Aramaic Peshitta
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Lamsa OT - Job
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1 ¶ THERE was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was innocent and upright, and one who revered God and turned away from evil. 2 And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 His substance was seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels and five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred she-asses and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the East.""
4 ¶ And his sons went and feasted in the house of each other on his appointed day; and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And it was so, when the days of their feasting were over, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.""
6 ¶ Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present them selves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. 7 And the LORD said to Satan, Whence have you come? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking on it. 8 Then the LORD said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, an innocent and upright man, one who reveres God, and turns away from evil? 9 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, Does Job revere God for nought? 10 Thou hast rested thy hand of protection upon him and upon his house and upon his children and upon everything that he has everywhere; thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. 11 But put forth thy hand now, and destroy all that he has, and he will curse thee to thy face. 12 And the LORD said to Satan, Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon himself you shall not put forth your hand. So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.""
13 ¶ And there was a day when Job’s sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house; 14 And there came a messenger to Job, and said to him, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding be side them; 15 And robbers raided them, and carried them away, and they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword, and I only have escaped to inform you. 16 While he was yet speaking, there came another, and said to him, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and has burned up the sheep and the shepherds, and consumed them; and I only have escaped to inform you. 17 While he was yet speaking, there came another, and said to him, The Chaldeans divided themselves into three bands, and raided the camels, and carried them away, and slew the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only have escaped to inform you. 18 While he was yet speaking, there came another, and said to him, Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house; 19 And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only have escaped to inform you.""
20 ¶ Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, 21 And he said, Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. 22 In all these disasters, Job did not sin, nor did he blaspheme against the LORD.""
2:1 ¶ AGAIN there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Sa tan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, Whence have you come? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking on it. 3 And the LORD said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, an innocent and upright man, one who reveres God, and turns away from evil? He still holds fast to his integrity, although you provoked me against him, to destroy him without cause. 4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man has will he give for his life, to save it. 5 But put forth thy hand now, and touch his flesh or his bone, and he will curse thee to thy face. 6 And the LORD said to Satan, Behold, he is delivered into your hands; only spare his life.""
7 ¶ So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with cancer from the sole of his foot to his brain. 8 And he took a potsherd to scrape himself with it; and he sat down upon ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God, and die. 10 But he said to her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. We have indeed received God’s blessings, now shall we not also receive his afflictions? In all these misfortunes Job did not sin, nor did he blaspheme against God with his lips.""
11 ¶ Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this misfortune that had come upon him, they set a time of meeting, and came to him every one from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; for they had made an appointment together to console and comfort him. 12 And when they lifted up their eyes from afar, they did not recognize him, and they lifted up their voices, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and threw dust upon their heads toward the heaven. 13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spoke a word to him; for they saw that his affliction was very great.""
3:1 ¶ AFTER this Job opened his mouth, and cursed the day wherein he was born. 2 Then Job spoke and said, 3 Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, A male child is conceived. 4 Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. 5 Let the darkness and the shadow of death cover it; let a cloud overshadow it; let those whose days are bitter be terrified by it. 6 As for that night, let thick darkness cover it; let that day not be reckoned in the number of the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months. 7 Lo, let that night be desolate, let no voice of praise come therein. 8 Let them curse it who curse the day, who are ready to stir up Leviathan. 9 Let the stars of twilight thereof be dark; let the people wait for light, but receive none; neither let them see the dawning of the day; 10 Because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hide trouble from my eyes.""
11 ¶ Why did I not die from the womb? Why did I come forth at birth? 12 Why was I reared at my mother’s knee? Why did I suck the breasts? 13 For now I should have been laid in the grave and been quiet, I should have slept; then I should have been at rest, 14 With kings and governors of the earth who built desolate places for themselves; 15 Or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver; 16 Or like a hidden untimely birth, as if I had not been; like infants that never saw the light. 17 There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary are at rest. 18 There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. 19 The small and the great are there; and the servant is free from his master.""
20 ¶ Why is light given to him who is in trouble, and life to the bitter in soul, 21 Who long for death, but it comes not, and seek it as one seeks a hidden treasure; 22 Who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad when they can find the grave? 23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, whom God has hedged in? 24 For my sighing comes before I eat, and my moanings are poured out like water. 25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of has befallen me. 26 I am not at ease, neither am I calm, nor am I at rest; and yet misfortune came.""
4:1 ¶ THEN Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, 2 If I venture to speak with you, will you be wearied? But who can restrain himself from speaking with you? 3 Behold, you have instructed many, and you have strengthened the weak hands. 4 Your words have upheld the weak, and you have strengthened the feeble knees. 5 But now because misfortune has come upon you, and you are weary; it touches you, and you are terrified. 6 Behold, your fear is to be blamed, and your trust in the integrity of your way.""
7 ¶ Remember, I pray you, whoever perished, being innocent? Or where were the upright ever put to shame? 8 As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble, reap the same. 9 By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed. 10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the young lion are silenced, and the teeth of the lions are broken. 11 The lion perishes for the lack of prey, and the whelps of the lioness are scattered.""
12 ¶ Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and my ear received a little of it. 13 In silence, in a night vision, when deep sleep falls on men, 14 Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. 15 Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up: 16 Then I arose, but I could not discern its meaning; there was no form before my eyes, but I heard a gentle voice, saying, 17 Shall mortal man be declared more righteous than God? Shall he be more pure than his Maker? 18 Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his messengers he struck with amazement; 19 Even those who dwell in decorated houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, shall be humbled before the thick darkness. 20 They shall be afflicted from morning to evening, that they may not dwell for ever; yea, they shall perish. 21 Behold, their possessions are taken away from them; and the rest of them shall die without wisdom.""
5:1 ¶ CALL now, I pray you; is there any one to answer you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn? 2 For anger kills the foolish man, and enmity slays the silly one. 3 I have seen the wicked prosper; but his habitation is suddenly destroyed. 4 His children are far from salvation, and they are humiliated at the gate, and there is no one to deliver them. 5 His harvest the hungry eat up; and they shall pour out water to the thirsty, and the thirsty devour their substance.""
