Job

 

Chapter 1

 

1 There was a certain man in the land of Ausitis, whose name was Job; and that man was true, blameless, righteous, god-fearing, abstaining from every evil thing.

 

2 And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters.

 

3 And he had livestock: seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred grazing she-asses; and he had a very great household of servants and great works upon the land; and that man was the noblest of those dwelling toward the east.

 

4 And his sons, gathering at one another's houses, made a feast every day, taking along with them also their three sisters, to eat and drink with them.

 

5 And when the days of the feasting were ended, Job would send and purify them, rising early in the morning, and offer sacrifices on their behalf according to their number, and one calf as a sin-offering for their souls; for Job said: Perhaps my sons have thought evil things against God in their minds. Thus, then, Job did all the days.

 

6 And when that day came, behold, the angels of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and the devil came with them.

 

7 And the Lord said to the devil: Whence have you come? And the devil, answering the Lord, said: Having gone around the earth and traversed what is under heaven, I am here.

 

8 And the Lord said to him: Have you turned your attention to my servant Job, that there is none like him among men upon the earth, blameless, true, god-fearing, abstaining from every evil thing?

 

9 And the devil answered and said before the Lord: Does Job revere God for nothing?

 

10 Have you not fenced about the things outside him and the things within his house and all that belongs to him round about? You have blessed the works of his hands and have made his livestock many upon the land.

 

11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has: surely he will blaspheme you to your face.

 

12 Then the Lord said to the devil: Behold, all that he has I give into your hand, but do not touch him. And the devil went out from the Lord.

 

13 And when that day came, the sons of Job and his daughters were drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother.

 

14 And behold, a messenger came to Job and said to him: The yokes of oxen were plowing, and the she-asses were grazing near them;

 

15 and robbers came and carried them off as captives, and killed the servants with the sword; and I alone was saved and came to bring you word.

 

16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said to Job: Fire fell from heaven and burned up the sheep, and likewise devoured the shepherds; and I alone was saved and came to bring you word.

 

17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said to Job: The horsemen, forming three companies against us, surrounded the camels and carried them off as captives, and killed the servants with the sword; and I alone was saved and came to bring you word.

 

18 While he was still speaking, another messenger comes, saying to Job: While your sons and daughters were eating and drinking at their eldest brother's house,

 

19 suddenly a great wind came from the desert and struck the four corners of the house, and the house fell upon your children, and they died; and I alone was saved and came to bring you word.

 

20 Then Job arose and rent his garments and shore the hair of his head, and falling to the ground he worshipped and said:

 

21 Naked I myself came forth from my mother's womb, naked also shall I depart thither; the Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; as it seemed good to the Lord, so also it came to pass; blessed be the name of the Lord.

 

22 In all these things that had befallen him, Job sinned in nothing before the Lord, nor did he charge God with any folly.

 

Chapter 2

 

1 And it came to pass, when this day came, that the angels of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and the devil came in their midst to present himself before the Lord.

 

2 And the Lord said to the devil, "From where do you come?" Then the devil said before the Lord, "Having traversed the region under heaven and walked about the whole of it, I am here."

 

3 And the Lord said to the devil, "Have you then paid attention to my servant Job, that there is no man like him among those on the earth, innocent, true, blameless, God-fearing, abstaining from every evil? And still he holds fast to his innocence; yet you said to destroy his possessions for nothing."

 

4 And the devil answered and said to the Lord, "Skin for skin; all that a man has he will pay for his life.

 

5 But indeed, stretch out your hand and touch his bones and his flesh; surely he will bless you to your face."

 

6 And the Lord said to the devil, "Behold, I hand him over to you; only preserve his life."

 

7 And the devil went out from the Lord and struck Job with a grievous sore from his feet to his head.

 

8 And he took a potsherd to scrape away the discharge, and he sat on the dung heap outside the city.

 

9 And after much time had passed, his wife said to him, "How long will you persist, saying,

 

9a 'Behold, I wait yet a little while, expecting the hope of my salvation'?

 

9b For behold, your memorial has vanished from the earth—sons and daughters, the pangs and labors of my womb, for whom I toiled in vain with hardships.

 

9c And you yourself sit in the rottenness of worms, spending the nights in the open air;

 

9d and I, a wanderer and a hired servant, going about from place to place and from house to house, waiting for when the sun will set, that I may rest from the toils and pains that now grip me.

 

9e But say some word against the Lord and die."

 

10 But he looked at her and said, "You have spoken like one of the foolish women. If we have received good things from the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure the evil?" In all these things that befell him, Job sinned in no way with his lips before God.

 

11 And when his three friends heard of all the evils that had come upon him, they came, each from his own country, to him: Eliphaz the king of the Thaimanites, Baldad the ruler of the Sauchaeans, Sophar the king of the Minaeans; and they came to him with one accord to comfort and to visit him.

 

12 And seeing him from afar they did not recognize him, and crying out with a loud voice they wept, each rending his own garment and sprinkling earth upon themselves.

 

13 They sat beside him seven days and seven nights, and none of them spoke; for they saw that the affliction was terrible and exceedingly great.

 

Chapter 3

 

1 After this Job opened his mouth and cursed his day,

 

2 saying:

 

3 May the day perish on which I was born, and the night on which they said, "Behold, a male."

 

4 May that day be darkness, and may the Lord not seek it from above, nor may light come upon it;

 

5 but may darkness and the shadow of death seize it; may gloom come upon it.

 

6 Cursed be that day and that night; may darkness carry it away; may it not be among the days of the year, nor be numbered among the days of the months;

 

7 but may that night be anguish, and may neither gladness nor joy come upon it;

 

8 but may he curse it who curses that day, he who is about to subdue the great sea-monster.

 

9 May the stars of that night be darkened; may it wait and not come to light, and may it not see the morning star rising,

 

10 because it did not shut the gates of my mother's womb; for it would have removed toil from my eyes.

 

11 For why did I not die in the womb, and why, having come forth from the belly, did I not perish at once?

 

12 And why did knees receive me? And why did I suck the breasts?

 

13 For now I would have lain down and been quiet; having slept, I would have been at rest

 

14 with kings, counselors of the earth, who gloried in swords,

 

15 or with rulers who had much gold, who filled their houses with silver,

 

16 or like a miscarriage coming forth from a mother's womb, or like infants who never saw the light.

 

17 There the ungodly have ceased kindling the fury of wrath; there those worn out in body find rest;

 

18 and together those of old have not heard the voice of the tax-collector;

 

19 small and great are there, and the servant who did not fear his master.

 

20 For why is light given to those in bitterness, and life to souls in anguish,

 

21 who long for death and do not obtain it, digging for it as for treasures,

 

22 and would be overjoyed if they should attain it?

 

23 Death is rest for a man, for God has hedged him in;

 

24 for groaning comes to me before my food, and I weep, gripped by fear;

 

25 for the fear that I dreaded has come upon me, and what I feared has met me.

 

26 I have had no peace, nor quiet, nor rest, but wrath has come upon me.

 

Chapter 4

 

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

 

2 Has one not often spoken to you in your trouble? But who will endure the force of your words?

 

3 For if you have admonished many and strengthened the hands of the weak,

 

4 and raised up the failing with words and given courage to feeble knees,

 

5 yet now trouble has come upon you and touched you, and you are dismayed.

 

6 Is not your fear founded in folly, and your hope also, and the innocence of your way?

 

7 Remember, then: who has perished being pure? Or when have the truthful been destroyed root and all?

 

8 As I have seen those who plough what is wrong, those who sow it shall reap sorrows for themselves.

 

9 By the command of the Lord they shall perish, and by the breath of his wrath they shall be wiped out.

 

10 The strength of the lion, the voice of the lioness, and the exulting of serpents have been quenched;

 

11 the ant-lion has perished for lack of food, and the lions' whelps have forsaken one another.

 

12 But if any true word had been in your speech, none of these evils would have befallen you. Shall not my ear receive extraordinary things from him?

 

13 Terrors and a sound by night, fear falling upon men,

 

14 and shuddering met me, and trembling, and it shook my bones greatly,

 

15 and a spirit came upon my face, and my hair and flesh bristled.

 

16 I rose up, and I did not perceive it; I looked, and there was no form before my eyes, but I heard only a breeze and a voice:

 

17 What then? Shall a mortal be pure before the Lord? Or shall a man be blameless by reason of his works?

 

18 If he does not trust in his servants, and has noted something crooked against his angels,

 

19 as for those who dwell in houses of clay—of which we too are made, of the same clay—he struck them like a moth;

 

20 and from morning until evening they are no more; because they could not help themselves, they perished;

 

21 for he breathed upon them and they withered; they perished because they had no wisdom.

 

Chapter 5

 

1 Call out now, if anyone will answer you, or if you will see any of the holy angels.

 

2 For anger destroys the fool, and jealousy puts to death the one who has gone astray.

 

3 I have seen fools taking root, but immediately their dwelling was consumed.

 

4 May their sons be far from safety, and may they be mocked at the doors of lesser men, and there will be no one to deliver them;

 

5 for what they gathered, the righteous shall eat, and they themselves shall not be delivered out of evils; may their strength be drained away.

 

6 For toil does not come forth from the earth, nor does trouble sprout from the mountains;

 

7 but man is born to toil, while the vulture's young fly to the heights.

 

8 Nevertheless, I will entreat the Lord, and I will call upon the Lord, the master of all,

 

9 who does great and unsearchable things, glorious and marvelous, of which there is no number;

 

10 who gives rain upon the earth, sending water upon what is under heaven;

 

11 who sets the lowly on high and raises up those who have perished;

 

12 frustrating the counsels of the crafty, so that their hands shall accomplish nothing true.

 

13 He who catches the wise in their shrewdness, and has confounded the counsel of the cunning;

 

14 by day darkness shall meet them, and at midday may they grope as in the night.

 

15 May they perish in war, and may the weak escape from the hand of the mighty;

 

16 and may there be hope for the powerless, and may the mouth of the unjust be stopped.

 

17 Blessed is the man whom the Lord has reproved; and do not reject the correction of the Almighty.

 

18 For he causes pain and restores again; he has struck, and his hands have healed.

 

19 Six times he will deliver you from distresses, and in the seventh no evil shall touch you.

 

20 In famine he will rescue you from death, and in war he will free you from the hand of the sword.

 

21 He will hide you from the scourge of the tongue, and you shall not fear evils when they come.

 

22 You shall laugh at the unjust and the lawless, and you shall not be afraid of wild beasts;

 

23 for wild beasts shall be at peace with you.

 

24 Then you shall know that your house shall be at peace, and the dwelling of your tent shall not fail.

 

25 And you shall know that your seed is abundant, and your children shall be like all the herbage of the field.

 

26 And you shall come to the grave like ripe grain harvested in its season, or like a heap on the threshing floor gathered in at its proper time.

 

27 Behold, these things we have thus searched out; these are what we have heard; but you, know for yourself whether you have done anything.

