Job The Amalgamation – So Far (1-26)
How this started
How this evolved
https://ohandmyhobbies.com/uncategorized/j3-job-3-the-amalgamation-first-outcome-of-the-process/
Chapter 1
1 At one time, there was a man living in the land of Uz whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright, He revered God, and turned away from evil. 2 Seven sons were born to him, and three daughters. 3 His property was seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a great abundance of slaves. He was wealthier than all the people of the East. 4 Each year his sons would go and hold a feast, each in his own home on his set day, inviting their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When the days of the feasting had run their course, Job would send word and sanctify his children, rising early in the morning, he made wholly burnt sacrificial offerings, one for each of the children, for Job thought:
Perhaps my children have sinned by blaspheming God in their thoughts.
This is what Job always did.
6 One particular day, the heavenly court came into the presence of Yahweh, and the Accuser also came among them. 7 Yahweh said to the Accuser:
“Where are you coming from?”
The Accuser answered Yahweh saying:
“From roaming the earth and walking about in it.”
8 Yahweh said to the Accuser:
“Have you noticed my servant, Job? There is no one like him on earth, a man blameless and upright, who reveres God, and turn’s away from evil.”
9 The Accuser answered Yahweh saying:
“Does Job revere God for no reason?
10 Have you not made a hedge around him, around his household, around all that he has, on every side?
Have you not blessed the work of his hands so that his property spreads out all over the land?
11 And yet, reach out your hand and strike all his property, will he not blaspheme You to Your Face?”
12 Yahweh replied to the Accuser:
“Behold, all his property is in your power, only do not reach out your hand against the man himself.”
Then the Accuser went forth from the presence of Yahweh.
13 When the next day came that his sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine in the house of the firstborn brother, 14 a messenger came to Job and said:
“The oxen were plowing, and the donkeys were grazing nearby,
15 when Sabeans fell upon them and took them away,
the slaves they struck down with the edge of the sword.
I alone escaped death to tell you.”
16 While this one was still speaking another messenger came and said:
“The fire of God fell from heaven, burned up the sheep,
and consumed the slaves.
I alone escaped death to tell you.”
17 While this one was still speaking another messenger came and said:
“Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and took them away,
the slaves they struck down with the edge of the sword.
I alone escaped death to tell you.”
18 While this one was still speaking another messenger came and said:
“Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine in the house of the firstborn brother,
19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from across the wilderness striking the four corners of the house.
It collapsed upon the young people, and they died.
I alone escaped death to tell you.”
20 At this job arose, rent his robe, cutoff his hair, threw himself upon the earth, and lay there prostrate,
21 saying:
“Naked I came out of my mother’s womb,
Naked I shall depart,
Yahweh gives, Yahweh takes away,
Blessed be the name of Yahweh.”
22 Yet in all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
Chapter 2
1 Again there was a day when the heavenly court came into the presence of Yahweh, and the Accuser also came among them in the presence of Yahweh.
2 Yahweh said to the Accuser,
“Where are you coming from?”
The Accuser answered Yahweh saying,
“From roaming the earth and walking about in it.”
3 Yahweh said to the Accuser,
“Have you noticed my servant, Job? There is no one like him on earth, a man blameless and upright, who reveres God and turn’s away from evil. He still holds fast to his integrity although you incited me against him to ruin him for no good reason.”
4 The Accuser answered Yahweh,
“Skin for Skin. All that a man has, will he not give for the sake of his own life?
5 And yet, reach out your hand and strike his own person, will he not blaspheme You to Your Face?”
6 Yahweh replied to the Accuser,
“Behold, he is in your power, only preserve his life.”
7 So the Accuser went forth from the presence of Yahweh and struck Job with a grievous burning rash from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.
8 Job took a shard of broken pottery with which to scrape himself as he sat in the midst of the dung ash heap.
9 His wife said to him,
“Do you still hold fast to your integrity?
Blashpeme God, and die.”
10 Then he said to her,
“You speak as an impious, foolish woman would speak.
Shall we accept only good from the hand of God,
And shall we not accept adversity?”
Yet in all this, Job did not sin with his lips.
11 When Job’s three colleagues heard all these adversities that had befallen him, each one set out from his own place, Eliphaz the Teminite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, having arranged to meet together to go and mourn with him and to comfort him.
12 When they raised their eyes from afar and could not recognize him, they lifted up their voices and wept, they rent their robes and tossed dust over their heads towards heaven.
13 For seven days and seven nights they sat with him on the ground. No one spoke a word for they could see how very great was his agony.
Chapter 3
Afterward, Job began to speak, and curse the day of his birth, Job raised his voice and said:
Blot out the day of my birth,
And the night that announced: “A man is conceived.”
That day – May it be darkness,
May God above not regard it,
May the light not shine upon it,
May darkness, death’s shadow, reclaim it,
May a pall lie over it,
May the blackened day terrorize it.
That night – May blackness take it,
May it not rejoice among the days of the year,
May it not appear in any of its months.
That night – May it be childless (barren),
May no joyful songs penetrate it.
May those who charm the sea curse it,
Those skilled in seducing leviathan.
May its twilight stars remain dark,
May it hope for day light in vain,
May it not see the glimmer of dawn.
For the day did not seal the wombs doors on me,
Nor curtain wretchedness from my eyes.
Why did I not die in the womb?
Or perish as I came forth from it?
Why knees to receive me?
Why breast to nurse me?
For then, I would be lying down in peace,
I would be sleeping and be at rest,
With worldly kings and counselors,
Who rebuilt rubble heaps for themselves?
Or with princes, rich with gold,
Who filled their tombs with silver?
Or why was I not buried like a stillborn,
Like infants who never see daylight.
There, the wicked cease their raging,
And there their victims are at rest.
There the captives are at ease,
They no longer hear their overseer’s shouts.
There the small and the great are equal,
The slave, now free, beside his master.
