5:1Now on the third day, Esther put on her queen's robes, and took her place in the inner room of the king's house, facing the king's house: and the king was seated on his high seat in the king's house, facing the doorway of the house. 5:2And when the king saw Esther the queen waiting in the inner room, looking kindly on her he put out the rod of gold in his hand to her. So Esther came near and put her fingers on the top of the rod. 5:3Then the king said, What is your desire, Queen Esther, and what is your request? I will give it to you, even to the half of my kingdom. 5:4And Esther in answer said, If it seems good to the king, let the king and Haman come today to the feast which I have made ready for him. 5:5Then the king said, Let Haman come quickly, so that what Esther has said may be done. So the king and Haman came to the feast which Esther had made ready. 5:6And while they were drinking wine the king said to Esther, What is your prayer? for it will be given to you and what is your request? for it will be done, even to the half of my kingdom. 5:7Then Esther said in answer, My prayer and my request is this: 5:8If I have the king's approval, and if it is the king's pleasure to give me my prayer and do my request, let the king and Haman come to the feast which I will make ready for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said. 5:9Then on that day Haman went out full of joy and glad in heart; but when he saw Mordecai in the king's doorway, and he did not get to his feet or give any sign of fear before him, Haman was full of wrath against Mordecai. 5:10But controlling himself, he went to his house; and he sent for his friends and Zeresh, his wife. 5:11And he gave them an account of the glories of his wealth, and the number of children he had, and the ways in which he had been honoured by the king, and how he had put him over the captains and servants of the king. 5:12And Haman said further, Truly, Esther the queen let no man but myself come in to the feast which she had made ready for the king; and tomorrow again I am to be her guest with the king. 5:13But all this is nothing to me while I see Mordecai the Jew seated by the king's doorway. 5:14Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, Let a pillar, fifty cubits high, be made ready for hanging him, and in the morning get the king to give orders for the hanging of Mordecai: then you will be able to go to the feast with the king with a glad heart. And Haman was pleased with the suggestion, and he had the pillar made.
6:1That night the king was unable to get any sleep; and he sent for the books of the records; and while some one was reading them to the king, 6:2It came out that it was recorded in the book how Mordecai had given word of the designs of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's servants, keepers of the door, by whom an attack on the king had been designed. 6:3And the king said, What honour and reward have been given to Mordecai for this? Then the servants who were waiting on the king said, Nothing has been done for him. 6:4Then the king said, Who is in the outer room? Now Haman had come into the outer room to get the king's authority for the hanging of Mordecai on the pillar which he had made ready for him. 6:5And the king's servants said to him, See, Haman is waiting in the outer room. And the king said, Let him come in. 6:6So Haman came in. And the king said to him, What is to be done to the man whom the king has delight in honouring? Then the thought came into Haman's mind, Whom, more than myself, would the king have pleasure in honouring? 6:7And Haman, answering the king, said, For the man whom the king has delight in honouring, 6:8Let them take the robes which the king generally puts on, and the horse on which the king goes, and the crown which is on his head: 6:9And let the robes and the horse be given to one of the king's most noble captains, so that they may put them on the man whom the king has delight in honouring, and let him go on horseback through the streets of the town, with men crying out before him, So let it be done to the man whom the king has delight in honouring. 6:10Then the king said to Haman, Go quickly, and take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, who is seated at the king's doorway: see that you do everything as you have said. 6:11Then Haman took the robes and the horse, and dressing Mordecai in the robes, he made him go on horseback through the streets of the town, crying out before him, So let it be done to the man whom the king has delight in honouring. 6:12And Mordecai came back to the king's doorway. But Haman went quickly back to his house, sad and with his head covered. 6:13And Haman gave his wife Zeresh and all his friends an account of what had taken place. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, If Mordecai, who is starting to get the better of you, is of the seed of the Jews, you will not be able to do anything against him, but you will certainly go down before him. 6:14While they were still talking, the king's servants came to take Haman to the feast which Esther had made ready.
7:1So the king and Haman came to take wine with Esther the queen. 7:2And the king said to Esther again on the second day, while they were drinking, What is your prayer, Queen Esther? for it will be given to you; and what is your request? for it will be done, even to the half of my kingdom. 7:3Then Esther the queen, answering, said, If I have your approval, O king, and if it is the king's pleasure, let my life be given to me in answer to my prayer, and my people at my request: 7:4For we are given up, I and my people, to destruction and death and to be cut off. If we had been taken as men-servants and women-servants for a price, I would have said nothing, for our trouble is little in comparison with the king's loss. 7:5Then King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen, Who is he and where is he who has had this evil thought in his heart? 7:6And Esther said, Our hater and attacker is this evil Haman. Then Haman was full of fear before the king and the queen. 7:7And the king in his wrath got up from the feast and went into the garden: and Haman got to his feet to make a prayer for his life to Esther the queen: for he saw that the king's purpose was evil against him. 7:8Then the king came back from the garden into the room where they had been drinking; and Haman was stretched out on the seat where Esther was. Then the king said, Is he taking the queen by force before my eyes in my house? And while the words were on the king's lips, they put a cloth over Haman's face. 7:9Then Harbonah, one of the unsexed servants waiting before the king, said, See, the pillar fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who said a good word for the king, is still in its place in Haman's house. Then the king said, Put him to death by hanging him on it. 7:10So Haman was put to death by hanging him on the pillar he had made for Mordecai. Then the king's wrath became less.
