American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
Lo, mine eye hath seen all this,Mine ear hath heard and understood it.
What ye know, the same do I know also:I am not inferior unto you.
Surely I would speak to the Almighty,And I desire to reason with God.
But ye are forgers of lies;Ye are all physicians of no value.
Oh that ye would altogether hold your peace!And it would be your wisdom.
According as I have seen, they that plow iniquity,And sow {Or, mischief}trouble, reap the same.
For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age,And apply thyself to that which their fathers have searched out
But I have understanding as well as you;I am not inferior to you:Yea, who knoweth not such things as these?
Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again;He shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.
Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up;Again, he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.
With him is strength and wisdom;The deceived and the deceiver are his.
He leadeth counsellors away stripped,And judges maketh he fools.
He looseth the bond of kings,And he bindeth their loins with a girdle.
He leadeth priests away stripped,And overthroweth the mighty.
He removeth the speech of the trusty,And taketh away the understanding of the elders.
He poureth contempt upon princes,And looseth the belt of the strong.
He uncovereth deep things out of darkness,And bringeth out to light the shadow of death.
He increaseth the nations, and he destroyeth them:He enlargeth the nations, and he leadeth them captive.
He taketh away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the {Or, land}earth,And causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
They grope in the dark without light;And he maketh them to {Hebrew: wander.}stagger like a drunken man.
Then Job answered and said,
Of a truth I know that it is so: {Or, For}But how can man be just {Or, before}with God?
{Or, If one should desire…He could not &c.}If he be pleased to contend with him,He cannot answer him one of a thousand.
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength:Who hath hardened himself against him, and prospered?—
Him that removeth the mountains, and they know it not,When he overturneth them in his anger;
That shaketh the earth out of its place,And the pillars thereof tremble;
That commandeth the sun, and it riseth not,And sealeth up the stars;
That alone stretcheth out the heavens,And treadeth upon the {Hebrew: high places.}waves of the sea;
That maketh the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,And the chambers of the south;
That doeth great things past finding out,Yea, marvellous things without number.
Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not:He passeth on also, but I perceive him not.
Behold, he seizeth the prey, who can {Or, turn him back}hinder him?Who will say unto him, What doest thou?
God will not withdraw his anger;The helpers of {Or, arrogancy See Isaiah 30:7.}Rahab {Or, did}do stoop under him.
How much less shall I answer him,And choose out my words to reason with him?
Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer;I would make supplication to my judge.
If I had called, and he had answered me,Yet would I not believe that he hearkened unto my voice.
{Hebrew: He who.}For he breaketh me with a tempest,And multiplieth my wounds without cause.
He will not suffer me to take my breath,But filleth me with bitterness.
If we speak of strength, {Or, Lo, here am I, saith he: And if of justice, Who &c.}lo, he is mighty!And if of justice, Who, saith he, will summon me?
Though I be righteous, mine own mouth shall condemn me:Though I be perfect, {Or, he}it shall prove me perverse.
{Or, Though I be perfect, I will not regard &c.}I am perfect; I regard not myself;I despise my life.
It is all one; therefore I say,He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.
If the scourge slay suddenly,He will mock at the {Or, calamity}trial of the innocent.
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;He covereth the faces of the judges thereof:If it be not he, who then is it?
Now my days are swifter than a {Or, runner}post:They flee away, they see no good,
They are passed away as the {Hebrew: ships of reed.}swift ships;As the eagle that swoopeth on the prey.
If I say, I will forget my complaint,I will put off my sad countenance, and {Hebrew: brighten up.}be of good cheer;
I am afraid of all my sorrows,I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.
I shall be condemned;Why then do I labor in vain?
If I wash myself {Another reading is, with snow.}with snow water,And {Hebrew: cleanse my hands with lye.}make my hands never so clean;
Yet wilt thou plunge me in the ditch,And mine own clothes shall abhor me.
For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him,That we should come together in judgment.
There is no umpire betwixt us,That might lay his hand upon us both.
Let him take his rod away from me,And let not his terror make me afraid:
Then would I speak, and not fear him;For I am not so in myself.
My soul is weary of my life;I will give free course to my complaint;I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
I will say unto God, Do not condemn me;Show me wherefore thou contendest with me.
Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress,That thou shouldest despise the {Hebrew: labor.}work of thy hands,And shine upon the counsel of the wicked?
