THE BOOK OF JOB.

1 A man there was—in the land of Uz, Job his name,—and that man was blameless and upright, and one who revered God and avoided evil.

2 And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.

3 And his substance was—seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels and five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred she-asses, and a body of servants exceeding large,—thus was that man the greatest of all the sons of the East.

4 Now his sons were wont to go and make a banquet, at the house of each one upon his day,—and to send and call their three sisters, to eat and to drink with them.

5 And so it was, when the days of the banquet came round, that Job sent and hallowed them and rising early in the morning offered ascending-sacrifices according to the number of them all; for Job said, Peradventure my sons have sinned, And have cursed God in their hearts. Thus and thus was Job wont to do all the days.

6 Now there came a certain day, when the sons of God entered in to present themselves unto Yahweh,—so the accuser also entered in their midst.

7 And Yahweh said unto the accuser, Whence comest thou? And the accuser answered Yahweh and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and wandering about therein.

8 And Yahweh said unto the accuser, Hast thou applied thy heart unto my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a man blameless and upright, one revering God and avoiding evil?

9 And the accuser answered Yahweh and said, Is it for nought that Job revereth God?

10 Hast not thou thyself made a hedge about him and about his house and about all that he hath on every side? The work of his hands thou hast blessed, and his substance hath broken forth in the land.

11 But in very deed put forth I pray thee, thy hand, and smite all that he hath,—verily unto thy face will he curse thee.

12 And Yahweh said unto the accuser, Lo! all that he hath is in thy hand, only against himself do not put forth thy hand. So the accuser went forth from the presence of Yahweh.

13 And there came a certain day,—when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine, in the house of their eldest brother.

14 And a messenger came in unto Job and said,—The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them;

15 when the Sabeans swooped down and took them, and the young men smote they with the edge of the sword,—and escaped am only I alone to tell thee.

16 Yet was this one speaking when another came in and said,—A fire of God fell out of the heavens, and burned up the sheep and the young men and consumed them; and escaped am only I alone to tell thee.

17 Yet was this one speaking when another came in and said, The Chaldeans appointed three chiefs and spread out against the camels and took them, and the young men smote they with the edge of the sword; and escaped am only I alone to tell thee.

18 Yet was this one speaking when another came in and said,—Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine, in the house of their eldest brother;

19 when lo! a great wind came from over the desert and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men and they died,—and escaped am only I alone to tell thee.

20 Then Job arose and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell to the earth and worshipped;

21 and said—Naked came I forth from the womb of my mother And naked must I return thither, Yahweh gave, and Yahweh hath taken away,—The name of Yahweh be blessed!

22 In all this Job sinned not, nor imputed folly unto God.

2 And there came a certain day when the sons of God entered in, to present themselves unto Yahweh,—so the accuser also entered in their midst, to present himself unto Yahweh.

2 And Yahweh said unto the accuser, Whence comest thou? And the accuser answered Yahweh and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from wandering about therein.

3 And Yahweh said unto the accuser, Hast thou applied thy heart unto my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a man blameless and upright, one who revereth God and avoideth evil; and still he is holding fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him to swallow him up without cause.

4 Then the accuser answered Yahweh and said, Skin for skin, and so all that a man hath will he give for his life.

5 In very deed put forth, I pray thee thy hand, and smite unto his bone and unto his flesh,—verily unto thy face will he curse thee.

6 And Yahweh said unto the accuser, Behold him! in thy hand,—only his life preserve thou!

7 So the accuser went forth from the presence of Yahweh,—and smote Job with a sore boil, from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

8 And he took him a potsherd, to scrape himself therewith; he being seated in the midst of ashes.

9 Then said his wife unto him, Art thou still holding fast thine integrity? Curse God and die!

10 And he said unto her, As one of the base women speaketh speakest thou? Blessing shall we accept from God, and misfortune shall we not accept? In all this Job sinned not with his lips.

11 Now when the three friends of Job heard of all this misfortune which had befallen him,—they came every man from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite,—for they had by appointment met together to come to shew sympathy with him and to comfort him.

12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off and knew him not they lifted up their voice and wept—and rent every one his robe, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward the heavens.

13 And they sat with him upon the ground, seven days and seven nights,—and none was speaking unto him a word, for they saw that exceeding great was the stinging pain.

3 After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.

2 So then Job began and said:—

3 Perish the day wherein I was born, And the night it was said, Lo! a manchild!

4 That day be it darkness,—Let not God enquire after it from above, May there shine upon it no clear beam:

5 Let darkness and death-shade buy it back, May there settle down upon it a cloud, Let a day’s dark eclipse cause it terror:

6 That night darkness take it,—May it not rejoice among the days of the year, Into the number of months let it not enter.

7 Lo! that night be it barren, Let no joyous shouting enter therein:

8 Let day-cursers denounce it, Those skilled in rousing the dragon of the sky:

9 Darkened be the stars of its twilight,—Let it wait for light, and there be none, Neither let it see the eyelashes of the dawn:—

10 Because it closed not the doors of the womb wherein I was,—And so hid trouble from mine eyes.

11 Wherefore in the womb did I not die? From the womb come forth and cease to breathe?

12 For what reason were there prepared for me—knees? And why—breasts that I might suck?

13 Surely at once had I lain down and been quiet, I had fallen asleep, then had I been at rest:—

14 With kings and counselors of the earth, Who had built them pyramids:

15 Or with rulers possessing gold,—Who had filled their houses with silver:

16 Or that like an untimely birth hidden away I had not come into being, Like infants that never saw light:

17 There the lawless cease from raging, And there the toil-worn are at rest:

18 At once are prisoners at peace, They hear not the voice of a driver:

19 Small and great there they are, And the slave is free from his master.

20 Wherefore give to the wretched light? Or life to the embittered in soul?—

21 Who long for death and it is not, And have digged for it beyond hid treasures:

22 Who rejoice unto exultation, Are glad when they can find the grave:

23 To a man whose way is concealed, And God hath straitly enclosed him?

24 For in the face of my food my sighing cometh in, And poured out like the water are my groans:

25 For a dread I dreaded and it hath come upon me, And that from which I shrank hath overtaken me.

26 I was not careless nor was I secure nor had I settled down,—When there came—consternation!

4 Then responded Eliphaz the Temanite, and said:—

2 If one attempt a word unto thee wilt thou be impatient? But to restrain speech who can endure?

3 Lo! thou hast admonished many, And slack hands hast thou been wont to uphold:

4 Him that was stumbling have thy words raised up, And sinking knees hast thou strengthened.

5 But now it cometh upon thee And thou despairest, It smiteth even thee, And thou art dismayed.

6 Is not thy reverence thy confidence? And is not thy hope the very integrity of thy ways?

7 Remember, I pray thee, who being innocent hath perished, Or when the upright have been cut off.

8 So far as I have seen They who plow for iniquity And sow misery Reap the same:

9 By the blast of God they perish, And by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed:

10 [Notwithstanding] the roaring of the lion and the noise of the howling lion Yet the teeth of the fierce lions are broken:

11 The strong lion perishing for lack of prey Even the whelps of the lioness are scattered.

12 But unto me something was brought by stealth,—And mine ear caught a whispering of the same:

13 When there were thoughts from visions of the night,—When deep sleep falleth upon men

14 Dread came upon me and trembling, The multitude of my bones it put in dread:

15 Then a spirit over my face floated along, The hair of my flesh bristled-up:

16 It stood still but I could not distinguish its appearance, I looked but there was no form before mine eyes,—A whispering voice I heard:—

17 Shall mortal man be more just than God? Or a man be more pure than his Maker?

18 Lo! in his own servants he trusteth not, And his own messengers he chargeth with error:

19 How much more the dwellers in houses of clay, Which in the dust have their foundation, Which are crushed sooner than a moth:

20 Betwixt morning and evening are they broken in pieces, With none to save they utterly perish:

21 Is not their tent-rope within them torn away? They die, disrobed of wisdom!

5 Call, I pray thee—is there one to answer thee? Or to which of the holy ones wilt thou turn?

2 For to the foolish man death is caused by vexation, And the simple one is slain by jealousy.

3 I have seen the foolish taking root, And then hath his home decayed in a moment:

4 His children are far removed from safety, And they are crushed in the gate and there is none to deliver:

5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up And even out of thorn hedges he taketh it, And the snare gapeth for their substance.

6 For sorrow cometh not forth out of the dust,—Nor out of the ground sprouteth trouble.

7 Though man to trouble were born, As sparks on high do soar

8 Yet indeed I would seek unto El, And unto Elohim would I set forth my cause:—

9 Who doeth great things beyond all search,—Wondrous things till they cannot be recounted;

10 Who giveth rain upon the face of the earth, And sendeth forth waters over the face of the open fields;

11 Setting the lowly on high, And mourners are uplifted to safety;

12 Who doth frustrate the schemes of the crafty, That their hands cannot achieve abiding success;

13 Who captureth the wise in their own craftiness, Yea the headlong counsel of the crooked:

14 By day they encounter darkness, And as though it were night they grope at high noon.

15 But he saveth from the sword out of their mouth, And out of the hand of the strong the needy.

16 Thus to the poor hath come hope, And perversity hath shut her mouth.

17 Lo! how happy is the man whom God correcteth! Therefore the chastening of the Almighty do not thou refuse;

18 For he woundeth that he may bind up, He smiteth through that his own hands may heal.

19 In six troubles he will rescue thee, And in seven there shall smite thee no misfortune:

20 In famine he will ransom thee from death, And in battle from the power of the sword;

21 During the scourge of the tongue shalt thou be hid, Neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh;

22 At destruction and at hunger shalt thou laugh, And of the wild beast of the earth be not thou afraid;

23 For with the stones of the field shall be thy covenant, And the wild beast of the field hath been made thy friend;

24 And thou shalt know that at peace is thy tent, And shalt visit thy fold and miss nothing;

25 And thou shalt know that numerous is thy seed, And thine offspring like the young shoots of the field.

26 Thou shalt come yet robust to the grave, As a stack of sheaves mounteth up in its season.

27 Lo! as for this we have searched it out—so it is, Hear it and know thou for thyself.

6 Then responded Job and said:—

2 Oh that weighed were my vexation, And my engulphing ruin—into the balances they would lift up all at once!

3 For now beyond the sand of the seas would it be heavy, On this account my words have wandered.

4 For the arrows of the Almighty are in me, The heat whereof my spirit is drinking up, The terrors of God array themselves against me.

5 Doth the wild ass bray over grass? Or loweth the ox over his fodder?

6 Can that which hath no savour be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

7 My soul hath refused to touch, Those things are like disease in my food.

8 Oh that my request would come! And my hope oh that God would grant!

9 That it would please God to crush me, That he would set free his hand and cut me off!

10 So might it still be my comfort And I might exult in the anguish he would not spare,—That I had not concealed the sayings of the Holy One.

