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LXX Job

Septuagint

Septuagint · 1st Century B.C.E.

The Septuagint translation of Job is shorter than the Masoretic text by 389 verses, though there are interesting midrashic additions at the end. Debates continue as to whether the translator used a shorter Hebrew version, such as is now attested at Qumran, or whether he abridged the work himself to make it more palatable to a cultured audience, perhaps non-Jewish as well as Jewish, and to tone down some of Job's more shocking outbursts.

1There was a certain man in the territory of Uz named Job, and that man was true, blameless, righteous, and God-fearing, keeping far from every evil thing. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters. 3 And his livestock included seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred grazing female donkeys, and very many servants, and he had great works on the land. And that man was the best born of men from the east.a 4 And coming together with one another, his sons made a banquet each day, bringing along also their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the days of the banquet were finished, Job sent and purified them, rising up each morning and offering for them a sacrifice according to their number, one calf for a sin-offering for their lives—for Job said, “In case my sons have thought evil things in their minds toward God.” So Job acted all the days. [1] 6 And it happened this one day and behold, the angels of God came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came among them. 7 And the Lord said to the devil, “Where have you been?” And answering, the devil said to the Lord, “I am present after going around the land and walking about under heaven.” 8 And the Lord said to him, “Have you given heed in your thoughts concerning my servant Job, that there is no one like him on the earth, a man who is blameless, truthful, and God-fearing, keeping away from every evil deed?” 9 But the devil answered and said before the Lord, “Does Job worship the Lord for nothing? 10 Have you not fenced around his things outside and the things inside his house? And everything that is around him outside, the works of his hands, you blessed, and you made his livestock numerous upon the earth. 11 But put forth your hand and destroy all that he has to see whether truly he will bless you to your face.” 12 Then the Lord said to the devil, “Behold, I place all that he has in your hand. But do not lay hands on him personally.” So the devil departed from the Lord. Satan Tests Job 13 And it was thus, on a particular day, that the sons of Job and his daughters were drinking wine in the house of their oldest brother. 14 And behold, a messenger came to Job and said to him, “The yokes of oxen were plowing, and the female donkeys were feeding alongside them. 15 And when the capturers came, they captured them and killed the servants with swords, but I alone surviving came to tell you.” 16 While this one was speaking, a second messenger came and said to Job, “Fire fell from heaven and destroyed the sheep and consumed the shepherds as well, and I alone surviving came to tell you.” 17 While this one was speaking, another messenger came and said to Job, “Horsemen formed three columns against us and surrounded the camels and captured them and killed the servants with swords, but I alone was saved and came to tell you.” 18 While this one was speaking, another messenger came, saying to Job, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking with their oldest brother. 19 Suddenly a big wind came out of the desert and struck the four corners of the house, and the house fell upon your children, and they died, but I alone was saved and came to tell you.” 20 So, standing up, Job tore his own clothes and cut off the hair of his head, and falling to the ground, he lay prostrate 21 and said, “I indeed came naked from my mother’s belly, and naked I will depart there. The Lord gave; the Lord took away. As the Lord has deemed it good, thus it has come to be. Let the name of the Lord be blessed.”

2In all these things that were happening to him, Job committed no sin before the Lord, and he did not attribute any thoughtlessness to God. Satan Attacks Job 2 And it happened one particular day that the angels of God came to stand before the Lord; the devil also came in the middle of them to stand before the Lord. 2 And the Lord said to the devil, “From where have you come?” Then the devil said before the Lord, “Going about under heaven and walking the whole world nearby.” 3 And the Lord said to the devil, “Have you given heed, then, to my servant Job, that there is no one like him upon the earth, a man who is innocent, truthful, blameless, God-fearing, keeping far from every evil. And still he has integrity, though you sought to destroy his possessions to no purpose.” 4 But replying, the devil said to the Lord, “Skin for skin, whatever a person has he will pay for his life. 5 Indeed, rather only put out your hand to destroy his bone and his flesh to see if he will truly curse you to your face.” 6 And the Lord said to the devil, “Behold, I deliver him to you; only guard carefully his life.” 7 So the devil went out from the Lord and struck Job by grievous sores from foot to head. 8 And he took a potsherd in order to scrape the pus and sat on the dunghill outside the city. [2] 9 And after much time had passed, his wife said to him, “How long will you wait, saying, 9a ‘Behold, I wait for just a little time to receive the hope of my deliverance?’ [3] 9b For behold, your memory has been removed from the earth, sons and daughters of my belly, pangs and labors that I labored with hardship pointlessly. 9c And you? You seat yourself among the decay of worms to pass the night in the open air. 9d And I am being led astray and am a servant wandering from place to place and from house to house, welcoming the sun when it sets in order that I might stop my labors and pains that now come to me. 9 Now say some word to the Lord and die!” 10 But looking up he said to her, “You speak like one of the foolish women. If we accept good things from the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure evil things?” In all these things that happened to him, in no way did Job sin by his speaking before God. Job’s Three Friends 11 And his three friends, hearing all the evil things that had come upon him, came each from his own territory to him. Eliphaz, the king of the Temanites, Bildad, the tyrant of the Shuhites, and Zophar, the king of the Naamathites, came to him together, in order to encourage and visit him. 12 But seeing him from a distance, they did not recognize him, and crying out loud with a great voice, they wept, each one tearing his own garment and covering himself with dirt. 13 They sat down with him for seven days and seven nights, and none of them spoke, for they saw that his misfortune was dreadful and very great. Job Laments His Birth

3After this Job opened his mouth and cursed his day, 2 saying, 3 “May the day perish in which I was brought forth, and that night when they said, ‘Behold, a male!’ 4 Let that night be darkness! And let not the Lord investigate it from above, nor let light come upon it. 5 But let gloom and a shadow of death seize it. Let darkness come upon it. May the day be cursed; 6 also that night. Let darkness carry it off. Neither let it be as a day of the year, nor numbered as a day of the month. 7 But may that night be pain, and may neither merriment nor joy come on it. 8 But may he who curses that day curse it, he who is about to subdue the great fish. 9 May the star of that night be darkened, may it wait and not come to illumination, and may it not see the morning star rise. 10 Because it did not close the opening of my mother’s womb, for it might remove grief from my eyes. 11 On what account did I not die in the belly, and why did I come forth from the womb and not immediately be destroyed? 12 For what purpose did the knees happen to me? And for what purpose did I suck breasts? 13 Now falling asleep I am still, and sleeping I rest 14 with kings and counselors of the earth, who were proud of their swords, 15 or with rulers who had much gold, who filled their houses with silver. 16 Or I should have been like an untimely birth coming from the womb of a mother, or as an infant who never sees light. 17 There the wicked have burnt out their wrathful anger; there the weary in body rest. 18 But the eternal ones, together, hear not the voice of the tribute collector. 19 Small and great are there, and an attendant who feared his lord. 20 For to what purpose has light been given to those who are in bitterness, and life to those who are in spiritual pain, 21 who long for death and do not find it, digging for it like treasure? 22 Yet they would be exceedingly glad if they should be successful. 23 Death to such a man is rest, for God has enclosed him. 24 For groaning comes before my bread, and I weep as I gather myself in fear. 25 For the fear that I focused upon has come upon me, and what I had feared has fallen upon me. 26 Neither did I live in peace, nor did I have quiet, nor was I at rest, but anger came to me.” Eliphaz: The Innocent Do Not Suffer

4And answering, Eliphaz the Temanite said, 2 “Have you not often been spoken to in weariness? But who can endure the power of your words? 3 For while you yourself have advised many and have encouraged weak hands, 4 you both raised up those who stumble with a word and imparted courage to those who are weak in the knees, 5 yet now when grief comes on you and devastates you, you yourself are troubled. 6 And so is not your fear in folly, as well as your hope and the wickedness of your way? 7 Recall then, who being pure was ever destroyed, or when were the truthful completely destroyed? 8 Just as I have seen people plowing in the wrong places, those who sow them reap grief for themselves. 9 By a command of the Lord they shall be destroyed, and by the wind of his anger they shall be blotted out. 10 The strength of the lion and the voice of the lioness and the exultation of the serpents have been extinguished. 11 The lion has perished from not having food, and the cubs of the lion have abandoned one another. 12 But if there had been any true speech in your words, none of these evils might have come to you. Shall my ear not receive special disclosures from him? 13 But when fear falls upon humans, fear and nocturnal sounds, 14 a shuddering fear fell upon me, and my bones shook greatly. 15 And a breath came upon my face. And my hair and flesh quivered. 16 I arose and observed nothing. I looked, and there was no shape before my eyes, but I heard only a breath and a voice. 17 Because why? Shall a mortal be pure before the Lord, or a man be blameless by reason of his works, 18 when he does not trust his servants, and he attributes some error to his messengers? 19 But those who dwell in houses of clay, from which also they are made from the same clay, he swats them like a moth. 20 And from morning until evening they are no more; they perish from not being able to help themselves. 21 For he blows upon them, and they dry up. They perish from not having wisdom. [4]

5But invoke as to whether anyone will listen to you or whether any of the holy angels will take heed. 2 For anger destroys the foolish, and jealousy kills the one who goes astray. 3 And I have seen foolish ones casting their root, but immediately their way of life was eaten. 4 May their children be far from safety, and may they be ridiculed at the doorway of lesser folk, and may there be no deliverer. 5 For whatever those who are righteous have gathered they shall eat, yet they shall not be delivered from evil; may their strength be exhausted. 6 For trouble never comes out from the earth, nor does grief sprout from the hills. 7 But humans are created for trouble, just as the young ones of a vulture fly toward high places. 8 But rather I will implore the Lord, and I will call upon the Lord, the master of all, 9 who does great and inscrutably glorious and extraordinary things that are without number, 10 the one who gives rain on the earth, placing water on that which is under heaven, 11 who makes the humble lofty and raises up those who are forsaken, 12 who changes the counsels of the shrewd, and as a result their hands will not do truly, 13 who takes the clever in their wisdom and confounds the counsel of schemers. 14 By day darkness shall fall upon them, and at midday may they grope just like at night. 15 But may they perish in war, and may the weak escape from the hand of the mighty. 16 And may the weak have hope, but may the mouth of the unrighteous be blocked up. 17 But blessed is the person whom the Lord reproves, and do not reject the warning of the Almighty. 18 For he makes a person to feel pain, and again he restores; he strikes him, and his hands heal. 19 He delivers you six times from distress, while at the seventh evil shall not destroy you. 20 In famine he will rescue you from death, and in war he will deliver you from a merciless hand. 21 He shall hide you from the scourge of a tongue, and you shall not be afraid of evils that come. 22 You shall laugh at the unrighteous and lawless, and you shall not be afraid of wild beasts, 23 for wild beasts shall live peaceably with you. 24 Then you shall perceive that your household shall live peaceably, and the way of life of your tent shall not fail. 25 And you shall come to know that your seed shall be many, and your children will be like the grass of the field. 26 And you shall come to the grave like ripe grain being reaped according to its season, or like a heap on the threshing floor being collected according to its time. 27 Behold, these things in this way we have examined, these things are what we have heard, but discern for yourself whether you have achieved anything.” Job: My Complaint Is Just

