Job's Summary Defense

29 And Job again (A)took up his discourse, and said:

“Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
    as in the days when God watched over me,
when his (B)lamp shone upon my head,
    and by his light I walked through darkness,
as I was in my prime,[a]
    when the (C)friendship of God was upon my tent,
when the Almighty was yet with me,
    when my (D)children were all around me,
when my steps were (E)washed with (F)butter,
    and (G)the rock poured out for me streams of (H)oil!
When I went out to (I)the gate of the city,
    when I prepared my seat in the square,
the young men saw me and withdrew,
    and the aged rose and stood;
the princes refrained from talking
    and (J)laid their hand on their mouth;
10 the voice of the nobles was hushed,
    and their (K)tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
11 When the ear heard, it called me blessed,
    and when the eye saw, it approved,
12 because I (L)delivered the poor who cried for help,
    and the fatherless who had none to help him.
13 (M)The blessing of him who was (N)about to perish came upon me,
    and I caused (O)the widow's heart to sing for joy.
14 I (P)put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
    my justice was like a robe and (Q)a turban.
15 I was (R)eyes to the blind
    and feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy,
    and I searched out (S)the cause of him whom I did not know.
17 I (T)broke (U)the fangs of the unrighteous
    and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
18 (V)Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my (W)nest,
    and I shall multiply my days as (X)the sand,
19 my (Y)roots spread out to (Z)the waters,
    with the dew all night on my (AA)branches,
20 my glory fresh with me,
    and my (AB)bow ever (AC)new in my hand.’

21 “Men listened to me and waited
    and kept silence for my counsel.
22 After I spoke they did not speak again,
    and my word (AD)dropped upon them.
23 They waited for me as for the rain,
    and they (AE)opened their mouths as for the (AF)spring rain.
24 I smiled on them when they had no confidence,
    and (AG)the light of my (AH)face they did not cast down.
25 I chose their way and sat as chief,
    and I lived like (AI)a king among his troops,
    like one who comforts mourners.

30 “But now they (AJ)laugh at me,
    men who are (AK)younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
    to set with the dogs of my flock.
What could I gain from the strength of their hands,
    (AL)men whose (AM)vigor is gone?
Through want and hard hunger
    they (AN)gnaw (AO)the dry ground by night in (AP)waste and desolation;
they pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes,
    and the roots of the broom tree for their food.[b]
(AQ)They are driven out from human company;
    they shout after them as after a thief.
In the gullies of the torrents they must dwell,
    in holes of the earth and of (AR)the rocks.
Among the bushes they (AS)bray;
    under (AT)the nettles they huddle together.
A senseless, a nameless brood,
    they have been whipped out of the land.

“And now I have become their (AU)song;
    I am (AV)a byword to them.
10 They (AW)abhor me; they keep aloof from me;
    they do not hesitate to (AX)spit at the sight of me.
11 Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me,
    they have cast off restraint[c] in my presence.
12 On my (AY)right hand the rabble rise;
    they push away my feet;
    they (AZ)cast up against me their ways of destruction.
13 They break up my path;
    they promote my (BA)calamity;
    they need no one to help them.
14 As through a wide (BB)breach they come;
    amid the crash they roll on.
15 (BC)Terrors are turned upon me;
    my honor is pursued as by the wind,
    and my prosperity has passed away like (BD)a cloud.

16 “And now my soul is (BE)poured out within me;
    days of affliction have taken hold of me.
17 (BF)The night (BG)racks my bones,
    and the pain that (BH)gnaws me takes no rest.
18 With great force my garment is (BI)disfigured;
    it binds me about like the collar of my tunic.
19 God[d] has cast me into the mire,
    and I have become like (BJ)dust and ashes.
20 I cry to you for help and you do not answer me;
    I stand, and you only look at me.
21 You have (BK)turned cruel to me;
    with the might of your hand you (BL)persecute me.
22 (BM)You lift me up on the wind; you make me ride on it,
    and you toss me about in the roar of the storm.
23 (BN)For I know that you will bring me to death
    and to the house appointed for (BO)all living.