8:1That day the king gave all the family of Haman, the hater of the Jews, to Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had made clear what he was to her. 8:2And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther put Mordecai over the family of Haman. 8:3Then Esther again came before the king, falling down at his feet, and made request to him with weeping, that he would put a stop to the evil purposes of Haman the Agagite and the designs which he had made against the Jews. 8:4Then the king put out the rod of gold to Esther, and she got up before the king. 8:5And she said, If it is the king's pleasure and if I have his approval and this thing seems right to the king and I am pleasing to him, then let letters be sent giving orders against those which Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, sent out for the destruction of the Jews in all divisions of the kingdom: 8:6For how is it possible for me to see the evil which is to overtake my nation? how may I see the destruction of my people? 8:7Then King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, See now, I have given Esther the family of Haman, and he has come to his death by hanging, because he made an attack on the Jews. 8:8So now send a letter about the Jews, writing whatever seems good to you, in the king's name, and stamping it with the king's ring: for a writing signed in the king's name and stamped with the king's ring may not be changed. 8:9Then at that time, on the twenty-third day of the third month, which is the month Sivan, the king's scribes were sent for; and everything ordered by Mordecai was put in writing and sent to the Jews and the captains and the rulers and the chiefs of all the divisions of the kingdom from India to Ethiopia, a hundred and twenty-seven divisions, to every division in the writing commonly used there, and to every people in their language, and to the Jews in their writing and their language. 8:10The letters were sent in the name of King Ahasuerus and stamped with his ring, and they were taken by men on horseback, going on the quick-running horses used for the king's business, the offspring of his best horses: 8:11In these letters the king gave authority to the Jews in every town to come together and make a fight for their lives, and to send death and destruction on the power of any people in any part of the kingdom attacking them or their children or their women, and to take their goods from them by force, 8:12On one day in every division of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, that is, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month Adar. 8:13A copy of the writing, to be made public as an order in every division of the kingdom, was given out to all the peoples, so that the Jews might be ready when that day came to give punishment to their haters. 8:14So the men went out on the quick-running horses used on the king's business, wasting no time and forced on by the king's order; and the order was given out in Shushan, the king's town. 8:15And Mordecai went out from before the king, dressed in king-like robes of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold and clothing of purple and the best linen: and all the town of Shushan gave loud cries of joy. 8:16And the Jews had light and joy and honour. 8:17And in every part of the kingdom and in every town, wherever the king's letter and his order came, the Jews were glad with great joy, and had a feast and a good day. And a great number of the people of the land became Jews: for the fear of the Jews had come on them.
9:1Now on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, when the time came for the king's order to be put into effect, on the very day when the haters of the Jews had been hoping to have rule over them; though the opposite had come about, and the Jews had rule over their haters; 9:2On that day, the Jews came together in their towns through all the divisions of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, for the purpose of attacking all those who were attempting evil against them: and everyone had to give way before them, for the fear of them had come on all the peoples. 9:3And all the chiefs and the captains and the rulers and those who did the king's business gave support to the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai had come on them. 9:4For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and word of him went out through every part of the kingdom: for the man Mordecai became greater and greater. 9:5So the Jews overcame all their attackers with the sword and with death and destruction, and did to their haters whatever they had a desire to do. 9:6And in Shushan the Jews put to death five hundred men. 9:7They put to death Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 9:8Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9:9Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha, 9:10The ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the hater of the Jews; but they put not a hand on any of their goods. 9:11On that day the number of those who had been put to death in the town of Shushan was given to the king. 9:12And the king said to Esther the queen, The Jews have put five hundred men to death in Shushan, as well as the ten sons of Haman: what then have they done in the rest of the kingdom! Now what is your prayer? for it will be given to you; what other request have you? and it will be done. 9:13Then Esther said, If it is the king's pleasure, let authority be given to the Jews in Shushan to do tomorrow as has been done today, and let orders be given for the hanging of Haman's ten sons. 9:14And the king said that this was to be done, and the order was given out in Shushan, and the hanging of Haman's ten sons was effected. 9:15For the Jews who were in Shushan came together again on the fourteenth day of the month Adar and put to death three hundred men in Shushan; but they put not a hand on their goods. 9:16And the other Jews in every division of the kingdom came together, fighting for their lives, and got salvation from their haters and put seventy-five thousand of them to death; but they did not put a hand on their goods. 9:17This they did on the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same month they took their rest, and made it a day of feasting and joy. 9:18But the Jews in Shushan came together on the thirteenth and on the fourteenth day of the month; and on the fifteenth day they took their rest, and made it a day of feasting and joy. 9:19So the Jews of the country places living in unwalled towns make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of feasting and joy and a good day, a day for sending offerings one to another. 