6But answering, Job said, 2 “If only someone would set out to weigh my anger and to take up my griefs in balance together. 3 And indeed they would be heavier than the sand near the sea, but thus it seems my words are worthless. 4 For the arrows of the Lord are in my body, whose wrath drinks up my blood; when I begin to speak, they pierce me. 5 What then? Is it for no reason that the wild donkey brays other than it seeks grass? Yes, and will an ox break forth into crying over its trough when it has food? 6 Can food be eaten without salt? And further, can there be any taste in empty words? 7 For my anger cannot stop, since groaning I see my food like the smell of a lion. 8 For if only he should concede, and my request should come, and the Lord should grant my hope. 9 Having already started, may the Lord wound me but not finally destroy me. [5] 10 But may my city upon whose walls I have leapt on it, be a grave. I will not refrain, for I have not denied the holy words of my God. 11 For what is my strength, that I remain, or what is my time, that my soul endures? 12 Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh like brass? 13 Truly, have I not trusted in him? But help is far away from me. 14 Mercy has rejected me, and the care of the Lord has neglected me. 15 My neighbors did not behold me, forsaking me like a swollen winter brook or like a wave that passed by me. 16 Those who were once wary of me now fall upon me like snow or compacted ice. 17 When, melting as the heat rises, it is not known exactly what it was. 18 So I also have been left by all, and I have been renounced, and I have become homeless. 19 See the ways of the Temanites, those who distinguish the paths of the Shebaans. 20 And those will be brought to shame who put their faith in cities and wealth. 21 But now also you have come to me mercilessly, so that seeing my hurt you are afraid. 22 For what? Did I ask anything of you? Or was I in need of wealth from you 23 in order to save me from an enemy or to shield me from the hand of mighty ones? 24 Teach me, and I will keep quiet; if I have erred in something, explain it to me. 25 But thus, as it seems, worthless are the words of a true man, for I ask for no strength from you. 26 Neither will your rebuke with words stop me, nor will I tolerate the sound of your speech. 27 You even attack the orphan, and you insult your friend. 28 But now, having looked into your faces, I will not lie. 29 Sit down now and do not be unjust, and once more come together with the righteous. 30 For there is no wrongdoing in my tongue, or does my throat not meditate on understanding?

7And is not the life of a person upon the earth a test, and his existence like a day laborer, 2 or like an attendant who is afraid of his master and happens upon a shadow, or like a hired servant waiting for his pay? 3 So I also endure patiently months of emptiness, and nights of pain are appointed to me. 4 Whenever I fall asleep I say, ‘When will it be day?’ But when I rise up again, ‘When will it be evening?’ And I am full of pains from evening until morning. 5 And my body is soaked in the decay of worms, and I am consumed, scraping away clods of earth from the pus. 6 But my life is a minor subject and perishes in empty hope. 7 Remember, then, that my life is a breath, and my eye will no longer return to see good. 8 The eye of the one seeing me shall not look about for me. Your eyes are on me, and I am no more. 9 As a cloud is cleared away from the sky, certainly a person who descends into Hades shall no longer rise up. 10 Neither shall he return to his own house, nor shall his place know him anymore. 11 Now then, no longer will I restrain my mouth; I shall speak. Being in distress, I shall open the bitterness of my soul, which is being held in. 12 Am I a sea or a serpent that you appoint a watch over me? 13 If I should say, ‘My bed will strengthen me,’ and I will raise the word with myself on my own bed, 14 you alarm me with dreams, and with visions you terrify me. 15 You will separate my life from my spirit and my bones from death. 16 For I shall not live for eternity, so that I must be patient. Be gone from me, for my life is empty. 17 For what is a person that you magnify him, or that you give a thought to him? 18 Or will you execute a visit upon him until morning and judge him until the time of rest? 19 How long will you not leave me nor release me, until possibly I should swallow my spit in pain? 20 If I should sin, what will I be able to do, O you who establishes the mind of humans? On what account have you set me as an accuser of you, only to be a burden to you? [6] 21 And on what account did you not make my iniquity forgotten and a purification of my sin? But now I shall depart to the earth, and in my rising up I am no more.” Bildad Encourages Job to Repent

8But answering, Bildad the Shuhite said, 2 “How long will you speak these things? A wind of words is your mouth. 3 Will the Lord be unjust when judging, or will he, having made all things, pervert righteousness? 4 If your sons sinned before him, he sent them away by his hand for their iniquity. 5 But you rise early to implore of the Lord Almighty. 6 If it is pure and true, he will listen to your petition and restore to you a way of living in righteousness. 7 It will then be, as your beginnings were small, so your conclusion will be great. 8 For ask the former generation and examine concerning the family of your fathers. 9 For we are of yesterday and are unaware, for our life upon the earth is a shadow. 10 Surely will these not teach you and report and bring forth words from their heart? 11 Does papyrus bloom without water, or reeds rise up without moisture? 12 Yet being rooted, it will not have been reaped, unless each herb drinks, will it not wither? 13 So hence shall be the end of all those who forget the Lord, for the hope of the wicked shall perish. 14 For his house shall be uninhabitable, and his tent shall turn out to be a spider’s web. 15 If he should prop up his house, it shall not stand, and should he take hold of it, it shall not endure. 16 For it is moist under the sun, and his shoot shall come forth out of his decay. 17 On a pile of stones he sleeps, and he shall live in the middle of pebbles. 18 If the place should bring ruin, it will lie to him, ‘Never have you seen anything like this.’ 19 Because the destruction of the wicked is like this, but from the earth another shall sprout. 20 For the Lord does not reject the innocent, but every gift of the wicked he shall not accept. 21 But the mouth of the sincere he shall fill with laughter, and their lips with thanksgiving. 22 But their enemies shall be clothed in shame, and the way of life of the wicked shall be no more.” Job: There Is No Mediator between God and Man

9But answering, Job said, 2 “In truth I know that it is this way, for how can there be a righteous mortal before the Lord? 3 For if one wished to contend with him, he would not listen to him, so that he would not answer to one request of his out of a thousand. 4 For he is wise in mind, strong, and also great. Who, having become hardened against him, has endured? 5 It is he who wears down mountains—they do not know it— who overturns them in anger, 6 who shakes the earth under heaven off its foundation, and its pillars quake, 7 who speaks to the sun and it does not rise— concerning the stars, he seals them up; concerning his messengers, he thought them a bit crooked— 8 who stretched out the heavens alone, and walks about upon the sea as upon the ground, [7] 9 who made Pleiades and Hesperus and Bear and the chambers of the south winds, 10 who does great and inscrutable things, both glorious and extraordinary, which cannot be numbered. 11 If he should pass over me, I would not notice, and if he should pass by me, likewise I would not perceive. 12 If he should depart, who would bring him back? Or who would say to him, ‘What are you doing?’ 13 For he has not turned back his anger; sea monsters under heaven are brought low beneath him. 14 But if by chance he listened to me, truly he would judge my words. 15 For though I am just, he will not listen to me. I will implore his judgment. 16 And if I should call out and he should not listen, I would not believe that he had heard me. 17 May he not destroy me by darkness, but he has made my wounds many in vain. 18 For he does not permit me to recover my breath but fills me with bitterness. 19 For since he is strong in power, who then can stand against his judgment? 20 For if by chance I should be just, my mouth would act profanely, and if I should be blameless, I would prove to be in error. 21 For even if I acted profanely, I do not know it in my soul, except he has taken away my life. 22 Therefore I say, ‘Anger destroys the great and the mighty. 23 For the worthless meet death by disaster, but the just are laughed at. 24 For they have been handed over to the hands of the wicked.’ He covers the faces of judges. And if it is not he, who is it? 25 But my life is nimble as a runner; they flee and do not see. 26 And truly there is a track of the path of a ship or an eagle flying seeking after food. 27 For if I should say that I will forget speaking, bending down my face I will offer lament. 28 I shake in all my limbs, for I know that you will not suffer me as guiltless. 29 But since I am wicked, why have I not died? 30 For if I should wash clean with snow and should clean myself with spotless hands, 31 you dip me fully in filth, and my clothing feels loathing for me. 32 For he is not a person like me, by whom I can make equal evaluation, so that we may come together for judgment, 33 if indeed there were a mediator for us, both deciding and hearing it out between us. 34 Let him remove from me the rod, and do not let his fear distress me. 35 Then I would not fear, but I shall speak, for thus, I am not aware of guilt.

10Being weary in my soul in lament I will send upon him my words. I will speak while being constrained by the bitterness of my soul. 2 And I will say to the Lord, ‘Do not teach me to commit sacrilege, and why do you judge me thus? [8] 3 Or is it pleasing to you if I act unjustly, that I should reject the works of your hands? But you pay attention to the counsel of the ungodly. 4 Or like a mortal sees do you see, or as a person beholds do you behold? 5 Or is your life like a human, or your years like a man, 6 that you investigate my iniquity and search out my sins? 7 For you know that I have not acted wickedly, but who is there who can be rescued from your hands? 8 Your hands formed me and made me. After these things, changing, you struck me. 9 Remember that you formed me from clay, but will you return me again to the earth? 10 Or did you not squeeze me out like milk and form me just like cheese? 11 But you put skin and flesh on me; with bone and sinew you threaded me. 12 And life and compassion you bestowed upon me, and your care watched over my spirit. 13 Having these things in yourself, I know that you are capable of all things, and nothing is impossible for you. 14 For if I should sin, you watch over me, but you do not make me innocent from iniquity. 15 For if I should be impious, woe to me. But if I should be righteous, I am not able to lift up my head, for I am full of dishonor. 16 For I am hunted like a lion for slaughter, for again, turning, you destroy me dreadfully. 17 Renewing upon me my affliction, you both employed great anger toward me and brought trials upon me. 18 Why, then, did you bring me forth from the belly, and I did not die, and no eye see me, 19 and I become as if I do not exist? For why was I not removed from the womb to the grave? 20 Or is not the time of my life short? Permit me to rest a little 21 abefore the time of my going from where I shall not return, into a land of gloom and darkness, into a land of eternal gloom in which there is no light, nor does one see a mortal life.’ ” Zophar Rebukes Job

