4:1And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, 4:2If a word were essayed to thee, wouldest thou be grieved? But who can refrain from speaking? 4:3Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands; 4:4Thy words have upholden him that was stumbling, and thou hast braced up the bending knees: 4:5But now it is come upon thee, and thou grievest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. 4:6Hath not thy piety been thy confidence, and the perfection of thy ways thy hope? 4:7Remember, I pray thee, who that was innocent has perished? and where were the upright cut off? 4:8Even as I have seen, they that plough iniquity and sow mischief, reap the same. 4:9By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his nostrils are they consumed. 4:10The roar of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken; 4:11The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the whelps of the lioness are scattered. 4:12Now to me a word was secretly brought, and mine ear received a whisper thereof. 4:13In thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men: 4:14Fear came on me, and trembling, and made all my bones to shake; 4:15And a spirit passed before my face the hair of my flesh stood up 4:16It stood still; I could not discern the appearance thereof: a form was before mine eyes; I heard a slight murmur and a voice: 4:17Shall [mortal] man be more just than God? Shall a man be purer than his Maker? 4:18Lo, he trusteth not his servants, and his angels he chargeth with folly: 4:19How much more them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed as the moth! 4:20From morning to evening are they smitten: without any heeding it, they perish for ever. 4:21Is not their tent-cord torn away in them? they die, and without wisdom.
5:1Call, I pray thee! Is there any that answereth thee? and to which of the holy ones wilt thou turn? 5:2For vexation killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the simple. 5:3I myself saw the foolish taking root, but suddenly I cursed his habitation. 5:4His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, and there is no deliverer: 5:5Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh even out of the thorns; and the snare gapeth for his substance. 5:6For evil cometh not forth from the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; 5:7For man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upwards. 5:8But as for me I will seek unto God, and unto God commit my cause; 5:9Who doeth great things and unsearchable, marvellous things without number; 5:10Who giveth rain on the face of the earth, and sendeth waters on the face of the fields; 5:11Setting up on high those that are low; and mourners are exalted to prosperity. 5:12He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, and their hands carry not out the enterprise. 5:13He taketh the wise in their own craftiness; and the counsel of the wily is carried headlong: 5:14They meet with darkness in a the daytime, and grope at midday as in the night. 5:15And he saveth the needy from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty. 5:16So the poor hath what he hopeth for, and unrighteousness stoppeth her mouth. 5:17Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth; therefore despise not the chastening of the Almighty. 5:18For he maketh sore, and bindeth up; he woundeth, and his hands make whole. 5:19He will deliver thee in six troubles, and in seven there shall no evil touch thee. 5:20In famine he will redeem thee from death, and in war from the power of the sword. 5:21Thou shalt be hidden from the scourge of the tongue; and thou shalt not be afraid of destruction when it cometh. 5:22At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh, and of the beasts of the earth thou shalt not be afraid. 5:23For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. 5:24And thou shalt know that thy tent is in peace; and thou wilt survey thy fold, and miss nothing. 5:25And thou shalt know that thy seed is numerous, and thine offspring as the herb of the earth. 5:26Thou shalt come to the grave in a ripe age, as a shock of corn is brought in in its season. 5:27Behold this, we have searched it out, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thyself.
6:1And Job answered and said, 6:2Oh that my grief were thoroughly weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances! 6:3For now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas; therefore my words are vehement. 6:4For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, their poison drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God are arrayed against me. 6:5Doth the wild ass bray by the grass? loweth an ox over his fodder? 6:6Shall that which is insipid be eaten without salt? Is there any taste in the white of an egg? 6:7What my soul refuseth to touch, that is as my loathsome food. 6:8Oh that I might have my request, and that God would grant my desire! 6:9And that it would please God to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and cut me off! 6:10Then should I yet have comfort; and in the pain which spareth not I would rejoice that I have not denied the words of the Holy One. 6:11What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should have patience? 6:12Is my strength the strength of stones? is my flesh of brass? 6:13Is it not that there is no help in me, and soundness is driven away from me? 6:14For him that is fainting kindness [is meet] from his friend; or he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty. 6:15My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a stream, as the channel of streams which pass away, 6:16Which are turbid by reason of the ice, in which the snow hideth itself: 6:17At the time they diminish, they are dried up; when heat affecteth them, they vanish from their place: 6:18They wind about in the paths of their course, they go off into the waste and perish. 6:19The caravans of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba counted on them: 6:20They are ashamed at their hope; they come thither, and are confounded. 6:21So now ye are nothing; ye see a terrible object and are afraid. 6:22Did I say, Bring unto me, and make me a present from your substance? 6:23Or, rescue me from the hand of the oppressor, and redeem me from the hand of the violent? 6:24Teach me, and I will hold my tongue; and cause me to understand wherein I have erred. 6:25How forcible are right words! but what doth your upbraiding reprove? 6:26Do ye imagine to reprove words? The speeches of one that is desperate are indeed for the wind. 6:27Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and dig [a pit] for your friend. 6:28Now therefore if ye will, look upon me; and it shall be to your face if I lie. 6:29Return, I pray you, let there be no wrong; yea, return again, my righteousness shall be in it. 6:30Is there wrong in my tongue? cannot my taste discern mischievous things?
