JOB 
The Prologue
Job's Piety and Prosperity 
 1In the land of Uz there was a man called Job—1a man blameless and upright, who feared God and 2shunned evil. He had a family of seven sons and 3three daughters: and he owned seven thousandsheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yokeof oxen, five hundred she-asses, and a vast train of servants, so that he was the richest man in all the 4East. Now his sons used to hold feast day about,and they would send and invite their three sisters 5to eat and drink with them; and when the cycleof feasts was over, Job used to send for them andprepare them for worship, rising early and offeringburnt offerings for them all: for — said Job—
Perchance my children have sinned
And cursed God in their heart.And this Job never failed to do.
The Heavenly Council. Satan is permitted to test the Quality of Job's Piety
 6Now on a certain day the heavenly Beingscame to present themselves before Jehovah, and 7among them came Satan. Then Jehovah askedSatan where he had come from, and Satan answeredJehovah thus, "From ranging the earth and from 8walking up and down it." Then Jehovah said to Satan:
"Hast thou noted my servant Job,
That on earth there is none like him—
A man blameless and upright,
Who fears God and shuns evil?"
 9To this Satan made answer:
But is it for nothing that Job fears God?
 10Hast Thou not Thyself fenced him and his house,
And all he possesses on every side?
The work of his hands Thou hast blessed,
And his substance abounds in the land.
 11But put forth Thy hand and touch all he possesses,
And assuredly then to Thy face he will curse Thee."
 12Whereat Jehovah said to Satan:
"See! all he possesses is in thy power,
But lay not thy hand on the man himself."
Then forth Satan went from the presence of Jehovah.
The Blows Fall 13Now on a certain day, as his sons and daughtersWere eating and drinking wine in the house of their 14eldest brother, suddenly a messenger appearedbefore Job with the tidings:
"The oxen were hard at the plough;
And the asses were feeding beside them,
 15When sabeans fell upon them and seized them;
The servants they slew with the sword—
Only I alone am escaped to tell thee."
 16While he was still speaking, another came and said:
"The fire of God has fallen from heaven,
And burnt to a cinder the sheep and the servants—
Only I alone am escaped to tell thee."
 17While he was still speaking, another came and said:
"Chaldeans, formed into three bands,
Made a raid on the camels and seized them.
The servants they slew with the sword—
Only I alone am escaped to tell thee."
 18While he was still speaking, another came and said:
"Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking
In the house of their eldest brother:
 19On a sudden a mighty wind
From the other side of the desert
came and smote and four sides of the house,
That it fell on the young folk and killed them—
Only I alone am escaped to tell thee."
 20Then Job rose and rent his robe; and, after shaving
his head, he threw himself with these words pros-
trate upon the ground:
 21"Naked came I from my mother's womb,
And naked thither must I return.
Jehovah hath given, Jehovah hath taken:
The name of Jehovah be blessed."
 22In all this Job committed no sin, nor did he charge
God with unseemly dealing.
The Second Council 
 2Now on a certain day the heavenly Beings came1to present themselves before Jehovah, and amongthem came Satan to present himself before Jehovah. 2Then Jehovah asked Satan where he had come from,and satan answered Jehovah thus, "From rangingthe earth and from walking up and down it." 3Then Jehovah said to Satan:
"Hast thou noted my servant Job,
That on earth there is none like him—
A man blameless and upright,
Who fears God and shuns evil?
And still he clings to his honour—
In vain hast thou set me on to destroy him."
 4To this Satan made answer:
"Skin for skin;
All a man's goods will he give for his life.
 5But put forth Thy hand, touch his bone and his flesh
And assuredly then to Thy face he will curse Thee."
 6Whereat Jehovah said to Satan:
"See! he is on thy power,
But take heed that thou spare his life."
 7Then forth Satan went from the presence of Jehovah.
The Second Test
And he smote Job from the sole of his foot to the 8crown of his head with boils so grievous that hetook a potsherd to scratch with; and, as he was 9sitting among the ashes, his wife said to him:
"Art thou clinging still to thine honour?
Curse God and die."
 10But Job said to her:
"Must thou too speak
As a foolish women speak?
We accept from God what is good:
Shall we not accept what is evil?"
In all this Job was guilty of no sin of speech.
Job's Friends Come to Comfort Him
 11When Job's three friends heard of all the miserythat had come upon him, they travelled each manfrom his own place — Eliphaz the Temabite, Bildadthe Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; for theyhad made a tyrst together to come to condole with 12him and comfort him. But when they caught a glimpse of him at a distance they did not recognizehim. Then every man of them wept aloud andtore his robe and scattered dust heavenwards upon 13his head. Then they sat down beside him upon theground seven days and nights, and no one said a wordto him; for they saw that his pain was very great. 
 3Thereafter Job opened his mouth to curse his 2day, and thus he began:
ACT 1
Job's Lament and Longing for Death
 3Perished the day wherein I was born,
And the night which announced that a man-child had come.
 4aUtter darkness let that night be,
 9bLooking for light, but finding none.
 4bMay God in the heights above ask not after it,
 4cAnd may no beam shine forth upon it.
 5May darkness and gloom claim it for their own,
And may the thick cloud rest upon it.
Black vapours of the day affright it!
 6And let the thick darkness snatch it away.
May it not be joined to the days of the year,
Or enter into the tale of the months.
 7As for that night, let it be barren:
May there never ring through it a cry of joy.
 8Accursed of sorcerers be that day—
Of those that are skilful to stir up Leviathan.
 9aDark be the stars of its morning twilight,
 9cAnd never the eyelids of Dawn may it see;
 10Since it shut not the doors of my mother's womb,
And hid not trouble from mine eyes.
 11Why died I not at my birth,
Breathe my last as I came from the womb,
 16Like a hidden untimely birth,
Like infants that never see light?
 12Why on the knees was I welcomed,
And why were there breasts to suck?
 13For then had I lain down in quiet,
Then had I slept and had rest—
 14With kings of the earth and with cousellors,
Who built stately tombs for themselves,
 15Or with princes rich in gold,
Who had filled their houses with silver.
 17There the wicked cease their tumult,
There the weary are at rest—
 18Prisoners at ease together,
Deaf to the taskmaster's voice.
 19There the small and the great are alike,
And the servants is free from his master.
 20Why is light given to the wretched,
And life to the bitter in soul,
 23To the man whose path is obscured,
Who is hedged round about by God—
 21Such as long for death, but it comes not,
And dig for it more than for treasure,
 22Who would joy o'er a mound of stones,
And rejoice, could they find a grave?
 24For my bread there comes to me sighing,
My groans are poured out like water.
 25For the evil I fear overtakes me,
The things that I dread comes upon me.
 26Scarce have I ease or quiet
Or rest, when tumult cometh.
Eliphaz's Comfortable Exhortation and Revelation 
 4Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: 2May we lift up a word unto thee who art fainting,
For who has the heart to restrain his speech?
 3see! thou hast instructed many,
And strengthened the drooping hands.
 4Thy words used to set up the stumbling,
And strengthen the tottering knees.
 5But now that it comes upon thee, thou art faint;
Now that it reaches thyself, thou art terrified.
 6Is not thy religion thy confidence,
And thy blameless life thy hope?
 7Bethink thee: has an innocent man ever perished,
Or when have the just been cut off?
 8It is those who plough wrong and sow trouble
That reap it: — for this have I seen.
 9By the breath of God they perish,
At the blast of HIs anger they vanish.
 10The Lion roared, the hoarse lion thundered:
But his young lion's teeth were broken.
 11So for lack of prey he perished,
And the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
 12Now to me a word came stealing,
And mine ear caught a whisper thereof,
 13In thoughts from the visions of night,
When deep sleep falleth on men.
 14Fear came upon me and trembling,
That made my bones all quake.
 15Then a breath passed over my face,
The hair of my flesh bristled up.
 16There — it — stood.
I could not tell what it looked like—
This form before mine eyes.
In the silence I heard a voice say:
 17"Can mortal be just before God,
Or a man clean before his Creator?
 18See! He putteth no trust in His servants,
His angels He chargeth with folly.
 19How much more those whose houses are clay,
Whose very foundation is dust,
Who die before the moth,
 20Crushed between morning and evening,
Bruised without any regarding it,
Perished for evermore!
 21The cord of their tent is torn from them:
They die — but without learning wisdom." 
 5Call now: will any one answer?
1To which of the saints wilt thou turn?
 2For vexation killeth the fool,
Indignation slayeth the simpleton.
 3I have seen a fool taking root,
But his branch became suddenly rotten,
 4His children were far from help,
Crushed beyond hope deliverance.
 5The hungry eat up their harvest,
And the thirsty draw from their wells.
 6For not from the dust riseth ruin,
Nor out of the ground springeth trouble;
 7But man is born unto trouble,
While the sons of flame soar above it.
 8Were it I, I would seek unto God;
My cause I would bring before God,
 9Who doeth great things and unsearchable,
Marvellous things without number,
 10Who bringeth rain over the earth,
And over the fields sendeth water—
 11Setting the lowly on high,
And lifting the mourners to safety,
 12Frustrating the plots of the crafty
And robbing their hands of success,
 13So taking the wise in their guile,
That their tortuous plans fail through rashness:
 14They feel in the day as in darkness,
At noontide they grope as at night.
 15So the needy He saves from the sword,
And the poor from the hands of the mighty.
 16Thus hope is born in the weak,
And iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
 17Happy then the mortal whom God correcteth:
So spurn no thou the Almighty's chastening.
 18For He bindeth the wounds He hath made,
And His hands heal the hurt He hath dealt.
 19He will save thee in six distresses,
In seven no evil shall touch thee.
 20In famine He frees thee from death,
And in war from the power of the sword.
 21From the scourge of tongue thou art safe;
Thou shalt fear not the onslaught of ruin.
 22At ruin and dearth shalt thou laugh,
And the beasts of the field thou shalt fear not.
 23For the stones of the earth are thine allies,
The beasts of the field are thy friends.
 24Thou shalt know that thy tent is secure,
Thou shalt visit thy fold and miss nothing.
 25Thy seed thou shalt know to be many,
Thine offspring as grass of the earth.
 26Thou shalt come to the grave in thy strength,
As a sheaf cometh in its season.
 27See! this we have searched — so it is.
We have heard it — lay thou it to heart.
Job's Denunciation of Hollow Friendship. His Challenge of God and His Longing to be Gone 
 6Then Job answered and said:
 2O could my vexation be carefully weighed,
And my misery set in the balance against it!