9:20And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in every division of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, near and far, 9:21Ordering them to keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and the fifteenth day of the same month, every year, 9:22As days on which the Jews had rest from their haters, and the month which for them was turned from sorrow to joy, and from weeping to a good day: and that they were to keep them as days of feasting and joy, of sending offerings to one another and good things to the poor. 9:23And the Jews gave their word to go on as they had been doing and as Mordecai had given them orders in writing; 9:24Because Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the hater of all the Jews, had made designs for their destruction, attempting to get a decision by Pur (that is, chance) with a view to putting an end to them and cutting them off; 9:25But when the business was put before the king, he gave orders by letters that the evil design which he had made against the Jews was to be turned against himself; and that he and his sons were to be put to death by hanging. 9:26So these days were named Purim, after the name of Pur. And so, because of the words of this letter, and of what they had seen in connection with this business, and what had come to them, 9:27The Jews made a rule and gave an undertaking, causing their seed and all those who were joined to them to do the same, so that it might be in force for ever, that they would keep those two days, as ordered in the letter, at the fixed time every year; 9:28And that those days were to be kept in memory through every generation and every family, in every division of the kingdom and every town, that there might never be a time when these days of Purim would not be kept among the Jews, or when the memory of them would go from the minds of their seed. 9:29Then Esther the queen, daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, sent a second letter giving the force of their authority to the order about the Purim. 9:30And he sent letters to all the Jews in the hundred and twenty-seven divisions of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with true words of peace, 9:31Giving the force of law to these days of Purim at their fixed times, as they had been ordered by Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen, and in keeping with the rules they had made for themselves and their seed, in connection with their time of going without food and their cry for help. 9:32The order given by Esther gave the force of law to the rules about the Purim; and it was recorded in the book.
10:1And King Ahasuerus put a tax on the land and on the islands of the sea. 10:2And all his acts of power and his great strength and the full story of the high place which the king gave Mordecai, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Media and Persia? 10:3For Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews and respected by the body of his countrymen; working for the good of his people, and saying words of peace to all his seed.
Job
1:1There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. He was without sin and upright, fearing God and keeping himself far from evil. 1:2And he had seven sons and three daughters. 1:3And of cattle he had seven thousand sheep and goats, and three thousand camels, and a thousand oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very great number of servants. And the man was greater than any of the sons of the east. 1:4His sons regularly went to one another's houses, and every one on his day gave a feast: and at these times they sent for their three sisters to take part in their feasts with them. 1:5And at the end of their days of feasting, Job sent and made them clean, getting up early in the morning and offering burned offerings for them all. For, Job said, It may be that my sons have done wrong and said evil of God in their hearts. And Job did this whenever the feasts came round. 1:6And there was a day when the sons of the gods came together before the Lord, and the Satan came with them. 1:7And the Lord said to the Satan, Where do you come from? And the Satan said in answer, From wandering this way and that on the earth, and walking about on it. 1:8And the Lord said to the Satan, Have you taken note of my servant Job, for there is no one like him on the earth, a man without sin and upright, fearing God and keeping himself far from evil? 1:9And the Satan said in answer to the Lord, Is it for nothing that Job is a god-fearing man? 1:10Have you yourself not put a wall round him and his house and all he has on every side, blessing the work of his hands, and increasing his cattle in the land? 1:11But now, put out your hand against all he has, and he will be cursing you to your face. 1:12And the Lord said to the Satan, See, I give all he has into your hands, only do not put a finger on the man himself. And the Satan went out from before the Lord. 1:13And there was a day when his sons and daughters were feasting in the house of their oldest brother, 1:14And a man came to Job, and said, The oxen were ploughing, and the asses were taking their food by their side: 1:15And the men of Sheba came against them and took them away, putting the young men to the sword, and I was the only one who got away safe to give you the news. 1:16And this one was still talking when another came, and said, The fire of God came down from heaven, burning up the sheep and the goats and the young men completely, and I was the only one who got away safe to give you the news. 1:17And this one was still talking when another came, and said, The Chaldaeans made themselves into three bands, and came down on the camels and took them away, putting the young men to the sword, and I was the only one who got away safe to give you the news. 1:18And this one was still talking when another came, and said, Your sons and your daughters were feasting together in their oldest brother's house, 1:19When a great wind came rushing from the waste land against the four sides of the house, and it came down on the young men, and they are dead; and I was the only one who got away safe to give you the news. 1:20Then Job got up, and after parting his clothing and cutting off his hair, he went down on his face to the earth, and gave worship, and said, 1:21With nothing I came out of my mother's body, and with nothing I will go back there; the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; let the Lord's name be praised. 1:22In all this Job did no sin, and did not say that God's acts were foolish.
