Bible in 90 Days

8 Then answered Bildad the Shuchi, and said,

² How long wilt thou speak these things? And how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a raging ruach (wind)?

³ Doth El pervert mishpat (justice)? Or doth Shaddai pervert tzedek?

⁴ If thy banim have sinned against Him, and He have cast them away for their peysha (transgression);

⁵ If thou wouldest seek El (G-d) earnestly, and make thy techinnah (supplication) to Shaddai;

⁶ If thou wert pure and yashar; surely now He would rouse Himself for thee, and restore the habitation of thy tzedek.

⁷ Though thy reshit (beginning) was small, yet thy acharit (end) shall be exceedingly great.

⁸ For inquire, now, of the dor rishon (former age), and consider the research of their avot;

⁹ —For we are but of temol (yesterday, etmol) and know nothing, because yameinu (our days) upon earth are a tzel (shadow)—

¹⁰ Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and bring forth words out of their lev?

¹¹ Can the papyrus grow up without marsh? Can the reed grow without mayim?

¹² Whilst it is yet in its greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before kol khatzir (all grass).

¹³ So are the paths of all that forget El (G-d), and the tikvat chanef (hope of the hypocrite, the irreligious, the secretly wicked profane person) shall perish,

¹⁴ Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose reliance shall be a bais akavish (spider’s web).

¹⁵ He shall lean upon his bais, but it shall not stand, he shall cling to it, but it shall not hold.

¹⁶ He is like a green plant before the shemesh, and its branch shooteth forth in its gan (garden).

¹⁷ Its shorashim (roots) are wrapped about the rock heap, and it looks on the bais avanim (place of stones).

¹⁸ But when cast away from its makom, then its place shall deny it, saying, Loh re’iticha (I never saw thee).

¹⁹ Behold, thus was the joy of its derech, and others spring forth from the aphar (dust).

²⁰ Surely El (G-d) will not cast away a blameless man, neither will He help the resha’im (evil-doers);

²¹ Till He fill thy mouth with sechok (laughter), and thy lips with teruah (shouts of joy).

²² They that hate thee shall be clothed with bushah (shame), and the ohel resha’im shall be no more.

9 Then Iyov answered and said,

² I know it is indeed thus, but how should yitzdak Enosh im El (Man be in the right, justified, before G-d)?

³ If he will contend with Him, once of a thousand can Man not answer G-d back.

⁴ G-d is chochom in lev, and mighty in ko’ach; who hath hardened himself to defy Him and remained unhurt?

⁵ Which removeth the harim (mountains), and they know not; which overturneth them in His anger;

⁶ Which shaketh eretz out of its place, and the ammudim thereof tremble;

⁷ Which commandeth the cheres (sun), and it riseth not; and sealeth up the kokhavim;

⁸ Which spreadeth out Shomayim by Himself alone, and treadeth upon the waves of the yam;

⁹ Which maketh the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the chambers of the constellations on the south side of the heavens;

¹⁰ Which doeth gedolot past finding out; yea, and nifla’ot (wonders) without number.

¹¹ Hen (lo), He passeth by me, and I see Him not; He goeth on also, but I perceive Him not.

¹² Hinei, He taketh away, who can stop Him? Who will say unto Him, Mah ta’aseh (what are You doing)?

¹³ If Eloah restraineth not His anger, the helpers of Rahab must bow themselves under Him.

¹⁴ How much less shall I dispute with Him, and choose my dvarim with Him?

¹⁵ Whom, though I were tzaddik (righteous, innocent, in the right), yet would I not answer, but I would make techinnah (supplication, plea for mercy) for my mishpat (right).

¹⁶ If I had summoned, and He had responded to me, yet would I not believe that He had paid heed unto my kol (voice);

¹⁷ For He breaketh me in a sa’arah (tempest, storm), and multiplieth my wounds without cause.

¹⁸ He will not allow me to take my ruach (breath), but filleth me with bitterness.

¹⁹ If I speak of ko’ach, hinei, He is mighty, and if of mishpat, who can give Him a court summons?

²⁰ If etzdak (I am justified, in the right), mine own mouth would condemn me; if I say, I am blameless, He would prove me perverse.

²¹ Though I were blameless, yet would I not know my nefesh; I would despise my life.

²² This is one thing; therefore I said it, He destroyeth the tam (blameless) and the rasha (wicked).

²³ If the shot (scourge) slay suddenly, He laugheth at the melting away [in anguish] of the nekiyim (innocent ones, the guiltless ones).

²⁴ Eretz is given into the yad of the resha; He blindfoldeth the faces of the shofetim (judges) thereof; if not, then, who doeth it?

²⁵ Now my yamim are swifter than a runner; they flee away, they see no tovah.

²⁶ They slip by like oniyyot (boats) of reed; as the nesher that swoopeth down on the prey.

²⁷ If I say, I will forget my si’akh (complaint), I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself,

²⁸ I am afraid of all my sorrows; I have da’as that Thou wilt not hold me innocent.

²⁹ If I be wicked, why then labor I in hevel (vain)?