 3For it is more heavy than sand of the sea,
And therefore it is that my words are wild.
 4For the arrows of God Almighty are in me,
My spirit drinketh their fiery poison.
The terrors of God are arrayed against me,
 7aMy soul refuseth to be at rest.
 5Doth the wild ass bray as he nibbles the grass,
And over their fodder do oxen low?
 6Can a man eat that which is tasteless and saltless?
Is there any taste in the slime of the yolk?
 8O that I might have my request,
That God would grant me the thing that I long for!
 9O that God would consent to crush me,
To let His hand loose and cut me off!
 10So should I still have this for my comfort—
Leaping for joy amid torture unsparing—
That I had not concealed the words of the Holy One.
 11What is my strength, that I should endure?
Or what is mine end, that I should be patient?
 12Is my strength the strength of stones?
Or was I created with flesh of brass?
 13Behold! I have no help in myself,
And the power to achieve is driven from me.
 14To one who is fainting a friend should be kind,
Even though he forsaketh the fear of Almighty
 15But my brethen have dealt like a treacherous torrent,
Like channels that overflow their banks,
 16Which are turbid because of the ice
And the snow that hides within them;
 17But, when they are scorched, they vanish:
In the heat they are quenched from their place.
 18The caravans bend their course thither,
Go up through the waste, and perish.
 19The caravans of Tema looked out for them,
The companies of Sheba kept hoping:
 20But their confidence brought them to shame;
When they came to the place, they blushed.
 21Such now have ye proved unto me:
When ye look on the terror, ye shudder.
 22Did I ask you to give me a present,
Or make me a gift of your substance,
 23To rescue me from the foe,
Or from hand of the tyrant to free me?
 24Teach me, and I will be silent;
Show me wherein I have erred.
 25How sweet are words that are true!
But when you reprove, what is reproved?
 26Is it words that ye mean to reprove?
But for winds are the words of despair.
 27Would ye throw yourselves on the innocent,
Or make an assault on your friend?
 28Now look upon me, I pray you:
I would surely not lie in your face.
 29O turn back — let there be no injustice:
Turn back, for the right is still mine.
 30Is my tongue altogether perverted?
Have I lost the sense of wrong? 
 7Hath man on the earth not a warfare,
1With days like the days of a hireling?
 2Like a slave that pants for the shadow,
A hireling that longs for his wages,
 3So empty months are my portion,
And wearisome nights mine appointment.
 4I lie down, saying, "When cometh day?"
When I rise, methinks, "When cometh even?"
I am full of unrest till the dawn.
 5Worms and clods clothe my flesh;
My skin grows hard and then breaks.
 6My days are more swift than a shuttle;
They come to an end without hope.
 7O remember my life is but breath;
Mine eyes shall see good nevermore.
 8The eye that now sees me shall see me no more;
Thine eyes shall look for me, but I shall be gone.
 9Like the cloud that is spent and that passeth away,
He that goes down to Sheol shall come up no more.
 10He shall never come back to his house again,
And the place that was his shall know him no more.
 11So my mouth I will not restrain,
I will utter mine anguish of spirit,
Pour out mine embittered soul.
 12Am I a sea or a sea-monster,
That upon me Thou settest a watch?
 13When I look to my couch to comfort me,
To my bed for relief of my sorrow,
 14Then Thou scarest me with dreams,
And with visions dost so affright me,
 15That gladly would I be strangled:
Death itself I spurn in my pain.
 16I would not live for ever:
Let me go, for my days are but breath.
 17What is man, that so great Thou dost count him
And settest Thine heart upon him—
 18Visiting him every morning,
And testing him moment by moment?
 19O when wilt Thou turn Thine eyes from me,
And leave me though but for a moment?
 20If I sin, how does that harm Thee,
O Thou who art Watcher of men?
Why dost Thou make me Thy target?
Why burden Thyself with me?
 21Why not forgive my sin,
And pass mine iniquity by?
For now I shall lie in the dust;
Thou shalt search, but I shall not be.
Bildad's Appeal to the Teaching of Tradition 
 8And Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
 2How long wilt thou utter these things—
These thy blustering windy words?
 3Is God a perverter of justice?
The Almighty subverter of right?
 4If thy children, for sinning against Him,
He has left to bear their transgressions,
 5Yet seek thou thyself unto God,
And supplicate the Almighty.
 6And if thou art pure and upright,
Thy righteous abode He will prosper;
 7And, though thy beginning be slender,
Thine end He shall greatly increase.
 8For inquire thou of past generations,
Regard the search of the fathers:—
 9For we are but dullards of yesterday,
Whose days on the earth are a shadow—
 10Shall they not give thee instruction,
And bring forth words out of their heart?
 11Can the rush shoot high without swamp,
Or the reed grow up without water?
 12While yet in its freshness, unplucked,
Of all herbs it withers most quickly.
 13So end all who put God out of mind.
And the hope of the hypocrite dies.
 14His confidence is but a thread,
And his trust as the web of a spider.
 15He leans on his house, but it stands not:
He grasps, but it cannot endure.
 16Like a plant is he, fresh in the sunshine,
With suckers that shoot o'er the garden.
 17Its roots are entwined round the well,
It lays hold of its stone habitation,
 18But when it is ruined, the spot
Denies having ever beheld it.
 19Thus its course ends in desolation
And out of the dust springs another."
 20See! God spurns not an innocent man,
But He will not uphold evildoers.
 21He will yet fill thy mouth with laughter
Thy lips with a shout of joy.
 22Thy foes shall be clothed with shame,
And the tent of the wicked shall vanish.
Job's Challenge of Immoral Omnipotence 
 9Job answered and said:
 2Yes, truly: I know it is so:
But with God how can man urge his right?
 3Should He choose to contend against him,
He could answer not one in a thousand.
 4Wise-hearted and strong as He is,
Who hath ever successfully braved Him?
 5Mountains He moves without effort,
He turns them about in His anger.
 6He shaketh the earth from her place,
And maketh her pillars shudder.
 7He speaks to the sun, and it shines not;
He setteth a seal on the stars.
 8He strecheth the heavens all alone;
He treadeth the heights of the sea.
 9He maketh the Bear and Orion.
The Pleiades and the southern chambers.
 10He doeth great things and unsearchable,
Marvellous things without number. 
 11Lo! He passes me by all unseen;
Sweeps past — but I cannot perceive Him.
 12He seizeth, and who can prevent Him?
Who dare ask Him, "What doest Thou?"
 13God will not withdraw His anger;
The helpers of Rahab stooped under Him:
 14How much less can I give Him answer,
And choose out my words against Him?
 15Were I right, I could give Him no answer,
But needs must entreat my Judge.
 16If I called, He would give me no answer;
I cannot believe He would listen.
 17For He Crushes me in a temptest
With many a wanton wound.
 18He suffers me not to take breath,
But with bitterness He fills me.
 19Is it question of strength? There He is.
Or of justice? Then who will implead Him?
 20Am I right? Still mine own mouth condemns me.
Innocent? He proveth me perverse.
 21Innocent I am — but I reck not.
I spurn my life; 'tis all one.
 22And therefore it is that I say,
"He destroyeth both guiltless and guilty."
 23When the scourge bringeth sudden death,
The despair of the blameless He mocketh.
 24He hath given up the earth to the wicked;
He veileth the face of its judges.
If it be not He, who then?
 25My days are more swift than a runner,
They flee unillumined by joy.
 26They glide like the ships of reed,
Like an eagle that darts on its prey.
 27If I vow to forget my plaint
And to wear a bright face for a joyless,
 28I shudder at all my pains;
I know Thou wilt not hold me guiltless.
 29I then am I infallibly guilty,
So why should I labour in vain?
 30For though I wash me with snow,
And cleanse my hands with lye,
 31Thou wouldst plunge me then in the mire,
So that even my friends would abhor me.
 32Thou art not a man like myself,
That we come into judgment together.
 33O for an umpire between us,
To lay his hand on us both!
 34Let Him take but His rod from off me,
And affright me no more with His terrors,
 35And then I would speak unafraid—
For not such at heart am I. 
 10In my soul is a loathing of life,
1I will let my complaint loose against Him.
 2I will say to God, "Do not condemn me,
But show me the ground of Thy quarrel.
 3What dost Thou gain from oppressing
And spurning the work of Thy hands?
 4Hast Thou then eyes of flesh?
Or seest Thou as man seeth?
 5Are Thy days like the days of mortals,
Or Thy years like the days of man,
 6That Thou shouldest seek out my guilt,
And make this search for my sin,
 7Though Thou knowest I am not guilty.
And no treachery cleaves to my hand?
 8Thy hands did fashion and mould me;
And now wilt Thou turn and destroy me?
 9Remember Thou madest me like clay,
And back to the dust wilt Thou bring me?
 10Didst Thou not pour me out like milk,
And curdle me after like cheese,
 11Clothe me with skin and with flesh,
And knit me with bones and with sinews?
 12Life Thou didst grant me and favour,
Thy Providence guarded my spirit;
 13While this was Thy secret heart,
And this was Thy purpose, I know.
 14Do I sin? Then Thou dost observe me,
And refuse to acquit me of guilt.
 15Am I wicked? Then woe us me.
Just? I dare not lift up my head—
Full of shame and drunken with sorrow.
 16If I rise, like a lion Thou huntest me,
Working fresh marvels upon me,
 17And bringing new witness against me.
Thine anger with me Thou increasest,
Thou musterest fresh hosts against me.
 18O why from the womb didst Thou bring me?
O why died I not all unseen?
 19O to be as though I had not been,
Borne from the womb to the grave!
 20Are the days of my life not few?
O leave me to smile a little,
 21Ere I go to return no more,
To the land of darkness and gloom,
 22To the land of murky darkness,
Of gloom and utter confusion,
Where the very light is as darkness."
Zophar's Appeal to the Unsearchable Wisdom 
 11Then Zophar of Naamah answered and said:
1Should a voluble man go unanswered,
A man who but babbles be justified?
 3Must men hold their peace at thy bragging?
Thy mocking is no one to curb?
 4Thou maintainest thy way to be pure,
And thyself to be clean in His sight.
 5But oh that God would speak,
And open His lips against thee,
 6And show thee the secrets of wisdom—
How marvellous are her achievements!
For then thou shouldst know that thy guilt
God remembers not wholly against thee.
