by Septuagint
Chapter 36
[1] And Elius further continued, and said,
[2] Wait for me yet a little while, that I may teach thee: for there is yet speech in me.
[3] Having fetched my knowledge from afar, and according to my works, [4] I will speak just things truly, and thou shalt not unjustly receive unjust words.
[5] But know that the Lord will not cast off an innocent man: being mighty in strength of wisdom, [6] he will not by any means save alive the ungodly: and he will grant the judgment of the poor. [7] He will not turn away his eyes from the righteous, but they shall be with kings on the throne: and he will establish them in triumph, and they shall be exalted. [8] But they that are bound in fetters shall be holden in cords of poverty. [9] And he shall recount to them their works, and their transgressions, for such will act with violence. [10] But he will hearken to the righteous: and he has said that they shall turn from unrighteousness. [11] If they should hear and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in honour. [12] But he preserves not the ungodly; because they are not willing to know the Lord, and because when reproved they were disobedient.
[13] And the hypocrites in heart will array wrath against themselves; they will not cry, because he has bound them. [14] Therefore let their soul die in youth, and their life be wounded by messengers of death. [15] Because they afflicted the weak and helpless: and he will vindicate the judgment of the meek. [16] And he has also enticed thee out of the mouth of the enemy: [17] there is a deep gulf and a rushing stream beneath it, and thy table came down full of fatness. Judgment shall not fail from the righteous; [18] but there shall be wrath upon the ungodly, by reason of the ungodliness of the bribes which they received for iniquities.
[19] Let not thy mind willingly turn thee aside from the petition of the feeble that are in distress. [20] And draw not forth all the mighty men by night, so that the people should go up instead of them. [21] But take heed lest thou do that which is wrong: for of this thou has made choice because of poverty.
[22] Behold, the Mighty One shall prevail by his strength: for who is powerful as he is? [23] And who is he that examines his works? or who can say, he has wrought injustice? [24] Remember that his works are great beyond those which men have attempted. [25] Every man has seen in himself, how many mortals are wounded. [26] Behold, the Mighty One is great, and we shall not know him: the number of his years is even infinite. [27] And the drops of rain are numbered by him, and shall be poured out in rain to form a cloud. [28] The ancient heavens shall flow, and the clouds overshadow innumerable mortals: he has fixed a time to cattle, and they know the order of rest. Yet by all these things thy understanding is not astonished, neither is thy mind disturbed in thy body. [29] And though one should understand the outspreadings of the clouds, or the measure of his tabernacle; [30] behold he will stretch his bow against him, and he covers the bottom of the sea. [31] For by them he will judge the nations: he will give food to him that has strength. [32] He has hidden the light in his hands, and given charge concerning it to the interposing cloud. [33] The Lord will declare concerning this to his friend: but there is a portion also for unrighteousness.
Chapter 37
[1] At this also my heart is troubled, and moved out of its place. [2] Hear thou a report by the anger of the Lord’s wrath, and a discourse shall come out of his mouth. [3] His dominion is under the whole heaven, and his light is at the extremities of the earth. [4] After him shall be a cry with a loud voice; he shall thunder with the voice of his excellency, yet he shall not cause men to pass away, for one shall hear his voice. [5] The Mighty One shall thunder wonderfully with his voice: for he has done great things which we knew not; [6] commanding the snow, Be thou upon the earth, and the stormy rain, and the storm of the showers of his might. [7] He seals up the hand of every man, that every man may know his own weakness. [8] And the wild beasts come in under the covert, and rest in their lair. [9] Troubles come on out of the secret chambers, and cold from the mountain-tops. [10] And from the breath of the Mighty One he will send frost; and he guides the water in whatever way he pleases. [11] And if a cloud obscures what is precious to him, his light will disperse the cloud. [12] And he will carry round the encircling clouds by his governance, to perform their works: whatsoever he shall command them, [13] this has been appointed by him on the earth, whether for correction, or for his land, or if he shall find him an object for mercy.
