Then Job answered and said: "Even today my complaint is bitter; My hand is listless because of my groaning. Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to His seat! I would present my case before Him, And fill my mouth with arguments. I would know the words which He would answer me, And understand what He would say to me. Would He contend with me in His great power? No! But He would take note of me. There the upright could reason with Him, And I would be delivered forever from my Judge. "Look, I go forward, but He is not there, And backward, but I cannot perceive Him; When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him; When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him. But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food. "But He is unique, and who can make Him change? And whatever His soul desires, that He does. For He performs what is appointed for me, And many such things are with Him. Therefore I am terrified at His presence; When I consider this, I am afraid of Him. For God made my heart weak, And the Almighty terrifies me; Because I was not cut off form the presence of darkness, And He did not hide deep darkness from my face.
"Since times are not hidden from the Almighty, Why do those who know Him see not His days? "Some remove landmarks, They seize flocks violently and feed on them; They drive away the donkey of the fatherless; They take the widow's ox as a pledge. They push the needy off the road; All the poor of the land are forced to hide. Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, They go out to their work, searching for food. The wilderness yields food for them and for their children. They gather their fodder in the field And glean in the vineyard of the wicked. They spend the night naked, without clothing, And have no covering in the cold. They are wet with the showers of the mountains, And huddle around the rock for want of shelter. "Some snatch the fatherless from the breast, And take a pledge from the poor. They cause the poor to go naked, without clothing; And they take away the sheaves from the hungry. They press out oil within their walls, And tread winepresses, yet suffer thirst. The dying groan in the city, And the souls of the wounded cry out; Yet God does not charge them with wrong. "There are those who rebel against the light; They do not know its ways Nor abide in its paths. The murderer rises with the light; He kills the poor and needy; And in the night he is like a thief. The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, Saying, 'No eye will see me'; And he disguises his face. In the dark they break into houses Which they marked for themselves in the daytime; They do not know the light. For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death; If someone recognizes them, They are in the terrors of the shadow of death. "They should be swift on the face of the waters, Their portion should be cursed in the earth, So that no one would turn into the way of their vineyards. As drought and heat consume the snow waters, So the grave consumes those who have sinned. The womb should forget him, the worm should feed sweetly on him; He should be remembered no more, And wickedness should be broken like a tree. For he preys on the barren who do not bear, And does no good for the widow. "But God draws the mighty away with His power; He rises up, but no man is sure of life. He gives them security, and they rely on it; Yet His eyes are on their ways. They are exalted for a little while, Then they are gone. They are brought low; They are taken out of the way like all others; They dry out like the heads of grain. "Now if it is not so, who will prove me a liar, And make my speech worth nothing?"
Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: "Dominion and fear belong to Him; He makes peace in His high places. Is there any number to His armies? Upon whom does His light not rise? How then can man be righteous before God? Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman? If even the moon does not shine, And the stars are not pure in His sight, How much less man, who is a maggot, And a son of man, who is a worm?"
But Job answered and said: "How have you helped him who is without power? How have you saved the arm that has not strength? How have you counseled one who has no wisdom? And how have you declared sound advice to many? To whom have you uttered word? And whose spirit came from you? "The dead tremble, Those under the waters and those inhabiting them. Sheol is naked before Him, And Destruction has no covering. He stretches out the north over empty space; he hangs the earth on nothing. he binds up the water in His thick clouds, Yet the clouds are not broken under it. he covers the face of His throne, And spreads His cloud over it. he drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, At the boundary of light and darkness. The pillars of heaven tremble, And are astonished at His rebuke. he stirs up the sea with His power, And by His understanding He breaks up the storm. By His Spirit He adorned the heavens; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent. Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, And how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?"
Moreover Job continued his discourse, and said: "As God lives, who has taken away my justice, And the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, As long as my breath is in me, And the breath of God in my nostrils, My lips will not speak wickedness, Nor my tongue utter deceit. Far be it from me That I should say you are right; Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; My heart shall not reproach me as long as I live. "My my enemy be like the wicked, And he who rises up against me like the unrighteous. For what is the hope of the hypocrite, Though he may gain much, If God takes away his life? Will God hear his cry When trouble comes upon him? Will he delight himself in the Almighty? Will he always call on God?
"Since times are not hidden from the Almighty, Why do those who know Him see not His days? "Some remove landmarks, They seize flocks violently and feed on them; They drive away the donkey of the fatherless; They take the widow's ox as a pledge. They push the needy off the road; All the poor of the land are forced to hide. Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, They go out to their work, searching for food. The wilderness yields food for them and for their children. They gather their fodder in the field And glean in the vineyard of the wicked. They spend the night naked, without clothing, And have no covering in the cold. They are wet with the showers of the mountains, And huddle around the rock for want of shelter. "Some snatch the fatherless from the breast, And take a pledge from the poor. They cause the poor to go naked, without clothing; And they take away the sheaves from the hungry. They press out oil within their walls, And tread winepresses, yet suffer thirst. The dying groan in the city, And the souls of the wounded cry out; Yet God does not charge them with wrong. "There are those who rebel against the light; They do not know its ways Nor abide in its paths. The murderer rises with the light; He kills the poor and needy; And in the night he is like a thief. The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, Saying, 'No eye will see me'; And he disguises his face. In the dark they break into houses Which they marked for themselves in the daytime; They do not know the light. For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death; If someone recognizes them, They are in the terrors of the shadow of death. "They should be swift on the face of the waters, Their portion should be cursed in the earth, So that no one would turn into the way of their vineyards. As drought and heat consume the snow waters, So the grave consumes those who have sinned. The womb should forget him, the worm should feed sweetly on him; He should be remembered no more, And wickedness should be broken like a tree. For he preys on the barren who do not bear, And does no good for the widow. "But God draws the mighty away with His power; He rises up, but no man is sure of life. He gives them security, and they rely on it; Yet His eyes are on their ways. They are exalted for a little while, Then they are gone. They are brought low; They are taken out of the way like all others; They dry out like the heads of grain. "Now if it is not so, who will prove me a liar, And make my speech worth nothing?"
Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: "Dominion and fear belong to Him; He makes peace in His high places. Is there any number to His armies? Upon whom does His light not rise? How then can man be righteous before God? Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman? If even the moon does not shine, And the stars are not pure in His sight, How much less man, who is a maggot, And a son of man, who is a worm?"
But Job answered and said: "How have you helped him who is without power? How have you saved the arm that has not strength? How have you counseled one who has no wisdom? And how have you declared sound advice to many? To whom have you uttered word? And whose spirit came from you? "The dead tremble, Those under the waters and those inhabiting them. Sheol is naked before Him, And Destruction has no covering. He stretches out the north over empty space; he hangs the earth on nothing. he binds up the water in His thick clouds, Yet the clouds are not broken under it. he covers the face of His throne, And spreads His cloud over it. he drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, At the boundary of light and darkness. The pillars of heaven tremble, And are astonished at His rebuke. he stirs up the sea with His power, And by His understanding He breaks up the storm. By His Spirit He adorned the heavens; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent. Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, And how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?"
Moreover Job continued his discourse, and said: "As God lives, who has taken away my justice, And the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, As long as my breath is in me, And the breath of God in my nostrils, My lips will not speak wickedness, Nor my tongue utter deceit. Far be it from me That I should say you are right; Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; My heart shall not reproach me as long as I live. "My my enemy be like the wicked, And he who rises up against me like the unrighteous. For what is the hope of the hypocrite, Though he may gain much, If God takes away his life? Will God hear his cry When trouble comes upon him? Will he delight himself in the Almighty? Will he always call on God?
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