God's decrees immutable. CHAP. XXIV, XXV, XXVI. Judgment for the wicked. self on the right hand, that I cannot see him:] 15 The eye also of the adulterer waiteth 10 But he knoweth the way that I take: for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see when he hath tried me, I shall come forth me: and disguiseth his face. as gold. 16 In the dark they dig through houses, 11 My foot hath held his steps, his way which they had marked for themselves in have I kept, and not declined. the day-time: they know not the light. 12 Neither have I gone back from the 17 For the morning is to them even as commandment of his lips; I have esteem- the shadow of death: if one know them, ed the words of his mouth more than my they are in the terrors of the shadow of necessary food. 13 But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. 14 For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him. 15 Therefore am I troubled at his presence: when I consider, I am afraid of him. 16 For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me: death. 18 He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards. 19 Drought and heat consume the snowwaters: so doth the grave those which have sinned. 20 The 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. 17 Because I was not cut off before the 21 He evil-entreateth the barren that darkness, neither hath he covered the dark-beareth not: and doeth not good to the ness from my face. widow. CHAP. XXIV. 22 He draweth also the mighty with his WHY, seeing times are not hidden power: he riseth up, and no man is sure from the Almighty, do they that of life. know him not see his days! 23 Though it be given him to be in 2 Some remove the landmarks; they safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes violently take away flocks, and feed thereof are upon their ways. 3 They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge. 4 They turn the needy out of the way the poor of the earth hide themselves together. 5 Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising be 24 They 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. 25 And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth? times for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth and said, food for them and for their children. 6 They reap every one his corn in the field and they gather the vintage of the wicked. 7 They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold. 8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter. 9 They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor. 10 They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry; 11 Which make oil within their walls, and tread their wine-presses, and suner thirst. 12 Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them. CHAP. XXV. Bildad the Shuhite, 2 Dominion and fear are with him, he maketh peace in his high places. 3 Is there any number of his armies? and upon whom doth not his light arise? 4 How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman? 5 Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight. 6 How much less man, that is a worm; and the son of man, which is a worm? CHAP. XXVI. Job answered and said, BUT How have thou helped him that is without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength? 3 How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou plen¡tifully declared the thing as it is? 13 They are of those that rebel against 4 To whom hast thou uttered words? the light; they know not the ways thereof, and whose spirit came from thee? nor abide in the paths thereof. 5 Dead things are formed from under 14 The murderer rising with the light the waters, and the inhabitants thereof. killeth the poor and needy, and in the 6 Hell is naked before him, and de night is as a thief. Istruction hath no covering. Job protests his sincerity. JOB. Wisdom an excellent gift of God. 7 He stretcheth out the north over the 17 He may prepare it, but the just shall empty place, and hangeth the earth upon put it on, and the innocent shall divide the nothing. silver. 8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick 18 He buildeth his house as a moth, and clouds; and the cloud is not rent under as a booth that the keeper maketh. them. 9 He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it. 10 He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end. 11 The pillars of heaven tremble, and are astonished at his reproof. 12 He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud. 13 By his Spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent. 14 Lo, these are parts of his ways; but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand? CHAP. XXVII. Mrable, and said, OREOVER, Job continued his pa 2 As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul; 3 All the while my breath is in me,and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; 4 My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. 5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. 19 The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not. 20 Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night. 21 The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place. 22 For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand. 23 Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place. CHAP. XXVIII. SURELY there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it. 2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone. 3 He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death. 4 The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men. 5 As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire. 6 The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold. 7 There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen: 6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will 8 The lion's whelps have not trodden not let it go my heart shall not reproach it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. me so long as I live. 9 He putteth forth his hand upon the 7 Let mine enemy be as the wicked, rock; he overturneth the mountains by the and he that riseth up against me as the un-roots. righteous. 