The Complete Bible / Job

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Job Chapter 20/ Chapter Index

1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:
2 “Therefore my thoughts answer me,
because of my haste within me.
3 I hear censure which insults me,
and out of my understanding a spirit answers me.
4 Do you not know this from of old,
since man was placed upon earth,
5 that the exulting of the wicked is short,
and the joy of the godless but for a moment?
6 Though his height mount up to the heavens,
and his head reach to the clouds,
7 he will perish for ever like his own dung;
those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
8 He will fly away like a dream, and not be found;
he will be chased away like a vision of the night.
9 The eye which saw him will see him no more,
nor will his place any more behold him.
10 His children will seek the favor of the poor,
and his hands will give back his wealth.
11 His bones are full of youthful vigor,
but it will lie down with him in the dust.

12 “Though wickedness is sweet in his mouth,
though he hides it under his tongue,
13 though he is loath to let it go,
and holds it in his mouth,
14 yet his food is turned in his stomach;
it is the gall of asps within him.
15 He swallows down riches and vomits them up again;
God casts them out of his belly.
16 He will suck the poison of asps;
the tongue of a viper will kill him.
17 He will not look upon the rivers,
the streams flowing with honey and curds.
18 He will give back the fruit of his toil,
and will not swallow it down;
from the profit of his trading
he will get no enjoyment.
19 For he has crushed and abandoned the poor,
he has seized a house which he did not build.

20 “Because his greed knew no rest,
he will not save anything in which he delights.
21 There was nothing left after he had eaten;
therefore his prosperity will not endure.
22 In the fulness of his sufficiency he will be in straits;
all the force of misery will come upon him.
23 To fill his belly to the full
God will send his fierce anger into him,
and rain it upon him as his food.
24 He will flee from an iron weapon;
a bronze arrow will strike him through.
25 It is drawn forth and comes out of his body,
the glittering point comes out of his gall;
terrors come upon him.
26 Utter darkness is laid up for his treasures;
a fire not blown upon will devour him;
what is left in his tent will be consumed.

27 The heavens will reveal his iniquity,
and the earth will rise up against him.
28 The possessions of his house will be carried away,
dragged off in the day of God’s wrath.
29 This is the wicked man’s portion from God,
the heritage decreed for him by God.”

 

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Job Chapter 21/ Chapter Index

1 Then Job answered:
2 “Listen carefully to my words,
and let this be your consolation.
3 Bear with me, and I will speak,
and after I have spoken, mock on.
4 As for me, is my complaint against man?
Why should I not be impatient?
5 Look at me, and be appalled,
and lay your hand upon your mouth.
6 When I think of it I am dismayed,
and shuddering seizes my flesh.
7 Why do the wicked live,
reach old age, and grow mighty in power?
8 Their children are established in their presence,
and their offspring before their eyes.
9 Their houses are safe from fear,
and no rod of God is upon them.
10 Their bull breeds without fail;
their cow calves, and does not cast her calf.
11 They send forth their little ones like a flock,
and their children dance.
12 They sing to the tambourine and the lyre,
and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.
13 They spend their days in prosperity,
and in peace they go down to Sheol.
14 They say to God, ‘Depart from us!
We do not desire the knowledge of thy ways.
15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’
16 Behold, is not their prosperity in their hand?
The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

17 “How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out?
That their calamity comes upon them?
That God distributes pains in his anger?
18 That they are like straw before the wind,
and like chaff that the storm carries away?
19 You say, ‘God stores up their iniquity for their sons.’
Let him recompense it to themselves, that they may know it.
20 Let their own eyes see their destruction,
and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21 For what do they care for their houses after them,
when the number of their months is cut off?
22 Will any teach God knowledge,
seeing that he judges those that are on high?
23 One dies in full prosperity,
being wholly at ease and secure,
24 his body full of fat
and the marrow of his bones moist.
25 Another dies in bitterness of soul,
never having tasted of good.
26 They lie down alike in the dust,
and the worms cover them.

27 “Behold, I know your thoughts,
and your schemes to wrong me.
28 For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince?
Where is the tent in which the wicked dwelt?’
29 Have you not asked those who travel the roads,
and do you not accept their testimony
30 that the wicked man is spared in the day of calamity,
that he is rescued in the day of wrath?
31 Who declares his way to his face,
and who requites him for what he has done?

32 When he is borne to the grave,
watch is kept over his tomb.
33 The clods of the valley are sweet to him;
all men follow after him,
and those who go before him are innumerable.
34 How then will you comfort me with empty nothings?
There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.”

