XXIX

[1] AND Job again took up his parable, and said, [2] Oh that I were as in the months of old,

As in the days when God watched over me; [3] When his lamp shined upon1 my head,

And by his light I walked through darkness; [4] As I was in the ripeness of my days,

When the friendship of God was upon my tent;
[5] When the Almighty was yet with me,
And my children were about me;

[6] When my steps were washed with butter,
And the rock poured me out streams of oil!
[7] When I went forth to the gate unto the city,
When I prepared my seat in the street,
[8] The young men saw me and hid themselves,
And the aged rose up and stood;

[9] The princes refrained from talking,

And laid their hand on their mouth;

[10] The voice of the nobles was hushed,

And their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth. [11] For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me;

And when the eye saw me, it gave witness unto me: [12] Because I delivered the poor that cried,

The fatherless also, that had none to help him. [13] The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me;

And I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.

[14] I put on righteousness, and it clothed' me:

My justice was as a robe and a diadem.

[15] I was eyes to the blind,

And feet was I to the lame.

[16] I was a father to the needy:

8

And the cause of him that I knew not I searched out. [17] And I brake the jaws of the unrighteous,

And plucked the prey out of his teeth.

1 Or, above.
Heb. hid.
"Or, turban.

3

Heb. my days of autumn. Or, counsel. Or, broad place. 6 Or, and him that had &c. 7 Or, clothed itself with me. Or, the cause which I knew not. 10 Heb. great teeth.

[18] Then I said, I shall die in" my nest,

And I shall multiply my days as the sand: [19] My root is spread" out to" the waters,

And the dew lieth all night upon my branch: [20] My glory is fresh in me,

And my bow is renewed in my hand. [21] Unto me men gave ear, and waited, And kept silence for my counsel.

[22] After my words they spake not again; And my speech distilled upon them.

[23] And they waited for me as for the rain;

And they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain.

[24] I smiled on them, when they had no confidence;

And the light of my countenance they cast not down. [25] I chose out their way, and sat as chief,

And dwelt as a king in the army,

As one that comforteth the mourners.

XXX

[1] BUT now they that are younger than I have me in derision,

Whose fathers I disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.

[2] Yea, the strength of their hands, whereto should it profit me?

Men in whom ripe' age is perished.

[3] They are gaunt with want and famine;

They' gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of wasteness and desolation.

[4] They pluck salt-wort by the bushes;

And the roots of the broom are their1 food. [5] They are driven forth from the midst of men; They cry after them as after a thief;

[6] So that they dwell in frightful valleys, In holes of the earth and of the rocks.

11 Or, beside. Heb. with.
1 Or, vigor.
Or, which yesternight was.

12 Heb. opened.

18 Or, by.

2 Or, They flee into the wilderness, into &c.
Or, on the eve of. 4 Or, to warm them.

[7] Among the bushes they bray;

Under the nettles they are gathered together.

[8] They are children of fools, yea, children of base' men; They were scourged out of the land.

[9] And now I am become their song,

Yea, I am a byword unto them.

[10] They abhor me, they stand aloof from me, And spare not to spit in' my face.

[11] For he hath loosed his" cord, and afflicted me; And they have cast off the bridle before me.

[12] Upon my right hand rise the rabble;"

They thrust aside my feet,

And they cast up against me their ways of destruction.

[13] They mar" my path,

They set forward my calamity,

Even men that have no helper.

[14] As1 through a wide breach they come:

In the midst of the ruin they roll themselves upon me.

[15] Terrors are turned upon me;

They" chase mine" honor as the wind;

And my welfare is passed away as a cloud.

[16] And now my soul is poured out within" me;
Days of affliction have taken hold upon me.
[17] In the night season my bones are pierced" in1 me,
And the pains that gnaw me take no rest.
[18] By God's great force is my garment disfigured;
It bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.

[19] He hath cast me into the mire,

And I am become like dust and ashes.

[20] I cry unto thee, and thou dost not answer me:
I stand up, and thou gazest at me.
[21] Thou art turned to be cruel to me;

With the might of thy hand thou persecutest me.

Or, wild vetches.

•Or, stretch themselves.

Heb. men of no name. 8 Or, are outcasts from the land. Or, at the sight of me. 10 According to another reading, my cord (or, bowstring). 11 Or, brood. 12 Or, break_up. 18 Or, As a wide breaking in of 1 Or, my nobility. 16 Heb. upon. 18 Heb. from off.

me.

waters.

14 Or, Thou chasest. 17 Or, corroded and drop away from 19 Or, my sinews take &c.

[22] Thou liftest me up to the wind, thou causest me to

ride upon it;

And thou dissolvest me in the storm.

[23] For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, And to the house appointed for all living.

[24] Howbeit doth not one stretch out the hand in his fall? Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?

[25] Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?

[26] When I looked for good, then evil came;

And when I waited for light, there came darkness.

[27] My heart is troubled, and resteth not;

Days of affliction are come upon me.

[28] I go mourning" without the sun:

I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.

[29] I am a brother to jackals,

And a companion to ostriches.

[30] My skin is black, and falleth from me, And my bones are burned with heat.

[31] Therefore is my harp turned to mourning, And my pipe into the voice of them that weep.

XXXI

[1] I MADE a covenant with mine eyes;
How then should I look upon a virgin?
[2] For' what is the portion from God above,

And the heritage from the Almighty on high?

[3] Is it not calamity to the unrighteous,

And disaster to the workers of iniquity?

[4] Doth not he see my ways,

And number all my steps?

[5] If I have walked with falsehood,

And my foot hath hasted to deceit;

20 Or, the house of meeting for &c.

21 Or, blackened, but not by the sun.

1 Or, For what portion should I have of God... and what heritage &c. Is there not calamity &c.?

[6] (Let me be weighed in an even balance,
That God may know mine integrity;)
[7] If my step hath turned out of the way,

And my heart walked after mine eyes,

And if any spot hath cleaved to my hands: [8] Then let me sow, and let another eat;

Yea, let the produce of my field be rooted out.

[9] If my heart hath been enticed unto a woman, And I have laid wait at my neighbor's door; [10] Then let my wife grind unto another,

And let others bow down upon her.

[11] For that were a heinous crime;

Yea, it were an iniquity to be punished by the judges: [12] For it is a fire that consumeth unto Destruction, And would root out all mine increase.

[13] If I have despised the cause of my man-servant or of my maid-servant,

When they contended with me;

[14] What then shall I do when God riseth up?

And when he visiteth, what shall I answer him? [15] Did not he that made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?

[16] If I have withheld the poor from their desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

[17] Or have eaten my morsel alone,

And the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;

[18] (Nay, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,

And her have I guided from my mother's womb;) [19] If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering;

[20] If his loins have not blessed me,

And if he hath not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

[21] If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, Because I saw my help in the gate:

Or, my offspring. Heb. my produce. •Or, aught that the poor desired.

Heb. Abaddon. See ch. 26. 6.