 7Canst thou find out the deep things of God,
Or come nigh the Almighty's perfection?
 8It is higher than heaven — what canst thou?
Deeper than Sheol — what knowest thou?
 9Longer than earth is its measure,
And broader it is than the sea.
 10When He sweeps past and puts men in durance
And calls them to trial, who can turn Him?
 11For well He knoweth vain men:
He looks upon sin and He marks it.
 12Even a senseless man may be taught,
As a wild ass's colt may be caught.
 13Now, if thou wouldst prepare thy heart,
And stretch out thy hands unto Him,
 14And put away sin from thy hand,
And let wrong dwell no more in thy tent,
 15Then thy face thou wouldst lift without blemish,
And thou wouldst be steadfast and fearless.
 16Yea, thou wouldst forget thy sorrow—
As floods that are passed wouldst thou think of it.
 17Brighter than noon would thy life rise,
Thy darkness would be as the morning.
 18Secure wouldst thou be in thy hope:
Thou couldst lie without trembling or care—
 19Lay thee down without one to affright thee,
And many would sue for thy favour.
 20But the eyes of the wicked shall fail,
The place of their refuge is perished.
Their hope is — to breathe their last.
Job's Independent Criticism of this World and his Glimpse beyond it 
 12Then Job answered and said:
 2Verily ye are the people,
And wisdom shall die with you.
 3But, like you, I have understanding;
Who knoweth not things like these?
 4A laughing-stock to his friend
Is become one whose cry God had answered.
A laughing-stock is the righteous;
 Theblameless is doomed to disaster.
The man of ease mocks at his fate:
There are thrusts for the feet that are slipping.
 6It is tents of robbers that prosper,
And those who vex God that are safe—
Those who say, "Is not God in my hand?"
 7But inquire of the beasts — they will teach thee;
The birds of the air — they will show thee:
 8The creatures that crawl — they will teach thee;
The fish of the sea — they will tell thee.
 9For which of them all doth not know
That the hand of Jehovah hath wrought this—
 10In whose hand are all living souls
And the breath of all humankind?
 11Doth not the ear test words
As the palate tastes food for itself?
 12Doth wisdom depend upon years,
Understanding on length of days?
 13With Him is wisdom and might,
Understanding and counsel are His.
 14See! He breaketh down, and who buildeth?
Imprisons, and none can set free.
 15See! He holds back the floods and they dry;
Then He hurls them on earth and confounds it.
 16With Him is strength and achievement;
Deceived and deceiver are His.
 17The wise men of earth He makes foolish;
The judges He turns into madmen.
 18The fetters kings rivet He loosens,
And binds their own loins with a chain.
 19He leadeth priests barefoot away;
Ancient families He overturneth.
 20He removeth the speech of the trusty;
The elders He robs of discretion.
 21He poureth contempt upon princes;
He looseth the belt of the strong.
 22He revealeth the deep things of darkness,
The gloom-wrapped He bringeth to light.
 23He makes nations great and destroys them;
Expands them, then hurls them to ruin.
 24Earth's chiefs He bereaves of their judgment;
They wander in trackles wastes,
 25Where they grope in the unit darkness,
And stagger like drunken men. 
 13Lo! all this mine eye hath seen,
1Mine ear hath heard it and marked it.
 2What ye know, that I know too;
I am not one whit behind you.
 3But I would address the Almighty—
With God I am longing to reason:
 4For ye are smearers of lies,
Good-for-nothing physicians-each man of you.
 5O that ye were but silent—
Then might ye be counted as wise.
 6Now listen to this mine indictment,
Attend to the plea of my lips.
 7Is it God that ye utter your lies for?
Do ye speak you deceit for him?
 8And to Him would ye show your favour?
And God's is the cause ye would plead?
 9Were it well if He searched you out?
Can ye mock Him as men are mocked?
 10For He will punish you sore,
If ye secretly show Him your favour.
 11Shall His majesty not make you shudder?
Shall the dread of Him not full upon you?
 12Your maxims are proverbs of ashes;
Your bulwarks are bulwarks of clay.
 13Be still, let me be: I will speak—
Then upon me come what may.
 14I will take my flesh in my teeth;
I will put my life in my hand.
 15See! He slays me, I cannot endure;
But my ways will I defend to His face:
 16And this, also, shall be my salvation,
That a hypocrite dare not approach Him.
 17Hear now my speech with attention,
As I declare in your ears.
 18Attend as I set forth my case;
I know that the right is with me.
 19And if any disputeth against me,
Then I would be silent and die.
 20But two things alone do not unto me,
Then I will not hide from Thy face.
 21Lift the weight of Thy hand from off me,
And let not Thy terrors appal me:
 22Then call Thou, and I will answer;
Or let me speak, and answer Thou me.
 23How great is my guilt and transgressions?
Acquaint me with my sin.
 24O why dost Thou hide Thy face,
And count me as Thine enemy?
 25Wilt Thou harass a leaf that is tossed?
Wilt Thou chase the withered stubble,
 26That Thou passest a judgment so bitter,
Entailing upon me the sins of my youth?
 27Thou dost fasten a block on my feet,
And set watch over all my ways.
Round my roots Thou cuttest a line, 
 14Setting bounds tha they may not pass; 
 13While man doth waste with decay,
28Like a garment devoured of the moth. 
 14Man that is born of a woman
1Is of few days and filled with trouble.
 2He comes forth like a flower and he withers;
He flees like a shadow and stays not.
 3On such dost Thou open Thine eyes?
And him wouldst Thou bring to Thy judgment?
 4Who can bring from the unclean the clean?
Not one is free from sin.
 5aSeeing, then, that his days are decreed,
 5bAnd the tale of his months is with Thee,
 6Look away, and let him have peace,
To enjoy like a hireling his day.
 7For hope there may be for a tree:
Though cut down, it may sprout once again,
And the shoots there from need to fail.
 8Though its root in the earth wax old,
And its stem be dead in the ground,
 9It may bud at the scent of water,
And put forth boughs like a plant.
 10But the strong man dies and lies prostrate;
Man breathes his last and where is he?
 11Like the floods of a vanished sea,
Like a river dry and withered—
 12bTill the heavens be no more, he awakes not,
 12cNor ever is roused from his sleep.
 13O wouldst Thou but hide me in Sheol
Out of sight, till Thine anger be past,
And then call me to mind in Thine own set time!
 14If a dead man may live once again,
I could wait all the days of my warfare
Until my release shoud come. 
 15Thou shouldst call, and I would answer:
Thou wouldst year for the work of Thy hands.
 16But now Thou countest my steps,
And passest not over my sin.
 17My transgressions is sealed in a bag;
Thou hast fastened secure mine iniquity.
 18But the very hills crumble to pieces,
The rocks are moved out of their place;
 19Water wears stone to dust,
The floods wash the soil away:
So the hope of man Thou destroyest;
 12aHe lieth, to rise up no more.
 20Thou dost worst him for ever; he passeth,
Dismissed — with his face how changed!
 21Honour comes to his sons, but he knows not:
Or shame, but he doth not perceive it.
 22But the flesh upon him feels pain,
And the soul within him is sorrowful.
ACT II
Eliphaz's Appeal to the Unadulterated Doctrine of the Past 
 15Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
 2Would a wise man pour forth windy answers
Or fill with the east wind his breast?
 3Would he reason with profitless words
And with speech that is all unavailing?
 4See! thou art destroying religion,
Disturbing devout contemplation.
 5Thy guilt instructeth thy mouth,
And thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.
 6Thine own mouth condems thee — not I,
And thine own lips are witness against thee.
 7Wast thou the first man to be born?
Wast thou fashioned before the hills?
 8Wast thou one of the heavenly council?
Was wisdom revealed unto thee?
 9What knowest thou that we know not?
What insight is thine and not ours?
 10With us are the grey and the aged,
More mighty in years than thy father.
 11Dost thou spurn the divine consolations,
The word that dealt with thee so gently?
 12How fierce the emotions that sweep thee!
And how thou flashest thine eyes,
 13As thou turnest thy breath against God
Into words from thy rebel lips!
 14What is man that he should be clean,
Or just — one of woman born?
 15See! He putteth no trust in His saints,
And the heavens are not clean in His sight:
 16How much less one abhorrent and tainted—
A man that drinks evil like water!
 17Now listen to what I will show thee,
The thing I have seen I will tell—
 18Even tales that were told by the wise
And not hidden from them by their fathers,
 19Who had the land all to themselves,
When no stranger had yet come among them.
 20All his days is the wicked in pain,
All the years for the tyrant appointed.
 21In his ears is the sound of terrors,
In peace comes the spoiler upon him.
 22He cannot escape from the darkness 
And he is reserved for the sword.
 23Appointed as food for the vulture—
He knows that his doom is at hand.
The day of darkness appals him;
 24aConstraint and distress overpower him;
 25For he stretched out his hand against God,
Played the warrior against the Almighty,
 26Running against Him stiff-necked
With the thick of the boss of his bucklers,
 24bLike a king prepared for the onset.
 27He covered his face with his fat,
He set thick folds of flesh on his loins;
 28And he dwelt in desolate cities,
In houses that none should inhabit.
What he has won, others shall capture,
 29His substance shall not endure.
On the earth he shall cast no shadow.
 30bThe fierce heat shall wither his branches,
 30cHis fruit shall the wind whirl away.
 31Let him not trust his plant when it shoots,
For the branch thereof shall be vanity.
 32It shall wither before its time,
Or ever its fronds become green.
 33His grapes he shall shed like the vine,
And cast off like the olive his blossom.
 34For a barren tribe are the godless;
Tents of bribery the fire shall consume.
 35Big with mischief, they bring forth sin,
And their belly matures with deceit.
Job's Cry to the Witness in Heaven 
 16Then Job answered and said:
 2Many things such as these have I heard:
Ye are wearisome comforters — all of you.
 3Shall windy words have an end?
What is it that provokes thee to answer?
 4I, too, could speak like you,
Were your soul in my soul's stead.
I could weave words together about you,
And shake my head at you.
 5I could strengthen you with my mouth,
And encourage you with lip-comfort.
 6To speak is no check to my pain;
To keep silence — that easeth me nothing.
 7But now He hath wearied and dazed me;
My misery seizes upon me.
 8It rises for witness against me;
My grief testifies to my face.
 9In His wrath He hath flung me down torn;
He hath gnashed upon me with His teeth.
My foes whet their eyes upon me;
 10With open mouth they gape.
