Job 29

1 Job took up his theme anew and said;
2 Oh, that I were as in the months past! as in the days when God watched over me,
3 While he kept his lamp shining above my head, and by his light I walked through darkness;
4 As I was in my flourishing days, when God sheltered my tent;
5 When the Almighty was yet with me, and my children were round about me;
6 When my footsteps were bathed in milk, and the rock flowed with streams of oil;
7 When I went forth to the gate of the city and set up my seat in the square-
8 Then the young men saw me and withdrew, while the elders rose up and stood;
9 The chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands;
10 The voice of the princes was silenced, and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.
11 Whoever heard of me blessed me; those who saw me commended me.
12 For I rescued the poor who cried out for help, the orphans, and the unassisted;
13 The blessing of those in extremity came upon me, and the heart of the widow I made joyful.
14 I wore my honesty like a garment; justice was my robe and my turban.
15 I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame was I;
16 I was a father to the needy; the rights of the stranger I studied,
17 And I broke the jaws of the wicked man; from his teeth I forced the prey.
18 Then I said: In my own nest I shall grow old; I shall multiply years like the phoenix.
19 My root is spread out to the waters; the dew rests by night on my branches.
20 My glory is fresh within me, and my bow is renewed in my hand!
21 For me they listened and waited; they were silent for my counsel.
22 Once I spoke, they said no more, but received my pronouncement drop by drop.
23 They waited for me as for the rain; they drank in my words like the spring rains.
24 When I smiled on them they were reassured;
25 5) mourners took comfort from my cheerful glance. I chose out their way and presided; I took a king's place in the armed forces.

Job 30

1 But now they hold me in derision who are younger in years than I; Whose fathers I should have disdained to rank with the dogs of my flock.
2 Such strength as they had, to me meant nought; they were utterly destitute.
3 In want and hunger was their lot, they who fled to the parched wastelands:
4 They plucked saltwort and shrubs; the roots of the broom plant were their food.
5 They were banished from among men, with an outcry like that against a thief--
6 To dwell on the slopes of the wadies, in caves of sand and stone;
7 Among the bushes they raised their raucous cry; under the nettles they huddled together.
8 Irresponsible, nameless men, they were driven out of the land.
9 Yet now they sing of me in mockery; I am become a byword among them.
10 They abhor me, they stand aloof from me, they do not hesitate to spit in my face!
11 Indeed, they have loosed their bonds; they lord it over me, and have thrown off restraint in my presence.
12 To subvert my paths they rise up; they build their approaches for my ruin.
13 To destroy me, they attack with none to stay them;
14 as through a wide breach they advance. Amid the uproar they come on in waves;
15 over me rolls the terror. My dignity is borne off on the wind, and my welfare vanishes like a cloud.
16 My soul ebbs away from me;
17 My frame takes no rest by night; my inward parts seethe and will not be stilled.
18 One with great power lays hold of my clothing; by the collar of my tunic he seizes me:
19 He has cast me into the mire; I am leveled with the dust and ashes.
20 I cry to you, but you do not answer me; you stand off and look at me,
21 Then you turn upon me without mercy and with your strong hand you buffet me.
22 You raise me up and drive me before the wind; I am tossed about by the tempest.
23 Indeed I know you will turn me back in death to the destined place of everyone alive.
24 Yet should not a hand be held out to help a wretched man in his calamity?
25 Or have I not wept for the hardships of others; was not my soul grieved for the destitute?
26 Yet when I looked for good, then evil came; when I expected light, then came darkness.
27 days of affliction have overtaken me.
28 I go about in gloom, without the sun; I rise up in public to voice my grief.
29 I have become the brother of jackals, companion to the ostrich.
30 My blackened skin falls away from me; the heat scorches my very frame.
31 My harp is turned to mourning, and my reed pipe to sounds of weeping.

Job 31

1 If I have made an agreement with my eyes and entertained any thoughts against a maiden;
2 But what is man's lot from God above, his inheritance from the Almighty on high?
3 Is it not calamity for the unrighteous, and woe for evildoers?
4 Does he not see my ways, and number all my steps?
5 If I have walked in falsehood and my foot has hastened to deceit;
6 Let God weigh me in the scales of justice; thus will he know my innocence!
7 If my steps have turned out of the way, and my heart has followed my eyes, or any stain clings to my hands,
8 Then may I sow, but another eat of it, or may my planting be rooted up!
9 If my heart has been enticed toward a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor's door;
10 Then may my wife grind for another, and may others cohabit with her!
11 For that would be heinous, a crime to be condemned;
12 A fire that should burn down to the abyss till it consumed all my possessions to the roots.
13 Had I refused justice to my manservant or to my maid, when they had a claim against me,
14 What then should I do when God rose up; what could I answer when he demanded an account?
15 Did not he who made me in the womb make him? Did not the same One fashion us before our birth?
16 If I have denied anything to the poor, or allowed the eyes of the widow to languish
17 While I ate my portion alone, with no share in it for the fatherless,
18 Though like a father God has reared me from my youth, guiding me even from my mother's womb--
19 If I have seen a wanderer without clothing, or a poor man without covering,
20 Whose limbs have not blessed me when warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21 If I have raised my hand against the innocent because I saw that I had supporters at the gate--
22 Then may my arm fall from the shoulder, my forearm be broken at the elbow!
23 For the dread of God will be upon me, and his majesty will overpower me.
24 Had I put my trust in gold or called fine gold my security;
25 Or had I rejoiced that my wealth was great, or that my hand had acquired abundance--
26 Had I looked upon the sun as it shone, or the moon in the splendor of its progress,
27 And had my heart been secretly enticed to waft them a kiss with my hand;
28 This too would be a crime for condemnation, for I should have denied God above.
29 Had I rejoiced at the destruction of my enemy or exulted when evil fell upon him,
30 Even though I had not suffered my mouth to sin by uttering a curse against his life--
31 Had not the men of my tent exclaimed, Who has not been fed with his meat!
32 Because no stranger lodged in the street, but I opened my door to wayfarers--
33 Had I, out of human weakness, hidden my sins and buried my guilt in my bosom
34 Because I feared the noisy multitude and the scorn of the tribes terrified me- then I should have remained silent, and not come out of doors!
35 Oh, that I had one to hear my case, and that my accuser would write out his indictment!
36 Surely, I should wear it on my shoulder or put it on me like a diadem;
37 Of all my steps I should give him an account; like a prince I should present myself before him. This is my final plea; let the Almighty answer me! The words of Job are ended.
38 If my land has cried out against me till its very furrows complained;
39 If I have eaten its produce without payment and grieved the hearts of its tenants;
40 Then let the thistles grow instead of wheat and noxious weeds instead of barley!