7:1Hath not man a life of labour upon earth? and are not his days like the days of a hireling? 7:2As a bondman earnestly desireth the shadow, and a hireling expecteth his wages, 7:3So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me. 7:4If I lie down, I say, When shall I rise up, and the darkness be gone? and I am full of tossings until the dawn. 7:5My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and suppurates. 7:6My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope. 7:7Remember thou that my life is wind; mine eye shall no more see good. 7:8The eye of him that hath seen me shall behold me no [more]: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not. 7:9The cloud consumeth and vanisheth away; so he that goeth down to Sheol shall not come up. 7:10He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him again. 7:11Therefore I will not restrain my mouth: I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 7:12Am I a sea, or a sea-monster, that thou settest a watch over me? 7:13When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint; 7:14Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions; 7:15So that my soul chooseth strangling, death, rather than my bones. 7:16I loathe it; I shall not live always: let me alone, for my days are a breath. 7:17What is man, that thou makest much of him? and that thou settest thy heart upon him? 7:18And that thou visitest him every morning, triest him every moment? 7:19How long wilt thou not look away from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle? 7:20Have I sinned, what do I unto thee, thou Observer of men? Why hast thou set me as an object of assault for thee, so that I am become a burden to myself? 7:21And why dost not thou forgive my transgression and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I lie down in the dust, and thou shalt seek me early, and I shall not be.
8:1And Bildad the Shuhite answered and said, 8:2How long wilt thou speak these things? and the words of thy mouth be a strong wind? 8:3Doth God pervert judgment, and the Almighty pervert justice? 8:4If thy children have sinned against him, he hath also given them over into the hand of their transgression. 8:5If thou seek earnestly unto God, and make thy supplication to the Almighty, 8:6If thou be pure and upright, surely now he will awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous; 8:7And though thy beginning was small, yet thine end shall be very great. 8:8For inquire, I pray thee, of the former generation, and attend to the researches of their fathers; 8:9For we are [but] of yesterday, and know nothing, for our days upon earth are a shadow. 8:10Shall not they teach thee, [and] tell thee, and utter words out of their heart? 8:11Doth the papyrus shoot up without mire? doth the reed-grass grow without water? 8:12Whilst it is yet in its greenness [and] not cut down, it withereth before any [other] grass. 8:13So are the paths of all that forget God; and the profane man's hope shall perish, 8:14Whose confidence shall be cut off, and his reliance is a spider's web. 8:15He shall lean upon his house, and it shall not stand; he shall lay hold on it, but it shall not endure. 8:16He is full of sap before the sun, and his sprout shooteth forth over his garden; 8:17His roots are entwined about the stoneheap; he seeth the place of stones. 8:18If he destroy him from his place, then it shall deny him: I have not seen thee! 8:19Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the dust shall others grow. 8:20Behold, God will not cast off a perfect man, neither will he take evil-doers by the hand. 8:21Whilst he would fill thy mouth with laughing and thy lips with shouting, 8:22They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked be no more.