 

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Job Chapter 22/ Chapter Index

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “Can a man be profitable to God?
Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself.
3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous,
or is it gain to him if you make your ways blameless?
4 Is it for your fear of him that he reproves you,
and enters into judgment with you?
5 Is not your wickedness great?
There is no end to your iniquities.
6 For you have exacted pledges of your brothers for nothing,
and stripped the naked of their clothing.
7 You have given no water to the weary to drink,
and you have withheld bread from the hungry.
8 The man with power possessed the land,
and the favored man dwelt in it.
9 You have sent widows away empty,
and the arms of the fatherless were crushed.
10 Therefore snares are round about you,
and sudden terror overwhelms you;
11 your light is darkened, so that you cannot see,
and a flood of water covers you.

12 “Is not God high in the heavens?
See the highest stars, how lofty they are!
13 Therefore you say, ‘What does God know?
Can he judge through the deep darkness?
14 Thick clouds enwrap him, so that he does not see,
and he walks on the vault of heaven.’
15 Will you keep to the old way
which wicked men have trod?
16 They were snatched away before their time;
their foundation was washed away.
17 They said to God, ‘Depart from us,’
and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’
18 Yet he filled their houses with good things—
but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19 The righteous see it and are glad;
the innocent laugh them to scorn,
20 saying, ‘Surely our adversaries are cut off,
and what they left the fire has consumed.’
21 “Agree with God, and be at peace;
thereby good will come to you.
22 Receive instruction from his mouth,
and lay up his words in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty and humble yourself,
if you remove unrighteousness far from your tents,
24 if you lay gold in the dust,
and gold of Ophir among the stones of the torrent bed,
25 and if the Almighty is your gold,
and your precious silver;
26 then you will delight yourself in the Almighty,
and lift up your face to God.
27 You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you;
and you will pay your vows.
28 You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you,
and light will shine on your ways.
29 For God abases the proud,
but he saves the lowly.
30 He delivers the innocent man;
you will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”

 

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Job Chapter 23/ Chapter Index

1 Then Job answered:
2 “Today also my complaint is bitter,
his hand is heavy in spite of my groaning.
3 Oh, that I knew where I might find him,
that I might come even to his seat!
4 I would lay my case before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would learn what he would answer me,
and understand what he would say to me.
6 Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power?
No; he would give heed to me.
7 There an upright man could reason with him,
and I should be acquitted for ever by my judge.
8 “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there;
and backward, but I cannot perceive him;
9 on the left hand I seek him, but I cannot behold him;
I turn to the right hand, but I cannot see him.
10 But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
11 My foot has held fast to his steps;
I have kept his way and have not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;
I have treasured in my bosom the words of his mouth.
13 But he is unchangeable and who can turn him?
What he desires, that he does.
14 For he will complete what he appoints for me;
and many such things are in his mind.
15 Therefore I am terrified at his presence;
when I consider, I am in dread of him.
16 God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me;
17 for I am hemmed in by darkness,
and thick darkness covers my face.

 

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Job Chapter 24/ Chapter Index

1 “Why are not times of judgment kept by the Almighty,
and why do those who know him never see his days?
2 Men remove landmarks;
they seize flocks and pasture them.
3 They drive away the *** of the fatherless;
they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.
4 They thrust the poor off the road;
the poor of the earth all hide themselves.
5 Behold, like wild asses in the desert
they go forth to their toil,
seeking prey in the wilderness
as food for their children.
6 They gather their fodder in the field
and they glean the vineyard of the wicked man.
7 They lie all night naked, without clothing,
and have no covering in the cold.
8 They are wet with the rain of the mountains,
and cling to the rock for want of shelter.
9 (There are those who snatch the fatherless child from the breast,
and take in pledge the infant of the poor.)
10 They go about naked, without clothing;
hungry, they carry the sheaves;
11 among the olive rows of the wicked they make oil;
they tread the wine presses, but suffer thirst.
12 From out of the city the dying groan,
and the soul of the wounded cries for help;
yet God pays no attention to their prayer.
13 “There are those who rebel against the light,
who are not acquainted with its ways,
and do not stay in its paths.
14 The murderer rises in the dark,
that he may kill the poor and needy;
and in the night he is as a thief.
15 The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight,
saying, ‘No eye will see me’;
and he disguises his face.
16 In the dark they dig through houses;
by day they shut themselves up;
they do not know the light.
17 For deep darkness is morning to all of them;
for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.

