Most Popular Bible Verses in Job
-
Chapter
Job Rank:
And there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah; and Satan came also among them.
And as for me, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and the Last, he shall stand upon the earth;
There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and this man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God and abstained from evil.
and he said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: Jehovah gave, and Jehovah hath taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah!
But put forth thy hand now and touch all that he hath, and see if he will not curse thee to thy face!
Hast not thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is spread abroad in the land.
And unto man he said, Lo, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their brother, the firstborn.
The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.
For evil cometh not forth from the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;
And there came a messenger to Job and said, The oxen were ploughing, and the asses feeding beside them;
Behold, if he slay me, yet would I trust in him; but I will defend mine own ways before him.
Who provideth for the raven his food, when his young ones cry unto God, and they wander for lack of meat?
And Job rose up, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down on the ground, and worshipped;
And Jehovah said to Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and abstaineth from evil?
and they of Sheba fell upon them and took them, and the servants have they smitten with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped, alone, to tell thee.
While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their brother, the firstborn;
While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, The Chaldeans made three bands, and fell upon the camels and took them, and the servants have they smitten with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped, alone, to tell thee.
That day let it be darkness, let not +God care for it from above, neither let light shine upon it:
While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped, alone, to tell thee.
I know that thou canst do everything, and that thou canst be hindered in no thought of thine.
and behold, there came a great wind from over the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they died; and I only am escaped, alone, to tell thee.
But now it is come upon thee, and thou grievest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.
Thou wouldest call, and I would answer thee; thou wouldest have a desire after the work of thy hands.
Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not; and he passeth along, and I perceive him not.
Yet a senseless man will make bold, though man be born like the foal of a wild ass.
The eye of him that hath seen me shall behold me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.
My bones cleave to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.
Let darkness and the shadow of death claim it; let clouds dwell upon it; let darkeners of the day terrify it.
For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, for our days upon earth are a shadow.
Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews;
How much less the abominable and corrupt, man, that drinketh unrighteousness like water!
And Satan answered Jehovah and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life;
If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up. If thou remove unrighteousness far from thy tents,
Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart?
Behold, he breaketh down, and it is not built again; he shutteth up a man, and there is no opening.
And that it would please +God to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!
Behold, he taketh away: who will hinder him? Who will say unto him, What doest thou?
He hath neither son nor grandson among his people, nor any remaining in the places of his sojourn.
And put the precious ore with the dust, and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the torrents,
Who giveth rain on the face of the earth, and sendeth waters on the face of the fields;
but put forth thy hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and see if he will not curse thee to thy face!
Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, ye my friends; for the hand of +God hath touched me.
This also shall be my salvation, that a profane man shall not come before his face.
Surely then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot, and thou shalt be stedfast and shalt not fear:
If thou put far away the iniquity which is in thy hand, and let not wrong dwell in thy tents;
That night let gloom seize upon it; let it not rejoice among the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the months.
With him is strength and effectual knowledge; the deceived and the deceiver are his.
Remember, I pray thee, who that was innocent has perished? and where were the upright cut off?
For thou shalt forget misery; as waters that are passed away shalt thou remember it;
If I sinned, thou wouldest mark me, and thou wouldest not acquit me of mine iniquity.
In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits; every hand of the wretched shall come upon him.
Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up; and he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.
And life shall arise brighter than noonday; though thou be enshrouded in darkness, thou shalt be as the morning,
But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and all refuge shall vanish from them, and their hope shall be the breathing out of life.
They that come after shall be astonished at his day, as they that went before them were affrighted.
He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out into light the shadow of death;
He leadeth priests away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty;
For him that is fainting kindness is meet from his friend; or he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.
And indeed a mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of its place;
Thou renewest thy witnesses before me and increasest thy displeasure against me; successions of evil and a time of toil are with me.
So are the paths of all that forget God; and the profane man's hope shall perish,
Whilst it is yet in its greenness and not cut down, it withereth before any other grass.
Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer; I would make supplication to my judge.
And thou shalt have confidence, because there shall be hope; and having searched about thee, thou shalt take rest in safety.
Let the stars of its twilight be dark; let it wait for light, and have none, neither let it see the eyelids of the dawn:
Yea, thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; and many shall seek thy favour.
Before I go, and never to return, to the land of darkness and the shadow of death;
Therefore I will not restrain my mouth: I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
He shall lean upon his house, and it shall not stand; he shall lay hold on it, but it shall not endure.