9:1And Job answered and said, 9:2Of a truth I know it is so; but how can man be just with God? 9:3If he shall choose to strive with him, he cannot answer him one thing of a thousand. 9:4He is wise in heart and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and had peace? 9:5Who removeth mountains, and they know it not, when he overturneth them in his anger; 9:6Who shaketh the earth out of its place, and the pillars thereof tremble; 9:7Who commandeth the sun, and it riseth not, and he sealeth up the stars; 9:8Who alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the high waves of the sea; 9:9Who maketh the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the chambers of the south; 9:10Who doeth great things past finding out, and wonders without number. 9:11Lo, he goeth by me, and I see [him] not; and he passeth along, and I perceive him not. 9:12Behold, he taketh away: who will hinder him? Who will say unto him, What doest thou? 9:13God withdraweth not his anger; the proud helpers stoop under him: 9:14How much less shall I answer him, choose out my words [to strive] with him? 9:15Whom, though I were righteous, [yet] would I not answer; I would make supplication to my judge. 9:16If I had called, and he had answered me, I would not believe that he hearkened to my voice, 9:17He, who crusheth me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause. 9:18He suffereth me not to take my breath, for he filleth me with bitternesses. 9:19Be it a question of strength, lo, [he is] strong; and be it of judgment, who will set me a time? 9:20If I justified myself, mine own mouth would condemn me; were I perfect, he would prove me perverse. 9:21Were I perfect, [yet] would I not know my soul: I would despise my life. 9:22It is all one; therefore I said, he destroyeth the perfect and the wicked. 9:23If the scourge kill suddenly, he mocketh at the trial of the innocent. 9:24The earth is given over into the hand of the wicked [man]; he covereth the faces of its judges. If not, who then is it? 9:25And my days are swifter than a runner: they flee away, they see no good. 9:26They pass by like skiffs of reed; as an eagle that swoops upon the prey. 9:27If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my [sad] countenance, and brighten up, 9:28I am afraid of all my sorrows; I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent. 9:29Be it that I am wicked, why then do I labour in vain? 9:30If I washed myself with snow-water, and cleansed my hands in purity, 9:31Then wouldest thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes would abhor me. 9:32For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him; that we should come together in judgment. 9:33There is not an umpire between us, who should lay his hand upon us both. 9:34Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his terror make me afraid, 9:35[Then] I will speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me.
10:1My soul is weary of my life: I will give free course to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. 10:2I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou strivest with me. 10:3Doth it please thee to oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thy hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked? 10:4Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth? 10:5Are thy days as the days of a mortal? are thy years as a man's days, 10:6That thou searchest after mine iniquity, and inquirest into my sin; 10:7Since thou knowest that I am not wicked, and that there is none that delivereth out of thy hand? 10:8Thy hands have bound me together and made me as one, round about; yet dost thou swallow me up! 10:9Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as clay, and wilt bring me into dust again. 10:10Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? 10:11Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews; 10:12Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy care hath preserved my spirit; 10:13And these things didst thou hide in thy heart; I know that this was with thee. 10:14If I sinned, thou wouldest mark me, and thou wouldest not acquit me of mine iniquity. 10:15If I were wicked, woe unto me! and righteous, I will not lift up my head, being [so] full of shame, and beholding mine affliction; 10:16And it increaseth: thou huntest me as a fierce lion; and ever again thou shewest thy marvellous power upon me. 10:17Thou renewest thy witnesses before me and increasest thy displeasure against me; successions [of evil] and a time of toil are with me. 10:18And wherefore didst thou bring me forth out of the womb? I had expired, and no eye had seen me. 10:19I should be as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave. 10:20Are not my days few? cease then and let me alone, that I may revive a little, 10:21Before I go, and never to return, to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; 10:22A land of gloom, as darkness itself; of the shadow of death, without any order, where the light is as thick darkness.