³⁰ If I wash myself with sheleg (snow), and make my hands clean with lye,

³¹ Yet shalt Thou plunge me in the shachat (slime pit), and mine own clothes shall abhor me.

³² For He is not an ish, as I am, that I should answer Him, and we should come together in mishpat (in the court).

³³ Neither is there any mochiach (arbitrator) between us, that might lay his yad upon us both.

³⁴ Let Him take His shevet (rod) away from me, and let not His fear terrify me.

³⁵ Then would I speak, and not fear Him; but it is not ken (so) with me.

10 My nefesh is sick of my life; I will give free rein to my si’akh (complaint); I will speak in the mar (bitterness) of my nefesh.

² I will say unto Eloah, Do not condemn me; show me what charge Thou dost contend with me.

³ Is it hatov (pleasing) unto Thee that Thou shouldest oppress, that Thou shouldest reject the work of Thine hands, and shine [favor] upon the etzah (scheme) of the resha’im?

⁴ Hast Thou eyes of basar? Or seest Thou as enosh seeth?

⁵ Are Thy yamim like the yamim of enosh? Are Thy years like the days of gever (man),

⁶ That Thou seekest after mine avon, and searchest after my chattat?

⁷ Though Thou has da’as that I am not a resha, and there is none that can deliver out of Thine yad,

⁸ Thine yadayim have formed me and altogether round about have fashioned me; yet Thou hast now swallowed me.

⁹ Remember, now, that Thou hast molded me like the chomer (clay), and wilt Thou turn me into aphar again?

¹⁰ Hast Thou not poured me out like cholov, and curdled me like gvinah (cheese)?

¹¹ Thou hast clothed me with ohr and basar, and hast knitted me together with atzmot and sinews.

¹² Thou hast granted me chayyim and chesed, and Thy visitation hath been shomer over my ruach.

¹³ And these things hast Thou hid in Thine lev; I have da’as that this was in Thy mind.

¹⁴ If I sin, then Thou art shomer over me, and Thou wilt not let my avon go unpunished.

¹⁵ If I am guilty, woe unto me; even if I be tzaddik (innocent), yet will I not lift up my head, being full of kalon (shame) and conscious of my oni (misery),

¹⁶ For if my head is held high, Thou stalkest me like a fierce lion, and ever Thou displayest Thy awesome power against me.

¹⁷ Thou bringest Thy fresh edim (witnesses) against me, and increasest Thine hot indignation toward me; in waves Thy tzava troop against me.

¹⁸ Why then hast Thou brought me forth out of the rechem (womb)? Oh that I had expired, and no eye had seen me!

¹⁹ I should have been as though I had never been; I should have been carried from the beten straight to the kever.

²⁰ Are not my yamim few? Then cease, and let me alone, that I may take a little cheer

²¹ Before I go from where I shall not return, even to the Eretz Choshech V’Tzalmavet,

²² An eretz of darkness, like darkness itself; and of tzalmavet, no sedarim (order), where the light is like darkness.

11 Then answered Tzophar the Na’amati, and said,

² Should not the multitude of dvarim be answered? And should an ish full of talk yitzdak (be justified)?

³ Should thy vain talk silence men, so that thou mockest, v’ein machlim (without anyone putting thee to shame)?

⁴ For thou hast said, My lekach (doctrine, teaching, belief) is pure, and I am clean in Thine eyes.

⁵ But oh that Eloah would speak, and open His lips against thee,

⁶ And that He would show thee the secrets of chochmah, that tushiyyah (true wisdom) has two sides! Have da’as therefore that Eloah forgetteth much of thy avon.

⁷ Canst thou search out the cheker Eloah (depths of G-d)? Canst thou probe to the tachlis Shaddai (the end, completeness of Almighty)?

⁸ It is like the heights of Shomayim; what canst thou do? Deeper than Sheol; of what canst thou have da’as?

⁹ The measure thereof is longer than ha’aretz, and broader than the yam (sea).

¹⁰ When Eloah passes by and arrests and convenes for judgment, who then can constrain Him?

¹¹ For He has da’as of deceitful men; He seeth wickedness also; will He not then take note of it?

¹² But before a witless ish can become wise, a colt of a pereh (wild donkey) would be born an adam!

¹³ If thou direct thine lev, and stretch out thine hands to Him,

¹⁴ If iniquity be in thine yad, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy ohalim.

¹⁵ For then shalt thou lift up thy face without mum; yea, thou shalt be firm, and shalt not fear,

¹⁶ Because thou shalt forget thy amal (grief), and remember it as waters that flow by,

¹⁷ And thine cheled (duration of life) shall be brighter than the tzohorayim (noonday); thou shalt shine forth; thou shalt be as the boker.

¹⁸ And thou shalt be secure, because now there is tikveh; yea, thou shalt search, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.

¹⁹ Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, rabbim (many) shall court thy favor.

²⁰ But the eyes of the resha’im faileth, and they shall not escape, and their tikveh shall be as the last gasp of the nefesh.

12 And Iyov answered and said,

² Doubtless then ye are the people, and chochmah shall die with you.

³ But I have levav (understanding) as well as you; I am not inferior to you; yea, who knoweth not such things as these?