They insult me with blows on the cheek,
Coming on in their masses against me.
 11To knaves God has given me up;
Into wicked hands He has hurled me.
 12I was happy, when He took and shattered me;
Grasped my neck, and then dashed me in pieces.
He set me up for His target;
 13On all sides His archers beset me.
He cleaves through my reins unrelenting;
He pours out my gall on the ground.
 14One breach after another He makes on me,
Rushing at me like a warrior.
 15Sackcloth I sewed on my skin,
And my horn I have laid in the dust.
 16My face is red with weeping,
And over mine eye-lids is darkness—
 17Though wrong there is none in my hands,
And though my prayer be pure.
 18O earth! cover not my blood;
No rest let there be to my crying.
 19Behold, in heaven is my Witness,
And I have a Sponsor on high.
 20My friends pour their scorn upon me,
But my tear-stained eyes look unto God,
 21That He plead for a man with God,
And for son of man with his Friend.
 22For when but a few years come,
I shall go whence I shall not return. 
 17His anger hath ruined my days,
1And for me is left nought but the grave.
 2Delusion is surely my portion;
On bitterness tarries mine eye.
 3Lay a pledge for me — Thou with Thyself:
For who else would strike hands with me?
 4For their heart Thou hast hidden from wisdom,
And therefore Thou wilt not exalt them.
 5One inviteth his friends to a feast,
While the eyes of his children are failing.
 6Thou has made me the by-word of nations;
They look upon me as a monster.
 7Mine eye is grown dim for vexation;
My members are all as a shadow.
 11My days pass away without hope;
The desires of my heart are extinguished.
 12The night I turn into day,
And the light is before me as darkness.
 13If I hope, then the grave is my home,
And my couch I have spread in the darkness.
 14I call to the pit, "My mother";
And unto the worm, "My sister."
 15Where then were that "hope" of mine?
And my happiness who can espy?
 16Will it go with me down to the grave?
Shall we sink to the dust together?
Bildad's Picture of the Sure and Terrible Doom of the Wicked 
 18Then answered Bildad the Shuhite and said:
 2When with thou end thy words?
Now consider, and we shall speak.
 3Why are we counted as breasts,
And deemed by thee to be dullards? 
 17Honest men thrill with horror at this:
8A pure man is roused by such godlessness.
 9But the righteous holds on his way,
And the man of clean hands waxes stronger.
 10aBut turn thee hither and come, 
 18Thou that tearest thyself in thine anger.
4For thy sake shall earth be made desert,
Or rock be moved out of its place?
 5Nay, the light of the wicked is quenced,
And the flame of his fire shall not shine.
 6The light in his tent shall be dark,
And the lamp o'er his head shall go out.
 7His great swinging strides become shortened;
His own counsel maketh him stumble.
 8His foot is thrust into a net,
So that over the net-work ge sprawleth.
 9A snare shall take hold of his heel,
And a trap shall close tightly upon him.
 10A noose lies concealed on the ground,
And a trap on his path doth await him.
 11On all sides are terrors appalling,
Pursuing him close at his heels.
 12For him shall misfortune be hungry;
Disaster is ready to throw him.
 13The pestilence gnaws at his skin,
And the first-born of death at his members.
 14Then, dragged from his tent in despair,
He is marched to the King of Terrors.
 15His house shall be haunted by ghosts;
On his homestead shall brimstone be scattered.
 16His roots shall be dried up beneath,
And above shall his branches be withered.
 17From earth shall his memory perish;
No name shall be his on the streets.
 18From the light he is thrust into darkness,
And chased right out of the world.
 19Of his folk, neither kith nor kin—
Where he sojourned, not one is left.
 20The west is appalled at his doom,
And the east is stricken with horror.
 21Yea, such are the homes of the wicked,
Of those who care nothing for God.
Job's Sublime Faith in his Future Vindication 
 19Then Job answered and said:
 2How long will ye vex my soul
And crush me to pieces with words?
 3These ten times ye have put me to shame,
And set upon me unabashedly.
 4Well, be it that I have erred—
Mine error abides with myself.
 5Or would ye be haughty to me,
And insult me with your reproaches?
 6Know, then, it is God that hath wronged me,
And compassed me round with His net.
 7Behold! I cry "Wrong" — but no answer;
I call — but justice is none.
 8My way He hath fenced round impassably,
Darkness He sets on my path.
 9He hath stripped my glory from off me,
And taken the crown from my head.
 10He hath torn me clean down — I am gone:
He hath plucked up my hope like a tree.
 11He hath kindled His anger against me,
And counted me one of His enenmies.
 12On come His troops together;
They throw up a rampart against me.
 13My brethren are gone far from me;
My friends have estranged themselves from me.
 14My neighbours have ceased to acknowledge me;
Guests of my house have forgotten me.
 15Maids of mine count me a stranger;
An alien am I in their sight.
 16To my servant I call, but he answers not,
Till with my mouth I entreat him.
 17My breath is strange to my wife,
And my stench to mine own very children.
 18Yea, even young boys despise me,
And mock me when I try to rise.
 19All mine intimate friends abhor me;
The man whom I love turns against me.
 20My skin clings to my bones;
I escape with my flesh in my teeth.
 21Have pity, have pity, my friends;
For the hand of God hath touched me.
 22Why do ye persecute me like — God,
And devour my flesh insatiably?
 23O that my words were now written,
That they were inscribed in a book,
 24That with iron pen and with lead
On a rock they were graven for ever.
 25I know that there liveth a Champion,
Who will one day stand over my dust;
 26Yea, Another shall rise as My Witness,
And, as Sponsor, shall I behold — God;
 27Whom mine eyes shall behold, and no stranger's.
My heart is faint in my bosom.
 28But if ye are determined to hunt me,
And in me find the root of the matter,
 29Then dread ye the sword for yourselves;
For wrath shall destroy the ungodly.
Zophar's Warning and Innuendo that Heaven and Earth have already Witnessed against Job 
 20Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:
 2Nay, not so do my thoughts make answer;
And therefore my heart is uproused.
 3Must I hear thine insulting reproof,
While mere breath without sense is thine answer?
 4Knowest thou not this from of old,
From the time there were men on the earth,
 5That the song of the wicked is short,
And the hypocrite's joy but a moment?
 6Though his majesty mount on the heavens,
And his head reach unto the clouds,
 7He shall utterly perish like dung;
Those that knew him shall ask, "Where is he?"
 8Like a dream he shall fly beyond finding,
Dispelled like a vision of night.
 9No more shall the eye see that saw him;
His place shall behold him no more.
 10His sons shall be crushed by privation;
His wealth shall his children restore.
 11The vigour of youth filled his bones,
But within him it shall lie in the dust.
 12Though evil be sweet in his mouth,
As he keeps it hid under his tongue;
 13Though he spare it and let it not go,
But still holdeth it back in his mouth;
 14Yet his food in his stomach is turned;
It is poison of asps within him.
 15The wealth that he swallowed he vomits;
God easteth it forth from his belly.
 16The poison of asps he has sucked,
And the tongue of the viper shall slay him.
 17No rivers of oil shall he see,
No torrents of honey and butter.
 18His increasing gain brings him no gladness;
His traffickling yields him no joy;
 19For he crushed down the gains of the poor,
And he plundered the house that he built not.
 20His treasures have brought him no peace.
And his precious things cannot deliver.
 21And since none has escaped his devouring,
His own fortune shall not endure.
 22Brought to straits in the fullness of plenty,
The fell force of trouble assails him.
 23He shall let loose His hot wrath against him,
And terrors shall rain down upon him.
 24As he flees from the weapon of iron,
And bronze bow pierces him through.
 25The missle comes out at his back,
And the glittering point from his gall.
Terrors keep coming upon him;
 26Deep darkness is stored up for him.
A mysterious fire shall devour him,
And ravage those left in his tent.
 27The heavens shall reveal his guilt,
And the earth shalll rise up against him.
 28His house shall be swept by destruction,
Accursed in the day of His wrath.
 29Such the wicked man's portion from God,
God's heritage unto the rebel.
Job's Fierce Indicment of the Existing Order 
 21Then Job answered and said:
 2Hear now my word with attention:
Your consolation be this.
 3Suffer me, for I would speak also:
Then, when I have spoken, mock on.
 4Is it man that I would complain of?
And why should I not be impatient?
 5Now listen to me; and, in horror,
Lay ye your hand on your mouth.
 6When I think of it, I am confounded,
And shuddering seizeth my flesh.
 7Why are wicked men suffered to live,
To grow old and wax mighty in power?
 8Their seed is established before them,
Their offspring in sight of their eyes.
 9Their homes are strangers to terror;
No rod of God is on them.
 10Their bull doth unfailingly gender,
Their cow never loses her calf.
 11Like a flock they send their young children;
Their boys and their girls dance.
 12They sing to the timbrel and lyre;
At the sound of the pipe they make merry.
 13They finish their days in prosperity,
And go down to Sheol in peace—
 14Though they said unto God, "O leave us,
We desire not to know Thy ways.
 15Why should we serve the Almighty?
And what is the good of prayer?"
 16See! their fortune is in their own hand:
Nought He cares for the schemes of the wicked.
 17How oft is the lamp of the wicked put out?
How oft does disaster assail them,
Or the pains of His anger lay hold of them?
 18How often are they as as the straw before wind,
Or like chaff that is stolen by the storm?
 19"God stores up his guilt for his children."
("Nay," I reply); "let Him punish
The man himself, that he feel it.
 20Let his own eyes behold his disaster,
Let him drink the wrath of Almighty.
 21For what doth he care for his house,
When his own tale of months is cut short?"
 22Will any teach knowledge to God,
Seeing He judgeth (angels) on high?
 23One dies with his strength unimpaired,
In the heyday of ease and prosperity;
 24Filled are his buckets with milk;
His bones at the marrow are moistened.
 25And one dies with soul embittered,
With never a taste of good.
 26In the dust they lie down together;
The worm covers them both.
 Behold!I know your Thoughts
And your cruel devices against me,
 28In askng, "Where lives now the tyrant?
Where now doth the godless dwell?"
 29Have ye never asked those that travel?
Have ye never noted their proofs
 30That the wicked is kept from disaster,
Is saved in the day of wrath?
 31Who tells him his way to his face,
Or requites him for what he hath done?
 32And yet he is borne to the grave,
And men keep watch over his tomb.
 33Sweet for him are the clods of the valley,
And after him all men draw.
