1

¹ There was a man in the land of Uz, his name was Job. And this man was perfect and upright, and fearing God, and turning away from evil.

² And seven sons and three daughters were born to him.

³ And his possessions were seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very great household, so that this man was greater than all the sons of the east.

⁴ And his sons would go and make a feast in the house of a man on his day. And they sent and called their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

⁵ And it happened, when the day of feasting had gone around, Job would send and sanctify them. And he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt sacrifices according to all their number. For Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. This Job did all the days.

⁶ And a day came when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah. And Satan also came among them.

⁷ And Jehovah said to Satan, From where have you come? And Satan answered Jehovah and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

⁸ And Jehovah said to Satan, Have you set your heart on My servant Job because there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil?

⁹ And Satan answered Jehovah and said, Does Job fear God for nothing?

¹⁰ Have You not made a hedge for him, and for his house, and for all that is to him all around? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock have increased in the land.

¹¹ But put out Your hand now, and touch against all which is to him, and see if he will not curse You to Your face.

¹² And Jehovah said to Satan, Behold, all that is to him is in your hand! Only, do not lay your hand on him. And Satan went out from the face of Jehovah.

¹³ And a day was when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their brother's house, the first-born.

¹⁴ And a messenger came to Job and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses were feeding beside them.

¹⁵ And the Sabeans fell on them and took them away. And they killed the young men with the mouth of the sword; and only I, I alone have escaped to tell you.

¹⁶ While this one was still speaking, this other also came and said, The fire of God has fallen from the heavens and has burned up the sheep and the young men. And it has consumed them; and I, I alone have escaped to tell you.

¹⁷ While this one was still speaking, this other also came and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands and made a raid on the camels. And they have taken them away. And they have struck the young men with the mouth of the sword; and only I, I alone have escaped to tell you.

¹⁸ While this one was still speaking, this other came and said, Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their brother, the first-born.

¹⁹ And, behold! A great wind came from the wilderness and touched the four corners of the house. And it fell on the young men and they died; and only I, I alone have escaped to tell you.

²⁰ And Job rose up and tore his robe, and shaved his head. And he fell down on the ground and worshiped.

²¹ And he said, I came naked out of my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. Jehovah gave, and Jehovah has taken away. Blessed be the name of Jehovah.

²² In all this Job did not sin and did not ascribe unseemliness to God.

2

¹ And it happened that a day came when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah. And Satan also came among them to present himself before Jehovah.

² And Jehovah said to Satan, From where have you come? And Satan answered Jehovah and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down in it.

³ And Jehovah said to Satan, Have you set your heart on My servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, fearing God, and turning away from evil? And he is still holding to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to swallow him for nothing.

⁴ And Satan answered Jehovah and said, Skin for skin. Yea, all that is to a man he will give for his life.

⁵ But indeed put out Your hand now and touch to his bone and his flesh, and he will curse You to Your face.

⁶ And Jehovah said to Satan, Behold, he is in your hand; but preserve his life.

⁷ And Satan went out from before the face of Jehovah. And he struck Job with bad erupting boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head.

⁸ And he took for himself a potsherd to scrape himself with it. And he was sitting among the ashes.

⁹ And his wife said to him, Are you still holding fast to your integrity? Bless God and die!

¹⁰ But he said to her, You speak as one of the foolish ones speak. Indeed, shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

¹¹ And three friends of Job heard of all this evil that had come on him. And they came, each man from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite; Bildad the Shuhite; and Zophar the Naamathite. And they had met together to come to lament with him, and to comfort him.

¹² And they lifted up their eyes from afar and did not recognize him. And they lifted up their voice and wept. And each man tore his robe; and they sprinkled dust on their heads toward the heavens.

¹³ And they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights. And no one was speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.

3

¹ After this Job opened his mouth and cursed his day.

² And Job answered and said:

³ Let the day perish in which I was born, and the night which said, A man-child has been conceived.

⁴ Let that day be darkness! Let not God look on it from above, and not let the light shine on it.

⁵ Let darkness and the shadow of death seize upon it. Let a cloud dwell on it; let darkness of day terrify it! Let it not be joined to the days of the year. Let it not come into the number of the months.

⁶ - - -

⁷ Behold, let that night be barren; let not joyful voice come in it.

⁸ Let it be cursed, the day being cursed, those ready to stir up Leviathan.

⁹ Let the stars of its twilight be dark; let it look for light, but have none, let it wait for eyelids of the dawn.

¹⁰ For it did not shut up the doors of my mother's womb and did not hide toil from my eyes.

¹¹ Why did I not die from the womb, come from the womb and expire?

¹² Why did the knees go before me; or why the breasts, that I should suck?

¹³ For now I would have lain down and have been quiet; I would have slept. Then I would have been at rest,

¹⁴ with kings and wise men of the earth, who built ruins for themselves;

¹⁵ or with chiefs; they had gold, they filled their houses with silver;

¹⁶ or as a hidden miscarriage, I would not have been, like infants who never saw light.

¹⁷ There the wicked ones cease from turmoil, and there the weary of strength are at rest;

¹⁸ The prisoners are at ease together, they hear not the voice of the slave-driver;

¹⁹ the small and the great, he is there, and the slave free from his master.

²⁰ Why is light given to the sufferer, and life to him who is bitter of soul;

²¹ who is waiting for death, but it is not; and they dig for it more than for treasures?

²² They are rejoicing to exultation. They are glad when they find the grave.

²³ To a man whose way is hidden, God has made a hedge about him.

²⁴ For my sighing comes before my food; and my groanings are poured out like the waters.

²⁵ For the dreadful thing I dreaded has come on me; and that which I feared has come to me.

²⁶ I am not at ease, and I am not at rest; and I am not quiet; yet turmoil comes.

