JOB
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There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job.
That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from
evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He had seven
thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred
donkeys, and very many servants; so that this man was the greatest of all the
people of the east. 4 His sons used to go and hold feasts in one another's
houses in turn; and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and
drink with them. 5 And when the feast days had run their course, Job would send
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, "It may be that my
children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts." This is what Job always
did. 6 One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the LORD,
and Satan also came among them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come
from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from
walking up and down on it." 8 The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my
servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man
who fears God and turns away from evil." 9 Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does
Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have you not put a fence around him and his house
and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and
his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand now,
and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face." 12 The LORD said
to Satan, "Very well, all that he has is in your power; only do not stretch out
your hand against him!" So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. 13 One
day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the eldest
brother's house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and
the donkeys were feeding beside them, 15 and the Sabeans fell on them and
carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone
have escaped to tell you." 16 While he was still speaking, another came and
said, "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the
servants, and consumed them; I alone have escaped to tell you." 17 While he was
still speaking, another came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three columns, made
a raid on the camels and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge
of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you." 18 While he was still speaking,
another came and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in
their eldest brother's house, 19 and suddenly a great wind came across the
desert, struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people,
and they are dead; I alone have escaped to tell you." 20 Then Job arose, tore
his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 He said,
"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there; the LORD
gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." 22 In all
this Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.
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One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the
LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 The
LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From
going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it." 3 The LORD
said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on
the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.
He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to
destroy him for no reason." 4 Then Satan answered the LORD, "Skin for skin! All
that people have they will give to save their lives. 5 But stretch out your hand
now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face." 6 The
LORD said to Satan, "Very well, he is in your power; only spare his life." 7 So
Satan went out from the presence of the LORD, and inflicted loathsome sores on
Job from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 Job took a potsherd
with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to
him, "Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse God, and die." 10 But he
said to her, "You speak as any foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive the
good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?" In all this Job did not sin
with his lips. 11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all these troubles that
had come upon him, each of them set out from his home--Eliphaz the Temanite,
Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to go and
console and comfort him. 12 When they saw him from a distance, they did not
recognize him, and they raised their voices and wept aloud; they tore their
robes and threw dust in the air upon their heads. 13 They sat with him on the
ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw
that his suffering was very great.
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After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2
Job said: 3 "Let the day perish in which I was born, and the night that said, 'A
man-child is conceived.' 4 Let that day be darkness! May God above not seek it,
or light shine on it. 5 Let gloom and deep darkness claim it. Let clouds settle
upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. 6 That night--let thick
darkness seize it! let it not rejoice among the days of the year; let it not
come into the number of the months. 7 Yes, let that night be barren; let no
joyful cry be heard in it. 8 Let those curse it who curse the Sea, those who are
skilled to rouse up Leviathan. 9 Let the stars of its dawn be dark; let it hope
for light, but have none; may it not see the eyelids of the morning-- 10 because
it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb, and hide trouble from my eyes. 11
"Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire? 12 Why were
there knees to receive me, or breasts for me to suck? 13 Now I would be lying
down and quiet; I would be asleep; then I would be at rest 14 with kings and
counselors of the earth who rebuild ruins for themselves, 15 or with princes who
have gold, who fill their houses with silver. 16 Or why was I not buried like a
stillborn child, like an infant that never sees the light? 17 There the wicked
cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest. 18 There the prisoners
are at ease together; they do not hear the voice of the taskmaster. 19 The small
and the great are there, and the slaves are free from their masters. 20 "Why is
light given to one in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, 21 who long for
death, but it does not come, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures; 22
who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad when they find the grave? 23 Why is light
given to one who cannot see the way, whom God has fenced in? 24 For my sighing
comes like my bread, and my groanings are poured out like water. 25 Truly the
thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. 26 I am not at
ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest; but trouble comes."
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Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered: 2 "If one ventures a word with
you, will you be offended? But who can keep from speaking? 3 See, you have
instructed many; you have strengthened the weak hands. 4 Your words have
supported those who were stumbling, and you have made firm the feeble knees. 5
But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches you, and you are
dismayed. 6 Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your
ways your hope? 7 "Think now, who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were
the upright cut off? 8 As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and 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 roar of the lion, the voice 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 "Now a word came stealing
to me, my ear received the whisper of it. 13 Amid thoughts from visions of the
night, when deep sleep falls on mortals, 14 dread came upon me, and trembling,
which made all my bones shake. 15 A spirit glided past my face; the hair of my
flesh bristled. 16 It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance. A
form was before my eyes; there was silence, then I heard a voice: 17 'Can
mortals be righteous before God? Can human beings be pure before their Maker? 18
Even in his servants he puts no trust, and his angels he charges with error; 19
how much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust,
who are crushed like a moth. 20 Between morning and evening they are destroyed;
they perish forever without any regarding it. 21 Their tent-cord is plucked up
within them, and they die devoid of wisdom.'
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"Call now; is there anyone who will answer you? To which of the holy
ones will you turn? 2 Surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the
simple. 3 I have seen fools taking root, but suddenly I cursed their dwelling. 4
Their children are far from safety, they are crushed in the gate, and there is
no one to deliver them. 5 The hungry eat their harvest, and they take it even
out of the thorns; and the thirsty pant after their wealth. 6 For misery does
not come from the earth, nor does trouble sprout from the ground; 7 but human
beings are born to trouble just as sparks fly upward. 8 "As for me, I would seek
God, and to God I would commit my cause. 9 He does great things and
unsearchable, marvelous things without number. 10 He gives rain on the earth and
sends waters on the fields; 11 he sets on high those who are lowly, and those
who mourn are lifted to safety. 12 He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so
that their hands achieve no success. 13 He takes the wise in their own
craftiness; and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end. 14 They meet
with darkness in the daytime, and grope at noonday as in the night. 15 But he
saves the needy from the sword of their mouth, from the hand of the mighty. 16
So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth. 17 "How happy is the one
whom God reproves; therefore do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. 18
For he wounds, but he binds up; he strikes, but his hands heal. 19 He will
deliver you from six troubles; in seven no harm shall touch you. 20 In famine he
will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. 21 You shall
be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and shall not fear destruction when it
comes. 22 At destruction and famine you shall laugh, and shall not fear the wild
animals of the earth. 23 For you shall be in league with the stones of the
field, and the wild animals shall be at peace with you. 24 You shall know that
your tent is safe, you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing. 25 You shall
know that your descendants will be many, and your offspring like the grass of
the earth. 26 You shall come to your grave in ripe old age, as a shock of grain
comes up to the threshing floor in its season. 27 See, we have searched this
out; it is true. Hear, and know it for yourself."
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Then Job answered: 2 "O that my vexation were weighed, and all my
calamity laid in the balances! 3 For then it would be heavier than the sand of
the sea; therefore my words have been rash. 4 For the arrows of the Almighty are
in me; my spirit drinks their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
5 Does the wild ass bray over its grass, or the ox low over its fodder? 6 Can
that which is tasteless be eaten without salt, or is there any flavor in the
juice of mallows? 7 My appetite refuses to touch them; they are like food that
is loathsome to me. 8 "O that I might have my request, and that God would grant
my desire; 9 that it would please God to crush me, that he would let loose his
hand and cut me off! 10 This would be my consolation; I would even exult in
unrelenting pain; for I have not denied 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 In truth I have
no help in me, and any resource is driven from me. 14 "Those who withhold
kindness from a friend forsake the fear of the Almighty. 15 My companions are
treacherous like a torrent-bed, like freshets that pass away, 16 that run dark
with ice, turbid with melting snow. 17 In time of heat they disappear; when it
is hot, they vanish from their place. 18 The caravans turn aside from their
course; they go up into the waste, and perish. 19 The caravans of Tema look, the
travelers of Sheba hope. 20 They are disappointed because they were confident;
they come there and are confounded. 21 Such you have now become to me; you see
my calamity, and are afraid. 22 Have I said, 'Make me a gift'? Or, 'From your
wealth offer a bribe for me'? 23 Or, 'Save me from an opponent's hand'? Or,
'Ransom me from the hand of oppressors'? 24 "Teach me, and I will be silent;
make me understand how I have gone wrong. 25 How forceful are honest words! But
your reproof, what does it reprove? 26 Do you think that you can reprove words,
as if the speech of the desperate were wind? 27 You would even cast lots over
the orphan, and bargain over your friend. 28 "But now, be pleased to look at me;
for I will not lie to your face. 29 Turn, I pray, let no wrong be done. Turn
now, my vindication is at stake. 30 Is there any wrong on my tongue? Cannot my
taste discern calamity?
