No More Learning

10:1 And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the
isles of the sea.

10:2 And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the
declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced
him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings
of Media and Persia? 10:3 For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king
Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of
his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to
all his seed.




The Book of Job


1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that
man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

1:2 And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.

1:3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand
camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and
a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the
men of the east.

1:4 And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day;
and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with
them.

1:5 And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about,
that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning,
and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for
Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their
hearts. Thus did Job continually.

1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

1:7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan
answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and
from walking up and down in it.

1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job,
that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright
man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? 1:9 Then Satan
answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? 1:10 Hast
not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all
that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands,
and his substance is increased in the land.

1:11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he
will curse thee to thy face.

1:12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy
power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth
from the presence of the LORD.

1:13 And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating
and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: 1:14 And there came
a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses
feeding beside them: 1:15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took
them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the
sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

1:16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The
fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and
the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell
thee.

1:17 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The
Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have
carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the
sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

1:18 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy
sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest
brother's house: 1:19 And, behold, there came a great wind from the
wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon
the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell
thee.

1:20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and
fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, 1:21 And said, Naked came I
out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD
gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

1:22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

2:1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present
himself before the LORD.

2:2 And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan
answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and
from walking up and down in it.

2:3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job,
that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright
man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth
fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy
him without cause.

2:4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all
that a man hath will he give for his life.

2:5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh,
and he will curse thee to thy face.

2:6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but
save his life.

2:7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job
with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

2:8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat
down among the ashes.

2:9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine
integrity? curse God, and die.

2:10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women
speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we
not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

2:11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come
upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the
Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they
had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to
comfort him.

2:12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not,
they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his
mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.

2:13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven
nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief
was very great.

3:1 After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.

3:2 And Job spake, and said, 3:3 Let the day perish wherein I was
born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child
conceived.

3:4 Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above,
neither let the light shine upon it.

3:5 Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell
upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.

3:6 As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be
joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of
the months.

3:7 Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.

3:8 Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up
their mourning.

3:9 Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for
light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day: 3:10
Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow
from mine eyes.

3:11 Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost
when I came out of the belly? 3:12 Why did the knees prevent me? or
why the breasts that I should suck? 3:13 For now should I have lain
still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,
3:14 With kings and counsellors of the earth, which build desolate
places for themselves; 3:15 Or with princes that had gold, who filled
their houses with silver: 3:16 Or as an hidden untimely birth I had
not been; as infants which never saw light.

3:17 There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at
rest.

3:18 There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the
oppressor.

3:19 The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his
master.

3:20 Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto
the bitter in soul; 3:21 Which long for death, but it cometh not; and
dig for it more than for hid treasures; 3:22 Which rejoice
exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave? 3:23 Why is
light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?
3:24 For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured
out like the waters.

3:25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that
which I was afraid of is come unto me.

3:26 I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet
trouble came.

4:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, 4:2 If we assay to
commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself
from speaking? 4:3 Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast
strengthened the weak hands.

4:4 Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast
strengthened the feeble knees.

4:5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee,
and thou art troubled.

4:6 Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the
uprightness of thy ways? 4:7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever
perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? 4:8
Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap
the same.

4:9 By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils
are they consumed.

4:10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and
the teeth of the young lions, are broken.

4:11 The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's
whelps are scattered abroad.

4:12 Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a
little thereof.

4:13 In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep
falleth on men, 4:14 Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all
my bones to shake.

4:15 Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood
up: 4:16 It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an
image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice,
saying, 4:17 Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be
more pure than his maker? 4:18 Behold, he put no trust in his
servants; and his angels he charged with folly: 4:19 How much less in
them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust,
which are crushed before the moth? 4:20 They are destroyed from
morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.

4:21 Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die,
even without wisdom.

5:1 Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of
the saints wilt thou turn? 5:2 For wrath killeth the foolish man, and
envy slayeth the silly one.

5:3 I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his
habitation.

5:4 His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the
gate, neither is there any to deliver them.

5:5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the
thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.

5:6 Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth
trouble spring out of the ground; 5:7 Yet man is born unto trouble, as
the sparks fly upward.

5:8 I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause: 5:9
Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without
number: 5:10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon
the fields: 5:11 To set up on high those that be low; that those which
mourn may be exalted to safety.

5:12 He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands
cannot perform their enterprise.

5:13 He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of
the froward is carried headlong.

5:14 They meet with darkness in the day time, and grope in the noonday
as in the night.