18 “You say, ‘They are swiftly carried away upon the face of the waters;
their portion is cursed in the land;
no treader turns toward their vineyards.
19 Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters;
so does Sheol those who have sinned.
20 The squares of the town forget them;
their name is no longer remembered;
so wickedness is broken like a tree.’

21 “They feed on the barren childless woman,
and do no good to the widow.
22 Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by his power;
they rise up when they despair of life.
23 He gives them security, and they are supported;
and his eyes are upon their ways.
24 They are exalted a little while, and then are gone;
they wither and fade like the mallow;
they are cut off like the heads of grain.
25 If it is not so, who will prove me a liar,
and show that there is nothing in what I say?”

 

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Job Chapter 25/ Chapter Index

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 “Dominion and fear are with God;
he makes peace in his high heaven.
3 Is there any number to his armies?
Upon whom does his light not arise?
4 How then can man be righteous before God?
How can he who is born of woman be clean?
5 Behold, even the moon is not bright
and the stars are not clean in his sight;
6 how much less man, who is a maggot,
and the son of man, who is a worm!”

 

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Job Chapter 26/ Chapter Index

1 Then Job answered:
2 “How you have helped him who has no power!
How you have saved the arm that has no strength!
3 How you have counseled him who has no wisdom,
and plentifully declared sound knowledge!
4 With whose help have you uttered words,
and whose spirit has come forth from you?
5 The shades below tremble,
the waters and their inhabitants.
6 Sheol is naked before God,
and Abaddon has no covering.
7 He stretches out the north over the void,
and hangs the earth upon nothing.
8 He binds up the waters in his thick clouds,
and the cloud is not rent under them.
9 He covers the face of the moon,
and spreads over it his cloud.
10 He has described a circle upon the face of the waters
at the boundary between light and darkness.
11 The pillars of heaven tremble,
and are astounded at his rebuke.
12 By his power he stilled the sea;
by his understanding he smote Rahab.
13 By his wind the heavens were made fair;
his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
14 Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways;
and how small a whisper do we hear of him!
But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

 

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Job Chapter 27/ Chapter Index

1 And Job again took up his discourse, and said:
2 “As God lives, who has taken away my right,
and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter;
3 as long as my breath is in me,
and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;
4 my lips will not speak falsehood,
and my tongue will not utter deceit.
5 Far be it from me to say that you are right;
till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.
6 I hold fast my righteousness, and will not let it go;
my heart does not reproach me for any of my days.

7 “Let my enemy be as the wicked,
and let him that rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
8 For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off,
when God takes away his life?
9 Will God hear his cry,
when trouble comes upon him?
10 Will he take delight in the Almighty?
Will he call upon God at all times?
11 I will teach you concerning the hand of God;
what is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;
why then have you become altogether vain?

13 “This is the portion of a wicked man with God,
and the heritage which oppressors receive from the Almighty:
14 If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword;
and his offspring have not enough to eat.
15 Those who survive him the pestilence buries,
and their widows make no lamentation.
16 Though he heap up silver like dust,
and pile up clothing like clay;
17 he may pile it up, but the just will wear it,
and the innocent will divide the silver.
18 The house which he builds is like a spider’s web,
like a booth which a watchman makes.
19 He goes to bed rich, but will do so no more;
he opens his eyes, and his wealth is gone.
20 Terrors overtake him like a flood;
in the night a whirlwind carries him off.
21 The east wind lifts him up and he is gone;
it sweeps him out of his place.
22 It hurls at him without pity;
he flees from its power in headlong flight.
23 It claps its hands at him,
and hisses at him from its place.
.

 

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Job Chapter 28/ Chapter Index

1 “Surely there is a mine for silver,
and a place for gold which they refine.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth,
and copper is smelted from the ore.
3 Men put an end to darkness,
and search out to the farthest bound
the ore in gloom and deep darkness.

4 They open shafts in a valley away from where men live;
they are forgotten by travelers,
they hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.
5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread;
but underneath it is turned up as by fire.
6 Its stones are the place of sapphires,
and it has dust of gold.
7 “That path no bird of prey knows,
and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.
8 The proud beasts have not trodden it;
the lion has not passed over it.
9 “Man puts his hand to the flinty rock,
and overturns mountains by the roots.
10 He cuts out channels in the rocks,
and his eye sees every precious thing.
11 He binds up the streams so that they do not trickle,
and the thing that is hid he brings forth to light.

