MKJV - Job

Chapter 1

1:1  There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. And that man was perfect and upright, and one who feared God and turned aside from evil.

1:2  And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters.

1:3  And his possessions were seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household, so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

1:4  And his sons went and feasted in the house of each one on his day. And they sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

1:5  And when they had gone around the day of feasting, Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. So Job did always.

1:6  And a day came when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD. And Satan also came among them.

1:7  And the LORD said to Satan, From where do you come? Then Satan answered the LORD and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

1:8  And the LORD said to Satan, Have you set your heart against My servant Job, because there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil?

1:9  And Satan answered the LORD and said, Does Job fear God for nothing?

1:10  Have You not made a hedge around him, and around his house, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock have increased in the land.

1:11  But put forth Your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse You to Your face.

1:12  And the LORD said to Satan, Behold, all that he has is in your power. Only do not lay your hand upon him. And Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

1:13  And a day came when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house.

1:14  And there came a messenger to Job and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them.

1:15  And the Sabeans fell on and took them away. Yea, they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword. And I only have escaped alone to tell you.

1:16  While he was still speaking, there also came another and said, The fire of God has fallen from the heavens and has burned up the sheep and the servants, and destroyed them. And I only have escaped alone to tell you.

1:17  While he was still speaking, there also came another and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands and swooped down upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and have killed the servants with the edge of the sword. And I only have escaped alone to tell you.

1:18  While he was still speaking, there also came another and said, Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house.

1:19  And, behold, a great wind came from the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead. And I only have escaped alone to tell you.

1:20  And Job arose, and tore his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground and worshiped.

1:21  And he said, I came naked out of 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.

1:22  In all this Job did not sin, nor charge God foolishly.

Chapter 2

2:1  And it happened that a day came when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD. And Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD.

2:2  And the LORD said to Satan, From where do you come? And Satan answered the LORD and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

2:3  And the LORD said unto Satan, Have you set your heart on My servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil? And still he is keeping hold of his integrity, although you moved Me against him to destroy him without cause.

2:4  And Satan answered the LORD and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man has he will give for his life.

2:5  But indeed put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse You to Your face.

2:6  And the LORD said to Satan, Behold, he is in your hand, but save his life.

2:7  And Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head.

2:8  And he took a broken piece of pottery to scrape himself with. And he sat down among the ashes.

2:9  And his wife said to him, Do you still hold to your integrity? Curse God and die!

2:10  But he said to her, You speak as one of the foolish ones speak. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

2:11  And Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, and they each one came from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. For they had met together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.

2:12  And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and did not know him, they lifted up their voice and wept. And each one tore his robe, and they sprinkled dust upon their heads toward Heaven.

2:13  And they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights. And no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.

Chapter 3

3:1  After this Job opened his mouth and cursed his day.

3:2  And Job spoke and said,

3:3  Let the day perish in which I was born, and the night which said, A man-child is conceived.

3:4  Let that day be darkness. Let not God look upon it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.

3:5  Let darkness and the shadow of death claim it. Let a cloud dwell upon it; Let the blackness of the day terrify it.

3:6  As for that night, let darkness seize upon it. Let it not rejoice among the days of the year, Let it not come into the number of the months.

3:7  Lo, let that night be barren; let no joyful voice come in it.

3:8  Let those curse it who curse the day, who are ready to stir up Leviathan.

3:9  Let the stars of its twilight be dark; let it look for light, but have none. Let it not see the eyelids of the dawn.

3:10  For it did not shut up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hide sorrow from my eyes.

3:11  Why did I not die from the womb, come from the womb and expire?

3:12  Why did the knees go before me; or why the breasts, that I should suck?

3:13  For now I should have lain still and been quiet; I should have slept. Then I would have been at rest

3:14  with kings and wise men of the earth, who built ruins for themselves,

3:15  or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver;

3:16  or as a hidden untimely birth I would not have been, like infants who did not see light.

3:17  There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest;

3:18  the prisoners are at rest together; they hear not the voice of the slave driver.

3:19  The small and the great are there, and the slave is free from his master.

3:20  Why is light given to one who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul,

3:21  who is waiting for death, but it comes not; and dig for it more than for treasures?

3:22  They are rejoicing to exultation. They are glad when they can find the grave.

3:23  To a man whose way is hidden, God has made a hedge about him.

3:24  For my sighing comes before I eat, and my groanings are poured out like the waters.

3:25  For the thing which I greatly feared has come upon me, and that which I was afraid of has come to me.

3:26  I was not in safety, nor did I have rest, nor was I quiet; yet trouble comes.

Chapter 4

4:1  And Eliphaz the Temanite answered:

4:2  Shall one try a word with you, you who are weary? But who can hold back with words?

4:3  Behold, you have instructed many, and you have made the weak hands strong.

4:4  Your words have upheld him who was falling, and you have made strong the feeble knees.

4:5  But now it has come upon you, and you faint. It touches you, and you are troubled.

4:6  Is not your reverence your hope? Is not your hope the uprightness of your ways?

4:7  Remember, please, who ever perished, being innocent? Or where were the righteous cut off?

4:8  As I have seen, the ones who plow iniquity and sow wickedness reap the same.

4:9  By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of His nostrils they are destroyed.

4:10  The roar of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.

4:11  The strong lion perishes for lack of prey, and the strong lion's cubs are scattered abroad.

4:12  And a word was secretly brought to me, and my ear received a little of it.

4:13  In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men,

4:14  fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake.

4:15  And a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up.

4:16  It stood still, but I could not tell the form of it. An image was before my eyes; silence; then I heard a voice,

4:17  Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his Maker?

4:18  Behold, He puts no trust in His servants, and His angels He charges with folly!

4:19  How much less in those who live in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth?

4:20  They are destroyed from morning till evening; they perish forever without anyone caring.

4:21  Is not their tent cord plucked up within them? They die, but not with wisdom.

Chapter 5

5:1  Call now, is there anyone who will answer you? And to which of the saints will you turn?

5:2  For vexation kills the fool, and envy slays the simple one.

5:3  I have seen the fool taking root, but suddenly I cursed his dwelling place.

5:4  His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, nor is there any to deliver them.

5:5  Their harvest the hungry eats, and takes it even out of the thorns; and the snare swallows up their wealth.

5:6  For affliction does not come forth from the dust, nor does trouble spring up out of the ground;

5:7  but man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward.

5:8  Truly, I would seek to God, and to God I would put my plea,

5:9  Who is doing great things, even beyond searching; marvelous things without number,

5:10  who gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the field,

5:11  to set on high those who are low, so that those who mourn may be lifted up to safety;

5:12  frustrating the plans of the crafty, nor did their hands do wisely.

5:13  He takes the wise in their own craftiness; and the counsel of the wily is carried headlong.

5:14  They meet with darkness in the day time, and grope in the noonday as in the night.

5:15  But He saves the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.

5:16  And there is hope for the weak, and injustice shuts her mouth.

5:17  Behold, blessed is the man whom God corrects. Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.

5:18  For He makes sore, and binds up; He wounds, and His hands make whole.

5:19  He will deliver you in six troubles; yea, in seven no evil shall touch you.

5:20  In famine He shall redeem you from death; and in war from the power of the sword.

5:21  You shall be hidden from the whip of the tongue; neither shall you be afraid of robbery when it comes.

5:22  At destruction and famine you shall laugh; neither shall you be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

5:23  For you shall be in covenant with the stones of the field; and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.

5:24  And you shall know that your tent is in peace; and you shall visit your fold, and shall miss nothing.

5:25  And you shall know that your seed will be numerous, and your offspring as the grass of the earth.

5:26  You shall come to your grave in a full age, like a shock of grain comes in its season.

5:27  Behold this: we have searched it; it is so. Hear it and know for yourself.

Chapter 6

6:1  And Job answered and said,

6:2  Oh that my grief were but weighed, and my ruin laid in the balances together!

6:3  For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea; therefore my words have been rash.

6:4  For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, their fury is drinking my spirit; the terrors of God are set against me.

6:5  Does the wild ass bray when he has grass? Or does the ox low over his fodder?

6:6  Can that which has no taste be eaten without salt? Or is there taste in the white of an egg?

6:7  My soul refuses to touch them; they are sickening food to me.

6:8  Oh that I might have my desire, and that God would grant the thing that I long for!

6:9  Even that it would please God to destroy me; that He would loose His hand and cut me off!

6:10  And it is yet my comfort; yea, I would rejoice in pain, though He did not spare me; for I have not hidden the words of the Holy One.

6:11  What is my strength, that I should hope? And what is my end, that I should be patient?

6:12  Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh bronze?

6:13  Is not my help in me? And is wisdom fully driven away from me?

6:14  To him who is afflicted, pity is due from his friend, but he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

6:15  My brothers have dealt deceitfully as a torrent; they pass away as the streams of torrents,

6:16  torrents black from ice, in which the snow hides itself.

6:17  When they become warm, they go away; when it is hot, they vanish out of their place.

6:18  The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing and are lost.

6:19  The troops of Tema looked; the companies of Sheba hoped for them.

6:20  They were ashamed because they had hoped; they came there and were ashamed.

6:21  Surely now you are like them; you see my casting down, and are afraid.

6:22  Did I say, Give to me? or, Offer a bribe for me from your wealth;

6:23  or, Deliver me from the enemy's hand; or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty?

6:24  Teach me, and I will be silent; and cause me to understand where I have gone astray.

6:25  Right words are powerful, but what does your arguing argue?

