12:1And Job answered and said, 12:2No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you. 12:3But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these? 12:4I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn. 12:5He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease. 12:6The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly. 12:7But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, 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 the LORD hath wrought this? 12:10In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. 12:11Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat? 12:12With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding. 12:13With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding. 12:14Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. 12:15Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. 12:16With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his. 12:17He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools. 12:18He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle. 12:19He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty. 12:20He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged. 12:21He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty. 12:22He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death. 12:23He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again. 12:24He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. 12:25They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.
13:1Lo, mine eye hath seen all this, mine ear hath heard and understood it. 13:2What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you. 13:3Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God. 13:4But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value. 13:5Oh that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom. 13:6Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips. 13:7Will ye speak wickedly for God? and talk deceitfully for him? 13:8Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God? 13:9Is it good that he should search you out? or as one man mocketh another, do ye so mock him? 13:10He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons. 13:11Shall not his excellency make you afraid? and his dread fall upon you? 13:12Your remembrances are like unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay. 13:13Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will. 13:14Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in mine hand? 13:15Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. 13:16He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him. 13:17Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration with your ears. 13:18Behold now, I have ordered my cause; I know that I shall be justified. 13:19Who is he that will plead with me? for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost. 13:20Only do not two things unto me: then will I not hide myself from thee. 13:21Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid. 13:22Then call thou, and I will answer: or let me speak, and answer thou me. 13:23How many are mine iniquities and sins? make me to know my transgression and my sin. 13:24Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy? 13:25Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble? 13:26For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth. 13:27Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly unto all my paths; thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet. 13:28And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth, as a garment that is moth eaten.
14:1Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. 14:2He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. 14:3And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? 14:4Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one. 14:5Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; 14:6Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day. 14:7For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. 14:8Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; 14:9Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. 14:10But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? 14:11As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: 14:12So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. 14:13Oh that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! 14:14If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. 14:15Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine 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 sewest up mine iniquity. 14:18And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place. 14:19The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man. 14:20Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away. 14:21His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them. 14:22But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.
15:1Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said, 15:2Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind? 15:3Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he can do no good? 15:4Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God. 15:5For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty. 15:6Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee. 15:7Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills? 15:8Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself? 15:9What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us? 15:10With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father. 15:11Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee? 15:12Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at, 15:13That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth? 15:14What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? 15:15Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight. 15:16How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water? 15:17I will shew thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare; 15:18Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it: 15:19Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them. 15:20The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor. 15:21A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him. 15:22He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword. 15:23He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand. 15:24Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle. 15:25For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty. 15:26He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers: 15:27Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks. 15:28And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps. 15:29He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof 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 not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence. 15:32It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green. 15:33He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive. 15:34For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery. 15:35They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit.
16:1Then Job answered and said, 16:2I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all. 16:3Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest? 16:4I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my soul’s stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at you. 16:5But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should asswage your grief. 16:6Though I speak, my grief is not asswaged: and though I forbear, what am I eased? 16:7But now he hath made me weary: thou hast made desolate all my company. 16:8And thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me: and my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face. 16:9He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me. 16:10They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me. 16:11God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked. 16:12I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark. 16:13His archers compass 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 giant. 16:15I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust. 16:16My face is foul with weeping, and my eyelids is the shadow of death; 16:17Not for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer is pure. 16:18O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place. 16:19Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high. 16:20My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God. 16:21Oh that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour! 16:22When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.
17:1My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me. 17:2Are there not mockers with me? and doth not mine eye continue in their provocation? 17:3Lay down now, put me in a surety with thee; who is he that will strike hands with me? 17:4For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: therefore shalt thou not exalt them. 17:5He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail. 17:6He hath made me also a byword of the people; and aforetime I was as a tabret. 17:7Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, and all my members are as a shadow. 17:8Upright men shall be astonied at this, and the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite. 17:9The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger. 17:10But as for you all, do ye return, and come now: for I cannot find one wise man among you. 17:11My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart. 17:12They change the night into day: the light is short because of darkness. 17:13If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness. 17:14I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister. 17:15And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who shall see it? 17:16They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust.