Hast thou eyes of flesh?Or seest thou as man seeth?
Are thy days as the days of man,Or thy years as man's days,
That thou inquirest after mine iniquity,And searchest after my sin,
Although thou knowest that I am not wicked,And there is none that can deliver out of thy hand?
Thy hands have framed me and fashioned meTogether round about; yet thou dost destroy me.
Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast fashioned me as clay;And wilt thou bring me into dust again?
Hast thou not poured me out as milk,And curdled me like cheese?
Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh,And knit me together with bones and sinews.
Thou hast granted me life and lovingkindness;And thy {Or, care}visitation hath {Or, I am filled with ignominy, but look thou…for it increaseth: thou &c.}preserved my spirit.
Yet these things thou didst hide in thy heart;I know that this is with thee:
If I sin, then thou markest me,And thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity.
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.
And if my head exalt itself, thou huntest me as a lion;And again thou showest thyself marvellous upon me.
Thou renewest thy witnesses against me,And increasest thine indignation upon me: {Or, Host after host is against me}Changes and warfare are with me.
Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb?I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me.
I should have been as though I had not been;I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.
Are not my days few? {Another reading is, let him cease, and leave me alone.}cease then,And let me alone, that I may {Hebrew: brighten up.}take comfort a little,
Before I go whence I shall not return,Even to the land of darkness and of the shadow of death;
The land dark as {Hebrew: thick darkness.}midnight,The land of the shadow of death, without any order,And where the light is as {Hebrew: thick darkness.}midnight.
Then Job answered and said,
Of a truth I know that it is so: {Or, For}But how can man be just {Or, before}with God?
{Or, If one should desire…He could not &c.}If he be pleased to contend with him,He cannot answer him one of a thousand.
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength:Who hath hardened himself against him, and prospered?—
Him that removeth the mountains, and they know it not,When he overturneth them in his anger;
That shaketh the earth out of its place,And the pillars thereof tremble;
That commandeth the sun, and it riseth not,And sealeth up the stars;
That alone stretcheth out the heavens,And treadeth upon the {Hebrew: high places.}waves of the sea;
That maketh the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,And the chambers of the south;
That doeth great things past finding out,Yea, marvellous things without number.
Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not:He passeth on also, but I perceive him not.
Behold, he seizeth the prey, who can {Or, turn him back}hinder him?Who will say unto him, What doest thou?
God will not withdraw his anger;The helpers of {Or, arrogancy See Isaiah 30:7.}Rahab {Or, did}do stoop under him.
How much less shall I answer him,And choose out my words to reason with him?
Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer;I would make supplication to my judge.
If I had called, and he had answered me,Yet would I not believe that he hearkened unto my voice.
{Hebrew: He who.}For he breaketh me with a tempest,And multiplieth my wounds without cause.
He will not suffer me to take my breath,But filleth me with bitterness.
If we speak of strength, {Or, Lo, here am I, saith he: And if of justice, Who &c.}lo, he is mighty!And if of justice, Who, saith he, will summon me?
Though I be righteous, mine own mouth shall condemn me:Though I be perfect, {Or, he}it shall prove me perverse.
{Or, Though I be perfect, I will not regard &c.}I am perfect; I regard not myself;I despise my life.
It is all one; therefore I say,He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.
If the scourge slay suddenly,He will mock at the {Or, calamity}trial of the innocent.
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;He covereth the faces of the judges thereof:If it be not he, who then is it?
Now my days are swifter than a {Or, runner}post:They flee away, they see no good,
They are passed away as the {Hebrew: ships of reed.}swift ships;As the eagle that swoopeth on the prey.
If I say, I will forget my complaint,I will put off my sad countenance, and {Hebrew: brighten up.}be of good cheer;
I am afraid of all my sorrows,I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.
I shall be condemned;Why then do I labor in vain?
If I wash myself {Another reading is, with snow.}with snow water,And {Hebrew: cleanse my hands with lye.}make my hands never so clean;
Yet wilt thou plunge me in the ditch,And mine own clothes shall abhor me.
For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him,That we should come together in judgment.
There is no umpire betwixt us,That might lay his hand upon us both.
Let him take his rod away from me,And let not his terror make me afraid:
Then would I speak, and not fear him;For I am not so in myself.
Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise; {Or, He that shutteth his lips is &c.}When he shutteth his lips, he is esteemed as prudent.