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Job
1 |
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In
the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was
blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. {2} He had
seven sons and three daughters, {3} and he owned seven thousand
sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred
donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man
among all the people of the East. {4} His sons used to take turns
holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters
to eat and drink with them. {5} When a period of feasting had run
its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning
he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps
my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's
regular custom. {6} One day the angels came to present themselves
before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. {7} The LORD said
to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From
roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it." {8}
Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There
is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who
fears God and shuns evil." {9} "Does Job fear God for nothing?"
Satan replied. {10} "Have you not put a hedge around him and his
household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands,
so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. {11}
But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will
surely curse you to your face." {12} The LORD said to Satan,
"Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man
himself do not lay a finger." Then Satan went out from the presence of
the LORD. {13} One day when Job's sons and daughters were
feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, {14} a
messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys
were grazing nearby, {15} and the Sabeans attacked and carried
them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who
has escaped to tell you!" {16} While he was still speaking,
another messenger came and said, "The fire of God fell from the sky and
burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has
escaped to tell you!" {17} While he was still speaking, another
messenger came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and
swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to
the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!" {18}
While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said,
"Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest
brother's house, {19} when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from
the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on
them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell
you!" {20} At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his
head. Then he fell to the ground in worship {21} and said: "Naked
I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and
the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." {22}
In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. |
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Job
2 |
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On another day the angels came to present
themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present
himself before him. {2} And the LORD said to Satan, "Where have
you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth
and going back and forth in it." {3} Then the LORD said to Satan,
"Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him;
he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he
still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin
him without any reason." {4} "Skin for skin!" Satan replied. "A
man will give all he has for his own life. {5} But stretch out
your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you
to your face." {6} The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he
is in your hands; but you must spare his life." {7} So Satan went
out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores
from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. {8} Then Job
took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat
among the ashes. {9} His wife said to him, "Are you still holding
on to your integrity? Curse God and die!" {10} He replied, "You
are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not
trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. {11} When
Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar
the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him,
they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and
sympathise with him and comfort him. {12} When they saw him from
a distance, they could hardly recognise him; they began to weep aloud,
and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. {13}
Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No
one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was. |
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Job 3 |
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After
this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. {2}
He said: {3} "May the day of my birth perish, and the night it
was said, 'A boy is born!' {4} That day--may it turn to darkness;
may God above not care about it; may no light shine upon it. {5}
May darkness and deep shadow claim it once more; may a cloud settle over
it; may blackness overwhelm its light. {6} That night--may thick
darkness seize it; may it not be included among the days of the year nor
be entered in any of the months. {7} May that night be barren;
may no shout of joy be heard in it. {8} May those who curse days
curse that day, those who are ready to rouse Leviathan. {9} May
its morning stars become dark; may it wait for daylight in vain and not
see the first rays of dawn, {10} for it did not shut the doors of
the womb on me to hide trouble from my eyes. {11} "Why did I not
perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb? {12} Why were
there knees to receive me and breasts that I might be nursed? {13}
For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at
rest {14} with kings and counselors of the earth, who built for
themselves places now lying in ruins, {15} with rulers who had
gold, who filled their houses with silver. {16} Or why was I not
hidden in the ground like a stillborn child, like an infant who never
saw the light of day? {17} There the wicked cease from turmoil,
and there the weary are at rest. {18} Captives also enjoy their
ease; they no longer hear the slave driver's shout. {19} The
small and the great are there, and the slave is freed from his master.
{20} "Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter
of soul, {21} to those who long for death that does not come, who
search for it more than for hidden treasure, {22} who are filled
with gladness and rejoice when they reach the grave? {23} Why is
life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? {24}
For sighing comes to me instead of food; my groans pour out like
water. {25} What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has
happened to me. {26} I have no peace, no quietness; I have no
rest, but only turmoil." |
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Job
4 |
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Then
Eliphaz the Temanite replied: {2} "If someone ventures a word
with you, will you be impatient? But who can keep from speaking? {3}
Think how you have instructed many, how you have strengthened feeble
hands. {4} Your words have supported those who stumbled; you have
strengthened faltering knees. {5} But now trouble comes to you,
and you are discouraged; it strikes you, and you are dismayed. {6}
Should not your piety be your confidence and your blameless ways
your hope? {7} "Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever
perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed? {8} As I have
observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it. {9}
At the breath of God they are destroyed; at the blast of his anger
they perish. {10} The lions may roar and growl, yet the teeth of
the great lions are broken. {11} The lion perishes for lack of
prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered. {12} "A word was
secretly brought to me, my ears caught a whisper of it. {13} Amid
disquieting dreams in the night, when deep sleep falls on men, {14}
fear and trembling seized me and made all my bones shake. {15}
A spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body stood on end.
{16} It stopped, but I could not tell what it was. A form stood
before my eyes, and I heard a hushed voice: {17} 'Can a mortal be
more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker? {18}
If God places no trust in his servants, if he charges his angels
with error, {19} how much more those who live in houses of clay,
whose foundations are in the dust, who are crushed more readily than a
moth! {20} Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;
unnoticed, they perish forever. {21} Are not the cords of their
tent pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?' |
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Job 5 |
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"Call
if you will, but who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you
turn? {2} Resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.
{3} I myself have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house
was cursed. {4} His children are far from safety, crushed in
court without a defender. {5} The hungry consume his harvest,
taking it even from among thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
{6} For hardship does not spring from the soil, nor does trouble
sprout from the ground. {7} Yet man is born to trouble as surely
as sparks fly upward. {8} "But if it were I, I would appeal to
God; I would lay my cause before him. {9} He performs wonders
that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. {10} He
bestows rain on the earth; he sends water upon the countryside. {11}
The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
{12} He thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve
no success. {13} He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the
schemes of the wily are swept away. {14} Darkness comes upon them
in the daytime; at noon they grope as in the night. {15} He saves
the needy from the sword in their mouth; he saves them from the clutches
of the powerful. {16} So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts
its mouth. {17} "Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not
despise the discipline of the Almighty. {18} For he wounds, but
he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal. {19} From
six calamities he will rescue you; in seven no harm will befall you.
{20} In famine he will ransom you from death, and in battle from the
stroke of the sword. {21} You will be protected from the lash of
the tongue, and need not fear when destruction comes. {22} You
will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beasts of
the earth. {23} For you will have a covenant with the stones of
the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you. {24}
You will know that your tent is secure; you will take stock of your
property and find nothing missing. {25} You will know that your
children will be many, and your descendants like the grass of the earth.
{26} You will come to the grave in full vigor, like sheaves gathered
in season. {27} "We have examined this, and it is true. So hear
it and apply it to yourself." |
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Job 6 |
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Then
Job replied: {2} "If only my anguish could be weighed and all my
misery be placed on the scales! {3} It would surely outweigh the
sand of the seas-- no wonder my words have been impetuous. {4}
The arrows of the Almighty are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison;
God's terrors are marshaled against me. {5} Does a wild donkey
bray when it has grass, or an ox bellow when it has fodder? {6}
Is tasteless food eaten without salt, or is there flavor in the white of
an egg ? {7} I refuse to touch it; such food makes me ill. {8}
"Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant what I hope
for, {9} that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his
hand and cut me off! {10} Then I would still have this
consolation-- my joy in unrelenting pain-- that I had not denied the
words of the Holy One. {11} "What strength do I have, that I
should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient? {12}
Do I have the strength of stone? Is my flesh bronze? {13} Do I
have any power to help myself, now that success has been driven from me?
{14} "A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends, even
though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. {15} But my brothers
are as undependable as intermittent streams, as the streams that
overflow {16} when darkened by thawing ice and swollen with
melting snow, {17} but that cease to flow in the dry season, and
in the heat vanish from their channels. {18} Caravans turn aside
from their routes; they go up into the wasteland and perish. {19}
The caravans of Tema look for water, the traveling merchants of Sheba
look in hope. {20} They are distressed, because they had been
confident; they arrive there, only to be disappointed. {21} Now
you too have proved to be of no help; you see something dreadful and are
afraid. {22} Have I ever said, 'Give something on my behalf, pay
a ransom for me from your wealth, {23} deliver me from the hand
of the enemy, ransom me from the clutches of the ruthless'? {24}
"Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong. {25}
How painful are honest words! But what do your arguments prove?