6:26  Do you intend to criticize words, and the speeches of one who is hopeless, that are as wind?

6:27  Yea, you cause anger to fall on the fatherless, and you dig a pit for your friend.

6:28  And now, please look on me; for if I lie, it is before your face.

6:29  Turn back, please let there be no sin; yea, return again, my righteousness is in this matter.

6:30  Is there wrong in my tongue? Cannot my taste discern desirable things?

Chapter 7

7:1  Is there not a warfare to man on earth? Are not his days also like the days of a hireling?

7:2  As a servant earnestly desires the shadow, and as a hireling looks for his wages,

7:3  so I am made to possess months of vanity, and weary nights are appointed to me.

7:4  When I lie down, I say, When shall I rise? But the night is long, and I am full of tossing to and fro until the dawning of the day.

7:5  My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken and has run afresh.

7:6  My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are ended without hope.

7:7  Remember that my life is a breath; my eye shall no more see good.

7:8  The eye of him who has seen me shall see me no more; Your eyes are on me, and I am gone.

7:9  As the cloud falls and vanishes away, so he who goes down to the grave shall come up no more.

7:10  He shall return no more to his house, nor shall his place know him any more.

7:11  Therefore I will not hold my mouth; I will speak in the trouble of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

7:12  Am I like the sea, or a whale, that You set a watch over me?

7:13  When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint,

7:14  then You scare me with dreams, and terrify me with visions;

7:15  so that my soul chooses strangling, death rather than my life.

7:16  I despise them; I will not live always; let me alone, for my days are vanity.

7:17  What is man, that You should magnify him, and that You should set Your heart on him,

7:18  and visit him every morning, trying him every moment?

7:19  Until when will You look away from me, nor let me alone until I swallow down my spittle?

7:20  I have sinned. What shall I do to You, O Watcher of men? Why have You set me as a target for You, so that I am a burden to myself?

7:21  And why do You not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity? For now I shall sleep in the dust, and You shall seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.

Chapter 8

8:1  And Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,

8:2  How long will you speak these things, since the words of your mouth are like a strong wind?

8:3  Does God pervert judgment? Or does the Almighty pervert justice?

8:4  If your sons have sinned against Him, and if He has cast them away for their transgression,

8:5  if you would seek earnestly to God and make your prayer to the Almighty;

8:6  if you were pure and upright, surely now He would awake for you, and make the dwelling-place of your righteousness blessed.

8:7  And if your beginning was small, yet your end would greatly increase.

8:8  For please ask of the former age, and prepare yourself to the search of their fathers,

8:9  for we are but of yesterday and know nothing, because our days on earth are a shadow.

8:10  Shall they not teach you, and tell you, and speak words out of their heart?

8:11  Can the rush grow up without mire? Can the reed-grass grow without water?

8:12  While it is yet in its greenness, and not cut down, it dries out before any other herb.

8:13  So are the paths of all who forget God; and the hope of the ungodly shall perish.

8:14  His hope shall be cut off, and his trust shall be in a spider's web.

8:15  He shall lean on his house, but it shall not stand; he shall hold fast to it, but it shall not endure.

8:16  He is moist before the sun, and his branches shoot forth in his garden.

8:17  His roots are wrapped around the heap, and he sees the place of stones.

8:18  If he is destroyed from his place, then it shall deny him: I have not seen you.

8:19  Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow.

8:20  Behold, God will not cast away the innocent, nor will He help the evildoers,

8:21  until He fills your mouth with laughter, and your lips with rejoicing.

8:22  Those who hate you shall be clothed with shame; and the tent of the wicked shall be no more.

Chapter 9

9:1  And Job answered and said,

9:2  Truly I know it is so, but how can man be just with God?

9:3  If he will argue with Him, he cannot answer Him one of a thousand.

9:4  He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and been blessed;

9:5  He who removes the mountains, and they know it not, when He overturns them in His anger;

9:6  He who shakes the earth out of its place, and the pillars of it tremble;

9:7  the one speaking to the sun, and it does not rise; and seals up the stars;

9:8  who alone stretches out the heavens, and walks on the waves of the sea;

9:9  who made the Bear, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south;

9:10  who is doing great things past finding out; yea, marvelous things without number?

9:11  Behold! He goes by me, and I do not see Him; He passes on also, but I do not perceive Him.

9:12  Behold, He takes away; who can turn Him back? Who will say to Him, What are You doing?

9:13  God will not withdraw His anger; the helpers of pride stoop under Him.

9:14  How much less shall I answer Him, and choose my arguments with Him?

9:15  Whom, though I were righteous, yet I would not answer; I seek mercy for my judgment.

9:16  If I had called and He had answered me, yet would I not believe that He had listened to my voice;

9:17  He who breaks me with a tempest, and multiplies my wounds without cause;

9:18  who will not allow me to take my breath, but fills me with bitterness.

9:19  If I speak of strength, lo, He is mighty! And if of judgment, who shall set me a time?

9:20  If I justify myself, my own mouth shall condemn me; though I am perfect, He shall declare me perverse.

9:21  Though I were perfect, yet I would not know my soul. I would despise my life.

9:22  It is One, therefore I said, He is consuming the perfect and the wicked.

9:23  If the whip kills suddenly, He will mock at the calamity of the innocent.

9:24  The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He covers the faces of its judges; if it is not He, then who is it?

9:25  Now my days are swifter than a runner; they flee away, they see no good.

9:26  They have passed away like the swift ships; like the eagle who swoops on the prey.

9:27  If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will depart from my heaviness and be of good cheer,

9:28  I am afraid of all my sorrows; I know that You will not hold me innocent.

9:29  I have been condemned; why then should I labor in vain?

9:30  If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands ever so clean,

9:31  yet You will plunge me into the ditch and my own clothes shall despise me.

9:32  For He is not a man, as I am, that I should answer Him, that we should come together in judgment;

9:33  there is no mediator between us, who might lay his hand on us both.

9:34  Let Him take His rod away from me, and let not His fear make me afraid;

9:35  then would I speak and not fear Him; for it is not so with me.

Chapter 10

10:1  My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint on my self; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

10:2  I will say to God, Do not condemn me; make me know why You contend with me.

10:3  Is it good to You that You should press down, that You should despise the work of Your hands, and shine on the counsel of the wicked?

10:4  Have You eyes of flesh? Or do You see as a man sees?

10:5  Are Your days like the days of man? Are Your years like man's days,

10:6  that You seek out my iniquity, and search for my sin?

10:7  You know that I am not wicked; and there is none who can deliver out of Your hand.

10:8  Your hands have made me and shaped me, together all around; yet You destroy me.

10:9  Remember, I beseech You, that You have formed me as the clay; and will You bring me into the dust again?

10:10  Have You not poured me out like milk, and curdled me like cheese?

10:11  You have clothed me with skin and flesh, and have fenced me with bones and sinews.

10:12  You have granted me life and favor, and Your providence has preserved my spirit.

10:13  And these have You hidden in Your heart; I know that this was with You.

10:14  If I sin, then You mark me, and You will not acquit me from my iniquity.

10:15  If I am wicked, woe to me; and if I am righteous, I will not lift up my head being filled with shame, and looking on my affliction.

10:16  For it increases! You hunt me as a fierce lion; and again You show Yourself marvelous on me.

10:17  You renew Your witnesses against me, and increase Your anger on me; changes and warfare are against me.

10:18  Why then have You brought me from the womb? Oh that I had given up the spirit, and no eye had seen me!

10:19  I should have been as though I had not been; I would have been carried from the womb to the grave.

10:20  Are not my days few? Cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little,

10:21  before I go, and I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death;

10:22  a land of obscurity, the darkness of the shadow of death, without any order, and the shining is as darkness.

Chapter 11

11:1  And Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,

11:2  Should not the multitude of words be answered? And should a man full of talk be justified?

11:3  Should your lies make men silent? And will you mock and no one make you ashamed?

11:4  For you have said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in Your eyes.

11:5  But who will grant that God would speak, and open His lips against you,

11:6  and would tell you the secrets of His wisdom, that sound wisdom is manifold? Know therefore that God forgets for you some of your iniquity.

11:7  Can you by searching find out God? Can you perfectly find out the Almighty?

11:8  Heights of the heavens! What can you do? It is deeper than hell, what can you know?

11:9  The measure of it is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.

11:10  If He passes through and shuts up, or gathers together, then who can turn Him back?

11:11  For He knows vain men; and when He sees wickedness, will He not search it?

11:12  For foolish man would be wise, and man is born a wild ass's colt.

11:13  If you prepare your heart and stretch out your hands toward Him;

11:14  if iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, and do not let wickedness dwell in your tents;

11:15  surely then you shall lift up your face without spot; yea, you shall be steadfast and shall not fear;

11:16  for you shall forget your misery, and you shall remember it as waters that pass away.

11:17  And your lifetime shall be clearer than the noonday; though there be darkness, you shall be as the morning.

11:18  And you shall be safe, because there is hope; yea, you shall look around you, and you shall take your rest in safety.

11:19  You shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. Yea, many shall seek your favor.

11:20  But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall have no escape, and their hope shall be like the giving up of the spirit.

Chapter 12

12:1  And Job answered and said,

12:2  For truly you are the people, and wisdom will die with you.

12:3  But I have understanding as well as you; I do not fall short of you; yes, who does not know such things as these?

12:4  I am a laughing-stock to his friends; who calls on God, and He answers him; the just, the upright one is a mockery;

12:5  a flaming brand despised in the thoughts of him who feels secure; it is ready for those with slipping feet.

