Job 21–37

¹And Job answereth and saith:— ²Hear ye diligently my word, And this is your consolation. ³Bear with me, and I speak, And after my speaking—ye may deride. ⁴I—to man is my complaint? and if so, wherefore May not my temper become short? ⁵Turn unto me, and be astonished, And put hand to mouth. ⁶Yea, if I have remembered, then I have been troubled. And my flesh hath taken fright.

⁷Wherefore do the wicked live? They have become old, Yea, they have been mighty in wealth. ⁸Their seed is established, Before their face with them, And their offspring before their eyes. ⁹Their houses are peace without fear, Nor is a rod of God upon them. ¹⁰His bullock hath eaten corn, and doth not loath. His cow bringeth forth safely, And doth not miscarry. ¹¹They send forth as a flock their sucklings, And their children skip, ¹²They lift themselves up at timbrel and harp, And rejoice at the sound of an organ. ¹³They wear out in good their days, And in a moment to Sheol go down. ¹⁴And they say to God, ‘Turn aside from us, And the knowledge of Thy ways We have not desired. ¹⁵What is the Mighty One that we serve Him? And what do we profit when we meet with Him?’ ¹⁶Lo, not in their hand is their good, (The counsel of the wicked Hath been far from me.)

¹⁷How oft is the lamp of the wicked extinguished, And come on them doth their calamity? Pangs He apportioneth in His anger. ¹⁸They are as straw before wind, And as chaff a hurricane hath stolen away, ¹⁹God layeth up for his sons his sorrow, He giveth recompense unto him—and he knoweth. ²⁰His own eyes see his destruction, And of the wrath of the Mighty he drinketh. ²¹For what is his delight in his house after him, And the number of his months cut off? ²²To God doth one teach knowledge, And He the high doth judge? ²³This one dieth in his perfect strength, Wholly at ease and quiet. ²⁴His breasts have been full of milk, And marrow his bones doth moisten. ²⁵And this one dieth with a bitter soul, And have not eaten with gladness. ²⁶Together—on the dust they lie down, And the worm doth cover them over.

²⁷Lo, I have known your thoughts, And the devices against me ye do wrongfully. ²⁸For ye say, ‘Where is the house of the noble? And where the tent—The tabernacles of the wicked?’ ²⁹Have ye not asked those passing by the way? And their signs do ye not know? ³⁰That to a day of calamity is the wicked spared. To a day of wrath they are brought. ³¹Who doth declare to his face his way? And for that which he hath done, Who doth give recompence to him? ³²And he—to the graves he is brought. And over the heap a watch is kept. ³³Sweet to him have been the clods of the valley, And after him every man he draweth, And before him there is no numbering. ³⁴And how do ye comfort me with vanity, And in your answers hath been left trespass?

Chapter 22

¹And Eliphaz the Temanite answereth and saith:— ²To God is a man profitable, Because a wise man to himself is profitable? ³Is it a delight to the Mighty One That thou art righteous? is it gain, That thou makest perfect thy ways? ⁴Because of thy reverence Doth He reason with thee? He entereth with thee into judgment:

⁵Is not thy wickedness abundant? And there is no end to thine iniquities. ⁶For thou takest a pledge of thy brother for nought, And the garments of the naked Thou dost strip off. ⁷Thou causest not the weary to drink water, And from the hungry thou withholdest bread. ⁸As to the man of arm—he hath the earth, And the accepted of face—he dwelleth in it. ⁹Widows thou hast sent away empty, And the arms of the fatherless are bruised. ¹⁰Therefore round about thee are snares, And trouble thee doth fear suddenly. ¹¹Or darkness—thou dost not see, And abundance of waters doth cover thee. ¹²Is not God high in heaven? And see the summit of the stars, That they are high. ¹³And thou hast said, ‘What—hath God known? Through thickness doth He judge? ¹⁴Thick clouds are a secret place to Him, And He doth not see;’ And the circle of the heavens He walketh habitually,

¹⁵The path of the age dost thou observe, That men of iniquity have trodden? ¹⁶Who have been cut down unexpectedly, A flood is poured out on their foundation. ¹⁷Those saying to God, ‘Turn aside from us,’ And what doth the Mighty One to them? ¹⁸And he hath filled their houses with good: (And the counsel of the wicked Hath been far from me.) ¹⁹See do the righteous and they rejoice, And the innocent mocketh at them, ²⁰‘Surely our substance hath not been cut off, And their excellency hath fire consumed.’

²¹Acquaint thyself, I pray thee, with Him, And be at peace, Thereby thine increase is good. ²²Receive, I pray thee, from His mouth a law, And set His sayings in thy heart. ²³If thou dost return unto the Mighty Thou art built up, Thou puttest iniquity far from thy tents. ²⁴So as to set on the dust a defence, And on a rock of the valleys a covering. ²⁵And the Mighty hath been thy defence, And silver is strength to thee. ²⁶For then on the Mighty thou delightest thyself, And dost lift up unto God thy face, ²⁷Thou dost make supplication unto Him, And He doth hear thee, And thy vows thou completest. ²⁸And thou decreest a saying, And it is established to thee, And on thy ways hath light shone. ²⁹For they have made low, And thou sayest, ‘Lift up.’ And the bowed down of eyes he saveth. ³⁰He delivereth the not innocent, Yea, he hath been delivered By the cleanness of thy hands.

