DASV: Digital American Standard Version

DASV: Job 1

¹ There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and turned away from evil.

² He had seven sons and three daughters.

³ He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a large number of servants. He was the greatest of all the people of the east.

⁴ His sons would take turns holding a feast at their houses and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

⁵ When the days of their feasting were completed, Job would send and sanctify them. He would get up early in the morning, offer a burnt offering for each one of them. For Job said, "It may be that my sons have sinned, and renounced God in their hearts." This was Job's regular habit.

⁶ Now it came to pass on the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, that Satan also came with them.

⁷ The LORD asked Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it."

⁸ The LORD asked Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil."

⁹ Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for no reason?"

¹⁰ Have you not made a hedge around him, his house, and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock have increased in the land.

¹¹ But reach out your hand now, and strike all that he has, and he will curse you to your face."

¹² The LORD said to Satan, "All right, everything he has is in your power, only do not lay a hand on Job himself." So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

¹³ One day, when Job's sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their oldest brother,

¹⁴ a messenger came to Job, and announced, "The oxen were plowing, and the donkeys were feeding beside them;

¹⁵ and the Sabeans attacked and carried them away. They have struck down the servants with the edge of the sword and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you."

¹⁶ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and announced, "The fire from God has fallen from heaven, and has burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; I am the only one who escaped to tell you."

¹⁷ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and announced, "The Chaldeans made three raiding parties, and made a raid on the camels and made off with them, and have struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you."

¹⁸ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and announced, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of the oldest brother;

¹⁹ a great wind swept in from the desert, it struck the four corners of the house, and it collapsed on the young men, and they are dead; and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you."

²⁰ Then Job got up, and tore his robe, shaved his head and fell down on the ground and worshipped.

²¹ He said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD."

²² In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.

DASV: Job 2

¹ One day, when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, Satan also came with them to present himself before the LORD.

² The LORD asked Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it."

³ The LORD asked Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him in the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil. He still holds onto his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him for no reason."

⁴ Satan answered the LORD, "Skin for skin, a man will give all he has to save his own life.

⁵ But reach out your hand now, and strike his flesh and bones, and he will curse you to your face."

⁶ Then the LORD said to Satan, "All right, he is in your hand, only spare his life."

⁷ So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD, and struck Job with horrible boils from the sole of his foot to top of his head.

⁸ He used a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself with while he sat among the ashes.

⁹ Then his wife advised him, "Do you still hold onto your integrity? Curse God and die."

¹⁰ But he replied, "You are speaking like one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good at the hand of God and not bad?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

¹¹ Now when Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard of all this trouble that had come on him, they each came from their homes and met together to come in order to comfort and sympathize with him.

¹² When they saw him in the distance, they did not recognize him. They wept aloud, tore their robes and sprinkled dust into the air on their heads.

¹³ After that they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one said a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was severe.

DASV: Job 3

¹ After this, Job opened his mouth, and cursed the day of his birth.

² Job said:

³ "Let the day perish on which I was born,

and the night it was said, "A boy has been conceived."

⁴ Let that day be turned to darkness,

let God above not seek for it,

nor let the light shine on it.

⁵ Let darkness and the shadow of death claim it for their own.

Let a dark cloud settle over it;

let blackness of the day terrify it.

⁶ As for that night, let thick darkness seize upon it.

Let it not be counted among the days of the year.

Let it not come into the number of the months.

⁷ Let that night be childless.

Let no joyful sound ring out in it.

⁸ Let those who curse days, curse that day,

those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.

⁹ Let its stars of dawn be dark.

Let it wait for daybreak, but find none,

nor let it see the beams of the morning light,

¹⁰ because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb,

or hide trouble from my eyes.

¹¹ Why did I not die at birth?

Why did I not expire as I came from my mother's womb?

¹² Why did the knees receive me?

Why were there breasts that I should nurse?

¹³ For now I would be lying down and quiet;

I would have slept and been at rest

¹⁴ with kings and advisors of the earth,

who built places for themselves that are now in ruins,

¹⁵ or with princes who had gold,

who filled their palaces with silver.