 34Why then offer your idle comfort?
Your answers leave nothing but falsehood
ACT III
Eliphaz's Cruel and Baseless Charges 
 22Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said
 2Can a man bring profit to God?
Nay, the wise man but profits himself
 3Doth Almighty God care for thy righteousness?
Hath He gain from thy blameless ways?
 4For thy piety would He chastise thee,
Or enter with thee into judgment?
 5Is not thy wickedness great?
Are not thine iniquities endless?
 6Thou hast wrongly taken pledge of thy brother,
And stripped from the naked their clothing.
 7No water thou gavest the weary,
And bread thou hast held from the hungry.
 8The land was for him that was strong,
And the man of rank made it his own.
 9Thou has sent widows empty away,
Orphan arms thou hast broken in pieces:
 10And therfore are snares round about thee,
And fear on a sudden confounds thee.
 11Thy light is vanished in darkness,
And floods of waters are over thee.
 12Is not God in the heights of heaven?
And the tops of the high stars He seeth.
 13Yet thou sayest, "What doth God know?
Can He judge aright through the thick darkness?
 14The clouds hide Him, so that He sees not;
He walketh the vault of the heavens."
 15Wilt thou keep to the ancient way,
Which men of sin have trodden,
 16Who untimely were snatched away.
While the ground beneath ran like a stream?
 19The righteous rejoiced at the sight,
And the innocent laughed them to scorn.
 20"Ah! surely our foes are cut off,
And the remnant devoured by the fire."
 21Now be friendly with Him and submissive,
For this is the way to happiness.
 22Acccept from His mouth instruction,
And lay up His words in thy heart.
 23If thou humbly turn to Almighty,
And put away sin from thy tent,
 24And lay in the dust thy treasure,
Ophir gold among stones of the brook,
 25That Almighty become thy treasure,
And His instruction thy silver,
 26Then Almighty shall be thy delight,
Thou shalt lift up thy face unto God.
 27He will hearken unto thy petition,
And so shalt thou pay thy vows.
 28The thing thou decreest shall stand,
And light shall shine on thy ways.
 29For He humbles the high and the proud;
But whose eyes are lowly He saveth.
 30The innocent man He delivers,
And saves for this cleanness of hands.
Job's Second Sustained Indictment of the Existing Order 
 23The Job answered and said:
 2This day also my plaint must be bitter;
His hand on my groaning lies heavy.
 3O that I knew where to find Him,
That I might come unto His throne,
 4And set forth my cause before Him,
With arguments filling my mouth!
 5I would know with what words He would answer,
And understand what He would say to me.
 6Would He use His great power in the contest?
Nay, He would give heed unto me.
 7There the upright might argue with Him,
And my right I should rescue for ever.
 8Behold, I go east, but He is not:
And west, but I cannot perceive Him.
 9Seek on the north, but in vain:
I turn south, but I cannot behold Him.
 10But He knoweth the way that is mine;
I would come forth as gold, should He try me.
 11My foot hath held fast to His steps,
And His way have I kept without swerving.
 12Not once have I strayed from His precepts;
His words have I hid in my bosom.
 13But when He hath resolved — who can turn Him?
And what He desireth, He doeth.
 15For this cause His presence confounds me,
The thought of Him fills me with terror;
 16For God hath weakened my heart,
And Almighty confounded me clean.
 17I am utterly lost in the darkness,
And gloom enwrappeth my face. 
 24Why doth God not fix seasons for judgment,
1And His friends never see His (great) day?
 2The wicked remove the landmarks,
They plunder the flock with the shepherd.
 3They drive off the ass of the fatherless,
Take the ox of the widow in pledge.
 4The poor they turn out of the way,
And the needy must huddle together.
 5See! like the wild asss in the desert,
They roam forth in search of prey;
Their children eat bread of the jungle.
 6They reap the fields in the night-time;
They punder the vines of the wealthy.
 7All night they lie bare, without clothing,
With nothing to keep out of the cold.
 8They are wet with the showers of the hills,
And the rocks they embrace for a shelter.
 9The fatherless they tear from the breast,
And the babe of the poor take in pledge.
 10They go about bare, without clothing,
And, hungry, they pilfer the sheaves.
 11They press out the oil 'twixt the olive-rows;
The wine-vats they tread and then drain.
 12From cities and homes they are driven;
Their little ones cry out for hunger,
But God takes no heed of the wrong.
 13There are those who rebel against light,
Who recognise not His ways,
But refuse to abide in His paths.
 14In the evening the murderer rises
To butcher the poor and the needy.
The thief stalks abroad in the night.
 15With face muffed up in a veil,
The adulterer watches for twilight,
Assured that no eye can behold him.
 16In the darkness they break into houses;
They shut themselves up in the day-time;
For all of them hate the light.
 17Familiar with gloomy ways,
They seek for themselves the deep darkness,
 18And swiftly they glide on the waters.
His portion of land shall be cursed,
 19Consumed by the drought and the heat,
And flooded away by snow-water.
 20The streets of his place shall forget him,
Shall think of his greatness no more:
Like a dead tree shall he be uprooted.
 21For he did not good to the widow,
No pity he showed to her babe;
 22And his power swept the helpless away.
Vengeance falls: he expects not to live,
 23He is hurled beyond hope of recovery;
The tormentor is on his way.
 24His greatness is brief — he is gone;
Like the mallow he bends, he shrivels—
Cut down like the top ears of corn.
 25And if not, who will prove me a liar,
And reduce mine indictment to nothing?
Bildad's Declaration of God's Wisdom and Power 
 25Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:1  
 26How well thou hast aided the weak
2And supported the arm of the strengtless!
 3How well thou hast conselled the foolish,
And shown thine abundance of wisdom!
 4Who inspired thee to utter such words,
And whose spirit is it that comes forth from thee? 
 25Dominion and fear are with Him.
2On His high places He maketh peace.
 3His hosts — are they not beyond counting?
Whom doth not His ambush surprise?
 4How can man then be just before God?
How can one born of woman be pure?
 5See! the moon herself is not clear,
And the stars are not pure in His sight:
 6How much less is man — a mere maggot;
And the on of man — but a worm! 
 26Before Him in pain writhe the giants,
5Whose home is beneath the waters.
 6Sheol is naked before Him,
Uncovered lieth Abaddon.
 7He stretcheth the North o'er the void,
And He hangeth the earth over nothing.
 8In His thick clouds He tieth the waters,
Yet the clouds are not torn with the weight.
 9He closeth the face of His throne,
And over it spreadeth His cloud.
 10A circle He drew on the deep,
To the confines of light and of darkness.
 11The pillars of heaven fell a-rocking,
Astonished at His rebuke.
 12By His power He stirred up the sea,
By His wisdom He smote clean through Rahab.
 13His breath made the heavens fair;
His hand pierced the serpent that fleeth.
 14See! these are the fringe of His ways;
Yea, 'tis only whisper we hear:
Who can tell how mighty His thunder?
The Last Clash — Between Job and Zophar 
Job 
 27Then Job answered and said:
 2As God Almighty liveth,
Who hath wronged and embittered my soul—
 3For within me my life is yet whole,
And the spirit of God in my nostrils—
 4I swear that my lips speak no falsehood,
My tongue doth not utter deceit.
 5God forbid I shoud grant ye were right;
I will cling to mine innocence till I die.
 6I maintain to the end I am guiltless;
Not an hour of my life do I blush for.
 12Ye have all with your own eyes seen it:
Wherefore, then, this idle folly?
Zophar
 7Perish my foe like the wicked,
Mine enemy as the unrighteous.
 8For what is the hope of the godless,
When God requireth his soul?
 9Will God give ear to his cry,
In the day when distress comes upon him?
 10Will Almighty be then his delight?
When he calleth, will God be entreated?
 11I will teach you how God wields His arm,
And not hide the Almighty's behaviour.
 13The wicked man's portion from God is this,
And the lot the Almighty bestows on the tyrant:
 14If his children grow up, the sword claims them;
His offspring are stinted for bread.
 15By death shall his remnant be buried,
Their widows shall make no lament.
 16Though silver he heap up like dust,
And prepare (costly) raiment like clay,
 17Yet the just shall put on what he stored,
And the silver shall fall to the innocent.
 18Like a spider's the house which he builded,
Like booth which the vine-keeper maketh.
 19He lieth down rich, but he wakes not;
He openeth his eyes, and he is not.
 20He is caught in a flood of terrors;
In the night he is stolen by a tempest.
 21The east wind bears him away;
It sweepeth him out of his place.
 22He hurleth at him without mercy;
Fain would he escape from His hand.
 23His hands He clappeth at him,
And He hisseth at him from His place.
Job's Great Defence and His Last Appeal
The Happy Past 
 29Then Job answered and said:
 2O to be as in months long gone,
As in days when God used to keep me,
 3When His lamp shone over my head,
And I walked by His light through the darkness;
 4As I was in the days of mine autumn,
When God protected my tent,
 5While still the Almighty was with me,
And my children were round about me;
 6When my steps were bathed in milk,
And the rock poured me rivers of oil!
 7When I went to the city gate,
Or took up my place in the open,
 8The youths, when they saw me, hid.
The old men rose and stood.
 9Princes refrained from speech,
And laid their hand on their mouth.
 10The voice of the nobles was hushed,
And their tongue would cleave to their palate.
 21They hearkened to me and they waited,
Kept silence till I should give counsel;
 22After I spoke, they spake not again,
My speech fell like rain-drops upon them,
 23They waited for me as for rain—
Open-mouthed, as for latter rain.
 24When I smiled upon them, they were strengthened;
The light of my face cheered the sorrowing.
 25I chose out their way and sat chief,
Enthroned like a king in his army.
 11I was blessed by the ear that heard me,
The eye bore me witness that saw me;
 12For I rescued the poor when he cried,
The fatherless and the helpless.
 13The wretched gave me their blessing,
The widow's heart I made sing.
 14I put on the garment of righteousness,
A robe and a turban of justice.
 15Eyes was I to the blind,
Feet to the lame was I;
 16A father was I to the poor,
And I searched out the cause of the stranger.
 17I shattered the jaws of the wicked,
And hurled the prey from his teeth.
 18So I thought, "I shall die with my nest,
As the sand my days shall be many.
 19My root is spread out to the waters,
All night lies the dew on my branches.
 20Within me my glory is fresh,
And my bow is renewed in my hand."
The Awful Present 
 30But now am I become their song,
9Yea, I am a by-word among them.
