Chapter 4
[1] Then Eliphaz the Thaemanite answered and said,
[2] Hast thou been often spoken to in distress? but who shall endure the force of thy words? [3] For whereas thou hast instructed many, and hast strengthened the hands of the weak one, [4] and hast supported the failing with words, and hast imparted courage to feeble knees. [5] Yet now that pain has come upon thee, and touched thee, thou art troubled. [6] Is not thy fear founded in folly, thy hope also, and the mischief of thy way? [7] Remember then who has perished, being pure? or when were the true-hearted utterly destroyed? [8] Accordingly as I have seen men ploughing barren places, and they that sow them will reap sorrows for themselves. [9] They shall perish by the command of the Lord, and shall be utterly consumed by the breath of his wrath.
[10] The strength of the lion, and the voice of the lioness, and the exulting cry of serpents are quenched. [11] The old lion has perished for want of food, and the lions’ whelps have forsaken one another.
[12] But if there had been any truth in thy words, none of these evils would have befallen thee. Shall not mine ear receive excellent revelations from him? [13] But as when terror falls upon men, with dread and a sound in the night, [14] horror and trembling seized me, and caused all my bones greatly to shake. [15] And a spirit came before my face; and my hair and flesh quivered. [16] I arose and perceived it not: I looked, and there, was no form before my eyes: but I only heard a breath and a voice, saying, [17] What, shall a mortal be pure before the Lord? or a man be blameless in regard to his works? [18] Whereas he trust not in his servants, and perceives perverseness in his angels.
[19] But as for them that dwell in houses of clay, of whom we also are formed of the same clay, he smites them like a moth. [20] And from the morning to evening they no longer exist: they have perished, because they cannot help themselves. [21] For he blows upon them, and they are withered: they have perished for lack of wisdom.
Chapter 5
[1] But call, if any one will hearken to thee, or if thou shalt see any of the holy angels. [2] For wrath destroys the foolish one, and envy slays him that has gone astray. [3] And I have seen foolish ones taking root: but suddenly their habitation was devoured. [4] Let their children be far from safety, and let them be crushed at the doors of vile men, and let there be no deliverer. [5] For what they have collected, the just shall eat; but they shall not be delivered out of calamities: let their strength be utterly exhausted. [6] For labour cannot by any means come out of the earth, nor shall trouble spring out of the mountains: [7] yet man is born to labour, and even so the vulture’s young seek the high places.
[8] Nevertheless I will beseech the Lord, and will call upon the Lord, the sovereign of all; [9] who does great things and untraceable, glorious things also, and marvellous, of which there is no number: [10] who gives rain upon the earth, sending water on the earth: [11] who exalts the lowly, and raises up them that are lost: [12] frustrating the counsels of the crafty, and their hands shall not perform the truth: [13] who takes the wise in their wisdom, and subverts the counsel of the crafty [14] In the day darkness shall come upon them, and let them grope in the noon-day even as in the night: [15] and let them perish in war, and let the weak escape from the hand of the mighty. [16] And let the weak have hope, but the mouth of the unjust be stopped.
[17] But blessed is the man whom the Lord has reproved; and reject not thou the chastening of the Almighty. [18] for he causes a man to be in pain, and restores him again: he smites, and his hands heal. [19] Six time he shall deliver thee out of distresses: and in the seventh harm shall not touch thee. [20] In famine he shall deliver thee from death: and in war he shall free thee from the power of the sword. [21] He shall hide thee from the scourge of the tongue: and thou shalt not be afraid of coming evils. [22] Thou shalt laugh at the unrighteous and the lawless: and thou shalt not be afraid of wild beasts. [23] For the wild beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. [24] Then shalt thou know that thy house shall be at peace, and the provision for thy tabernacle shall not fail. [25] And thou shalt know that thy seed shall be abundant; and thy children shall be like the herbage of the field. [26] And thou shalt come to the grave like ripe corn reaped in its season, or as a heap of the corn-flour collected in proper time.
[27] Behold, we have thus sought out these matters; these are what we have heard: but do thou reflect with thyself, if thou hast done anything wrong.