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"Do not human beings have a hard service on earth, and are not their
days like the days of a laborer? 2 Like a slave who longs for the shadow, and
like laborers who look for their wages, 3 so I am allotted months of emptiness,
and nights of misery are apportioned to me. 4 When I lie down I say, 'When shall
I rise?' But the night is long, and I am full of tossing until dawn. 5 My flesh
is clothed with worms and dirt; my skin hardens, then breaks out again. 6 My
days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and come to their end without hope. 7
"Remember that my life is a breath; my eye will never again see good. 8 The eye
that beholds me will see me no more; while your eyes are upon me, I shall be
gone. 9 As the cloud fades and vanishes, so those who go down to Sheol do not
come up; 10 they return no more to their houses, nor do their places know them
any more. 11 "Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the
anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 12 Am I the
Sea, or the Dragon, that you set a guard over me? 13 When I say, 'My bed will
comfort me, my couch will ease my complaint,' 14 then you scare me with dreams
and terrify me with visions, 15 so that I would choose strangling and death
rather than this body. 16 I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Let me
alone, for my days are a breath. 17 What are human beings, that you make so much
of them, that you set your mind on them, 18 visit them every morning, test them
every moment? 19 Will you not look away from me for a while, let me alone until
I swallow my spittle? 20 If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of humanity?
Why have you made me your target? Why have I become a burden to you? 21 Why do
you not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For now I shall lie
in the earth; you will seek me, but I shall not be."
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Then Bildad the Shuhite answered: 2 "How long will you say these
things, and the words of your mouth be a great wind? 3 Does God pervert justice?
Or does the Almighty pervert the right? 4 If your children sinned against him,
he delivered them into the power of their transgression. 5 If you will seek God
and make supplication to the Almighty, 6 if you are pure and upright, surely
then he will rouse himself for you and restore to you your rightful place. 7
Though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great. 8 "For
inquire now of bygone generations, and consider what their ancestors have found;
9 for we are but of yesterday, and we know nothing, for our days on earth are
but a shadow. 10 Will they not teach you and tell you and utter words out of
their understanding? 11 "Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds
flourish where there is no water? 12 While yet in flower and not cut down, they
wither before any other plant. 13 Such are the paths of all who forget God; the
hope of the godless shall perish. 14 Their confidence is gossamer, a spider's
house their trust. 15 If one leans against its house, it will not stand; if one
lays hold of it, it will not endure. 16 The wicked thrive before the sun, and
their shoots spread over the garden. 17 Their roots twine around the stoneheap;
they live among the rocks. 18 If they are destroyed from their place, then it
will deny them, saying, 'I have never seen you.' 19 See, these are their happy
ways, and out of the earth still others will spring. 20 "See, God will not
reject a blameless person, nor take the hand of evildoers. 21 He will yet fill
your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouts of joy. 22 Those who hate
you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more."
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Then Job answered: 2 "Indeed I know that this is so; but how can a
mortal be just before God? 3 If one wished to contend with him, one could not
answer him once in a thousand. 4 He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength
--who has resisted him, and succeeded?-- 5 he who removes mountains, and they do
not know it, when he overturns them in his anger; 6 who shakes the earth out of
its place, and its pillars tremble; 7 who commands the sun, and it does not
rise; who seals up the stars; 8 who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled
the waves of the Sea; 9 who made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the
chambers of the south; 10 who does great things beyond understanding, and
marvelous things without number. 11 Look, he passes by me, and I do not see him;
he moves on, but I do not perceive him. 12 He snatches away; who can stop him?
Who will say to him, 'What are you doing?' 13 "God will not turn back his anger;
the helpers of Rahab bowed beneath him. 14 How then can I answer him, choosing
my words with him? 15 Though I am innocent, I cannot answer him; I must appeal
for mercy to my accuser. 16 If I summoned him and he answered me, I do not
believe that he would listen to my voice. 17 For he crushes me with a tempest,
and multiplies my wounds without cause; 18 he will not let me get my breath, but
fills me with bitterness. 19 If it is a contest of strength, he is the strong
one! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him? 20 Though I am innocent,
my own mouth would condemn me; though I am blameless, he would prove me
perverse. 21 I am blameless; I do not know myself; I loathe my life. 22 It is
all one; therefore I say, he destroys both the blameless and the wicked. 23 When
disaster brings sudden death, he mocks at the calamity of the innocent. 24 The
earth is given into the hand of the wicked; he covers the eyes of its judges--
if it is not he, who then is it? 25 "My days are swifter than a runner; they
flee away, they see no good. 26 They go by like skiffs of reed, like an eagle
swooping on the prey. 27 If I say, 'I will forget my complaint; I will put off
my sad countenance and be of good cheer,' 28 I become afraid of all my
suffering, for I know you will not hold me innocent. 29 I shall be condemned;
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 filth, and my own clothes will abhor
me. 32 For he is not a mortal, as I am, that I might answer him, that we should
come to trial together. 33 There is no umpire between us, who might lay his hand
on us both. 34 If he would take his rod away from me, and not let dread of him
terrify me, 35 then I would speak without fear of him, for I know I am not what
I am thought to be.
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"I loathe my life; I will give free utterance to my complaint; I
will speak in the bitterness of my soul. 2 I will say to God, Do not condemn me;
let me know why you contend against me. 3 Does it seem good to you to oppress,
to despise the work of your hands and favor the schemes of the wicked? 4 Do you
have eyes of flesh? Do you see as humans see? 5 Are your days like the days of
mortals, or your years like human years, 6 that you seek out my iniquity and
search for my sin, 7 although you know that I am not guilty, and there is no one
to deliver out of your hand? 8 Your hands fashioned and made me; and now you
turn and destroy me. 9 Remember that you fashioned me like clay; and will you
turn me to dust again? 10 Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like
cheese? 11 You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones
and sinews. 12 You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has
preserved my spirit. 13 Yet these things you hid in your heart; I know that this
was your purpose. 14 If I sin, you watch me, and do not acquit me of my
iniquity. 15 If I am wicked, woe to me! If I am righteous, I cannot lift up my
head, for I am filled with disgrace and look upon my affliction. 16 Bold as a
lion you hunt me; you repeat your exploits against me. 17 You renew your
witnesses against me, and increase your vexation toward me; you bring fresh
troops against me. 18 "Why did you bring me forth from the womb? Would that I
had died before any eye had seen me, 19 and were as though I had not been,
carried from the womb to the grave. 20 Are not the days of my life few? Let me
alone, that I may find a little comfort 21 before I go, never to return, to the
land of gloom and deep darkness, 22 the land of gloom and chaos, where light is
like darkness."
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Then Zophar the Naamathite answered: 2 "Should a multitude of words
go unanswered, and should one full of talk be vindicated? 3 Should your babble
put others to silence, and when you mock, shall no one shame you? 4 For you say,
'My conduct is pure, and I am clean in God's sight.' 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 wisdom is many-sided. Know then that God exacts of you less than
your guilt deserves. 7 "Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find
out the limit of the Almighty? 8 It is higher than heaven--what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol--what can you know? 9 Its measure is longer than the earth,
and broader than the sea. 10 If he passes through, and imprisons, and assembles
for judgment, who can hinder him? 11 For he knows those who are worthless; when
he sees iniquity, will he not consider it? 12 But a stupid person will get
understanding, when a wild ass is born human. 13 "If you direct your heart
rightly, you will stretch out your hands toward him. 14 If iniquity is in your
hand, put it far away, and do not let wickedness reside in your tents. 15 Surely
then you will lift up your face without blemish; you will be secure, and will
not fear. 16 You will forget your misery; you will remember it as waters that
have passed away. 17 And your life will be brighter than the noonday; its
darkness will be like the morning. 18 And you will have confidence, because
there is hope; you will be protected and take your rest in safety. 19 You will
lie down, and no one will make you afraid; many will entreat your favor. 20 But
the eyes of the wicked will fail; all way of escape will be lost to them, and
their hope is to breathe their last."
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Then Job answered: 2 "No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will
die with you. 3 But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to
you. Who does not know such things as these? 4 I am a laughingstock to my
friends; I, who called upon God and he answered me, a just and blameless man, I
am a laughingstock. 5 Those at ease have contempt for misfortune, but it is
ready for those whose feet are unstable. 6 The tents of robbers are at peace,
and those who provoke God are secure, who bring their god in their hands. 7 "But
ask the animals, and they will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will
tell you; 8 ask the plants of the earth, and they 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 the LORD has done this? 10 In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of every human being. 11 Does not the ear test words as the
palate tastes food? 12 Is wisdom with the aged, and understanding in length of
days? 13 "With God are wisdom and strength; he has counsel and understanding. 14
If he tears down, no one can rebuild; if he shuts someone in, no one can open
up. 15 If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they
overwhelm the land. 16 With him are strength and wisdom; the deceived and the
deceiver are his. 17 He leads counselors away stripped, and makes fools of
judges. 18 He looses the sash of kings, and binds a waistcloth on their loins.