12 “But where shall wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 Man does not know the way to it,
and it is not found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’
and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 It cannot be gotten for gold,
and silver cannot be weighed as its price.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
in precious onyx or sapphire.
17 Gold and glass cannot equal it,
nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;
the price of wisdom is above pearls.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it,
nor can it be valued in pure gold.

20 “Whence then comes wisdom?
And where is the place of understanding?
21 It is hid from the eyes of all living,
and concealed from the birds of the air.
22 Abaddon and Death say,
‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

23 “God understands the way to it,
and he knows its place.
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth,
and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When he gave to the wind its weight,
and meted out the waters by measure;
26 when he made a decree for the rain,
and a way for the lightning of the thunder;
27 then he saw it and declared it;
he established it, and searched it out.
28 And he said to man,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
and to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”

 

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Job Chapter 29/ Chapter Index

1 And Job again took up his discourse, and said:
2 “Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
as in the days when God watched over me;
3 when his lamp shone upon my head,
and by his light I walked through darkness;
4 as I was in my autumn days,
when the friendship of God was upon my tent;
5 when the Almighty was yet with me,
when my children were about me;
6 when my steps were washed with milk,
and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
7 When I went out to the gate of the city,
when I prepared my seat in the square,
8 the young men saw me and withdrew,
and the aged rose and stood;
9 the princes refrained from talking,
and laid their hand on their mouth;
10 the voice of the nobles was hushed,
and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.
11 When the ear heard, it called me blessed,
and when the eye saw, it approved;
12 because I delivered the poor who cried,
and the fatherless who had none to help him.
13 The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me,
and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
my justice was like a robe and a turban.
15 I was eyes to the blind,
and feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the poor,
and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know.
17 I broke the fangs of the unrighteous,
and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
18 Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest,
and I shall multiply my days as the sand,
19 my roots spread out to the waters,
with the dew all night on my branches,
20 my glory fresh with me,
and my bow ever new in my hand.’

21 “Men listened to me, and waited,
and kept silence for my counsel.
22 After I spoke they did not speak again,
and my word dropped upon them.
23 They waited for me as for the rain;
and they opened their mouths as for the spring rain.
24 I smiled on them when they had no confidence;
and the light of my countenance they did not cast down.
25 I chose their way, and sat as chief,
and I dwelt like a king among his troops,
like one who comforts mourners.

 

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Job Chapter 30/ Chapter Index

1 “But now they make sport of me,
men who are younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
to set with the dogs of my flock.
2 What could I gain from the strength of their hands,
men whose vigor is gone?
3 Through want and hard hunger
they gnaw the dry and desolate ground;
4 they pick mallow and the leaves of bushes,
and to warm themselves the roots of the broom.
5 They are driven out from among men;
they shout after them as after a thief.
6 In the gullies of the torrents they must dwell,
in holes of the earth and of the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they bray;
under the nettles they huddle together.
8 A senseless, a disreputable brood,
they have been whipped out of the land.

9 “And now I have become their song,
I am a byword to them.
10 They abhor me, they keep aloof from me;
they do not hesitate to spit at the sight of me.
11 Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me,
they have cast off restraint in my presence.
12 On my right hand the rabble rise,
they drive me forth,
they cast up against me their ways of destruction.
13 They break up my path,
they promote my calamity;
no one restrains them.
14 As through a wide breach they come;
amid the crash they roll on.
15 Terrors are turned upon me;
my honor is pursued as by the wind,
and my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.

16 “And now my soul is poured out within me;
days of affliction have taken hold of me.
17 The night racks my bones,
and the pain that gnaws me takes no rest.
18 With violence it seizes my garment;
it binds me about like the collar of my tunic.
19 God has cast me into the mire,
and I have become like dust and ashes.
20 I cry to thee and thou dost not answer me;
I stand, and thou dost not heed me.
21 Thou hast turned cruel to me;
with the might of thy hand thou dost persecute me.
22 Thou liftest me up on the wind, thou makest me ride on it,
and thou tossest me about in the roar of the storm.
23 Yea, I know that thou wilt bring me to death,
and to the house appointed for all living.
24 “Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand,
and in his disaster cry for help?
25 Did not I weep for him whose day was hard?
Was not my soul grieved for the poor?
26 But when I looked for good, evil came;
and when I waited for light, darkness came.
27 My heart is in turmoil, and is never still;
days of affliction come to meet me.
28 I go about blackened, but not by the sun;
I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.
29 I am a brother of jackals,
and a companion of ostriches.
30 My skin turns black and falls from me,
and my bones burn with heat.
31 My lyre is turned to mourning,
and my pipe to the voice of those who weep.