⁴ I am as a laughingstock to his neighbor: The man who calleth upon Eloah [they say of me], and He answereth him! [To them I am] a laughingstock, the tzaddik, the tamim (blameless one)!

⁵ Those at ease have buz (contempt) for a downfall which awaits the one whose regel is slipping.

⁶ The ohalim of shodedim (robbers) remain in peace; they that defy El are secure, who Eloah brought forth by His yad.

⁷ But ask now the behemot, and they shall teach thee, and the oph haShomayim (birds of the air), and they shall tell thee;

⁸ Or speak to ha’aretz, and it shall teach thee; and the dagim of the yam shall declare unto thee.

⁹ Of all of these, who lacketh da’as that the yad Hashem hath wrought this?

¹⁰ In whose yad is the nefesh of every living thing, and the ruach of kol basar ish.

¹¹ Doth not the ozen (ear) test words? And the mouth tastes its ochel?

¹² With the ancient ones is chochmah; and in orech yamim (length of days) is binah (understanding).

¹³ With Him is chochmah and gevurah; He hath etzah and understanding.

¹⁴ See, what He tears down cannot be reconstructed; He shutteth up an ish, and there can be no prison release.

¹⁵ See, He withholdeth the waters, and they dry up; also He sendeth them out, and they overturn eretz.

¹⁶ With Him is oz (strength) and tushiyyah (true wisdom); the deceived and the deceiver are His.

¹⁷ He leadeth yoatzim (counsellors) away stripped, and maketh the shofetim (judges) fools.

¹⁸ He looseth the shackle of melachim (kings), and girdeth their loins with loincloth.

¹⁹ He leadeth kohanim away stripped, and overthroweth the mighty.

²⁰ He removeth the speech of the ne’emanim (trusted ones), and taketh away the understanding of the zekenim.

²¹ He poureth buz (contempt) upon nobles, and loosens the belt of the mighty.

²² He uncovers the depths of choshech, and bringeth tzalmavet to light.

²³ He giveth prosperity to the Goyim, and then destroyeth them; He enlargeth them, and then carrieth the Goyim away.

²⁴ He taketh away the lev (understanding) of the Rashei Am HaAretz, and sendeth them to tohu lo derech (trackless wilderness).

²⁵ They grope in the choshech without ohr, and He maketh them to stagger like a shikkor (drunken man).

13 See, mine eye hath seen all this, mine ozen hath heard and understood it.

² What ye know, of the same I have da’as also; I am not inferior unto you.

³ Surely I would speak to Shaddai, and I desire to reason with El (G-d).

⁴ But ye are forgers of sheker, ye are all rofim (physicians) of no value.

⁵ O that ye would altogether hold your peace! And it should be your chochmah.

⁶ Hear now my tokhachat (protest, public argumentation), and pay heed to the pleadings of my lips.

⁷ Will ye talk wickedly on behalf of El (G-d) and speak deceitfully for Him?

⁸ Will ye be partial to Him? Will ye play the part of the defense attorney for El?

⁹ Is it hatov that He should search you out? Or do you play the jester with Him, as one plays the jester with enosh?

¹⁰ He will surely reprove you, if ye do act with partiality beseter (secretly).

¹¹ Shall not His majesty make you afraid? And the pachad of Him fall upon you?

¹² Your zichron meshalim (memorable sayings) are like unto ashes, your defenses are strongholds of chomer (clay).

¹³ Hold your peace, let me alone, that Ani (I) may speak, and let come on me what will.

¹⁴ Why do I take my basar in my teeth, and take my nefesh in mine yad?

¹⁵ Though He slay me, yet will I wait for and trust in Him; but I will maintain my derech before Him.

¹⁶ He also shall be my Yeshuah (salvation); for a chanef (irreligious man, hypocrite) shall not come before Him.

¹⁷ Hear diligently my confession, and my declaration with your oznayim.

¹⁸ Hinei now, I have prepared my mishpat (cause, case); I know that I shall be acquitted.

¹⁹ Who is he that can contend against me? For atah (now), if I hold my tongue, I shall expire.

²⁰ Only do not shtayim (two things) unto me; then will I not hide myself from Thee.

²¹ Withdraw Thine hand far from me, and let not Thy eimah (dread, terror) make me afraid.

²² Then kerah (summon), and I will answer; or let me speak, and answer me.

²³ How many are mine avonot and chatta’ot? Make me to know my peysha and my chattat.

²⁴ Lammah (why) hidest Thou Thy face, and holdest me for Thine enemy?

²⁵ Wilt Thou frighten away a leaf driven to and fro? And wilt Thou pursue the dry kash (straw, chaff)?

²⁶ For Thou writest down merorot (bitter things) against me, and makest me to inherit the avonot of my neurim (youth).

²⁷ Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and observest kol orkhot (paths, ways) of me; Thou settest a mark upon the soles of my raglayim,

²⁸ Around one who wastes away as a rotten thing, as a beged (garment) that is moth eaten.

14 Adam that is born of isha is of few yamim and full of rogez (unrest).

² He cometh forth like a tzitz (flower), and is cut down; he fleeth also as a tzel, and continueth not.