19 He leads priests away stripped, and overthrows the mighty. 20 He deprives of
speech those who are trusted, and takes away the discernment of the elders. 21
He pours contempt on princes, and looses the belt of the strong. 22 He uncovers
the deeps out of darkness, and brings deep darkness to light. 23 He makes
nations great, then destroys them; he enlarges nations, then leads them away. 24
He strips understanding from the leaders of the earth, and makes them wander in
a pathless waste. 25 They grope in the dark without light; he makes them stagger
like a drunkard.
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"Look, 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 my case with God. 4 As for you, you
whitewash with lies; all of you are worthless physicians. 5 If you would only
keep silent, that would be your wisdom! 6 Hear now my reasoning, and listen to
the pleadings of my lips. 7 Will you speak falsely for God, and speak
deceitfully for him? 8 Will you show partiality toward him, will you plead the
case for God? 9 Will it be well with you when he searches you out? Or can you
deceive him, as one person deceives another? 10 He will surely rebuke you if in
secret you show partiality. 11 Will not his majesty terrify you, and the dread
of him fall upon you? 12 Your maxims are proverbs of ashes, your defenses are
defenses of clay. 13 "Let me have silence, and I 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
See, he will kill me; I have no hope; but I will defend my ways to his face. 16
This will be my salvation, that the godless shall not come before him. 17 Listen
carefully to my words, and let my declaration be in your ears. 18 I have indeed
prepared my case; I know that I shall be vindicated. 19 Who is there that will
contend with me? For then I would be silent and die. 20 Only grant two things to
me, then I will not hide myself from your face: 21 withdraw your hand far from
me, and do not let dread of you terrify me. 22 Then call, and I will answer; or
let me speak, and you reply to me. 23 How many are my iniquities and my sins?
Make me know my transgression and my sin. 24 Why do you hide your face, and
count me as your enemy? 25 Will you frighten a windblown leaf and pursue dry
chaff? 26 For you write bitter things against me, and make me reap the
iniquities of my youth. 27 You put my feet in the stocks, and watch all my
paths; you set a bound to the soles of my feet. 28 One wastes away like a rotten
thing, like a garment that is moth-eaten.
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"A mortal, born of woman, few of days and full of trouble, 2 comes
up like a flower and withers, flees like a shadow and does not last. 3 Do you
fix your eyes on such a one? Do you bring me into judgment with you? 4 Who can
bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one can. 5 Since their days are
determined, and the number of their months is known to you, and you have
appointed the bounds that they cannot pass, 6 look away from them, and desist,
that they may enjoy, like laborers, their days. 7 "For there is hope for a tree,
if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not
cease. 8 Though its root grows old in the earth, and its stump dies in the
ground, 9 yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth branches like a
young plant. 10 But mortals die, and are laid low; humans expire, and where are
they? 11 As waters fail from a lake, and a river wastes away and dries up, 12 so
mortals lie down and do not rise again; until the heavens are no more, they will
not awake or be roused out of their sleep. 13 Oh that you would hide me in
Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath is past, that you would
appoint me a set time, and remember me! 14 If mortals die, will they live again?
All the days of my service I would wait until my release should come. 15 You
would call, and I would answer you; you would long for the work of your hands.
16 For then you would not number my steps, you would not keep watch over my sin;
17 my transgression would be sealed up in a bag, and you would cover over my
iniquity. 18 "But the mountain falls and crumbles away, and the rock is removed
from its place; 19 the waters wear away the stones; the torrents wash away the
soil of the earth; so you destroy the hope of mortals. 20 You prevail forever
against them, and they pass away; you change their countenance, and send them
away. 21 Their children come to honor, and they do not know it; they are brought
low, and it goes unnoticed. 22 They feel only the pain of their own bodies, and
mourn only for themselves."
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Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered: 2 "Should the wise answer with
windy knowledge, and fill themselves with the east wind? 3 Should they argue in
unprofitable talk, or in words with which they can do no good? 4 But you are
doing away with the fear of God, and hindering meditation before God. 5 For your
iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the crafty. 6 Your own
mouth condemns you, and not I; your own lips testify against you. 7 "Are you the
firstborn of the human race? Were you brought forth before the hills? 8 Have you
listened in the 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 clear to us? 10
The gray-haired and the aged are on our side, those older than your father. 11
Are the consolations of God too small for you, or the word that deals gently
with you? 12 Why does your heart carry you away, and why do your eyes flash, 13
so that you turn your spirit against God, and let such words go out of your
mouth? 14 What are mortals, that they can be clean? Or those born of woman, that
they can be righteous? 15 God puts no trust even in his holy ones, and the
heavens are not clean in his sight; 16 how much less one who is abominable and
corrupt, one who drinks iniquity like water! 17 "I will show you; listen to me;
what I have seen I will declare-- 18 what sages have told, and their ancestors
have not hidden, 19 to whom alone the land was given, and no stranger passed
among them. 20 The wicked writhe in pain all their days, through all the years
that are laid up for the ruthless. 21 Terrifying sounds are in their ears; in
prosperity the destroyer will come upon them. 22 They despair of returning from
darkness, and they are destined for the sword. 23 They wander abroad for bread,
saying, 'Where is it?' They know that a day of darkness is ready at hand; 24
distress and anguish terrify them; they prevail against them, like a king
prepared for battle. 25 Because they stretched out their hands against God, and
bid defiance to the Almighty, 26 running stubbornly against him with a
thick-bossed shield; 27 because they have covered their faces with their fat,
and gathered fat upon their loins, 28 they will live in desolate cities, in
houses that no one should inhabit, houses destined to become heaps of ruins; 29
they will not be rich, and their wealth will not endure, nor will they strike
root in the earth; 30 they will not escape from darkness; the flame will dry up
their shoots, and their blossom will be swept away by the wind. 31 Let them not
trust in emptiness, deceiving themselves; for emptiness will be their
recompense. 32 It will be paid in full before their time, and their branch will
not be green. 33 They will shake off their unripe grape, like the vine, and cast
off their blossoms, like the olive tree. 34 For the company of the godless is
barren, and fire consumes the tents of bribery. 35 They conceive mischief and
bring forth evil and their heart prepares deceit."
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Then Job answered: 2 "I have heard many such things; miserable
comforters are you all. 3 Have windy words no limit? Or what provokes you that
you keep on talking? 4 I also could talk as you do, if you were in my place; I
could join words together against you, and shake my head at you. 5 I could
encourage you with my mouth, and the solace of my lips would assuage your pain.
6 "If I speak, my pain is not assuaged, and if I forbear, how much of it leaves
me? 7 Surely now God has worn me out; he has made desolate all my company. 8 And
he has shriveled me up, which is a witness against me; my leanness has risen up
against me, and it testifies to my face. 9 He has torn me in his wrath, and
hated me; he has gnashed his teeth at me; my adversary sharpens his eyes against
me. 10 They have gaped at me with their mouths; they have struck me insolently
on the cheek; they mass themselves together against me. 11 God gives me up to
the ungodly, and casts me into the hands of the wicked. 12 I was at ease, and he
broke me in two; he seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces; he set me up
as his target; 13 his archers surround me. He slashes open my kidneys, and shows
no mercy; he pours out my gall on the ground. 14 He bursts upon me again and
again; he rushes at me like a warrior. 15 I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin,
and have laid my strength in the dust. 16 My face is red with weeping, and deep
darkness is on my eyelids, 17 though there is no violence in my hands, and my
prayer is pure. 18 "O earth, do not cover my blood; let my outcry find no
resting place. 19 Even now, in fact, my witness is in heaven, and he that
vouches for me is on high. 20 My friends scorn me; my eye pours out tears to
God, 21 that he would maintain the right of a mortal with God, as one does for a
neighbor. 22 For when a few years have come, I shall go the way from which I
shall not return.
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My spirit is broken, my days are extinct, the grave is ready for me.
2 Surely there are mockers around me, and my eye dwells on their provocation. 3
"Lay down a pledge for me with yourself; who is there that will give surety for
me? 4 Since you have closed their minds to understanding, therefore you will not
let them triumph. 5 Those who denounce friends for reward-- the eyes of their
children will fail. 6 "He has made me a byword of the peoples, and I am one
before whom people spit. 7 My eye has grown dim from grief, and all my members
are like a shadow. 8 The upright are appalled at this, and the innocent stir
themselves up against the godless. 9 Yet the righteous hold to their way, and
they that have clean hands grow stronger and stronger. 10 But you, come back
now, all of you, and I shall not find a sensible person among you. 11 My days
are past, my plans are broken off, the desires of my heart. 12 They make night
into day; 'The light,' they say, 'is near to the darkness.' 13 If I look for
Sheol as my house, if I spread my couch in darkness, 14 if I say to the Pit,
'You are my father,' and to the worm, 'My mother,' or 'My sister,' 15 where then
is my hope? Who will see my hope? 16 Will it go down to the bars of Sheol? Shall
we descend together into the dust?"
