Giobbe (RSV) 1







Book of


JOB


Job and His Family

1 1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God, and turned away from evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and very many servants; so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east.
4
His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each on his day; and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, "It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts." Thus Job did continually.


Attack on Job's Character

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, "Whence have you come?" Satan answered the LORD, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it." 8 And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?" 9 Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nought? 10 Hast thou not put a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But put forth thy hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse thee to thy face." 12 And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon himself do not put forth your hand." So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.


Job Loses Property and Children

13 Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house; 14 and there came a messenger to Job, and said, "The oxen were plowing and the asses feeding beside them; 15 and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them, and slew the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you." 16 While he was yet speaking, there came another, and said, "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you." 17 While he was yet speaking, there came another, and said, "The Chaldeans formed three companies, and made a raid upon the camels and took them, and slew the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you." 18 While he was yet speaking, there came another, and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house; 19 and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness, and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you."
20
Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell upon the ground, and worshiped. 21 And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." 22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.


Attack on Job's Health

2 1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, "Whence have you come?" Satan answered the LORD, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it." 3 And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you moved me against him, to destroy him without cause." 4 Then Satan answered the LORD, "Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But put forth thy hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face." 6 And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your power; only spare his life."
7
So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD, and afflicted Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God, and die." 10 But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.


Job's Three Friends

11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to condole with him and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from afar, they did not recognize him; and they raised their voices and wept; and they rent their robes and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.


Job Curses the Day He Was Born

3 1 After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.
2
And Job said:
3
"Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night which said, `A man-child is conceived.'
4
Let that day be darkness! May God above not seek it, nor light shine upon it.
5
Let gloom and deep darkness claim it. Let clouds dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
6
That night -- let thick darkness seize it! let it not rejoice among the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.
7
Yea, let that night be barren; let no joyful cry be heard in it.
8
Let those curse it who curse the day, who are skilled to rouse up Leviathan.
9
Let the stars of its dawn be dark; let it hope for light, but have none, nor see the eyelids of the morning;
10
because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb, nor hide trouble from my eyes.
11
"Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire?
12
Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should suck?
13
For then I should have lain down and been quiet; I should have slept; then I should have been at rest,
14
with kings and counselors of the earth who rebuilt ruins for themselves,
15
or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver.
16
Or why was I not as a hidden untimely birth, as infants that never see the light?
17
There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest.
18
There the prisoners are at ease together; they hear not the voice of the taskmaster.
19
The small and the great are there, and the slave is free from his master.
20
"Why is light given to him that is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul,
21
who long for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hid treasures;
22
who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they find the grave?
23
Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, whom God has hedged in?
24
For my sighing comes as my bread, and my groanings are poured out like water.
25
For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me.
26
I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest; but trouble comes."


Eliphaz Speaks: Job Has Sinned

4 1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2
"If one ventures a word with you, will you be offended? Yet who can keep from speaking?
3
Behold, you have instructed many, and you have strengthened the weak hands.
4
Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have made firm the feeble knees.
5
But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches you, and you are dismayed.
6
Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?
7
"Think now, who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off?
8
As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.
9
By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.
10
The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion, the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
11
The strong lion perishes for lack of prey, and the whelps of the lioness are scattered.
12
"Now a word was brought to me stealthily, my ear received the whisper of it.
13
Amid thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
14
dread came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake.
15
A spirit glided past my face; the hair of my flesh stood up.
16
It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; there was silence, then I heard a voice:
17
`Can mortal man be righteous before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?
18
Even in his servants he puts no trust, and his angels he charges with error;
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how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth.
20
Between morning and evening they are destroyed; they perish for ever without any regarding it.
21
If their tent-cord is plucked up within them, do they not die, and that without wisdom?'


