Old/New Testament
Job Curses His Own Birth
3 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed his day. 2 Then Job answered and said:
3 “May the day I was born perish,
and the night that said,
‘A man is conceived!’
4 That day—may it be darkness;
may God above not regard it;
may no light shine on it.
5 May darkness and deep gloom reclaim it;
may a cloud settle over it;
may whatever blackens the day terrify it.
6 That night—may thick darkness seize it;
may it not be included among the days of the year,
nor be entered among the number of months.
7 Indeed, may that night be barren;
may no joyful shout enter it.
8 May those who curse, curse the day—
those ready to awaken Leviathan.
9 May its morning stars be darkened;
may it hope for light but have none—
may it never see the eyelids of dawn.
10 For it did not shut the doors of the womb on me,
nor did it hide trouble from my eyes.
11 Why did I not die at birth
and expire as I exited the womb?
12 Why did the knees welcome me,
and breasts that I might nurse?
13 For now I would be lying down and quiet;
I would be asleep and at rest
14 with kings and counselors of the earth,
who built for themselves places now desolate,
15 with princes who had gold,
who filled their houses with silver.
16 Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn,
like infants who never saw light?
17 There the wicked cease from turmoil,
and there the weary are at rest.
18 Prisoners are at ease together;
they do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.
19 Small and great are there;
and slave is free from his master.
20 Why is light given to one who suffers
and life to the bitter of soul,
21 to those who long for death, but it does not come,
who dig for it more than for hidden treasures,
22 who are filled with gladness
and rejoice when finding the grave?
23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,
and whom God has hedged in?
24 For my sighing comes instead of my bread,
and my groans pour out like water.
25 For the thing I dreaded has come upon me,
and what I feared has happened to me.
26 I have no ease, no quietness;
I have no rest, but turmoil came.”
Eliphaz: God is Righteous
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded and said:
2 “If one attempts a word with you, will you become impatient?
But who can keep from speaking?
3 Behold, you have instructed many;
you have strengthened weak hands.
4 Your words have supported those who stumbled,
and strengthened buckling knees.
5 Yet now it has come to you,
and you are discouraged;
it strikes you,
and you are dismayed.
6 Is not your piety your confidence,
the integrity of your ways your hope?
7 Reflect now:
Who, being innocent, ever perished?
And where were the upright destroyed?
8 As I have seen, those who plow iniquity
and sow harm, reap them.[a]
9 By the breath[b] of God they perish;
by the blast of His anger they vanish.[c]
10 The lion may roar and the cub growl,
but the teeth of young lions are broken.
11 The mighty lion perishes for lack of prey
and the lioness’ cubs are scattered.
Testimony of an Accusing Spirit
12 Now a word was secretly brought to me,
and my ear caught a whisper of it.
13 Amid unsettling visions in the night,
when a deep sleep falls on men,
14 dread and trembling seized me,
and made my bones shake.
15 Then a spirit brushed over my face,
and the hair of my flesh stood on end.
16 It stood still,
but I could not recognize its appearance,
A form was before my eyes
and I heard a murmur, a voice:
17 ‘Can a mortal be righteous before God;
or a man pure before his Creator?
18 If He puts no trust in His servants
and accuses His angels of error,
19 how much more those
who dwell in houses of clay,
whose foundation is in the dust,
who are crushed before the moth?
20 From morning until evening they are beaten into pieces—
unnoticed, they perish forever.
21 Is not their tent cord pulled out,
so that they die without wisdom.’”
44 “Our fathers had the Tent of Witness in the wilderness—just as the One speaking to Moses had directed him to make it according to the design he had seen. 45 Our fathers received it in turn and brought it in with Joshua when they took possession of the land of the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it remained until the days of David, 46 who found favor in God’s sight. He asked to find a dwelling place for the God[a] of Jacob. 47 But Solomon built a house for Him. 48 However, Elyon does not dwell in man-made houses. As the prophet says,
49 ‘Heaven is My throne,
and the earth is the footstool of My feet.
What kind of house will you build for Me, says Adonai,
or what is the place of My rest?
50 Did not My Hand make all these things?’[b]
51 “O you stiff-necked people! You uncircumcised of heart and ears! You always resist the Ruach ha-Kodesh; just as your fathers did, you do as well. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed the ones who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. Now you have become His betrayers and murderers— 53 you who received the Torah by direction of angels and did not keep it!”
54 When they heard these things, they became enraged and began gnashing their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Ruach ha-Kodesh, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God—and Yeshua standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
57 But they covered their ears; and crying out with a loud voice, they rushed at him with one impulse. 58 Driving him out of the city, they began stoning him, and the witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 They went on stoning Stephen as he was calling out, “Lord Yeshua, receive my spirit!” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” After he said this, he died.[c]
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.