61 And Job made answer and said, 2 If only my passion might be measured, and put into the scales against my trouble! 3 For then its weight would be more than the sand of the seas: because of this my words have been uncontrolled. 4 For the arrows of the Ruler of all are present with me, and their poison goes deep into my spirit: his army of fears is put in order against me. 5 Does the ass of the fields give out his voice when he has grass? or does the ox make sounds over his food? 6 Will a man take food which has no taste without salt? or is there any taste in the soft substance of purslain? 7 My soul has no desire for such things, they are as disease in my food.
8 If only I might have an answer to my prayer, and God would give me my desire! 9 If only he would be pleased to put an end to me; and would let loose his hand, so that I might be cut off! 10 So I would still have comfort, and I would have joy in the pains of death, for I have not been false to the words of the Holy One. 11 Have I strength to go on waiting, or have I any end to be looking forward to? 12 Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh brass? 13 I have no help in myself, and wisdom is completely gone from me.
14 He whose heart is shut against his friend has given up the fear of the Ruler of all. 15 My friends have been false like a stream, like streams in the valleys which come to an end: 16 Which are dark because of the ice, and the snow falling into them; 17 Under the burning sun they are cut off, and come to nothing because of the heat. 18 The camel-trains go out of their way; they go up into the waste and come to destruction. 19 The camel-trains of Tema were searching with care, the bands of Sheba were waiting for them: 20 They were put to shame because of their hope; they came and their hope was gone. 21 So have you now become to me; you see my sad condition and are in fear.
22 Did I say, Give me something? or, Make a payment for me out of your wealth? 23 Or, Get me out of the power of my hater? or, Give money so that I may be free from the power of the cruel ones? 24 Give me teaching and I will be quiet; and make me see my error. 25 How pleasing are upright words! but what force is there in your arguments? 26 My words may seem wrong to you, but the words of him who has no hope are for the wind. 27 Truly, you are such as would give up the child of a dead man to his creditors, and would make a profit out of your friend. 28 Now then, let your eyes be turned to me, for truly I will not say what is false to your face. 29 Let your minds be changed, and do not have an evil opinion of me; yes, be changed, for my righteousness is still in me. 30 Is there evil in my tongue? is not the cause of my trouble clear to me?
71 Has not man his ordered time of trouble on the earth? and are not his days like the days of a servant working for payment? 2 As a servant desiring the shades of evening, and a workman looking for his payment: 3 So I have for my heritage months of pain to no purpose, and nights of weariness are given to me. 4 When I go to my bed, I say, When will it be time to get up? but the night is long, and I am turning from side to side till morning light. 5 My flesh is covered with worms and dust; my skin gets hard and then is cracked again. 6 My days go quicker than the cloth-worker's thread, and come to an end without hope.
7 O, keep in mind that my life is wind: my eye will never again see good. 8 The eye of him who sees me will see me no longer: your eyes will be looking for me, but I will be gone. 9 A cloud comes to an end and is gone; so he who goes down into the underworld comes not up again. 10 He will not come back to his house, and his place will have no more knowledge of him. 11 So I will not keep my mouth shut; I will let the words come from it in the pain of my spirit, my soul will make a bitter outcry. 12 Am I a sea, or a sea-beast, that you put a watch over me? 13 When I say, In my bed I will have comfort, there I will get rest from my disease; 14 Then you send dreams to me, and visions of fear; 15 So that a hard death seems better to my soul than my pains. 16 I have no desire for life, I would not be living for ever! Keep away from me, for my days are as a breath.
17 What is man, that you have made him great, and that your attention is fixed on him, 18 And that your hand is on him every morning, and that you are testing him every minute? 19 How long will it be before your eyes are turned away from me, so that I may have a minute's breathing-space? 20 If I have done wrong, what have I done to you, O keeper of men? why have you made me a mark for your blows, so that I am a weariness to myself? 21 And why do you not take away my sin, and let my wrongdoing be ended? for now I go down to the dust, and you will be searching for me with care, but I will be gone.