4

¹ And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

² Shall one try a word with you, you who are weary? But who can hold back with words?

³ Behold, you have instructed many; and you have made weak hands strong.

⁴ Your words have upheld him who was falling, and you have made feeble knees strong.

⁵ But now it has come upon you, and you faint. It touches you, and you are troubled.

⁶ Is not your fearing of God your confidence; your hope the integrity of your ways?

⁷ Please remember, Who, being innocent, has perished? Or where were the upright ones cut off?

⁸ As I have seen, the ones plowing iniquity and sowing trouble; they harvest it.

⁹ They perish from the breath of God, and by the wind of His anger they are finished

¹⁰ The roar of the lion. and the voice of the lion, and the teeth of the young lions are broken;

¹¹ Without prey the lion is perishing, and the offspring of the lioness are scattered.

¹² And a word was stolen to me, and my ear received a whisper of it.

¹³ In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men,

¹⁴ fear and trembling met me, and caused my many bones to dread.

¹⁵ Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up;

¹⁶ it stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; an image was before my eyes; there was a whisper and a voice I heard:

¹⁷ Is man more righteous than God? Or is a man more pure than his Maker?

¹⁸ Behold, He puts no trust in His servants, and He puts error against His angels.

¹⁹ How much more those that dwell in houses of clay; whose foundation is in the dust; they crush them before the moth!

²⁰ They are beaten from morning till evening; they perish forever with no one regarding.

²¹ Is not their tent cord pulled up within them? They die, but not with wisdom.

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¹ Call now. Is there anyone answering you? And to whom of the holy ones will you turn?

² For provocation kills the foolish one, and passion causes the one being simple to die.

³ I have seen the foolish one taking root, but suddenly I cursed his abode.

⁴ His sons are far from safety; yea, they are crushed in the gate; and there is not a deliverer.

⁵ The hungry eat his harvest, and they take him to the thorns, and the snare crushes up their strength.

⁶ For affliction does not come forth from the dust, and trouble does not spring up out of the ground;

⁷ for man is born to trouble, and the sons of the flame rise, flying upward.

⁸ Truly, I would seek to God, and to God I would put my suit,

⁹ who is doing great things, and there is no searching them; marvelous things to which is no numbering,

¹⁰ the One giving rain on the face of the earth and sending water on the face of the outer places;

¹¹ to set the lowly on high; yea, the mourners become very high in safety;

¹² frustrating the plots of the crafty, and their hands do not perform the undertaking,

¹³ taking the wise ones in their craftiness, and the counsel of the wily ones is hurried.

¹⁴ They meet with darkness by day, and grope in the noonday as in the night.

¹⁵ But He saves the needy one from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the strong one;

¹⁶ and there is hope for the weak one; and injustice shuts her mouth.

¹⁷ Behold, blessed is the man whom God corrects; and despise not the chastening of the Almighty.

¹⁸ For He wounds, and He binds up. He shatters, and His hands heal.

¹⁹ He will deliver you in six troubles; yea, in seven evil shall not touch you.

²⁰ In famine He will redeem you from death; and in war from the hand of the sword.

²¹ You shall be hidden from the whip of the tongue, and you shall not be afraid of violence when it comes.

²² You shall laugh at violence and at famine; and you shall not be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

²³ For you shall be in covenant with the stones of the field; and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.

²⁴ And you shall know that your tent is in peace; and you shall visit your abode and shall miss nothing;

²⁵ and you shall know that your seed will be many, and your offspring as the grass of the earth.

²⁶ You shall come to the grave in full vigor, like a stack of grain comes up in its season.

²⁷ Behold this! We have searched it out; it is so. Hear it, and know it for yourself.

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¹ And Job answered and said:

² Oh that weighing my indignation were weighed, and my ruin lifted in the balances together!

³ For now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas; on account of this my words have been rash.

⁴ For the arrows of the Almighty are within me; their fury is drinking my spirit; the terrors of God are set against me.

⁵ Does the wild ass bray over tender grass? Or does the ox low over his fodder?

⁶ Are tasteless things eaten without salt? Or is there taste in the slime of an egg?

⁷ My soul refuses to touch them; they are sickening food to me.

⁸ Who will give it that my desire might come, and God would grant my longing;

⁹ and God would be willing and crush me; let loose His hand and cut me off?

¹⁰ And it is yet my comfort; and I would exult in pain not spared; for I have not hidden the words of the Holy One.

¹¹ What is my strength that I should wait? And what is my end that I should prolong my life?

¹² Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh of bronze?

¹³ Is not my help within me? And is wisdom driven from me?

¹⁴ To the despairing one, pity is due from his friend; for he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵ My brothers have dealt deceitfully, like the torrent, like the streams of torrents, they pass away;

¹⁶ those darkened from ice, in which the snow hides itself.

¹⁷ At the time they are warmed, they are cut off; when it is hot they dry up.

¹⁸ The paths of their way bend; they go to nothing and are lost.

¹⁹ The wayfarers of Tema looked; the traveling companies of Sheba hoped for them;

²⁰ they were ashamed because they had hoped; they came there and were ashamed.

²¹ Surely now you have become like it; you see my dismay, and are afraid.

²² Did I indeed say, Give to me? Or, Offer a bribe for me from your wealth?

²³ Or, Deliver me from an adversary's hand? Or, Redeem me from the hand of terrifying ones?

²⁴ Teach me and I will be silent; and cause me to understand in what I have erred.

²⁵ How powerful are right speeches, but what does arguing from you argue?

²⁶ Do you intend to argue words, and the speeches that are as wind to cause despair?

²⁷ Yea, you cause even an orphan to fall; and you bargain over your friend.

²⁸ And now, be willing to face me, and to your face I will not lie.

²⁹ Turn back, please, let there be no wrong. Yea, turn back again, for my righteousness is in it.

