Job curfeth the day of bis birth.

God came to prefent themselves before the LORD, and Satan came alfo among them to prefent nimfelf before the LORD.

2 And the LORD faid unto Satan, From whence comeft thou? And Satan answered the LOR", and faid, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in

3 And the LORD faid unto Satan, Haft thou confidered my fervant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright, man, one that feareth God, and efcheweth evil? and till he holdeth faft his integrity, although thou movedit me against him to destroy him without caufe.

4 And Satan anfwered the LORD, and faid, Skin for fkin; yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life:

5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch Eis bone and his flesh, and he will curfe thee to thy face.

6 And the LORD faid unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but fave his life.

7 So went Satan forth from the prefence of the LORD, and fimote Job with fore boils, from the fole or his foot unto his crown.

8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he fat down among the

athes.

To But he faid unto her, Thou fpeakeft as one of the foolish women fpeaketh. What? fhall we receive good at the hand of God, and thall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job fin with his lips.

11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zo phar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him, and to comfort him.

12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and fprinkled duft upon their heads toward heaven.

13 So they fat down with him upon the ground feven days and feven nights, and none pake a word unto him: for they faw that bis grief was very great.

CHAP. III.

voice come therein.

8 Let them curfe it that curfe the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.

9 Let the ftars of the twilight thereof te dark; let it look for light, but have none; nesther let it fee the dawning of the day:

10 Because it thut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid forrow from mine eyes.

11 Why died I not from the womb? Why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?

12 Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breafts that I should fuck?

13 For now should I have lien ftill, and been quiet, I thould have flept: then had I been at reft,

14 With kings and counsellors of the earth,, which built defolate places for themselves;

15 Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with filver:

16 Or as an hidden untimely birth 1 had not been; as infants which never faw light.

17 There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at reft.

18 There the prifoners reft together; they hear not the voice of the oppreffor.

19 The fmall and great are there; and the fervant is free from his master.

20 Wherefore is light given to him that is in mifery, and life unto the bitter in foul;

21 Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid trea. fures;

22 Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad when they can find the grave?

23 Why is licht given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?

24 For my fighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters.

25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.

26 I was not in fafety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came. CHAP. IV.

Eliphaz reproveth Tob for want of religion: The teacheth God's judgments to be not for the righteous, but for the wicked: 12 bis fearful vision, to bumble the excellencies of creatures before God.

TH

HEN Eliphaz the Temanite answered and fald,

2 If we affay to commune with thee, wilt thon be grieved? But who can withhold himself from speaking!

3 Behold, thou haft inftructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.

4 Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hatt ftrengthened the feeble knees.

5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.

6 Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?

Remember, I pray thee, who ever pe rimed, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?

8 Even as I have feen, they that plough ini. quity, and fow wickedness, reap the fame. 9 By the blaft of God they perith, and by

the

Aftillion is from God.

the breath of his noftrils are they confumed. 10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.

11 The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the ftout lion's whelps are fcattered a broad.

12 Now a thing was fecretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof.

13 In thoughts from the vifions of the night, when deep fleep falieth on men,"

14 Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.

15 Then a fpirit paffed before my face; the hair of my teth food up:

16 It food ftill, but I could not difcern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes; there was filence, and I heard a voice, Jaying,

17 Shall mortal man be more juft than God? Shall a man be more pure than his Maker?

18 Behold, he put no truft in his fervants; and his angels he charged with folly:

19 How much lefs in them that dwell in houfes of clay, whofe foundation is in the duft, which are crushed before the moth?

20 They are deftroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.

21 Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? They die even without wifdom.

2 For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy flayeth the filly one.

3 I have feen the foolish taking root: but fuddenly I curfed his habitation.

4 His children are far from fafety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.

5 Whole harveft the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their fubftance.

6 Although affliction cometh not forth of the duft, neither doth trouble fpring out of the ground,

7 Yet man is born unto trouble, as the fparks fly upward.

8 I would feek unto God, and unto God would I commit my caufe;

9 Which doeth great things and unfearchable; marvellous things without number:

10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, and fendeth waters upon the fields:

11 To fet up on high thofe that be low; that thofe which mourn may be exalted to fafety.

12 He difappointeth the devices of the crafty, fo that their hands cannot perform their enter. prife.

13 He taketh the wife in their own crafti nefs; and the counfel of the froward is carried headlong.

14 They meet with darkness in the day. time, and grope in the noonday as in the night.

15 But he favech the poor from the fword,

Fob juflifieth his complaint from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.

