Revised Version 1885 (RV1885)

1 My soul is weary of my life; I will give free course to my complaint; 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 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?

4 Hast thou eyes of flesh, or seest thou as man seeth?

5 Are thy days as the days of man, or thy years as man’s days,

6 That thou inquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin,

7 Although thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand?

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

9 Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast fashioned me as 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 knit me together with bones and sinews.

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

13 Yet these things thou didst hide in thine heart; I know that this is with 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 if I be righteous, yet shall I not lift up my head; being filled with ignominy and looking upon mine affliction.

16 And ifmy headexalt itself, thou huntest me as a lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvelous upon me.

17 Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and warfare are with me.

18 Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? 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 Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little,

21 Before I go whence I shall not return,evento the land of darkness and of the shadow of death;

22 A land of thick darkness, as darknessitself;a landof the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as 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 boastings make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?

4 For thou sayest, My doctrine is pure, 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 iris manifold in effectual working! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.

7 Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?

8 It is high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than Sheol; what canst thou know?

9 The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.

10 If he pass through, and shut up, and call unto judgment, then who can hinder him?

11 For he knoweth vain men: he seeth iniquity also, even though he consider it not.

12 But vain man is void of understanding, yea, man is born as a wild ass’s colt.

13 If thou set thine heart aright, and stretch out thine hands toward him;

14 If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not unrighteousness dwell in thy tents;

15 Surely then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear:

16 For thou shalt forget thy misery; thou shalt remember it as waters that are passed away:

17 Andthylife shall be clearer than the noonday; though there be darkness, it shall be as the morning.

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

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

20 But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall have no way to flee, and their hope shall be the giving up of the ghost.

1 Then Job answered and said,

2 No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.

3 But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these?

4 I am as one that is a laughing-stock to his neighbour,a manthat called upon God, and he answered him: the just, the perfect man is a laughing-stock.

5 In the thought of him that is at ease there is contempt for misfortune; it is ready for them whose foot slippeth.

6 The tents of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringethabundantly.

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 ofLordhath wrought this?

10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.

11 Doth not the ear try words, even as the palate tasteth its meat?

12 With aged men is wisdom, and in length of days understanding.

13 With him is wisdom and might; 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; again, he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.

16 With him is strength and effectual working; the deceived and the deceiver are his.

17 He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and judges maketh he fools.

18 He looseth the bond of kings, and bindeth their loins with a girdle.

19 He leadeth priests away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty.

20 He removeth the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the elders.

21 He poureth contempt upon princes, and looseth the belt of the strong.

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 spreadeth the nations abroad, and bringeth them in.

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

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

1 Lo, mine eye hath seen allthis, mine ear hath heard and understood it.

2 What ye know,the samedo I know also: I am not inferior unto you.

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

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

5 Oh 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 unrighteously for God, and talk deceitfully for him?

8 Will ye respect his person? will ye contend for God?

9 Is it good that he should search you out? or as one deceiveth a man, will ye deceive him?

10 He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly respect persons.

11 Shall not his excellency make you afraid, and his dread fall upon you?

12 Your memorable sayingsareproverbs of ashes, your defencesaredefences of clay.

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

14 Wherefore should I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in mine hand?

15 Though he slay me, yet will I wait for him: nevertheless I will maintain my ways before him.

16 This also shall be my salvation; for a godless man shall not come before him.

17 Hear diligently my speech, and let my declaration be in your ears.

18 Behold now, I have ordered my cause; I know that I am righteous.

19 Who is he that will contend with me? for now shall I hold my peace and give up the ghost.

20 Only do not two things unto me, then will I not hide myself from thy face:

21 Withdraw thine hand far from me; and let not thy terror make me afraid.

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

23 How many are mine 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 harass a driven leaf? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?

26 For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to inherit the iniquities of my youth:

27 Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and markest all my paths; thou drawest thee a line about the soles of my feet:

28 Though I am like a rotten thing that consumeth, like a garment that is moth-eaten.

1 Man that is born of a woman is of 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 thing out of an unclean? not one.