And wherefore didst thou bring me forth out of the womb? I had expired, and no eye had seen me.
They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunkard.
If I justified myself, mine own mouth would condemn me; were I perfect, he would prove me perverse.
He taketh away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a pathless waste.
If I had called, and he had answered me, I would not believe that he hearkened to my voice, --
Would that Job may be tried unto the end, because of his answers after the manner of evil men!
Surely, such are the dwellings of the unrighteous man, and such the place of him that knoweth not God.
Be it a question of strength, lo, he is strong; and be it of judgment, who will set me a time?
He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, and their hands carry not out the enterprise.
And 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.
Then 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.
Because it shut not up the doors of the womb that bore me, and hid not trouble from mine eyes.
If I were wicked, woe unto me! and righteous, I will not lift up my head, being so full of shame, and beholding mine affliction; --
The sound of terrors is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer cometh upon him.
His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, and he perceiveth it not.
And he saveth the needy from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.
And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice and wept. And they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward the heavens.
Yea, then shalt thou delight thyself in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto +God:
He taketh the wise in their own craftiness; and the counsel of the wily is carried headlong:
Or as a hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants that have not seen the light.
Oh that there were arbitration for a man with +God, as a son of man for his friend!
What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should have patience?
All darkness is laid up for his treasures: a fire not blown shall devour him; it shall feed upon what is left in his tent.
For now should I have lain down and been quiet; I should have slept: then had I been at rest,
He wandereth abroad for bread, where may it be? He knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
By the breath of +God they perish, and by the blast of his nostrils are they consumed.
With kings and counsellors of the earth, who build desolate places for themselves,
For years few in number shall pass, and I shall go the way whence I shall not return.
And they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights; and none spoke a word to him; for they saw that his anguish was very great.
How many are mine iniquities and sins? Make me to know my transgression and my sin.
And Jehovah said to Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered Jehovah and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
My soul is weary of my life: I will give free course to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
That the wicked is reserved for the day of calamity? They are led forth to the day of wrath.
He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them; he spreadeth out the nations, and bringeth them in;
Let the day perish in which I was born, and the night that said, There is a man child conceived.
Wherefore is light given to him that is in trouble, and life to those bitter of soul,
Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done?
A land of gloom, as darkness itself; of the shadow of death, without any order, where the light is as thick darkness.
Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another: my reins are consumed within me.
And Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,
Even him that is not innocent shall he deliver; yea, he shall be delivered by the pureness of thy hands.
Distress and anguish make him afraid; they prevail against him, as a king ready for the battle.
What is man, that thou makest much of him? and that thou settest thy heart upon him?
Then call, and I will answer; or I will speak, and answer thou me.
And Job answered and said,
It is as the heights of heaven; what wilt thou do? deeper than Sheol; what canst thou know?
If ye say, How shall we persecute him? when the root of the matter is found in me,
And 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!
I 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.
At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh, and of the beasts of the earth thou shalt not be afraid.
Call, I pray thee! Is there any that answereth thee? and to which of the holy ones wilt thou turn?
For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth;
Thou shalt be hidden from the scourge of the tongue; and thou shalt not be afraid of destruction when it cometh.
Yet is he carried to the graves, and watch is kept over the tomb.
It shall be that, to fill his belly, he will cast his fierce anger upon him, and will rain it upon him into his flesh.
Even now, behold, my Witness is in the heavens, and he that voucheth for me is in the heights.
And he dwelleth in desolate cities, in houses that no man inhabiteth, which are destined to become heaps.
He shall shake off his unripe grapes as a vine, and shall cast his flower as an olive.
Should thy fictions make men hold their peace? and shouldest thou mock, and no one make thee ashamed?
Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man of much talk be justified?
I will say unto +God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou strivest with me.
I would declare unto him the number of my steps; as a prince would I come near to him.
Have 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?
I was not in safety, neither had I quietness, neither was I at rest, and trouble came.
And Job answered and said,
He runneth against him, with outstretched neck, with the thick bosses of his bucklers;
The roar of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken;
For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.
I should be as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.
And thou puttest my feet in the stocks, and markest all my paths; thou settest a bound about the soles of my feet; --
And Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,
My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a stream, as the channel of streams which pass away,
And thou shalt know that thy tent is in peace; and thou wilt survey thy fold, and miss nothing.
If he pass by, and shut up, and call to judgment, who can hinder him?
Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as clay, and wilt bring me into dust again.
The tents of desolators are in peace, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand +God bringeth.
He shall not become rich, neither shall his substance continue, and their possessions shall not extend upon the earth.
How long wilt thou not look away from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?
I also have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you; and who knoweth not such things as these?
They conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity, and their belly prepareth deceit.
Who long for death, and it cometh not, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures;
Because I feared the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and went not out of the door, ...
He that is ready to stumble with the foot is a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease.
They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked be no more.
Doth it please thee to oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thy hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?
In famine he will redeem thee from death, and in war from the power of the sword.
Behold, God will not cast off a perfect man, neither will he take evil-doers by the hand.
Since thou knowest that I am not wicked, and that there is none that delivereth out of thy hand?
Thou shalt come to the grave in a ripe age, as a shock of corn is brought in in its season.
Shall that which is insipid be eaten without salt? Is there any taste in the white of an egg?
For my sighing cometh before my bread, and my groanings are poured out like the waters.
Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh even out of the thorns; and the snare gapeth for his substance.
For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, their poison drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of +God are arrayed against me.
The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the whelps of the lioness are scattered.
All his days the wicked man is tormented, and numbered years are allotted to the violent.
For inquire, I pray thee, of the former generation, and attend to the researches of their fathers;
And thou shalt know that thy seed is numerous, and thine offspring as the herb of the earth.
And Job answered and said,
And Job answered and said,
Teach me, and I will hold my tongue; and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
Behold this, we have searched it out, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thyself.
The earth is given over into the hand of the wicked man; he covereth the faces of its judges. If not, who then is it?
His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, and there is no deliverer:
So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.
He is wise in heart and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and had peace?
How long wilt thou speak these things? and the words of thy mouth be a strong wind?
And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
The waters wear the stones, the floods thereof wash away the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man.
If I lie down, I say, When shall I rise up, and the darkness be gone? and I am full of tossings until the dawn.
Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth away; thou changest his countenance, and dismissest him.
Who removeth mountains, and they know it not, when he overturneth them in his anger;
At the time they diminish, they are dried up; when heat affecteth them, they vanish from their place:
Then the Almighty will be thy precious ore, and silver heaped up unto thee;
If thy children have sinned against him, he hath also given them over into the hand of their transgression.
Oh that my grief were thoroughly weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances!
My friends are my mockers; mine eye poureth out tears unto +God.
My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and suppurates.
For now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas; therefore my words are vehement.
If thou be pure and upright, surely now he will awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous;
For he addeth rebellion unto his sin, he clappeth his hands among us, and multiplieth his words against God.
They wind about in the paths of their course, they go off into the waste and perish.
Now to me a word was secretly brought, and mine ear received a whisper thereof.
And thou shalt decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee; and light shall shine upon thy ways.
Do they become as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away?
Or, rescue me from the hand of the oppressor, and redeem me from the hand of the violent?
Do ye imagine to reprove words? The speeches of one that is desperate are indeed for the wind.
Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he will hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows;
If he shall choose to strive with him, he cannot answer him one thing of a thousand.
But he said to her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. We have also received good from God, and should we not receive evil? In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
But there is a spirit which is in man; and the breath of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
And his substance was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and very many servants; and this man was greater than all the children of the east.
And it came to pass after Jehovah had spoken these words to Job, that Jehovah said to Eliphaz the Temanite, Mine anger is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends; for ye have not spoken rightly of me, like my servant Job.
Return, I pray you, let there be no wrong; yea, return again, my righteousness shall be in it.
If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my sad countenance, and brighten up,
Canst thou by searching find out +God? canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection?
And there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, and Satan also came among them to present himself before Jehovah.
And Jehovah said to Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy hand; only upon himself put not forth thy hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of Jehovah.
And it was so, when the days of the feasting were gone about, that Job sent and hallowed them; and he rose up early in the morning, and offered up burnt-offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.
How much more them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed as the moth!
And Jehovah said to Satan, Whence comest thou? And Satan answered Jehovah and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
(If a man die, shall he live again?) all the days of my time of toil would I wait, till my change should come:
He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is singled out for the sword.
And Jehovah turned the captivity of Job, when he had prayed for his friends; and Jehovah gave Job twice as much as he had before.
For I feared a fear, and it hath come upon me, and that which I dreaded hath come to me.
From morning to evening are they smitten: without any heeding it, they perish for ever.
