Job
1
1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and this man was perfect and upright, and he feared God and turned away from evil.
2 And seven sons and three daughters were born to him.
3 And his possessions were seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels and five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred female donkeys and a great many servants; and this man was greater than all the sons of the east.
4 And his sons would go and hold feasts in each one’s house, each on his own day, and they would send word and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
5 And when the days of feasting ran their course, Job would send word and sanctify them; and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, Perhaps my children have sinned and have cursed God in their heart. Job did this continually.
6 Then one day, when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, Satan also came among them.
7 And Jehovah said to Satan, Where have you come from? And Satan answered Jehovah and said, From roving the earth and going about in it.
8 And Jehovah said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil.
9 Then Satan answered Jehovah and said, Does Job fear God without cause?
10 Have You not set a hedge around him and his household and all that he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his possessions are spread throughout the land.
11 But stretch forth Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.
12 And Jehovah said to Satan, Here is all that he has, in your hand; only do not stretch forth your hand against him. And Satan went forth from Jehovah’s presence.
13 Then one day, when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their firstborn brother,
14 A messenger came to Job and said, The oxen were plowing, and the donkeys were feeding beside them;
15 And the Sabeans fell upon them and took them away, and they struck the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to relate these things to you.
16 While this one was still speaking, another came and said, The fire of God has fallen from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and devoured them; and I alone have escaped to relate these things to you.
17 While this one was still speaking, another came and said, The Chaldeans formed three companies and raided the camels and took them, and they struck the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to relate these things to you.
18 While this one was still speaking, another came and said, Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their firstborn brother;
19 And suddenly a great wind came from beyond the desert and struck the four corners of the house, so that it fell upon the young people and they died; and I alone have escaped to relate these things to you.
20 Then Job rose up and tore his clothes and shaved his head and fell to the earth and worshipped.
21 And he said, / Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, / And naked I will return there. / Jehovah gives and Jehovah takes away; / Blessed be the name of Jehovah.
22 In all this Job did not sin, nor did he charge God with unseemliness.
2
1 Then one day, when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, Satan also came among them to present himself before Jehovah.
2 And Jehovah said to Satan, Where have you come from? And Satan answered Jehovah and said, From roving the earth and going about in it.
3 And Jehovah said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, though you have moved Me against him to destroy him without cause.
4 Then Satan answered Jehovah and said, Skin for skin! Indeed all that a man has he will give for the sake of his life.
5 But stretch forth Your hand, and touch his bone and his flesh; and he will surely curse You to Your face.
6 And Jehovah said to Satan, Here he is, in your hand; only spare his life.
7 And Satan went forth from Jehovah’s presence and struck Job with severe boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
8 And he took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and he sat among the ashes.
9 Then his wife said to him, Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.
10 But he said to her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Should we receive the good from God but not receive the ill? In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this misfortune that came upon him, each came from his place, Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite; and they together made an appointment to come to console him and comfort him.
12 And when they lifted up their eyes from a distance and did not recognize him, they lifted up their voice and wept; and they all tore their clothes and cast dust over their heads toward heaven.
13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights; but none spoke a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.
3
1 After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.
2 And Job responded and said,
3 Let the day on which I was born perish, / And the night which said, A man has been conceived.
4 Let that day be darkness; / Let God not seek it from above, / Nor let light shine upon it.
5 Let darkness and the shadow of death reclaim it; / Let a cloud dwell upon it; / Let the things that blacken the day terrify it.
6 As for that night, let deep darkness take hold of it; / Let it not rejoice among the days of the year; / Let it not come up in the number of the months.
7 Behold, let that night be barren; / Let no joyous shout come in it.
8 Let those curse it who curse the day, / Who are ready to rouse leviathan.
9 Let its predawn stars be dark; / Let it wait for light and there be none, / And do not let it see the eyelids of the dawn.
10 For it did not shut up the doors of the womb that bore me, / Nor did it hide trouble from my eyes.
11 Why did I not die at birth, / Come forth from the womb and expire?
12 Why did the knees receive me? / And why the breasts, that I should suck?
13 For now I would have lain down and been undisturbed; / I would have slept; then I would have been at rest
14 With kings and counselors of the earth, / Who rebuilt ruins for themselves;
15 Or with princes who had gold, / Who filled their houses with silver.
16 Or like a miscarriage that has been concealed, I would not have been, / Like infants that do not see the light.
17 There the wicked cease from their troubling, / And there the weary rest.
18 Captives are altogether at ease; / They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.
19 The small and the great are there, / And the servant is free from his master.
20 Why does He give light to him who suffers / And life to the bitter in soul,
21 Who wait for death, but it is not there; / And dig for it more than for hidden treasures;
22 Who rejoice to the point of exultation / And are glad when they have found the grave;
23 To the man whose way is hidden / And whom God has hedged in?
24 For my sighing comes as my food, / And my groaning pours out like water.
25 For I dread something, and it comes upon me; / And what I fear comes to me.
26 I have no ease and I have no quiet / And I have no rest, but trouble comes.
4
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2 If one attempts a word with you, will you be wearied by it? / But who can refrain from speaking?
3 Indeed, you have instructed many, / And you have strengthened the weak hands.
4 Your words have raised up him who was stumbling, / And you have made the bowing knees firm.
5 But now it comes to you, and you are wearied by it; / It touches you, and you are disturbed.
6 Is not your fear of God your confidence, / And the integrity of your ways your hope?
7 Remember now, who, being innocent, has ever perished? / And where have the upright ever been cut off?
8 According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity / And those who sow trouble reap the same.
9 By the breath of God they perish, / And by the blast of His anger they are consumed.
10 The roaring of the lion and the sound of the fierce lion / And the teeth of the young lions are broken;
11 The strong lion perishes for lack of prey, / And the whelps of the lioness are scattered.
12 But a matter has stolen in unto me, / And my ear has received a whisper of it.
13 In perplexing thoughts of the night visions, / When deep sleep falls upon men,
14 Dread came upon me, and trembling, / And caused all my bones to dread.
15 And a spirit passed before my face; / The hair of my flesh bristled.
16 It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; / A form stood before my eyes; / I heard a murmur of a voice:
17 Can a mortal man be more righteous than God? / Can a man be purer than his Maker?
18 If He puts no trust in His servants, / And He charges His angels with error,
19 How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, / Whose foundation is in dust, / Who are crushed like a moth!
20 From morning to evening they are smashed to pieces; / Without any considering it, they continually perish.
21 Should their tent cord be plucked up within them, / They die, and not in wisdom.
5
1 Call now! Is there anyone who will answer you? / And to which of the holy ones will you turn?
2 Surely vexation slays the fool, / And jealousy kills the simpleton.
3 I have seen the fool taking root, / But suddenly I cursed his habitation.
4 His children are far from safety, / And they are crushed in the gate; and there is no one to deliver them.
5 The hungry eat his harvest / And even take it out from the thorns, / And the thirsty pant after his wealth.
6 For evil does not come forth from the dust, / Nor does trouble spring forth from the ground.
7 But man is born unto trouble, / Just as sparks fly upward.
8 But as for me, I would seek after God, / And I would commit my cause to God,
9 Who does great things that cannot be searched, / Wonderful deeds that cannot be numbered;
10 Who gives rain upon the surface of the earth / And sends water upon the surface of the fields;
11 Who sets on high those who are lowly / And puts those who mourn safely above all.
12 He frustrates the devices of the crafty, / So that their hands achieve no enterprise.
13 He seizes the wise in their own craftiness, / And the counsel of the wily is brought to a sudden end.
14 By day they encounter darkness, / And at noon they grope about as in the night.
15 But He saves the needy from the sword of their mouth, / From the hand of the strong.
16 Thus the poor have hope, / And Injustice stops her mouth.
17 Indeed, blessed is the man whom God corrects; / Therefore do not reject the chastening of the Almighty.
18 For He wounds, but He binds up; / He strikes, but His hands heal.
19 In six troubles He will deliver you; / Indeed in seven no evil will touch you.
20 In famine He will redeem you from death, / And in battle, from the power of the sword.
21 From the scourge of the tongue you will be hidden, / And you will not be afraid of destruction when it comes.
22 At destruction and at famine you will laugh, / And you will not be afraid of the animals of the earth.
23 For you will be in an alliance with the stones of the field, / And the animals of the field will be at peace with you.
24 And you will know that your tent is at peace, / And you will inspect your fold and miss nothing.
25 And you will know that your seed will be great, / And your offspring like the grass of the earth.
26 You will come to the grave at a ripe old age, / Like a shock of grain coming up in its season.
27 This is it. We have searched it out; it is so. / Hear then and know it for yourself.
6
1 Then Job answered and said,
2 Oh that my vexation were weighed indeed, / And that my ruin were lifted onto the scales together with it!
3 For then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas; / Therefore my words have been rash.
4 For the arrows of the Almighty are in me, / The poison of which my spirit drinks up; / The terrors of God are arrayed against me.
5 Does the wild ass bray over its grass? / Or does the ox low over its fodder?
6 Is what is savorless eaten without salt? / Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
7 My soul refuses to touch them; / They are like putrid food to me.
8 Oh that I might have my request, / And that God would grant me what I long for;
9 That God would be willing to crush me; / That He would release His hand and cut me off!
10 Then there would still be comfort for me; / And I would exult, even in writhing pain that does not spare, / That I did not deny the words of the Holy One.