5 Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months is with thee, and thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;

6 Look away 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 Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and put forth boughs like a plant.

10 But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?

11 Asthe waters fail from the sea, and the river decayeth and drieth up;

12 So man lieth down and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be roused out of their sleep.

13 Oh that thou wouldest hide me in Sheol, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!

14 If a man die, shall he liveagain? all the days of my warfare would I wait, till my release should come.

15 Thou shouldest call, and I would answer thee: thou wouldest have a desire to the work of thine hands.

16 But now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin?

17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou fastenest up mine iniquity.

18 And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of its place;

19 The waters wear the stones; the overflowings thereof wash away the dust of the earth: and thou destroyest the hope of man.

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

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

22 But his flesh upon him hath pain, and his soul within him mourneth.

1 Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,

2 Should a wise man make answer with vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?

3 Should he reason with unprofitable talk, or with speeches wherewith he can do no good?

4 Yea, thou doest away with fear, and restrainest devotion before God.

5 For thine iniquity teacheth thy mouth, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.

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

7 Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou brought forth before the hills?

8 Hast thou heard the secret counsel of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?

9 What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us?

10 With us are both the grayheaded and the very aged men, much elder than thy father.

11 Are the consolations of God too small for thee, and the wordthat dealethgently with thee?

12 Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and why do thine eyes wink?

13 That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettestsuchwords go out of thy mouth.

14 What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

15 Behold, he putteth no trust in his holy ones; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.

16 How much less one that is abominable and corrupt, a man that drinketh iniquity like water!

17 I will shew thee, hear thou me; and that which I have seen I will declare:

18 (Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it;

19 Unto whom alone the land was given, and no stranger passed among them:)

20 The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, even the number of years that are laid up for the oppressor.

21 A sound of terrors is in his ears; in prosperity the spoiler shall come upon him:

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

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

24 Distress and anguish make him afraid; they prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle:

25 Because he hath stretched out his hand against God, and behaveth himself proudly against the Almighty;

26 He runneth upon him with astiffneck, with the thick bosses of his bucklers:

27 Because he hath covered his face with his fatness, and made collops of fat on his flanks;

28 And he hath dwelt in desolate cities, in houses which no man inhabited, which were ready to become heaps.

29 He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall their produce bend to the earth.

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.

31 Let him not trust in vanity, deceiving himself: for vanity shall be his recompence.

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

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

34 For the company of the godless shall be barren, and fire shall consume the tents of bribery.

35 They conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity, and their belly prepareth deceit.

1 Then Job answered and said,

2 I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all.

3 Shall vain words have an end? or what provoketh thee that thou answerest?

4 I also could speak as ye do; if your soul were in my soul’s stead, I could join words together against you, and shake mine head at you.

5 ButI would strengthen you with my mouth, and the solace of my lips should assuageyour grief.

6 Though I speak, my grief is not assuaged: and though I forbear, what am I eased?

7 But now he hath made me weary: thou hast made desolate all my company.

8 And thou hast laid fast hold on me,whichis a witnessagainst me: and my leanness riseth up against me, it testifieth to my face.

9 He hath torn me in his wrath, and persecuted me; he hath gnashed upon me with his teeth: mine adversary sharpeneth his eyes upon me.

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

11 God delivereth me to the ungodly, and casteth me into the hands of the wicked.

12 I was at ease, and he brake me asunder; yea, he hath taken me by the neck, and dashed me to pieces: he hath also set me up for his mark.

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

14 He breaketh me with breach upon breach; he runneth upon me like a giant.

15 I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and have laid my horn in the dust.

16 My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death;

17 Although there is no violence in mine hands, and my prayer is pure.

18 O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have norestingplace.

19 Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and he that coucheth for me is on high.