Job Is Corrected by God

5 1 "Call now; is there any one who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
2
Surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple.
3
I have seen the fool taking root, but suddenly I cursed his dwelling.
4
His sons are far from safety, they are crushed in the gate, and there is no one to deliver them.
5
His harvest the hungry eat, and he takes it even out of thorns; and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
6
For affliction does not come from the dust, nor does trouble sprout from the ground;
7
but man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.
8
"As for me, I would seek God, and to God would I commit my cause;
9
who does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number:
10
he gives rain upon the earth and sends waters upon the fields;
11
he sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
12
He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success.
13
He takes the wise in their own craftiness; and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.
14
They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope at noonday as in the night.
15
But he saves the fatherless from their mouth, the needy from the hand of the mighty.
16
So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts her mouth.
17
"Behold, happy is the man whom God reproves; therefore despise not the chastening of the Almighty.
18
For he wounds, but he binds up; he smites, but his hands heal.
19
He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven there shall no evil touch you.
20
In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword.
21
You shall be hid from the scourge of the tongue, and shall not fear destruction when it comes.
22
At destruction and famine you shall laugh, and shall not fear the beasts of the earth.
23
For you shall be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.
24
You shall know that your tent is safe, and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing.
25
You shall know also that your descendants shall be many, and your offspring as the grass of the earth.
26
You shall come to your grave in ripe old age, as a shock of grain comes up to the threshing floor in its season.
27
Lo, this we have searched out; it is true. Hear, and know it for your good."


Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just

6 1 Then Job answered:
2
"O that my vexation were weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances!
3
For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea; therefore my words have been rash.
4
For the arrows of the Almighty are in me; my spirit drinks their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
5
Does the wild ass bray when he has grass, or the ox low over his fodder?
6
Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt, or is there any taste in the slime of the purslane?
7
My appetite refuses to touch them; they are as food that is loathsome to me.
8
"O that I might have my request, and that God would grant my desire;
9
that it would please God to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!
10
This would be my consolation; I would even exult in pain unsparing; for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
11
What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should be patient?
12
Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?
13
In truth I have no help in me, and any resource is driven from me.
14
"He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
15
My brethren are treacherous as a torrent-bed, as freshets that pass away,
16
which are dark with ice, and where the snow hides itself.
17
In time of heat they disappear; when it is hot, they vanish from their place.
18
The caravans turn aside from their course; they go up into the waste, and perish.
19
The caravans of Tema look, the travelers of Sheba hope.
20
They are disappointed because they were confident; they come thither and are confounded.
21
Such you have now become to me; you see my calamity, and are afraid.
22
Have I said, `Make me a gift'? Or, `From your wealth offer a bribe for me'?
23
Or, `Deliver me from the adversary's hand'? Or, `Ransom me from the hand of oppressors'?
24
"Teach me, and I will be silent; make me understand how I have erred.
25
How forceful are honest words! But what does reproof from you reprove?
26
Do you think that you can reprove words, when the speech of a despairing man is wind?
27
You would even cast lots over the fatherless, and bargain over your friend.
28
"But now, be pleased to look at me; for I will not lie to your face.
29
Turn, I pray, let no wrong be done. Turn now, my vindication is at stake.
30
Is there any wrong on my tongue? Cannot my taste discern calamity?


Job: My Suffering Is without End

7 1 "Has not man a hard service upon earth, and are not his days like the days of a hireling?
2
Like a slave who longs for the shadow, and like a hireling who looks for his wages,
3
so I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me.
4
When I lie down I say, `When shall I arise?' But the night is long, and I am full of tossing till the dawn.
5
My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt; my skin hardens, then breaks out afresh.
6
My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and come to their end without hope.
7
"Remember that my life is a breath; my eye will never again see good.
8
The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more; while thy eyes are upon me, I shall be gone.
9
As the cloud fades and vanishes, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come up;
10
he returns no more to his house, nor does his place know him any more.
11
"Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12
Am I the sea, or a sea monster, that thou settest a guard over me?
13
When I say, `My bed will comfort me, my couch will ease my complaint,'
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then thou dost scare me with dreams and terrify me with visions,
15
so that I would choose strangling and death rather than my bones.
16
I loathe my life; I would not live for ever. Let me alone, for my days are a breath.
17
What is man, that thou dost make so much of him, and that thou dost set thy mind upon him,
18
dost visit him every morning, and test him every moment?
19
How long wilt thou not look away from me, nor let me alone till I swallow my spittle?
20
If I sin, what do I do to thee, thou watcher of men? Why hast thou made me thy mark? Why have I become a burden to thee?
21
Why dost thou not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For now I shall lie in the earth; thou wilt seek me, but I shall not be."