 

Chapter 6

 

1 Then Job answered and said,

 

2 Oh that one would weigh my wrath, and lay my pains in the balance together!

 

3 And it would be heavier than the sand of the sea; but, as it seems, my words are vain.

 

4 For the arrows of the Lord are in my body, whose rage drinks up my blood; whenever I begin to speak, they pierce me.

 

5 For what? Will the wild ass cry out in vain, unless seeking its food? And if the ox roars over its manger, does it have its fodder?

 

6 Shall bread be eaten without salt? And is there any taste in empty words?

 

7 For my soul cannot cease; for I see my food as the scent of a lion.

 

8 Oh that my request would be granted, and my hope would the Lord give!

 

9 Let the Lord, having begun, wound me, but not utterly destroy me.

 

10 Let my city be a tomb, upon whose walls I used to leap; I will not spare; for I have not denied the holy words of my God.

 

11 For what is my strength, that I endure? Or what is my time, that my soul bears me?

 

12 Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh bronze?

 

13 Was I not trusting in him? But help is far from me.

 

14 Mercy has renounced me, and the visitation of the Lord has overlooked me.

 

15 My nearest ones have not regarded me; like a failing torrent or like a wave, they have passed me by;

 

16 Those who were wary of me have now fallen upon me like snow or frozen ice;

 

17 Just as when it melts with the coming of heat, it is not recognized for what it was,

 

18 So I too have been abandoned by all, and I have perished and become an exile.

 

19 Behold the roads of the Temanites, the paths of the Sabaeans, you who look closely;

 

20 And those who trust in cities and wealth will owe shame.

 

21 But you too have set upon me mercilessly, so that seeing my wound, you may be afraid.

 

22 For what? Have I asked anything of you, or do I need strength from you

 

23 To save me from enemies, or to rescue me from the hand of the mighty?

 

24 Teach me, and I will be silent; if I have erred in anything, tell me.

 

25 But, as it seems, the words of a true man are vain, for I do not ask strength from you;

 

26 Nor will your reproof stop me with words, nor will I endure the utterance of your speech.

 

27 But you fall upon an orphan, and you leap upon your friend.

 

28 But now, looking into your faces, I will not lie.

 

29 Sit down now, and let there be no injustice, and again come together with the righteous one.

 

30 For there is no injustice in my tongue; or does my throat not meditate on understanding?

 

Chapter 7

 

1 Is not the life of man upon the earth a trial, and his life like that of a hireling hired by the day?

 

2 Or like a servant who fears his master and has caught only a shadow, or like a hireling waiting for his wages.

 

3 So I too have endured empty months, and nights of pain have been allotted to me.

 

4 When I lie down, I say, "When will it be day?" And when I rise, again, "When will it be evening?" And I am full of pains from evening until morning.

 

5 My body is caked with the corruption of worms, and I waste away, scraping clods of earth from my oozing sores.

 

6 My life is lighter than speech, and it has perished in empty hope.

 

7 Remember, then, that my life is breath, and my eye shall never again return to see good.

 

8 The eye of him who sees me shall not look upon me; your eyes are upon me, and I am no more,

 

9 like a cloud cleared away from the sky. For if a man goes down to Hades, he shall never come up again,

 

10 nor shall he ever return to his own house, nor shall his place know him any more.

 

11 Therefore I too will not spare my mouth; I will speak, being in distress; I will open the bitterness of my soul, being oppressed.

 

12 Am I a sea or a serpent, that you have set a guard over me?

 

13 I said, "My bed will comfort me, and I will take up with myself privately a discourse upon my couch";

 

14 you terrify me with dreams, and you strike me with dread through visions.

 

15 You will separate my soul from my breath, and my bones from death.

 

16 For I shall not live forever, that I should be patient; depart from me, for my life is empty.

 

17 For what is man, that you have magnified him, or that you turn your mind to him,

 

18 or will make a visitation of him until the morning, and judge him unto rest?

 

19 How long will you not let me alone, nor release me, until I swallow my spittle in pain?

 

20 If I have sinned, what can I do to you, you who know the mind of men? Why have you made me your accuser, and why am I a burden to you?

 

21 And why have you not made a forgetting of my lawlessness and a cleansing of my sin? But now I shall depart into the earth, and rising at dawn I shall be no more.

 

Chapter 8

 

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

 

2 How long will you speak these things? The spirit of your mouth is full of words.

 

3 Will the Lord do wrong in judging, or will he who made all things pervert what is just?

 

4 If your sons sinned before him, he sent them away by the hand of their lawlessness.

 

5 But you, rise early to pray to the Lord Almighty.

 

6 If you are pure and true, he will hearken to your supplication, and he will restore to you a dwelling of righteousness.

 

7 So your beginnings will be small, but your latter end beyond telling.

 

8 For ask the first generation, and search out according to the line of the fathers;

 

9 for we are of yesterday and do not know, for our life on earth is a shadow.

 

10 Will not these teach you and declare to you and bring forth words from the heart?

 

11 Does papyrus flourish without water, or will the rush grow tall without drink?

 

12 While still on its root, and though it is not cut, does not every plant wither before it drinks?

 

13 So then shall be the end of all who forget the Lord; for the hope of the ungodly shall perish.

 

14 For his house shall be uninhabited, and his tent shall prove a spider's web.

 

15 If he props up his house, it shall not stand; and when he takes hold of it, it shall not endure.

 

16 For he is moist under the sun, and from his rottenness his shoot shall come forth.

 

17 He lies down upon a heap of stones, and shall live in the midst of pebbles.

 

18 If it swallows him up, the place shall deny him: you have not seen such things.

 

19 For such is the overthrow of the ungodly, and from the earth another shall spring up.

 

20 For the Lord will by no means reject the innocent, and he will not accept any gift of the ungodly.

 

21 But he will fill the mouth of the truthful with laughter, and their lips with thanksgiving;

 

22 and their enemies shall be clothed with shame, and the dwelling of the ungodly shall be no more.

 

Chapter 9

 

1 Then Job answered and said:

 

2 Truly I know that it is so; for how shall a mortal be righteous before the Lord?

 

3 For if he should wish to enter into judgment with him, he will not answer him, lest he contradict him in one word out of a thousand.

 

4 For he is wise in mind, mighty and great: who has hardened himself against him and endured?

 

5 He who makes the mountains old, and they know it not; who overturns them in anger;

 

6 who shakes the earth under heaven from its foundations, and its pillars totter;

 

7 who speaks to the sun, and it does not rise, and seals up the stars;

 

8 who alone stretched out the heaven, and walks upon the sea as on firm ground;

 

9 who makes the Pleiades and Hesperus and Arcturus and the chambers of the south;

 

10 who does great and unsearchable things, glorious and marvelous, of which there is no number.

 

11 If he passes over me, I shall not see him; and if he passes by me, even so I did not know it.

 

12 If he takes away, who shall turn him back? Or who shall say to him, What have you done?

 

13 For he himself has turned away his anger; the whales under heaven have been bowed by him.

 

14 But if he should listen to me, would he indeed weigh my words?

 

15 For even if I am righteous, he will not hear me; I shall entreat his judgment.

 

16 And if I should call and he should answer, I do not believe that he has heard me.

 

17 Would he not crush me with a whirlwind? And he has made my bruises many without cause.

 

18 For he does not allow me to draw breath, but has filled me with bitterness.

 

19 For indeed he prevails by strength: who then shall withstand his judgment?

 

20 For if I am righteous, my mouth will be impious; and if I am blameless, I shall turn out crooked.

 

21 For whether I have acted impiously, I do not know in my soul, except that my life is being taken from me.

 

22 Therefore I said, Wrath destroys the great and the mighty man,

 

23 for the worthless die in an extraordinary death, but the righteous are laughed to scorn;

 

24 for they have been delivered into the hands of the impious one. He covers the faces of its judges; and if it is not he, who is it?

 

25 But my life is swifter than a runner; they have fled away and have not seen.

 

26 Is there indeed a track of a path for ships, or of an eagle flying, seeking prey?

 

27 For if I speak, I shall forget as I talk; bowing down my face, I shall groan.

 

28 I quake in all my limbs, for I know that you will not leave me guiltless.

 

29 But since I am impious, why have I not died?

 

30 For if I wash myself with snow and cleanse myself with pure hands,

 

31 you have dipped me thoroughly in filth, and my garment has abhorred me.

 

32 For you are not a man like me, with whom I could contend, that we might come together to judgment.

 

33 Would that there were a mediator between us, both reproving and hearing between us both.

 

34 Let him remove his rod from me, and let not his fear terrify me,

 

35 and I shall not be afraid, but I shall speak; for I am not thus conscious of myself.

 

Chapter 10

 

1 Weary in my soul, groaning, I will let loose my words against him; I will speak, gripped by the bitterness of my soul,

 

2 and I will say to the Lord: Do not teach me to be impious; and why have you judged me thus?

 

3 Is it good to you if I do wrong, that you reject the works of your hands, but have given heed to the counsel of the impious?

 

4 Do you see as a mortal sees, or will you look as a man looks?

 

5 Is your life human, or your years those of a man?

 

6 For you have sought out my lawlessness and traced out my sins.

 

7 For you know that I have not been impious; but who is there that can deliver out of your hands?

 

8 Your hands formed me and made me; afterwards, changing, you struck me.

 

9 Remember that you formed me as clay, and you return me again to earth.

 

10 Did you not pour me out like milk, and curdle me like cheese?

 

11 You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews.

 

12 You placed life and mercy with me, and your oversight guarded my spirit.

 

13 Having these things in yourself, I know that you can do all things, and nothing is impossible for you.

 

14 For if I sin, you watch me, and you have not made me innocent of lawlessness.

 

15 If I am impious, woe is me; and if I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head, for I am full of dishonor.

 

16 For I am hunted like a lion for slaughter, and again, changing, you terribly destroy me,

 

17 renewing against me my examination; you have treated me with great wrath, and you have brought trials upon me.

 

18 Why then did you bring me out of the womb, and I did not die, and no eye saw me,

 

19 and I became as though I had never been? For why was I not carried from the belly to the grave?

 

20 Is not the time of my life short? Let me rest a little

 

21 before I go whence I shall not return, to a land dark and gloomy,

 

22 to a land of eternal darkness, where there is no light, nor to see the life of mortals.

 

Chapter 11

 

1 Then Sophar the Minaean answered and said:

 

2 He who speaks much shall also hear in return; or does the man of many words think himself righteous? Blessed is the short-lived one born of woman.

 

3 Do not be abundant in words, for there is no one to answer you in judgment.

 

4 For do not say, "I am pure in my works and blameless before him."

 

5 But how might the Lord speak to you? And he will open his lips with you.

 

6 Then he will declare to you the power of wisdom, that it shall be double what you have; and then you will know that what has befallen you from the Lord is fitting for the sins you have committed.