³⁰ Is there wrong in my tongue? Or cannot my palate discern desirable things?

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¹ Is there not a warfare to man on earth, and his days like the days of a hireling?

² As a servant pants for the shade, and as a hireling looks for his wages,

³ so I am caused to inherit months of emptiness; and nights of trouble are appointed to me.

⁴ When I lie down, I say, When shall I rise up? But the night is long, and I am full of tossings, until the twilight of dawn.

⁵ My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken and is loathed.

⁶ My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle and end without hope.

⁷ Remember that my life is a breath; my eyes shall not return to see good.

⁸ The eye of him who sees me shall not gaze at me; Your eyes will be on me, and I will not be.

⁹ As the cloud fades, it goes, so he who goes down to Sheol shall not come up.

¹⁰ He shall not return again to his house;, and his place shall not know him any more.

¹¹ Also, I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the distress of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

¹² Am I a sea, or a sea-monster, that You set a watch over me?

¹³ When I say, My bed shall comfort me; my couch shall bear with my complaining;

¹⁴ even You scare me with dreams and terrify me with visions;

¹⁵ and my soul chooses strangling and death rather than my bones.

¹⁶ I despise them; I will not live always. Cease from me, for my days are vanity.

¹⁷ What is man that You should magnify him, and that You should set Your heart to him,

¹⁸ and visit him every morning, trying him every moment?

¹⁹ How long will You not look away from me, and not leave me alone until I swallow my spittle?

²⁰ I have sinned; what do I do to You, O Watcher of man? Why have You set me as a target for You so that I am a burden on myself?

²¹ And why do You not lift up my transgression, and make my iniquity pass away? For now I shall lie down in the dust, and You shall seek me; but I will not be.

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¹ And Bildad the Shuhite answered, saying:

² Until when will you speak these things, and the words of your mouth will be like a mighty wind?

³ Or does God pervert judgment? Or does the Almighty pervert the right?

⁴ If your sons have sinned against Him, and if He has sent them away in the hand of their transgression,

⁵ if you would diligently seek to God, and make your prayer to the Almighty,

⁶ if you were pure and upright, surely now He would rise for you, and make peaceful the abode of your righteousness.

⁷ And though your beginning was small, even your end would greatly increase.

⁸ For please ask of the former generation, and prepare to the search of their fathers;

⁹ for we are but of yesterday, and we do not know, because our days on earth are a shadow.

¹⁰ Shall they not teach you, speak to you, and bring forth words out of their heart?

¹¹ Can the rush grow up without mire? Can the reed grass grow without water?

¹² While it is yet in its greenness, and not cut down, it dries out before every plant;

¹³ so are the paths of all those forgetting God; yea, the hope of the godless one shall perish,

¹⁴ whose hope is cut off, and his trust is as a spider's house.

¹⁵ He shall lean on his house, but it shall not stand; he shall hold fast to it, but it shall not rise up.

¹⁶ He is moist before the sun, and his tender plants shoot forth on his garden.

¹⁷ His roots are wrapped around a heap; he sees a house of stones.

¹⁸ If one swallows him from his place, even it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen you!

¹⁹ Behold this is the joy of His way, and out of the dust others shall grow.

²⁰ Behold, God will not reject the perfect one, and He will not strengthen the hand of evildoers,

²¹ until He fills your mouth with laughter and your lips with rejoicing.

²² Those who hate you shall be clothed with shame; and the tent of the wicked one shall not be.

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¹ And Job answered and said:

² Truly I know it is so; but how can man be just with God?

³ If he would delight to argue with Him, he cannot answer Him one of a thousand.

⁴ He is wise in heart and mighty in strength; who has been hard against Him and been at peace?

⁵ He who moves the mountains, and they do not know when He overturns them in His anger;

⁶ who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble;

⁷ the One speaking to the sun and it does not rise; and for the stars He sets a seal;

⁸ stretching out the heavens by Himself, and walking on the high place of the sea;

⁹ Who made the Ursa Major, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south;

¹⁰ doing great things past finding out; yea, wonderful things until there is no number?

¹¹ Behold, He goes by me, and I do not see Him; and He passes on, but I do not perceive Him.

¹² Behold, He takes away; who can turn Him back? Who will say to Him, What are You doing?

¹³ God will not withdraw His anger; the helpers of pride crouch under Him.

¹⁴ How then shall I answer Him, and choose my words with Him!

¹⁵ Whom, though I were being righteous, I could not answer Him; I seek mercy for my judgment.

¹⁶ If I had called and He had not answered me I would not believe that He had listened to my voice;

¹⁷ He falls on me me with a tempest, and adds to my wounds without cause;

¹⁸ who will not allow me to bring back my breath, but fills me with bitterness.

¹⁹ If I speak of strength, behold, He is mighty; and if of judgment, who can summon me?

²⁰ If I am being righteous my mouth will condemn me; though I am the perfect one, He shall declare me perverse;

²¹ though I were the perfect one, I would not know my own soul; I despise my life.

²² It is all one; on account of this I said, He is consuming the perfect one and the wicked one.

²³ If the whip kills suddenly, He will mock at the testing of the innocent.

²⁴ The earth is given into the hand of the wicked one; He covers the faces of its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?

²⁵ Now my days are swifter than a runner; they flee away; they see no good;

²⁶ they have passed away like the reed ships, as an eagle swoops on food.

²⁷ If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will loosen my face and be cheerful,

²⁸ I am afraid of all my sorrows; I know that You will not hold me innocent;

²⁹ I have been condemned; why should I labor in vain?

³⁰ If I wash myself with snow, and make my palms clean with lye soap,

³¹ yet You will plunge me into the ditch, and my own clothes would abhor me.

³² For He is not a man, as I am, that I should answer Him; that we should come together in judgment;

³³ there is no mediator between us, who might lay his hand on both of us.

