Category: Job

[31:1] “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?

[31:2] What would be my portion from God above and my heritage from the Almighty on high?

[31:3] Is not calamity for the unrighteous, and disaster for the workers of iniquity?

[31:4] Does not he see my ways and number all my steps?

[31:5] “If I have walked with falsehood and my foot has hastened to deceit;

[31:6] (Let me be weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity!)

[31:7] if my step has turned aside from the way and my heart has gone after my eyes, and if any spot has stuck to my hands,

[31:8] then let me sow, and another eat, and let what grows for me be rooted out.

[31:9] “If my heart has been enticed toward a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door,

[31:10] then let my wife grind for another, and let others bow down on her.

[31:11] For that would be a heinous crime; that would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges;

[31:12] for that would be a fire that consumes as far as Abaddon, and it would burn to the root all my increase.

[31:13] “If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant, when they brought a complaint against me,

[31:14] what then shall I do when God rises up? When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?

[31:15] Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?

[31:16] “If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

[31:17] or have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless has not eaten of it

[31:18] (for from my youth the fatherless grew up with me as with a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow),

[31:19] if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, or the needy without covering,

[31:20] if his body has not blessed me, and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,

[31:21] if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, because I saw my help in the gate,

[31:22] then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder, and let my arm be broken from its socket.

[31:23] For I was in terror of calamity from God, and I could not have faced his majesty.

[31:24] “If I have made gold my trust or called fine gold my confidence,

[31:25] if I have rejoiced because my wealth was abundant or because my hand had found much,

[31:26] if I have looked at the sun when it shone, or the moon moving in splendor,

[31:27] and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has kissed my hand,

[31:28] this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I would have been false to God above.

[31:29] “If I have rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me, or exulted when evil overtook him

[31:30] (I have not let my mouth sin by asking for his life with a curse),

[31:31] if the men of my tent have not said, ‘Who is there that has not been filled with his meat?’

[31:32] (the sojourner has not lodged in the street; I have opened my doors to the traveler),

[31:33] if I have concealed my transgressions as others do by hiding my iniquity in my heart,

[31:34] because I stood in great fear of the multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors—

[31:35] Oh, that I had one to hear me! (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!) Oh, that I had the indictment written by my adversary!

[31:36] Surely I would carry it on my shoulder; I would bind it on me as a crown;

[31:37] I would give him an account of all my steps; like a prince I would approach him.

[31:38] “If my land has cried out against me and its furrows have wept together,

[31:39] if I have eaten its yield without payment and made its owners breathe their last,

[31:40] let thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.

[32:1] So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

[32:2] Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned with anger. He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God.

[32:3] He burned with anger also at Job’s three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong.

[32:4] Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he.

[32:5] And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, he burned with anger.

[32:6] And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said: “I am young in years, and you are aged; therefore I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to you.

[32:7] I said, ‘Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom.’

[32:8] But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.

[32:9] It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right.

[32:10] Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me; let me also declare my opinion.’

[32:11] “Behold, I waited for your words, I listened for your wise sayings, while you searched out what to say.

[32:12] I gave you my attention, and, behold, there was none among you who refuted Job or who answered his words.

[32:13] Beware lest you say, ‘We have found wisdom; God may vanquish him, not a man.’

[32:14] He has not directed his words against me, and I will not answer him with your speeches.

[32:15] “They are dismayed; they answer no more; they have not a word to say.

[32:16] And shall I wait, because they do not speak, because they stand there, and answer no more?

[32:17] I also will answer with my share; I also will declare my opinion.

[32:18] For I am full of words; the spirit within me constrains me.

[32:19] Behold, my belly is like wine that has no vent; like new wineskins ready to burst.

[32:20] I must speak, that I may find relief; I must open my lips and answer.

[32:21] I will not show partiality to any man or use flattery toward any person.

[32:22] For I do not know how to flatter, else my Maker would soon take me away.

[33:1] “But now, hear my speech, O Job, and listen to all my words.

[33:2] Behold, I open my mouth; the tongue in my mouth speaks.

[33:3] My words declare the uprightness of my heart, and what my lips know they speak sincerely.

[33:4] The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

[33:5] Answer me, if you can; set your words in order before me; take your stand.

[33:6] Behold, I am toward God as you are; I too was pinched off from a piece of clay.

[33:7] Behold, no fear of me need terrify you; my pressure will not be heavy upon you.

[33:8] “Surely you have spoken in my ears, and I have heard the sound of your words.

[33:9] You say, ‘I am pure, without transgression; I am clean, and there is no iniquity in me.