11:1And Zophar the Naamathite answered and said, 11:2Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man of much talk be justified? 11:3Should thy fictions make men hold their peace? and shouldest thou mock, and no one make [thee] ashamed? 11:4For thou sayest, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes. 11:5But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee; 11:6And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, how that they are the double of what is realised; and know that God passeth by [much] of thine iniquity! 11:7Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection? 11:8[It is as] the heights of heaven; what wilt thou do? deeper than Sheol; what canst thou know? 11:9The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. 11:10If he pass by, and shut up, and call to judgment, who can hinder him? 11:11For he knoweth vain men, and seeth wickedness when [man] doth not consider it; 11:12Yet a senseless man will make bold, though man be born [like] the foal of a wild ass. 11:13If thou prepare thy heart and stretch out thy hands toward him, 11:14If thou put far away the iniquity which is in thy hand, and let not wrong dwell in thy tents; 11:15Surely then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot, and thou shalt be stedfast and shalt not fear: 11:16For thou shalt forget misery; as waters that are passed away shalt thou remember it; 11:17And life shall arise brighter than noonday; though thou be enshrouded in darkness, thou shalt be as the morning, 11:18And thou shalt have confidence, because there shall be hope; and having searched about [thee], thou shalt take rest in safety. 11:19Yea, thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; and many shall seek thy favour. 11:20But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and [all] refuge shall vanish from them, and their hope [shall be] the breathing out of life.
12:1And Job answered and said, 12:2Truly ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you! 12:3I also have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you; and who knoweth not such things as these? 12:4I am to be one that is a derision to his friend, I who call upon God, and whom he will answer: a derision is the just upright [man]. 12:5He that is ready to stumble with the foot is a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease. 12:6The tents of desolators are in peace, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth. 12:7But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowl of the heavens, and they shall tell thee; 12:8Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. 12:9Who knoweth not in all these, that the hand of Jehovah hath wrought this? 12:10In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the spirit of all flesh of man. 12:11Doth not the ear try words, as the palate tasteth food? 12:12With the aged is wisdom, and in length of days understanding. 12:13With him is wisdom and might; he hath counsel and understanding. 12:14Behold, he breaketh down, and it is not built again; he shutteth up a man, and there is no opening. 12:15Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up; and he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. 12:16With him is strength and effectual knowledge; the deceived and the deceiver are his. 12:17He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and judges maketh he fools; 12:18He weakeneth the government of kings, and bindeth their loins with a fetter; 12:19He leadeth priests away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty; 12:20He depriveth of speech the trusty, and taketh away the judgment of the elders; 12:21He poureth contempt upon nobles, and slackeneth the girdle of the mighty; 12:22He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out into light the shadow of death; 12:23He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them; he spreadeth out the nations, and bringeth them in; 12:24He taketh away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a pathless waste. 12:25They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunkard.
13:1Lo, mine eye hath seen all [this], mine ear hath heard and understood it. 13:2What ye know, I know also: I am not inferior to you. 13:3But I will speak to the Almighty, and will find pleasure in reasoning with God; 13:4For ye indeed are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value. 13:5Oh that ye would be altogether silent! and it would be your wisdom. 13:6Hear now my defence, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips. 13:7Will ye speak unrighteously for God? and for him speak deceit? 13:8Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God? 13:9Will it be well if he should search you out? or as one mocketh at a man, will ye mock at him? 13:10He will certainly reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons. 13:11Shall not his excellency terrify you? and his dread fall upon you? 13:12Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes, your bulwarks are bulwarks of mire. 13:13Hold your peace from me, and I will speak, and let come on me what [will]! 13:14Wherefore should I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in my hand? 13:15Behold, if he slay me, yet would I trust in him; but I will defend mine own ways before him. 13:16This also shall be my salvation, that a profane man shall not come before his face. 13:17Hear attentively my speech and my declaration with your ears. 13:18Behold now, I have ordered the cause; I know that I shall be justified. 13:19Who is he that contendeth with me? For if I were silent now, I should expire. 13:20Only do not two things unto me; then will I not hide myself from thee. 13:21Withdraw thy hand far from me; and let not thy terror make me afraid: 13:22Then call, and I will answer; or I will speak, and answer thou me. 13:23How many are mine iniquities and sins? Make me to know my transgression and my sin. 13:24Wherefore dost thou hide thy face, and countest me for thine enemy? 13:25Wilt thou terrify a driven leaf? and wilt thou pursue dry stubble? 13:26For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth; 13:27And thou puttest my feet in the stocks, and markest all my paths; thou settest a bound about the soles of my feet; 13:28One who, as a rotten thing consumeth, as a garment that the moth eateth.
