Job 4:1–14:22

1  And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, 2  If a word were essayed to thee, wouldest thou be grieved? But who can refrain from speaking? 3  Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands; 4  Thy words have upholden him that was stumbling, and thou hast braced up the bending knees: 5  But now it is come upon thee, and thou grievest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. 6  Hath not thy piety been thy confidence, and the perfection of thy ways thy hope?

7  Remember, I pray thee, who that was innocent has perished? and where were the upright cut off? 8  Even as I have seen, they that plough iniquity and sow mischief, reap the same. 9  By the breath of †God they perish, and by the blast of his nostrils are they consumed. 10  The roar of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken; 11  The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the whelps of the lioness are scattered.

12  Now to me a word was secretly brought, and mine ear received a whisper thereof. 13  In thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men: — 14  Fear came on me, and trembling, and made all my bones to shake; 15  And a spirit passed before my face—the hair of my flesh stood up— 16  It stood still; I could not discern the appearance thereof: a form was before mine eyes; I heard a slight murmur and a voice: 17  Shall mortal man be more just than †God? Shall a man be purer than his Maker? 18  Lo, he trusteth not his servants, and his angels he chargeth with folly: 19  How much more them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed as the moth! 20  From morning to evening are they smitten: without any heeding it, they perish for ever. 21  Is not their tent-cord torn away in them? they die, and without wisdom.

Chapter 5

1  Call, I pray thee! Is there any that answereth thee? and to which of the holy ones wilt thou turn? 2  For vexation killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the simple. 3  I myself saw the foolish taking root, but suddenly I cursed his habitation. 4  His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, and there is no deliverer: 5  Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh even out of the thorns; and the snare gapeth for his substance.

6  For evil cometh not forth from the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; 7  For man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upwards. 8  But as for me I will seek unto •God, and unto God commit my cause; 9  Who doeth great things and unsearchable, marvellous things without number; 10  Who giveth rain on the face of the earth, and sendeth waters on the face of the fields; 11  Setting up on high those that are low; and mourners are exalted to prosperity. 12  He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, and their hands carry not out the enterprise. 13  He taketh the wise in their own craftiness; and the counsel of the wily is carried headlong: 14  They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope at midday as in the night. 15  And he saveth the needy from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty. 16  So the poor hath what he hopeth for, and unrighteousness stoppeth her mouth.

17  Behold, happy is the man whom †God correcteth; therefore despise not the chastening of the Almighty. 18  For he maketh sore, and bindeth up; he woundeth, and his hands make whole. 19  He will deliver thee in six troubles, and in seven there shall no evil touch thee. 20  In famine he will redeem thee from death, and in war from the power of the sword. 21  Thou shalt be hidden from the scourge of the tongue; and thou shalt not be afraid of destruction when it cometh. 22  At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh, and of the beasts of the earth thou shalt not be afraid. 23  For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. 24  And thou shalt know that thy tent is in peace; and thou wilt survey thy fold, and miss nothing. 25  And thou shalt know that thy seed is numerous, and thine offspring as the herb of the earth. 26  Thou shalt come to the grave in a ripe age, as a shock of corn is brought in in its season. 27  Behold this, we have searched it out, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thyself.

Chapter 6

1  And Job answered and said, 2  Oh that my grief were thoroughly weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances! 3  For now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas; therefore my words are vehement. 4  For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, their poison drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of †God are arrayed against me. 5  Doth the wild ass bray by the grass? loweth an ox over his fodder? 6  Shall that which is insipid be eaten without salt? Is there any taste in the white of an egg? 7  What my soul refuseth to touch, that is as my loathsome food.

8  Oh that I might have my request, and that †God would grant my desire! 9  And that it would please †God to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and cut me off! 10  Then should I yet have comfort; and in the pain which spareth not I would rejoice that I have not denied the words of the Holy One. 11  What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should have patience? 12  Is my strength the strength of stones? is my flesh of brass? 13  Is it not that there is no help in me, and soundness is driven away from me?

14  For him that is fainting kindness is meet from his friend; or he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty. 15  My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a stream, as the channel of streams which pass away, 16  Which are turbid by reason of the ice, in which the snow hideth itself: 17  At the time they diminish, they are dried up; when heat affecteth them, they vanish from their place: 18  They wind about in the paths of their course, they go off into the waste and perish. 19  The caravans of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba counted on them: 20  They are ashamed at their hope; they come thither, and are confounded. 21  So now ye are nothing; ye see a terrible object and are afraid.

22  Did I say, Bring unto me, and make me a present from your substance? 23  Or, rescue me from the hand of the oppressor, and redeem me from the hand of the violent? 24  Teach me, and I will hold my tongue; and cause me to understand wherein I have erred. 25  How forcible are right words! but what doth your upbraiding reprove? 26  Do ye imagine to reprove words? The speeches of one that is desperate are indeed for the wind. 27  Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and dig a pit for your friend. 28  Now therefore if ye will, look upon me; and it shall be to your face if I lie. 29  Return, I pray you, let there be no wrong; yea, return again, my righteousness shall be in it. 30  Is there wrong in my tongue? cannot my taste discern mischievous things?

Chapter 7

1  Hath not man a life of labour upon earth? and are not his days like the days of a hireling? 2  As a bondman earnestly desireth the shadow, and a hireling expecteth his wages, 3  So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me. 4  If I lie down, I say, When shall I rise up, and the darkness be gone? and I am full of tossings until the dawn. 5  My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and suppurates. 6  My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope.

7  Remember thou that my life is wind; mine eye shall no more see good. 8  The eye of him that hath seen me shall behold me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not. 9  The cloud consumeth and vanisheth away; so he that goeth down to Sheol shall not come up. 10  He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him again. 11  Therefore I will not restrain my mouth: I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 12  Am I a sea, or a sea-monster, that thou settest a watch over me? 13  When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint; 14  Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions; 15  So that my soul chooseth strangling, death, rather than my bones. 16  I loathe it; I shall not live always: let me alone, for my days are a breath.

17  What is man, that thou makest much of him? and that thou settest thy heart upon him? 18  And that thou visitest him every morning, triest him every moment? 19  How long wilt thou not look away from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle? 20  Have I sinned, what do I unto thee, thou Observer of men? Why hast thou set me as an object of assault for thee, so that I am become a burden to myself? 21  And why dost not thou forgive my transgression and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I lie down in the dust, and thou shalt seek me early, and I shall not be.

Chapter 8

1  And Bildad the Shuhite answered and said, 2  How long wilt thou speak these things? and the words of thy mouth be a strong wind? 3  Doth •God pervert judgment, and the Almighty pervert justice? 4  If thy children have sinned against him, he hath also given them over into the hand of their transgression. 5  If thou seek earnestly unto •God, and make thy supplication to the Almighty, 6  If thou be pure and upright, surely now he will awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous; 7  And though thy beginning was small, yet thine end shall be very great.

8  For inquire, I pray thee, of the former generation, and attend to the researches of their fathers; 9  For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, for our days upon earth are a shadow. 10  Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart? 11  Doth the papyrus shoot up without mire? doth the reed-grass grow without water? 12  Whilst it is yet in its greenness and not cut down, it withereth before any other grass. 13  So are the paths of all that forget •God; and the profane man’s hope shall perish, 14  Whose …