11But answering, Zophar the Naamathite said, 2 “The one who speaks many things should also listen in turn, or does the eloquent one also imagine himself to be righteous? 3 Blessed is the short-lived offspring of a woman. Do not become a person of many words, for there is not one who can likewise judge you. 4 For do not say, ‘I am pure in works and blameless before him.’ 5 But how might the Lord speak to you and open his lips with you? 6 Then will be revealed to you the power of wisdom, for it shall be double of what you have, and then you shall perceive that a just recompense to you for what you have sinned proved to be from the Lord. 7 Or can you find the Lord’s footprint, or can you arrive at the end of what the Almighty has made? 8 It is higher than heaven, and what will you do? And it is deeper than things in Hades; what can you know? 9 Or it is longer than the measure of the earth, or it is wider than the sea. 10 And if he should overturn all things, who will say to him, ‘What have you done?’ 11 For he has known the works of the lawless, and seeing wrongs, will he not notice? 12 And a person otherwise swims around in words, and a mortal offspring of a woman is like a donkey in the desert. 13 For if you have made your heart pure, you also stretch out your hands toward him. 14 If there is something evil in your hands, put it far off from you. And if there is wrongdoing, do not let it lodge in your dwelling. 15 For thus you shall lift up your face as if like pure water and strip off filth and not be afraid. 16 And you shall forget trouble like a wave that passes by, and you shall not tremble. 17 But your prayer shall be like morning, and life shall rise over you as from mid-day. 18 And you shall be persuaded, because there is for you hope, and from care and anxiety peace shall be displayed to you. 19 For you shall be at rest, and there will not be one who quarrels with you, and turning, many will implore you. 20 But salvation shall abandon them, for their hope is destruction, and the eyes of the wicked shall fail.” Job Responds to His Accusers

12But answering, Job said, 2 “So then you are humans. Surely with you wisdom will die. 3 Indeed there is to me also a heart like yours. 4 For a righteous and blameless man has come to mockery. 5 For at an appointed time he was prepared to fall under others, and his house is pillaged by evil ones. 6 But let not, however, anybody, being evil, trust that he shall be seen as innocent, as many provoke to anger the Lord, as if also there shall be no affliction for them. 7 But now ask animals if they should speak to you, and birds of the heavens if they should tell you. 8 Tell the earth if it should show you, and the fish of the sea shall explain to you. 9 Who therefore has not perceived in all these things that the Lord’s hand has done these things? 10 Except in his hand is the life of all living things and the spirit of all humans. 11 For indeed a mind distinguishes words, and a throat tastes grains. 12 In abundant time there is wisdom, and in long life there is understanding. 13 With him there is wisdom and power; to him belong counsel and understanding. 14 If he should cut down, who shall restore? If he should close to a person, who shall open? 15 If he should withhold the water, he will dry up the earth, and if he should let it loose, he destroys it by overthrowing it. 16 With him there is strength and power; to him belong understanding and intelligence. 17 Leading away counselors as prisoners, he also confounds judges of the earth. 18 Seating kings upon thrones, he also ties a belt around their waist. 19 Dismissing priests as prisoners, he also overthrows the mighty of the earth. 20 Altering the language of the trustworthy, he also knows the understanding of elders. 21 Pouring dishonor upon rulers, he also heals the humble. 22 Revealing the deep out of darkness, he also brings forth the shadow of death into light, 23 enlarging a people and leading them to destruction. 24 Altering the minds of the rulers of the earth, he also misleads them in a way that they do not know. 25 May they grope in darkness with no light, and may they be misled as though drunk.

13Behold, these things my eye has seen, and my ear has heard. 2 And I have known as much as also you yourselves know, and I am not with any less understanding than you. 3 Nevertheless, I will speak with the Lord, and I will reprimand before him if he wishes. 4 But you are unrighteous physicians, and you are all evil surgeons. 5 But it may be best to you to keep quiet, and it shall turn out to be wisdom to you. 6 Hear the reproof of my mouth, and give heed to the judgment of my language. 7 And so do you not speak before the Lord, and before him do you utter deceit? 8 Or will you yourselves draw back, and you yourselves become judges? 9 For it shall be good if he should search you out, for despite all the things you may do, you shall be handed over to him. 10 In no way shall he reproach you any less, if we also shall honor faces secretly. 11 And so, will not the dread of him distress you, and the fear of him fall upon you? 12 But your pride shall come to nothing, just like ashes, and your body just like clay. 13 Keep quiet so that I may speak and that I may give rest to my wrath. 14 Taking my flesh into my teeth, I shall also place my life in my hand. 15 Possibly the Mighty One shall subdue me, even given that he has surely begun, yet I shall speak and reprove against him. 16 And this shall turn out to my salvation, for no deceit shall enter in before him. [9] 17 Hear, hear my words, for I shall declare for your hearing. 18 Behold, I am near my judgment; I know that I shall be shown as righteous. 19 For who is there who judges me? Because then I shall keep quiet and come to an end. 20 But furnish two things to me; then from your face I shall not hide. 21 Keep your hand from me, and let not your fear terrify me. 22 Then I shall call and listen to you, or speak, and I shall give an answer to you. 23 How many are my sins and my iniquities? Teach me what they are. 24 Why do you hide from me and think me an enemy to you? 25 Or as a leaf shaken by a wind will you be afraid, or as grass carried by a wind will you set yourself over against me? 26 For you have inscribed evil things concerning me and have placed around me the sins of youth. 27 But you placed my feet in stocks and kept watch over all of my works, and to the roots of my feet you have reached. 28 I am that which is made old just like a wineskin or like a cloak eaten by moths.

14For a mortal, born of a woman, is short-lived and full of anger. 2 Or, like a flower blooming, he falls off, and he flees like a shadow and does not stand. 3 And have you not made an account of such a one and caused such a one to enter into judgment before you? 4 For who is spotless of filth? No one! 5 And if his life is one day upon the earth, and his months are numbered with him, you have made him for a time, and he shall not go beyond it. 6 Draw away from him, so that he may be at rest and find pleasure in life like a hired servant. 7 For there is hope for a tree, for if it is cut down yet it shall bloom, and its shoot shall not come to an end. 8 For if its root should grow old in the earth, and its stump should die in rock, 9 from the smell of water it shall bloom and shall create a crop as though newly planted. 10 But a man dying is gone, and a mortal falling no longer exists. [10] 11 For with time a sea becomes exhausted, and a river being made desolate dries up. 12 And a person falling asleep may not rise up until possibly the sky is dissolved, and they shall not be awakened out of their sleep. 13 If only you had kept me in Hades and had hid me until possibly your anger was quelled, and you appointed to me a time in which you made remembrance of me. 14 For if a person should die, shall he live, having completed the days of his life? I shall endure until I shall exist again. 15 So then you shall call, and I shall listen to you, and the works of your hands you shall not reject. [11] 16 And you numbered my practices, and not one of my sins shall pass by you. 17 And you sealed my transgressions in a purse and marked whether I deviated from anything involuntarily. 18 And even a mountain falling shall crumble, and a rock shall wear down from its place. 19 Waters wear away stones, and calmly flowing waters wash away a mound of earth, and you destroy a person’s expectation. 20 You push him to completion, and he is gone; you establish his face, and you dismiss him. 21 And though his sons become many, he does not know; and if they become few, he does not perceive. 22 But as his flesh suffers, his soul also mourns.” Eliphaz Accuses Job of Pride

15And answering, Eliphaz the Temanite said, 2 “And so will a wise man give as an answer a breath of understanding and be filled with the grief of his belly, 3 deciding in speech that does not bind, in words that benefit nothing? 4 And have you not rejected fear and perpetrated speech such as this before the Lord? 5 You are guilty by the speech of your mouth, nor can you distinguish the speech of the Almighty. 6 May your mouth reproach you, and not I, but your language shall bear witness against you. 7 What! Are you the first person to come into being, or were you established before the hills? 8 Or have your heard the Lord’s body of doctrine, and to you has wisdom arrived? 9 For what do you know that we do not know, or what do you understand that we do not also? 10 And the old and ancient are among us, more advanced in days than your father. 11 You have been whipped little for what you have sinned, though you have spoken exceedingly much. 12 Why has your heart dared, or what have your eyes rushed after, 13 that you let loose wrath before the Lord and bring forth speech such as this from your mouth? 14 For who, being mortal, hence shall be blameless, or thus born of woman will be existing as righteous? 15 If, concerning the holy ones, he does not trust, and heaven is not pure before him, 16 yet alas, abhorrent and impure is man, drinking wrongdoing just like a banquet. 17 But I shall declare to you. Listen to me. What now I have seen I shall declare to you. 18 What the wise shall speak their fathers have not hidden. 19 To them alone the land was given, and no stranger came upon them. 20 All the life of the wicked is spent in anxiety, and the years given to the mighty are numbered, 21 and his fear is in his ears. When he should imagine that now he lives peaceably, his destruction shall come. 22 Let him not trust himself to return from darkness, for he has already been charged to a merciless hand. 23 But he has been appointed as bread for vultures, and he has known within himself that he waits for disaster, and a gloomy day shall distress him. 24 And distress and affliction shall take hold of him. His fall is like a commander who stands in the first rank. 25 For he has lifted up his hand against the Lord, and against the Lord Almighty he has exalted himself. 26 And he ran against him in pride, on the thickness of the back of his shield. 27 For he has covered his face with his fat, and he has made a wrinkle upon his thighs. 28 And may they lodge in desolate cities, and may they enter into uninhabitable houses, and what they prepare, others shall carry off. 29 Neither shall he grow rich nor shall his possessions remain. He shall not cast a shadow upon the earth. 30 Neither may he escape the darkness. May the wind wither his shoot, and may his flower fall off. 31 Let him not trust that he shall endure, for it shall prove to be empty for him. 32 His vine shoot shall be ruined before its time, and his branch shall not flourish. 33 But may he be gathered in as an unripe grape before its time, and may he fall off like the blossom of an olive tree. 34 For death is the testimony of a wicked person, and fire shall burn the houses of those who take bribes. 35 And in the womb he shall receive griefs, and it shall turn out empty for him, and his belly shall endure deceit.” Job: You Are Bad Comforters

16And answering, Job said, 2 “I have heard many things like this. You are all bad comforters. 3 For what order is there in words of wind, or what troubles you that you should answer? 4 I also could speak like you, if your soul were also in the place of mine. 5 aThen I would insult you with words and shake my head against you. 6 bBut if there were strength in my mouth, I would also not restrain the movement of my lips. 7 For if I speak, will I not suffer the hurt, and if I also remain silent, how will I be wounded less? 8 But now he has made me weary, foolishly consuming me. And you seized me, 9 so that it became a testimony and rose up in me. My lie was answered again to my face. 10 Acting in anger, he cut me down. He gnashed his teeth against me. The arrows of his raiders fell upon me. 11 He attacked with the sharp arrows of his eyes. He struck me down to my knees. And together they ran against me. 12 For the Lord gave me up into the hands of the unrighteous and threw me upon the wicked. 13 While living peacefully, he broke me. Taking me by the hair, he plucked. He set me down like a target. 14 They encircled me with spears, aiming at my kidneys. Not having pity, they poured my gall onto the earth. 15 They cut me down fall after fall. They ran at me as they were able. 16 They sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and my strength has been extinguished upon the earth. 17 My belly has been consumed by weeping, and a shadow is upon my eyes. 18 But in no way is there injustice in my hand, and my prayer is pure. 19 Earth, do not cover over the blood of my flesh, nor be a place for my crying. 20 Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and the one who knows me is on high. 21 May my petition reach the Lord, and before him may my eye stream. 22 May he yet be a reproof for humanity before the Lord, even as the son of man to his neighbor. 23 But after my few years have come, I shall also go the way by which I shall not turn back.