¹⁶ Or why was I not buried like a stillborn child,

as infants who never have seen the light?

¹⁷ There the wicked cease from causing trouble;

and there the weary are at rest.

¹⁸ There the prisoners are at ease together,

they no longer hear the voice of the taskmaster.

¹⁹ The small and the great are there,

and the slave is free from his master.

²⁰ Why is light given to him who is in misery,

and life to those bitter in soul,

²¹ who long for death, but it does not come,

and search for it more than for hidden treasures;

²² who rejoice full of happiness,

and are glad, when they can find the grave?

²³ Why is light given to one whose way is hidden,

and whom God has hedged in with trouble?

²⁴ For my sighing comes instead of my food,

and my groanings are poured out like water.

²⁵ For the thing I feared has come on me,

and that which I was afraid of has overcome me.

²⁶ I have no peace and quiet,

I have no rest, only trouble has overtaken me."

DASV: Job 4

¹ Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered,

² "If one ventures a word with you, will you be grieved?

But who can keep from speaking?

³ Look, you have instructed many,

and you have strengthened the hands of the weak.

⁴ Your words have supported the one who was falling,

and you have made firm the feeble knees.

⁵ But now it comes to you, and you are depressed,

it touches you, and you are dismayed.

⁶ Is not your fear of God your confidence,

and the integrity of your ways your hope?

⁷ Ponder this: who ever perished, being innocent?

Or where were the upright ever cut off?

⁸ It's just like what I have seen,

those who plow iniquity,

and sow trouble,

reap the same.

⁹ By the breath of God they perish,

and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.

¹⁰ The roaring of the lion,

and the growling of the fierce lion,

and the teeth of the young lions are broken.

¹¹ The strong lion perishes for lack of prey,

and the lioness' cubs are scattered.

¹² Now a word secretly came to me,

and my ear picked up a whisper of it.

¹³ In troubled thoughts from dreams in the night,

when men fall into deep sleep,

¹⁴ fear and trembling came upon me,

which made all my bones shake.

¹⁵ Then a spirit drifted past my face,

making the hair of my flesh stand up.

¹⁶ It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance,

its phantom like form was before my eyes,

I heard a whispering voice:

¹⁷ 'Can a mortal be more righteous than God?

Can a man be more pure than his Maker?

¹⁸ If he puts no trust in his servants,

and if he charges even his angels with error,

¹⁹ how much more those who dwell in houses of clay,

whose foundation is in the dust,

who are crushed as easily as a moth!

²⁰ Between morning and evening they are destroyed,

they perish forever without anyone even being aware it.

²¹ Is not their tent-cord pulled up?

They die, even then without wisdom.'

DASV: Job 5

¹ Call now. Is there anyone who will answer you?

To which of the holy ones will you turn?

² For anger kills the foolish,

and jealousy slays the simple.

³ I have seen the fool taking root,

but suddenly I cursed his dwelling place.

⁴ His children are far from safety,

they are crushed in court at the gate,

and there is no one to deliver them.

⁵ The hungry eat up his harvest,

and they take it even from the thorns,

and the thirsty pant for their wealth.

⁶ For affliction does not just grow from the dust,

nor does trouble sprout out of the ground;

⁷ but man is born for trouble,

as surely as sparks fly upward.

⁸ If I were you, I would seek God,

and would present my case to God.

⁹ He does great and unsearchable things,

marvelous things without number.

¹⁰ He gives rain on the earth,

and sends water on the fields.

¹¹ He sets on high those who are lowly,

and those who mourn are lifted to safety.

¹² He frustrates the schemes of the crafty,

so that their hands cannot accomplish their plans.

¹³ He traps the shrewd in their own craftiness,

and the schemes of the cunning are brought to a quick demise.

¹⁴ They meet with darkness in the daytime,

and grope at noonday as if it were night.

¹⁵ But he rescues the needy from the sword of their mouth,

even the poor from the hand of the mighty.