{26} Do you mean to correct what I say, and treat the words of a
despairing man as wind? {27} You would even cast lots for the
fatherless and barter away your friend. {28} "But now be so kind
as to look at me. Would I lie to your face? {29} Relent, do not
be unjust; reconsider, for my integrity is at stake. {30} Is
there any wickedness on my lips? Can my mouth not discern malice? |
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Job
7 |
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"Does
not man have hard service on earth? Are not his days like those of a
hired man? {2} Like a slave longing for the evening shadows, or a
hired man waiting eagerly for his wages, {3} so I have been
allotted months of futility, and nights of misery have been assigned to
me. {4} When I lie down I think, 'How long before I get up?' The
night drags on, and I toss till dawn. {5} My body is clothed with
worms and scabs, my skin is broken and festering. {6} "My days
are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and they come to an end without
hope. {7} Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath; my eyes
will never see happiness again. {8} The eye that now sees me will
see me no longer; you will look for me, but I will be no more. {9}
As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to the grave
does not return. {10} He will never come to his house again; his
place will know him no more. {11} "Therefore I will not keep
silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in
the bitterness of my soul. {12} Am I the sea, or the monster of
the deep, that you put me under guard? {13} When I think my bed
will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, {14} even
then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions, {15}
so that I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of
mine. {16} I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me
alone; my days have no meaning. {17} "What is man that you make
so much of him, that you give him so much attention, {18} that
you examine him every morning and test him every moment? {19}
Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant?
{20} If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of men?
Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you? {21}
Why do you not pardon my offenses and forgive my sins? For I will
soon lie down in the dust; you will search for me, but I will be no
more." |
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Job 8 |
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Then
Bildad the Shuhite replied: {2} "How long will you say such
things? Your words are a blustering wind. {3} Does God pervert
justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? {4} When your
children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their
sin. {5} But if you will look to God and plead with the Almighty,
{6} if you are pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself on
your behalf and restore you to your rightful place. {7} Your
beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be. {8}
"Ask the former generations and find out what their fathers learned,
{9} for we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days
on earth are but a shadow. {10} Will they not instruct you and
tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?
{11} Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds thrive
without water? {12} While still growing and uncut, they wither
more quickly than grass. {13} Such is the destiny of all who
forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless. {14} What he
trusts in is fragile ; what he relies on is a spider's web. {15}
He leans on his web, but it gives way; he clings to it, but it does not
hold. {16} He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
spreading its shoots over the garden; {17} it entwines its roots
around a pile of rocks and looks for a place among the stones. {18}
But when it is torn from its spot, that place disowns it and says,
'I never saw you.' {19} Surely its life withers away, and from
the soil other plants grow. {20} "Surely God does not reject a
blameless man or strengthen the hands of evildoers. {21} He will
yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.
{22} Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tents of the
wicked will be no more." |
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Job 9 |
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Then
Job replied: {2} "Indeed, I know that this is true. But how can a
mortal be righteous before God? {3} Though one wished to dispute
with him, he could not answer him one time out of a thousand. {4}
His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. Who has resisted him and come
out unscathed? {5} He moves mountains without their knowing it
and overturns them in his anger. {6} He shakes the earth from its
place and makes its pillars tremble. {7} He speaks to the sun and
it does not shine; he seals off the light of the stars. {8} He
alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.
{9} He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the
constellations of the south. {10} He performs wonders that cannot
be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. {11} When he passes
me, I cannot see him; when he goes by, I cannot perceive him. {12}
If he snatches away, who can stop him? Who can say to him, 'What are
you doing?' {13} God does not restrain his anger; even the
cohorts of Rahab cowered at his feet. {14} "How then can I
dispute with him? How can I find words to argue with him? {15}
Though I were innocent, I could not answer him; I could only plead with
my Judge for mercy. {16} Even if I summoned him and he responded,
I do not believe he would give me a hearing. {17} He would crush
me with a storm and multiply my wounds for no reason. {18} He
would not let me regain my breath but would overwhelm me with misery.
{19} If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty! And if it is a
matter of justice, who will summon him ? {20} Even if I were
innocent, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would
pronounce me guilty. {21} "Although I am blameless, I have no
concern for myself; I despise my own life. {22} It is all the
same; that is why I say, 'He destroys both the blameless and the
wicked.' {23} When a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks the
despair of the innocent. {24} When a land falls into the hands of
the wicked, he blindfolds its judges. If it is not he, then who is it?
{25} "My days are swifter than a runner; they fly away without a
glimpse of joy. {26} They skim past like boats of papyrus, like
eagles swooping down on their prey. {27} If I say, 'I will forget
my complaint, I will change my expression, and smile,' {28} I
still dread all my sufferings, for I know you will not hold me innocent.
{29} Since I am already found guilty, why should I struggle in vain?
{30} Even if I washed myself with soap and my hands with washing
soda, {31} you would plunge me into a slime pit so that even my
clothes would detest me. {32} "He is not a man like me that I
might answer him, that we might confront each other in court. {33}
If only there were someone to arbitrate between us, to lay his hand
upon us both, {34} someone to remove God's rod from me, so that
his terror would frighten me no more. {35} Then I would speak up
without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot. |
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Job 10 |
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"I
loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and
speak out in the bitterness of my soul. {2} I will say to God: Do
not condemn me, but tell me what charges you have against me. {3}
Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands, while
you smile on the schemes of the wicked? {4} Do you have eyes of
flesh? Do you see as a mortal sees? {5} Are your days like those
of a mortal or your years like those of a man, {6} that you must
search out my faults and probe after my sin-- {7} though you know
that I am not guilty and that no one can rescue me from your hand?
{8} "Your hands shaped me and made me. Will you now turn and destroy
me? {9} Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn
me to dust again? {10} Did you not pour me out like milk and
curdle me like cheese, {11} clothe me with skin and flesh and
knit me together with bones and sinews? {12} You gave me life and
showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit.
{13} "But this is what you concealed in your heart, and I know that
this was in your mind: {14} If I sinned, you would be watching me
and would not let my offense go unpunished. {15} If I am
guilty--woe to me! Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head, for I
am full of shame and drowned in my affliction. {16} If I hold my
head high, you stalk me like a lion and again display your awesome power
against me. {17} You bring new witnesses against me and increase
your anger toward me; your forces come against me wave upon wave.
{18} "Why then did you bring me out of the womb? I wish I had died
before any eye saw me. {19} If only I had never come into being,
or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave! {20} Are
not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment's
joy {21} before I go to the place of no return, to the land of
gloom and deep shadow, {22} to the land of deepest night, of deep
shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness." |
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Job 11 |
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Then
Zophar the Naamathite replied: {2} "Are all these words to go
unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated? {3} Will your idle
talk reduce men to silence? Will no one rebuke you when you mock? {4}
You say to God, 'My beliefs are flawless and I am pure in your
sight.' {5} Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would
open his lips against you {6} and disclose to you the secrets of
wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten
some of your sin. {7} "Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can
you probe the limits of the Almighty? {8} They are higher than
the heavens--what can you do? They are deeper than the depths of the
grave --what can you know? {9} Their measure is longer than the
earth and wider than the sea. {10} "If he comes along and
confines you in prison and convenes a court, who can oppose him? {11}
Surely he recognises deceitful men; and when he sees evil, does he
not take note? {12} But a witless man can no more become wise
than a wild donkey's colt can be born a man. {13} "Yet if you
devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, {14}
if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell
in your tent, {15} then you will lift up your face without shame;
you will stand firm and without fear. {16} You will surely forget
your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. {17} Life will
be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. {18}
You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you
and take your rest in safety. {19} You will lie down, with no one
to make you afraid, and many will court your favor. {20} But the
eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; their hope
will become a dying gasp." |
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Job 12 |
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Then
Job replied: {2} "Doubtless you are the people, and wisdom will
die with you! {3} But I have a mind as well as you; I am not
inferior to you. Who does not know all these things? {4} "I have
become a laughingstock to my friends, though I called upon God and he
answered-- a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless! {5}
Men at ease have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose
feet are slipping. {6} The tents of marauders are undisturbed,
and those who provoke God are secure-- those who carry their god in
their hands. {7} "But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; {8} or speak to
the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you.
{9} Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has
done this? {10} In his hand is the life of every creature and the
breath of all mankind. {11} Does not the ear test words as the
tongue tastes food? {12} Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does
not long life bring understanding? {13} "To God belong wisdom and
power; counsel and understanding are his. {14} What he tears down
cannot be rebuilt; the man he imprisons cannot be released. {15}
If he holds back the waters, there is drought; if he lets them loose,
they devastate the land. {16} To him belong strength and victory;
both deceived and deceiver are his. {17} He leads counselors away
stripped and makes fools of judges. {18} He takes off the
shackles put on by kings and ties a loincloth around their waist.