17I am destroyed, being carried away by the wind, and I implore for a burial and do not find it. 2 I entreat, being weary. What shall I do? 3 But strangers have stolen my possessions. Who is this? Let him bind my hand. 4 Since you hid their mind from wisdom, because of this, you will not raise them up. 5 He shall declare wickedness as a portion, but his eyes have failed concerning my sons. 6 But he made me common talk among people, and I have turned out to be an occasion for laughter for them. 7 For my eyes have become dim from anger. I have been harassed greatly by all. 8 Wonder seizes sincere people concerning this, and a righteous one should rise up against a lawless one. 9 But a trustworthy person may have his own way, and clean hands may take up courage. 10 But truly, let all of you set yourselves firmly and come on now. For I do not find truth among you. 11 My days have passed in groaning, and the strings of my heart have broken. 12 I have set night into day. Light is nearer than the face of darkness. 13 For if I should endure, Hades will be my house, and in darkness my bedding will have been spread. 14 I appealed to death to be my father, and decay to be my mother and sister. 15 Where then is there any further hope for me? Shall I see any good things for me? 16 Or will they descend with me into Hades? Or shall we descend together into the sepulchral mound?” Bildad: God Punishes the Wicked

18And answering, Bildad the Shuhite said, 2 “When will you cease? Stop in order that we too may speak to these things. 3 Why have we, like animals, remained silent before you? 4 Anger has possessed you. For what, if you should die? Will it be uninhabitable under heaven, or will the mountains be overturned from their foundations? 5 Even the light of the wicked will be extinguished and shall not turn out to be a flame for them. 6 His light is darkness in his dwelling, and his lamp shall be extinguished. 7 May the least of men seek after his possessions, and may his counsel cause him to stumble. 8 And his foot has been thrown into a trap. May he become entangled in a net. 9 And may traps come upon him, while thirsting shall overpower him. 10 A rope for him has been concealed in the earth, and a trap for him upon the path. 11 aMay griefs, circling about, destroy him, and may many things come around his foot, bringing severe hunger. 12 But a disastrous fall has been made ready for him. 13 May the toes of his feet be eaten, and death shall consume his beautiful things. 14 And may health be broken off from his dwelling, and may he have for himself distress by royal decree. 15 It shall encamp in his tent in his night. His beautiful things shall be thickly sown with brimstone. 16 His roots shall dry up from beneath, and his crop shall fall away from above. 17 May his memory perish from the earth, and he has a name upon the face outside. 18 May someone push him from light into darkness. 19 He shall not be known among his people, neither shall his house be saved under heaven. But strangers shall live among his things. 20 The last lamented concerning him, and the first had wonder. 21 These are the houses of the unjust, and this is the place of those who do not know the Lord.” Job Expects Vindication

19And answering, Job said, 2 “How long will you make my soul weary and bring me down with your words? 3 Know only that the Lord did this to me. Thus you speak of me. Not being ashamed of me, you attack me. 4 Indeed now in all truth I myself erred, and error lodges in me, 4a to speak inappropriate words, but my words err and are not timely. 5 But alas, that you magnify yourselves against me and attack me with reproach. 6 Know then that it is the Lord who has troubled me, and he has raised up his stronghold against me. 7 Behold, I laugh at reproach, and I shall not speak. I shall cry out, and nowhere is there judgment. 8 I have been enclosed in a ring and cannot cross over. He has put darkness over my face. 9 And he has stripped off my glory from me, and he has taken away the crown from my head. 10 He has torn me asunder round about, and I have been destroyed. And he has cut down my hope like a tree. 11 And he applies his terrible anger against me, and he thinks of me as if an enemy. 12 And his raiders have come together against me. Those lying in wait encircled my ways. 13 My brothers drew away from me. They know strangers rather than me. And my friends have become merciless. 14 My neighbors do not take notice of me, and those who know me forget my name. 15 The neighbors in my house and my handmaids, I am a stranger before them. 16 I called my attendant and he did not listen. And my mouth begged. 17 And I approached my wife and summoned, flattering my concubine’s sons. 18 And they have rejected me for eternity. When I arise, they speak against me. 19 Those who know me feel loathing for me; those whom indeed I have loved, they have risen up against me. 20 My flesh decays in my skin, and my bones are seized in my teeth. 21 Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O friends, for the hand of the Lord is fastening upon me. 22 Why do you pursue me like the Lord, and with my flesh are not satisfied? 23 For how possibly should my words be given over to be written and to be put on a document for eternity 24 with a stylus of iron and in lead? 25 For I know that an eternal one exists, one who is about to free me upon the earth, 26 to raise up my skin, which endures these things. For by the Lord these things were fulfilled in me, 27 of which I myself am aware, which my eye has seen, and not another. And all things have been accomplished through me in my bosom. 28 But if you should also say, ‘How shall we speak against him?’ and ‘The root of the matter we shall find in him,’ 29 indeed, you yourselves should also be afraid of deceit; for wrath against evil ones shall come, and then they shall know where their substance is.” Zophar: The Wicked Will Be Destroyed

20But answering, Zophar the Naamathite said, 2 “I have thus not thought to oppose you about these things, nor do you understand more than even I do. 3 I shall hear my shameful correction, and a spirit of understanding will answer me. 4 Have you not known these things from of old, from when humanity was put upon the earth? 5 But the merriment of the wicked is a disastrous fall, and the joy of the lawless is destruction; 6 even if his gifts should go up into the heavens, and his sacrifice should reach the clouds. 7 For when he should imagine that now he has been established, then he shall be destroyed completely, and those who know him shall say, ‘Where is he?’ 8 Spreading out like a dream he shall not be found, and he shall fly like a phantom at night. 9 The eye looked and shall not continue, and no longer shall his place notice him. 10 May weaker men destroy his sons, and his hands kindle grief. 11 His bones were once filled with his youth and shall sleep upon the mound with him. 12 Though wickedness may taste sweet in his mouth, he shall hide it under his tongue. 13 He shall not restrain it and shall not desert it, and he shall gather it in the middle of his throat. 14 And he shall not suffer to help himself. The gall of an asp is in his belly. 15 The unrighteous wealth that he gathered shall be vomited forth; an angel shall drag him from his house. 16 But may he suck the wrath of serpents, and may the tongue of a serpent destroy him. 17 May he not see the milking of grazing herds, nor a supply of honey and butter. 18 In emptiness and vanity he labored for wealth, from which he shall not taste, like tough meat, unchewed, not to be swallowed. 19 For he crushed the houses of many strong ones and seized a dwelling, even that he did not set up. 20 His salvation is not in his possessions. He shall not be saved by his desire. 21 There was no remainder of his food. Because of this, his good things shall not flourish. 22 And when he should imagine himself now to be full, he shall be afflicted, and every distress shall come upon him. 23 If somehow his belly should become full, may God send upon him a fury of wrath. May griefs wash over him. 24 And may he not be saved from a merciless hand. May a copper bow wound him. 25 And may an arrow pierce through his body, and stars walk about in his dwelling. Let fears be over him. 26 And may every darkness await him. Unquenchable fire shall consume him, and may a stranger mistreat his house. 27 And may heaven disclose his evil ways, and the earth rise up against him. 28 May destruction bring down his house completely. May the day of anger come upon him. 29 This is the portion of a wicked person according to the Lord, and the possession belonging to him according to the Overseer.” Job: The Wicked Prosper

21And answering, Job said, 2 “Listen, listen to my words, in order that there should be for me this encouragement from you. 3 Lift me and I shall speak. Then you will not mock me. 4 For what! Is my reproving from humans? Rather why should I not be provoked? 5 Looking at me, you shall marvel, while putting a hand on your cheek. 6 For if I should remember it, I become troubled, and griefs seize my flesh. 7 Why do the wicked live and grow old in wealth? 8 Their seed is according to their life, and their children are in their eyes. 9 Their houses flourish, and nowhere is there fear, and the scourge of the Lord is not upon them. 10 Their ox does not miscarry, and their pregnant one is safe and does not stumble. 11 And they remain like eternal sheep, and their children play, 12 taking up a harp and lyre, and they are cheered by the sound of a psalm. 13 And they finish their life in blessing, and they sleep in the rest of Hades. 14 And he says to the Lord, ‘Remove yourself from me. I do not wish to know your ways. 15 What is the Mighty One that I should serve him, and what advantage is it that I should encounter him?’ 16 For good things are in their hands, and he does not look upon the works of the wicked. 17 But truly, however, shall not even the lamp of the wicked be extinguished, and destruction come upon them, and pains seize them from anger? 18 But they shall be like chaff under the wind, or like a cloud of dust that is caught beneath a whirlwind. 19 May his possessions desert his sons. He shall repay him, and he shall understand. 20 May his eyes see his own destruction, and may he not be kept safe by the Lord. 21 For is his concern for his house with him? And has the number of his months been dispensed? 22 And so is it not the Lord who teaches understanding and knowledge? And he himself shall judge murders. 23 This one shall die in the strength of his sincerity, complete, both being prosperous and flourishing. 24 And his insides are full of fat, and his marrow runs throughout. 25 But another one dies in the bitterness of life, not eating anything good. 26 But they sleep together upon the earth, and decay covers them. 27 Therefore I know you; for, daring, you attack me. 28 So that you shall say, ‘Where is the house of the ruler, and where is the shelter of the dwellings of the wicked?’ 29 Ask those who pass along the way, and do not be alienated by their signs. 30 Because in the day of destruction the evil one is assuaged; in the day of his anger he shall be led away. 31 Who shall announce his way to his face, and that which he himself has done, who shall repay him? 32 And he himself is carried away to the tombs, and he lies awake upon the biers. 33 The pebbles of the rain-swollen waters tasted sweet to him, and all humans shall depart after him, and countless are those before him. 34 And how you encourage me with empty things. But for me to bring an end to you is nothing.” Eliphaz Accuses Job of Sin