12:6  The tents of robbers are at peace, and those who provoke God are secure, in whatever God brings to their hand.

12:7  But now ask the animals, and they shall teach you; and the birds of the air, and they shall tell you;

12:8  or speak to the earth, and it shall teach you; and the fish of the sea shall declare it to you;

12:9  who of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?

12:10  In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all flesh, even of man?

12:11  Does not the ear try words? And does not the mouth taste its food?

12:12  With the aged is wisdom, and understanding in length of days.

12:13  With Him is wisdom and strength; He has wisdom and understanding.

12:14  Behold, He breaks down, and it can not be built up again; He shuts up a man, and no one opens.

12:15  Behold, He withholds the waters, and they dry up; also He sends them out, and they overturn the earth.

12:16  With Him is strength and sound wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are His.

12:17  He leads wise men away stripped, and makes the judges fools.

12:18  He cuts away the bonds of kings, and binds their loins with a girdle.

12:19  He leads priests away stripped, and overthrows the mighty.

12:20  He removes the speech of the men of trust, and takes away the understanding of the aged.

12:21  He pours scorn on princes, and unties the belt of the mighty.

12:22  He discovers deep things out of darkness, and brings the shadow of death to light.

12:23  He gives greatness to the nations, and destroys them. He spreads out the nations, and leads them away.

12:24  He takes away the heart of the chief of the people of the land, and causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no path.

12:25  They grope in the dark without light, and He makes them to stagger like a drunkard.

Chapter 13

13:1  Lo, my eye has seen all this, my ear has heard and understood it.

13:2  What you know, I know also; I do not fall short of you.

13:3  Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case before God.

13:4  But you are imputers of lies; you are all worthless healers.

13:5  Oh that you would stop speaking entirely! And it would be your wisdom.

13:6  Hear now my reasoning, and listen to the pleadings of my lips.

13:7  Would you speak unrighteously for God, and talk deceitfully for Him?

13:8  Will you lift up His person, or contend for God?

13:9  Is it good that He should search you out? Or as one man mocks another, do you mock Him?

13:10  He will surely blame you, if you secretly lift up persons.

13:11  Shall not His highness make you afraid, and His dread fall on you?

13:12  Your remembered sayings are like ashes, your bodies like bodies of clay.

13:13  Be quiet. Let me alone so that I may speak, and let come on me what may.

13:14  Why do I take my flesh in my teeth and put my life in my hand?

13:15  Though he slay me, I will not wait, but I will maintain my own ways before Him.

13:16  He also is my salvation, for an ungodly one shall not come before Him.

13:17  Listen carefully to my words, and let what I say be in your ears.

13:18  Behold now, I have set my cause in order; I know that I shall be justified.

13:19  Who is he that will plead for me, for now, I would be quiet and expire.

13:20  Only do not do two things to me; then I will not hide myself from You.

13:21  Withdraw Your hand far from me, and let not Your fear make me afraid.

13:22  Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, and answer You me.

13:23  How many are my iniquities and sins? Make known my transgressions and my sin.

13:24  Why do You hide Your face, and hold me for Your enemy?

13:25  Will You terrify a leaf driven to and fro? Will You pursue the dry stubble?

13:26  For You write bitter things against me, and make me to possess the sins of my youth.

13:27  You put my feet also in the stocks, and look closely to all my paths; You set a limit for the soles of my feet.

13:28  And he wears out like a rotten thing, like a garment that a moth eats.

Chapter 14

14:1  Man born of woman is of few days, and full of trouble.

14:2  He comes forth like a flower, and withers; he also flees as a shadow, and does not stand.

14:3  And You open Your eyes on such a one, and bring me into judgment with You.

14:4  Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one!

14:5  For his days are fixed, the number of his months is with You, and You have set his bounds so that he cannot pass;

14:6  look away from him, so that he may rest until he shall finish his day, as a hireling.

14:7  For there is hope of a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and its tender branch will not cease.

14:8  Though its root becomes old in the earth, and its stump dies in the dust,

14:9  yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant.

14:10  But man dies and is cut off; and man expires, and where is he?

14:11  As the waters fail from the sea, and a river falls away and dries up,

14:12  so man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, they shall not awake, nor be awakened out of their sleep.

14:13  Who will grant that You would hide me in the grave, that You would keep me secret, until Your wrath is past, that You would set me a fixed time and remember me?

14:14  If a man die, shall he revive? All the days of my warfare I will wait, until my change comes.

14:15  You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall have a desire to the work of Your hands.

14:16  For now You number my steps; do You not watch over my sin?

14:17  My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and You cover over my iniquity.

14:18  And surely a falling mountain crumbles away, and the rock moves out of its place.

14:19  The waters wear away the stones; the outpouring of it washes the dust of the earth; and You cause the hope of man to perish.

14:20  You overpower him forever, and he passes; You change his face, and send him away.

14:21  His sons come to honor, and he knows it not; they fall, but he does not mark it.

14:22  But his flesh is pained within him; and his soul mourns over him.

Chapter 15

15:1  And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

15:2  Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?

15:3  Should he reason with talk that is not useful, or with speeches which have no profit?

15:4  Yea, you do away with fear, and take away prayer before God.

15:5  For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the crafty.

15:6  Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; yes, your own lips testify against you.

15:7  Were you the first man born? Or were you made before the hills?

15:8  Have you heard the secret counsel of God? And do you limit wisdom to yourself?

15:9  What do you know that we do not know, or understand that is not with us?

15:10  With us are both the gray-headed and aged, mightier than your father as to days.

15:11  Are the comforts of God small with you, and a word dealing gently with you?

15:12  Why does your heart carry you away? And what do your eyes wink at,

15:13  that you turn your spirit against God, and let such words go out of your mouth?

15:14  What is man, that he should be clean? And what is he born of a woman that he should be righteous?

15:15  Behold, He puts no trust in His saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in His sight.

15:16  How much more hateful and filthy is man, who drinks iniquity like water?

15:17  I will show you; hear me; and what I have seen I will declare,

15:18  that which wise men have told, and have not hidden from their fathers;

15:19  to them alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them.

15:20  The wicked man labors in pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden for the ruthless one.

15:21  A dreadful sound of things is in his ears; the destroyer shall come to him in peace.

15:22  He does not believe in a return from darkness, but he is awaited by the sword.

15:23  He wanders for bread, saying, Where is it? He knows that the day of darkness is ready at hand.

15:24  Trouble and pain shall terrify him; they shall overpower him, as a king ready for the battle;

15:25  because he stretches out his hand against God, and sets himself against the Almighty.

15:26  He runs at him, with a stiff neck, with the thick layers of his shields,

15:27  because he has covered his face with fat; he has put fat on his loins.

15:28  And he lives in cut off cities, in houses where none are living, which are ready to become heaps.

15:29  He shall not be rich, nor shall his wealth hold out, nor shall he stretch out his gain on the earth.

15:30  He shall not escape from darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and at the breath of his mouth he shall turn away.

15:31  Let not he being deceived trust in vanity; for vanity shall be his reward.

15:32  It shall be done before his time, and his branch shall not be green.

15:33  He shall shake off its unripe grape, as the vine; and shall cast off his flower like the olive.

15:34  For the company of the ungodly shall be barren, and fire shall devour the tents of bribery.

15:35  They conceive mischief, and bring forth evil, and their belly prepares deceit.

Chapter 16

16:1  And Job answered and said,

16:2  I have heard many such things. You are all miserable comforters.

16:3  Shall words of wind have an end? Or what provokes you that you should answer?

16:4  I also could speak as you do; if your soul were in my soul's place. I could heap up words against you, and shake my head at you.

16:5  I might make you strong with my mouth, and the moving of my lips would spare you.

16:6  Though I speak, my pain is not held back, and though I forbear, in what way am I eased?

16:7  But now He has made me weary; You have made all my company desolate.

16:8  And You have plucked me, for it is a witness, and my failure rises up against me, and it answers to my face.

16:9  His anger has torn and hated me; He gnashes on me with His teeth; my enemy sharpens his eyes at me;

16:10  They have gaped on me with their mouth; and have scornfully beaten me on the cheek; they gather themselves against me.

16:11  God has delivered me to the perverse; and turned me over into the hands of the wicked.

16:12  I was at ease, but He has broken me in pieces; yea, He has also taken me by my neck and shaken me to pieces and set me up for His mark.

16:13  His archers hem me in; He splits my inward parts, and does not spare; He pours out my gall on the ground.

16:14  He breaks me with break on break; He runs on me like a giant.

16:15  I have sewed sackcloth on my skin and thrust my horn in the dust.

16:16  My face is reddened from weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death;

16:17  though no violence is in my hand, and my prayer is pure.

16:18  Oh earth, do not cover my blood, and let not my cry have a place.

16:19  Also now, behold, my Witness is in Heaven, and He who testifies of me is on high.

16:20  My friends scorn me; my eye pours out tears to God.

16:21  Oh that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleads for his neighbor!

16:22  For the years that are few will come, and I shall go the way from where I shall not return.

Chapter 17

17:1  My spirit is broken, my days are ended, the graves are ready for me.

17:2  Are not mockeries with me? Yea, my eye rests on their insults.

17:3  Please lay down a pledge for me with Yourself; who is he who will strike hands with me?

17:4  For You have hidden their heart from understanding; therefore You shall not lift them up.

17:5  He who for a share informs against friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail.

17:6  He has made me also a byword of the peoples; and I am one in whose face they spit.