2:1And there was a day when the sons of the gods came together before the Lord, and the Satan came with them. 2:2And the Lord said to the Satan, Where do you come from? And the Satan said in answer, From wandering this way and that on the earth, and walking about on it. 2:3And the Lord said to the Satan, Have you taken note of my servant Job, for there is no one like him on the earth, a man without sin and upright, fearing God and keeping himself far from evil? and he still keeps his righteousness, though you have been moving me to send destruction on him without cause. 2:4And the Satan said in answer to the Lord, Skin for skin, all a man has he will give for his life. 2:5But now, if you only put your hand on his bone and his flesh, he will certainly be cursing you to your face. 2:6And the Lord said to the Satan, See, he is in your hands, only do not take his life. 2:7And the Satan went out from before the Lord, and sent on Job an evil disease covering his skin from his feet to the top of his head. 2:8And he took a broken bit of a pot, and, seated in the dust, was rubbing himself with the sharp edge of it. 2:9And his wife said to him, Are you still keeping your righteousness? Say a curse against God, and put an end to yourself. 2:10And he said to her, You are talking like one of the foolish women. If we take the good God sends us, are we not to take the evil when it comes? In all this Job kept his lips from sin. 2:11And Job's three friends had word of all this evil which had come on him. And they came every one from his place, Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. So they came together to a meeting-place, in order that they might go and make clear to Job their grief for him, and give him comfort. 2:12And lifting up their eyes when they were still far off, it did not seem that the man they saw was Job because of the change in him. And they gave way to bitter weeping, with signs of grief, and put dust on their heads. 2:13And they took their seats on the earth by his side for seven days and seven nights: but no one said a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.
3:1Then, opening his mouth, and cursing the day of his birth, 3:2Job made answer and said, 3:3Let destruction take the day of my birth, and the night on which it was said, A man child has come into the world. 3:4That day--let it be dark; let not God take note of it from on high, and let not the light be shining on it; 3:5Let the dark and the black night take it for themselves; let it be covered with a cloud; let the dark shades of day send fear on it. 3:6That night--let the thick dark take it; let it not have joy among the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the months. 3:7As for that night, let it have no fruit; let no voice of joy be sounded in it; 3:8Let it be cursed by those who put a curse on the day; who are ready to make Leviathan awake. 3:9Let its morning stars be dark; let it be looking for light, but may it not have any; let it not see the eyes of the dawn. 3:10Because it did not keep the doors of my mother's body shut, so that trouble might be veiled from my eyes. 3:11Why did death not take me when I came out of my mother's body, why did I not, when I came out, give up my last breath? 3:12Why did the knees take me, or why the breasts that they might give me milk? 3:13For then I might have gone to my rest in quiet, and in sleep have been in peace, 3:14With kings and the wise ones of the earth, who put up great houses for themselves; 3:15Or with rulers who had gold, and whose houses were full of silver; 3:16Or as a child dead at birth I might never have come into existence; like young children who have not seen the light. 3:17There the passions of the evil are over, and those whose strength has come to an end have rest. 3:18There the prisoners are at peace together; the voice of the overseer comes not again to their ears. 3:19The small and the great are there, and the servant is free from his master. 3:20Why does he give light to him who is in trouble, and life to the bitter in soul; 3:21To those whose desire is for death, but it comes not; who are searching for it more than for secret wealth; 3:22Who are glad with great joy, and full of delight when they come to their last resting-place; 3:23To a man whose way is veiled, and who is shut in by God? 3:24In place of my food I have grief, and cries of sorrow come from me like water. 3:25For I have a fear and it comes on me, and my heart is greatly troubled. 3:26I have no peace, no quiet, and no rest; nothing but pain comes on me.