{19} He leads priests away stripped and overthrows men long
established. {20} He silences the lips of trusted advisers and
takes away the discernment of elders. {21} He pours contempt on
nobles and disarms the mighty. {22} He reveals the deep things of
darkness and brings deep shadows into the light. {23} He makes
nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses
them. {24} He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason;
he sends them wandering through a trackless waste. {25} They
grope in darkness with no light; he makes them stagger like drunkards. |
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Job 13 |
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"My
eyes have seen all this, my ears have heard and understood it. {2}
What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you. {3} But
I desire to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God. {4}
You, however, smear me with lies; you are worthless physicians, all
of you! {5} If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that
would be wisdom. {6} Hear now my argument; listen to the plea of
my lips. {7} Will you speak wickedly on God's behalf? Will you
speak deceitfully for him? {8} Will you show him partiality? Will
you argue the case for God? {9} Would it turn out well if he
examined you? Could you deceive him as you might deceive men? {10}
He would surely rebuke you if you secretly showed partiality.
{11} Would not his splendor terrify you? Would not the dread of him
fall on you? {12} Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your
defenses are defenses of clay. {13} "Keep silent and let me
speak; then let come to me what may. {14} Why do I put myself in
jeopardy and take my life in my hands? {15} Though he slay me,
yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.
{16} Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance, for no godless
man would dare come before him! {17} Listen carefully to my
words; let your ears take in what I say. {18} Now that I have
prepared my case, I know I will be vindicated. {19} Can anyone
bring charges against me? If so, I will be silent and die. {20}
"Only grant me these two things, O God, and then I will not hide from
you: {21} Withdraw your hand far from me, and stop frightening me
with your terrors. {22} Then summon me and I will answer, or let
me speak, and you reply. {23} How many wrongs and sins have I
committed? Show me my offense and my sin. {24} Why do you hide
your face and consider me your enemy? {25} Will you torment a
windblown leaf? Will you chase after dry chaff? {26} For you
write down bitter things against me and make me inherit the sins of my
youth. {27} You fasten my feet in shackles; you keep close watch
on all my paths by putting marks on the soles of my feet. {28}
"So man wastes away like something rotten, like a garment eaten by
moths. |
|
Job 14 |
|
"Man
born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. {2} He springs
up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not
endure. {3} Do you fix your eye on such a one? Will you bring him
before you for judgment? {4} Who can bring what is pure from the
impure? No one! {5} Man's days are determined; you have decreed
the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed. {6}
So look away from him and let him alone, till he has put in his time
like a hired man. {7} "At least there is hope for a tree: If it
is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail.
{8} Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the
soil, {9} yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth
shoots like a plant. {10} But man dies and is laid low; he
breathes his last and is no more. {11} As water disappears from
the sea or a riverbed becomes parched and dry, {12} so man lies
down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, men will not awake
or be roused from their sleep. {13} "If only you would hide me in
the grave and conceal me till your anger has passed! If only you would
set me a time and then remember me! {14} If a man dies, will he
live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal
to come. {15} You will call and I will answer you; you will long
for the creature your hands have made. {16} Surely then you will
count my steps but not keep track of my sin. {17} My offenses
will be sealed up in a bag; you will cover over my sin. {18} "But
as a mountain erodes and crumbles and as a rock is moved from its place,
{19} as water wears away stones and torrents wash away the soil, so
you destroy man's hope. {20} You overpower him once for all, and
he is gone; you change his countenance and send him away. {21} If
his sons are honored, he does not know it; if they are brought low, he
does not see it. {22} He feels but the pain of his own body and
mourns only for himself." |
|
Job
15 |
|
Then
Eliphaz the Temanite replied: {2} "Would a wise man answer with
empty notions or fill his belly with the hot east wind? {3} Would
he argue with useless words, with speeches that have no value? {4}
But you even undermine piety and hinder devotion to God. {5}
Your sin prompts your mouth; you adopt the tongue of the crafty. {6}
Your own mouth condemns you, not mine; your own lips testify against
you. {7} "Are you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth
before the hills? {8} Do you listen in on God's council? Do you
limit wisdom to yourself? {9} What do you know that we do not
know? What insights do you have that we do not have? {10} The
gray-haired and the aged are on our side, men even older than your
father. {11} Are God's consolations not enough for you, words
spoken gently to you? {12} Why has your heart carried you away,
and why do your eyes flash, {13} so that you vent your rage
against God and pour out such words from your mouth? {14} "What
is man, that he could be pure, or one born of woman, that he could be
righteous? {15} If God places no trust in his holy ones, if even
the heavens are not pure in his eyes, {16} how much less man, who
is vile and corrupt, who drinks up evil like water! {17} "Listen
to me and I will explain to you; let me tell you what I have seen,
{18} what wise men have declared, hiding nothing received from their
fathers {19} (to whom alone the land was given when no alien
passed among them): {20} All his days the wicked man suffers
torment, the ruthless through all the years stored up for him. {21}
Terrifying sounds fill his ears; when all seems well, marauders
attack him. {22} He despairs of escaping the darkness; he is
marked for the sword. {23} He wanders about--food for vultures ;
he knows the day of darkness is at hand. {24} Distress and
anguish fill him with terror; they overwhelm him, like a king poised to
attack, {25} because he shakes his fist at God and vaunts himself
against the Almighty, {26} defiantly charging against him with a
thick, strong shield. {27} "Though his face is covered with fat
and his waist bulges with flesh, {28} he will inhabit ruined
towns and houses where no one lives, houses crumbling to rubble. {29}
He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure, nor will
his possessions spread over the land. {30} He will not escape the
darkness; a flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God's mouth
will carry him away. {31} Let him not deceive himself by trusting
what is worthless, for he will get nothing in return. {32} Before
his time he will be paid in full, and his branches will not flourish.
{33} He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes, like an
olive tree shedding its blossoms. {34} For the company of the
godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of those who
love bribes. {35} They conceive trouble and give birth to evil;
their womb fashions deceit." |
|
Job
16 |
|
Then
Job replied: {2} "I have heard many things like these; miserable
comforters are you all! {3} Will your long-winded speeches never
end? What ails you that you keep on arguing? {4} I also could
speak like you, if you were in my place; I could make fine speeches
against you and shake my head at you. {5} But my mouth would
encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief. {6}
"Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved; and if I refrain, it does not
go away. {7} Surely, O God, you have worn me out; you have
devastated my entire household. {8} You have bound me--and it has
become a witness; my gauntness rises up and testifies against me. {9}
God assails me and tears me in his anger and gnashes his teeth at
me; my opponent fastens on me his piercing eyes. {10} Men open
their mouths to jeer at me; they strike my cheek in scorn and unite
together against me. {11} God has turned me over to evil men and
thrown me into the clutches of the wicked. {12} All was well with
me, but he shattered me; he seized me by the neck and crushed me. He has
made me his target; {13} his archers surround me. Without pity,
he pierces my kidneys and spills my gall on the ground. {14}
Again and again he bursts upon me; he rushes at me like a warrior.
{15} "I have sewed sackcloth over my skin and buried my brow in the
dust. {16} My face is red with weeping, deep shadows ring my
eyes; {17} yet my hands have been free of violence and my prayer
is pure. {18} "O earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry never
be laid to rest! {19} Even now my witness is in heaven; my
advocate is on high. {20} My intercessor is my friend as my eyes
pour out tears to God; {21} on behalf of a man he pleads with God
as a man pleads for his friend. {22} "Only a few years will pass
before I go on the journey of no return. |
|
Job 17 |
|
My
spirit is broken, my days are cut short, the grave awaits me. {2}
Surely mockers surround me; my eyes must dwell on their hostility.
{3} "Give me, O God, the pledge you demand. Who else will put up
security for me? {4} You have closed their minds to
understanding; therefore you will not let them triumph. {5} If a
man denounces his friends for reward, the eyes of his children will
fail. {6} "God has made me a byword to everyone, a man in whose
face people spit. {7} My eyes have grown dim with grief; my whole
frame is but a shadow. {8} Upright men are appalled at this; the
innocent are aroused against the ungodly. {9} Nevertheless, the
righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow
stronger. {10} "But come on, all of you, try again! I will not
find a wise man among you. {11} My days have passed, my plans are
shattered, and so are the desires of my heart. {12} These men
turn night into day; in the face of darkness they say, 'Light is near.'