 

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Job Chapter 31/ Chapter Index

1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes;
how then could I look upon a virgin?
2 What would be my portion from God above,
and my heritage from the Almighty on high?
3 Does not calamity befall the unrighteous,
and disaster the workers of iniquity?
4 Does not he see my ways,
and number all my steps?
5 “If I have walked with falsehood,
and my foot has hastened to deceit;
6 (Let me be weighed in a just balance,
and let God know my integrity!)
7 if my step has turned aside from the way,
and my heart has gone after my eyes,
and if any spot has cleaved to my hands;
8 then let me sow, and another eat;
and let what grows for me be rooted out.
9 “If my heart has been enticed to a woman,
and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door;
10 then let my wife grind for another,
and let others bow down upon her.
11 For that would be a heinous crime;
that would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges;
12 for that would be a fire which consumes unto Abaddon,
and it would burn to the root all my increase.

13 “If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant,
when they brought a complaint against me;
14 what then shall I do when God rises up?
When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
15 Did not he who made me in the womb make him?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?

16 “If I have withheld anything that the poor desired,
or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 or have eaten my morsel alone,
and the fatherless has not eaten of it
18 (for from his youth I reared him as a father,
and from his mother’s womb I guided him);
19 if I have seen any one perish for lack of clothing,
or a poor man without covering;
20 if his loins have not blessed me,
and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21 if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,
because I saw help in the gate;
22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.
23 For I was in terror of calamity from God,
and I could not have faced his majesty.

24 “If I have made gold my trust,
or called fine gold my confidence;
25 if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,
or because my hand had gotten much;
26 if I have looked at the sun when it shone,
or the moon moving in splendor,
27 and my heart has been secretly enticed,
and my mouth has kissed my hand;
28 this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges,
for I should have been false to God above.

29 “If I have rejoiced at the ruin of him that hated me,
or exulted when evil overtook him
30 (I have not let my mouth sin
by asking for his life with a curse);
31 if the men of my tent have not said,
‘Who is there that has not been filled with his meat?’
32 (the sojourner has not lodged in the street;
I have opened my doors to the wayfarer);
33 if I have concealed my transgressions from men,
by hiding my iniquity in my bosom,

34 because I stood in great fear of the multitude,
and the contempt of families terrified me,
so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors—
35 Oh, that I had one to hear me!
(Here is my signature! let the Almighty answer me!)
Oh, that I had the indictment written by my adversary!
36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;
I would bind it on me as a crown;

37 I would give him an account of all my steps;
like a prince I would approach him.

38 “If my land has cried out against me,
and its furrows have wept together;
39 if I have eaten its yield without payment,
and caused the death of its owners;
40 let thorns grow instead of wheat,
and foul weeds instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.

 

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Job Chapter 32/ Chapter Index

1 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became angry. He was angry at Job because he justified himself rather than God; 3 he was angry also at Job’s three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong. 4 Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he. 5 And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, he became angry.
6 And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered:
“I am young in years,
and you are aged;
therefore I was timid and afraid
to declare my opinion to you.
7 I said, ‘Let days speak,
and many years teach wisdom.’
8 But it is the spirit in a man,
the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.
9 It is not the old that are wise,
nor the aged that understand what is right.
10 Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;
let me also declare my opinion.’
11 “Behold, I waited for your words,
I listened for your wise sayings,
while you searched out what to say.
12 I gave you my attention,
and, behold, there was none that confuted Job,
or that answered his words, among you.
13 Beware lest you say, ‘We have found wisdom;
God may vanquish him, not man.’
14 He has not directed his words against me,
and I will not answer him with your speeches.

15 “They are discomfited, they answer no more;
they have not a word to say.
16 And shall I wait, because they do not speak,
because they stand there, and answer no more?
17 I also will give my answer;
I also will declare my opinion.
18 For I am full of words,
the spirit within me constrains me.
19 Behold, my heart is like wine that has no vent;
like new wineskins, it is ready to burst.
20 I must speak, that I may find relief;
I must open my lips and answer.
21 I will not show partiality to any person
or use flattery toward any man.
22 For I do not know how to flatter,
else would my Maker soon put an end to me.

 

[Administrator]

Job Chapter 33/ Chapter Index

1 “But now, hear my speech, O Job,
and listen to all my words. 2 Behold, I open my mouth;
the tongue in my mouth speaks.
3 My words declare the uprightness of my heart,
and what my lips know they speak sincerely.
4 The spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
5 Answer me, if you can;
set your words in order before me; take your stand.
6 Behold, I am toward God as you are;
I too was formed from a piece of clay.
7 Behold, no fear of me need terrify you;
my pressure will not be heavy upon you.