4:1And Eliphaz the Temanite made answer and said, 4:2If one says a word, will it be a weariness to you? but who is able to keep from saying what is in his mind? 4:3Truly, you have been a helper to others, and you have made feeble hands strong; 4:4He who was near to falling has been lifted up by your words, and you have given strength to bent knees. 4:5But now it has come on you and it is a weariness to you; you are touched by it and your mind is troubled. 4:6Is not your fear of God your support, and your upright way of life your hope? 4:7Have you ever seen destruction come to an upright man? or when were the god-fearing ever cut off? 4:8What I have seen is that those by whom trouble has been ploughed, and evil planted, get the same for themselves. 4:9By the breath of God destruction takes them, and by the wind of his wrath they are cut off. 4:10Though the noise of the lion and the sounding of his voice, may be loud, the teeth of the young lions are broken. 4:11The old lion comes to his end for need of food, and the young of the she-lion go wandering in all directions. 4:12A word was given to me secretly, and the low sound of it came to my ears. 4:13In troubled thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep comes on men, 4:14Fear came on me and shaking, and my bones were full of trouble; 4:15And a breath was moving over my face; the hair of my flesh became stiff: 4:16Something was present before me, but I was not able to see it clearly; there was a form before my eyes: a quiet voice came to my ears, saying: 4:17May a man be upright before God? or a man be clean before his Maker? 4:18Truly, he puts no faith in his servants, and he sees error in his angels; 4:19How much more those living in houses of earth, whose bases are in the dust! They are crushed more quickly than an insect; 4:20Between morning and evening they are completely broken; they come to an end for ever, and no one takes note. 4:21If their tent-cord is pulled up, do they not come to an end, and without wisdom?
5:1Give now a cry for help; is there anyone who will give you an answer? and to which of the holy ones will you make your prayer? 5:2For wrath is the cause of death to the foolish, and he who has no wisdom comes to his end through passion. 5:3I have seen the foolish taking root, but suddenly the curse came on his house. 5:4Now his children have no safe place, and they are crushed before the judges, for no one takes up their cause. 5:5Their produce is taken by him who has no food, and their grain goes to the poor, and he who is in need of water gets it from their spring. 5:6For evil does not come out of the dust, or trouble out of the earth; 5:7But trouble is man's fate from birth, as the flames go up from the fire. 5:8But as for me, I would make my prayer to God, and I would put my cause before him: 5:9Who does great things outside our knowledge, wonders without number: 5:10Who gives rain on the earth, and sends water on the fields: 5:11Lifting up those who are low, and putting the sad in a safe place; 5:12Who makes the designs of the wise go wrong, so that they are unable to give effect to their purposes. 5:13He takes the wise in their secret designs, and the purposes of the twisted are cut off suddenly. 5:14In the daytime it becomes dark for them, and in the sunlight they go feeling about as if it was night. 5:15But he keeps safe from their sword those who have no father, and the poor from the power of the strong. 5:16So the poor man has hope, and the mouth of the evil-doer is stopped. 5:17Truly, that man is happy who has training from the hand of God: so do not let your heart be shut to the teaching of the Ruler of all. 5:18For after his punishment he gives comfort, and after wounding, his hands make you well. 5:19He will keep you safe from six troubles, and in seven no evil will come near you. 5:20When there is need of food he will keep you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. 5:21He will keep you safe from the evil tongue; and you will have no fear of wasting when it comes. 5:22You will make sport of destruction and need, and will have no fear of the beasts of the earth. 5:23For you will be in agreement with the stones of the earth, and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you. 5:24And you will be certain that your tent is at peace, and after looking over your property you will see that nothing is gone. 5:25You will be certain that your seed will be great, and your offspring like the plants of the earth. 5:26You will come to your last resting-place in full strength, as the grain is taken up to the crushing-floor in its time. 5:27See, we have made search with care, and it is so; it has come to our ears; see that you take note of it for yourself.
6:1And Job made answer and said, 6:2If only my passion might be measured, and put into the scales against my trouble! 6:3For then its weight would be more than the sand of the seas: because of this my words have been uncontrolled. 6:4For the arrows of the Ruler of all are present with me, and their poison goes deep into my spirit: his army of fears is put in order against me. 6:5Does the ass of the fields give out his voice when he has grass? or does the ox make sounds over his food? 6:6Will a man take food which has no taste without salt? or is there any taste in the soft substance of purslain? 6:7My soul has no desire for such things, they are as disease in my food. 6:8If only I might have an answer to my prayer, and God would give me my desire! 6:9If only he would be pleased to put an end to me; and would let loose his hand, so that I might be cut off! 6:10So I would still have comfort, and I would have joy in the pains of death, for I have not been false to the words of the Holy One. 6:11Have I strength to go on waiting, or have I any end to be looking forward to? 6:12Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh brass? 6:13I have no help in myself, and wisdom is completely gone from me. 6:14He whose heart is shut against his friend has given up the fear of the Ruler of all. 6:15My friends have been false like a stream, like streams in the valleys which come to an end: 6:16Which are dark because of the ice, and the snow falling into them; 6:17Under the burning sun they are cut off, and come to nothing because of the heat. 6:18The camel-trains go out of their way; they go up into the waste and come to destruction. 6:19The camel-trains of Tema were searching with care, the bands of Sheba were waiting for them: 6:20They were put to shame because of their hope; they came and their hope was gone. 6:21So have you now become to me; you see my sad condition and are in fear. 6:22Did I say, Give me something? or, Make a payment for me out of your wealth? 6:23Or, Get me out of the power of my hater? or, Give money so that I may be free from the power of the cruel ones? 6:24Give me teaching and I will be quiet; and make me see my error. 6:25How pleasing are upright words! but what force is there in your arguments? 6:26My words may seem wrong to you, but the words of him who has no hope are for the wind. 6:27Truly, you are such as would give up the child of a dead man to his creditors, and would make a profit out of your friend. 6:28Now then, let your eyes be turned to me, for truly I will not say what is false to your face. 6:29Let your minds be changed, and do not have an evil opinion of me; yes, be changed, for my righteousness is still in me. 6:30Is there evil in my tongue? is not the cause of my trouble clear to me?