³⁴ Let Him take His rod away from me, and let not His dread make me afraid;

³⁵ then I would speak, and not fear Him; for I am not so in myself.

10

¹ My soul loathes my life; I will leave my complaint on myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

² I will say to God, Do not condemn me; make me know on what ground You contend with me.

³ Is it good to You that You should press on me, that You should despise the work of Your palms, and You shine on the counsel of the wicked ones?

⁴ Have You eyes of flesh; or do You see as a man sees?

⁵ Are Your days as the days of man? Or your years like the days of man,

⁶ that You seek out my iniquity, and search for my sin?

⁷ It is on Your knowing that I am not a wicked one; and there is no one delivering out of Your hand.

⁸ Your hands have made me and shaped me together round about, yet You engulf me.

⁹ Remember, I pray, that You have formed me as clay; and will You bring me to dust again?

¹⁰ Did You not pour me out like milk; yea, curdled me like cheese?

¹¹ You clothed me with skin and flesh, and You knitted me with bones and sinews.

¹² You have made me have life and favor, and Your providence has guarded my spirit.

¹³ And these You have hidden in Your heart; I know that this was with You.

¹⁴ If I sin, even You watch me; and You will not acquit me from my guilt.

¹⁵ If I am wrong, woe to me! And if I am being righteous, I will not lift up my head, being filled with shame and seeing my pain.

¹⁶ And if if rise, You would hunt me as a lion; and again You show Yourself wonderful in me.

¹⁷ You renew Your witnesses against me, and increase Your anger with me; changes and warfare are with me.

¹⁸ And why did You bring me from the womb? I would have died, and no eye seen me.

¹⁹ I would have been as though I had never been, carried from the womb to the grave.

²⁰ Are not my days few? Then cease and let me alone, that I may take a little comfort

²¹ before I go; and I shall not return, to the land of darkness, and the shadow of death;

²² a land of obscurity, the darkness of the shadow of death, and without any order; even the shining is as utter darkness.

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¹ And Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:

² Should not a multitude of words be answered? And should a man of lips be justified?

³ Should your lies make men silent? And will you mock, and no one make you ashamed?

⁴ For you have said, My doctrine is pure; and, I am clean in Your eyes.

⁵ But who will grant that God would speak and open His lips against you,

⁶ and would tell you the secrets of wisdom, that there is a doubling for counsel? Know then that God forgets some of your iniquity for you.

⁷ Can you find out God by searching? Or can you find out the end of the Almighty?

⁸ Heights of the heavens! What can you do? It is deeper than Sheol; what can you know?

⁹ Its measure is longer than the earth, broader than the sea.

¹⁰ If He passes through and shuts up, or gathers together, even who can turn Him back?

¹¹ For He knows the vanity of men; and He sees deceit, and will He not consider?

¹² For empty-minded man takes heart, and man is born a wild ass's colt.

¹³ If you prepare your heart, and stretch out your palm toward Him;

¹⁴ if iniquity is in your hand, put it far away and do not let wickedness dwell in your tents;

¹⁵ surely then you shall lift up your face without blemish; and you will be steadfast, and you will not fear;

¹⁶ for you shall forget your misery, and shall remember it as waters that have passed;

¹⁷ and your lifetime shall rise more than the noonday; you shall fly; you shall be as the morning.

¹⁸ And you shall trust, because there is hope. Yea, you shall look about and you shall lie down in safety.

¹⁹ You shall lie down, and no one will be terrifying; yea, many shall seek your favor.

²⁰ But the eyes of the wicked ones shall be consumed, and escape shall perish from them; and their hope shall be like the breathing out of the soul.

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¹ And Job answered and said:

² For truly you are the people, and wisdom will die with you.

³ Also to me is a heart as well as to you; I do not fall short of you. And with whom are not things like these?

⁴ I am a laughingstock to his friend; he calls to God, and He answers him; the just one, the blameless one is a mockery;

⁵ a flame is despised in the thoughts of him who is at ease; it is ready for those with slipping feet.

⁶ The tents of plunderers and those provoking God are in security, to whomever God brings into his hand.

⁷ But now please ask the animals, and they will teach you; and the birds of the heavens, and they will declare to you;

⁸ or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; and the fish of the sea will recount to you;

⁹ who among all these does not know that Jehovah's hand has done this,

¹⁰ in whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all flesh, even of man?

¹¹ Does the ear not try words, and the mouth taste food for itself?

¹² With the aged is wisdom, and understanding in the length of days.

¹³ With Him is wisdom and strength; He has forethought and understanding.

¹⁴ Behold, He breaks down, and no one builds; He shuts against a man, and no one opens.

¹⁵ Behold, He holds back the waters, and they dry up; and He sends them out, and they overflow the earth.

¹⁶ With Him is strength and sound wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are His.

¹⁷ He causes counselors to go barefoot; and He makes judges to be boastful.

¹⁸ He loosens the bonds of kings, and He binds their loins with a girdle;

¹⁹ making priests walk away barefoot; and He overthrows the ever-enduring ones;

²⁰ turning aside the lip of the trusted men; and He takes away the reason of the aged,

²¹ pouring scorn on nobles, and He loosens the girdle of the strong;

²² revealing deep things out of darkness; and He brings the shadow of death to light.

²³ He gives greatness to the nations, and He destroys them; spreading out the nations, and He leads them out;

²⁴ turning away the heart of the heads of the people of the land; and He causes them to wander in a waste in which is no path.

²⁵ They grope in the dark, and there is no light; and He makes them stagger like a drunkard.

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¹ Behold, my eye has seen all this; my ear has heard and understood it.

² As you know, I know, even I; not falling short of you.

³ Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God.

⁴ But you are ones smearing lies; all of you are worthless healers.