8 “Surely, you have spoken in my hearing,
and I have heard the sound of your words.
9 You say, ‘I am clean, without transgression;
I am pure, and there is no iniquity in me.
10 Behold, he finds occasions against me,
he counts me as his enemy;
11 he puts my feet in the stocks,
and watches all my paths.’
12 “Behold, in this you are not right. I will answer you.
God is greater than man.
13 Why do you contend against him,
saying, ‘He will answer none of my words’?
14 For God speaks in one way,
and in two, though man does not perceive it.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls upon men,
while they slumber on their beds,
16 then he opens the ears of men,
and terrifies them with warnings,
17 that he may turn man aside from his deed,
and cut off pride from man;
18 he keeps back his soul from the Pit,
his life from perishing by the sword.

19 “Man is also chastened with pain upon his bed,
and with continual strife in his bones;
20 so that his life loathes bread,
and his appetite dainty food.
21 His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen;
and his bones which were not seen stick out.
22 His soul draws near the Pit,
and his life to those who bring death.
23 If there be for him an angel,
a mediator, one of the thousand,
to declare to man what is right for him;
24 and he is gracious to him, and says,
‘Deliver him from going down into the Pit,
I have found a ransom;
25 let his flesh become fresh with youth;
let him return to the days of his youthful vigor’;
26 then man prays to God, and he accepts him,
he comes into his presence with joy.
He recounts to men his salvation,
27 and he sings before men, and says:
‘I sinned and perverted what was right,
and it was not requited to me.
28 He has redeemed my soul from going down into the Pit,
and my life shall see the light.’

29 “Behold, God does all these things,
twice, three times, with a man,
30 to bring back his soul from the Pit,
that he may see the light of life.
31 Give heed, O Job, listen to me;
be silent, and I will speak.
32 If you have anything to say, answer me;
speak, for I desire to justify you.
33 If not, listen to me;
be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

 

[Administrator]

Job Chapter 34/ Chapter Index

1 Then Elihu said:
2 “Hear my words, you wise men,
and give ear to me, you who know;
3 for the ear tests words
as the palate tastes food.
4 Let us choose what is right;
let us determine among ourselves what is good.
5 For Job has said, ‘I am innocent,
and God has taken away my right;
6 in spite of my right I am counted a liar;
my wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’
7 What man is like Job,
who drinks up scoffing like water,
8 who goes in company with evildoers
and walks with wicked men?
9 For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing
that he should take delight in God.’
10 “Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding,
far be it from God that he should do wickedness,
and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.
11 For according to the work of a man he will requite him,
and according to his ways he will make it befall him.
12 Of a truth, God will not do wickedly,
and the Almighty will not pervert justice.
13 Who gave him charge over the earth
and who laid on him the whole world?
14 If he should take back his spirit to himself,
and gather to himself his breath,
15 all flesh would perish together,
and man would return to dust.

16 “If you have understanding, hear this;
listen to what I say.
17 Shall one who hates justice govern?
Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty,
18 who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’
and to nobles, ‘Wicked man’;
19 who shows no partiality to princes,
nor regards the rich more than the poor,
for they are all the work of his hands?
20 In a moment they die;
at midnight the people are shaken and pass away,
and the mighty are taken away by no human hand.
21 “For his eyes are upon the ways of a man,
and he sees all his steps.
22 There is no gloom or deep darkness
where evildoers may hide themselves.
23 For he has not appointed a time for any man
to go before God in judgment.
24 He shatters the mighty without investigation,
and sets others in their place.
25 Thus, knowing their works,
he overturns them in the night, and they are crushed.
26 He strikes them for their wickedness
in the sight of men,
27 because they turned aside from following him,
and had no regard for any of his ways,
28 so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him,
and he heard the cry of the afflicted—
29 When he is quiet, who can condemn?
When he hides his face, who can behold him,
whether it be a nation or a man? —
30 that a godless man should not reign,
that he should not ensnare the people.
31 “For has any one said to God,
‘I have borne chastisement; I will not offend any more;
32 teach me what I do not see;
if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’?
33 Will he then make requital to suit you,
because you reject it?
For you must choose, and not I;
therefore declare what you know.
34 Men of understanding will say to me,
and the wise man who hears me will say:
35 ‘Job speaks without knowledge,
his words are without insight.’
36 Would that Job were tried to the end,
because he answers like wicked men.
37 For he adds rebellion to his sin;
he claps his hands among us,
and multiplies his words against God.”