Bildad Speaks: Job Should Repent

8 1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2
"How long will you say these things, and the words of your mouth be a great wind?
3
Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the right?
4
If your children have sinned against him, he has delivered them into the power of their transgression.
5
If you will seek God and make supplication to the Almighty,
6
if you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and reward you with a rightful habitation.
7
And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great.
8
"For inquire, I pray you, of bygone ages, and consider what the fathers have found;
9
for we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, for our days on earth are a shadow.
10
Will they not teach you, and tell you, and utter words out of their understanding?
11
"Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish where there is no water?
12
While yet in flower and not cut down, they wither before any other plant.
13
Such are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the godless man shall perish.
14
His confidence breaks in sunder, and his trust is a spider's web.
15
He leans against his house, but it does not stand; he lays hold of it, but it does not endure.
16
He thrives before the sun, and his shoots spread over his garden.
17
His roots twine about the stoneheap; he lives among the rocks.
18
If he is destroyed from his place, then it will deny him, saying, `I have never seen you.'
19
Behold, this is the joy of his way; and out of the earth others will spring.
20
"Behold, God will not reject a blameless man, nor take the hand of evildoers.
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He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting.
22
Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more."


Job Replies: There Is No Mediator

9 1 Then Job answered:
2
"Truly I know that it is so: But how can a man be just before God?
3
If one wished to contend with him, one could not answer him once in a thousand times.
4
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength -- who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded? --
5
he who removes mountains, and they know it not, when he overturns them in his anger;
6
who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble;
7
who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the stars;
8
who alone stretched out the heavens, and trampled the waves of the sea;
9
who made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the chambers of the south;
10
who does great things beyond understanding, and marvelous things without number.
11
Lo, he passes by me, and I see him not; he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
12
Behold, he snatches away; who can hinder him? Who will say to him, `What doest thou'?
13
"God will not turn back his anger; beneath him bowed the helpers of Rahab.
14
How then can I answer him, choosing my words with him?
15
Though I am innocent, I cannot answer him; I must appeal for mercy to my accuser.
16
If I summoned him and he answered me, I would not believe that he was listening to my voice.
17
For he crushes me with a tempest, and multiplies my wounds without cause;
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he will not let me get my breath, but fills me with bitterness.
19
If it is a contest of strength, behold him! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?
20
Though I am innocent, my own mouth would condemn me; though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.
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I am blameless; I regard not myself; I loathe my life.
22
It is all one; therefore I say, he destroys both the blameless and the wicked.
23
When disaster brings sudden death, he mocks at the calamity of the innocent.
24
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; he covers the faces of its judges -- if it is not he, who then is it?
25
"My days are swifter than a runner; they flee away, they see no good.
26
They go by like skiffs of reed, like an eagle swooping on the prey.
27
If I say, `I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad countenance, and be of good cheer,'
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I become afraid of all my suffering, for I know thou wilt not hold me innocent.
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I shall be condemned; why then do I labor in vain?
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If I wash myself with snow, and cleanse my hands with lye,
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yet thou wilt plunge me into a pit, and my own clothes will abhor me.
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For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him, that we should come to trial together.
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There is no umpire between us, who might lay his hand upon us both.
34
Let him take his rod away from me, and let not dread of him terrify me.
35
Then I would speak without fear of him, for I am not so in myself.


Job: I Loathe My Life

10 1 "I loathe my life; I will give free utterance to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
2
I will say to God, Do not condemn me; let me know why thou dost contend against me.
3
Does it seem good to thee to oppress, to despise the work of thy hands and favor the designs of the wicked?
4
Hast thou eyes of flesh? Dost thou see as man sees?
5
Are thy days as the days of man, or thy years as man's years,
6
that thou dost seek out my iniquity and search for my sin,
7
although thou knowest that I am not guilty, and there is none to deliver out of thy hand?
8
Thy hands fashioned and made me; and now thou dost turn about and destroy me.
9
Remember that thou hast made me of clay; and wilt thou turn me to dust again?
10
Didst thou not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese?
11
Thou didst clothe me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews.
12
Thou hast granted me life and steadfast love; and thy care has preserved my spirit.
13
Yet these things thou didst hide in thy heart; I know that this was thy purpose.
14
If I sin, thou dost mark me, and dost not acquit me of my iniquity.
15
If I am wicked, woe to me! If I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head, for I am filled with disgrace and look upon my affliction.
16
And if I lift myself up, thou dost hunt me like a lion, and again work wonders against me;
17
thou dost renew thy witnesses against me, and increase thy vexation toward me; thou dost bring fresh hosts against me.
18
"Why didst thou bring me forth from the womb? Would that I had died before any eye had seen me,
19
and were as though I had not been, carried from the womb to the grave.
20
Are not the days of my life few? Let me alone, that I may find a little comfort
21
before I go whence I shall not return, to the land of gloom and deep darkness,
22
the land of gloom and chaos, where light is as darkness."