³ And doth Thou open Thine eyes upon such a one, and bringest me into mishpat with Thee?

⁴ Who can bring a tahor (clean thing) out of a tameh (an unclean, cf Ro 5:12)? Loh echad (No one).

⁵ Seeing his yamim are determined, the number of his chodashim (months) are with Thee, Thou hast appointed his limits that he cannot exceed.

⁶ Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as a sachir (a hired man), his day.

⁷ For there is tikveh of an etz, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.

⁸ Though the shoresh (root) thereof grow old in ha’aretz, and the stump thereof die in the aphar (dust),

⁹ Yet through the scent of mayim it will bud, and bring forth branches like a young plant.

¹⁰ But gever dieth, and wasteth away; yea, adam breathes his last, and where is he?

¹¹ As the mayim flow away from the yam, and the nahar (stream) becomes parched and drieth up,

¹² So ish lieth down, and riseth not, till Shomayim be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.

¹³ O that Thou wouldest hide me in Sheol, that Thou wouldest conceal me until Thy wrath has passed, that Thou wouldest appoint me a chok (set time), and remember me!

¹⁴ If a gever die, shall he live again? All the days of my tzava (hard army service) will I wait, till my chalifah (changing, renewal) come.

¹⁵ Thou shalt call, and I will answer Thee; Thou wilt have a desire for the ma’aseh (work) of Thine hands.

¹⁶ For now Thou countest my steps. Dost Thou not watch over my chattat?

¹⁷ My peysha is sealed up in a bag, and Thou would cover over mine avon.

¹⁸ And surely the har (mountain) falling crumbles, and the tzur (rock) is moved out of its place.

¹⁹ The mayim wear away the avanim; Thou washest away the things which grow out of the aphar aretz; and Thou destroyest the tikvat enosh.

²⁰ Thou prevailest lanetzach (forever) against him, and he passeth away; Thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.

²¹ His banim come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.

²² Only his basar shall have pain upon him, and his nefesh within him shall mourn.

15 Then answered Eliphaz the Temani, and said,

² Should a chacham (wise man) utter vain knowledge, and fill his inner being with the east wind?

³ Should he reason with unprofitable davar (talk)? Or with speeches wherewith no good is done?

⁴ Yea, thou makest void yireh [Elohim], and doth diminish si’akh (meditation) before El.

⁵ For thy mouth uttereth thine avon, and thou choosest the leshon arumim (tongue of the crafty).

⁶ Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and loh Ani (not I); yea, thine own lips testify against thee.

⁷ Art thou harishon adam (the first man) that was born? Or wast thou made before the hills?

⁸ Hast thou attended to the sod Eloah (counsel of G-d)? And dost thou limit chochmah to thyself?

⁹ Of what dost thou have da’as, that we know not? What understandest thou, which is not in us?

¹⁰ Both the grayheaded and very aged men are among us, much elder than avicha.

¹¹ Are the tanechumot El (consolations of G-d) not enough for thee? Or the davar that deals gently with thee?

¹² Why doth thine lev carry thee away? And why do thy eyes flash,

¹³ That thou ventest thy ruach against El (G-d), and lettest such words pour out of thy mouth?

¹⁴ What is enosh, that he should be pure [in the sight of Hashem]? And he which is born of an isha, that yitzdak (he should be in the right)?

¹⁵ If He trusteth not His Kadoshim; yea, Shomayim is not pure in His eyes.

¹⁶ How much more vile and corrupt is ish, which drinketh iniquity like mayim?

¹⁷ I will show thee, shema to me; and that which I have seen I will declare;

¹⁸ Things which chachamim declare from their avot without concealment;

¹⁹ Unto whom alone ha’aretz was given, and no zar passed among them.

²⁰ The reshah travaileth with pain all his yamim, and numbered shanim are reserved for the oppressor.

²¹ A dreadful sound is in his oznayim; during shalom the shoded (destroyer) shall come upon him.

²² He believeth not in a return from choshech, and he is marked for the cherev.

²³ He wandereth about after lechem, saying, Where is it? He has da’as the Yom Choshech is near at hand for him.

²⁴ Distress and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall seize him as a melech poised for battle.

²⁵ For he stretcheth out his yad against El (G-d), and with insolence vaunts himself against Shaddai.

²⁶ He charges against Him, with a stiff neck, with the thick bosses of his mogen (shield);

²⁷ Though he covereth his panim with his fatness, and addeth fat on his flanks;

²⁸ And he dwelleth in desolate towns, and in batim (houses) which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to crumble to rubble.

²⁹ He shall not be osher, neither shall his substance continue; neither shall their possessions spread over ha’aretz.

³⁰ He shall not escape from choshech; the flame shall wither his branches, and in the ruach of his mouth shall he perish.

³¹ Let not him that is deceived trust in shav (vanity); for shav shall be his recompense.

³² His Yom is not yet; then it is accomplished, and his branch shall not flourish.

³³ He shall shake off his unripe grape like the gefen, and shall cast off his blossom like the zayit (olive tree).