14:1Man, born of woman, is of few days, and full of trouble. 14:2He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down; and he fleeth as a shadow, and continueth not. 14:3Yet dost thou open thine eyes upon such a one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? 14:4Who can bring a clean [man] out of the unclean? Not one! 14:5If his days are determined, if the number of his months is with thee, [and] thou hast appointed his bounds which he must not pass, 14:6Look away from him; and let him rest, till he accomplish, as a hireling, his day. 14:7For there is hope for a tree: if it be cut down, it will sprout again, and its tender branch will not cease; 14:8Though its root grow old in the earth, and its stock die in the ground, 14:9Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and put forth boughs like a young plant. 14:10But a man dieth, and is prostrate; yea, man expireth, and where is he? 14:11The waters recede from the lake, and the river wasteth and drieth up: 14:12So man lieth down, and riseth not again; till the heavens be no more, they do not awake, nor are raised out of their sleep. 14:13Oh that thou wouldest hide me in Sheol, that thou wouldest keep me secret until thine anger be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me, 14:14(If a man die, shall he live [again]?) all the days of my time of toil would I wait, till my change should come: 14:15Thou wouldest call, and I would answer thee; thou wouldest have a desire after the work of thy hands. 14:16For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin? 14:17My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou heapest up mine iniquity. 14:18And indeed a mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of its place; 14:19The waters wear the stones, the floods thereof wash away the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man. 14:20Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth away; thou changest his countenance, and dismissest him. 14:21His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, and he perceiveth it not. 14:22But his flesh hath pain for himself alone, and his soul mourneth for himself.
15:1And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, 15:2Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind, 15:3Reasoning with unprofitable talk, and with speeches which do no good? 15:4Yea, thou makest piety of none effect, and restrainest meditation before God. 15:5For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou hast chosen the tongue of the crafty. 15:6Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I; and thy lips testify against thee. 15:7Art thou the first man that was born? and wast thou brought forth before the hills? 15:8Hast thou listened in the secret council of God? And hast thou absorbed wisdom for thyself? 15:9What knowest thou that we know not? [what] understandest thou which is not in us? 15:10Both the greyheaded and the aged are with us, older than thy father. 15:11Are the consolations of God too small for thee? and the word gently spoken to thee? 15:12Why doth thy heart carry thee away? and why do thine eyes wink? 15:13That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest words go out of thy mouth? 15:14What is man, that he should be pure? and he that is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? 15:15Behold, he putteth no trust in his holy ones, and the heavens are not pure in his sight: 15:16How much less the abominable and corrupt, man, that drinketh unrighteousness like water! 15:17I will shew thee, listen to me; and what I have seen I will declare; 15:18Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hidden; 15:19Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them. 15:20All his days the wicked man is tormented, and numbered years are allotted to the violent. 15:21The sound of terrors is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer cometh upon him. 15:22He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is singled out for the sword. 15:23He wandereth abroad for bread, where may it be? He knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand. 15:24Distress and anguish make him afraid; they prevail against him, as a king ready for the battle. 15:25For he hath stretched out his hand against God, and strengthened himself against the Almighty: 15:26He runneth against him, with [outstretched] neck, with the thick bosses of his bucklers; 15:27For he hath covered his face with his fatness, and gathered fat upon [his] flanks. 15:28And he dwelleth in desolate cities, in houses that no man inhabiteth, which are destined to become heaps. 15:29He shall not become rich, neither shall his substance continue, and their possessions shall not extend upon the earth. 15:30He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches; and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away. 15:31Let him not trust in vanity: he is deceived, for vanity shall be his recompense; 15:32It shall be complete before his day, and his branch shall not be green. 15:33He shall shake off his unripe grapes as a vine, and shall cast his flower as an olive. 15:34For the family of the ungodly shall be barren, and fire shall consume the tents of bribery. 15:35They conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity, and their belly prepareth deceit.
