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Job

Chapters 3-42

Job, Chapter 3

¹ 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 shadow¹ 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 days² 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."

Job, Chapter 4

¹ 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?'¹

Job, Chapter 5

¹ "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.¹

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."

Job, Chapter 6

¹ 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 egg¹ ?

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.²

³⁰ Is there any wickedness on my lips?
Can my mouth not discern malice?

Job, Chapter 7

¹ "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 grave¹ 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?²

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."

Job, Chapter 8

¹ 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 fragile¹ ;
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,
and² 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."

Job, Chapter 9

¹ 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 him¹ ?

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 soap²
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.

Job, Chapter 10

¹ "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 in¹ 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,²

²² to the land of deepest night,
of deep shadow and disorder,
where even the light is like darkness."

Job, Chapter 11

¹ 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 grave¹ -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 recognizes 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.²

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."

Job, Chapter 12

¹ 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.¹

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 loincloth² 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.

Job, Chapter 13

¹ "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 surely¹ 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, Chapter 14

¹ "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 him¹ 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 grave²
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 renewal³ 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, Chapter 15

¹ 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 vultures¹ ;
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, Chapter 16

¹ 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 friend¹
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, Chapter 17

¹ 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,¹
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 death² ?
Will we descend together into the dust?"

Job, Chapter 18

¹ 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 resides¹ 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, Chapter 19

¹ 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.¹

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 on² lead,
or engraved in rock forever!

²⁵ I know that my Redeemer³ lives,
and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.⁴

²⁶ And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet⁵ in⁶ 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,⁷ '

²⁹ you should fear the sword yourselves;
for wrath will bring punishment by the sword,
and then you will know that there is judgment.⁸ "

Job, Chapter 20

¹ 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 man¹ 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 waters² on the day of God's wrath.

²⁹ Such is the fate God allots the wicked,
the heritage appointed for them by God."

Job, Chapter 21

¹ 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 grave¹ in peace.²

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.³

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 body⁴ 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 from⁵ 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 goes⁶ before him.

³⁴ "So how can you console me with your nonsense?
Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!"

Job, Chapter 22

¹ 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, Chapter 23

¹ Then Job replied:

² "Even today my complaint is bitter;
his hand¹ is heavy in spite of² 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, Chapter 24

¹ "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 labor 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 terraces¹ ;
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 morning² ;
they make friends with the terrors of darkness.³

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 grave⁴ 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, Chapter 25

¹ 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, Chapter 26

¹ 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 Death¹ is naked before God;
Destruction² 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, Chapter 27

¹ 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, Chapter 28

¹ "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 sapphires¹ 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 searches² 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 Destruction³ 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, Chapter 29

¹ 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.¹

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, Chapter 30

¹ "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 roamed¹ the parched land
in desolate wastelands at night.

⁴ In the brush they gathered salt herbs,
and their food² 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 tribe³ 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.⁴

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 me⁵ ;
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, Chapter 31

¹ "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 Destruction¹ ;
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,²
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."

Job, Chapter 32

¹ 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.¹

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:

⁷ I thought, 'Age should speak;
advanced years should teach wisdom.'

⁸ But it is the spirit² in a man,
the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.

⁹ It is not only the old³ 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, Chapter 33

¹ "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 words¹ ?

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,²
his life from perishing by the sword.³

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,⁴
and his life to the messengers of death.⁵

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 pit⁶ ;
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,⁷
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,⁸
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, Chapter 34

¹ 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 spirit¹ 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, Chapter 35

¹ Then Elihu said:

² "Do you think this is just?
You say, 'I will be cleared by God.¹ '

³ Yet you ask him, 'What profit is it to me,²
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 to³ the beasts of the earth
and makes us wiser than⁴ 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.⁵

¹⁶ So Job opens his mouth with empty talk;
without knowledge he multiplies words."

Job, Chapter 36

¹ 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 sword¹
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.²

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 streams³ ;

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 governs⁴ 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.⁵

Job, Chapter 37

¹ "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 labor.¹

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 earth² 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?³ "

Job, Chapter 38

¹ 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 angels¹ 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 death² ?

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 beautiful³ Pleiades?
Can you loose the cords of Orion?

³² Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons⁴
or lead out the Bear⁵ with its cubs?

³³ Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you set up God's⁶ 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 heart⁷ with wisdom
or gave understanding to the mind⁸ ?

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?

Job, Chapter 39

¹ "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 labor 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 labor 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."

Job, Chapter 40

¹ 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,¹
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 tail² 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,³
or trap him and pierce his nose?

Job, Chapter 41

¹ "Can you pull in the leviathan¹ 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 has² 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."

Job, Chapter 42, verses 1-6

¹ 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."


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