³⁴ For the Adat Chanef (congregation of hypocrites) shall be barren, and eish shall consume the ohalim of bribery.

³⁵ They conceive amal (trouble), and give birth to evil, and their belly worketh mirmar (deceit).

16 Then Iyov answered and said,

² I have heard many such things; menachamei amal (miserable comforters) are ye all.

³ Shall divrei ruach (vain words) have an end? Or what provoketh thee that thou answerest?

⁴ I also could speak as ye do; if your nefesh were in place of my nefesh, I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at you.

⁵ But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my shfatayim (lips) should relieve your grief.

⁶ Though I speak, my grief is not relieved, and though I forbear, mah (what) alleviation is it for me?

⁷ But now He hath worn me out; Thou hast made desolate kol adat (whole household) of me.

⁸ And Thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is an ed (witness) against me; and my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face.

⁹ He teareth me in his wrath, who warreth against me; He gnasheth upon me with His shinayim (teeth); mine adversary sharpeneth His eyes against me.

¹⁰ They have struck at me with their mouth; they have struck me upon the lekhi (cheek) reproachfully; [Isa 50:6; Lam 3:30] they have conspired themselves together against me.

¹¹ El hath delivered me to evil men, and turned me over into the hands of the resha’im.

¹² I was at ease, but He hath shattered me; He hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for His mattarah (object of attack, target).

¹³ His archers surround me, He pierces my klayot (kidneys), and doth not show mercy; He poureth out my gall upon the ground.

¹⁴ He bursteth upon me again and again; He runneth upon me like a gibbor (warrior).

¹⁵ I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and laid my keren (horn, strength) in the aphar (dust).

¹⁶ My face is red with weeping, and on my eyelids is the tzalmavet;

¹⁷ Not for any chamas in mine hands; also my tefillah is pure.

¹⁸ O earth, cover not thou my dahm, and let my outcry have no makom (place of rest).

¹⁹ Also now, hinei, my Ed is in Shomayim, and my Sahed (witness, one who vouches for me) is on high [MJ 4:15].

²⁰ My friends scorn me; but mine eye poureth out tears unto Eloah.

²¹ O that one might plead for a man with Eloah, as a man pleadeth for his neighbor!

²² When a few shanot are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.

17 My ruach is broken, my yamim are extinct, the kevarim are ready for me.

² Does not hatulim (mockery) surround me? And doth not mine eye continue in their provocation?

³ Lay down an eravon (pledge) with Thee; who is he that will put up security for me?

⁴ For Thou hast hid their lev from seichel; therefore shalt Thou not exalt them.

⁵ He that informs on re’im for chelek, even the eyes of his banim shall fail.

⁶ He hath made me also a mashal (byword) of the peoples; and I am one in whose face they spit.

⁷ Mine eye also is dim by reason of ka’as, and all my members are like a tzel (shadow).

⁸ Yesharim shall be appalled at this and the naki (pure, innocent) shall stir up himself against the chanef (profane, irreligious).

⁹ The tzaddik also shall hold to his derech, and he whose yadayim are tahor shall grow stronger and stronger.

¹⁰ But as for all you, do ye return, and come back now; for I cannot find one chacham among you.

¹¹ My yamim are past, my plans are broken, even the morashot (possessions, desires) of my lev.

¹² They change the lailah into yom; the ohr is near to choshech, say they.

¹³ If I wait, Sheol is mine bais; I have made my bed in the choshech.

¹⁴ I have said to Shachat, thou art avi; to the worm, thou art immi, and achoti.

¹⁵ And where is now my tikveh? As for my tikveh, who regards it?

¹⁶ Will it go down to the gates of Sheol? Shall we go down together into the dust?

18 Then answered Bildad the Shuchi, and said,

² Ad anah (Until when, how long) will it be ere ye make an end of words? Gain binah, and afterwards we will speak.

³ Why are we counted as behemah (cattle), and reputed stupid in your sight?

⁴ Thou art he who teareth his nefesh in his anger; shall eretz (earth) be forsaken for thee? And shall the tzur be removed out of its place?

⁵ Yea, the ohr of the resha’im shall be put out, and the flame of his eish shall not burn.

⁶ The ohr shall be choshech in his ohel, and his ner (lamp) above him is extinguished.

⁷ The steps of his vigor shall be shortened, and his own etzah (counsel, scheme) shall cast him down.

⁸ For he is cast into a reshet by his own raglayim, and he walketh into a pitfall.

⁹ The pach (trap) shall take him by the akev (heel), and the snare shall prevail against him.

¹⁰ The noose is laid for him ba’aretz (on the ground), and a trap for him in the path.

¹¹ Ballahot (terrors, terrible thoughts) shall make him afraid on every side, and shall dog him behind his feet.

¹² Calamity is ra’ev (hungry) for him, and destruction shall be ready for his fall.

¹³ It shall devour the limbs of his ohr (skin); even the bechor mavet (plague) shall devour his members.

¹⁴ That in which he trusted is rooted out of his ohel, and it shall march him to Melech Ballahot (King of Terrors).

¹⁵ In his ohel nothing dwells; gofrit (brimstone) is scattered upon his habitation.