 

7 Will you find the track of the Lord? Or have you reached the utmost things which the Almighty has made?

 

8 Heaven is high—and what will you do? And what do you know of things deeper than those in Hades?

 

9 Or of things longer than the measure of the earth, or the breadth of the sea?

 

10 And if he should overturn all things, who will say to him, "What have you done?"

 

11 For he himself knows the works of the lawless, and seeing improper things he will not overlook them.

 

12 But man swims idly in words, and a mortal born of woman is like a desert donkey.

 

13 For if you have made your heart pure, and lift up your hands toward him,

 

14 if there is anything lawless in your hands, put it far from you, and let injustice not lodge in your dwelling.

 

15 For thus your face will shine again like pure water, and you will strip off filth and will not be afraid;

 

16 and you will forget your trouble like a wave that has passed by, and you will not be terrified;

 

17 and your prayer will be like the morning star, and from midday life will rise for you;

 

18 and you will be confident, because there is hope for you, and out of anxiety and care peace will appear to you.

 

19 For you will be at rest, and there will be no one warring against you; and many, changing their minds, will entreat you.

 

20 But salvation will forsake them; for their hope is destruction, and the eyes of the ungodly will waste away.

 

Chapter 12

 

1 And Job answered and said,

 

2 "So then you are men; surely wisdom will die with you!

 

3 But I too have a heart just as you do.

 

4 For a righteous and blameless man has become a laughingstock;

 

5 for at an appointed time he was prepared to fall beneath others, and his houses to be plundered by the lawless.

 

6 Nevertheless, let no one who is wicked trust that he will go unpunished, all who provoke the Lord to anger, as though there will be no reckoning for them.

 

7 But ask the four-footed beasts, if they may tell you, and the birds of the sky, if they may declare to you;

 

8 tell it to the earth, if it may explain it to you, and the fish of the sea will recount it to you.

 

9 Who has not known in all these things that the hand of the Lord has made them?

 

10 Is not the soul of all living things in his hand, and the breath of every man?

 

11 For the ear discerns words, and the palate tastes food.

 

12 In length of time is wisdom, and in long life is knowledge.

 

13 With him are wisdom and power; his are counsel and understanding.

 

14 If he tears down, who will build? If he shuts against men, who will open?

 

15 If he withholds the water, he will dry up the earth; and if he lets it loose, he destroys the earth, overturning it.

 

16 With him are might and strength; his are knowledge and understanding.

 

17 He leads counselors away captive, and he has driven the judges of the earth out of their senses.

 

18 He seats kings upon thrones and has bound their loins with a girdle.

 

19 He sends priests away captive, and has overthrown the mighty ones of the earth.

 

20 He changes the lips of the faithful, and he has known the understanding of elders.

 

21 He pours contempt upon rulers, but has healed the lowly.

 

22 He uncovers deep things out of darkness, and has brought the shadow of death out into the light.

 

23 He leads nations astray and destroys them; he lays nations low and guides them.

 

24 He changes the hearts of the rulers of the earth, and has led them astray in a way they did not know;

 

25 may they grope in darkness and not in light, and may they wander like a drunken man."

 

Chapter 13

 

1 Behold, my eye has seen these things, and my ear has heard them;

 

2 and I know as much as you also know, and I am not less intelligent than you.

 

3 Nevertheless, I will speak to the Lord, and I will plead my case before him if he is willing.

 

4 But you are unjust physicians, and healers of evils, all of you.

 

5 Would that you might keep silent, and it would turn out for you as wisdom.

 

6 Hear the reproof of my mouth, and attend to the judgment of my lips.

 

7 Do you not speak before the Lord, and utter deceit before him?

 

8 Or will you draw back? Become judges yourselves.

 

9 It would be well indeed, if he should search you out; for if, doing everything, you attach yourselves to him,

 

10 he will nonetheless reprove you; and if you even secretly show partiality to persons,

 

11 will not his terrors whirl you about, and dread from him fall upon you?

 

12 And your boasting will turn out like ashes, and your body like clay.

 

13 Be silent, that I may speak and find rest from wrath,

 

14 taking my flesh in my teeth, and I will place my life in my hand.

 

15 Though the Mighty One lay hands on me, since indeed he has already begun, surely I will speak and plead before him;

 

16 and this will turn out for my salvation, for deceit shall not enter before him.

 

17 Hear, hear my words, for I will declare while you listen.

 

18 Behold, I am near my judgment; I know that I shall appear righteous.

 

19 For who is he that will contend with me? For now I will be silent and expire.

 

20 But grant me two things: then I will not hide from your face:

 

21 withhold your hand from me, and let not your fear terrify me.

 

22 Then you shall call, and I will hearken to you; or you shall speak, and I will give you an answer.

 

23 How many are my sins and my transgressions? Teach me what they are.

 

24 Why do you hide from me, and count me as your adversary?

 

25 Will you be wary of me as of a leaf shaken by the wind, or do you oppose me as grass borne along by the breeze?

 

26 For you have written evils against me, and have laid on me the sins of my youth,

 

27 and you have set my foot in a hindrance, and have watched all my works, and have reached to the roots of my feet;

 

28 which grows old like a wineskin, or like a moth-eaten garment.

 

Chapter 14

 

1 For a mortal born of woman is short-lived and full of wrath,

 

2 or like a flower that has bloomed he falls away, and he flees like a shadow and shall not stand.

 

3 Have you not made an account even of this one, and made him enter into judgment before you?

 

4 For who shall be clean from filth? Why, no one.

 

5 Even if his life be but one day upon the earth, and his months are numbered by you, you have set a term, and he shall not pass beyond it.

 

6 Turn away from him, that he may rest and take pleasure in his life like the hired man.

 

7 For there is hope for a tree; for if it be cut down, it will still blossom again, and its young shoot shall not fail;

 

8 for though its root grow old in the earth, and its stump die in the rock,

 

9 from the scent of water it will blossom, and it will produce a harvest like a newly planted tree.

 

10 But a man once dead is gone, and a mortal, having fallen, is no more.

 

11 For in time the sea grows scant, and a river, laid waste, is dried up;

 

12 but a man once laid to rest shall by no means rise up, until the heaven be unstitched; and they shall not be awakened from their sleep.

 

13 For would that you had kept me in Hades, and hidden me, until your wrath should cease and you should appoint for me a time in which you would remember me.

 

14 For if a man die, he shall live, having completed the days of his life; I will endure until I come into being again.

 

15 Then you will call, and I will obey you; and do not reject the works of your hands.

 

16 But you have numbered my pursuits, and not one of my sins shall escape you;

 

17 you have sealed up my transgressions in a purse, and you have marked it, if I have transgressed in anything unwillingly.

 

18 And yet a falling mountain shall crumble away, and a rock shall wear away out of its place;

 

19 waters have smoothed stones, and waters have overwhelmed the surface of the soil of the earth; and you have destroyed the endurance of man.

 

20 You thrust him away to the end, and he is gone; you set your face against him and sent him away;

 

21 and though his sons become many, he knows it not, and if they become few, he is not aware;

 

22 but only his flesh is in pain, and his soul mourns.

 

Chapter 15

 

1 Then Eliphaz the Thaimanite answered and said,

 

2 Will a wise man give an answer of understanding of the spirit, and fill his belly with toil,

 

3 reproving with words that ought not to be used, with speeches that bring no profit?

 

4 Have not you also cast off fear, and uttered such words before the Lord?

 

5 You are guilty by the words of your own mouth, nor have you discerned the words of the mighty.

 

6 May your own mouth convict you, and not I; and your lips shall testify against you.

 

7 What then? Were you born the first of men? Or were you formed before the hills?

 

8 Have you heard the ordinance of the Lord, and has wisdom come to you?

 

9 For what do you know that we do not know? Or what do you understand that we do not also?

 

10 Truly among us there is one both aged and ancient, heavier than your father in days.

 

11 You have been scourged for but few of your sins; you have spoken greatly, beyond measure.

 

12 What has your heart dared, or what have your eyes aimed at,

 

13 that you have vented rage before the Lord, and brought forth such words from your mouth?

 

14 For who, being mortal, shall be blameless? Or who that is born of woman shall be righteous?

 

15 Since he places no trust even in his holy ones, and heaven is not clean in his sight,

 

16 how much more one abominable and unclean, a man drinking iniquities like drink.

 

17 But I will declare to you—listen to me; what I have seen I will declare to you,

 

18 things which wise men will say, and which they did not hide from their fathers;

 

19 to them alone the land was given, and no stranger came upon them.

 

20 All the life of the ungodly is spent in anxiety, and numbered years are given to the mighty man;

 

21 and his terror is in his ears; when he seems already to be at peace, his overthrow will come.

 

22 Let him not trust that he shall turn back from darkness, for he has already been consigned to the hands of iron;

 

23 and he has been appointed as food for vultures; and he knows within himself that he awaits a fall. And a dark day shall whirl him about,

 

24 and distress and affliction shall seize him, like a general falling in the front rank.

 

25 For he has lifted his hands against the Lord, and stiffened his neck against the Lord Almighty,

 

26 and he has run against him with insolence, with the thick back of his shield,

 

27 because he has covered his face with his fat, and made a fold upon his thighs.

 

28 And may he lodge in desolate cities, and enter houses uninhabited; and what those men have prepared, others shall carry off.

 

29 Neither shall he be enriched, nor shall his possessions remain; he shall by no means cast a shadow upon the earth,

 

30 nor shall he escape the darkness. May the wind wither his shoot, and may his blossom fall off.

 

31 Let him not trust that he shall endure, for emptiness shall be his outcome;

 

32 his harvest shall perish before its time, and his branch shall by no means flourish;

 

33 and may he be gathered like an unripe grape before its season, and may he fall off like the blossom of an olive.

 

34 For death is the witness against the ungodly, and fire shall burn the houses of those who take bribes.

 

35 And he shall conceive pains in his belly, and emptiness shall be his outcome, and his belly shall bear deceit.

  

Chapter 16

 

1 Then Job answered and said:

 

2 I have heard many such things; you are all comforters of evils.

 

3 What then? Is there any order to words of wind? Or what will trouble you, that you answer?

 

4 I too could speak as you do, if only your soul were in place of mine; then I would leap upon you with words, and shake my head against you;

 

5 and may there be strength in my mouth, and I will not spare the movement of my lips.

 

6 For if I speak, I shall not feel the pain of my wound; and if I keep silent, how shall I be wounded any less?

 

7 But now he has made me worn out, a fool, rotting,

 

8 and you have laid hold of me; it has become a testimony; and my falsehood has risen up against me, it has answered me to my face.

 

9 In his wrath he has cast me down; he has gnashed his teeth upon me; the arrows of his raiders have fallen upon me.

 

10 With the darts of their eyes they leaped upon me; with a sharp blow he struck me on the cheek; and with one accord they ran upon me.

