1 “But now they ilaugh at me,
men who are jyounger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
to set with the dogs of my flock.
2 What could I gain from the strength of their hands,
3 Through want and hard hunger
they mgnaw nthe dry ground by night in owaste and desolation;
4 they pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes,
and the roots of the broom tree for their food.1
5 pThey are driven out from human company;
they shout after them as after a thief.
6 In the gullies of the torrents they must dwell,
in holes of the earth and of qthe rocks.
7 Among the bushes they rbray;
under sthe nettles they huddle together.
8 A senseless, a nameless brood,
they have been whipped out of the land.
9 “And now I have become their tsong;
I am ua byword to them.
10 They vabhor me; they keep aloof from me;
they do not hesitate to wspit at the sight of me.
11 Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me,
they have cast off restraint2 in my presence.
12 On my xright hand the rabble rise;
they push away my feet;
they ycast up against me their ways of destruction.
13 They break up my path;
they promote my zcalamity;
they need no one to help them.
14 As through a wide abreach they come;
amid the crash they roll on.
15 bTerrors are turned upon me;
my honor is pursued as by the wind,
and my prosperity has passed away like ca cloud.
16 “And now my soul is dpoured out within me;
days of affliction have taken hold of me.
17 eThe night fracks my bones,
and the pain that ggnaws me takes no rest.
18 With great force my garment is hdisfigured;
it binds me about like the collar of my tunic.
19 God3 has cast me into the mire,
and I have become like idust and ashes.
20 I cry to you for help and you do not answer me;
I stand, and you only look at me.
21 You have jturned cruel to me;
with the might of your hand you kpersecute me.
22 lYou lift me up on the wind; you make me ride on it,
and you toss me about in the roar of the storm.
23 mFor I know that you will bring me to death
and to the house appointed for nall living.
24 “Yet does not one in a oheap of ruins stretch out his hand,
and in his disaster cry for help?4
25 Did not I pweep for him whose day was hard?
Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
26 But qwhen I hoped for good, evil came,
and when I waited for light, rdarkness came.
27 My inward parts are in turmoil and never still;
days of affliction scome to meet me.
28 I tgo about darkened, but not by the sun;
I stand up in uthe assembly and cry for help.
29 I am a brother of vjackals
and a companion of wostriches.
30 My xskin turns black and falls from me,
and my ybones burn with heat.
31 My zlyre is aturned to mourning,
and my zpipe to the voice of those who weep.
Job’s Final Appeal
1 “I have made a covenant with my beyes;
how then could I gaze at a virgin?
2 What would be cmy portion from God above
and cmy heritage from the Almighty on high?
3 Is not calamity for the unrighteous,
and disaster for the workers of iniquity?
4 dDoes not he see my ways
and enumber all my steps?
5 “If I have walked with falsehood
and my foot has hastened to deceit;
6 (Let me be fweighed in a just balance,
and let God know my integrity!)
7 if my step has turned aside from the way
and gmy heart has gone after my eyes,
and if any hspot has stuck to my hands,
8 then let me isow, and another eat,
and let what grows for me5 be rooted out.
9 “If my heart has been enticed toward a woman,
and I have jlain in wait at my neighbor’s door,
10 then let my wife kgrind for another,
and let others lbow down on her.
11 For that would be a heinous crime;
that would be an iniquity mto be punished by the judges;
12 for that would be a fire nthat consumes as far as Abaddon,
and it would burn to the root all my increase.
13 “If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant,
when they brought a complaint against me,
14 what then shall I do when God rises up?
When he omakes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
15 Did pnot he who made me in the womb make him?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?
16 “If I have qwithheld anything that the poor desired,
or have rcaused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 or have eaten my morsel alone,
and the fatherless has not eaten of it
18 (for from my youth the fatherless6 grew up with me as with a father,
and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow7),
19 if I have seen anyone sperish for tlack of clothing,
or the needy without tcovering,
20 if his body has not ublessed me,8
and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
21 if I have raised my hand against vthe fatherless,
because I saw my help in wthe gate,
22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.
23 For I was xin terror of calamity from God,
and I could not have faced his xmajesty.
24 y“If I have made gold my ztrust
or called afine gold my confidence,
25 if I have brejoiced because my wealth was abundant
or because cmy hand had found much,
26 dif I have looked at the sun9 when it shone,
or ethe moon moving in splendor,
27 and my heart has been secretly enticed,
and my mouth has kissed my hand,
28 this also would be fan iniquity to be punished by the judges,
for I would have been false to God above.
29 “If I have grejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me,
or exulted when evil overtook him
30 (hI have not let my mouth sin
by asking for his life with a curse),
31 if the men of my tent have not said,
‘Who is there that has not been filled with his imeat?’
32 (jthe sojourner has not lodged in the street;
I have opened my doors to the traveler),
33 if I khave concealed my transgressions las others do10
by hiding my iniquity in my heart,
34 because I stood in great fear of mthe multitude,
and the contempt of families terrified me,
so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors—
35 Oh, that I had one to hear me!
(Here is my signature! Let the Almighty nanswer me!)
Oh, that I had othe indictment written by my adversary!
36 Surely I would carry it on my pshoulder;
I would qbind it on me as ra crown;
37 I would give him an account of all my steps;
like a prince I would approach him.
38 “If my land has cried out against me
and its furrows have wept together,
39 sif I have eaten its yield without payment
and made its owners tbreathe their last,
40 let uthorns grow instead of wheat,
and foul weeds instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
The Mustard Seed and the Leaven
31 He put another parable before them, saying, z“The kingdom of heaven is like aa grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
33 He told them another parable. b“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in cthree measures of flour, till it was dall leavened.”
Prophecy and Parables
34 eAll these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:1
f“I will open my mouth in parables;
gI will utter what has been hidden hsince the foundation of the world.”
The Parable of the Weeds Explained
36 Then he left the crowds and went into ithe house. And his disciples came to him, saying, j“Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is kthe sons of the kingdom. The weeds are lthe sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. mThe harvest is nthe end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds oare gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at nthe end of the age. 41 pThe Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all qcauses of sin and rall law-breakers, 42 sand throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place tthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then uthe righteous will shine like the sun vin the kingdom of their Father. wHe who has ears, let him hear.
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
44 “The kingdom of heaven xis like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy yhe goes and sells all that he has and zbuys that field.
The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding aone pearl of great value, ywent and sold all that he had and zbought it.
The Parable of the Net
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is blike a net that was thrown into the sea and cgathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, dmen drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at ethe end of the age. The angels will come out and fseparate the evil from the righteous 50 gand throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place gthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
New and Old Treasures
51 h“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every iscribe jwho has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who kbrings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 land coming to mhis hometown nhe taught them in their synagogue, so that othey were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 pIs not this qthe carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not rhis brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And sthey took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, t“A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And he did not do many mighty works there, ubecause of their unbelief.