22But answering, Eliphaz the Temanite said, 2 “And so is it not the Lord who teaches understanding and knowledge? 3 For what does the Lord care if you are blameless in works, or what advantage is it that you should reject your ways? 4 Or shall he reprove you, taking account of you, and shall he enter together with you into judgment? 5 And so is not your wickedness great, and your sins countless? 6 And you took a pledge from your brothers for no reason, and you took away clothing from the naked. 7 Nor did you give water to those who thirsted, but you deprived a morsel to those who hungered. 8 And you honored the faces of some, and you settled them upon the earth. 9 And you sent forth widows with nothing, and you mistreated orphans. 10 Therefore snares surround you, and disastrous war troubles you. 11 The light turns out to be darkness for you, and when you sleep water covers you. 12 Does not he who dwells in the high places observe and humble those being carried away by pride? 13 And you say, ‘What does the Almighty know?’ or ‘Does he judge against the darkness?’ 14 A cloud is his hiding place, and he shall not be seen, and he passes through the circle of the heavens. 15 Will you keep to the eternal path that righteous men walked on? 16 These were laid hold of out of time, a river having washed away their foundations. 17 These were saying, ‘What shall the Lord do to us?’ or ‘What shall the Almighty bring upon us?’ 18 And it is he who fills their houses with blessings, but the counsel of the wicked is far from him. 19 Seeing, the righteous laugh, and the blameless mock. 20 Except their foundation has been removed, and fire has consumed their remnant. 21 Become hard now, if you are to endure. Then shall your fruit be a blessing. 22 Cast out a confession from his mouth, and take up his words in your heart. 23 But if you return and humble yourself before the Lord, you make injustice far off from your way of life. 24 You shall be put upon a mound on a rock, even like a rock of the wadi of Ophir. 25 Then the Almighty shall be your help from enemies, and he shall restore you pure, like silver that has been tried by fire. 26 Then you shall speak freely before the Lord, looking up into the heavens cheerfully. 27 And when you are praying to him, he shall listen to you, and he shall give to you so that you may repay your vows. 28 And he shall restore a way of life of righteousness to you, and there shall be light upon your ways. 29 Because you humbled yourself, and you will say, ‘He is arrogant!’ And the one who is casting down his eyes, he saves. 30 He shall rescue the innocent, and you shall be kept safe by your clean hands.” Job Longs for God

23But answering, Job said, 2 “And now I know that my reproving is from my hand, and his hand has become heavy upon my groaning. 3 But how then might I know that I might find him and might come to an end. 4 And I could speak of my judgment and fill my mouth with rebuke. 5 And I would know remedies that he would speak to me and perceive what he would tell me. 6 And in great power he should come upon me; then he will not deal with me by threat. 7 For truth and rebuke are from him, and he could bring my judgment to an end. 8 For if I go to the beginning and I am there no longer, and the things of the last, what have I known? 9 When he acted on the left, I could not detain him. When he shall act on the right, also I shall not see him. 10 For already he has known my way, and he has judged me like gold. 11 And I shall go forth in his commands, for his ways I shall keep and not turn away. 12 And I shall not pass by his commands, and in my bosom I shall conceal his words. 13 But even if he himself should judge in this way, who is there who can oppose him? For what he himself wants he also does. 14 aFor this reason I become troubled by him, and being instructed I considered him. 15 Concerning this I shall be careful of his face. I shall understand and tremble from him. 16 But the Lord weakened my heart, and the Almighty troubled me. 17 For I did not know that darkness would come upon me, and darkness would cover my face.

24And why does time go unnoticed by the Lord? 2 But the wicked overstep a boundary, seizing a flock with its shepherd. 3 They carry off the ass of orphans and take in pledge the ox of a widow. 4 They shun the weak from the righteous way. The meek of the earth are hidden together. 5 But they turn out like donkeys in the field, going out for me on their own order. His food is sweet for his children. 6 They reaped a field that was not theirs before its time. The weak worked the vineyards of the wicked, without reward and without food. 7 Many sleep naked without garments, and the clothing of their life they have taken away. 8 They are made wet by the drizzle of the mountains. Because they have no shelter, they gather around a rock. 9 They snatch away the orphan from the breast, and they humble those who have failed. 10 And they have lain down naked wrongfully, and, being hungry, they have taken away their morsel. 11 Wrongfully they lie in wait in narrow places, and they do not know the way of the righteous. 12 He has thrown out those of the city and of their own houses, and the life of infants has lamented greatly. 13 But why has he not made a visitation of these? They were upon earth and did not notice, and the way of righteousness they did not know, nor did they go along their paths. 14 And perceiving their works, he hands them over into darkness, and in the night he shall be like a thief. 15 And the eye of the adulterer watches for darkness, saying, ‘No eye shall notice me.’ And he makes a covering for his face. 16 They dig through houses by darkness, sealing themselves up by day. They do not observe the light. 17 For with one mind the morning is the shadow of death to them, for they shall observe the trouble of the shadow of death. 18 He is nimble upon the face of the water. May their portion upon the earth be cursed; may their plants be brought to light 19 and bare upon the earth, for the arms of orphans were snatched away. 20 So then, his sin is remembered, and like the mist of dew he has become unseen. And may the things that he has done be repaid to him, and may each unjust one be crushed just like rotten wood. 21 He did not treat the barren woman well, and to the wifeless he did not show mercy. 22 But in wrath he overthrows the weak. Therefore raising up he shall not trust in his own life. 23 When being weak, let him not hope to become healthy, but he shall fall to sickness. 24 For his exaltation has afflicted many, but he has withered like a mallow by burning heat, or like an ear of corn falling off on its own from the stalk. 25 But if it is not so, who is the one who declares me to speak falsely and shall make my words as nothing?” Bildad: Man Is a Worm

25But answering, Bildad the Shuhite said, 2 “For what parable or fear is there from him, the one who makes the whole world in the highest? 3 For do not let anyone think that there is respite for raiders. But upon whom will there not come an ambush from him? 4 For how shall a mortal be righteous before the Lord, or who can possibly cleanse him who is born of a woman? 5 If he orders the moon, then it does not shine, and stars are not spotless before him. 6 Yet alas a person has rottenness, and a son of humanity is a worm.” Job: God Is Awesome

26And answering, Job said, 2 “To whom do you belong, or whom are you about to help? And so is it not the one who has much power and who has a strong arm? 3 Whom have you advised? Is it not the one who has all wisdom? Whom shall you follow? Is it not the one who has great power? 4 Through whom did you declare your words, and by whose breath is that which comes out of you? 5 Are not giants brought forth from beneath the water and its neighbors? 6 Hades is naked before him, and there is no covering for destruction. 7 He stretches out the north wind upon nothing; he hangs the earth upon nothing. 8 He binds the water in his clouds, and the cloud does not split under it. 9 With the face of his throne prevailing, his cloud is spread out upon it. 10 With a command he made a circle upon the face of the water, until the completion of light with darkness. 11 The pillars of the heavens are spread out and are confounded by his rebuke. 12 By power he hindered the sea, and by understanding he laid low the sea monster. 13 And the barriers of the heavens fear him, and by a command he killed the rebel serpent. 14 Behold, these are a part of his way, and at the least word we shall listen to him. And who knows when he shall cause the strength of his thunder?” Job Maintains His Innocence

27And still continuing, Job spoke in parable, 2 “The God who has judged me thus, and the Almighty, who has embittered my life, lives. 3 If my breath is still in me, and the spirit of God that remains in my nose, 4 my lips will not speak evil, nor will my soul meditate on injustice. 5 May it not be for me to declare you as righteous until perhaps I should die, for I shall not depart from my integrity. 6 But having given heed to righteousness, I shall not let it go, for I am not conscious on my own part of having done wrong. 7 No indeed, rather let my enemies be as the overthrow of the wicked, and those who rise up against me as the destruction of the lawless. 8 For also, what is the hope of the wicked that he holds on? Trusting in the Lord, indeed, shall he be saved? 9 Will God listen to his petition? Or when distress comes upon him, 10 shall he have any confidence in the presence of him; or as he is appealing to him, shall he listen to him? 11 But now I shall declare to you what is in the hand of the Lord. The things that are by the Almighty, I do not lie about. 12 Behold all of you have known that you have imposed emptiness to emptiness. 13 This is the portion of a wicked person from the Lord, but the possessions of the mighty come upon him from the Almighty. 14 And if their sons shall become many, they shall be for destruction, and if also they should reach manhood, they shall beg. 15 And no one shall show mercy to their widows. 16 If they should gather silver like earth and should prepare gold just like clay, 17 all these things the righteous shall acquire, and of his wealth the sincere shall take hold. 18 And his house shall come to nothing, like moths and like a spider’s web. 19 Having fallen asleep, the rich also shall continue no more. He shall open his eyes, and he shall exist no longer. 20 Griefs have fallen upon him like water, and darkness has seized him by night. 21 A burning wind shall take him up, and he shall go away, and it shall drive him away from his place. 22 And he shall cast trouble upon him, and he shall not be spared from his hand. He shall run away in flight. 23 He shall clap their hands at him and shall hiss at him from his place.

28For there is a place from where silver comes, and a place where gold is refined. 2 For indeed iron comes from the earth, and copper likewise is quarried from stone. 3 He has put order to darkness, and he himself knows accurately every boundary. Stone of darkness, and the shadow of death. 4 There is a divide of the rain-swollen waters from ashes, and those who forget the way of the righteous stumble according to mortals. 5 Earth, out of it comes food; below it, it turns like fire. 6 Its stones are the place of a sapphire, and its gold a mound. 7 The path, no bird knows it, and no vulture’s eye observes it. 8 Sons of the insolent have not walked on it. Lions have not passed over it. 9 He stretches out his hand on a flinty rock and overturns mountains from their roots. 10 And he split whirlpools of rivers, and my eye saw every valuable thing. 11 And he reveals the depths of rivers, and he unveils his own power to light. 12 And where can wisdom be found, and what is the place of understanding? 13 Mortals have not known the way to it, nor yet can it be found among humans. 14 The deep said, ‘It is not in me,’ and the sea said, ‘It is not with me.’ 15 One shall not give gold leaf in place of it, and silver may not be weighed in exchange for it. 16 And it shall not be compared to the gold of Ophir, in costly onyx and sapphire. 17 Gold and crystal are not equaled by it, and golden vessels are no price for it. 18 Meteorites and crystals shall not be mentioned, yet draw upon wisdom for the innermost things. 19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not be equaled by it. It shall not be compared with pure gold. 20 And where does one find wisdom? And what is the place of understanding? 21 It has gone unnoticed by every person and has been hidden from the birds of the heavens. 22 Destruction and Death said, ‘And we heard a report of it.’ 23 God well contrived its way, and he himself has known its place. 24 For he himself observes the whole earth under the heavens, knowing the things on the earth, everything he made, 25 the balance of the winds, the measures of the water. 26 When he made them, seeing thus he numbered them, and its way by a shaking sound. 27 Then he beheld it and described it; preparing, he searched it out. 28 And he said to humans, ‘Behold, the fear of God is wisdom, and keeping away from evil is understanding.’ ” Job Continues His Defense

29And still continuing, Job said in parable, 2 “Who might have put me in the month, before the days in which God watched over me? 3 Like when his lamp shone over my head, when by his light I walked through darkness, 4 when I was being vigorous in my ways, when God acted in care of my house, 5 when I was very abundant, and my children were round about, 6 when my ways were poured out in butter, and the mountains poured out milk for me, 7 when I went out at daybreak in the city, and a seat was assigned for me in the square. 8 Seeing me, the young men hid, and the elders all stood. 9 And the strong ones ceased speaking, putting a finger over their mouth. 10 And those who heard blessed me, and their tongue clung to their throat. 11 For the ear heard and blessed me, and the eye, seeing me, turned away. 12 For I preserved the poor from the hand of the mighty, and I helped the orphan for whom there was no helper. 13 May the blessing of one who is perishing come upon me, for the mouth of the widow blessed me. 14 And I put on righteousness and clothed myself; justice is like a double cloak. 15 I was eyes for the blind and feet for the lame. 16 I myself was a father of the weak, and I searched out the cause that I did not know. 17 And I crushed the teeth of the unrighteous; from the midst of their teeth I snatched away the prey. 18 And I said, ‘My age shall grow old like the trunk of a palm. I shall live a great length of time.’ 19 The root spread upon the water, and the dew lodged on my crop. 20 My glory was new with me, and my bow goes forth in his hand. 21 Listening to me, they gave heed. And they kept silent at my counsel. 22 At my word they did not continue, and they became exceedingly glad whenever I spoke to them. 23 Like the thirsting land receives the rain, thus these received my speech. 24 If I laughed at them, they did not believe it, and the light of my face did not fail. 25 I chose their way and sat as a ruler, and encamped like a king among armed men, whose manner was to encourage the suffering.