¹⁶ So the poor have hope,

and injustice shuts her mouth.

¹⁷ Blessed is the one whom God corrects,

therefore do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

¹⁸ For while he wounds,
he also bandages up;

He cuts to pieces,

but his hands also heal.

¹⁹ He will rescue you from six disasters,

yes, even in seven no evil will touch you.

²⁰ In famine he will redeem you from death,

and in war from the power of the sword.

²¹ You will be hid from the scourge of the tongue,

and you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.

²² You will laugh at destruction and famine,

and you will not be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

²³ For you will have an agreement with the stones of the field,

and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.

²⁴ You will know that your tent is safe.

You will inspect your sheepfold,

and there will be nothing missing.

²⁵ You will realize that your descendants will be many,

and your offspring like the grass of the earth.

²⁶ You will come to your grave in a full age,

like stacks of grain harvested in its season.

²⁷ We have checked it out, and this is true,

listen to it and apply it to yourself."

DASV: Job 6

¹ Then Job answered,

² "O that my agony could be weighed,

and all my misfortune put on the scales!

³ It would be heavier than the sand of the sea,

this is why my words have been so rash.

⁴ For the arrows of the Almighty have stuck in me,

my spirit drinks their poison.

The terrors of God are aligned against me.

⁵ Does the wild donkey bray when it has grass?

Or does the ox bellow when it has fodder?

⁶ Is tasteless food eaten without salt?

Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

⁷ My appetite refuses to touch them,

they are like repulsive food to me.

⁸ O that I might have my request,

and that God would grant what I long for:

⁹ that it would please God to crush me,

that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!

¹⁰ This would be my comfort,

then I would rejoice even in continual pain,

for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

¹¹ What is my strength, that I should wait?

What is my end, that I should prolong my life?

¹² Is my strength like the strength of stones?

Or is my flesh made of bronze?

¹³ Am I not powerless to help myself,

and any success driven from me?

¹⁴ He who withholds kindness from his friend,

forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵ My brothers have been as unreliable as a seasonal stream,

as torrential brooks that flow away.

¹⁶ They are black because of ice,

and surging with melting snow.

¹⁷ When it warms up, they vanish,

when it becomes hot,
they disappear from their place.

¹⁸ The caravans turn aside from their ways,

they go up into the wasteland and perish.

¹⁹ The caravans of Tema look for streams,

the travelers of Sheba search for them.

²⁰ They were ashamed because they had hoped,

they came there, but were disappointed.

²¹ For now you have proven to be of no help,

you see my calamity and are afraid.

²² Did I ever say, 'Give me something?'

Or, 'Offer me a bribe from your wealth?'

²³ Or, 'Deliver me from the enemy's hand?'

Or, 'Ransom me from the hand of the oppressors?'

²⁴ Teach me, and I will be silent;

make me understand where I have gone wrong.

²⁵ How painful are honest words!

But what does your reproof really prove?

²⁶ Do you think you can reprove with mere words,

and treat the words of one despairing as wind?

²⁷ Yes, you would cast lots to sell an orphan,

and even auction off your friend.

²⁸ But now have the decency to look at me,

for I will not lie to your face.

²⁹ Please turn, let there be no injustice,

turn back for my righteousness is at stake.

³⁰ Is there any injustice on my tongue?

Cannot my palate discern evil?

DASV: Job 7

¹ Is it not a difficult struggle for humanity on earth?

Are not his days like the days of a hired worker?

² Like a slave who earnestly longs for the shadow,

and like a hired worker who looks for his wages;

³ so I am assigned to months of futility,

and nights of misery are appointed to me.

⁴ When I lie down, I ask, 'When will I get up?'

but the night creeps on while I constantly toss and turn until dawn.

⁵ My flesh is clothed with maggots and dirt;

my skin breaks open and festers.

⁶ My days pass faster than a weaver's shuttle,

and come to an end without hope.

⁷ Remember that my life is a mere breath,

my eyes will never again see good.

⁸ The eye of one who sees me will see me no more;

your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.

