[20] The womb shall forget him; The worm shall feed sweetly on him; He shall be no more remembered; And unrighteousness shall be broken as" a tree. [21] He devoureth the barren that beareth not, And doeth not good to the widow. [22] Yet God preserveth the mighty by his power: He riseth up that hath no assurance of life. [23] God giveth them to be in security, and they rest thereon; And" his eyes are upon their ways. [24] They are exalted; yet a little while, and they are gone; Yea, they are brought low, they are taken out of the way as all others, And are cut off as the tops of the ears of grain. [25] And if it be not so now, who will prove me a liar, And make my speech nothing worth? XXV [1] THEN answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, [2] Dominion and fear are with him; He maketh peace in his high places. [3] Is there any number of his armies? And upon whom doth not his light arise? [4] How then can man be just with' God? Or how can he be clean that is born of a woman? [5] Behold, even the moon hath no brightness, And the stars are not pure in his sight: [6] How much less man, that is a worm! And the son of man, that is a worm! [1] XXVI THEN Job answered and said, [2] How hast thou helped him that is without power! How hast thou saved the arm that hath no strength! 12 Or, as a tree; even he that devoureth &c. 18 Or, But 14 Or, And when they are &c. 18 Or, gathered in. 1 Or, before. [3] How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom, And plentifully declared sound knowledge! [4] To whom hast thou uttered words? And whose spirit' came forth from thee? [5] They that are deceased tremble Beneath the waters and the inhabitants thereof. [6] Sheol is naked before God, And Abaddon hath no covering. [7] He stretcheth out the north over empty space, [9] He incloseth the face of his throne, And spreadeth his cloud upon it. [10] He hath described a boundary upon the face of the waters, Unto the confines of light and darkness. [11] The pillars of heaven tremble And are astonished at his rebuke. [12] He stirreth up the sea with his power, And by his understanding he smiteth through Rahab. [13] By his Spirit the heavens are garnished;' His hand hath pierced the swift serpent. [14] Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways: And how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power" who can understand? [1] XXVII AND Job again took up his parable, and said, [2] As God liveth, who hath taken away my right, And the Almighty, who hath vexed' my soul; [3] (For my life is yet whole in me, And the spirit of God is in my nostrils;) 1 Heb. breath. Or, The shades. Heb. The Rephaim. • Heb. him. Or, Destruction. Or, over. • Or, stilleth. Heb. beauty. Or, fleeing. Or, gliding. Or, how little a portion. 10 Or, is heard. "Or, mighty deeds. 1 Heb. made my soul bitter. Or, All the while my breath is in me . . . nostrils; surely. [4] Surely my lips shall not speak unrighteousness, Neither shall my tongue utter deceit. [5] Far be it from me that I should justify you: Till I die I will not put away mine integrity from me. [6] My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: My heart shall not reproach me so long as I live. [7] Let mine enemy be as the wicked, And let him that riseth up against me be as the un righteous. [8] For what is the hope of the godless, though he get him gain, When God taketh away his soul? [9] Will God hear his cry, When trouble cometh upon him? [ro] Will he delight himself in the Almighty, And call upon God at all times? [11] I will teach you concerning the hand of God; That which is with the Almighty will I not conceal. [12] Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; Why then are ye become altogether vain? [13] This is the portion of a wicked man with God, And the heritage of oppressors, which they receive from the Almighty: [14] If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword; And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. [15] Those that remain of him shall be buried in death, And his widows shall make no lamentation. [16] Though he heap up silver as the dust, And prepare raiment as the clay; [17] He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, And the innocent shall divide the silver. [18] He buildeth his house as the moth, And as a booth which the keeper maketh. [19] He lieth down rich, but he shall not be gathered to his fathers; He openeth his eyes, and he is not. Or, do. • Or, doth. Or, doth not reproach me for any of my days. [20] Terrors overtake him like waters; A tempest stealeth him away in the night. [21] The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth; And it sweepeth him out of his place. [22] For God shall hurl at him, and not spare: He would fain flee out of his hand. [23] Men shall clap their hands at him, And shall hiss him out of his place. XXVIII [1] SURELY there is a mine for silver, And a place for gold which they refine. [2] Iron is taken out of the earth,' And copper is molten out of the stone. [3] Man setteth an end to darkness, And searcheth out, to the furthest bound, The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness. [4] He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; They are forgotten of the foot; They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro. [5] As for the earth, out of it cometh bread; And underneath it is turned up as it were by fire. [6] The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, And it hath dust of gold. [7] That path no bird of prey knoweth, Neither hath the falcon's eye seen it: [8] The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor hath the fierce lion passed thereby. [9] He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock; He overturneth the mountains by the roots. [10] He cutteth out channels' among the rocks; And his eye seeth every precious thing. [11] He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light. 1 Or, For. 2 Or, dust. Or, The flood breaketh out from where men sojourn; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are diminished, they are gone away from mar Or, fit. Or, And he winneth lumps of gold. Heb. sons of price. "Or, passages. Heb. from weeping. [12] But where shall wisdom be found? [13] Man knoweth not the price thereof; Neither is it found in the land of the living. [14] The deep saith, It is not in me; And the sea saith, It is not with me. [15] It cannot be gotten for gold,' Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. [16] It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, 10 With the precious onyx, or the sapphire. [17] Gold and glass cannot equal it, Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels" of fine gold. [18] No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yea, the price of wisdom is above rubies." [19] The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold. [20] Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding? [21] Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the birds of the heavens. [22] Destruction" and Death say, We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears. [23] God understandeth the way thereof, Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure. [26] When he made a decree for the rain, And a way for the lightning of the thunder; [27] Then did he see it, and declare" it; He established it, yea, and searched it out. [28] And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; 11 Or, vessels. • Or, treasure. 10 Or, beryl. |