Why give light to the sufferer,
Why life to the bitter in spirit,
Who long for death that does not come,
Who seek it more than buried treasure,
Who rejoice at the tomb,
Who are thrilled to reach the grave?
Why to a man whose way is hidden,
Whom God has hedged in?
For my groaning comes like bread,
My cries pour out like water.
For one thing I feared, and it befell me,
What I dreaded, came upon me.
I have no ease,
No peace,
No rest,
What came is agony.
Chapter 4
Then Eliphaz, the Temanite, replied saying:
If one ventures a word against you,
Would it be too much?
Yet, who could hold back his words now?
Behold, you were always the one encouraging others,
Strengthening failing hands,
Your words have upheld the stumbling,
Stabilizing faltering knees,
Yet now that trouble befalls you,
You cannot bear it.
It touches you,
And you are overcome.
Does reverence,
not give confidence?
No hope,
from integrity?
Recall, pray:
Who being innocent, perished?
Where were the upright cutoff?
As I see it, those who plow iniquity,
And sow trouble,
Reap the same.
By the breath of God, they perish,
By a snort from him, they are consumed.
The lion roars, the cub howls,
Yet the teeth of the great lion are broken.
The mighty lion perishes for lack of prey,
The young of the lioness scattered.
Word came to me in stealth,
My ear caught an echo of it.
Amid wisps of thought,
Visions of the night,
When slumber drifts down upon mortals,
Terror came upon me,
And trembling,
Causing all my bones,
To quake in fear.
A Spirit passed,
before my face,
The hair on my skin,
stood on end,
It became still,
I could not discern its appearance,
A form loomed before my eyes,
Silence,
then I heard a voice:
Can mortals be righteous before God?
Can humans be pure before their maker?
If God cannot trust His servants,
If He sees folly even in His angels,
How much more so,
Those who dwell in clay houses,
Whose origin is dust,
Who crumble before the beating of moth wings?
From dawn to dusk,
They are shattered,
Perishing,
Forever,
Unnoticed.
Does not their life thread,
break within them,
They die,
devoid of wisdom.
Chapter 5
Call out,
Who is there to answer you?
For to Whom,
Rather than the Holy One,
Can you turn to?
Surely,
Anger kills the fool,
Impatience slays the simpleton.
I have seen a fool striking root,
At once his abode was accursed.
His children are far from success,
They are crushed at the judgement gate,
With no one to deliver them.
His harvest, the hungry will devour,
His substance, the starving will carry away,
The famished will drag off his wealth.
For evil does not come from dust,
Nor wretchedness sprout from the soil.
Yet men give birth to evil,
As surely as sparks dart upward.
If it were me,
I would appeal to God.
And to my Lord,
I would make my case.
Who performs wonders beyond man’s grasp,
Miracles beyond numbering.
Who bestows rain on the earth,
Sends water upon the fields.
Who sets the humble on high,
Rescues the afflicted.
Who thwarts the devices of the crafty,
So that their hands achieve no success.
Who entraps the crafty in their own cunning,
The schemes of the perverse go awry quickly.
By day, they encounter darkness,
At noon, they grope as if night.
But from their sharp tongue and heavy hand,
He saves the needy.
So that the indigent have hope,
The mouth of iniquity is shut.
Behold, happy is the man who God reproves,
Hence do not despise the chastisement of the Almighty.
For He causes pain,
But He binds up.
He strikes,
But His hands heal.
From six troubles,
He will save you.
In seven,
No harm shall befall you.
In famine,
He redeems you from death.
In war,
From the power of the sword.
You will be hidden from tongues of fire,
You need not fear the onrushing flood.
At the ravage of drought, you will laugh.
You shall not fear the beasts of the earth.
You shall have a covenant with the stones of the field,
The wild animals will be at peace with you.
You shall know that your tent is at peace,
You will inspect your home and find nothing amiss.
You shall know your seed is great,
Your offspring like the grass of the earth.
You will come to your grave in ripe old age,
As grain stocks are gathered in high season.
Behold, this we have studied, it is true.
Hear it, and you – you know it.
Chapter 6
Then Job spoke out saying:
If indeed my anguish could be weighed,
Placed with all my calamity on the scales,
They would out weight the sand of the seas,
No wonder my words have been impetuous.
For the barbs of the Almighty have pierced me,
My spirit drinks in their poison,
The terrors of God are arrayed against me.
Does the wild ass bray over its grass,
Does the ox bellow over its fodder?
Can that which is unsavory be eaten without salt,
Is there flavor in the oozing egg white?
My souls refuses to touch them,
They are as the sickness of my flesh.
Oh, that I might have my wish,
That God would grant my hope.
That it would please God to crush me,
To loose His hand and cut me off.
Then I would yet have this consolation:
Although He has not spared me from anguish,
I would leap up in joy,
That I have never denied the commands of the Holy One.
What strength have I, to go on hoping,
What end, that I should be patient?
Is my strength the strength of stone?
Is my flesh bronze?
Indeed, the is no help for me,
Effective aid has been cut off from me.
He who pleads for kindness from his fellow man,
Has forsaken the reverence due the Almighty.
My companions betray me as the wadi, the desert stream.
Like the channel of a brook run dry.
They grow dark with ice,
Vanish beneath heaps of snow.
In the warm season, they disappear,
When it is hot, they vanish from their place.
Their paths twist and turn,
Wander into the void and vanish.
The caravans of Tema had looked to them,
The travelers of Sheba had hoped for them.
Disappointed, because they had hoped,
They reached them, finding shame.
Now you have become like the stream,
You see my calamity, fear overtakes you.
Have I ever said, give something on my behalf,
With your wealth, pay a ransom for me,
Deliver me from the enemy’s clutches,
Ransom me from the oppressor’s hand?
Teach me, I shall be silent,
Where I have erred, make me understand.
How powerful are words of truth,
Yet, what can your arguing prove?
