Through the Bible in a Year — 2026-163

0:00Now, Elephaz, the Tamanites, said in reply, Have you often been addressed when in distress, But who can endure the force of your words? So what if you instructed many, And encouraged the hands of the weak one? Lift it up the weak with your words, And wrapped feeble knees in courage. But now distress has come upon you, And touched you and you acted in haste. Is your fear not based on a lack of sense? So too your hope and the innocence of your way. Think now who being pure perished, Or when did the true perish root in all? For instance, I saw those who plow wrongs, And those who sow them reap torments for themselves. By the command of the Lord they will perish, And by the breath of his anger they will disappear. The strength of the lion and the voice of the lioness, And the pride of dragons was extinguished. The ant lion perished for lack of food, And lion's welps abandoned one another.

1:01But if there had been anything truthful in your words, Nothing bad in them would have met you. Will my ear not receive remarkable things from him? Now there was awe and a ringing sound in the night, And awe falling on mortals, Then shuddering fell upon me, And a trembling and my bones shook mightily, And a spirit came upon my face, And my hair and flesh quivered. I stood up, and I did not recognize it. I looked, and there was no shape before my eyes, Though I heard a breeze and a voice. What, can a mortal be pure before the Lord, Or a man be blameless in his actions? Whether he believes charges against his servants who knows, But he took note of any crookedness in his angels. But as for those that inhabit houses of clay, Being their offspring we ourselves too are of the same play. He struck them like a moth, And so between morning and evening they ceased to exist. They perished because they were not able to help themselves.

2:02That is, he breathed on them and they withered. They perished because they did not possess wisdom. But call if anyone will respond to you, Or if you will see any of the holy angels. Be sure, anger kills the fool, And jealousy slays the one misled. Now I have seen fools taking root, But at once their way of living was devoured. May their children be far from safety, And may they be derided at the doors of their infirures, And there will be no one to deliver them. For what they gathered the upright shall eat, And they will not be accepted from harmful things. May their strength be drained. For hardship shall not come from the earth, Nor will trouble sprout from mountains, But a human being is born to hardship, And as the vultures young soar on high. Nonetheless I will entreat the Lord, And I will call on the Lord the Master of all, Who does great and inscrutable things, Things both glorious and extraordinary without number,

3:04Who gives rain on the earth, Seeding water on what is under heaven, Who sets on high those that are lowly, And lifts up those that are enruined, Frustrating the schemes of the crafty, And their hands shall not produce what is genuine. He who takes the wise in their cleverness, And he subverted the scheming of the wily. Darkness will meet them in the daytime, And may they grow up at noon day is in the night, And may they perish in war, And may the powerless escape from the hand of the mighty. So may the powerless have hope, But the mouth of the unjust be shot. But happy is the one whom the Lord reproved, And do not reject the admonition of the Almighty, For he makes one suffer and restores again. He struck and his hands healed. Six times he will deliver you from troubles, And the seventh time no harm shall touch you. In famine he will rescue you from death, And in war he will free you from a blade's power. He shall hide you from the scourge of the tongue,

4:06And you shall not fear harmful things that come. At the unjust and lawless you shall laugh, And you shall not fear wild animals, For wild animals shall be at peace with you. Next you shall know that your household will be at peace, And the livelihood of your tent shall not fall short, And you shall know that your descendants will be many, And your offspring shall be as the grass of the field, And you shall come to your grave like ripe grain, Harvest it at the right time, Or as a heap on the threshing floor gathered in its season. Look, these things we trace to be so, These are the things we have heard, But do know for yourself whether you have done anything. Now Job said in reply, If someone really sets about to weigh what anger's me, And to put my sorrows together in a balance, Then indeed they will be heavier than the sand of the sea shore, But as it seems my words are careless, For the arrows of the Lord are in my body,

5:06Their wrath drinks my blood, When I begin to speak they pierce me. Why will the wild ass brave for no reason? Is it not rather looking for grain? Yes, and will an ox break its loaing at its manger when it has food? Can bread be eaten without salt? And is there any taste in empty words? So my life cannot cease, For I loathe my food like the smell of a lion. O that he were willing and my request proceed, And the Lord would grant my hope. Let the Lord begin by wounding me, And let him not kill me outright, And may my city whose walls I used to leap upon be my grave, I will not spare myself, For I did not belive the holy words of my God. For what is my strength that I endure, Or what is my lifespan that my life sustains itself? Is my strength the strength of stones, Or is my flesh bronze? In truth did I not trust in him, But help is far from me.

6:08Mercy has renounced me, And the visitation of the Lord has disregarded me. My nearest kin did not look at me, Like a wadi running dry, Or like a wave they passed by me. Those who helped me in respect Have now fallen on me like snow, Or like solid ice, Just as melted with heat coming on, It was not recognized for what it was. So I too was abandoned by all, And I perished and became homeless. Look at the roads of the taminites, The paths of the Sibians, You who see so clearly, They also will incur shame, Who put their confidence in cities and wealth. But yet you too trod on me without mercy, So now that you have seen my hurt be afraid, What did I ask anything of you, Or am I in need of your strength, To save me from enemies, Or to rescue me from the hand of the powerful? Teach me and I will shut up, If I have gone wrong in any way show me.