16 So the poor hath hope, and iniquity ftoppeth her mouth.

17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth; therefore defpife not thou the chaftening of the Almighty:

18 For he maketh fore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.

19 He thall deliver thee in fix troubles; yea, in feven there thall no evil touch thee.

20 In famine he thall redeem thee from death; and in war from the power of the

fword.

21 Thou shalt be hid from the fcourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of deftruction when it cometh.

22 At deftruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither halt thou be afraid of the beatts of the earth.

23 For thou shalt be in leue with the ftones of the field; and the beasts of the field thall be at peace with thee.

24 And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle fhall be in peace; and thou shalt vifit thy habitation, and shalt not fin.

25 Thou shalt know alfo that thy feed fall be great, and thine offspring as the grafs of the

earth.

26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a thock of corn cometh in in his

feason.

27 Lo this, we have fearched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.

CHAP. VI.

Fob fheweth that his complaints are not caufeless: 8 be wifbeth for death, wherein he is affured of comfort: 14 be reproveth bis friends of unkindness.

UT Job anfwered and

Bon that my grief were throughly weigh

ed, and my calamity laid in the balances toge ther!

3 For now it would be heavier than the fand of the fea: therefore my words are swallowed up.

4 For the arrows of the Almighty are with. in me, the poison whereof drinketh up my fpirit: the terrors of God do fet themselves in array against me.

5 Doth the wildafs bray when he hath grafs or loweth the ox over his fodder?

6 Can that which is unfavoury be eaten with. out falt? or is there any taste in the white of an

egg!

7 The things that my foul refused to touch are as my forrowful meat.

8 Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for!

9 Even that it would pleafe God to deftroy mé; that he would let loofe his hand, and cut me off!

10 Then fhould I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in forrow: let him not fpare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.

11 What is my ftrength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong my life?

12 Is my frength the ftrength of tones! or is my feth of brafs?

13 Is not my help in me? and is wiflom driven quite from me!

No contending with God.

18 If he destroy him from his place, then it fhall deny him, saying, I have not feen thee.

19 Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth fhall others grow.

20 Behold, God will not caft away a perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers:

21 Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing.

22 They that hate thee fhall be clothed with fhame; and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nought.

CHAP. IX.

Job, acknowledging God's juftice, fbewerb there is no contending with him. 22 Man's innocency is not to be condemned by afflic. tions.

THEN Job anfwered and said,

2 I know it is fo of a truth: but how hould man be juft with God?

3 If he will contend with him, he cannot anSwer him one of a thousand.

4 He is wife in heart, and mighty in ftrength: who hath hardened himself against him and hath profpered!

5

Which removeth the mountains, and they know not; which overturneth them in his anger;

6 Which thaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble;

7 Which commandeth the fun, and it rifeth not, and fealeth up the stars;

8 Which alone fpreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the fea. 9 Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the fouth; Jo Which doeth great things paft finding out; yea, and wonders without number.

11 Lo, he goeth by me, and I fee him not: be paffeth on alfo, but 1 perceive him not.

12 Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? Who will fay unto him, What doeft thou!

13 If Gol will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do ftoop under him.

14 How much lefs fhall I anfwer him, and choose out my words to reafon with him? 15 Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would make fupplication to my judge.

16 If I had called, and he had anfwered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice.

17 For he breaketh me with a tempeff, and multiplieth my wounds without caufe.

18 He will not fufer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness.

19 If I speak of ftrength, lo, he is ftrong: and if of judgment, who fhall fet me a time to plead?

20 If I justify myself, mine own mouth fhall condemn me: if 1 fay, i am perfect, it shall alfo prove me perverfe.

21 Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my foul: I would defpife my life.

22 This is one thing, therefore I faid it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked. 23 If the fcourge day fuddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent.

24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked. he covereth the fares of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is

25 Now my days are swifter than a poft: they fice away, they fee no good.

CHAP. X.

17ob, taxing liberty of complaint, expoftulateth with God about his afflictions: 18 be complaineth of life, and craveth a little cafe before de..th.

Mfoul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myfelf; I will speak in the bitterness of my foul.

2 I will fay unto God, Do not condemn me; fhew me wherefore thou contendeft with me.

3 Is it good unto thee that thou shouldeft opprefs, that thou thouldeft defpife the work of thine hands, and thine upon the counsel of the wicked?