Do you regard your empty words as proof,
But as mere wind, a despairing man’s speech?
You would cast lots over an orphan,
And haggle over your companion.
But now, pray, turn toward me,
You may turn away if I should lie.
Comeback, there is no wrong in me,
Comeback, my integrity is intact.
Is there error on my tongue,
Cannot my palate discern falsehood?
Chapter 7
Is there not an appointed time of hard service upon earth for man?
Are not his days to be those of a laborer?
Like a slave, he yearns for evening shadow.
Like a laborer, he waits eagerly for his reward.
Indeed, I am allotted, moons of futility,
Nights of misery, apportioned to me.
When I lie down, I ask, when shall I rise?
Night drags on, I say, I am sated with tossing before dawn.
My flesh is clothed in maggots and clumps of dust,
My skin scabs over and breaks out afresh.
My days are swifter than the weaver’s shuttle,
They end in the absence of thread (hope).
Recall that my life is but a breath,
My eye shall never again see pleasure.
The questing eye will not detect me,
Your eye will seek me, but I shall be no more.
As the cloud dissipates, vanishes,
So, whoever goes down to Sheol, rises no more.
They shall return no more to their home,
Their place shall know them no longer.
Therefore, I will speak without restraint,
I will give voice to the anguish of my spirit,
I will complain out of the bitterness of my soul.
Am I the Sea or the Dragon,
That you place a guard about me?
When I thought my couch will comfort me,
My bed will share the burden of my complaint,
You frightened me with nightmares,
And in visions, You struck me with terror,
So that my throat would have chosen strangling,
My bones, death.
I despise, I would not live forever,
Let me be, my days are but a breath.
What are people that you exalt them?
That you fix your attention on them?
That you visit them each morning?
That you appraise them every moment?
How long until you turn away from me,
Let me be, even for an instant.
If I have sinned,
How have I harmed You,
O Watcher of Man?
Why have you made me your target?
Why have I become a burden to you?
Why not pardon my transgression,
And forgive my sin?
For soon I shall lie in the dust,
When you seek me,
I shall be no more.
Chapter 8
Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke out saying:
How long will you mouth such notions?
Your utterances are a blustering wind.
Would God pervert justice?
Would the Almighty pervert what is right?
Surely your children sinned against Him,
So, He dispatched them for their transgression.
But if you yourself would earnestly seek out God now,
And make supplication to the Almighty,
If you are blameless and upright,
He would surely watch over you,
And safeguard your righteous home.
Then your past would seem a trifle,
So greatly exalted will be your future.
Inquire, I pray you, of the older generation,
Heed the insight of their fathers.
For we were born yesterday, unknowing,
Our days on earth but shadows.
Will they not instruct you?
Will they not inform you?
Will they not bring forth these words from their understanding?
Can papyrus sprout where there is no marsh?
Can its reeds grow grand without water?
While yet in blossom, not ready to cut,
Before other plants, it withers.
Such is the fate of all who disregard God,
The hope of the godless shall perish.
Their self-confidence is gossamer,
A spider’s web, their trust.
If one leans upon it,
It will not stand.
If one grasp it,
It will not endure.
This other one is fresh, even in sunshine.
Its shoots spread beyond its place,
About a rock pile, its roots entwine,
Clothing a house of stone.
If its place should uproot it,
And deny it saying, “I know you not,”
Behold it continues its joyous way,
From the earth elsewhere it will sprout again.
Surely God will not despise the blameless,
Nor champion evildoers.
God will yet fill your mouth with laughter,
Your lips with shouts of joy.
Your enemies will be clothed in disgrace,
The dwelling of the wicked will vanish.
Chapter 9
Then Job spoke out saying:
Indeed, I know that this is so,
A mortal cannot prevail in court against God.
If one wished to contend with God,
They would not succeed once with a thousand tries.
However wise and stout hearted one may be,
Who has ever argued with God,
And emerged unscathed?
God removes mountains without their awareness,
Overturning them in His wrath.
God shakes the earth from its place,
And it’s pillars tremble.
God commands the sun,
And it does not rise,
He seals off the light of the stars.
God alone stretches out the heavens,
And treads upon the back of the sea.
He covers The Bear, Orion, The Pleiades,
And the constellations of the South.
Who performs wonders beyond man’s grasp,
Miracles beyond numbering?
Lo, He passes by me,
I do not see,
He moves on,
I do not perceive.
Behold, when He takes,
Who could hinder Him?
Who can say to Him, “What are you doing”?
God does not turn back His wrath,
Under which Rahab’s cohorts sink down,
How then could I debate Him?
Choosing words to match with His?
Even if I were righteous,
I could not respond,
I could only beg my opponent for mercy.
If I summoned Him,
would He respond?
I cannot believe that He would give me a hearing.
He crushes me for a triffle,
He wounds me much without cause.
He does not suffer me to catch my breath,
As He sates me with bitterness.
If it be a matter of power,
He is almighty,
But if of Justice,
Who can summon God?
Though I were innocent,
My mouth would convict me.
Though I were blameless,
It would prove me guilty.
I am blameless,
I am distraught,
I am despised of life.
It is all one,
I say,
He destroys the blameless and the wicked alike.
When punishment brings instant death,
He disappoints the hopes of the innocent’s plea.
The land is given over to the hands of the evil doer,
Who is able to bribe the judges?
If not He,
Who then is responsible?
My days are swifter than a runner,
They flee without seeing happiness,
Skim past like skiffs of reed,
Like an Eagle swooping down on its prey.
If I say I shall forget my lament,
Abandon my sorrow and be diverted,
Then I remain in dread of all my suffering,
Knowing you will never count me innocent.
I shall surely be condemned,
Why then do I labor in vain?
Even if I bathed in liquid snow,
And purified my palms with lye,
Yet you would plunge me into a pit,
Till my clothes were loathsome to me.
For God is not a man like me,
Whom I could answer,
That we might Go to court together.
