May 19 - Job 15-18
Job
1But Eliphaz the Themanite, answering, said2Will a wise man answer as if he were speaking wind, and will he fill his stomach with fire3You rebuke with words he who is not equal to you, and you speak what is not expedient for you4to such an extent that, within yourself, you have expelled reverence and have taken away prayers from the presence of God5For your iniquity has mislead your mouth, and you imitate the tongue of blasphemers6Your own mouth will condemn you, not I; and your own lips will answer you7Are you the first man who was born, or were you formed before the hills8Have you heard the intentions of God, and will his wisdom be inferior to you9What do you know, about which we are ignorant? What do you understand that we do not know10There are with us both aged and ancient men, even more senior than your fathers11Is it so important that God should console you? But your own depraved words prevent this12Why does your heart exalt you, and why do you gaze with your eyes, as if thinking great things13Why does your spirit stir against God, so as to utter such speeches from your mouth14What is man that he should be immaculate, and that he should appear just, having been born of woman15Behold, among his holy ones not one is immutable, and even the heavens are not pure in his sight16How much more abominable and useless is the man who drinks as if from the water of iniquity17I will reveal to you, so listen to me; and I will explain to you what I have seen18The wise acknowledge, and they do not leave behind, their fathers19to whom alone the earth has been given, and no stranger passed among them20The impious is arrogant for all his days, and the number of the years of his tyranny is uncertain21The sound of terror is always in his ears; and when there is peace, he always suspects treason22He does not believe that it is possible for him to be turned from darkness into the light, for he sees around him the sword on every side23When he moves himself to seek bread, he knows that the day of darkness has been prepared for his hand24Tribulation will terrify him, and anguish will prevail over him, like a king who is being prepared to go to battle25For he has extended his hand against God, and he has strengthened himself against the Almighty26He has rushed against him with his throat exposed, and he has been armed with a fat neck27Thickness has covered his face, and lard hangs down from his sides28He has lived in desolate cities and deserted houses, which have been turned into tombs29He will not be enriched, nor will his basic necessities endure, nor will he establish his root in the earth30He will not withdraw from the darkness; the flame will burn up his branches, and he will be defeated by the breath of his own mouth31He will not believe, being vainly deceived by error, that he could be redeemed at any price32Before his time is completed, he will pass into ruin and his hands will wither away33He will be wounded like a grapevine, when its cluster is in first flower, and like an olive tree that casts off its flower34For the congregation of the hypocrites is fruitless, and fire will devour the tabernacles of those who love to accept money35He has conceived sorrow, and he has brought forth iniquity, and his womb prepares deceit
1Then Job, answering, said:2I have often heard such things; you are all aggravating comforters3Will there be no end to windy words? Or is it at all a burden to you, if you speak4I, too, can speak like you; and I also wish that your soul favored my soul. I would also comfort you with speeches and would wag my head over you5I would strengthen you with my mouth, and would move my lips, as if being lenient to you6But what can I do? When I am speaking, my grief will not be quiet; and if I am quiet, it will not withdraw from me7But now my grief has crushed me, and all my limbs have been reduced to nothing8My wrinkles bear witness against me, and a liar rises up against my face, contradicting me9He has gathered together his fury towards me, and, threatening me, he has roared against me with his teeth; my enemy has beheld me with terrible eyes10They have opened their mouths against me, and, reproaching me, they have struck me on the cheek; they are nourished by my sufferings11God has confined me with the immoral, and he has delivered me into the hands of the impious12I, who once was wealthy, am now crushed. He has grabbed me by my neck; he has broken me and has placed me before him as a sign13He has surrounded me with his lances. He has severely wounded my lower back, he has not been lenient, and he has poured out my organs upon the earth14He has cut me with wound after wound. He has rushed upon me like a giant15I have sewn sackcloth over my skin, and I have covered my body with ashes16My face is swollen from weeping, and my eyelids have dimmed my vision17These things I have endured without iniquity in my hand, while I held pure prayers before God18O earth, do not conceal my blood, nor let my outcry find a hiding place in you19For behold, my witness is in heaven, and my confidante is on high20My friends are full of words; my eye rains tears upon God21And I wish that a man might be so judged before God, just as the son of man is judged with his assistant22For behold, a few years pass by, and I am walking a path by which I will not return
1My spirit will be wasted, my days will be shortened, and only the grave will be left for me2I have not sinned, yet my eye remains in bitterness3Free me, O Lord, and set me beside you, and let the hand of anyone you wish fight against me4You have set their heart far from discipline; therefore, they will not be praised5He promises prey to his companions, but the eyes of his sons will grow faint6He has posted me like a proverb to the people, and I am an example in their presence7My eyesight has been clouded by indignation, and my limbs have been reduced, as if to nothing8The just will be astounded over this, and the innocent will be stirred up against the hypocrite9And the just will cling to his way, and clean hands will increase strength10Therefore, be converted, all of you, and approach, for I do not find in you any wisdom11My days have passed away; my thoughts have been scattered, tormenting my heart12They have turned night into day, and I hope for light again after the darkness13If I should wait, the underworld is my house, and in darkness I have spread out my bed14I have said to decay and to worms: "You are my father, my mother, and my sister.15Therefore, where is my expectation now, and who is it that considers my patience16Everything of mine will descend into the deepest underworld; do you think that, in that place at least, there will be rest for me
1But Baldad the Suhite responded by saying2How long will you throw around words? Understand first, and then let us speak3Why have we been treated like mules, as if we were unworthy before you4You, who ruins your own soul in your fury, will the earth be forsaken because of you, and will the cliffs be moved from their place5Will not the light of the impious be put out, and the flame of his fire refuse to shine6Light will become darkness in his tabernacle, and the lamp that is over him will be extinguished7His strong steps will be constrained, and his own counsel will cast him down uncontrollably8For he has caused his own feet to go into a net, and he has walked into its web9His heel will be held in a snare, and thirst will rage against him10A trap has been hidden for him in the earth, and a decoy, along his path11Horrifying things will terrify him everywhere and will entangle his feet12Let his strength be diminished by famine, and let starvation invade his ribs13Let it devour the beauty of his skin; let the ancient death consume his arms14Let his confidence be torn away from his tabernacle, and let ruin trample over him like a king15Let the companions of he who is not, dwell in his tabernacle; let brimstone rain down upon his tabernacle16Let his roots be dried up from beneath him, and his harvest be crushed from above17Let the memory of him perish from the earth, and let not his name be celebrated in the streets18He will expel him from light into darkness, and he will remove him from the world19Neither his offspring, nor his descendents, will exist among his people, nor will there be any remnants in his country20The last will be astonished at his day, and the first will be overcome with horror21And so, these are the tabernacles of the sinful, and this the place of he who does not know God