6 ¶ For falsehood does not come forth from the dust, nor does iniquity spring out of the ground; 7 For man is born for trouble, as sure as the wild birds fly. 8 But as for me. I would seek God, and to God I would commit my cause, 9 Who has done great things without limit; and marvellous things without number. 10 Who gives rain upon the earth, and sends water upon the streets; 11 To set up on high those that are lowly; and the meek shall be exalted by salvation. 12 He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot wisely perform their enterprise. 13 He takes the wise in their subtlety; and the counsel of the crafty is frustrated. 14 They handle things in the daytime as though they were in darkness, and grope in the noonday as in the night. 15 But he saves their lives from the sword, and the poor from the hand of the mighty. 16 So there shall be hope for the poor, but the wicked shall shut his mouth.""
17 ¶ Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; and he who does not despise the chastening of the Almighty; 18 For it is he who wounds, and binds up; he smites, and his hands heal. 19 He shall deliver you in six troubles; yea, in seven there shall no evil touch you. 20 In famine he shall deliver you from death; and in war from the power of the sword. 21 You shall be protected from the scourge of the tongue; and you shall not be afraid of destruction when it comes. 22 At plunder and famine you shall laugh; and you shall not fear the wild beasts. 23 For you shall be in league with the stones of the field; and the wild beasts shall surrender to you. 24 You shall know that your tabernacle shall be in peace; and you shall return to your habitation, and shall not sin. 25 You shall know also that your descendants shall be many, and your offspring like the grass of the earth. 26 You shall come to your grave gently, like a shock of grain in its season. 27 Lo this thing we have searched, and it is so; we have heard it; and you know it for your good.""
6:1 ¶ THEN Job answered and said, 2 Oh that my grief were weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances against it! 3 For then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas; therefore my words are restrained. 4 For the arrows of the Almighty are in my flesh, and their poison drinks up my spirit; the terrors of God have frightened me. 5 Does the wild ass bray over grass? Or does the ox low over the fodder? 6 Or can that which is unsavory be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg? 7 My soul is weary of its troubles, I lament like a drunken man in my affliction.""
8 ¶ Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for! 9 So that God would hearken to cleanse me, and to spread out his hand and make me whole; 10 And to be again my comfort, so that I may be restored to my strength without measure; for I have not lied against the words of the Holy One. 11 What is my strength, that I should endure? And what is my end, that I should be patient? 12 Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh of brass? 13 Behold, his help is not in me, and his salvation is far off from me.""
14 ¶ He who withholds peace from his friend, forsakes the worship of the Almighty. 15 My brethren have dealt deceitfully like dry brooks, like torrents which pass away. 16 Those who were afraid of ice, much snow has fallen upon them. 17 When the sun shines over them, they melt; when it is hot, they melt and disappear from their place. 18 The paths of their ways are winding; they go astray from their course and perish. 19 For they have looked toward the roads of the south, and have waited for the paths of Sheba. 20 They are ashamed in what they had hoped; they came there, and were confounded. 21 You also have become such to me; because before you saw terror, you were afraid.""
22 ¶ Did I say, Bring me a present? Or from your wealth offer a bribe for my sake? 23 Or rescue me from my oppressor’s hands; or deliver me from the hand of the mighty? 24 Teach me, and I will be silent; and cause me to understand wherein I have erred. 25 Why do you reject the words of truth? Who of you are able to rebuke and chastise? 26 Behold you are seeking to find words with which to reprove, and against my soul you are conjuring up words. 27 Behold, you overwhelm the fatherless, and you grieve your friend. 28 Now therefore listen and take heed, and I will speak in your presence, and will not lie. 29 Repent, I pray you, and do not become like ungodly men; repent therefore and be justified. 30 Is there iniquity in my tongue? Or does not my mouth speak truth?""
7:1 ¶ BEHOLD there is an appointed time for man upon earth, and his days are like the days of a hireling. 2 As a servant who eagerly longs for eventide, and as a hireling who looks to complete his job; 3 So have I inherited months of vanity, and wearisome nights are meted out to me. 4 When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise? and the night seems long; when I go to rest, I toss about till the dawning of the day. 5 My flesh is covered with worms, and my body with dust; my skin is shrunk, and falls apart. 6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope.""
7 ¶ O remember that the spirit is still alive; even yet my eye shall again see good. 8 The eye of him who has seen me shall rejoice no more; thine eyes are upon me, and vet I am gone. 9 As the cloud fades away and disappears, so he who descends to Sheol shall not ascend any more. 10 He shall return no more to his house, neither shall he recognize his place any more. 11 Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 12 Am I a sea, or a sea monster, that thou settest a watch over me? 13 For I said that thou shalt comfort me, and I will be relieved of the pain of my sickbed. 14 And, behold, thou dost scare me with dreams, and terrify me through visions; 15 Thou hast drawn my life out of destruction, and my bones out of death. 16 I am despondent; I would not live for ever; leave me alone, for my days are vanity.""
17 ¶ What is man, that thou shouldst destroy him? And that thou shouldst think of him; 18 And that thou shouldst visit him every morning, and try him every moment? 19 How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow my spittle? 20 If I have sinned; what have I done to thee, O thou Creator of men? Why hast thou caused me to encounter thee? Thou hast become a burden to me. 21 Until when wilt thou not forgive my transgressions and remove my iniquity? For now I shall lie in the dust; and thou shalt seek me, but I shall be no more.""
8:1 ¶ THEN answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, 2 How long will you speak these things? And how long will your mouth utter proud words? 3 Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert right? 4 If your children have sinned against him, he has sent them away in their transgressions. 5 If you would seek God and make supplication to the Almighty, 6 If you were innocent and upright, surely then he would be attentive to you, and would make the habitation of your righteousness prosperous, 7 So that though your beginning was small he would make your end very great.""