Zophar Speaks: Job's Guilt Deserves Punishment

11 1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:
2
"Should a multitude of words go unanswered, and a man full of talk be vindicated?
3
Should your babble silence men, and when you mock, shall no one shame you?
4
For you say, `My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in God's eyes.'
5
But oh, that God would speak, and open his lips to you,
6
and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom! For he is manifold in understanding. Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.
7
"Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?
8
It is higher than heaven -- what can you do? Deeper than Sheol -- what can you know?
9
Its measure is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.
10
If he passes through, and imprisons, and calls to judgment, who can hinder him?
11
For he knows worthless men; when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it?
12
But a stupid man will get understanding, when a wild ass's colt is born a man.
13
"If you set your heart aright, you will stretch out your hands toward him.
14
If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in your tents.
15
Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish; you will be secure, and will not fear.
16
You will forget your misery; you will remember it as waters that have passed away.
17
And your life will be brighter than the noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.
18
And you will have confidence, because there is hope; you will be protected and take your rest in safety.
19
You will lie down, and none will make you afraid; many will entreat your favor.
20
But the eyes of the wicked will fail; all way of escape will be lost to them, and their hope is to breathe their last."


Job Replies: I Am a Laughingstock

12 1 Then Job answered:
2
"No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you.
3
But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these?
4
I am a laughingstock to my friends; I, who called upon God and he answered me, a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.
5
In the thought of one who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune; it is ready for those whose feet slip.
6
The tents of robbers are at peace, and those who provoke God are secure, who bring their god in their hand.
7
"But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
8
or the plants of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
9
Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?
10
In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.
11
Does not the ear try words as the palate tastes food?
12
Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.
13
"With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding.
14
If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open.
15
If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.
16
With him are strength and wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are his.
17
He leads counselors away stripped, and judges he makes fools.
18
He looses the bonds of kings, and binds a waistcloth on their loins.
19
He leads priests away stripped, and overthrows the mighty.
20
He deprives of speech those who are trusted, and takes away the discernment of the elders.
21
He pours contempt on princes, and looses the belt of the strong.
22
He uncovers the deeps out of darkness, and brings deep darkness to light.
23
He makes nations great, and he destroys them: he enlarges nations, and leads them away.
24
He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, and makes them wander in a pathless waste.
25
They grope in the dark without light; and he makes them stagger like a drunken man.


13 1 "Lo, my eye has seen all this, my ear has heard and understood it.
2
What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you.
3
But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God.
4
As for you, you whitewash with lies; worthless physicians are you all.
5
Oh that you would keep silent, and it would be your wisdom!
6
Hear now my reasoning, and listen to the pleadings of my lips.
7
Will you speak falsely for God, and speak deceitfully for him?
8
Will you show partiality toward him, will you plead the case for God?
9
Will it be well with you when he searches you out? Or can you deceive him, as one deceives a man?
10
He will surely rebuke you if in secret you show partiality.
11
Will not his majesty terrify you, and the dread of him fall upon you?
12
Your maxims are proverbs of ashes, your defenses are defenses of clay.
13
"Let me have silence, and I will speak, and let come on me what may.
14
I will take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in my hand.
15
Behold, he will slay me; I have no hope; yet I will defend my ways to his face.
16
This will be my salvation, that a godless man shall not come before him.
17
Listen carefully to my words, and let my declaration be in your ears.
18
Behold, I have prepared my case; I know that I shall be vindicated.
19
Who is there that will contend with me? For then I would be silent and die.


