Beginning
Job Continues His Discourse
29 And Job continued to lift up his [a](A)discourse and said,
2 “Oh that I were as in months gone by,
As in the days when God (B)kept me,
3 When (C)His lamp shone over my head,
And (D)by His light I walked through darkness,
4 As I was in [b]the prime of my days,
When the (E)intimate counsel with God was over my tent,
5 When [c]the Almighty was yet with me,
And my children were around me,
6 When my steps were bathed in (F)butter,
And the (G)rock poured out for me streams of oil!
7 When I went out to (H)the gate of the city,
When I [d]took my seat in the square,
8 The young men saw me and hid,
And the old men arose and stood.
9 The princes (I)stopped talking
And (J)put their hands on their mouths;
10 The voice of the nobles was (K)hidden away,
And their (L)tongue clung to their palate.
11 For (M)the ear heard, and it called me blessed,
And the eye saw, and it gave witness of me,
12 Because I provided escape for (N)the afflicted who cried for help,
And the (O)orphan who had no helper.
13 The blessing of the one (P)ready to perish came upon me,
And I made the (Q)widow’s heart sing for joy.
14 I (R)clothed myself with righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a turban.
15 I was (S)eyes to the blind
And feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to (T)the needy,
And I searched out the case which I did not know.
17 I (U)broke the fangs of the unjust
And snatched the prey from his teeth.
18 Then I [e]said, ‘I will breathe my last [f]in my nest,
And I shall multiply my days as the sand.
19 My (V)root is spread out to the waters,
And (W)dew lies all night on my branch.
20 My glory is ever new with me,
And my (X)bow is renewed in my hand.’
21 “To me (Y)they listened and waited,
And kept silent for my counsel.
22 After my words they did not (Z)speak again,
And (AA)my speech dropped on them.
23 They waited for me as for the rain,
And opened their mouth as for the [g]late rain.
24 I laughed with them as they could not believe it,
And the light of my face they did not cast down.
25 I chose a way for them and sat as (AB)chief,
And dwelt as their head among the troops,
As one who (AC)comforted the mourners.
30 “But now those younger than I (AD)laugh at me,
Whose fathers I rejected even to put with the dogs of my flock.
2 Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me?
Vigor had perished from them.
3 From want and famine they are gaunt,
Who gnaw the dry ground by night in destruction and desolation,
4 Who pluck [h]mallow by the bushes,
And whose food is the root of the broom tree.
5 They are driven from the community;
They shout against them as against a thief,
6 So that they dwell in the slopes of the [i]valleys,
In holes of the dust and of the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they [j]cry out;
Under the nettles they are gathered together.
8 [k]Wicked fools, even [l]those without a name,
They were scourged from the land.
9 “And now I have become their mocking (AE)song;
I have even become a (AF)taunting word to them.
10 They abhor me and keep a distance from me,
And they do not [m]hold back from (AG)spitting at my face.
11 Because [n]He has loosed [o]His [p]bowstring and (AH)afflicted me,
They have thrust aside (AI)their bridle before me.
12 On the right hand their [q]brood arises;
They (AJ)thrust aside my feet (AK)and build up against me their ways to disaster.
13 They (AL)break up my path;
They profit [r]from my destruction;
They have no helper.
14 As through a wide breach they come,
[s]Amid the storm they roll on.
15 (AM)Terrors are turned against me;
They pursue my nobility as the wind,
And my hope for salvation has passed away (AN)like a cloud.
16 “And now (AO)my soul is poured out [t]within me;
Days of affliction have seized me.
17 At night it pierces (AP)my bones [u]within me,
And my gnawing pains take no rest.
18 By a great force my garment is (AQ)distorted;
It seizes me about as the collar of my tunic.
19 He has cast me into the (AR)mire,
And I have become like dust and ashes.
20 I (AS)cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;
I stand up, and You carefully consider how to be against me.
21 You have [v]become cruel to me;
With the might of Your hand You (AT)hunted me down.
22 You (AU)lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride;
And You melt me away in a storm.
23 For I know that You (AV)will bring me to death
And to the (AW)house of meeting for all living.
24 “Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand,
Or, in his upheaval, is there a (AX)cry for help because of them?
25 Have I not (AY)wept for the [w]one whose life is hard?
Was not my soul grieved for (AZ)the needy?
