Add parallel Print Page Options

23 And Job answereth and saith: --

Also -- to-day [is] my complaint bitter, My hand hath been heavy because of my sighing.

O that I had known -- and I find Him, I come in unto His seat,

I arrange before Him the cause, And my mouth fill [with] arguments.

I know the words He doth answer me, And understand what He saith to me.

In the abundance of power doth He strive with me? No! surely He putteth [it] in me.

There the upright doth reason with Him, And I escape for ever from my judge.

Lo, forward I go -- and He is not, And backward -- and I perceive him not.

[To] the left in His working -- and I see not, He is covered [on] the right, and I behold not.

10 For He hath known the way with me, He hath tried me -- as gold I go forth.

11 On His step hath my foot laid hold, His way I have kept, and turn not aside,

12 The command of His lips, and I depart not. Above my allotted portion I have laid up The sayings of His mouth.

13 And He [is] in one [mind], And who doth turn Him back? And His soul hath desired -- and He doth [it].

14 For He doth complete my portion, And many such things [are] with Him.

15 Therefore, from His presence I am troubled, I consider, and am afraid of Him.

16 And God hath made my heart soft, And the Mighty hath troubled me.

17 For I have not been cut off before darkness, And before me He covered thick darkness.

24 Wherefore from the Mighty One Times have not been hidden, And those knowing Him have not seen His days.

The borders they reach, A drove they have taken violently away, Yea, they do evil.

The ass of the fatherless they lead away, They take in pledge the ox of the widow,

They turn aside the needy from the way, Together have hid the poor of the earth.

Lo, wild asses in a wilderness, They have gone out about their work, Seeking early for prey, A mixture for himself -- food for young ones.

In a field his provender they reap, And the vineyard of the wicked they glean.

The naked they cause to lodge Without clothing. And there is no covering in the cold.

From the inundation of hills they are wet, And without a refuge -- have embraced a rock.

They take violently away From the breast the orphan, And on the poor they lay a pledge.

10 Naked, they have gone without clothing, And hungry -- have taken away a sheaf.

11 Between their walls they make oil, Wine-presses they have trodden, and thirst.

12 Because of enmity men do groan, And the soul of pierced ones doth cry, And God doth not give praise.

13 They have been among rebellious ones of light, They have not discerned His ways, Nor abode in His paths.

14 At the light doth the murderer rise, He doth slay the poor and needy, And in the night he is as a thief.

15 And the eye of an adulterer Hath observed the twilight, Saying, `No eye doth behold me.' And he putteth the face in secret.

16 He hath dug in the darkness -- houses; By day they shut themselves up, They have not known light.

17 When together, morning [is] to them death shade, When he discerneth the terrors of death shade.

18 Light he [is] on the face of the waters, Vilified is their portion in the earth, He turneth not the way of vineyards.

19 Drought -- also heat -- consume snow-waters, Sheol [those who] have sinned.

20 Forget him doth the womb, Sweeten [on] him doth the worm, No more is he remembered, And broken as a tree is wickedness.

21 Treating evil the barren [who] beareth not, And [to] the widow he doth no good,

22 And hath drawn the mighty by his power, He riseth, and none believeth in life.

23 He giveth to him confidence, and he is supported, And his eyes [are] on their ways.

24 High they were [for] a little, and they are not, And they have been brought low. As all [others] they are shut up, And as the head of an ear of corn cut off.

25 And if not now, who doth prove me a liar, And doth make of nothing my word?

Job

23 Then Job replied:

“Even today my complaint(A) is bitter;(B)
    his hand[a] is heavy in spite of[b] my groaning.(C)
If only I knew where to find him;
    if only I could go to his dwelling!(D)
I would state my case(E) before him
    and fill my mouth with arguments.(F)
I would find out what he would answer me,(G)
    and consider what he would say to me.
Would he vigorously oppose me?(H)
    No, he would not press charges against me.(I)
There the upright(J) can establish their innocence before him,(K)
    and there I would be delivered forever from my judge.(L)

“But if I go to the east, he is not there;
    if I go to the west, I do not find him.
When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;
    when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.(M)
10 But he knows the way that I take;(N)
    when he has tested me,(O) I will come forth as gold.(P)
11 My feet have closely followed his steps;(Q)
    I have kept to his way without turning aside.(R)
12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;(S)
    I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.(T)

13 “But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?(U)
    He does whatever he pleases.(V)
14 He carries out his decree against me,
    and many such plans he still has in store.(W)
15 That is why I am terrified before him;(X)
    when I think of all this, I fear him.(Y)
16 God has made my heart faint;(Z)
    the Almighty(AA) has terrified me.(AB)
17 Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,(AC)
    by the thick darkness that covers my face.

24 “Why does the Almighty not set times(AD) for judgment?(AE)
    Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?(AF)
There are those who move boundary stones;(AG)
    they pasture flocks they have stolen.(AH)
They drive away the orphan’s donkey
    and take the widow’s ox in pledge.(AI)
They thrust the needy(AJ) from the path
    and force all the poor(AK) of the land into hiding.(AL)
Like wild donkeys(AM) in the desert,
    the poor go about their labor(AN) of foraging food;
    the wasteland(AO) provides food for their children.
They gather fodder(AP) in the fields
    and glean in the vineyards(AQ) of the wicked.(AR)
Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
    they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.(AS)
They are drenched(AT) by mountain rains
    and hug(AU) the rocks for lack of shelter.(AV)
The fatherless(AW) child is snatched(AX) from the breast;
    the infant of the poor is seized(AY) for a debt.(AZ)
10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked;(BA)
    they carry the sheaves,(BB) but still go hungry.
11 They crush olives among the terraces[c];
    they tread the winepresses,(BC) yet suffer thirst.(BD)
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
    and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.(BE)
    But God charges no one with wrongdoing.(BF)

13 “There are those who rebel against the light,(BG)
    who do not know its ways
    or stay in its paths.(BH)
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up,
    kills(BI) the poor and needy,(BJ)
    and in the night steals forth like a thief.(BK)
15 The eye of the adulterer(BL) watches for dusk;(BM)
    he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’(BN)
    and he keeps his face concealed.
16 In the dark, thieves break into houses,(BO)
    but by day they shut themselves in;
    they want nothing to do with the light.(BP)
17 For all of them, midnight is their morning;
    they make friends with the terrors(BQ) of darkness.(BR)

18 “Yet they are foam(BS) on the surface of the water;(BT)
    their portion of the land is cursed,(BU)
    so that no one goes to the vineyards.(BV)
19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,(BW)
    so the grave(BX) snatches away those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them,
    the worm(BY) feasts on them;(BZ)
the wicked are no longer remembered(CA)
    but are broken like a tree.(CB)
21 They prey on the barren and childless woman,
    and to the widow they show no kindness.(CC)
22 But God drags away the mighty by his power;(CD)
    though they become established,(CE) they have no assurance of life.(CF)
23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security,(CG)
    but his eyes(CH) are on their ways.(CI)
24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;(CJ)
    they are brought low and gathered up like all others;(CK)
    they are cut off like heads of grain.(CL)

25 “If this is not so, who can prove me false
    and reduce my words to nothing?”(CM)

Footnotes

  1. Job 23:2 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew / the hand on me
  2. Job 23:2 Or heavy on me in
  3. Job 24:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.