11 What is my strength that I should hope? Or what mine end that I should prolong my desire?

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

13 Is there any help at all in me? Is not abiding success driven from me?

14 The despairing from his friend should have lovingkindness, Or the reverence of the Almighty he may forsake.

15 Mine own brethren have proved treacherous like a torrent, Like a channel of torrents which disappear:

16 Which darken by reason of the cold, Over them is a covering made by the snow:

17 By the time they begin to thaw they are dried up, As soon as it is warm they have vanished out of their place.

18 Caravans turn aside by their course, They go up into a waste and are lost:

19 The caravans of Tema looked about, The travelling companies of Sheba hoped for them:

20 They are ashamed that they had trusted, They have come up to one of them and are confounded.

21 For now ye have come to him, Ye see something fearful and fear.

22 Is it that I said, Make me a gift, Or out of your abundance offer a bribe on my behalf;

23 And deliver me from the hand of the adversary? And out of the hand of tyrants ransom me?

24 Shew me and I will hold my peace, And wherein I have erred cause me to understand.

25 How pleasant are the sayings that are right! But what can a decision from you decide?

26 To decide words do ye intend, When to the wind are spoken the sayings of one in despair?

27 Surely the fatherless ye would assail, And make merchandise of your friend!

28 But now be pleased to turn to me, That it may be to your faces if I speak falsehood.

29 Reply, I pray you, let there be no perversity, Yea reply even yet, my vindication is in it!

30 Is there in my tongue perversity? Or can my sense not discern engulphing ruin?

7 Is there not a warfare to a mortal upon earth? And as the days of a hireling are not his days?

2 As a bondman panteth for the shadow And as a hireling longeth for his wage

3 So have I been made to inherit months of calamity, And nights of weariness have been appointed me.

4 As soon as I lie down I say, When shall I arise? yet he lengtheneth out the evening, And I am wearied with tossings until the breeze of twilight.

5 My flesh is clothed with worms and a coating of dust, My skin hath hardened, and then run afresh:

6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And they are spent without hope.

7 Remember thou that a wind is my life, Not again shall mine eye see blessing:

8 Nor shall see me—the eye that used to behold me, Thine eyes are upon me and I am not.

9 A cloud faileth and is gone, So he that descendeth to hades shall not come up:

10 He shall not return again to his house, And his own place shall be acquainted with him no more.

11 I also cannot restrain my mouth,—I must speak in the anguish of my spirit, I must find utterance in the bitterness of my soul.

12 Am I a sea or a sea-monster,—That thou shouldst set over me a watch?

13 When I say, My bed shall comfort me, My couch shall help to carry my complaint

14 Then thou scarest me with dreams, And by visions dost thou terrify me:

15 So that my soul chooseth strangling, Death rather than [these] my bones!

16 I am wasted away, Not to times age-abiding can I live, Let me alone, For a breath are my days.

17 What is a mortal That thou shouldst nurture him? Or that thou shouldst fix upon him thy mind?

18 That thou shouldst inspect him morning by morning, Moment by moment shouldst test him?

19 How long wilt thou not look away from me? Wilt thou not let me alone till I can swallow my spittle?

20 I have sinned, What can I do for thee, thou watcher of men? Wherefore hast thou set me as thine object of attack, Or have I become unto thee a burden?

21 And why wilt thou not remove my transgression And take away mine iniquity? For now in the dust should I lie down, And thou shouldst seek me diligently and I should not be.

8 Then responded Bildad the Shuhite, and said:—

2 How long wilt thou speak these things? Or as a mighty wind shall be the sayings of thy mouth?

3 Should God pervert justice? Or the Almighty pervert righteousness?

4 Though thy children sinned against him, And he delivered them into the hand of their transgression

5 Yet if thou thyself wilt diligently seek unto God,—And unto the Almighty wilt make supplication;

6 If pure and upright thou thyself art Surely now will he answer thy prayer, And will prosper thy righteous habitation:

7 So shall thy beginning appear small,—When thy latter end he shall greatly increase!

8 For inquire, I pray thee, of a former generation, And prepare thyself for the research of their fathers;—

9 For of yesterday are we and cannot know, For a shadow are our days upon earth:

10 Shall they not teach thee—tell thee, And out of their memory bring forth words?

11 Can the paper-reed grow up without a marsh? Or the rush grow up without water?

12 Though while still in its freshness it be not plucked off Yet before any kind of grass it doth wither:

13 So shall be the latter end of all who forget God, And the hope of the impious shall perish:

14 Whose trust shall be contemptible,—And a spider’s web his confidence:

15 He leaneth upon his house and it will not stand, He holdeth it fast and it will not remain erect.

16 Full of moisture he is before the sun, And over his garden his shoot goeth forth:

17 Over a heap his roots are entwined, A place of stones he descrieth;

18 If one destroy him out of his place Then will it disown him [saying]—I have not seen thee.

19 Lo! that is the joy of his way,—And out of the dust shall others spring up.

20 Lo! God will not reject a blameless man, Neither will he grasp the hand of evil-doers:

21 At length he shall fill with laughter thy mouth, And thy lips with a shout of triumph:

22 They who hate thee shall be clothed with shame,—But the tent of the lawless shall not be!

9 Then responded Job and said—

2 Of a truth I know that so it is, But how can a mortal be just with God?

3 If he choose to contend with him He cannot answer him one of a thousand:

4 Wise in heart and alert in vigour What man hath hardened himself against him and prospered!

5 Who removeth mountains unawares, Who overturneth them in his anger;

6 Who shaketh the earth out of its place, And the pillars thereof shudder;

7 Who commandeth the sun and it breaketh not forth, And about the stars he putteth a seal;

8 Who spreadeth out the heavens by himself alone! And marcheth along on the heights of the sea;

9 Who made the Bear, the Giant and the Cluster, And the chambers of the south;

10 Who doeth great things past finding out, And marvels beyond number.

11 Lo! he cometh upon me, yet can I not see him, Yea he passeth on, yet can I not discern him.

12 Lo! he snatcheth away, who can bring it back? Who shall say unto him, What wouldst thou do?

13 As for God if he withdraw not his anger Under him will have submitted themselves—the proud helpers.

14 How much less that I should answer him, Should choose my words with him?

15 Whom though I were righteous yet would I not answer, To be absolved I would make supplication.

16 Though I had called and he had answered me I could not believe that he would lend an ear to my voice.

17 For with a tempest would he fall upon me, And would multiply my wounds without need;

18 He would not suffer me to recover my breath, For he would surfeit me with bitter things.

19 If it regardeth vigour bold is he! If justice who could summon him?

20 If I should justify myself mine own mouth would condemn me,—I blameless? then had it shewn me perverse.

21 I blameless? I should not know my own soul, I should despise my own life!

22 One thing there is, for which cause I have said it, The blameless and the lawless he bringeth to an end.

23 If a scourge slay suddenly At the despair of innocent ones he mocketh.

24 The earth hath been given into the hand of a lawless one, The faces of her judges he covereth, If not then who is it?

25 My days therefore are swifter than a runner, They have fled, they have seen no good.

26 They have passed away with boats of paper-reed, Like a vulture [which] rusheth upon food.

27 If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will lay aside my sad countenance and brighten up

28 I am afraid of all my pains, I know that thou wilt not pronounce me innocent.

29 I shall be held guilty,—Wherefore then in vain should I toil?

30 Though I bathe myself in snow water, And cleanse in cleanness itself my hands

31 Then in a ditch wouldst thou plunge me, And mine own clothes should abhor me:

32 For he is not a man like myself whom I might answer, Nor could we come together into judgment:

33 There is not between us a mediator, Who might lay his hand upon us both.

34 Let him take from off me his rod, And his terror let it not startle me:

35 I could speak and not be afraid of him, Although not so am I in myself!

10 My soul doth loathe my life,—I let loose my complaint, I speak in the bitterness of my soul.

2 I say unto God, Do not hold me guilty, Let me know on what account thou contendest with me!

3 Is it seemly in thee that thou shouldst oppress? That thou shouldst despise the labour of thine own hand, When upon the counsel of the lawless thou hast shone?

4 Eyes of flesh hast thou? Or as a mortal seeth seest thou?

5 As the days of a mortal are thy days? Or thy years as the days of a man?

6 That thou shouldst seek for mine iniquity, And for my sin shouldst make search:

7 Though it is within thine own knowledge that I would not be lawless, And none out of thy hand can deliver?

8 Thine own hands shaped me and made me, All in unison round about, and yet thou hast confounded me.

9 Remember, I pray thee, that as clay thou didst make me, And unto dust thou wilt cause me to return.

10 Didst thou not like milk pour me forth? And as cheese curdle me?

11 With skin and flesh clothe me? And with bones and sinews interweave me?

12 Life and lovingkindness thou didst bestow upon me,—And thy watchful care preserved my breath.

13 Yet these things thou didst hide in thy heart, I know that this hath been with thee!

14 If I have sinned then couldst thou watch me, And from mine iniquity thou wouldst not acquit me:

15 If I have been lawless alas for me! Or if I am righteous I will not lift up my head, Surfeited with shame look thou then on my humiliation.

16 When it is lifted up like a howling lion thou dost hunt me, Then again thou dost shew thyself marvellous against me.

17 Thou renewest thy witnesses before me And dost increase thy vexation with me, Relays—yea an army is with me.

18 Wherefore then from the womb didst thou bring me forth? I might have breathed my last and no eye have seen me.

19 As though I had not been should I have become,—From the womb to the grave might I have been borne.

20 Are not my days few?—then forbear, And set me aside that I may brighten up for a little;

21 Before I go and not return, Unto a land of darkness and death-shade:

22 A land of obscurity like thick darkness Of death-shade and disorder And which shineth like thick darkness.

11 Then responded Zophar the Naamathite and said:—

2 Should the multitude of words not be answered? Or should a man full of talk be justified?

3 Shall thy pratings cause men to hold their peace? When thou hast mocked shall there be none to put thee to shame?

4 Since thou hast said, Right is my doctrine, And pure am I in his eyes.

5 But in very deed oh that God would speak, That he would open his lips with thee:

6 That he would declare to thee the secrets of wisdom, For they are double to that which actually is,—Know then that God could bring into forgetfulness for thee a portion of thine iniquity.

7 The hidden depth of God canst thou discover? Or unto the furthest limit of the Almighty canst thou attain?

8 The heights of the heavens what canst thou do? Depths deeper than hades what canst thou know?

9 Longer than the earth is the measure thereof, And broader than the sea.

10 If he sweep on or shut up or call together Who then shall hinder him?

11 For he knoweth men of falsity And seeth iniquity and him that doth not diligently consider.

12 But an empty person will get sense, When a wild ass’s colt is born a man!

13 If thou hast prepared thy heart, And wilt spread forth unto him thy hands—

14 If iniquity be in thy hand Put it far away, And let there not dwell in thy tents perversity

15 Surely then shalt thou lift up thy face free from blemish, And shalt be established and not fear.

16 For now shalt thou forget sorrow, Like waters passed away shalt thou remember it.

17 Above high noon shall rise life’s continuance, Darkness like a morning shall appear,

18 And thou shalt be confident that there is hope, And when thou hast searched securely shalt thou lie down;

19 And shalt rest with none to put thee in terror,—And many shall entreat thy favour.

20 But the eyes of the lawless shall fail,—And place of refuge shall have vanished from them, And their hope be a breathing out of life.