 

[Administrator]

Job Chapter 35/ Chapter Index

1 And Elihu said:
2 “Do you think this to be just?
Do you say, ‘It is my right before God,’
3 that you ask, ‘What advantage have I?
How am I better off than if I had sinned?’
4 I will answer you
and your friends with you.
5 Look at the heavens, and see;
and behold the clouds, which are higher than you.
6 If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him?
And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you 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 concerns a man like yourself,
and your righteousness a son of man.
9 “Because of the multitude of oppressions people cry out;
they call for help because of the arm of the mighty.
10 But none says, ‘Where is God my Maker,
who gives songs in the night,
11 who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth,
and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?’
12 There they cry out, but he does not answer,
because of the pride of evil men.
13 Surely God does not hear an empty cry,
nor does the Almighty regard it.
14 How much less when you say that you do not see him,
that the case is before him, and you are waiting for him!
15 And now, because his anger does not punish,
and he does not greatly heed transgression,
16 Job opens his mouth in empty talk,
he multiplies words without knowledge.”

 

[Administrator]

Job Chapter 36/ Chapter Index

1 And Elihu continued, and said:
2 “Bear with me a little, and I will show you,
for I have yet something to say on God’s behalf.
3 I will fetch my knowledge from afar,
and ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
4 For truly my words are not false;
one who is perfect in knowledge is with you.

5 “Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise any;
he is mighty in strength of understanding.
6 He does not keep the wicked alive,
but gives the afflicted their right.
7 He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous,
but with kings upon the throne
he sets them for ever, and they are exalted.
8 And if they are bound in fetters
and caught in the cords of affliction,
9 then he declares to them their work
and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly.
10 He opens their ears to instruction,
and commands that they return from iniquity.
11 If they hearken and serve him,
they complete their days in prosperity,
and their years in pleasantness.
12 But if they do not hearken, they perish by the sword,
and die without knowledge.
13 “The godless in heart cherish anger;
they do not cry for help when he binds them.
14 They die in youth,
and their life ends in shame.
15 He delivers the afflicted by their affliction,
and opens their ear by adversity.
16 He also allured you out of distress
into a broad place where there was no cramping,
and what was set on your table was full of fatness.

17 “But you are full of the judgment on the wicked;
judgment and justice seize you.
18 Beware lest wrath entice you into scoffing;
and let not the greatness of the ransom turn you aside.
19 Will your cry avail to keep you from distress,
or all the force of your strength?
20 Do not long for the night,
when peoples are cut off in their place.
21 Take heed, do not turn to iniquity,
for this you have chosen rather than affliction.
22 Behold, God is exalted in his power;
who is a teacher like him?
23 Who has prescribed for him his way,
or who can say, ‘Thou hast done wrong’?

24 “Remember to extol his work,
of which men have sung.
25 All men have looked on it;
man beholds it from afar.
26 Behold, God is great, and we know him not;
the number of his years is unsearchable.
27 For he draws up the drops of water,
he distils his mist in rain
28 which the skies pour down,
and drop upon man abundantly.
29 Can any one understand the spreading of the clouds,
the thunderings of his pavilion?
30 Behold, he scatters his lightning about him,
and covers the roots of the sea.
31 For by these he judges peoples;
he gives food in abundance.
32 He covers his hands with the lightning,
and commands it to strike the mark.
33 Its crashing declares concerning him,
who is jealous with anger against iniquity.

 

[Administrator]

Job Chapter 37/ Chapter Index

1 “At this also my heart trembles,
and leaps out of its place.
2 Hearken to the thunder of his voice
and the rumbling that comes from his mouth.
3 Under the whole heaven he lets it go,
and his lightning to the corners of the earth.
4 After it his voice roars;
he thunders with his majestic voice
and he does not restrain the lightnings when his voice is heard.

5 God thunders wondrously with his voice;
he does great things which we cannot comprehend.
6 For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth’;
and to the shower and the rain, ‘Be strong.’
7 He seals up the hand of every man,
that all men may know his work.
8 Then the beasts go into their lairs,
and remain in their dens.
9 From its chamber comes the whirlwind,
and cold from the scattering winds.
10 By the breath of God ice is given,
and the broad waters are frozen fast.
11 He loads the thick cloud with moisture;
the clouds scatter his lightning.
12 They turn round and round by his guidance,
to accomplish all that he commands them
on the face of the habitable world.
13 Whether for correction, or for his land,
or for love, he causes it to happen.