 

11 For the Lord has delivered me into the hands of an unjust man, and has cast me upon the ungodly.

 

12 When I was at peace, he scattered me; taking me by the hair, he plucked it out; he set me up like a target.

 

13 They surrounded me, hurling spears at my kidneys without sparing; they poured out my gall upon the ground.

 

14 They cast me down, fall upon fall; the mighty ran upon me.

 

15 I sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and my strength has been quenched in the earth.

 

16 My belly is burned up from weeping, and upon my eyelids is a shadow.

 

17 Yet there was no injustice in my hands, and my prayer is pure.

 

18 O earth, do not cover over the blood of my flesh, and let there be no place for my cry.

 

19 And now, behold, my witness is in the heavens, and my advocate is on high.

 

20 May my supplication come to the Lord, and before him may my eye pour forth tears.

 

21 May there be pleading for a man before the Lord, and for the son of man with his neighbor.

 

22 For numbered years have come, and I shall go by a way from which I shall not return. 

 

Chapter 17

 

1 I am perishing, borne along by the wind, and I beg for burial and do not obtain it.

 

2 I plead, worn out and what have I done?

 

3 Strangers have stolen my possessions. Who is this man? Let him be bound to my hand.

 

4 Because you have hidden their heart from understanding, therefore you shall by no means exalt them.

 

5 He will declare evils to his own portion, but my eyes have wasted away over my sons.

 

6 You have made me a byword among the nations, and I have become a laughingstock to them;

 

7 for my eyes have grown dim from anger; I have been greatly besieged by all.

 

8 Wonder has seized the true at this; and may the righteous rise up against the lawless one;

 

9 may the faithful hold to his own way, and may the one clean of hands take up courage.

 

10 But no, come now, all of you, press on; for I find nothing true among you.

 

11 My days have passed by in clamor, and the cords of my heart have been broken.

 

12 They have turned night into day; light is near, away from the face of darkness.

 

13 For if I endure, Hades is my house, and in gloom my bed has been spread.

 

14 I have called upon death to be my father, and corruption my mother and my sister.

 

15 Where then is my hope still? Or shall I see my good things? 16 Will they go down with me into Hades, or shall we go down together upon the dust? 

 

Chapter 18

 

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,

 

2 "How long will you not cease? Stop, so that we too may speak.

 

3 Why have we kept silent before you like four-footed beasts?

 

4 Anger has made use of you. What then? If you die, will the world beneath heaven be uninhabited? Or will mountains be overturned from their foundations?

 

5 Indeed, the light of the ungodly shall be quenched, and their flame shall not go up;

 

6 his light shall be darkness in his dwelling, and the lamp over him shall be put out.

 

7 Let the least of men hunt down his possessions, and may his counsel fail him.

 

8 His foot has been cast into a snare; may he be entangled in a net.

 

9 And may snares come upon him; he shall strengthen thirsty men against him.

 

10 His cord is hidden in the earth, and his capture lies upon the paths.

 

11 May pains destroy him round about, and may many come about his feet in dire famine.

 

12 And an extraordinary downfall has been prepared for him.

 

13 May the branches of his feet be devoured, and death shall consume his fair things.

 

14 And may healing be torn away from his dwelling, and may distress seize him with a royal charge.

 

15 He shall dwell in his tent in his night; his fine things shall be strewn with brimstone.

 

16 From beneath his roots shall be dried up, and from above his harvest shall fall upon him.

 

17 May his memorial perish from the earth, and his name exists on the face of the outer regions.

 

18 May he thrust him from light into darkness.

 

19 He shall not be known among his people, nor shall his house be preserved under heaven, but others shall live on his possessions.

 

20 The last groaned over him, and wonder seized the first.

 

21 These are the houses of the unrighteous, and this is the place of those who know not the Lord." 

 

Chapter 19

 

1 Then Job answered and said:

 

2 How long will you make my soul weary and pull me down with words?

 

3 Know only that the Lord has made me thus; you speak against me, and without shame you press upon me.

 

4 Yes, truly I have gone astray, and error lodges with me, 4a to speak a word that ought not to have been spoken, and my words go astray and are not in season.

 

5 But leave off, for you exalt yourselves against me and assail me with reproach.

 

6 Know then that it is the Lord who has troubled me, and he has raised his stronghold against me.

 

7 Behold, I laugh at reproach and will not speak; I will cry out, and nowhere is there judgment.

 

8 I am walled about round about and cannot pass through; upon my face he has set darkness.

 

9 He has stripped my glory from me and taken the crown from my head.

 

10 He has torn me apart round about, and I am gone; he has cut down my hope like a tree.

 

11 He has used his anger against me terribly, and has counted me as an enemy.

 

12 With one accord his trials came upon me on my ways; men lying in ambush surrounded me.

 

13 My brothers have stood away from me; they have known strangers rather than me; and my friends have become merciless.

 

14 My nearest ones did not acknowledge me, and those who knew my name have forgotten me.

 

15 The neighbors of my house and my maidservants, I was a foreigner before them.

 

16 I called my servant, and he did not answer, though my mouth entreated.

 

17 And I supplicated my wife, and called with flattery to the sons of my concubines;

 

18 but they cast me off forever; when I rise up, they speak against me.

 

19 Those who knew me abhorred me; those indeed whom I had loved rose up against me.

 

20 In my skin my flesh has rotted, and my bones are held in my teeth.

 

21 Have pity on me, have pity on me, O friends; for it is the hand of the Lord that has touched me.

 

22 Why do you pursue me as the Lord also does, and are you not satisfied with my flesh?

 

23 For who would grant that my words be written, and that they be set down in a book forever,

 

24 with an iron pen and lead, or be engraved on rocks?

 

25 For I know that he is everlasting who is about to release me on earth.

 

26 May my skin, which has endured these things, rise up; for from the Lord these things have been accomplished for me,

 

27 which I know within myself, which my eye has seen and no other; and all things have been accomplished for me in my bosom.

 

28 But if you also say, What shall we say before him? and we shall find the root of the matter in him,

 

29 be on your guard, you also, against covering up; for wrath will come upon the lawless, and then they will know where their substance is. 

 

Chapter 20

 

1 Then Zophar the Minaean answered and said:

 

2 "I did not suppose that you would speak against these things in this way, and do you not understand more than I do?

 

3 I will hear the instruction of my rebuke, and a spirit out of understanding answers me.

 

4 Have you not known these things from of old, from the time man was placed upon the earth?

 

5 For the mirth of the ungodly is an extraordinary downfall, and the joy of transgressors is destruction,

 

6 even if his gifts should ascend to heaven, and his sacrifice touch the clouds.

 

7 For when he seems already to be established, then he shall utterly perish, and those who saw him will say, 'Where is he?'

 

8 Like a dream that has flown away, he shall not be found, and he has fled like a vision of the night.

 

9 The eye glanced upon him and shall do so no more, and his place shall no longer perceive him.

 

10 May those weaker destroy his sons, and may his hands kindle pains.

 

11 His bones were filled with his youth, and it shall lie down with him upon the dust.

 

12 If wickedness be sweet in his mouth, he will hide it under his tongue;

 

13 he will not spare it and will not forsake it, and will hold it in the midst of his throat.

 

14 And he shall by no means be able to help himself; the gall of an asp is in his belly.

 

15 Wealth unjustly gathered shall be vomited up; a messenger shall drag him out of his house.

 

16 May he suck the fury of dragons, and may the tongue of a serpent slay him.

 

17 May he not see the milking of herds, nor pastures of honey and butter.

 

18 He has labored for wealth in vain and to no purpose, of which he shall not taste, like a tough morsel unchewed and unswallowed.

 

19 For he has crushed the houses of many helpless ones, and has plundered a dwelling and did not establish it.

 

20 There is no salvation for his possessions; in his desire he shall not be saved.

 

21 There is no remnant of his food; therefore his goods shall not flourish.

 

22 But when he seems already to be filled, he shall be afflicted, and every distress shall come upon him.

 

23 If somehow he should fill his belly, may He send upon him the fury of wrath, may He rain pains upon him;

 

24 and he shall by no means be saved from the hand of iron; may a bronze bow wound him;

 

25 and may an arrow pass through his body, and may lightnings walk about in his dwellings; terrors are upon him.

 

26 May all darkness await him; an unkindled fire shall devour him, and may a stranger afflict his house.

 

27 May heaven reveal his iniquities, and may the earth rise up against him.

 

28 May destruction drag his house to the end; may a day of wrath come upon him.

 

29 This is the portion of an ungodly man from the Lord, and the possession of his goods from the Overseer." 

 

Chapter 21

 

1 And Job answered and said,

 

2 "Hear, hear my words, that this consolation of yours may not be mine from you.

 

3 Bear with me, and I will speak; then you will not laugh at me.

 

4 For what? Is my reproof from a man? Or why should I not be angry?

 

5 Look upon me and be amazed, laying your hand upon your cheek.

 

6 For even when I remember, I am dismayed, and pains take hold of my flesh.

 

7 Why do the ungodly live, and grow old even in wealth?

 

8 Their seed is according to their desire, and their children are before their eyes.

 

9 Their houses prosper, and there is no fear anywhere, nor is there a scourge from the Lord upon them.

 

10 Their cow does not miscarry, but is preserved when with young and does not fail.

 

11 They remain like everlasting sheep, and their children play before them,

 

12 taking up the psaltery and the harp, and they rejoice at the sound of a song.

 

13 They spend their life in good things, and in the rest of Hades they fall asleep.

 

14 Yet he says to the Lord, 'Depart from me; I do not wish to know your ways.

 

15 What is the Mighty One, that we should serve him? And what profit is there, that we should meet with him?'

 

16 For their good things were in their hands, but he does not look upon the works of the ungodly.

 

17 Nevertheless, the lamp of the ungodly also shall be put out, and destruction shall come upon them, and pangs shall seize them from wrath.

 

18 And they shall be like chaff before the wind, or like dust which the whirlwind has carried away.

 

19 May his goods fail his sons; he shall repay him, and he shall know it.

 

20 May his own eyes see his own slaughter, and may he not be saved by the Lord;

 

21 for what pleasure has he in his house after him? And the number of his months has been cut off.

 

22 Is it not the Lord who teaches understanding and knowledge? And he judges murders.

 

23 This man shall die in the strength of his simplicity, wholly at ease and prospering;

 

24 his inward parts are full of fat, and his marrow is diffused.

 

25 But another dies from bitterness of soul, having eaten nothing good.

 

26 Yet together they lie down upon the earth, and corruption has covered them. 27 So I know you, that you press upon me with boldness;

 

28 for you will say, 'Where is the house of the prince? And where is the shelter of the tents of the ungodly?'

 

29 Ask those who pass by on the way, and you will not disown their tokens;

 

30 for the wicked man is spared for the day of destruction; they shall be led away for the day of his wrath.