12 Then responded Job and said:—

2 Of a truth ye are the people, And with you wisdom will die.

3 I also have a mind like you, I fall not short of you, But who hath not such things as these?

4 A laughing-stock to one’s neighbour do I become, One who hath called upon God and he hath answered him! A laughing-stock—a righteous man without blame!

5 For ruin there is contempt in the thought of the man at ease,—Ready, for such as are of faltering foot!

6 At peace are the tents that belong to the spoilers And there is security to them who provoke God, To him who bringeth a god in his hand.

7 But in very deed ask, I pray thee, the beasts and they will teach thee, And the bird of the heavens and it will tell thee;

8 Or address the earth, and it will teach thee, And the fishes of the sea will recount it to thee:

9 Who knoweth not, among all these, That the hand of Yahweh hath done this?

10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, And the spirit of all the flesh of men.

11 Doth not the ear try words? Even as the palate tasteth for itself food?

12 In the Ancient is wisdom, And [in] Length of Days understanding:

13 With Him are wisdom and strength, To Him pertain counsel and understanding.

14 Lo! He pulleth down and it cannot be built, He closeth up over a man and it cannot be opened:

15 Lo! He holdeth back the waters and they dry up, Or sendeth them out and they transform the earth:

16 With Him is strength and effective wisdom, To Him belong he that erreth and he that causeth to err.

17 Who leadeth away counsellors [as] a spoil, And judges He befooleth:

18 The fetters of kings He looseth, Or hath bound a slave’s waistcloth about their loins:

19 Who leadeth away priests [as] a spoil, And men firmly seated He overturneth:

20 Setting aside the speech of the trusty, And the discernment of elders He taketh away:

21 Pouring contempt upon nobles, And the girdle of the mighty hath He loosed:

22 Laying open deep things out of darkness, And bringing out to light the death-shade:

23 Who giveth greatness to nations or destroyeth them, Who spreadeth out nations or leadeth them into exile:

24 Who taketh away the sense of the chiefs of the people of the earth, And hath caused them to wander in a pathless waste:

25 They grope about in the dark having no light, And He hath made them to reel like a drunken man.

13 Lo! all [this] hath mine own eye seen,—Mine ear hath heard and understood it:

2 Just as ye know I too know, I fall not short of you.

3 But indeed I unto the Almighty would speak, And to direct my argument unto God would I be well pleased.

4 For in truth ye do besmear with falsehood, Worthless physicians all of you!

5 Oh that ye would altogether hold your peace, And it should serve you for wisdom!

6 Hear, I pray you, the argument of my mouth, And to the pleadings of my lips give heed:—

7 Is it for God ye would speak perversely? And for him would ye speak deceit:

8 Even for him would ye be partial? Or for God would ye [so] plead?

9 Would it be well when he searched you out? Or as one might jest with a mortal would ye jest with him?

10 He will severely rebuke you, If ye are secretly partial.

11 Shall not his majesty overwhelm you? And the dread of him fall upon you?

12 Are not your memorable sayings proverbs of ashes? Breastworks of clay your breastworks?

13 Quietly let me alone, that I may speak out, Then let come on me what may.

14 In any case I will take up my flesh in my teeth, And my life will I put in my hand:

15 Lo! he may slay me, [yet] for him will I wait,—Nevertheless my ways—unto his face will I show to be right:

16 Even he will be on my side—unto salvation, For not before his face shall any impious person come.

17 Hear ye patiently my speech, And be my declaration in your ears.

18 Lo! I pray you, I have set forth in order a plea, I know that I shall be found right.

19 Who is it that shall contend with me? For now if I should hold my peace why! I should breathe my last!

20 Only two things do thou not with me, Then from thy face will I not hide me:—

21 Thy hand—from off me take thou far away, And thy terror let it not startle me!

22 Then call thou and I will answer, Or I will speak and reply thou unto me.

23 How many are mine iniquities and sins? My transgression and my sin let me know!

24 Wherefore thy face shouldst thou hide? Or count me as an enemy to thee?

25 A driven leaf wilt thou cause to tremble? Or dry stubble wilt thou pursue?

26 For thou writest against me bitter things, And dost make me inherit the iniquities of my youth;

27 And thou dost put—in the stocks—my feet And observest all my paths, Against the roots of my feet thou dost cut out a bound;

28 And a man himself as a rotten thing weareth out, As a garment which the moth hath eaten.

14 Man that is born of a woman Is of few days and full of trouble:

2 As a flower he cometh forth—and fadeth, He fleeth also as a shadow and continueth not.

3 And yet upon such a one as this hast thou opened thine eye? And him wouldst thou bring into judgment with thee?

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

5 If determined are his days the number of his months is with thee, Fixed times for him thou hast appointed and he cannot go beyond.

6 Look away from him that he may rest, Till he shall pay off as a hireling his day.

7 Though there is—for a tree—hope,—If it should be cut down that again it will grow, And the tender branch thereof will not cease;

8 If its root should become old in the earth, And in the dust its stock should die:

9 Through the scent of water it may break forth, And produce branches like a sapling

10 Yet man dieth and is prostrate, Yea the son of earth doth cease to breathe, and where is he?

11 Waters have failed from the sea, And a river may waste and dry up;

12 So a man hath lain down and shall not arise,—Until there are no heavens they shall not awake, Nor be roused up out of their sleep.

13 Oh that in hades thou wouldst hide me! That thou wouldst keep me secret until the turn of thine anger, That thou wouldst set for me a fixed time and remember me:

14 If a man die can he live again? All the days of my warfare would I wait, Until my relief should come:—

15 Thou shouldst call and I would answer thee,—For the work of thine own hand thou shouldst long.

16 For now my steps thou countest, Thou wilt not pass over my sin:

17 Sealed up in a bag is my transgression, And thou hast glued over mine iniquity.

18 But in very deed a mountain falling will lie prostrate, Or a rock moved out of its place:

19 Stones have been hollowed out by waters, The floods thereof wash away the dust of the earth, And the hope of mortal man thou hast destroyed:

20 Thou dost overpower him utterly and he departeth Disfiguring his face, so hast thou sent him away.

21 His sons come to honour And he knoweth it not, Or they are brought low And he perceiveth it not of them.

22 But his flesh for himself is in pain, And his soul for himself doth mourn.

15 Then responded Eliphaz the Temanite, and said:—

2 Should a wise man answer unreal knowledge? Or fill with the east wind his inner man?

3 Disputing with discourse that doth no good, Or with speech wherein is no profit?

4 But thou wouldst take away reverence, And wouldst attain unto meditation before God.

5 For thine own mouth would teach thine iniquity, And thou wouldst choose the tongue of the crafty.

6 Thine own mouth shall condemn thee and not I, And thine own lips shall testify against thee.

7 The first of mankind wast thou born? Or before the hills wast thou brought forth?

8 In the secret council of God hast thou been wont to hearken? Or canst thou attain for thyself unto wisdom?

9 What knowest thou that we know not? [What] understandest thou and the same is not with us?

10 Both hoary and venerable are among us, One mightier than thy father in days!

11 Too small for thee are the consolations of God? Or a word spoken gently with thee?

12 How doth thine own heart carry thee away, And how thine eyes do roll!

13 For thy spirit replieth against God, And thou bringest forth—out of thy mouth—words!

14 What is a mortal that he should be pure? Or that righteous should be one born of a woman?

15 Lo! in his holy ones he putteth not confidence, And the heavens are not pure in his eyes:

16 How much less when one is detested and corrupt, A man who drinketh in—like water—perversity,

17 I will tell thee—hear me, Since this I have seen I must needs declare it.

18 Which wise men tell, And deny not [that which is] from their fathers.

19 To them alone was the earth given, And no alien passed through their midst:

20 All the days of the lawless man he doth writhe with pain, And the number of years is hidden from the tyrant;

21 A noise of dreadful things is in his ears, In prosperity the destroyer cometh upon him;

22 He hath no confidence to come back out of darkness, He being destined to the power of the sword;

23 A wanderer he for bread, [saying] Where [is it]? He knoweth that prepared by his own hand is the day of darkness;

24 Distress and anguish shall startle him, It shall overpower him like a king ready for the onset:

25 Because he had stretched out—against God—his hand, And against the Almighty had been wont to behave himself proudly;

26 He used to run against him with uplifted neck, With the stout bosses of his bucklers;

27 For he had covered his face with his fatness, And had gathered a superabundance on his loins;

28 And had inhabited demolished cities, Houses wherein men would not dwell, That were destined to become heaps.

29 He shall not be rich nor shall his substance continue, Neither shall their shadow stretch along on the earth;

30 He shall not depart out of darkness, His young branch shall the flame dry up, And he shall depart by the breath of his own mouth!

31 Let no one trust in him that—by vanity—is deceived, For vanity shall be his recompense;

32 Before his day shall it be accomplished, With his palm-top not covered with leaves;

33 He shall wrong—like a vine—his sour grapes, And shall cast off—as an olive-tree—his blossom.

34 For the family of the impious is unfruitful, And a fire hath devoured the tents of bribery;

35 Conceiving mischief and bringing forth iniquity, Yea their inmost soul prepareth deceit.

16 Then responded Job and said:—

2 I have heard many such things, Wearisome comforters are ye all!

3 Is there to be an end to windy words? Or what so strongly exciteth thee that thou must respond?

4 I also like you could speak,—If your soul were in the place of my soul I could string together words against you, And could therewith shake over you my head.

5 I could make you determined by my mouth, And then my lip-solace should restrain you.

6 Though I do speak unassuaged is my stinging pain,—And if I forbear of what am I relieved?

7 But now hath he wearied me, Thou hast destroyed all my family;

8 And having captured me it hath served as a witness; And so my wasting away hath risen up against me, In my face it answereth.

9 His anger hath torn and persecuted me, He hath gnashed upon me with his teeth, Mine adversary hath sharpened his eyes for me.

10 They have gaped upon me with their mouth, With reproach have they smitten my cheek, Together against me have they closed their ranks.