24 “Yet does not one in a (BP)heap of ruins stretch out his hand,
    and in his disaster cry for help?[e]
25 Did not I (BQ)weep for him whose day was hard?
    Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
26 But (BR)when I hoped for good, evil came,
    and when I waited for light, (BS)darkness came.
27 My inward parts are in turmoil and never still;
    days of affliction (BT)come to meet me.
28 I (BU)go about darkened, but not by the sun;
    I stand up in (BV)the assembly and cry for help.
29 I am a brother of (BW)jackals
    and a companion of (BX)ostriches.
30 My (BY)skin turns black and falls from me,
    and my (BZ)bones burn with heat.
31 My (CA)lyre is (CB)turned to mourning,
    and my (CC)pipe to the voice of those who weep.

Job's Final Appeal

31 “I have made a covenant with my (CD)eyes;
    how then could I gaze at a virgin?
What would be (CE)my portion from God above
    and (CF)my heritage from the Almighty on high?
Is not calamity for the unrighteous,
    and disaster for the workers of iniquity?
(CG)Does not he see my ways
    and (CH)number all my steps?

“If I have walked with falsehood
    and my foot has hastened to deceit;
(Let me be (CI)weighed in a just balance,
    and let God know my integrity!)
if my step has turned aside from the way
    and (CJ)my heart has gone after my eyes,
    and if any (CK)spot has stuck to my hands,
then let me (CL)sow, and another eat,
    and let what grows for me[f] be rooted out.

“If my heart has been enticed toward a woman,
    and I have (CM)lain in wait at my neighbor's door,
10 then let my wife (CN)grind for another,
    and let others (CO)bow down on her.
11 For that would be a heinous crime;
    that would be an iniquity (CP)to be punished by the judges;
12 for that would be a fire (CQ)that consumes as far as Abaddon,
    and it would burn to the root all my increase.

13 “If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant,
    when they brought a complaint against me,
14 what then shall I do when God rises up?
    When he (CR)makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
15 Did (CS)not he who made me in the womb make him?
    And did not one fashion us in the womb?

16 “If I have (CT)withheld anything that the poor desired,
    or have (CU)caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 or have eaten my morsel alone,
    and the fatherless has not eaten of it
18 (for from my youth the fatherless[g] grew up with me as with a father,
    and from my mother's womb I guided the widow[h]),
19 if I have seen anyone (CV)perish for (CW)lack of clothing,
    or the needy without (CX)covering,
20 if his body has not (CY)blessed me,[i]
    and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
21 if I have raised my hand against (CZ)the fatherless,
    because I saw my help in (DA)the gate,
22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
    and let my arm be broken from its socket.
23 For I was (DB)in terror of calamity from God,
    and I could not have faced his (DC)majesty.

24 (DD)“If I have made gold my (DE)trust
    or called (DF)fine gold my confidence,
25 if I have (DG)rejoiced because my wealth was abundant
    or because (DH)my hand had found much,
26 (DI)if I have looked at the sun[j] when it shone,
    or (DJ)the moon moving in splendor,
27 and my heart has been secretly enticed,
    and my mouth has kissed my hand,
28 this also would be (DK)an iniquity to be punished by the judges,
    for I would have been false to God above.

29 “If I have (DL)rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me,
    or exulted when evil overtook him
30 ((DM)I have not let my mouth sin
    by asking for his life with a curse),
31 if the men of my tent have not said,
    ‘Who is there that has not been filled with his (DN)meat?’
32 ((DO)the sojourner has not lodged in the street;
    I have opened my doors to the traveler),
33 if I (DP)have concealed my transgressions (DQ)as others do[k]
    by hiding my iniquity in my heart,
34 because I stood in great fear of (DR)the multitude,
    and the contempt of families terrified me,
    so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors—
35 Oh, that I had one to hear me!
    (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty (DS)answer me!)
    Oh, that I had (DT)the indictment written by my adversary!
36 Surely I would carry it on my (DU)shoulder;
    I would (DV)bind it on me as (DW)a crown;
37 I would give him an account of all my steps;
    like a prince I would approach him.

