1 | Then Job answered: |
2 | "Today also my complaint is bitter, his hand is heavy in spite of my groaning. |
3 | Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat! |
4 | I would lay my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. |
5 | I would learn what he would answer me, and understand what he would say to me. |
6 | Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No; he would give heed to me. |
7 | There an upright man could reason with him, and I should be acquitted for ever by my judge. |
8 | "Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him; |
9 | on the left hand I seek him, but I cannot behold him; I turn to the right hand, but I cannot see him. |
10 | But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. |
11 | My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. |
12 | I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured in my bosom the words of his mouth. |
13 | But he is unchangeable and who can turn him? What he desires, that he does. |
14 | For he will complete what he appoints for me; and many such things are in his mind. |
15 | Therefore I am terrified at his presence; when I consider, I am in dread of him. |
16 | God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me; |
17 | for I am hemmed in by darkness, and thick darkness covers my face. |
1 | "Why are not times of judgment kept by the Almighty, and why do those who know him never see his days? |
2 | Men remove landmarks; they seize flocks and pasture them. |
3 | They drive away the ass of the fatherless; they take the widow's ox for a pledge. |
4 | They thrust the poor off the road; the poor of the earth all hide themselves. |
5 | Behold, like wild asses in the desert they go forth to their toil, seeking prey in the wilderness as food for their children. |
6 | They gather their fodder in the field and they glean the vineyard of the wicked man. |
7 | They lie all night naked, without clothing, and have no covering in the cold. |
8 | They are wet with the rain of the mountains, and cling to the rock for want of shelter. |
9 | (There are those who snatch the fatherless child from the breast, and take in pledge the infant of the poor.) |
10 | They go about naked, without clothing; hungry, they carry the sheaves; |
11 | among the olive rows of the wicked they make oil; they tread the wine presses, but suffer thirst. |
12 | From out of the city the dying groan, and the soul of the wounded cries for help; yet God pays no attention to their prayer. |
13 | "There are those who rebel against the light, who are not acquainted with its ways, and do not stay in its paths. |
14 | The murderer rises in the dark, that he may kill the poor and needy; and in the night he is as a thief. |
15 | The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight, saying, `No eye will see me'; and he disguises his face. |
16 | In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves up; they do not know the light. |
17 | For deep darkness is morning to all of them; for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness. |
18 | "You say, "They are swiftly carried away upon the face of the waters; their portion is cursed in the land; no treader turns toward their vineyards. |
19 | Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters; so does Sheol those who have sinned. |
20 | The squares of the town forget them; their name is no longer remembered; so wickedness is broken like a tree.' |
21 | "They feed on the barren childless woman, and do no good to the widow. |
22 | Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by his power; they rise up when they despair of life. |
23 | He gives them security, and they are supported; and his eyes are upon their ways. |
24 | They are exalted a little while, and then are gone; they wither and fade like the mallow; they are cut off like the heads of grain. |
25 | If it is not so, who will prove me a liar, and show that there is nothing in what I say?" |