Job 31-32

Job 31

¹A covenant I made for mine eyes, And what -- do I attend to a virgin?

²And what is the portion of God from above? And the inheritance of the Mighty from the heights?

³Is not calamity to the perverse? And strangeness to workers of iniquity?

⁴Doth not He see my ways, And all my steps number?

⁵If I have walked with vanity, And my foot doth hasten to deceit,

⁶He doth weigh me in righteous balances, And God doth know my integrity.

⁷If my step doth turn aside from the way, And after mine eyes hath my heart gone, And to my hands cleaved hath blemish,

⁸Let me sow -- and another eat, And my products let be rooted out.

⁹If my heart hath been enticed by woman, And by the opening of my neighbour I laid wait,

¹⁰Grind to another let my wife, And over her let others bend.

¹¹For it is a wicked thing, and a judicial iniquity;

¹²For a fire it is, to destruction it consumeth, And among all mine increase doth take root,

¹³If I despise the cause of my man-servant, And of my handmaid, In their contending with me,

¹⁴Then what do I do when God ariseth? And when He doth inspect, What do I answer Him?

¹⁵Did not He that made me in the womb make him? Yea, prepare us in the womb doth One.

¹⁶If I withhold from pleasure the poor, And the eyes of the widow do consume,

¹⁷And I do eat my morsel by myself, And the orphan hath not eat of it,

¹⁸(But from my youth He grew up with me as with a father, And from the belly of my mother I am led.)

¹⁹If I see any perishing without clothing, And there is no covering to the needy,

²⁰If his loins have not blessed me, And from the fleece of my sheep He doth not warm himself,

²¹If I have waved at the fatherless my hand, When I see in him the gate of my court,

²²My shoulder from its blade let fall, And mine arm from the bone be broken.

²³For a dread unto me is calamity from God, And because of His excellency I am not able.

²⁴If I have made gold my confidence, And to the pure gold have said, ‘My trust,'

²⁵If I rejoice because great is my wealth, And because abundance hath my hand found,

²⁶If I see the light when it shineth, And the precious moon walking,

²⁷And my heart is enticed in secret, And my hand doth kiss my mouth,

²⁸It also is a judicial iniquity, For I had lied to God above.

²⁹If I rejoice at the ruin of my hater, And stirred up myself when evil found him,

³⁰Yea, I have not suffered my mouth to sin, To ask with an oath his life.

³¹If not -- say ye, O men of my tent, ‘O that we had of his flesh, we are not satisfied.'

³²In the street doth not lodge a stranger, My doors to the traveller I open.

³³If I have covered as Adam my transgressions, To hide in my bosom mine iniquity,

³⁴Because I fear a great multitude, And the contempt of families doth affright me, Then I am silent, I go not out of the opening.

³⁵Who giveth to me a hearing? lo, my mark. The Mighty One doth answer me, And a bill hath mine adversary written.

³⁶If not -- on my shoulder I take it up, I bind it a crown on myself.

³⁷The number of my steps I tell Him, As a leader I approach Him.

³⁸If against me my land doth cry out, And together its furrows weep,

³⁹If its strength I consumed without money, And the life of its possessors, I have caused to breathe out,

⁴⁰Instead of wheat let a thorn go forth, And instead of barley a useless weed! The words of Job are finished.

Job 32

¹And these three men cease from answering Job, for he is righteous in his own eyes,

²and burn doth the anger of Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram; against Job hath his anger burned, because of his justifying himself more than God;

³and against his three friends hath his anger burned, because that they have not found an answer, and condemn Job.

⁴And Elihu hath waited earnestly beside Job with words, for they are older than he in days.

⁵And Elihu seeth that there is no answer in the mouth of the three men, and his anger burneth.

⁶And Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite answereth and saith: -- Young I am in days, and ye are age Therefore I have feared, And am afraid of shewing you my opinion.

⁷I said: Days do speak, And multitude of years teach wisdom.

⁸Surely a spirit is in man, And the breath of the Mighty One Doth cause them to understand.

⁹The multitude are not wise, Nor do the aged understand judgment.

¹⁰Therefore I have said: Hearken to me, I do shew my opinion -- even I.

¹¹Lo, I have waited for your words, I give ear unto your reasons, Till ye search out sayings.

¹²And unto you I attend, And lo, there is no reasoner for Job, Or answerer of his sayings among you.

¹³Lest ye say, We have found wisdom, God doth thrust him away, not man.

¹⁴And he hath not set in array words for me, And with your sayings I do not answer him.

¹⁵(They have broken down, They have not answered again, They removed from themselves words.

¹⁶And I have waited, but they do not speak, For they have stood still, They have not answered any more.)

¹⁷I answer, even I -- my share, I shew my opinion -- even I.

¹⁸For I have been full of words, Distressed me hath the spirit of my breast,

¹⁹Lo, my breast is as wine not opened, Like new bottles it is broken up.

²⁰I speak, and there is refreshment to me, I open my lips and answer.

²¹Let me not, I pray you, accept the face of any, Nor unto man give flattering titles,

²²For I have not known to give flattering titles, In a little doth my Maker take me away.