¹⁶ His shorashim shall be dried up beneath, and above his branch shall wither.

¹⁷ His memory shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no shem in the land.

¹⁸ He shall be driven from ohr into choshech, and chased out of the tevel.

¹⁹ He shall neither have offspring nor descendent among his am (people), nor is there a sarid in his dwellings.

²⁰ The acharonim shall be astonished at his yom, as the kadmonim were affrighted.

²¹ Surely such are the mishkenot (dwellings) of the resha’im, and this is the place of him that has no da’as of El.

19 Then Iyov answered and said,

² How long will ye torment my nefesh, and crush me with words?

³ These ten times have ye reproached me; ye have no bushah that ye cause me astonishment.

⁴ And be it indeed that I have erred, mine meshugah (error) remaineth with myself.

⁵ If indeed ye will magnify yourselves above me, and use against me my cherpah (reproach, humiliation),

⁶ Have da’as now that Eloah hath put me in the wrong, and hath encompassed me with his matzud (net).

⁷ Behold, when I cry chamas, I am not heard; I cry for help, but there is no mishpat.

⁸ He hath fenced around my way that I cannot pass, and set choshech in my paths.

⁹ He hath stripped me of my kavod, and taken the ateret from my rosh.

¹⁰ He breaks me down on every side till I am gone, and mine tikveh hath He uprooted like an etz.

¹¹ He hath also kindled His wrath against me, and He counteth me unto Him as His tzar (enemy).

¹² His forces come together, and raise up their seige ramp against me, and encamp around my ohel.

¹³ He hath put achai (my brethren) far from me, and mine acquaintances are verily estranged from me.

¹⁴ My kerov (near and dear) have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me.

¹⁵ They that dwell in mine bais, and my maidservants, count me for a zar; I am a nokhri in their sight.

¹⁶ I summoned avdi, and he gave me no answer; I entreated him with my mouth.

¹⁷ My ruach is repulsive to my isha, loathsome to bnei beten of mine.

¹⁸ Even avilim (little children) treat me with contempt; I appear, and they ridicule me.

¹⁹ All my metei sod (confidants) detest me, and they whom I loved are turned against me.

²⁰ My etzem cleaveth to my ohr (skin) and to my basar, and I am escaped only by the skin of my teeth.

²¹ Chanuni, chanuni, O ye my friends; for the yad Eloah hath touched me.

²² Why do ye persecute me like El, not satisfied with my basar?

²³ Oh that my words were but written! O that they were recorded in a sefer!

²⁴ That they were engraved with a pen of barzel and with oferet (lead) in the tzur forever!

²⁵ For Ani yadati Goeli chai (I know that my Redeemer liveth), and that he shall stand up at Acharon (at the Last) upon aphar (dust, the earth);

²⁶ And though after my ohr (skin) has been thus destroyed, yet from my basar I shall see Eloah;

²⁷ Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold and no other; my heart faints within me.

²⁸ But ye think, How we will persecute him, seeing the shoresh (root) of the matter is found in me?

²⁹ Be ye afraid of the cherev; for wrath bringeth the avonot (punishments) of the cherev, that ye may know there is a judgment.

20 Then answered Tzophar the Na’amati, and said,

² Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and ba’avur (because of [this]) I make haste.

³ I hear the musar that insults me, and the ruach of my understanding causeth me to answer.

⁴ Knowest thou not this of old, since adam was placed upon earth,

⁵ That the triumphing of the resha’im is short, and the simchat chanef (joy of the hypocrite) but for a moment?

⁶ Though his excellency mount up to Shomayim, and his rosh reach unto the clouds;

⁷ Yet he shall perish lanetzach (forever) like his own dung; they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?

⁸ He shall fly away as a chalom, and shall not be found; yea, he shall be chased away as a chezyon lailah.

⁹ The ayin also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his makom any more behold him.

¹⁰ His banim shall seek the favor of the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods.

¹¹ His atzmot are full of youthful vigor, which shall lie down with him in the aphar.

¹² Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his leshon;

¹³ Though he savor it, and forsake it not, but keep it still betoch (within) his mouth;

¹⁴ Yet his lechem in his stomach is turned sour; it is the venom of vipers within him.

¹⁵ He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again; El shall drive them out of his beten.

¹⁶ He shall suck the venom of asps; the viper’s leshon shall slay him.

¹⁷ He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of devash and khemah (butter, curds).

¹⁸ That which he labored for shall he give back, and shall not swallow it down; he shall not rejoice according to his chayil temurah (business profit).

¹⁹ Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the destitute; because he hath violently seized a bais which he built not;

²⁰ Surely he knew no quiet in his beten; he shall not save anything which he desired.

²¹ There shall none of his ochel be left; therefore his posterity will not endure.

²² In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in distress; kol yad of misery shall come upon him.

²³ When he is about to fill his beten, He shall cast the charon af (fury of His wrath) upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.

²⁴ He shall flee from the weapon of barzel (iron), and the keshet of bronze shall strike him through.

²⁵ It is drawn, and cometh out of their body; yea, the glittering point cometh out of his gall; emim (terrors [of death]) are upon them.