8 ¶ For inquire, I pray you, of the former generations, and learn through the search of their fathers; 9 For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are like a shadow; 10 And, behold, they shall teach you, and tell you, and utter words out of their heart. 11 Can papyrus grow in a thirsty land? Can reeds grow where there is no water? 12 While they are yet in their greenness, and not cut down, they wither before any other herb. 13 So are the paths of all who forget God; and the hope of the heathen shall perish; 14 Whose confidence shall be cut off, and whose house is a spider’s web. 15 The wicked shall put his trust in his house, but it shall not stand; he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure. 16 He is like green vegetation before the sun, and his roots shall rest in a ground liable to be washed away. 17 He shall see his house a heap of stones. 18 If he is uprooted from his place, then he will deny him, saying, I have not seen thee. 19 Behold, it is he who examines all his ways, and out of the earth others shall sprout.""
20 ¶ Behold, God will not reject the upright men, nor will he help the evildoers; 21 Until he fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with a song. 22 Those who hate you shall be clothed with shame; and the tent of the wicked shall be destroyed.""
9:1 ¶ THEN Job answered and said, 2 Truly, I know that it is so; but how can a man be declared innocent before God? 3 If he should contend with him, he cannot answer him one out of a thousand. 4 He is wise in heart and mighty in strength; who has hardened himself against him, and had peace? 5 He who removes mountains and overthrows them with his anger, does he not know? 6 He shakes the earth out of its foundations, and its inhabitants tremble. 7 He commands the sun, and it does not rise; and seals up the stars. 8 He alone stretched out the heavens, and treads upon the mighty waves of the sea. 9 He made the Pleiades, Aldebaran, and Orion, and the chambers of the south. 10 He has done great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number. 11 Lo, if he will pass by me, I will see him not; and if he will circle around me, I will not perceive him. 12 Behold, if he will destroy, who can resist him? Who can say to him, What doest thou? 13 God will not turn away his anger, the mighty shall be humiliated under him.""
14 ¶ I will answer him also, and choose out my words in his presence. 15 If I am not justified I would not resist, but I would make supplication to my judge. 16 If I had called, and he had answered me, yet I would not believe that he had hearkened to my voice. 17 For he has crushed me with a tempest, and multiplied my wounds without cause. 18 He will not suffer me to take my breath, but fills me with bitterness. 19 If it is a matter of strength, lo, he is mighty; and if of judgment, who can summon him? 20 If I justify myself, my own mouth shall condemn me; though I say I am pure, he shall also prove me perverse. 21 Though I am pure, yet I would not know my soul; I would despise my life.""
22 ¶ It is all the same; therefore I say, He destroys both the righteous and the wicked. 23 If his rod slays suddenly, he will laugh at the foolishness of the innocent. 24 The earth is handed over to the wicked; and the faces of the judges are covered; if not, who can endure their wrath?""
25 ¶ Now my days are swifter than a runner; they flee away, they see no good. 26 They are passed away like ships of the enemy; like the eagle that swoops on the prey. 27 I have forgotten my bitterness; if my mind or my thought would leave me alone, then I would find rest. 28 Though I am at rest, I am afraid of every torment, because I know that thou wilt not declare me innocent. 29 Behold, if I am declared guilty, why then dost thou consume me in vain? 30 If I wash myself with snow why then dost thou consume me in my hands; 31 Yet thou shalt plunge me into the pit, and my own clothes shall be abhorrent to me. 32 For God is not a man as I am, that I might answer him. and that we should come together for trial. 33 O that there were a judge between us, that he might silence us both! 34 Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me; 35 Then I would speak, and I will not be afraid of him, for I have never been against him.""
10:1 ¶ MY soul is weary of my life; I have reasoned in my judgment; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. 2 I will say to God. Do not condemn me; show me why thou dost contend with me. 3 Is it not enough to thee that thou shouldst oppress, that thou shouldst despise the work of thy hands, and regard the counsel of the wicked? 4 Hast thou eyes of flesh? Or seest thou as a man sees? 5 Are thy days as the days of men? Are thy years as man’s days? 6 That thou enquirest after my iniquity, and searchest after my sins? 7 Thou knowest that I am innocent; and there is none that can deliver himself out of thy hands.""
8 ¶ Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: and afterward thou wishest to condemn me, and to destroy me. 9 Remember that thou hast made me as clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again? 10 Thou hast churned me as milk, and curdled me as cheese. 11 Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast strengthened me with bones and sinews. 12 Thou hast granted me life and peace, and thy commandments have preserved my spirit. 13 And these things hast thou hid in thy heart; I know that this is in thy mind.""
14 ¶ if I sin, then thou dost watch me, and thou dost not acquit me from my iniquity. 15 If I be wicked, woe is me! and if I be righteous, still I cannot lift up my head. I have enough of reproach; I have seen my affliction. 16 And if I exalt myself, thou dost hunt me like a lion, and then thou dost turn and show thyself gigantic over me. 17 Thou hast set thy armor against me, and increasest thy indignation toward me. Thou dost array one host after another against me. 18 Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Would that I had died, and no eye had seen me! 19 I should have been as though I had not lived; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave. 20 The days of my life are few; let me alone, that I may be quiet and rest a little 21 Before I go from whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death. 22 A land of loneliness and deep darkness, and of the shadow of death, without any order or time; wearisome like a deep pit.""
11:1 ¶ THEN answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, 2 The LORD does not answer because of the multitude of words, neither can a fluent speaker be justified by his discourse. 3 Behold, at your words, only the dead can hold their peace; for when you speak, there is no one to stop you; and when you mock, there is no one to rebuke you. 4 For you say, I was led righteously, and I am pure in my sight. 5 But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against you; 6 And that he would show you the secrets of wisdom, for wisdom has inner chambers; then you would know that God would forgive your sins.""