 10In horror they stand far aloof,
And they spare not to spit at the sight of me.
 11He hath slackened my bow-string, and humbled me,
Flung down my banner before me.
 12Against me His hosts stand up,
They raise deadly ramparts against me.
 13My path they tear up clean,
My tracks they destroy altogether.
His Archers ring me around,
 14As through a wide breach they come in,
Rolling on in the midst of the ruin.
 15Terrors are turned upon me;
My weal is the sport of the winds,
And my welfare is passed like a cloud.
 16And now is my soul poured out,
The terrors of misery seize me.
 17The night boreth into my bones,
And the pains that gnaw never slumber,
 18From sore wasting my garments is shrunk;
It clingeth to me like my vest.
 19(God) hath plunged me into the mire,
So that I am like dust and ashes.
 20I cry, but Thou givest no answer;
Thou standest and heedest me not.
 21Cruel to me art Thou turned;
With the might of Thy hand Thou dost scourge me.
 22Thou settest me to ride on the wind,
And I melt in the roar of the storm.
 23For I know Thou wilt bring me to death,
To the house where all living assemble.
 24Yet sinking men stretch out their hand,
And cry for help as they perish.
 25He whose days are hard — does he weep not?
Is the soul of the needy not grieved?
 26For instead of the good I had hoped for came evil,
Instead of the light I waited came darkness.
 27My heart is hot and restless,
And misery daily confronts me.
 28I got with my sorrow uncomforted,
Standing where jackals are gathered.
 29Brother am I to the wolves,
And of ostriches the companion.
 30All backened my skin peels from off me;
My bones are burned with the heat.
 31So my lyre is turned into mourning,
My pipe to the voice of lament.
The Defence and Final Appeal 
 31A tyrst I made with mine eyes
1To give no heed unto folly.
 2For how doth the high God reward it—
The Almighty in heaven requite it?
 3Is not for the wicked misfortune—
Disaster for workers of wrong?
 4Doth He not see my ways,
And number my steps every one?
 5If ever I walked with falsehood,
Or my foot hath made haste unto fraud—
 6Let God only weigh wish just balance,
Mine innocence He must acknowledge—
 7If my step ever swerved from the way.
Or my heart hath gone after mine eyes,
Or spot hath cleaved to my hands,
 8Then what I sow may others enjoy,
And all produce of mine be uprooted.
 9If my heart hath been lured by a woman,
If I lurked at my neighbour's door,
 10May my own wife grind to another,
And let others bow down upon her.
 11For that were an infamous crime,
An iniquity calling for judgment,
 12A fire that devours to Abaddon
And would all mine increase consume.
 13Never spurned I the cause of my servant—
Of man or of maid — when we strove.
 15Did not He that made me make him,
Did not One fashion us in the womb?
 16Ne'er denied I the wish of the poor,
Nor brought grief to the eyes of the widow.
 17Never ate I my morsel alone,
Without sharing thereof with the orphan.
 14Else what should I do, when God rose?
When He visited, what should I answer?
 18For father-like, He brought me up from my youth,
And my Guide has He been from my mother's womb.
 19Never saw I one naked and perishing—
Needy, with nothing to cover him—
 20But I warmed him with fleece from my lambs,
And his loins gave me their blessing.
 21If, beacause I saw help in the gate,
I have ever set hand on the innocent,
 22Let my shoulder fall from its blade,
And mine arm from the socketh be broken.
 24Never set I my trust upon gold,
Nor called the fine gold my confidence.
 25Mine abundant wealth never elated me,
Nor all that my hands had gotten.
 26Never, watching the shining lights,
Or the moon as she walked in her splendour,
 27Did my heart feel their subtle allurement,
Or my hand throw a kiss to my mouth.
 28This, too, were a crime for the judges,
For to God above I had lied:
 23The terrors of God would assail me,
Before whose approach I were powerless.
 29Ne'er rejoiced I at enemy's fall,
Nor triumphed when evil befel him;
 30Not suffered my mouth to sin,
By demanding his life in a curse.
 31The men of my tent will declare
None has ever been stinted of food.
 32Not a stranger e'er lodged in the street,
For I opened my doors to the wayfarer.
 38If my land ever cried out against me,
Her furrows all weeping together;
 39If her strength I have drained without cost,
Or have poured out the life of her owner;
 40Let thorns take the place of wheat,
And foul-smelling weeds — of barley.
 33No fear of the crowd ever led me
To hide my sin among men.
 34No contempt of the clans ever scared me
To stay behind closed doors in silence.
 35O for One who would listen to me.
Behold! there is my cross!
Let Almighty God give me His answer.
O would that I had the indicment
Mine Adversary hath written!
 36For, bearing it high on my shoulder,
And winding it round like a crown,
 37Every step of my life I would tell Him,
Like a prince I would enter His presence.
 40cThe words of Job are ended.
ACT IV
The Answer of the Almighty
The wonders of the Inanimate World 
 38Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind 1and said:
 2who is this, then, that darkeneth counsel
By words that are empty of knowledge?
 3Gird up they loins like a man:
I would ask of thee — do thou enlighten Me.
 4Where wast thou, when I founded the earth?
Declare out of the depths of thine insight.
 5Dost thou of know who appointed her measures,
Or who stretched upon her the line?
 6Whereupon were her pedestal sunk,
Or who laid her corner-stone,
 7When the morning-stars sang together,
And the sons of God shouted in chorus?
 8Who shut in the sea with doors,
When it burst its way out of the womb—
 9When gave it its robe of cloud,
And its swaddling band of the dark cloud;
 10When I broke off its border for it,
And set on its bars and doors,
 11Declaring, "Thus far, but no further,
And here shall thy proud waves be stayed"?
 12Didst thou ever give charge to the morning,
Or appoint to the day-star her place,
 13To take hold of the skirts of the earth,
And to shake out the wicked from off it?
 14It is changed as clay under the seal,
And the world stands forth (bright) as a garment.
 16Hast thou entered the springs of the ocean,
Or walked in the depths of the sea?
 17Have the gate-ways of Death been unveiled to thee?
Hast thou looked on the porters of Hades?
 18The breadth of the earth hast thou noted?
How great is it? Tell, if thou knowest.
 19Which way leads to the home of the light?
And where is the place of the darkness?
 20Canst thou fetch it out unto its border,
Or lead it back home to its house?
 21Thou wast born then, so doubtless thou knowest—
The tale of thy years is so great!
 22Hast thou entered the store-house of snow?
Hast thou looked on the guardians of hail,
 23Which I hoard for the time of distress,
for the day of assault and of battle?
 24Which way are the vapours divided,
That scatter on earth the cool water?
 25Who cleft for the torrents a channel,
A path for the flash of the lightning—
 26Sending rain on the desolate land,
On the uninhabited desert,
 27Thus gladdening the wilderness waste,
And the thirsty land clothing with verdure?
 28Say, hath the rain a father?
Or who hath begotten the dew-drops?
 29Out of whose womb issued the ice?
And the hoar-frost of heaven — who hath borne it?
 30The waters are frozen like stone,
And the face of the deep remains hidden.
 31Dost thou fasten the chain of the dog-star
Or loosen the bonds or Orion?
 32Dost thou bring out the stars in their season?
The Bear with her young dost thou lead?
 33Dost thou lay down the law to the heavens,
Or establish their rule in the earth?
 34Dost thou lift up thy voice to the clouds,
That abundance of waters obey thee?
 35Dost thou send on their mission the lightnings?
To thee do they say, "Here we are"?
 36Who hath set in the fleecy clouds wisdom?
Or given to the meteor insight?
 37Who spreadeth the clouds out in wisdom?
Who tilteth the pitchers of heaven,
 38When the dust runneth into a mass
And the clods cleave firmly together?
The Wonders of the Animate World
 39Dost thou hunt for the lion his prey
Or the young lions' craving appease,
 40When low in their lairs they crouch,
Lying in wait in the thicket?
 41Who provideth at even his food,
When his young ones cry unto God,
Open-mouthed, for the meat that is lacking? 
 39Dost thou fix the birth-times of the wild goats,
1Or watch o'er the calving of hinds?
 2Dost thou number the months they fulfil,
Or determine the time of their bearing?
 3They cower and bring forth their young,
Swiftly ridding themselves of their birth-pangs.
 4Their young one grow strong in the open,
Go forth and come back not again.
 5Who let out the wild ass free?
Who loosened the bonds of the wild ass,
 6Whose home I have made the steppe,
And the salt-land the place of his dwelling?
 7He laughs at the din of the city,
No driver roars in his ears.
 8The mountains he scours as his pasture,
And every green thing is his quest.
 9Will the wild ox be willing to serve thee,
Or spend the night in thy crib?
 10Wilt thou fasten a rope on his neck?
Will he harrow thy furrows behind thee?
 11Wilt thou trust his magnificent strength,
Or put him in charge of thy labours,
 12Expect him to come again
And gather thy seed to thy threshing-floor?
 13The wing of the ostrich beats joyously,
But her pinions and feathers are cruel.
 14For she trusteth her eggs to the ground,
And she setteth them down in the dust,
 15Forgetting that foot may crush them,
Or beast of the field tread upon them.
 16Her young she treats harshly, as strangers,
Unmoved though her toil be in vain.
 17For God hath not dealt to her wisdom,
Nor alloted to her understanding.
 18She scuddeth along in her flight,
At the horse and his rider she laugheth.
 19Dost thou give to the war-horse his strength,
Clothe his neck with the quivering mane?
 20Dost thou make him to leap like a locust,
With snort that is splendid and terrible?
 21He paweth the valley exulting,
As forth to the fight the fares.
 22He laughs undismayed at the terror,
He turneth not back from the sword.
 23Against him the quiver may rattle,
The glittering spear or the dart:
 24He devoureth the ground in wild rage,
Without turning to right hand or left.
 25At the trumpet alarm he saith "Ha!"
For he scenteth the battle afar,
The thunder of captains, the shouting.
 26Doth the hawk soar aloft by thy wisdom.
And spread out her wings to the south?
 27Doth the eagle mount up at thy bidding,
And make her nest high on the mountains?
 28The cliff is her home where she lodges—
The peak of the cliff and the fortress,
 29She spieth her prey from the heights
With those eyes that see from afar.
 30Her young ones suck up blood:
Where the slain are, there is she.
The Rebuke 
 40Shall a caviller strive with Almighty?
2He that argues with God — let him answer.
