And unto God would I commit my cause: That those which mourn may be exalted to safety. So that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: And the council of the froward is carried headlong. They meet with darkness in the daytime, And grope in the noonday as in the night. But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, And from the hand of the mighty. So the poor hath hope, And iniquity stoppeth her mouth. Behold, happy is the man whom God corre&teth: For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: Yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. And in war from the power of the sword. Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: Neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: Neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth. For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. And thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin. O that my grief were throughly weighed, And my calamity laid in the balances together! For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, CHAPTER 6 The terrors of God do set themselves in array against me. Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? Or loweth the ox over his fodder? Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? Are as my sorrowful meat. O that I might have my request; And that God would grant me the thing that I long for! Even that it would please God to destroy me; That he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! Then should I yet have comfort; Yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not spare; For I have not concealed the words of the Holy One. What is my strength, that I should hope? And what is mine end, that I should prolong my life? Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh of brass? Is not my help in me? And is wisdom driven quite from me? To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend; But he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty. My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, What time they wax warm, they vanish: When it is hot, they are consumed out of their place. The paths of their way are turned aside; They go to nothing, and perish. The troops of Tema looked, The companies of Sheba waited for them. They were confounded because they had hoped; They came thither, and were ashamed. For now ye are nothing; ✔ Ye see my casting down, and are afraid. Did I say, Bring unto me? Or, Give a reward for me of your substance? Or, Deliver me from the enemy's hand? Or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty? Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: And cause me to understand wherein I have erred. How forcible are right words! But what doth your arguing reprove? Do ye imagine to reprove words, And the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as wind? Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, And ye dig a pit for your friend. Cannot my taste discern perverse things? CHAPTER 7 Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? So am I made to possess months of vanity, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? And I am full of tossings to and fro unto the My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, And are spent without hope. O remember that my life is wind: Mine eyes shall no more see good. Theeye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: |