17:7  My eye also is dim from grief; and all my members are like a shadow.

17:8  Upright ones shall be amazed at this, and the innocent shall stir himself up against the ungodly.

17:9  The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he who has clean hands adds strength.

17:10  And now all of them, go back, and please come again; and I shall not find among you a wise man.

17:11  My days are past, my purposes are broken off, the desires of my heart.

17:12  They set night for day; the light is near in the face of darkness.

17:13  If I wait for the grave as my home, I have made my bed in the darkness;

17:14  I have said to corruption, You are my father; to the worm, My mother and my sister!

17:15  And where then is my hope? And as for my hope, who shall see it?

17:16  They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our descent together is in the dust.

Chapter 18

18:1  And Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,

18:2  Until when will you set a snare for words? Understand, and afterwards we will speak.

18:3  Why are we counted as cattle, or seem stupid in your sight?

18:4  He tears himself in his anger; shall the earth be forsaken for you? And shall the rock be moved out of its place?

18:5  Yes, 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 tent, and his lamp shall be put out with him.

18:7  The steps of his strength shall be hampered, and his own plans shall throw him down.

18:8  For he is thrown into a net by his own feet, and he walks on a net.

18:9  The trap shall take him by the heel, and the noose shall hold sway over him.

18:10  The pitfall 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 dash him at his feet.

18:12  His strength shall be hunger-bitten, and trouble shall be ready at his side.

18:13  It shall devour the parts of his skin; the first-born of death consumes his parts.

18:14  His hope shall be rooted out of his tent, and you marched to the king of terrors.

18:15  What is not his shall dwell in his tent; brimstone shall be scattered on his home.

18:16  His roots shall be dried up beneath, and his branch shall wither above.

18:17  His memory shall perish from the earth, and there is no name to him on the face of the street.

18:18  They drive him from light to darkness, and they make him flee from the world.

18:19  He shall have neither son nor kinsman among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings.

18:20  Those after him shall be amazed at his day; and those before were seized with horror.

18:21  Surely these are the dwellings of the perverse, and this the place that has not known God.

Chapter 19

19:1  And Job answered and said,

19:2  How long will you torment my soul and break me in pieces with words?

19:3  And this, ten times you have blamed me; you are not ashamed that you have wronged me.

19:4  And if indeed I have erred, my error remains with me.

19:5  If indeed you magnify yourself against me, and plead against me my misery,

19:6  know now that God has overthrown me, and His net has closed on me.

19:7  Behold, I cry out, Violence! And I am not answered. I cry aloud, but there is no justice.

19:8  He has fenced up my way so that I cannot pass, and He has set darkness in my paths.

19:9  He has stripped me of my glory, and has taken the crown from my head.

19:10  He has broken me on every side, and I am gone, and He has uprooted my hope like a tree.

19:11  He has also kindled His wrath against me, and to Himself He counts me as His enemy.

19:12  His troops come together and raise up their way against me, and camp around my tent.

19:13  He has put my brothers far from me, and my friends have truly turned away from me.

19:14  My people have fallen away, and my familiar friends have forgotten me.

19:15  Those who dwell in my house, and my slave-girls, count me as a stranger; I am a foreigner in their sight.

19:16  I called my servant, and he gave no answer; I must beg him with my mouth.

19:17  My breath is hated by my wife, and I must beg to the sons of my mother's womb.

19:18  Even young children despise me; I arise, and they speak against me.

19:19  All the men of my counsel detest me, even this one I loved has turned against me.

19:20  My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh, and I have escaped with the skin of my teeth.

19:21  Have pity on me! Have pity on me, my friends! For the hand of God has touched me.

19:22  Why do you, like God, persecute me and are not satisfied with my flesh?

19:23  Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were engraved in a book!

19:24  Oh that they were cut with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever!

19:25  For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall rise on the earth at the last;

19:26  and even after they corrupt my skin, yet this: in my flesh I shall see God,

19:27  whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not a stranger's; though My heart be exhausted in my bosom.

19:28  For you ought to say, Why do we persecute him, since the root of the matter is found in me?

19:29  Fear for yourselves because of the sword; for wrath brings the punishments of the sword, so that you may know there is a judgment.

Chapter 20

20:1  And Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,

20:2  Therefore my thoughts cause me to answer, even because of my haste in me.

20:3  I have heard the rebuke meant to shame me, and the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer.

20:4  Do you know this from days of old, from the setting of man on earth,

20:5  that the exulting of the wicked is short, and the joy of the ungodly is for a moment?

20:6  Though his honor mounts up to the heavens, and his head reaches to the clouds,

20:7  he shall perish forever like his dung; they who see him shall say, Where is he?

20:8  He flies away like a dream, and shall not be found, and shall be chased away like a vision of the night.

20:9  An eye glimpsed him, but will not again; yea, his place shall not see him again.

20:10  His sons shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore his wealth.

20:11  His bones are full of his youthful vigor, but it lies down with him in the dust.

20:12  Though wickedness is sweet in his mouth, though he hides it under his tongue;

20:13  though he spares it and will not leave it; yea, keeps it still in his mouth;

20:14  yet his food in his belly shall be turned; the gall of asps is within him.

20:15  He swallows riches, but vomits it; God shall cast them out of his belly.

20:16  He shall suck the poison of asps; the viper's tongue shall slay him.

20:17  He shall not see the rivers, the flowings of the brooks of honey and butter,

20:18  giving back his gain, and he will not eat. As to the wealth of his trading, even he shall not enjoy it.

20:19  For he pressed down and forsook the poor; he stole a house, but he had not built it.

20:20  Surely he shall not know quietness in his belly; he will not escape with the things of desire.

20:21  None of his food shall be left; therefore his good will not last.

20:22  In the fullness of his plenty he shall be in trouble; every wretched one shall come on him.

20:23  It shall happen at the filling of his belly, God shall cast the fury of His wrath on him, and He shall rain on him while he is eating.

20:24  He shall flee from the iron weapon, a bow of bronze shall pierce him.

20:25  One draws it, and treads it from behind, even lightning from his gall; terror is on him.

20:26  All darkness shall be hidden in his secret places; a fire not blown shall consume him; those left in his tent shall be broken.

20:27  The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, and the earth rise up against him.

20:28  The increase of his house shall depart, and shall flow away in the day of his wrath.

20:29  This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the inheritance of his word from God.

Chapter 21

21:1  And Job answered and said,

21:2  Listen carefully to my speech, and let this be your comfort.

21:3  Rise with me and I shall speak; and after I have spoken, mock on.

21:4  As for me, is my complaint to man? And why should my spirit not be troubled?

21:5  Turn to me and be amazed, and lay your hand on your mouth.

21:6  And if I remember, I am afraid, and trembling takes hold on my flesh.

21:7  Why do the wicked live? They grow old and become mighty in power?

21:8  Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes.

21:9  Their houses are in peace, without fear; nor is the rod of God on them.

21:10  Their bull mates and does not fail; their cow calves, and does not cast her calf.

21:11  They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.

21:12  They lift up voice at the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the flute.

21:13  They spend their days in good, and in a moment go down to the grave.

21:14  And they say to God, Depart from us; for we do not desire the knowledge of your ways;

21:15  what is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit should we have if we pray to Him?

21:16  Behold, their good is not in their hand; the wisdom of the wicked is far from me.

21:17  How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, and their trouble comes on them! He shares out pains in His anger;

21:18  they are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm steals away.

21:19  God lays up his iniquity for his children. He repays him, and he knows.

21:20  His eyes shall see his ruin, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

21:21  For what is his pleasure in his house after him, and the number of his months is cut off?

21:22  Shall any teach God knowledge, since He shall judge the exalted?

21:23  One dies in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet.

21:24  His sides are full of milk, his bones are wet with marrow.

21:25  And another dies with bitter soul, and never eats with pleasure.

21:26  They lie down together in the dust, and the worms shall cover them.

21:27  Behold, I know your thoughts, and the plots which you wrongfully hatch against me.

21:28  For you say, Where is the house of the noble, and where the dwelling-places of the wicked?

21:29  Did you not ask those who go by the way? And do you not know their signs,

21:30  that the wicked is kept for the day of calamity? They shall be brought to the day of wrath.

21:31  Who shall declare his way to his face? And who shall repay him what he has done?

21:32  Yet he shall be brought to the grave, and watch shall be kept over his tomb.

21:33  And the clods of the valley shall be sweet to him and every man shall draw after him, as there is no numbering of those before him.

21:34  How then do you comfort me in vain; yea, in your answers remains transgression?

Chapter 22

22:1  And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

22:2  Can a man be useful to God, as he who is wise may be useful to himself?

22:3  Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous, or gain to Him that you make your ways perfect?

22:4  Will He reprove you because of your reverence, or enter into judgment with you?

22:5  Is not your wickedness great, and your iniquity without measure?

22:6  For you have taken a pledge from your brother for nothing, and stripped the naked of their clothing.

22:7  You have not given water to the weary to drink, and you have held back bread from the hungry.

22:8  But as for the mighty man, he had the earth, and the honored man lived in it.

22:9  You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.

22:10  Therefore snares are all around you, and sudden fear troubles you;

22:11  or darkness, so that you cannot see; and a flood of waters covers you.

22:12  Is not God high in Heaven? And behold the leading stars, for they are high.

22:13  And you say, What does God know? Can He judge through the dark cloud?

22:14  Clouds are a covering to Him, so that He does not see; and He walks in the circuit of Heaven.