²⁶ Kol choshech is reserved for his treasures; an eish not fanned shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his ohel.

²⁷ Shomayim shall reveal his iniquity; and eretz shall rise up against him.

²⁸ The increase of his bais shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in [G-d’s] Yom Af.

²⁹ This is the chelek of an adam rasha from Elohim, and the nachalah decreed unto him by El (G-d).

21 But Iyov answered and said,

² Hear diligently my speech, and let this be your tanechumot (consolations).

³ Bear with me that I may speak; and achar (after) that I have spoken, mock on.

⁴ As for me, is my complaint to adam (mortals)? Or why should my ruach not become impatient?

⁵ Look at me, and be astonished, and lay your yad upon your peh (mouth).

⁶ Even when I remember I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my basar.

⁷ Madu’a (why) do the resha’im live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?

⁸ Their zera is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes.

⁹ Their batim (houses) are shalom from pachad; neither is the shevet Eloah upon them.

¹⁰ Their shor (bull) breeds, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and doth not miscarry her calf.

¹¹ They send forth their little ones like a tzon, and their yeladim jump about.

¹² They sing to the tambourine and kinnor, and rejoice at the sound of the flute.

¹³ They spend their yamim in tov, and in a moment go down to Sheol.

¹⁴ Therefore they say unto El, Depart from us; for we desire not the da’as of Thy ways.

¹⁵ What is Shaddai, that we should serve Him? And what profit should we have, if we importune Him?

¹⁶ Lo, their tov is not in their yad; the etzah (counsel, scheme) of the resha’im is far from me.

¹⁷ How oft is the ner (light) of the resha’im put out! And how oft cometh their destruction upon them and He distributeth pains in His anger.

¹⁸ They are as straw before the ruach, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away.

¹⁹ Eloah layeth up his iniquity for his banim; He payeth him back, and he shall know it.

²⁰ His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of Shaddai.

²¹ For what pleasure hath he in his bais after him, when the mispar (number) of his months is cut off?

²² Shall any teach El da’as, seeing He judgeth those that are on high?

²³ Zeh (this one) dieth in his full prosperity, being wholly at ease and secure.

²⁴ His troughs are full of cholov, and his atzmot are moistened with marrow.

²⁵ And another dieth in the marah (bitterness) of his nefesh, and never eateth with pleasure.

²⁶ They shall lie down alike in the aphar, and the worms shall cover them.

²⁷ Behold, I know your machshevot, and the stratagems which ye wrongfully imagine against me.

²⁸ For ye say, Where is the bais of the tyrant? And where are the ohel mishkenot of the resha’im?

²⁹ Have ye not asked them that travel the derech? And do ye not accept their testimony,

³⁰ That the rah is spared in the yom eid (day of calamity)? They shall be rescued in the yom avarot (day of wrath).

³¹ Who shall declare his derech to his face? And who shall repay him what he hath done?

³² Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the gadish (gravemound).

³³ The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and kol adam shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him.

³⁴ How then comfort ye me with hevel (empty nothings), seeing in your answers there is nothing left but falsehood?

22 Then Eliphaz of Teman answered and said,

² Can a gever be profitable unto El, as he that has seichel may be profitable unto himself?

³ Is it any pleasure to Shaddai, that thou art tzaddik? Or is it gain to Him, that thou makest thy ways blameless?

⁴ Is it for thy yireh [Elohim] that He reproves thee? Will He enter with thee into mishpat?

⁵ Is not thy rah great? And thine avonot infinite?

⁶ For thou hast exacted a pledge from thy brother for naught, and stripped the arummim (naked ones) of their clothing.

⁷ Thou hast not given mayim to the weary to drink, and thou hast withheld lechem from the hungry.

⁸ But as for the ish zeroa (mighty man), his is ha’aretz; and the honorable man dwelt therein.

⁹ Thou hast sent almanot away empty, and the arms of the yetomim have been broken.

¹⁰ Therefore pachim (snares) are around thee, and sudden pachad troubleth thee;

¹¹ Or choshech, that thou canst not see; and overflow of mayim cover thee.

¹² Is not Eloah in the height of Shomayim? And hinei the rosh kokhavim, how high they are!

¹³ And thou sayest, How doth El know? Can He judge through the thick cloud?

¹⁴ Thick clouds veil Him, that He seeth not; and He walketh in the vault of Shomayim.

¹⁵ Wilt thou note the orach olam which wicked men have trodden?

¹⁶ Who were cut down before their time, whose yesod was overflown with a flood;

¹⁷ Who said unto El, Depart from us; and what can Shaddai do to them?

¹⁸ Yet He filled their batim (houses) with tov; but the etza (counsel) of the resha’im is far from me.

¹⁹ The tzaddikim see it, and are glad, and the naki (innocent) laugh them to scorn.

²⁰ Verily our foe is destroyed, and the abundance of them the eish consumeth.

²¹ Acquaint now thyself with Him, and so hast thou shalom; thereby tovah shall come unto thee.

²² Receive, now, torah from His mouth, and lay up His words in thine lev.