38 “If my land has cried out against me
    and its furrows have wept together,
39 (DX)if I have eaten its yield without payment
    and made its owners (DY)breathe their last,
40 let (DZ)thorns grow instead of wheat,
    and foul weeds instead of barley.”

The words of Job are ended.

Footnotes

  1. Job 29:4 Hebrew my autumn days
  2. Job 30:4 Or warmth
  3. Job 30:11 Hebrew the bridle
  4. Job 30:19 Hebrew He
  5. Job 30:24 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
  6. Job 31:8 Or let my descendants
  7. Job 31:18 Hebrew he
  8. Job 31:18 Hebrew her
  9. Job 31:20 Hebrew if his loins have not blessed me
  10. Job 31:26 Hebrew the light
  11. Job 31:33 Or as Adam did

Job’s Final Defense

29 Job continued his discourse:(A)

“How I long for the months gone by,(B)
    for the days when God watched over me,(C)
when his lamp shone on my head
    and by his light I walked through darkness!(D)
Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,
    when God’s intimate friendship(E) blessed my house,(F)
when the Almighty was still with me
    and my children(G) were around me,(H)
when my path was drenched with cream(I)
    and the rock(J) poured out for me streams of olive oil.(K)

“When I went to the gate(L) of the city
    and took my seat in the public square,
the young men saw me and stepped aside(M)
    and the old men rose to their feet;(N)
the chief men refrained from speaking(O)
    and covered their mouths with their hands;(P)
10 the voices of the nobles were hushed,(Q)
    and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.(R)
11 Whoever heard me spoke well of me,
    and those who saw me commended me,(S)
12 because I rescued the poor(T) who cried for help,
    and the fatherless(U) who had none to assist them.(V)
13 The one who was dying blessed me;(W)
    I made the widow’s(X) heart sing.
14 I put on righteousness(Y) as my clothing;
    justice was my robe and my turban.(Z)
15 I was eyes(AA) to the blind
    and feet to the lame.(AB)
16 I was a father to the needy;(AC)
    I took up the case(AD) of the stranger.(AE)
17 I broke the fangs of the wicked
    and snatched the victims(AF) from their teeth.(AG)

18 “I thought, ‘I will die in my own house,
    my days as numerous as the grains of sand.(AH)
19 My roots will reach to the water,(AI)
    and the dew will lie all night on my branches.(AJ)
20 My glory will not fade;(AK)
    the bow(AL) will be ever new in my hand.’(AM)

21 “People listened to me expectantly,
    waiting in silence for my counsel.(AN)
22 After I had spoken, they spoke no more;(AO)
    my words fell gently on their ears.(AP)
23 They waited for me as for showers
    and drank in my words as the spring rain.(AQ)
24 When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it;
    the light of my face(AR) was precious to them.[a](AS)
25 I chose the way for them and sat as their chief;(AT)
    I dwelt as a king(AU) among his troops;
    I was like one who comforts mourners.(AV)

30 “But now they mock me,(AW)
    men younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
    to put with my sheep dogs.(AX)
Of what use was the strength of their hands to me,
    since their vigor had gone from them?
Haggard from want and hunger,
    they roamed[b] the parched land(AY)
    in desolate wastelands(AZ) at night.(BA)
In the brush they gathered salt herbs,(BB)
    and their food[c] was the root of the broom bush.(BC)
They were banished from human society,
    shouted at as if they were thieves.
They were forced to live in the dry stream beds,
    among the rocks and in holes in the ground.(BD)
They brayed(BE) among the bushes(BF)
    and huddled in the undergrowth.
A base and nameless brood,(BG)
    they were driven out of the land.(BH)