{13} If the only home I hope for is the grave, if I spread out my
bed in darkness, {14} if I say to corruption, 'You are my
father,' and to the worm, 'My mother' or 'My sister,' {15} where
then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me? {16} Will it go
down to the gates of death ? Will we descend together into the dust?" |
|
Job 18 |
|
Then
Bildad the Shuhite replied: {2} "When will you end these
speeches? Be sensible, and then we can talk. {3} Why are we
regarded as cattle and considered stupid in your sight? {4} You
who tear yourself to pieces in your anger, is the earth to be abandoned
for your sake? Or must the rocks be moved from their place? {5}
"The lamp of the wicked is snuffed out; the flame of his fire stops
burning. {6} The light in his tent becomes dark; the lamp beside
him goes out. {7} The vigor of his step is weakened; his own
schemes throw him down. {8} His feet thrust him into a net and he
wanders into its mesh. {9} A trap seizes him by the heel; a snare
holds him fast. {10} A noose is hidden for him on the ground; a
trap lies in his path. {11} Terrors startle him on every side and
dog his every step. {12} Calamity is hungry for him; disaster is
ready for him when he falls. {13} It eats away parts of his skin;
death's firstborn devours his limbs. {14} He is torn from the
security of his tent and marched off to the king of terrors. {15}
Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur is scattered over his dwelling.
{16} His roots dry up below and his branches wither above. {17}
The memory of him perishes from the earth; he has no name in the
land. {18} He is driven from light into darkness and is banished
from the world. {19} He has no offspring or descendants among his
people, no survivor where once he lived. {20} Men of the west are
appalled at his fate; men of the east are seized with horror. {21}
Surely such is the dwelling of an evil man; such is the place of one
who knows not God." |
|
Job 19 |
|
Then
Job replied: {2} "How long will you torment me and crush me with
words? {3} Ten times now you have reproached me; shamelessly you
attack me. {4} If it is true that I have gone astray, my error
remains my concern alone. {5} If indeed you would exalt
yourselves above me and use my humiliation against me, {6} then
know that God has wronged me and drawn his net around me. {7}
"Though I cry, 'I've been wronged!' I get no response; though I call for
help, there is no justice. {8} He has blocked my way so I cannot
pass; he has shrouded my paths in darkness. {9} He has stripped
me of my honor and removed the crown from my head. {10} He tears
me down on every side till I am gone; he uproots my hope like a tree.
{11} His anger burns against me; he counts me among his enemies.
{12} His troops advance in force; they build a siege ramp against me
and encamp around my tent. {13} "He has alienated my brothers
from me; my acquaintances are completely estranged from me. {14}
My kinsmen have gone away; my friends have forgotten me. {15} My
guests and my maidservants count me a stranger; they look upon me as an
alien. {16} I summon my servant, but he does not answer, though I
beg him with my own mouth. {17} My breath is offensive to my
wife; I am loathsome to my own brothers. {18} Even the little
boys scorn me; when I appear, they ridicule me. {19} All my
intimate friends detest me; those I love have turned against me. {20}
I am nothing but skin and bones; I have escaped with only the skin
of my teeth. {21} "Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for
the hand of God has struck me. {22} Why do you pursue me as God
does? Will you never get enough of my flesh? {23} "Oh, that my
words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, {24}
that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock
forever! {25} I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end
he will stand upon the earth. {26} And after my skin has been
destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; {27} I myself will see
him with my own eyes--I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!
{28} "If you say, 'How we will hound him, since the root of the
trouble lies in him,' {29} you should fear the sword yourselves;
for wrath will bring punishment by the sword, and then you will know
that there is judgment." |
|
Job 20 |
|
Then
Zophar the Naamathite replied: {2} "My troubled thoughts prompt
me to answer because I am greatly disturbed. {3} I hear a rebuke
that dishonors me, and my understanding inspires me to reply. {4}
"Surely you know how it has been from of old, ever since man was placed
on the earth, {5} that the mirth of the wicked is brief, the joy
of the godless lasts but a moment. {6} Though his pride reaches
to the heavens and his head touches the clouds, {7} he will
perish forever, like his own dung; those who have seen him will say,
'Where is he?' {8} Like a dream he flies away, no more to be
found, banished like a vision of the night. {9} The eye that saw
him will not see him again; his place will look on him no more. {10}
His children must make amends to the poor; his own hands must give
back his wealth. {11} The youthful vigor that fills his bones
will lie with him in the dust. {12} "Though evil is sweet in his
mouth and he hides it under his tongue, {13} though he cannot
bear to let it go and keeps it in his mouth, {14} yet his food
will turn sour in his stomach; it will become the venom of serpents
within him. {15} He will spit out the riches he swallowed; God
will make his stomach vomit them up. {16} He will suck the poison
of serpents; the fangs of an adder will kill him. {17} He will
not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream. {18}
What he toiled for he must give back uneaten; he will not enjoy the
profit from his trading. {19} For he has oppressed the poor and
left them destitute; he has seized houses he did not build. {20}
"Surely he will have no respite from his craving; he cannot save himself
by his treasure. {21} Nothing is left for him to devour; his
prosperity will not endure. {22} In the midst of his plenty,
distress will overtake him; the full force of misery will come upon him.
{23} When he has filled his belly, God will vent his burning anger
against him and rain down his blows upon him. {24} Though he
flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him. {25}
He pulls it out of his back, the gleaming point out of his liver.
Terrors will come over him; {26} total darkness lies in wait for
his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left
in his tent. {27} The heavens will expose his guilt; the earth
will rise up against him. {28} A flood will carry off his house,
rushing waters on the day of God's wrath. {29} Such is the fate
God allots the wicked, the heritage appointed for them by God.".'" |
|
Job 21 |
|
Then
Job replied: {2} "Listen carefully to my words; let this be the
consolation you give me. {3} Bear with me while I speak, and
after I have spoken, mock on. {4} "Is my complaint directed to
man? Why should I not be impatient? {5} Look at me and be
astonished; clap your hand over your mouth. {6} When I think
about this, I am terrified; trembling seizes my body. {7} Why do
the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power? {8} They
see their children established around them, their offspring before their
eyes. {9} Their homes are safe and free from fear; the rod of God
is not upon them. {10} Their bulls never fail to breed; their
cows calve and do not miscarry. {11} They send forth their
children as a flock; their little ones dance about. {12} They
sing to the music of tambourine and harp; they make merry to the sound
of the flute. {13} They spend their years in prosperity and go
down to the grave in peace. {14} Yet they say to God, 'Leave us
alone! We have no desire to know your ways. {15} Who is the
Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain by praying to
him?' {16} But their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I
stand aloof from the counsel of the wicked. {17} "Yet how often
is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out? How often does calamity come upon
them, the fate God allots in his anger? {18} How often are they
like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a gale? {19} It
is said, 'God stores up a man's punishment for his sons.' Let him
repay the man himself, so that he will know it! {20} Let his own
eyes see his destruction; let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
{21} For what does he care about the family he leaves behind when
his allotted months come to an end? {22} "Can anyone teach
knowledge to God, since he judges even the highest? {23} One man
dies in full vigor, completely secure and at ease, {24} his body
well nourished, his bones rich with marrow. {25} Another man dies
in bitterness of soul, never having enjoyed anything good. {26}
Side by side they lie in the dust, and worms cover them both. {27}
"I know full well what you are thinking, the schemes by which you
would wrong me. {28} You say, 'Where now is the great man's
house, the tents where wicked men lived?' {29} Have you never
questioned those who travel? Have you paid no regard to their accounts--
{30} that the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, that he
is delivered from the day of wrath? {31} Who denounces his
conduct to his face? Who repays him for what he has done? {32} He
is carried to the grave, and watch is kept over his tomb. {33}
The soil in the valley is sweet to him; all men follow after him, and a
countless throng goes before him. {34} "So how can you console me
with your nonsense? Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!" |
|
Job 22 |
|
Then
Eliphaz the Temanite replied: {2} "Can a man be of benefit to
God? Can even a wise man benefit him? {3} What pleasure would it
give the Almighty if you were righteous? What would he gain if your ways
were blameless? {4} "Is it for your piety that he rebukes you and
brings charges against you? {5} Is not your wickedness great? Are
not your sins endless? {6} You demanded security from your
brothers for no reason; you stripped men of their clothing, leaving them
naked. {7} You gave no water to the weary and you withheld food
from the hungry, {8} though you were a powerful man, owning
land-- an honored man, living on it. {9} And you sent widows away
empty-handed and broke the strength of the fatherless. {10} That
is why snares are all around you, why sudden peril terrifies you,
{11} why it is so dark you cannot see, and why a flood of water
covers you. {12} "Is not God in the heights of heaven? And see
how lofty are the highest stars! {13} Yet you say, 'What does God
know? Does he judge through such darkness? {14} Thick clouds veil
him, so he does not see us as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.'