5:15 But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from
the hand of the mighty.

5:16 So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.

5:17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise
not thou the chastening of the Almighty: 5:18 For he maketh sore, and
bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.

5:19 He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall
no evil touch thee.

5:20 In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the
power of the sword.

5:21 Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt
thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.

5:22 At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be
afraid of the beasts of the earth.

5:23 For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the
beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.

5:24 And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and
thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin.

5:25 Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine
offspring as the grass of the earth.

5:26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of
corn cometh in in his season.

5:27 Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it
for thy good.

6:1 But Job answered and said, 6:2 Oh that my grief were throughly
weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together! 6:3 For now
it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are
swallowed up.

6:4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof
drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array
against me.

6:5 Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over
his fodder? 6:6 Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or
is there any taste in the white of an egg? 6:7 The things that my
soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat.

6:8 Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the
thing that I long for! 6:9 Even that it would please God to destroy
me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! 6:10 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.

6:11 What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end,
that I should prolong my life? 6:12 Is my strength the strength of
stones? or is my flesh of brass? 6:13 Is not my help in me? and is
wisdom driven quite from me? 6:14 To him that is afflicted pity
should be shewed from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the
Almighty.

6:15 My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream
of brooks they pass away; 6:16 Which are blackish by reason of the
ice, and wherein the snow is hid: 6:17 What time they wax warm, they
vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.

6:18 The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing, and
perish.

6:19 The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for
them.

6:20 They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither,
and were ashamed.

6:21 For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid.

6:22 Did I say, Bring unto me? or, Give a reward for me of your
substance? 6:23 Or, Deliver me from the enemy's hand? or, Redeem me
from the hand of the mighty? 6:24 Teach me, and I will hold my
tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.

6:25 How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove?
6:26 Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is
desperate, which are as wind? 6:27 Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless,
and ye dig a pit for your friend.

6:28 Now therefore be content, look upon me; for it is evident unto
you if I lie.

6:29 Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return again, my
righteousness is in it.

6:30 Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse
things? 7:1 Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not
his days also like the days of an hireling? 7:2 As a servant
earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the
reward of his work: 7:3 So am I made to possess months of vanity, and
wearisome nights are appointed to me.

7:4 When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone?
and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.

7:5 My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is
broken, and become loathsome.

7:6 My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without
hope.

7:7 O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good.

7:8 The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes
are upon me, and I am not.

7:9 As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down
to the grave shall come up no more.

7:10 He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place
know him any more.

7:11 Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the
anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

7:12 Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me? 7:13
When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my
complaints; 7:14 Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me
through visions: 7:15 So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death
rather than my life.

7:16 I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days
are vanity.

7:17 What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou
shouldest set thine heart upon him? 7:18 And that thou shouldest
visit him every morning, and try him every moment? 7:19 How long wilt
thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my
spittle? 7:20 I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou
preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so
that I am a burden to myself? 7:21 And why dost thou not pardon my
transgression, and take away my iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the
dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.

8:1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, 8:2 How long wilt thou
speak these things? and how long shall the words of thy mouth be like
a strong wind? 8:3 Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty
pervert justice? 8:4 If thy children have sinned against him, and he
have cast them away for their transgression; 8:5 If thou wouldest seek
unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty; 8:6 If
thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and
make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.

8:7 Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly
increase.

8:8 For enquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself
to the search of their fathers: 8:9 (For we are but of yesterday, and
know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:) 8:10 Shall
not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their
heart? 8:11 Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow
without water? 8:12 Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut
down, it withereth before any other herb.

8:13 So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope
shall perish: 8:14 Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall
be a spider's web.

8:15 He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall
hold it fast, but it shall not endure.

8:16 He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his
garden.

8:17 His roots are wrapped about the heap, and seeth the place of
stones.

8:18 If he destroy him from his place, then it shall deny him, saying,
I have not seen thee.

8:19 Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall
others grow.

8:20 Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he
help the evil doers: 8:21 Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and
thy lips with rejoicing.

8:22 They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwelling
place of the wicked shall come to nought.

9:1 Then Job answered and said, 9:2 I know it is so of a truth: but
how should man be just with God? 9:3 If he will contend with him, he
cannot answer him one of a thousand.

9:4 He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened
himself against him, and hath prospered? 9:5 Which removeth the
mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger.

9:6 Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof
tremble.

9:7 Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the
stars.

9:8 Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves
of the sea.

9:9 Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of
the south.

9:10 Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders
without number.

