Beginning
24 “How should not the times be hidden from the Almighty, seeing that those who know Him do not see
2 “Some remove the landmarks, those who rob the flocks and feed on them.
3 “They lead away the donkey of the fatherless and take the widow’s ox to pledge.
4 “They make the poor turn out of the way, so that the poor of the Earth hide themselves together.
5 “Behold, others as wild donkeys in the wilderness go forth to their business and rise early for a prey. The wilderness gives him and his children food.
6 “They reap his provision in the field, but they gather the late vintage of the wicked.
7 “They cause the naked to lodge without garment, and without covering in the cold.
8 “They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and they embrace the rock for want of a covering.
9 “They pluck the fatherless from the breast and take the pledge of the poor.
10 “They cause him to go naked without clothing and take the gleaning from the hungry.
11 “Those who make oil between their walls, and tread their winepresses, suffer thirst.
12 “Men cry out of the city, and the souls of the slain cry out. Yet, God does not charge them with folly.
13 “These are those who abhor the light. They do not know its ways or continue in its paths.
14 “The murderer rises early and kills the poor and the needy. And in the night, he is as a thief.
15 “Also, the eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, and says, ‘No eye shall see me,’ and disguises his face.
16 “They dig through houses in the dark which they marked for themselves in the day. They do not know the light.
17 “But the morning is as the shadow of death to them. Indeed, they are known in the terrors of the shadow of death.
18 “He is swift upon the waters. Their portion shall be cursed on the Earth. He will not behold the way of the vineyards.
19 “As the dry ground and heat consume the snow waters, so shall the grave the sinners.
20 “The womb shall forget him. The worm shall feed on his sweetness. He shall be remembered no more, and the wicked shall be broken like a tree.
21 “He preys on the barren who does not bear, and does no good to the widow.
22 “But He draws the mighty by His power. When He rises up, no one is sure of life.
23 “Though men give Him assurance to be in safety, yet His eyes are upon their ways.
24 “They are exalted for a little, but they are gone and are brought low, as all others. They are destroyed and cut off, as the top of an ear of corn.
25 “But if it is not so, where is he? Who will prove me a liar and make my words of no value?”
25 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered, and said,
2 “Power and fear are with Him Who makes peace in His places.
3 “Is there any number to His armies? And upon whom shall not His light arise?
4 “And how may a man be justified with God? Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?
5 “Behold, He will give no light to the Moon. And the stars are unclean in His sight.
6 “How much less so is man (a maggot) and the son of man (a worm)?”
26 But Job answered, and said,
2 “Whom do you help who has no power? Do you save the arm that has no strength?
3 “Whom do you counsel who has no wisdom? Whom do you show right in abundance?
4 “To whom do you declare these words? Or whose spirit comes out of you?
5 “The dead things are formed under the waters, and near to them.
6 “The grave is naked before Him, and there is no covering for destruction.
7 “He stretches out the North over the empty place, and hangs the Earth upon nothing.
8 “He binds the waters in His clouds, and the cloud is not broken under them.
9 “He holds back the face of His throne, and spreads His cloud upon it.
10 “He has set bounds around the waters, until the day and night come to an end.
11 “The pillars of Heaven tremble and quake at His reproof.
12 “The sea is calm by His power, and by His understanding He strikes its pride.
13 “His Spirit has garnished the heavens. His Hand has formed the crooked serpent.
14 “Lo, these are part of His ways. But how little a portion we hear of Him? And who can understand His fearful power?”
27 Moreover, Job proceeded and continued his parable, saying,
2 “The living God has taken away my judgment. For the Almighty has put my soul in bitterness.
3 “Yet, so long as my breath is in me, and the Spirit of God in my nostrils,
4 “my lips shall surely speak no wickedness. And my tongue shall utter no deceit.
5 “Far be it from me that I should justify you. Until I die, I will never take away my innocence from myself.
6 “I will keep my righteousness and will not forsake it. My heart shall not reprove me of my days.
7 “My enemy shall be as the wicked and he who rises against me as the unrighteous.
8 “For what hope has the hypocrite when he has heaped up riches if God take away his soul?
9 “Will God hear his cry when trouble comes upon him?
10 “Will he set his delight on the Almighty? Will he call upon God at all times?
11 “I will teach you by the Hand of God. I will not conceal that which is with the Almighty.
12 “Behold, all you yourselves have seen it. Why, then, do you act with such complete frivolity?
13 “This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage that tyrants shall receive from the Almighty.
14 “If his children are in great number, the sword shall destroy them, and his posterity shall not be satisfied with bread.
15 “His remnant shall be buried in death. And his widows shall not weep.
16 “Though he should heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay,
17 “he may prepare it, but the just shall put it on. And the innocent shall divide the silver.
18 “He builds his house as the moth, and as a booth which the watchman makes.
19 “When the rich man sleeps, he shall not be gathered. They opened their eyes, and he was gone.
20 “Terrors shall take him as waters. A tempest shall carry him away by night.
21 “The east wind shall take him away, and he shall depart. And it shall hurl him out of his place
22 “and shall cast upon him and not spare. He flees desperately from its hand.
23 “Men shall clap their hands at him, and hiss at him out of their place.”
28 “Silver surely has its vein, and gold its refining place.
2 “Iron is taken out of the dust, and copper is smelted out of the stone.
3 “God sets an end to darkness, and He tests the perfection of all things. He sets a bond of darkness and of the shadow of death.
4 “The torrent breaks out against the sojourner, forgotten by the foot. They hang lower than man, gone far away.
5 “Out of the same earth comes bread. And under it, as it were, fire is turned up,
6 “its stones a place of sapphires, and the dust of it gold.
7 “There is a path which no bird has known, nor has the kite’s eye seen it.
8 “The lion’s whelps have not walked it, nor the lion passed by it.
9 “He puts His Hand upon the rocks and overthrows the mountains by the roots.
10 “He breaks rivers in the roots, and His Eye sees every precious thing.
11 “He binds the rivers, so that they do not overflow. And the thing that is hidden He brings to light.
12 “But where is wisdom found? And where is the place of understanding?
13 “Man does not know its price. For it is not found in the land of the living.
14 “The depth says, ‘It is not in me.’ The sea also says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 “Gold shall not be given for it, nor shall silver be weighed for its price.
16 “It shall not be valued with the wedge of gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
17 “Neither gold nor crystal shall be equal to it, nor shall it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold.
18 “No mention shall be made of coral or of the gabish. For wisdom is more precious than pearls.
19 “The topaz of Ethiopia shall not be equal to it, nor shall it be valued with the wedge of pure gold.
20 “From where, then, does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding,
21 “seeing it is hidden from the eyes of all the living, and is hidden from the birds of the heaven?
22 “Destruction and death say, ‘We have heard of its fame with our ears.’
23 “God understands its way. And He knows its place.
24 “For He beholds the ends of the world, sees all that is under Heaven,
25 “to make the weight of the winds and to weigh the waters by measure.
26 “When He made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunders,
27 “then He saw it and counted it. He prepared it and also considered it.
28 “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the LORD is wisdom. And to depart from evil is understanding.’”
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