Chapter 23

¹And Job answereth and saith:— ²Also—to-day is my complaint bitter, My hand hath been heavy because of my sighing. ³O that I had known—and I find Him, I come in unto His seat, ⁴I arrange before Him the cause, And my mouth fill with arguments. ⁵I know the words He doth answer me, And understand what He saith to me. ⁶In the abundance of power doth He strive with me? No! surely He putteth it in me. ⁷There the upright doth reason with Him, And I escape for ever from my judge.

⁸Lo, forward I go—and He is not, And backward—and I perceive him not. ⁹To the left in His working—and I see not, He is covered on the right, and I behold not. ¹⁰For He hath known the way with me, He hath tried me—as gold I go forth. ¹¹On His step hath my foot laid hold, His way I have kept, and turn not aside, ¹²The command of His lips, and I depart not. Above my allotted portion I have laid up The sayings of His mouth.

¹³And He is in one mind, And who doth turn Him back? And His soul hath desired—and He doth it. ¹⁴For He doth complete my portion, And many such things are with Him. ¹⁵Therefore, from His presence I am troubled, I consider, and am afraid of Him. ¹⁶And God hath made my heart soft, And the Mighty hath troubled me. ¹⁷For I have not been cut off before darkness, And before me He covered thick darkness.

Chapter 24

¹Wherefore from the Mighty One Times have not been hidden, And those knowing Him have not seen His days. ²The borders they reach, A drove they have taken violently away, Yea, they do evil. ³The ass of the fatherless they lead away, They take in pledge the ox of the widow, ⁴They turn aside the needy from the way, Together have hid the poor of the earth. ⁵Lo, wild asses in a wilderness, They have gone out about their work, Seeking early for prey, A mixture for himself—food for young ones. ⁶In a field his provender they reap, And the vineyard of the wicked they glean. ⁷The naked they cause to lodge Without clothing. And there is no covering in the cold. ⁸From the inundation of hills they are wet, And without a refuge—have embraced a rock. ⁹They take violently away From the breast the orphan, And on the poor they lay a pledge. ¹⁰Naked, they have gone without clothing, And hungry—have taken away a sheaf. ¹¹Between their walls they make oil, Wine-presses they have trodden, and thirst. ¹²Because of enmity men do groan, And the soul of pierced ones doth cry, And God doth not give praise.

¹³They have been among rebellious ones of light, They have not discerned His ways, Nor abode in His paths. ¹⁴At the light doth the murderer rise, He doth slay the poor and needy, And in the night he is as a thief. ¹⁵And the eye of an adulterer Hath observed the twilight, Saying, ‘No eye doth behold me.’ And he putteth the face in secret. ¹⁶He hath dug in the darkness—houses; By day they shut themselves up, They have not known light. ¹⁷When together, morning is to them death shade, When he discerneth the terrors of death shade.

¹⁸Light he is on the face of the waters, Vilified is their portion in the earth, He turneth not the way of vineyards. ¹⁹Drought—also heat—consume snow-waters, Sheol those who have sinned. ²⁰Forget him doth the womb, Sweeten on him doth the worm, No more is he remembered, And broken as a tree is wickedness. ²¹Treating evil the barren who beareth not, And to the widow he doth no good, ²²And hath drawn the mighty by his power, He riseth, and none believeth in life. ²³He giveth to him confidence, and he is supported, And his eyes are on their ways. ²⁴High they were for a little, and they are not, And they have been brought low. As all others they are shut up, And as the head of an ear of corn cut off. ²⁵And if not now, who doth prove me a liar, And doth make of nothing my word?

Chapter 25

¹And Bildad the Shuhite answereth and saith:— ²The rule and fear are with Him, Making peace in His high places. ³Is there any number to His troops? And on whom ariseth not His light? ⁴And what? is man righteous with God? And what? is he pure—born of a woman? ⁵Lo—unto the moon, and it shineth not, And stars have not been pure in His eyes. ⁶How much less man—a grub, And the son of man—a worm!

Chapter 26

¹And Job answereth and saith:— ²What—thou hast helped the powerless, Saved an arm not strong! ³What—thou hast given counsel to the unwise, And wise plans in abundance made known. ⁴With whom hast thou declared words? And whose breath came forth from thee?

⁵The Rephaim are formed, Beneath the waters, also their inhabitants. ⁶Naked is Sheol over-against Him, And there is no covering to destruction. ⁷Stretching out the north over desolation, Hanging the earth upon nothing, ⁸Binding up the waters in His thick…