JOB.
(He speaks now to the Lord.)
What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him,
And that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him,
And that thou shouldest visit him every morning,
And try him every moment?
If I have sinned, what do I unto thee, O thou watcher of men?
Why hast thou set me as a mark for thee,
So that I am a burden to myself?
And why dost thou not pardon my transgression,
and take away mine iniquity?
For now shall I lie down in the dust;
And thou shalt seek me diligently, but I shall not be.
BILDAD.
How long wilt thou speak these things?
And how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a mighty wind?
Doth God pervert judgment?
Or doth the Almighty pervert justice?
If thy children have sinned against him,
And he have delivered them into the hand of their transgression: [{190}] If thou wouldest seek diligently unto God,
And make thy supplication to the Almighty;
If thou wert pure and upright;
Surely now he would awake for thee,
And make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.
For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age,
And apply thyself to that which their fathers have searched out:
(For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing,
Because our days upon earth are a shadow:)
Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee,
And utter words out of their heart?
"Can the rush grow up without mire?
Can the flag grow without water?"
Whilst it is yet in its greenness, and not cut down,
It withereth before any other herb.
So are the paths of all that forget God;
And the hope of the godless man shall perish:
Whose confidence shall break in sunder,
And whose trust is a spider's web.
He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand:
He shall hold fast thereby, but it shall not endure.
He is green before the sun,
And his shoots go forth over his garden.
His roots are wrapped about the heap,
He beholdeth the place of stones.
If he be destroyed from his place,
Then it shall deny him, saying, "I have not seen thee." [{191}] Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man,
Neither will he uphold the evil-doers.
He will yet fill thy mouth with laughter,
And thy lips with shouting.
They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame;
And the tent of the wicked shall be no more.
JOB.
Of a truth I know that it is so:
But how can man be just with God?
Should he desire to contend with him,
He cannot answer him one of a thousand.
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength:
Who hath hardened himself against him, and prospered?
Who removeth the mountains, and they know it not.
When he overturneth them in his anger.
Who shaketh the earth out of her place,
And the pillars thereof tremble.
Who commandeth the sun, and it riseth not;
And sealeth up the stars.
Who alone stretcheth out the heavens,
And treadeth upon the waves of the sea.
Who maketh the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the chambers of the south.
Who doeth great things past finding out;
Yea, marvellous things without number.
Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not:
He passeth on also, but I perceive him not. [{192}] If we speak of the strength of the mighty, lo, he is there!
And if of judgment, who will appoint me a time?
Though I be righteous, mine own mouth shall condemn me:
Though I be perfect, it shall prove me perverse.
I am perfect; I regard not myself;
I despise my life.
It is all one; therefore I say,
He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.
Now my days are swifter than a courier:
They flee away, they see no good.
They are passed away as the swift ships:
As the eagle that swoopeth on the prey.
My soul is weary of my life;
I will give free course to my complaint;
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
I will say unto God, "Do not condemn me;
Shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.
Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress,
That thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands?
Are not my days few? cease then,
And let me alone, that I may take comfort a little,
Before I go whence I shall not return,
Even to the land of darkness and of the shadow of death;
A land of thick darkness, as darkness itself;
A land of the shadow of death, without any order,
And where the light is as darkness."
ZOPHAR.
Should not the multitude of words be answered?
And should a man full of talk be justified?
Should thy boastings make men hold their peace?
And when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?
For thou sayest, "My doctrine is pure,
And I am clean in thine eyes."
But Oh that God would speak,
And open his lips against thee;
And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom,
That it is manifold in effectual working!
Know therefore that God exacteth of thee
less than thine iniquity deserveth.
Canst thou by searching find out God?
Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?
It is high as heaven; what canst thou do?
Deeper than Sheol; what canst thou know?
The measure thereof is longer than the earth,
And broader than the sea.
For he knoweth vain men:
He seeth iniquity also, even though he consider it not.
If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away,
And let not unrighteousness dwell in thy tents;
Surely then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot;
Yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear:
For thou shalt forget thy misery;
Thou shalt remember it as waters that are passed away:
And thy life shall be clearer than the noonday;
Though there be darkness, it shall be as the morning.