 

31 Who will declare his way to his face? And he has done it, who will repay him?

 

32 And he has been carried away to the graves, and has kept watch over the tomb.

 

33 The pebbles of the torrent have become sweet to him, and after him every man shall depart, and before him they are without number.

 

34 How then do you comfort me with empty things? And as for my resting from you, it is nothing." 

 

Chapter 22

 

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

 

2 Is it not the Lord who teaches understanding and knowledge?

 

3 For what does it matter to the Lord if you were blameless in your works? Or is it any gain that you make your way straightforward?

 

4 Will he, taking account of you, reprove you and enter into judgment with you?

 

5 Is not your wickedness great, and are not your sins innumerable?

 

6 For you took your brothers' pledges for nothing, and stripped away the clothing of the naked;

 

7 nor did you give water to the thirsty to drink, but deprived the hungry of a morsel;

 

8 and you showed regard for the persons of some, and settled those upon the earth;

 

9 and you sent widows away empty, and mistreated orphans.

 

10 Therefore snares have surrounded you, and extraordinary war has come hastening upon you;

 

11 the light has turned to darkness for you, and water covered you as you slept.

 

12 Does not he who dwells in the heights look down? And has he not humbled those carried away with insolence?

 

13 And you said: What does the Mighty One know? Will he judge through the deep darkness?

 

14 Clouds are his hiding place, and he will not be seen, and he will pass along the circuit of heaven.

 

15 Will you keep to the ancient path which unjust men trod,

 

16 who were seized before their time? A flowing river are their foundations

 

17 those who say: What will the Lord do to us? Or what will the Almighty bring upon us?

 

18 Yet he filled their houses with good things, but the counsel of the ungodly is far from him.

 

19 The righteous saw and laughed, and the blameless mocked.

 

20 Surely their substance has been destroyed, and fire will devour what is left of them.

 

21 Be firm now, if you endure; then your fruit shall be among good things.

 

22 Receive from his mouth a declaration, and take up his words in your heart.

 

23 And if you turn and humble yourself before the Lord, you have put unrighteousness far from your dwelling.

 

24 You shall lay up treasure on a mound in the rock, and like the rock of the torrent of Ophir.

 

25 So the Almighty shall be your helper against enemies, and he shall render you pure like silver refined by fire.

 

26 Then you shall speak boldly before the Lord, looking up to heaven cheerfully;

 

27 and when you pray to him, he will hear you, and he will grant you to pay your vows;

 

28 and he will restore to you a dwelling of righteousness, and upon your ways there shall be light.

 

29 Because he humbled him, you shall say: He acted arrogantly; and he will save the one who is downcast in eyes;

 

30 he will deliver the innocent; and be saved through the cleanness of your hands. 

 

 

Chapter 23

 

1 And Job answered and said,

 

2 Indeed, I know that my reproof comes from my own hand, and his hand has been heavy upon my groaning.

 

3 Who then would know that I might find him and come to an end?

 

4 I would state my own case, and I would fill my mouth with arguments;

 

5 and I would know the words that he would say to me, and I would perceive what he would declare to me.

 

6 And though he should come upon me with great strength, yet he would not deal with me in threatening;

 

7 for truth and reproof are from him, and may he bring my case to a conclusion.

 

8 For I shall go to the first things and I am no more; and as for the things at the last, what do I know?

 

9 When he worked on the left, I did not grasp him; he will encompass the right, and I shall not see.

 

10 For he already knows my way, and he has tried me like gold.

 

11 And I shall go forth in his commandments, for I have kept his ways and I will by no means turn aside.

 

12 From his commandments I will by no means depart, and in my bosom I have hidden his words.

 

13 And if he himself has judged thus, who is there to contradict him? For what he himself has willed, he has also done.

 

15 Therefore I have been earnest before him; and being admonished, I have taken thought of him.

 

15a For this reason let me be dismayed at his presence; I will consider, and I shall be terrified because of him.

 

16 And the Lord has softened my heart, and the Almighty has made me anxious.

 

17 For I did not know that darkness would come upon me, and gloom has covered before my face. 

 

Chapter 24

 

1 But why have times escaped the notice of the Lord,

 

2 while the ungodly have overstepped the boundary, seizing a flock along with its shepherd?

 

3 They have led away the beast of burden of orphans and taken the widow's ox as a pledge.

 

4 They have turned the powerless aside from the just way, and the meek of the earth have hidden themselves together.

 

5 And they have gone forth like donkeys in a field, going out on my account to their own business; his bread became sweet to him for the young.

 

6 They reaped a field before its time that was not theirs, and the powerless worked the vineyards of the ungodly without pay and without food.

 

7 They made many sleep naked without garments, and they took away the covering of their life.

 

8 They are drenched from the drops of the mountains; because they had no shelter, they wrapped themselves in rock.

 

9 They snatched the orphan from the breast, and they humbled the one who had fallen.

 

10 And they made the naked sleep unjustly, and took away the morsel from the hungry.

 

11 They lay in ambush unjustly in narrow places, and they did not know the righteous way.

 

12 They were cast out of the city and their own houses, and the soul of infants groaned greatly; but why has he himself not made a visitation of these things?

 

13 While they were upon the earth, they did not acknowledge it, and they did not know the way of righteousness, nor did they walk in its paths.

 

14 But knowing their works, he delivered them into darkness, and by night one will be as a thief.

 

15 And the eye of the adulterer has watched for darkness, saying, "No eye will notice me," and he has set a covering upon his face.

 

16 He dug through houses in the darkness; by day they sealed themselves up; they did not acknowledge the light;

 

17 for to them all alike the morning is the shadow of death, for each will recognize the terrors of the shadow of death.

 

18 He is light upon the face of the water; may their portion be cursed upon the earth.

 

19 And may their plants appear withered upon the earth; for they seized the armful of orphans.

 

20 Then his sin was remembered, and like a mist of dew he became invisible; may what he did be repaid to him, and may every unjust man be crushed like a tree past healing.

 

21 For he did not treat the barren woman well and had no mercy on a poor woman,

 

22 and in wrath he overthrew the powerless. Therefore, when he rises up, he shall by no means trust in his own life;

 

23 when he falls sick, let him not hope to be made well, but he shall fall by disease.

 

24 For his exaltation has harmed many; and he withered like a mallow in the heat, or like an ear of grain falling off of itself from the stalk.

 

25 But if not, who is he that says I speak falsely and will set my words at nothing? 

 

Chapter 25

 

1 Then Baldad the Sauchite answered and said,

 

2 For what is a preamble or fear from him, who makes the whole world in the highest?

 

3 For let no one suppose that there is a postponement for pirates; against whom will not an ambush come from him?

 

4 For how shall a mortal be righteous before the Lord? Or who, born of a woman, could cleanse himself?

 

5 If he gives orders to the moon, it does not shine; and the stars are not pure in his sight.

 

6 But alas, man is corruption, and the son of man is a worm. 

 

Chapter 26

 

1 Then Job answered and said:

 

2 To whom do you attach yourself, or whom do you intend to help? Is it not him who has great strength and whose arm is mighty?

 

3 To whom have you given counsel? Is it not him who has all wisdom? Or whom will you follow? Is it not him who has the greatest power?

 

4 To whom have you declared words? And whose breath is it that came forth from you?

 

5 Shall giants be brought to birth from beneath the water and its neighbors?

 

6 Hades is naked before him, and there is no covering for destruction.

 

7 He stretches out the north wind upon nothing, hanging the earth upon nothing;

 

8 binding water in his clouds, and the cloud is not torn beneath him;

 

9 he who holds fast the face of the throne, spreading his cloud over it.

 

10 He has encircled the face of the water with an ordinance, until the completion of light with darkness.

 

11 The pillars of heaven were spread out and were astonished at his rebuke.

 

12 By strength he stilled the sea, and by knowledge he wounded the sea monster;

 

13 and the bars of heaven fear him, and by an ordinance he put to death the rebellious dragon.

 

14 Behold, these are parts of his way, and we shall hear but a drop of a word concerning him; but the strength of his thunder, who knows when he will make it? 

 

Chapter 27

 

1 And Job continued and said in his preamble:

 

2 "As the Lord lives, who has judged me thus, and the Almighty, who has embittered my soul,

 

3 surely, while my breath is yet in me, and the divine spirit that remains in my nostrils,

 

4 my lips shall not speak lawless things, nor shall my soul meditate unjust things.

 

5 Far be it from me to declare you righteous until I die; for I will not put away my innocence.

 

6 But holding fast to righteousness, I will by no means let it go; for I am not conscious of having done anything amiss.

 

7 Nay rather, may my enemies be as the overthrow of the ungodly, and those who rise up against me as the destruction of transgressors.

 

8 For what hope has the ungodly, that he holds on? Trusting in the Lord, shall he then be saved?

 

9 Or will the Lord hear his supplication? Or when distress comes upon him,

 

10 has he any confidence before him? Or will he hear him when he calls upon him?

 

11 But indeed I will declare to you what is in the hand of the Lord; the things that are with the Almighty I will not falsify.

 

12 Behold, you all know that you are heaping vain things upon vain.

 

13 This is the portion of an ungodly man from the Lord, and the possession of oppressors shall come upon them from the Almighty.

 

14 And if his sons be many, they shall be for slaughter; and if they grow to manhood, they shall beg;

 

15 and those of his that survive shall utterly perish in death, and no one shall pity their widows.

 

16 If he gather silver like earth, and prepare gold like clay,

 

17 all these things shall the righteous obtain, and the truthful shall possess his wealth.

 

18 And his house has turned out like moths and like a spider's web.

 

19 The rich man shall lie down and shall not do so again; he opened his eyes, and he is no more.

 

20 Pains have met him like water, and by night darkness carried him off;

 

21 a burning wind shall take him up, and he shall depart, and it shall winnow him out of his place.

 

22 And it shall hurl itself upon him and shall not spare; he shall flee headlong from its hand;

 

23 it shall clap its hands over him and shall hiss him out of his place." 

 

Chapter 28

 

1 For there is a place for silver, whence it comes, and a place for gold, whence it is refined.

 

2 For iron comes from the earth, and bronze is quarried like stone.

 

3 He set an order for darkness, and he himself searches out every limit: stone, darkness, and the shadow of death,

 

4 a cutting-off of the torrent from dust; but those who forget the righteous way have grown weak, away from mortals.

 

5 As for the earth, out of it bread shall come forth; beneath it, it has been turned up as if by fire.

 

6 Its stones are the place of sapphire, and its dust is gold to him.

 

7 There is a path—no bird has known it, and the eye of a vulture has not glanced upon it;

 

8 the sons of the boastful have not trodden it, nor has a lion passed over it.

 

9 He stretched out his hand upon the flinty rock, and overturned mountains from their roots;

 

10 he broke through the whirlpools of rivers, and my eye has seen everything precious;

 

11 he uncovered the depths of rivers, and brought his power out into the light.