11 God doth abandon me to him that is perverse, And into the hands of the lawless he throweth me headlong.

12 At ease was I when he shattered me, Yea he seized me by my neck and dashed me in pieces, Then set me up for himself as a mark:

13 His archers came round against me, He clave asunder my reins and spared not, He poured out on the earth my gall:

14 He made a breach in me, breach upon breach, He ran upon me like a mighty man.

15 Sackcloth sewed I on my skin, And rolled—in the dust—my horn:

16 My face is reddened from weeping, And upon mine eyelashes is the death-shade:—

17 Though no violence was in my hands, And my prayer was pure.

18 O earth! do not cover my blood, And let there be no place for mine outcry.

19 Even now lo! in the heavens is my witness,

20 And he that voucheth for me is on high. My friends are they who scorn me, Unto God hath mine eye shed tears:—

21 That one might plead for a man with God,—Even a son of man, for his friend!

22 When a few years come Then by a path by which I shall not return shall I depart.

17 My spirit is broken, My days are extinguished, Graves are left me.

2 Verily there are mockers with me! And on their insults mine eye doth rest.

3 Appoint it, I pray thee—be thou surety for me with thyself, Who is there that on my side can pledge himself?

4 For their heart hast thou kept back from understanding, On this account thou wilt not exalt them.

5 He that for a share denounceth friends Even the eyes of his children shall be dim.

6 But he hath set me as the byword of peoples, And one to be spit on in the face do I become.

7 Therefore hath mine eye become dim from vexation, And my members are like a shadow all of them.

8 Upright men shall be astounded over this, And the innocent against the impious shall rouse themselves.

9 That the righteous may hold on his way, And the clean of hands increase in strength.

10 But indeed as for them all will ye bethink yourselves and enter into it, I pray you? Or shall I not find among you one who is wise?

11 My days are past, my purposes are broken off, The possessions of my heart!

12 Night for day they appoint, Light is near by reason of darkness!

13 If I wait for hades as my house, In darkness have spread out my couch;

14 To corruption have exclaimed, My father thou! My mother! and My sister! to the worm

15 Where then would be my hope? And as for my blessedness who should see it!

16 With me to hades would they go down, If wholly—into the dust is the descent!

18 Then responded Bildad the Shuhite and said:—

2 How long will ye make a perversion of words? Ye should understand and afterwards we could speak.

3 Wherefore are we accounted like beasts? Or appear stupid in thine eyes?

4 One tearing in pieces his own soul in his anger—For thy sake shall the earth be forsaken? Or the rock be moved out of its place?

5 Even the light of the lawless shall go out,—Neither shall shine the flame of his fire;

6 The light hath darkened in his tent, Yea his lamp above him goeth out;

7 The steppings of his strength are hemmed in, And his own counsel casteth him down;

8 For he is thrust into a net by his own feet, And upon a trap he marcheth;

9 There catcheth him—by the heel—a gin, There holdeth him fast—a noose:

10 Concealed in the ground is a cord for him,—And a snare for him on the path.

11 Round about terrors have startled him, And have driven him to his feet.

12 Let his strength be famished, And calamity be ready at his side;

13 Let it devour the members of his body, Let the firstborn of death devour his members;

14 Uprooted out of his tent be his confidence, And let it drive him down to the king of terrors;

15 There shall dwell in his tent what is naught-of-his, Let brimstone be strewed over his dwelling;

16 Beneath let his roots be dried up, And above be cut off his branch;

17 His memorial have perished out of the land, And let him have no name over the face of the open field;

18 Let them thrust him out of light into darkness, Yea out of the world let them chase him;

19 Let him have neither scion nor seed among his people, Neither any survivor in his place of sojourn:

20 Over his day have they been astounded who come behind, And them who are in advance a shudder hath seized.

21 Surely these are the dwellings of him that is perverse, And this is the place of him that knoweth not God.

19 Then responded Job and said:—

2 How long will ye grieve my soul? Or crush me with words?

3 These ten times have ye reviled me, Shameless ye wrong me.

4 And even if indeed I have erred With myself lodgeth mine error.

5 If indeed against me ye must needs magnify yourselves, And plead against me my reproach

6 Know then that God hath overthrown me, And within his net enclosed me.

7 Lo! I cry—out Violence! but receive no answer, I cry aloud but there is no vindication;

8 My way hath he walled up that I cannot pass, And upon my paths hath he made darkness rest;

9 My glory—from off me hath he stripped, And hath removed the crown of my head;

10 He hath ruined me on every side and I am gone, And he hath taken away—like a tree—my hope;

11 Yea he hath kindled against me his anger, And accounted me towards him like unto his adversaries;

12 Together enter his troops And have cast up against me their mound, And have encamped all around my tent;

13 My brethren—from beside me hath he moved far away, And mine acquaintance are wholly estranged from me;

14 Failed me have my near of kin, And mine intimate acquaintances have forgotten me;

15 Ye guests of my house and my maidens A stranger have ye accounted me, An alien have I become in their eyes;

16 To mine own servant I called and he would not answer, With mine own mouth I kept entreating him;

17 My breath is strange to my wife, And I am loathsome to the sons of my own mother;

18 Even young children despise me, I rise up and they speak against me;

19 All the men of mine intimate circle abhor me, And these whom I loved have turned against me;

20 Unto my skin and unto my flesh have my bones cleaved, And I have escaped with the skin of my teeth.

21 Pity me! pity me! ye my friends For the hand of God hath stricken me!

22 Wherefore should ye persecute me as God? And with my flesh should not be satisfied?

23 Oh then that my words could be written, Oh that in a record they could be inscribed:

24 That with a stylus of iron and [with] lead For all time—in the rock they could be graven!

25 But I know that my redeemer liveth, And as the Last over [my] dust will he arise;

26 And though after my skin is struck off this [followeth] Yet apart from my flesh shall I see God:

27 Whom I myself shall see on my side, And mine own eyes [shall] have looked upon and not [those of] a stranger. Exhausted are my deepest desires in my bosom!

28 Surely ye should say—Why should we persecute him? Seeing the root of the matter is found in me.

29 Be ye afraid—on your part—of the face of the sword, Because wrath [bringeth] the punishments of the sword, To the end ye may know the Almighty.

20 Then responded Zophar the Naamathite and said:—

2 Not so do my thoughts answer me, And to this end, is my haste within me:

3 The correction meant to confound me I must hear, But the spirit—out of my understanding will give me a reply.

4 Knowest thou this—from antiquity, From the placing of man upon earth:—

5 That the joy-shout of the lawless is short, And the rejoicing of the impious for a moment?

6 Though his elevation mount up to the heavens, And his head to the clouds doth reach

7 Like his own stubble shall he utterly perish, They who had seen him shall say, Where is he?

8 Like a dream shall he fly away and they shall not find him, Yea he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.

9 The eye that hath scanned him shall not do it again, Neither any more shall his place behold him:

10 His children shall seek the favour of the poor, And his own hand shall give back his wealth.

11 His bones are full of youthful vigour, Yet with him—in the dust shall it lie down.

12 Though a sweet taste in his mouth be given by vice, Though he hide it under his tongue;

13 Though he spare it and will not let it go, But retain it in the midst of his mouth

14 His food in his stomach is changed, The gall of adders within him!

15 Wealth hath he swallowed and hath vomited the same, Out of his belly shall God drive it forth:

16 The poison of adders shall he suck, The tongue of the viper shall slay him;

17 Let him not see in the channels The flowings of torrents of honey and milk.

18 In vain he toiled, he shall not swallow, Like wealth to be restored in which he cannot exult!

19 For he hath oppressed—hath forsaken the poor, A house hath he seized which he cannot rebuild.

20 Surely he hath known no peace in his inmost mind,—With his dearest thing shall he not get away:

21 Nothing escaped his devouring greed,—For this cause shall his prosperity not continue:

22 When his abundance is gone he shall be in straits, All the power of distress shall come upon him.

23 It shall be that to fill his belly he will thrust at him the glow of his anger, And rain [it] upon him for his punishment.

24 He shall flee from the armour of iron,—There shall pierce him a bow of bronze!

25 He hath drawn it out and it hath come forth out of his back,—Yea the flashing arrow-head out of his gall, There shall march on him—terrors:

26 Every misfortune is laid up for his treasures,—There shall consume a fire not blown up,—It shall destroy what remaineth in his tent:

27 The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, And the earth be rising up against him:

28 The increase of his house shall vanish, Melting away in the day of his anger.

29 This is the portion of the lawless man from God, And the inheritance decreed him from the Mighty One.

21 Then responded Job and said:—

2 Hear ye patiently my words, And let this be your consolation:

3 Suffer me that I may speak, And after I have spoken thou canst mock!

4 Did I unto man make my complaint? Wherefore then should my spirit not be impatient?

5 Turn round to me and be astonished, And lay hand on mouth!

6 When I call to mind then am I dismayed, And there seizeth my flesh a shuddering:—

7 Wherefore do lawless men live, Advance in years, even wax mighty in power?

8 Their seed is established in their sight along with them, Yea their offspring, before their eyes;

9 Their houses are at peace without dread, Neither is the rod of God upon them;

10 His bull covereth and causeth not aversion, His cow safely calveth, and casteth not her young;

11 They send forth—like a flock—their young ones, And their children skip about for joy;

12 They rejoice aloud as [with] timbrel and lyre, And make merry to the sound of the pipe;

13 They complete in prosperity their days, And in a moment to hades they sink down.

14 Yet they said unto God, Depart from us, and In the knowledge of thy ways find we no pleasure.

15 What is the Almighty that we should serve him? Or what shall we profit, that we should urge him?

16 Lo! not in their own hand is their welfare, The counsel of lawless men is far from me!

17 How oft the lamp of the lawless goeth out And their calamity cometh upon them, Sorrows apportioneth he in his anger;

18 They become as straw before the wind, And as chaff which the storm stealeth away.

19 Shall God reserve for his children his sorrow? Let him recompense him so that he may know it;

20 His own eyes shall see his misfortune, And the wrath of the Almighty shall he drink.

21 For what shall be his pleasure in his house after him, When the number of his months is cut in twain?

22 Is it to God one can teach knowledge, Seeing that he shall judge them who are on high?

23 This man dieth in the very perfection of his prosperity, Wholly tranquil and secure;

24 His veins are filled with nourishment, And the marrow of his bones is fresh;

25 Whereas this other man dieth in bitterness of soul, And hath never tasted good fortune:

26 Together in the dust they lie down, And the worm spreadeth a covering over them.

27 Lo! I know your plans, And the devices wherewith ye would do me violence!

28 For ye say, Where is the house of the noble-minded? And where the dwelling-tent of the lawless?

29 Have ye not asked the passers-by in the way? And their signs can ye not recognise?

30 That to the day of calamity is the wicked reserved, To the day of indignant visitation are they led.

31 Who can declare—to his face—his way? And what he hath done who shall recompense to him?

32 Yet he to the graves is borne, And over the tomb one keepeth watch;

33 Pleasant to him are the mounds of the torrent-bed,—And after him doth every man march, As before him there were without number.

34 How then should ye comfort me with vanity, Since as for your replies there lurketh [in them] treachery?

22 Then responded Eliphaz the Temanite and said:—

2 Unto God can a man act as friend? Surely a discreet man befriendeth himself!

3 Is it a pleasure to the Almighty that thou shouldst be righteous? Or any profit that thou shouldst be blameless in thy ways?