7 ¶ Can you understand the deep things of God? Or can you stand at the outer boundary of the Almighty? 8 Do you know the height of the heaven? Or the depth of Sheol? How can you know? 9 The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. 10 If he should pass by, and besiege, or should cause men to die, who could hinder him? 11 For it is he who knows the beginning of time; and sees wickedness, and considers it. 12 For a pure man inspires courage, and a mighty man helps others.""
13 ¶ If you make your heart right, and stretch out your hands toward him; 14 If iniquity should be in your hands, he would put it far away, and not let wickedness dwell in your tabernacle. 15 For then you will be courageous; yea, you will not be afraid of distress. 16 Because you shall forget your misery, and you shall be led like running water; 17 And the pit will be clearer than the noonday, and the thick darkness will be like the morning. 18 Then you will have confidence because there is hope; yea, you lie down and take your rest in safety: 19 Also you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid; yea, many shall seek to see your face. 20 But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and their strength shall vanish away together with the hope of their souls.""
12:1 ¶ AND Job answered and said, 2 Truly, you are the people, and wisdom shall die with you. 3 But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you; but to whom are such things as these not known? 4 And yet he who called upon God became ridiculous to his friends, and he answered him who is pleased with the righteous who are unblemished, 5 Who is ready to do away with contempt and iniquity, and to strengthen the slippery feet.""
6 ¶ The tabernacle of robbers shall be removed, and the confidence of those who provoke God; for there is no God in their heart. 7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach you; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell you; 8 Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach you; and the fishes of the sea shall declare to you. 9 Who does not know in all these that the hand of the LORD has made them? 10 Because in his hand are the souls of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. 11 The ear hears the words, and the palate tastes food.""
12 ¶ With the elders is wisdom; and in length of days, understanding. 13 With him is wisdom and might, he has counsel and understanding. 14 Behold, if he demolishes, who can build; and if he shuts up a man in prison, who can open? 15 If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he releases them they ruin the land. 16 With him is strength and wisdom; with him is might and salvation. 17 He leads kings amazingly, and makes judges fools. 18 He brings kings down to beg at the gates, and girds their loins with girdles of power. 19 He leads priests with reverence, and overthrows the mighty. 20 He cancels the speech of trusty counsellors, and takes away the good judgment of elders. 21 He pours contempt upon princes, and weakens the strength of the mighty. 22 He uncovers deep things out of darkness, and brings the light out of the shadow of death. 23 He causes the nations to err, and destroys them; he strikes down the nations, and forsakes them. 24 He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, and causes them to wander in a waste land where there is no way. 25 They search in darkness without light, and they grope in darkness without understanding; and he makes them stagger like a drunken man.""
13:1 ¶ Lo, my eye has seen all this, my ear has heard and understood it. 2 What you know, I know also; I am not inferior to you. 3 But I would speak to the Almighty, and with my reproof would I reason with God. 4 But you are forgers of lies; you are all healers of no value. 5 O that you would altogether keep silent! And it would serve you for wisdom. 6 Hear now my admonition, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips. 7 Will you speak wickedly against God? And talk deceitfully against him? 8 Will you respect his person? Will you contend with him? 9 Is it good for you that he should search you out? Or as you are judged by men, would you be judged by him? 10 He will surely reprove you, if you will show partiality. 11 His excellency shall seek vengeance of you, and his terror will fall upon you. 12 Remember that your power is from the earth, and your dwelling place is of clay.""
13 ¶ Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak also, and tell everything that has come upon me. 14 Why am I so afflicted, and why is my life exposed to danger? 15 Though he slay me, yet will I look for him; because my ways are before him. 16 He also shall be my Saviour; for a hypocrite shall not come before him. 17 Listen diligently to my speech, and I will relate my declaration in your presence. 18 Behold now, I am also pleading my cause; and I know that I am innocent. 19 Who is he that will contend with me? For now I will keep silent and be at rest. 20 Only two things do not let depart from me; then I will not turn aside from thee: 21 Do not withdraw thy help from me; and let not thy dread terrify me. 22 Then call thou me, and I will answer; or let me speak, and answer thou me.""
23 ¶ How many are my iniquities and sins? Make me to know my transgressions and my sins. 24 Wherefore dost thou hide thy face from me, and considerest me as thine enemy? 25 Wilt thou tread upon a fallen leaf? And wilt thou pursue the dry grass in the air? 26 For thou decreest chastisement against me, and makest me remember the iniquities of my youth; 27 Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and watchest all my ways; thou seest the imprints of my feet. 28 Yet a man is like a worn-out waterskin, and a garment that is moth-eaten.""
14:1 ¶ MAN that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. 2 He comes forth like a flower, and withers and fades away; he flees like a shadow, and continues not. 3 And dost thou open thine eyes upon such a one, and bring him into judgment with thee? 4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one. 5 Seeing his days are determined and the number of his months are decreed, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot trespass them; 6 Turn thy face away from him, and his days will be spent like a hireling.""
7 ¶ For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again and its tender shoots will not cease. 8 Though its root wax old in the earth and its stock die in the ground, 9 Yet through the scent of water it will bud and bring forth leaves like a plant; 10 But man dies, and fades away; yea, man perishes, and he is no more. 11 As the waters fail from the sea, and a river becomes desolate and dries up; 12 So man who lies down does not rise again; until the heavens are no more, they shall not awake, nor be roused out of their sleep. 13 O that thou wouldst hide me in Sheol, that thou wouldst keep me in a secret place until thy wrath is spent, that thou wouldst appoint me a set time and remember me! 14 If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of his youth he waits till old age comes. 15 If thou wouldst call me, I would answer thee; thou wilt think of the work of thy hands.""
16 ¶ For now thou numberest not my steps: and thou keepest not watch over my sins. 17 My transgressions are sealed up in a bag, and thou removest from me my sins. 18 Truly a great mountain falls, and a rock moves out of its place. 19 The waters wear away the stones and wash away the soil of the earth; so thou destroyest the hope of man. 20 Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passes; thou castest him away with shame on his face. 21 If his sons multiply, he does not know it; if they decrease, he perceives it not of them. 22 But his flesh upon him shall have pal,, and his soul within him shall mourn.""
15:1 ¶ THEN answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said, 2 Should a spiritually minded man answer with knowledge and then become enraged? 3 Should he admonish with unprofitable talk, or with words that are worthless? 4 Yea, you also are discarding reverence, and talk too much in the presence of God. 5 For your mouth is accustomed to utter sinful things, and you choose the deceitful tongue of the crafty. 6 Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; yea, your own lips testify against you in my presence. 7 Are you the first man that was born? Or were you conceived before the hills? 8 Have you heard of the secrets of God? Has his wisdom been revealed to you? 9 Or what do you know that we do not know? Or what do you under, stand that we do not understand? 10 Behold, there are among us the gray-headed and the very aged men, much older in days than your father. 11 Now talk less of God’s threats, and speak comfortingly to yourself. 12 Why does your heart boast? And what do your eyes wink at, 13 That you boast in the presence of God, and let such words go out of your mouth? 14 What is man, that he should be innocent? Or he that is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? 15 Behold, he puts no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight. 16 Even though man should be rejected and afflicted, yet he shall drink iniquity like water.""
17 ¶ Hear me, I will show you; and that which I have seen I will repeat; 18 That which wise men have declared, and did not hide from their fathers; 19 To whom alone the land was given, and no stranger passed among them. 20 The wicked man magnifies himself all his days, and the number of the years of the violent man is hidden. 21 A dreadful sound is in his ears; in prosperity the spoiler shall come upon him. 22 He does not believe that he shall be overthrown because of the darkness, and that he shall see the sword. 23 He flees because of the threat of judgment; he does not know that the day of darkness is already at his hand, 24 Trouble and anguish shall overtake him, like a king ready for the battle, 25 Because he has stretched out his hand against God, and strengthened himself against the Almighty. 26 He runs against him proudly, and strangles him, with the multitudes of his shields; 27 Because he has deceived himself with his wealth, and he places Pleiades above Aldebaran. 28 And he dwells in desolate cities, which no man has inhabited; then he prepares for war. 29 He shall not continue, neither shall his strength endure, nor shall his words be established upon the earth. 30 He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he be rejected. 31 Let him not trust in deceptive vanity, for his growth is in vain. 32 He shall dry up before his time, and the work of his hands shall not be found. 33 He shall shake off his unripe grapes, as the vine, and shall cast off his flowers as the olive tree. 34 For the congregation of the godless shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacle of the wicked. 35 They conceive mischief and bring forth deceit, and their belly is full of guile.""
16:1 ¶ THEN Job answered and said, 2 I have heard many such things; wicked comforters are you all. 3 Do not grieve my spirit with words; even though you speak, I will not answer. 4 I also could speak as you do; I wish you were in my place, then I could try you out with words, and shake my head at you. 5 I would prove you with your own words, and the words of my lips would not spare you.""
6 ¶ If I speak, my pain is not assuaged; and if I forbear, who can comfort me? 7 But now he has troubled me, and yet has preserved all of my testimony. 8 Thou didst appoint me and I became a witness, but my lies have testified against me; and I spoke in his presence. 9 He has torn me and broken me in his wrath; he gnashes upon me with his teeth; my enemy sharpens his eyes against me. 10 They have gaped upon me with their mouth reproachfully; they have smitten me upon my cheeks; they were filled with rage against me. 11 God has delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked. 12 I was at ease, but he has smitten me; he has also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his target. 13 His arrows are round about me, he shoots at my kidneys and does not spare; he pours out my gall on the ground. 14 He breaks me with breach upon breach; he runs against me like a giant. 15 I have girded sackcloth upon my skin, and I have covered my head with dust. 16 My face is troubled with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death;""
17 ¶ But not for any iniquity in my hands; my prayer also is pure. 18 O earth, cover not my blood, and let my cry have no place! 19 And now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my acquaintances are on high. 20 O my brethren and my neighbors! my eyes pour out tears to God! 21 O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleads for his neighbor! 22 For the number of a man’s years will come to an end; then he shall go the way from whence he shall not return.""
17:1 ¶ MY spirit is weary, my days are extinct; the grave is ready for me, 2 For there is no falsehood in me, and yet my spirit dwells in their bitterness. 3 Make me, I pray thee, a hostage with thee; then I will surrender myself. 4 For thou hast hid their heart from understanding; therefore they shall exalt themselves in their deception. 5 When a friend behaves insolently toward his friend, even the eyes of his children shall fail. 6 He has granted power to the nations; I shall be derided before them. 7 My eye is dim because of anger, and all my senses are like a shadow. 8 Upright men shall be amazed at this, and the innocent shall stir himself up against the guilty. 9 The righteous also shall hold to his way, and he that has clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.""
10 ¶ But as for you all, you are hypocritical, and yet you return and come to me; but I cannot find a wise man among you. 11 O you time wasters! Dawdlers! Who think about nothing! O you destroyers of the hearts of the people! 12 You change the night into day; and you bring forth the light before the darkness is over. 13 If I wait, Sheol is my house; I have made my bed in the darkness. 14 I have said to corruption, You are my father; to the worm, You are my mother and my sister. 15 Where is now my hope and my trust? As for my hope, who shall find it? 16 They shall go down to the bottom of Sheol; they shall descend together into the dust.""
18:1 ¶ THEN Bildad, the Shuhite, answered and said, 2 How long will you resist words? Understand! and afterwards we will speak. 3 Wherefore are we counted as beasts, and have become abominable in your sight? O you who slays himself in his anger? 4 Shall the earth be forsaken for your sake? And shall the mountain be removed out of its place?""
