American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
And Job again took up his parable, and said,
As God liveth, who hath taken away my right,And the Almighty, who hath {Hebrew: made my soul bitter.}vexed my soul:
{Or, All the while my breath is in me…nostrils; surely}(For my life is yet whole in me,And the spirit of God is in my nostrils);
Surely my lips {Or, do}shall not speak uprighteousness,Neither {Or, doth}shall my tongue utter deceit.
Far be it from me that I should justify you:Till I die I will not put away mine integrity from me.
My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go:My heart {Or, doth not reproach me for any of my days}shall not reproach me so long as I live.
Then Job answered and said,
How hast thou helped him that is without power!How hast thou saved the arm that hath no strength!
How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom,And plentifully declared sound knowledge!
To whom hast thou uttered words?And whose {Hebrew: breath}spirit came forth from thee?
{Or, The shades Hebrew: The Rephaim.}They that are deceased trembleBeneath the waters and the inhabitants thereof.
Sheol is naked before {Hebrew: him.}God,And {Or, Destruction}Abaddon hath no covering.
He stretcheth out the north over empty space,And hangeth the earth {Or, over}upon nothing.
He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds;And the cloud is not rent under them.
He incloseth the face of his throne,And spreadeth his cloud upon it.
He hath described a boundary upon the face of the waters,Unto the confines of light and darkness.
The pillars of heaven trembleAnd are astonished at his rebuke.
He {Or, stilleth}stirreth up the sea with his power,And by his understanding he smiteth through Rahab.
By his Spirit the heavens are {Hebrew: beauty.}garnished;His hand hath pierced the {Or, fleeing Or, gliding }swift serpent.
Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways:And {Or, how little a portion}how small a whisper {Or, is heard}do we hear of him!But the thunder of his {Or, mighty deeds}power who can understand?
I made a covenant with mine eyes;How then should I look upon a virgin?
{Or, for what portion should I have of God…And what heritage &c? Is there not calamity &c.?}For what is the portion from God above,And the heritage from the Almighty on high?
Is it not calamity to the unrighteous,And disaster to the workers of iniquity?
Doth not he see my ways,And number all my steps?
If I have walked with falsehood,And my foot hath hasted to deceit
(Let me be weighed in an even balance,That God may know mine integrity);
If my step hath turned out of the way,And my heart walked after mine eyes,And if any spot hath cleaved to my hands:
Then let me sow, and let another eat;Yea, let {Or, my offspring Hebrew: my produce.}the produce of my field be rooted out.
If my heart hath been enticed unto a woman,And I have laid wait at my neighbor's door;
Then let my wife grind unto another,And let others bow down upon her.
For that were a heinous crime;Yea, it were an iniquity to be punished by the judges:
For it is a fire that consumeth unto {Hebrew: Abaddon. See chapter 26:6}Destruction,And would root out all mine increase.
If I have despised the cause of my man-servant or of my maid-servant,When they contended with me;
What then shall I do when God riseth up?And when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?
Did not he that made me in the womb make him?And did not one fashion us in the womb?
If I have withheld {Or, aught that the poor desired}the poor from their desire,Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
Or have eaten my morsel alone,And the fatherless hath not eaten thereof
(Nay, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,And her have I guided from my mother's womb);
If I have seen any perish for want of clothing,Or that the needy had no covering;
If his loins have not blessed me,And if he hath not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless,Because I saw my help in the gate:
Then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder-blade,And mine arm be broken from the bone.
For calamity from God is a terror to me,And by reason of his majesty I can do nothing.
If I have made gold my hope,And have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence;
If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,And because my hand had gotten much;
If I have beheld {Hebrew: the light.}the sun when it shined,Or the moon walking in brightness,
And my heart hath been secretly enticed,And {Hebrew: my hand hath kissed my mouth.}my mouth hath kissed my hand:
This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judges;For I should have denied the God that is above.
If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me,Or lifted up myself when evil found him
(Yea, I have not suffered by {Hebrew: palate.}mouth to sinBy asking his life with a curse);
If the men of my tent have not said,Who can find one that hath not been filled with his meat?
(The sojourner hath not lodged in the street;But I have opened my doors to {Hebrew: the way.}the traveller);
If {Or, after the manner of men}like Adam I have covered my transgressions,By hiding mine iniquity in my bosom,
Because I feared the great multitude,And the contempt of families terrified me,So that I kept silence, and went not out of the door—
Oh that I had one to hear me!(Lo, here is my {Hebrew: mark.}signature, let the Almighty answer me)And that I had the {Hebrew: book.}indictment which mine adversary hath written!
Surely I would carry it upon my shoulder;I would bind it unto me as a crown:
I would declare unto him the number of my steps;As a prince would I {Or, present it to him}go near unto him.
If my land crieth out against me,And the furrows thereof weep together;
If I have eaten the {Hebrew: strength.}fruits thereof without money,Or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life:
Let {Or, thorns}thistles grow instead of wheat,And {Or, noisome weeds}cockle instead of barley.The words of Job are ended.
And Job again took up his parable, and said,
As God liveth, who hath taken away my right,And the Almighty, who hath {Hebrew: made my soul bitter.}vexed my soul:
{Or, All the while my breath is in me…nostrils; surely}(For my life is yet whole in me,And the spirit of God is in my nostrils);
Surely my lips {Or, do}shall not speak uprighteousness,Neither {Or, doth}shall my tongue utter deceit.
Far be it from me that I should justify you:Till I die I will not put away mine integrity from me.
My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go:My heart {Or, doth not reproach me for any of my days}shall not reproach me so long as I live.
Let mine enemy be as the wicked,And let him that riseth up against me be as the unrighteous.
For what is the hope of the godless, {Or, when God cutteth him off, When he taketh &c.}though he get him gain,When God taketh away his soul?
Will God hear his cry,When trouble cometh upon him?
Will he delight himself in the Almighty,And call upon God at all times?
I will teach you concerning the hand of God;That which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.
Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it;Why then are ye become altogether vain?
This is the portion of a wicked man with God,And the heritage of oppressors, which they receive from the Almighty:
If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword;And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.
Those that remain of him shall be buried in death,And his widows shall make no lamentation.
Though he heap up silver as the dust,And prepare raiment as the clay;
He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on,And the innocent shall divide the silver.
He buildeth his house as the moth,And as a booth which the keeper maketh.
He lieth down rich, but he shall not be gathered to his fathers;He openeth his eyes, and he is not.
Terrors overtake him like waters;A tempest stealeth him away in the night.
The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth;And it sweepeth him out of his place.
For God shall hurl at him, and not spare:He would fain flee out of his hand.
Men shall clap their hands at him,And shall hiss him out of his place.
And Job again took up his parable, and said,
And she said unto them, Call me not {That is, Pleasant.}Naomi, call me {That is, Butter.}Mara; for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.