When my steps were bathed in butter,
And the rock poured out for me streams of oil!

“Fools, even those without a name,
They were scourged from the land.

Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were years older than he.

“His flesh wastes away from sight,
And his bones which were not seen stick out.

“But you were full of judgment on the wicked;
Judgment and justice take hold of you.

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding,

“On what were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,

“You know, for you were born then,
And the number of your days is great!

“She treats her young cruelly, as if they were not hers;
Though her labor be in vain, she is unconcerned;

In all the land no women were found so fair as Job’s daughters; and their father gave them inheritance among their brothers.

Then the earth shook and quaked;
And the foundations of the mountains were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.

Smoke went up out of His nostrils,
And fire from His mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by it.

Then the channels of water appeared,
And the foundations of the world were laid bare
At Your rebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

He delivered me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.

For all His ordinances were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.

I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
And I did not turn back until they were consumed.

I shattered them, so that they were not able to rise;
They fell under my feet.

To You they cried out and were delivered;
In You they trusted and were not disappointed.

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And by the breath of His mouth all their host.

They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will never be ashamed.

But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled my soul with fasting,
And my prayer kept returning to my bosom.

I went about as though it were my friend or brother;
I bowed down mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother.

They saw it, then they were amazed;
They were terrified, they fled in alarm.

“If I were hungry I would not tell you,
For the world is Mine, and all it contains.

There they were in great fear where no fear had been;
For God scattered the bones of him who encamped against you;
You put them to shame, because God had rejected them.

He has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him;
He has violated his covenant.

His speech was smoother than butter,
But his heart was war;
His words were softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn swords.

The stouthearted were plundered,
They sank into sleep;
And none of the warriors could use his hands.

At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
Both rider and horse were cast into a dead sleep.

The waters saw You, O God;
The waters saw You, they were in anguish;
The deeps also trembled.

The sons of Ephraim were archers equipped with bows,
Yet they turned back in the day of battle.

“Behold, He struck the rock so that waters gushed out,
And streams were overflowing;
Can He give bread also?
Will He provide meat for His people?”

So they ate and were well filled,
And their desire He gave to them.

For their heart was not steadfast toward Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant.

Thus He remembered that they were but flesh,
A wind that passes and does not return.

The mountains were covered with its shadow,
And the cedars of God with its boughs.

“I relieved his shoulder of the burden,
His hands were freed from the basket.

Who were destroyed at En-dor,
Who became as dung for the ground.

But of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”;
And the Most High Himself will establish her.

Before the mountains were born
Or You gave birth to the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

Moses and Aaron were among His priests,
And Samuel was among those who called on His name;
They called upon the Lord and He answered them.

O Lord our God, You answered them;
You were a forgiving God to them,
And yet an avenger of their evil deeds.

To hear the groaning of the prisoner,
To set free those who were doomed to death,

You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.

When they were only a few men in number,
Very few, and strangers in it.

Because they were rebellious against His Spirit,
He spoke rashly with his lips.

Their enemies also oppressed them,
And they were subdued under their power.

Many times He would deliver them;
They, however, were rebellious in their counsel,
And so sank down in their iniquity.

They were hungry and thirsty;
Their soul fainted within them.

There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death,
Prisoners in misery and chains,

Fools, because of their rebellious way,
And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.

They reeled and staggered like a drunken man,
And were at their wits’ end.

He caused the storm to be still,
So that the waves of the sea were hushed.

Then they were glad because they were quiet,
So He guided them to their desired haven.

They surrounded me like bees;
They were extinguished as a fire of thorns;
In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.

For there thrones were set for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.

A Song of Ascents.
When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion,
We were like those who dream.

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For He commanded and they were created.

By His knowledge the deeps were broken up
And the skies drip with dew.

“When there were no depths I was brought forth,
When there were no springs abounding with water.

“Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills I was brought forth;

Is there anything of which one might say,
“See this, it is new”?
Already it has existed for ages
Which were before us.

I said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”

Then I looked again at all the acts of oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had no one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them.

There was a certain man without a dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, “And for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure?” This too is vanity and it is a grievous task.

There is no end to all the people, to all who were before them, and even the ones who will come later will not be happy with him, for this too is vanity and striving after wind.

When those riches were lost through a bad investment and he had fathered a son, then there was nothing to support him.

Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.

“Do not stare at me because I am swarthy,
For the sun has burned me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me caretaker of the vineyards,
But I have not taken care of my own vineyard.

“My beloved extended his hand through the opening,
And my feelings were aroused for him.

“Oh that you were like a brother to me
Who nursed at my mother’s breasts.
If I found you outdoors, I would kiss you;
No one would despise me, either.

“Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor will rivers overflow it;
If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love,
It would be utterly despised.”

“I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers;
Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace.

“As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols,
Whose graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

Then you will say on that day,
“I will give thanks to You, O Lord;
For although You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away,
And You comfort me.

“Even the cypress trees rejoice over you, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying,
‘Since you were laid low, no tree cutter comes up against us.’

You who were full of noise,
You boisterous town, you exultant city;
Your slain were not slain with the sword,
Nor did they die in battle.

All your rulers have fled together,
And have been captured without the bow;
All of you who were found were taken captive together,
Though they had fled far away.

Then your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
And the horsemen took up fixed positions at the gate.

And you saw that the breaches
In the wall of the city of David were many;
And you collected the waters of the lower pool.

And were on many waters.
The grain of the Nile, the harvest of the River was her revenue;
And she was the market of nations.

Who has planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,
Whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth?

As the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth,
She writhes and cries out in her labor pains,
Thus were we before You, O Lord.

We were pregnant, we writhed in labor,
We gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.
We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth,
Nor were inhabitants of the world born.

It will come about also in that day that a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said,
“In repentance and rest you will be saved,
In quietness and trust is your strength.”
But you were not willing,

Woe to you, O destroyer,
While you were not destroyed;
And he who is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him.
As soon as you finish destroying, you will be destroyed;
As soon as you cease to deal treacherously, others will deal treacherously with you.

But they were silent and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.”

Did the gods of those nations which my fathers have destroyed deliver them, even Gozan and Haran and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar?

and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them.

“Therefore their inhabitants were short of strength,
They were dismayed and put to shame;
They were as the vegetation of the field and as the green herb,
As grass on the housetops is scorched before it is grown up.

Then the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, all of these were dead.

Let them bring forth and declare to us what is going to take place;
As for the former events, declare what they were,
That we may consider them and know their outcome.
Or announce to us what is coming;

Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to plunderers?
Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned,
And in whose ways they were not willing to walk,
And whose law they did not obey?

“They will say of Me, ‘Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength.’
Men will come to Him,
And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.

“The children of whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears,
‘The place is too cramped for me;
Make room for me that I may live here.’

Thus says the Lord,
“Where is the certificate of divorce
By which I have sent your mother away?
Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you?
Behold, you were sold for your iniquities,
And for your transgressions your mother was sent away.

“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
Who seek the Lord:
Look to the rock from which you were hewn
And to the quarry from which you were dug.

For thus says the Lord, “You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed without money.”