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Job
| Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, |
| Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for
this I make haste. |
| I have heard the check of my reproach, and the
spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer. |
| Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed
upon earth, |
| That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the
joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? |
| Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and
his head reach unto the clouds; |
| Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they
which have seen him shall say, Where is he? |
| He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be
found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night. |
| The eye also which saw him shall see him no more;
neither shall his place any more behold him. |
| His children shall seek to please the poor, and his
hands shall restore their goods. |
| His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which
shall lie down with him in the dust. |
| Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he
hide it under his tongue; |
| Though he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it
still within his mouth: |
| Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall
of asps within him. |
| He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit
them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly. |
| He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper's tongue
shall slay him. |
| He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks
of honey and butter. |
| That which he laboured for shall he restore, and
shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the
restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein. |
| Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the
poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded
not; |
| Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he
shall not save of that which he desired. |
| There shall none of his meat be left; therefore
shall no man look for his goods. |
| In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in
straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him. |
| When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast
the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is
eating. |
| He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of
steel shall strike him through. |
| It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the
glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him. |
| All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a
fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left
in his tabernacle. |
| The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth
shall rise up against him. |
| The increase of his house shall depart, and his
goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath. |
| This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and
the heritage appointed unto him by God. |
| But Job answered and said, |
| Hear diligently my speech, and let this be your
consolations. |
| Suffer me that I may speak; and after that I have
spoken, mock on. |
| As for me, is my complaint to man? and if it were
so, why should not my spirit be troubled? |
| Mark me, and be astonished, and lay your hand upon
your mouth. |
| Even when I remember I am afraid, and trembling
taketh hold on my flesh. |
| Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are
mighty in power? |
| Their seed is established in their sight with them,
and their offspring before their eyes. |
| Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod
of God upon them. |
| Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow
calveth, and casteth not her calf. |
| They send forth their little ones like a flock, and
their children dance. |
| They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the
sound of the organ. |
| They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go
down to the grave. |
| Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we
desire not the knowledge of thy ways. |
| What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and
what profit should we have, if we pray unto him? |
| Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of
the wicked is far from me. |
| How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how
oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his
anger. |
| They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff
that the storm carrieth away. |
| God layeth up his iniquity for his children: he
rewardeth him, and he shall know it. |
| His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall
drink of the wrath of the Almighty. |
| For what pleasure hath he in his house after him,
when the number of his months is cut off in the midst? |
| Shall any teach God knowledge? seeing he judgeth
those that are high. |
| One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease
and quiet. |
| His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are
moistened with marrow. |
| And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and
never eateth with pleasure. |
| They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms
shall cover them. |
| Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices which
ye wrongfully imagine against me. |
| For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and
where are the dwelling places of the wicked? |
| Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye
not know their tokens, |
| That the wicked is reserved to the day of
destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath. |
| Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall
repay him what he hath done? |
| Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall
remain in the tomb. |
| The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and
every man shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him. |
| How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your
answers there remaineth falsehood? |
| Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, |
| Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise
may be profitable unto himself? |
| Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art
righteous? or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect? |
| Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter
with thee into judgment? |
| Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities
infinite? |
| For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for
nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing. |
| Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and
thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. |
| But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the
honourable man dwelt in it. |
| Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of
the fatherless have been broken. |
| Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden
fear troubleth thee; |
| Or darkness, that thou canst not see; and abundance
of waters cover thee. |
| Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the
height of the stars, how high they are! |
| And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge
through the dark cloud? |
| Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth
not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven. |
| Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have
trodden? |
| Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation
was overflown with a flood: |
| Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can
the Almighty do for them? |
| Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the
counsel of the wicked is far from me. |
| The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent
laugh them to scorn. |
| Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the
remnant of them the fire consumeth. |
| Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace:
thereby good shall come unto thee. |
| Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and
lay up his words in thine heart. |
| If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built
up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. |
| Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of
Ophir as the stones of the brooks. |
| Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou
shalt have plenty of silver. |
| For then shalt thou have thy delight in the
Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God. |
| Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall
hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. |
| Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be
established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways. |
| When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There
is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person. |
| He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it
is delivered by the pureness of thine hands. |
| Then Job answered and said, |
| Even to day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is
heavier than my groaning. |
| Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might
come even to his seat! |
| I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth
with arguments. |
| I would know the words which he would answer me, and
understand what he would say unto me. |
| Will he plead against me with his great power? No;
but he would put strength in me. |
| There the righteous might dispute with him; so
should I be delivered for ever from my judge. |
| Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and
backward, but I cannot perceive him: |
| On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot
behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: |
| But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath
tried me, I shall come forth as gold. |
| My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept,
and not declined. |
| Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his
lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary
food. |
| But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and
what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. |
| For he performeth the thing that is appointed for
me: and many such things are with him. |
| Therefore am I troubled at his presence: when I
consider, I am afraid of him. |
| For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty
troubleth me: |
| Because I was not cut off before the darkness,
neither hath he covered the darkness from my face. |
| Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty,
do they that know him not see his days? |
| Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away
flocks, and feed thereof. |
| They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take
the widow's ox for a pledge. |
| They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the
earth hide themselves together. |
| Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth
to their work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food
for them and for their children. |
| They reap every one his corn in the field: and they
gather the vintage of the wicked. |
| They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that
they have no covering in the cold. |
| They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and
embrace the rock for want of a shelter. |
| They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take
a pledge of the poor. |
| They cause him to go naked without clothing, and
they take away the sheaf from the hungry; |
| Which make oil within their walls, and tread their
winepresses, and suffer thirst. |
| Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the
wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them. |
| They are of those that rebel against the light; they
know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof. |
| The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor
and needy, and in the night is as a thief. |
| The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the
twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face. |
| In the dark they dig through houses, which they had
marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light. |
| For the morning is to them even as the shadow of
death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death. |
| He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed
in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards. |
| Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth
the grave those which have sinned. |
| The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed
sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be
broken as a tree. |
| He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and
doeth not good to the widow. |
| He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth
up, and no man is sure of life. |
| Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he
resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways. |
| They are exalted for a little while, but are gone
and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off
as the tops of the ears of corn. |
| And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar,
and make my speech nothing worth? |
| Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, |
| Dominion and fear are with him, he maketh peace in
his high places. |
| Is there any number of his armies? and upon whom
doth not his light arise? |
| How then can man be justified with God? or how can
he be clean that is born of a woman? |
| Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea,
the stars are not pure in his sight. |
| How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of
man, which is a worm? |
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