16:1And Job answered and said, 16:2I have heard many such things: grievous comforters are ye all. 16:3Shall words of wind have an end? or what provoketh thee that thou answerest? 16:4I also could speak as ye: if your soul were in my soul's stead, I could join together words against you, and shake my head at you; 16:5[But] I would encourage you with my mouth, and the solace of my lips should assuage [your pain]. 16:6If I speak, my pain is not assuaged; and if I forbear, what am I eased? 16:7But now he hath made me weary; thou hast made desolate all my family; 16:8Thou hast shrivelled me up! it is become a witness; and my leanness riseth up against me, it beareth witness to my face. 16:9His anger teareth and pursueth me; he gnasheth with his teeth against me; [as] mine adversary he sharpeneth his eyes at me. 16:10They gape upon me with their mouth; they smite my cheeks reproachfully; they range themselves together against me. 16:11God hath delivered me over to the iniquitous man, and hurled me into the hands of the wicked. 16:12I was at rest, but he hath shattered me; he hath taken me by the neck and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark. 16:13His arrows encompass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground. 16:14He breaketh me with breach upon breach; he runneth upon me like a mighty man. 16:15I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and rolled my horn in the dust. 16:16My face is red with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death; 16:17Although there is no violence in my hands, and my prayer is pure. 16:18O earth, cover not my blood, and let there be no place for my cry! 16:19Even now, behold, my Witness is in the heavens, and he that voucheth for me is in the heights. 16:20My friends are my mockers; mine eye poureth out tears unto God. 16:21Oh that there were arbitration for a man with God, as a son of man for his friend! 16:22For years [few] in number shall pass, and I shall go the way [whence] I shall not return.
17:1My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are mine. 17:2Are there not mockers around me? and doth [not] mine eye abide in their provocation? 17:3Lay down now [a pledge], be thou surety for me with thyself: who is he that striketh hands with me? 17:4For thou hast hidden their heart from understanding; therefore thou wilt not exalt [them]. 17:5He that betrayeth friends for a prey even the eyes of his children shall fail. 17:6And he hath made me a proverb of the peoples; and I am become one to be spit on in the face. 17:7And mine eye is dim by reason of grief, and all my members are as a shadow. 17:8Upright men [shall be] astonished at this, and the innocent shall be stirred up against the ungodly; 17:9But the righteous shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall increase in strength. 17:10But as for you all, pray come on again; and I shall not find one wise man among you. 17:11My days are past, my purposes are broken off, the cherished thoughts of my heart. 17:12They change the night into day; the light [they imagine] near in presence of the darkness. 17:13If I wait, Sheol is my house; I spread my bed in the darkness: 17:14I cry to the grave, Thou art my father! to the worm, My mother, and my sister! 17:15And where is then my hope? yea, my hope, who shall see it? 17:16It shall go down to the bars of Sheol, when [our] rest shall be together in the dust.
18:1And Bildad the Shuhite answered and said, 18:2How long will ye hunt for words? Be intelligent, and then we will speak. 18:3Wherefore are we counted as beasts, and reputed stupid in your sight? 18:4Thou that tearest thyself in thine anger, shall the earth be forsaken for thee? and shall the rock be removed out of its place? 18:5Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the flame of his fire shall not shine. 18:6The light shall become dark in his tent, and his lamp over him shall be put out. 18:7The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down. 18:8For he is sent into the net by his own feet, and he walketh on the meshes; 18:9The gin taketh [him] by the heel, the snare layeth hold on him; 18:10A cord is hidden for him in the ground, and his trap in the way. 18:11Terrors make him afraid on every side, and chase him at his footsteps. 18:12His strength is hunger-bitten, and calamity is ready at his side. 18:13The firstborn of death devoureth the members of his body; it will devour his members. 18:14His confidence shall be rooted out of his tent, and it shall lead him away to the king of terrors: 18:15They who are none of his shall dwell in his tent; brimstone shall be showered upon his habitation: 18:16His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off; 18:17His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name on the pasture-grounds. 18:18He is driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world. 18:19He hath neither son nor grandson among his people, nor any remaining in the places of his sojourn. 18:20They that come after shall be astonished at his day, as they that went before [them] were affrighted. 18:21Surely, such are the dwellings of the unrighteous man, and such the place of him that knoweth not God.