22:15  Do you keep to the old way which wicked men have walked?

22:16  They were seized, but there was not time; their foundation was poured out by a flood;

22:17  who said to God, Depart from us; and, What can the Almighty do to them?

22:18  Yet He filled their houses with substance; and the wisdom of the wicked is far from me.

22:19  The righteous see it, and are glad; and the innocent laugh them to scorn.

22:20  Truly our foe is not cut down, and fire has eaten their wealth.

22:21  Now be of service with Him, and be at peace. Good shall come to you by them.

22:22  Please receive the law from His mouth and lay up His words in your heart.

22:23  If you return to the Almighty, you shall be built up; you shall put away injustice far from your tents.

22:24  Then you shall lay up gold like dust, and among the rock of the torrents of Ophir.

22:25  Yea, the Almighty shall be your gold and silver, a tower to you.

22:26  For then you shall have your delight in the Almighty, and shall lift up your face to God.

22:27  You shall make your prayer to Him, and He shall hear you, and you shall pay your vows.

22:28  You shall also order a thing, and it shall be fulfilled to you; and the light shall shine on your ways.

22:29  For they have humiliated you, and you shall say, Pride! And He shall save the lowly of eyes.

22:30  He shall deliver one not innocent, and will deliver by the pureness of your hands.

Chapter 23

23:1  And Job answered and said,

23:2  Even today is my complaint bitter; my stroke is heavier than my groaning.

23:3  Oh that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come even to His seat!

23:4  I would order my cause before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments.

23:5  I would know the words which He would answer me, and understand what He would say to me.

23:6  Will He plead against me with His great power? No, surely He would give heed to me.

23:7  There the righteous might reason with Him; and I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

23:8  Behold, I go forward, but He is not there; and backward, but I cannot see Him;

23:9  on the left hand, where He works, but I cannot behold Him. He turns to the right, but I do not see Him.

23:10  But He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

23:11  My foot has held fast in His steps; I have kept His way, and have not fallen away;

23:12  nor have I gone back from the commandment of His lips; I treasured the words of His mouth more than my portion.

23:13  But He is in one mind, and who can turn Him? Yea, what His soul desires, He does it.

23:14  For He fulfilled my lot, and many things like these are with Him.

23:15  Therefore I am troubled at His presence; when I look, I am afraid of Him.

23:16  For God makes my heart soft, and the Almighty troubles me;

23:17  because I was not cut off before the darkness; yea, He covered the darkness from my face.

Chapter 24

24:1  Since times are not hidden from the Almighty, why do those who know Him not see His days?

24:2  They remove the landmarks; they seize flocks and feed them.

24:3  They drive away the ass of the fatherless; they take the widow's ox for a pledge.

24:4  They turn the needy out of the way; the poor of the earth hide themselves together.

24:5  Behold, like wild asses in the desert, they go forth to their work, rising early for a prey. The wilderness yields food for them and for their children.

24:6  They reap his fodder in the field; and they gather the grapes of the wicked.

24:7  They lodge the naked without clothing, and give no covering in the cold.

24:8  They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for lack of shelter.

24:9  They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge from the poor.

24:10  They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaves from the hungry.

24:11  They press out oil between their walls; they tread their winepresses, and still suffer thirst.

24:12  Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded cries for help; yet God does not charge foolishness.

24:13  They are of those who rebel against the light; they know not His ways, nor stay in His paths.

24:14  The murderer rising with the light kills the poor and needy, and in the night he is a thief.

24:15  And the eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, saying, No eye will see me; and he puts a covering on his face.

24:16  In the dark they dig through houses which they had marked for themselves in the daytime; they do not know the light.

24:17  For the morning is to them like the shadow of death; for they know the terrors of the shadow of death.

24:18  He is swift on the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth; he does not behold the way of the vineyards.

24:19  Drought and heat eat up the snow waters; so does the grave those who have sinned.

24:20  The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be remembered no more; and injustice shall be broken like a tree.

24:21  He ill-treats the women who bear no children; and does no good to the widow.

24:22  He also draws the mighty with his power; he rises up, and no one is sure of life.

24:23  He gives safety to him, and he rests on it; yet His eyes are on their ways.

24:24  They are lifted up for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are gathered in like all others, and are cut off like the heads of the ears of grain.

24:25  And if it is not so, who will make me a liar, and make my speech worth nothing?

Chapter 25

25:1  And Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,

25:2  Rule and fear are with Him; He makes peace in His high places.

25:3  Is there any number of His armies? And on whom does not His light arise?

25:4  How then can man be justified with God? Or how can one who is born of a woman be clean?

25:5  Look even to the moon, and it shines not; yea, the stars are not pure in His sight;

25:6  how much less man who is a maggot, and the son of man, who is a worm?

Chapter 26

26:1  But Job answered and said,

26:2  How have you helped the powerless, or saved the arm that has no strength?

26:3  How have you advised those not wise, or fully declared wise plans?

26:4  To whom have you spoken words? And whose spirit came from you?

26:5  The departed spirits tremble under the waters, and those who dwell in them.

26:6  Hell is naked before Him, and the Pit has no covering.

26:7  He stretches out the north over the empty place, and He hung the earth on nothing.

26:8  He binds up the waters in His thick clouds; and the cloud is not torn under them.

26:9  He covers the face of His throne, spreading His cloud on it.

26:10  He has described a circle on the surface of the waters to the boundary of light with darkness.

26:11  The pillars of the heavens tremble and are astonished at His rebuke.

26:12  He quiets the sea with His power, and by His understanding He shatters the proud.

26:13  By His Spirit the heavens were beautiful; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.

26:14  Lo, these are the edges of His ways; but what a whisper of a word we hear of Him! And the thunder of His power who can understand?

Chapter 27

27:1  And Job continued the lifting up of His speech, and said,

27:2  As God lives, He has taken away my judgment; and the Almighty has made my soul bitter.

27:3  As long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils,

27:4  my lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.

27:5  Far be it from me that I should justify you; until I die I will not retract my integrity from me.

27:6  I hold fast by my righteousness, and I will not let it go; my heart shall not shame me any of my days.

27:7  Let my enemy be like the wicked, and he who rises up against me as the perverse.

27:8  For what is the hope of the ungodly when He cuts off, when God takes away his soul?

27:9  Will God hear his cry when trouble comes on him?

27:10  Will he delight himself in the Almighty? Will he always call on God?

27:11  I will teach you by the hand of God; that which is with the Almighty I will not hide.

27:12  Behold, all you have seen it yourselves; why then do you become completely vain?

27:13  This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the inheritance of cruel men which they shall receive from the Almighty.

27:14  If his sons are multiplied, the sword is for them; and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

27:15  Those who remain of him shall be buried in death; and his widows shall not weep.

27:16  Though he heaps up silver like the dust, and prepares clothing like the clay,

27:17  he may prepare, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.

27:18  He builds his house like a moth, and like a booth that a watchman makes.

27:19  The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered. He opens his eyes, and he is not.

27:20  Terrors overtake him like waters; a tempest steals him away in the night.

27:21  The east wind lifts him up, and he is gone; for it whirls him out of his place.

27:22  For it will hurl at him, and will not spare; he will surely flee out of its hand.

27:23  He shall clap His hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.

Chapter 28

28:1  Surely there is a mine for the silver, and a place where they refine gold.

28:2  Iron is taken out of the earth, and bronze is melted out of the stone.

28:3  He sets an end to darkness, and to every extremity He searches out the stones of darkness and the shadow of death.

28:4  He opens a shaft far from the visitor; they are forgotten by man's foot; they hang far away from men, they swing to and fro.

28:5  As to the earth, out of it comes bread; and underneath it is turned up like fire.

28:6  Its stones are the place of sapphires; and it has dust of gold.

28:7  There is a path which no bird knows, nor has the vulture's eye caught sight of it;

28:8  the sons of pride have not walked on it, the lion has not passed by.

28:9  He puts forth His hand on the flinty places; He overturns the mountains by the roots.

28:10  He cuts out rivers among the rocks; and His eye sees every precious thing.

28:11  He holds back the floods from overflowing; and the hidden thing, He brings to light.

28:12  But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

28:13  Man does not know the price of it; nor is it found in the land of the living.

28:14  The deep says, It is not in me; and the sea says, It is not in me.

28:15  Pure gold cannot be given in its stead, and silver be weighed as its price.

28:16  It cannot be weighed against the gold of Ophir, against precious onyx, or sapphire;

28:17  gold and the crystal cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for a vessel of fine gold.

28:18  No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls; and the price of wisdom is above rubies.

28:19  The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it; it cannot be weighed against pure gold.

28:20  From where then does wisdom come, and where is the place of understanding?

28:21  Yea, it is hidden from the eyes of all living, and hidden from the birds of the heavens.

28:22  The place of ruin and death say, We have heard the fame of it with our ears.

28:23  God understands the way of it, and He knows its place.

28:24  For He looks to the end of the earth, and sees under all the heavens;

28:25  making a weight for the winds, and measuring out the waters by measure.

28:26  When He made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning to thunder;

28:27  then He saw it, and declared it; He prepared it, yea, and searched it out.

28:28  And to man He said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom! And to depart from evil is understanding!

Chapter 29

29:1  And Job continued the lifting up of his speech, and said,

29:2  Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God watched over me;

29:3  when His lamp shone on my head; I walked through darkness by His light;

29:4  as I was in the days of my harvest, when the secret of God was on my tent;

29:5  When the Almighty was yet with me, and my children were around me;

29:6  when I washed my steps with curds, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for me;

29:7  when I went out to the gate by the city; when I prepared my seat in the street!