Behold, happy is the man whom +God correcteth; therefore despise not the chastening of the Almighty.
For there is hope for a tree: if it be cut down, it will sprout again, and its tender branch will not cease;
And his wife said to him, Dost thou still remain firm in thine integrity? curse God and die.
And Jehovah said to Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and abstaineth from evil? and still he remaineth firm in his integrity, though thou movedst me against him, to swallow him up without cause.
But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowl of the heavens, and they shall tell thee;
Thy words have upholden him that was stumbling, and thou hast braced up the bending knees:
And all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house, and they condoled with him, and comforted him concerning all the evil that Jehovah had brought upon him; and every one gave him a piece of money, and every one a golden ring.
And if after my skin this shall be destroyed, yet from out of my flesh shall I see +God;
When they are made low, then thou shalt say, Rise up! and he shall save him that is of downcast eyes.
Dost thou hunt the prey for the lioness, and dost thou satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
And Satan went forth from the presence of Jehovah; and he smote Job with a grievous botch from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
If his days are determined, if the number of his months is with thee, and thou hast appointed his bounds which he must not pass,
Neither 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.
It stood still; I could not discern the appearance thereof: a form was before mine eyes; I heard a slight murmur and a voice:
And Jehovah answered Job and said,
Oh that I had one to hear me! Behold my signature: let the Almighty answer me! And let mine opponent write an accusation!
But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? And what his soul desireth, that will he do.
And his sons went and made a feast in the house of each one on his day; and they sent and invited their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.
Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not One fashion us in the womb?
Who alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the high waves of the sea;
But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.
Hast thou entered into the storehouses of the snow, and hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail,
And three friends of Job heard of all this evil that was come upon him. And they came each one from his place: Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to condole with him and to comfort him.
Wilt thou draw out the leviathan with the hook, and press down his tongue with a cord?
Be ye yourselves afraid of the sword! for the sword is fury against misdeeds, that ye may know there is a judgment.
So man lieth down, and riseth not again; till the heavens be no more, they do not awake, nor are raised out of their sleep.
If a word were essayed to thee, wouldest thou be grieved? But who can refrain from speaking?
But the righteous shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall increase in strength.
He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down; and he fleeth as a shadow, and continueth not.
Hath not man a life of labour upon earth? and are not his days like the days of a hireling?
For ye say, Where is the house of the noble? and where the tent of the dwellings of the wicked?
Reconcile thyself now with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.
And who shut up the sea with doors, when it burst forth, issuing out of the womb?
And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
And Job answered and said,
In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the spirit of all flesh of man.
What is man, that he should be pure? and he that is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his duty;
And Job answered and said,
He will deliver thee in six troubles, and in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
Who hath first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.
And Job answered and said,
Thy hands have bound me together and made me as one, round about; yet dost thou swallow me up!
Can a man be profitable to God? surely it is unto himself that the wise man is profitable.
The cloud consumeth and vanisheth away; so he that goeth down to Sheol shall not come up.
Oh 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, --
When my steps were bathed in milk, and the rock poured out beside me rivers of oil! ...
Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and tares instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.
And they say unto God, Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways!
And Jehovah blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses.
He hath traced a fixed circle over the waters, unto the confines of light and darkness.
And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
Who is he that obscureth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered what I did not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
And Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,
If I wait, Sheol is my house; I spread my bed in the darkness:
He draweth it forth; it cometh out of his body, and the glittering point out of his gall: terrors are upon him.
When I went out to the gate by the city, when I prepared my seat on the broadway,
If I have despised the cause of my bondman or of my bondmaid, when they contended with me,
Hast thou since thy days commanded the morning? hast thou caused the dawn to know its place,
And these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
The firstborn of death devoureth the members of his body; it will devour his members.
For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him; that we should come together in judgment.
Lo, God is great, and we comprehend him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.
Behold, he putteth no trust in his holy ones, and the heavens are not pure in his sight:
And now, take for yourselves seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt-offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, for ye have not spoken of me rightly, like my servant Job.
Oh that I knew where I might find him, that I might come to his seat!
He stirreth up the sea by his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through Rahab.
And Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,
The exultation of the wicked is short, and the joy of the ungodly man but for a moment?
And how should man be just with God? Or how should he be clean that is born of a woman?
His anger teareth and pursueth me; he gnasheth with his teeth against me; as mine adversary he sharpeneth his eyes at me.
Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: Far be wickedness from God, and wrong from the Almighty!
In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;
And Job continued his parable and said,
Lo, these are the borders of his ways; but what a whisper of a word do we hear of him! And the thunder of his power, who can understand?
The clods of the valley are sweet unto him; and every man followeth suit after him, as there were innumerable before him.
And Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,
Hast thou entered as far as the springs of the sea? and hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?
For he draweth up the drops of water: they distil in rain from the vapour which he formeth,
And said, Hitherto shalt thou come and no further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the flame of his fire shall not shine.
Then was kindled the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel, the Buzite, of the family of Ram: against Job was his anger kindled, because he justified himself rather than God;
Why are not times treasured up with the Almighty? why do not they that know him see his days?
It shall go down to the bars of Sheol, when our rest shall be together in the dust.
This is the portion of the wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed to him by God.
Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? dost thou mark the calving of the hinds?
Dost thou bring forth the constellations each in its season? or dost thou guide the Bear with her sons?
He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches; and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away.
Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh on the vault of the heavens.
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was as a mantle and a turban.
His confidence shall be rooted out of his tent, and it shall lead him away to the king of terrors:
Is not +God in the height of the heavens? And behold the summit of the stars: how exalted are they!
Shall he that will contend with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth +God, let him answer it.
I 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;
Dost thou know about the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him that is perfect in knowledge?
What is the Almighty that we should serve him? and what are we profited if we pray unto him?
If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or caused the eyes of the widow to fail;
Hast thou given strength to the horse? hast thou clothed his neck with the quivering mane?
For thou hast taken a pledge of thy brother for nought, and stripped off the clothing of the naked.
Hast thou listened in the secret council of +God? And hast thou absorbed wisdom for thyself?
There are those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.
How then to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich man more than the poor? for they are all the work of his hands.
For the family of the ungodly shall be barren, and fire shall consume the tents of bribery.
For what is the hope of the ungodly, when God cutteth him off, when +God taketh away his soul?
His flesh shall be fresher than in childhood; he shall return to the days of his youth.
Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities without end?
He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not rent under them.
Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind,
I 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.
Widows hast thou sent empty away, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, and cometh their calamity upon them? Doth he distribute sorrows to them in his anger?
Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person; neither will I give flattery to man.
Are there not mockers around me? and doth not mine eye abide in their provocation?
Look away from him; and let him rest, till he accomplish, as a hireling, his day.
Will it be well if he should search you out? or as one mocketh at a man, will ye mock at him?
If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, and have tormented to death the souls of its owners:
Cast abroad the ragings of thine anger, and look on every one that is proud, and abase him:
Wilt thou also annul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me that thou mayest be righteous?
And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are aged; wherefore I was timid, and feared to shew you what I know.
God thundereth marvellously with his voice, doing great things which we do not comprehend.
For he hath stretched out his hand against God, and strengthened himself against the Almighty:
Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? dost thou determine their rule over the earth?
He breaketh me down on every side, and I am gone; and my hope hath he torn up as a tree.
As God liveth, who hath taken away my right, and the Almighty, who hath embittered my soul,
He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and with constant strife in his bones;
He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are quite estranged from me.
Be it far from me that I should justify you; till I die I will not remove my blamelessness from me.
Corals and crystal are no more remembered; yea, the acquisition of wisdom is above rubies.
Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the mind?
Who hath divided a channel for the rain-flood, and a way for the thunder's flash;
Thou that tearest thyself in thine anger, shall the earth be forsaken for thee? and shall the rock be removed out of its place?
Deck thyself now with glory and excellency, and clothe thyself with majesty and splendour.
My days are past, my purposes are broken off, the cherished thoughts of my heart.
Man putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock, he overturneth the mountains by the root.
He flieth away as a dream, and is not found; and is chased away as a vision of the night.
Yet dost thou open thine eyes upon such a one, and bringest me into judgment with thee?
For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou hast chosen the tongue of the crafty.
Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? and hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?
For he hath oppressed, hath forsaken the poor; he hath violently taken away a house that he did not build.
Even so would he have allured thee out of the jaws of distress into a broad place, where there is no straitness; and the supply of thy table would be full of fatness.
And thou sayest, What doth God know? will he judge through the dark cloud?
They gather the salt-wort among the bushes, and the roots of the broom for their food.
Receive, I pray thee, instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in thy heart.
Who hath sent out the wild ass free? and who hath loosed the bands of the onager,
Then he will be gracious unto him, and say, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.