If only there were an arbiter between us,
Who could lay his hand upon us both.
Who could remove God’s rod from me,
So that my fear of Him would not terrify me,
Then I could speak without fear of Him,
For He is far from just to me.
Chapter 10
My soul loathes my life,
Let me give free rein to my lament,
Speak out in the bitterness of my soul.
I say to God,
Do not condemn me,
Let me know,
Why you contend against me?
Does it do you good to practice oppression,
To despise the work of Your hand,
Showing favor to the plans of the wicked?
Have you eyes of Flesh,
Do you perceive as does a mere mortal?
Are your days as those of a mortal?
Are your years as those of a person?
That you seek out my iniquity,
And probe after my sin?
In spite of your knowing that I am not guilty,
No one can deliver me from your hand.
Your hands shaped and made me,
Every part of me,
Yet now you would destroy me.
Remember, I pray, that you fashioned me of clay,
And to dust you will return me.
You poured me out like milk,
Curdled me like cheese.
You clothed me in flesh and skin,
Wove me tighter with sinew and bones.
In your love, you granted me life,
In your providence, you preserved my spirit.
Yet all this you have stored in your heart,
I know that this is in your mind,
To watch me, if I sin,
To not let me escape my guilt.
If guilty, woe betide me,
Yet if innocent, I could not raise my head,
Being filled with shame and sated with misery.
If I hold me head high,
You stalk me like a lion,
Time and again,
Display your awesome power to smite me.
You constantly summon fresh witnesses against me,
Letting your vexation with me swell,
Wave after wave of hardship assails me.
Why did you bring me forth from the womb,
Better I had perished before any eye had seen me.
Had I been as though I never was,
Carried from womb to grave.
My days are few, so desist,
Leave me alone, that I may be diverted a little.
Before I go, never to return,
To the land of darkness and gloom.
A land whose light is darkness,
Deep gloom and disorder,
Where it shines thickest murk.
Chapter 11
Then Zophar the Naamathite spoke out saying:
Should a profusion of words be unanswered?
Should a loquacious person be vindicated?
Your prattle may silence others,
No one may shut you up when you mock the truth.
For you have stated “My doctrine is pure.”
“I am innocent in your eyes.”
But oh, if only God would speak,
Open His lips to you,
Tell you the secrets of wisdom,
Their understanding is carried in double folds,
Then you would know,
God is exacting less from you than your iniquity demands.
Can you discover the essence of God,
Can you discover the nature of the Almighty?
It is higher than heaven, what can you do?
It is deeper than Sheol, what can you know?
Its measure is longer than the earth’s,
Broader than the sea’s.
If God seizes hold, imprisons, arraigns,
Who can hinder Him?
For He knows the false,
He sees their sin,
Though He seems not to notice.
But a witless person will become wise.
As soon as a wild ass is born human.
If you properly prepare your heart,
Spread your palms before Him,
If there were iniquity in your hand, put it away,
Let no wickedness dwell in your tent,
Then you will lift your face, without blemish,
Be steadfast, without fear,
You will not remember your misery,
Recalling as water vanished from a wadi.
Your life on earth will be brighter than noon day,
Its darkness will shine like the morning.
You will lie confident, knowing there is hope,
You will entrench yourself, resting in safety.
You will lie down fearing no one,
Multitudes will court your favor.
But the eyes of the wicked pine away,
All escape is lost to them,
Their hope? One last breath.
Chapter 12
Then Job replied saying:
No doubt you are the gentry,
With you all wisdom will die.
Yet I, like you, have a mind as well,
I am no less a person than you,
Indeed, who does not know all these things.
I have become one who causes his neighbor to smile,
I who called upon God, and He answered me,
A blameless and upright man, a laughingstock.
The complacent lack respect for calamity,
But disaster awaits any who stumble.
The tents of the marauders are at peace,
Those who provoke God are secure,
Into whose hand God provides abundantly.
Yet, “Ask the animals, to instruct you,
The birds of the air, to tell you,
Speak to the earth, to teach you,
The fish of the sea, to declare to you.”
Who among all these does not know,
That the hand of Yahweh has done this?
In whose hand is every living soul,
The spirit of everyone made of flesh.
Does not the ear test words,
As the palate tastes food?
Is wisdom in the aged,
Understanding in the long lived?
With God are wisdom and strength,
Counsel and understanding are his.
He destroys, there is no rebuilding,
Confines, there is no release.
He holds back the waters, and they dry up,
Sends them forth, and they overwhelm the land.
With Him are strength and resourcefulness,
The one who errs and the one who leads to err are His.
He leads counselors astray, stripped of reason,
Causes judges to foolish madness.
He undoes the sash of kings,
Removes the girdle from their loins.
He leads the priests away from reason,
Drivers the temple servants into confusion.
He deprives speech from the trustworthy,
Removes discernment from the aged.
He pours disgrace upon great men,
Weakens the power of the mighty.
He reveals deep secrets of darkness,
Brings blackest gloom to light,
He makes nations great,
Then destroys them.
He expands nations,
Then forsakes them.
He deprives the earthly leaders of reason,
Causes them to wander the pathless waste.
Without light, they grope in the darkness,
Causing them to wander like drunks.
Chapter 13
Behold, my eyes have seen everything,
My ears have heard, and I comprehend it all.
Everything you know, I know also,
I am no less than you.
Yet, I wish to speak with the Almighty,
I desire to reason with God.
You, however, whitewash with lies,
Mountebanks (False healers), every one of you.
If only you could keep silent,
It would count as a mark of wisdom.
Hear now my reasoning,
To the pleading of my lips, listen.
Do you speak falsehood for God’s sake?
On His behalf that you utter lies?
Would you show partiality toward Him?
Would you plead the case for God?
Will it go well with you when He examines you?
Could you deceive Him, as you play men for fools?
Would He praise you,
If you were partial to either side?
Will not His majesty terrify you?