[33:10] Behold, he finds occasions against me, he counts me as his enemy,

[33:11] he puts my feet in the stocks and watches all my paths.’

[33:12] “Behold, in this you are not right. I will answer you, for God is greater than man.

[33:13] Why do you contend against him, saying, ‘He will answer none of man’s words’?

[33:14] For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it.

[33:15] In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, while they slumber on their beds,

[33:16] then he opens the ears of men and terrifies them with warnings,

[33:17] that he may turn man aside from his deed and conceal pride from a man;

[33:18] he keeps back his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword.

[33:19] “Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed and with continual strife in his bones,

[33:20] so that his life loathes bread, and his appetite the choicest food.

[33:21] His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen, and his bones that were not seen stick out.

[33:22] His soul draws near the pit, and his life to those who bring death.

[33:23] If there be for him an angel, a mediator, one of the thousand, to declare to man what is right for him,

[33:24] and he is merciful to him, and says, ‘Deliver him from going down into the pit; I have found a ransom;

[33:25] let his flesh become fresh with youth; let him return to the days of his youthful vigor’;

[33:26] then man prays to God, and he accepts him; he sees his face with a shout of joy, and he restores to man his righteousness.

[33:27] He sings before men and says: ‘I sinned and perverted what was right, and it was not repaid to me.

[33:28] He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit, and my life shall look upon the light.’

[33:29] “Behold, God does all these things, twice, three times, with a man,

[33:30] to bring back his soul from the pit, that he may be lighted with the light of life.

[33:31] Pay attention, O Job, listen to me; be silent, and I will speak.

[33:32] If you have any words, answer me; speak, for I desire to justify you.

[33:33] If not, listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

[34:1] Then Elihu answered and said:

[34:2] “Hear my words, you wise men, and give ear to me, you who know;

[34:3] for the ear tests words as the palate tastes food.

[34:4] Let us choose what is right; let us know among ourselves what is good.

[34:5] For Job has said, ‘I am in the right, and God has taken away my right;

[34:6] in spite of my right I am counted a liar; my wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’

[34:7] What man is like Job, who drinks up scoffing like water,

[34:8] who travels in company with evildoers and walks with wicked men?

[34:9] For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should take delight in God.’

[34:10] “Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding: far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.

[34:11] For according to the work of a man he will repay him, and according to his ways he will make it befall him.

[34:12] Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice.

[34:13] Who gave him charge over the earth, and who laid on him the whole world?

[34:14] If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath,

[34:15] all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.

[34:16] “If you have understanding, hear this; listen to what I say.

[34:17] Shall one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty,

[34:18] who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’ and to nobles, ‘Wicked man,’

[34:19] who shows no partiality to princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they are all the work of his hands?

[34:20] In a moment they die; at midnight the people are shaken and pass away, and the mighty are taken away by no human hand.

[34:21] “For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps.

[34:22] There is no gloom or deep darkness where evildoers may hide themselves.

[34:23] For God has no need to consider a man further, that he should go before God in judgment.

[34:24] He shatters the mighty without investigation and sets others in their place.

[34:25] Thus, knowing their works, he overturns them in the night, and they are crushed.

[34:26] He strikes them for their wickedness in a place for all to see,

[34:27] because they turned aside from following him and had no regard for any of his ways,

[34:28] so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him, and he heard the cry of the afflicted—

[34:29] When he is quiet, who can condemn? When he hides his face, who can behold him, whether it be a nation or a man?—

[34:30] that a godless man should not reign, that he should not ensnare the people.

[34:31] “For has anyone said to God, ‘I have borne punishment; I will not offend any more;

[34:32] teach me what I do not see; if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’?

[34:33] Will he then make repayment to suit you, because you reject it? For you must choose, and not I; therefore declare what you know.

[34:34] Men of understanding will say to me, and the wise man who hears me will say:

[34:35] ‘Job speaks without knowledge; his words are without insight.’

[34:36] Would that Job were tried to the end, because he answers like wicked men.

[34:37] For he adds rebellion to his sin; he claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God.”

[35:1] And Elihu answered and said:

[35:2] “Do you think this to be just? Do you say, ‘It is my right before God,’

[35:3] that you ask, ‘What advantage have I? How am I better off than if I had sinned?’

[35:4] I will answer you and your friends with you.

[35:5] Look at the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds, which are higher than you.

[35:6] If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him? And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?

[35:7] If you are righteous, what do you give to him? Or what does he receive from your hand?

[35:8] Your wickedness concerns a man like yourself, and your righteousness a son of man.

[35:9] “Because of the multitude of oppressions people cry out; they call for help because of the arm of the mighty.