19:1And Job answered and said, 19:2How long will ye vex my soul, and crush me with words? 19:3These ten times have ye reproached me; ye are not ashamed to stupefy me. 19:4And be it [that] I have erred, mine error remaineth with myself. 19:5If indeed ye will magnify yourselves against me, and prove against me my reproach, 19:6Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath surrounded me with his net. 19:7Behold, I cry out of wrong, and I am not heard; I cry aloud, but there is no judgment. 19:8He hath hedged up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths. 19:9He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head. 19:10He breaketh me down on every side, and I am gone; and my hope hath he torn up as a tree. 19:11And he hath kindled his anger against me, and hath counted me unto him as one of his enemies. 19:12His troops have come together and cast up their way against me, and have encamped round about my tent. 19:13He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are quite estranged from me. 19:14My kinsfolk have failed, and my known friends have forgotten me. 19:15The sojourners in my house and my maids count me as a stranger; I am an alien in their sight. 19:16I called my servant, and he answered not; I entreated him with my mouth. 19:17My breath is strange to my wife, and my entreaties to the children of my [mother's] womb. 19:18Even young children despise me; I rise up, and they speak against me. 19:19All my intimate friends abhor me, and they whom I loved are turned against me. 19:20My bones cleave to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth. 19:21Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me. 19:22Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh? 19:23Oh would that my words were written! oh that they were inscribed in a book! 19:24That with an iron style and lead they were graven in the rock for ever! 19:25And [as for] me, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and the Last, he shall stand upon the earth; 19:26And [if] after my skin this shall be destroyed, yet from out of my flesh shall I see God; 19:27Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another: my reins are consumed within me. 19:28If ye say, How shall we persecute him? when the root of the matter is found in me, 19:29Be ye yourselves afraid of the sword! for the sword is fury against misdeeds, that ye may know there is a judgment.
20:1And Zophar the Naamathite answered and said, 20:2Therefore do my thoughts give me an answer, and for this is my haste within me. 20:3I hear a reproof putting me to shame; and [my] spirit answereth me by mine understanding. 20:4Knowest thou [not] this, that of old, since man was placed upon earth, 20:5The exultation of the wicked is short, and the joy of the ungodly man but for a moment? 20:6Though his height mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds, 20:7Like his own dung doth he perish for ever; they which have seen him shall say, Where is he? 20:8He flieth away as a dream, and is not found; and is chased away as a vision of the night. 20:9The eye which saw him shall [see him] not again; and his place beholdeth him no more. 20:10His children shall seek the favour of the poor, and his hands restore his wealth. 20:11His bones were full of his youthful strength; but it shall lie down with him in the dust. 20:12Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth [and] he hide it under his tongue, 20:13[Though] he spare it, and forsake it not, but keep it within his mouth, 20:14His food is turned in his bowels; it is the gall of asps within him. 20:15He hath swallowed down riches, but he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly. 20:16He shall suck the poison of asps; the viper's tongue shall kill him. 20:17He shall not see streams, rivers, brooks of honey and butter. 20:18That which he laboured for shall he restore, and not swallow down; its restitution shall be according to the value, and he shall not rejoice [therein]. 20:19For he hath oppressed, hath forsaken the poor; he hath violently taken away a house that he did not build. 20:20Because he knew no rest in his craving, he shall save nought of what he most desired. 20:21Nothing escaped his greediness; therefore his prosperity shall not endure. 20:22In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits; every hand of the wretched shall come upon him. 20:23It shall be that, to fill his belly, he will cast his fierce anger upon him, and will rain it upon him into his flesh. 20:24If he have fled from the iron weapon, the bow of brass shall strike him through. 20:25He draweth it forth; it cometh out of his body, and the glittering point out of his gall: terrors are upon him. 20:26All darkness is laid up for his treasures: a fire not blown shall devour him; it shall feed upon what is left in his tent. 20:27The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, and the earth shall rise up against him. 20:28The increase of his house shall depart, flowing away in the day of his anger. 20:29This is the portion of the wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed to him by God.