26 When I (BA)hoped for good, then evil came;
When I waited for light, (BB)then thick darkness came.
27 [x]I am boiling (BC)within and cannot be silent;
Days of affliction confront me.
28 I go about (BD)darkened but not by the sun;
I stand up in the assembly and (BE)cry out for help.
29 I have become a brother to (BF)jackals
And a companion of ostriches.
30 My (BG)skin turns black [y]on me,
And my (BH)bones burn with [z]fever.
31 Therefore my (BI)harp [aa]is turned to mourning,
And my flute to the sound of those who weep.
31 “I have cut a covenant with my (BJ)eyes;
How then could I gaze at a virgin?
2 And what is (BK)the portion of God from above
Or the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
3 Is it not (BL)disaster to the unjust
And misfortune to (BM)those who work iniquity?
4 Does He not (BN)see my ways
And (BO)number all my steps?
5 “If I have (BP)walked with worthlessness,
And my foot has hastened after deceit,
6 Let Him (BQ)weigh me with [ab]just scales,
And let God know (BR)my integrity.
7 If my step has (BS)turned from the way,
Or my heart [ac]followed my eyes,
Or if any (BT)spot has stuck to my hands,
8 Let me (BU)sow and another eat,
And let my [ad](BV)crops be uprooted.
9 “If my heart has been (BW)enticed by a woman,
Or I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s doorway,
10 May my wife (BX)grind for another,
And let (BY)others [ae]kneel down over her.
11 For that would be (BZ)lewdness;
Moreover, it would be (CA)an iniquity punishable by judges.
12 For it would be (CB)fire that consumes to [af](CC)Abaddon,
And would (CD)uproot all my [ag]produce.
13 “If I have (CE)rejected the justice of my male or female [ah]slaves
When they filed a complaint against me,
14 What then could I do when God arises?
And when He calls me to account, with what will I respond to Him?
15 Did not (CF)He who made me in the womb make him,
And the same one fashion us in the womb?
16 “If I have held back (CG)the poor from their desire,
Or have caused the eyes of (CH)the widow to fail,
17 Or have (CI)eaten my morsel alone,
And (CJ)the orphan has not eaten from it
18 (But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,
And from the womb of my mother I guided her),
19 If I have seen anyone perish (CK)for lack of clothing,
Or that (CL)the needy had no covering,
20 If his loins have not blessed me,
And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
21 If I have waved my hand against (CM)the orphan
Because I saw my help (CN)in the gate,
22 Let my shoulder fall from the [ai]socket,
And my (CO)arm be broken off [aj]at the elbow.
23 For (CP)disaster from God is a dread to me,
And because of (CQ)His exaltedness I can do nothing.
24 “If I have put my confidence in (CR)gold,
And called fine gold my trust,
25 If I have (CS)been glad because my wealth was great,
And because my hand had found so much,
26 If I have (CT)looked at the [ak]sun when it shone
Or the moon going in splendor,
27 And my heart became secretly enticed,
And my hand [al]threw a kiss from my mouth,
28 That too would have been (CU)an iniquity calling for [am]judgment,
For I would have (CV)denied God above.
29 “If I (CW)have been glad at the upheaval of the one who hated me,
Or [an]exulted when evil found him—
30 But (CX)I have not given over my [ao]mouth to sin
By asking for his life in (CY)a curse—
31 If the men of my tent have not said,
‘Who can [ap]find one who has not been (CZ)satisfied with his meat’—
32 The sojourner has not lodged outside,
For I have opened my doors to the [aq]traveler—
33 If I have (DA)covered my transgressions like [ar]Adam,
By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
34 Because I (DB)feared the great multitude,
And the contempt of families terrified me,
And I kept silent and did not go out of doors—
35 Oh that I had one to hear me!
Behold, here is my [as]signature;
(DC)Let the Almighty answer me!
And the indictment which my (DD)accuser has written,
36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;
I would bind it to myself like a crown.
37 I would declare to Him (DE)the number of my steps;
Like (DF)a prince I would approach Him—
38 “If my (DG)land cries out against me,
And its furrows weep together,
39 If I have (DH)eaten its [at]fruit without money,
Or have (DI)caused [au]its owners to lose their lives,
40 Let (DJ)briars come out instead of wheat,
And stinkweed instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
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