11 What is my strength, that I should wait? / And what is my end, that I should be patient?
12 Is my strength the strength of stones? / Or is my flesh bronze?
13 Is there any help for me at all within me, / And has wisdom been driven away from me?
14 To him who is fainting there should be kindness from his friend, / Else he will forsake the fear of the Almighty.
15 My brothers have dealt as treacherously as a desert brook, / As the rivulets of the desert brooks that pass away,
16 Which are turbid because of the ice, / And into which the snow hides itself.
17 When they are scorched, they are completely consumed; / When it is hot, they are dried up from their place.
18 Caravans divert their ways for them; / They go up into the waste and perish.
19 The caravans of Tema look for them; / The companies of Sheba long for them.
20 They are put to shame because they are confident; / They go there and are confounded.
21 So now you have become such; / You see a terrible thing and are afraid.
22 Have I said, Give me something? / Or, Pay a bribe for me out of your wealth?
23 Or, Deliver me from the hand of the adversary? / Or, From the hand of the oppressors redeem me?
24 Teach me, and I will be silent; / Cause me to understand how I have erred.
25 How forceful are upright words! / But what does this reproving from you reprove?
26 Do you think you can reprove words? / But the words of a desperate man are for the wind.
27 You would even cast lots over the orphan / And bargain over your friend.
28 Now then be pleased to look upon me, / For surely I will not lie to your face.
29 Turn now; let there be no injustice. / Indeed turn; my righteousness is still here.
30 Is there any injustice on my tongue? / Can my palate not discern calamities?
7
1 Does not man have a term of hard service on earth? / And are his days not like the days of a hired hand?
2 Like a servant who longs for the shade, / And like a hired hand who waits for his pay,
3 So I am made to inherit months of vanity, / And nights of trouble are appointed to me.
4 If I lie down, I say, / When will I arise? But the evening is long, / And I am full of tossings until the dawn.
5 My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt clods; / My skin crusts and then oozes again.
6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle / And are spent without hope.
7 Remember that my life is a breath; / My eye will not see good again.
8 The eye of him who sees me will not look on me; / Your eyes will be on me, but I will not be.
9 The cloud is consumed and goes away: / Likewise he who goes down into Sheol does not come up.
10 He returns no more to his house, / Nor does his place know him anymore.
11 For my part, I also will not restrain my mouth; / I will speak in the distress of my spirit; / I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I the sea, or a sea serpent, / That You must set a watch over me?
13 When I say, My bed will comfort me, / My couch will bear up my complaint;
14 Then You scare me with dreams / And terrify me with visions,
15 So that my soul would choose strangulation / And death rather than my bones.
16 I loathe life; I would not live forever. / Leave me alone, for my days are a mere breath.
17 What is mortal man that You magnify him, / And that You consider him,
18 And that You visit him every morning, / You try him every moment?
19 How long before You look away from me, / Before You abandon me until I swallow my spittle?
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to You, O Watcher of man? / Why have You made me Your target so that I have become a burden to You?
21 And why do You not forgive my transgression / And take away my iniquity? / For now I may lie down in the dust; / And You will seek me out, and I will not be.
8
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,
2 How long will you speak these things? / And how long will the words of your mouth be like a mighty wind?
3 Does God pervert justice? / Or does the Almighty pervert righteousness?
4 If your children have sinned against Him, / He has delivered them into the hand of their transgression.
5 If you seek earnestly after God / And make supplication unto the Almighty,
6 If you are pure and upright, / Then surely He will rouse Himself for you / And restore well-being to your righteous habitation.
7 And though your beginning was small, / Your end will be very great.
8 For inquire now of the former generation, / And attend to what their fathers have sought out.
9 For we are of yesterday and know nothing, / Because our days upon the earth are a shadow.
10 Will they not teach you and talk to you / And utter forth words from their heart?
11 Can papyrus shoot up without marsh? / Can reeds grow without water?
12 While it is still in its greenness and not cut down, / It withers before all other grasses.
13 So are the paths of all who forget God; / And the hope of the profane perishes,
14 Whose confidence is cut off, / And whose trust is a spider’s web.
15 He leans upon his house, but it will not stand; / He holds fast to it, but it will not endure.
16 He is full of sap before the sun, / And his shoots go forth over his garden.
17 His roots are entwined around a stone heap; / He looks upon a place of stones.
18 If one destroys him from his place, / Then it denies him, saying, I have not seen you.
19 Indeed, that is the joy of his way; / And others spring forth out of the dust.
20 Indeed, God will not reject a perfect man, / Nor will He support evildoers.
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter / And your lips with shouting.
22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, / And the tent of the wicked will be no more.
9
1 Then Job answered and said,
2 I do indeed know that it is so. / But how can a man be righteous before God?
3 If he is pleased to contend with Him, / He cannot answer Him one thing in a thousand.
4 He is wise in heart and mighty in strength — / Who has ever resisted Him and come through whole? —
5 He who removes mountains, and they do not know it, / When He overturns them in His anger;
6 Who shakes the earth from its place, / And its pillars shake;
7 Who commands the sun, and it does not rise, / And seals up the stars;
8 Who alone stretched forth the heavens / And trod upon the heights of the sea;
9 Who made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, / And the chambers of the south;
10 Who does great things that cannot be searched, / Indeed, wonderful deeds that cannot be numbered.
11 Indeed, He passes by me, but I do not see Him; / And He goes by, but I do not perceive Him.
12 Indeed, He snatches away; who can stop Him? / Who can say to Him, What are You doing?
13 God does not turn back His anger; / Under Him Rahab’s helpers stoop.
14 How then can I answer Him / And choose my words properly with Him?
15 I, though righteous, could not answer Him; / I could only plead for mercy before my Judge.
16 If I called out and He answered me, / I do not believe that He would hearken to my voice.
17 For He crushes me with a whirlwind / And multiplies my wounds without cause.
18 He does not permit me to catch my breath, / But fills me with bitterness.
19 If we speak of strength, indeed, He is mighty! / Or if of judgment, Who, says He, can appoint Me a time?
20 Though I am righteous, my mouth would condemn me; / Though I am perfect, it would prove me perverse.
21 I am perfect; I do not regard my soul; / I despise my life.
22 It is all one; therefore I say, / He destroys the perfect and the wicked.
23 If some scourge suddenly kills, / He derides the despair of the innocent.
24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; / He covers the faces of its judges. / If not He, then who is it?
25 And my days are swifter than a running messenger; / They flee away, they do not see good;
26 They go by like reed boats, / Like an eagle swooping on the prey.
27 If I say, I will forget my complaint, / I will put off my sad countenance and look cheerful;
28 I fear all my pains: / I know that You will not hold me innocent.
29 I will be accounted wicked; / Why then do I labor in vain?
30 If I wash myself with soap / And cleanse my hands with lye,
31 Yet You will plunge me into the pit, / And my own garments will abhor me.
32 For He is not a man, as I am, that I should answer Him, / That we should enter into litigation together.
33 There is no referee between us, / Who may lay his hand upon us both.
34 Let Him take His rod away from me, / And let not the dread of Him terrify me;
35 Then I would speak and not be afraid; / For I am not such.
10
1 My soul loathes my own life; / I will let my complaint have free course in me; / I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
2 I will say to God, Do not account me wicked; / Make known to me why You contend with me.
3 Does it seem good to You to oppress, / To despise the toil of Your hands / And shine upon the counsel of the wicked?
4 Do You have eyes of flesh? / Or do You see as a man sees?
5 Are Your days like the days of a man, / Or Your years like the days of a mighty man,
6 That You would seek out my iniquity / And search for my sin,
7 Even though You know that I am not wicked / And that there is none who can deliver out of Your hand?
8 Your hands have shaped me and made me altogether, / Yet You destroy me.
9 Remember now that You have made me like clay; / And will You return me to the dust?
10 Have You not poured me out like milk / And curdled me like cheese?
11 You have clothed me with skin and flesh / And woven me together with bones and sinews.
12 You have granted me life and lovingkindness, / And Your visitation has preserved my spirit.
13 But You have hidden these things in Your heart; / I know that this is with You:
14 If I sin, You mark me, / And You do not acquit me of my iniquity;
15 If I am wicked, woe unto me; / If I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head, / Being filled with dishonor and looking on my affliction.
16 And if my head should be lifted up, You would hunt me down like a lion, / And You would again demonstrate wonders on me.
17 You renew Your witnesses against me / And increase Your anger against me; / Attacking waves and a host are against me.
18 And why have You brought me out of the womb? / I should have died that no eye had seen me;
19 I should have been as though I had not been; / I should have been carried from birth to the grave.
20 Are not my days few? Cease then, / And let me alone, that I may be somewhat revived,
21 Before I go, and never return, / To the land of darkness and the shadow of death,
22 The land of gloom like deep darkness, / The shadow of death without order, / Which shines like deep darkness.
11
1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,
2 Should a multitude of words not be answered? / And should a man of much talk be justified?
3 Shall your empty talk silence men? / And will you mock, and there be none to shame you?
4 For you say, My doctrine is pure, / And I am clean in Your eyes.
5 But, oh, that God would speak / And open His lips to you,
6 And that He would tell you the secrets of wisdom! / For there are two sides to sound reason. / Know then that God has forgotten some of your iniquity.
7 Can you find out the depths of God? / Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?
8 It is the height of heaven — what can you do? / It is deeper than Sheol — what can you know?
9 Its measure is longer than that of the earth / And broader than the sea.
10 If He passes by and imprisons / And summons an assembly, who can stop Him?
11 For He knows men of falsehood, / And He sees iniquity without considering it.
12 But an empty-headed man acquires intelligence / When the foal of a wild ass is born as a man.
13 If you would set your heart right / And stretch your hands out to Him —
14 If there is iniquity in your hand, put it far away, / And do not let wrong dwell in your tents —
15 Then indeed you would lift up your face without blemish, / And you would be steadfast and would not be afraid.
16 For you will forget your misery; / You will remember it as waters that have passed away.
17 And your time here will rise more brightly than the noonday; / Dark though it may be, it will be like the morning.
18 And you will be secure, for there is hope; / And you will search about and lie down in security.
19 Indeed you will lie down, and there will be none to terrify you; / And many will entreat your favor.
20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail, / And fleeing will be lost to them, / And their hope will be to breathe out their life.