21:1And Job answered and said, 21:2Hear attentively my speech, and let this replace your consolations. 21:3Suffer me and I will speak; and after I have spoken, mock on! 21:4As for me, is my complaint to a man? or wherefore should not my spirit be impatient? 21:5Mark me, and be astonished, and lay the hand upon the mouth. 21:6Even when I think [thereon], I am affrighted, and trembling taketh hold of my flesh. 21:7Wherefore do the wicked live, grow old, yea, become mighty in power? 21:8Their seed is established with them in their sight, and their offspring before their eyes. 21:9Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. 21:10Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. 21:11They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. 21:12They shout to the tambour and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the pipe. 21:13They spend their days in prosperity, and in a moment go down to Sheol. 21:14And they say unto God, Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways! 21:15What is the Almighty that we should serve him? and what are we profited if we pray unto him? 21:16Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand. The counsel of the wicked be far from me! 21:17How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, and cometh their calamity upon them? Doth he distribute sorrows [to them] in his anger? 21:18Do they become as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away? 21:19God layeth up [the punishment of] his iniquity for his children; he rewardeth him, and he shall know [it]: 21:20His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the fury of the Almighty. 21:21For what pleasure should he have in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off? 21:22Can any teach God knowledge? And he it is that judgeth those that are high. 21:23One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet; 21:24His sides are full of fat, and the marrow of his bones is moistened; 21:25And another dieth in bitterness of soul, and hath not tasted good: 21:26Together they lie down in the dust, and the worms cover them. 21:27Lo, I know your thoughts, and the devices ye wrongfully imagine against me. 21:28For ye say, Where is the house of the noble? and where the tent of the dwellings of the wicked? 21:29Have ye not asked the wayfarers? and do ye not regard their tokens: 21:30That the wicked is reserved for the day of calamity? They are led forth to the day of wrath. 21:31Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done? 21:32Yet is he carried to the graves, and watch is kept over the tomb. 21:33The clods of the valley are sweet unto him; and every man followeth suit after him, as there were innumerable before him. 21:34How then comfort ye me in vain? Your answers remain perfidious.
22:1And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, 22:2Can a man be profitable to God? surely it is unto himself that the wise man is profitable. 22:3Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if thou art righteous? And is it gain [to him] that thou makest thy ways perfect? 22:4Will he reason with thee for fear of thee? Will he enter with thee into judgment? 22:5Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities without end? 22:6For thou hast taken a pledge of thy brother for nought, and stripped off the clothing of the naked. 22:7Thou hast not given water to the fainting to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. 22:8But the powerful man, he had the land; and the man of high rank dwelt in it. 22:9Widows hast thou sent empty away, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken. 22:10Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee; 22:11Or darkness, that thou canst not see, and floods of waters cover thee. 22:12Is not God in the height of the heavens? And behold the summit of the stars: how exalted are they! 22:13And thou sayest, What doth God know? will he judge through the dark cloud? 22:14Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh on the vault of the heavens. 22:15Dost thou mark the ancient path which wicked men have trodden? 22:16Who were carried off before the time, whose foundation was overflowed with a flood; 22:17Who said unto God, Depart from us! and what could the Almighty do to them? 22:18Yet he filled their houses with good. But the counsel of the wicked is far from me. 22:19The righteous see it, and are glad; and the innocent laugh them to scorn: 22:20Is not he who rose against us destroyed, and doth not the fire consume his residue? 22:21Reconcile thyself now with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. 22:22Receive, I pray thee, instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in thy heart. 22:23If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up. If thou remove unrighteousness far from thy tents, 22:24And put the precious ore with the dust, and [the gold of] Ophir among the stones of the torrents, 22:25Then the Almighty will be thy precious ore, and silver heaped up unto thee; 22:26Yea, then shalt thou delight thyself in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God: 22:27Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he will hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows; 22:28And thou shalt decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee; and light shall shine upon thy ways. 22:29When they are made low, then thou shalt say, Rise up! and he shall save him that is of downcast eyes. 22:30[Even] him that is not innocent shall he deliver; yea, he shall be delivered by the pureness of thy hands.
23:1And Job answered and said, 23:2Even to-day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning. 23:3Oh that I knew where I might find him, that I might come to his seat! 23:4I would order the cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments; 23:5I would know the words he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me. 23:6Would he plead against me with [his] great power? Nay; but he would give heed unto me. 23:7There would an upright man reason with him; and I should be delivered for ever from my judge. 23:8Lo, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I do not perceive him; 23:9On the left hand, where he doth work, but I behold [him] not; he hideth himself on the right hand, and I see [him] not. 23:10But he knoweth the way that I take; he trieth me, I shall come forth as gold. 23:11My foot hath held to his steps; his way have I kept, and not turned aside. 23:12Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have laid up the words of his mouth more than the purpose of my own heart. 23:13But he is in one [mind], and who can turn him? And what his soul desireth, that will he do. 23:14For he will perform [what] is appointed for me; and many such things are with him. 23:15Therefore am I troubled at his presence; I consider, and I am afraid of him. 23:16For God hath made my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me; 23:17Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he hidden the gloom from me.