 8Wilt thou disallow my right.
And condemn me that thou mayest be justified?
 9Hast thou an arm like God?
With a voice like His canst thou thunder?
 10Now deck thee with pride and with majesty,
Clothe thee with glory and splendour.
 11Pour forth the floods of thine anger,
And all that is lofty abase.
 12Every proud one lay low whom thou seest,
And crush thou the wicked beneath thee.
 13Hide them together in dust,
And bind their faces in darkness.
 14And I then will render thee praise
That thy right hand hath won thee the victory.
Job's HUmble and Penitent Reply 
 40Then Job answered Jehovah and said:
 4Ah, how small am I! What can I answer?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
 5Once indeed have I spoken; — enough:
Yea twice — but not ever again. 
 42I acknowledge that Thou hast prevailed;
2There is nothing too hard for Thee.
 3bTherefore spake I without understanding,
 3cOf wonders beyond my knowledge.
 5I had heard of Thee but by hearsay,
But now mine eye hath seen Thee;
 6And therefore I spurn (my words)
And repent in dust and in ashes.
The Epilogue
The Friends Rebuked 
 43So after Jehovah has spoken these words to Job,7He said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My anger ishot against thee and thy two friends; because,unlike my servant Job, ye have not spoken the 8truth about me. But now, go to my servant Jobwith seven bullocks and seven rams, and offer themas a burnt-offering for yourselves, and my servantJob shall pray for you; for, our of regard for him,I will not put you to confusion for your failure tospeak the truth about me, as my servant Job has 9done." So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad theShuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and didas Jehovah told them, and Jehovah had regard untoJob.
The Restoration of Job
 10So when Job prayed for his friends, Jehovahchanged his fortunes, giving him double of all he 11had before. Then his brothers and sister and oldfriends came — every one of them — and dinedwith him at his home; and they condoled with him, and comforted him for all the misery thatJehovah had brought upon him. Besides, each ofthem made him a present of a piece of money and agold ring. 12Thus in the end Jehovah made Job more blessedthan he was at the first — with his fourteen thousandsheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of 13oxen, and one thousand she-asses. Besides, he hadseven sons, and three daughters whom he named 14in the order of their birth Jemimah, Keziah, and 15Keren-happuch. In all the world were no womenfound so fair as the daughters of Job, and theirfather made them sharers in his inheritance with their brothers.
 16After this Job lived a hundred and forty years.Thus he was spared to see not only his children, buthis grandchildren — four generations.
 17Then Job died — old and full of days.
Elihu's Interpretation of Suffering 
 32Now these three men ceased answering Job,1because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then 2the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite,of the family of Ram, was kindled; against Jobwas his anger kindled, because he had made himself 3out to be more righteous than God. But his angerwas kindled against his three friends as well,because they had condemned Job without finding 4any answer. Now, as they were older, Elihu had 5waited while they were speaking with Job; but,on seeing that the three men had no answer to offer,Elihu's anger was kindled.
 6Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buziteanswered and said:I am but young in years,
While ye are aged men:
So I was timid, and feared
To set my opinion before you.
 7I felt that days ought to speak,
And that years gave the right to teach wisdom.
 8But the spririt enlighteneth men,
The Almighty inspires then with insight.
 9It is not the old men that are wise,
Nor the aged that understand truth;
 10And so, pray, listen to me—
I, too, would set forth my opinion.
 11aI waited what you had to say,
 11bI lent mine ear to your reasons;
 12aYea, I gave heed unto you,
 11cWhile ye searched out what to say.
 12bBut see! none brought conviction to Job,
 12cNot a man of you answered his words.
 13Say not "Here wer have come upon wisdom;
'Tis God must confound him, not man."
 14He hath not yet debated with me,
Nor will I give him answers like yours.
 15Panic-stricken they answer no more,
Words have floated away from them.
 16Must I wait because they are silent,
Stand still, and answer no more?
 17Nay, but I, too, will answer my share;
I, too, will set forth my opinion.
 18For filled with words am I;
The breath in my body distress me.
 19Like wine without vent is my belly,
Like new wine-skins ready to burst.
 20I must speak and so find me relief;
I must open my lips and make answer.
 21I would show my favour to none,
And give flattering titles to no man.
 22Of flattery I know nothing—
Else soon would my Maker remove me. 
 33But listen, Job, pray, to my words,
1And give ear unto all that I say.
 2Behold! I have opened my mouth;
My tongue in my palate hath spoken.
 3MY heart poureth forth words of knowledge;
Unfeigned is the speech of my lips.
 5Then answer me this, if thou canst:
Stand up and debate with me.
 6See! I am in God's sight as thou;
I, too, was fashioned to clay.
 4The spirit of God hath created me;
My life is the breath of Almighty.
 7See! no terrors of mine need appal thee,
Nor shall my hand lie heavy upon thee.
 8Thou hast certainly said in my hearing,
Thy voice I heard thus maintaining:
 9"Pure and sinless am I;
I am clean, there is no guilt in me.
 10But He findeth pretexts against me,
He counteth me as His foe.
 11He setteth my feet in the stocks,
Keepeth watch over all my ways.
 12Behold! when I cry, comes no answer:
God hideth Himself from men."
God speaks to Men through Dreams and Visions
 13Now why dost thou plead against Him
That He giveth thy words no answer?
 14For God hath one manner of speech,
Yea two — and He doth not revoke it.
 15In a dream, in a vision of night,
"When deep sleep falleth on men,"
In slumbers upon the bed,
 16Then He opens the ears of men,
And sendeth them fearful warnings,
 17To turn men aside from wrong,
And to bring human pride to an end—
 18To keep back man's soul from the pit
And his life from descending to Sheol.
God speaks to Men through Pain and Sickness
 19Or on bed of pain he is chastened,
And all his bones are benumbed.
 20His soul has a loathing of bread,
And the daintiest food he abhorreth.
 21His flesh is lean and wasted;
His bones are all but bare.
 22His soul draweth nigh to the pit,
And his life to the angels of death.
 23Then over him there is an angel
Interpreter, one of a thousand,
Who expounds unto man his chastisement,
 24Takes pity on him and says:
Let him not go down to the pit:
I have found (for his soul) a ransom."
 25Then his flesh becomes fresher than child's,
He returns to the days of his youth.
 26He prays unto God with acceptance,
He looks on His face with joy,
Tells the story of his salvation,
 27And sings before men this song:
"I have sinned and perverted the right,
Yet He hath not requited my sin.
 28He hath ransomed my soul from the pit,
That alive I behold the light."
 29See! all these things God doeth,
Twice, yea thrice, with a man,
 30To bring back his soul from the pit,
With the light of life's sunshine upon him.
 31Be attentive, Job, listen to me;
Be thou silent, and I will speak.
 32If aught thou canst say, then answer me:
Speak, for my wish is to clear thee.
 33But if not, listen thou unto me:
Be silent, while I teach thee wisdom. 
 34Then Elihu went on:
 2Listen, ye wise, to my words,
And give ear to me, ye that have knowledge.
 3For the ear is the tester of words
As the palate the taster of food.
 4Let us choose for ourselves what is good.
Recognise by ourselves what is good.
 5For Job claimeth to be in the right:
"God," he says, "hath deprived me of justice.
 6Though right, I am counted a liar;
And though sinless, He wounds me past healing."
 7Where is the man like Job
That drinketh up scorning like water,
 8That leagues with the workers of wrong,
And that walketh with wicked men?
 9For he saith that a mn hath no profit
From being the friend of God.
God watches over the Moral Order
 10So, ye men of intelligence, listen.
Far be it from God to do evil,
And from the Almighty to err.
 11For the work of each man He requiteth;
He bringeth his way back upon him.
 12God assuredly cannot do wrong.
The Almighty would not pervert justice.
 13Who entrusted the earth to His charge?
And who watcheth over the universe?
 14If He should recall His spirit
And gather His breath to Himself,
 15All flesh together would perish,
And man would return to the dust.
 16If thou art wise, listen to this,
And give ear to the sound of my words.
 17Could One rule to whom justice were odious?
Condemn'st thou the Just and the Mighty One,
 18Who saith to a king, "Thou villain!"
To nobles, "Ye infamous men!"—
 19Who showeth no favour to princes,
Regardeth not rich more than poor?
For the work of His hands are they all:
 20In a moment they die — at midnight.
The rich are convulsed, they pass:
He mysteriously removeth the mighty.
 21For His eyes are over man's ways,
Every one of his steps He beholdeth.
 22No darkness is there and no gloom
Where the workers of wrong may be hidden.
 23No time doth he set for man
To appear before God in judgment:
 24He shatters the strong without trial,
And others He sets in their place.
 25For He giveth heed to their works;
In the night He doth overturn them.
 26Beneath their crimes they are crushed;
He smites them in presence of witnesses;
 27For they turned from following Him,
And they gave no heed to His ways.
 28so the crushed were driven to cry to Him,
And the call of the wretched He heard.
 29But if He remain silent, who then can condemn Him?
If He hide His face, who can bring Him to task?
Yet He watches o'er nations and men,
 30That none reigns who would wrong the people.
 31Say to God, "I have borne my sin,
I will not offend any more.
 32Now I see it: O teach me Thyself.
Have I sinned? I will do so no more."
 33Must He recompense after thy wishes,
That thou hast rejected (His ways)?
'Tis for thee to decide — not for me;
Then utter the thing that thou knowest.
 34Men of intellect will admit—
Men of wisdom who listen to me—
 35That Job hath not spoken with knowledge,
His words are not marked by insight.
 36O that Job might be tried to the end
For the wickedness of his answers!
 37For he addeth rebellion to sin,
And multiples words against God. 
 35Then Elihu went on:
 2Thinkest thou this to be just,
Dost thou call it they right before God,
 3To ask, "What advantage is mine?
What the better am I, if I sin not?"
 4Well, I will give thee an answer,
And thy three friends as well.
 5Look to the heavens and see,
And observe the clouds high overhead.
 6what effect hath thy sin upon Him?
What cares He for thy many transgressions?
 7What gain comes to Him from thy righteousness?
What receives He from thy hand?
 8'Tis to men like thyself thy sin matters,
'Tis mortals thy righteousness touches.
 9Under sore oppression men cry
For help from the arm of the tyrant;
 10But none saith, "Where is God my Creator?"—
The Giver of songs in the night,
 11Who grants us more knowledge than beasts,
And more wisdom than birds of the air.
