Job 21-23 (Young's Literal Translation)

Job 21

 ¹And Job answereth and saith: --

 ²Hear ye diligently my word, And this is your consolation.

 ³Bear with me, and I speak, And after my speaking -- ye may deride.

 ⁴I -- to man [is] my complaint? and if [so], wherefore May not my temper become short?

 ⁵Turn unto me, and be astonished, And put hand to mouth.

 ⁶Yea, if I have remembered, then I have been troubled. And my flesh hath taken fright.

 ⁷Wherefore do the wicked live? They have become old, Yea, they have been mighty in wealth.

 ⁸Their seed is established, Before their face with them, And their offspring before their eyes.

 ⁹Their houses [are] peace without fear, Nor [is] a rod of God upon them.

 ¹⁰His bullock hath eaten corn, and doth not loath. His cow bringeth forth safely, And doth not miscarry.

 ¹¹They send forth as a flock their sucklings, And their children skip,

 ¹²They lift [themselves] up at timbrel and harp, And rejoice at the sound of an organ.

 ¹³They wear out in good their days, And in a moment [to] Sheol go down.

 ¹⁴And they say to God, `Turn aside from us, And the knowledge of Thy ways We have not desired.

 ¹⁵What [is] the Mighty One that we serve Him? And what do we profit when we meet with Him?'

 ¹⁶Lo, not in their hand [is] their good, (The counsel of the wicked Hath been far from me.)

 ¹⁷How oft is the lamp of the wicked extinguished, And come on them doth their calamity? Pangs He apportioneth in His anger.

 ¹⁸They are as straw before wind, And as chaff a hurricane hath stolen away,

 ¹⁹God layeth up for his sons his sorrow, He giveth recompense unto him -- and he knoweth.

 ²⁰His own eyes see his destruction, And of the wrath of the Mighty he drinketh.

 ²¹For what [is] his delight in his house after him, And the number of his months cut off?

 ²²To God doth [one] teach knowledge, And He the high doth judge?

 ²³This [one] dieth in his perfect strength, Wholly at ease and quiet.

 ²⁴His breasts have been full of milk, And marrow his bones doth moisten.

 ²⁵And this [one] dieth with a bitter soul, And have not eaten with gladness.

 ²⁶Together -- on the dust they lie down, And the worm doth cover them over.

 ²⁷Lo, I have known your thoughts, And the devices against me ye do wrongfully.

 ²⁸For ye say, `Where [is] the house of the noble? And where the tent -- The tabernacles of the wicked?'

 ²⁹Have ye not asked those passing by the way? And their signs do ye not know?

 ³⁰That to a day of calamity is the wicked spared. To a day of wrath they are brought.

 ³¹Who doth declare to his face his way? And [for] that which he hath done, Who doth give recompence to him?

 ³²And he -- to the graves he is brought. And over the heap a watch is kept.

 ³³Sweet to him have been the clods of the valley, And after him every man he draweth, And before him there is no numbering.

 ³⁴And how do ye comfort me [with] vanity, And in your answers hath been left trespass?

Job 22

 ¹And Eliphaz the Temanite answereth and saith: --

 ²To God is a man profitable, Because a wise man to himself is profitable?

 ³Is it a delight to the Mighty One That thou art righteous? is it gain, That thou makest perfect thy ways?

 ⁴Because of thy reverence Doth He reason [with] thee? He entereth with thee into judgment:

 ⁵Is not thy wickedness abundant? And there is no end to thine iniquities.

 ⁶For thou takest a pledge of thy brother for nought, And the garments of the naked Thou dost strip off.

 ⁷Thou causest not the weary to drink water, And from the hungry thou withholdest bread.

 ⁸As to the man of arm -- he hath the earth, And the accepted of face -- he dwelleth in it.

 ⁹Widows thou hast sent away empty, And the arms of the fatherless are bruised.

 ¹⁰Therefore round about thee [are] snares, And trouble thee doth fear suddenly.

 ¹¹Or darkness -- thou dost not see, And abundance of waters doth cover thee.

 ¹²Is not God high [in] heaven? And see the summit of the stars, That they are high.

 ¹³And thou hast said, `What -- hath God known? Through thickness doth He judge?

 ¹⁴Thick clouds [are] a secret place to Him, And He doth not see;' And the circle of the heavens He walketh habitually,

 ¹⁵The path of the age dost thou observe, That men of iniquity have trodden?

 ¹⁶Who have been cut down unexpectedly, A flood is poured out on their foundation.

 ¹⁷Those saying to God, `Turn aside from us,' And what doth the Mighty One to them?

 ¹⁸And he hath filled their houses [with] good: (And the counsel of the wicked Hath been far from me.)

 ¹⁹See do the righteous and they rejoice, And the innocent mocketh at them,

 ²⁰`Surely our substance hath not been cut off, And their excellency hath fire consumed.'

 ²¹Acquaint thyself, I pray thee, with Him, And be at peace, Thereby thine increase [is] good.

 ²²Receive, I pray thee, from His mouth a law, And set His sayings in thy heart.

 ²³If thou dost return unto the Mighty Thou art built up, Thou puttest iniquity far from thy tents.

 ²⁴So as to set on the dust a defence, And on a rock of the valleys a covering.

 ²⁵And the Mighty hath been thy defence, And silver [is] strength to thee.

 ²⁶For then on the Mighty thou delightest thyself, And dost lift up unto God thy face,

 ²⁷Thou dost make supplication unto Him, And He doth hear thee, And thy vows thou completest.

 ²⁸And thou decreest a saying, And it is established to thee, And on thy ways hath light shone.

 ²⁹For they have made low, And thou sayest, `Lift up.' And the bowed down of eyes he saveth.

 ³⁰He delivereth the not innocent, Yea, he hath been delivered By the cleanness of thy hands.

Job 23

 ¹And Job answereth and saith: --

 ²Also -- to-day [is] my complaint bitter, My hand hath been heavy because of my sighing.

 ³O that I had known -- and I find Him, I come in unto His seat,

 ⁴I arrange before Him the cause, And my mouth fill [with] arguments.

 ⁵I know the words He doth answer me, And understand what He saith to me.

 ⁶In the abundance of power doth He strive with me? No! surely He putteth [it] in me.

 ⁷There the upright doth reason with Him, And I escape for ever from my judge.

 ⁸Lo, forward I go -- and He is not, And backward -- and I perceive him not.

 ⁹[To] the left in His working -- and I see not, He is covered [on] the right, and I behold not.

 ¹⁰For He hath known the way with me, He hath tried me -- as gold I go forth.

 ¹¹On His step hath my foot laid hold, His way I have kept, and turn not aside,

 ¹²The command of His lips, and I depart not. Above my allotted portion I have laid up The sayings of His mouth.

 ¹³And He [is] in one [mind], And who doth turn Him back? And His soul hath desired -- and He doth [it].

 ¹⁴For He doth complete my portion, And many such things [are] with Him.

 ¹⁵Therefore, from His presence I am troubled, I consider, and am afraid of Him.

 ¹⁶And God hath made my heart soft, And the Mighty hath troubled me.

 ¹⁷For I have not been cut off before darkness, And before me He covered thick darkness.