81 Then Bildad the Shuhite made answer and said, 2 How long will you say these things, and how long will the words of your mouth be like a strong wind? 3 Does God give wrong decisions? or is the Ruler of all not upright in his judging? 4 If your children have done evil against him, then their punishment is from his hand. 5 If you will make search for God with care, and put your request before the Ruler of all; 6 If you are clean and upright; then he will certainly be moved to take up your cause, and will make clear your righteousness by building up your house again. 7 And though your start was small, your end will be very great.
8 Put the question now to the past generations, and give attention to what has been searched out by their fathers: 9 (For we are but of yesterday, and have no knowledge, because our days on earth are gone like a shade:) 10 Will they not give you teaching, and say words of wisdom to you? 11 Will the river-plant come up in its pride without wet earth? will the grass get tall without water? 12 When it is still green, without being cut down, it becomes dry and dead before any other plant. 13 So is the end of all who do not keep God in mind; and the hope of the evil-doer comes to nothing: 14 Whose support is cut off, and whose hope is no stronger than a spider's thread. 15 He is looking to his family for support, but it is not there; he puts his hope in it, but it comes to nothing. 16 He is full of strength before the sun, and his branches go out over his garden. 17 His roots are twisted round the stones, forcing their way in between them. 18 If he is taken away from his place, then it will say, I have not seen you. 19 Such is the joy of his way, and out of the dust another comes up to take his place.
20 Truly, God will not give up him who is without sin, and will not take evil-doers by the hand. 21 The time will come when your mouth will be full of laughing, and cries of joy will come from your lips. 22 Your haters will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the sinner will not be seen again.
91 And Job made answer and said, 2 Truly, I see that it is so: and how is it possible for a man to get his right before God? 3 If a man was desiring to go to law with him, he would not be able to give him an answer to one out of a thousand questions. 4 He is wise in heart and great in strength: who ever made his face hard against him, and any good came of it? 5 It is he who takes away the mountains without their knowledge, overturning them in his wrath: 6 Who is moving the earth out of its place, so that its pillars are shaking: 7 Who gives orders to the sun, and it does not give its light; and who keeps the stars from shining. 8 By whose hand the heavens were stretched out, and who is walking on the waves of the sea: 9 Who made the Bear and Orion, and the Pleiades, and the store-houses of the south: 10 Who does great things not to be searched out; yes, wonders without number. 11 See, he goes past me and I see him not: he goes on before, but I have no knowledge of him. 12 If he puts out his hand to take, by whom may it be turned back? who may say to him, What are you doing? 13 God's wrath may not be turned back; the helpers of Rahab were bent down under him.
14 How much less may I give an answer to him, using the right words in argument with him? 15 Even if my cause was good, I would not be able to give an answer; I would make request for grace from him who was against me. 16 If I had sent for him to be present, and he had come, I would have no faith that he would give ear to my voice. 17 For I would be crushed by his storm, my wounds would be increased without cause. 18 He would not let me take my breath, but I would be full of bitter grief. 19 If it is a question of strength, he says, Here I am! and if it is a question of a cause at law, he says, Who will give me a fixed day? 20 Though I was in the right, he would say that I was in the wrong; I have done no evil; but he says that I am a sinner. 21 I have done no wrong; I give no thought to what becomes of me; I have no desire for life.
22 It is all the same to me; so I say, He puts an end to the sinner and to him who has done no wrong together. 23 If death comes suddenly through disease, he makes sport of the fate of those who have done no wrong. 24 The land is given into the power of the evil-doer; the faces of its judges are covered; if not by him, then who has done it?
25 My days go quicker than a post-runner: they go in flight, they see no good. 26 They go rushing on like reed-boats, like an eagle dropping suddenly on its food. 27 If I say, I will put my grief out of mind, I will let my face be sad no longer and I will be bright; 28 I go in fear of all my pains; I am certain that I will not be free from sin in your eyes. 29 You will not let me be clear of sin! why then do I take trouble for nothing? 30 If I am washed with snow water, and make my hands clean with soap; 31 Then you will have me pushed into the dust, so that I will seem disgusting to my very clothing. 32 For he is not a man as I am, that I might give him an answer, that we might come together before a judge. 33 There is no one to give a decision between us, who might have control over us. 34 Let him take away his rod from me and not send his fear on me: 35 Then I would say what is in my mind without fear of him; for there is no cause of fear in myself.