5 ¶ Yea, the lamp of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine. 6 The light shall be dark in his tent, and his lamp above him shall be extinguished. 7 He shall be deserted in his illness, and his own counsel shall cast him down. 8 For he has stretched out his feet into the net, and lie walks upon a snare. 9 The trap seizes him by the heel, and thirst shall prevail against him. 10 A snare is laid for him on the ground, and a trap for him in his paths.""
11 ¶ Terror shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to his feet. 12 Let famine be his grief, let destruction be ready for his posterity. 13 Let force devour his towns, let his first-born die in violence. 14 His confidence shall be rooted out of his tent, and he shall be brought hastily by the king’s executioner. 15 Others shall dwell in his tent, because there is no one in it; brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation. 16 His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his vintage be cut off. 17 His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name upon it. 18 He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world. 19 He shall neither have name nor remembrance among the people, nor any survivor in his dwelling place. 20 They that come after him shall be astonished at his day, as they that went before them were terrified. 21 Surely such is the dwelling of the wicked, and this is the place of him who knows not God.""
19:1 ¶ THEN Job answered and said, 2 How long will you grieve my soul, and make me sick with words? 3 For behold, these ten times you have rebuked me; and yet you are not ashamed that you make me sad. 4 If indeed I have erred, my error remains with myself. 5 If you have justly magnified yourselves against me, rebuked me, and reproached me, 6 Know then that God has condemned me, and spread his net over me. 7 If I howl, no one answers me; and if I complain, there is no one to avenge me.""
8 ¶ He has fenced up my ways so that I cannot pass, and he has set darkness in my paths. 9 He has stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head. 10 He has destroyed me on every side, and I am no more; and my hope has he removed like a piece of tree. 11 He has also kindled his wrath against me, and he counts me as his enemy. 12 His messengers have come together against me; they debated their ways against me, and encamped round about my tent. 13 My brothers are far off from me, and my acquaintances have deserted me. 14 My kinsfolk have failed me, and my familiar friends have forsaken me. 15 They that dwell in my house, and my maids, consider me as a stranger; I am an alien in their sight. 16 I called my servant, and he gave me no answer; I entreated him with my mouth and implored him. 17 I have become a stranger to my wife, and have implored the children of my own body. 18 Yea, even the wicked despise me; when I rise, they speak against me. 19 All my counselors abhor me; even my friends have turned against me. 20 My skin and my flesh cleave to my bones, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth. 21 Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O you my friends; for the hand of God has been against me. 22 Why do you also persecute me like God, and you are not satisfied with the hurt of my flesh?""
23 ¶ Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were inscribed in a scroll! 24 That they were engraved with an iron pen on lead or in the rock for ever! 25 For I know that my Saviour lives, and at the end he will reveal himself upon the earth; 26 Although devouring worms have covered my skin and my flesh, 27 Yet, if my eyes shall see God, then my heart also will see the light; but now my body is consumed. 28 For you will say, Why did we persecute him? For a good report will follow me and vindicate me. 29 Spare yourselves from the sword; for the wrath of sinners is a sword; for you shall yet know that there is judgment.""
20:1 ¶ THEN Zophar, the Naamathite, answered and said, 2 Therefore my discipline has caused me to discern, and for my help it has remained with me. 3 I will make you hear the instruction of my discipline, and the spirit of my understanding will cause me to answer. 4 This I know from of old, since man was created upon the earth, 5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless but for a moment. 6 Though his excellency mount up to the heavens and his head reach to the clouds, 7 Yet he shall perish for ever like a whirlwind; those who have seen him shall say, Where is he? 8 He shall fly away like a dream, and shall not be found; yea, he shall be chased away like a vision of the night. 9 The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall they see his place again.""
10 ¶ His children shall be crushed with poverty, and he shall stretch out his hands toward them. 11 His bones are full of marrow, but they shall lie down with him in the dust. 12 Though his wickedness is sweet in his mouth, though he hide deceit under his tongue, 13 Though he spare it and forsake it not, but keep it still in his mouth; 14 Yet his food in his stomach is turned, it is the gall of asps within him. 15 The riches which he had swallowed down, he shall vomit up out of his belly; and God shall destroy him. 16 He shall suck the poison of asps; the tongue of an adder shall slay him. 17 He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter. 18 That which he had labored for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down; that which he had acquired by extortion he shall not enjoy; 19 Because he has thought to forsake the poor; because he has violently taken away a house which he did not build. 20 Because he knew no justice himself, he shall not be spared by his covetousness. 21 There shall none of his posterity be spared; therefore his good will not be remembered. 22 With the measure with which he had measured, he shall be recompensed; the hand of the wicked shall come upon him.""
23 ¶ May his posterity go to destruction, may God cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and deluge him while he wars against him. 24 For although he had escaped because of the breastplate of iron, the bow of brass shall pierce him through. 25 It is drawn, and it brings forth his inward parts; and the skin of his gall shall be pierced; terror shall be upon him continually. 26 All darkness is kept in store for his posterity; a blazing fire shall consume him; and the one who is left in his tent shall be destroyed. 27 The heaven shall reveal his sins; and the earth avenge itself upon him. 28 The foundations of his house shall be left bare and he shall be scourged in the day of his wrath. 29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed to him from the Highest.""
21:1 ¶ THEN Job answered and said, 2 Listen diligently to my speech, and let this be your consolation. 3 Suffer me that I may speak; and after I have spoken, then mock on. 4 I will utter my complaint to men, why my spirit is distressed. 5 Return to me, and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth. 6 Even when I think of it, I tremble, and terror takes hold of my flesh.""