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Then Bildad the Shuhite answered: 2 "How long will you hunt for
words? Consider, and then we shall speak. 3 Why are we counted as cattle? Why
are we stupid in your sight? 4 You who tear yourself in your anger-- shall the
earth be forsaken because of you, or the rock be removed out of its place? 5
"Surely the light of the wicked is put out, and the flame of their fire does not
shine. 6 The light is dark in their tent, and the lamp above them is put out. 7
Their strong steps are shortened, and their own schemes throw them down. 8 For
they are thrust into a net by their own feet, and they walk into a pitfall. 9 A
trap seizes them by the heel; a snare lays hold of them. 10 A rope is hid for
them in the ground, a trap for them in the path. 11 Terrors frighten them on
every side, and chase them at their heels. 12 Their strength is consumed by
hunger, and calamity is ready for their stumbling. 13 By disease their skin is
consumed, the firstborn of Death consumes their limbs. 14 They are torn from the
tent in which they trusted, and are brought to the king of terrors. 15 In their
tents nothing remains; sulfur is scattered upon their habitations. 16 Their
roots dry up beneath, and their branches wither above. 17 Their memory perishes
from the earth, and they have no name in the street. 18 They are thrust from
light into darkness, and driven out of the world. 19 They have no offspring or
descendant among their people, and no survivor where they used to live. 20 They
of the west are appalled at their fate, and horror seizes those of the east. 21
Surely such are the dwellings of the ungodly, such is the place of those who do
not know God."
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Then Job answered: 2 "How long will you torment me, and break me in
pieces with words? 3 These ten times you have cast reproach upon me; are you not
ashamed to wrong me? 4 And even if it is true that I have erred, my error
remains with me. 5 If indeed you magnify yourselves against me, and make my
humiliation an argument against me, 6 know then that God has put me in the
wrong, and closed his net around me. 7 Even when I cry out, 'Violence!' I am not
answered; I call aloud, but there is no justice. 8 He has walled up my way so
that I cannot pass, and he has set darkness upon my paths. 9 He has stripped my
glory from me, and taken the crown from my head. 10 He breaks me down on every
side, and I am gone, he has uprooted my hope like a tree. 11 He has kindled his
wrath against me, and counts me as his adversary. 12 His troops come on
together; they have thrown up siegeworks against me, and encamp around my tent.
13 "He has put my family far from me, and my acquaintances are wholly estranged
from me. 14 My relatives and my close friends have failed me; 15 the guests in
my house have forgotten me; my serving girls count me as a stranger; I have
become an alien in their eyes. 16 I call to my servant, but he gives me no
answer; I must myself plead with him. 17 My breath is repulsive to my wife; I am
loathsome to my own family. 18 Even young children despise me; when I rise, they
talk against me. 19 All my intimate friends abhor me, and those whom I loved
have turned against me. 20 My bones cling to my skin and to my flesh, and I have
escaped by the skin of my teeth. 21 Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my
friends, for the hand of God has touched me! 22 Why do you, like God, pursue me,
never satisfied with my flesh? 23 "O that my words were written down! O that
they were inscribed in a book! 24 O that with an iron pen and with lead they
were engraved on a rock forever! 25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that
at the last he will stand upon the earth; 26 and after my skin has been thus
destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God, 27 whom I shall see on my side, and
my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me! 28 If you say,
'How we will persecute him!' and, 'The root of the matter is found in him'; 29
be afraid of the sword, for wrath brings the punishment of the sword, so that
you may know there is a judgment."
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Then Zophar the Naamathite answered: 2 "Pay attention! My thoughts
urge me to answer, because of the agitation within me. 3 I hear censure that
insults me, and a spirit beyond my understanding answers me. 4 Do you not know
this from of old, ever since mortals were placed on earth, 5 that the exulting
of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless is but for a moment? 6 Even
though they mount up high as the heavens, and their head reaches to the clouds,
7 they will perish forever like their own dung; those who have seen them will
say, 'Where are they?' 8 They will fly away like a dream, and not be found; they
will be chased away like a vision of the night. 9 The eye that saw them will see
them no more, nor will their place behold them any longer. 10 Their children
will seek the favor of the poor, and their hands will give back their wealth. 11
Their bodies, once full of youth, will lie down in the dust with them. 12
"Though wickedness is sweet in their mouth, though they hide it under their
tongues, 13 though they are loath to let it go, and hold it in their mouths, 14
yet their food is turned in their stomachs; it is the venom of asps within them.
15 They swallow down riches and vomit them up again; God casts them out of their
bellies. 16 They will suck the poison of asps; the tongue of a viper will kill
them. 17 They will not look on the rivers, the streams flowing with honey and
curds. 18 They will give back the fruit of their toil, and will not swallow it
down; from the profit of their trading they will get no enjoyment. 19 For they
have crushed and abandoned the poor, they have seized a house that they did not
build. 20 "They knew no quiet in their bellies; in their greed they let nothing
escape. 21 There was nothing left after they had eaten; therefore their
prosperity will not endure. 22 In full sufficiency they will be in distress; all
the force of misery will come upon them. 23 To fill their belly to the full God
will send his fierce anger into them, and rain it upon them as their food. 24
They will flee from an iron weapon; a bronze arrow will strike them through. 25
It is drawn forth and comes out of their body, and the glittering point comes
out of their gall; terrors come upon them. 26 Utter darkness is laid up for
their treasures; a fire fanned by no one will devour them; what is left in their
tent will be consumed. 27 The heavens will reveal their iniquity, and the earth
will rise up against them. 28 The possessions of their house will be carried
away, dragged off in the day of God's wrath. 29 This is the portion of the
wicked from God, the heritage decreed for them by God."
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Then Job answered: 2 "Listen carefully to my words, and let this be
your consolation. 3 Bear with me, and I will speak; then after I have spoken,
mock on. 4 As for me, is my complaint addressed to mortals? Why should I not be
impatient? 5 Look at me, and be appalled, and lay your hand upon your mouth. 6
When I think of it I am dismayed, and shuddering seizes my flesh. 7 Why do the
wicked live on, reach old age, and grow mighty in power? 8 Their children are
established in their presence, and their offspring before their eyes. 9 Their
houses are safe from fear, and no rod of God is upon them. 10 Their bull breeds
without fail; their cow calves and never miscarries. 11 They send out their
little ones like a flock, and their children dance around. 12 They sing to the
tambourine and the lyre, and rejoice to the sound of the pipe. 13 They spend
their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to Sheol. 14 They say to
God, 'Leave us alone! We do not desire to know your ways. 15 What is the
Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit do we get if we pray to
him?' 16 Is not their prosperity indeed their own achievement? The plans of the
wicked are repugnant to me. 17 "How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How
often does calamity come upon them? How often does God distribute pains in his
anger? 18 How often are they like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the
storm carries away? 19 You say, 'God stores up their iniquity for their
children.' Let it be paid back to them, so that they may know it. 20 Let their
own eyes see their destruction, and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21 For what do they care for their household after them, when the number of
their months is cut off? 22 Will any teach God knowledge, seeing that he judges
those that are on high? 23 One dies in full prosperity, being wholly at ease and
secure, 24 his loins full of milk and the marrow of his bones moist. 25 Another
dies in bitterness of soul, never having tasted of good. 26 They lie down alike
in the dust, and the worms cover them. 27 "Oh, I know your thoughts, and your
schemes to wrong me. 28 For you say, 'Where is the house of the prince? Where is
the tent in which the wicked lived?' 29 Have you not asked those who travel the
roads, and do you not accept their testimony, 30 that the wicked are spared in
the day of calamity, and are rescued in the day of wrath? 31 Who declares their
way to their face, and who repays them for what they have done? 32 When they are
carried to the grave, a watch is kept over their tomb. 33 The clods of the
valley are sweet to them; everyone will follow after, and those who went before
are innumerable. 34 How then will you comfort me with empty nothings? There is
nothing left of your answers but falsehood."