4 Is it for thy reverence that he will accuse thee? will enter with thee into judgment?

5 Is not thy wickedness great? And without end [are not] thine iniquities?

6 Surely thou hast been wont to put thy brother in pledge for nothing, And the garments of the ill-clad hast thou stripped off:

7 No water—to the weary hast thou given to drink, And from the hungry thou hast withheld bread:

8 A man of might to him pertaineth the land, And the favourite dwelleth therein:

9 Widows thou hast sent away empty, And the arms of the fatherless thou dost crush.

10 For this cause round about thee are snares, And a dread startleth thee suddenly;

11 Or darkness—thou canst not see, And a flood of waters covereth thee.

12 Is not God [in] the height of the heavens? Behold then the head of the stars that they are high.

13 Wilt thou say then, What doth God know? Out through a thick cloud can he judge?

14 Dark clouds are a veil to him and he cannot see, Or the vault of the heavens doth he walk?

15 The path of the ancient time wilt thou mark, Which the men of iniquity trod?

16 Who were snatched away before the time, And a stream washed away their foundation?

17 Who had been saying unto God, Depart from us! and—What can the Almighty do for himself?

18 Yet he had filled their houses with good! The counsel of the lawless then is far from me:

19 The righteous shall see and rejoice, And the innocent shall laugh them to scorn:

20 If our assailants do not vanish Then their abundance a fire consumeth!

21 Shew thyself to be one with him—I pray thee—and prosper, Thereby shall there come on thee blessing.

22 Accept, I beseech thee, from his mouth—instruction,—And lay up his sayings in thy heart.

23 If thou return unto the Almighty and submit thyself, If thou far remove perversity from thy tent

24 Then lay up in the dust precious ore, And among the stones of the torrent-beds fine gold:

25 So shall the Almighty become thy precious ores Yea glittering silver unto thee!

26 For then in the Almighty shalt thou take exquisite delight, And shalt lift up—unto God—thy face;

27 Thou shalt make entreaty unto him and he will hear thee, And thy vows shalt thou pay;

28 And thou shalt decree a purpose and it shall be fulfilled unto thee, And upon thy ways shall have shone a light;

29 When men cast themselves down then thou shalt say Up! And him that is of downcast eyes shall he save;

30 He shall deliver the innocent, And thou shalt escape by the pureness of thy hands.

23 Then responded Job and said:—

2 Even to-day is my complaint rebellion? His hand is heavier than my groaning.

3 Oh that I knew where I might find him! I would come even unto his dwelling-place;

4 I would set out before him a plea, And my mouth would I fill with arguments;

5 I would note the words wherewith he would respond to me, And would mark what he would say to me.

6 Would he with fulness of might contend with me? Nay, surely he would give heed to me!

7 There an upright man might reason with him, So should I deliver myself completely from my judge.

8 Behold! eastward I go but he is not there, And westward but I perceive him not;

9 On the north where he worketh but I get no vision, He hideth himself on the south that I cannot see him.

10 But he knoweth the way that I choose, Having tried me as gold I shall come forth.

11 Of his steps my foot taketh hold, His way have I kept and not swerved;

12 The command of his lips and would not go back, And in my bosom have I treasured the words of his lips.

13 But he is one and who can turn him? What his soul desired he hath done.

14 Surely he will accomplish what is decreed for me, And many such things hath he in store.

15 For this cause from his presence am I driven in fear, I diligently consider and am kept back from him in dread:

16 Yea God hath made timid my heart, And the Almighty hath put me in terror.

17 Because I was not cut off before the darkness, Nor before my face did the gloom form a shroud.

24 Wherefore since from the Almighty times are not hid Have his knowing ones no vision of his days?

2 Boundaries men move back, Flocks they seize and consume;

3 The ass of the fatherless they drive off, They take in pledge the ox of the widow;

4 They turn aside the needy out of the way, At once are the humbled of the land made to hide themselves.

5 Lo! [as] wild asses in the wilderness they go forth with their work, Eager seekers for prey, The waste plain yieldeth them food for their young;

6 In the field—a man’s fodder they cut down, And the vineyard of the lawless they strip of its late berries;

7 Ill-clad they are left to lodge without clothing, And have no covering in the cold;

8 With the sweeping rain of the mountains are they wet, And through having no shelter they embrace a rock.

9 Men tear from the breast the fatherless, And over the poor they take a pledge;

10 Naked they go about without clothing, And famished they carry the sheaves;

11 Between their walls are they exposed to the sun, Wine-presses they tread, and yet are thirsty;

12 Out of the city—out of the houses they make outcry, And the soul of the wounded calleth for help, And God doth not regard it as foolish.

13 They have become rebels against the light,—They are not acquainted with the ways thereof, Neither abide they in the paths thereof.

14 With the light riseth the murderer, He slayeth the poor and needy, And in the night he becometh like a thief.

15 And the eye of the adulterer watcheth for the evening twilight, Saying Not an eye will see me! A covering for the face he putteth on;

16 He breaketh in the dark into houses,—By day they lock themselves in, They know not the light;

17 For in the case of all such morning to them is the death-shade, For to be recognised is a death-shade terror.

18 Swift is he on the face of the waters, Speedily vanished their share in the land, He turneth not to the way of the vineyards.

19 Drought and heat steal away snow water, Hades them who have sinned.

20 Maternal love shall forget him, the worm shall find him sweet, No more shall he be remembered, But perversity shall be shivered like a tree.

21 He oppresseth the barren who beareth not, And to the widow he doeth not good;

22 Yea he draggeth along the mighty by his strength, He riseth up, and none hath assurance of life;

23 It is given him to be secure and confident, Yet his eyes are upon their ways.

24 They are exalted a little and are not, Yea having been laid low, like all men are they gathered, Even as the top of an ear of corn do they hang down.

25 But if not who then can convict me of falsehood? Or make of no account my words?

25 Then responded Bildad the Shuhite and said:—

2 Dominion and dread are with him, Who causeth prosperity among his lofty ones;

3 Is there any number to his troops? And upon whom ariseth not his light?

4 How then shall a mortal be just with God? Or how shall he be pure who is born of a woman?

5 Look as far as the moon and it is not clear, And the stars are not bright in his eyes!

6 How much less a mortal who is a creeping thing? Or a son of the earth-born who is a worm?

26 Then responded Job and said:—

2 How hast thou given help to one of no-strength? Given victory to an arm of no-power?

3 How hast thou given counsel to one of no-wisdom? Or effective wisdom abundantly made known?

4 Whom hast thou taught speech? Whose inspiration hath come from thee?

5 The shades tremble, Beneath the waters and their inhabitants;

6 Naked is hades before him, And there is no covering to destruction;

7 Who stretcheth out the north over emptiness, Hangeth the earth upon nothingness;

8 Who bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds, And the cloud is not rent beneath them;

9 Who shutteth-in the face of the throne, He spreadeth over it his cloud;

10 A boundary hath he encircled on the face of the waters, As far as where light ends in darkness;

11 The pillars of the heavens are shaken, And are terrified at his rebuke:

12 By his strength hath he excited the sea, And by his skill hath he shattered the Crocodile:

13 By his spirit hath he arched the heavens, His hand hath pierced the fleeing serpent.

14 Lo! these are the fringes of his way And what a whisper of a word hath been heard of him! But the thunder of his might who could understand?

27 And Job again took up his measure and said:—

2 As God liveth who hath taken away my right, Even the Almighty who hath embittered my soul;

3 All the while my inspiration is in me, And the spirit of God is in my nostrils

4 Verily my lips shall not speak perversity, Nor shall my tongue utter deceit.

5 Far be it from me! that I should justify you,—Even until I breathe my last will I not let go mine integrity from me:

6 On my righteousness have I taken fast hold and will not give it up, My heart shall not reproach any of my days.

7 Let mine enemy be a veritably lawless one! And he that lifteth himself up against me one veritably perverse!

8 For what shall be the hope of the impious though he graspeth with greed, When God shall draw forth his soul?

9 His outcry will God hear, When there cometh upon him distress?

10 Verily in the Almighty he will not find delight, Nor call on God continually!

11 I would teach you by the hand of God, That which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.

12 Lo! ye have all of you seen, Wherefore then is it that ye are utterly without purpose?

13 This is the portion of a lawless man with God, That the heritage of tyrants—from the Almighty he shall receive.

14 If his children be multiplied for them [there is] the sword, And his offspring shall not be filled with bread;

15 His survivors by pestilence shall come to the grave, And his widows shall not weep;

16 Though he heap up silver like dust, And like a pile he prepare clothing

17 He may prepare but the righteous shall put on, And the silver shall the innocent apportion.

18 He hath built like a moth his house,—Like a hut, which a watcher hath made.

19 The rich man shall lie down and not do it again, His eyes hath he opened and then is not.

20 There shall reach him—like waters—terrors, By night a storm-wind hath stolen him away;

21 An east wind shall lift him up and he shall depart, And it shall sweep him away out of his place;

22 And He will cast upon him and not spare, Out of his hand shall he swiftly flee;

23 He shall clap over him his hands, And shall hiss him forth out of his place.

28 Though there is for silver a vein, And a place for the gold they refine;

2 Iron out of the ore is taken, And stone poureth out copper;

3 An end hath one set to the darkness, And into every extremity is he making search, For the stone of darkness and death-shade;

4 He hath sunken a shaft away from the inhabitants, Places forsaken by the foot, They hang down away from men sway to and fro;

5 As for the earth out of it cometh forth bread, And under it is upturned as it were fire;

6 The place of sapphires are the stones thereof, And it hath nuggets of gold:—

7 A path the vulture hath not discerned, Nor hath the eye of the hawk scanned it;

8 Ravenous beasts have not made a track thereof, Neither hath the lion marched thereon:

9 Upon the flint hath he thrust forth his hand, He hath turned up mountains by the roots;

10 Among the rocks hath he cut open streams, And every precious thing hath his eye seen:

11 From trickling he restraineth rivers, And some hidden thing is he bringing out to light

12 Yet where can Wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

13 Mortal knoweth not the way thereof, Neither can it be found in the land of the living;

14 The resounding deep hath said, It is not in me! And the sea hath said, It is not with me!

15 Pure gold cannot be given in its stead, Neither can silver be weighed as the value thereof;

16 It cannot be put into the scales against the gold of Ophir, With costly onyx or sapphire;

17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it, Nor can the exchange thereof be a vessel of pure gold,

18 Coral or crystal cannot be mentioned, Yea a possession is wisdom above red coral;

19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it, Against purest gold can it not be weighed.

20 Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?