7:1Has not man his ordered time of trouble on the earth? and are not his days like the days of a servant working for payment? 7:2As a servant desiring the shades of evening, and a workman looking for his payment: 7:3So I have for my heritage months of pain to no purpose, and nights of weariness are given to me. 7:4When I go to my bed, I say, When will it be time to get up? but the night is long, and I am turning from side to side till morning light. 7:5My flesh is covered with worms and dust; my skin gets hard and then is cracked again. 7:6My days go quicker than the cloth-worker's thread, and come to an end without hope. 7:7O, keep in mind that my life is wind: my eye will never again see good. 7:8The eye of him who sees me will see me no longer: your eyes will be looking for me, but I will be gone. 7:9A cloud comes to an end and is gone; so he who goes down into the underworld comes not up again. 7:10He will not come back to his house, and his place will have no more knowledge of him. 7:11So I will not keep my mouth shut; I will let the words come from it in the pain of my spirit, my soul will make a bitter outcry. 7:12Am I a sea, or a sea-beast, that you put a watch over me? 7:13When I say, In my bed I will have comfort, there I will get rest from my disease; 7:14Then you send dreams to me, and visions of fear; 7:15So that a hard death seems better to my soul than my pains. 7:16I have no desire for life, I would not be living for ever! Keep away from me, for my days are as a breath. 7:17What is man, that you have made him great, and that your attention is fixed on him, 7:18And that your hand is on him every morning, and that you are testing him every minute? 7:19How long will it be before your eyes are turned away from me, so that I may have a minute's breathing-space? 7:20If I have done wrong, what have I done to you, O keeper of men? why have you made me a mark for your blows, so that I am a weariness to myself? 7:21And why do you not take away my sin, and let my wrongdoing be ended? for now I go down to the dust, and you will be searching for me with care, but I will be gone.
8:1Then Bildad the Shuhite made answer and said, 8:2How long will you say these things, and how long will the words of your mouth be like a strong wind? 8:3Does God give wrong decisions? or is the Ruler of all not upright in his judging? 8:4If your children have done evil against him, then their punishment is from his hand. 8:5If you will make search for God with care, and put your request before the Ruler of all; 8:6If you are clean and upright; then he will certainly be moved to take up your cause, and will make clear your righteousness by building up your house again. 8:7And though your start was small, your end will be very great. 8:8Put the question now to the past generations, and give attention to what has been searched out by their fathers: 8:9(For we are but of yesterday, and have no knowledge, because our days on earth are gone like a shade:) 8:10Will they not give you teaching, and say words of wisdom to you? 8:11Will the river-plant come up in its pride without wet earth? will the grass get tall without water? 8:12When it is still green, without being cut down, it becomes dry and dead before any other plant. 8:13So is the end of all who do not keep God in mind; and the hope of the evil-doer comes to nothing: 8:14Whose support is cut off, and whose hope is no stronger than a spider's thread. 8:15He is looking to his family for support, but it is not there; he puts his hope in it, but it comes to nothing. 8:16He is full of strength before the sun, and his branches go out over his garden. 8:17His roots are twisted round the stones, forcing their way in between them. 8:18If he is taken away from his place, then it will say, I have not seen you. 8:19Such is the joy of his way, and out of the dust another comes up to take his place. 8:20Truly, God will not give up him who is without sin, and will not take evil-doers by the hand. 8:21The time will come when your mouth will be full of laughing, and cries of joy will come from your lips. 8:22Your haters will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the sinner will not be seen again.
