| 1 | "I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I look upon a virgin? |
| 2 | What would be my portion from God above, and my heritage from the Almighty on high? |
| 3 | Does not calamity befall the unrighteous, and disaster the workers of iniquity? |
| 4 | Does not he see my ways, and number all my steps? |
| 5 | "If I have walked with falsehood, and my foot has hastened to deceit; |
| 6 | (Let me be weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity!) |
| 7 | if my step has turned aside from the way, and my heart has gone after my eyes, and if any spot has cleaved to my hands; |
| 8 | then let me sow, and another eat; and let what grows for me be rooted out. |
| 9 | "If my heart has been enticed to a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor's door; |
| 10 | then let my wife grind for another, and let others bow down upon her. |
| 11 | For that would be a heinous crime; that would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges; |
| 12 | for that would be a fire which consumes unto Abaddon, and it would burn to the root all my increase. |
| 13 | "If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant, when they brought a complaint against me; |
| 14 | what then shall I do when God rises up? When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him? |
| 15 | Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb? |
| 16 | "If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, |
| 17 | or have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless has not eaten of it |
| 18 | (for from his youth I reared him as a father, and from his mother's womb I guided him); |
| 19 | if I have seen any one perish for lack of clothing, or a poor man without covering; |
| 20 | if his loins have not blessed me, and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep; |
| 21 | if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, because I saw help in the gate; |
| 22 | then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder, and let my arm be broken from its socket. |
| 23 | For I was in terror of calamity from God, and I could not have faced his majesty. |
| 24 | "If I have made gold my trust, or called fine gold my confidence; |
| 25 | if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, or because my hand had gotten much; |
| 26 | if I have looked at the sun when it shone, or the moon moving in splendor, |
| 27 | and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has kissed my hand; |
| 28 | this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I should have been false to God above. |
| 29 | "If I have rejoiced at the ruin of him that hated me, or exulted when evil overtook him |
| 30 | (I have not let my mouth sin by asking for his life with a curse); |
| 31 | if the men of my tent have not said, `Who is there that has not been filled with his meat?' |
| 32 | (the sojourner has not lodged in the street; I have opened my doors to the wayfarer); |
| 33 | if I have concealed my transgressions from men, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom, |
| 34 | because I stood in great fear of the multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors -- |
| 35 | Oh, that I had one to hear me! (Here is my signature! let the Almighty answer me!) Oh, that I had the indictment written by my adversary! |
| 36 | Surely I would carry it on my shoulder; I would bind it on me as a crown; |
| 37 | I would give him an account of all my steps; like a prince I would approach him. |
| 38 | "If my land has cried out against me, and its furrows have wept together; |
| 39 | if I have eaten its yield without payment, and caused the death of its owners; |
| 40 | let thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley." The words of Job are ended. |
| 1 | So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. |
| 2 | Then Eli'hu the son of Bar'achel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became angry. He was angry at Job because he justified himself rather than God; |
| 3 | he was angry also at Job's three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong. |
| 4 | Now Eli'hu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he. |
| 5 | And when Eli'hu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, he became angry. |
| 6 | And Eli'hu the son of Bar'achel the Buzite answered: "I am young in years, and you are aged; therefore I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to you. |
| 7 | I said, `Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom.' |
| 8 | But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand. |
| 9 | It is not the old that are wise, nor the aged that understand what is right. |
| 10 | Therefore I say, `Listen to me; let me also declare my opinion.' |
| 11 | "Behold, I waited for your words, I listened for your wise sayings, while you searched out what to say. |
| 12 | I gave you my attention, and, behold, there was none that confuted Job, or that answered his words, among you. |
| 13 | Beware lest you say, `We have found wisdom; God may vanquish him, not man.' |
| 14 | He has not directed his words against me, and I will not answer him with your speeches. |
| 15 | "They are discomfited, they answer no more; they have not a word to say. |
| 16 | And shall I wait, because they do not speak, because they stand there, and answer no more? |
| 17 | I also will give my answer; I also will declare my opinion. |
| 18 | For I am full of words, the spirit within me constrains me. |
| 19 | Behold, my heart is like wine that has no vent; like new wineskins, it is ready to burst. |
| 20 | I must speak, that I may find relief; I must open my lips and answer. |
| 21 | I will not show partiality to any person or use flattery toward any man. |
| 22 | For I do not know how to flatter, else would my Maker soon put an end to me. |