 12Then they cry, but receive no answer,
Because of their impious pride.
 13For to idle cries God will not listen,
Nor will the Almighty regard them.
 14And when He seems not to regard thee,
Be still and wait patiently for Him.
 15But now that His wrath doth not punish,
And sin He not greatly regardeth,
 16Job opens his mouth thus idly,
And poureth forth words without knowledge.
God's Disciplinary Methods Illustrated in History 
 36Then Elihu continued:
 2Wait, I pray, but a while; I will show thee:
I have yet to say somewhat for God.
 3With knowledge fetched from afar
I will justify my Creator.
 4For truly my words are no lie;
One in knowledge complete stands before thee.
 5Behold, God spurneth the stubborn,
 6The wicked He spareth not:
But He granteth the rights of the wretched,
 7Withdraws not their due from the just. 
It has happened to kings on the throne,
seated in pride and glory,
 8That prisoners in chains they became,
Held fast in the cords of misery:
 9Then He set forth before them their doings,
Their proud and rebellious behaviour;
 10He opened their ears to instruction
And bade them turn back from sin.
 11If they hearken and do Him homage,
They finish their days in prosperity.
 12But if stubborn, they pass to Sheol,
They die without coming to knowledge.
 13For, godless at heart, they grow sullen;
They cry not for help when He binds them.
 14They die in the days of their youth,
Like sodomites they perish.
 15The sufferer He saveth through sufferings;
Adversity opens his ear.
 16But thou hast been lured by thy freedom,
By ease at the jaws of distress,
By the fat on thy well-filled table,
And the absence of trouble to haunt thee.
 17The full fate of the wicked is thine;
Thou art held in the grasp of His judgment.
 18Let not chastisement make thee resentful,
Nor let the high ransom deflect thee.
 19Wouldst thou marshall thy plaint against Him,
And all the resource of thy might?
 20Let not folly beguile thee to rival
The man who doth think himself wise.
 21Beware, and incline not to sin,
Nor make choice of sin rather than suffering.
God's Marvellous Ways in Nature
 22See! God by His power doeth loftily—
Who is a teacher like Him?
 23Who hath enjoined Him His way?
Or who hath said, "Thou doest wrongly"?
 24Remember to magnify Him
For His work, whereof men have sung.
 25All men look with pleasure thereon,
Though man seeth it but from afar.
 26Behold! God is great beyond knowledge,
The tale of His years beyond search.
 27For He draweth up drops from the sea,
Which He poureth in rain from His Vapour,
 28Wherewith, as the clouds distil,
They drop down in showers upon men.
 29Who can tell how the clouds are spread out,
How He thunders from His pavilion?
 30He spreadeth His vapour around Him;
He covers the tops of the mountains.
 31Therewith He sustaineth the nations,
And food in abundance He giveth.
 32He wrappeth His hands in the lightning,
And biddeth it fly to its mark.
 33His thunder announces His coming;
His anger is kindled at wrong. 
 37At this doth thy heart not tremble,
1And leap right out of its place?
 2Hark, hark to His voice tempestuous,
To the roar that goes forth from His mouth.
 3'Neath the whole sky He letteth it loose,
And His flash to the fringe of the world.
 4In the wake of it roareth His voice,
With His voice majestic He thunders;
Nor holds He the lightnings back,
Whensoever His voice is heard.
 5God letteth us see His wonders;
Great things beyond knowledge He doeth.
 6For He saith to the snow, "Fall earthwards";
Likewise to His strong rushing rain.
 7He sealeth up all mankind,
That His work may be known of them all.
 8The beasts go into their lairs,
And within their dens remain.
 9The temptest comes out of its chamber,
And out of its store-house the cold.
 10By the breath of God ice is given,
The broad waters lie in constraint.
 11Yea, He ladeth the thick cloud with hail,
And the cloud doth scatter His lightning.
 12This way and that is darteth,
Turning about by His guidance,
Doings whate'er He commands it
Over the face of His world,
 13Wether for curse and correction
Or in mercy He sendeth it forth.
 14Hearken to this, Job, stand still,
And consider the wonders of God.
 15Dost thou know how God doeth His work;
How He flashes the light of His cloud?
 16Dost thou know how the thick clouds are poised;
How He pours down a flood when it thunders,
 17What time thy garments grow hot
From the south wind which laps earth in silence?
 18Like Him canst thou spread out the sky,
Like Him canst thou spread out the sky,
Which is strong as a molten mirror?
 19How then shall we speak to Him? Tell me;
For helpless are we in our darkness.
 20Shall one cavil at Him when He speaketh?
Or shall a man say that He errs?
 21Now no man can look on the light,
So dazzling bright in the sky,
When the wind has passed over and cleared it,
 22And radiance comes out of the north;
But the splendour of God — how terrible!
 23The Almighty we cannot find out.
Powerful is He and all-righteous,
And justice He will not pervert.
 24For this cause ought mortals to fear Him:
But the heart of conceit He despiseth.
The Mystery of the Divine Wisdom
(As for Wisdom-whence cometh she? Understanding-where hath she her home?)
 1For a mine there is for the silver,
And a place where the gold is refined.
 2Iron is taken from dust,
And copper is smelted from stone.
 3Man explores the dark to its limits,
Seeks stones fromthe blackest gloom.
 4He breaketh a shaft through the ground;
Forgotten, they hang without foothold;
They swing to and fro far from men.
 5From the surface of earth cometh bread,
While, beneath, it is raked as by fire.
 6Her stones are the home of the sapphire;
The dust thereof is gold.
 9He puts forth his hand on the rock;
At their roots he o'erturneth the mountains.
 10aChannels he cuts in the rocks,
 11aAnd he bindeth the streams that they weep not.
 10bEach precious thing his eye seeth;
 11bHe bringeth the secret to light.
 12But Wisdom — whence cometh she?
Understanding — where hath she her home?
 7The pathway is strange to the vulture,
Unseen by the eye of the hawk,
 8By the sons of pride untrodden,
Nor ever by fierce lion skirted.
 13The way to her no man knoweth;
In the land of the living none finds her.
 14The deep saith, "She is not in me";
And the sea saith, "She is not in me."
 15No fine gold for her can be given,
Nor silver be paid as her price.
 16Not in Ophir gold can she be valued,
In precious onyx or sapphire.
 17Gold and clear glass are no match for her,
Jewels of gold no exchange for her.
 18Speak no of coral or crystal;
More precious than rubies is Wisdom.
 19The topaz of Cush is no match for her.
In pure gold she cannot be valued.
 20But Wisdom — whence cometh she?
Understanding — where hath she her home?
 21She is hid from the eyes of all living,
Concealed from the birds of the air.
 22Abaddon and Death declare,
"A rumour of her we have heard."
 23But the way to her God understandeth,
And He alone knoweth her home.
 24For He looks to the ends of the earth
And all things under heaven He beholds.
 25when He settled the weight of the wind
And meted the waters by measure,
 26Created a law for the rain,
And a path for the flash of the lightning,
 27Even then did He see and declare her,
Establish and search her out.
 28And He said unto man, "Behold!
The fear of Me — that is Wisdom,
And turning from wrong — Understanding."
Two Wonderful Creatures of God
The Hippopotamus
 15Behold now the huge beast beside thee:
He eateth up grass like an ox.
 16Behold now the strength in his loins,
And the force in the muscles of his belly.
 17He holds his tail stiff as a cedar,
His thighs are of sinews entwined.
 18His bones are as tubes of brass,
His limbs are like bars of iron.
 19He is chief of the ways of God,
Made to lord it over his fellows.
 20The mountains yields him their fruits;
All the wild beasts he grindeth to powder.
 21There under the lotus he lies,
In the covert of reed and fen,
 22Protected by shade of the lotus,
Encircled by water-willows.
 23From the wild rushing torrent he flees not;
He is calm in the swell of a Jordan.
 24Who would venture to make for his eyes,
Or to pierce through his nose with a cord?
The Crocodile
 1Canst thou draw out the crocodile with hook,
Or press his tongue down with a cord?
 2Canst thou put a rope into his nose,
Or pierce his jaws through with a hook?
 3Will he make many prayers unto thee,
Or will he speak softly to thee?
 4Will he make any tryst with thee,
To be kept as thy servant for ever?
 5Wilt thou play with him as with a bird,
Or attach him to string for thy maidens?
 6Shall the (fisher) guilds traffic in him?
Shall the merchants divide him in pieces?
 7Canst thou fill his skin with barbs,
Or his head with the fish-harpon?
 8Lay but thine hand upon him:
Remember the battle — enough!
 9See! thy hope is but an illusion;
God hurleth the dread of him far.
 10Not one is so bold as to rouse him;
Where is he that can stand before him?
 11Who hath ever triumphantly braved him?
Beneath the whole heaven, not one.
 12Of his limbs I will not keep silence,
Of his strength and his mighty equipment.
 13Who can lay bare the face of his garment,
Or enter the folds of his breastplate?
 14Who can open the doors of his face?
Round about his teeth lieth terror.
 15His back is a ripple of shields,
And his breast is a seal of flint.
 16One shield is so near to another
That no air can come between them.
 17Each cleaveth so close to his fellow,
So locked, that they cannot be served.
 18Through the breath of his nostrils light flashes,
His eyes are the lids of the morning.
 19Out of his mouth go torches
And sparks of fire leap forth.
 20Smoke issues out of his nostrils,
Like a seething and boiling pot.
 21His breath setteth coals ablaze,
And a flame goeth forth from his mouth.
 22His neck is the home of strength,
And terror danceth before him.
 23The flakes of his flesh are welded
So firm that they cannot be moved.
 24His heart is as firm as a stone—
Yea, firm as the nether mill-stone.
 25When he lifts himself, strong men are terrified;
At his teeth are the mighty dismayed.
 26No sword availeth against him,
Nor spear nor dart nor arrow.
 27He counteth iron as straw,
And brass as rotten wood;
 28No arrow can put him to flight;
On him sling-stones are turned to stubble.
 29Clubs are counted as reed,
And he laughs at the whirr of a javelin.
 30Beneath him (his scales, like) sharp sherds
Spread marks, as of sledge, on the mire.
 31He makes the deep boil like a pot;
He stirreth the sea like ointment.
 32In his wake is a shinning path—
One would think the deep to be hoary.
 33There is not his like upon earth,
Created to know no fear.
 34Everything that is high is afraid of him:
He is king o'er the sons of pride.