 

12 But wisdom—where has it been found? And what place is there for understanding?

 

13 A mortal does not know its way, nor shall it ever be found among men.

 

14 The deep said, "It is not in me"; and the sea said, "It is not with me."

 

15 One shall not give a hoard in exchange for it, nor shall silver be weighed as its price;

 

16 nor shall it be compared with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx and sapphire;

 

17 gold and glass shall not be made equal to it, nor its exchange be vessels of gold;

 

18 heights and gabis shall not be remembered and draw out wisdom above the innermost things;

 

19 the topaz of Ethiopia shall not be made equal to it; it shall not be compared with pure gold.

 

20 But wisdom, where has it been found? And what place is there for understanding?

 

21 It has escaped the notice of every man, and has been hidden from the birds of the sky;

 

22 destruction and death said, "But we have heard of its fame."

 

23 God has well established its way, and he himself knows its place;

 

24 for he oversees all that is under heaven, knowing all things on the earth, which he made,

 

25 the weight of the winds and the measures of water;

 

26 when he made them thus, he numbered the rain, and a way for the voices in the storm;

 

27 then he saw it and declared it; having prepared it, he searched it out.

 

28 And he said to man, "Behold, godliness is wisdom, and to abstain from evils is understanding." 

  

Chapter 29

 

1 And Job continued and said in his introduction,

 

2 "Who might place me month by month before the days in which God guarded me?

 

3 As when his lamp shone above my head, when by his light I walked in darkness;

 

4 when I was heavy upon my ways, when God kept watch over my house;

 

5 when I was very fruitful, and my children were around me;

 

6 when my paths were drenched with butter, and my mountains were drenched with milk;

 

7 when I went out early in the city, and my seat was set in the streets.

 

8 The young men saw me and hid themselves, and all the elders stood;

 

9 the mighty ceased speaking, putting a finger upon their mouth.

 

10 Those who heard blessed me, and their tongue clung to their throat;

 

11 for the ear heard and blessed me, and the eye that saw me turned aside.

 

12 For I saved the poor from the hand of the powerful, and I helped the orphan who had no helper;

 

13 may the blessing of the perishing come upon me, and the mouth of the widow blessed me.

 

14 And I had put on righteousness, and I clothed myself with judgment like a double cloak.

 

15 I was an eye for the blind, and a foot for the lame.

 

16 I was a father to the helpless, and the cause I did not know I searched out;

 

17 and I crushed the molars of the unjust, and from the midst of their teeth I plucked out the prey.

 

18 And I said, 'My age will grow old; like the trunk of a palm I shall live a long time;

 

19 my root has spread open toward water, and dew will lodge in my harvest;

 

20 my glory is fresh with me, and my bow will go forth in his hand.'

 

21 Hearing me, they paid attention, and were silent at my counsel;

 

22 and to my word they added nothing, and they became exceedingly glad whenever I spoke to them;

 

23 as thirsty ground awaiting the rain, so were these for my speech.

 

24 If I laughed toward them, they would not believe it, and the light of my face did not fall away;

 

25 I chose their way and sat as ruler, and I dwelt like a king among warriors, as one comforting mourners. 

 

Chapter 30

 

1 But now they have laughed me to scorn; now the least of them admonish me in turn, men whose fathers I disdained, whom I did not deem worthy of my sheep dogs.

 

2 Indeed, what was the strength of their hands to me? Upon them fulfillment perished.

 

3 In want and famine one is barren; those who fled yesterday the waterless place of distress and misery,

 

4 who go around gathering salt-herbs among the sounding places, whose food was salt-herbs, dishonored and despised, lacking every good thing, who even chewed the roots of trees because of great hunger.

 

5 Thieves have risen up against me,

 

6 whose houses were holes in the rocks;

 

7 they will cry out among the sounding places, they who lived among wild brushwood,

 

8 sons of fools and of the dishonored, whose name and renown are quenched from the earth.

 

9 But now I am their harp, and they hold me as a byword;

 

10 they abhorred me, standing far off, and they did not spare spittle from my face.

 

11 For having opened his quiver he afflicted me, and they cast off the bridle from before my face.

 

12 On the right hand of the shoot they rose up; they stretched out their foot and made paths of their destruction against me.

 

13 My paths have been rubbed out, for he has stripped off my garment;

 

14 with his darts he has shot me down; he has used me as he wishes; I am steeped in pains.

 

15 My pains return upon me; my hope is gone like a wind, and my salvation like a cloud.

 

16 And now my soul will be poured out upon me, and days of pains hold me fast;

 

17 by night my bones are burned through, and my sinews are loosened.

 

18 With great strength he seized my garment; like the collar of my tunic it has encompassed me.

 

19 You have reckoned me as clay; my portion is in earth and ashes.

 

20 I have cried out to you and you do not hear me; they stood and observed me;

 

21 you have set upon me without mercy; with a mighty hand you have scourged me;

 

22 you have set me among pains and cast me away from salvation.

 

23 For I know that death will wear me away; for the earth is a house for every mortal.

 

24 Would that I were able to lay hands on myself, or at least, having entreated another, that he would do this for me.

 

25 But I wept over every helpless man, and I groaned when I saw a man in distress.

 

26 But while I waited for good things, behold, days of evils met me instead.

 

27 My belly boiled over and will not be silent; days of poverty came upon me beforehand.

 

28 Groaning I have gone about without a muzzle, and I have stood in the assembly crying out.

 

29 I have become a brother of sirens and a companion of ostriches.

 

30 My skin has been greatly darkened, and my bones from burning heat.

 

31 My harp has turned to mourning, and my song to weeping for me. 

 

Chapter 31

 

1 I made a covenant with my eyes, and I will not think upon a virgin.

 

2 And what portion has God allotted from above, and what inheritance from the Almighty from on high?

 

3 Is not destruction for the unrighteous, and estrangement for those who work lawlessness?

 

4 Will he not himself see my way, and number all my steps?

 

5 But if I have walked with mockers, and if my foot has hastened to deceit,

 

6 then may he weigh me in a just balance and the Lord knows my innocence.

 

7 If my foot has turned aside from the way, and if my heart has followed after my eye, and if I have touched gifts with my hands,

 

8 then let me sow and let others eat, and may I become rootless upon the earth.

 

9 If my heart has gone after another man's wife, and if I have lain in wait at her doors,

 

10 then may my wife also please another, and may my little children be brought low;

 

11 for the rage of anger is unrestrainable when a man's wife is defiled;

 

12 for it is a fire burning on all sides, and wherever it comes, it destroys from the roots.

 

13 And if I have despised the judgment of my manservant or maidservant when they had a dispute with me

 

14 for what shall I do if the Lord should make examination of me? And if he makes a visitation, what answer shall I give?

 

15 Were not they also formed as I was formed in the womb? We were formed in the same belly.

 

16 The helpless did not fail of whatever need they had, and I did not cause the widow's eye to waste away.

 

17 And if I ate my morsel alone and did not share with the orphan

 

18 for from my youth I nourished them as a father, and from my mother's womb I guided them

 

19 and if I overlooked a naked man perishing and did not clothe him,

 

20 and if the helpless did not bless me, and their shoulders were warmed from the shearing of my lambs,

 

21 if I raised my hand against an orphan, trusting that much help was at my disposal,

 

22 then let my shoulder fall from its socket, and let my arm be crushed from the elbow.

 

23 For the fear of the Lord constrained me, and I cannot bear up under his burden.

 

24 If I made gold my strength, and if I trusted in precious stone,

 

25 and if I rejoiced when great wealth came to me, and if I laid my hand upon countless treasures

 

26 do I not see the shining sun eclipsed, and the moon waning? For it is not in their power.

 

27 And if my heart was secretly deceived, and if, placing my hand upon my mouth, I kissed it,

 

28 then let this also be reckoned to me as the greatest lawlessness, because I lied before the Lord Most High.

 

29 And if I rejoiced at the downfall of my enemies, and my heart said, "Well done!"

 

30 then let my ear hear my curse, and may I be a byword among my people, suffering evil.

 

31 And if my maidservants often said, "Who would grant us to be filled with his flesh?" Though I was exceedingly kind;

 

32 and the stranger did not lodge outside, and my door was open to everyone who came.

 

33 And if, having sinned unwillingly, I hid my sin,

 

34 for I was not abashed before the great multitude of the crowd, so as not to declare it before them and if I let a helpless man go out of my door with an empty bosom,

 

35 who would grant me a hearer? And if I had not feared the hand of the Lord, then as for the written charge which I had against anyone,

 

36 I would have placed it on my shoulders as a crown and read it aloud,

 

37 and if I did not tear it up and return it, taking nothing from the debtor

 

38 if the earth ever groaned against me, and if its furrows wept together,

 

39 and if I ate its strength alone without payment, and if I grieved the soul of the owner of the land by casting him out,

 

40 then instead of wheat may nettle come up for me, and instead of barley a bramble. And Job ceased speaking. 

 

Chapter 32

 

1 And his three friends also ceased to answer Job any further, for Job was righteous before them.

 

2 But Elious the son of Barachiel, the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram, of the land of Ausitis, was angered; and he was greatly angered against Job, because he had declared himself righteous before the Lord.

 

3 And he was also greatly angered against the three friends, because they were not able to make answer to refute Job, and yet they held him to be impious.

 

4 Now Elious had waited to give an answer to Job, because they were older than he in days.

 

5 And Elious saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, and his wrath was kindled.

 

6 And Elious the son of Barachiel, the Buzite, answered and said: I am younger in time, and you are elders; therefore I kept silent, being afraid to declare to you my own knowledge.

 

7 And I said, It is time that speaks, and in many years they know wisdom.

 

8 But there is a spirit in mortals, and it is the breath of the Almighty that teaches.

 

9 It is not the long-lived who are wise, nor do the aged know judgment.

 

10 Therefore I said, Listen to me, and I will declare to you what I know.

 

11 Give ear to my words; for I will speak while you listen, until you have examined arguments.

 

12 And as far as you I will understand; and behold, there was no one among you convicting Job, answering back his words,

 

13 lest you should say, We have found wisdom, having joined ourselves to the Lord.

 

14 But you allowed a man to speak such words.

 

15 They were dismayed, they answered no more; words failed them of themselves.

 

16 I waited, for they did not speak; because they stood still and did not answer.

 

17 And Elious answered and says:

 

18 I will speak again, for I am full of words; for the spirit of my belly destroys me.

 

19 And my belly is like a skin of new wine, fermenting and bound up, or like a smith's bellows that has burst.

 

20 I will speak, that I may find rest, having opened my lips.

 

21 For I will by no means be ashamed before a man, nor indeed will I show deference to a mortal.

 

22 For I do not know how to admire a person's face; and if I do, may the moths also devour me. 

 

Chapter 33

 

1 Nevertheless, hear, Job, my words, and give ear to my speech;

 

2 for behold, I have opened my mouth, and my tongue has spoken.