14 “Hear this, O Job;
stop and consider the wondrous works of God.
15 Do you know how God lays his command upon them,
and causes the lightning of his cloud to shine?
16 Do you know the balancings of the clouds,
the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge,
17 you whose garments are hot
when the earth is still because of the south wind?
18 Can you, like him, spread out the skies,
hard as a molten mirror?
19 Teach us what we shall say to him;
we cannot draw up our case because of darkness.
20 Shall it be told him that I would speak?
Did a man ever wish that he would be swallowed up?

21 “And now men cannot look on the light
when it is bright in the skies,
when the wind has passed and cleared them.
22 Out of the north comes golden splendor;
God is clothed with terrible majesty.
23 The Almighty—we cannot find him;
he is great in power and justice,
and abundant righteousness he will not violate.
24 Therefore men fear him;
he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.”

 

[Administrator]

Job Chapter 38/ Chapter Index

1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind:
2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Gird up your loins like a man,
I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
7 when the morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 “Or who shut in the sea with doors,
when it burst forth from the womb;
9 when I made clouds its garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 and prescribed bounds for it,
and set bars and doors,
11 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?
12 “Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
and caused the dawn to know its place,
13 that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth,
and the wicked be shaken out of it?
14 It is changed like clay under the seal,
and it is dyed like a garment.
15 From the wicked their light is withheld,
and their uplifted arm is broken.

16 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea,
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?
Declare, if you know all this.
19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light,
and where is the place of darkness,
20 that you may take it to its territory
and that you may discern the paths to its home?
21 You know, for you were born then,
and the number of your days is great!

22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war?
24 What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,
or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?
25 “Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a way for the thunderbolt,
26 to bring rain on a land where no man is,
on the desert in which there is no man;
27 to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
and to make the ground put forth grass?

28 “Has the rain a father,
or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb did the ice come forth,
and who has given birth to the hoarfrost of heaven?
30 The waters become hard like stone,
and the face of the deep is frozen.

31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades,
or loose the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season,
or can you guide the Bear with its children?
33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you establish their rule on the earth?
34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
that a flood of waters may cover you?
35 Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go
and say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has put wisdom in the clouds,
or given understanding to the mists?
37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,
38 when the dust runs into a mass
and the clods cleave fast together?

39 “Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 when they crouch in their dens,
or lie in wait in their covert?
41 Who provides for the raven its prey,
when its young ones cry to God,
and wander about for lack of food?

 

[Administrator]

Job Chapter 39/ Chapter Index

1 “Do you know when the mountain goats bring forth?
Do you observe the calving of the hinds?
2 Can you number the months that they fulfil,
and do you know the time when they bring forth,
3 when they crouch, bring forth their offspring,
and are delivered of their young?
4 Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open;
they go forth, and do not return to them.
5 “Who has let the wild *** go free?
Who has loosed the bonds of the swift ***,
6 to whom I have given the steppe for his home,
and the salt land for his dwelling place?
7 He scorns the tumult of the city;
he hears not the shouts of the driver.
8 He ranges the mountains as his pasture,
and he searches after every green thing.
9 “Is the wild ox willing to serve you?
Will he spend the night at your crib?
10 Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes,
or will he harrow the valleys after you?
11 Will you depend on him because his strength is great,
and will you leave to him your labor?
12 Do you have faith in him that he will return,
and bring your grain to your threshing floor?
13 “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly;
but are they the pinions and plumage of love?
14 For she leaves her eggs to the earth,
and lets them be warmed on the ground,
15 forgetting that a foot may crush them,
and that the wild beast may trample them.
16 She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers;
though her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear;
17 because God has made her forget wisdom,
and given her no share in understanding.
18 When she rouses herself to flee,
she laughs at the horse and his rider.
19 “Do you give the horse his might?
Do you clothe his neck with strength?
20 Do you make him leap like the locust?
His majestic snorting is terrible.
21 He paws in the valley, and exults in his strength;
he goes out to meet the weapons.
22 He laughs at fear, and is not dismayed;
he does not turn back from the sword.
23 Upon him rattle the quiver,
the flashing spear and the javelin.
24 With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground;
he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
25 When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’
He smells the battle from afar,
the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

26 “Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars,
and spreads his wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
and makes his nest on high?
28 On the rock he dwells and makes his home
in the fastness of the rocky crag.
29 Thence he spies out the prey;
his eyes behold it afar off.
30 His young ones suck up blood;
and where the slain are, there is he.”