reason of darkness. ²⁰Shall it be told him that I would speak? Or should a man wish that he were swallowed up?

²¹And now men see not the light which is bright in the skies; But the wind passes, and clears them. ²²Out of the north comes golden splendor: God has upon him terrible majesty. ²³Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: He is excellent in power; And in justice and plenteous righteousness he will not afflict. ²⁴Men do therefore fear him: He regards not any that are wise of heart.

38 Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, ²Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge? ³Gird up your loins like a man; For I will demand of you, and declare you unto me.

⁴Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare it, if you have understanding. ⁵Who determined the measures thereof, if you know? Or who stretched the line upon it? ⁶Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner-stone thereof, ⁷When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy? ⁸Or who shut up the sea with doors, When it broke forth, as if it had issued out of the womb; ⁹When I made clouds the garment thereof, And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it, ¹⁰And marked out for it my bound, And set bars and doors, ¹¹And said, This far shall you come, but no further; And here shall your proud waves be stayed?

¹²Have you commanded the morning since your days began, And caused the dayspring to know its place; ¹³That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it? ¹⁴It is changed as clay under the seal; And all things stand forth as a garment: ¹⁵And from the wicked their light is withheld, And the high arm is broken. ¹⁶Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep? ¹⁷Have the gates of death been revealed unto you? Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death? ¹⁸Have you comprehended the earth in its breadth? Declare it, if you know it all. ¹⁹Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And as for darkness, where is the place thereof, ²⁰That you should take it to the bound thereof, And that you should discern the paths to the house thereof? ²¹Doubtless, you know, for you were then born, And the number of your days is great! ²²Have you entered the treasuries of the snow, Or have you seen the treasures of the hail, ²³Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, Against the day of battle and war? ²⁴By what way is the light parted, Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?

²⁵Who has cleft a channel for the floodwater, Or the way for the lightning of the thunder; ²⁶To cause it to rain on a land where no man is; On the wilderness, wherein there is no man; ²⁷To satisfy the waste and desolate ground, And to cause the tender grass to spring forth? ²⁸Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew? ²⁹Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who has gendered it? ³⁰The waters hide themselves and become like stone, And the face of the deep is frozen. ³¹can you bind the cluster of the ple-ia-des, Or free the bands of O-ri’on? ³²can you lead forth the Maz-za-roth in their season? Or can you guide the Bear (Arc-tu-rus) with her train (sons)? ³³know you the ordinances of the heavens? can you establish the dominion thereof in the earth? ³⁴can you lift up your voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover you? ³⁵can you send forth lightnings, that they may go, And say unto you, Here we are? ³⁶Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the mind? ³⁷Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven, ³⁸When the dust runs into a mass, And the clods cleave fast together? ³⁹can you hunt the prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, ⁴⁰When they couch in their dens, And abide in the covert to lie in wait? ⁴¹Who provides for the raven his prey, When his young ones cry unto God, And wander for lack of food?

39 Do you know the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? Or can you mark when the hinds do calve? ²can you number the months that they fulfil? Or know you the time when they bring forth? ³They bow themselves, they bring forth their young, They cast out their pains. ⁴Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open field; They go forth, and return not again. ⁵Who has sent out the wild ass free? Or who has loosed the bonds of the swift ass, ⁶Whose home I have made the wilderness, And the salt land his dwelling-place? ⁷He scorns the tumult of the city, Neither hears he the shoutings of the driver. ⁸The range of the mountains is his pasture, And he searches after every green thing. ⁹Will the wild-ox be content to serve you? Or will he abide by your crib? ¹⁰can you bind the wild-ox with his band in the furrow? Or will he harrow the valleys after you? ¹¹Will you trust him, because his strength is great? Or will you leave to him your labor? ¹²Will you confide in him, that he will bring home your seed, And gather the grain of your threshing-floor?

¹³The wings of the ostrich wave proudly; But are they the pinions and plumage of love? ¹⁴For she leaves her eggs on the earth, And warms them in the dust, ¹⁵And forgets that the foot may crush them, Or that the wild beast may trample them. ¹⁶She deals hardly with her young ones, as if they were not hers: though her labor be in vain, she is without fear; ¹⁷Because God has deprived her of wisdom, Neither has he imparted to her understanding. ¹⁸What time she lifts up herself on high, She scorns the horse and his rider.

¹⁹Have you given the horse his might? have you clothed his neck with the quivering mane? ²⁰Have you made him to leap as a locust? The glory of his snorting is terrible. ²¹He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength: He goes out to meet the armed men. ²²He mocks at fear, and is not dismayed; Neither turns he back from the sword. ²³The quiver rattles against him, The flashing spear and the javelin. ²⁴He swallows the ground with fierceness and rage; Neither believes he that it is the voice of the trumpet. ²⁵As oft as the trumpet sounds he says, Aha! And he smells the battle afar off, The thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

²⁶Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars, (And) stretches her wings toward the south? ²⁷Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up, And makes her nest on high? ²⁸On the cliff she dwells, and makes her home, Upon the point of the cliff, and the stronghold. ²⁹From there she spies out the prey; Her eyes behold it afar off. ³⁰Her young ones also suck up blood: And where the slain are, there is she.