⁹ Just as the cloud dissipates and vanishes,

so the one who goes down to the grave will never come back.

¹⁰ He will no longer return to his house,

nor does his place know him anymore.

¹¹ Therefore I will not restrain my mouth,

I will speak from the anguish of my spirit,

I will complain from the bitterness of my soul.

¹² Am I a sea, or a sea monster,

that you put a guard over me?

¹³ When I say, 'My bed will comfort me,

my couch will ease my complaint,'

¹⁴ Then you frighten me with dreams,

and terrify me with visions,

¹⁵ so that I would choose to be strangled,

and death rather than live with these bones of mine.

¹⁶ I hate my life, I do not want to live forever,

leave me alone, for my days are a mere breath.

¹⁷ What is a human being that you make so much of him,

and that you pay such close attention to him?

¹⁸ You visit him every morning,

and test him every moment?

¹⁹ How long, will you not please look away from me,

or leave me alone long enough for me to swallow my spit?

²⁰ If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of men?

Why have you made me your target?

Have I become a burden to you?

²¹ Why do you not pardon my transgression,

and remove my iniquity?

For now I will lie down in the dust;

then you will diligently search for me,

but I will be gone."

DASV: Job 8

¹ Then Bildad the Shuhite responded,

² "How much longer will you go on speaking these things?

How long will the words of your mouth be like a howling wind?

³ Does God pervert justice?

Does the Almighty pervert what is right?

⁴ If your children have sinned against him,

he delivered them over to the consequences of their sin.

⁵ If you would seek God,

and make your appeal to the Almighty;

⁶ if you were pure and upright,

surely now he would rouse himself for you,

and would restore your rightful home.

⁷ Though your beginning was small,

yet your latter days will be very great.

⁸ Inquire of previous generations,

and consider what their fathers have searched out.

⁹ For we were born only yesterday,

and know nothing,

because our days on earth are as fleeting as a shadow.

¹⁰ Will they not teach and tell you?

Will they not utter words from their deep understanding?

¹¹ Can papyrus flourish where there is no marsh?

Can reeds grow where there is no water?

¹² While it is beginning to flower and not ready for cutting,

it withers faster than any other plant.

¹³ Such are the paths of all who forget God,

the hope of the godless perishes.

¹⁴ Their confidence will break as easily as a thread,

whose trust is as insecure as a spider's web.

¹⁵ He leans on its house, but it does not hold up,

he grabs hold of it, but it will not endure.

¹⁶ He is like a lush plant facing the sun,

his shoots sprout over his garden.

¹⁷ Its roots are penetrated down through the stone pile,

it takes hold among the rocks.

¹⁸ If it is uprooted out of its place,

that place will disown it, saying, 'I have never seen you.'

¹⁹ Look, it rots by the side of its path,

then out of the earth others spring up.

²⁰ God will not reject a blameless person,

or lend a supporting hand to evildoers.

²¹ He will yet fill your mouth with laughter,

and your lips with joyful shouts.

²² Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,

and the tent of the wicked will be no more."

DASV: Job 9

¹ Then Job answered,

² "Obviously I know that this is so.

But how can a person be just before God?

³ If someone wanted to contend with him,

he could not answer him once in a thousand times.

⁴ He is wise in heart and mighty in strength,

who has resisted him and succeeded?

⁵ He moves mountains and they do not know it,

when he overturns them in his anger.

⁶ He shakes the earth out of its place,

and its pillars tremble.

⁷ He commands the sun and it does not rise,

and he seals up the stars.

⁸ He alone stretches out the heavens,

and treads on the wave crests of the sea.

⁹ He makes the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades,

and the southern constellations.

¹⁰ He does great things beyond finding out,

yes, marvelous things without number.

¹¹ He passes by me, but I cannot see him,

he moves on, but I cannot perceive him.

¹² If he snatches away, who can stop him?

Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?'

¹³ God will not restrain his anger,

the helpers of the sea monster Rahab bow beneath him.

¹⁴ How then can I answer him?

how can I choose my words to argue with him?