7 ¶ Why do the ungodly live, and why are the mighty in power full of years? 8 Their descendants are established in their sight with them, and their children before their eyes. 9 Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. 10 Their bull breeds, and fails not; their cow calves, and does not cast her calf. 11 Their children stand firm like a flock, and their boys dance. 12 They take the timbrels and harps, and rejoice at the sound of singing. 13 They spend their days in prosperity, and then suddenly go down to Sheol. 14 They say to God, Depart from us; for we do not desire to know thy ways. 15 Moreover, they say, Who is God, that we should serve him? And what would we gain, that we should pray to him? 16 Lo, they have no power over their prosperity; the counsel of the ungodly is far from me.""
17 ¶ How often is it that the wicked are left without an heir! how often their destruction comes upon them! God distributes sorrows in his anger. 18 They are like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the storm carries away. 19 God reserves man’s iniquity for his children; he pays it back to him, and he shall know it. 20 His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty. 21 For what pleasure has he in his house after him, when a portion of his years shall be reserved for his posterity? 22 Shall any teach God knowledge, seeing it is he who judges the proud? 23 One dies in his full strength, sound of body, being wholly confident, and at ease. 24 His body is full of fat, and his bones are filled with marrow. 25 And another dies in the bitterness of his soul, never having tasted prosperity. 26 They shall lie down in the dust, and the worms shall cover them.""
27 ¶ Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices which you wrongfully imagine against me. 28 For you say. Where is the house of the righteous? And where is the place in which the wicked has pitched his tent? 29 Have you not asked those who pass by the way? And do you not recognize their tokens? 30 For the evil man is reserved for the day of destruction, he shall be remembered in the day of wrath. 31 Who can show him the way? And who shall repay him for what he has done? 32 Yet he shall be brought to the grave, he is reserved for misfortune. 33 The depths of the valley shall swallow him, and many shall be drawn in after him, even as there are innumerable ahead of him. 34 How then can you comfort me in vain, seeing that your abominable answers are multiplied before me?""
22:1 ¶ THEN Eliphaz, the Temanite, answered and said, 2 O man, can you converse with God; are you equal with him in wisdom? 3 What do you profit by trying to make it seem that your ways are perfect because you are afraid? 4 He will reprove you, and enter into judgment with you.""
5 ¶ Behold, your wickedness is great, and there is no end to your sins. 6 For you have taken a pledge from your brothers for nothing, and stripped the naked of their clothing. 7 You have not given water to the weary to drink, and you have withheld bread from the hungry. 8 There is a man who sows a field for himself, and the mighty man seizes it from him by force. 9 You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless you have broken. 10 Therefore snares are round about you, and sudden fear causes you to tremble; 11 Where is the darkness, that you cannot see; and the flood of water that covers you? 12 Behold, God is in the height of heaven, and sees the highest of the stars that are very high. 13 And yet you say, How does God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness? 14 Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that men cannot see him; and he walks upon the circle of the heaven.""
15 ¶ Have you marked well the old way which wicked men have trodden long ago? 16 Those who were cut down before their time, who were stopped at the crossing place of the river of life, and then did not remember who had laid down their pattern of living, 17 Who said to God, Depart from us; what can God do for us? 18 Yet he filled their houses with good things, and the counsel of the wicked kept away from them. 19 The righteous shall see it, and shall be glad; and the innocent shall laugh them to scorn. 20 If they are not prostrated because of their stubbornness, then their remnant shall be consumed with fire.""
21 ¶ Make now an agreement with God, and offer to him of your good crops. 22 Receive the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart. 23 If you shall repent before God, you shall be built up; if you shall put away iniquity from your dwelling place; 24 Then you shall lay up silver like dust, and the gold of Ophir as the sand of the valley. 25 Yea, God shall be your defense, and you shall have plenty of silver. 26 For then you shall lift up your face to God. 27 And you shall make your prayer to him, and he shall hear you, and you shall fulfill your vows. 28 You shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established for you; and the light shall shine upon your ways. 29 For it is said, He who humbles himself shall be exalted; and he who is meek shall be saved. 30 The innocent man shall be spared wherever he is, and he shall escape by the purity of his hands.""
23:1 ¶ THEN Job answered and said, 2 Even today is my complaint bitter; God’s hand is heavier and increases my groaning. 3 Oh that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat! 4 I would lay my cause in order before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. 5 I would know what he would answer me, and understand what he would say to me. 6 Would he contend with me with his great power? If he would not, then he will put his fear into me. 7 There I might contend justly with him; and I might be justified and acquitted.""
8 ¶ Behold, if he goes before me, I know not; or behind, I cannot perceive him. 9 I seek him on my left hand, but I cannot behold him; then I turn to my right hand, but I cannot see him. 10 But it is he who knows my way and my existence, and has tried me like gold, and I came forth pure. 11 My feet have held firm to his steps, and I have kept his ways. 12 I have not despised the commandments of his lips; neither have I departed from his will, and have kept the words of his mouth.""
13 ¶ But in return for one of these, what has he granted me? What his soul desires, even that he does. 14 But he performs his covenant; and many such things are with him. 15 Therefore I am fearful at his presence; when I consider, I am afraid of him. 16 For God has troubled my heart, and my mind is confused: 17 Because I was not silenced before the darkness, and before the covering of the blackness.""
24:1 ¶ WHY are the wicked not hidden from the presence of God, and why do those who know him never enjoy their days? 2 The wicked remove the landmarks; they violently take away a flock. 3 They seize the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow’s ox for a pledge. 4 The wicked hide themselves beside the road, and the meek of the earth hide together. 5 Behold, like wild asses in the desert, they go forth early seeking food for their young ones. 6 They cut hay in a field which is not theirs; and they gather grapes from the vineyard of the wicked. 7 They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, and they have no covering in the cold. 8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of shelter. 9 They take by force plunder of the fatherless, and they devour the poor. 10 They cause them to go naked without clothing, and they take away bread from the hungry, 11 Who are bent down under burdens during the reapers’ banquets, and are hungry when they carry the large basket and the measure. At times they are hungry at the reapers’ banquets; they tread the wine press, but they suffer thirst. 12 From the midst of the city the oppressed groan, and the souls of the wounded cry out; yet God does not accept their prayer.""