29:8  The young men saw me and hid themselves; and the aged arose and stood up.

29:9  The rulers held back from talking, and laid their hand on their mouth.

29:10  The noble's voice was subdued, and their tongue clung to the roof of their mouth.

29:11  For the ear heard and blessed me. And the eye saw me and witnessed to me.

29:12  For I delivered the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to help him.

29:13  The blessing of the perishing came on me; and I caused the widow's heart to sing.

29:14  I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my judgment was like a robe and a diadem.

29:15  I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame.

29:16  I was a father to the poor; and the cause which I did not know, I searched out.

29:17  I broke the fangs of the wicked, and plucked the prey out of his teeth.

29:18  Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days like the sand.

29:19  My root was open to the waters, and the dew lay all night on my branch.

29:20  My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand.

29:21  They listened to me, and waited, and kept silent at my counsel.

29:22  After my words they did not go on; and my speech dropped on them.

29:23  And they waited for me like the rain; and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain.

29:24  I smiled kindly on them when they did not believe; and they did not make the light of my face fall.

29:25  I chose out their way, and sat as chief; and I lived like a king in the army, as one who comforts the mourners.

Chapter 30

30:1  But now those younger laugh at me, whose fathers I would have refused to set with the dogs of my flock.

30:2  Also, what profit for me was the strength of their hands, for or full vigor had perished from them?

30:3  They are dried up with want and famine; they who gnaw the dry ground, which was before waste and ruin,

30:4  those plucking mallows by the bushes, and broom roots for their food.

30:5  They are driven forth from the midst; they cried against them as a thief.

30:6  They dwell in the chasms of the valleys, in holes of the earth and in rocks.

30:7  They bray among the bushes; they huddle together under the nettles;

30:8  sons of fools, yea, sons without a name; they have been whipped out of the land.

30:9  And now I am their song; yea, I am their byword.

30:10  They despise me, and they flee far from me; they do not spare spit from my face.

30:11  Because He has loosed His bowstring and afflicted me, they have also thrown off the bridle before me.

30:12  On my right a brood rises; they push away my feet and raise up against me the ways of their ruin.

30:13  They have broken down my path, they gain by my trouble; they have no helper.

30:14  As through a wide break they came on; they roll under a ruin.

30:15  Terrors have turned on me; they pursue my soul like the wind; and my good passes away like a cloud.

30:16  And now my soul is poured out within me; the days of affliction have taken hold on me.

30:17  My bones are pierced in me in the night; and my gnawings never lie down.

30:18  By the great force of my disease my clothing is exposed; it binds me about like the mouth of my coat.

30:19  He has cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes.

30:20  I cried to You, and You did not hear me; I stood up, and You did not consider me.

30:21  You changed to be cruel to me; with Your mighty hand You assault me.

30:22  You lift me up to the wind; You cause me to ride on it; and You melt me in a storm.

30:23  For I know that You will bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.

30:24  Surely He will not stretch out His hand to the ruin-heap, though they cry in their misfortune.

30:25  Did I not weep for him whose day was hard; and my soul grieved for the poor?

30:26  When I looked for good, then evil came; and when I waited for light, then darkness came.

30:27  My bowels boiled, and did not rest; the days of trouble confront me.

30:28  I go in mourning with no sun; I stood up and I cried out in the congregation.

30:29  I am a brother to jackals, and a companion to daughters of the ostrich.

30:30  My skin is black on me, and my bones are burned with heat.

30:31  And my lyre has turned to mourning, and my flute to the sound of weeping.

Chapter 31

31:1  I made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I look upon a virgin?

31:2  For what is the portion from God above? And what is the inheritance from the Almighty on high?

31:3  Is not disaster to the perverse, and calamity to the workers of iniquity?

31:4  Does He not see my ways, and count all my steps?

31:5  If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot has hurried to deceit,

31:6  let me be weighed in an even balance so that God may know my uprightness.

31:7  If my step has turned out of the way, or my heart has walked after my eyes, and if any blot has held fast to my hands;

31:8  then let me sow, and let another eat; and let my harvests be rooted out.

31:9  If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or I have laid wait at my neighbor's door,

31:10  then let my wife grind to another, and let others bow down on her.

31:11  For that would be an evil purpose; yea, it would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges.

31:12  For it is a fire that devours to the Place of Ruin, and it would root out all my gain.

31:13  If I despised the cause of my man servant or of my slave-girl, when they argued with me;

31:14  what then shall I do when God rises up? And when He calls me to account, what shall I answer Him?

31:15  Did not He who made me in the womb make him? And did not One shape us in the womb?

31:16  If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

31:17  or have eaten my bit alone, and the fatherless has not eaten of it,

31:18  for from my youth he grew up with me, as with a father, and from my mother's womb I guided her;

31:19  if I have seen any perish for lack of clothing, or there was no covering for the needy;

31:20  if his loins have not blessed me, and he warmed himself with the fleece of my flock;

31:21  if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless when I watched over my help in the gate;

31:22  then let my arm fall from the shoulder blade, and let my arm be broken from the elbow.

31:23  For trouble from God is a terror to me, and I could not do anything because of His highness.

31:24  If I have made gold my hope, or have called fine gold my trust;

31:25  if I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had gotten much;

31:26  if I looked to the light when it shone, or the moon walking in brightness,

31:27  and my heart has been secretly enticed, or my mouth has kissed my hand;

31:28  this also would be an iniquity for the judges; for I would have denied the God above.

31:29  If I rejoiced at the ruin of my hater, and I was excited when evil found him;

31:30  also I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking his life with a curse;

31:31  if the men of my camp did not say, Who can find one who has not been satisfied with his meat?

31:32  The stranger did not sleep in the street, for I opened my doors to the traveler.

31:33  If I covered my transgressions like Adam, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom,

31:34  then let me tremble before a great multitude, and be terrified by the scorn of families; and I will be silent and not go out the door.

31:35  Oh that I had one to hear me! Behold my mark. Let the Almighty answer me, and my Accuser write an indictment.

31:36  Surely I would carry it on my shoulder, and bind it like crowns to me.

31:37  I would declare to Him the number of my steps; like a prince I would go near Him.

31:38  If my lands cry against me, or its furrows weep together;

31:39  if I have eaten its strength without silver, or have caused its owner to expire,

31:40  let thorns come forth instead of wheat, and weeds instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.

Chapter 32

32:1  And these three men ceased from answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

32:2  And burned the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram. His wrath burned against Job, because he had justified himself rather than God.

32:3  Also his wrath was kindled against his three friends, because they had found no answer and had condemned Job.

32:4  And Elihu had waited beside Job with words, because they were older than he in days.

32:5  When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, then his wrath was kindled.

32:6  And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and you are very old; therefore I was afraid, and dared not show you my opinion.

32:7  I said, Days should speak, and the multitude of years should teach wisdom.

32:8  But a spirit is in man giving them perception, even the breath of the Almighty.

32:9  It is not the great that are wise, nor the aged who understand judgment.

32:10  Therefore I say, Listen to me. I also will declare my opinion.

32:11  Behold, I waited for your words; I listened to your reasons, while you searched out what to say.

32:12  Yes, I listened to you, and, behold, not one of you proved Job wrong nor answered his words,

32:13  that you do not say, We have found out wisdom. God has pushed him down, not man.

32:14  And he has not directed his words against me; and I will not answer him with your words.

32:15  They are broken; they answer no more; words have left them.

32:16  Shall I wait because you do not speak, because they stand still, answering no more?

32:17  I also will answer my part; I also will declare my wisdom.

32:18  For I am full of words; the spirit within me presses on me.

32:19  Behold, my breast is as wine which has no vent; it bursts like new wineskins.

32:20  I will speak so that I may be refreshed; I will open my lips and answer.

32:21  I will not now lift up the face of a man, nor eulogize any man,

32:22  For I do not know how to eulogize; else after a little my Maker would take me away.

Chapter 33

33:1  However, Job, please hear my speeches, and listen to all my words.

33:2  Behold, now I have opened my mouth, my tongue has spoken in my mouth,

33:3  my words shall be from my upright heart, and my lips will clearly speak knowledge.

33:4  The Spirit of God made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

33:5  If you can, answer me; set yourself in order before me, stand up.

33:6  Behold, I am toward God even as you are; I also am formed out of the clay.

33:7  Behold, my terror shall not make you afraid, and my burden shall not be heavy on you.

33:8  Surely you have spoken in my ears, and I have heard the sound of your words.

33:9  You said, I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent, and no iniquity is in me;

33:10  behold, He finds reasons to be against me, He counts me for His enemy;

33:11  He puts my feet in the stocks; He marks all my paths.

33:12  Behold, in this you are not right; I will answer you, for God is greater than man.

33:13  Why do you fight against Him? For He does not give account for any of His matters.

33:14  For God speaks once, yea, twice, but not one takes notice.

33:15  In a dream, a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men; while they slumber on the bed;

33:16  then He opens the ear of men and seals their teaching,

33:17  so that He may turn man from his act, that He might hide pride from man.

33:18  He keeps back his soul from the Pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.

33:19  He is also chastened with pain on his bed, and enduring strife in his bones;

33:20  so that his life is sick of bread, and his soul desirable food.

33:21  His flesh wastes away, not seen; and his bones laid bare; they were not seen.

33:22  Yea, his soul draws near to the Pit, and his life to the dealers of death.