9:11 Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I
perceive him not.

9:12 Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto
him, What doest thou? 9:13 If God will not withdraw his anger, the
proud helpers do stoop under him.

9:14 How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to
reason with him? 9:15 Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not
answer, but I would make supplication to my judge.

9:16 If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe
that he had hearkened unto my voice.
9:17 For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds
without cause.

9:18 He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with
bitterness.

9:19 If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: and if of judgment, who
shall set me a time to plead? 9:20 If I justify myself, mine own
mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me
perverse.

9:21 Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would
despise my life.

9:22 This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect
and the wicked.

9:23 If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the
innocent.

9:24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the
faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he? 9:25 Now
my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good.

9:26 They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that
hasteth to the prey.

9:27 If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my
heaviness, and comfort myself: 9:28 I am afraid of all my sorrows, I
know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.

9:29 If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain? 9:30 If I wash myself
with snow water, and make my hands never so clean; 9:31 Yet shalt thou
plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me.

9:32 For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we
should come together in judgment.

9:33 Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand
upon us both.

9:34 Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify
me: 9:35 Then would I speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with
me.

10:1 My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon
myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

10:2 I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou
contendest with me.

10:3 Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou
shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel
of the wicked? 10:4 Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man
seeth? 10:5 Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man's
days, 10:6 That thou enquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest
after my sin? 10:7 Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is
none that can deliver out of thine hand.

10:8 Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about;
yet thou dost destroy me.

10:9 Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and
wilt thou bring me into dust again? 10:10 Hast thou not poured me out
as milk, and curdled me like cheese? 10:11 Thou hast clothed me with
skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews.

10:12 Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath
preserved my spirit.

10:13 And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this
is with thee.

10:14 If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from
mine iniquity.

10:15 If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I
not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine
affliction; 10:16 For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion:
and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me.

10:17 Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine
indignation upon me; changes and war are against me.

10:18 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! 10:19 I should
have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from
the womb to the grave.

10:20 Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may
take comfort a little, 10:21 Before I go whence I shall not return,
even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; 10:22 A land of
darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any
order, and where the light is as darkness.

11:1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, 11:2 Should not
the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be
justified? 11:3 Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when
thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed? 11:4 For thou hast
said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes.

11:5 But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee; 11:6
And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are
double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less
than thine iniquity deserveth.

11:7 Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the
Almighty unto perfection? 11:8 It is as high as heaven; what canst
thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? 11:9 The measure
thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.

11:10 If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can
hinder him? 11:11 For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also;
will he not then consider it? 11:12 For vain men would be wise,
though man be born like a wild ass's colt.

11:13 If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward
him; 11:14 If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not
wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.

11:15 For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou
shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear: 11:16 Because thou shalt forget
thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away: 11:17 And thine
age shall be clearer than the noonday: thou shalt shine forth, thou
shalt be as the morning.

11:18 And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt
dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.

11:19 Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea,
many shall make suit unto thee.

11:20 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.

12:1 And Job answered and said, 12:2 No doubt but ye are the people,
and wisdom shall die with you.

12:3 But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to
you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these? 12:4 I am as one
mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him:
the just upright man is laughed to scorn.

12:5 He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in
the thought of him that is at ease.

12:6 The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are
secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.

12:7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls
of the air, and they shall tell thee: 12:8 Or speak to the earth, and
it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto
thee.

12:9 Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath
wrought this? 12:10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing,
and the breath of all mankind.

12:11 Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat? 12:12
With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.

12:13 With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and
understanding.

12:14 Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he
shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.

12:15 Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he
sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.

12:16 With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver
are his.

12:17 He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges
fools.

12:18 He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a
girdle.

12:19 He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty.

12:20 He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the
understanding of the aged.

12:21 He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of
the mighty.

12:22 He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to
light the shadow of death.

12:23 He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the
nations, and straiteneth them again.

12:24 He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the
earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no
way.

12:25 They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to
stagger like a drunken man.

13:1 Lo, mine eye hath seen all this, mine ear hath heard and
understood it.

13:2 What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto
you.

13:3 Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with
God.

13:4 But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.

13:5 O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your
wisdom.

13:6 Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips.

13:7 Will ye speak wickedly for God? and talk deceitfully for him?
13:8 Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God? 13:9 Is it
good that he should search you out? or as one man mocketh another, do
ye so mock him? 13:10 He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly
accept persons.