[14] Hearken to this, O Job: stand still, and be admonished of the power of the Lord. [15] We know that god has disposed his works, having made light out of darkness. [16] And he knows the divisions of the clouds, and the signal overthrows of the ungodly. [17] But thy robe is warm, and there is quiet upon the land. [18] Wilt thou establish with him foundations for the ancient heavens? they are strong as a molten mirror. [19] Wherefore teach me, what shall we say to him? and let us cease from saying much. [20] Have I a book or a scribe my me, that I may stand and put man to silence?
[21] But the light is not visible to all: it shines afar off in the heavens, as that which is from him in the clouds. [22] From the north come the clouds shining like gold: in these great are the glory and honour of the Almighty; [23] and we do not find another his equal in strength: as for him that judges justly, dost thou not think that he listens? [24] Wherefore men shall fear him; and the wise also in heart shall fear him.
Chapter 38
[1] And after Elius had ceased from speaking, the Lord spoke to Job through the whirlwind and clouds, saying,
[2] Who is this that hides counsel from me, and confines words in his heart, and thinks to conceal them from me? [3] Gird thy loins like a man; and I will ask thee, and do thou answer me.
[4] Where wast thou when I founded the earth? tell me now, if thou hast knowledge, [5] who set the measures of it, if thou knowest? or who stretched a line upon it? [6] On what are its rings fastened? and who is he that laid the corner-stone upon it? [7] When the stars were made, all my angels praised me with a loud voice. [8] And I shut up the sea with gates, when it rushed out, coming forth out its mother’s womb. [9] And I made a cloud its clothing, and swathed it in mist. [10] And I set bounds to it, surrounding it with bars and gates. [11] And I said to it, Hitherto shalt thou come, but thou shalt not go beyond, but thy waves shall be confined within thee.
[12] Or did I order the morning light in thy time; and did the morning star then first see his appointed place; [13] to lay hold of the extremities of the earth, to cast out the ungodly out of it? [14] Or didst thou take clay of the ground, and form a living creature, and set it with the power of speech upon the earth? [15] And hast thou removed light from the ungodly, and crushed the arm of the proud?
[16] Or hast thou gone to the source of the sea, and walked in the tracks of the deep? [17] And do the gates of death open to thee for fear; and did the porters of hell quake when they saw thee? [18] And hast thou been instructed in the breadth of the whole earth under heaven? tell me now, what is the extent of it?
[19] And in what kind of a land does the light dwell? and of what kind is the place of darkness? [20] If thou couldest bring me to their utmost boundaries, and if also thou knowest their paths; [21] I know then that thou wert born at that time, and the number of thy years is great.
[22] But hast thou gone to the treasures of snow? and hast thou seen the treasures of hail? [23] And is there a store of them, for thee against the time of thine enemies, for the day of wars and battle? [24] And whence proceeds the frost? or whence is the south wind dispersed over the whole world under heaven? [25] And who prepared a course for the violent rain, and a way for the thunders; [26] to rain upon the land where there is no man, the wilderness, where there is not a man in it; so as to feed the untrodden and uninhabited land, [27] and cause it to send forth a crop of green herbs?
[28] Who is the rain’s father? and who has generated the drops of dew? [29] And out of whose womb comes the ice? and who has produced the frost in the sky, [30] which descends like flowing water? who has terrified the f
ace of the ungodly?
[31] And dost thou understand the band of Pleias, and hast thou opened the barrier of Orion? [32] Or wilt thou reveal Mazuroth in his season, and the evening star with his rays? Wilt thou guide them? [33] And knowest thou the changes of heaven, or the events which take place together under heaven? [34] And wilt thou call a cloud with thy voice, and will it obey thee with a violent shower of much rain? [35] And wilt thou send lightnings, and they shall go? and shall they say to thee, What is thy pleasure? [36] And who has given to women skill in weaving, or knowledge of embroidery? [37] And who is he that numbers the clouds in wisdom, and has bowed the heaven down to the earth? [38] For it is spread out as dusty earth, and I have cemented it as one hewn stone to another.