And Job lived after this a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations.
If my heart have been enticed unto a woman, so that I laid wait at my neighbour's door,
Are the consolations of God too small for thee? and the word gently spoken to thee?
If they hearken and serve him, they shall accomplish their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.
But I would encourage you with my mouth, and the solace of my lips should assuage your pain.
His troops have come together and cast up their way against me, and have encamped round about my tent.
He will sing before men, and say, I have sinned, and perverted what was right, and it hath not been requited to me;
His arrows encompass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground.
But he delivereth the afflicted in his affliction, and openeth their ear in their oppression.
The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down.
Lay down now a pledge, be thou surety for me with thyself: who is he that striketh hands with me?
I hear a reproof putting me to shame; and my spirit answereth me by mine understanding.
Thou hast shrivelled me up! it is become a witness; and my leanness riseth up against me, it beareth witness to my face.
They gape upon me with their mouth; they smite my cheeks reproachfully; they range themselves together against me.
This is the portion of the wicked man with God, and the heritage of the violent, which they receive from the Almighty: --
Canst thou bind the buffalo with his cord in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?
Look on every one that is proud, bring him low, and tread down the wicked in their place:
That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked might be shaken out of it?
For what would have been my portion of +God from above, and what the heritage of the Almighty from on high?
If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, and exulted when evil befell him;
For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and into the house of assemblage for all living.
And Job continued his parable and said,
Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.
And he called the name of the first, Jemimah; and the name of the second, Keziah; and the name of the third, Keren-happuch.
And the eye of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me; and he putteth a covering on his face.
And Job answered and said,
Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowl of the heavens?
They who are none of his shall dwell in his tent; brimstone shall be showered upon his habitation:
Though its root grow old in the earth, and its stock die in the ground,
(Let me be weighed in an even balance, and +God will take knowledge of my blamelessness;)
If indeed ye will magnify yourselves against me, and prove against me my reproach,
Behold, I cry out of wrong, and I am not heard; I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.
For a man's work will he render to him, and cause every one to find according to his way.
For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all mine increase.
Who were carried off before the time, whose foundation was overflowed with a flood;
Because he knew no rest in his craving, he shall save nought of what he most desired.
The Almighty, we cannot find him out: excellent in power, and in judgment, and in abundance of justice, he doth not afflict.
The topaz of Ethiopia shall not be compared to it, neither shall it be set in the balance with pure gold.
My breath is strange to my wife, and my entreaties to the children of my mother's womb.
Art thou the first man that was born? and wast thou brought forth before the hills?
He shall pray unto +God, and he will receive him with favour; and he shall see his face with shoutings, and he will render unto man his righteousness.
Lo, as wild asses in the desert, they go forth to their work, seeking early for the prey: the wilderness yieldeth them food for their children.
Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God?
And he hath made me a proverb of the peoples; and I am become one to be spit on in the face.
For thou hast hidden their heart from understanding; therefore thou wilt not exalt them.
Like his own dung doth he perish for ever; they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?
Out of whose womb cometh the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who bringeth it forth?
The rows of his shields are a pride, shut up together as with a close seal.
Dost thou send forth lightnings that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?
My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart reproacheth me not one of my days.
It is not set in the balance with gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, and the sapphire.
Hear attentively the roar of his voice, and the murmur going forth from his mouth.
The murderer riseth with the light, killeth the afflicted and needy, and in the night is as a thief.
Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out; and +God imputeth not the impiety.
He hath swallowed down riches, but he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.
When he raiseth himself up, the mighty are afraid: they are beside themselves with consternation.
He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous, but with kings on the throne doth he even set them for ever; and they are exalted.
Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes, your bulwarks are bulwarks of mire.
When he giveth quietness, who then will disturb? and when he hideth his face, who shall behold him? and this towards a nation, or towards a man alike;
From the chamber of the south cometh the whirlwind; and cold from the winds of the north.
+God layeth up the punishment of his iniquity for his children; he rewardeth him, and he shall know it:
For what pleasure should he have in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off?
And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren.
He hath hedged up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths.
Behold, I will answer thee in this, thou art not right; for +God is greater than man.
God hath delivered me over to the iniquitous man, and hurled me into the hands of the wicked.
If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my lambs;
He hath delivered my soul from going into the pit, and my life shall see the light.