Will His fearsomeness not fall upon you?
Your arguments are maxims of ash,
Your responses are insubstantial.
Hold your silence for me, and I shall speak,
Then let come on me what may.
Why, shall I bear my flesh in my teeth,
My life breath, in my palm?
Though He may slay me, I shall not be quiet,
Yet, I will argue my case to His face.
Indeed, in this He will be my rescue,
For no flatterer comes before Him.
Listen carefully to my words,
Let my declaration be in your ears.
Now that I have prepared my case,
I know that I would be vindicated.
If God responds: “Who dares to argue with me?”
Then I must perish in silence.
Spare me from only two things,
That I need not cower in Your presence,
Withdraw Your hand away from me,
Let not my dread of You terrify me.
Summon me and I will respond,
Or I can speak, and You answer.
How many are my iniquities, my sin?
My transgression and my sin, inform me.
Why do You hide Your face?
Treat me as Your enemy?
Would You torment a windblown leaf?
Hound dry chaff?
That You decree bitter things for me,
Make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.
You put my feet in shackles,
Watch over all my paths,
Mark Your brand on the soles of my feet.
Wasting away like a wine skin.
Like a garment devoured by the moth.
Job 14
Mortals are born,
With short lives sated with turmoil.
Like a flower,
They blossom and whither,
Like a shadow,
They are fleeting and do not endure.
Is it upon such a one that you fix your eyes?
Bring all to judgement before you?
Who can distinguish the pure from the impure?
No one else.
Indeed,
Their days are determined,
You decreed the number of their months,
Set bounds they cannot pass.
Turn your gaze from them,
Stop watching.
Until like a hired laborer,
They complete their days.
For there is hope for a tree,
If it be cut down,
That it will sprout again,
And its shoots will not cease.
Though its roots grow older in the earth,
Its stump dies in the soil.
Yet, at the scent of water it will blossom,
Putting forth boughs like a sapling.
But humans die, wasted away,
Breathe their last, and are no more,
As water vanishes from a lake,
And a river is parched and dries up.
So, they lie down, never to rise,
Until the heavens are no more,
They will not awake,
Nor be roused from their sleep.
Would that you hid me in Sheol,
Concealed me until your wrath be past,
Appoint me a term, then attend me.
If mortals die, shall they live again?
All my term, would I wait,
Until my release shall come.
You would call and I would answer,
Should you yearn to see the work of your hands.
For then you would count my steps,
But not keep track of my sin.
You would seal up my transgression in a bag,
You would cover over my iniquity.
But as mountains collapse and crumble,
Rocks are dislodged from their place.
As water wears away stone,
Torrents wash away the earth’s soil
So, you destroy the hopes of man.
You assail them constantly,
And they perish.
You alter their visage,
And send them off.
Their children attain honor,
And they never know.
Their children are humbled,
And they are unaware.
Indeed,
The flesh knows only its own pain,
The soul mourns only itself.
Chapter 15
Then Eliphaz, the Temanite, replied saying:
Should a wise man respond to empty opinion,
A bellyful of hot air from the East?
Should he dispute against useless speeches,
Or words that have no value?
Indeed,
You are subverting reverence for God,
Diminishing communion with God.
Your sinfulness dictates your speech,
Makes you adopt crafty language.
Your own mouth condemns you. Not I.
Your own lips testify against you.
Were you the first, bearing all mankind?
Were you created, before the fall?
Did you listen in on the council of God?
Did you take all wisdom for yourself?
What do you know that we do not?
Understand that we have not?
Among us are the gray-haired, the aged,
Far older than your father.
Are the consolations of God not enough for you?
Nor the words we spoke gently to you?
Why let your heart impassion you?
Why let your eyes flash with anger?
That you vent hot air towards God,
Let empty words pour forth from your mouth.
What is man that he could be cleared of guilt?
One born of woman, that he could be in the right?
Behold,
God puts no trust even in His Holy Ones,
The heavens are not pure in His sight.
How much less, one who is vile and corrupt,
You who drinks iniquity like water.
I will tell you – listen to me,
What I have seen I will declare.
Which wise sages have declared,
Not concealing anything received from their ancestors,
To whom individually, God gave the earth,
When there were no strangers to pass among them.
The wicked writhe in torment all their days,
The tyrants through all the years reserved for them.
The sound of terror is always in their ears,
Even while at peace, they fear the despoiler coming upon them.
They lack hope of escaping the darkness,
Certain the sword is their destiny.
They wander about for bread – Asking “Where is it?”
Knowing the day of darkness is ready for them.
Anguish terrifies them,
Anxiety overpowers them,
Like a king, anticipating the enemy’s siege.
Because they raised their fists towards God,
Acting in defiance of the Almighty.
Rushing against Him with their thick necks,
Behind the thick layers of their shields.
For they have enshroud their faces with fat,
Layered their loins with blubber.
They dwell in devastated cities,
In houses others would not live in,
Readied to become heaps of rubble.
They cannot retain their wealth,
Their fortune cannot endure,
Their yield is not prolonged upon the earth.
Never will they turn away from the darkness,
Their shoots shall wither in the hot wind,
Their fruits by the breath of God.
Let no one trust in them,
Deceived by falsehoods,
For falsehoods will be their recompense.
It shall be accomplished,
Before their day is over,
Their boughs never having flourished.
Their unripe fruit will be stripped, like the vine,
Their blossom petals shed, like the olive tree.
For the assembly of the godless is left desolate,
And fire devours the tents of the corrupt.
For they conceive wretchedness,
Giving birth to evil,
Whose womb fashions deceit.
Chapter 16
Then Job spoke out saying:
I have heard plenty of things like these before.
Wretched comforters are the three of you.
Is there any end to your words of hot air?
What afflicts you that you keep speaking on.
I too can speak as you do,
Were you in my place,
String words together towards you,
Shake my head over you.
Encourage you with my mouth,
Sympathy holding back my lips.