[39] And wilt thou hunt a prey for the lions? and satisfy the desires of the serpents? [40] For they fear in their lairs, and lying in wait couch in the woods. [41] And who has prepared food for the raven? for its young ones wander and cry to the Lord, in search of food.
Chapter 39
[1] Say if thou knowest the time of the bringing forth of the wild goats of the rock, and if thou hast marked the calving of the hinds: [2] and if thou has hast numbered the full months of their being with young, and if thou hast relieved their pangs: [3] and hast reared their young without fear; and wilt thou loosen their pangs? [4] Their young will break forth; they will be multiplied with offspring: their young will go forth, and will not return to them.
[5] And who is he that sent forth the wild ass free? and who loosed his bands? [6] whereas I made his habitation the wilderness, and the salt land his coverts. [7] He laughs to scorn the multitude of the city, and hears not the chiding of the tax-gatherer. [8] He will survey the mountains as his pasture, and he seeks after every green thing.
[9] And will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or to lie down at thy manger? [10] And wilt thou bind his yoke with thongs, or will he plough furrows for thee in the plain? [11] And dost thou trust him, because his strength is great? and wilt thou commit thy works to him? [12] And wilt thou believe that he will return to thee thy seed, and bring it in to thy threshing-floor?
[13] The peacock has a beautiful wing: if the stork and the ostrich conceive, it is worthy of notice, [14] for the ostrich will leave her eggs in the ground, and warm them on the dust, [15] and has forgotten that the foot will scatter them, and the wild beasts of the field trample them. [16] She has hardened herself against her young ones, as though she bereaved not herself: she labours in vain without fear. [17] For God has withholden wisdom from her, and not given her a portion in understanding. [18] In her season she will lift herself on high; she will scorn the horse and his rider.
[19] Hast thou invested the horse with strength, and clothed his neck with terror? [20] And hast thou clad him in perfect armour, and made his breast glorious with courage? [21] He paws exulting in the plain, and goes forth in strength into the plain. [22] He laughs to scorn a king as he meets him, and will by no means turn back from the sword. [23] The bow and sword resound against him; and his rage will swallow up the ground: [24] and he will not believe until the trumpet sounds. [25] And when the trumpet sounds, he says, Aha! and afar off he smells the war with prancing and neighing.
[26] And does the hawk remain steady by thy wisdom, having spread out her wings unmoved, looking toward the region of the south? [27] And does the eagle rise at thy command, and the vulture remain sitting over his nest, [28] on a crag of a rock, and in a secret place? [29] Thence he seeks food, his eyes observe from far. [30] And his young ones roll themselves in blood, and wherever the carcasses may be, immediately they are found.
[31] And the Lord God answered Job, and said, [32] Will any one pervert judgment with the Mighty One? and he that reproves God, let him return it for answer.33 And Job answered and said to the Lord, [34] Why do I yet plead? being rebuked even while reproving the Lord: hearing such things, whereas I am nothing: and what shall I answer to these arguments? I will lay my hand upon my mouth. [35] I have spoken once; but I will not do so a second time.
Chapter 40
[1] And the Lord yet again answered and spoke to Job out of the cloud, saying,
[2] Nay, gird up now thy loins like a man; and I will ask thee, and do thou answer me. [3] Do not set aside my judgment: and dost thou think that I have dealt with thee in any other way, than that thou mightest appear to be righteous? [4] Hast thou an arm like the Lord’s? or dost thou thunder with a voice like his? [5] Assume now a lofty bearing and power; and clothe thyself with glory and honour. [6] And send forth messengers with wrath; and lay low every haughty one. [7] Bring down also the proud man; and consume at once the ungodly. [8] And hide them together in the earth; and fill their faces with shame. [9] Then will I confess that thy right hand can save thee.