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Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered: 2 "Can a mortal be of use to
God? Can even the wisest be of service to him? 3 Is it any pleasure to the
Almighty if you are righteous, or is it gain to him if you make your ways
blameless? 4 Is it for your piety that he reproves you, and enters into judgment
with you? 5 Is not your wickedness great? There is no end to your iniquities. 6
For you have exacted pledges from your family for no reason, and stripped the
naked of their clothing. 7 You have given no water to the weary to drink, and
you have withheld bread from the hungry. 8 The powerful possess the land, and
the favored live in it. 9 You have sent widows away empty-handed, and the arms
of the orphans you have crushed. 10 Therefore snares are around you, and sudden
terror overwhelms you, 11 or darkness so that you cannot see; a flood of water
covers you. 12 "Is not God high in the heavens? See the highest stars, how lofty
they are! 13 Therefore you say, 'What does God know? Can he judge through the
deep darkness? 14 Thick clouds enwrap him, so that he does not see, and he walks
on the dome of heaven.' 15 Will you keep to the old way that the wicked have
trod? 16 They were snatched away before their time; their foundation was washed
away by a flood. 17 They said to God, 'Leave us alone,' and 'What can the
Almighty do to us?' 18 Yet he filled their houses with good things-- but the
plans of the wicked are repugnant to me. 19 The righteous see it and are glad;
the innocent laugh them to scorn, 20 saying, 'Surely our adversaries are cut
off, and what they left, the fire has consumed.' 21 "Agree with God, and be at
peace; in this way good will come to 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 restored, if you remove unrighteousness from your tents, 24 if you treat gold
like dust, and gold of Ophir like the stones of the torrent-bed, 25 and if the
Almighty is your gold and your precious silver, 26 then you will delight
yourself in the Almighty, and lift up your face to God. 27 You will pray to him,
and he will hear you, and you will pay your vows. 28 You will decide on a
matter, and it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways.
29 When others are humiliated, you say it is pride; for he saves the humble. 30
He will deliver even those who are guilty; they will escape because of the
cleanness of your hands."
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Then Job answered: 2 "Today also my complaint is bitter; his hand is
heavy despite my groaning. 3 Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I
might come even to his dwelling! 4 I would lay my case before him, and fill my
mouth with arguments. 5 I would learn what he would answer me, and understand
what he would say to me. 6 Would he contend with me in the greatness of his
power? No; but he would give heed to me. 7 There an upright person could reason
with him, and I should be acquitted forever by my judge. 8 "If I go forward, he
is not there; or backward, I cannot perceive him; 9 on the left he hides, and I
cannot behold him; I turn to the right, but I cannot see him. 10 But he knows
the way that I take; when he has tested me, I shall come out like gold. 11 My
foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured in my
bosom the words of his mouth. 13 But he stands alone and who can dissuade him?
What he desires, that he does. 14 For he will complete what he appoints for me;
and many such things are in his mind. 15 Therefore I am terrified at his
presence; when I consider, I am in dread of him. 16 God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me; 17 If only I could vanish in darkness, and thick
darkness would cover my face!
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"Why are times not kept by the Almighty, and why do those who know
him never see his days? 2 The wicked remove landmarks; they seize flocks and
pasture them. 3 They drive away the donkey of the orphan; they take the widow's
ox for a pledge. 4 They thrust the needy off the road; the poor of the earth all
hide themselves. 5 Like wild asses in the desert they go out to their toil,
scavenging in the wasteland food for their young. 6 They reap in a field not
their own and they glean in the vineyard of the wicked. 7 They lie all night
naked, without clothing, and have no covering in the cold. 8 They are wet with
the rain of the mountains, and cling to the rock for want of shelter. 9 "There
are those who snatch the orphan child from the breast, and take as a pledge the
infant of the poor. 10 They go about naked, without clothing; though hungry,
they carry the sheaves; 11 between their terraces they press out oil; they tread
the wine presses, but suffer thirst. 12 From the city the dying groan, and the
throat of the wounded cries for help; yet God pays no attention to their prayer.
13 "There are those who rebel against the light, who are not acquainted with its
ways, and do not stay in its paths. 14 The murderer rises at dusk to kill the
poor and needy, and in the night is like a thief. 15 The eye of the adulterer
also waits for the twilight, saying, 'No eye will see me'; and he disguises his
face. 16 In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves up;
they do not know the light. 17 For deep darkness is morning to all of them; for
they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness. 18 "Swift are they on the
face of the waters; their portion in the land is cursed; no treader turns toward
their vineyards. 19 Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters; so does Sheol
those who have sinned. 20 The womb forgets them; the worm finds them sweet; they
are no longer remembered; so wickedness is broken like a tree. 21 "They harm the
childless woman, and do no good to the widow. 22 Yet God prolongs the life of
the mighty by his power; they rise up when they despair of life. 23 He gives
them security, and they are supported; his eyes are upon their ways. 24 They are
exalted a little while, and then are gone; they wither and fade like the mallow;
they are cut off like the heads of grain. 25 If it is not so, who will prove me
a liar, and show that there is nothing in what I say?"
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Then Bildad the Shuhite answered: 2 "Dominion and fear are with God;
he makes peace in his high heaven. 3 Is there any number to his armies? Upon
whom does his light not arise? 4 How then can a mortal be righteous before God?
How can one born of woman be pure? 5 If even the moon is not bright and the
stars are not pure in his sight, 6 how much less a mortal, who is a maggot, and
a human being, who is a worm!"
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Then Job answered: 2 "How you have helped one who has no power! How
you have assisted the arm that has no strength! 3 How you have counseled one who
has no wisdom, and given much good advice! 4 With whose help have you uttered
words, and whose spirit has come forth from you? 5 The shades below tremble, the
waters and their inhabitants. 6 Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no
covering. 7 He stretches out Zaphon over the void, and hangs the earth upon
nothing. 8 He binds up the waters in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not torn
open by them. 9 He covers the face of the full moon, and spreads over it his
cloud. 10 He has described a circle on the face of the waters, at the boundary
between light and darkness. 11 The pillars of heaven tremble, and are astounded
at his rebuke. 12 By his power he stilled the Sea; by his understanding he
struck down Rahab. 13 By his wind the heavens were made fair; his hand pierced
the fleeing serpent. 14 These are indeed but the outskirts of his ways; and how
small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can
understand?"
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Job again took up his discourse and said: 2 "As God lives, who has
taken away my right, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, 3 as long as
my breath is in me and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, 4 my lips will not
speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit. 5 Far be it from me to say
that you are right; until I die I will not put away my integrity from me. 6 I
hold fast my righteousness, and will not let it go; my heart does not reproach
me for any of my days. 7 "May my enemy be like the wicked, and may my opponent
be like the unrighteous. 8 For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts
them off, when God takes away their lives? 9 Will God hear their cry when
trouble comes upon them? 10 Will they take delight in the Almighty? Will they
call upon God at all times? 11 I will teach you concerning the hand of God; that
which is with the Almighty I will not conceal. 12 All of you have seen it
yourselves; why then have you become altogether vain? 13 "This is the portion of
the wicked with God, and the heritage that oppressors receive from the Almighty:
14 If their children are multiplied, it is for the sword; and their offspring
have not enough to eat. 15 Those who survive them the pestilence buries, and
their widows make no lamentation. 16 Though they heap up silver like dust, and
pile up clothing like clay-- 17 they may pile it up, but the just will wear it,
and the innocent will divide the silver. 18 They build their houses like nests,
like booths made by sentinels of the vineyard. 19 They go to bed with wealth,
but will do so no more; they open their eyes, and it is gone. 20 Terrors
overtake them like a flood; in the night a whirlwind carries them off. 21 The
east wind lifts them up and they are gone; it sweeps them out of their place. 22
It hurls at them without pity; they flee from its power in headlong flight. 23
It claps its hands at them, and hisses at them from its place.
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"Surely there is 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 ore. 3
Miners put an end to darkness, and search out to the farthest bound the ore in
gloom and deep darkness. 4 They open shafts in a valley away from human
habitation; they are forgotten by travelers, they sway suspended, remote from
people. 5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread; but underneath it is turned
up as by fire. 6 Its stones are the place of sapphires, and its dust contains
gold. 7 "That path no bird of prey knows, and the falcon's eye has not seen it.
8 The proud wild animals have not trodden it; the lion has not passed over it. 9
"They put their hand to the flinty rock, and overturn mountains by the roots. 10
They cut out channels in the rocks, and their eyes see every precious thing. 11
The sources of the rivers they probe; hidden things they bring to light. 12 "But
where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? 13 Mortals
do not know the way to it, and it is not 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 It
cannot be gotten for gold, and silver cannot be weighed out as its price. 16 It
cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire. 17 Gold and
glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. 18 No
mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; the price of wisdom is above
pearls. 19 The chrysolite of Ethiopia cannot compare with it, nor can it be
valued in pure gold. 20 "Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the
place of understanding? 21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living, and
concealed from the birds of the air. 22 Abaddon and Death say, 'We have heard a
rumor of it with our ears.' 23 "God understands the way to it, and he knows its
place. 24 For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees everything under the
heavens. 25 When he gave to the wind its weight, and apportioned out the waters
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 searched
it out. 28 And he said to humankind, 'Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is
wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.'"