18:1Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, 18:2How long will it be ere ye make an end of words? mark, and afterwards we will speak. 18:3Wherefore are we counted as beasts, and reputed vile in your sight? 18:4He teareth himself in his anger: shall the earth be forsaken for thee? and shall the rock be removed out of his place? 18:5Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine. 18:6The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him. 18:7The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down. 18:8For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare. 18:9The gin shall take him by the heel, and the robber shall prevail against him. 18:10The snare is laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the way. 18:11Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to his feet. 18:12His strength shall be hungerbitten, and destruction shall be ready at his side. 18:13It shall devour the strength of his skin: even the firstborn of death shall devour his strength. 18:14His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors. 18:15It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered 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 in the street. 18:18He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world. 18:19He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings. 18:20They that come after him shall be astonied at his day, as they that went before were affrighted. 18:21Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God.
19:1Then Job answered and said, 19:2How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words? 19:3These ten times have ye reproached me: ye are not ashamed that ye make yourselves strange to me. 19:4And be it indeed that I have erred, mine error remaineth with myself. 19:5If indeed ye will magnify yourselves against me, and plead against me my reproach: 19:6Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net. 19:7Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment. 19:8He hath fenced 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 hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone: and mine hope hath he removed like a tree. 19:11He hath also kindled his wrath against me, and he counteth me unto him as one of his enemies. 19:12His troops come together, and raise up their way against me, and encamp round about my tabernacle. 19:13He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me. 19:14My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me. 19:15They that dwell in mine house, and my maids, count me for a stranger: I am an alien in their sight. 19:16I called my servant, and he gave me no answer; I intreated him with my mouth. 19:17My breath is strange to my wife, though I intreated for the children’s sake of mine own body. 19:18Yea, young children despised me; I arose, and they spake against me. 19:19All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me. 19:20My bone cleaveth 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, O 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 that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! 19:24That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! 19:25For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: 19:26And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: 19:27Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. 19:28But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me? 19:29Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.
20:1Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, 20:2Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste. 20:3I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer. 20:4Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth, 20:5That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? 20:6Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds; 20:7Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he? 20:8He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night. 20:9The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him. 20:10His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods. 20:11His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust. 20:12Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue; 20:13Though he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his mouth: 20:14Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him. 20:15He hath swallowed down riches, and 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 slay him. 20:17He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter. 20:18That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein. 20:19Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not; 20:20Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired. 20:21There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods. 20:22In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him. 20:23When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating. 20:24He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through. 20:25It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him. 20:26All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle. 20:27The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him. 20:28The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath. 20:29This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.
21:1But Job answered and said, 21:2Hear diligently my speech, and let this be your consolations. 21:3Suffer me that I may speak; and after that I have spoken, mock on. 21:4As for me, is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled? 21:5Mark me, and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth. 21:6Even when I remember I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my flesh. 21:7Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? 21:8Their seed is established in their sight with them, 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 take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. 21:13They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. 21:14Therefore 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 profit should we have, if we pray unto him? 21:16Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me. 21:17How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger. 21:18They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away. 21:19God layeth up 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 wrath of the Almighty. 21:21For what pleasure hath he in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the midst? 21:22Shall any teach God knowledge? seeing he judgeth those that are high. 21:23One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet. 21:24His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow. 21:25And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure. 21:26They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them. 21:27Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices which ye wrongfully imagine against me. 21:28For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked? 21:29Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye not know their tokens, 21:30That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought 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 shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb. 21:33The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him. 21:34How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answers there remaineth falsehood?
22:1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, 22:2Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself? 22:3Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain to him that thou makest thy ways perfect? 22:4Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment? 22:5Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite? 22:6For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing. 22:7Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. 22:8But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it. 22:9Thou hast sent widows away empty, 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 abundance of waters cover thee. 22:12Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are! 22:13And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud? 22:14Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven. 22:15Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden? 22:16Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood: 22:17Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them? 22:18Yet he filled their houses with good things: 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. 22:20Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth. 22:21Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. 22:22Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. 22:23If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. 22:24Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. 22:25Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. 22:26For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God. 22:27Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. 22:28Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways. 22:29When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person. 22:30He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.
23:1Then 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 even to his seat! 23:4I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. 23:5I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me. 23:6Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me. 23:7There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge. 23:8Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: 23:9On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: 23:10But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. 23:11My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. 23:12Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. 23:13But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. 23:14For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him. 23:15Therefore am I troubled at his presence: when I consider, I am afraid of him. 23:16For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me: 23:17Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face.
24:1Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days? 24:2Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof. 24:3They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow’s ox for a pledge. 24:4They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together. 24:5Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children. 24:6They reap every one his corn in the field: and they gather the vintage of the wicked. 24:7They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold. 24:8They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter. 24:9They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor. 24:10They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry; 24:11Which make oil within their walls, and tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst. 24:12Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them. 24:13They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof. 24:14The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief. 24:15The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face. 24:16In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light. 24:17For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death. 24:18He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards. 24:19Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned. 24:20The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree. 24:21He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not good to the widow. 24:22He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life. 24:23Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways. 24:24They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn. 24:25And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?