 

3 My heart is pure in its words, and the understanding of my lips shall meditate purity.

 

4 A divine spirit is that which made me, and the breath of the Almighty is that which teaches me.

 

5 If you can, give me an answer to these things; hold your ground, stand against me, and I against you.

 

6 You have been formed out of clay, as I also have; we have been formed out of the same substance.

 

7 My fear shall not terrify you, nor shall my hand be heavy upon you.

 

8 But you have said in my ears, I have heard the voice of your words,

 

9 because you say, "I am pure, having not sinned; I am blameless, for I have done no wrong;

 

10 yet he has found a complaint against me, and has reckoned me as an adversary;

 

11 he has put my foot in the stocks, and has watched all my ways."

 

12 For how can you say, "I am righteous, and he has not heard me"? For he who is above mortals is eternal.

 

13 But you say, "Why has he not heard every word of my case?"

 

14 For when the Lord speaks once, or a second time, in a dream,

 

15 or in a meditation of the night—as when a dreadful fear falls upon men, in slumberings upon the bed

 

16 then he uncovers the mind of men; with such appearances of fear he has frightened them,

 

17 to turn a man away from unrighteousness, and he has delivered his body from a fall.

 

18 He has spared his soul from death, that he should not fall in war.

 

19 And again, he reproved him with sickness upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones grew numb,

 

20 so that he cannot receive any food of bread, though his soul shall desire food,

 

21 until his flesh rots and he shows his bones bare.

 

22 His soul has drawn near to death, and his life is in Hades.

 

23 Though there be a thousand death-bearing messengers, not one of them shall wound him; if he purposes in his heart to turn to the Lord, and declares to man his own fault, and shows his folly,

 

24 he will uphold him, that he not fall into death, and will renew his body like plaster upon a wall, and will fill his bones with marrow;

 

25 he will make his flesh tender like a child's, and will restore him grown to manhood among men.

 

26 And when he prays to the Lord, it shall be acceptable to him; he shall enter with a clean face, with confession; and he shall render righteousness to men.

 

27 Then a man shall reproach himself, saying, "What things I was doing! And he did not punish me as my sins deserved."

 

28 Save my soul from going down into destruction, and my life shall see the light.

 

29 Behold, all these things the Mighty One works, three ways with a man.

 

30 But he has delivered my soul from death, that my life may praise him in the light.

 

31 Give ear, Job, and hear me; be silent, and it is I who will speak.

 

32 If you have words, answer me; speak, for I desire that you be justified.

 

33 If not, hear me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom. 

 

Chapter 34

 

1 And Elihu answered and said:

 

2 Hear me, you wise men; you who have knowledge, give ear to what is good.

 

3 For the ear tests words, and the throat tastes food.

 

4 Let us choose judgment for ourselves; let us know among ourselves what is good.

 

5 For Job has said, "I am righteous; the Lord has taken away my judgment,

 

6 and he has been false to my judgment; my wound is grievous, without injustice."

 

7 What man is like Job, drinking scorn like water,

 

8 without having sinned or acted impiously, or having shared the way with those who do lawless things, so as to walk with the ungodly?

 

9 For do not say that there shall be no visitation of a man and there is a visitation for him from the Lord.

 

10 Therefore, you who are wise in heart, hear me: far be it from me to act impiously before the Lord, and before the Almighty to pervert what is just.

 

11 Rather, he repays a man according as each of them does, and in a man's path he will find him.

 

12 And do you think the Lord will do wrong things? Or will the Almighty pervert judgment?

 

13 He who made the earth and who is it that made what is under heaven and all that is in it?

 

14 For if he should wish to restrain and to hold back the spirit with himself,

 

15 all flesh would die together, and every mortal would return to the earth, from which indeed he was formed.

 

16 If you are not admonished, hear these things; give ear to the sound of my words.

 

17 Behold, you see that he who hates lawless things and destroys the wicked is eternally just.

 

18 Impious is he who says to a king, "You transgress the law"—most impious to rulers

 

19 he who did not show shame before the face of an honorable man, nor knows how to render honor to the great, so that their faces should be admired.

 

20 But their crying out and beseeching a man will turn out empty for them; for they acted lawlessly, the helpless being turned aside.

 

21 For he is one who sees the works of men, and nothing of what they do escapes his notice,

 

22 nor will there be a place for those who do lawless things to hide;

 

23 for he will not lay upon a man anything further; for the Lord watches over all,

 

24 he who comprehends things unsearchable, both glorious and extraordinary, of which there is no number;

 

25 he who knows their works, and he will turn the night, and they will be humbled.

 

26 And he quenched the impious, and they are visible before him,

 

27 because they turned aside from the law of God and did not acknowledge his ordinances,

 

28 so as to bring before him the cry of the needy; and he will hear the cry of the poor.

 

29 And he himself will grant stillness, and who will condemn? And he will hide his face, and who will see him? Both against a nation and against a man alike,

 

30 making a hypocrite man king because of the waywardness of the people.

 

31 For there is one who says to the Mighty One, "I have received; I will not take a pledge;

 

32 without my own doing I will see; show me yourself; if I have wrought injustice, I will do so no more."

 

33 Will he not exact requital for it from you? For you will reject it, for it is you who will choose and not I; and what you know, speak.

 

34 Therefore those wise of heart will say these things, and a wise man has heard my word.

 

35 But Job did not speak with understanding, and his words were not with knowledge.

 

36 Nevertheless, learn, Job; do not give an answer any more like the foolish,

 

37 lest we add to our sins, and lawlessness be reckoned against us, as we speak many words before the Lord. 

 

Chapter 35

 

1 And Elious answered and said:

 

2 What is this that you thought in judgment? Who are you that you said, "I am righteous before the Lord"?

 

3 Or will you say, "What shall I do if I have sinned?"

 

4 I will give you an answer, and your three friends.

 

5 Look up to the heaven and see, and observe the clouds, how high they are above you.

 

6 If you have sinned, what will you do? And if indeed you have transgressed much, what can you do?

 

7 Since then you are righteous, what will you give him? Or what will he receive from your hand?

 

8 Your impiety is for a man like yourself, and your righteousness for a son of man.

 

9 Those oppressed by the multitude will cry out; they will call aloud because of the arm of many.

 

10 And he did not say, "Where is God who made me, who appoints the night watches,

 

11 who sets me apart from the four-footed beasts of the earth, and from the birds of the heaven?"

 

12 There they will cry out, and he will by no means listen, even because of the insolence of the wicked.

 

13 For the Lord does not wish to look upon absurd things; for the Almighty himself is a beholder

 

14 of those who accomplish lawless deeds, and he will save me. But plead your case before him, if you can praise him as he is.

 

15 And now, because there is none visiting his wrath, and he has not known any transgression exceedingly,

 

16 Job too opens his mouth in vain; in ignorance he multiplies weighty words. 

 

Chapter 36

 

1 And Elihu continued and said,

 

2 "Wait for me a little longer, that I may teach you; for there is still speech in me.

 

3 Taking up my knowledge from afar, and by my works I will speak just things

 

4 in truth, and not unjust words; you understand unjustly.

 

5 But know that the Lord will by no means reject the innocent one. Mighty in strength of heart,

 

6 he will by no means give life to the ungodly, and he will grant judgment to the poor.

 

7 He will not withdraw his eyes from the righteous; and with kings upon a throne he will seat them in victory, and they shall be exalted.

 

8 And if they are bound in fetters, they shall be held fast in cords of poverty,

 

9 and he will declare to them their works and their transgressions, that they will be strong.

 

10 But he will hearken to the righteous; and he said that they shall turn back from unrighteousness.

 

11 If they hear and serve, they shall complete their days in good things and their years in splendor.

 

12 But he does not preserve the ungodly, because they were not willing to know the Lord, and because when admonished they were disobedient.

 

13 And hypocrites in heart will marshal wrath; they will not cry out, because he has bound them.

 

14 Let their soul, then, die in youth, and their life be wounded by messengers,

 

15 because they oppressed the weak and powerless; and he will set forth the judgment of the meek.

 

16 And moreover he deceived you out of the mouth of the enemy; there is an abyss, an outpouring beneath it; and your table came down full of fatness.

 

17 But judgment shall not fail from the righteous,

 

18 and wrath shall be upon the ungodly, because of the ungodliness of gifts which they received for unrighteous deeds.

 

19 Let not your mind willingly turn you aside from the entreaty of the powerless who are in distress, nor all those who strengthen might.

 

20 Do not draw out the night, that peoples may come up in their place;

 

21 but take heed that you do not do improper things; for on account of this you were delivered from poverty.

 

22 Behold, the Mighty One will prevail by his strength; for who is a ruler like him?

 

23 And who is he that examines his works? Or who has said, 'He has done unjust things'?

 

24 Remember that his works are great, over which men have ruled.

 

25 Every man has seen within himself, how many mortals are wounded.

 

26 Behold, the Mighty One is great, and we shall not know him; the number of his years is even boundless.

 

27 And the drops of rain are numbered by him, and they shall be poured out in rain into a cloud;

 

28 ancient things shall flow, and he has shadowed clouds over untold mortals.

 

28a He has appointed a season for cattle, and they know the order of their resting-place.

 

28b At all these things is not your mind astonished, and does not your heart depart from your body?

 

29 And if he understands the spreadings of a cloud, the equality of his tent —

 

30 behold, he stretches out light upon it, and he has covered the roots of the sea.

 

31 For by them he will judge peoples; he will give food to the one who has strength.

 

32 Upon his hands he has covered the light, and given command concerning it to him that meets it;

 

33 he will declare concerning it to his friend, possession, and also concerning unrighteousness." 

 

Chapter 37

 

1 At this also my heart was troubled, and it slipped out of its place.

 

2 Hear a report in the anger of the Lord's wrath, and a meditation shall come forth from his mouth.

 

3 His dominion is beneath the whole heaven, and his light is upon the wings of the earth.

 

4 After him a voice shall cry out; he shall thunder with the voice of his majesty, and he shall not exchange them, for one shall hear his voice.

 

5 The Mighty One shall thunder wondrously with his voice, for he has done great things which we did not know,

 

6 commanding the snow, "Be upon the earth"; and there is a storm of rain, and a storm of rains of his might.

 

7 He seals up the hand of every man, so that every man may know his own weakness.

 

8 And the beasts entered under shelter, and rested upon their lair.

 

9 Whirlwinds come out of the chambers, and cold from the mountain heights.

 

10 And from the breath of the Mighty One he shall give frost, and he steers the water however he wills.

 

11 And a cloud overspreads what is chosen; his light shall scatter the cloud.

 

12 And he himself shall turn about the circuits by governance for their works: all things, whatever he commands them, these have been ordained by him upon the earth,

 

13 whether for chastisement, whether for his land, whether for mercy, one shall find him.