When the ear heard me, then it blessed me, and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me;
His bones were full of his youthful strength; but it shall lie down with him in the dust.
Moreover Elihu answered and said,
Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; like new flasks, it is ready to burst.
There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
But as for you all, pray come on again; and I shall not find one wise man among you.
The blessing of him that was perishing came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
The east wind carrieth him away and he is gone; and as a storm it hurleth him out of his place.
They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge;
If any reach him with a sword, it cannot hold; neither spear, nor dart, nor harpoon.
At the noise of the trumpets he saith, Aha! and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
And if, bound in fetters, they be held in cords of affliction,
Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters.
For he saith to the snow, Fall on the earth! and to the pouring rain, even the pouring rains of his might.
He sendeth it forth under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth.
Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and put forth boughs like a young plant.
Terrors are turned against me; they pursue mine honour as the wind; and my welfare is passed away like a cloud.
Did not I weep for him whose days were hard? was not my soul grieved for the needy?
Behold now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the muscles of his belly.
Then Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, went and did according as Jehovah had said unto them; and Jehovah accepted Job.
Withered up through want and hunger, they flee into waste places long since desolate and desert:
As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret counsel of +God was over my tent,
They change the night into day; the light they imagine near in presence of the darkness.
My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart, and my lips shall utter knowledge purely.
Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if thou art righteous? And is it gain to him that thou makest thy ways perfect?
On the left hand, where he doth work, but I behold him not; he hideth himself on the right hand, and I see him not.
Gold and glass cannot be compared to it, nor vessels of fine gold be its exchange.
What then should I do when God riseth up? and if he visited, what should I answer him?
They press out oil within their walls, they tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.
The sojourners in my house and my maids count me as a stranger; I am an alien in their sight.
Man putteth an end to the darkness, and exploreth to the utmost limit, the stones of darkness and of the shadow of death.
His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the fury of the Almighty.
That 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.
He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from passing away by the sword.
Because there is wrath, beware lest it take thee away through chastisement: then a great ransom could not avail thee.
As for me, is my complaint to a man? or wherefore should not my spirit be impatient?
The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are fused upon him, they cannot be moved.
A cord is hidden for him in the ground, and his trap in the way.
Remember that thou magnify his work, which men celebrate.
They reap in the field the fodder thereof, and they gather the vintage of the wicked;
Once have I spoken, and I will not answer; yea twice, but I will proceed no further.
His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name on the pasture-grounds.
Would he plead against me with his great power? Nay; but he would give heed unto me.
I will not be silent as to his parts, the story of his power, and the beauty of his structure.
But Elihu had waited till Job had finished speaking, because they were older than he.
Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand. The counsel of the wicked be far from me!
Out of his mouth go forth flames; sparks of fire leap out:
And they are turned every way by his guidance, that they may do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the face of the circuit of the earth,
If thou be righteous, what givest thou to him? or what doth he receive of thy hand?
He breaketh in pieces mighty men without inquiry, and setteth others in their stead;
If my step have turned out of the way, and my heart followed mine eyes, and if any blot cleaveth to my hands;
By reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry; they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty:
They are exalted for a little, and are no more; they are laid low; like all other are they gathered, and are cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.
Thou hast not given water to the fainting to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
The womb forgetteth him; the worm feedeth sweetly on him: he shall be no more remembered; and unrighteousness is broken as a tree, --
And he hath kindled his anger against me, and hath counted me unto him as one of his enemies.
For the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play.
He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength; he goeth forth to meet the armed host.
His children shall seek the favour of the poor, and his hands restore his wealth.
The proud beasts have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed over it.
She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers; her labour is in vain, without her concern.
Lo, the river overfloweth he startleth not: he is confident though a Jordan break forth against his mouth.
Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God's?
Will he reason with thee for fear of thee? Will he enter with thee into judgment?
For +God hath deprived her of wisdom, and hath not furnished her with understanding.
Will God hear his cry when distress cometh upon him?
For the morning is to them all as the shadow of death; for they are familiar with the terrors of the shadow of death.
The righteous see it, and are glad; and the innocent laugh them to scorn:
Their seed is established with them in their sight, and their offspring before their eyes.
Yea, whereto should the strength of their hands profit me, men in whom vigour hath perished?
The stones of it are the place of sapphires, and it hath dust of gold.
He draweth also the mighty with his power; he riseth up, and no man is sure of life.
He is swift on the face of the waters; their portion is cursed on the earth: he turneth not unto the way of the vineyards.