21 Seeing it hath been hid from the eyes of every living thing, And from the bird of the heavens hath it been concealed?

22 Destruction and death have said, With our ears have we heard the report thereof!

23 God understandeth the way thereof, And he discerneth the place thereof;

24 For he unto the ends of the earth directeth his look, Under all the heavens he seeth;

25 Making for the wind a weight, And the waters he proved by measure,

26 When he made for the rain a decree, And a way for the lightning of thunders

27 Then saw he it and declared it, He settled it, yea also he searched it out;

28 And said to the son of earth, Lo! the reverence of the Lord that is wisdom, And to avoid evil is understanding.

29 And Job again took up his measure and said:—

2 Oh that it were with me as in the months of old, As in the days when God used to watch over me;

3 When his lamp shone over my head, By whose light I could go through darkness;

4 As I was in the days of my prime, When the intimacy of God was over my tent;

5 While yet the Almighty was with me, Round about me were my young men;

6 When my steps were bathed in milk, And the rock poured out beside me rivulets of oil:

7 When I went out to the gate unto the city, In the open place made ready my seat

8 Young men saw me and hid themselves, And the aged arose—they stood;

9 Rulers restrained speech, And a hand laid they on their mouth;

10 The voice of nobles was hushed, And their tongue to their palate did cleave;

11 When the ear heard then it pronounced me happy, When the eye saw then it bare me witness;

12 Because I used to deliver the oppressed who was crying out for aid, The fatherless also and him that had no helper;

13 The blessing of him that was ready to perish upon me was wont to descend, And the heart of the widow caused I to sing for joy;

14 Righteousness I put on and it clothed me, Like a robe and turban was my justice;

15 Eyes became I to the blind, And feet to the lame was I!

16 A father was I to the needy, And as for the cause which I knew not I used to search it out;

17 And I shivered the fangs of the perverse,—And out of his teeth I tare the prey.

18 Then said I, Like a stem shall I grow old, Yea as the sand shall I multiply days:

19 My root is laid open to the waters, And the dew shall lodge for the night in my boughs;

20 Mine honour shall be young again with me, And my bow in my hand be renewed.

21 To me men hearkened and waited, And kept silence for my counsel;

22 After I had spoken they spake not again, And upon them used my speech to drop;

23 And they waited as for rain for me, And their mouths they opened wide for the spring-rain;

24 I laughed at them—they lost confidence, And the light of my countenance they suffered not to fail;

25 I chose out their way and sat chief,—And abode as king in an army, As one who to mourners giveth comfort.

30 But now they who are of fewer days than I have poured derision upon me; Whose fathers I refused—To set with the dogs of my flock.

2 Even the strength of their hands wherefore was it mine? Upon them vigour was lost;

3 In want and hunger they were lean,—Who used to gnaw the dry ground, A dark night of desolation!

4 Who used to pluck off the mallow by the bushes, With the root of the broom for their food;

5 Out of the midst were they driven, Men shouted after them as after a thief;

6 In the fissures of the ravines had they to dwell, In holes of dust and crags;

7 Among the bushes used they to shriek, Under the bramble were they huddled together:

8 Sons of the base, yea sons of the nameless They were scourged out of the land.

9 But now their song have I become, Yea I serve them for a byword;

10 They abhor me—have put themselves far from me, And from my face have not withheld—spittle!

11 Because my girdle he had loosened and had humbled me Therefore the bridle—in my presence cast they off;

12 On my right hand the young brood rose up,—My feet they thrust aside, And cast up against me their earthworks of destruction;

13 They brake up my path,—My engulphing ruin they helped forward unaided;

14 As through a wide breach came they on, With a crashing noise they rolled themselves along.

15 There are turned upon me terrors,—Chased away as with a wind is mine abundance, And as a cloud hath passed away my prosperity.

16 Now therefore over myself my soul poureth itself out, There seize me days of affliction:

17 Night boreth my bones all over me,—And my sinews find no rest;

18 Most effectually is my skin disfigured,—Like the collar of my tunic it girdeth me about:

19 He hath cast me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes.

20 I cry out for help unto thee and thou dost not answer, I stand still and thou dost gaze at me;

21 Thou art turned to become a cruel one unto me, With the might of thy hand thou assailest me;

22 Thou liftest up me to the wind, thou carriest me away, And the storm maketh me faint;

23 For I know that unto death thou wilt bring me back, Even unto the house of meeting for every one living.

24 Only against a heap of ruins will one not thrust a hand! Surely when one is in calamity—for that very reason is there an outcry for help.

25 Verily I wept for him whose lot was hard, Grieved was my soul for the needy.

26 Surely for good I looked but there came in evil, And I waited for light but there came in darkness;

27 I boiled within me and rested not, There confronted me—days of affliction;

28 In gloom I walked along without sun, I arose—in the convocation I cried out for help;

29 A brother became I to the brutes that howl, And a companion to the birds that screech:

30 My skin turned black and peeled off me, And my bones burned with heat:

31 Thus is attuned to mourning—my lyre, And my flute to the noise of them who weep.

31 A covenant I solemnised for mine eyes,—How then could I gaze upon a virgin?

2 Or what would have been my portion of God from above? Or what inheritance of the Almighty from on high?

3 Is there not calamity for the perverse? And misfortune for the workers of iniquity?

4 Would he not see my ways? And of all my steps take account?

5 Verily I walked not in falsity, Nor did my foot haste unto deceit:—

6 Let him weigh me in balances of righteousness,—And let God take note of mine integrity!

7 If my goings have swerved from the way,—And after mine eyes hath gone my heart, And to my hands hath adhered any stain

8 Let me sow but another eat. And let what I have springing up be uprooted!

9 If my heart hath been enticed unto a woman, Or by the door of my neighbour I have lien in wait

10 Let my wife grind to another, And over her let others bend!

11 Surely that had been a shameful thing! And that an iniquity for the judges!

12 Surely a fire had that been which unto destruction would have consumed, And of all mine increase had it torn up the root.

13 If I refused the right of my servant or my handmaid, When they contended with me

14 What then could I have done when God rose up? And when he visited what could I have answered him?

15 Did not he who in the womb made me make him? And is not he who formed us in the body one?

16 If I withheld—from pleasure—the poor, Or the eyes of the widow I dimmed;

17 Or used to eat my morsel alone, so that the fatherless did not eat thereof;

18 Surely from my youth he grew up to me as to a father, And from my birth I acted as guide to her:

19 If I saw one perishing for lack of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering;

20 If his loins did not bless me, Or if with the fleece of my lambs he did not warm himself;

21 If I shook—against the fatherless—my hand, When I saw in the gate his need of my help

22 Let my shoulder from the shoulder-blade fall, And my arm from the upper bone be broken;

23 For a dread unto me was calamity from God, And from his majesty I could not escape.

24 If I made gold my stay, And to precious metal said, My confidence!

25 If I rejoiced because great was my substance, And an abundance my hand had discovered;

26 If I looked at the sun when it flashed forth light, Or at the moon majestically marching along;

27 And befooled secretly was my heart, So that my hand kissed my mouth

28 That too had been a judicial iniquity, For I should have been false to God above.

29 If I rejoiced in the misfortune of him that hated me, Or exulted when calamity found him;—

30 Neither did I suffer my palate to sin, By asking with a curse for his life:

31 If the men of my household have not said, Oh for some of his flesh—we cannot get filled,

32 Outside the sojourner lodged not for the night, My doors—to the wayfarer I threw open.

33 If I covered like Adam my transgressions, By hiding in my bosom mine iniquity,

34 Then let me be made to tremble at a great throng, Yea let the contempt of families terrify me, So that keeping silence I shall not go out of the door!

35 Oh that I had one to hear me, Lo! my crossmark, May the Almighty answer me! And would that a book mine opponent had written!

36 Oh! would I not upon my shoulder lift it, Or bind it as a crown upon me;

37 The number of my footsteps I would declare to him, Like a noble would I draw near to him.

38 If against me my ground used to cry out, And together my ridges did weep;

39 If the strength thereof I used to eat without payment, And the soul of the holders thereof I made groan

40 Instead of wheat let there come forth bramble And instead of barley a bad-smelling weed! Ended are the words of Job.

32 So these three men ceased to respond to Job, because he was righteous in their eyes.

2 Then was kindled the anger of Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite of the family of Ram,—against Job was kindled his anger, because he justified his own soul rather than God;

3 and against his three friends was kindled his anger,—because that they found not a response, and condemned God.

4 But Elihu had waited for Job with words, because the others were older than he.

5 Howbeit when Elihu saw that there was no response in the mouth of the three men then was kindled his anger.

6 So then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite responded and said:—Young am I, whereas ye are aged, For this cause I faltered and feared—To shew my knowledge unto you:

7 I said, Days should speak,—And the multitude of years should make known wisdom.

8 Yet surely there is a spirit in men, And the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding;

9 Great men may not be wise, Nor elders understand justice.

10 Therefore I said, Hearken unto me, I will shew my knowledge—even I.

11 Lo! I waited for your words, I kept giving ear for your reasons, Until ye should search out what to say;

12 Yea unto you gave I diligent heed,—But lo! there was for Job nothing to convince, Nor could one of you answer his speeches.

13 Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom. God must put him to flight, not man.

14 Since he directed not to me discourse, Therefore with your speeches will I not reply to him.

15 They were dismayed, they responded no more, They suffered speech to forsake them;

16 Though I waited yet could they not speak, Surely they came to a stand, they responded no more.

17 I will respond even I—on my part, I will shew my knowledge even I!

18 For I am full of discourse, The spirit in my bosom presseth me on.

19 Lo! my bosom is like wine not opened, Like new wine-skins it will burst.

20 I will speak that I may freely breathe, I will open my lips and respond.

21 Let me be partial to no man, And unto no son of earth give flattering titles,

22 Surely I know not how to give flattering titles, How soon might my Maker take me away!

33 But in very deed hear, I pray thee, Job, my discourse, And to all my words give thou ear.

2 Lo! I pray thee, I have opened my mouth, My tongue with my palate hath spoken,

3 Mine utterances come straight from mine own heart, And what I know my lips have truly spoken;

4 The spirit of God hath made me, And the inspiration of the Almighty giveth me life.

5 If thou art able to answer me Set in order before me—take thy stand!

6 Lo! I am like thyself toward God, From clay have I been nipped off even I!

7 Lo! my terror will not startle thee, Nor my hand upon thee be heavy.

8 But thou hast spoken in mine ears, And the sound of words I heard:—

9 Pure am I, without transgression,—Clean am I, and have no iniquity;

10 Lo! occasions of hostility would he find against me, He counteth me an enemy to him;

11 He putteth—in the stocks—my feet, He watcheth all my paths.

12 Lo! in this thou hast not been right—let me answer thee, For God is greater than man.

13 Wherefore against him hast thou contended? For with none of his reasons will he respond.

14 For in one way God may speak,—And in a second way one may not heed it:—

15 In a dream, a vision of the night, When a deep sleep falleth upon men, In slumberings upon the bed

16 Then uncovereth he the ear of men, And on their correction affixeth a seal;

17 To turn a son of earth from his deed, While yet pride from man he concealeth:

18 He keepeth back his soul from the pit, And his life from passing away by a weapon.

19 Or he is chastised with pain upon his bed, And the strife of his bones is unceasing!

20 So that his life maketh loathsome [his] food, And his soul dainty meat;

21 His flesh wasteth away out of sight, And bared are the bones once unseen;

22 So doth his soul draw near to the pit, And his life to the inflicters of death:

23 If there hath been near him a messenger who could interpret—One of a thousand, To declare to the son of earth His uprightness

24 Then hath he shewed him favour and said, Set him free from going down to the pit, I have found a price of redemption!

25 His flesh hath been made fresher than a child’s, He hath returned to the days of his youth;

26 He made supplication unto God, who hath accepted him, And he hath beheld his face with a shout of triumph, Thus hath he given back to man his righteousness.