{15} Will you keep to the old path that evil men have trod? {16}
They were carried off before their time, their foundations washed
away by a flood. {17} They said to God, 'Leave us alone! What can
the Almighty do to us?' {18} Yet it was he who filled their
houses with good things, so I stand aloof from the counsel of the
wicked. {19} "The righteous see their ruin and rejoice; the
innocent mock them, saying, {20} 'Surely our foes are destroyed,
and fire devours their wealth.' {21} "Submit to God and be at
peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you. {22}
Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart.
{23} If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you
remove wickedness far from your tent {24} and assign your nuggets
to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines, {25}
then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you.
{26} Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift
up your face to God. {27} You will pray to him, and he will hear
you, and you will fulfill your vows. {28} What you decide on will
be done, and light will shine on your ways. {29} When men are
brought low and you say, 'Lift them up!' then he will save the downcast.
{30} He will deliver even one who is not innocent, who will be
delivered through the cleanness of your hands." |
|
Job
23 |
|
Then
Job replied: {2} "Even today my complaint is bitter; his hand is
heavy in spite of my groaning. {3} If only I knew where to find
him; if only I could go to his dwelling! {4} I would state my
case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. {5} I would
find out what he would answer me, and consider what he would say. {6}
Would he oppose me with great power? No, he would not press charges
against me. {7} There an upright man could present his case
before him, and I would be delivered forever from my judge. {8}
"But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not
find him. {9} When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;
when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him. {10} But
he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth
as gold. {11} My feet have closely followed his steps; I have
kept to his way without turning aside. {12} I have not departed
from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth
more than my daily bread. {13} "But he stands alone, and who can
oppose him? He does whatever he pleases. {14} He carries out his
decree against me, and many such plans he still has in store. {15}
That is why I am terrified before him; when I think of all this, I
fear him. {16} God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has
terrified me. {17} Yet I am not silenced by the darkness, by the
thick darkness that covers my face. |
|
Job 24 |
|
"Why
does the Almighty not set times for judgment? Why must those who know
him look in vain for such days? {2} Men move boundary stones;
they pasture flocks they have stolen. {3} They drive away the
orphan's donkey and take the widow's ox in pledge. {4} They
thrust the needy from the path and force all the poor of the land into
hiding. {5} Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go about
their labour of foraging food; the wasteland provides food for their
children. {6} They gather fodder in the fields and glean in the
vineyards of the wicked. {7} Lacking clothes, they spend the
night naked; they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold. {8}
They are drenched by mountain rains and hug the rocks for lack of
shelter. {9} The fatherless child is snatched from the breast;
the infant of the poor is seized for a debt. {10} Lacking
clothes, they go about naked; they carry the sheaves, but still go
hungry. {11} They crush olives among the terraces ; they tread
the winepresses, yet suffer thirst. {12} The groans of the dying
rise from the city, and the souls of the wounded cry out for help. But
God charges no one with wrongdoing. {13} "There are those who
rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or stay in its paths.
{14} When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up and kills the poor
and needy; in the night he steals forth like a thief. {15} The
eye of the adulterer watches for dusk; he thinks, 'No eye will see me,'
and he keeps his face concealed. {16} In the dark, men break into
houses, but by day they shut themselves in; they want nothing to do with
the light. {17} For all of them, deep darkness is their morning ;
they make friends with the terrors of darkness. {18} "Yet they
are foam on the surface of the water; their portion of the land is
cursed, so that no one goes to the vineyards. {19} As heat and
drought snatch away the melted snow, so the grave snatches away those
who have sinned. {20} The womb forgets them, the worm feasts on
them; evil men are no longer remembered but are broken like a tree.
{21} They prey on the barren and childless woman, and to the widow
show no kindness. {22} But God drags away the mighty by his
power; though they become established, they have no assurance of life.
{23} He may let them rest in a feeling of security, but his eyes are
on their ways. {24} For a little while they are exalted, and then
they are gone; they are brought low and gathered up like all others;
they are cut off like heads of grain. {25} "If this is not so,
who can prove me false and reduce my words to nothing?" |
|
Job 25 |
|
Then
Bildad the Shuhite replied: {2} "Dominion and awe belong to God;
he establishes order in the heights of heaven. {3} Can his forces
be numbered? Upon whom does his light not rise? {4} How then can
a man be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure? {5}
If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his
eyes, {6} how much less man, who is but a maggot-- a son of man,
who is only a worm!" |
|
Job 26 |
|
Then
Job replied: {2} "How you have helped the powerless! How you have
saved the arm that is feeble! {3} What advice you have offered to
one without wisdom! And what great insight you have displayed! {4}
Who has helped you utter these words? And whose spirit spoke from
your mouth? {5} "The dead are in deep anguish, those beneath the
waters and all that live in them. {6} Death is naked before God;
Destruction lies uncovered. {7} He spreads out the northern
skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing. {8}
He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst
under their weight. {9} He covers the face of the full moon,
spreading his clouds over it. {10} He marks out the horizon on
the face of the waters for a boundary between light and darkness.
{11} The pillars of the heavens quake, aghast at his rebuke. {12}
By his power he churned up the sea; by his wisdom he cut Rahab to
pieces. {13} By his breath the skies became fair; his hand
pierced the gliding serpent. {14} And these are but the outer
fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can
understand the thunder of his power?" |
|
Job
27 |
|
And
Job continued his discourse: {2} "As surely as God lives, who has
denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made me taste bitterness of
soul, {3} as long as I have life within me, the breath of God in
my nostrils, {4} my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue
will utter no deceit. {5} I will never admit you are in the
right; till I die, I will not deny my integrity. {6} I will
maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not
reproach me as long as I live. {7} "May my enemies be like the
wicked, my adversaries like the unjust! {8} For what hope has the
godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life? {9}
Does God listen to his cry when distress comes upon him? {10}
Will he find delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God at all
times? {11} "I will teach you about the power of God; the ways of
the Almighty I will not conceal. {12} You have all seen this
yourselves. Why then this meaningless talk? {13} "Here is the
fate God allots to the wicked, the heritage a ruthless man receives from
the Almighty: {14} However many his children, their fate is the
sword; his offspring will never have enough to eat. {15} The
plague will bury those who survive him, and their widows will not weep
for them. {16} Though he heaps up silver like dust and clothes
like piles of clay, {17} what he lays up the righteous will wear,
and the innocent will divide his silver. {18} The house he builds
is like a moth's cocoon, like a hut made by a watchman. {19} He
lies down wealthy, but will do so no more; when he opens his eyes, all
is gone. {20} Terrors overtake him like a flood; a tempest
snatches him away in the night. {21} The east wind carries him
off, and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place. {22} It
hurls itself against him without mercy as he flees headlong from its
power. {23} It claps its hands in derision and hisses him out of
his place. |
|
Job
28 |
|
"There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined. {2}
Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore. {3}
Man puts an end to the darkness; he searches the farthest recesses
for ore in the blackest darkness. {4} Far from where people dwell
he cuts a shaft, in places forgotten by the foot of man; far from men he
dangles and sways. {5} The earth, from which food comes, is
transformed below as by fire; {6} sapphires come from its rocks,
and its dust contains nuggets of gold. {7} No bird of prey knows
that hidden path, no falcon's eye has seen it. {8} Proud beasts
do not set foot on it, and no lion prowls there. {9} Man's hand
assaults the flinty rock and lays bare the roots of the mountains.
{10} He tunnels through the rock; his eyes see all its treasures.
{11} He searches the sources of the rivers and brings hidden things
to light. {12} "But where can wisdom be found? Where does
understanding dwell? {13} Man does not comprehend its worth; it
cannot be found in the land of the living. {14} The deep says,
'It is not in me'; the sea says, 'It is not with me.' {15} It
cannot be bought with the finest gold, nor can its price be weighed in
silver. {16} It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, with
precious onyx or sapphires. {17} Neither gold nor crystal can
compare with it, nor can it be had for jewels of gold. {18} Coral
and jasper are not worthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond
rubies. {19} The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it; it cannot
be bought with pure gold. {20} "Where then does wisdom come from?
Where does understanding dwell? {21} It is hidden from the eyes
of every living thing, concealed even from the birds of the air. {22}
Destruction and Death say, 'Only a rumor of it has reached our
ears.' {23} God understands the way to it and he alone knows
where it dwells, {24} for he views the ends of the earth and sees
everything under the heavens. {25} When he established the force
of the wind and measured out the waters, {26} when he made a
decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm, {27} then he
looked at wisdom and appraised it; he confirmed it and tested it.