9:1And Job made answer and said, 9:2Truly, I see that it is so: and how is it possible for a man to get his right before God? 9:3If a man was desiring to go to law with him, he would not be able to give him an answer to one out of a thousand questions. 9:4He is wise in heart and great in strength: who ever made his face hard against him, and any good came of it? 9:5It is he who takes away the mountains without their knowledge, overturning them in his wrath: 9:6Who is moving the earth out of its place, so that its pillars are shaking: 9:7Who gives orders to the sun, and it does not give its light; and who keeps the stars from shining. 9:8By whose hand the heavens were stretched out, and who is walking on the waves of the sea: 9:9Who made the Bear and Orion, and the Pleiades, and the store-houses of the south: 9:10Who does great things not to be searched out; yes, wonders without number. 9:11See, he goes past me and I see him not: he goes on before, but I have no knowledge of him. 9:12If he puts out his hand to take, by whom may it be turned back? who may say to him, What are you doing? 9:13God's wrath may not be turned back; the helpers of Rahab were bent down under him. 9:14How much less may I give an answer to him, using the right words in argument with him? 9:15Even if my cause was good, I would not be able to give an answer; I would make request for grace from him who was against me. 9:16If I had sent for him to be present, and he had come, I would have no faith that he would give ear to my voice. 9:17For I would be crushed by his storm, my wounds would be increased without cause. 9:18He would not let me take my breath, but I would be full of bitter grief. 9:19If it is a question of strength, he says, Here I am! and if it is a question of a cause at law, he says, Who will give me a fixed day? 9:20Though I was in the right, he would say that I was in the wrong; I have done no evil; but he says that I am a sinner. 9:21I have done no wrong; I give no thought to what becomes of me; I have no desire for life. 9:22It is all the same to me; so I say, He puts an end to the sinner and to him who has done no wrong together. 9:23If death comes suddenly through disease, he makes sport of the fate of those who have done no wrong. 9:24The land is given into the power of the evil-doer; the faces of its judges are covered; if not by him, then who has done it? 9:25My days go quicker than a post-runner: they go in flight, they see no good. 9:26They go rushing on like reed-boats, like an eagle dropping suddenly on its food. 9:27If I say, I will put my grief out of mind, I will let my face be sad no longer and I will be bright; 9:28I go in fear of all my pains; I am certain that I will not be free from sin in your eyes. 9:29You will not let me be clear of sin! why then do I take trouble for nothing? 9:30If I am washed with snow water, and make my hands clean with soap; 9:31Then you will have me pushed into the dust, so that I will seem disgusting to my very clothing. 9:32For he is not a man as I am, that I might give him an answer, that we might come together before a judge. 9:33There is no one to give a decision between us, who might have control over us. 9:34Let him take away his rod from me and not send his fear on me: 9:35Then I would say what is in my mind without fear of him; for there is no cause of fear in myself.
10:1My soul is tired of life; I will let my sad thoughts go free in words; my soul will make a bitter outcry. 10:2I will say to God, Do not put me down as a sinner; make clear to me what you have against me. 10:3What profit is it to you to be cruel, to give up the work of your hands, looking kindly on the design of evil-doers? 10:4Have you eyes of flesh, or do you see as man sees? 10:5Are your days as the days of man, or your years like his, 10:6That you take note of my sin, searching after my wrongdoing, 10:7Though you see that I am not an evil-doer; and there is no one who is able to take a man out of your hands? 10:8Your hands made me, and I was formed by you, but then, changing your purpose, you gave me up to destruction. 10:9O keep in mind that you made me out of earth; and will you send me back again to dust? 10:10Was I not drained out like milk, becoming hard like cheese? 10:11By you I was clothed with skin and flesh, and joined together with bones and muscles. 10:12You have been kind to me, and your grace has been with me, and your care has kept my spirit safe. 10:13But you kept these things in the secret of your heart; I am certain this was in your thoughts: 10:14That, if I did wrong, you would take note of it, and would not make me clear from sin: 10:15That, if I was an evil-doer, the curse would come on me; and if I was upright, my head would not be lifted up, being full of shame and overcome with trouble. 10:16And that if there was cause for pride, you would go after me like a lion; and again put out your wonders against me: 10:17That you would send new witnesses against me, increasing your wrath against me, and letting loose new armies on me. 10:18Why then did you make me come out of my mother's body? It would have been better for me to have taken my last breath, and for no eye to have seen me, 10:19And for me to have been as if I had not been; to have been taken from my mother's body straight to my last resting-place. 10:20Are not the days of my life small in number? Let your eyes be turned away from me, so that I may have a little pleasure, 10:21Before I go to the place from which I will not come back, to the land where all is dark and black, 10:22A land of thick dark, without order, where the very light is dark.
11:1Then Zophar the Naamathite made answer and said, 11:2Are all these words to go unanswered? and is a man seen to be right because he is full of talk? 11:3Are your words of pride to make men keep quiet? and are you to make sport, with no one to put you to shame? 11:4You may say, My way is clean, and I am free from sin in your eyes. 11:5But if only God would take up the word, opening his lips in argument with you; 11:6And would make clear to you the secrets of wisdom, and the wonders of his purpose! 11:7Are you able to take God's measure, to make discovery of the limits of the Ruler of all? 11:8They are higher than heaven; what is there for you to do? deeper than the underworld, and outside your knowledge; 11:9Longer in measure than the earth, and wider than the sea. 11:10If he goes on his way, shutting a man up and putting him to death, who may make him go back from his purpose? 11:11For in his eyes men are as nothing; he sees evil and takes note of it. 11:12And so a hollow-minded man will get wisdom, when a young ass of the field gets teaching. 11:13But if you put your heart right, stretching out your hands to him; 11:14If you put far away the evil of your hands, and let no wrongdoing have a place in your tent; 11:15Then truly your face will be lifted up, with no mark of sin, and you will be fixed in your place without fear: 11:16For your sorrow will go from your memory, like waters flowing away: 11:17And your life will be brighter than day; though it is dark, it will become like the morning. 11:18And you will be safe because there is hope; after looking round, you will take your rest in quiet; 11:19Sleeping with no fear of danger; and men will be desiring to have grace in your eyes; 11:20But the eyes of the evil-doers will be wasting away; their way of flight is gone, and their only hope is the taking of their last breath.