12
1 Then Job answered and said,
2 Surely then you are the people, / And wisdom will die with you.
3 I also have understanding as you do; / I am not inferior to you. / And who does not know things like these?
4 I have become a laughingstock to my friends, / I, who have called out to God and He answers me. / The righteous man, the perfect man, is a laughingstock.
5 There is contempt for calamity in the thought of him who is at ease: / It is prepared for those whose foot slips.
6 The tents of robbers prosper, / And those who provoke God have security, / Those who carry their god in their own might.
7 But ask now of the beasts, and they will teach you; / And of the birds of heaven, and they will tell you.
8 Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; / And the fish of the sea will declare to you.
9 Who among all these does not know / That the hand of Jehovah has done this,
10 In whose hand is the life of every living thing / And the breath of all flesh of man?
11 Does not the ear try words / Even as the palate tastes food for itself?
12 In aged men, you say, there is wisdom, / And in length of days there is understanding.
13 But with Him are wisdom and might; / Counsel and understanding are His.
14 Indeed, He breaks down, and it cannot be rebuilt; / He shuts a man up, and the door cannot be opened.
15 Indeed, He withholds the waters, and they dry up; / And He sends them forth, and they overturn the earth.
16 With Him are strength and effectual wisdom; / The deceived and the deceiver are His.
17 He leads counselors away stripped, / And He makes fools of judges.
18 He loosens the fetters of kings / And binds their loins with a belt.
19 He leads priests away stripped, / And He overturns dignitaries.
20 He removes the utterance of the trusty / And takes away the counsel of the elders.
21 He pours contempt upon the princes / And loosens the belt of the strong.
22 He uncovers the depths out of darkness / And brings to light the shadow of death.
23 He makes nations great and destroys them; / He expands nations and leads them off.
24 He removes the understanding of the heads of the people of the earth / And causes them to wander in a pathless waste.
25 They grope in darkness, and there is no light; / And He causes them to stagger like a drunken man.
13
1 Indeed, my eye has seen all this; / My ear has heard and understood it.
2 What you know, I also know; / I am not inferior to you.
3 But I would speak to the Almighty, / And I desire to argue with God.
4 Yet you are plasterers of lies; / Physicians of no value are you all.
5 Oh that you would be altogether silent, / And this would be your wisdom!
6 Hear now my argument, / And hearken to the contentions of my lips.
7 Will you speak wrongly for God / And speak deceitfully for Him?
8 Will you be partial to Him? / Will you contend for God?
9 Will it be well with you when He searches you out? / Or will you deceive Him as one might deceive a man?
10 He will surely reprove you / If you are secretly partial.
11 Will not His majesty make you afraid / And His dread fall on you?
12 Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes; / Your defenses are defenses of clay.
13 Be silent before me, and I myself will speak; / And let come on me what may.
14 I will take my flesh in my teeth / And put my life in my hand.
15 Indeed, He will kill me; I have no hope. / Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him.
16 This also will be my salvation, / That no profane man may come before Him.
17 Hear carefully my words, / And let my declaration be in your ears.
18 Here now, I have arranged my case; / I know that I will be vindicated.
19 Who will contend with me? / For then I would be silent and die.
20 Only do not do two things to me, / Then I will not hide from Your face:
21 Withdraw Your hand far from me, / And do not let Your terror frighten me.
22 Then call, and I will answer; / Or let me speak, and You respond to me.
23 How many are my iniquities and sins? / Make my transgression and my sin known to me.
24 Why do You hide Your face / And consider me as Your enemy?
25 Will You harass a driven leaf / And pursue dry chaff?
26 For You write bitter things against me / And cause me to inherit the iniquities of my youth;
27 And You put my feet in stocks / And mark all my paths; / You set a limit for the soles of my feet.
28 And such a one is like some rotten thing that wastes away, / Like a garment eaten by moths.
14
1 Man, born of woman, / Is of few days and full of trouble.
2 He comes forth like a blossom and is cut down, / He also flees like a shadow and does not remain.
3 And do You open Your eyes upon such a one / And bring me into litigation with You?
4 Who can bring a clean thing out from the unclean? / No one!
5 Since his days are determined, / And the number of his months is with You; / Since You have appointed his bounds, and he cannot go beyond;
6 Look away from him that he may rest, / Until he fulfills his day like a hired hand.
7 For there is hope for a tree: / If it is cut down, it will sprout again, / And its tender shoot will not cease.
8 Though its root grows old in the earth, / And its trunk dies in the dirt,
9 At the scent of water it will bud / And will produce branches like a new plant.
10 But a man dies and is laid low; / Yes, a man expires, and then where is he?
11 The waters of the sea recede, / And the river becomes parched and dried up:
12 So a man lies down and does not rise up; / Until the heavens are no more, he will not awake, / Nor will he be roused from his sleep.
13 Oh, that You would hide me in Sheol, / That You would conceal me until Your anger has passed, / That You would set me an appointed time and remember me!
14 If a man dies, will he live again? / All the days of my service I would wait, / Until a change for me should come.
15 You would call, and I would answer You; / You would long after the work of Your hands.
16 For now You number my steps. / Do You not watch over my sin?
17 My transgression has been sealed up in a bag, / And You have fastened up my iniquity.
18 However the mountain falls and crumbles, / And the rock moves from its place;
19 Waters wear away stones; / Their torrents wash away the dust of the earth: / So You destroy the hope of man.
20 You prevail forever against him, and he passes away; / You change his countenance and send him away.
21 His sons gain honor, but he does not know it; / And they become insignificant, but he does not perceive it.
22 Only the pain of his own flesh does he feel, / And his own soul mourns for him.
15
1 And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2 Should a wise man answer with the knowledge of wind, / And should he fill his belly with the east wind?
3 Should he argue with useless talk / And with words by which he cannot avail?
4 Indeed you do away with the fear of God / And restrain meditation before God.
5 For your iniquity instructs your mouth, / And you choose the tongue of the crafty.
6 Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; / And your own lips testify against you.
7 Are you the first man born? / Or were you brought forth before the hills?
8 Did you listen in on the secret council of God? / And do you limit wisdom to yourself?
9 What do you know that we do not know? / What do you understand that is not with us?
10 Both the grayheaded and the aged are among us, / Older than your father.
11 Are the consolations of God too small for you, / Or the word spoken gently to you?
12 Why does your heart take you away? / And why do your eyes flash,
13 That you turn your spirit against God / And let words go forth from your mouth?
14 What is mortal man, that he can be clean, / Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?
15 Indeed, He puts no trust in His holy ones; / Even the heavens are not clean in His eyes.
16 How much less one who is abominable and corrupt! / How much less a man who drinks wrong like water!
17 I will tell you; hear me; / And what I have seen, that will I recount,
18 What wise men have declared, / And have not hidden, from their fathers;
19 To whom alone the land was given, / And no stranger passed in their midst:
20 For all his days the wicked man travails in pain, / And numbered years are stored up for the ruthless man.
21 The sound of terrors is in his ears; / While he is at peace, the destroyer will come upon him.
22 He does not believe that he will return from the darkness, / And he is spied out for the sword.
23 He wanders for bread — where is it? / He knows that the day of darkness is ready at hand.
24 Distress and straits terrify him; / They prevail against him, like a king prepared for the attack;
25 Because he stretched out his hand against God, / And against the Almighty he acted mightily,
26 Running against Him with a stiff neck, / With the thick bosses of his shield;
27 Because he covered his face with his fatness / And gathered fat upon his loins;
28 And he dwelt in desolated cities, / In houses which should not have been inhabited, / Which were appointed to become heaps.
29 He will not be rich, and his wealth will not endure; / Nor will his produce bend down to the earth.
30 He will not go away from darkness; / The flame will dry up his shoots, / And by the breath of His mouth he will go away.
31 Let him not trust in vanity, deceiving himself; / For vanity will be his recompense.
32 It will be fully paid before his day, / And his branch will not be flourishing.
33 He will shake off his unripe grapes like a vine, / And he will cast off his blossom like an olive tree.
34 For the company of the profane will be barren, / And fire will devour the tents of bribery.
35 They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity, / And their heart prepares deceit.
16
1 Then Job answered and said,
2 I have heard many such things; / Troubling comforters are you all.
3 Do words of wind have an end? / Or what has provoked you that you so respond?
4 I also could speak like you, / If your soul were in my soul’s stead; / I could join my words together against you / And shake my head at you.
5 I could strengthen you with my mouth, / And the movement of my lips would mitigate your pain.
6 If I speak, my pain is not mitigated; / And if I forbear, how much departs from me?
7 But now He has worn me out; / You have desolated all my company.
8 And You have seized me; it is a testimony against me; / And my leanness rises up against me; it testifies to my face.
9 In His wrath He has torn me to pieces and been adverse toward me; / He has gnashed His teeth at me. / My Adversary sharpens His eyes at me.