Yet now should I speak,
My pain would not be assuaged,
Should I desist,
How much goes away?
Surely now God has worn me out,
You have made desolate company.
You have crimpled my skin,
Which has become a witness against me,
My emaciation has risen up,
Bearing witness with my face.
In His wrath, He rends me, He reviles me,
He has gnashed his teeth against me,
My foe sharpens his gaze upon me.
They open wide their mouths at me,
In scorn, they strike my cheek,
Together they close ranks upon me.
God hands me over to the evil doer,
Wrings me out through the hands of the wicked.
I was untroubled – but he shattered me,
Seized me by the nape, and crushed me,
He set me up as a target,
His archers surround me,
He pierces my gut without mercy,
He pours out my gall upon the ground.
He bursts upon me, breach after breach,
Rushes at me, like a warrior.
I have patched my scabs with sack cloth,
Have buried my dignity in the dust.
My face is flush with weeping,
Death’s darkness rings my eyes.
Though there was no injustice on my hands,
And my prayer was pure.
O earth, cover not my blood,
Let my cry have no resting place.
Behold even now my witness stands in heaven,
My advocate is on high,
Are my companions my intercessors?
To God does my eye pour out its tears!
That God would judge between a man and Himself,
As He would for a man and his neighbor.
For only a few years were yet to come,
Before I would go the way of no return.
Chapter 17
My spirit is crushed,
My days burnt out,
Only the grave awaits me.
I swear, Am I not surrounded by mockers?
With their provocations, my eyes dwell without rest.
God, accept my pledge with you,
Who else would take a surety from me?
Since you have hidden understanding from their hearts,
You will not receive glory from them.
They impress companions with their bounty,
While their children’s eyes darken without.
God has made me a byword (stereotype) among people,
I have become like Tophet, of old. *
My Eyesight Grows dim from grief,
My limbs appear like shadows,
The upright are outraged by this,
The innocent roused against the godless.
Nevertheless, the just will cling to their ways,
Those with unsoiled hands will become more determined.
And yet, all of you, reply again,
But I shall find no one wise among you.
My days have surpassed my hopes,
Cutoff from my heart desires.
That would say “Night is day”,
“The light is near” in the face of darkness.
Indeed, I await my home in Sheol,
To array my couch in the darkness,
To the pit I call “You are my father”,
To the worm “Mother”, “Sister”.
Where then is my hope,
My hope, who can see?
To the chambers of Sheol it descends,
Together we shall return to dust.
* Tophet was the name of a pagan alter upon which pagans would sacrifice their children by burning them and the tradition was for everyone to spit whenever anyone would slip and say Tophet.
Chapter 18
Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke out saying:
How long before you put an end to your speeches?
Consider us, and then we may speak.
Why are we regarded as beasts?
Considered stupid in your eyes?
You who tear yourself to shreds in your anger,
Shall the world’s order be forsaken on your account?
The rock be removed from its place?
In due course, the light of the wicked will fail,
The flame of their fire ceases to shine.
The light goes dark in their tent,
The lamp above them fails.
Their strong steps grow narrow,
Their own schemes cast them down.
They are cast into nets by their own feet,
They walk into a pit fall.
A trap seizes them by the heel,
A noose tightens upon them.
A snare is hidden for them on the ground,
A trap upon their path.
Terrors frighten them on every side,
Pursue their scattering tracks.
Their vigor consumed by hunger,
Disaster ready at their side.
The strength in their skin is consumed,
The firstborn of death overwhelms their extremities.
They are torn from their tents, their strongholds.
They are paraded before the king of terrors.
A flood of fire is ensconced as their tent,
Brimstone is scattered about their dwelling.
Below, their roots are dried up,
Above, their boughs cut off.
All thought of them is lost from the earth,
Their name is not known in the land.
They are thrust from the light into darkness,
Driven out of the inhabited world.
They have neither children nor grandchildren among their people,
No survivor where they lived.
At their fate, earlier ages are appalled,
Generations to come, seized by horror.
Surely, such are the dwellings of evil,
The place of one who does not know God.
Chapter 19
Then Job spoke out saying:
How long will you torment me,
Crushing me with words?
Ten times now you have insulted me,
Are you not ashamed to wrong me?
If indeed I have erred,
Does my error adhere to me?
Though you vaunt yourselves above me,
Use my disgrace as an argument against me,
Know then that God has subverted my cause.
Surrounded me with His siege works.
Behold, I cry out of wrong, but am not answered,
I callout, but there is no judgement.
He has hedged my way, I cannot pass.
He has set darkness upon my path.
He has stripped me of my glory,
Taken the crown from my head.
He has broken down every part of me, myself is gone,
He has uprooted hope in myself like a tree.
His anger is kindled against me,
He regards me as His adversary.
His troops advance in force,
Laid up their siege works against me,
Encamped around my tabernacle.
He has alienated me from my brethren,
My acquaintances are wholly estranged from me.
My relatives and intimate friends no longer visit,
The guest in my house have forgotten me.
My slave girls count me as a stranger,
I have become an alien in their eyes.
I summon my servant, but he does not respond,
Though I plead with my own words.
My breath has become repulsive to my wife,
Would be loathsome even to my own children.
Even young children find me revolting,
When I appear, they ridicule.
My close friends and confidants abhor me,
Those I love have turned against me.
My skin and my flesh cling to my bones,
I have escaped with the skin of my teeth,
Have pity on me, you who are my friends, have pity on me,
For the hand of God has touched me.
Why do you, like God, persecute me,
Not satisfied with my flesh?
O that my words were recorded,
That they were inscribed on a copper scroll.
O that with iron pen and with lead,
That they were hewn in rock forever.
For I know that my Redeemer lives,
That on the last day, He will testify upon the dust.
Though my skin has been disfigured,
I behold God’s work in my flesh.
I myself behold Him,
With my own eyes, I see Him,
Not another.