20 My friends scorn me:butmine eye poureth out tears unto God;

21 That he would maintain the right of a man with God, and of a son of man with his neighbour!

22 For when a few years are come, I shall go the way whence I shall not return.

1 My spirit is consumed, my days are extinct, the grave isreadyfor me.

2 Surely there are mockers with me, and mine eye abideth in their provocation.

3 Give now a pledge, be surety for me with thyself; who is there that will strike hands with me?

4 For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: therefore shalt thou not exaltthem.

5 He that denounceth his friends for a prey, even the eyes of his children shall fail.

6 He hath made me also a byword of the people; and I am become an open abhorring.

7 Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, and all my members are as a shadow.

8 Upright men shall be astonied at this, and the innocent shall stir up himself against the godless.

9 Yet shall the righteous hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall wax stronger and stronger.

10 But return ye, all of you, and come now: and I shall not find a wise man among you.

11 My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the droughts of my heart.

12 They change the night into a day: the fight,say they, is near unto the darkness.

13 If I look for Sheol as mine house; if I have spread my couch in the darkness;

14 If I have said to corruption, Thou art my father; to the worm,Thou artmy mother, and my sister;

15 Where then is my hope? and as for my hope, who shall see it?

16 It shall go down to the bars of Sheol, when once there is rest in the dust.

1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,

2 How long will ye lay snares for words? consider, and afterwards we will speak.

3 Wherefore are we counted as beasts,andare become unclean in your sight?

4 Thou that tearest thyself in thine anger, shall the earth be forsaken for thee? or shall the rock be removed out of its place?

5 Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine.

6 The light shall be dark in his tent, and his lamp above him shall be put out.

7 The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down.

8 For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon the toils.

9 A gin shall takehimby the heel,anda snare shall lay hold on him.

10 A noose is hid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the way.

11 Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall chase him at his heels.

12 His strength shall be hunger-bitten and calamity shall be ready for his halting.

13 It shall devour the members of his body,yea, the firstborn of death shall devour his members.

14 He shall be rooted out of his tent wherein he trusteth; and he shall be brought to the king of terrors.

15 There shall dwell in his tent that which is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation.

16 His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off.

17 His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street.

18 He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.

19 He shall have neither son nor son’s son among his people, nor any remaining where he sojourned.

20 They that come after shall be astonied at his day, as they that went before were affrighted.

21 Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God.

1 Then Job answered and said,

2 How long will ye vex my soul and break me in pieces with words?

3 These ten times have ye reproached me: ye are not ashamed that ye deal hardly with me.

4 And be it indeed that I have erred, mine error remaineth with myself.

5 If indeed ye will magnify yourselves against me, and plead against me my reproach:

6 Know now that God hath subverted mein my cause, and hath compassed me with his net.

7 Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry for help, but there is no judgment.

8 He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and hath set darkness in my paths.

9 He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head.

10 He hath broken me down on every side, and I am gone: and mine hope hath he plucked up like a tree.

11 He hath also kindled his wrath against me, and he counteth me unto him asone ofhis adversaries.

12 His troops come on together, and cast up their way against me, and encamp round about my tent.

13 He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are wholly estranged from me.

14 My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me.

15 They that dwell in mine house, and my maids, count me for a stranger: I am an alien in their sight.

16 I call unto my servant, and he giveth me no answer,thoughI entreat him with my mouth.

17 My breath is strange to my wife, and my supplication to the children of mymother’swomb.

18 Even young children despise me; if I arise, they speak against me.

19 All my inward friends abhor me: and they whom I loved are turned against me.

20 My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.

21 Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me.

22 Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh?

23 Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were inscribed in a book!

24 That with an iron pen and lead they were graven in the rock for ever!

25 But I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand up at the last upon the earth:

26 And after my skin hath been thus destroyed, yet from my flesh shall I see God:

27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another. My reins are consumed within me.

28 If ye say, How we will persecute him! seeing that the root of the matter is found in me;

29 Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrathbringeththe punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.