⁵ Oh that you would stop speaking entirely, and it would be your wisdom!

⁶ Hear now my reasoning, and attend to the arguments of my lips.

⁷ Would you speak unrighteously for God and speak deceitfully for Him?

⁸ Will you lift up His face, or will you contend for God?

⁹ Or as one man mocks a man, do you mock Him? Is it good that He should search you out?

¹⁰ Reproving He will reprove you if you secretly lift up faces.

¹¹ Shall not His highness make you afraid and His dread fall on you?

¹² Your remembered sayings are like ashes; surely your backs are backs of clay.

¹³ Be silent from me, that I may speak; and let what will pass over me.

¹⁴ Why do I lift up my flesh in my teeth and put my life in my palm?

¹⁵ Behold, He will cut me off; I will not wait, but I will reason out my ways before His face.

¹⁶ Also He will be salvation to me, for a godless one shall not come before Him.

¹⁷ Listening, listen to my word, and let my declaration be in your ears;

¹⁸ Behold now, I have set my cause in order; I know that I shall be justified.

¹⁹ Who is he who will strive with me? For now I would be quiet and die.

²⁰ Only two things do not do to me, O God, then I will not hide myself from Your face:

²¹ Remove Your palm from me, and let not Your terror make me afraid.

²² Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, and turn back to me.

²³ How many are my iniquities and sins? Make me know my transgressions and my sin.

²⁴ Why do You hide Your face and count me for Your enemy?

²⁵ Will You terrify a leaf driven to and fro? Will you pursue the dry stubble?

²⁶ For You write bitter things against me and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.

²⁷ You also put my feet in the stocks, and watch all my paths; You set a limit on the roots of my feet.

²⁸ And he wears out like a rotten thing, like a garment which a moth eats.

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¹ Man born of woman is short of days and full of turmoil.

² He comes forth like a flower and withers; he also flees like a shadow and does not stand.

³ Also do You open Your eyes on this one and bring me into judgment with You?

⁴ Who gives a clean thing out of an unclean one? Not one!

⁵ If his days are determined, the number of his months is with You, and You have made his bounds, and he cannot pass over;

⁶ look away from him, so that he may rest, till he shall enjoy his day as a hireling.

⁷ For there is hope of a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and its shoot will not cease.

⁸ Though its root becomes old in the earth, and its stump dies in the dust,

⁹ at the scent of water it will bud and produce branches like a plant.

¹⁰ But man dies and is cut off, and man expires; and where is he?

¹¹ As the waters go away from the sea, and a river wastes away and dries up,

¹² even so man lies down and does not rise until the heavens are no more, they shall not awake, nor be roused out of their sleep.

¹³ Who will grant that You would hide me in Sheol; You would conceal me until Your anger turns back; that You would set a limit for me and remember me?

¹⁴ If a man dies, will he live again?? All the days of my warfare I will wait, until my change comes.

¹⁵ You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall long to the work of Your hands.

¹⁶ For now You number my steps; do You not watch over my sin?

¹⁷ My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and You cover over my iniquity.

¹⁸ And surely a falling mountain crumbles away, and the rock moves out of its place.

¹⁹ The waters wear away stones; its outpouring washes the dust of the earth; and You cause the hope of man to perish.

²⁰ You overpower him forever, and he goes. You change his face and send him away.

²¹ His sons are honored, and he does not know; they are insignificant, but he does not discern it.

²² But his flesh is made heavy on him; and his soul mourns over him.

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¹ And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

² Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?

³ Should he reason with speaking that is not being of benefit, or with words having no profit in them?

⁴ Yea, you do away with fear and take away devotion before God.

⁵ For your iniquity teaches your mouth; and you choose the tongue of the crafty.

⁶ Your mouth condemns you, and not I; yea, your own lips testify against you.

⁷ Were you the first man born? Or were you made before the hills?

⁸ Have you heard the secret counsel of God? And do you limit wisdom to yourself?

⁹ What do you know that we do not know? Or understand, that is not with us?

¹⁰ With us are both the gray-headed and very aged men, mightier than your father as to days.

¹¹ Are the comforts of God too little with you, or a word that deals gently with you?

¹² Why does your heart take you away, and why do your eyes flash,

¹³ that you turn your spirit against God and let such words go out of your mouth?

¹⁴ What is man that he should be clean? Or he born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

¹⁵ Behold, He puts no trust in His holy ones; yea, the heavens are not clean in His eyes.

¹⁶ How much more loathed and corrupted is man who drinks injustice like water!

¹⁷ I will tell you; hear me, and I will recount this that I have seen;

¹⁸ that which wise men have told and have not hidden from their fathers;

¹⁹ to them, them alone, the land was given, and no alien passed in their midst.

²⁰ All the days of the wicked one he is writhing in pain; a number of years are stored up for the terrifying one.

²¹ A dreadful sound of things is in his ears; the one devastating shall come on him in peace.

²² He does not trust to be brought back from darkness, but he is awaited by the sword.

²³ He is wandering for bread. Where is it? He knows that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.

²⁴ Straits and distress terrify him; they shall overpower him, as a king ready for the attack;

²⁵ because he stretched out his hand against God; and he acts mighty against the Almighty.

²⁶ He runs at Him with a stiff neck, with the thick layers of his shields,

²⁷ because he has covered his face with fat; yea, he has put fat on his loins.

²⁸ And he dwells in cut off cities; houses, none lives in them, which are ready to become heaps.

²⁹ He shall not be rich, and his wealth shall not hold out, and not shall he stretch out their gain on the earth.

³⁰ He shall not escape from darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches; and he shall turn at the breath of His mouth.

³¹ Let not one being led astray trust in vanity; for vanity shall be his reward.

³² Before his day it shall be fulfilled, and his branch shall not be green;

³³ he shall shake off its unripe grape as the vine; and he shall cast its flower like the olive.