25:1Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, 25:2Dominion and fear are with him, he maketh peace in his high places. 25:3Is there any number of his armies? and upon whom doth not his light arise? 25:4How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman? 25:5Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight. 25:6How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm?
26:1But Job answered and said, 26:2How hast thou helped him that is without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength? 26:3How hast thou counseled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is? 26:4To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee? 26:5Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof. 26:6Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering. 26:7He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. 26:8He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them. 26:9He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it. 26:10He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end. 26:11The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof. 26:12He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud. 26:13By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent. 26:14Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?
27:1Moreover Job continued his parable, and said, 27:2As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul; 27:3All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; 27:4My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. 27:5God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. 27:6My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live. 27:7Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous. 27:8For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul? 27:9Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him? 27:10Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God? 27:11I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal. 27:12Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus altogether vain? 27:13This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty. 27:14If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. 27:15Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep. 27:16Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay; 27:17He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver. 27:18He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh. 27:19The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not. 27:20Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night. 27:21The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place. 27:22For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand. 27:23Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.
28:1Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it. 28:2Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone. 28:3He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death. 28:4The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men. 28:5As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire. 28:6The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold. 28:7There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen: 28:8The lion’s whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. 28:9He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots. 28:10He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing. 28:11He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light. 28:12But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? 28:13Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. 28:14The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me. 28:15It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. 28:16It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. 28:17The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. 28:18No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. 28:19The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. 28:20Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? 28:21Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. 28:22Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. 28:23God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. 28:24For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; 28:25To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure. 28:26When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: 28:27Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out. 28:28And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
29:1Moreover Job continued his parable, and said, 29:2Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me; 29:3When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness; 29:4As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle; 29:5When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me; 29:6When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil; 29:7When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street! 29:8The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up. 29:9The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand on their mouth. 29:10The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth. 29:11When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me: 29:12Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. 29:13The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. 29:14I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. 29:15I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. 29:16I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out. 29:17And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth. 29:18Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand. 29:19My root was spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch. 29:20My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand. 29:21Unto me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel. 29:22After my words they spake not again; and my speech dropped upon them. 29:23And they waited for me as for the rain; and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain. 29:24If I laughed on them, they believed it not; and the light of my countenance they cast not down. 29:25I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners.
30:1But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock. 30:2Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished? 30:3For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste. 30:4Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat. 30:5They were driven forth from among men, (they cried after them as after a thief;) 30:6To dwell in the cliffs of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks. 30:7Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together. 30:8They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth. 30:9And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword. 30:10They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face. 30:11Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me. 30:12Upon my right hand rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction. 30:13They mar my path, they set forward my calamity, they have no helper. 30:14They came upon me as a wide breaking in of waters: in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me. 30:15Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud. 30:16And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me. 30:17My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest. 30:18By the great force of my disease is my garment changed: it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat. 30:19He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes. 30:20I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not. 30:21Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me. 30:22Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride upon it, and dissolvest my substance. 30:23For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living. 30:24Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction. 30:25Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor? 30:26When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness. 30:27My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me. 30:28I went mourning without the sun: I stood up, and I cried in the congregation. 30:29I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls. 30:30My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat. 30:31My harp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep.
31:1I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid? 31:2For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high? 31:3Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity? 31:4Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps? 31:5If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit; 31:6Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity. 31:7If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands; 31:8Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out. 31:9If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door; 31:10Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her. 31:11For this is an heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges. 31:12For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all mine increase. 31:13If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me; 31:14What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him? 31:15Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb? 31:16If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail; 31:17Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof; 31:18(For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother’s womb;) 31:19If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering; 31:20If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep; 31:21If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate: 31:22Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone. 31:23For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure. 31:24If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence; 31:25If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much; 31:26If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; 31:27And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand: 31:28This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above. 31:29If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him: 31:30Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul. 31:31If the men of my tabernacle said not, Oh that we had of his flesh! we cannot be satisfied. 31:32The stranger did not lodge in the street: but I opened my doors to the traveller. 31:33If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom: 31:34Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of the door? 31:35Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book. 31:36Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me. 31:37I would declare unto him the number of my steps; as a prince would I go near unto him. 31:38If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain; 31:39If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life: 31:40Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.