40 Moreover Jehovah answered Job, and said, ²Shall he that cavils contend with the Almighty? He that argues with God, let him answer it. ³Then Job answered Jehovah, and said, ⁴Behold, I am of small account; What shall I answer you? I lay my hand upon my mouth. ⁵Once have I spoken, and I will not answer; yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.

⁶Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, ⁷Gird up your loins now like a man: I will demand of you, and you will declare unto me. ⁸Will you even revoke my judgment? will you condemn me, that you may be justified? ⁹Or have you an arm like God? And can you thunder with a voice like him? ¹⁰Deck yourself now with excellency and dignity; And array yourself with honor and majesty. ¹¹Pour forth the overflowings of your anger; And look upon every one that is proud, and abase him. ¹²Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; And tread down the wicked where they stand. ¹³Hide them in the dust together; Bind their faces in the hidden place. ¹⁴Then will I also confess of you That your own right hand can save you.

¹⁵Behold now, behemoth, which I made as well as you; He eats grass as an ox. ¹⁶Lo now, his strength is in his loins, And his force is in the muscles of his belly. ¹⁷He moves his tail like a cedar: The sinews of his thighs are knit together. ¹⁸His bones are as tubes of brass; His limbs are like bars of iron. ¹⁹He is the chief of the ways of God: He only that made him gives him his sword. ²⁰Surely the mountains bring him forth food, Where all the beasts of the field do play. ²¹He lies under the lotus-trees, In the covert of the reed, and the fen. ²²The lotus-trees cover him with their shade; The willows of the brook compass him about. ²³Behold, if a river overflow, he trembles not; He is confident, though a Jordan swell even to his mouth. ²⁴Shall any take him when he is on the watch, Or pierce through his nose with a snare?

41 can you draw out leviathan with a fishhook? Or press down his tongue with a cord? ²can you put a rope into his nose? Or pierce his jaw through with a hook? ³Will he make many supplications unto you? Or will he speak soft words unto you? ⁴Will he make a covenant with you, That you should take him for a servant for ever? ⁵Will you play with him as with a bird? Or will you bind him for your maidens? ⁶Will the bands of fishermen make traffic of him? Will they part him among the merchants? ⁷can you fill his skin with barbed irons, Or his head with fish-spears? ⁸Lay your hand upon him; Remember the battle, and do so no more. ⁹Behold, the hope of him is in vain: Will not one be cast down even at the sight of him? ¹⁰None is so fierce that he dare stir him up; Who then is he that can stand before me?

¹¹Who has first given unto me, that I should repay him? Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine. ¹²I will not keep silent concerning his limbs, Nor his mighty strength, nor his goodly frame. ¹³Who can strip off his outer garment? Who shall come within his jaws? ¹⁴Who can open the doors of his face? Round about his teeth is terror. ¹⁵His strong scales are his pride, Shut up together as with a close seal. ¹⁶One is so near to another, That no air can come between them. ¹⁷They are joined one to another; They stick together, so that they cannot be sundered. ¹⁸His sneezings flash forth light, And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. ¹⁹Out of his mouth go burning torches, And sparks of fire leap forth. ²⁰Smoke goes out of his nostrils, As of a boiling pot and burning rushes. ²¹His breath kindles coals, And a flame go forth from his mouth. ²²In his neck abides strength, And terror dances before him. ²³The flakes of his flesh are joined together: They are firm upon him; They cannot be moved. ²⁴His heart is as firm as a stone; yes, firm as the lower millstone. ²⁵When he raised himself up, the mighty are afraid: By reason of consternation they are beside themselves. ²⁶If one lay at him with the sword, it cannot avail; Nor the spear, the dart, nor the pointed shaft. ²⁷He counts iron as straw, And brass as rotten wood. ²⁸The arrow cannot make him flee: Sling-stones are turned with him into stubble. ²⁹Clubs are counted as stubble: He laughs at the rushing of the javelin. ³⁰His underparts are like sharp potsherds: He spreads as it were a threshing-wain upon the mire. ³¹He makes the deep to boil like a pot: He makes the sea like a pot of ointment. ³²He makes a path to shine after him; One would think the deep to be hoary. ³³Upon earth there is not his like, That is made without fear. ³⁴He beholds everything that is high: He is king over all the sons of pride.

42 Then Job answered Jehovah, and said, ²I know that you can do all things, And that no purpose of your can be restrained. ³Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that which I understood not, Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. ⁴Hear, I beseech you, and I will speak; I will demand of you, and you declare unto me. ⁵I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees you: ⁶why I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.