10 With their mouth they gape at me; / They strike my cheek reproachfully; / They mass themselves together against me.
11 God has delivered me over to the unjust / And cast me down into the hands of the wicked.
12 I was at ease, and He broke me apart; / Indeed He took me by my neck and dashed me to pieces. / And He set me up as His target;
13 His archers surrounded me; / He split open my kidneys and did not desist; / He poured out my gall upon the earth.
14 He broke me open with breach upon breach; / He ran at me like a mighty man of war.
15 I have sewn sackcloth upon my skin / And have cast my horn into the dust.
16 My face is reddened with weeping, / And on my eyelids is the shadow of death;
17 Though there is no violence in my hands, / And my prayer is pure.
18 O earth, do not cover my blood; / And let there be no resting place for my crying out.
19 Even now, there in heaven is my Witness, / And He who vouches for me is in the heights.
20 My friends deride me; / My eye pours out tears to God,
21 That He would plead for a man in his case with God / And for a son of man in his case with his neighbor.
22 For when years few in number have come, / I will go the way from which I cannot return.
17
1 My spirit is broken; / My days are extinct; / The graveyard is ready for me.
2 Surely there are mockers with me, / And my eye lingers on their provocation.
3 Lay down now a pledge for me with Yourself; / Who is he who will strike hands with me?
4 For You have hidden their heart from insight; / Therefore You will not exalt them.
5 He who denounces his friends for a share of the profit taken, / Even the eyes of his children will fail.
6 But He has made me a byword of the people, / And I have become one on whom they may spit.
7 And my eye has grown dim because of the sorrow, / And my members are all like a shadow.
8 The upright are appalled at this, / And the innocent stir themselves up against the profane man.
9 Yet the righteous man will hold fast to his way, / And he whose hands are clean will wax yet stronger.
10 But all of you, come back now, / And I will not find a wise man among you.
11 My days have passed; broken are my plans, / The cherished thoughts of my heart.
12 They change night into day; / The light is near, they say in the face of darkness.
13 If I wait for Sheol as my house; / If I spread my couch in the darkness;
14 If I call out to the pit, You are my father; / You are my mother and my sister, to the worm;
15 Where then is my hope? / Indeed, my hope, who will see it?
16 It will go down to the bars of Sheol, / When, at the same time, we have rest in the dust.
18
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,
2 How long will you hunt for words? / Consider, and afterward we will speak.
3 Why are we considered to be like beasts / And have become unclean in your eyes?
4 You who tear yourself in your anger, / Will the earth be forsaken for your sake, / Or will the rock be removed from its place?
5 Indeed the light of the wicked goes out, / And the flame of his fire does not shine.
6 The light is darkness in his tent, / And his lamp above him goes out.
7 The steps of his strength are confined, / And his counsel has cast him down.
8 For he has been cast into a net by his own feet, / And he walks about on the webbing of a pitfall.
9 A snare grabs him by the heel; / A trap lays hold on him.
10 A rope is hidden for him on the ground, / And a trap for him, on the path.
11 Terrors frighten him all around / And chase him at his heels.
12 His strength is famished, / And calamity is prepared at his side.
13 It devours the members of his body; / The firstborn of death devours his members.
14 He is rooted out of his tent, in which he trusts; / And he is made to march to the king of terrors.
15 That which is not his dwells in his tent; / Brimstone is scattered upon his habitation.
16 Beneath, his roots are dried up; / And above, his branch is withered.
17 The memory of him perishes from the earth, / And he has no name on the open plain.
18 He is thrust out from the light to the darkness / And driven from the world.
19 He has no posterity and no progeny among his people, / And there are none remaining where he sojourned.
20 Those who come after will be astonished at his day, / As those who went before were horrified.
21 Surely these are the dwellings of the unjust, / And this is the place of him who does not know God.
19
1 Then Job answered and said,
2 How long will you grieve my soul / And crush me with your words?
3 These ten times you have reproached me; / You are not ashamed to deal wrongly with me.
4 And be it that I have erred, / My error remains with me.
5 If you indeed magnify yourselves against me / And use my reproach in argument against me,
6 Know then that God has subverted my cause / And compassed me about with His net.
7 Indeed, I cry out, Violence! and I am not answered; / I call for help, and there is no justice.
8 He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass; / And He has put darkness upon my paths.
9 He has stripped my glory from me / And taken away the crown on my head.
10 He has broken me all around, and I am gone; / And my hope is plucked up like a tree.
11 He has also kindled His anger against me, / And in Himself He considers me as His adversary.
12 His troops come together / And cast up their highway against me / And encamp all around my tent.
13 He has removed my brothers far from me, / And those who know me are wholly estranged from me.
14 My relatives have failed me, / And my acquaintances have forgotten me.
15 Those who sojourn in my house and my maids consider me as a stranger; / I am a foreigner in their eyes.
16 To my servant I call out, but he does not answer; / I entreat him with my mouth.
17 My breath is strange to my wife; / And my supplications, to the children of my mother’s womb.
18 Even little children despise me: / I arise and they speak against me.
19 All the men whom I take counsel with abhor me, / And those whom I love have turned against me.
20 My bones cleave to my skin and to my flesh, / And I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
21 Pity me, pity me, O my friends; / For the hand of God has touched me.
22 Why do you persecute me as God does / And are not satisfied with eating my flesh?
23 Oh, that my words were now written! / Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!
24 That with an iron pen and with lead / They were engraved in rock forever!
25 But I know that my Redeemer lives, / And at the last He will stand upon the earth;
26 And after this body of mine is destroyed, / Outside my flesh I will look on God,
27 Whom I, even I, will look on for myself, / And my eyes will see; I, and no other. / My inward parts that long for God are consumed within me.
28 If you say, How will we persecute him? / For the root of the matter is found in him;
29 Be fearful of the sword, / For wrath brings the punishment of the sword, / That you may know that there is a judgment.
20
1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,
2 Because of this, my disquieting thoughts answer me; / And hence my haste is in me.
3 I hear the reproof that humiliates me, / And the spirit of my understanding answers me.
4 Do you not know this from of old, / Since man was set upon the earth,
5 That the joyous shouting of the wicked is short, / And the rejoicing of the profane is but for a moment?
6 Though his arrogance goes up to heaven, / And his head touches the clouds;
7 Like his own dung he perishes forever; / Those who have seen him say, Where is he?
8 Like a dream he flies away and is not found; / Indeed he is chased away like a vision of the night.
9 The eye looks on him then sees him no more, / Nor does his place observe him anymore.
10 His children seek the favor of the poor, / And his hands return his wealth.
11 His bones are full of youthful vigor, / Yet it lies down with him in the dust.
12 Though wickedness is sweet in his mouth, / Though he hides it under his tongue,
13 Though he favors it and will not forsake it, / But holds it in his mouth;
14 His food in his bowels is changed; / It is the venom of asps within him.
15 He swallows down riches and vomits them up; / God casts them forth from his stomach.
16 He sucks the poison of asps; / The tongue of the viper slays him.
17 He will not look on the rivers, / The streams flowing with honey and butter.
18 He will return what he toiled for and will not swallow it down; / And he will not rejoice according to the wealth of his trading.
19 For he has oppressed and abandoned the poor; / He has violently seized a house that he did not build.
20 Because he knew no respite in his craving, / Of that which he desired he will save nothing.
21 There will be nothing left of what he has devoured; / Thus his prosperity will not endure.
22 In the fullness of his sufficiency he will be distressed; / The hand of everyone in trouble will come against him.
23 In order to fill his belly, / God will send the burning fierceness of His wrath on him / And will rain it upon him as his food.
24 He will flee from the iron weapon, / But the bronze bow will strike him through.
25 He draws the arrow out, and it comes out of his body; / Indeed the glittering point goes forth from his gall. / Terrors come upon him.
26 Total darkness is laid up as his treasures; / A fire not fanned by man will devour him; / It will feed on what is left in his tent.
27 The heavens will reveal his iniquity, / And the earth will rise up against him.
28 The increase of his house will depart / As things swept away in the day of His wrath.
29 This is the wicked man’s portion from God / And the inheritance decreed to him by God.
21
1 Then Job answered and said,
2 Listen carefully to my word, / And let this be your consolations.
3 Bear with me, and I will speak; / And after I have spoken, mock on.
4 As for me, is my complaint to man? / And why should my spirit not be impatient?
5 Look at me and be appalled; / And put your hand over your mouth.
6 Even when I remember, I am troubled, / And horror takes hold of my flesh.
7 Why do the wicked live, / Grow old, even become mighty in riches?
8 Their seed is established with them in their sight, / And their offspring, before their eyes.
9 Their houses are free from dread, / And the rod of God is not upon them.
10 Their bull breeds and does not fail; / Their cow calves and does not miscarry.
11 They send forth their little ones like a herd, / And their children dance.
12 They lift up their voices to the tambourine and lyre, / And they rejoice at the sound of the flute.
13 They spend their days in prosperity, / And in a moment they go down into Sheol.
14 And they say unto God, Depart from us, / For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.
15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? / And what profit is there, that we should pray to Him?
16 Indeed, their prosperity is not in their own hand. / The counsel of the wicked is far from Him.
17 How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, / So that their calamity comes upon them, / So that God distributes sorrows in His anger?
18 Do they become like straw before the wind / And like chaff that the storm carries off?
19 You say, God stores up the punishment of his iniquity for his children. / I say, Let Him recompense him, so that he knows it.
20 Let his eyes see his destruction, / And let him drink the wrath of the Almighty.
21 For what is there for him to delight in, in his house after him, / When the number of his months is cut off?
22 Will someone teach knowledge to God, / Seeing that He judges those who are on high?
23 One dies in his full strength, / Being completely at ease and quiet;
24 His pails are full of milk, / And the marrow of his bones is moist.
25 But another dies in bitterness of soul / And does not taste of good.
26 They lie down alike in the dust, / And the worm covers them.
27 Indeed, I know your thoughts, / And the devices by which you would wrong me.
28 For you say, Where is the house of the prince? / Where is the tent of the dwellings of the wicked?
29 Have you not asked those who travel the roads? / And do you not regard their evidence,
30 That the wicked man is spared in the day of calamity, / That they are led forth at the day of overflowing wrath?
31 Who will declare his way to his face? / And who will repay him what he has done?
32 When he is borne to the grave, / A watch is kept over the tomb.
33 The clods of the valley are sweet to him; / And all men go in procession after him, / And those who went before him are without number.
34 Why then do you comfort me with vanity? / For your responses leave only falsehood behind.
22
1 And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2 Can a man of might be of any use to God? / No, a man of insight is of use only to himself.
3 Is it a matter of delight to the Almighty that you are righteous? / Or is it a gain to Him that you make your ways perfect?