¹⁵ Even though I am righteous, I could not answer him,

I could only plead to my judge for mercy.

¹⁶ If I could summon him and he would answer me,

I do not believe that he would listen to my voice.

¹⁷ For he crushes me with a tempest,

and multiplies my wounds for no reason.

¹⁸ He will not let me catch my breath,

but fills me with bitterness.

¹⁹ If it is a question of strength, he is the strong one!

If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?

²⁰ Though I am right, my own mouth would condemn me.

Though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.

²¹ I am blameless.

It does not matter to me.

I despise my life.

²² It is all the same.

Therefore I say,

'He destroys the blameless and the wicked.'

²³ If disaster results in sudden death,

he mocks the calamity of the innocent.

²⁴ The earth has been given into the hand of the wicked,

yet he covers the faces blinding its judges.

If it is not he, then who is it?

²⁵ Now my days are swifter than a runner,

they flee away without seeing any good.

²⁶ They glide by like papyrus boats,

as the eagle swooping down on its prey.

²⁷ If I say, 'I will forget my complaint,

I will put off my sad face, and be of good cheer.'

²⁸ I am afraid of all my sorrows,

I know you will not hold me innocent.

²⁹ I will be condemned.

Why then do I weary myself in vain?

³⁰ If I wash myself with soap,

and make my hands clean with lye,

³¹ yet you will plunge me into a slimy pit,

and my own clothes will abhor me.

³² For he is not a human being like I am,
that I might answer him,

that we could go to court against each other.

³³ There is no mediator between us,

who might lay his hand on both of us,

³⁴ who might take his rod away from me,

so that his terror would not frighten me.

³⁵ Then I would speak and not fear him,

but I am not able to do it by myself.

DASV: Job 10

¹ I loathe my life;

I will give unrestrained expression to my complaint.

I will speak from the bitterness of my soul.

² I will say to God,

Do not condemn me.

Tell me what charges you are bringing against me.

³ Does it seem good to you to oppress?

Should you despise the work of your hands,

while looking with favor on the schemes of the wicked?

⁴ Do you have eyes of flesh?

Or do you see like human beings see?

⁵ Are your days like the days of a mortal,

or your years like the years of a human,

⁶ that you should search for my iniquity,

and seek for my sin,

⁷ even though you know that I am not guilty,

and there is no one who can deliver out of your hand?

⁸ Your hands have formed and made me,

but now you totally destroy me.

⁹ Remember that you have made me like clay,

and will you turn me back to dust again?

¹⁰ Have you not poured me out like milk,

and curdled me like cheese?

¹¹ You have clothed me with skin and flesh,

and knit me together with bones and sinews.

¹² You have granted me life and steadfast love,

and your care has preserved my spirit.

¹³ Yet these things you have hid in your heart;

I know that this was your purpose.

¹⁴ If I sin, then you will watch me,

and you will not acquit me of my guilt.

¹⁵ If I am wicked, woe to me.

But if I am righteous, yet I still cannot lift up my head.

I am filled with shame,

and gaze upon my misery.

¹⁶ If my head were held high,

you would hunt me like a lion,

and again unleash your incredible power against me.

¹⁷ You bring your witnesses against me,

and escalate your anger against me,

and bring fresh troops against me.

¹⁸ Why then did you bring me out of the womb?

I wish I had died before any eye had seen me.

¹⁹ If only I had never existed;

carried right from the womb to the grave.

²⁰ Are not the days of my life few?

Stop it then, and leave me alone,

that I may find a little comfort,

²¹ before I go, never to return,

to the land of darkness and shadowy gloom;

²² the land of absolute darkness,

like shadowy gloom and chaos,

and where even the light is like darkness."

DASV: Job 11

¹ Then Zophar the Naamathite responded,

² "Should not this profusion of words be answered?

Should one so full of talk be vindicated?

³ Should your empty babble reduce others to silence?

When you mock, should no one make you ashamed?

⁴ For you claim, 'My teaching is pure,

I am clean in God’s eyes.'