Job 32

1 Then the three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
2 But the anger of Elihu, son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was kindled. He was angry with Job for considering himself rather than God to be in the right.
3 He was angry also with the three friends because they had not found a good answer and had not condemned Job.
4 But since these men were older than he, Elihu bided his time before addressing Job.
5 When, however, Elihu saw that there was no reply in the mouths of the three men, his wrath was inflamed.
6 So Elihu, son of Barachel the Buzite, spoke out and said: I am young and you are very old; therefore I held back and was afraid to declare to you my knowledge.
7 Days should speak, I thought, and many years teach wisdom!
8 But it is a spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.
9 It is not those of many days who are wise, nor the aged who understand the right.
10 Therefore I say, hearken to me; let me too set forth my knowledge!
11 Behold, I have waited for your discourses, and have given ear to your arguments.
12 Yes, I followed you attentively as you searched out what to say; And behold, there is none who has convicted Job, not one of you who could refute his statements.
13 Yet do not say, We have met wisdom. God may vanquish him but not man!
14 For had he addressed his words to me, I should not then have answered him as you have done.
15 They are dismayed, they make no more reply; words fail them.
16 Must I wait? Now that they speak no more, and have ceased to make reply,
17 I too will speak my part; I also will show my knowledge!
18 For I am full of matters to utter; the spirit within me compels me.
19 Like a new wineskin with wine under pressure, my bosom is ready to burst.
20 Let me speak and obtain relief; let me open my lips, and make reply.
21 I would not be partial to anyone, nor give flattering titles to any.
22 For I know nought of flattery; if I did, my Maker would soon take me away.

Job 33

1 Therefore, O Job, hear my discourse, and hearken to all my words.
2 Behold, now I open my mouth; my tongue and my voice form words.
3 I will state directly what is in my mind, my lips shall utter knowledge sincerely;
4 For the spirit of God has made me, the breath of the Almighty keeps me alive.
5 If you are able, refute me; draw up your arguments and stand forth.
6 Behold I, like yourself, have been taken from the same clay by God.
7 Therefore no fear of me should dismay you, nor should my presence weigh heavily upon you.
8 But you have said in my hearing, as I listened to the sound of your words:
9 I am clean and without transgression; I am innocent; there is no guilt in me.
10 Yet he invents pretexts against me and reckons me as his enemy.
11 He puts my feet in the stocks; he watches all my ways!
12 In this you are not just, let me tell you; for God is greater than man.
13 Why, then, do you make complaint against him that he gives no account of his doings?
14 For God does speak, perhaps once, or even twice, though one perceive it not.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, (when deep sleep falls upon men) as they slumber in their beds,
16 It is then he opens the ears of men and as a warning to them, terrifies them;
17 By turning man from evil and keeping pride away from him,
18 He withholds his soul from the pit and his life from passing to the grave.
19 Or a man is chastened on his bed by pain and unceasing suffering within his frame,
20 So that to his appetite food becomes repulsive, and his senses reject the choicest nourishment.
21 His flesh is wasted so that it cannot be seen, and his bones, once invisible, appear;
22 His soul draws near to the pit, his life to the place of the dead.
23 If then there be for him an angel, one out of a thousand, a mediator, To show him what is right for him and bring the man back to justice,
24 He will take pity on him and say, Deliver him from going down to the pit; I have found him a ransom.
25 Then his flesh shall become soft as a boy's; he shall be again as in the days of his youth.
26 He shall pray and God will favor him; he shall see God's face with rejoicing.
27 He shall sing before men and say, I sinned and did wrong, yet he has not punished me accordingly.
28 He delivered my soul from passing to the pit, and I behold the light of life.
29 Lo, all these things God does, twice, or thrice, for a man,
30 Bringing back his soul from the pit to the light, in the land of the living.
31 Be attentive, O Job; listen to me! Be silent and I will speak.
32 If you have aught to say, then answer me. Speak out! I should like to see you justified.
33 If not, then do you listen to me; be silent while I teach you wisdom.