10 He cutteth out rivers among the 8 For what is the hope of the hypocrite, rocks; and his eye seeth every precious though he hath gained, when God taketh thing. away his soul? 9 Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him? 10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God? 11 I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal. 11 He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light. 12 But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? 13 Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. 14 The depth saith, It is not in me: 12 Behold, all ye yourselves have seen and the sea saith, It is not with me. it; why then are ye thus altogether vain? 15 It cannot be gotten for gold, neither 13 This is the portion of a wicked man shall silver be weighed for the price with God, and the heritage of oppressors, thereof. which they shall receive of the Almighty. 16 It cannot be valued with the gold of 14 If his children be multiplied, it is Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the for the sword and his offspring shall not sapphire. : be satisfied with bread. 17 The gold and the crystal cannot 15 Those that remain of him shall be equal it: and the exchange of it shall not buried in death and his widows shall not be for jewels of fine gold. 18 No mention shall be made of coral, 16 Though he heap up silver as the or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is dust, and prepare raiment as the clay; jabove rubies. weep. Job bemoans himself. CHAP. XXIX, XXX. His honour turns to contempt. 19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal! 18 Then I said, I shall die in my nest, it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold, and I shall multiply my days as the sand. 20 Whence then cometh wisdom? and 19 My root was spread out by the wawhere is the place of understanding ters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch. 21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. 22 Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. 23 God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. 24 For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; 25 To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure. 26 When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: 27 Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out. 28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. CHAP. XXIX. Mable, and said, OREOVER, Job continued his par 2 Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me; 3 When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness; 4 As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle; 5 When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me; 6 When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil; 7 When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street! 8 The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood 20 My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand. 21 Unto me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel. 22 After my words they spake not again; and my speech dropped upon them. 23 And they waited for me as for the rain; and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain. 24 IfI laughed on them, they believed it not; and the light of my countenance they cast not down. 25 I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners. CHAP. XXX. BUT 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. 2 Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished? 3 For want and famine they were solitary: fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste. 4 Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper-roots for their meat. 5 They were driven forth from among men, (they cried after them as after a thief;) 6 To dwell in the clefts of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks. 7 Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together. 8 They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth. 9 And now am I their song, yea, I am their by-word. 10 They abhor me, they flee far from 10 The nobles held their peace, and their me, and spare not to spit in my face. tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth. 11 Because he hath loosed my cord, 11 When the ear heard me, then it and afflicted me, they have also let loose blessed me; and when the eye saw me, the bridle before me. it gave witness to me: 12 Upon my right hand rise the youth; 12 Because I delivered the poor that they push away my feet, and they raise eried, and the fatherless, and him that had up against me the ways of their destruction. none to help him. 13 They mar my path, they set forward 13 The blessing of him that was realy my calamity, they have no helper. to perish came upon me and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. 14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. 15 I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. 16 I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out. 17 And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth. 14 They came upon me as a wide breaking in of waters in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me. 15 Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind and my welfare passeth away as a cloud. 16 And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me. 17 My bones are pierced in me in th night season: and my sinews take no 18 By the great force of my disease is my garment changed: it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat. 19 He hath cast me into the mire, and 20 I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not. of his integrity in several duties, servant or of my maid-servant, when they 13 If I did despise the cause of my mancontended with me; 14 What then shall I do when God shall I answer him? riseth up? and when he visiteth, what 21 Thou art become cruel to me with make him? and did not one fashion us in 15 Did not he that made me in the womb thy strong hand thou opposest thyself the womb? against me. 22 Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride upon it, and dissolvest my substance. 23 For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living. 24 Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction. 25 Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor? 26 When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness. 27 My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me. 28 I went mourning without the sun: I stood up, and I cried in the congregation. 