13:11 Shall not his excellency make you afraid? and his dread fall
upon you? 13:12 Your remembrances are like unto ashes, your bodies to
bodies of clay.

13:13 Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on
me what will.

13:14 Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in
mine hand? 13:15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I
will maintain mine own ways before him.

13:16 He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come
before him.

13:17 Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration with your ears.

13:18 Behold now, I have ordered my cause; I know that I shall be
justified.

13:19 Who is he that will plead with me? for now, if I hold my tongue,
I shall give up the ghost.

13:20 Only do not two things unto me: then will I not hide myself from
thee.

13:21 Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me
afraid.

13:22 Then call thou, and I will answer: or let me speak, and answer
thou me.

13:23 How many are mine iniquities and sins? make me to know my
transgression and my sin.

13:24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy?
13:25 Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue
the dry stubble? 13:26 For thou writest bitter things against me, and
makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth.

13:27 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.

13:28 And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth, as a garment that is moth
eaten.

14:1 Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.

14:2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as
a shadow, and continueth not.

14:3 And doth thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me
into judgment with thee? 14:4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an
unclean? not one.

14:5 Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with
thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; 14:6 Turn
from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling,
his day.

14:7 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.

14:8 Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock
thereof die in the ground; 14:9 Yet through the scent of water it will
bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.

14:10 But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost,
and where is he? 14:11 As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood
decayeth and drieth up: 14:12 So man lieth down, and riseth not: till
the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of
their sleep.

14:13 O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest
keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me
a set time, and remember me! 14:14 If a man die, shall he live again?
all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.

14:15 Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire
to the work of thine hands.

14:16 For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my
sin? 14:17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up
mine iniquity.

14:18 And surely the mountains falling cometh to nought, and the rock
is removed out of his place.

14:19 The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which
grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of
man.

14:20 Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou
changest his countenance, and sendest him away.

14:21 His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are
brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.

14:22 But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him
shall mourn.

15:1 Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said, 15:2 Should a wise
man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind? 15:3
Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he
can do no good? 15:4 Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest
prayer before God.

15:5 For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the
tongue of the crafty.

15:6 Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips
testify against thee.

15:7 Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before
the hills? 15:8 Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou
restrain wisdom to thyself? 15:9 What knowest thou, that we know not?
what understandest thou, which is not in us? 15:10 With us are both
the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father.

15:11 Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret
thing with thee? 15:12 Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what
do thy eyes wink at, 15:13 That thou turnest thy spirit against God,
and lettest such words go out of thy mouth? 15:14 What is man, that
he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be
righteous? 15:15 Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the
heavens are not clean in his sight.

15:16 How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh
iniquity like water? 15:17 I will shew thee, hear me; and that which
I have seen I will declare; 15:18 Which wise men have told from their
fathers, and have not hid it: 15:19 Unto whom alone the earth was
given, and no stranger passed among them.

15:20 The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number
of years is hidden to the oppressor.

15:21 A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer
shall come upon him.

15:22 He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is
waited for of the sword.

15:23 He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth
that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.

15:24 Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail
against him, as a king ready to the battle.

15:25 For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth
himself against the Almighty.

15:26 He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of
his bucklers: 15:27 Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and
maketh collops of fat on his flanks.

15:28 And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man
inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps.

15:29 He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue,
neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth.

15:30 He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his
branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away.

15:31 Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall
be his recompence.

15:32 It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall
not be green.

15:33 He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast
off his flower as the olive.

15:34 For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire
shall consume the tabernacles of bribery.

15:35 They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly
prepareth deceit.

16:1 Then Job answered and said, 16:2 I have heard many such things:
miserable comforters are ye all.

16:3 Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth thee that thou
answerest? 16:4 I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my
soul's stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head
at you.

16:5 But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my
lips should asswage your grief.

16:6 Though I speak, my grief is not asswaged: and though I forbear,
what am I eased? 16:7 But now he hath made me weary: thou hast made
desolate all my company.

16:8 And thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against
me: and my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face.

16:9 He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me
with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.

16:10 They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me
upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together
against me.

16:11 God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into
the hands of the wicked.

16:12 I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken
me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.

16:13 His archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my reins
asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground.

16:14 He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon me like
a giant.

16:15 I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the
dust.

16:16 My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of
death; 16:17 Not for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer is
pure.

16:18 O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place.

16:19 Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on
high.

16:20 My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God.

16:21 O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for
his neighbour! 16:22 When a few years are come, then I shall go the
way whence I shall not return.

17:1 My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready
for me.