4 Is it because of your fear of Him that He reproves you, / That He enters into judgment with you?
5 Is not your wickedness great, / And is there no end to your iniquities?
6 For you have taken pledges from your brothers without cause / And stripped the naked of their clothing.
7 You have not given water to the weary to drink, / And you have withheld bread from the hungry.
8 And as for the man of power, the earth was his; / And the man of honor dwelt in it.
9 You have sent away the widows empty, / And the arms of the orphans have been crushed.
10 Therefore snares are all around you; / And sudden dread troubles you,
11 Or darkness, so that you cannot see; / And an abundance of waters covers you.
12 Is not God at the height of heaven? / And look at the highest of the stars, how lofty they are!
13 And you say, What does God know? / Can He judge through the deep darkness?
14 Thick clouds are a covering to Him, so He cannot see; / And He walks upon the circle of the heavens.
15 Will you keep the old way, / Which wicked men have trodden?
16 Such were snatched away before their time, / Whose foundation was poured forth like a stream;
17 Who said to God, Depart from us; / And, What can the Almighty accomplish for us?
18 Yet He fills their houses with good things. / But the counsel of the wicked is far from Him.
19 The righteous see and rejoice, / And the innocent deride them,
20 Saying, Surely those who rose up against us are cut off, / And the remnant of them the fire has devoured.
21 Be well disposed to Him and at peace with Him; / By such, good will come upon you.
22 Receive instruction from His mouth, / And lay up His words in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up. / If you put injustice far away from your tents,
24 And place your gold nuggets in the dust / And your gold of Ophir in the stones of the brooks,
25 Then the Almighty will be your gold nuggets / And precious silver to you.
26 For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty, / And you will lift up your countenance to God.
27 You will pray to Him, and He will hear you; / And you will repay your vows.
28 You will also decree something, and it will be established for you; / And light will shine on your ways.
29 When they cast you down, you will say, I am up! / And the lowly person He will save.
30 He will deliver him who is not innocent; / Yes, you will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.
23
1 Then Job answered and said,
2 Today also my complaint is bitter; / My stroke is heavy because of my groaning.
3 Oh that I knew where I might find Him, / That I might come to His seat!
4 I would present my cause in order before Him, / And I would fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would know the words which He would answer me, / And I would understand what He would speak to me.
6 Would He contend with me in the greatness of His power? / No; but He would give heed to me.
7 There the upright man can argue with Him; / So I would be delivered forever from my Judge.
8 Behold, I go forward, but He is not there; / And backward, but I do not perceive Him;
9 To the left, where He acts, but I cannot look on Him; / He hides Himself on the right, so I cannot see Him.
10 But He knows the way that I take; / Should He try me, I would come forth as gold.
11 My foot has held fast to His steps; / I have kept His way and have not turned aside.
12 As for the commandment of His lips, I have not turned back from it; / I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my apportioned food.
13 But He is of one mind, and who can turn Him? / And what His soul desires, that will He do.
14 For He performs what has been appointed to me, / And many such things are with Him.
15 Therefore I am terrified at His presence; / I consider and am in dread of Him.
16 So God has made my heart faint, / And the Almighty has terrified me;
17 Because I was not cut off before the darkness, / Nor did He cover the deep darkness from my face.
24
1 Why are times of judgment not stored up by the Almighty? / And why do those who know Him not see His days?
2 Some remove landmarks; / They seize the flock and pasture them.
3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless / And take the widow’s ox as a pledge.
4 They turn the needy out of the way; / The poor of the land are made to hide together.
5 Indeed, like wild asses in the desert, / They go forth to their work, / Diligently seeking some prey; / The wilderness provides them food for their children.
6 In the field they harvest their fodder, / And they glean the vintage of the wicked.
7 They spend the night naked, without clothing; / And have no covering in the cold.
8 They are wet from the mountain showers, / And for lack of shelter they embrace the rock.
9 Some pluck the fatherless from the breast, / And what the poor has on, as a pledge.
10 They go about naked, without clothing; / And being hungry, they take up the sheaves.
11 Between their walls they press out oil; / They tread the winepresses yet suffer thirst.
12 From the city men groan, / And the soul of the wounded cries out; / Yet God does not regard the folly.
13 These are among those who rebel against the light; / They are not acquainted with its ways, / Nor do they abide in its paths.
14 The murderer rises at dawn; / He kills the poor and the needy; / And at night he is like a thief.
15 The eye of the adulterer also watches for the twilight, / Saying, Not an eye will see me; / And he disguises his face.
16 They dig through houses in the dark; / By day they shut themselves in: / They do not know the light.
17 For morning is to all of them like the shadow of death, / Because they are acquainted with the terrors of the shadow of death.
18 Swift are they upon the face of the waters; / Their portion is cursed in the earth; / There is none who turns toward the vineyards.
19 Drought and heat snatch the snow water, / As Sheol snatches those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets him; / The worm finds him sweet; / He is remembered no more; / And wrongdoing is broken like a tree.
21 He despoils the barren woman who does not bear, / And does no good for the widow.
22 But God preserves the mighty by His power; / He arises, and no one is certain of life.
23 He grants a man to be secure, and he rests on it; / And His eyes are upon their ways.
24 They are exalted a little while, then they are no more; / And they are brought low; like all others, they are gathered in / And are cut off like the tops of the ears of grain.
25 And if it is not so, then who will prove me a liar / And bring my words to nought?
25
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,
2 Dominion and dread are with Him; / He makes peace in His high places.
3 Is there any number to His armies? / And upon whom does His light not arise?
4 How then can a man be righteous with God? / And how can one born of a woman be pure?
5 Indeed, even the moon has no brightness, / And the stars are not pure in His eyes.
6 How much less a man, a maggot; / And the son of man, a worm!
26
1 Then Job answered and said,
2 How you have helped him who is without power! / How you have saved the arm of him who is without strength!
3 How you have counseled him who is without wisdom / And have plentifully declared sound knowledge!
4 To whom have you uttered words? / And whose spirit has come forth from you?
5 The deceased are made to tremble / Beneath the waters, and those who inhabit them.
6 Sheol is naked before Him, / And Abaddon has no covering.
7 He stretches out the north over the void; / He hangs the earth upon nothing.
8 He binds up the waters in His thick clouds, / And the cloud is not rent under them.
9 He covers the face of His throne; / He spreads His cloud over it.
10 He drew a circle on the surface of the waters / As a boundary of the light and the darkness.
11 The pillars of heaven shook / And were astounded at His rebuke.
12 By His power He stilled the sea, / And by His understanding He struck down Rahab.
13 By His Spirit the heavens became beauty; / His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
14 Indeed, these are but the fringes of His ways; / And how small a whisper do we hear of Him! / But as for the thundering of His mightiness, who can comprehend it?
27
1 Then Job again took up his discourse and said,
2 As God lives, who has taken away my right, / And the Almighty, who has embittered my soul,
3 As long as my breath is in me / And the spirit of God is in my nostrils,
4 Surely my lips will not speak anything wrong, / Nor will my tongue utter deceit.
5 Far be it from me to declare you righteous! / Until I die, I will not put away my integrity from me.
6 To my righteousness I will hold fast, I will not let it go; / My heart does not reproach me for any of my days.
7 May my enemy be like a wicked man, / And may he who rises up against me be like someone unjust.
8 For what is the hope of the profane man when God cuts him off, / When He takes away his soul?
9 Will God hear his cry / When distress comes upon him?
10 Does he take delight in the Almighty? / Will he call upon God at all times?
11 I will teach you about the hand of God; / What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Indeed, all of you have seen it yourselves; / And why then have you become altogether vain?
13 This is the portion with God for a wicked man, / And the inheritance that oppressors receive from the Almighty:
14 If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword; / And his offspring will not be satisfied with bread;
15 Those who remain of him will be buried in death, / And his widows will not lament.
16 Though he heaps up silver like dust / And prepares garments like clay,
17 He may prepare them, but the righteous will wear them; / And the innocent will divide the silver.
18 He builds his house as a moth does / And like a hut that a watchman makes.
19 He lies down rich but will be rich no more; / He opens his eyes, and he is not.
20 Terrors overtake him like waters; / At night a whirlwind steals him away.
21 The east wind carries him off, and he goes; / And it sweeps him out of his place.
22 And God hurls at him and does not spare; / He hastily flees from His hand.
23 Men clap their hands at him / And hiss him out of his place.
28
1 There is certainly a mine for silver, / And a place for gold to be refined.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth, / And copper is smelted from rock.
3 The miner sets an end to the darkness, / And to the very end he searches out / The stones of deep darkness and of gloom.
4 He breaks open a shaft apart from where men dwell; / They are forgotten by the foot; / They are suspended apart from men, they sway about.
5 The earth — from it comes forth food, / Yet underneath it, it is turned up as it were by fire.
6 Its stones are the place of sapphires, / And its dust has gold.
7 It is a path known by no bird of prey, / And the falcon’s eye has not seen it.
8 The proud beasts have not trodden it; / The fierce lion does not pass along it.
9 The miner sends forth his hand into the flinty rock; / He overturns the mountains by its roots.
10 He cuts out channels in the rocks, / And his eye sees every precious thing.
11 He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle, / And that which is hidden he brings out to the light.
12 But where shall wisdom be found? / And where is the place of understanding?
13 Man does not know its price, / Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, It is not in me; / And the sea says, It is not with me.
15 Rare gold cannot be given for it, / Nor can silver be weighed out for its price.
16 It cannot be balanced with the gold of Ophir, / With precious onyx or with sapphire.
17 Gold and glass cannot compare with it, / Nor can vessels of fine gold be exchanged for it.
18 Coral and crystal cannot be mentioned with it; / Indeed the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls.
19 The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it, / Nor can it be balanced with pure gold.
20 From where then does wisdom come? / And where is the place of understanding?
21 For it is hidden from the eyes of all living / And concealed from the birds of heaven.
22 Abaddon and Death say, / We have heard a report of it with our ears.
23 God understands the way to it; / He knows its place.
24 For He sees to the ends of the earth; / He beholds all that is under heaven.
25 When He gave weight to the wind / And apportioned the water by measure,
26 When He made a decree for the rain / And a way for the thunderbolt;
27 Then He saw it and declared it; / He established it and even searched it out.
28 And He said to man, / Indeed, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; / And to depart from evil is understanding.