²³ If thou return to Shaddai, thou shalt be restored; if thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy ohalim;

²⁴ Then shalt thou lay up gold as aphar, and that of Ophir as the tzur of the brooks.

²⁵ Yea, Shaddai shall be thy gold, and thy precious kesef.

²⁶ For then shalt thou have thy delight in Shaddai, and shalt lift up thy face unto Eloah.

²⁷ Thou shalt make thy prayer unto Him, and He shall hear thee, and thou shalt fulfill thy nederim.

²⁸ Thou shalt also decide a matter, and it shall be established unto thee, and the ohr shall shine upon thy ways.

²⁹ When they are cast down, thou shalt say, Arise, and He shall save the one with low eynayim (i.e., humility).

³⁰ He shall deliver even the guilty; and he is delivered by the bar (cleanness) of thine hands.

23 Then Iyov answered and said,

² Even hayom (today) is my complaint bitter; my stroke is heavier than my groaning.

³ Oh that I knew where I might find Him! That I might come even to His techunah (abode)!

⁴ I would order my mishpat (cause) before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments.

⁵ I would know the words which He would answer me, and have binah of what He would say unto me.

⁶ Will He contend against me with His great koach? No, but He would pay heed to me.

⁷ There the yashar might dispute with Him; so should I be delivered forever from my Shofet (Judge).

⁸ Hen (behold), I go forward, but He is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him;

⁹ On the left hand, where He doth work, but I cannot behold Him; He hideth himself yamin (on the right hand), that I cannot see Him;

¹⁰ But He knoweth the derech that I take; when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as zahav.

¹¹ My regel hath held to His steps, over His way have I been shomer, and not turned aside.

¹² Neither have I gone back from the mitzvah of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my appointed portion.

¹³ But He stands alone, and who can turn Him? And what His nefesh desireth, even that He doeth.

¹⁴ For He accomplisheth the thing that is appointed for me; and rabbot (many) such things are with Him.

¹⁵ Al-ken (therefore) am I troubled at His presence; when I consider, I am afraid of Him.

¹⁶ For El maketh my lev dejected, and Shaddai troubleth me,

¹⁷ Because I was not cut off from before the choshech, neither hath He hidden deep darkness from my face.

24 Why are times [for judgment] from Shaddai not kept, and why do those who have da’as of him not see his yamim [days [of assize])?

² Some move the boundary stones; they steal edar, and pasture them.

³ They drive away the chamor of the yetomim, they take the ox of the almanah for a pledge.

⁴ They thrust the needy out of the derech; the poor of the eretz needs hide themselves together.

⁵ Look, as wild donkeys in the midbar go they forth to their work; foraging for teref (nourishment); the wilderness yieldeth lechem for them and for their na’arim.

⁶ They reap every one his fodder in the sadeh, and they glean the kerem of the resha’im.

⁷ They spend the night arom (naked) without levush (clothing), they have no covering in the cold.

⁸ They are wet with the rain of the harim, and embrace the tzur for want of a shelter.

⁹ They pluck the yatom from the breast, and seize the oni for debt.

¹⁰ They cause him to go arom without levush, and they take away the omer (sheaf) from the hungry;

¹¹ Which crush olives within their walls, and tread their winepresses, yet suffer thirst.

¹² Men groan from out of the Ir, and the nefesh of the chalalim (wounded ones) crieth out, yet Eloah chargeth not tiflah (folly) to them.

¹³ They are of those that are moredei ohr (rebelling ones against the light); they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.

¹⁴ The rotzeach rising with the daylight killeth the oni and needy, and in the lailah is like a ganav.

¹⁵ The eye also of the no’ef is shomer, watching for the dusk’s twilight, saying, No eye shall see me, and puts something to hide his face.

¹⁶ In the choshech they dig through batim (houses); in the daytime they shut themselves in; they have no da’as of the ohr.

¹⁷ For the boker is to them even as the tzalmavet; they are friends with the terrors of tzalmavet.

¹⁸ Swiftly vanishing is he on the surface of the mayim; their chelek is cursed in ha’aretz; he turneth no more in the derech of the kramim (vineyards).

¹⁹ Drought and heat consume the snow waters; so doth Sheol those which have sinned.

²⁰ The rechem (womb) shall forget him; the worm shall feast on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken like an etz.

²¹ He plundereth the barren that beareth not; and doeth not good to the almanah.

²² He drags away also the mighty with his ko’ach; he riseth up, and no man is sure of life.

²³ Though it be given him to be in safety, and he be sustained, yet His eynayim are upon their ways.

²⁴ They are exalted me’at (for a little while), then they are no more and are withered and snatched away like all others, and cut off like the tops of the ears of grain.

²⁵ And if it be not so, who will charge me with lying, and make my milah (word) worth nothing? [T.N. Notice the question answered by Romans, Galatians, and Gn 15:6 as well as Chabakuk 2:4 is stated in Job 25:4 below; see Ephesians 2:8-9 and Ro 3:24,26, 28; 4:2; 5:1,9; Ga 2:16,17; 3:11, 24; 5:4; Ti 3:7; this the most important question raised in the Bible: it is for eternity]