{28} And he said to man, 'The fear of the Lord--that is wisdom, and
to shun evil is understanding.'" |
|
Job 29 |
|
Job
continued his discourse: {2} "How I long for the months gone by,
for the days when God watched over me, {3} when his lamp shone
upon my head and by his light I walked through darkness! {4} Oh,
for the days when I was in my prime, when God's intimate friendship
blessed my house, {5} when the Almighty was still with me and my
children were around me, {6} when my path was drenched with cream
and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil. {7} "When I
went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square,
{8} the young men saw me and stepped aside and the old men rose to
their feet; {9} the chief men refrained from speaking and covered
their mouths with their hands; {10} the voices of the nobles were
hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths. {11}
Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me,
{12} because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the
fatherless who had none to assist him. {13} The man who was dying
blessed me; I made the widow's heart sing. {14} I put on
righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban. {15}
I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. {16} I was a
father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger. {17} I
broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth.
{18} "I thought, 'I will die in my own house, my days as numerous as
the grains of sand. {19} My roots will reach to the water, and
the dew will lie all night on my branches. {20} My glory will
remain fresh in me, the bow ever new in my hand.' {21} "Men
listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel. {22}
After I had spoken, they spoke no more; my words fell gently on
their ears. {23} They waited for me as for showers and drank in
my words as the spring rain. {24} When I smiled at them, they
scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them. {25}
I chose the way for them and sat as their chief; I dwelt as a king
among his troops; I was like one who comforts mourners. |
|
Job
30 |
|
"But
now they mock me, men younger than I, whose fathers I would have
disdained to put with my sheep dogs. {2} Of what use was the
strength of their hands to me, since their vigor had gone from them?
{3} Haggard from want and hunger, they roamed the parched land in
desolate wastelands at night. {4} In the brush they gathered salt
herbs, and their food was the root of the broom tree. {5} They
were banished from their fellow men, shouted at as if they were thieves.
{6} They were forced to live in the dry stream beds, among the rocks
and in holes in the ground. {7} They brayed among the bushes and
huddled in the undergrowth. {8} A base and nameless brood, they
were driven out of the land. {9} "And now their sons mock me in
song; I have become a byword among them. {10} They detest me and
keep their distance; they do not hesitate to spit in my face. {11}
Now that God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they throw off
restraint in my presence. {12} On my right the tribe attacks;
they lay snares for my feet, they build their siege ramps against me.
{13} They break up my road; they succeed in destroying me-- without
anyone's helping them. {14} They advance as through a gaping
breach; amid the ruins they come rolling in. {15} Terrors
overwhelm me; my dignity is driven away as by the wind, my safety
vanishes like a cloud. {16} "And now my life ebbs away; days of
suffering grip me. {17} Night pierces my bones; my gnawing pains
never rest. {18} In his great power God becomes like
clothing to me ; he binds me like the neck of my garment. {19} He
throws me into the mud, and I am reduced to dust and ashes. {20}
"I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you
merely look at me. {21} You turn on me ruthlessly; with the might
of your hand you attack me. {22} You snatch me up and drive me
before the wind; you toss me about in the storm. {23} I know you
will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living.
{24} "Surely no one lays a hand on a broken man when he cries for
help in his distress. {25} Have I not wept for those in trouble?
Has not my soul grieved for the poor? {26} Yet when I hoped for
good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness. {27}
The churning inside me never stops; days of suffering confront me.
{28} I go about blackened, but not by the sun; I stand up in the
assembly and cry for help. {29} I have become a brother of
jackals, a companion of owls. {30} My skin grows black and peels;
my body burns with fever. {31} My harp is tuned to mourning, and
my flute to the sound of wailing. |
|
Job
31 |
|
"I
made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl. {2}
For what is man's lot from God above, his heritage from the Almighty on
high? {3} Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster for those who
do wrong? {4} Does he not see my ways and count my every step?
{5} "If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has hurried after
deceit-- {6} let God weigh me in honest scales and he will know
that I am blameless-- {7} if my steps have turned from the path,
if my heart has been led by my eyes, or if my hands have been defiled,
{8} then may others eat what I have sown, and may my crops be
uprooted. {9} "If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I
have lurked at my neighbor's door, {10} then may my wife grind
another man's grain, and may other men sleep with her. {11} For
that would have been shameful, a sin to be judged. {12} It is a
fire that burns to Destruction ; it would have uprooted my harvest.
{13} "If I have denied justice to my menservants and maidservants
when they had a grievance against me, {14} what will I do when
God confronts me? What will I answer when called to account? {15}
Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form
us both within our mothers? {16} "If I have denied the desires of
the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary, {17} if I have
kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless-- {18}
but from my youth I reared him as would a father, and from my birth
I guided the widow-- {19} if I have seen anyone perishing for
lack of clothing, or a needy man without a garment, {20} and his
heart did not bless me for warming him with the fleece from my sheep,
{21} if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I
had influence in court, {22} then let my arm fall from the
shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint. {23} For I dreaded
destruction from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such
things. {24} "If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure
gold, 'You are my security,' {25} if I have rejoiced over my
great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained, {26} if I have
regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor, {27}
so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand offered them a
kiss of homage, {28} then these also would be sins to be judged,
for I would have been unfaithful to God on high. {29} "If I have
rejoiced at my enemy's misfortune or gloated over the trouble that came
to him-- {30} I have not allowed my mouth to sin by invoking a
curse against his life-- {31} if the men of my household have
never said, 'Who has not had his fill of Job's meat?'-- {32} but
no stranger had to spend the night in the street, for my door was always
open to the traveler-- {33} if I have concealed my sin as men do,
by hiding my guilt in my heart {34} because I so feared the crowd
and so dreaded the contempt of the clans that I kept silent and would
not go outside {35} ("Oh, that I had someone to hear me! I sign
now my defense--let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser put his
indictment in writing. {36} Surely I would wear it on my
shoulder, I would put it on like a crown. {37} I would give him
an account of my every step; like a prince I would approach him.)--
{38} "if my land cries out against me and all its furrows are wet
with tears, {39} if I have devoured its yield without payment or
broken the spirit of its tenants, {40} then let briers come up
instead of wheat and weeds instead of barley." The words of Job are
ended. |
|
Job
32 |
|
So
these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his
own eyes. {2} But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family
of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than
God. {3} He was also angry with the three friends, because they
had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him. {4}
Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because they were older than
he. {5} But when he saw that the three men had nothing more to
say, his anger was aroused. {6} So Elihu son of Barakel the
Buzite said: "I am young in years, and you are old; that is why I was
fearful, not daring to tell you what I know. {7} I thought, 'Age
should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom.' {8} But it is
the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him
understanding. {9} It is not only the old who are wise, not only
the aged who understand what is right. {10} "Therefore I say:
Listen to me; I too will tell you what I know. {11} I waited
while you spoke, I listened to your reasoning; while you were searching
for words, {12} I gave you my full attention. But not one of you
has proved Job wrong; none of you has answered his arguments. {13}
Do not say, 'We have found wisdom; let God refute him, not man.'
{14} But Job has not marshaled his words against me, and I will not
answer him with your arguments. {15} "They are dismayed and have
no more to say; words have failed them. {16} Must I wait, now
that they are silent, now that they stand there with no reply? {17}
I too will have my say; I too will tell what I know. {18} For
I am full of words, and the spirit within me compels me; {19}
inside I am like bottled-up wine, like new wineskins ready to burst.
{20} I must speak and find relief; I must open my lips and reply.
{21} I will show partiality to no one, nor will I flatter any man;
{22} for if I were skilled in flattery, my Maker would soon take me
away. |
|
Job
33 |
|
"But
now, Job, listen to my words; pay attention to everything I say. {2}
I am about to open my mouth; my words are on the tip of my tongue.
{3} My words come from an upright heart; my lips sincerely speak
what I know. {4} The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the
Almighty gives me life. {5} Answer me then, if you can; prepare
yourself and confront me. {6} I am just like you before God; I
too have been taken from clay. {7} No fear of me should alarm
you, nor should my hand be heavy upon you. {8} "But you have said
in my hearing-- I heard the very words-- {9} 'I am pure and
without sin; I am clean and free from guilt. {10} Yet God has
found fault with me; he considers me his enemy. {11} He fastens
my feet in shackles; he keeps close watch on all my paths.' {12}
"But I tell you, in this you are not right, for God is greater than man.
{13} Why do you complain to him that he answers none of man's words
? {14} For God does speak--now one way, now another-- though man
may not perceive it. {15} In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds, {16}
he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, {17}
to turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride, {18} to
preserve his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword.