29
1 Then Job again took up his discourse and said,
2 Oh that I were as in the months of old, / As in the days when God watched over me;
3 When His lamp shone over my head, / And by His light I walked through darkness;
4 As I was in the days of my prime, / When intimate counsel with God was over my tent;
5 When the Almighty was yet with me, / And my children were around me;
6 When my steps were bathed in milk, / And the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
7 When I went out to the gate of the city, / When I prepared my seat in the square,
8 The young men saw me and hid themselves, / And the aged rose up and stood.
9 Princes refrained from talking / And laid their hand over their mouth.
10 The voice of the nobles was hushed, / And their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
11 For when the ear heard me, it blessed me; / And when the eye saw me, it bore witness to me;
12 Because I delivered the poor man who cried out, / And the orphan who had no one to help him.
13 The blessing of him who was perishing came upon me, / And I made the widow’s heart shout for joy.
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; / My justice was like a robe and a turban.
15 I was eyes to the blind, / And I was feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy, / And the cause of him whom I did not know I investigated.
17 I broke the jaws of the unjust / And made him drop the prey from his teeth.
18 Then I said, I will die in my nest, / And I will multiply my days like the sand.
19 My root is spread out to the water, / And dew abides on my branch at night.
20 My glory is always new with me, / And my bow is renewed in my hand.
21 Men listened to me and waited, / And they were silent for my counsel.
22 After my words they spoke not again, / And my speech distilled like dew upon them.
23 And they waited for me as for the rain, / And they opened their mouth wide as for the late rain.
24 I smiled on them — they could not believe it; / And they did not cast down the light of my countenance.
25 I chose the way for them and sat as chief, / And I dwelt as a king among the troops, / As one who comforts those who mourn.
30
1 But now those who are younger than I / Hold me in derision, / Those whose fathers I disdained / To put with the dogs of my flock.
2 Indeed, what good is the strength of their hands to me? / Their vigor has perished from them.
3 Withered up through want and hunger, / They gnaw at the dry ground, / A gloom of waste and desolation.
4 They pick the mallow upon the bushes, / And the roots of the broom shrub are their food.
5 They are driven from the company of men; / Men cry after them as after a thief;
6 So that they must dwell in the most dreadful ravines, / In caves of the earth and in the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they bray; / Under the nettles they huddle.
8 Sons of fools, indeed sons of nameless men, / They have been stricken from the land.
9 And now I have become their song, / And I am a byword to them.
10 They abhor me; they stand aloof from me; / And they do not withhold their spit from my face.
11 For He has loosened my cord and afflicted me; / Therefore they have cast off restraint in my presence.
12 At my right hand a brood rises up; / They send my feet running / And cast up against me their ways of destruction.
13 They break up my path; / They promote my calamity, / Though there is no profit to them.
14 As through a wide breach they come in; / Amid the ruin they roll on.
15 Terrors are turned upon me; / My honor is pursued as by a wind, / And my prosperity passes away like a cloud.
16 And now my soul is poured out within me; / Days of affliction have taken hold of me.
17 The night rends my bones from me, / And my gnawing pains do not rest.
18 With great force my garments are distorted; / It binds me like the collar of my coat.
19 He has cast me into the mire, / And I am like dust and ashes.
20 I cry unto You, but You do not answer me; / I stand up, and You stare at me.
21 You have turned to become cruel to me; / With the might of Your hand You pursue me.
22 You lift me up into the wind; You make me ride on it; / And You dissolve me in the storm.
23 For I know that You will bring me into death, / And to the house appointed for all living.
24 Nevertheless does not a man put forth his hand when he falls, / Or because of his disaster therefore cry out?
25 Did I not weep for him who had hard days? / Was my soul not grieved for the needy?
26 When I expected good, evil came; / And when I waited for light, darkness came.
27 My inward parts are in turmoil and are not still; / Days of affliction have drawn near to me.
28 I go about in sunless mourning. / I rise up in the congregation; I cry for help.
29 I am a brother to jackals / And a companion to ostriches.
30 My skin is black and falling from me, / And my bones burn with heat.
31 My lyre has become mourning, / And my pipe, the voice of those who weep.
31
1 I made a covenant with my eyes; / How then can I gaze upon a virgin?
2 What then is the portion from God above, / Or the inheritance of the Almighty on high?
3 Is it not calamity for the unjust / And misfortune for the workers of iniquity?
4 Does He not see my ways / And count all my steps?
5 If I have walked with falsehood, / And my foot has hastened after deceit —
6 Let Him weigh me in a righteous balance, / And let God know my integrity —
7 If my step has turned from the way, / And my heart has gone after my own eyes, / And if any spot has stuck to my hands;
8 May I sow and another eat; / Indeed may my produce be rooted up.
9 If my heart has been enticed into following after a woman, / Or I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door;
10 May my wife grind for another, / And may others kneel over her.
11 For that would have been a heinous act, / And it would be wickedness, to be punished by the judges.
12 For it is a fire that devours to Abaddon / And would root up all my increase.
13 If I have despised the cause of my servant or my maid / When they contended with me,
14 What then will I do when God rises up? / And when He visits me, what will I answer Him?
15 Did not He who made me in the womb make him? / And was it not One who fashioned us in the womb?
16 If I have withheld the poor from their desire, / Or have let the eyes of the widow fail,
17 Or have eaten my morsel alone / Without the orphan eating of it —
18 Rather, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, / And from my mother’s womb I guided the widow —
19 If I have seen someone perishing from lack of clothing / Or that the needy had no covering;
20 If his loins have not blessed me, / And he has not been made warm with the fleece of my sheep;
21 If I have raised my hand against the orphan / Because I saw that I had support among those in the gate;
22 May my shoulder blade fall from the shoulder, / And may my arm be broken at the elbow.
23 For calamity from God is dreadful to me, / And because of His majesty I can do nothing.
24 If I have made gold my hope, / And have called fine gold my confidence;
25 If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great / And because my hand had acquired much;
26 If I have looked at the sun when it shone / Or the moon going on in splendor,
27 And my heart has been secretly enticed, / And my mouth has kissed my hand;
28 It too would be wickedness, to be punished by the judges, / For I would have denied God above.
29 If I have rejoiced at the misfortune of him who hated me, / Or have exulted when evil found him —
30 Rather, I have not allowed my mouth to sin / By asking for his life with a curse —
31 If the men of my tent have not said, / Who can find one who has not been filled with our master’s meat? —
32 The sojourner has not lodged in the street; / I have opened my doors to the highway —
33 If I have covered my transgressions as Adam did / By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
34 Because I so dreaded the great multitude, / And the contempt of the families so frightened me, / That I was silent and did not go out my door —
35 Oh, that I had someone to hear me! / Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me. / And let my accuser write up the charge.
36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder; / I would bind it onto me like a crown;
37 I would declare to Him the number of my steps; / Like a prince I would approach Him!
38 If my land cries out against me, / And its furrows weep together;
39 If I have eaten its strength without money, / And have caused its owners to lose their life;
40 May thorns come forth instead of wheat, / And pungent weeds instead of barley. / The words of Job are ended.
32
1 Then these three men ceased answering Job, for he was righteous in his own eyes.
2 And the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was kindled. Against Job was his anger kindled because he justified himself rather than God;
3 And against his three friends was his anger kindled because they had found no answer but had condemned Job.
4 Now Elihu had waited to speak with Job, because they were older than he.
5 But when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, his anger was kindled.
6 So Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said,I am young, / And you are aged; / Therefore I shrank back and was afraid / To declare to you what I know.
7 I said, Let age speak, / And let the multitude of years make wisdom known.
8 But there is a spirit in man, / And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.
9 It is not the great who are wise, / Nor the old who understand justice.
10 Therefore I say, Hear me; / I also will declare what I know.
11 Indeed, I have waited out your words; / I have given ear to your reasonings, / While you searched for what to say.
12 Indeed I gave you my full attention; / But no one here could refute Job; / None of you answered his words.
13 Do not say, We have found wisdom; / God will defeat him, not man.
14 But he did not arrange his words against me; / Neither will I respond to him with your speeches.
15 They are dismayed; they answer no more; / Words fail them.
16 Then should I wait? For they do not speak, / For they stand still; they answer no more.
17 I also will answer what has been apportioned to me; / I also will declare what I know.
18 For I am full of words; / The spirit in my inward parts constrains me.
19 Indeed, my inward parts are like wine that is not vented; / Like new wineskins, they are about to burst.
20 Let me speak, that there may be relief for me; / Let me open my lips and answer.
21 Let me not, I beg you, respect any man’s person, / Nor flatter any man;
22 For I do not know how to flatter — / My Maker would soon bear me off.
33
1 But now, Job, hear my speaking, / And give ear to all my words.
2 Indeed now, I have opened my mouth; / My tongue has spoken in my mouth.
3 My words manifest the uprightness of my heart, / And what my lips know they speak sincerely.
4 The Spirit of God has made me, / And the breath of the Almighty has enlivened me.
5 If you can, respond to me; / Arrange your words before me; take your stand.
6 Indeed, I am before God as you are; / I too was cut out of clay.
7 So no fear of me can terrify you, / Nor can my pressure be heavy upon you.
8 You have surely spoken in my hearing, / And I have heard the voice of your words, saying,
9 I am clean and without transgression; / I am pure, and there is no iniquity in me.
10 See, He finds occasions for hostility against me; / He considers me as His enemy.
11 He puts my feet in stocks; / He watches all my paths.
12 However, in this you are not right, I will answer you, / For God is greater than man.
13 Why do you contend with Him, / Saying that He does not answer for any of His affairs?
14 For God speaks in one way, / Indeed in two ways, without any perceiving it —
15 In a dream, a night vision, / When deep sleep falls upon men / In the slumberings upon their beds —
16 Then He opens the ears of men / And seals up their instruction,
17 That He may turn man aside from his doing / And hide pride from man.
18 He keeps his soul from the pit, / And his life from perishing by the sword.
19 He is also chastened with pain upon his bed / And with continual strife in his bones,
20 So that his life abhors bread, / And his soul, fancy food.
21 His flesh is so consumed that it cannot be seen, / And his bones that had not been seen stick out.
22 And his soul draws near to the pit, / And his life, to the destroyers.
23 If there is with him an angel, / An interpreter, one of a thousand, / To declare to man what is right for him,
24 Then He will be gracious to him and will say, / Redeem him from going down into the pit; / I have found a ransom.
25 His flesh will be fresher than in childhood; / He will return to the days of his youth.
26 He will pray to God, and He will accept him, / So that he sees His face with joyous shouting; / And God restores to man his righteousness.