[10] But now look at the wild beasts with thee; they eat grass like oxen. [11] Behold now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. [12] He sets up his tail like a cypress; and his nerves are wrapped together. [13] His sides are sides of brass; and his backbone is as cast iron. [14] This is the chief of the creation of the Lord; made to be played with by his angels. [15] And when he has gone up to a steep mountain, he causes joy to the quadrupeds in the deep. [16] He lies under trees of every kind, by the papyrus, and reed, and bulrush. [17] And the great trees make a shadow over him with their branches, and so do the bushes of the field. [18] If there should be a flood, he will not perceive it; he trust that Jordan will rush up into his mouth. [19] Yet one shall take him in his sight; one shall catch him with a cord, and pierce his nose.
[20] But wilt thou catch the serpent with a hook, and put a halter about his nose? [21] Or wilt thou fasten a ring in his nostril, and bore his lip with a clasp? [22] Will he address thee with a petition? softly, with the voice of a suppliant? [23] And will he make a covenant with thee? and wilt thou take him for a perpetual servant? [24] And wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or bind him as a sparrow for a child? [25] And do the nations feed upon him, and the nations of the Phoenicians share him? [26] And all the ships come together would not be able to bear the mere skin of his tail; neither shall they carry his head in fishing-vessels. [27] But thou shalt lay thy hand upon him once, remembering the war that is waged by his mouth; and let it not be done any more.
Chapter 41
[1] Hast thou not seen him? and hast thou not wondered at the things said of him? Dost thou not fear because preparation has been made by me? for who is there that resists me? [2] Or who will resist me, and abide, since the whole world under heaven is mine?
[3] I will not be silent because of him: though because of his power one shall pity his antagonist. [4] Who will open the face of his garment? and who can enter within the fold of his breastplate? [5] Who will open the doors of his face? terror is round about his teeth. [6] His inwards are as brazen plates, and the texture of his skin as a smyrite stone. [7] One part cleaves fast to another, and the air cannot come between them. [8] They will remain united each to the other: they are closely joined, and cannot be separated. [9] At his sneezing a light shines, and his eyes are as the appearance of the morning star. [10] Out of his mouth proceed as it were burning lamps, and as it were hearths of fire are cast abroad. [11] Out of his nostrils proceeds smoke of a furnace burning with fire of coals. [12] His breath is as live coals, and a flame goes out of his mouth. [13] And power is lodged in his neck, before him destruction runs. [14] The flesh also of his body is joined together: if one pours violence upon him, he shall not be moved. [15] His heart is firm as a stone, and it stands like an unyielding anvil. [16] And when he turns, he is a terror to the four-footed wild beasts which leap upon the earth. [17] If spears should come against him, men will effect nothing, either with the spear or the breast-plate. [18] For he considers iron as chaff, and brass as rotten wood. [19] The bow of brass shall not would him, he deems a slinger as grass. [20] Mauls are counted as stubble; and he laughs to scorn the waving of the firebrand. [21] His lair is formed of sharp points; and all the gold of
the sea under him is an immense quantity of clay. [22] He makes the deep boil like a brazen caldron; and he regards the sea as a pot of ointment, [23] and the lowest part of the deep as a captive: he reckons the deep as his range. [24] There is nothing upon the earth like to him, formed to be sported with by my angels. [25] He beholds every high thing: and he is king of all that are in the waters.
Chapter 42
[1] Then Job answered and said to the Lord,
[2] I know that thou canst do all things, and nothing is impossible with thee. [3] For who is he that hides counsel from thee? or who keeps back his words, and thinks to hide them from thee? and who will tell me what I knew not, great and wonderful things which I understood not?
[4] But hear me, O Lord, that I also may speak: and I will ask thee, and do thou teach me. [5] I have heard the report of thee by the ear before; but now mine eye has seen thee. [6] Wherefore I have counted myself vile, and have fainted: and I esteem myself dust and ashes.
[7] And it came to pass after the Lord had spoken all these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Thaemanite, Thou hast sinned, and thy two friends: for ye have not said anything true before me, as my servant Job has. [8] Now then take seven bullocks, and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and he shall offer a burnt-offering for you. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will only accept him: for but his sake, I would have destroyed you, for ye have not spoken the truth against my servant Job.