7:08Rather it seems that the words of one Who is genuine are careless, So I do not seek strength from you. Not even your proof with words will make me stop. Nor indeed will I endure the sound of what you say. Fact is you fall on an orphan, And jump on your friend. But now that I have looked into your faces, I will not lie. Do sit down and may no wrong be done, And gather again with him who is just, For there is nothing at all unjust on my tongue, Or does my throat not endeavor understanding? Is not the life of a human being on earth a trial, And is not his life like that of a day laborer, Or like an attendant who fears his master and fine shadow, Or like a wagerner waiting for his wages. I too spent empty months in this way, And nights of pain have been a portion to me. If I lie down I say when will it be day? But when I get up again I say when will it be evening?

8:09And I am full of pain from evening until morning, As well my body is defiled with the rot of worms, And I dissolve scraping away lumps of dirt with the pus. Again my life is lighter than talk, And it has perished in an empty hope. Remember then that my life is a breath, And my eye will never come to see good again. The eye of one who beholds me will not look around for me. Your eyes are upon me and I am no more. Like a cloud cleared from the sky, For if a mortal goes down to Hades he does not come up again, And he shall never return to his house, Nor does his place know him anymore. That said however I will not be sparing with my mouth, I will speak though I am in anguish, I will open up the bitterness of my soul, Though I am in dire straits. Am I see your dragon that you place to guard over me? I said my couch will comfort me, And I will have a word with myself privately on my bed.

9:12You scare me with dreams and terrify me with visions. You will release my soul from my spirit and my bones from death. For I will not live forever or I would be patient. Let me alone for my life is empty. What then is a human being that you made so much of him, Or that you turn your attention to him, Or will visit him until the morning and scrutinize him until he goes to rest. How long are you going to restrict me and not let go of me until I swallow my spittle in pain? If I did sin, what can I do to you, you knower of the mind of men? Why did you make me your accuser and why am I a burden to you? Why did you not assign my lawlessness to oblivion and my sin to purging? But now I shall depart to the ground and early in the morning I shall be no more. Now Baldod the Southkite said in reply, How long will you say these things?

10:12They are a wordy wind of your mouth, Will the Lord act unjustly when he judges, Or will the maker of all things pervert what is right? If your children sinned before him, he sent them off by force of their lawlessness, But you quickly approached the Lord Almighty in prayer. If you are pure and genuine, he will hear your entreaty And restore to you a righteous way of life. Then though your first things be few, Your last things will be unspeakably many. For inquire of an earlier generation, And trace it out through a line of ancestors. For we are of yesterday and we know nothing, For our life is a shadow on the earth. Really will they not teach you and declare and bring forth words from the heart? Does papyrus grow without water, Or sage become tall without drink? While it is still on the root, it will in no way be harvested. No plant becomes dry in preference to drinking. Such indeed will be the end of all who forget the Lord,

11:14For the hope of the impious shall perish. For his house will be uninhabited, And his tent will prove to be a spider's web. If he props up his house, it will not stand, And when he lays hold of it, it will not remain. For he is languid beneath the sun, And his shoot will spread forth out of his rottenness. He goes to sleep on a gathering of stones, And he will live among rubble. If it swallows him up, the place will deny him. You have not seen such things, Because such is the ruin of the impious, But from the soil something else will sprout up. For the Lord will not reject the blameless person, But no gift will he accept from the impious, But he will fill the mouths of the sincere with laughter, And their lips with confession, But their enemies will clothe themselves with shame, And the way of life of the impious will be no more. And Job said in reply, Of a truth I know that it is so, For how can a mortal be right before the Lord?

12:17For if one wishes to go to law with him, He will not even answer him, Lest he can test one charge of his out of a thousand. For he is clever in mind, both powerful and big, Who though being unyielding has endured against him. He who ages mountains and they do not know it, Who overturns them in anger, Who shakes what is under heaven from its foundations, And its pillars tremble, Who speaks to the sun and it does not rise, And seals up the stars, Who alone stretched out the sky, And walks in the sea as on dry ground, Who makes pleities and venous, And arcturus in the chambers of the south, Who does great and inscrutable things, Things both glorious and extraordinary without number. If he passed over me, I would certainly not see him, And if he went by me, I would not even know. If he takes away who will put back, Or who will say to him, what did you do? For he has not turned away from anger,

13:18The sea monsters under heaven were bowed down by him, But if he has me respond, He will surely judge my words with discernment. For if I am in the right, he will not listen to me, I will entreat his judgment, And if I call and he responds, I am not going to believe that he is given ear to me. Would he really crush me with gloom, But he has made my wounds many without cause, For he does not let me get my breath, But he has filled me with bitterness, Because for one thing he really prevails by force, Who then can withstand his judgment. For instance, should I be right, My mouth will turn out impious, And should I be blameless, I will prove to be perverse, For even if I acted impiously, I do not know it within myself, Except that my life is being taken away, Therefore I said, Anger destroys the great and powerful, Because the worthless do exceptionally well in death, But those in the right are left to scorn,

14:18For they have been given over into the hands of the wicked, Covers the faces of its judges, And if it is not he who is it, Now my life is swifter than a runner, They fled away and they saw nothing, Is any trace at all left of a way taken by ships, Or of an eagle flying in search of prey, For if in fact I say I will forget about speaking, With my face bowed down I will groan, I quiver in all my limbs, For I know you will not let me be innocent, But since I am impious, why have I not died, For if I wash myself with snow, And cleanse myself with pure hands, You have plunged me fully in filth, And my robe abhorred me, For you are not immortal like me, With whom I would contend, That we should agree to come to trial, Would that there were an arbiter for us and an investigator, And want to hear the case between us too, Let him remove the rod from me, And let not the fear of him distract me,

15:20Then I will not be afraid but I will speak, For as it is I am baffled.