27 He sang before men and said, I sinned and uprightness I perverted, Yet he requited me not;

28 He hath ransomed my soul from passing away into the pit,—And my life in the light shall have vision.

29 Lo! all these things doth God work, Two ways, three, with a man;

30 To bring back his soul from the pit, To enlighten with the light of the living.

31 Mark well, O Job, and hearken to me, Be silent, and I will speak:

32 If there is anything to say reply to me, Speak, for I desire to justify thee;

33 If not do thou hearken unto me, Be silent, that I may teach thee wisdom.

34 Furthermore Elihu responded and said:—

2 Hear, ye wise men, my words, And ye who know give ear unto me;

3 For the ear trieth words, As the palate tasteth in eating.

4 What is right let us choose for ourselves, Let us know among ourselves what is good;

5 For Job hath said—I am righteous, But God hath turned away my right;

6 Concerning mine own right shall I tell a falsehood? Incurable is my disease—not for any transgression.

7 What man is like Job? He drinketh in scoffing like water;

8 And is on the way to keep company with the workers of iniquity, And to walk with lawless men.

9 For he hath said, It profiteth not a man, When his good pleasure is with God.

10 Wherefore, ye men of mind, hearken unto me,—Far be it that God should be lawless, Or the Almighty be perverse!

11 For what any son of earth doeth he repayeth him, And according to every man’s course he causeth him to find.

12 Nay, verily God will not condemn unjustly,—Nor the Almighty pervert justice.

13 Who set him in charge of the earth? Or who appointed [him] the whole world?

14 If he should set against him his heart, His spirit and his inspiration unto himself he should withdraw

15 All flesh together would cease to breathe, And the earth-born unto dust would return.

16 If then [thou hast] understanding hear this, Give thou ear to the teaching of my words:—

17 Shall the very hater of right control? Or the just—the mighty one wilt thou condemn?

18 Doth one say to a king, Abandoned one! Or Lawless one! unto nobles?

19 For he hath shewn no respect of persons unto princes, Neither hath he recognised the rich rather than the poor? For the work of his hands are they all.

20 In a moment they die, even in the middle of the night,—A people are convulsed when they pass away, A mighty one is removed without hand;

21 For his eyes are on the ways of a man, And all his footsteps he beholdeth,—

22 No darkness and no death-shade, Where the workers of iniquity may hide.

23 For unto no man doth he appoint a repetition,—In going unto God in judgment;

24 He shattereth mighty ones unsearchably, And setteth up others in their stead:

25 Therefore he observeth their works,—And overturneth [them] in a night and they are crushed;

26 In the place of lawless men hath he chastised them, In presence of beholders.

27 Forasmuch as they turned from following him, And none of his ways did they teach;

28 Causing to reach him the outcry of the poor, Yea the outcry of the oppressed he heareth.

29 When he giveth quiet who then shall condemn? And when he hideth [his] face who then shall sing of him? Whether unto a nation or unto mankind altogether,

30 That impious men may not reign, Nor be ensnarers of the people.

31 For unto God hath one [ever] said—I have borne punishment, I will not be perverse;

32 What I see not do thou shew me, If perverseness I have wrought I will do it no more?

33 According to thy mind must he requite it that thou hast refused? For thou must choose and not I, What then thou knowest speak!

34 The men of mind will say to me, Yea any wise man hearkening unto me:—

35 Job without knowledge doth speak, And his words are not with discretion.

36 Would that Job might be tested to the uttermost, For replying with the men of iniquity:

37 For he addeth—unto his sin—rebellion, In our midst he clappeth his hands, And multiplieth his sayings against God.

35 Moreover Elihu responded and said:—

2 This dost thou think to be right? Thou hast said—My righteousness is more than God’s.

3 For thou dost say, How can one profit by thee? How can I benefit more than by my sin?

4 I will answer thee plainly, And thy friends with thee.

5 Look at the heavens and see,—And survey the skies—they are higher than thou.

6 If thou sinnest what canst thou work against him? Or if thy transgressions be multiplied what canst thou do unto him?

7 If thou art righteous what canst thou give unto him? Or what at thy hand can he accept?

8 Unto a man like thyself might thy lawlessness [reach], And unto a son of the earth-born thy righteousness.

9 By reason of the multitude of oppressions [men] make outcry, They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty;

10 But none saith—Where is God my maker, Who giveth songs in the night;

11 Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, And beyond the bird of the heavens giveth us wisdom?

12 There [men] make outcry and he answereth not, Because of the arrogance of evil-doers.

13 Howbeit vanity will God not hear, Yea the Almighty will not regard it.

14 How much less when thou sayest thou wilt not regard him! The cause is before him and thou must wait for him.

15 But now because it is not so [thou sayest]—His anger hath punished, And yet hath he not at all known of transgression;

16 Thus Job vainly openeth his mouth, Without knowledge he multiplieth words.

36 And Elihu added and said:—

2 Restrain thyself for me a little and I will shew thee, That yet—for God there is justification.

3 I will bring my knowledge from afar, And to my Maker will I attribute righteousness.

4 For of a truth—not false are my words, One of competent knowledge is with thee.

5 Lo! God is mighty, yet will he not despise, Mighty in vigour of mind;

6 He will not keep alive one who is lawless, But the right of oppressed ones will he grant;

7 He will not withdraw—from a righteous one—his eyes,—But with kings on the throne He hath seated men triumphantly and they have been exalted.

8 But if, bound in fetters, They have been captured with cords of affliction

9 Then hath he declared to them their deed, And their transgressions—that they were wont to behave themselves proudly;

10 Thus hath he uncovered their ear to a warning, And said—that they should turn from iniquity.

11 If they would hearken and serve They should complete their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasantness;

12 But if they would not hearken By a weapon should they pass away, And breathe their last, no one knowing.

13 Yea the impious in heart should store up anger, They should not cry for help when he bound them.

14 Their soul should die in youth, And their life among the unclean.

15 He would deliver the humbled in his humiliation, And would uncover—in oppression—their ear.

16 Yea he might even have allured thee—Out of the mouth of straitness, [Into] a wide space—no narrowness there,—And the food set down on thy table should have been full of fatness.

17 But with the plea of a lawless one thou art full, Plea and sentence will take fast hold.

18 Because there is wrath [Beware] lest he take thee away with a stroke, Then let not a great ransom mislead thee.

19 Will he value thy riches? Nay not precious ore, Nor all the forces of strength.

20 Do not pant for the night, When peoples disappear from their place.

21 Beware, do not turn unto iniquity, For this thou hast chosen rather than affliction.

22 Lo God exalteth himself by his strength, Who like him doth teach?

23 Who enjoined on him his way? And who ever said, Thou hast wrought perversity?

24 Remember that thou extol his work, Of which men have sung;

25 Every son of earth hath viewed it, Mortal man looketh at it from afar.

26 Lo God is greater than we can know, The number of his years even past finding out!

27 For he draweth up drops of water, They trickle as rain through his mist;

28 With which the clouds flow down, They drop on man in abundance.

29 But surely none can understand the burstings of the cloud, The crashing of his pavilion!

30 Lo! he hath spread out over it his lightning, The bed of the sea hath he covered.

31 For by those things he executeth judgment on peoples, He giveth food in abundance:

32 Upon both hands he putteth a covering of lightning, And layeth command upon it against an assailant:

33 His rolling thunder telleth concerning him,—The cattle even concerning him that is coming up.

37 Yea at this my heart quaketh, And starteth up out of its place.

2 Hear! oh hear! the raging of his voice, A growling sound also out of his mouth goeth forth;

3 Under the whole heavens he letteth it loose, His lightning also unto the wings of the earth;

4 After it roareth a voice, He thundereth with his voice of majesty, Nor will he hold them back when his voice is heard.

5 God thundereth with his voice wonderfully, Doing great things which we cannot know;

6 For to the snow he saith, Fall earthwards,—Also to the downpour of rain, yea the downpour of his mighty rains.

7 On the hand of every man he setteth a seal, That all men may take note of his doing.

8 So then the wild-beast hath gone into covert, And in its lairs doth it remain.

9 Out of a chamber cometh a storm-wind, And out of the north cold.

10 By the breath of God is given—frost, And the breadth of waters is congealed;

11 Also with moisture burdeneth he the thick cloud, He disperseth his lightning-cloud;

12 Yea the same in circles turneth itself to and fro by his steering them to their work, Whithersoever he commandeth them over the face of the world towards the earth.

13 Whether as a rod or for his earth, Or in lovingkindness he causeth it to come.

14 Give thou ear unto this, O Job, Stay and consider well the wonders of God:—

15 Canst thou get to know of God’s giving charge over them, Or of the causing of the lightning of his cloud to shine forth?

16 Canst thou get to know concerning the poisings of the thick cloud, The wonders of one who is perfect in knowledge?

17 That thy garments should be hot when he quieteth the earth from the south?

18 Didst thou spread out with him the skies, Strong as a molten mirror?

19 Let us know what we shall say to him, We cannot set in order by reason of darkness.

20 Shall it be declared to him—that I would speak? Were any man to say aught he might be destroyed?

21 Yet now men see not the light, Bright though it is in the skies, When a wind hath passed over and cleansed them.

22 Out of the north a golden light cometh, Upon God is fearful splendour:

23 The Almighty whom we have not fully found out is great in vigour,—Neither justice nor abounding righteousness will he weaken.

24 Therefore do men revere him, He will not regard any who are wise in heart.

38 Then Yahweh responded to Job out of a storm and said:—

2 Who is it that darkeneth counsel By words without knowledge?

3 Gird, I pray thee—like a strong man—thy loins, That I may ask thee and inform thou me:

4 Where wast thou when I founded the earth? Tell, if thou knowest understanding!

5 Who set the measurements thereof, if thou knowest? Or who stretched out over it a line?

6 Whereon were the pedestals thereof sunk? Or who laid the corner stone thereof;—

7 When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8 Or [who] shut in with double doors the sea, When bursting out of the womb it came forth;

9 When I put a cloud as the garment thereof, And a thick cloud as the swaddling-band thereof;

10 And brake off for it my boundary, And fixed a bar and double doors;

11 And said—Hitherto shalt thou come and no further,—And here shalt thou set a limit to the majesty of thy waves?

12 Since thy days [began] hast thou commanded the morning? Or caused the dawn to know its place;

13 That it might lay hold of the wings of the earth, And the lawless be shaken out of it?

14 It transformeth itself like the clay of a seal, So that things stand forth like one arrayed;

15 That their light may be withdrawn from the lawless, And the lofty arm be shivered.

16 Hast thou entered as far as the springs of the sea? Or through the secret recesses of the resounding deep hast thou wandered?