My heart within me is consumed with longing.
When you say, ‘Look how he is persecuted,
The root of the matter must be found in him.”
Be afraid of the sword,
For your iniquity of outrage is worthy of punishment by the sword.
Then you will know there is judgement.
Chapter 20
Then Zophar the Naamathite spoke out saying:
In truth, my thoughts compel me to answer,
Because of the feelings within me.
When I hear censure which insults me,
My spirit of understanding impels me to reply.
This you know, that from our start,
Ever since we were set upon the earth,
That the triumphing of the wicked is brief,
The gladness of the impious is fleeting.
Though his stature ascends to the heavens,
Though his head attains the clouds,
At the height of his triumph, he will perish forever,
Those who have seen him, will ask “Where is he?”
Like a dream, flying away, not to be found,
Fleeing like a vision of the night.
The eye that saw him will do so no more,
Nor will his place behold him again.
His children will seek to appease the poor,
His offspring must give back his ill-gotten gain.
His bones, stuffed with youthful sin,
Lie rotting with them into dust.
Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth,
He conceals it under his tongue.
Though he cherish it, not forsaking it,
Holds it back, within his mouth,
Yet turns food in his stomach sour,
Into the venom of asps within him.
The riches he swallowed he vomits,
God expels them from his belly.
He will suck the poison of serpents,
The tongue of the viper will slay him.
He will never look upon rivers of oil,
Streams of milk and honey.
He will disgorge the yield of his toil unswallowed,
Spewing forth, gains fully restored, not chewed up.
He has forsaken, indeed crushed, the poor,
Seized houses rather than build his own.
Because he never had respite from his cravings,
He will not escape with anything he desired.
No remnant is left for him to devour,
Therefore, his prosperity cannot endure.
In the fulness of his sufficiency, he will be in distress,
Every hand in misery will come upon him.
To fill his belly to the full,
God will send His wrath against him,
And rain it upon him as his food.
Should he flee from the iron sword,
A bow of bronze will pierce him,
Drawn forth, it comes out through his back,
The glittering point passing thorough his gall,
Cast terrors upon him.
Utter darkness is reserved for his hidden treasures,
A fire unfanned by man, consumes him,
Devours the remnants of his tabernacle.
Heaven will reveal his iniquity,
The earth will rise up against him.
The increase of his house will be washed away,
Pouring out on the day of God’s wrath.
This is the sinner’s portion from God,
The evil doer’s inheritance from God.
Chapter 21
Then Job spoke out saying:
Listen carefully to what I have to say,
Let that be your act of consoling me.
Bear with me while I speak,
After I have spoken, then mock on.
As for me, is my complaint to a mere man?
Why therefore, should I not be impatient?
Look at me and be appalled,
Clap your hand over your mouth.
When I just think of it, I am dismayed,
And trembling seizes my flesh.
Why do the wicked live on,
Reach old age, grow hale and hearty?
Their children grow p in their presence,
Their grandchildren before their eyes.
Their homes are secure, without fear,
No rod of God comes upon them.
Their bulls breed, without fail,
Their cows calve, without miscarriage.
They let their infants run loose like sheep,
Their children frolic about,
They sing with the timbrel and lyre,
Rejoice with the sound of pipes.
They pass their days in bounty,
In a peaceful instant, they go down to Sheol.
Yet, they say unto God, “Depart from us!
We desire not to know your ways.
What is Shaddai that we should worship him?
What gain do we have it we pray to Him?
Indeed, our prosperity is not in His hands!”
Far be from me, the counsel of the wicked!
How seldom do the lamps of the wicked go out,
Or calamity come upon them,
As God apportions punishment in His anger,
That they become like stubble before the wind,
Like chaff that the storm sweeps away?
You say: “God saves His punishment for his children.”
Let God punish him, that he may know it.
Let his own eyes see his downfall,
Let he himself drink the wrath of Shaddai.
For what does he care about his family after him,
When the number of his own months is determined?
You ask: “Shall you teach God knowledge,
He who possess judgement from on high?”
One dies in full prosperity,
Being wholly at ease and secure.
His “olives” full of milk,
The marrow of his bones moist.
Another dies in bitterness of soul,
Never having tasted happiness.
Alike they lie in the dust,
Both blanketed by maggots.
Behold, I know your thoughts,
The schemes you plan against me.
For you say:
“Where is the house of the nobleman?
Where is the dwelling of the wicked?”
You must have consulted those who travel,
You cannot disregard their accounts.
You declare:
“The sinner is being saved for the day of calamity,
On the day of wrath, he will be led out.”
But who denounces his conduct to his face?
Who requites him for what he has done?
He is borne off to his mausoleum,
His image keeps watch over his tomb.
The clods of the wadi are sweet to him,
All follow his bier,
As an innumerable host march before it.
How then can you comfort me with mere breath,
When your answers are nothing,
But a betrayal of the truth?
Chapter 22
Then Eliphaz, the Temanite, replied saying:
Is a man of benefit to God?
Even when the wisest is serving Him?
Is it gain for the Almighty if you are righteous?
Does He profit if you make your ways blameless?
Is it because of your piety that He reproves you?
Comes to judgement against you?
In fact, your wickedness is great,
There is no end to your iniquities.
For you have extracted pledges from your kinsmen without reason,
Stripped the naked of their clothing.
No water have you given to the thirsty,
From the hungry you have withheld bread.
For you:
“The strong-armed control the land,
Those so privileged dwell upon it.
You have sent widows off empty-handed,
Crushed the arms of the fatherless.
Therefore, snares are all around you,
Why sudden peril terrifies you.
Through darkness, you cannot see,
Nor the flood of waters covering you.
You think:
“God is in the lofty heavens,
Behold the highest stars, how lofty they are!”
Therefore, you say:
“What can God know?
Can He judge through the deep darkness?
Thick clouds seclude Him He does not see us,
As He goes about the vaulted heavens.”