³⁴ For the company of the godless one shall be bleak; and fire shall devour the tents of the giver of the bribe

³⁵ they conceive mischief and give birth to evil; and their belly prepares deceit.

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¹ And Job answered and said:

² I have heard many such things. You are all troublesome comforters.

³ Is there an end to words of wind? Or what provokes you that you answer?

⁴ I also could speak as you. If your soul were in the place of my soul, I could bind words against you and shake at you with my head.

⁵ I might strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips could spare you.

⁶ If I speak, my pain is not held back; and if I forbear, what part of me goes away?

⁷ But now He has made me weary. You have desolated all my company.

⁸ And You have plucked me; for it is a witness, and my failure rises up against me; yea, it answers to my face.

⁹ His anger has torn, and retained animosity against me; He gnashes at me with His teeth; my Adversary sharpens his eyes at me.

¹⁰ They have gaped at me with their mouth and with scorn struck my cheek; they gather themselves together against me.

¹¹ God has delivered me to the perverse one; and He has pushed me headlong to the hands of the wicked ones.

¹² I was at ease, but He has shattered me; yea, He has also taken hold on my neck and broken me to bits; and He has set me up as a target for Him.

¹³ His archers surround me; He splits my kidneys and has no pity; He pours out my gall on the ground.

¹⁴ He breaks me with break on the face of break; He runs on me like a mighty one.

¹⁵ I have sewed sackcloth on my skin, and I have thrust my horn in the dust.

¹⁶ My face is reddened from weeping; and the shadow of death is on my eyelids,

¹⁷ though no violence is in my palm, and my prayer is pure.

¹⁸ O earth, do not cover my blood, and let not be a place for my cry.

¹⁹ Even now, behold! My witness is in Heaven and my Testifier is on high.

²⁰ My scorners are my friends; my eye pours out tears to God.

²¹ O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleads for his friend!

²² For years of number will come; and I shall not return the way I shall go.

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¹ My spirit is in trouble; my days are extinguished; graves are for me.

² If not there were mockers with me, and my eye rests on their insults.

³ Please lay down a pledge for me with Yourself; who is he who will strike my hand with me?

⁴ For You have hidden their heart from understanding; therefore You shall not exalt them.

⁵ For a share he makes known to friends ; even his son's eyes shall be consumed.

⁶ He has also set me as a byword of the peoples, and I am a spitting to the faces.

⁷ And my eye is dim from grief; and all my members are all of them like a shadow.

⁸ Upright ones shall be amazed at this; and the innocent one shall stir himself against the godless one.

⁹ And the righteous one shall hold firmly on his way; and he of clean hands adds strength.

¹⁰ And now all of them, go back and please come again; and I shall not find among you a wise man.

¹¹ My days have passed; my plans are broken off, the desires of my heart.

¹² They set night for day; light is near in the face of darkness.

¹³ If I wait for Sheol as my house, I have spread out my bed in the darkness;

¹⁴ I have called to corruption, You are my father; to the worm, My mother and my sister.

¹⁵ And where then is my hope? And as for my hope, who shall see it?

¹⁶ They shall go down to the bars of Sheol, when our descent together is in the dust.

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¹ And Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

² Until when will you put an end to words? Consider, and afterwards we will speak.

³ Why are we counted as beasts? Are we stupid in your eyes?

⁴ One tearing his soul in his anger, shall the earth be forsaken for your sake? Or shall the rock move from its place?

⁵ Yes, the light of the wicked ones shall be put out; and the spark of his fire shall not blaze.

⁶ The light shall be dark in his tent; and his lamp shall be put out above him;

⁷ the steps of his strength shall be cramped, and his own counsel shall cast him down.

⁸ For he is sent into a net by his own feet; and he is walking on a snare;

⁹ the trap shall take him by the heel; a snare shall be strong over him;

¹⁰ the snare is hid for him in the ground, and a trap for him on the way.

¹¹ Terrors frighten him on every side and shall break him at his feet.

¹² His strength is hungry, and calamity shall be ready at his side.

¹³ It devours parts of his skin; the firstborn of death eats his parts.

¹⁴ His hope shall be rooted out of his tent, and it makes him march to the king of terrors.

¹⁵ What is not his shall dwell in his tent; brimstone is scattered on his dwelling.

¹⁶ His roots are dried up beneath, and his branch shall wither above.

¹⁷ His memory perishes from the earth, and there is no name to him on the face of the street.

¹⁸ They push him from light to darkness, and they make him flee from the world.

¹⁹ He shall have no son and no kinsman among his people, and no remnant in his dwellings.

²⁰ Those after him shall be amazed at his day; and those before were seized with horror.

²¹ Surely these are the tents of the perverse one, and this the place that has not known God.

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¹ And Job answered and said:

² Until when will you torment my soul and break me in pieces with words?

³ This ten times you have shamed me; you are not ashamed that you have wronged me.

⁴ And if indeed I have erred, my error remains with me.

⁵ If truly you magnify yourself against me, and plead my reproach against me,

⁶ know now that God has subverted me and His net has closed on me.

⁷ Behold, I cry out, Violence! And I am not answered; I cry aloud, but there is no justice.

⁸ He has fenced up my way so that I cannot pass; and He has set darkness on my paths.

⁹ He has stripped my honor off of me, and He has removed the crown from my head.

¹⁰ He has broken me on every side, and I go; and He has pulled up my hope like a tree.

¹¹ And His anger glows against me, and He counts me as an adversary to Himself.

¹² His troops come together and they heap up their way against me; and they camp all around my tent.

¹³ He has put my brothers from me; and ones knowing me truly are estranged from me.

¹⁴ My near ones have fallen away, and ones knowing me have forgotten me.