[35:10] But none says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night,

[35:11] who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’

[35:12] There they cry out, but he does not answer, because of the pride of evil men.

[35:13] Surely God does not hear an empty cry, nor does the Almighty regard it.

[35:14] How much less when you say that you do not see him, that the case is before him, and you are waiting for him!

[35:15] And now, because his anger does not punish, and he does not take much note of transgression,

[35:16] Job opens his mouth in empty talk; he multiplies words without knowledge.”

[36:1] And Elihu continued, and said:

[36:2] “Bear with me a little, and I will show you, for I have yet something to say on God’s behalf.

[36:3] I will get my knowledge from afar and ascribe righteousness to my Maker.

[36:4] For truly my words are not false; one who is perfect in knowledge is with you.

[36:5] “Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise any; he is mighty in strength of understanding.

[36:6] He does not keep the wicked alive, but gives the afflicted their right.

[36:7] He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous, but with kings on the throne he sets them forever, and they are exalted.

[36:8] And if they are bound in chains and caught in the cords of affliction,

[36:9] then he declares to them their work and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly.

[36:10] He opens their ears to instruction and commands that they return from iniquity.

[36:11] If they listen and serve him, they complete their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasantness.

[36:12] But if they do not listen, they perish by the sword and die without knowledge.

[36:13] “The godless in heart cherish anger; they do not cry for help when he binds them.

[36:14] They die in youth, and their life ends among the cult prostitutes.

[36:15] He delivers the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ear by adversity.

[36:16] He also allured you out of distress into a broad place where there was no cramping, and what was set on your table was full of fatness.

[36:17] “But you are full of the judgment on the wicked; judgment and justice seize you.

[36:18] Beware lest wrath entice you into scoffing, and let not the greatness of the ransom turn you aside.

[36:19] Will your cry for help avail to keep you from distress, or all the force of your strength?

[36:20] Do not long for the night, when peoples vanish in their place.

[36:21] Take care; do not turn to iniquity, for this you have chosen rather than affliction.

[36:22] Behold, God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him?

[36:23] Who has prescribed for him his way, or who can say, ‘You have done wrong’?

[36:24] “Remember to extol his work, of which men have sung.

[36:25] All mankind has looked on it; man beholds it from afar.

[36:26] Behold, God is great, and we know him not; the number of his years is unsearchable.

[36:27] For he draws up the drops of water; they distill his mist in rain,

[36:28] which the skies pour down and drop on mankind abundantly.

[36:29] Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds, the thunderings of his pavilion?

[36:30] Behold, he scatters his lightning about him and covers the roots of the sea.

[36:31] For by these he judges peoples; he gives food in abundance.

[36:32] He covers his hands with the lightning and commands it to strike the mark.

[36:33] Its crashing declares his presence; the cattle also declare that he rises.

[37:1] “At this also my heart trembles and leaps out of its place.

[37:2] Keep listening to the thunder of his voice and the rumbling that comes from his mouth.

[37:3] Under the whole heaven he lets it go, and his lightning to the corners of the earth.

[37:4] After it his voice roars; he thunders with his majestic voice, and he does not restrain the lightnings when his voice is heard.

[37:5] God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things that we cannot comprehend.

[37:6] For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth,’ likewise to the downpour, his mighty downpour.

[37:7] He seals up the hand of every man, that all men whom he made may know it.

[37:8] Then the beasts go into their lairs, and remain in their dens.

[37:9] From its chamber comes the whirlwind, and cold from the scattering winds.

[37:10] By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen fast.

[37:11] He loads the thick cloud with moisture; the clouds scatter his lightning.

[37:12] They turn around and around by his guidance, to accomplish all that he commands them on the face of the habitable world.

[37:13] Whether for correction or for his land or for love, he causes it to happen.

[37:14] “Hear this, O Job; stop and consider the wondrous works of God.

[37:15] Do you know how God lays his command upon them and causes the lightning of his cloud to shine?

[37:16] Do you know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge,

[37:17] you whose garments are hot when the earth is still because of the south wind?

[37:18] Can you, like him, spread out the skies, hard as a cast metal mirror?

[37:19] Teach us what we shall say to him; we cannot draw up our case because of darkness.

[37:20] Shall it be told him that I would speak? Did a man ever wish that he would be swallowed up?

[37:21] “And now no one looks on the light when it is bright in the skies, when the wind has passed and cleared them.

[37:22] Out of the north comes golden splendor; God is clothed with awesome majesty.

[37:23] The Almighty—we cannot find him; he is great in power; justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate.

[37:24] Therefore men fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.”

[40:3] Then Job answered the Lord and said:

[40:4] “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth.

[40:5] I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further.”