27 He will sing to men and say, / I sinned and perverted what was right, / But it was not paid back to me.
28 He has redeemed my soul from perishing in the pit, / And my life will see the light.
29 Indeed, all these things God accomplishes for a man, / Twice, even three times,
30 To bring his soul back from the pit, / To enlighten him with the light of the living.
31 Take heed, Job; hear me. / Be silent, and I will speak.
32 If you have anything to say, answer me; / Speak, for I desire to justify you.
33 If not, you listen to me; / Be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.
34
1 Then Elihu continued and said,
2 Hear my words, you wise men; / And you who know, give ear to me.
3 For the ear tries words / As the palate tastes food.
4 Let us choose for ourselves what is right; / Let us know among ourselves what is good.
5 For Job has said, I am righteous, / And God has taken away my right;
6 Should I lie against my right? / My arrow wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.
7 What man is like Job, / Who drinks up scoffing like water,
8 Who goes in company with the workers of iniquity / And walks with wicked men?
9 For he has said, It does not profit a man / To delight himself in God.
10 Therefore, you men of understanding, hear me: / Far be it from God that He would do evil, / And from the Almighty that He would commit iniquity.
11 For He will render a man’s work to him / And will cause a man to find that which is according to his own way.
12 Indeed in all certainty God will not do evil, / And the Almighty will not pervert justice.
13 Who has ever put the earth in His charge? / Or who has ever set in order the whole world?
14 If He were to consider Himself only, / He would gather back to Himself His spirit and His breath;
15 All flesh would perish together, / And man would return to dust.
16 If then you have understanding, hear this; / Give ear to the voice of my words.
17 Shall one who hates justice govern? / And will you condemn the just and mighty One,
18 He who says to a king, You worthless one! / And to nobles, You wicked one!
19 He who does not respect the persons of princes, / Nor regard the rich man more than the poor, / For they are all the work of His hands?
20 In a moment they die, and in the middle of the night / The people are shaken, and they pass away; / And the mighty are taken away, but by no human hand.
21 For His eyes are upon the ways of a man, / And He sees all his steps.
22 There is no darkness and no shadow of death / Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
23 For He does not need to consider a man further, / That he should go to God in litigation.
24 He breaks mighty men in pieces without inquiry / And puts others in their stead.
25 Hence He knows their actions, / And He overturns them in the night so that they are crushed.
26 He strikes them as He would evil men, / In a place where all can see;
27 Because they turned aside from following after Him / And would not regard any of His ways,
28 So that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him, / And He heard the cry of the afflicted.
29 When He is silent, who can condemn Him? / When He hides His face, who can behold Him? / He does so toward a nation and toward a man alike,
30 That no profane man would reign, that there would be no snares for the people.
31 For has anyone ever said to God, / I have borne chastisement; I will offend no more;
32 What I do not see teach me; / If I have committed iniquity, I will do it no more?
33 Should He recompense to fit you, since you have rejected it? / For you must choose, and not I. / So speak what you know.
34 Men of understanding will say to me, / As well as the man of wisdom who hears me,
35 Job has spoken without knowledge, / And his words are without insight.
36 I wish that Job were tried to the limit / Because of his answering like evil men.
37 For he adds rebellion to his sin; / Among us he claps his hands / And multiplies his words against God.
35
1 Then Elihu continued and said,
2 Do you consider this to be just? / Do you say, My righteousness is more than God’s,
3 So that you say, What advantage is there to me, / What do I profit, more than if I had sinned?
4 I will respond to you with words, / And to your companions with you.
5 Look unto heaven and see; / And behold the skies: They are higher than you.
6 If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him? / And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to Him?
7 If you are righteous, what can you give to Him, / Or what does He receive from your hand?
8 Your wickedness affects a man like you, / And your righteousness, a son of man.
9 Because of the multitude of oppressions they cry out; / They cry for help because of the arm of the mighty.
10 But no one says, Where is God my Maker, / Who gives songs in the night,
11 Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth / And makes us wiser than the birds of heaven?
12 There they cry, but He does not answer, / Because of the pride of evil men.
13 Surely God does not hear an empty cry, / And the Almighty does not regard it.
14 How much less when you say that you do not behold Him, / That the cause is before Him and you are waiting on Him!
15 But now, because He has not visited in His anger / Nor regarded such great arrogance,
16 Job opens his mouth in vanity; / He multiplies words without knowledge.
36
1 And Elihu added this and said,
2 Bear with me a little, and I will show you; / For there is more to say for God.
3 I will bring my knowledge from afar / And will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
4 For truly my words are not false; / One perfect in knowledge is with you.
5 Indeed, God is mighty and does not despise; / He is mighty in strength of understanding.
6 He does not preserve the wicked man alive, / But gives justice to the afflicted.
7 He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous; / And with kings on the throne, / He sets them forever, and they are exalted.
8 And if they are bound in fetters, / If they are caught in the cords of affliction,
9 He shows them their work / And their transgressions, that they have acted arrogantly.
10 He also opens their ear to instruction / And commands that they return from iniquity.
11 If they hear and serve Him, / They will spend their days in prosperity / And their years in pleasantness.
12 But if they do not hear, they will pass away by the sword / And die without knowledge.
13 But those who are profane in heart lay up anger; / They do not cry for help when He binds them.
14 They die in youth, / And their life ends among the most defiled.
15 He rescues the afflicted by their affliction / And opens their ear through oppression.
16 Indeed He allures you from the jaws of distress / Into a spacious place, where there is no constraint; / And what is upon your table is full of fatness.
17 But you are filled with the judgment of the wicked; / Judgment and litigation have taken hold of you.
18 Beware lest wrath allures you into scoffing, / And do not let the greatness of the ransom turn you aside.
19 Will your cry keep you from being in distress, / Or all the forces of your strength?
20 Do not long for the night, / When people are taken from their place.
21 Take heed; do not turn toward iniquity; / For you have chosen this rather than affliction.
22 Indeed, God is exalted in His power: / Who is a teacher like Him?
23 Who has appointed His way for Him? / And who says, You have done wrong?
24 Remember to magnify His work, / Of which men sing.
25 All mankind has gazed on it; / Man beholds it from afar.
26 Indeed, God is great, and we do not know Him; / The number of His years we also cannot search out.
27 For He draws up the drops of water / Which distill into rain from His mist,
28 Which the skies pour down / And drop upon man abundantly.
29 Can they indeed understand the spreading of the clouds, / The thunderings of His pavilion?
30 Indeed, He scatters His lightning around Him / And covers the roots of the sea.
31 For by these He judges the peoples; / He gives food in abundance.
32 He fills His hands with lightning / And commands it to strike the mark.
33 Its noise tells of Him; / The cattle as well tell concerning Him who is coming.
37
1 At this, too, my heart trembles / And leaps from its place.
2 Hear attentively the noise of His voice / And the sound that goes forth from His mouth.
3 He sends it forth under the whole heaven, / And His lightning unto the ends of the earth.
4 After it a voice roars; / He thunders with the voice of His majesty / And does not withhold the lightning / When His voice is heard.
5 God thunders wondrously with His voice; / He does great things that we cannot comprehend.
6 For He says to the snow, Fall on the earth, / And to the rain shower and His mighty showers of rain.
7 He seals the hand of every man, / That all men may know His doing.
8 Then the beast enters its lair / And remains in its dens.
9 Out of its chamber comes the whirlwind, / And from scattering winds, cold.
10 From the breath of God ice is yielded, / And the expanse of waters is frozen.
11 He also loads the thick clouds with moisture; / He scatters His lightning clouds;
12 And they turn about by His guidance, / That they may accomplish / All that He has commanded them / Upon the surface of the inhabited earth;
13 Whether for scourge or for His land / Or for lovingkindness’ sake, He causes it to happen.
14 Give ear to this, Job; / Stand still and consider the wondrous acts of God.
15 Do you know how God lays His charge upon them / And causes His lightning clouds to shine?
16 Do you know about the balancing of the thick clouds, / The wondrous acts of Him who is perfect in knowledge?
17 You whose garments heat up / When, because of the south wind, the earth is still,
18 Can you spread out the skies with Him, / The skies which are as hard as a molten mirror?
19 Teach us what to say to Him; / We cannot arrange our words because of the darkness.
20 Should it be said to Him, I will speak? / Or should a man say that he will be swallowed up?
21 But now men do not look at the light, / Which is brilliant in the skies / When the wind has passed and cleared them.
22 Out of the north comes golden splendor; / Upon God is the awesomeness of majesty.
23 The Almighty — we cannot find Him out; / He is excellent in power, / And justice and the abundance of righteousness He will not damage.
24 Therefore men fear Him; / He does not look upon any who are wise of heart.
38
1 Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
2 Who is this who darkens counsel / By words without knowledge?
3 Gird up now your loins like a mighty man; / For I will ask of you, and you shall inform Me.
4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? / Tell Me, if you have understanding.