{19} Or a man may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant
distress in his bones, {20} so that his very being finds food
repulsive and his soul loathes the choicest meal. {21} His flesh
wastes away to nothing, and his bones, once hidden, now stick out.
{22} His soul draws near to the pit, and his life to the messengers
of death. {23} "Yet if there is an angel on his side as a
mediator, one out of a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him,
{24} to be gracious to him and say, 'Spare him from going down to
the pit ; I have found a ransom for him'-- {25} then his flesh is
renewed like a child's; it is restored as in the days of his youth.
{26} He prays to God and finds favor with him, he sees God's face
and shouts for joy; he is restored by God to his righteous state.
{27} Then he comes to men and says, 'I sinned, and perverted what
was right, but I did not get what I deserved. {28} He redeemed my
soul from going down to the pit, and I will live to enjoy the light.'
{29} "God does all these things to a man-- twice, even three times--
{30} to turn back his soul from the pit, that the light of life may
shine on him. {31} "Pay attention, Job, and listen to me; be
silent, and I will speak. {32} If you have anything to say,
answer me; speak up, for I want you to be cleared. {33} But if
not, then listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom." |
|
Job
34 |
|
Then
Elihu said: {2} "Hear my words, you wise men; listen to me, you
men of learning. {3} For the ear tests words as the tongue tastes
food. {4} Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us
learn together what is good. {5} "Job says, 'I am innocent, but
God denies me justice. {6} Although I am right, I am considered a
liar; although I am guiltless, his arrow inflicts an incurable wound.'
{7} What man is like Job, who drinks scorn like water? {8} He
keeps company with evildoers; he associates with wicked men. {9}
For he says, 'It profits a man nothing when he tries to please God.'
{10} "So listen to me, you men of understanding. Far be it from God
to do evil, from the Almighty to do wrong. {11} He repays a man
for what he has done; he brings upon him what his conduct deserves.
{12} It is unthinkable that God would do wrong, that the Almighty
would pervert justice. {13} Who appointed him over the earth? Who
put him in charge of the whole world? {14} If it were his
intention and he withdrew his spirit and breath, {15} all mankind
would perish together and man would return to the dust. {16} "If
you have understanding, hear this; listen to what I say. {17} Can
he who hates justice govern? Will you condemn the just and mighty One?
{18} Is he not the One who says to kings, 'You are worthless,' and
to nobles, 'You are wicked,' {19} who shows no partiality to
princes and does not favor the rich over the poor, for they are all the
work of his hands? {20} They die in an instant, in the middle of
the night; the people are shaken and they pass away; the mighty are
removed without human hand. {21} "His eyes are on the ways of
men; he sees their every step. {22} There is no dark place, no
deep shadow, where evildoers can hide. {23} God has no need to
examine men further, that they should come before him for judgment.
{24} Without inquiry he shatters the mighty and sets up others in
their place. {25} Because he takes note of their deeds, he
overthrows them in the night and they are crushed. {26} He
punishes them for their wickedness where everyone can see them, {27}
because they turned from following him and had no regard for any of
his ways. {28} They caused the cry of the poor to come before
him, so that he heard the cry of the needy. {29} But if he
remains silent, who can condemn him? If he hides his face, who can see
him? Yet he is over man and nation alike, {30} to keep a godless
man from ruling, from laying snares for the people. {31} "Suppose
a man says to God, 'I am guilty but will offend no more. {32}
Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do so
again.' {33} Should God then reward you on your terms, when you
refuse to repent? You must decide, not I; so tell me what you know.
{34} "Men of understanding declare, wise men who hear me say to me,
{35} 'Job speaks without knowledge; his words lack insight.' {36}
Oh, that Job might be tested to the utmost for answering like a
wicked man! {37} To his sin he adds rebellion; scornfully he
claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God." |
|
Job
35 |
|
Then
Elihu said: {2} "Do you think this is just? You say, 'I will be
cleared by God.' {3} Yet you ask him, 'What profit is it to me,
and what do I gain by not sinning?' {4} "I would like to reply to
you and to your friends with you. {5} Look up at the heavens and
see; gaze at the clouds so high above you. {6} If you sin, how
does that affect him? If your sins are many, what does that do to him?
{7} If you are righteous, what do you give to him, or what does he
receive from your hand? {8} Your wickedness affects only a man
like yourself, and your righteousness only the sons of men. {9}
"Men cry out under a load of oppression; they plead for relief from the
arm of the powerful. {10} But no one says, 'Where is God my
Maker, who gives songs in the night, {11} who teaches more to us
than to the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the
air?' {12} He does not answer when men cry out because of the
arrogance of the wicked. {13} Indeed, God does not listen to
their empty plea; the Almighty pays no attention to it. {14} How
much less, then, will he listen when you say that you do not see him,
that your case is before him and you must wait for him, {15} and
further, that his anger never punishes and he does not take the least
notice of wickedness. {16} So Job opens his mouth with empty
talk; without knowledge he multiplies words." |
|
Job
36 |
|
Elihu
continued: {2} "Bear with me a little longer and I will show you
that there is more to be said in God's behalf. {3} I get my
knowledge from afar; I will ascribe justice to my Maker. {4} Be
assured that my words are not false; one perfect in knowledge is with
you. {5} "God is mighty, but does not despise men; he is mighty,
and firm in his purpose. {6} He does not keep the wicked alive
but gives the afflicted their rights. {7} He does not take his
eyes off the righteous; he enthrones them with kings and exalts them
forever. {8} But if men are bound in chains, held fast by cords
of affliction, {9} he tells them what they have done-- that they
have sinned arrogantly. {10} He makes them listen to correction
and commands them to repent of their evil. {11} If they obey and
serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and
their years in contentment. {12} But if they do not listen, they
will perish by the sword and die without knowledge. {13} "The
godless in heart harbor resentment; even when he fetters them, they do
not cry for help. {14} They die in their youth, among male
prostitutes of the shrines. {15} But those who suffer he delivers
in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction. {16}
"He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free
from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food.
{17} But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked;
judgment and justice have taken hold of you. {18} Be careful that
no one entices you by riches; do not let a large bribe turn you aside.
{19} Would your wealth or even all your mighty efforts sustain you
so you would not be in distress? {20} Do not long for the night,
to drag people away from their homes. {21} Beware of turning to
evil, which you seem to prefer to affliction. {22} "God is
exalted in his power. Who is a teacher like him? {23} Who has
prescribed his ways for him, or said to him, 'You have done wrong'?
{24} Remember to extol his work, which men have praised in song.
{25} All mankind has seen it; men gaze on it from afar. {26}
How great is God--beyond our understanding! The number of his years is
past finding out. {27} "He draws up the drops of water, which
distill as rain to the streams ; {28} the clouds pour down their
moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind. {29} Who can
understand how he spreads out the clouds, how he thunders from his
pavilion? {30} See how he scatters his lightning about him,
bathing the depths of the sea. {31} This is the way he governs
the nations and provides food in abundance. {32} He fills his
hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark. {33} His
thunder announces the coming storm; even the cattle make known its
approach. |
|
Job
37 |
|
"At
this my heart pounds and leaps from its place. {2} Listen! Listen
to the roar of his voice, to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.
{3} He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it
to the ends of the earth. {4} After that comes the sound of his
roar; he thunders with his majestic voice. When his voice resounds, he
holds nothing back. {5} God's voice thunders in marvelous ways;
he does great things beyond our understanding. {6} He says to the
snow, 'Fall on the earth,' and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty
downpour.' {7} So that all men he has made may know his work, he
stops every man from his labour. {8} The animals take cover; they
remain in their dens. {9} The tempest comes out from its chamber,
the cold from the driving winds. {10} The breath of God produces
ice, and the broad waters become frozen. {11} He loads the clouds
with moisture; he scatters his lightning through them. {12} At
his direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do
whatever he commands them. {13} He brings the clouds to punish
men, or to water his earth and show his love. {14} "Listen to
this, Job; stop and consider God's wonders. {15} Do you know how
God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash? {16} Do
you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who is perfect
in knowledge? {17} You who swelter in your clothes when the land
lies hushed under the south wind, {18} can you join him in
spreading out the skies, hard as a mirror of cast bronze? {19}
"Tell us what we should say to him; we cannot draw up our case because
of our darkness. {20} Should he be told that I want to speak?