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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 when I was in
my prime, when the friendship of God was upon my tent; 5 when the Almighty was
still with me, when my children were around me; 6 when my steps were washed with
milk, and the rock poured out for me streams of oil! 7 When I went out to the
gate of the city, when I took my seat in the square, 8 the young men saw me and
withdrew, and the aged rose up and stood; 9 the nobles refrained from talking,
and laid their hands on their mouths; 10 the voices of princes were hushed, and
their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths. 11 When the ear heard, it
commended me, and when the eye saw, it approved; 12 because I delivered the poor
who cried, and the orphan who had no helper. 13 The blessing of the wretched
came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing 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 feet to the lame. 16 I was a father to the needy, and
I championed the cause of the stranger. 17 I broke the fangs of the unrighteous,
and made them drop their prey from their teeth. 18 Then I thought, 'I shall die
in my nest, and I shall multiply my days like the phoenix; 19 my roots spread
out to the waters, with the dew all night on my branches; 20 my glory was fresh
with me, and my bow ever new in my hand.' 21 "They listened to me, and waited,
and kept silence for my counsel. 22 After I spoke they did not speak again, and
my word dropped upon them like dew. 23 They waited for me as for the rain; they
opened their mouths as for the spring rain. 24 I smiled on them when they had no
confidence; and the light of my countenance they did not extinguish. 25 I chose
their way, and sat as chief, and I lived like a king among his troops, like one
who comforts mourners.
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"But now they make sport of me, those who are younger than I, whose
fathers I would have disdained to set with the dogs of my flock. 2 What could I
gain from the strength of their hands? All their vigor is gone. 3 Through want
and hard hunger they gnaw the dry and desolate ground, 4 they pick mallow and
the leaves of bushes, and to warm themselves the roots of broom. 5 They are
driven out from society; people shout after them as after a thief. 6 In the
gullies of wadis they must live, in holes in the ground, and in the rocks. 7
Among the bushes they bray; under the nettles they huddle together. 8 A
senseless, disreputable brood, they have been whipped out of the land. 9 "And
now they mock me in song; I am a byword to them. 10 They abhor me, they keep
aloof from me; they do not hesitate to spit at the sight of me. 11 Because God
has loosed my bowstring and humbled me, they have cast off restraint in my
presence. 12 On my right hand the rabble rise up; they send me sprawling, and
build roads for my ruin. 13 They break up my path, they promote my calamity; no
one restrains them. 14 As through a wide breach they come; amid the crash they
roll on. 15 Terrors are turned upon me; my honor is pursued as by the wind, and
my prosperity has passed 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 racks my
bones, and the pain that gnaws me takes no rest. 18 With violence he seizes my
garment; he grasps me by the collar of my tunic. 19 He has cast me into the
mire, and I have become like dust and ashes. 20 I cry to you and you do not
answer me; I stand, and you merely look at me. 21 You have turned cruel to me;
with the might of your hand you persecute me. 22 You lift me up on the wind, you
make me ride on it, and you toss me about in the roar of the storm. 23 I know
that you will bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living. 24
"Surely one does not turn against the needy, when in disaster they cry for help.
25 Did I not weep for those whose day was hard? Was not my soul grieved for the
poor? 26 But when I looked for good, evil came; and when I waited for light,
darkness came. 27 My inward parts are in turmoil, and are never still; days of
affliction come to meet me. 28 I go about in sunless gloom; I stand up in the
assembly and cry for help. 29 I am a brother of jackals, and a companion of
ostriches. 30 My skin turns black and falls from me, and my bones burn with
heat. 31 My lyre is turned to mourning, and my pipe to the voice of those who
weep.
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"I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I look upon a
virgin? 2 What would be my portion from God above, and my heritage from the
Almighty on high? 3 Does not calamity befall the unrighteous, and disaster the
workers of iniquity? 4 Does he not see my ways, and number all my steps? 5 "If I
have walked with falsehood, and my foot has hurried to deceit-- 6 let me be
weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity!-- 7 if my step has
turned aside from the way, and my heart has followed my eyes, and if any spot
has clung to my hands; 8 then let me sow, and another eat; and let what grows
for me be rooted out. 9 "If my heart has been enticed by a woman, and I have
lain in wait at my neighbor's door; 10 then let my wife grind for another, and
let other men kneel over her. 11 For that would be a heinous crime; that would
be a criminal offense; 12 for that would be a fire consuming down to Abaddon,
and it would burn to the root all my harvest. 13 "If I have rejected the cause
of my male or female slaves, when they brought a complaint against me; 14 what
then shall I do when God rises up? When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer
him? 15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them? And did not one fashion us
in the womb? 16 "If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have
caused the eyes of the widow to fail, 17 or have eaten my morsel alone, and the
orphan has not eaten from it-- 18 for from my youth I reared the orphan like a
father, and from my mother's womb I guided the widow-- 19 if I have seen anyone
perish for lack of clothing, or a poor person without covering, 20 whose loins
have not blessed me, and who was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep; 21 if I
have raised my hand against the orphan, because I saw I had supporters at the
gate; 22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder, and let my arm be
broken from its socket. 23 For I was in terror of calamity from God, and I could
not have faced his majesty. 24 "If I have made gold my trust, or called fine
gold my confidence; 25 if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, or
because my hand had gotten much; 26 if I have looked at the sun when it shone,
or the moon moving in splendor, 27 and my heart has been secretly enticed, and
my mouth has kissed my hand; 28 this also would be an iniquity to be punished by
the judges, for I should have been false to God above. 29 "If I have rejoiced at
the ruin of those who hated me, or exulted when evil overtook them-- 30 I have
not let my mouth sin by asking for their lives with a curse-- 31 if those of my
tent ever said, 'O that we might be sated with his flesh!'-- 32 the stranger has
not lodged in the street; I have opened my doors to the traveler-- 33 if I have
concealed my transgressions as others do, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom, 34
because I stood in great fear of the multitude, and the contempt of families
terrified me, so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors-- 35 Oh, that
I had one to hear me! (Here is my signature! let the Almighty answer me!) Oh,
that I had the indictment written by my adversary! 36 Surely I would carry it on
my shoulder; I would bind it on me like a crown; 37 I would give him an account
of all my steps; like a prince I would approach him. 38 "If my land has cried
out against me, and its furrows have wept together; 39 if I have eaten its yield
without payment, and caused the death of its owners; 40 let thorns grow instead
of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley." The words of Job are ended.
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So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in
his own eyes. 2 Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram,
became angry. He was angry at Job because he justified himself rather than God;
3 he was angry also at Job's three friends because they had found no answer,
though they had declared Job to be in the wrong. 4 Now Elihu had waited to speak
to Job, because they were older than he. 5 But when Elihu saw that there was no
answer in the mouths of these three men, he became angry. 6 Elihu son of
Barachel the Buzite answered: "I am young in years, and you are aged; therefore
I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to you. 7 I said, 'Let days speak,
and many years teach wisdom.' 8 But truly it is the spirit in a mortal, the
breath of the Almighty, that makes for understanding. 9 It is not the old that
are wise, nor the aged that understand what is right. 10 Therefore I say,
'Listen to me; let me also declare my opinion.' 11 "See, I waited for your
words, I listened for your wise sayings, while you searched out what to say. 12
I gave you my attention, but there was in fact no one that confuted Job, no one
among you that answered his words. 13 Yet do not say, 'We have found wisdom; God
may vanquish him, not a human.' 14 He has not directed his words against me, and
I will not answer him with your speeches. 15 "They are dismayed, they answer no
more; they have not a word to say. 16 And am I to wait, because they do not
speak, because they stand there, and answer no more? 17 I also will give my
answer; I also will declare my opinion. 18 For I am full of words; the spirit
within me constrains me. 19 My heart is indeed like wine that has no vent; like
new wineskins, it is ready to burst. 20 I must speak, so that I may find relief;
I must open my lips and answer. 21 I will not show partiality to any person or
use flattery toward anyone. 22 For I do not know how to flatter-- or my Maker
would soon put an end to me!