Chapter 6
[1] But Job answered and said,
[2] Oh that one would indeed weigh the wrath that is upon me, and take up my griefs in a balance together! [3] And verily they would be heavier than the sand by the seashore: but, as it seems, my words are vain. [4] For the arrows of the Lord are in my body, whose violence drinks up my blood: whenever I am going to speak, they pierce me. [5] What then? will the wild ass bray for nothing, if he is not seeking food? or again, will the ox low at the manger, when he has a fodder? [6] Shall bread be eaten without salt? or again, is there taste in empty words? [7] For my wrath cannot cease; for I perceive my food as the smell of a lion to be loathsome.
[8] For oh that he would grant my desire, and my petition might come, and the Lord would grant my hope! [9] Let the Lord begin and wound me, but let him not utterly destroy me. [10] Let the grave be my city, upon the walls of which I have leaped: I will not shrink from it; for I have not denied the holy words of my God. [11] For what is my strength, that I continue? what is my time, that my soul endures? [12] Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass? [13] Or have I not trusted in him? but help is far from me.
[14] Mercy has rejected me; and the visitation of the Lord has disregarded me. [15] My nearest relations have not regarded me; they have passed me by like a failing brook, or like a wave. [16] They who used to reverence me, now have come against me like snow or congealed ice. [17] When it has melted at the approach of heat, it is not known what it was. [18] Thus I also have been deserted of all; and I am ruined, and become an outcast. [19] Behold the ways of the Thaemanites, ye that mark the paths of the Sabaeans. [20] They too that trust in cities and riches shall come to shame. [21] But ye also have come to me without pity; so that beholding my wound ye are afraid. [22] What? have I made any demand of you? or do I ask for strength from you, [23] to deliver me from enemies, or to rescue me from the hand of the mighty ones?
[24] Teach ye me, and I will be silent: if in anything I have erred, tell me. [25] But as it seems, the words of a true man are vain, because I do not ask strength of you. [26] Neither will your reproof cause me to cease my words, for neither will I endure the sound of your speech. [27] Even because ye attack the fatherless, and insult your friend. [28] But now, having looked upon your countenances, I will not lie. [29] Sit down now, and let there not be unrighteousness; and unite again with the just. [30] For there is no injustice in my tongue; and does not my throat meditate understanding?
Chapter 7
[1] Is not the life of man upon earth a state of trial? and his existence as that of a hireling by the day? [2] Or as a servant that fears his master, and one who has grasped a shadow? or as a hireling waiting for his pay? [3] So have I also endured months of vanity, and nights of pain have been appointed me. [4] Whenever I lie down, I say, When will it be day? and whenever I rise up, again I say when will it be evening? and I am full of pains from evening to morning. [5] And my body is covered with loathsome worms; and I waste away, scraping off clods of dust from my eruption. [6] And my life is lighter than a word, and has perished in vain hope. [7] Remember then that my life is breath, and mine eye shalt not yet again see good. [8] The eye of him that sees me shall not see me again: thine eyes are upon me, and I am no more. [9] I am as a cloud that is cleared away from the sky: for if a man go down to the grave, he shall not come up again: [10] and he shall surely not return to his own house, neither shall his place know him any more. [11] Then neither will I refrain my mouth: I will speak being in distress; being in anguish I will disclose the bitterness of my soul.
[12] Am
I a sea, or a serpent, that thou hast set a watch over me? [13] I said that my bed should comfort me, and I would privately counsel with myself on my couch. [14] Thou scarest me with dreams, and dost terrify me with visions. [15] Thou wilt separate life from my spirit; and yet keep my bones from death. [16] For I shall not live for ever, that I should patiently endure: depart from me, for my life is vain. [17] For what is man, that thou hast magnified him? or that thou givest heed to him? [18] Wilt thou visit him till the morning, and judge him till the time of rest? [19] How long dost thou not let me alone, nor let me go, until I shall swallow down my spittle? [20] If I have sinned, what shall I be able to do, O thou that understandest the mind of men? why hast thou made me as thine accuser, and why am I a burden to thee? [21] Why hast thou not forgotten my iniquity, and purged my sin? but now I shall depart to the earth; and in the morning I am no more.