⁵ But if only God would speak,

and open his lips against you,

⁶ and reveal to you the enigmas of wisdom!

For true understanding has two sides.

Know therefore that God has already forgiven some of your sin.

⁷ Can you by searching figure out the mysteries of God?

Can you discover the limit of the Almighty?

⁸ It is higher than heaven, what can you do?

It is deeper than Sheol, what do you know?

⁹ Its measure is longer than the earth,

and wider than the sea.

¹⁰ If he passes by, and imprisons,

then summons a court, who can stop him?

¹¹ For he knows how deceptive humans are.

When he sees injustice, will he not consider it?

¹² But a stupid person will gain understanding,

when a wild donkey’s colt is born a human.

¹³ If you would set your heart right,

stretch out your hands toward him.

¹⁴ If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,

and do not let injustice stay in your tents.

¹⁵ Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish,

you will be secure and will not fear.

¹⁶ For you will forget your misery,

you will remember it as waters that have flowed by.

¹⁷ Your life will be brighter than the noonday;

though there is darkness, it will break like the dawn.

¹⁸ You will be confident, because there is hope;

you will be protected and lie down in safety.

¹⁹ You will lie down, and no one will make you afraid;

many will seek your favor.

²⁰ But the eyes of the wicked will fail,

the way of escape will elude them,

and their only hope is to breathe their last."

DASV: Job 12

¹ Then Job answered,

² "No doubt you are the people,

and wisdom will die with you.

³ But I have understanding as well as you;

I am not inferior to you.

Who does not know these things?

⁴ I am a laughing-stock to my friends,

I, who called on God and he answered,

a just and blameless person, am a laughing-stock.

⁵ To those at ease there is contempt for misfortune;

it is ready for them whose feet slip.

⁶ But the tents of robbers are at peace,

and those who provoke God are secure;

who bring their god in their hand.

⁷ But ask the animals, and they will teach you;

the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you.

⁸ Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you;

and the fish of the sea will declare to you.

⁹ Who among all these does not realize

that the hand of the LORD has done this?

¹⁰ In his hand is the life of every living thing,

and the breath of every human being?

¹¹ Does not the ear test words,

just as the tongue tastes its food?

¹² Wisdom is found among aged,

and understanding comes with length of days.

¹³ With God are wisdom and might;

to him belong counsel and understanding.

¹⁴ If he tears down, it cannot be rebuilt;

if he locks someone up, there is no release.

¹⁵ If he withholds the waters, they dry up;

if he releases them, they inundate the earth.

¹⁶ With him is strength and wisdom,

both the deceived and the deceiver are his.

¹⁷ He leads counselors away stripped,

and makes judges into fools.

¹⁸ He loosens the robe belts of kings,

and binds a loincloth around their waist.

¹⁹ He leads priests away stripped,

and overthrows the mighty.

²⁰ He removes the speech of the trusted advisers,

and takes away the discretion of the elders.

²¹ He pours contempt on princes,

and loosens the belt of the strong.

²² He discloses deep things out of the darkness,

and brings the dark shadow to light.

²³ He builds nations up, then destroys them.

He enlarges nations, then leads them away captive.

²⁴ He takes away understanding from the leaders of the earth,

and causes them to wander in a pathless wilderness.

²⁵ They grope in the dark without light,

and he makes them stagger like a drunkard.

DASV: Job 13

¹ Look, my eye has seen all this,

my ear has heard and understood it.

² What you know, I also know,

I am not inferior to you.

³ But I want to speak to the Almighty,

and I desire to argue my case with God.

⁴ As for you, you smear me with lies;

you are all worthless physicians.

⁵ If only you would be totally silent,

that would be your wisdom.

⁶ Listen now to my reasoning,

and pay attention to the pleadings of my lips.

⁷ Will you speak falsely for God,

and speak deceitfully for him?

⁸ Will you show partiality favoring him?

Will you argue the case for God?

⁹ Will it turn out well when he examines you?

Can you deceive him as one would deceive a human being?

¹⁰ Surely he would rebuke you,

if you show partiality in secret.