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"But now, hear my speech, O Job, and listen to all my words. 2 See,
I open my mouth; the tongue in my mouth speaks. 3 My words declare 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 gives me life. 5
Answer me, if you can; set your words in order before me; take your stand. 6
See, before God I am as you are; I too was formed from a piece of clay. 7 No
fear of me need terrify you; my pressure will not be heavy on you. 8 "Surely,
you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard the sound of your words. 9 You
say, 'I am clean, without transgression; I am pure, and there is no iniquity in
me. 10 Look, he finds occasions against me, he counts me as his enemy; 11 he
puts my feet in the stocks, and watches all my paths.' 12 "But in this you are
not right. I will answer you: God is greater than any mortal. 13 Why do you
contend against him, saying, 'He will answer none of my words'? 14 For God
speaks in one way, and in two, though people do not perceive it. 15 In a dream,
in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on mortals, while they slumber
on their beds, 16 then he opens their ears, and terrifies them with warnings, 17
that he may turn them aside from their deeds, and keep them from pride, 18 to
spare their souls from the Pit, their lives from traversing the River. 19 They
are also chastened with pain upon their beds, and with continual strife in their
bones, 20 so that their lives loathe bread, and their appetites dainty food. 21
Their flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen; and their bones, once
invisible, now stick out. 22 Their souls draw near the Pit, and their lives to
those who bring death. 23 Then, if there should be for one of them an angel, a
mediator, one of a thousand, one who declares a person upright, 24 and he is
gracious to that person, and says, 'Deliver him from going down into the Pit; I
have found a ransom; 25 let his flesh become fresh with youth; let him return to
the days of his youthful vigor.' 26 Then he prays to God, and is accepted by
him, he comes into his presence with joy, and God repays him for his
righteousness. 27 That person sings to others and says, 'I sinned, and perverted
what was right, and it was not paid back to me. 28 He has redeemed my soul from
going down to the Pit, and my life shall see the light.' 29 "God indeed does all
these things, twice, three times, with mortals, 30 to bring back their souls
from the Pit, so that they may see the light of life. 31 Pay heed, Job, listen
to 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, listen to me; be silent, and I
will teach you wisdom."
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Then Elihu continued and said: 2 "Hear my words, you wise men, and
give ear to me, you who know; 3 for the ear tests words as the palate tastes
food. 4 Let us choose what is right; let us determine among ourselves what is
good. 5 For Job has said, 'I am innocent, and God has taken away my right; 6 in
spite of being right I am counted a liar; my wound is incurable, though I am
without transgression.' 7 Who is there like Job, who drinks up scoffing like
water, 8 who goes in company with evildoers and walks with the wicked? 9 For he
has said, 'It profits one nothing to take delight in God.' 10 "Therefore, hear
me, you who have sense, far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and
from the Almighty that he should do wrong. 11 For according to their deeds he
will repay them, and according to their ways he will make it befall them. 12 Of
a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice. 13
Who gave him charge over the earth and who laid on him the whole world? 14 If he
should take back his spirit to himself, and gather to himself his breath, 15 all
flesh would perish together, and all mortals return to dust. 16 "If you have
understanding, hear this; listen to what I say. 17 Shall one who hates justice
govern? Will you condemn one who is righteous and mighty, 18 who says to a king,
'You scoundrel!' and to princes, 'You wicked men!'; 19 who shows no partiality
to nobles, nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they are all the work of
his hands? 20 In a moment they die; at midnight the people are shaken and pass
away, and the mighty are taken away by no human hand. 21 "For his eyes are upon
the ways of mortals, and he sees all their steps. 22 There is no gloom or deep
darkness where evildoers may hide themselves. 23 For he has not appointed a time
for anyone to go before God in judgment. 24 He shatters the mighty without
investigation, and sets others in their place. 25 Thus, knowing their works, he
overturns them in the night, and they are crushed. 26 He strikes them for their
wickedness while others look on, 27 because they turned aside from following
him, and had no regard for 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
quiet, who can condemn? When he hides his face, who can behold him, whether it
be a nation or an individual?-- 30 so that the godless should not reign, or
those who ensnare the people. 31 "For has anyone said to God, 'I have endured
punishment; I will not offend any more; 32 teach me what I do not see; if I have
done iniquity, I will do it no more'? 33 Will he then pay back to suit you,
because you reject it? For you must choose, and not I; therefore declare what
you know. 34 Those who have sense will say to me, and the wise who hear me will
say, 35 'Job speaks without knowledge, his words are without insight.' 36 Would
that Job were tried to the limit, because his answers are those of the wicked.
37 For he adds rebellion to his sin; he claps his hands among us, and multiplies
his words against God."
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Elihu continued and said: 2 "Do you think this to be just? You say,
'I am in the right before God.' 3 If you ask, 'What advantage have I? How am I
better off than if I had sinned?' 4 I will answer you and your friends with you.
5 Look at the heavens and see; observe the clouds, which are higher than you. 6
If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him? And if your
transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him? 7 If you are righteous,
what do you give to him; or what does he receive from your hand? 8 Your
wickedness affects others like you, and your righteousness, other human beings.
9 "Because of the multitude of oppressions people cry out; they call for help
because of the arm of the mighty. 10 But no one says, 'Where is God my Maker,
who gives strength in the night, 11 who teaches us more than the animals of the
earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?' 12 There they cry out, but
he does not answer, because of the pride of evildoers. 13 Surely God does not
hear an empty cry, nor does the Almighty regard it. 14 How much less when you
say that you do not see him, that the case is before him, and you are waiting
for him! 15 And now, because his anger does not punish, and he does not greatly
heed transgression, 16 Job opens his mouth in empty talk, he multiplies words
without knowledge."
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) Elihu continued and said: 2 "Bear with me a little, and I will show
you, for I have yet something to say on God's behalf. 3 I will bring my
knowledge from far away, and ascribe righteousness to my Maker. 4 For truly my
words are not false; one who is perfect in knowledge is with you. 5 "Surely God
is mighty and does not despise any; he is mighty in strength of understanding. 6
He does not keep the wicked alive, but gives the afflicted their right. 7 He
does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous, but with kings on the throne he
sets them forever, and they are exalted. 8 And if they are bound in fetters and
caught in the cords of affliction, 9 then he declares to them their work and
their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly. 10 He opens their ears
to instruction, and commands that they return from iniquity. 11 If they listen,
and serve him, they complete their days in prosperity, and their years in
pleasantness. 12 But if they do not listen, they shall perish by the sword, and
die without knowledge. 13 "The godless in heart cherish anger; they do not cry
for help when he binds them. 14 They die in their youth, and their life ends in
shame. 15 He delivers the afflicted by their affliction, and opens their ear by
adversity. 16 He also allured you out of distress into a broad place where there
was no constraint, and what was set on your table was full of fatness. 17 "But
you are obsessed with the case of the wicked; judgment and justice seize you. 18
Beware that wrath does not entice you into scoffing, and do not let the
greatness of the ransom turn you aside. 19 Will your cry avail to keep you from
distress, or will all the force of your strength? 20 Do not long for the night,
when peoples are cut off in their place. 21 Beware! Do not turn to iniquity;
because of that you have been tried by affliction. 22 See, God is exalted in his
power; who is a teacher like him? 23 Who has prescribed for him his way, or who
can say, 'You have done wrong'? 24 "Remember to extol his work, of which mortals
have sung. 25 All people have looked on it; everyone watches it from far away.
26 Surely God is great, and we do not know him; the number of his years is
unsearchable. 27 For he draws up the drops of water; he distills his mist in
rain, 28 which the skies pour down and drop upon mortals abundantly. 29 Can
anyone understand the spreading of the clouds, the thunderings of his pavilion?
30 See, he scatters his lightning around him and covers the roots of the sea. 31
For by these he governs peoples; he gives food in abundance. 32 He covers his
hands with the lightning, and commands it to strike the mark. 33 Its crashing
tells about him; he is jealous with anger against iniquity.
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"At this also my heart trembles, and leaps out of its place. 2
Listen, listen to the thunder of his voice and the rumbling that comes from his
mouth. 3 Under the whole heaven he lets it loose, and his lightning to the
corners of the earth. 4 After it his voice roars; he thunders with his majestic
voice and he does not restrain the lightnings when his voice is heard. 5 God
thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things that we cannot
comprehend. 6 For to the snow he says, 'Fall on the earth'; and the shower of
rain, his heavy shower of rain, 7 serves as a sign on everyone's hand, so that
all whom he has made may know it. 8 Then the animals go into their lairs and
remain in their dens. 9 From its chamber comes the whirlwind, and cold from the
scattering winds. 10 By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are
frozen fast. 11 He loads the thick cloud with moisture; the clouds scatter his
lightning. 12 They turn round and round by his guidance, to accomplish all that
he commands them on the face of the habitable world. 13 Whether for correction,
or for his land, or for love, he causes it to happen. 14 "Hear this, O Job; stop
and consider the wondrous works of God. 15 Do you know how God lays his command
upon them, and causes the lightning of his cloud to shine? 16 Do you know the
balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of the one whose knowledge is
perfect, 17 you whose garments are hot when the earth is still because of the
south wind? 18 Can you, like him, spread out the skies, hard as a molten mirror?
19 Teach us what we shall say to him; we cannot draw up our case because of
darkness. 20 Should he be told that I want to speak? Did anyone ever wish to be
swallowed up? 21 Now, no one can look on the light when it is bright in the
skies, when the wind has passed and cleared them. 22 Out of the north comes
golden splendor; around God is awesome majesty. 23 The Almighty--we cannot find
him; he is great in power and justice, and abundant righteousness he will not
violate. 24 Therefore mortals fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in
their own conceit."