17 Have the gates of death been disclosed to thee? And the gates of the death-shade couldst thou descry?

18 Hast thou well considered even the breadths of the earth? Tell—if thou knowest it all!

19 Where then is the way the light shall abide? And the darkness where then is its place?

20 That thou mayest conduct it unto the bound thereof, And that thou mayest perceive the paths to its house.

21 Thou knowest, for then hadst thou been born! And in number thy days are many!

22 Hast thou entered into the treasuries of the snow? And the treasuries of the hail couldst thou see?

23 Which I have reserved for a time of distress, For the day of conflict and of war?

24 Where then is the way the lightning is parted? The east wind spreadeth itself abroad over the earth.

25 Who hath cloven—for the torrent—a channel? Or a way for the lightning of thunders;

26 To give rain over the no-man’s land, The desert, where no son of earth is;

27 To satisfy the wild and the wilderness, To cause to spring forth the meadow of young grass?

28 Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

29 Out of whose womb came forth the ice? And the hoar-frost of the heavens who hath given it birth?

30 Like a stone are the waters congealed, And the face of the roaring deep becometh firm!

31 Canst thou bind the fetters of the Pleiades? Or the bands of Orion canst thou unloose?

32 Canst thou bring forth the signs of the Zodiac each in its season? Or the Bear and her Young canst thou lead?

33 Knowest thou the statutes of the heavens? Or didst thou appoint his dominion over the earth?

34 Canst thou lift up to the thick cloud thy voice, And the overflow of waters cover thee?

35 Canst thou send forth the lightnings, So that they go, And say to thee, Behold us?

36 Who hath put—into cloud-forms—wisdom? Or who hath given—to the meteor—understanding?

37 Who can count the thin clouds in wisdom? And the bottles of the heavens who can empty out;

38 When the dust is cast into a clod, And the lumps are bound together?

39 Wilt thou hunt—for the Lioness—prey? Or the craving of the Strong Lion wilt thou satisfy;

40 When they settle down in dens, Abide in covert for lying in wait?

41 Who prepareth for the Raven his nourishment,—When his young ones—unto God—cry out, [When] they wander for lack of food?

39 Knowest thou the season when the Wild Goats of the crags beget? The bringing forth of the hinds canst thou observe?

2 Canst thou count the months they fulfil? Or knowest thou the time when they give birth?

3 They kneel down, their young they bring forth; Their pains they throw off;

4 Their young become strong, they grow up in the open field, They go out and return not unto them.

5 Who hath sent forth the Wild Ass free? And the bands of the swift-runner who hath loosed?

6 Whose house I have made the waste plain, And his dwellings the land of salt:

7 He laugheth at the throng of the city, The shoutings of the driver he heareth not;

8 He espieth the mountains, his pasture-ground, And after every green thing maketh search.

9 Will the Wild-Ox be pleased to be thy servant? Or lodge for the night by thy crib?

10 Canst thou bind the wild-ox so that—with the ridge—shall run his cord? Or will he harrow the furrows after thee?

11 Wilt thou trust in him because of the greatness of his strength? Wilt thou leave unto him thy toil?

12 Wilt thou put faith in him that he will bring back thy seed? And that corn for thy threshing-floor he will gather?

13 The wing of the Ostrich that waveth itself joyfully Is it the pinion of lovingkindness or the plumage?

14 For she leaveth—to the earth—her eggs, And on the dust she letteth them be warmed;

15 And hath forgotten that a foot may crush them,—Or the wild beast tread on them!

16 Dealing hardly with her young, as none-of-hers, In vain her labour, without dread.

17 For God hath suffered her to forget wisdom, And given her no share in understanding.

18 What time on high she vibrateth her wings She laugheth at the horse and his rider.

19 Couldst thou give—to the Horse—strength? Couldst thou clothe his neck with the quivering mane?

20 Couldst thou cause him to leap like a locust? The majesty of his snort is a terror!

21 He diggeth into the plain and rejoiceth in vigour, He goeth forth to meet armour;

22 He laugheth at dread and is not dismayed, Neither turneth he back from the face of the sword;

23 Against him whiz [the arrows of] the quiver, The flashing head of spear and javelin;

24 With stamping and rage he drinketh up the ground,—He will not stand still when the horn soundeth;

25 As oft as the horn soundeth he saith, Aha! And from afar he scenteth the battle,—The thunder of commanders and the war-cry.

26 Is it by thine understanding that the Bird of Passage betaketh him to his pinions? Spreadeth out his wings to the south?

27 Or at thy bidding that the Eagle mounteth, And that he setteth on high his nest?

28 The crag he inhabiteth and so lodgeth himself, On the tooth of the crag and high fort;

29 From thence he searcheth out food, Far away his eyes do pierce;

30 And his young brood suck up blood, And where the slain are there is he.

40 And Yahweh responded to Job and said:—

2 Shall a reprover contend with the Almighty? He that disputeth with God let him answer it!

3 Then Job responded to Yahweh and said:—

4 Lo! I am of no account, what shall I reply to thee? My hand have I laid on my mouth:

5 Once have I spoken, but I will not proceed, Yea twice but I will not add.

6 So then Yahweh responded to Job out of a storm and said:—

7 Gird, I pray thee—as a strong man—thy loins, I will ask thee, and inform thou me.

8 Wilt thou even frustrate my justice? Wilt thou condemn me that thou mayest appear right?

9 But if an arm like God thou hast, And with a voice like his thou canst thunder

10 Deck thyself, I pray thee, with majesty and grandeur, Yea with dignity and splendour thou shalt clothe thyself;

11 Pour out thy transports of anger, And look on every one who is high and lay him low;

12 Look on every one who is high and humble him, Yea tread down the lawless on the spot:

13 Hide them in the dust all together, Their faces bind thou in darkness;

14 And even I myself will praise thee, In that thine own right hand can bring thee salvation.

15 Behold, I pray thee, the Hippopotamus, which I made with thee, Grass—like the ox he eateth;

16 Behold, I pray thee, his strength in his loins, And his force in the muscles of his belly;

17 He bendeth down his tail like a cedar, The sinews of his thighs are twisted together;

18 His bones are barrels of bronze, His frame is like hammered bars of iron:

19 He is the beginning of the ways of God, Let his maker present him his sword:

20 Surely the mountains bring produce to him, Where all the wild beasts of the field do play;

21 Under the lotus-trees he lieth down, In a covert of reed and swamp;

22 The lotus-trees cover him with their shade, The willows of the torrent-bed compass him about;

23 Lo! the river becometh insolent—he is not alarmed! He is confident though a Jordan burst forth to his mouth:

24 Before his eyes shall he be caught? With a hook can one pierce his nose?

41 Canst thou draw out the Crocodile with a fish-hook? Or with a cord canst thou fasten down his tongue?

2 Wilt thou put a rush-cord on his nose? Or with a thorn wilt thou pierce his jaw?

3 Will he multiply unto thee supplications, Or will he speak unto thee softly?

4 Will he solemnise a covenant with thee? Wilt thou take him for a life-long servant?

5 Wilt thou sport with him as with a little bird? Or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?

6 Shall the companions bargain over him? Or will they part him among the traders?

7 Wilt thou fill with darts his skin? Or with fish-spears his head?

8 Lay thou upon him thy hand, Remember the battle—no more!

9 Lo! any hope of him hath been found deceptive, Even at the sight of him shall not one be overwhelmed?

10 None so bold that he will rouse him! Who then is he that before me can stand?

11 Who hath forestalled me that I may repay him? Under all the heavens mine it is!

12 I will not pass by in silence his parts, Or the matter of strength or the grace of his armour.

13 Who hath removed his outer garment, Through his double row of teeth who would enter?

14 The doors of his face who hath opened? The circles of his teeth are a terror!

15 A pride are his arched sides, Closed up with a firm seal;

16 One to another they join, And air cannot enter between them;

17 Each to its fellow they cleave, They grasp each other and cannot be parted;

18 His sneezings flash forth light, And his eyes are like the eyelashes of the dawn;

19 Out of his mouth torches dart forth, Sparks of fire escape;

20 Out of his nostrils proceedeth smoke, Like a blown pot and rushes;

21 His breath setteth coals ablaze, And a flame out of his mouth proceedeth;

22 In his neck lodgeth strength, And before him danceth dismay;

23 The dewlaps of his flesh cleave together, Hardened upon him they cannot be moved;

24 His heart is hardened like a stone, Yea hardened like the nether millstone;

25 At his rising up mighty men are afraid, By reason of terror they are beside themselves:

26 As for him that assaileth him the sword availeth not, Spear, dart, or coat of mail:

27 He counteth iron as broken straw, And bronze as rotten wood:

28 The arrow will not make him flee, Into chaff are sling-stones changed by him:

29 As a straw is a club accounted, And he laugheth at the whir of the javelin;

30 His underparts are points of potsherd, A pointed threshing roller spreadeth out upon the slime;

31 He causeth to boil as a cauldron the raging deep, The sea he maketh like a brewing vessel:

32 After him he lighteth up a path, One might think the resounding deep to be hoary!

33 There is not—upon the dust—his like, That hath been made to be without fear;

34 Every thing lofty he beholdeth, He is king over all ravenous beasts.

42 Then Job responded to Yahweh and said:—

2 I know that all things thou canst do, And that no purpose can be withholden from thee.

3 Who is it that hideth counsel without knowledge? Therefore have I declared but not understood, Things too wonderful for me, which I could not know.

4 Hear thou, I pray thee, and I will speak, I will ask thee, and inform thou me.

5 By the hearing of the ear had I heard thee, But now mine own eye hath seen thee.

6 For this cause I tremble and repent, On dust and ashes.

7 And it came to pass after Yahweh had spoken these words unto Job that Yahweh said unto Eliphaz the Temanite, Kindled is mine anger against thee and against thy two friends, for ye have not spoken concerning me the thing that is right, like my servant Job.

8 Now therefore take unto you seven bullocks and seven rams and go unto my servant Job and ye shall offer up an ascending-sacrifice in your own behalf, and Job my servant shall pray over you,—for him will I accept, that I may not deal out to you disgrace, because ye have not spoken concerning me the thing that is right, like my servant Job.

9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite [and] Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according to that which Yahweh had spoken unto them,—and Yahweh accepted Job.

10 And Yahweh himself turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed in behalf of his friends,—and Yahweh increased all that Job had possessed unto twice as much.

11 Then came unto him all his brethren and all his sisters and all his former acquaintances, and they did eat bread with him in his house,—and shewed sympathy with him and comforted him, over all the calamity which Yahweh had brought upon him,—and they gave him every one a weight of money, and every one a ring of gold.

12 And Yahweh blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning,—and so he came to have fourteen thousand sheep and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand she-asses.

13 And he came to have seven sons and three daughters;

14 and he called the name of the first Jemima, and the name of the second Kezia,—and the name of the third Keren-happuch.

15 And there were found no women so fair as the daughters of Job in all the land,—and their father gave them an inheritance in the midst of their brethren.

16 And Job lived, after this, a hundred and forty years,—and saw his sons and his sons’ sons, four generations.

17 So Job died, old and satisfied with days.