30But now the least mock me. Now they admonish me in turn, of whom their fathers I scorned, whom I did not consider worthy of my dogs for my flocks. 2 And what is the purpose of the strength of their hands for me? It was destroyed completely for them. 3 In want and hunger, childless, are those fleeing, waterless from before, in distress and misery, 4 those who encompass the salty plants upon the sounded shore, for whom sea plants were their bread, dishonored and also being despised, in want of every blessing. 5 Thieves have risen up against me, 6 of whom their houses are caves in stone. 7 Up in the midst of a shrub they shall cry out; they themselves live under wild brushwood. 8 Sons of foolish men and dishonored, their names and fame are extinguished from the land. 9 And now I myself am their lyre, and they have me for common talk. 10 And they abhor me, drawing away far off, and they do not hesitate to spit in my face. 11 For releasing his quiver for arrows, he mistreated me, and dismissed the restraint of my face. 12 They rise up to the right of a sprout. They stretch out their foot and prepare a road for me, tracks of their destruction. 13 They destroy my paths, for they stripped off my clothing. 14 He shot me down with his arrows. He has used me like he has wished. I am soaked in grief. 15 My griefs have returned. My hope has gone like the wind, and my salvation like clouds. 16 And now my soul has been poured out upon me, and days of grief have seized me. 17 And by night my bones were confused, and my sinews are loosened. 18 With great strength he seizes my clothing, like the collar of my shirt he enwraps me. 19 And you have thought of me just like clay, my portion is in dirt and ashes. 20 But I cried to you, and you did not hear me. They stood and gazed at me. 21 They came upon me mercilessly. You whipped me with a strong hand. 22 And you have set me in grief, and you have thrown me from safety. 23 For I know that death shall destroy me, for the earth is the house of every mortal. 24 For if only it were that I would be able to subdue myself, or, imploring also another, yet he should do this for me. 25 And I myself wept over each of the poor, and lamented, seeing a man in distress. 26 And I myself, while waiting for blessings, behold, more evil days fell upon me. 27 My belly boils over and does not stop rumbling. Days of poverty anticipate me. 28 Lamenting, I have gone forth without restraint, and I have stood in the assembly crying out. 29 I have become a brother of jackals and a companion of ostriches. 30 And my skin has been darkened greatly, and my bones from burning heat. 31 And my lyre has proved to be for mourning, and my psalm for my weeping.

31I have made a covenant with my eyes and shall not take notice of a virgin. 2 And yet has God allotted from above? And what inheritance is there from the Mighty One from on high? 3 Alas! destruction to the unrighteous, and alienation for those who do evil! 4 Does he not see my way and count all my steps? 5 But if I was going forth with scorners, and if also my foot has hurried to deceit, 6 then may he place me in a righteous balance, but the Lord has seen my integrity. 7 If my foot has turned away from the way, and if also my heart has followed after my eye, and if also I have accepted a bribe with my hands, 8 then let me sow and others eat, and let me be uprooted from the land. 9 If my heart has followed another man’s wife, and if I have come to lie in wait at her doors, 10 then also may my wife satisfy another, and may my children be abased. 11 For the wrathful anger is uncontrollable when a man’s wife has been defiled. 12 For it is a fire that burns in every direction, and whatever perhaps it should come upon, it will destroy to its root. 13 And if also I have despised the judgment of my attendant or handmaid when they pleaded with me, 14 then how can I act whenever the Lord makes affliction for me? And also whenever he comes to visit, how shall I make an answer? 15 And so was it not as I also came to be in the belly, those also came to be? And we came to be in the same womb. 16 But the helpless did not miss whatever need they had, and I did not waste away the widow’s eye. 17 And if also I have eaten my morsel alone, and not shared with the orphan, 18 for from my youth I nourished them like a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided them, 19 and if also I neglected the naked one who was perishing and did not clothe him, 20 and if the helpless did not bless me, and their shoulders were not warmed by the fleece of my lambs, 21 if I lifted up a hand against an orphan, trusting that great help was around me, 22 then may my shoulder be removed from the collarbone, and may my arm be torn from the elbow. 23 For fear constrained me, and I cannot endure under his burden. 24 If I have appointed gold for my dust, and if also I have trusted precious stone, 25 and if also I rejoiced at how great my wealth had become, and if also I set my hand on immeasurable wealth, 26 or do we not see the shining sun come to an end and the moon wane, for there is no power in them. 27 And if my heart was secretly deceived, and if my hand was placed upon my mouth, I kissed it. 28 Let this also, then, be counted as a great evil for me, for I have spoken falsely before the Lord most high. 29 And if also I come to rejoice at the misfortune of my enemies, and my heart says, ‘Good!’ 30 then let my ear hear my curse, and, being mistreated, may I become common talk then among my people. 31 And if also my handmaids have often said, ‘Who would give us to be satisfied with his flesh!’ For I was very gracious. 32 And the stranger did not lodge outside, and my door was opened to all who came. 33 And if also sinning involuntarily, I concealed my sin. 34 For I did not turn away from the crowds of the multitude, nor did I make myself known before them. And if also I permitted a helpless person to go out of my door with an empty bosom. 35 Who should be given over to hear me? Yet if I had not been afraid of the hand of the Lord, and any written contract that I had against anyone, 36 perhaps putting it upon my shoulders like a crown, I would read it. 37 And if not tearing it up, I would restore it, having taken nothing from a debtor. 38 If the land has lamented against me at some time, and if also its furrows have wept together, 39 and if also its wealth I have eaten alone, without honor, and if also I have caused grief to the soul of the lord of the land by seizing from him, 40 then in the place of wheat let nettles come up for me, and in the place of barley, bramble.” Elihu’s Rebuke

32aAnd Job stopped his words. And so his three friends were quiet, no longer opposing Job. For Job was righteous before them. 2 But Elihu, son of Barachel, of the Buzites from the family of Ram of the territory of Ausitis, became angry. And he was very angry with Job, because he declared himself righteous before the Lord. 3 But also he was very angry with the three friends, because they were not able to answer in opposition to Job, even though they had designated him to be ungodly. 4 And Elihu had waited to give an answer to Job, because he was his elder in age. 5 And Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, and it provoked his anger. 6 And replying, Elihu, son of Barachel, of the Buzites, said, “I am indeed young in age, and you yourselves are older. Therefore I kept quiet, being afraid to declare to you my own opinion. 7 But I said, ‘Time is not the one who speaks. For from many years they do notknow wisdom.’ 8 However, there is a spirit in mortals, and the breath of the Almighty is that which teaches. 9 The long-lived are not wise, nor do the old men know judgment. 10 Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me, and I shall declare to you what I know.’ 11 Hearken to my words to you, having listened until whenever you had examined these words. 12 And I shall take notice as much as you, and behold, there was no one reproving Job, answering again his words from among you. 13 So do not say, ‘We have found wisdom by handing him over to the Lord.’ 14 For you have entrusted a person to speak such words. 15 They tremble; they do not answer any further; they are worn out from their words. 16 I waited, since I did not speak, for they only stood; they did not answer.” 17 And answering, Elihu said, 18 “Again I shall speak since I am full of words, for the spirit of my belly destroys me. 19 And my belly is like a wineskin of new wine, boiling and bound up, or like the bellows of a metalworker laboring. 20 I shall speak, so that I may rest by opening my lips. 21 For I shall not be dishonored by any person, but truly neither shall I be turned about by any mortal. 22 For I do not know how to flatter faces, Otherwise moths shall eat me also.

33Nevertheless, hear my words, Job, and hearken to my speech. 2 For behold I opened my mouth, and my tongue spoke. 3 My heart is pure in words, and the understanding of my lips shall intend purity. 4 The spirit of God makes me, and the breath of the Almighty is that which teaches me. 5 If you are able, give me an answer to these things. Wait, stand against me and I myself against you. 6 You yourself have been formed from clay as also I myself. We have been formed from the same material. 7 The fear of me shall not distress you; neither shall my hand be heavy upon you. 8 But you spoke in my ears; I have heard the sound of words. 9 Because you say, ‘I am pure, not having sinned, I am blameless, for I do not act lawlessly. 10 Yet he found fault against me, and he regards me as an enemy. 11 And he has put my foot in a stock, and he watches over all of my ways.’ 12 For how can you say, ‘I am righteous,’ and ‘He has not heard me’? For he who is above mortals is eternal. 13 And you say, ‘Why has he not heard every word of my cause?’ 14 For when the Lord speaks once, or by a second time, 15 a dream, or in a vision at night, as when a terrible fear falls upon people in slumber upon their bed, 16 then he discloses the mind of people. He frightens them with such fearful forms 17 to turn back a person away from wrongdoing, and he rescues his body from misfortune. 18 And he spares his soul from death, and for him not to fall in battle. 19 And again he reproves him upon sickness upon his bed and stiffens a multitude of his bones. 20 And every edible bread he shall not be able to accept, and his soul shall desire food, 21 until perhaps his flesh should decay, and his bones should be rendered bare. 22 And his soul draws near to death, this life of his to Hades. 23 If there should be a thousand angels of death, not one of them shall wound him. If he should think in his heart to return to the Lord, and should declare to a person his own fault, and should show his folly, 24 he shall keep him from falling to his death, and he shall prop up his body like paint upon a wall, and shall fill his bones with marrow. 25 And he softens his flesh like a child, and he shall restore him to manhood among people. 26 And having prayed to the Lord, he also shall be acceptable to him, and he shall enter with cheerful face together with confession, and he shall restore righteousness to such people. 27 Then next, that same person shall rebuke himself, saying, ‘What sort of thing have I done, and he has not judged me as worthy of what I have sinned?’ 28 Save my soul so that it may not come to destruction, and my life shall see the light. 29 Behold, all these things the Almighty works, three ways with a man. 30 But he rescued my soul from death, so that my life might praise him in the light. 31 Hearken, Job, and listen to me. Keep quiet, and I shall speak. 32 If there is a word, answer me. Speak, for I want to justify you. 33 If not, you yourself listen to me. Keep quiet, and I shall teach you.” Elihu Asserts God’s Justice

