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 me¹ 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 fatherless² grew up with me as with a father,

and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow³),

19  if I have seen anyone ^sperish for ^tlack of clothing,

or the needy without ^tcovering,

20  if his body has not ^ublessed me,⁴

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 sun⁵ 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 do⁶

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.”

“I am young in years,

and you are ^zaged;

therefore I was timid and afraid

to declare my opinion to you.

7  I said, ‘Let days speak,

and many years teach wisdom.’

8  But it is ^athe spirit in man,

^bthe breath of the Almighty, that makes him ^cunderstand.

9  ^dIt is not the old⁷ who are wise,

nor the aged who understand what is right.

10  Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;

let me also declare my opinion.’

11  “Behold, I waited for your words,

I listened for your wise sayings,

while you searched out what to say.

12  I gave you my attention,

and, behold, there was none among you who refuted Job

or who answered his words.

13  Beware ^elest you say, ‘We have found wisdom;

God may vanquish him, not a man.’

14  He has not directed his words against me,

and I will not answer him with your speeches.

15  “They are dismayed; they answer no more;

they have not a word to say.

16  And shall I wait, because they do not speak,

because they stand there, and answer no more?

17  I also will answer with my share;

I also will declare my opinion.

18  For I am full of words;

the spirit within me constrains me.

19  Behold, my belly is like wine that has no vent;

like new ^fwineskins ready to burst.

20  ^gI must speak, that I may find ^hrelief;

I must open my lips and answer.

21  I will not ⁱshow partiality to any man

or use flattery toward any person.

22  For I do not know how to flatter,

else my Maker would soon take me away.

1  “But now, hear my speech, O Job,

and listen to all my words.

2  Behold, I ^jopen my mouth;

the tongue in my mouth speaks.

3  My words declare the uprightness of my heart,

and what my lips know they speak sincerely.

4  ^kThe Spirit of God has made me,

and ^lthe breath of the Almighty gives me life.

5  ^mAnswer me, if you can;

ⁿset your words in order before me; take your stand.

6  Behold, I am toward God as you are;

I too was pinched off from a piece of ^oclay.

7  Behold, no ^pfear of me need terrify you;

my ^qpressure will not be heavy upon you.

8  “Surely you have spoken in my ears,

and I have heard the sound of your words.

9  You say, ‘I am ^rpure, without ^stransgression;

I am clean, and there is no iniquity in me.

10  Behold, he finds occasions against me,

he ^tcounts me as his enemy,

11  he ^uputs my feet in the stocks

and ^vwatches all my paths.’

12  “Behold, in this you are not right. I will answer you,

for God is greater than man.

13  Why do you ^wcontend against him,

saying, ‘He ^xwill answer none of man’s⁸ words’?⁹

14  For God ^yspeaks in one way,

^zand in two, though man ^adoes not perceive it.

15  In ^ba dream, in ^ca vision of ^dthe night,

when ^cdeep sleep falls on men,

while they slumber on their beds,

16  then he ^eopens the ears of men

and terrifies¹⁰ them with warnings,

17  that he may turn man aside from his ^fdeed

and conceal pride from a man;

18  he keeps back his soul from the pit,

his life from ^gperishing by the sword.

19  “Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed

and with continual strife in his ^hbones,

20  so that his ⁱlife loathes bread,

and his appetite ^jthe choicest food.

21  His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen,

and his bones that were not seen ^kstick out.

22  His soul draws near ^lthe pit,

and his life to ^mthose who bring death.

23  If there be for him ⁿan angel,

^oa mediator, ^pone of the thousand,

to declare to man what is ^qright for him,

24  and he is merciful to him, and says,

‘Deliver him from going down into the pit;

I have found ^ra ransom;

25  let his flesh ^sbecome fresh with youth;

let him return to the days of his youthful vigor’;

26  then man^{11 t}prays to God, and he accepts him;

he ^usees his face with a shout of joy,

and he ^vrestores to man his righteousness.

27  He sings before men and says:

‘I ^wsinned and perverted what was right,

and it was not repaid to me.

28  He has redeemed my ^xsoul from going down ^yinto the pit,

and my life shall ^zlook upon the light.’

29  “Behold, God does all these things,

twice, ^athree times, with a man,

30  to bring back his soul from the pit,

that he may be lighted with ^bthe light of life.

31  Pay attention, O Job, listen to me;

be silent, and I will speak.

32  If you have any words, ^canswer me;

^dspeak, for I desire to justify you.

33  If not, ^elisten to me;

be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

1  ^zHear my prayer, O Lord;

let my cry ^acome to you!

2  ^bDo not hide your face from me

in ^cthe day of my distress!

^dIncline your ear to me;

^eanswer me speedily ^fin the day when I call!

3  For my days ^gpass away like smoke,

and my ^hbones burn like a furnace.

4  My heart is ⁱstruck down like grass and ^jhas withered;

I ^kforget to eat my bread.

5  Because of my loud groaning

my ^lbones cling to my flesh.

6  I am like ^ma desert owl of the wilderness,

like an owl¹ of the waste places;

7  I ⁿlie awake;

I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.

8  All the day my enemies taunt me;

those who ^oderide me ^puse my name for a curse.

9  For I eat ashes like bread

and ^qmingle tears with my drink,

10  because of your indignation and anger;

for you have ^rtaken me up and ^sthrown me down.

11  My days are like ^tan evening shadow;

I ^jwither away like grass.

12  But you, O Lord, are ^uenthroned forever;

you ^vare remembered throughout all generations.

13  You will ^warise and have ^xpity on Zion;

it is the time to favor her;

^ythe appointed time has come.

14  For your servants hold her ^zstones dear

and have pity on her dust.

15  Nations will ^afear the name of the Lord,

and all ^bthe kings of the earth will fear your glory.

16  For the Lord ^cbuilds up Zion;

he ^dappears in his glory;

17  he ^eregards the prayer of the destitute

and does not despise their prayer.

18  Let this be ^frecorded for ^ga generation to come,

so that ^ha people yet to be created may praise the Lord:

19  that he ⁱlooked down from his holy height;

from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,

20  to hear ^jthe groans of the prisoners,

to set free ^kthose who were doomed to die,

21  that they may ^ldeclare in Zion the name of the Lord,

and in Jerusalem his praise,

22  when ^mpeoples gather together,

and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.

23  He has broken my strength in midcourse;

he ⁿhas shortened my days.

24  “O my God,” ^oI say, “take me not away

in the midst of my days—

^pyou whose years endure

throughout all generations!”

25  ^qOf old you laid the foundation of the earth,

and ^rthe heavens are the work of your hands.

26  ^sThey will perish, but ^tyou will remain;

they will all wear out like a garment.

You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,

27  but ^uyou are the same, and your years have no end.

28  ^vThe children of your servants ^wshall dwell secure;

^xtheir offspring shall be established before you.

“Hallelujah!

^oSalvation and glory and power belong to our God,

2  for ^phis judgments are true and just;

for he has judged ^qthe great prostitute

who corrupted the earth with her immorality,

and ^rhas avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

“Hallelujah!

^sThe smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”

^u“Praise our God,

all you his servants,

^vyou who fear him,

small and great.”

“Hallelujah!

For the Lord our God

the Almighty ^zreigns.

7  Let us rejoice and exult

and give him the glory,

for ^athe marriage of the Lamb has come,

and ^bhis Bride has made herself ready;

8  ^cit was granted her to clothe herself

with fine linen, bright and pure”—