33:23  If there is a messenger for him, a mediator, one among a thousand, to declare for man his uprightness,

33:24  then He is gracious to him and says, Deliver him from going down to the Pit; for I have found a ransom.

33:25  His flesh shall be fresher than in vigor; he shall return to the days of his youth;

33:26  he shall pray to God, and He will be gracious to Him; and he shall see His face with joy, for He will restore to man his righteousness.

33:27  He will observe to men, and say, I have sinned and perverted righteousness; and it was not equally repaid to me,

33:28  He has redeemed my soul from passing over into the Pit, and my life shall see the light.

33:29  Lo, all these things God does two or three times with a man,

33:30  to bring back his soul from the Pit, to be lighted with the light of the living.

33:31  Hear this, Job, listen to me; be silent and I will speak.

33:32  If you have anything to say, answer me; speak, for I desire to justify you.

33:33  If not, listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.

Chapter 34

34:1  And Elihu answered and said,

34:2  Hear my words, wise men; and give ear to me, you who have knowledge;

34:3  For the ear tries words, as the palate tastes food.

34:4  Let us choose for ourselves what is right; let us know among ourselves what is good.

34:5  For Job has said, I am righteous; and God has taken away my right;

34:6  should I lie against my right? My wound cannot be cured; I am without rebellion.

34:7  What man is like Job, who drinks up scorning like water;

34:8  who goes in company with the workers of iniquity, and walks with wicked men?

34:9  For he has said, It profits a man nothing when he is accepted with God.

34:10  Therefore listen to me, O man of heart; far be it from God to commit iniquity; and from the Almighty, to do wrong.

34:11  For He repays man's work, and causes him to find according to his ways.

34:12  Yes, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert justice.

34:13  Who has given the earth as a deposit with Him? Or who has set the whole world in order?

34:14  If He sets His heart on man, if He gathers to Himself his spirit and his breath,

34:15  all flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again to dust.

34:16  If now you have understanding, hear this; listen to the sound of my words.

34:17  Shall one who hates right govern? And will you condemn Him who is just and mighty?

34:18  Who says to a king, O worthless one; and to nobles, O evil one?

34:19  How much less to Him who does not lift up the face of rulers, nor regard the rich before the poor? For all of them are the work of His hands.

34:20  In a moment they die, and a people are shaken at midnight and pass away; and the mighty shall be taken away without a hand.

34:21  For His eyes are on the ways of man, and He sees all his steps.

34:22  There is no darkness, nor shadow of death to hide there the workers of iniquity.

34:23  For He does not still impose on man to go before God in judgment.

34:24  He shall break in pieces mighty men without number, and set others in their place.

34:25  Therefore He knows their works, and He overturns in the night, so that they are destroyed.

34:26  He strikes them for evil deeds in the place of the watchers,

34:27  because thus they turned from following Him, and they did not consider all His ways;

34:28  so as to cause the cry of the poor to come to Him, for He hears the cry of the afflicted.

34:29  And He gives quietness, who then can condemn? And when He hides His face, who can behold Him? And it may be against a nation and a man together;

34:30  from the reigning of ungodly men, from being snares for the people.

34:31  For has any said to God, I have taken away; I will not pervert?

34:32  Besides what I see, You teach me; if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more.

34:33  Must He repay because you rejected it? For you must choose, and not I; therefore speak what you know.

34:34  Men of understanding will say to me, and a wise man who hears me will say,

34:35  Job has spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom.

34:36  Would that Job may be tried to the end because his answers are like men of iniquity.

34:37  For he adds rebellion to his sins; he claps his hands among us, and multiplies his words against God.

Chapter 35

35:1  And Elihu answered and said,

35:2  Do you think this to be right, you that say, I am more just than God?

35:3  For you say, What will it benefit you? And, What good shall I have more than if I had sinned?

35:4  I will answer your words, and your friends with you.

35:5  Look to the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds; they are higher than you.

35:6  If you sin, what do you do against Him? Or if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to Him?

35:7  If you are righteous, what do you give Him? Or what does He receive from your hand?

35:8  Your wickedness may hurt a man like yourself; and your righteousness may profit the son of man.

35:9  From the host of tyrannies they cry out; they cry out because of the arm of the multitude.

35:10  But none says, Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night;

35:11  who teaches us more than the animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?

35:12  There they cry, but He gives no answer, because of the pride of evildoers.

35:13  Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty look on it.

35:14  How much less when you say you do not see Him! Judgment is before Him; you are waiting for Him.

35:15  And now, because His anger has not visited, and He does not recognize stupidity,

35:16  even Job opens his mouth in vanity; he multiplies words without knowledge.

Chapter 36

36:1  Elihu went on and said,

36:2  Wait for me a little, and I will show you that there are yet words for God.

36:3  I will bring my knowledge from afar, and I will credit righteousness to my Maker.

36:4  For truly my words are not false; He who is perfect in knowledge is with you.

36:5  Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise; He is mighty in strength of heart.

36:6  He will not keep alive one who is wicked, but gives right to the afflicted.

36:7  He withdraws not His eyes from the righteous, but they are like kings on the throne; yes, He causes them to sit forever, and they are very high.

36:8  And if they are bound in chains, and are held in cords of affliction,

36:9  then He shows them their work, and their sins, that they have behaved themselves proudly.

36:10  He also opens their ears to teaching, and commands that they return from iniquity.

36:11  If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in blessedness, and their years in pleasures.

36:12  But if they do not obey, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.

36:13  But the ungodly in heart heap up wrath; they cry not when He binds them.

36:14  Their soul dies in youth, and their life ends among the sodomites.

36:15  He delivers the poor in his affliction, and opens their ears by oppression.

36:16  And He also would have lured you from the mouth of distress to a wide place not cramped; and the setting of your table would be full of fatness.

36:17  But you have fulfilled the judgment of the wicked; judgment and justice take hold;

36:18  For beware wrath, that He not lure you with His scorn; then a great ransom cannot turn you aside.

36:19  If your cry for help is set in order, then it will not be. in distress, but with all the forces of strength.

36:20  Desire not the night, when people are cut off in their place.

36:21  Beware, do not turn to iniquity; for this you have chosen rather than affliction.

36:22  Behold, God is exalted in His power; who teaches like Him?

36:23  Who has appointed Him His way; or who can say, You have done wrong?

36:24  Remember that you magnify His work of which men have sung;

36:25  every man has seen it; man may see it afar off.

36:26  Behold, God is great, and we do not know; the number of His years cannot be searched out.

36:27  For He draws up the drops of water; they distill rain into mist,

36:28  which the clouds pour down and drop on man plentifully.

36:29  Also can any understand the spreading of the clouds, or the crashing of His canopy?

36:30  Behold, He spreads His light on it, and He covers the bottom of the sea.

36:31  For by them He judges the people; He gives plenty of food.

36:32  He covers His hands with the lightning, and commands it to strike the mark;

36:33  its thunder declares concerning Him, and the cattle, concerning what is coming.

Chapter 37

37:1  My heart trembles at this also, and it leaps out of its place.

37:2  Listen carefully to the thunder of His voice, and the rumbling that comes out of His mouth.

37:3  He loosens it under the whole heavens, and His lightning to the ends of the earth.

37:4  After it a voice roars; He thunders with the voice of His majesty, and He will not hold them when His voice is heard.

37:5  God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things, and we do not understand.

37:6  For He says to the snow, Fall on the earth; also to the shower of rain, and to the shower of heavy rains in its strength.

37:7  He seals up the hand of every man, so that all men may know His work.

37:8  Then the beast goes into its lair, and it remains in its dens.

37:9  Out of the storeroom comes the tempest; and cold from scattering winds.

37:10  By the breath of God ice is given; and the expanse of waters is frozen tight.

37:11  Also He loads the clouds with moisture; He scatters the lightning cloud,

37:12  and it is turned around by His guidance, so that they may do whatever He commands them on the face of the world in the earth.

37:13  Whether as a whip, or for His land, or for mercy, He finds it.

37:14  Listen to this, Job; stand still, and consider the wonderful works of God.

37:15  Do you know when God placed them, and caused the lightning of His cloud to shine?

37:16  Do you know the balancing of the clouds, the wonderful works of Him who is perfect in knowledge?

37:17  You whose clothes warm when He quiets the earth from the south wind?

37:18  Have you beat out the expanse with Him, hard like a cast mirror?

37:19  Teach us what we shall say to Him; for because of darkness we cannot arrange our case.

37:20  Shall it be told Him that I would speak? If a man speaks, surely he shall be swallowed up.

37:21  And now men cannot look upon the light; it is in the clouds; but the wind passes and clears them.

37:22  Golden splendor comes out of the north; God is awesome in His majesty.

37:23  The Almighty, whom we cannot find out, is exalted in power; and to judgment and overflowing righteousness He does no violence.

37:24  Therefore, men fear Him; He does not respect any who are wise in heart.

Chapter 38

38:1  And the LORD answered Job out of the tempest, and said,

38:2  Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?

38:3  Now gird up your loins like a man; for I will ask of you, and you teach Me.

38:4  Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell if you have understanding!

38:5  Who has set its measurements, for you know? Or who has stretched the line on it?

38:6  On what are its bases sunk, or who cast its cornerstone,

38:7  when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

38:8  Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke forth as it came from the womb?

38:9  When I made the clouds its robe, and darkness its navel-band,

38:10  and set My limit on it, and set bars and doors,

38:11  and I said, You shall come to here, but no further; and here your proud waves shall stop.