 

14 Give ear to these things, Job; stand still and be admonished of the power of the Lord.

 

15 We know that God has established his works, having made light out of darkness.

 

16 And he knows the separation of the clouds, and the extraordinary falls of the wicked.

 

17 But your garment is warm, and it is quiet upon the earth.

 

18 Will you make firm with him the expanses of old, strong as the appearance of a molten mirror?

 

19 Why? Teach me what we shall say to him; and let us cease speaking many things.

 

20 Is a book or a scribe standing by me, that standing I might silence a man?

 

21 But the light is not visible to all; it shines afar in the ancient things, as that which comes from him upon the clouds.

 

22 From the north come clouds gleaming like gold; upon these great is the glory and honor of the Almighty.

 

23 And we find no other like him in his strength; he who judges what is just—do you not think that he listens?

 

24 Therefore men shall fear him, and the wise in heart shall also fear him. 

  

Chapter 38

 

1 And after Elious ceased speaking, the Lord spoke to Job through a whirlwind and clouds:

 

2 "Who is this that hides counsel from me, holding back words in his heart, and thinks to hide them from me?

 

3 Gird up your loins like a man; I will question you, and you answer me.

 

4 Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.

 

5 Who set its measures, if you know? Or who was it that stretched a line upon it?

 

6 Upon what are its rings fastened? And who is it that laid a cornerstone upon it?

 

7 When the stars were made, all my angels praised me with a loud voice.

 

8 And I fenced in the sea with gates, when it raged, coming forth from its mother's womb;

 

9 and I set a cloud as its clothing, and swaddled it in mist;

 

10 and I set bounds for it, placing around it bars and gates;

 

11 and I said to it, 'Thus far shall you come and no further, but within yourself shall your waves be broken.'

 

12 Was it in your time that I arranged the morning light, and did the morning star see its own post

 

13 to lay hold of the wings of the earth, to shake the ungodly out of it?

 

14 Or did you take earth as clay and fashion a living being, and set it, endowed with speech, upon the earth?

 

15 And have you removed light from the ungodly, and crushed the arm of the proud?

 

16 Have you come to the spring of the sea, and walked in the tracks of the deep?

 

17 Do the gates of death open to you in fear, and did the gatekeepers of Hades cower at the sight of you?

 

18 Have you been instructed in the breadth of what is under heaven? Tell me now, how great it is.

 

19 In what land does the light lodge, and what is the place of darkness?

 

20 Could you bring me to their boundaries? And do you also know their paths?

 

21 I know, then, that you were born at that time, and the number of your years is great!

 

22 Have you come to the storehouses of snow, and have you seen the storehouses of hail?

 

23 They are stored up for you for the hour of enemies, for the day of war and battle.

 

24 And from where does frost come forth, or the south wind spread out over what is under heaven?

 

25 And who prepared a channel for the violent rain, and a way for the thunderings,

 

26 to rain upon a land where there is no man, a wilderness where no human being exists in it,

 

27 to satisfy the untrodden and uninhabited land, and to make the shoot of green grass sprout forth?

 

28 Who is the father of rain? And who is it that has begotten the clods of dew?

 

29 And out of whose womb comes forth the ice? And who has begotten the frost in heaven,

 

30 which descends like flowing water? And who froze the face of the deep?

 

31 Have you understood the bond of the Pleiades, and have you opened the fence of Orion?

 

32 Or will you open Mazouroth in its season, and will you lead Hesperus by his hair, will you lead them?

 

33 And do you know the turnings of heaven, or the things happening in concert under heaven?

 

34 Will you call a cloud with your voice, and will it obey you with a violent torrent of water?

 

35 Will you send forth thunderbolts, and will they go? And will they say to you, 'What is it?'

 

36 And who gave to women the skill of weaving, or knowledge of embroidery?

 

37 And who is it that numbers the clouds by wisdom, and has bent heaven down to earth?

 

38 It has been poured out like dust of earth, and I have cemented it like a cube to a stone.

 

39 And will you hunt prey for lions, and will you satisfy the appetites of serpents?

 

40 For they cower in their lairs, and sit in the thickets lying in wait.

 

41 And who prepared food for the raven? For its young ones cry out to the Lord, wandering about seeking food." 

  

Chapter 39

 

1 Do you know the time when the wild goats of the rock give birth, and have you watched over the birth-pangs of the deer?

 

2 Have you numbered the full months of their bearing, and have you loosed their pangs?

 

3 Have you reared their young without fear? Will you send away their birth-pangs?

 

4 Their offspring will break forth, they will multiply in progeny; they will go out and will not return to them.

 

5 And who is it that set the wild ass free, and who loosed his bonds?

 

6 I made the wilderness his dwelling, and the salt land his tents.

 

7 Scorning the throng of the city, and not hearing the rebuke of the tax-collector,

 

8 he will survey the mountains as his pasture, and he searches after every green thing.

 

9 Will the unicorn be willing to serve you, or to lie down at your manger?

 

10 Will you bind his yoke with straps, or will he draw your furrows in the plain?

 

11 Do you trust in him, because his strength is great, and will you turn your labors over to him?

 

12 Will you believe that he will return your seed to you, and gather in your threshing floor?

 

13 The wing of those that delight is that of the neelasa, if the asida and nessa conceive;

 

14 for she will leave her eggs on the ground and warm them upon the dust,

 

15 and she has forgotten that a foot will scatter them and the beasts of the field will trample them.

 

16 She has hardened herself against her young, as though they were not hers; in vain she labored, without fear;

 

17 for God kept wisdom silent from her, and gave her no share in understanding.

 

18 In due season she will lift herself up on high; she will laugh at the horse and its rider.

 

19 Did you clothe the horse with power, and put fear upon his neck?

 

20 Did you put full armor on him, and the glory of his breast with boldness?

 

21 Pawing in the plain, he exults, and goes out into the plain in strength.

 

22 Meeting an arrow, he laughs, and will not turn back from the sword.

 

23 Over him bow and blade exult,

 

24 and in wrath he will make the earth vanish, and will not believe until the trumpet sounds.

 

25 And when the trumpet sounds he says, "Well done!" and from afar he smells the battle, with leaping and shouting.

 

26 Is it by your knowledge that the hawk stands still, spreading his wings, motionless, gazing toward the south?

 

27 And is it at your command that the eagle mounts up, and the vulture, sitting upon his nest, lodges

 

28 on a projecting rock and in a hidden place?

 

29 Being there, he seeks his food; from afar his eyes keep watch;

 

30 and his young ones wallow in blood, and wherever the slain may be, immediately they are found. 

  

Chapter 40

 

1 And the Lord God answered Job and said,

 

2 Will he who contends with the Almighty turn aside from judgment? He who rebukes God, let him answer it.

 

3 And Job answered and said to the Lord,

 

4 Why do I still plead my case, being admonished and hearing such rebukes from the Lord, when I am nothing? What answer shall I give to these things? I will lay my hand upon my mouth.

 

5 I have spoken once, but I will not add a second time.

 

6 And again the Lord answered and said to Job out of the cloud,

 

7 Nay, but gird up your loins like a man; I will question you, and you answer me.

 

8 Do not set aside my judgment. Do you think I have dealt with you in any other way than that you might appear righteous?

 

9 Have you an arm like the Lord's, or do you thunder with a voice like his?

 

10 Take up now loftiness and power, and clothe yourself with glory and honor;

 

11 and send forth messengers in wrath, and humble every insolent one;

 

12 quench the proud, and make the ungodly rot at once;

 

13 hide them in the earth outside, all together, and fill their faces with dishonor.

 

14 Then I will confess that your right hand is able to save.

 

15 But behold now, the beasts are with you; they eat grass like oxen.

 

16 Behold now, his strength is in his loins, and his power in the navel of his belly.

 

17 He sets up his tail like a cypress, and his sinews are intertwined.

 

18 His ribs are ribs of bronze, and his backbone is cast iron.

 

19 This is the beginning of the Lord's creation, made to be mocked at by his angels.

 

20 And going up upon a sheer mountain, he brought joy to the four-footed creatures in Tartarus.

 

21 He lies down under all kinds of trees, beside papyrus and reed and sedge;

 

22 and great trees shade him with their shoots, and the branches of the chaste tree.

 

23 If there should be a flood, he will not take notice; he is confident that the Jordan will rush into his mouth.

 

24 Will one take him in his eye? Being ensnared, will one pierce his nose?

 

25 And will you draw out the dragon with a hook, and put a halter around his nose?

 

26 Will you fasten a ring in his nostril, and pierce his lip with a clasp?

 

27 And will he speak to you with supplication, softly, with entreaty?

 

28 And will he make a covenant with you, and will you take him as a slave forever?

 

29 And will you play with him as with a bird, or bind him like a sparrow for a child?

 

30 And do nations feed on him, and do the tribes of the Phoenicians divide him up?

 

31 And all the seafarers gathered together could not carry one hide of his tail, nor his head in fishermen's boats.

 

32 And will you lay your hand upon him, remembering the battle that takes place in his body and let it happen no more! 

 

Chapter 41

 

1 Have you not seen him, nor marveled at the things said of him?

 

2 Do you not fear because he has been prepared for me? For who is he that has stood against me?

 

3 Or who will stand against me and endure, if all that is under heaven is mine?

 

4 I will not keep silent because of him, and by a word of power he will pity his equal.

 

5 Who will uncover the face of his garment? And who could enter into the fold of his breastplate?

 

6 Who will open the gates of his face? Round about his teeth is terror.

 

7 His inward parts are shields of bronze, and his binding is like emery stone;

 

8 one is joined to the other, and no breath shall pass through him;

 

9 a man will cleave to his brother; they hold together and shall by no means be torn apart.

 

10 At his sneezing a light shines forth, and his eyes have the appearance of the morning star.

 

11 From his mouth proceed burning torches, and hearths of fire are cast about;

 

12 from his nostrils proceeds the smoke of a furnace burning with a fire of coals;

 

13 his soul is coals, and a flame goes forth from his mouth.

 

14 In his neck lodges power, and before him runs destruction.

 

15 The flesh of his body is joined fast; one may pour upon him, he shall not be shaken.

 

16 His heart is fixed like a stone, and it stands like an unyielding anvil.

 

17 When he turns, there is fear among the four-footed beasts leaping upon the earth.

 

18 If spears meet him, they will do nothing, a raised spear and breastplate;

 

19 for he counts iron as chaff, and bronze as rotten wood;

 

20 a bow of bronze shall by no means wound him; he counts a stone-thrower as grass;

 

21 hammers are reckoned as stubble, and he laughs at the shaking of a fire-bearing dart.

 

22 His bed is sharp spits, and all the gold of the sea under him is like unspeakable clay.

 

23 He makes the deep boil like a cauldron, and he counts the sea like a pot of ointment,

 

24 and the Tartarus of the abyss like a captive; he reckoned the abyss as a walking-place.

 

25 There is nothing on the earth made like him, made to be mocked by my angels;

 

26 he beholds everything that is lofty, and he himself is king of all things in the waters.