12:1And Job made answer and said, 12:2No doubt you have knowledge, and wisdom will come to an end with you. 12:3But I have a mind as well as you; I am equal to you: yes, who has not knowledge of such things as these? 12:4It seems that I am to be as one who is a cause of laughing to his neighbour, one who makes his prayer to God and is answered! the upright man who has done no wrong is to be made sport of! 12:5In the thought of him who is in comfort there is no respect for one who is in trouble; such is the fate of those whose feet are slipping. 12:6There is wealth in the tents of those who make destruction, and those by whom God is moved to wrath are safe; even those whose god is their strength. 12:7But put now a question to the beasts, and get teaching from them; or to the birds of the heaven, and they will make it clear to you; 12:8Or to the things which go flat on the earth, and they will give you wisdom; and the fishes of the sea will give you news of it. 12:9Who does not see by all these that the hand of the Lord has done this? 12:10In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all flesh of man. 12:11Are not words tested by the ear, even as food is tasted by the mouth? 12:12Old men have wisdom, and a long life gives knowledge. 12:13With him there is wisdom and strength; power and knowledge are his. 12:14Truly, there is no building up of what is pulled down by him; when a man is shut up by him, no one may let him loose. 12:15Truly, he keeps back the waters and they are dry; he sends them out and the earth is overturned. 12:16With him are strength and wise designs; he who is guided into error, together with his guide, are in his hands; 12:17He takes away the wisdom of the wise guides, and makes judges foolish; 12:18He undoes the chains of kings, and puts his band on them; 12:19He makes priests prisoners, overturning those in safe positions; 12:20He makes the words of responsible persons without effect, and takes away the good sense of the old; 12:21He puts shame on chiefs, and takes away the power of the strong; 12:22Uncovering deep things out of the dark, and making the deep shade bright; 12:23Increasing nations, and sending destruction on them; making wide the lands of peoples, and then giving them up. 12:24He takes away the wisdom of the rulers of the earth, and sends them wandering in a waste where there is no way. 12:25They go feeling about in the dark without light, wandering without help like those overcome with wine.
13:1Truly, my eye has seen all this, word of it has come to my ear, and I have knowledge of it. 13:2The same things are in my mind as in yours; I am equal to you. 13:3But I would have talk with the Ruler of all, and my desire is to have an argument with God. 13:4But you put a false face on things; all your attempts to put things right are of no value. 13:5If only you would keep quiet, it would be a sign of wisdom! 13:6Give ear to the argument of my mouth, and take note of the words of my lips. 13:7Will you say in God's name what is not right, and put false words into his mouth? 13:8Will you have respect for God's person in this cause, and put yourselves forward as his supporters? 13:9Will it be good for you to be searched out by him, or have you the thought that he may be guided into error like a man? 13:10He will certainly put you right, if you have respect for persons in secret. 13:11Will not his glory put you in fear, so that your hearts will be overcome before him? 13:12Your wise sayings are only dust, and your strong places are only earth. 13:13Keep quiet, and let me say what is in my mind, whatever may come to me. 13:14I will take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in my hand. 13:15Truly, he will put an end to me; I have no hope; but I will not give way in argument before him; 13:16And that will be my salvation, for an evil-doer would not come before him, 13:17Give ear with care to my words, and keep what I say in your minds. 13:18See now, I have put my cause in order, and I am certain that I will be seen to be right. 13:19Is any one able to take up the argument against me? If so, I would keep quiet and give up my breath. 13:20Only two things do not do to me, then I will come before your face: 13:21Take your hand far away from me; and let me not be overcome by fear of you. 13:22Then at the sound of your voice I will give answer; or let me put forward my cause for you to give me an answer. 13:23What is the number of my evil-doings and my sins? give me knowledge of them. 13:24Why is your face veiled from me, as if I was numbered among your haters? 13:25Will you be hard on a leaf in flight before the wind? will you make a dry stem go more quickly on its way? 13:26For you put bitter things on record against me, and send punishment on me for the sins of my early years; 13:27And you put chains on my feet, watching all my ways, and making a limit for my steps; 13:28Though a man comes to nothing like a bit of dead wood, or like a robe which has become food for the worm.