Even when I think thereon, I am affrighted, and trembling taketh hold of my flesh.
To cause it to rain on the earth, where no one is; on the wilderness wherein there is not a man;
Also with plentiful moisture he loadeth the thick clouds, his light dispels the cloud;
In a moment they die, even at midnight the people are convulsed and pass away; and the strong are taken away without hand.
Sons of fools, and sons of nameless sires, they are driven out of the land.
But the powerful man, he had the land; and the man of high rank dwelt in it.
If I have seen any perishing for want of clothing, or any needy without covering;
He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage, and cannot contain himself at the sound of the trumpet:
Those that remain of him shall be buried by death, and his widows shall not weep.
The eye which saw him shall see him not again; and his place beholdeth him no more.
He bindeth the streams that they drip not, and what is hidden he bringeth forth to light.
If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? If thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him?
Wilt thou trust him to bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy threshing-floor?
Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open field, they go forth, and return not unto them.
Man knoweth not the value thereof; and it is not found in the land of the living.
Upright men shall be astonished at this, and the innocent shall be stirred up against the ungodly;
Yet he filled their houses with good. But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
For calamity from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his excellency I was powerless.
They turn the needy out of the way: the afflicted of the land all hide themselves.
As for the earth, out of it cometh bread, and underneath it is turned up as by fire;
Thou art changed to a cruel one to me; with the strength of thy hand thou pursuest me.
He laugheth at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from before the sword.
Lo, all these things worketh God twice, thrice, with man,
Who numbereth the clouds with wisdom? or who poureth out the bottles of the heavens,
And they waited for me as for the rain, and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain.
And God shall cast upon him and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.
To bring back his soul from the pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of the living.
If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword, and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread;
For I expected good, and there came evil; and I waited for light, but there came darkness.
And he openeth their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity.
Then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder-blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone!
If I have lifted up my hand against an orphan, because I saw my help in the gate:
So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted.
Who hath entrusted to him the earth? and who hath disposed the whole world?
For he hath loosed my cord and afflicted me; so they cast off the bridle before me.
He inhabiteth the rock and maketh his dwelling on the point of the cliff, and the fastness:
God setteth him in safety, and he resteth thereon; but his eyes are upon their ways.
The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing.
I will teach you concerning the hand of God; what is with the Almighty will I not conceal.
For Job hath opened his mouth in vanity, and made words abundant without knowledge.
and against his three friends was his anger kindled, because they found no answer, and yet condemned Job.
And now men see not the light as it gleameth, it is hidden in the skies. But the wind passeth by and cleareth them.
For it is hidden from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the fowl of the heavens.
Dost thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that floods of waters may cover thee?
I would know the words he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me.
Wilt thou put confidence in him, because his strength is great? and wilt thou leave thy labour to him?
I chose their way, and sat as chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth mourners.
At my right hand rise the young brood; they push away my feet, and raise up against me their pernicious ways;
Although thou sayest thou dost not see him, judgment is before him, therefore wait for him.
The night pierceth through my bones and detacheth them from me, and my gnawing pains take no rest:
He openeth a shaft far from the inhabitants of the earth: forgotten of the foot, they hang suspended; away below men they hover.
But if they hearken not, they shall pass away by the sword, and expire without knowledge.
When the waters lie hidden as in stone, and the face of the deep holdeth fast together.
After it a voice roareth: he thundereth with the voice of his excellency, and holdeth not back the flashes when his voice is heard.
For he doth not long consider a man, to bring him before God in judgment.
And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the beast of the field may trample them.
Lo, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasonings, until ye searched out what to say.
His flesh is consumed away from view, and his bones that were not seen stick out;
Surely thou hast spoken in my hearing, and I have heard the voice of thy words: --
But can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the crashing of his pavilion?
And Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, and his anger was kindled.
Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to be borne away, and dissolvest my substance.
If I laughed on them, they believed it not; and they troubled not the serenity of my countenance.
Hath thine understanding compassed the breadths of the earth? Declare if thou knowest it all.
Let us choose for ourselves what is right; let us know among ourselves what is good!
There would an upright man reason with him; and I should be delivered for ever from my judge.
In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves in; they know not the light:
Is not he who rose against us destroyed, and doth not the fire consume his residue?
They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and for want of a shelter embrace the rock ...
I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Creator.
Now he hath not directed his words against me; and I will not answer him with your speeches. ...