34And continuing, Elihu said, 2 “Listen to me, wise ones. O knowing ones, hearken to me. 3 For an ear discerns words, and a throat tastes food. 4 Let us make a judgment for ourselves. Let us perceive between ourselves whatever may be good. 5 For Job has said, ‘I am righteous. The Lord removed my judgment. 6 But he spoke falsely about my judgment. My arrow is violent, though I am without injustice.’ 7 What man is like Job, drinking sarcasm like water, 8 not sinning nor acting wickedly, nor taking part in the way of those who do evil, who go forth with the ungodly? 9 For you should not say, ‘There shall not be any care of a man.’ Even so, there is care of him by the Lord. 10 Therefore, those who are wise in heart, listen to me. Let it not be for me to act wickedly against the Lord and to pervert the righteous before the Almighty. 11 But he shall repay a person according to how each of them does, and in a man’s path he shall find him. 12 But should one imagine that the Lord does wrong? Or that the Almighty shall pervert justice, 13 who made the earth? And who is the one who made what is under the heavens and all the things being there? 14 For if he should wish to constrain himself, and to keep his spirit near him, 15 all flesh would die together, and each mortal would depart to the earth, from where also he was formed. 16 But if he would not admonish you, listen to these things. Hearken to the sound of words. 17 You yourself behold the one who hates evil, and the one who destroys the wicked ones, who is eternally righteous. 18 Ungodly is the one who says to a king, ‘You act unlawfully,’ and to rulers, ‘You are ungodly!’ 19 This is who does not revere the face of an honored one, nor know how to assign honor to the pure, to honor their faces. 20 But it shall prove to be empty for them, each crying and imploring of a man. For they dealt with others illegally, turning away the helpless. 21 For he is a beholder of humanity’s works, and nothing of what they do has gone unnoticed by him. 22 Neither is there a place to hide for those who do evil things. 23 For he shall not put upon a man any longer, since the Lord watches over all. 24 It is he who understands inscrutable things, glorious and also remarkable, which are not numbered. 25 It is he who has made known their works and shall bring on the night and be humbled. 26 And he extinguishes the ungodly, for they are visible before him. 27 For they turned away from God’s law and did not observe his duties, 28 so as to bring upon him the crying of the poor, and he shall listen to the crying of the needy. 29 And when he himself maintains silence, also who shall render judgment? And when he hides his face, also who shall behold him? Whether concerning a people or whether a person, it is one and the same. 30 So he makes a hypocritical person to be king, by reason of the people’s discontent. 31 For there is one who says to the Almighty, ‘I have received; I shall not take a pledge from anyone. 32 I shall look beyond myself. You yourself show me if I have done injury, and I shall not continue.’ 33 Shall he repay him from you because he was rejected? For you yourself shall choose and not I. And whatever you know, speak. 34 Therefore, those who are wise in heart shall say these things, and a wise man has heard my speech. 35 But Job did not speak in understanding; his words are not in knowledge. 36 Nevertheless, learn, Job. Do not give an answer like the foolish any longer, 37 so that we do not continue with respect to our sin, and lawlessness be counted against us, as we speak many words against the Lord.” Elihu Rebukes Job

35And continuing, Elihu said, 2 “What is this? You deem yourself in justice. Who are you that you say, ‘I am righteous before the Lord’?a 4 I myself shall give an answer to you, and to your three friends. 5 Look up at the heavens and see. And observe well the clouds as higher than you. 6 If you sinned, what will you do? And if also you acted lawlessly much, what are you able to do? 7 And when then you are righteous, what shall you give him or what shall he receive from your hand? 8 To a man like you, your impiety has influence, and to a son of man, the same with your righteousness. 9 Those being misrepresented by a multitude have called out; they shall cry aloud from the strength of many. 10 And it was not said, ‘Where is God who made me, who appointed a watch at night, 11 who separates me from the animals of the earth, and from the birds of the heavens?’ 12 There they have called out and he did not listen, even from the arrogance of the wicked. 13 For the Lord does not wish to see wrongs, for he himself is the Almighty. He is a beholder 14 of those who accomplish evil things, and he shall save me. And will you decide before him whether you are capable to praise him as he is? 15 And now, because he is not observing his anger, and he is not perceiving any transgression very much, 16 so Job vainly opens his mouth. He makes weighty words in ignorance.” Elihu Proclaims God’s Greatness

36And continuing, Elihu further said, 2 “Remain with me a little while, so that I may teach you, for there is still speech in me. 3 Taking my knowledge from afar, and my works being righteous, I shall speak in truth. 4 and you shall not wrongfully take notice of unrighteous words. 5 But know that the Lord would not reject the innocent, being strong in power of heart. 6 He will not keep the wicked alive and will give judgment to the needy. 7 He shall not take his eyes from the righteous, and also he shall set them on the throne with kings in victory, and they shall be exalted. 8 And those who are bound in restraints, they shall be constrained in ropes of poverty. 9 And he shall declare to them their works and their transgressions, for they shall be mighty. 10 But he shall listen to the righteous and has said that they shall return from wrongdoing. 11 If they listen and serve him, they shall complete their days in blessing and their years in dignity. 12 But he does not preserve the wicked, since they themselves did not wish to know the Lord, and because, being admonished, they were not willing to hear. 13 And hypocrites of heart shall set wrath. They shall not cry aloud that he has bound them. 14 So may their soul die in youth, and their life be wounded by angels. 15 Because they afflicted the weak and helpless, he shall reveal the judgment of the meek. 16 And he enticed you from the mouth of the enemy, a deep over-pouring below him, and your table descended, full of abundance. 17 But the judgment of the righteous shall not be late. 18 But there shall be wrath upon the wicked, for the impiety of the bribes that they accepted for their injustices. 19 Do not let your mind willingly turn you away from the petition of the helpless who are in distress. And all those who are strengthened by power, 20 you should not drag out in the night, so that other people go up in place of them. 21 But be careful that you do not do unrighteousness, for it is with reference to this that you chose by reason of poverty. 22 Behold, the Almighty shall prevail by his power, for who is mighty like him? 23 And who is the one who examines his works, or who is the one who can say, ‘He has done injustice?’ 24 Remember that his works are greater than those men have begun. 25 Each person has seen for himself how many mortals are being wounded. 26 Behold, the Almighty is great, and we shall not know him. The number of his years is even infinite. 27 And drops of rain shall be numbered by him and shall be poured out as rain in a cloud. 28 Ancient things shall flow, and clouds overshadow innumerable mortals. 28a He has assigned a season to livestock, and they know the order of their bed. 28b Yet your thought is not astonished by all of these things, neither does your heart leap out from your body. 29 And possibly someone is aware of his spreading out a cloud, as though it were his tent. 30 Behold, the song will spread out upon him and cover the root of the sea. 31 For by them he shall judge people. He shall give food to the one who hears. 32 He covered the light with his hands and gave charge concerning it to those that come together. 33 The Lord will declare concerning this to his friend, there is also a portion concerning injustice.

37And with this my heart stirs and moves from its place. 2 Listen to a report by the anger of the Lord’s wrath and the discourse coming from his mouth. 3 His power is under all the heavens, and his light is in the extremities of the earth. 4 After that a voice shall cry aloud, it will thunder with the sound of his insult, and he will not bargain with them, for he will hear his voice. 5 The Almighty will thunder wondrously with his voice, for he has done great things that we have not known. 6 So he orders snow with, ‘Fall upon the earth,’ also winter, rain and winter of rains by his power. 7 He seals up each person with his hand, so that each person may know his own weakness. 8 And beasts enter into shelter and are at rest in bed. 9 Pain comes from their chambers, and cold from mountain peaks. 10 And from the breath of the Almighty he shall give frost, and he guides water however he may wish. 11 And if a cloud covers over a chosen one, his light shall scatter the cloud. 12 And he himself shall turn them in a circle by his guidance for their works, all as much as he might command them. These things he has ordered according to his will upon the earth. 13 Whether for instruction, whether for his earth, whether for compassion, he shall find it. 14 Hearken to these things, Job. Stand, those being instructed by the power of the Lord. 15 We have known that God has assigned his works, making light from darkness. 16 And he perceives the separation of the clouds, and the remarkable misfortune of the wicked. 17 But your clothing is warm, and there is quiet upon the earth. 18 Shall you establish with him for antiquity mighty things like a vision being poured out?a 19 Why teach me what I should say to him? And I may cease from saying many things. 20 Has a book or scribe stood beside me, so that standing I might make a person to be silent? 21 But the light is not visible to all. It is bright among the ancient things, like that which is from him upon the clouds. 22 From the north, clouds are shining like gold. In these the glory and honor of the Almighty are great. 23 And we do not find another like his power. The one who judges righteous things, does one not imagine that he hears him? 24 Therefore people shall be afraid of him, and the wise of heart also shall be afraid of him.” The Lord Asserts His Sovereignty

38And after Elihu stopped speaking, the Lord spoke to Job through a whirlwind and clouds, 2 “Who is this who, hiding counsel from me and constraining words in his heart, thus thinks to conceal them from me? 3 Gird your loins like a man, for I shall ask, and you shall answer me. [12] 4 Where were you when I established the earth? Just tell me, if you are capable of understanding. 5 Who assigned its measurements, if you know? Or who was it who laid a measuring string upon it? 6 Upon what were its rings established? And who was it who placed a cornerstone upon it? 7 When the stars came into being, all of my angels praised me with a great voice. 8 And I shut up the sea with a gate when it rushed, coming out from its mother’s belly. 9 And I made the cloud its clothing, and swaddling clothes for it with a mist. 10 And I assigned boundaries to it, setting out barriers and gates. 11 And I said to it, ‘As far as this you shall come, and you may not go beyond. But your waves shall be broken within yourself.’ 12 Or was it by you that I appointed the light early in the day, and the morning beheld its own order, 13 to seize the extremities of the earth, to shake out the wicked from it? 14 Or you yourself, having taken earth, did you form from clay a living being, and one endowed with speech, and place it upon the earth? 15 But light was taken away from the wicked, and you broke the arm of the arrogant. 16 And did you go into the spring of the sea and walk about among the tracks of the deep? 17 And have the gates of death been opened to you out of fear, and the gatekeepers of Hades, seeing you, cower? 18 And have you learned the width of that which is under heaven? Declare to me now how much of what there is! 19 And in what land does the light lodge, and in what place darkness? 20 If you could lead me to their boundaries, and if also you know their paths, 21 then I would know that you were brought forth then, and the number of your years is great. 22 And did you go into the treasuries of the snow, and have you seen the treasuries of the hail? 23 And is it put away for you in a season of enemies, in the day of wars and strife? 24 And where does frost go out, or the south wind that is scattered abroad among all that is under heaven? 25 And who prepared a course for the impetuous rain, and a way for turbulence, 26 in order to send upon a land in which there is no man, a wilderness in which no person belongs in it, 27 in order to nourish the desolate and the uninhabitable, and in order to make sprouting grass grow? 28 Who is the father of rain, and who is the one who produces drops of dew? 29 And from whose womb does ice go out, and who has produced the frost in heaven 30 that descends like flowing water? Who cowered in fear in the face of the ungodly? 31 And do you understand the bond of Pleiades, and did you release the fence of Orion? 32 Or will you reveal Mazzaroth in its season, and Hesperusa with its hair? Will you lead them? 33 And do you know the movements of heaven or the things existing together under heaven? 34 And shall you summon a cloud with your voice, and shall falling, violent water obey you? 35 And will you send forth thunderbolts, and they shall go forth? And they shall say to you, ‘What is it?’ 36 And who gave a woman wisdom for a woven cloth or the knowledge of embroidery? 37 And who is the one with the wisdom for numbering clouds, and inclines the heavens to the earth? 38 Yet it is poured out like dusty earth, but I have joined it together like a block of stone. [13] 39 And will you hunt food for lions and satisfy the spirits of serpents? 40 For they have been afraid in their beds and are seated in the forest, lying in wait. 41 And who prepares food for the raven? For its young cry to the Lord, wandering around seeking after food.

