As for the earth, bread comes out of it; but under its face it is turned up as if by fire.

Its stones are the place of sapphires, and it has dust of gold.

No bird has knowledge of it, and the hawk's eye has never seen it.

He makes deep ways, cut through the rock, and his eye sees everything of value.

But where may wisdom be seen? and where is the resting-place of knowledge?

Man has not seen the way to it, and it is not in the land of the living.

Gold may not be given for it, or a weight of silver in payment for it.

It may not be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the onyx of great price, or the sapphire.

Gold and glass are not equal to it in price, and it may not be exchanged for jewels of the best gold.

There is no need to say anything about coral or crystal; and the value of wisdom is greater than that of pearls.

The topaz of Ethiopia is not equal to it, and it may not be valued with the best gold.

From where then does wisdom come, and where is the resting-place of knowledge?

For it is kept secret from the eyes of all living, unseen by the birds of the air.

Destruction and Death say, We have only had word of it with our ears.

God has knowledge of the way to it, and of its resting-place;

For his eyes go to the ends of the earth, and he sees everything under heaven.

And he said to man, Truly the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to keep from evil is the way to knowledge.

If only I might again be as I was in the months which are past, in the days when God was watching over me!

As I was in my flowering years, when my tent was covered by the hand of God;

While the Ruler of all was still with me, and my children were round me;

When my steps were washed with milk, and rivers of oil were flowing out of the rock for me.

When I went out of my door to go up to the town, and took my seat in the public place,

The chiefs kept back their words, and their tongues were joined to the roofs of their mouths.

The blessing of him who was near to destruction came on me, and I put a song of joy into the widow's heart.

I put on righteousness as my clothing, and was full of it; right decisions were to me a robe and a head-dress.

I was eyes to the blind, and feet to him who had no power of walking.

I was a father to the poor, searching out the cause of him who was strange to me.

By me the great teeth of the evil-doer were broken, and I made him give up what he had violently taken away.

I was laughing at them when they had no hope, and the light of my face was never clouded by their fear.

But now those who are younger than I make sport of me; those whose fathers I would not have put with the dogs of my flocks.

Of what use is the strength of their hands to me? all force is gone from them.

They are wasted for need of food, biting the dry earth; their only hope of life is in the waste land.

They are pulling off the salt leaves from the brushwood, and making a meal of roots.

They have to get a resting-place in the hollows of the valleys, in holes of the earth and rocks.

They are sons of shame, and of men without a name, who have been forced out of the land.

And now I have become their song, and I am a word of shame to them.

I am disgusting to them; they keep away from me, and put marks of shame on me.

For he has made loose the cord of my bow, and put me to shame; he has sent down my flag to the earth before me.

The lines of his men of war put themselves in order, and make high their ways of destruction against me:

As through a wide broken place in the wall they come on, I am overturned by the shock of their attack.

But now my soul is turned to water in me, days of trouble overtake me:

With great force he takes a grip of my clothing, pulling me by the neck of my coat.

You give no answer to my cry, and take no note of my prayer.

You have become cruel to me; the strength of your hand is hard on me.

Lifting me up, you make me go on the wings of the wind; I am broken up by the storm.

My feelings are strongly moved, and give me no rest; days of trouble have overtaken me.

I have become a brother to the jackals, and go about in the company of ostriches.

My skin is black and dropping off me; and my bones are burning with the heat of my disease.

And my music has been turned to sorrow, and the sound of my pipe into the noise of weeping.

For what is God's reward from on high, or the heritage given by the Ruler of all from heaven?

If I have gone in false ways, or my foot has been quick in working deceit;

If my steps have been turned out of the way, or if my heart went after my eyes, or if the property of another is in my hands;

Let me put seed in the earth for another to have the fruit of it, and let my produce be uprooted.

If my heart went after another man's wife, or if I was waiting secretly at my neighbour's door;

Then let my wife give pleasure to another man and let others make use of her body.

If I did wrong in the cause of my man-servant, or my woman-servant, when they went to law with me;

If I kept back the desire of the poor; if the widow's eye was looking for help to no purpose;

If I kept my food for myself, and did not give some of it to the child with no father;

(For I was cared for by God as by a father from my earliest days; he was my guide from the body of my mother;)

If I saw one near to death for need of clothing, and that the poor had nothing covering him;

If his back did not give me a blessing, and the wool of my sheep did not make him warm;

If my hand had been lifted up against him who had done no wrong, when I saw that I was supported by the judges;

For the fear of God kept me back, and because of his power I might not do such things.

If I made gold my hope, or if I ever said to the best gold, I have put my faith in you;

If I was glad because my wealth was great, and because my hand had got together a great store;

If, when I saw the sun shining, and the moon moving on its bright way,

A secret feeling of worship came into my heart, and my hand gave kisses from my mouth;

If I was glad at the trouble of my hater, and gave cries of joy when evil overtook him;

If the men of my tent did not say, Who has not had full measure of his meat?

If I kept my evil doings covered, and my sin in the secret of my breast,

For fear of the great body of people, or for fear that families might make sport of me, so that I kept quiet, and did not go out of my door;

If only God would give ear to me, and the Ruler of all would give me an answer! or if what he has against me had been put in writing!

I would make clear the number of my steps, I would put it before him like a prince! The words of Job are ended.

If my land has made an outcry against me, or the ploughed earth has been in sorrow;

If I have taken its produce without payment, causing the death of its owners;

Then in place of grain let thorns come up, and in place of barley evil-smelling plants.

And Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was angry, burning with wrath against Job, because he seemed to himself more right than God;

And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, he was very angry.

And Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, made answer and said, I am young, and you are very old, so I was in fear, and kept myself from putting my knowledge before you.

But truly it is the spirit in man, even the breath of the Ruler of all, which gives them knowledge.

It is not the old who are wise, and those who are full of years have not the knowledge of what is right.

I was taking note; and truly not one of you was able to make clear Job's error, or to give an answer to his words.

I will not put forward words like these, or make use of your sayings in answer to him.

Fear has overcome them, they have no more answers to give; they have come to an end of words.

For I am full of words, I am unable to keep in my breath any longer:

My stomach is like wine which is unable to get out; like skins full of new wine, it is almost burst.

Let me not give respect to any man, or give names of honour to any living.

For I am not able to give names of honour to any man; and if I did, my Maker would quickly take me away.

And now, O Job, give ear to my words, and take note of all I say.

The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Ruler of all gives me life.

If you are able, give me an answer; put your cause in order, and come forward.

See, I am the same as you are in the eyes of God; I was cut off from the same bit of wet earth.

Fear of me will not overcome you, and my hand will not be hard on you.

See, he is looking for something against me; in his eyes I am as one of his haters;

Why do you put forward your cause against him, saying, He gives no answer to any of my words?

For God gives his word in one way, even in two, and man is not conscious of it:

In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep comes on men, while they take their rest on their beds;

Then he makes his secrets clear to men, so that they are full of fear at what they see;

And his soul comes near to the underworld, and his life to the angels of death.

If now there may be an angel sent to him, one of the thousands which there are to be between him and God, and to make clear to man what is right for him;