Job's Despondent Prayer

20 Only grant two things to me, then I will not hide myself from thy face:
21
withdraw thy hand far from me, and let not dread of thee terrify me.
22
Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, and do thou reply to me.
23
How many are my iniquities and my sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin.
24
Why dost thou hide thy face, and count me as thy enemy?
25
Wilt thou frighten a driven leaf and pursue dry chaff?
26
For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me inherit the iniquities of my youth.
27
Thou puttest my feet in the stocks, and watchest all my paths; thou settest a bound to the soles of my feet.
28
Man wastes away like a rotten thing, like a garment that is moth-eaten.


14 1 "Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.
2
He comes forth like a flower, and withers; he flees like a shadow, and continues not.
3
And dost thou open thy eyes upon such a one and bring him into judgment with thee?
4
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one.
5
Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with thee, and thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass,
6
look away from him, and desist, that he may enjoy, like a hireling, his day.
7
"For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease.
8
Though its root grow old in the earth, and its stump die in the ground,
9
yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth branches like a young plant.
10
But man dies, and is laid low; man breathes his last, and where is he?
11
As waters fail from a lake, and a river wastes away and dries up,
12
so man lies down and rises not again; till the heavens are no more he will not awake, or be roused out of his sleep.
13
Oh that thou wouldest hide me in Sheol, that thou wouldest conceal me until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
14
If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my service I would wait, till my release should come.
15
Thou wouldest call, and I would answer thee; thou wouldest long for the work of thy hands.
16
For then thou wouldest number my steps, thou wouldest not keep watch over my sin;
17
my transgression would be sealed up in a bag, and thou wouldest cover over my iniquity.
18
"But the mountain falls and crumbles away, and the rock is removed from its place;
19
the waters wear away the stones; the torrents wash away the soil of the earth; so thou destroyest the hope of man.
20
Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passes; thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
21
His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; they are brought low, and he perceives it not.
22
He feels only the pain of his own body, and he mourns only for himself."


Eliphaz Speaks: Job Undermines Religion

15 1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2
"Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, and fill himself with the east wind?
3
Should he argue in unprofitable talk, or in words with which he can do no good?
4
But you are doing away with the fear of God, and hindering meditation before God.
5
For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the crafty.
6
Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; your own lips testify against you.
7
"Are you the first man that was born? Or were you brought forth before the hills?
8
Have you listened in the council of God? And do you limit wisdom to yourself?
9
What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not clear to us?
10
Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us, older than your father.
11
Are the consolations of God too small for you, or the word that deals gently with you?
12
Why does your heart carry you away, and why do your eyes flash,
13
that you turn your spirit against God, and let such words go out of your mouth?
14
What is man, that he can be clean? Or he that is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?
15
Behold, God puts no trust in his holy ones, and the heavens are not clean in his sight;
16
how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks iniquity like water!
17
"I will show you, hear me; and what I have seen I will declare
18
(what wise men have told, and their fathers have not hidden,
19
to whom alone the land was given, and no stranger passed among them).
20
The wicked man writhes in pain all his days, through all the years that are laid up for the ruthless.
21
Terrifying sounds are in his ears; in prosperity the destroyer will come upon him.
22
He does not believe that he will return out of darkness, and he is destined for the sword.
23
He wanders abroad for bread, saying, `Where is it?' He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand;
24
distress and anguish terrify him; they prevail against him, like a king prepared for battle.
25
Because he has stretched forth his hand against God, and bids defiance to the Almighty,
26
running stubbornly against him with a thick-bossed shield;
27
because he has covered his face with his fat, and gathered fat upon his loins,
28
and has lived in desolate cities, in houses which no man should inhabit, which were destined to become heaps of ruins;
29
he will not be rich, and his wealth will not endure, nor will he strike root in the earth;
30
he will not escape from darkness; the flame will dry up his shoots, and his blossom will be swept away by the wind.
31
Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself; for emptiness will be his recompense.
32
It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not be green.
33
He will shake off his unripe grape, like the vine, and cast off his blossom, like the olive tree.
34
For the company of the godless is barren, and fire consumes the tents of bribery.
35
They conceive mischief and bring forth evil and their heart prepares deceit."



Giobbe (RSV) 1