30 If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean;
31 Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me.
32 For he isnot a man, as I am, thatI should answer him, andwe should come together in
judgment.
33 Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, thatmight lay his hand upon us both.
34 Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me:
35 Thenwould I speak, and not fear him; but it isnot so with me.
1 My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the
bitterness of my soul.
2 I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.
3 Is itgood unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of
thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?
4 Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth?
5 Arethy days as the days of man? arethy years as man's days,
6 That thou enquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin?
7 Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there isnone that can deliver out of thine hand.
8 Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.
9 Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into
dust again?
10 Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese?
11 Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews.
12 Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.
13 And these thingshast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this iswith thee.
14 If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity.
15 If I be wicked, woe unto me; and ifI be righteous, yetwill I not lift up my head. I amfull of
confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction;
16 For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself
marvellous upon me.
17 Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes
and war areagainst me.
18 Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the
ghost, and no eye had seen me!
19 I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the
grave.
20 Arenot my days few? cease then, andlet me alone, that I may take comfort a little,
21 Before I go whenceI shall not return, evento the land of darkness and the shadow of death;
22 A land of darkness, as darkness itself; andof the shadow of death, without any order, and
wherethe light isas darkness.
1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
2 Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?
3 Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee
ashamed?
4 For thou hast said, My doctrine ispure, and I am clean in thine eyes.
5 But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee;
6 And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they aredouble to that which is!
Know therefore that God exacteth of thee lessthan thine iniquity deserveth.
7 Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?
8 It isas high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
9 The measure thereof islonger than the earth, and broader than the sea.
10 If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him?
11 For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it?
12 For vain man would be wise, though man be born likea wild ass's colt.
13 If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;
14 If iniquity bein thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.
15 For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not
fear:
16 Because thou shalt forget thymisery, andremember itas waters thatpass away:
17 And thineage shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the
morning.
18 And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, andthou
shalt take thy rest in safety.
19 Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make theeafraid; yea, many shall make suit unto
thee.
20 But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as
the giving up of the ghost.
1 And Job answered and said,
2 No doubt but ye arethe people, and wisdom shall die with you.
3 But I have understanding as well as you; I amnot inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such
things as these?
4 I am asone mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just
upright man islaughed to scorn.
5 He that is ready to slip with hisfeet is asa lamp despised in the thought of him that is at
ease.
6 The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand
God bringeth abundantly.
7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell
thee:
8 Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto
thee.
9 Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?
10 In whose hand isthe soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
11 Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat?
12 With the ancient iswisdom; and in length of days understanding.
13 With him iswisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.
14 Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can
be no opening.
15 Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they
overturn the earth.
16 With him isstrength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver arehis.
17 He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools.
18 He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle.
19 He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty.
20 He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged.
21 He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty.
22 He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.
23 He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth
them again.
24 He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander
no way.
25 They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like adrunken man.
1 Lo, mine eye hath seen all this, mine ear hath heard and understood it.
2 What ye know, the samedo I know also: I amnot inferior unto you.
3 Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God.
4 But ye areforgers of lies, ye areall physicians of no value.
5 O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom.
6 Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips.
7 Will ye speak wickedly for God? and talk deceitfully for him?
8 Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God?
9 Is it good that he should search you out? or as one man mocketh another, do ye somock him?
10 He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons.
11 Shall not his excellency make you afraid? and his dread fall upon you?
12 Your remembrances arelike unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay.
13 Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will.
14 Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in mine hand?
15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.
16 He also shall bemy salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him.
17 Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration with your ears.
18 Behold now, I have ordered mycause; I know that I shall be justified.
19 Who ishe thatwill plead with me? for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost.
20 Only do not two thingsunto me: then will I not hide myself from thee.
21 Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid.
22 Then call thou, and I will answer: or let me speak, and answer thou me.
23 How many aremine iniquities and sins? make me to know my transgression and my sin.
24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy?
25 Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?
26 For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my
youth.
27 Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly unto all my paths; thou
settest a print upon the heels of my feet.
28 And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth, as a garment that is moth eaten.
1 Man that isborn of a woman isof few days, and full of trouble.
2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth
not.
3 And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee?
4 Who can bring a clean thingout of an unclean? not one.
5 Seeing his days aredetermined, the number of his months arewith thee, thou hast appointed
his bounds that he cannot pass;
6 Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day.
7 For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender
branch thereof will not cease.
8 Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;
9 Yetthrough the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.
10 But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where ishe?
11 Asthe waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up:
12 So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens beno more, they shall not awake, nor be
raised out of their sleep.
13 O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy
