'State' in the Bible
So Joseph’s master took him and put him in the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined; so he was there in the prison.
Zadok the son of Ahitub and Abimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests, and Shavsha was secretary (state scribe);
So man lies down and does not rise [again].Until the heavens are no longer,The dead will not awake nor be raised from their sleep.
“Oh, that You would hide me in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,That You would set a definite time and then remember me [and in Your lovingkindness imprint me on your heart]!
“You have taken a firm hold on me and have shriveled me up,It has become a witness [against me];And my leanness [and infirmity] rises up [as evidence] against me,It testifies to my face [about my guilt].
“But if I look to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) as my home,If I make my bed in the darkness,
“Will my hope go down with me to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead)?Shall we go down together in the dust?”
“They fully enjoy their days in prosperity,And so go down to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) in a [peaceful] moment.
“Tell us [Job] what words [of man] shall we say to such a Being;We cannot state our case because of darkness [that is, our ignorance in the presence of the unsearchable God].
I was brought forth in [a state of] wickedness;In sin my mother conceived me [and from my beginning I, too, was sinful].
When my heart was embitteredAnd I was pierced within [as with the fang of an adder],
A senseless man [in his crude and uncultivated state] knows nothing,Nor does a [self-righteous] fool understand this:
Be diligent to know the condition of your flocks,And pay attention to your herds;
If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be shocked at the sight [of corruption]; for a higher official watches over another official, and there are higher ones over them [looking out for one another].
Through laziness the rafters [of state affairs] decay and the roof sags, and through idleness [the roof of] the house leaks.
Therefore Sheol (the realm of the dead) has increased its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure;And Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her [boisterous] uproar and her [drunken] revelers descend into it.
This is what the Lord says,“In a favorable time I have answered You,And in a day of salvation I have helped You;And I will keep watch over You and give You for a covenant of the people,To restore the land [from its present state of ruin] and to apportion and give as inheritances the deserted hereditary lands,
How long [shall this state of affairs continue]? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart,
Remember [O Lord] my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and the gall (bitterness).
“Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops;A state of siege has been placed against us.They shall strike the ruler of Israel on the cheek with a rod (scepter).