13 ¶ They were in God’s world; but they knew not his ways; nor did they walk in his paths. 14 The murderer arises at daylight, and kills the poor and needy, and in the night he is a thief. 15 The eyes also of the adulterer wait for the darkness, saying, No eye shall see me; and he disguises his face in the dark. 16 In darkness he breaks into houses which he has marked in the daytime. The wicked know not the light. 17 Therefore they sought for themselves the shadow of death, and have found it: yea, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.""
18 ¶ They are swiftly carried away upon the face of the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth; they behold not the familiar way of the vineyards. 19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters; for they have sinned in Sheol. 20 They have gone astray from the womb; the worm shall suck them; after death they shall be remembered no more; and the wicked shall be broken like a piece of wood. 21 An evil barren woman shall never bear; they do not good to the widow. 22 The wealth of a man of power is sustained by his own strength; he does not depend on divine guidance. 23 Though he be granted safety, wherein he has confidence, yet his eyes are upon his own evil ways. 24 Such men are exalted for a little while, but soon are no more; yea, all the provokers shall be brought low and destroyed; they wither and are shaken out like the heads of grain. 25 And if it is not because of his anger, then who will make me a liar, and make my speech worth nothing before God?""
25:1 ¶ THEN Bildad, the Shuhite, answered and said, 2 Dominion and reverence are with him, he has made peace in his heavens. 3 Is there any number to his armies? And upon whom does not his light shine? 4 How then can man be justified with God? Or how can he be declared blameless, he who is born of a woman? 5 Behold, even the moon cannot be justified; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight. 6 How much less man, who is dust, and the son of man, who is a worm!""
26:1 ¶ THEN Job answered and said, 2 Why do you try to help him who is powerless? Why do you try to save the arm that has no strength? 3 How have you counselled him who has no wisdom? And how have you expounded so many doctrines? 4 To whom have you uttered words? And whose soul has come forth from you?""
5 ¶ Behold, the mighty men shall be slain, and they shall lie down quieter than still waters. 6 Sheol is naked before him, and destruction has no covering. 7 He stretches out the north from the empty place, and hangs the earth upon nothing. 8 He binds up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them. 9 He holds fast the covering of the firmament, and spreads his cloud upon it. 10 He has circled the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end. 11 The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof. 12 He rebukes the sea with his power, and by his wisdom he saves many. 13 By his spirit he manages the heavens; his hand slew the fleeing serpent. 14 Lo, these are merely parts of his ways; and what evil thing have we heard against him? And the greatness of his might who can understand?""
27:1 ¶ MOREOVER Job continued his parable, and said, 2 As God lives, who has wronged my judgment, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter; 3 As long as my soul is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; 4 My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. 5 God forbid that I should do evil, till I die I will not remove my innocence from me. 6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.""
7 ¶ Let my enemy be as the ungodly, and he that hates me as the wicked. 8 For though he has accumulated riches, what is the hope of the godless at the time when God takes away his life? 9 For God will not hear his prayer when trouble comes upon him. 10 But if he should trust in the Almighty, and always call upon God, God will hear him and answer him.""
11 ¶ But as for you, I will deliver you into the hand of God; so that your works may not be hid from him. 12 Behold, all of you have seen it; why then do you boast in vain? 13 This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive from the Almighty. 14 If their children are multiplied, it is for the sword; and their offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. 15 Those who remain of them shall be buried in death; and their widows shall not weep over them. 16 Though they heap up silver like dust and accumulate clothes like clay, 17 They may pile them up, yet the righteous shall wear them, and shall also divide their silver. 18 For the wicked has built his house upon a spider’s web, and like a booth he had made his shelter. 19 The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not rise again; he opens his eyes, and he is gone. 20 Terrors overtake him like swift water, and like a tempest that rages. 21 The east wind shall carry him away in the night, and he is gone; and shall hurl him out of his place. 22 For God shall cast him out without pity, and he cannot escape out of his hand. 23 He shall smite him with his hand, and shall hiss against him from his dwelling place.""
28:1 ¶ SURELY there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. 2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is smelted out of the stone. 3 God sets an end to darkness, and knows the end of everything, the deep and dark mine and the shadow of death. 4 They have inherited a ruined mine from an alien people; they are gone astray from the right path and their number has diminished from among men. 5 They lay open the earth, out of which comes sustenance; and from under it is turned up material as if it were burned with fire. 6 The stones of it are the place where sapphires are found, and it has dust of gold in its paths. 7 There is a path which no bird knows, and the vulture’s eye has not seen; 8 Wild beasts have not trodden it, nor has the lion passed by it. 9 The miner puts forth his hand upon the hard rock to break it; he overturns the mountains from their foundations. 10 He divides the rivers by his might; and his eye sees every precious thing. 11 He binds up the rivers that they may not overflow; and the thing that is hid, he brings forth to light. 12 But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding thereof? 13 No man knows the treasure thereof; neither is it found except in the land of the living.""
14 ¶ The depth says, It is not in me, and the sea says, It is not with me. 15 It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be counted for its price. 16 It cannot be exchanged with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or sapphire. 17 The gold and the crystal cannot equal it; nor can precious pearls, jewels, and emeralds equal it. 18 For the price of wisdom is above that of precious stones. Nor can colored gems, emeralds, and diamonds equal it. 19 For the price of wisdom is above everything, and nothing can equal it. The pearls of Ethiopia and the topaz cannot equal it.""
20 ¶ Whence then comes wisdom? And where is the place of understanding? 21 It is hid from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the fowls of the air. 22 Destruction and death say, We have heard the report of it with our ears. 23 Because only God understands the way of it, and he knows the place thereof. 24 For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole heaven; 25 For he made a weight for the wind, and meted it out by the measure. 26 He made a decree for the rain, and a way for t