38:12  Have you commanded the morning from your days, and caused the dawn to know its place,

38:13  that it might take hold of the ends of the earth; that the wicked might be shaken out of it?

38:14  It is turned like clay under a seal; and they stand forth like a garment.

38:15  And from the wicked their light is withheld, and the high arm shall be broken.

38:16  Have you gone to the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths?

38:17  Have the gates of death been opened to you? Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

38:18  Have you understood the breadth of the earth? Tell, if you know it all!

38:19  Where is the way where light dwells? And where is the place of darkness,

38:20  that you should take it to its boundary, and that you should know the paths to its house?

38:21  You know, because you were born then. And the number of your days is great?

38:22  Have you entered into the storehouses of the snow? Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,

38:23  which I have kept for the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?

38:24  How is it, way the light distributed, and how does the east wind spread itself on the earth?

38:25  Who has cut a channel for the flood, or a way for the thunderclaps;

38:26  to cause rain to fall on the earth where no man is, a wilderness and no man in it;

38:27  to satisfy the desolate and waste ground, and to cause the source of grass to spring forth?

38:28  Has the rain a father? Or who has brought forth the drops of dew?

38:29  Out of whose womb came the ice? And the frost of the heavens, who fathered it?

38:30  The waters are hidden like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

38:31  Can you bind the bands of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion?

38:32  Can you bring the constellations in their season? Or can you guide the Bear with its sons?

38:33  Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you set up their rulership on the earth?

38:34  Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that floods of waters may cover you?

38:35  Can you send lightnings, that they may go, and say to you, Here we are?

38:36  Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the mind?

38:37  Who can number the clouds by wisdom; or who can empty out the jars of the heavens,

38:38  when the dust is melted into hardness, and the clods cling fast together?

38:39  Will you hunt the prey for the lion, or fill the appetite of the young lions,

38:40  when they crouch in dens, and sit in the cover of their hiding place?

38:41  Who provides food for the raven, when its young ones cry to God and wander about without food?

Chapter 39

39:1  Do you know the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? Can you observe the calving of deer?

39:2  Can you number the months that they fulfill? Or do you know the time for their bearing,

39:3  when they bow down and bring forth; they send out their pangs.

39:4  Their young ones are strong, they multiply with grain; they go forth and do not return to them again.

39:5  Who has sent out the wild ass free? Or who has loosed the bands of the wild ass,

39:6  to whom I have assigned the wilderness for its home, and the salt land for its dwellings?

39:7  He scorns the turmoil of the city; he does not hear the driver's shouts.

39:8  He seeks out mountains for his pasture, and he searches after every green thing.

39:9  Will the wild ox be willing to serve you, or spend the night by your feed-trough?

39:10  Can you tie the wild ox in the furrow with his rope? Or will he harrow the valleys for you?

39:11  Will you trust him because his strength is great? Or will you leave your labor to him?

39:12  Will you trust him, that he will return your seed and gather it to your grain-floor?

39:13  The wing of the ostrich beats joyously; though not like the stork's pinions for flight.

39:14  For she leaves her eggs to the earth, and lets them warm in the dust,

39:15  and forgets that a foot may crush them, or that the beast of the field may break them.

39:16  She treats her young roughly, as if not hers; for her labor is vanity without fear;

39:17  because God has caused her to forget wisdom, and He has not given her a share in understanding.

39:18  At the time she lifts herself up on high, she scorns the horse and its rider.

39:19  Have you given the horse strength? Have you clothed his neck with a mane?

39:20  Can you make him leap like a locust? The glory of his snorting is terrifying.

39:21  He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength; he goes on to meet the weapons.

39:22  He mocks at fear, and is not terrified; and he does not turn back from the sword.

39:23  The quiver rattles against him, the glittering spear and the shield.

39:24  He swallows the ground with quivering and rage; and he does not stand still at the sound of the trumpet.

39:25  When the trumpet sounds, he says, Aha! And he smells the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

39:26  Does the hawk soar by your understanding? Will he spread his wings toward the south?

39:27  Does the eagle mount up at your command and make his nest on high?

39:28  He lives and stays on the rock, on the crag of the rock and the strong place.

39:29  From there he seeks food, and his eyes see afar off.

39:30  And his young brood also sucks up blood; and where the dead are, there he is.

Chapter 40

40:1  And the LORD answered Job and said,

40:2  Shall a reprover contend with the Almighty? He who reproves God, let him answer it.

40:3  And Job answered the LORD and said,

40:4  Behold, I am vile! What shall I answer You? I will lay my hand on my mouth.

40:5  Once I have spoken; but I will not answer; yea, twice, but I will go no further.

40:6  And the LORD answered Job out of the tempest, and said,

40:7  Now gird up your loins like a man. I will question you, and you teach Me.

40:8  Will you also set aside My judgment? Will you condemn Me so that you may be justified?

40:9  And have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His?

40:10  Adorn yourself now with majesty and grandeur, and with glory and honor clothe yourself.

40:11  Pour forth the rage of your wrath; and behold everyone who is proud, and abase him.

40:12  Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place.

40:13  Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in darkness.

40:14  Then I also will confess to you that your own right hand can save you.

40:15  Now behold behemoth, which I made along with you; he eats grass like an ox;

40:16  see, now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the muscles of his belly.

40:17  He hangs his tail like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together.

40:18  His bones are like tubes of bronze; his bones are like bars of iron.

40:19  He is the first of the ways of God; his Maker brings near his sword.

40:20  For the mountains yield food for him, and all the beasts of the field play there.

40:21  He lies under the lotus, in the hiding place of the reed and the marsh.

40:22  The lotus trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook surround him.

40:23  Behold, though a flood presses, he does not run away; he feels safe even if Jordan swells up to his mouth.

40:24  Shall any take him before his eyes, or pierce through his nose with cords?

Chapter 41

41:1  Can you draw out the leviathan with a hook, or hold down his tongue with a cord?

41:2  Can you put a reed rope into his nose, or pierce his jaw with a thorn?

41:3  Will he multiply pleas for help to you? Will he speak soft words to you?

41:4  Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him for a servant for ever?

41:5  Will you play with him as with a bird? Or will you bind him for your maidens?

41:6  Shall your companions bargain over him? Shall they divide him among the merchants?

41:7  Can you fill his skin with barbed irons, or his head with fishing spears?

41:8  Lay your hand on him, think of the battle; you will never do it again.

41:9  Behold, his hope has been made false; will not one be cast down at the sight of him?

41:10  None is so fierce as to dare to stir him up; who then is able to stand before Me?

41:11  Who has gone before Me that I should repay? All that is the heavens is Mine.

41:12  I will not keep silent concerning his limbs, or his mighty strength, or the grace of his frame.

41:13  Who can take off the surface of his skin; who can come to him with his double bridle?

41:14  Who can open the doors to his face? Terror is round about his teeth.

41:15  The rows of shields are his pride, shut up with a close seal;

41:16  one is so near to another that no air can come between them;

41:17  they are joined one to another, they clasp each other so that they can not be separated.

41:18  His sneezings flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.

41:19  Out of his mouth go burning torches, sparks of fire leap out.

41:20  Out of his nostrils goes smoke, as out of a boiling pot fired by reeds.

41:21  His breath kindles coals, and a flame goes out of his mouth.

41:22  In his neck remains strength, and terror dances before him.

41:23  The folds of his flesh are joined together, cast firm on him; he cannot be moved.

41:24  His heart is cast hard as a stone, even cast hard as a piece of a riding millstone.

41:25  The mighty are afraid from his rising; they are beside themselves from the crashing.

41:26  The sword overtakes him, but will not hold firm. The spear, the dart, and the javelin also.

41:27  He counts iron as straw, bronze as rotten wood.

41:28  An arrow cannot make him flee; slingstones are turned by him into stubble.

41:29  Darts are counted as straw; he laughs at the shaking of a javelin.

41:30  Points of potsherds are under him; he spreads sharp pointed marks on the mire.

41:31  He makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.

41:32  He makes a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be gray-headed.

41:33  On earth there is nothing like him, one made without fear.

41:34  He beholds all high things; he is a king over all the sons of pride.

Chapter 42

42:1  And Job answered the LORD and said,

42:2  I know that You can do all, and not any purpose is withheld from You.

42:3  Who is he who hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have spoken what I did not understand; things too wonderful for me; yea, I did not know.

42:4  Hear, I beseech You, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You will cause me to know.

42:5  I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye has seen You.

42:6  Therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

42:7  And it happened after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against you and your two friends. For you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.

42:8  And now take to yourselves seven young bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering. And My servant Job will pray for you. Surely I will lift up his face so as not to do with you according to your foolishness, in that you have not spoken of Me what is right, like My servant Job.

42:9  And Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, went and did as the LORD commanded them. The LORD also accepted the face of Job.

42:10  And the LORD turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends. Also the LORD added to Job all that had been his, to double.

42:11  And came to him all his brothers, and all his sisters, and all those who had known him before. And they ate bread with him in his house, and consoled him and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought on him. Each one also gave him a piece of money, and each one a ring of gold.

42:12  And the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than the beginning. For he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.

42:13  He also had seven sons and three daughters.

42:14  And he called the name of the first, Jemima; and the name of the second, Keziah; and the name of the third, Keren-happuch.

42:15  And in all the land there were not found women as beautiful as the daughters of Job. And their father gave them inheritance among their brothers.

42:16  After this Job lived a hundred and forty years, and he saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations.

42:17  And Job died, being old and full of days.