“And now those young men mock me(BI) in song;(BJ)
    I have become a byword(BK) among them.
10 They detest me(BL) and keep their distance;
    they do not hesitate to spit in my face.(BM)
11 Now that God has unstrung my bow(BN) and afflicted me,(BO)
    they throw off restraint(BP) in my presence.
12 On my right(BQ) the tribe[d] attacks;
    they lay snares(BR) for my feet,(BS)
    they build their siege ramps against me.(BT)
13 They break up my road;(BU)
    they succeed in destroying me.(BV)
    ‘No one can help him,’ they say.
14 They advance as through a gaping breach;(BW)
    amid the ruins they come rolling in.
15 Terrors(BX) overwhelm me;(BY)
    my dignity is driven away as by the wind,
    my safety vanishes like a cloud.(BZ)

16 “And now my life ebbs away;(CA)
    days of suffering grip me.(CB)
17 Night pierces my bones;
    my gnawing pains never rest.(CC)
18 In his great power(CD) God becomes like clothing to me[e];
    he binds me like the neck of my garment.
19 He throws me into the mud,(CE)
    and I am reduced to dust and ashes.(CF)

20 “I cry out to you,(CG) God, but you do not answer;(CH)
    I stand up, but you merely look at me.
21 You turn on me ruthlessly;(CI)
    with the might of your hand(CJ) you attack me.(CK)
22 You snatch me up and drive me before the wind;(CL)
    you toss me about in the storm.(CM)
23 I know you will bring me down to death,(CN)
    to the place appointed for all the living.(CO)

24 “Surely no one lays a hand on a broken man(CP)
    when he cries for help in his distress.(CQ)
25 Have I not wept for those in trouble?(CR)
    Has not my soul grieved for the poor?(CS)
26 Yet when I hoped for good, evil came;
    when I looked for light, then came darkness.(CT)
27 The churning inside me never stops;(CU)
    days of suffering confront me.(CV)
28 I go about blackened,(CW) but not by the sun;
    I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.(CX)
29 I have become a brother of jackals,(CY)
    a companion of owls.(CZ)
30 My skin grows black(DA) and peels;(DB)
    my body burns with fever.(DC)
31 My lyre is tuned to mourning,(DD)
    and my pipe(DE) to the sound of wailing.

31 “I made a covenant with my eyes(DF)
    not to look lustfully at a young woman.(DG)
For what is our lot(DH) from God above,
    our heritage from the Almighty on high?(DI)
Is it not ruin(DJ) for the wicked,
    disaster(DK) for those who do wrong?(DL)
Does he not see my ways(DM)
    and count my every step?(DN)

“If I have walked with falsehood
    or my foot has hurried after deceit(DO)
let God weigh me(DP) in honest scales(DQ)
    and he will know that I am blameless(DR)
if my steps have turned from the path,(DS)
    if my heart has been led by my eyes,
    or if my hands(DT) have been defiled,(DU)
then may others eat what I have sown,(DV)
    and may my crops be uprooted.(DW)

“If my heart has been enticed(DX) by a woman,(DY)
    or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,
10 then may my wife grind(DZ) another man’s grain,
    and may other men sleep with her.(EA)
11 For that would have been wicked,(EB)
    a sin to be judged.(EC)
12 It is a fire(ED) that burns to Destruction[f];(EE)
    it would have uprooted my harvest.(EF)

13 “If I have denied justice to any of my servants,(EG)
    whether male or female,
    when they had a grievance against me,(EH)
14 what will I do when God confronts me?(EI)
    What will I answer when called to account?(EJ)
15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them?(EK)
    Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?(EL)

16 “If I have denied the desires of the poor(EM)
    or let the eyes of the widow(EN) grow weary,(EO)
17 if I have kept my bread to myself,
    not sharing it with the fatherless(EP)
18 but from my youth I reared them as a father would,
    and from my birth I guided the widow(EQ)
19 if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing,(ER)
    or the needy(ES) without garments,
20 and their hearts did not bless me(ET)
    for warming them with the fleece(EU) from my sheep,
21 if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,(EV)
    knowing that I had influence in court,(EW)
22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder,
    let it be broken off at the joint.(EX)
23 For I dreaded destruction from God,(EY)
    and for fear of his splendor(EZ) I could not do such things.(FA)