¹¹ Will not his majesty terrify you,

and the dread of him fall on you?

¹² Your maxims are proverbs of ashes,

your defenses are defenses of clay.

¹³ Be quiet, let me speak;

then let come on me what may.

¹⁴ Why would I put my flesh in my teeth,

and take my life in my own hands?

¹⁵ Even if he kills me;

yet I will hope in him.

Nevertheless I defend my ways to his face.

¹⁶ This also will be my salvation,

for a godless man would not come before him.

¹⁷ Listen carefully to my speech,

and let my declaration be in your ears.

¹⁸ Look now, I have prepared my case;

I know that I am right.

¹⁹ Who will contend with me?

For then I would be silent and expire.

²⁰ Only grant me two things,

then I will not hide myself from your face:

²¹ withdraw your hand far from me;

and do not let your terror frighten me.

²² Then call and I will answer;

let me speak, then you answer me.

²³ How many are my iniquities and sins?

Make me realize my transgression and my sin.

²⁴ Why do you hide your face,

and count me as your enemy?

²⁵ Will you terrify a windblown leaf?

Will you chase dry chaff?

²⁶ For you write bitter things against me,

and make me inherit the sins of my youth.

²⁷ You put my feet in the stocks,

and scrutinize all my paths;

you brand the soles of my feet.

²⁸ So I waste away like something rotten,

like a moth-eaten garment.

DASV: Job 14

¹ Man, born of a woman,
lives only a few days,

all of which are full of trouble.

² He sprouts like a flower, then withers;

and passes like a shadow that does not last.

³ Do you fix your eyes on such a one,

and bring me into judgment before you?

⁴ Who can bring something clean out of the unclean?

No one!

⁵ Since his days are determined,

the number of his months is known to you,

and you have prescribed his limits that he cannot pass.

⁶ So look away from him and leave him alone,

until he finishes his day like a laborer.

⁷ For there is hope for a tree,

if it is cut down, that it will sprout again,

and that its tender shoots will not stop growing.

⁸ Though its root grows old in the ground,

and its stump dies in the dust;

⁹ yet at the scent of water it will bud,

and put forth branches like a new plant.

¹⁰ But man dies and is laid low.

a human expires and where is he?

¹¹ As water evaporates from the sea,

and a river drains and dries up;

¹² so man lies down and does not rise again.

Until the heavens are no more,

they will not awake,

or be roused out of their sleep.

¹³ Oh that you would hide me in Sheol,

that you would conceal me,

until your wrath has passed,

that you would appoint a set time for me,

and then remember me!

¹⁴ If a man dies, will he live again?

All the days of my struggle I will wait,

until my renewal comes.

¹⁵ You would call, and I would answer you.

You would long for the work of your hands.

¹⁶ Surely now you number my steps,

but then you would not watch for my sin.

¹⁷ My offenses would be sealed up in a bag,

and you would cover up my sin.

¹⁸ But as the mountain falls and crumbles away,

and as the rock is removed from its place;

¹⁹ as waters erode the stones,

and floods wash away the soil of the earth;

so you destroy human hope.

²⁰ You overpower forever, and he passes away;

you alter his face, and send him away.

²¹ If his sons come to honor,

he does not know about it;

and if they are brought low,

he does not perceive it.

²² He feels only the pain of his own flesh,

and mourns only for himself."

DASV: Job 15

¹ Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied,

² "Should a wise man answer with such blustery knowledge,

and bloat his belly with the east wind?

³ Should he argue with unprofitable talk,

or with words that have no worth in them?

⁴ Are you doing away with the fear of God,

and hindering devotion before God.

⁵ For your sin informs your mouth,

and you choose the tongue of the cunning.

⁶ Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;

your own lips testify against you.

⁷ Are you the first person ever born?

Or were you brought forth before the hills?

⁸ Have you listened in on the secret counsel of God?

Do you limit wisdom to yourself?

⁹ What do you know that we do not know?

What do you understand, that we do not?

