by Various
12:5 He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease.
12:6 The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.
12:7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: 12:8 Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.
12:9 Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? 12:10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
12:11 Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat? 12:12 With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.
12:13 With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.
12:14 Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.
12:15 Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.
12:16 With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his.
12:17 He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools.
12:18 He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle.
12:19 He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty.
12:20 He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged.
12:21 He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty.
12:22 He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.
12:23 He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again.
12:24 He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
12:25 They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.
13:1 Lo, mine eye hath seen all this, mine ear hath heard and understood it.
13:2 What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you.
13:3 Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God.
13:4 But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.
13:5 O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom.
13:6 Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips.
13:7 Will ye speak wickedly for God? and talk deceitfully for him? 13:8 Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God? 13:9 Is it good that he should search you out? or as one man mocketh another, do ye so mock him? 13:10 He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons.
13:11 Shall not his excellency make you afraid? and his dread fall upon you? 13:12 Your remembrances are like unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay.
13:13 Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will.
13:14 Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in mine hand? 13:15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.
13:16 He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him.
13:17 Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration with your ears.
13:18 Behold now, I have ordered my cause; I know that I shall be justified.
13:19 Who is he that will plead with me? for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost.
13:20 Only do not two things unto me: then will I not hide myself from thee.
13:21 Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid.
13:22 Then call thou, and I will answer: or let me speak, and answer thou me.
13:23 How many are mine iniquities and sins? make me to know my transgression and my sin.
13:24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy? 13:25 Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble? 13:26 For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth.
13:27 Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly unto all my paths; thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet.
13:28 And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth, as a garment that is moth eaten.
14:1 Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.
14:2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.
14:3 And doth thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? 14:4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
14:5 Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; 14:6 Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day.
14:7 For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
14:8 Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; 14:9 Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.
14:10 But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? 14:11 As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: 14:12 So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
14:13 O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! 14:14 If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
14:15 Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.
14:16 For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin? 14:17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity.
14:18 And surely the mountains falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place.
14:19 The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man.
14:20 Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
14:21 His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.
14:22 But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.
15:1 Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said, 15:2 Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind? 15:3 Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he can do no good? 15:4 Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God.
15:5 For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.
15:6 Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee.
15:7 Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills? 15:8 Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself? 15:9 What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us? 15:10 With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father.
15:11 Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee? 15:12 Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at, 15:13 That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth? 15:14 What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? 15:15 Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.
15:16 How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water? 15:17 I will shew thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare; 15:18 Which wi
se men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it: 15:19 Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them.
15:20 The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor.
15:21 A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.
15:22 He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword.
15:23 He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
15:24 Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.
15:25 For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.
15:26 He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers: 15:27 Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks.
15:28 And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps.
15:29 He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth.
15:30 He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away.
15:31 Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence.
15:32 It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green.
15:33 He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive.
15:34 For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery.
15:35 They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit.
16:1 Then Job answered and said, 16:2 I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all.
16:3 Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest? 16:4 I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my soul's stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at you.
16:5 But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should asswage your grief.
16:6 Though I speak, my grief is not asswaged: and though I forbear, what am I eased? 16:7 But now he hath made me weary: thou hast made desolate all my company.
16:8 And thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me: and my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face.
16:9 He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.
16:10 They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me.
16:11 God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked.
16:12 I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.
16:13 His archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground.
16:14 He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon me like a giant.
16:15 I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust.
16:16 My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death; 16:17 Not for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer is pure.
16:18 O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place.
16:19 Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high.
16:20 My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God.
16:21 O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour! 16:22 When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.
17:1 My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me.
17:2 Are there not mockers with me? and doth not mine eye continue in their provocation? 17:3 Lay down now, put me in a surety with thee; who is he that will strike hands with me? 17:4 For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: therefore shalt thou not exalt them.
17:5 He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail.
17:6 He hath made me also a byword of the people; and aforetime I was as a tabret.
17:7 Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, and all my members are as a shadow.
17:8 Upright men shall be astonied at this, and the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite.
17:9 The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.
17:10 But as for you all, do ye return, and come now: for I cannot find one wise man among you.
17:11 My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart.
17:12 They change the night into day: the light is short because of darkness.
17:13 If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness.
17:14 I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister.
17:15 And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who shall see it? 17:16 They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust.
18:1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, 18:2 How long will it be ere ye make an end of words? mark, and afterwards we will speak.
18:3 Wherefore are we counted as beasts, and reputed vile in your sight? 18:4 He teareth himself in his anger: shall the earth be forsaken for thee? and shall the rock be removed out of his place? 18:5 Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine.
18:6 The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him.
18:7 The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down.
18:8 For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare.
18:9 The gin shall take him by the heel, and the robber shall prevail against him.
18:10 The snare is laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the way.
18:11 Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to his feet.
18:12 His strength shall be hungerbitten, and destruction shall be ready at his side.
18:13 It shall devour the strength of his skin: even the firstborn of death shall devour his strength.
18:14 His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors.
18:15 It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation.
18:16 His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off.
18:17 His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street.
18:18 He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.
18:19 He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings.
18:20 They that come after him shall be astonied at his day, as they that went before were affrighted.
18:21 Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God.
19:1 Then Job answered and said, 19:2 How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words? 19:3 These ten times have ye reproached me: ye are not ashamed that ye make yourselves strange to me.
19:4 And be it indeed that I have erred, mine error remaineth with myself.
19:5 If indeed ye will magnify yourselves against me, and plead against me my reproach: 19:6 Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net.
19:7 Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.
19:8 He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pa
ss, and he hath set darkness in my paths.
19:9 He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head.
19:10 He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone: and mine hope hath he removed like a tree.
19:11 He hath also kindled his wrath against me, and he counteth me unto him as one of his enemies.