24 “If I have put my trust in gold(FB)
    or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’(FC)
25 if I have rejoiced over my great wealth,(FD)
    the fortune my hands had gained,(FE)
26 if I have regarded the sun(FF) in its radiance
    or the moon(FG) moving in splendor,
27 so that my heart was secretly enticed(FH)
    and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,(FI)
28 then these also would be sins to be judged,(FJ)
    for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.(FK)

29 “If I have rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune(FL)
    or gloated over the trouble that came to him(FM)
30 I have not allowed my mouth to sin
    by invoking a curse against their life(FN)
31 if those of my household have never said,
    ‘Who has not been filled with Job’s meat?’(FO)
32 but no stranger had to spend the night in the street,
    for my door was always open to the traveler(FP)
33 if I have concealed(FQ) my sin as people do,[g]
    by hiding(FR) my guilt in my heart
34 because I so feared the crowd(FS)
    and so dreaded the contempt of the clans
    that I kept silent(FT) and would not go outside—

35 (“Oh, that I had someone to hear me!(FU)
    I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me;
    let my accuser(FV) put his indictment in writing.
36 Surely I would wear it on my shoulder,(FW)
    I would put it on like a crown.(FX)
37 I would give him an account of my every step;(FY)
    I would present it to him as to a ruler.(FZ))—

38 “if my land cries out against me(GA)
    and all its furrows are wet(GB) with tears,
39 if I have devoured its yield without payment(GC)
    or broken the spirit of its tenants,(GD)
40 then let briers(GE) come up instead of wheat
    and stinkweed(GF) instead of barley.”

The words of Job are ended.(GG)

Footnotes

  1. Job 29:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
  2. Job 30:3 Or gnawed
  3. Job 30:4 Or fuel
  4. Job 30:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  5. Job 30:18 Hebrew; Septuagint power he grasps my clothing
  6. Job 31:12 Hebrew Abaddon
  7. Job 31:33 Or as Adam did

29 Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,

Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me;

When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness;

As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle;

When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me;

When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil;

When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street!

The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up.

The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand on their mouth.

10 The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.

11 When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me:

12 Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him.

13 The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.

14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.

15 I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.

16 I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.

17 And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.

18 Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand.

19 My root was spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch.

20 My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand.

21 Unto me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel.

22 After my words they spake not again; and my speech dropped upon them.

23 And they waited for me as for the rain; and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain.

24 If I laughed on them, they believed it not; and the light of my countenance they cast not down.

25 I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners.

30 But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock.

Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished?

For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste.

Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat.

They were driven forth from among men, (they cried after them as after a thief;)

To dwell in the cliffs of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks.

Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together.

They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth.

And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword.

10 They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face.

11 Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me.

12 Upon my right hand rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction.

13 They mar my path, they set forward my calamity, they have no helper.

14 They came upon me as a wide breaking in of waters: in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me.

15 Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud.

16 And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me.

17 My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest.

18 By the great force of my disease is my garment changed: it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.

19 He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes.

20 I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not.

21 Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me.

22 Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride upon it, and dissolvest my substance.

23 For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.

24 Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction.

25 Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor?

26 When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness.

27 My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me.

28 I went mourning without the sun: I stood up, and I cried in the congregation.

29 I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.

30 My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat.

31 My harp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep.

31 I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?

For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high?

Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity?

Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?

If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit;

Let me be weighed in an even balance that God may know mine integrity.

If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands;

Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out.

If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour's door;

10 Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her.

11 For this is an heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges.

12 For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all mine increase.

13 If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me;

14 What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?

15 Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb?

16 If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;

17 Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;

18 (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother's womb;)

19 If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;

20 If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

21 If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate:

22 Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone.

23 For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.

24 If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence;

25 If I rejoice because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much;

26 If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness;

27 And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand:

28 This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above.

29 If I rejoice at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him:

30 Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul.

31 If the men of my tabernacle said not, Oh that we had of his flesh! we cannot be satisfied.

32 The stranger did not lodge in the street: but I opened my doors to the traveller.

33 If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom:

34 Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of the door?

35 Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book.

36 Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me.

37 I would declare unto him the number of my steps; as a prince would I go near unto him.

38 If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain;

39 If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life:

40 Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.