Will you cling to the ancient ways,
Which the wicked have trodden,
Who were cut down out of time,
Their foundations poured out like a river?
Who said to El:
“Turn away from us!”
“What can Shaddai do for us?”
Yet, it was He who filled their houses with plenty-
(The thoughts of the wicked are beyond me!)
The righteous seeing it rejoice,
The guiltless laugh and mock them,
Saying:
“Surely our enemies are cut off,
Their riches consumed by fire.”
Align yourself and make peace with God,
Through this you will be blessed.
Receive instruction from His mouth,
Place His words in your heart.
If you return to the Almighty,
You will be restored.
If you remove iniquity from our tabernacle,
Then you can lay your treasure in the dust,
Your special treasures as stones of the wadi.
For the Almighty will be your real gold,
And your bounty of silver.
Then you will seek the favor of the Almighty,
Lifting your face to God in prayer.
You will pray to him, He will hear you,
Then you will fulfill your vows.
When you issue a decree,
It will be fulfilled,
Light will shine upon your paths.
When others are humiliated,
You will say “Rise up!”
He will save the humble.
He will even save the guilty,
Delivered through the purity of your hands.
Job 23
Then Job spoke out saying:
Though today my complaint is defiant,
God’s hand upon me is heavier than my groaning.
O that I knew where I might find Him,
That I might come even to His dwelling,
I would present my case before Him,
My mouth full of arguments.
I would find out what He would answer me,
And grasp what He would say to me.
Would He simply overwhelm me with His great power?
No, He would surely pay heed to me.
There an upright person would argue before Him,
And I would be acquitted by my judge forever.
Behold, I go forward to the East and He is not there,
Back to the West and I cannot perceive Him,
Left to the North, concealed I do not see Him,
Right to the South, Hidden I cannot see Him.
For surely, He knows my ways,
Would He assay me, I would emerge pure as gold.
I have followed closely in His tracks,
Keeping His way without swerving,
Never departing from the commands of His lips,
As my law, treasuring the words of His mouth.
Yet as He determines, who can dissuade Him?
What He desires, that He does.
Surely, He will complete what He has allotted for me,
Much more of the same is at His disposal.
That is why I am dismayed by His mien (bearing and demeanor),
When I consider all this, I am in dread of Him.
For God has made my heart weak,
Shaddai has dismayed me.
Yet I am not silenced by darkness,
With all-encompassing gloom before my face.
Job 24
Why as times are not hidden from Shaddai,
Do those that know Him not behold His days?
They move boundary landmarks,
Carry off flocks to pasture.
They drive before them the ass of the fatherless,
Seize the widow’s ox in pledge.
They force the paupers from the path,
The land’s poor to hide together.
Behold, as wild asses in the wilderness,
Going forth to their toil,
Scavenging in the wasteland,
Sustenance for their young.
Reaping in a field not their own,
Gleaning until late in the wicked’s vineyard.
At night, they lie naked without clothes,
With no covering in the cold.
Drenched by the mountain rains,
Lacking shelter, clinging to the rocks.
The fatherless are snatched from the breast,
Taken as a pledge from the poor.
For lack of clothing, they go about naked,
Hungry, they carry the sheaves.
Among rows of olive trees, they press out oil,
They tread the wine vats yet remain thirsty.
In terror, the dying groan,
Screaming from those mortally wounded,
Yet God attributes no regard.
They are those who rebel against the light,
Who will not know its ways,
Nor abide in its path.
The murderer rises after dusk,
To kill the poor and the indigent,
At night to act as the thief.
The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight,
Think, ‘No one will recognize me’,
He masks his face.
In the dark, they dig through homes,
In which, by day, they seal themselves up,
They never see the light.
For to them, every morning is like darkness,
Day break like the terrors of deepest gloom.
May they be flotsam on the face of the water,
May their portion in the land be cursed,
May no treader of vineyards turn their way.
May drought and heat snatch away their snow waters,
And Sheol, those who have sinned.
May the womb forget them,
May the worms find they taste sweet.
May they be remembered no more,
Thus their wickedness be broken as a tree.
May he consort with a barren woman,
Who bears no child,
Leave his widow deprived of good.
The mighty man may continue in his strength,
He may rise up,
But may he have no assurance of life.
Although God is the provider of security,
They rely on it,
Yet may His eyes be on their ways.
A little while we await, then may they be gone,
May they wither and fade like the mallow,
May they be cutoff like heads of grain.
If this were not so, who could prove the falsehood,
And show my words to be worthless?
Job 25
Then Job spoke out saying:
Dominion and awe belong to God,
Who established order in the heights of heaven.
Is there any number to His forces?
Upon whom does His light not shine?
How then can man be justified before God?
How can one born of woman be cleared of guilty?
If even the moon itself does not give light,
And the stars are not clean in His eyes?
How much less the maggot like man,
Or the worm like son of man?
Job 26
Then Job spoke out saying:
How you have helped, without power!
Saved, with arms lacking any strength!
How you have counseled, without wisdom!
Advised, with no experience!
Who have your uttered words helped?
Whose life has blossomed because of you?
(Eliphaz continued.)
The shades tremble beneath,
The waters and their inhabitants (denizens).
Death (Sheol) is naked before God,
Destruction (Abaddon) has no cover.
He stretched out the heavens over the void,
Suspends the earth over nothingness.
He bound up the waters in His thick clouds,
The vapory clouds do not burst below them.
He covered the views of the throne of God,
Spreading His cloud over it.
He has scribed the limits of the waters,
The boundaries of light and darkness.
The pillars of heaven trembled,
Astounded at His rebuke.
By his might He quelled the sea (Yamm),
By His understanding He smote the storm (Rahab).
By His spirit He contained the waters (Yamm),
His hand pierced the elusive chaos (Dragon).
Lo, these are merely glimpses of His exploits,
Faint whispers we hear of Him,
Who could contemplate even the power of His thunder?