39Do you know the season of the delivery of the wild goats of the rock? And do you watch over the labor pains of deer? 2 And did you count the full months of their delivery and relieve their labor pains? 3 And did you nourish their children without fear? Will you release their labor pains? 4 Their children shall break away. They shall be multiplied in offspring. They shall come out and shall not return to them. 5 And who is it who has set the wild donkey free and who unfastened its bonds? 6 And I made his dwelling the wilderness and his tents the salt lands. 7 He laughs at the crowds of people of the city and does not hear the reproof of the tax collector. 8 He shall survey mountains as his pasture and seek after every green herb. 9 And does the unicorn wish to serve you or to sleep by your trough? 10 And will you tie its yoke by a thong, or shall it pull furrows for you in the field? 11 And have you placed trust in it, because its strength is great, and will you put upon it your labors? 12 And will you trust that it shall return the seed to you and bring it to your threshing floor? 13 As its wing delightfully spreads, should you imagine it is a stork, or even an ostrich? 14 For it shall leave its eggs in the earth; it shall even warm them with mud. 15 And they forgot that a foot shall scatter and beasts of the field shall trample. 16 She is hardened toward her children as if not herself. She labored in vain without fear. 17 For God has made wisdom to be silent to her and has not included her in understanding. 18 When the time is right she shall rise up in height. She shall mock the horse and its rider. 19 Or have you yourself imparted to a horse its power and put fear on its neck? 20 And did you put a suit of armor on it and glory on its chest with courage? 21 Digging around in the field, it prances, and it goes out into the field in power. 22 Meeting a king, he laughs and shall not turn away from the sword. 23 The bow and sword prance against it, 24 and in anger it shall stamp out the earth, and it shall not believe until the trumpet sounds. 25 And when the trumpet sounds, it says, ‘Good!’ And from a distance it smells war, with leaping and crying. 26 And based upon your knowledge does the hawk stand, unfolding its wings, immovably looking down toward the south? 27 And is it by your command that the eagle rises up, and the vulture, settling down, lodges upon its nest, 28 upon the prominence of a rock and concealed? 29 Being there, it seeks food. From a distance its eyes keep watch. 30 And its young are soaked in blood. And wherever dying things may be, immediately they are found.” 31 aAnd the Lord God answered Job and said, 32 “Shall he shun a judgment before the Mighty One? The one who reproves God, he shall answer it.” 33 And answering, Job said to the Lord, 34 “Why do I myself still judge, being admonished and reproved by the Lord? Hearing such things, being nothing, what answer shall I give to these things? I shall place a hand upon my mouth. 35 I have spoken once, and for a second time; I shall not continue.”

40And still answering, the Lord said to Job from a cloud, 2 “But gird your loins like a man. And I shall question you, and you yourself shall answer me. [14] 3 Will you reject my judgment, and will you imagine that I would deal otherwise with you, or so that you would appear righteous? 4 Or is there for you an arm like the Lord’s, or do you thunder with a voice like his? 5 Take up, now, majesty and power, and clothe yourself with glory and honor. 6 And send forth angels in anger, and humble every haughty person. 7 And extinguish the arrogant, and consume the wicked immediately. 8 And hide them in the earth together, and fill their faces with dishonor. 9 I shall admit that your right hand is able to save. 10 But now behold, indeed, the beasts before you. They eat grass just like oxen. 11 Behold now, its strength is in its loins, and its power is in the middle of its belly. 12 It sets its tail like a cypress, and its sinews have been entwined together. 13 Its ribs are ribs of bronze, and its backbone is cast in iron. 14 This is the beginning of the creation of the Lord, being made to be mocked by his angels. 15 But coming upon a flinty mountain, he brought joy to the four-footed creatures in Tartarus. [15] 16 Under all kinds of trees it sleeps, by papyrus and reeds and rushes. 17 And great trees overshadow it, with branches and twigs from the field. 18 If a flood should happen, it is not taken notice of. It trusts that the Jordan shall rush up into its mouth. 19 Shall one take it in its eye? Being caught in a snare, shall one pierce its nose? 20 And will you lead the serpent in by a fishhook and put a halter around its nose? 21 Shall you tie a ring in its nose and pierce through its lip with a clasp? 22 And will it speak softly in needy petitions to you? 23 Will it make a covenant with you, and will you take it to be an eternal slave? 24 And will you play with it like a bird, or will you tie it like a sparrow for a child? 25 And shall nations barter for it, and shall the people of Phoenicia divide it? 26 And everything that floats, coming together, shall not carry away the hide of its one tail, nor its head in the ships of fishermen. 27 And he will place a hand on it, remembering the battle that existed in its body.

41Have you not marveled at the things that are said? Nor feared, because it has been prepared by me? 2 For who is the one who stands against me? Or who shall stand against me and endure, when all that is under the heavens is mine? 3 I shall not keep silent by reason of it, and by a powerful word it will show mercy to one just like it. 4 Who shall uncover the face of its garment, and who possibly can enter into the fold of its breast plate? 5 Who shall open the gates of its face? There is fear in the circle of its teeth. 6 Its insides are a shield of bronze; its bonding is like an emery stone. 7 One is glued to the other, and the wind cannot go through it. 8 It shall be glued on like a man to his brother. They shall be kept together and cannot be separated. 9 In its sneezing it shines out light, and its eyes are the shape of morning. 10 From its mouth there goes out a burning torch, and there shoots out a hearth of fire. 11 From its nose there goes out smoke, as of an oven burning with a fire of charcoal. 12 Its breath is like burning charcoal, and flame goes out from its mouth. 13 And in its neck power lodges. Destruction runs before it. 14 And the flesh of its body is glued together. If one pours down upon it, it shall not be shaken. 15 Its heart has been made firm as stone and has been set like an inflexible anvil. 16 And its turning over brings fear to the four-footed beasts leaping around upon the earth. 17 If lances should meet up with it, they produce nothing, neither spear nor breastplates. 18 For indeed it regards iron as straw, and copper as rotten wood. 19 A copper bow does not wound it. Indeed, it regards an engine for throwing stones as grass. 20 A hammer is counted as straw, and it laughs at the rattling of fire-bearers. 21 Its bed is like sharp spits, and all the gold of the sea under it is like limitless clay. 22 It boils up the deep like a cauldron, and it regards the sea as a pot of ointment. 23 And the netherworld of the deep is like a prisoner. He regards the deep as a walk. 24 There is not anything upon the earth like it, being made to be mocked by my angels. 25 It sees everything that is high, and it itself is king of all that is in the waters.” Job’s Repentance

42And answering, Job said to the Lord, 2 “I know that you are able to do all things, and nothing is impossible for you. [16] 3 For who is the one hiding his counsel from you, and, holding back, also imagines to hide his words from you, and who shall declare to me what I did not know, great and wondrous things, to which I did not pay attention? 4 But listen to me, Lord, so that I also shall speak. And I shall ask you yourself, and you shall teach me. 5 Indeed, hearing by the ear I heard of you before, but now my eye has seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and am wasted away, and I think of myself as earth and ashes.” The Lord Rebukes Job’s Friends 7 And it happened, after the Lord spoke all these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “You and your friends have sinned, for you did not speak before me anything true, like my servant Job. 8 But now, take seven calves and seven rams and go forth to my servant Job, and he shall make a burnt offering for you. And Job, my servant, shall pray for you, because except that I receive his face, except for his sake perhaps I might destroy you, for you did not speak the truth concerning my servant Job.” 9 Then Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went forth and did as the Lord ordered them, and he released their sin because of Job. The Lord Blesses Job 10 And the Lord brought prosperity to Job. And when he prayed also for his friends, he forgave their sin, and the Lord gave twice as much as was before to Job by doubling. 11 And all his brothers and sisters heard all the things that had happened to him, and they came to him, and all who as much as knew him from the beginning. And eating and drinking with him, they encouraged him and marveled at all that the Lord brought on him. And they gave him each a single lamb and a gold and unmarked coin of four drachmas. [17] 12 And the Lord blessed the last days of Job more than the ones before. And his livestock were fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand grazing female donkeys. 13 And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 14 And he called them in order, the first Day and the second Keziah and the third Keren-happuch. 15 And there were not found in comparison with Job’s daughters anyone fairer than them upon the earth under the heavens. And their father gave them an inheritance, along with their brothers. 16 And Job lived after the misfortune one hundred and seventy years, and all the years he lived were two hundred and forty, and Job saw his sons and the sons of his sons to the fourth generation. 17 And Job died an old man and full of days. [18] 17a And it is written that he shall rise again with the ones whom the Lord shall raise up. 17b This man is described by the Syriac book as dwelling in the land of Uz on the borders of Edom and Arabia. And his name before was Jobab. 17c And, having taken an Arabian wife, he fathered a son, whose name was Enan. And he himself had as father Zerah, from the sons of Esau. And his mother was Bosorra, so that it made him fifth from Abraham. 17d And these were the kings who were ruling in Edom, which territory also he himself ruled: first, Bela, the son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dinhabah. And after Bela, Jobab, who was called Job. And after this, Husham, who was serving as leader from the territories of Thaiman. And after this, Hadad, son of Bered, who destroyed Midian in the field of Moab, and the name of his city was Avith. 17e And the friends who came to him were Eliphaz, of the sons of Esau, king of the Temanites; Bildad, the tyrant of the Shuhites; and Zophar, the king of the Naamathites.