Chapter 8
[1] Then Baldad the Sauchite answered, and said,
[2] How long wilt thou speak these things, how long shall the breath of thy mouth be abundant in words? [3] Will the Lord be unjust when he judges; or will he that has made all things pervert justice? [4] If thy sons have sinned before him, he has cast them away because of their transgression.
[5] But be thou early in prayer to the Lord Almighty. [6] If thou art pure and true, he will hearken to thy supplication, and will restore to thee the habitation of righteousness. [7] Though then thy beginning should be small, yet thy end should be unspeakably great.
[8] For ask of the former generation, and search diligently among the race of our fathers: [9] (for we are of yesterday, and know nothing; for our life upon the earth is a shadow:) [10] shall not these teach thee, and report to thee, and bring out words from their heart? [11] Does the rush flourish without water, or shall the flag grow up without moisture? [12] When it is yet on the root, and though it has not been cut down, does not any herb wither before it has received moisture? [13] Thus then shall be the end of all that forget the Lord: for the hope of the ungodly shall perish. [14] For his house shall be without inhabitants, and his tent shall prove a spider’s web. [15] If he should prop up his house, it shall not stand: and when he has taken hold of it, it shall not remain. [16] For it is moist under the sun, and his branch shall come forth out of his dung-heap. [17] He lies down upon a gathering of stones, and shall live in the mist of flints. [18] If God should destroy him, his place shall deny him. Hast thou not seen such things, [19] that such is the overthrow of the ungodly? and out of the earth another shall grow.
[20] For the Lord will by no means reject the harmless man; but he will not receive any gift of the ungodly. [21] But he will fill with laughter the mouth of the sincere, and their lips with thanksgiving. [22] But their adversaries shall clothe themselves with shame; and the habitation of the ungodly shall perish.
Chapter 9
[1] Then Job answered and said,
[2] I know of a truth that it is so: for how shall a mortal man be just before the Lord? [3] For if he would enter into judgment with him, God would not hearken to him, so that he should answer to one of his charges of a thousand. [4] For he is wise in mind, and mighty, and great: who has hardened himself against him and endured? [5] Who wears out the mountains, and men know it not: who overturns them in anger. [6] Who shakes the earth under heaven from its foundations, and its pillars totter. [7] Who commands the sun, and it rises not; and he seals up the stars. [8] Who alone has stretched out the heavens, and walks on the sea as on firm ground. [9] Who makes Pleias, and Hesperus, and Arcturus, and the chambers of the south. [10] Who does great and unsearchable things; glorious also and excellent things, innumerable.
[11] If ever he should go beyond me, I shall not see him: if he should pass by me, neither thus have I known it. [12] If he would take away, who shall turn him back? or who shall say to him, What hast thou done? [13] For if he has turned away his anger, the whales under heaven have stooped under him. [14] Oh then that he would hearken to me, or judge my cause. [15] For though I be righteous, he will not hearken to me: I will intreat his judgment. [16] And if I should call and he should not hearken, I cannot believe that he has listened to my voice.
[17] Let him not crush me with a dark storm: but he has made by bruises many without cause. [18] For he suffers me not to take breath, but he has filled me with bitterness. [19] For indeed he is strong in power: who then shall resist his judgment? [20] For though I should seem righteous, my mouth will be profane: and though I should seem blameless, I shall be proved perverse. [21] For even if I have sinned, I know it not in my soul: but my life is taken away.
[22] Wherefore I said, Wrath slays the great and mighty man. [23] For the worthless die, but the righteous are laughed to scorn. [24] For they are delivered into the hands of the unrighteous man: he covers the faces of the judges of the earth: but if it be not he, who is it? [25] But my life is swifter than a post: my days have fled away, and they knew it not. [26] Or again, is there a trace of their path left by ships? or is there one of the flying eagle as it seeks its prey? [27] And if I should say, I will forget to speak, I will bow down my face and groan; [28] I quake in all my limbs, for I know that thou wilt not leave me alone as innocent.
