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.
32:1So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 32:2Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God. 32:3Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job. 32:4Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they were elder than he. 32:5When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, then his wrath was kindled. 32:6And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not shew you mine opinion. 32:7I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. 32:8But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. 32:9Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment. 32:10Therefore I said, Hearken to me; I also will shew mine opinion. 32:11Behold, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasons, whilst ye searched out what to say. 32:12Yea, I attended unto you, and, behold, there was none of you that convinced Job, or that answered his words: 32:13Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom: God thrusteth him down, not man. 32:14Now he hath not directed his words against me: neither will I answer him with your speeches. 32:15They were amazed, they answered no more: they left off speaking. 32:16When I had waited, (for they spake not, but stood still, and answered no more;) 32:17I said, I will answer also my part, I also will shew mine opinion. 32:18For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me. 32:19Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles. 32:20I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer. 32:21Let me not, I pray you, accept any man’s person, neither let me give flattering titles unto man. 32:22For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing my maker would soon take me away.
33:1Wherefore, Job, I pray thee, hear my speeches, and hearken to all my words. 33:2Behold, now I have opened my mouth, my tongue hath spoken in my mouth. 33:3My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart: and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly. 33:4The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life. 33:5If thou canst answer me, set thy words in order before me, stand up. 33:6Behold, I am according to thy wish in God’s stead: I also am formed out of the clay. 33:7Behold, my terror shall not make thee afraid, neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee. 33:8Surely thou hast spoken in mine hearing, and I have heard the voice of thy words, saying, 33:9I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me. 33:10Behold, he findeth occasions against me, he counteth me for his enemy, 33:11He putteth my feet in the stocks, he marketh all my paths. 33:12Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man. 33:13Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters. 33:14For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. 33:15In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; 33:16Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, 33:17That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. 33:18He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword. 33:19He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain: 33:20So that his life abhorreth bread, and his soul dainty meat. 33:21His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; and his bones that were not seen stick out. 33:22Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroyers. 33:23If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his uprightness: 33:24Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom. 33:25His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s: he shall return to the days of his youth: 33:26He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness. 33:27He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; 33:28He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. 33:29Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man, 33:30To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living. 33:31Mark well, O Job, hearken unto me: hold thy peace, and I will speak. 33:32If thou hast any thing to say, answer me: speak, for I desire to justify thee. 33:33If not, hearken unto me: hold thy peace, and I shall teach thee wisdom.
34:1Furthermore Elihu answered and said, 34:2Hear my words, O ye wise men; and give ear unto me, ye that have knowledge. 34:3For the ear trieth words, as the mouth tasteth meat. 34:4Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good. 34:5For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment. 34:6Should I lie against my right? my wound is incurable without transgression. 34:7What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water? 34:8Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity, and walketh with wicked men. 34:9For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God. 34:10Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity. 34:11For the work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find according to his ways. 34:12Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment. 34:13Who hath given him a charge over the earth? or who hath disposed the whole world? 34:14If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath; 34:15All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust. 34:16If now thou hast understanding, hear this: hearken to the voice of my words. 34:17Shall even he that hateth right govern? and wilt thou condemn him that is most just? 34:18Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly? 34:19How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands. 34:20In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand. 34:21For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings. 34:22There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. 34:23For he will not lay upon man more than right; that he should enter into judgment with God. 34:24He shall break in pieces mighty men without number, and set others in their stead. 34:25Therefore he knoweth their works, and he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed. 34:26He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others; 34:27Because they turned back from him, and would not consider any of his ways: 34:28So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted. 34:29When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only: 34:30That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared. 34:31Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more: 34:32That which I see not teach thou me: if I have done iniquity, I will do no more. 34:33Should it be according to thy mind? he will recompense it, whether thou refuse, or whether thou choose; and not I: therefore speak what thou knowest. 34:34Let men of understanding tell me, and let a wise man hearken unto me. 34:35Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom. 34:36My desire is that Job may be tried unto the end because of his answers for wicked men. 34:37For he addeth rebellion unto his sin, he clappeth his hands among us, and multiplieth his words against God.
35:1Elihu spake moreover, and said, 35:2Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God’s? 35:3For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? and, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin? 35:4I will answer thee, and thy companions with thee. 35:5Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou. 35:6If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him? 35:7If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand? 35:8Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; and thy righteousness may profit the son of man. 35:9By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry: they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty. 35:10But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night; 35:11Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven? 35:12There they cry, but none giveth answer, because of the pride of evil men. 35:13Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it. 35:14Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, yet judgment is before him; therefore trust thou in him. 35:15But now, because it is not so, he hath visited in his anger; yet he knoweth it not in great extremity: 35:16Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.
36:1Elihu also proceeded, and said, 36:2Suffer me a little, and I will shew thee that I have yet to speak on God’s behalf. 36:3I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker. 36:4For truly my words shall not be false: he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee. 36:5Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom. 36:6He preserveth not the life of the wicked: but giveth right to the poor. 36:7He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous: but with kings are they on the throne; yea, he doth establish them for ever, and they are exalted. 36:8And if they be bound in fetters, and be holden in cords of affliction; 36:9Then he sheweth them their work, and their transgressions that they have exceeded. 36:10He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity. 36:11If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. 36:12But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge. 36:13But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath: they cry not when he bindeth them. 36:14They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean. 36:15He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression. 36:16Even so would he have removed thee out of the strait into a broad place, where there is no straitness; and that which should be set on thy table should be full of fatness. 36:17But thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked: judgment and justice take hold on thee. 36:18Because there is wrath, beware lest he take thee away with his stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee. 36:19Will he esteem thy riches? no, not gold, nor all the forces of strength. 36:20Desire not the night, when people are cut off in their place. 36:21Take heed, regard not iniquity: for this hast thou chosen rather than affliction. 36:22Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him? 36:23Who hath enjoined him his way? or who can say, Thou hast wrought iniquity? 36:24Remember that thou magnify his work, which men behold. 36:25Every man may see it; man may behold it afar off. 36:26Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out. 36:27For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof: 36:28Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly. 36:29Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle? 36:30Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea. 36:31For by them judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance. 36:32With clouds he covereth the light; and commandeth it not to shine by the cloud that cometh betwixt. 36:33The noise thereof sheweth concerning it, the cattle also concerning the vapour.