¹⁰ Both the gray-headed and the aged are on our side,

those much older than your father.

¹¹ Are the consolations of God too small for you,

even the word that is gentle toward you?

¹² Why does your heart carry you away?

Why do your eyes flash,

¹³ when you turn your spirit against God,

and let such words come out of your mouth?

¹⁴ What is man, that he should be pure?

Or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

¹⁵ He puts no trust in his holy ones;

even the heavens are not pure in his sight,

¹⁶ how much less one who is abominable and corrupt,

one who drinks down evil like water.

¹⁷ I will show you, listen to me;

what I have seen I will declare,

¹⁸ what the wise have declared,

and not concealed from their forefathers,

¹⁹ to whom alone the land was given,

when no foreigner passed among them.

²⁰ The wicked contorts with pain all his days,

through the number of years that were stored up for the ruthless.

²¹ A sound of terrors fill his ears;

while in prosperity, the destroyer will attack him.

²² He does not believe that he will ever return from darkness,

and he is destined for the sword.

²³ He wanders around for bread, begging, 'Where is it?'

He knows that the day of darkness is already at hand.

²⁴ Distress and anguish terrify him;

they prevail against him, like a king ready to attack,

²⁵ because he stretches out his fist against God,

and acts arrogantly against the Almighty.

²⁶ He runs at him defiantly,

with a thick, strong shield;

²⁷ because he has covered his face with fat,

and his waist bulges with fat,

²⁸ he dwelt in desolate cities,

in houses no one inhabits,

which are ready to become ruins.

²⁹ He will not be rich, and his wealth will not last,

nor will his possessions spread over the earth.

³⁰ He will not escape from darkness.

The flame will dry up his branches,

and he will be blown away by the breath of God's mouth.

³¹ Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself;

for emptiness will be his reward.

³² It will be paid in full before his time,

and his branch will not flourish.

³³ He will shake off his unripe grape like the vine,

and will cast off his blossom like the olive tree.

³⁴ For the company of the godless will be barren,

and fire will consume the tents of bribery.

³⁵ They conceive trouble,
and bring forth evil,

and their heart prepares deceit."

DASV: Job 16

¹ Then Job answered,

² "I have heard many such things,

all of you are such miserable comforters.

³ Will windy words ever end?

Or what bothers you that you keep arguing?

⁴ I also could speak like you do,

if you were in my place.

I could heap up words against you,

and shake my head at you.

⁵ But I would strengthen you with my mouth,

and comfort from my lips would ease your pain.

⁶ Yet when I speak, my pain is not relieved,

and if I quit speaking, does the anguish leave me?

⁷ But now, O God, you have worn me down,

you have devastated my whole family.

⁸ You have shriveled me up,

which itself is a witness against me,

and my emaciated flesh rises up against me,

it testifies against my face.

⁹ God has torn me in his wrath, and persecuted me;

he has gnashed his teeth at me;

my enemy locks his eyes on me.

¹⁰ They have ridiculed me with their mouth;

they have slapped me on the cheek in contempt,

they have gathered themselves together against me.

¹¹ God delivers me over to the ungodly,

and throws me into the hands of the wicked.

¹² I was at peace, but he has shattered me;

he has grabbed me by the neck,

and dashed me to pieces.

He has set me up as his target.

¹³ His archers surround me;

he slits open my kidneys, without mercy;

he pours out my gall on the ground.

¹⁴ He smashes me again and again;

he charges at me like a warrior.

¹⁵ I have sewed sackcloth on my skin,

and have buried my horn in the dust.

¹⁶ My face is red from weeping,

and dark shadows are on my eyelids;

¹⁷ although there is no violence in my hands,

and my prayer is pure.

¹⁸ O earth, do not cover my blood,

and let my cry find no place of rest.

¹⁹ Even now, my witness is in heaven,

and my advocate is on high.

²⁰ My friends mock me,

as my eye pours out tears to God.

²¹ O that someone would argue the case of a man with God,

as a person pleads for his friend!

²² For when just a few years have passed,

I will go the way from which I will never return.