[29] But since I am ungodly, why have I not died? [30] For if I should wash myself with snow, and purge myself with pure hands, [31] thou hadst thoroughly plunged me in filth, and my garment had abhorred me. [32] For thou art not man like me, with whom I could contend, that we might come together to judgment. [33] Would that he our mediator were present, and a reprover, and one who should hear the cause between both. [34] Let him remove his rod from me, and let not his fear terrify me: [35] so shall I not be afraid, but I will speak: for I am not thus conscious of guilt.
Chapter 10
[1] Weary in my soul, I will pour my words with groans upon him: I will speak being straitened in the bitterness of my soul. [2] And I will say to the Lord, Do not teach me to be impious; and wherefore hast thou thus judged me? [3] Is it good before thee if I be unrighteous? for thou hast disowned the work of thy hands, and attended to the counsel of the ungodly. [4] Or dost thou see as a mortal sees? or wilt thou look as a man sees? [5] Or is thy life human, or thy years the years of a man, [6] that thou hast enquired into mine iniquity, and searched out my sins? [7] For thou knowest that I have not committed iniquity: but who is he that can deliver out of thy hands?
[8] Thy hands have formed me and made me; afterwards thou didst change thy mind, and smite me. [9] Remember that thou hast made me as clay, and thou dost turn me again to earth. [10] Hast thou not poured me out like milk, and curdled me like cheese? [11] And thou didst clothe me with skin and flesh, and frame me with bones and sinews. [12] And thou didst bestow upon me life and mercy, and thy oversight has preserved my spirit. [13] Having these things in thyself, I know that thou canst do all things; for nothing is impossible with thee.
[14] And if I should sin, thou watchest me; and thou hast not cleared me from iniquity. [15] Or if I should be ungodly, woe is me: and if I should be righteous, I cannot lift myself up, for I am full of dishonour. [16] For I am hunted like a lion for slaughter; for again thou hast changed and art terribly destroying me; [17] renewing against me my torture: and thou hast dealt with me in great anger, and thou hast brought trials upon me.
[18] Why then didst thou bring me out of the womb? and why did I not die, and no eye see me, [19] and I become as if I had not been? for why was I not carried from the womb to the grave? [20] Is not the time of my life short? suffer me to rest a little, [21] before I go whence I shall not return, to a land of darkness and gloominess; [22] to a land of perpetual darkness, where there is no light, neither can any one see the life of mortals.
Chapter 11
[1] Then Sophar the Minaean answered and said,
[2] He that speaks much, should also hear on the other side: or does the fluent speaker think himself to be righteous? blessed is the short lived offspring of woman. [3] Be not a speaker of many words; for is there none to answer thee? [4] For say
not, I am pure in my works, and blameless before him.
[5] But oh that the Lord would speak to thee, and open his lips to thee! [6] Then shall he declare to thee the power of wisdom; for it shall be double of that which is with thee: and then shalt thou know, that a just recompence of thy sins has come to thee from the Lord.
[7] Wilt thou find out the traces of the Lord? or hast thou come to the end of that which the Almighty has made? [8] Heaven is high; and what wilt thou do? and there are deeper things than those in hell; what dost thou know? [9] Or longer than the measure of the earth, or the breadth of the sea.
[10] And if he should overthrow all things, who will say to him, What hast thou done? [11] For he knows the works of transgressors; and when he sees wickedness, he will not overlook it.
[12] But man vainly buoys himself up with words; and a mortal born of woman is like an ass in the desert.
[13] For if thou hast made thine heart pure, and liftest up thine hands towards him; [14] if there is any iniquity in thy hands, put if far from thee, and let not unrighteousness lodge in thy habitation. [15] For thus shall thy countenance shine again, as pure water; and thou shalt divest thyself of uncleanness, and shalt not fear. [16] And thou shalt forget trouble, as a wave that has passed by; and thou shalt not be scared. [17] And thy prayer shall be as the morning star, and life shall arise to thee as from the noonday. [18] And thou shalt be confident, because thou hast hope; and peace shall dawn to thee from out of anxiety and care. [19] For thou shalt be at ease, and there shall be no one to fight against thee; and many shall charge, and make supplication to thee. [20] But safety shall fail them; for their hope is destruction, and the eyes of the ungodly shall waste away.
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