Would any man ask to be swallowed up? {21} Now no one can look at
the sun, bright as it is in the skies after the wind has swept them
clean. {22} Out of the north he comes in golden splendor; God
comes in awesome majesty. {23} The Almighty is beyond our reach
and exalted in power; in his justice and great righteousness, he does
not oppress. {24} Therefore, men revere him, for does he not have
regard for all the wise in heart?" |
|
Job
38 |
|
Then
the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said: {2} "Who is this
that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? {3} Brace
yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.
{4} "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if
you understand. {5} Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you
know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? {6} On what were
its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone-- {7} while the
morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? {8}
"Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,
{9} when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick
darkness, {10} when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and
bars in place, {11} when I said, 'This far you may come and no
farther; here is where your proud waves halt'? {12} "Have you
ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place, {13}
that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out
of it? {14} The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its
features stand out like those of a garment. {15} The wicked are
denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken. {16} "Have
you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the
deep? {17} Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you
seen the gates of the shadow of death ? {18} Have you
comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all
this. {19} "What is the way to the abode of light? And where does
darkness reside? {20} Can you take them to their places? Do you
know the paths to their dwellings? {21} Surely you know, for you
were already born! You have lived so many years! {22} "Have you
entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail,
{23} which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and
battle? {24} What is the way to the place where the lightning is
dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the
earth? {25} Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a
path for the thunderstorm, {26} to water a land where no man
lives, a desert with no one in it, {27} to satisfy a desolate
wasteland and make it sprout with grass? {28} Does the rain have
a father? Who fathers the drops of dew? {29} From whose womb
comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens {30}
when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is
frozen? {31} "Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose
the cords of Orion? {32} Can you bring forth the constellations
in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs? {33} Do you
know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God's dominion over
the earth? {34} "Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover
yourself with a flood of water? {35} Do you send the lightning
bolts on their way? Do they report to you, 'Here we are'? {36}
Who endowed the heart with wisdom or gave understanding to the mind ?
{37} Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the
water jars of the heavens {38} when the dust becomes hard and the
clods of earth stick together? {39} "Do you hunt the prey for the
lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions {40} when they crouch
in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket? {41} Who provides food
for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of
food? |
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Job
39 |
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"Do
you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe
bears her fawn? {2} Do you count the months till they bear? Do
you know the time they give birth? {3} They crouch down and bring
forth their young; their labour pains are ended. {4} Their young
thrive and grow strong in the wilds; they leave and do not return.
{5} "Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied his ropes? {6}
I gave him the wasteland as his home, the salt flats as his habitat.
{7} He laughs at the commotion in the town; he does not hear a
driver's shout. {8} He ranges the hills for his pasture and
searches for any green thing. {9} "Will the wild ox consent to
serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night? {10} Can you
hold him to the furrow with a harness? Will he till the valleys behind
you? {11} Will you rely on him for his great strength? Will you
leave your heavy work to him? {12} Can you trust him to bring in
your grain and gather it to your threshing floor? {13} "The wings
of the ostrich flap joyfully, but they cannot compare with the pinions
and feathers of the stork. {14} She lays her eggs on the ground
and lets them warm in the sand, {15} unmindful that a foot may
crush them, that some wild animal may trample them. {16} She
treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that
her labour was in vain, {17} for God did not endow her with
wisdom or give her a share of good sense. {18} Yet when she
spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider. {19}
"Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing
mane? {20} Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror
with his proud snorting? {21} He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his
strength, and charges into the fray. {22} He laughs at fear,
afraid of nothing; he does not shy away from the sword. {23} The
quiver rattles against his side, along with the flashing spear and
lance. {24} In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he
cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds. {25} At the blast of
the trumpet he snorts, 'Aha!' He catches the scent of battle from afar,
the shout of commanders and the battle cry. {26} "Does the hawk
take flight by your wisdom and spread his wings toward the south?
{27} Does the eagle soar at your command and build his nest on high?
{28} He dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is
his stronghold. {29} From there he seeks out his food; his eyes
detect it from afar. {30} His young ones feast on blood, and
where the slain are, there is he." |
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Job 40 |
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The
LORD said to Job: {2} "Will the one who contends with the
Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!" {3}
Then Job answered the LORD: {4} "I am unworthy--how can I reply
to you? I put my hand over my mouth. {5} I spoke once, but I have
no answer-- twice, but I will say no more." {6} Then the LORD
spoke to Job out of the storm: {7} "Brace yourself like a man; I
will question you, and you shall answer me. {8} "Would you
discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself? {9}
Do you have an arm like God's, and can your voice thunder like his?
{10} Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe
yourself in honor and majesty. {11} Unleash the fury of your
wrath, look at every proud man and bring him low, {12} look at
every proud man and humble him, crush the wicked where they stand.
{13} Bury them all in the dust together; shroud their faces in the
grave. {14} Then I myself will admit to you that your own right
hand can save you. {15} "Look at the behemoth, which I made along
with you and which feeds on grass like an ox. {16} What strength
he has in his loins, what power in the muscles of his belly! {17}
His tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are close-knit.
{18} His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like rods of iron.
{19} He ranks first among the works of God, yet his Maker can
approach him with his sword. {20} The hills bring him their
produce, and all the wild animals play nearby. {21} Under the
lotus plants he lies, hidden among the reeds in the marsh. {22}
The lotuses conceal him in their shadow; the poplars by the stream
surround him. {23} When the river rages, he is not alarmed; he is
secure, though the Jordan should surge against his mouth. {24}
Can anyone capture him by the eyes, or trap him and pierce his nose? |
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Job 41 |
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"Can
you pull in the leviathan with a fishhook or tie down his tongue with a
rope? {2} Can you put a cord through his nose or pierce his jaw
with a hook? {3} Will he keep begging you for mercy? Will he
speak to you with gentle words? {4} Will he make an agreement
with you for you to take him as your slave for life? {5} Can you
make a pet of him like a bird or put him on a leash for your girls?
{6} Will traders barter for him? Will they divide him up among the
merchants? {7} Can you fill his hide with harpoons or his head
with fishing spears? {8} If you lay a hand on him, you will
remember the struggle and never do it again! {9} Any hope of
subduing him is false; the mere sight of him is overpowering. {10}
No one is fierce enough to rouse him. Who then is able to stand
against me? {11} Who has a claim against me that I must pay?
Everything under heaven belongs to me. {12} "I will not fail to
speak of his limbs, his strength and his graceful form. {13} Who
can strip off his outer coat? Who would approach him with a bridle?
{14} Who dares open the doors of his mouth, ringed about with his
fearsome teeth? {15} His back has rows of shields tightly sealed
together; {16} each is so close to the next that no air can pass
between. {17} They are joined fast to one another; they cling
together and cannot be parted. {18} His snorting throws out
flashes of light; his eyes are like the rays of dawn. {19}
Firebrands stream from his mouth; sparks of fire shoot out. {20}
Smoke pours from his nostrils as from a boiling pot over a fire of
reeds. {21} His breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from
his mouth. {22} Strength resides in his neck; dismay goes before
him. {23} The folds of his flesh are tightly joined; they are
firm and immovable. {24} His chest is hard as rock, hard as a
lower millstone. {25} When he rises up, the mighty are terrified;
they retreat before his thrashing. {26} The sword that reaches
him has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.
{27} Iron he treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood. {28}
Arrows do not make him flee; slingstones are like chaff to him.
{29} A club seems to him but a piece of straw; he laughs at the
rattling of the lance. {30} His undersides are jagged potsherds,
leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge. {31} He makes
the depths churn like a boiling caldron and stirs up the sea like a pot
of ointment. {32} Behind him he leaves a glistening wake; one
would think the deep had white hair. {33} Nothing on earth is his
equal-- a creature without fear. {34} He looks down on all that
are haughty; he is king over all that are proud." |
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Job 42 |
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Then
Job replied to the LORD: {2} "I know that you can do all things;
no plan of yours can be thwarted. {3} You asked, 'Who is this
that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I
did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. {4} "You
said, 'Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you
shall answer me.' {5} My ears had heard of you but now my eyes
have seen you. {6} Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust
and ashes." {7} After the LORD had said these things to Job, he
said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am angry with you and your two friends,
because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.
{8} So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job
and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray
for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to
your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job
has." {9} So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar
the Naamathite did what the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job's
prayer. {10} After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made
him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.
{11} All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him
before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled
him over all the trouble the LORD had brought upon him, and each one
gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring. {12} The LORD blessed
the latter part of Job's life more than the first. He had fourteen
thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a
thousand donkeys. {13} And he also had seven sons and three
daughters. {14} The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second
Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. {15} Nowhere in all the land
were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters, and their father
granted them an inheritance along with their brothers. {16} After
this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their
children to the fourth generation. {17} And so he died, old and
full of years. |
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