¹⁵ And visitors in my house and my slavegirls count me for a stranger; I am a foreign one in their eyes.

¹⁶ I call to my servant, but he does not answer; I must beg him with my mouth.

¹⁷ My breath is also being strange to my wife, and I must beg to the sons of my mother's womb.

¹⁸ Even young boys despise me; I rise, and they speak against me.

¹⁹ All the men of my counsel detest me; even those I loved have turned against me.

²⁰ My bone clings on my skin and on my flesh; and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

²¹ Pity me! Pity me, you my friends! For the hand of God has touched me.

²² Why do you pursue me, as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh?

²³ Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were engraved in a book!

²⁴ Oh that they were cut with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever!

²⁵ For I know my Redeemer is living, and He shall rise on the dust at the last;

²⁶ and after my skin has been struck off from my flesh, yet this, I shall see God,

²⁷ whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and no stranger; though my reins be exhausted in my bosom.

²⁸ For you may say, Why do we persecute him? And the root of the matter is found in me.

²⁹ Fear for yourselves because of the sword; for fury brings punishments of the sword, that you may know there is a judgment.

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¹ And Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:

² So my thoughts cause me to answer, even because of my haste in me.

³ I have heard the chastening of my reproach; and the spirit from my understanding makes me reply.

⁴ Do you know this from of old, from the setting of man on earth,

⁵ that the exulting of the wicked ones is near an end, and the joy of the godless one is for a moment?

⁶ Though his height goes up to the heavens, and his head touches to the clouds,

⁷ he shall perish forever like his dung; they who see him shall say, Where is he?

⁸ He flies off like a dream, and is not found; and is driven away like a night vision.

⁹ An eye caught sight of him, but will not again; yea, his place shall not again see him.

¹⁰ His sons seek the favors of the poor ones, and his hands shall give back his wealth.

¹¹ His bones are full of his youthful vigor, but it lies down on the dust with him.

¹² Even if evil is sweet in his mouth, and he hides it under his tongue,

¹³ he spares it, and he will not leave it; yea, he keeps holding it back in his mouth;

¹⁴ yet his food in his belly shall be turned; the gall of asps is within him.

¹⁵ He swallows wealth, but vomits it; God drives it out from his belly.

¹⁶ He shall suck the poison of asps; the viper's tongue shall slay him.

¹⁷ He shall not see the rivers, the flowings of torrents of honey and curd

¹⁸ giving back his gain, and he will not swallow the wealth of his exchanges; he will not enjoy it.

¹⁹ For he crushed and forsook the poor ones; he stole a house, but he had not built it.

²⁰ Surely he shall not know ease in his belly; he will not escape with his things of desire.

²¹ There is no remnant for his food; because of this, his good will not last.

²² In the fullness of his scorn, it was distress for him; the hand of every wretched one shall come upon him.

²³ It shall happen at the filling of his belly, He shall cast on him the fury of His wrath, and He shall rain on him while he is eating.

²⁴ He may flee from the iron weapon, a bow of bronze shall pierce him.

²⁵ One draws it, and draws it from his back, even lightning from his gall; terrors come upon him.

²⁶ All darkness is hidden for secret treasuring; a fire not blown shall consume him; those left in his tent shall tremble.

²⁷ The heavens shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall be raising up itself against him.

²⁸ The fruit of his house shall move, flowing away in the day of His wrath.

²⁹ This is the portion of the evil man from God, and the inheritance of his word from God.

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¹ And Job answered and said:

² Listening, listen to my speech, and let this be your comfort;

³ Rise with me and I shall speak; then after I have spoken, you may mock.

⁴ As for me, is my complaint to man? And why should not my spirit be short?

⁵ Turn toward me and be astonished, and put your hand on your mouth.

⁶ And if I remember, I am dismayed; and shuddering seizes on my flesh.

⁷ Why do the wicked ones live? They grow old, and become mighty in power.

⁸ Their seed is established with them before their face, and their offspring before their eyes.

⁹ Their houses are in peace, without fear; and no rod of God's is on them.

¹⁰ His bull passes semen and does not fail; his cow calves and does not miscarry.

¹¹ They send their young boys out as a flock, and their children dance.

¹² They lift up voice at the timbrel and lyre, and rejoice at the sound of the flute.

¹³ They spend their days in good, and in a moment go down to Sheol.

¹⁴ And they say to God, Depart from us, for we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.

¹⁵ What is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what do we profit if we entreat Him?

¹⁶ Behold, their good is not in their hand! The counsel of the wicked ones is far from me.

¹⁷ How often is the lamp of the wicked ones put out, and their calamity comes on them! He shares out pangs in His anger;

¹⁸ they are as straw before the wind, and as chaff that the tempest steals away.

¹⁹ God stores up his iniquity for his sons; He repays him, and he knows.

²⁰ His eyes shall see his ruin, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

²¹ For what is his delight in his house after him, and his number of months is cut off.

²² Shall any teach God knowledge, since He shall judge those who are exalted?

²³ One dies in his full strength, wholly secure and at ease;

²⁴ his sides are full of milk, and his bones are wet with marrow.

²⁵ And this one dies with bitter soul, and never eats with pleasure;

²⁶ they lie down together on the dust, and the worm covers over them.

²⁷ Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices with which you do wrong against me;

²⁸ for you say, Where is the house of the noble, and where the tent, the dwellings of the wicked ones?

²⁹ Have you not asked those who pass along the way; and do you not recognize their signs?

³⁰ For the wicked one is kept for the day of calamity; they shall be brought to the day of wrath.

³¹ Who shall declare his way to his face? And who repays him for what he has done?

³² Yet he shall be brought to the graves, and watch shall be kept over his tomb.

³³ And the clods of the valley shall be sweet to him; and every man shall draw after him; and before him there is no number.

³⁴ How then do you comfort me with vanity? Yea, in your answers a treacherous act remains.

