3 Lo, thou hast admonished many,

And the feeble hands thou hast strengthened;

4 The stumbling thy words have upheld,

And to the feeble knees thou hast given strength.

5 But now [affliction] has come upon thee, and thou faintest ;

It toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.

6 Is not thy confidence and thy expectation [founded on] thy fear of God],

And on the integrity of thy ways?

7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the righteous cut off?

8 According to what I have seen, they who plough iniquity, And sow mischief, reap the same.

9 By the blast of God they perish,

And by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.

10 The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion [are silenced],

And the teeth of the young lions are broken out.

11 The old lion perishes for want of prey,

And the whelps of the lioness are scattered abroad.

12 Unto me an oracle was secretly imparted,

And mine ear caught a gentle whisper of it.

13 In distracted thoughts among the visions of the night, When profound sleep falleth upon men,

14 Fear came upon me, and trembling,

Which made all my bones to quake.

15 Then a spirit glided along before my face,
The hair of my flesh stood on end:
16 It stood-but its form I could not discern ;
A spectre was before mine eyes;

There was silence, and I heard a voice17 Shall feeble man be more just than God? Shall man be more pure than his Maker?

18 Behold, in his servants he putteth no confidence,

And his angels he chargeth with frailty;

19 How much more true is this of those who dwell in houses of ciay,

Whose foundation is in the dust!

They are crushed before the moth-worm!

20 Between morning and evening they are destroyed; Without any one regarding it they perish forever. 21 Is not the excellency that is in them torn away? They die before they have become wise.

CHAP. V.

1 Call now! Is there any one who will respond to thee? And to which of the holy ones wilt thou look ?

2 Truly wrath destroyeth the fool;

And indignation kills the man easily seduced [to sin].

3 I have seen the fool taking root;

But soon I pronounced his habitation accursed

4 His children are far from safety;

They are crushed in the gate, and there is no deliverer 5 His harvest the hungry man devours,

And even to the thorns he seizes it,

And the thirsty swallow up their wealth.

6 For though affliction cometh not from the dust, And trouble does not sprout up from the ground;

7 For though man is born unto trouble

As the sparks fly upward;

8 Nevertheless I would seek unto God,

And to God would I commit my cause,

9 Who doeth great things and unsearchable,

Marvellous things without number

10 Who giveth rain upon the face of the [cultivated] earth, And sendeth waters upon the out-places ;

.1 Who advances the lowly to high places,

And the dejected are elevated to prosperity; 12 Who disappointeth the purposes of the crafty,

And their hands cannot accomplish their design; 13 Who taketh the wise in their own craftiness, And precipitateth the counsels of intriguers. 14 They meet with darkness in the day-time,

And grope at noon as if it were night.

15 And he saveth from the sword, from their mouth, And from the hand of the mighty, the poor.

16 So the poor hath hope,

And iniquity stoppeth her mouth.

17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth, And the chastening of the Almighty do not despise. 18 For he bruiseth, and he bindeth up ;

He woundeth, and his hands heal.

19 In six troubles he will deliver thee,

Yea, in seven evil shall not touch thee.

20 In famine he will redeem thee from death,
And in war from the power of the sword.
21 From the scourge of the tongue shalt thou be hid,
Nor be afraid of devastation when it cometh.

22 At devastation, and at famine thou shalt laugh,

Nor shalt thou dread the wild beasts of the land.

23 For thou shalt form an alliance with the stones of the field, And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.

24 Thou shalt know that thy tent is secure,

And thou shalt return to thy dwelling, and not miss it. 25 And thou shalt know that thy posterity shall be numerous, And thine offspring like plants upon the earth.

26 Thou shalt come in full age to the grave,

As a shook of grain that is gathered in its season.

27 Lo!

This we have searched out. So it is

Hear! and know thou it for thyself.

CHAPTER VI. VII.

The first series in the controversy continued.

THE REPLY OF JOB TO ELIPHAZ.

i And Job answered, and said:

2 O that my grief were weighed thoroughly!

That they would put my calamities in the balance together 3 For now would they be heavier than the sands of the sea. Therefore are my words swallowed up.

4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me,

Their poison drinketh up my spirit :

'T'he terrors of God set themselves in array against me. 5 Doth the wild ass bray in the midst of grass?

Or loweth the ox over his fodder?

6 Can that which is insipid be eaten without salt?
Is there any taste in the white of an egg?
7 The things which my soul abhors to touch
Are become my sorrowful food.

8 O that I might have my request,

And that God would grant my desire,

9 That it would please God to crush me,

That he would let loose his hand and cut me off!

10 Then there would be yet comfort to me;

Yea, I would exult in my anguish—

Let him spare not—

For I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.

11 What is my strength, that I should hope?

And what is my end, that I should be patient?

12 Is my strength the strength of stones?

Is my flesh brass?

13 Alas, my help is not in myself!

Deliverance has fled from me.

14 To the afflicted kindness should be shown by his friend ;

But he has forsaken the fear of the Almighty:

15 My brethren are faithless as a brook,

Like the streams of the valley that pass away; 16 Which are turbid by means of the [melted] ice, In which the snow is hid [by being dissolved]. 17 In the time when they become warm, they evaporate.

When the heat cometh they are dried up from their place. 18 The channels of their way wind round about;

They go into nothing-and are lost.

19 The caravans of Tema look ;

The travelling companies of Sheba expect to see them 20 They are ashamed that they have relied on them ; They come even to the place, and are confounded. 21 For now ye also are nothing :

Ye see my calamity, and shrink back.

22 Have I said, Bring me a gift?

Or, from your property make me a present? 23 Or, deliver me from the hand of an enemy? Or, from the hand of the violent rescue me

24 Teach me, and I will be silent ;

And wherein I have erred cause me to understand.

25 How powerful are words of truth!

But what doth your reproaching demonstrate?

26 Do you think to reprove mere words?

The words of a man in despair [should be regarded] as the wind

27 Truly against the fatherless ye would spring [a net],

And ye dig a pitfall for your neighbor.

28 Now, therefore, if you please, look closely upon me, For if I speak falsehood it will be manifest to you.

29 Return now, let it not be assumed to be evil;

Return again, for my vindication is in it [in my argument] 30 Is there iniquity in my tongue ?

Cannot my taste discern that which is simple?