5 Who set its measurements — if you know? / Or who stretched the measuring line over it?
6 Onto what were its bases sunk, / Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 When the morning stars sang together / And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 And who hedged in the sea with doors / When it burst forth, issuing from the womb,
9 When I made clouds its clothing / And deep darkness its swaddling clothes,
10 And I broke out My boundaries for it / And set up bars and doors,
11 And I said, To here you shall come and no farther, / And here shall your proud waves be stopped?
12 Have you ever commanded the morning since your days began? / Have you ever caused the dawn to know its place,
13 So that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, / And the wicked might be shaken out of it?
14 The earth is changed like clay under a seal, / And all things on it stand forth like a garment.
15 And from the wicked their light is withheld, / And the high arm is broken.
16 Have you entered into the springs of the sea, / Or have you walked about in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you, / Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Have you comprehended the full expanse of the earth? / Declare it, if you know it all.
19 Where is the way to the dwelling of the light? / And the darkness, where is its place,
20 That you may take it to its boundary, / And that you may perceive the paths to its house?
21 You know, for you were born then, / And the number of your days is great.
22 Have you entered into the storehouses of the snow, / Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 Which I have reserved for the day of calamity, / For the day of battle and of war?
24 Where is the way to the place where the light is divided, / To the place where the east wind scatters upon the earth?
25 Who cut a channel for the rain torrent, / Or a way for the thunderbolt,
26 To make it rain on a land where no man is, / On a wilderness in which there is no man;
27 To satisfy the waste and desolate land / And to cause the shoots of grass to sprout?
28 Does the rain have a father? / Or who begot the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb does the ice come forth? / And the frost of heaven, who gave birth to it?
30 The waters hide themselves and become like stone, / And the surface of the deep is frozen.
31 Can you fasten the bands of the Pleiades, / Or loosen the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season? / Or can you guide the Bear with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? / Do you establish their rule on the earth?
34 Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, / So that a flood of water would cover you?
35 Can you send forth lightnings, so that they would go / And say to you, Here we are?
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts, / Or given understanding to the mind?
37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom, / Or who can tip over the water jars of heaven,
38 When the dust runs into a mass / And the clods stick together?
39 Can you hunt prey for the lioness, / Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 When they crouch in their dens, / When they lie in wait in the thicket?
41 Who provides for the raven its prey / When its young ones cry out to God / And wander about for lack of food?
39
1 Do you know the time when the mountain goats bring forth? / Can you mark the time when the hinds calve?
2 Can you number the months that they must fulfill? / Or do you know the time when they bring forth?
3 They crouch down; they give birth to their young ones; / They send forth their offspring.
4 Their young become strong; they grow up in the open field; / They go forth and do not return to them.
5 Who has sent out the wild ass free? / Or who has loosed the bonds of the swift ass,
6 Whose home I have made the wilderness, / And the salt land, his dwelling place?
7 He scorns the tumult of the city; / He does not hear the shouts of the driver.
8 He searches out the mountains for his pasture / And seeks after every green thing.
9 Will the wild ox be willing to serve you / Or spend the night by your manger?
10 Can you bind the wild ox to the furrows with his ropes? / Or will he plow the valleys behind you?
11 Will you trust in him because his strength is great? / Or will you leave your labor to him?
12 Will you have confidence in him that he will bring in your seed / And gather your grain to your threshing floor?
13 The wings of the ostrich flap joyously: / Are they the pinion and plumage of lovingkindness?
14 For she leaves her eggs on the earth / And warms them in the dust.
15 And she forgets that a foot may crush them / Or that an animal of the field may trample them.
16 She is hard with her children, as if they were not hers; / Though her labor may be in vain, she has no fear;
17 Because God has caused her to forget wisdom / And has not appointed understanding to her.
18 At that time when she lifts herself up on high, / She scorns the horse and its rider.
19 Have you given the horse his might? / Have you clothed his neck with the quivering mane?
20 Have you made him to leap like a locust? / His majestic snorting is terrible.
21 He paws in the valley, / And he rejoices in his strength; / He goes forth to meet weapons.
22 He laughs at fear and is not dismayed, / And he does not turn back from the sword.
23 A quiver of arrows rattles against him, / The flashing spear and the javelin.
24 With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground, / And he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
25 As often as the trumpet sounds, he says, Aha! / And from afar he smells the battle, / The thundering of captains and the shouting.
26 Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars, / Stretching his wings to the south?
27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up / And makes his nest on high?
28 On the cliff he dwells and makes his lodging, / Upon the point of the cliff and the stronghold.
29 From there he spies out food; / His eyes gaze on it from afar.
30 And his young ones suck up the blood; / And where the slain are, there he is.
40
1 And Jehovah answered Job and said,
2 Shall one who finds fault contend with the Almighty? / Let him who argues with God answer it.
3 Then Job answered Jehovah and said,
4 Indeed, I am worthless. What shall I reply to You? / I lay my hand over my mouth.
5 I have spoken once, and I will not answer; / And twice, and I will proceed no further.
6 And Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
7 Gird up now your loins like a mighty man; / For I will ask of you, and you shall inform Me.
8 Will you indeed annul My judgment? / Will you condemn Me so that you may be justified?
9 Or do you have an arm like God’s, / And can you thunder with a voice like His?
10 Deck yourself now with majesty and excellency, / And array yourself with honor and splendor.
11 Pour forth the overflowings of your anger, / And look upon everyone who is proud, and abase him.
12 Look upon everyone who is proud; bring him down; / And tread down the wicked where they stand.
13 Hide them in the dust together; / Bind their faces in the hidden place.
14 Then even I will praise you, / That your own right hand can save you.
15 Behold now the behemoth, which I made as well as you: / He eats grass like the ox.
16 Behold now, his strength is in his loins, / And his power is in the muscles of his belly.
17 He bends his tail like a cedar; / The sinews of his thighs knit together.
18 His bones are like bronze tubes; / His limbs, like iron bars.
19 He is the first of God’s ways; / Only his Maker can approach him with His sword.
20 For the mountains yield food for him, / Where every animal of the field plays.
21 Under the lotus plants he lies down, / In the covert of the reed and the marsh.
22 The lotus plants cover him with their shade; / The willows of the brook surround him.
23 Indeed, if a river overflows, he does not tremble; / He is confident, though the Jordan rushes against his mouth.
24 Will anyone catch him while he is watching, / Or pierce his nose with a snare?
41
1 Can you draw out leviathan with a hook, / Or press down his tongue with a cord?
2 Can you put a rope in his nose, / Or pierce his jaw with a hook?
3 Will he make many supplications unto you, / Or speak soft words to you?
4 Will he make a covenant with you / That you would take him as a servant forever?
5 Will you play with him as with a bird, / Or bind him for your maidens?
6 Will the traders bargain over him? / Will they divide him up among merchants?
7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons, / Or his head with fishing spears?
8 Lay your hand on him, / And remember the battle — you will never do it again!
9 Indeed, any hope for him is vain; / Will not one be even cast down at the sight of him?
10 No one is so fierce as to stir him up; / Who then is he who would stand before Me?
11 Who has first given to Me that I should repay him? / Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.
12 I will not be silent about his limbs / Or about the account of his mighty deeds or about the beauty of his frame.
13 Who can strip off his outer garment? / Who can go within his double jaws?
14 Who can open the doors of his face? / Around his teeth is terror.
15 His pride is his rows of scales, / Shut up as with a tight seal.
16 One is so near the other / That the air cannot pass between them.
17 Each is joined to the other; / They stick together and cannot be separated.
18 His sneezes flash forth light, / And his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
19 Out of his mouth go forth flaming torches; / Sparks of fire leap out.
20 Out of his nostrils comes smoke, / As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
21 His breath kindles coals, / And a flame comes from his mouth.
22 In his neck abides strength, / And terror dances before him.
23 The folds of his flesh are joined together; / They are firm upon him and immovable.
24 His heart is as firm as stone, / Indeed as firm as the lower millstone.
25 At his rising up, the mighty fear; / They are beside themselves with consternation.
26 The sword that reaches him cannot avail, / Nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
27 He considers iron shafts as straw, / And bronze ones as rotted wood.
28 The arrow does not make him flee; / With him slingstones turn to stubble.
29 Clubs are considered as stubble; / He laughs at the quivering javelin.
30 His underparts are like sharp potsherds; / He spreads himself like a threshing sledge upon the mire.
31 He makes the deep boil like a cauldron; / He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 Behind him he makes a shining wake; / One would think the deep to be white-haired.
33 On earth there is none his equal, / Who is made without fear.
34 He beholds everything that is high; / He is king over all the sons of pride.
42
1 Then Job answered Jehovah and said,
2 I know that You can do all things / And that no purpose of Yours can be restrained.
3 Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge? / Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, / Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
4 Hear now, and I will speak; / I will ask of You, and You shall inform me.
5 I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, / But now my eye has seen You;
6 Therefore I abhor myself, and I repent / In dust and ashes.
7 And after Jehovah had spoken these words to Job, Jehovah said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My anger is kindled against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken concerning Me that which is right, as My servant Job has.
8 Now therefore take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer them as a burnt offering for yourselves. And My servant Job will pray for you; for I will accept him, so that I do not deal with you according to your folly; for you have not spoken concerning Me that which is right, as My servant Job has.
9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as Jehovah told them; and Jehovah accepted Job.
10 And Jehovah turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends, and Jehovah gave Job twice as much as he had before.
11 And all his brothers and all his sisters and all his previous acquaintances came to him and ate bread with him in his house. And they consoled and comforted him for all the misfortune that Jehovah had brought upon him. And each gave to him a piece of money, and each, a gold ring.
12 Thus Jehovah blessed Job’s latter end more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep and six thousand camels and a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand female donkeys.
13 And he had seven sons and three daughters.
14 And he named the first Jemimah, and the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch.
15 And in all the land no women were found as beautiful as the daughters of Job. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.
16 And after this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; and he saw his children and his grandchildren, even four generations.
17 And Job died, old and full of days.