29 I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls. 30 My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat. 31 My harp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep. I CHAP. XXXI. their desire, or have caused the eyes of the and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof; 19 If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering; if he were not warmed with the fleece of 20 If his loins have not blessed me, and my sheep; 21 If Ihave lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate: 22 Then let mine arm fall from my shoulthe bone. der-blade, and mine arm be broken from ror to me, and by reason of his highness I 23 For destruction from God was a tercould not endure. 24 If I have made gold my hope, or confidence; have said to the fine gold, Thou art my 25 If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much; or the moon walking in brightness; MADE a covenant with mine eyes why then should I think upon a maid? 2 For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Al-ticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand : mighty from on high? 28 This also were an iniquity to be pu 3 Is not destruction to the wicked? and nished by the judge: for I should have dea strange punishment to the workers of iniquity? all 4 Doth not he see my ways, and count my steps? 5 IfI have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit ; 6 Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity. 7 If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands; 8 Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out. 9 If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour's door; 10 Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her. nied the God that is above. that hated me, or lifted up myself when 29 If I rejoiced at the destruction of him evil found him: 30 Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul. 31 If the men of my tabernacle said not, satisfied. Oh that we had of his flesh! we cannot be 32 The stranger did not lodge in the street: but I opened my doors to the traveller. 3 If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom: the contempt of families terrify me, that 1 34 Did I fear a great multitude, or did kept silence, and went not out of the door? 35 Oh that one would hear me! behold, 11 For this is a heinous crime; yea, it swer me, and that mine adversary had my desire is, that the Almighty would anis an iniquity to be punished by the judges. written a book. 12 For it is a fire that consumeth to de- 36 Surely I would take it upon my struction, and would root out all mine in-shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me. 1 37 I would declare unto him the num crease. Elika 9 zeal to speak. CHAP. XXXII, XXXIII. He reasons with Job. ber of my steps; as a prince would I go near unto him. 38 If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain; 21 Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person, neither let me give flattering titles unto man. 22 For I know not to give flattering 39 If I have eaten the fruits thereof titles; in so doing my Maker would soon without money, or have caused the owners take me away. thereof to lose their life: CHAP. XXXIII. THEREFORE, Job, I pray thee, 40 Let thistles grow instead of wheat, Wear my speeches, and hearken to and cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended. CHAP. XXXII. NO these three men ceased to answer these three me ce righteous in his own eyes. all my words. 2 Behold, now I have opened my mouth, my tongue hath spoken in my mouth. 3 My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart: and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly. 4 The Spirit of God hath made me, and 2 Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram: against Job was his wrath the breath of the Almighty hath given me kindled, because he justified himself rather than God. 3 Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job. 4 Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they were elder than he. 5 When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, then his wrath was kindled. life. 5 If thou canst answer me, set thy words in order before me, stand up. 6 Behold, I am according to thy wish in God's stead: I also am formed out of the clay. 7 Behold, my terror shall not make thee afraid, neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee. 8 Surely thou hast spoken in mine bear6 And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buz-ing, and I have heard the voice of thy ite answered and said, I am young, and words, saying, ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not shew you mine opinion. 7 I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. 8 But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. 9 I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me. 10 Behold, he findeth occasions against me, he counteth me for his enemy. 11 He putteth my feet in the stocks, he marketh all my paths. 12 Behold, in this thou art not just: I will 9 Great men are not always wise: nei-answer thee, that God is greater than man. ther do the aged understand judgment. 13 Why dost thou strive against him? for 10 Therefore I said, Hearken to me; I he giveth not account of any of his matalso will shew mine opinion. 11 Behold, I waited for your words; 1 ters. 14 For God speaketh once, yea twice, gave ear to your reasons, whilst ye search-yet man perceiveth it not. ed out what to say. 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, 12 Yea, I attended unto you, and be-when deep sleep falleth upon men, in hold, there was none of you that convinced slumberings upon the bed; Job, or that answered his words: 13 Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom: God thrusteth him down, not 16 Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, 17 That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. 18 He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword. 19 He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain: 20 So that his life abhorreth bread, and his soul dainty meat. 21 His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; and his bones that were not seen stick out.. 22 Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroyers. 23 if there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his uprightness: 124 Then he is gracious unto him, and |