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¹ And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

² Can a man be of use to God, as one acting wisely is being of use to himself?

³ Is it pleasure to the Almighty that you are a righteous one? Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways perfect?

⁴ Will He reprove you because of your reverence, or enter into judgment with you?

⁵ Is not your evil great, and is there no end to your iniquities?

⁶ For you have taken a pledge from your brother for nothing, and you have stripped the naked of their clothing.

⁷ You have not given water to the faint to drink, and you withheld food from the hungry.

⁸ And the earth is to him, to the man of arm; and the lifted up of face lives in it.

⁹ You have sent widows away empty, and have crushed the arms of orphans.

¹⁰ On account of this snares are all around you, and suddenly dread troubles you;

¹¹ or darkness, so that you cannot see, and a flood of waters covers you.

¹² Is not God high in Heaven? And see the leading stars, for they are high.

¹³ And you say, What does God know? Can He judge through the dark cloud?

¹⁴ Clouds are a covering for Him, and He does not see; and He walks the circuit of the heavens.

¹⁵ Do you keep to the old way which evil men have trod,

¹⁶ the ones who were taken, but there was not time; their foundation was poured out by a river;

¹⁷ the ones saying to God, Depart from us; and, What can the Almighty do to them?

¹⁸ Yet He filled their houses with good; and the counsel of the wicked ones is far from me.

¹⁹ The righteous ones see it and are glad; and the innocent ones scornfully laugh;

²⁰ truly our adversary is not cut down, and fire has consumed their excess.

²¹ Now be of service with Him, and be at peace; good shall come to you by them.

²² Now receive the Law from His mouth and put His words in your heart.

²³ If you return to the Almighty you shall be built up; you shall put injustice far from your tents.

²⁴ Then you shall lay gold on the dust, even among the rocks of the torrents of Ophir.

²⁵ Yea, the Almighty shall be your gold and silver, a tower of strength for you,

²⁶ for then you will delight over the Almighty, and you will lift up your face to God.

²⁷ You shall make your prayer to Him, and He will hear you; and you shall pay your vows.

²⁸ You shall also decide a thing, and it will stand for you; and light shall shine on your ways.

²⁹ For they have humiliated you; and you shall say, a lifting up! And He shall save the lowly of eyes.

³⁰ He shall deliver one not innocent and will deliver by the cleanness of your palms.

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¹ And Job answered and said:

² Even today my complaint is bitter; my hand is heavy over my groaning.

³ Oh that I knew and I could find Him, I would come into His seat;

⁴ I would set in order my cause before Him, and I would fill my mouth with arguments.

⁵ I would know the words He would answer me, and understand what He would say to me.

⁶ Would He contend with me with greatness of strength? No, surely He would put it to me.

⁷ There the upright one might reason with Him; and I would be forever delivered from my Judge.

⁸ Behold, I go forward, but He is not there; and backward, but I do not perceive Him;

⁹ to the left where He works, but I cannot see; He turns to the right, but I do not see Him.

¹⁰ But He knows the way with me. When I am tried, I shall come forth as gold.

¹¹ My foot has held fast in His steps; I have kept His way and have not turned;

¹² and I have not departed from the command of His lips; I treasured the words of His mouth more than my portion.

¹³ But He is in one mind, and who can turn Him? Yea, His soul desires, and He does it.

¹⁴ For He fulfilled my lot, and many like these are with Him.

¹⁵ On account of this I am troubled from His presence; I consider, and I am in dread of Him.

¹⁶ For God makes my heart weak, and the Almighty troubles me.

¹⁷ In this I was not cut off by darkness; yea, He covered the thick darkness from my face.

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¹ Why since times are not hidden from the Almighty, even those knowing Him do not see His days?

² They move the landmarks; they seize and pasture flocks;

³ they drive away the ass of orphans; they take the widow's ox for a pledge;

⁴ they turn the needy ones out of the way; the afflicted ones of the earth have hidden together.

⁵ Behold, like wild asses in the desert, they go out in their work, seeking early for prey; the desert yields food for him for their young.

⁶ They reap his fodder in the field, and they glean the vineyard of the wicked one.

⁷ They lodge naked ones without clothing, and there is no cover against the cold.

⁸ They are wet with the showers of hills, and embrace the rock for lack of shelter.

⁹ They seize the orphan from the breast, and lay a pledge on afflicted ones.

¹⁰ They make them go without clothing, and are hungry; they take up a sheaf.

¹¹ They press out oil between their walls; they tread winepresses, but are thirsty.

¹² Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded cries for help; yet God does not charge unseemliness.

¹³ They are among ones rebelling against light; they do not recognize His ways, and not do they stay in His paths.

¹⁴ The murderer rising with the light kills the afflicted and needy ones, and in the night he is a thief.

¹⁵ And the eye of the adulterer keeps watch for twilight, saying, No eye will see me; and he puts a covering on his face.

¹⁶ In the dark he digs through houses; they shut themselves up by day; they do not know the light.

¹⁷ For alike are morning and deathshadow to them; for he knows the terrors of death-shade.

¹⁸ He is swift on the face of the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth; he does not face the way of the vineyards.

¹⁹ Drought and heat tear away the snow waters, and Sheol those who have sinned.

²⁰ The womb shall forget him; the worm sucks on him; he shall be remembered no more; and injustice shall be broken like a tree.

²¹ He feeds the barren that do not bear, and does no good to the widow.

²² He also draws the mighty one with his strength; He rises up, and no one is made sure in life.

²³ He gives security to him, and he leans on it; yet His eyes are on their ways.

²⁴ They are lifted up for a little while, but they are not; and they are brought low; they are gathered in like all others, and wither like the heads of ears of grain.

²⁵ And if not, then who will prove me a liar and make my speech into nothing?

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