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Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind: 2 "Who is this that
darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Gird up your loins like a man, I
will question you, and you shall declare to me. 4 "Where were you when I laid
the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5 Who
determined its measurements--surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone 7 when the morning
stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? 8 "Or who shut
in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb?-- 9 when I made the
clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, 10 and prescribed
bounds for it, and set bars and doors, 11 and said, 'Thus far shall you come,
and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stopped'? 12 "Have you
commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its
place, 13 so that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked
be shaken out of it? 14 It is changed like clay under the seal, and it is dyed
like a garment. 15 Light is withheld from the wicked, and their uplifted arm is
broken. 16 "Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the
recesses of the deep? 17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have
you seen the gates of deep darkness? 18 Have you comprehended the expanse of the
earth? Declare, if you know all this. 19 "Where is the way to the dwelling of
light, and where is the place of darkness, 20 that you may take it to its
territory and that you may discern the paths to its home? 21 Surely you know,
for you were born then, and the number of your days is great! 22 "Have you
entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the
hail, 23 which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle
and war? 24 What is the way to the place where the light is distributed, or
where the east wind is scattered upon the earth? 25 "Who has cut a channel for
the torrents of rain, and a way for the thunderbolt, 26 to bring rain on a land
where no one lives, on the desert, which is empty of human life, 27 to satisfy
the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground put forth grass? 28 "Has the
rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew? 29 From whose womb did the
ice come forth, and who has given birth to the hoarfrost of heaven? 30 The
waters become hard like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. 31 "Can you
bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loose the cords of Orion? 32 Can you lead
forth the Mazzaroth in their season, or can you guide the Bear with its
children? 33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their
rule on the earth? 34 "Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that a flood
of waters may cover you? 35 Can you send forth lightnings, so that they may 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 has the wisdom to number the clouds? Or
who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens, 38 when the dust runs into a mass
and the clods cling together? 39 "Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy
the appetite of the young lions, 40 when they crouch in their dens, or lie in
wait in their covert? 41 Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young
ones cry to God, and wander about for lack of food?
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"Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the
calving of the deer? 2 Can you number the months that they fulfill, and do you
know the time when they give birth, 3 when they crouch to give birth to their
offspring, and are delivered of their young? 4 Their young ones become strong,
they grow up in the open; they go forth, and do not return to them. 5 "Who has
let the wild ass go free? Who has loosed the bonds of the swift ass, 6 to which
I have given the steppe for its home, the salt land for its dwelling place? 7 It
scorns the tumult of the city; it does not hear the shouts of the driver. 8 It
ranges the mountains as its pasture, and it searches after every green thing. 9
"Is the wild ox willing to serve you? Will it spend the night at your crib? 10
Can you tie it in the furrow with ropes, or will it harrow the valleys after
you? 11 Will you depend on it because its strength is great, and will you hand
over your labor to it? 12 Do you have faith in it that it will return, and bring
your grain to your threshing floor? 13 "The ostrich's wings flap wildly, though
its pinions lack plumage. 14 For it leaves its eggs to the earth, and lets them
be warmed on the ground, 15 forgetting that a foot may crush them, and that a
wild animal may trample them. 16 It deals cruelly with its young, as if they
were not its own; though its labor should be in vain, yet it has no fear; 17
because God has made it forget wisdom, and given it no share in understanding.
18 When it spreads its plumes aloft, it laughs at the horse and its rider. 19
"Do you give the horse its might? Do you clothe its neck with mane? 20 Do you
make it leap like the locust? Its majestic snorting is terrible. 21 It paws
violently, exults mightily; it goes out to meet the weapons. 22 It laughs at
fear, and is not dismayed; it does not turn back from the sword. 23 Upon it
rattle the quiver, the flashing spear, and the javelin. 24 With fierceness and
rage it swallows the ground; it cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
25 When the trumpet sounds, it says 'Aha!' From a distance it smells the battle,
the thunder of the captains, and the shouting. 26 "Is it by your wisdom that the
hawk soars, and spreads its wings toward the south? 27 Is it at your command
that the eagle mounts up and makes its nest on high? 28 It lives on the rock and
makes its home in the fastness of the rocky crag. 29 From there it spies the
prey; its eyes see it from far away. 30 Its young ones suck up blood; and where
the slain are, there it is."
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And the LORD said to Job: 2 "Shall a faultfinder contend with the
Almighty? Anyone who argues with God must respond." 3 Then Job answered the
LORD: 4 "See, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on
my mouth. 5 I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but will proceed
no further." 6 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind: 7 "Gird up your
loins like a man; I will question you, and you declare to me. 8 Will you even
put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be justified? 9 Have you
an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his? 10 "Deck yourself
with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor. 11 Pour out
the overflowings of your anger, and look on all who are proud, and abase them.
12 Look on all who are proud, and bring them low; tread down the wicked where
they stand. 13 Hide them all in the dust together; bind their faces in the world
below. 14 Then I will also acknowledge to you that your own right hand can give
you victory. 15 "Look at Behemoth, which I made just as I made you; it eats
grass like an ox. 16 Its strength is in its loins, and its power in the muscles
of its belly. 17 It makes its tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs
are knit together. 18 Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like bars of
iron. 19 "It is the first of the great acts of God-- only its Maker can approach
it with the sword. 20 For the mountains yield food for it where all the wild
animals play. 21 Under the lotus plants it lies, in the covert of the reeds and
in the marsh. 22 The lotus trees cover it for shade; the willows of the wadi
surround it. 23 Even if the river is turbulent, it is not frightened; it is
confident though Jordan rushes against its mouth. 24 Can one take it with hooks
or pierce its nose with a snare?
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"Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook, or press down its
tongue with a cord? 2 Can you put a rope in its nose, or pierce its jaw with a
hook? 3 Will it make many supplications to you? Will it speak soft words to you?
4 Will it make a covenant with you to be taken as your servant forever? 5 Will
you play with it as with a bird, or will you put it on leash for your girls? 6
Will traders bargain over it? Will they divide it up among the merchants? 7 Can
you fill its skin with harpoons, or its head with fishing spears? 8 Lay hands on
it; think of the battle; you will not do it again! 9 Any hope of capturing it
will be disappointed; were not even the gods overwhelmed at the sight of it? 10
No one is so fierce as to dare to stir it up. Who can stand before it? 11 Who
can confront it and be safe? --under the whole heaven, who? 12 "I will not keep
silence concerning its limbs, or its mighty strength, or its splendid frame. 13
Who can strip off its outer garment? Who can penetrate its double coat of mail?
14 Who can open the doors of its face? There is terror all around its teeth. 15
Its back is made of shields in rows, shut up closely as with a seal. 16 One is
so near to another that no air can come between them. 17 They are joined one to
another; they clasp each other and cannot be separated. 18 Its sneezes flash
forth light, and its eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn. 19 From its mouth go
flaming torches; sparks of fire leap out. 20 Out of its nostrils comes smoke, as
from a boiling pot and burning rushes. 21 Its breath kindles coals, and a flame
comes out of its mouth. 22 In its neck abides strength, and terror dances before
it. 23 The folds of its flesh cling together; it is firmly cast and immovable.
24 Its heart is as hard as stone, as hard as the lower millstone. 25 When it
raises itself up the gods are afraid; at the crashing they are beside
themselves. 26 Though the sword reaches it, it does not avail, nor does the
spear, the dart, or the javelin. 27 It counts iron as straw, and bronze as
rotten wood. 28 The arrow cannot make it flee; slingstones, for it, are turned
to chaff. 29 Clubs are counted as chaff; it laughs at the rattle of javelins. 30
Its underparts are like sharp potsherds; it spreads itself like a threshing
sledge on the mire. 31 It makes the deep boil like a pot; it makes the sea like
a pot of ointment. 32 It leaves a shining wake behind it; one would think the
deep to be white-haired. 33 On earth it has no equal, a creature without fear.
34 It surveys everything that is lofty; it is king over all that are proud."
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Then Job answered the LORD: 2 "I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 3 'Who is this that 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, and I will speak; I will
question you, and you declare to me.' 5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the
ear, but now my eye sees you; 6 therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust
and ashes." 7 After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to
Eliphaz the Temanite: "My wrath is kindled against you and against your two
friends; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. 8
Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and
offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you,
for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly; for
you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has done." 9 So
Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and
did what the LORD had told them; and the LORD accepted Job's prayer. 10 And the
LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends; and the
LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. 11 Then there came to him all his
brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they ate bread with
him in his house; they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil
that the LORD had brought upon him; and each of them gave him a piece of money
and a gold ring. 12 The LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his
beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand
yoke of oxen, and a thousand donkeys. 13 He also had seven sons and three
daughters. 14 He named the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third
Keren-happuch. 15 In all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job's
daughters; and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers.
16 After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children, and
his children's children, four generations. 17 And Job died, old and full of
days.
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