4 Haft thou eyes of fleth? or feeft thou as man feeth?

5 Are thy days as the days of man? Are thy years as man's days,

6 That thou enquireft after mine iniquity, and fearcheft after my fin?

7 Thou knoweft that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand.

8 Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou doft deftroy me.

9 Remember, I beseech thee, that thou haft made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into duit again?

10 Hait thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese

II Thou haft clothed me with skin' and flesh, and haft fenced me with bones and finews.

12 Thou haft granted me life and favour, and thy vifitation hath preferved my fpirit.

13 And these things haft thou hid in thine heart: I know that this is with thee.

14 If I fit, then thou markeft me, and thou wilt not acquir me from mine iniquity.

15 If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if1 be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confufion; therefore fee thou mine affliction ;

16 For it increafeth, Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou fheweft thyself mar. vellous upon me.

17 Thou renewest thy witneffes against me, and increafelt thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me.

18 Wherefore then haft thou brought me forth out of the womb! Oh that I had given

up

God's wisdom unfearchable.

His omnipotency. I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not fuch things as thefe

CHAP. XI.

1 Zopbar reproveth Fob for jufifying himself. 7 God's wisdom is unfearchable. 13 The affured blee of repentance. THEN anfwered Zophar the Naamathite, and

faid,

2 Should not the multitude of words be anfvered and should a man full of talk be juftified?

3 Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and, when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?

4 For thou haft faid, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes.

5 But Oh that God would fpeak, and open his lips against thee;

6 And that he would fhew thee the fecrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee lejs than thine iniquity deferueth.

7 Canft thou by fearching find out God? Canft thou find out the Almighty unto periec. tion?

8 It is as high as heaven; what canft thou do? deeper than hell; what canft thou know?

The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the fea.

10 It he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him?

11 For he knoweth vain men: he feeth wickedne's alfo; will he not then confider it?

12 For vain man would be wife, though man be born like a wild afs's colt.

13 If thou prepare thine heart, and ftretch out thine hands toward him;

14 If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickednefs dwell in thy tabernacles.

15 For then fhalt thou lift up thy face with out fpot; yea, thou shalt be stedfait, and thalt not fear:

16 Because thou shal: forget thy mifery, and remember it as waters that pass away:

17 And thine age thall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt fhine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.

18 And thou shalt be fecure, because there is hope; yea, thou thalt dig about thee, and thou fhalt take thy reft in fatety.

19 Alfo thou falt lie down, and none fhall make thee afraid; yea, many fhall make fuit unto thee.

out the eyes of the wicked fhall fail, and they fall not efcape, and their hope fhall be as the giving up of the ghoft.

CHAP. XII.

Joh maintaineth himself againf his friends that reprove bim: q be acknowleageth the Reneral dobirine of Goa's omnipotency.

AND Job anfwered and faid,

2 No doubt but ye are the people, and

wifdom shall die with you.

3 Bat 1 have underflanding as well as you:

4 I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the juft upright man is laughed to fcorn.

5 He that is ready to flip with his feet is as a lamp defpifed in the thought of him that is at

ease.

6 The tabernacles of robbers profper, and they that provoke God are fecure; into whofe hand God bringeth abundantly.

7 But aik now the beafts, and they shall teach thee; and the towls of the air, and they fhall tell thee:

8 Or fpeak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the fea fhall declare unto

thee.

Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?

10 In whole hand is the foul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.

11 Doth not the car try words? and the mouth tafte his meat?

12 With the ancient is wisdom; and is length of days understanding.

13 With him is wisdom and frength, he hath counfel and understanding.

14 Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.

15 Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: alfo he fendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.

16 With him is ftrength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his.

17 He leadeth counsellors away fpoiled, and maketh the judges fools.

18 He loofeth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle.

19 He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty.

20 He removeth away the fpeech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged.

21 He poureth contempt up on princes, and weakeneth the ftrength of the mighty.

22 He difcovereth deep things out of dark. nefs, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.

23 He increafeth the nations, and deftroy eth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiténeth them again.

24 He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and caufeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.

25 They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to flagger like a drunken man.

1

CHAP. XIII.

Job reproveth his friends of partiality: 14 be profeeth his confidence in God, &c. O, mine eye hath feen all this, mine ear hath heard and un ferfood it.

2 What ye know, the fame do I know alfo : I am not interior unto you.

3 Surely I would fak to the Almighty, and 1 defire to reafon with God.

4 But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all phy. ficians of no value.

50 that ye would altogether hold your peace; and it thould be your wildem

6 Hear now my reafoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips.