Bible in 90 Days
22 Say not thou, I will pay back rah; but wait on Hashem, and He shall save thee.
23 Differing weights are a to’evah unto Hashem, and scales of mirmah (deceit) are not tov.
24 The steps of a gever are from Hashem; how can an adam then understand his own derech (way, life’s course)?
25 It is a mokesh adam to devote rashly as kodesh, and after nedarim (vows) to reconsider his consecration.
26 A melech chacham winnows out the resha’im and bringeth the ofan (threshing wheel) over them.
27 The neshamah of adam is the ner (light) of Hashem, searching all the innermost beten.
28 Chesed and emes guard the Melech, and his kisse is upheld by chesed.
29 The tiferet (glory) of bochurim is their ko’ach (strength), and the hadar (splendor) of zekenim is the silvery head.
30 Blows that wound cleanseth away rah; so do beatings the innermost beten.
21 The lev melech is in the yad Hashem, as the channels of mayim; He directeth it wherever He will.
2 Every derech ish is yashar (right) in his own eynayim, but Hashem weigheth the hearts.
3 To do tzedakah and mishpat is more acceptable to Hashem than zevach.
4 A high and haughty eye, and a proud lev—ner resha’im (the lamp of the wicked ones)—are chattat (sin).
5 The plans of the kharutz (diligent) lead surely to profit; but of every one that is hasty surely to machsor (poverty, want).
6 The getting of otzarot by a lashon sheker is hevel (vain, empty, meaningless) and fleeting for them that seek mavet.
7 The violence of the resha’im shall drag them away; because they refuse to do mishpat (justice).
8 The derech of the guilty ish is hafachpach (crooked, tortuous), but as for the pure, his conduct is yashar (right).
9 It is better to dwell in a corner of the gag (roof), than with a quarrelsome isha in a shared bais.
10 The nefesh of the rashah desireth rah; his re’a findeth no mercy in his eynayim.
11 When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise, and when insight is disclosed to the chacham, he receiveth da’as.
12 The tzaddik (righteous one) wisely considereth the bais of the rashah, and hurleth the resha’im to rah.
13 He who stoppeth his ozen at the cry of the dal (poor), he also shall cry out himself, but shall not be heard.
14 A mattan (gift) in secret pacifieth af (anger), and a shochad (bribe) in the kheyk (bosom, i.e., a concealed bribe) strong wrath.
15 It is simchah to the tzaddik to do mishpat, but terror for the po’alei aven (workers of iniquity).
16 The adam that wandereth astray from the derech haseichel (road of understanding) shall rest in the kahal of the refa’im (congregation of the dead).
17 The ohev simchah (lover of pleasure) shall be an ish machsor (man of poverty, want, shortage); he that loveth yayin and shemen shall not be rich.
18 The reshah shall be a kofer (ransom) for the tzaddik, and the boged (the unfaithful) for the yesharim.
19 It is better to dwell in eretz midbar, than with a quarrelsome and an angry isha.
20 There is otzar to be desired and shemen in the naveh (dwelling) of the chacham; but a kesil adam squanders it.
21 He that pursueth tzedakah and chesed findeth chayyim, tzedakah, and kavod.
22 A chacham scaleth the city of the gibborim (mighty ones), and casteth down the trusted stronghold thereof.
23 He who is shomer over his peh (mouth) and his lashon (tongue) is shomer over his nefesh from tzoros.
24 Proud and haughty scoffer is shmo, who acteth in superfluity of zadon (pride).
25 The ta’avah (desire, craving) of the atzel (sluggard, lazy one) killeth him, for his yadayim refuse to work.
26 He craveth greedily kol hayom, but the tzaddik giveth and spareth not.
27 The zevach of the resha’im is to’evah (detestable, abomination); how much more, when he bringeth it with zimmah (evil intent).
28 An ed kezavim (lying witness) shall perish, but the ish that heareth [emes] speaketh lanetzach (unto eternity).
29 An ish rasha defiantly hardeneth his face, but as for the yashar (upright) he maketh his derech (road) sure.
30 There is no chochmah nor tevunah (understanding) nor etzah against Hashem.
31 The sus is prepared against the yom milchamah, but teshuah (victory, deliverance) is from Hashem.
22 A shem tov is rather to be desired than osher rav, and chen (grace) rather than kesef and zahav.
2 The oisher (rich man) and the rahsh (pauper) have this in common: Hashem is the Oseh (Maker) of them all.
3 A prudent man foreseeth the ra’ah, and hideth himself, but the naïve trudge on, and are punished.
4 By anavah (humility) and the Yirat Hashem are osher, and kavod, and chayyim.
5 Thorns and pachim (snares) are in the derech of the crooked; he that is shomer over his nefesh shall be far from them.
6 Train up a na’ar in the derech (road) he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
7 The oisher ruleth over the rahshim (paupers), and the loveh (borrower, debtor) is eved (slave) to the ish malveh (lender).
8 He that soweth iniquity shall reap aven (iniquity), and the shevet (rod) of his wrath shall disappear.
9 He that hath a tov ayin (generous eye) shall have a bracha; for he giveth of his lechem to the dal (poor).
10 Cast out the scoffer, and contention shall leave; indeed, strife and kalon (shame) shall cease.
11 He that loveth tahor lev (a pure heart), for the chen (grace) on his sfatayim (lips) the Melech shall be his re’a (friend).
12 The eynayim of Hashem preserve da’as, and He overthroweth the devarim of the boged (unfaithful, treacherous, traitor).
13 The atzel (sluggard, lazy one) saith, There is an ari (lion) outside; I shall be murdered in the streets.
14 The peh (mouth) of zarot (strange women) is a deep pit; he that is under the wrath of Hashem shall fall therein.
15 Folly is bound in the lev na’ar, but the shevet musar (rod of correction) shall drive it far from him.
16 He that oppresseth the dal (poor) in order to increase, and he that giveth to the oisher, shall surely come to machsor (poverty, want).
17 Bow down thine ozen, and hear the devarim of chachamim, and apply thine lev (mind, heart) unto my da’as.
18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou be shomer over them within thee; they shall therewith abide ready upon thy sfatayim (lips).
19 That thy trust may be in Hashem, I have made thee know this yom, even thee!
20 Have not I written to thee shloshim (thirty sayings) in mo’etzot (counsels) and da’as,
21 That I might make thee know the certain truth of the words of emes; that thou mightest bring back words of emes to them that send thee?
22 Exploit not the dal (poor), because he is dal (poor); neither oppress the oni (afflicted) in the sha’ar,
23 For Hashem will plead their cause, and plunder the nefesh of those that plundered them.
24 Make no friendship with a ba’al af (angry man), and with an ish chemot (man of wrath) thou shalt not go,
25 Lest thou learn his orkhot (ways), and take a mokesh (snare) for thy nefesh.
26 Be not thou one of them that shake hands in a pledge, or of them that are collateral for masha’ot (debts, loans).
27 If thou hast nothing with which to pay, why should he take away thy mishkav (bed) from under thee?
28 Remove not the gevul olam (ancient landmark), which avoteicha have set.
29 Seest thou an ish mahir (diligent, one who excells) in his work? He shall stand before melachim; he shall not stand before obscure men.
23 When thou sittest to dine with a moshel (ruler), consider diligently what is before thee,
2 And put a sakin (knife) to thy throat, if thou be a ba’al nefesh (man given to gluttony).
3 Be not desirous of his delicacies, for they are lechem kezavim (deceitful food).
4 Overwork not to get rich; cease from thine own binah (understanding).
5 Wilt thou let thine eynayim fly after that which is not? For such [wealth] certainly sprouts kenafayim (wings); they fly away as a nesher (eagle) toward Shomayim.
6 Eat thou not the lechem of him that hath a rah ayin (evil eye, i.e., a miser), neither desire thou his delicacies;
7 For as he reckoneth in his nefesh, so is he. Eat and drink, saith he to thee, but his lev is not with thee.
8 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy pleasant devarim.
9 Speak not in the oznayim of a kesil (fool), for he will despise the seichel of thy words.
10 Remove not the gevul olam (ancient landmark); and enter not into the sadot of the yetomim (fatherless ones, orphans),
11 For their Go’el is chazak (strong); He shall plead their cause against thee.
12 Apply thine lev unto musar, and thine oznayim to the words of da’as.
13 Withhold not musar (correction) from the na’ar (child), for if thou spank him with the shevet, he shall not die.
14 Thou shalt spank him with the shevet, and shalt save his nefesh from Sheol.
15 Beni (my son), if thine lev be chacham, my own lev shall have simchah.
16 Indeed, my inmost being shall rejoice, when thy sfatayim (lips) speak meisharim (upright things).
17 Let not thine lev envy chatta’im, but be thou in the Yirat Hashem kol hayom.
18 For surely there is an acharit (latter end, future), and thine tikvah shall not be cut off.
19 Hear thou, beni (my son), and be chacham, and guide thine lev straight on the derech.
20 Be not among yayin gluttons; among gluttonous eaters of basar,
21 For the drunkard and the zolel (glutton) shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe with rags.
22 Pay heed unto avicha that fathered thee, and despise not immecha when she is old.
23 Buy emes, and sell it not; also chochmah, and musar, and binah (understanding).
24 Avi tzaddik (the father of a righteous one) shall greatly rejoice, and he that fathereth a chacham shall have simchah in him.
25 Avicha and immecha shall be glad, and she that bore thee shall rejoice.
26 Beni (my son), give me thine lev, and let thine eynayim delight in my drakhim.
27 For a zonah is a deep pit, and a nokhriyah (strange woman, foreign woman, seductress, unfaithful wife) is a narrow well.
28 She also lieth in wait like a road bandit, and increaseth the bogedim (unfaithful) among adam (mankind).
29 Who hath oy (woe)? Who hath sorrow? Who hath strifes? Who hath complaint? Who hath needless wounds? Who hath bloodshot eynayim?
30 They that tarry long at the yayin, they that turn in to sample mixed wine.
31 Stare not thou into the yayin when it is red, when it sparkles in the kos (cup), when it goeth down smoothly.
32 At the acharit (latter end, future) it biteth like a nachash, and stingeth with venomous poisons like a viper.
33 Thine eynayim shall behold zarot (strange women), and thine lev shall utter perverse things.
34 Indeed, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the lev yam (heart of the sea), or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not hurt; they have beaten me, and I felt it not. Mosai (when) shall I awake? I will seek yet another drink.
24 Be not thou envious of anshei ra’ah, neither desire to be with them.
2 For their lev plotteth violence, and their sfatayim (lips) talk of amal (trouble).
3 Through chochmah is a bais built, and by tevunah (understanding) it is established.
4 And by da’as shall the chadarim (chambers, rooms) be filled with all precious and pleasant hon (riches, wealth).
5 A gever chacham is strong; indeed, an ish da’as (man of knowledge) increaseth ko’ach.
6 For by tachbulot (guidance) thou shalt wage thy milchamah (war), and in a multitude of yo’etz (counselors) there is teshu’ah (victory, safety).
7 Chochmah is too lofty for a fool; he openeth not his peh (mouth) at the sha’ar.
8 He that plotteth to do evil shall be called a ba’al mezimmot (master of schemes).
9 The scheme of folly is chattat (sin), and the scoffer is a to’evah to adam (man).
10 If thou faint in the yom tzarah, thy strength is small.
11 Save those who are drawn away toward mavet, and hold back those stumbling toward slaughter.
12 If thou sayest, See, we knew it not, doth not He that weigheth the levavot consider it? And He that is guard over thy nefesh, doth not He know it? And shall not He render to every adam according to his works?
13 Beni (my son), eat thou devash, because it is tov; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste;
14 So shall the knowledge of chochmah be unto thy nefesh; when thou hast found it, then there shall be an acharit (latter end, future), and thy tikvah (hope) shall not be cut off.
15 Lay not in wait, O rasha, against the naveh (dwelling) of the tzaddik; assault not his resting place;
16 For a tzaddik falleth sheva (seven times), and riseth up again, but the resha’im are overthrown in ra’ah.
17 Gloat not when thine oyev falleth, and let not thine lev rejoice when he stumbleth,
18 Lest Hashem see it, and it is rah in His eyes, and He turn away His wrath from him.
19 Fret not thyself because of ra’im, neither be thou envious of the resha’im,
20 For there shall be no acharit (latter end, future) to the rah; the ner (light) of the resha’im shall be put out.
21 Beni (my son), fear thou Hashem and the Melech, and do not associate with them that are otherwise disposed.
22 For their calamity shall arise suddenly; and who hath da’as of ruin those two [i.e., Hashem and the Melech] can bring?
23 These things also belong to chachamim: it is not tov to show partiality in mishpat.
24 He that saith unto the rashah, Thou are tzaddik, him shall the people curse, nations shall detest him;
25 But to them that rebuke the wicked, it is well, and birkat tov shall come upon them.
26 He that giveth an answer that is nakhon (right, correct), giveth a kiss on the sfatayim.
27 Set in order thy outside work, and make ready for thyself in the sadeh; then afterwards build thine bais.
28 Be not an ed (witness) against thy re’a without cause, and deceive not with thy sfatayim (lips).
29 Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me, I will render to the ish according to his work.
30 I went by the sadeh of the ish atzel (sluggard, lazy one), and went past the kerem (vineyard) of the adam chasar lev (the man void of lev [of understanding]),
31 And, hinei, it was all grown over with thorns, and charullim (nettles) had covered the surface thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
32 Then I saw, and considered it well in my lev; I looked upon it, and received musar.
33 Yet a little shenot (slumber), a little sleep, a little folding of the yadayim to rest;
34 So shall thy poverty come like a prowler; and thy want like an ish mogen (armed warrior).
25 These are also mishlei Sh’lomo, which the anashim of Chizkiyah Melech Yehudah copied out:
2 It is the Kavod Elohim to conceal a thing, but the kavod melachim is to search out a matter.
3 The Shomayim for height, and Eretz for depth, so the lev melachim is unsearchable.
4 Take away the dross from the kesef, and there shall come forth a vessel for the tzoref (silversmith);
5 Take away the rasha from before Melech, and his kisse shall be established in tzedek.
6 Do not exalt thyself in the presence of Melech, and stand not in the makom (place) of gedolim;
7 For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up here, than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the noble whom thine eynayim have seen.
8 Go not forth hastily to bring a lawsuit, lest thou know not what to do in the acharit thereof, when thy re’a hath put thee to shame.
9 Plead thy cause with thy re’a himself; and betray not a sod (confidence) to another,
10 Lest he that heareth it put thee to shame, and the evil report of thee never depart.
11 A word aptly spoken is like tapukhim (apples) of zahav in settings of kesef.
12 As a nezem (earring) of zahav, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a mochi’ach chacham (a wise reprover) upon an obedient ozen.
13 As the cold of sheleg (snow) in the yom katzir (day of harvest), so is a tzir ne’eman (faithful envoy) to them that send him; for he refresheth the nefesh of his adonim.
14 He who boasteth falsely of giving is like clouds and ruach (wind) without geshem (rain).
15 By forbearance is a katzin (ruler) persuaded, and a gentle lashon breaketh the bone.
16 Hast thou found devash? Eat only as much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it out.
17 Let thy regel (foot) seldom be in thy neighbor’s bais; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.
18 An ish that beareth ed sheker (false witness) against his re’a is a club, and a cherev, and a sharp khetz (arrow).
19 Confidence in a boged in the yom tzarah is like a shen ra’ah (bad tooth), and a regel out of joint.
20 As he that taketh away a beged (garment) on a cold day, and as chometz (vinegar) upon lye, so is he that singeth shirim (songs) to a lev rah (heavy heart, i.e., depressed person).
21 If thine enemy be hungry, give him lechem to eat, and if he be thirsty, give him mayim to drink;
22 For so shalt thou heap hot coals upon his rosh, and Hashem shall reward thee.
23 The ruach tzafon (north wind) brings forth geshem; so doth a lashon seter (backbiting tongue) bring an angry countenance.
24 It is better to dwell in the corner of the gag (roof), than in a bais shared with a quarrelsome isha.
25 As cold mayim to a weary nefesh, so is good news from a far country.
26 A tzaddik who falters before the rasha is like a muddy spring, and a polluted makor (fountain).
27 It is not tov to eat much devash; so for men to seek their own kavod is not glory.
28 He that hath no rule over his own ruach is like an ir that is broken down, and without a chomah (wall).
26 As sheleg (snow) in kayitz (summer), and as matar (rain) at katzir (harvest), so kavod is not fitting for a kesil (fool).
2 As the tzippor in its fluttering, as the swallow in its flying, so the kelelah (curse) without cause shall not alight.
3 A shot (whip) for the sus, a bridle for the chamor, and a shevet for the back of kesilim.
4 Answer not a kesil (fool) according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.
5 Answer a kesil (fool) according to his folly, lest he be chacham in his own eyes.
6 He that sendeth a message by the yad of a kesil (fool) cutteth off the raglayim, and drinketh chamas.
7 The legs of the pisei’ach (lame man) hang limp; so is a mashal in the peh (mouth) of kesilim.
8 As he that bindeth an even (stone) in a sling, so is he that giveth kavod to a kesil (fool).
9 As a thornbush goeth up into the yad of a shikkor, so is a mashal in the peh (mouth) of kesilim.
10 Like an archer wounding all, so is he that hireth the kesil (fool), or hireth the passerby.
11 As a kelev returneth to his vomit, so a kesil (fool) returneth to his folly.
12 Seest thou an ish chacham in his own eyes? There is more tikvah (hope) for a kesil (fool) than for him.
13 The atzel (sluggard, lazy one) saith, There is a lion in the derech; an ari is in the rechovot.
14 As the delet (door) turneth upon its hinges, so doth the atzel (sluggard, lazy one) upon his mittah (bed).
15 The atzel (sluggard, lazy one) hideth his yad in his dish; it’s too tiring to bring it back to his peh (mouth) again.
16 The atzel (sluggard, lazy one) is chacham in his own eyes, more than seven that give an excellent answer.
17 He that passeth by, and meddleth in a quarrel that doth not belong to him, is like one that taketh a kelev by the oznayim.
18 As a mad man who shooteth firebrands, khitzim (arrows), and mavet,
19 So is the ish that deceiveth his re’a, and saith, Am I not just having a laugh?
20 Where no wood is, there the eish goeth out; so where there is no nirgan (gossip, slanderer, talebearer), the strife dieth down.
21 As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to eish; so is a contentious ish to kindle strife.
22 The devarim of a nirgan (gossip, slanderer, talebearer) are like tasty morsels, and they go down into the innermost chambers of the beten.
23 Fervent sfatayim (lips) and a lev rah are like earthenware covered with silver dross.
24 He that hateth disguises it with his sfatayim (lips), and within harboreth mirmah (deceit);
25 When he speaketh fair, believe him not; for there are sheva to’avot in his lev.
26 Whose hatred is covered by guile, yet his wickedness shall be exposed before the whole kahal.
27 He who diggeth a shachat (pit) shall fall therein, and he that rolleth an even (stone), it will roll back upon him.
28 A lashon sheker hateth those that are crushed by it; and a flattering peh (mouth) worketh ruin.
27 Boast not thyself of yom makhar (tomorrow), for thou hast no da’as of what a yom may bring forth.
2 Let another praise thee, and not thine own peh (mouth); a nokhri (stranger), and not thine own sfatayim (lips).
3 An even (stone) is heavy, and the chol (sand) weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.
4 Chemah (anger) is cruel, and fury is a torrent, but who is able to stand before kinah (jealousy, envy)?
5 Open tovah tokhakhat (good, constructive reproof) is better than secret ahavah.
6 Ne’emanim (faithful) are the wounds of an ohev (friend); but deceitful the neshikot (kisses) of an enemy.
7 The full nefesh trampleth a honeycomb, but to the hungry nefesh every mar (bitter thing) is sweet.
8 As a tzippor that wandereth from her ken (nest), so is an ish that wandereth from his makom (place, home).
9 Shemen and ketoret rejoice the lev; so doth the sweet discourse of a re’a (friend) from an atzat nefesh (a counselling of the soul).
10 Thine own re’a (friend), and the re’a avicha, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s bais in the yom of thy calamity; for better is a shakhen (neighbor) that is near than a brother far off.
11 Beni (my son), be chacham, and make my lev glad, that I may answer my accusers.
12 A prudent man foreseeth ra’ah, and hideth himself; but the naïve ones trudge on, and are punished.
13 Take his beged (garment) that is collateral for a zar; seize the pledge given for surety for a nokhriyah (strange woman, foreign woman, seductress).
14 He that maketh a bracha on his re’a (friend) with a kol gadol (loud voice), rising early in the boker, it shall be counted a kelalah to him.
15 A continual dripping in a very rainy day and a quarrelsome isha are alike;
16 To restrain her is like restraining the ruach (wind), and like grasping shemen in the right hand.
17 Barzel (iron) sharpeneth barzel (iron); so one ish sharpeneth another.
18 He who is guard over the te’enah (fig tree) shall eat the p’ri (fruit) thereof, so he that is shomer over his adon shall be honored.
19 As mayim reflecteth the face, so one lev ha’adam reflects another.
20 Sheol and Avaddon are never full; so the eynayim of adam are never satisfied.
21 As the crucible is for kesef, and the furnace for zahav; so is an ish tested by the praise he receives.
22 Though thou shouldest grind a fool in the makhtesh (mortar) among grain with the pestle, yet will not his folly be removed from him.
23 Be thou diligent to know the condition of thy tzon, and look well to thy adarim (flocks).
24 For riches are not l’olam (forever); and doth the nezer (crown) endure dor vador?
25 The hay is removed, and the deshe (tender grass) showeth itself, and herbs of the harim are gathered,
26 The kevasim (lambs) are for thy clothing, and the goats are the purchase price of the sadeh.
27 And thou shalt have cholov of izzim (goats) enough for thy lechem, for the lechem of thy bais, and for the nourishment of thy na’arot (servant girls).
28 The rasha flee when none pursueth; but the tzaddikim are bold as a lion.
2 For the peysha eretz (land in rebellion) many are the sarim (rulers) thereof, but by an adam meiven yodei’a (a man of wisdom and knowledge) shall be lasting order.
3 A gever rahsh (poor man) that oppresseth the dalim (poor ones) is like a sweeping matar (rain) which leaveth no lechem (food, crop).
4 They that forsake the torah praise the rasha, but such as be shomer over the torah contend against them.
5 Anshei rah understand not mishpat, but they that seek Hashem understand all things.
6 Better is the rahsh (poor) that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his drakhim (ways), though he be rich.
7 He who keepeth torah is a ben meiven, but he that is a companion of zolelim (gluttons) shameth aviv.
8 He that by neshekh (interest) and increase increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the dalim (poor ones).
9 He that turneth away his ozen from mishmo’a torah (heeding torah), even his tefillah (prayer) shall be to’evah (abomination).
10 He who causeth the yesharim (upright ones) to go astray in a derech rah, he shall fall himself into his own trap, but the blameless ones shall inherit tov.
11 The ish oisher is chacham in his own eyes, but the dal meiven (poor man with understanding) searcheth him out.
12 When tzaddikim do triumph, there is rabbah tiferet (great glory), but when the resha’im rise, the people go into hiding.
13 He that covereth his peysha’im (sins) shall not prosper, but he who confesseth and forsaketh them shall find mercy.
14 Ashrei adam that is reverent always, but he that hardeneth his lev shall fall into ra’ah.
15 As a roaring ari, and a charging dov (bear), so is a wicked moshel (ruler) over the am dal (poor people).
16 The nagid (ruler) lacking tevunot (understanding) is also a great oppressor, but he that hateth betza (ill-gotten gain) shall prolong his yamim (days).
17 If an adam is burdened with dahm (blood, murder) of any nefesh, let him be a fugitive ad bor (till the pit, death); let no ish help him.
18 He who walketh tamim (blamelessly) shall be saved, but he that is perverse in his drakhim shall fall suddenly.
19 He that tilleth his adamah shall have plenty of lechem, but he that chaseth after empty things shall have poverty enough.
20 An ish emunot (faithful man, loyal man) shall abound with birkhot, but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not go unpunished.
21 To show partiality is not tov; for a piece of lechem that gever will transgress.
22 He that hasteth to be rich hath a rah ayin, and considereth not that want shall come upon him.
23 He that rebuketh an adam afterwards shall find more chen (favor) than he that flattereth with the lashon.
24 He who robbeth aviv or immo, and saith, It is no peysha (transgression), the same is the chaver (fellow, companion) of an ish mashchit (man of destruction).
25 The covetous stirreth up strife, but he that putteth his trust in Hashem shall be prospered.
26 He that trusteth in his own lev is a kesil (fool), but he who walketh in chochmah, he shall be delivered.
27 He that giveth unto the rahsh (poor) shall not lack, but he that hideth his eynayim meeteth many curses.
28 When the resha’im rise, adam hide themselves, but when they perish, the tzaddikim increase.
29 He, that being often reproved, stiffeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without marpeh (remedy).
2 When the tzaddikim are increased, the people rejoice, but when the rasha beareth rule, the people groan.
3 He who loveth chochmah rejoiceth aviv, but he that keepeth company with zonot squanders his hon (substance, wealth).
4 Melech by mishpat establisheth eretz, but an ish terumot (a man of bribes) bringeth it down.
5 A gever that flattereth his neighbor spreadeth a reshet (net) for his feet.
6 By peysha (transgression) an ish rah is snared, but the tzaddik doth sing and have simchah.
7 The tzaddik considereth the cause of the dalim, but the rasha (wicked) doeth not understand such da’as (knowledge).
8 Scornful men enflame a city, but chachamim turn away af (wrath).
9 If an ish chacham has to contend with a fool, he [the fool] rageth or laugheth, and hath no rest.
10 The anshei damim hate integrity, but the yesharim seek his nefesh (soul, i.e., his soul’s well-being).
11 A kesil (fool) uttereth all his wrath, but a chacham keepeth it back quietly.
12 If a moshel pays heed to davar sheker, all his mesharetim (officials, ministers) are resha’im.
13 The rahsh (pauper) and the oppressor have this in common: Hashem enlighteneth both their eynayim.
14 If Melech shofet be’emes (judges in truth) the dalim, his kisse shall be established forever.
15 The shevet (rod) and tokhakhat (reproof) give chochmah, but a na’ar (child) left to himself bringeth immo to shame.
16 When the resha’im are multiplied, peysha (transgression) increaseth, but the tzaddikim shall see their downfall.
17 Correct binecha, and he shall give thee rest; indeed, he shall give delight unto thy nefesh.
18 Where there is no chazon (prophetic vision), the people cast off restaint [i.e., perish ungovernable], but he that is shomer over the torah, happy is he.
19 An eved will not be corrected by devarim, for though he understand he will not answer.
20 Seest thou an ish that is hasty in his devarim? There is more tikvah for a kesil (fool) than for him.
21 He that pampers his eved from youth up shall have him as his ben at the acharit (end).
22 An ish af (angry man) stirreth up strife, and a ba’al chemah (ill-tempered man) aboundeth in peysha (transgression).
23 Ga’avat adam (pride of man) shall bring him low, but the humble in ruach shall attain kavod.
24 He who is partner with a ganav hateth his own nefesh; he heareth the curse of the victim but discloses nothing.
25 The fear of adam bringeth a mokesh (snare), but he who putteth his trust in Hashem shall be secure.
26 Many seek the moshel’s favor, but mishpat ish cometh from Hashem.
27 An unjust man is a to’evah to the tzaddikim, and he that is yeshar derech (upright in the way) is to’evah to the rasha.
30 The devarim of Agur Ben Yakeh, even the massa; the gever (man) spoke unto Itiel, even unto Itiel and Uchal:
2 Surely I am more stupid than any ish, and have not the binat adam.
3 I neither learned chochmah, nor have the da’as of the kadoshim.
4 Who hath ascended into Shomayim, or descended? Who hath gathered ruach in the hollows of His hands? Who hath bound the mayim in a cloak? Who hath established all the afsei aretz (ends of the earth)? What is Shmo (His Name), and what is Shem Bno (the Name of His Son [See Memra, creative Word of G-d in Targumim]), if thou canst tell?
5 Every word of G-d is flawless; He is a mogen unto them that take refuge in Him.
6 Add thou not unto His devarim, lest He rebuke thee, and thou be found a kazav (liar).
7 Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before my mot;
8 Remove far from me shav (vanity, falsehood) and davar kazav (word of a liar); give me neither poverty nor osher; feed me lechem chukki (my daily bread);
9 Lest I be full, and deny Thee, and say, Who is Hashem? Or lest I be poor, and become a ganav, and profane the Shem of Elohai.
10 Do not slander an eved unto his adon, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.
11 There is a dor (generation) that curseth its av, and doth not make a bracha on its em.
12 There is a dor (generation) that is tahor (pure) in its own eynayim, and yet is not washed from its filthiness.
13 There is a dor (generation), O how haughty in loftiness are their eynayim! And their eyelids are proudly lifted up.
14 There is a dor (generation), whose teeth are as charavot (swords), and their jaw teeth are as knives, to devour the aniyim (oppressed poor ones) from off ha’aretz, and the evyonim (needy ones) from among adam.
15 The leech hath two banot: Give! Give! There are shalosh (three) that are never satisfied, indeed, four things never say, Enough!
16 Sheol, and the barren womb; eretz that is never satisfied with mayim; and eish that saith not, Enough!
17 The ayin (eye) that mocketh at av, and scorneth to obey em, the ravens of the valley shall peck it out, and the bnei nesher shall eat it.
18 There are shalosh which are too wonderful for me, indeed, four which I understand not;
19 The derech hanesher (way of the eagle) in the sky; the derech nachash upon a tzur (rock); the derech oniyah (way of a sailing vessel) in the midst of the yam (sea); and the derech gever (way of a man) with an almah (unmarried young virgin; see Gn 24:43,16,63-65.
20 Such is the derech isha mena’efet (way of an adulterous woman): she eateth, and wipeth her peh (mouth), and saith, I have done no wrong.
21 For shalosh the eretz is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:
22 For an eved (slave) when he reigneth; and a naval (fool) when he is full with lechem;
23 For an unloved woman when she is married; and a shifchah that displaces her gevirah (lady, mistress).
24 There are four things which are little upon eretz, but they are exceeding chachamim:
25 The nemalim (ants) are an am (people) not strong, yet they store up their lechem in the kayitz (summer);
26 The badgers are but a feeble folk, yet they make their bais in the rocks;
27 The arbeh (locusts) have no melech, yet they go forth all of them in ranks;
28 The lizard can be held in the hands, yet is in heikhelot (palaces) of a melech.
29 There are shloshah which are majestic in stride, indeed, four are stately in walk:
30 A lion which is gibbor among behemah (beasts), and retreateth not from any;
31 The strutting rooster; the he-goat also; and a melech, when his army is with him.
32 If thou hast done foolishly in exalting thyself, or if thou hast devised rah, lay thine yad upon thy peh.
33 Surely the churning of cholov (milk) bringeth forth khemah (butter), and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth dahm; so the stirring up of anger bringeth forth strife.
31 The devarim of Lemuel Melech, the massa (burden, oracle) that immo taught him.
2 What, my bar (son, see Ps 2:12)? And what, the bar of my womb? And what, the bar of my nedarim (vows)?
3 Give not thy strength unto nashim, nor thy drakhim to that which destroyeth melachim.
4 It is not for melachim, O Lemuel, it is not for melachim to drink yayin; nor for rulers to crave strong drink;
5 Lest they drink, and forget the decree, and pervert the justice of the bnei oni (all the oppressed afflicted people).
6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and yayin unto those that be of bitter nefesh.
7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his amal (misery) no more.
8 Open thy peh (mouth) for the illem (mute) in the cause of all such as are bnei chalof (sons of destitution).
9 Open thy peh (mouth), judge tzedek, and plead the cause of the oni and the evyon.
10 Who can find an aishes chayil (a woman of valor, an excellent wife Prov 12:4)? For her worth is far above rubies.
11 The lev of her ba’al (husband) doth securely trust in her, so that he shall have no lack of gain.
12 She will do him tov and not rah all the days of her life.
13 She seeketh tzemer (wool), and flax, and worketh willingly with her palms.
14 She is like the oniyyot socher (ship merchant); she bringeth her lechem from afar.
15 She riseth also while it is yet lailah, and provideth food to her bais, and a chok (portion) to her na’arot (servant girls).
16 She considereth a sadeh, and buyeth it; with the fruit of her palms she planteth a kerem (vineyard).
17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her zero’ot (arms).
18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is tov; her ner (light) goeth not out balailah.
19 She layeth her yadayim to the distaff, and her fingers lay hold of the spindle.
20 She extends her palms to the oni; indeed, she reacheth forth her yadayim to the evyon (needy).
21 She is not afraid of the sheleg (snow) for her bais; for all her bais are clothed with scarlet.
22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her levush (clothing) is fine linen and purple.
23 Her ba’al (husband) is known in the she’arim, when he sitteth among the ziknei eretz.
24 She maketh fine garments, and selleth them; and delivereth sashes unto the kena’ani (merchant).
25 Oz (strength) and hadar (dignity) are her clothing; and her smile is toward the yom acharon (coming day, future).
26 She openeth her peh (mouth) with chochmah; and on her lashon is the torat chesed (teaching of kindness).
27 She watcheth well over the halichot (goings, ways) of her bais (household), and eateth not the lechem atzlut (bread of idleness).
28 Her banim rise up, and call her blessed; her ba’al (husband) also, and he praiseth her.
29 Rabbot banot have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
30 Chen (charm) is sheker (deceitful), and yofi (beauty) is fleeting; but an isha Yirat Hashem (a G-d fearing wife), she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the p’ri (fruit) of her yadayim; and let her own ma’asim praise her in the she’arim.
1 There was an ish in Eretz Uz, shmo Iyov; and that ish was blameless and yashar, and yire Elohim, and shunned evil.
2 And there were born unto him seven banim and shalosh banot.
3 His possessions also were seven thousand tzon and three thousand gemalim, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-donkeys, and very many avadim; so that this ish was the greatest of kol bnei kedem.
4 And his banim went and held a mishteh in their bais, every one in his turn in his bais; and sent and called for their three achayot to eat and to drink with them.
5 And it was so, when the yamim of their mishteh were gone, that Iyov sent and set them apart as kodesh, and rose up early in the boker, and offered olot (burnt offerings) according to the mispar (number) of them all: for Iyov said, It may be that my banim have sinned, and cursed Elohim in their hearts. Thus did Iyov kol hayamim.
6 Now there was a yom when the Bnei HaElohim came to present themselves before Hashem, and Hasatan came also among them.
7 And Hashem said unto Hasatan, From where comest thou? Then Hasatan answered Hashem, and said, From roaming to and fro in ha’aretz, and from walking up and down in it.
8 And Hashem said unto Hasatan, Hast thou considered in thy heart avdi Iyov, that there is none like him in ha’aretz, a perfect and a yashar ish, yire Elohim, and shunneth evil?
9 Then Hasatan answered Hashem, and said, Is Iyov a yire Elohim (G-d fearer) for nothing?
10 Hast not Thou made a hedge [of protection] about him, and about his bais, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the ma’aseh (work) of his hands, and his possessions are increased in ha’aretz.
11 But put forth Thine yad now, and strike all that he hath, and he will curse Thee to Thy face.
12 And Hashem said unto Hasatan, Hinei, all that he hath is in thy yad; only upon himself put not forth thine yad. So Hasatan went out from the presence of Hashem.
13 And there was a yom when his banim and his banot were eating and drinking yayin in the bais achihem habechor (the house of their firstborn brother):
14 And there came a malach (messenger) unto Iyov, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the donkeys feeding beside them:
15 And the Sabeans attacked, and took them away; yea, they have slain the na’arim with the edge of the cherev; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The eish Elohim is fallen from Shomayim, and hath burned up the tzon, and the na’arim, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
17 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Kasdim (Chaldeans) formed shloshah rashim, and fell upon the gemalim and have carried them away, yea and slain the na’arim with the edge of the cherev; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
18 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy banim and thy banot were eating and drinking yayin in the bais achihem habechor;
19 And, hinei, there came a ruach gedolah from the midbar, and struck the arbah pinot (four corners) of the bais, and it fell upon the na’arim, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
20 Then Iyov arose, and made the keri’ah on his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshiped,
21 And said, Arom came I out of beten immi, and arom shall I return there; Hashem gave, and Hashem hath taken away; yehi Shem Hashem mevorach.
22 In all this Iyov sinned not, nor natan tiflah leElohim (charged G-d with folly).
2 Again there was a day when the Bnei HaElohim came to present themselves before Hashem, and Hasatan came also among them to present himself before Hashem.
2 And Hashem said unto Hasatan, From where comest thou? And Hasatan answered Hashem, and said, From going to and fro through ha’aretz, and from walking up and down in it.
3 And Hashem said unto Hasatan, Hast thou considered in your meditation Avdi (My Servant) Iyov, that there is none like him in ha’aretz, ish tam and yashar, yire Elohim, and shunning rah? And still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou inciteth Me against him, to ruin him for no reason.
4 And Hasatan answered Hashem, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that an ish hath will he give for his nefesh.
5 But stretch forth Thine yad now, and touch his etzem and his basar, and he will curse Thee to Thy face.
6 And Hashem said unto Hasatan, Hinei, he is in thine yad; but spare his nefesh.
7 So went Hasatan out from the presence of Hashem, and afflicted Iyov with shekhin rah (foul boils) from the sole of his regel unto the top of his head.
8 And he took him a cheres (potsherd, piece of broken pottery) to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.
9 Then said his isha unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse Elohim, and die.
10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the nevalot (foolish women) speaketh. What? Shall we receive hatov from Elohim, and shall we not accept harah? In all this did not Iyov sin in what he said.
11 Now when the three friends of Iyov heard of all this ra’ah that had come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temani, and Bildad the Shuchi, and Tzophar the Na’amati; for they had made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and to comfort him.
12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and recognized him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they made the keri’ah every one on his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward Shomayim.
13 So they sat [shiva] with him upon the ground shivat yamim and shivat lailah, and none spoke a word unto him; for they saw that his suffering was very great.
3 After this opened Iyov his mouth, and cursed his yom.
2 And Iyov spoke, and said,
3 Let the yom perish wherein I was born, and halailah in which it was said, There is a gever born.
4 Let that yom be choshech; let not Elohim regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.
5 Let choshech and the tzalmavet (shadow of death) claim it; let an anan dwell upon it; let the blackness of the yom terrify it.
6 As for that lailah, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the yamim of the shanah, let it not come into the number of the months.
7 Hinei, let that lailah be barren; let no joyful shout come therein.
8 Let them curse it that curse the yam, who are ready to rouse Leviathan.
9 Let the kokhavim of the dawn thereof be dark; let it look for ohr, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the shachar,
10 Because it shut not up the dalatot of my mother’s womb, nor hid amal (tzoros) from mine eyes.
11 Why did I not come to mot at birth? Why did I not perish when I came out of the beten (belly, womb)?
12 Madua (why) were there birkayim to receive me? Or why the shadayim that from them I should nurse?
13 For atah (now) I would be lying still and quiet, have slept and been at rest,
14 With melachim and yo’atzim of ha’aretz, which build ruins for themselves;
15 Or with sarim (princes) that had zahav, who filled their batim (houses) with kesef;
16 Or as a hidden stillborn—I had not been!—as olelim which never saw ohr.
17 There the resha’im cease from troubling; and there the weary are at rest.
18 There the asirim (prisoners, captives) rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor.
19 The katon and gadol are there; and the eved is free from his adon.
20 Why is ohr given to him that is in misery, and chayyim unto the bitter in nefesh;
21 Which long for mavet, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hidden treasures;
22 Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the kever?
23 Why is ohr given to a gever whose derech is hidden, and whom Elohim hath hedged in?
24 For my sighing cometh instead of lechem, and my groanings are poured out like the mayim.
25 For the pachad (terror) which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I dreaded is come unto me.
26 I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; and rogez (tzoros, turmoil) came.
4 Then Eliphaz the Temani answered and said,
2 If we attempt a davar with thee, wilt thou be offended? But who can withhold himself from speaking?
3 Hinei, thou hast instructed rabbim (many), and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.
4 Thy words have upheld him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble birkayim (knees).
5 But atah (now) it is come upon thee, and thou art impatient; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.
6 Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy tikveh, and the blamelessness of thy ways?
7 Consider now, who ever perished, being naki (innocent)? Or where were the yesharim (upright ones) cut off?
8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow amal (trouble), reap the same.
9 By the neshamah (breath) of Eloah they perish, and by the ruach of His nostrils are they consumed.
10 The roaring of the aryeh, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
11 The old lion perisheth for lack of teref (prey), and the stout lion’s cubs are scattered.
12 Now a davar was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a whisper thereof.
13 In thoughts from the chezyonot lailah, when tardemah (deep sleep) falleth on anashim,
14 Pachad came upon me, and trembling, which made all my atzmot to shake.
15 Then a ruach passed before my face; the hair of my basar stood up;
16 It stood still, but I could not discern the appearance thereof; a temunah (form) was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,
17 Shall enosh (mortal man) be more righteous than Eloah? Shall a man be more tahor than his Maker?
18 Behold, He puts no trust in His avadim, and His malachim (angels) He charged with toholah (error).
19 How much more them that dwell in batim (houses) of clay, whose yesod (foundation, origin) is in the dust, which are crushed like the moth?
20 They are destroyed from boker to erev; they perish forever without any regarding it.
21 Is not the cord of their tent which is in them pulled up? They die, even without chochmah (wisdom).
5 Call now, if there be any that will answer thee, and to which of the kadoshim (holy ones) wilt thou turn?
2 For ka’as (anger) killeth the foolish man, and kinah (envy) slayeth the simple one.
3 I have seen the fool taking shoresh (root), but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
4 His banim are far from yesha (safety, salvation), and they are crushed in the sha’ar (gate, before the public), neither is there any to deliver them.
5 Whose katzir (harvest) the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even from among of the tzinnim (thorns), and the intriguer pants after their wealth.
6 Although affliction springeth not forth of the aphar (dust), neither doth amal (trouble, tzoros) sprout out of the adamah;
7 Yet adam is born unto amal (trouble, tzoros), even as sparks fly upward.
8 I would seek El (G-d), and before Elohim would I lay my cause;
9 Who doeth gedolot unsearchable, marvellous things without mispar;
10 Who giveth matar upon eretz, and sendeth mayim upon the fields;
11 To set up on high those that be the shefalim (the lowly ones); that those which mourn may be exalted to safety,
12 Thwarting the machshevot of the arumim (crafty ones), so that their hands cannot accomplish tushiyyah (success).
13 He taketh the chachamim in their own arum (craftiness), and the etzah of the wily is swiftly swept away.
14 They meet with choshech in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the lailah,
15 But He saveth the needy from the cherev of their mouth, and from the yad chazak.
16 So the poor hath tikveh, and olatah (perversity, wickedness) stoppeth her mouth.
17 Hinei, ashrei is the enosh whom Eloah correcteth; therefore despise not thou the musar (chastening) of Shaddai;
18 For He woundeth, and bindeth up; He injureth, and His yadayim (hands) heal.
19 He shall deliver thee in shesh tzoros; yea, in shivah there shall no rah touch thee.
20 In ra’av (famine) He shall redeem thee from mavet; and in milchamah from the power of the cherev.
21 Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the leshon, neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.
22 At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh; neither shalt thou be afraid of the chayyat ha’aretz.
23 For thou shalt be in league with the avanim of the sadeh, and the chayyat sadeh shall be hashelemah (at peace) with thee.
24 And thou shalt know that shalom shall be thy ohel; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and find nothing wanting.
25 Thou shalt know also that thy zera shall be rav, and thine offspring as the esev ha’aretz.
26 Thou shalt come to thy kever in a ripe age, like a shock of grain cometh in its season.
27 Hinei zot, this we have searched out, so it is; hear it, and apply thou it for thy good.
6 But Iyov answered and said,
2 Oh that my ka’as (vexation) were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the scales together!
3 For now it would be heavier than the chol of the seas; therefore my words are impetuous.
4 For the khitzim (arrows) of Shaddai are in me, the poison whereof drinketh my ruach; the terrors of Eloah do set themselves in array against me.
5 Doth the pereh (wild donkey) bray when he hath desheh? Or loweth the ox over his fodder?
6 Can that which is tasteless be eaten without melach? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
7 The things that my nefesh refused to touch are like my loathsome lechem.
8 Who will grant that I might have my she’elah (request); oh that Eloah would grant me my tikveh!
9 Even that it would please Eloah to crush me; that He would let loose His yad, and cut me off!
10 Then should I yet have nechamah (consolation); yea, I would exult in chilah (pain); let him not spare; for I have not concealed the imrei Kadosh (words of the Holy One).
11 What is my koach, that I should wait? And what is mine end, that I should make patient my nefesh?
12 Is my koach the koach of avanim? Or is my basar bronze?
13 Is it that my help is not within me? And is tushiyyah (success) driven from me?
14 To him that is afflicted, chesed should be shown from his friend; otherwise, he forsaketh the fear of Shaddai.
15 Achai (my brethren) have dealt deceitfully as a wadi, and as the torrents of wadis they vanish away;
16 Which are blackish muddy by reason of the kerakh (ice), and wherein the sheleg (snow) is melted.
17 What season they become warm, they vanish; when it is hot, they disappear from their makom.
18 The paths of their derech wind about; they go up to tohu [Gn 1:2], and perish.
19 The caravans of Tema looked for them; the halichot (traveling companies) of Sheva hoped for them.
20 They were disappointed because of their bitachon; they come there and are confounded.
21 For now ye are become such; ye see my chatat (casting down), and are afraid.
22 Did I say, Bring unto me? Or, Give a present for me of your ko’ach (power, wealth)?
23 Or, Deliver me from the yad tzar (hand of the enemy, oppressor)? Or, Redeem me with a ransom from the yad of the tyrants?
24 Teach me, and I will hold my tongue, and cause me to have binah wherein I have erred.
25 How forcible are the imrei yosher (words of rectitude)! But what doth your hokhiach (reproof) reprove?
26 Do ye think to reprove words? The words of one in despair, which are as ruach?
27 Yea, ye cast lots for the yatom, and over your friend ye barter.
28 Now therefore be pleased to look upon me; for it is evident unto you if in me there is kazav (falsity).
29 Turn, now, let there be no iniquity; yea, turn again; at issue is my tzedek (righteousness).
30 Is there iniquity on my leshon? Cannot my palate discern havvot (perverse things)?
7 Is there not a tzava (forced hard service in the army) to enosh (man) upon earth? Are not his days also like the yamim of a sachir (hired laborer)?
2 As an eved earnestly longeth for tzel (shade), and as a sachir waiteth for the wage of his work,
3 So am I made to possess months of shav (vanity, futility), and lailot amal (nights of weariness) are appointed to me.
4 When I lie down, I say, Mosai (how long) till I arise? But the erev drags on, and I am full of tossings to and fro unto dawn.
5 My basar is clothed with worm and clod of aphar; my ohr (skin) is broken, and become loathsome.
6 My yamim are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without tikveh.
7 O remember that my life is ruach (wind); mine eye shall no more see tov.
8 The ayin (eye) of him that hath seen me shall see me no longer; thine eyes are upon me, and I am no more.
9 Like the anan that fades and vanisheth away, so he that goeth down to Sheol shall come up no more.
10 He shall return no more to his bais, neither shall his makom know him any more.
11 Therefore I will not curb my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my ruach; I will complain in the mar (bitterness) of my nefesh.
12 Am I a yam, or a tannin (monster of the yam [sea]), that Thou settest a mishmar (guard watch) over me?
13 When I say, My bed shall give me nachamah (comfort), my couch shall ease my complaint,
14 Then Thou frightenest me with chalomot (dreams), and terrifiest me through chezyonot (visions),
15 So that my nefesh chooseth machanak (strangling) and mavet (death) rather than this skeleton.
16 I loathe it; I would not live l’olam, let me alone; for my yamim are hevel (vanity, meaningless).
17 What is enosh (man), that Thou shouldest make much of him? And that Thou shouldest set Thine lev upon him?
18 And that Thou shouldest visit him every boker, and try him every moment?
19 How long dost Thou not look away from me? Nor let me alone till I swallow down my rok (spittle)?
20 Chatati (I have sinned); what shall I do unto Thee, O Thou Notzer HaAdam (Observer of men)? Why hast Thou set me as a mifgah (mark, target, something to be hit) to Thee, so that I am a massa (burden) to Thee?
21 And why dost Thou not pardon my peysha (transgression), and take away my avon (iniquity)? For now shall I sleep in the aphar; and Thou shalt search for me, but I shall be no more.
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]
25 Then answered Bildad the Shuchi, and said,
2 Dominion and pachad are with Him, oseh shalom bimromav.
3 Is there any number of His armies? And upon whom doth not His ohr arise?
4 Mah yitzdak Enosh im El (how then can man be justified, set right, with G-d?) Or how can he be clean that is born of isha?
5 If even the yarei’ach shineth not, yea, the kokhavim are not pure in His sight,
6 How much less enosh, that is a maggot? And the ben adam, which is a tola’at (worm)?
26 But Iyov answered and said,
2 How hast thou helped him that is without ko’ach? How savest thou the zero’a that hath no oz (strength)?
3 How hast thou counseled him that hath no chochmah? And how hast thou plentifully declared the tushiyyah (efficient wisdom)?
4 To whom hast thou uttered words? And whose neshamah came from thee?
5 Dead things tremble from under the mayim, and the inhabitants thereof.
6 Sheol is naked before Him, and Avaddon hath no cover.
7 He stretcheth out the Tzafon over the tohu, and hangeth eretz upon nothing.
8 He bindeth up the mayim in His thick clouds; and the anan doeth not burst under them.
9 He covers the face of [His] kisse, and spreadeth His anan upon it.
10 He hath circled the horizon on the face of the mayim for a boundary between ohr and choshech.
11 The ammudim of Shomayim tremble and are aghast at His rebuke.
12 He divideth the yam with His ko’ach, and by His understanding He struck down Rahav.
13 By His Ruach He hath made fair Shomayim; His yad hath pierced the fleeing nachash.
14 Lo, these are but the ketzot of His ways, but how faint the davar we hear of Him. And the thunder of His gevurah who can understand?
27 Moreover Iyov continued his mashal, and said,
2 As El liveth, Who hath taken away my mishpat, and Shaddai, Who hath saddened my nefesh;
3 All the while my neshamah is in me, and the ruach of Eloah is in my nostrils,
4 My lips shall not speak falsehood, nor my leshon utter deceit.
5 Far be it from me I should justify you; till I die I will not remove mine tom (integrity) from me.
6 My tzedakah I hold fast, and will not let it go; my lev shall not reproach for any of my days.
7 Let mine enemy be as the rasha (evildoer), and he that riseth up against me as unrighteous.
8 For what is the tikveh of the chanef, when He cutteth off, when Eloah taketh away, his nefesh?
9 Will El hear his cry when tzarah cometh upon him?
10 Will he delight himself in Shaddai? Will he always call upon Eloah?
11 I will teach you concerning the yad El; that which is with Shaddai will I not conceal.
12 Hen (behold), all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus altogether vain?
13 This is the chelek (lot) of the adam rasha with El and the nachalah of oppressors, which they shall receive from Shaddai.
14 If his banim be multiplied, it is for the cherev, and his offspring shall not have lechem enough.
15 Those that survive him shall be buried in mavet, and his almanot shall not weep.
16 Though he heap up kesef as the aphar, and pile up raiment as the clay,
17 He may prepare it, but the tzaddik shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the kesef.
18 He buildeth his bais as a moth, and as a sukkah that the watchman maketh.
19 The oisher (rich man) shall lie down, but he shall do so no more; he openeth his eyes, and he is not.
20 Terrors take hold on him as a flood, a tempest stealeth him away in the lailah.
21 The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth as a storm hurleth him forth from his makom.
22 For it will hurl against him, without sparing; he desperately flees from its yad.
23 Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him away from his makom.
28 Surely there is a mine for the kesef, and a makom for zahav where they refine it.
2 Barzel (iron) is taken out of aphar, and nechoshet is smelted out of the even (stone, ore).
3 He setteth a ketz to choshech, and searcheth out all extremities, the even (ore) of darkness and tzalmavet.
4 He cuts out a shaft down far from the inhabitant; forgotten of the regel, they dangle, suspended, away from enosh.
5 As for eretz, out of it cometh lechem, and under it is transformed as by eish.
6 The stones of it are the makom of the sapphire, and it hath ore of zahav.
7 There is a hidden path of which no bird of prey has da’as, and which the falcon’s eye hath not seen.
8 The proud beasts have not trodden it, nor the shachal (lion’s cub) passed over it.
9 He [the miner] putteth forth his yad upon the rock; he upturneth the mountains by the shoresh.
10 He cutteth out channels through the tzurot (rocks), and his eye seeth every precious thing.
11 He dams up the streams from flowing, and the thing that is hidden bringeth he forth to ohr.
12 But where shall chochmah be found? And where is the makom binah?
13 Enosh knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the Eretz HaChayyim.
14 The tehom (abyss) saith, It is not in me; and the yam saith, It is not with me.
15 It cannot be gotten in exchange for fine gold, neither shall kesef be weighed for the price thereof.
16 It cannot be valued with the fine gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
17 The zahav and the crystal cannot equal it, and the exchange of it shall not be for the jewel of gold.
18 Nor shall mention be made of coral or crystal, for the price of chochmah is above pearls.
19 The chrysolite of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with tahor gold.
20 From where then cometh chochmah? And where is the makom binah?
21 Seeing it is hidden from the eyes of kol chai, and concealed from the oph HaShomayim.
22 Abaddon and Mavet say, We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears.
23 Elohim understandeth the way to it, and He knoweth the makom thereof.
24 For He looketh to the ketzot ha’aretz, and seeth all under Shomayim.
25 The weight He appointed for the ruach, and He weigheth the mayim by measure.
26 When He made a decree for the matar, and a derech for the lightning of the thunder,
27 Az (then) did He see it, and declare it; He prepared it, yea, and searched it out.
28 And unto adam He said, See, the Yirat Adonoi, that is chochmah, and to depart from rah is binah.
29 Moreover Iyov continued his mashal, and said,
2 Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when Eloah was shomer over me;
3 When His ner (lamp) shined upon my rosh, and when by His ohr I walked through choshech;
4 As I was in the days of my prime, when the Sod Eloah (friendship, counsel of G-d) was over my ohel;
5 When Shaddai was yet with me, when my children were around me;
6 When I washed my steps with khemah, and the tzur poured me out streams of shemen;
7 When I went out to the sha’ar through the city, when I took my moshav in the rekhov!
8 The ne’arim saw me, and stepped aside, and the aged arose, and stood up.
9 The sarim (nobles) refrained from talking, and laid their hand on their mouth.
10 The nobles held their peace, and their leshon cleaved to the roof of their mouth.
11 When the ozen heard me, then it commended me; and when the ayin saw me, it did bear witness of me,
12 Because I delivered the oni that cried out, and the yatom that had no ozer (helper) for him.
13 The birkat oved (blessing of the oppressed) came upon me, and I caused the lev almanah to sing for joy.
14 I put on tzedek, and it clothed me; my mishpat was as a robe and a tzanif (turban).
15 I was eyes to the ivver, and feet was I to the pisei’ach.
16 I was an av to the evyonim (needy); and the cause which I knew not I investigated.
17 And I broke the fangs of the wicked, and plucked the prey out of his shinayim.
18 Then I said, I shall die in my ken (nest, house), and I shall multiply my yamim like the chol (sand).
19 My shoresh was spread out to the mayim, and the tal lay all night upon my branch.
20 My kavod was fresh with me, and my keshet was ever new in my yad.
21 Unto me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my etzah (counsel).
22 Acharei (after) my words they spoke not again; and my speech fell upon them.
23 And they waited for me as for the matar; and they opened their mouth wide as for the malkosh (spring, late rain).
24 I smiled on them when they did not believe; and the ohr of my countenance they did not cast down.
25 I chose out their derech, and sat as Rosh, and dwelt as a melech with his army, as one that comforteth the avelim (mourners).
30 But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose avot I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my tzon.
2 Yea, what use was the koach of their hands to me, since their vigor hath perished?
3 For choser (want, lack) and hunger they gnawed the parched ground desolate and waste.
4 They cut up mallow plants by the bushes, and juniper roots for their lechem.
5 They were banished from among men, (they shouted after them as after a ganav);
6 To dwell in the clefts of the wadis, in holes of aphar, and in the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they brayed; tachat (under) the underbrush they were huddled together.
8 They were bnei naval, yea, sons of base men; they were driven forth out of ha’aretz.
9 And atah (now) am I their mocking song, yea, I am their byword.
10 They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not rok (spit) in my face [Mt 26:67].
11 Because He hath loosed my bowstring, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the resen (bridle) before me.
12 Upon my yamin (right hand) rise up the rabble; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction.
13 They break up my road, they set forward my overthrow, they have no ozer (helper).
14 They approach me as through a wide breach; in the shoah (desolation, Holocaust), they rolled themselves upon me.
15 Ballahot (terrors) are turned upon me; they pursue my dignity like the ruach, and my safety passeth away like a cloud.
16 And now my nefesh ebbs away from me; the yemei oni have taken hold upon me.
17 My atzmot are pierced in me in the night, and my gnawing pains take no rest.
18 By great koach is my garment disfigured; it bindeth me about like the collar of my kuttonet (chiton, robe).
19 He hath cast me into the chomer, and I am become like aphar and ashes.
20 I cry unto Thee, and Thou dost answer me lo (not); I stand up, and Thou regardest me not.
21 Thou art become cruel to me; with Thy strong yad Thou opposest Thyself against me.
22 Thou liftest me up to the ruach; Thou causest me to drive along, and vanish in the roaring of the storm.
23 For I know that Thou wilt bring me down to mavet, to the bais mo’ed l’khol chai.
24 Yet will not one stretch out his yad in a heap of ruin, or cry out for help in his disaster.
25 Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? Was not my nefesh grieved for the evyon (needy)?
26 When I looked for tov, then rah came unto me; and when I waited for ohr, there came ofel (darkness).
27 My bowels boiled, and rested not; yemei oni met me.
28 I went mourning without the sun; I stood up, and I cried out in the kahal.
29 I am an ach to jackals, and a re’a to owls.
30 My ohr (skin) grows black upon me, and my atzmot are burned with fever.
31 My kinnor (harp) also is turned to evel (mourning), and my flute into the voice of them that weep.
31 I made a brit (covenant) with mine eyes; how then look I upon a betulah?
2 For what chelek of Eloah is there from above? And what nachalah of Shaddai from on high?
3 Is not destruction to the wicked? And a disaster to the poalei aven (workers of wrong)?
4 Doth not He see my derech, and count all my steps?
5 If I have walked with shav (vanity, falsehood), or if my regel hath hasted to mirmah (deceit),
6 Let me be weighed in scales of tzedek that Eloah may know mine tom (integrity).
7 If my step hath turned out of the derech, and mine lev walked after mine eyes, and if any mum hath cleaved to mine hands,
8 Then let me sow, and let acher (another) eat; yea, let my harvest be uprooted.
9 If mine lev have been deceived by an isha, or if I have lurked at petach (doorway) of my re’a;
10 Then let my isha grind for another, and let another kneel over her.
11 For this is a heinous crime; yea, it is an avon to be brought before judges.
12 For it is an eish that consumeth to Abaddon, and would root out all mine increase.
13 If I did despise the mishpat (cause) of my eved or of my amah, when they contended with me,
14 What then shall I do when El riseth up? And when He visiteth, what shall I answer Him?
15 Did not He that made me in the beten make them? And did not Echad fashion us in the rechem?
16 If I have withheld the poor from their chefetz (desire), or have caused the eyes of the almanah to grow weary,
17 Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the yatom hath not eaten thereof;
18 (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with an av, and I have guided her from beten immi;)
19 If I have seen any oved (one perishing) for want of clothing, or any evyon (needy) without covering,
20 If his heart did not bless me for warming him with the giz (fleece) of my sheep,
21 If I have lifted up my yad against the yatom, when I saw my influence in the sha’ar (gate, court);
22 Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder, and mine zero’a be broken from its socket.
23 For destruction from El was a pachad to me, and by reason of His majesty I could not endure.
24 If I have made zahav my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my security,
25 If I rejoice because my wealth was rav (great), and because mine yad had gotten much,
26 If I beheld the ohr when it shined, or the yarei’ach moving in splendor,
27 And my lev hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my yad [in heathen worship];
28 This also were an avon to be punished by the judge; for then I would have been unfaithful, denying El that is on high.
29 If I rejoice at the misfortune of him that hated me, or gloated when rah found him,
30 Neither have I allowed my mouth to sin by invoking a curse to his nefesh.
31 Have the men of my ohel not said, Where can we find one who has not been sated with his basar (meat)?
32 The stranger did not spend the night in the street, but I opened my delet to the ger.
33 If I concealed my peysha like Adam, by hiding mine avon in my heart,
34 Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of mishpekhot terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of doors?
35 Oh that one would hear me! See, my tav [signature], that Shaddai would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a sefer [of indictment];
36 Surely I would carry it upon my shoulder, and bind it to me like atarot (crowns).
37 I would declare unto Him the number of my steps; like a nagid (prince) would I go near unto Him.
38 If my adamah cry against me, or if the furrows had wept together,
39 If I have eaten the yield thereof without kesef (payment), or have broken the nefesh of the tenants thereof,
40 Let thistles grow instead of chittim (wheat), and weed instead of barley. The divrei Iyov are ended.
32 So these shloshet ha’anashim ceased to answer Iyov, because he was tzaddik in his eyes.
2 Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu ben Barachel the Buzi, of the mishpochah Ram; against Iyov was his wrath kindled, because Iyov justified his nefesh rather than Elohim.
3 Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they had found no ma’aneh (refutation, answer), and yet had condemned Iyov.
4 Now Elihu had waited till Iyov had spoken, because they were elder than he.
5 When Elihu saw that there was no ma’aneh in the mouth of these shloshet ha’anashim, then his wrath was kindled.
6 And Elihu ben Barachel the Buzi answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and dared not tell you of what I have da’as.
7 I said, Yamim should speak, and multitude of shanim should teach chochmah.
8 But there is a ruach in enosh, and the neshamat Shaddai giveth them binah.
9 Great men are not always wise, neither do the zekenim understand mishpat.
10 Therefore I said, Pay heed to me; I also will tell of what I have da’as.
11 Hen (behold), I waited for your dvarim; I gave ear to your reasons, whilst ye searched out what to say.
12 Yea, I attended unto you, and, hinei, there was none of you that proved Iyov wrong, or that answered his words.
13 Yet do not say, We have found chochmah; El may vanquish him, lo ish (not man).
14 Now he hath not directed his millin (words) against me; neither will I answer him with your speeches.
15 They were amazed; they answered no od (more); they left off speaking.
16 When I had waited, (for they spoke not, but stood still, and answered no od [more]);
17 I said, I will answer also my chelek (portion); I also will show of mine da’as.
18 For I am full of millim (words), the ruach within me compelleth me.
19 Hinei, my beten is like yayin which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like ovot chadashim (new wineskins).
20 I will speak that I may be relieved; I will open my sfatayim and answer.
21 Let me not, now, show any man partiality, neither let me flatter adam.
22 For I am not skilled in flattery; in so doing Oseini (my Maker) would soon take me away.
33 Wherefore, Iyov, now, hear my speeches, and pay heed to all my words.
2 Hinei, now I have opened my mouth, my leshon hath spoken in my mouth.
3 My words shall be of my yosher lev (the uprightness of my heart), and my lips shall utter da’as that is pure.
4 The Ruach El [Ruach Hakodesh] hath made me, and the Neshamah of Shaddai hath given me life.
5 Im (If) thou canst, answer me; set thy words in order in my presence; take thy stand.
6 See, I am like thee, of El, from chomer (clay) was I taken also.
7 Hinei, my terror shall not make thee afraid, neither shall my pressure be heavy upon thee.
8 Surely thou hast spoken in my ozen, and I have heard the voice of thy words, saying,
9 I am pure without peysha; I am clean; neither is there avon in me [Yn 8:46].
10 Yet He findeth tenuot (occasions) against me, He counteth me for his oyev,
11 He putteth my raglayim in the stocks, He watcheth all my orkhot.
12 But in this thou art not right; I will answer thee, that Eloah is greater than enosh.
13 Why dost thou contend against Him? For He giveth not account of any of His matters.
14 For El speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.
15 In a chalom, in a chezyon lailah, when deep sleep falleth upon anashim, in slumberings upon the mishkav (bed),
16 Then He openeth the ozen anashim, and sealeth their admonition
17 That He may turn them aside from their deeds, and hide pride from gever (man).
18 He keepeth back his nefesh from the shachat, and his life from the overthrow of the sword.
19 He is chastened also with pain upon his mishkav, and the continual strife in his atzmot;
20 So that his life abhorreth lechem, and his nefesh dainty food.
21 His basar is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; and his atzmot that were not seen stick out.
22 Yea, his nefesh draweth near unto the shachat, and his life to the ones bringing death.
23 If there be a malach (messenger, i.e., Malach HaBrit, HaAdon [see Malachi 3:1] ) as melitz (mediator) for him, one of a thousand, who declares a person yashar (upright, Isa 53:11),
24 Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the shachat (pit); I have found a kofer (ransom) [Mk 10:45].
25 His basar shall be restored like a na’ar; he shall return to the yamim of his youthful vigor;
26 He shall pray unto Eloah, and be accepted by Him, and he shall see His face with teruah (shouts of joy); thus He recompenseth unto enosh his tzedek.
27 He looketh upon anashim, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was yashar, and it was not recompensed to me,
28 He will redeem his nefesh from going into the shachat, and his life shall see the ohr.
29 Lo, all these things worketh El, twice, shalosh with gever (man)
30 To bring back his nefesh from the shachat (pit), to be enlightened with the Ohr HaChayyim (light of the living).
31 Mark well, O Iyov, pay heed unto me; hold thy peace, and I will speak.
32 If thou hast anything to say, answer me; dabbir (speak), for I desire to justify thee.
33 If not, pay heed unto me; hold thy peace, and I shall teach thee chochmah.
34 Furthermore Elihu answered and said,
2 Hear my words, O ye chachamim; and give ear unto me, ye that have da’as.
3 For the ozen trieth words, as the mouth tasteth food.
4 Let us choose for ourselves what is mishpat (right); let us know among ourselves what is tov.
5 For Iyov hath said, I am innocent; and El hath taken away my mishpat (right).
6 I declare the mishpat (case) against me a lie; though without peysha, my arrow wound is incurable.
7 What gever is like Iyov, who drinketh up the scorn [of his friends] like mayim?
8 Who goeth in chaverah with the po’alei aven (workers of iniquity, evildoers), and walketh with anshei resha.
9 For he hath said, It profiteth a gever nothing that he should please Elohim.
10 Therefore pay heed unto me ye anashei levav (men of understanding); far be it from El, that He should do evil, and from Shaddai, that He should do wrong.
11 For the po’al adam (work of a man) shall He repay unto him, and make every man to find according to the man’s ways.
12 Yea, surely El will not do wickedly, neither will Shaddai pervert mishpat (justice).
13 Who hath given Him right to rule the earth? Or who hath appointed Him over the tevel?
14 If He should so determine, if He gather unto Himself His Ruach and His Neshamah,
15 All basar would perish together, and adam would return unto aphar.
16 If now thou hast binah, hear this: pay heed to the kol (voice) of my words.
17 Shall even one that hateth mishpat (right) govern? And wilt thou condemn Him that is Tzaddik and Kabir (the Mighty One)?
18 Is it fit to say to a melech, Thou art beli’ya’al? And to nobles, Ye are rasha.
19 Who shows no partiality to sarim (princes), nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? For they all are the ma’aseh (work) of His hands.
20 In a moment shall they die, and at chatzot lailah the people shall be shaken, and pass away, and the mighty shall be taken away without human hand.
21 For His eyes are upon the darkhei ish and He seeth all his goings.
22 There is no choshech, nor tzalmavet, where the po’alei aven (evildoers) may hide themselves.
23 For He does not need to consider an ish further for anyone to go before El in mispat (judgment).
24 He shall break in pieces kabirim (mighty men) without investigation, and sets acherim (others) in their place.
25 Therefore He knoweth their works, and He overthroweth them in the lailah, so that they are crushed.
26 He striketh them as resha’im in the open sight of others;
27 Because they turned back from following Him, and would not regard any of His drakhim;
28 So that they caused the cry of the poor to come unto Him, and He heareth the cry of the aniyim.
29 When He giveth quietness, who then can condemn? When He hideth His panim, who then can behold Him? Whether it be a nation, or an individual only?
30 That the chanef (hypocrite) reign not, nor those who ensnare the people.
31 For has anyone said unto El, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more;
32 Teach Thou me what I see not; im (if) I have done iniquity, I will do no more?
33 Will He then recompense to suit you, just because you disavow it? Thou must choose, not I; therefore speak that of which thou hast da’as.
34 Let anshei levav (men of understanding) say to me, and let a gever chacham who pays heed unto me say,
35 Iyov hath spoken without da’as, and his words were without seichel.
36 Iyov ought to be tried unto the limit, because his answers are those of anshei aven.
37 For he addeth peysha unto his chattat, he clappeth his hands [shaking fist at G-d] among us, and multiplieth his words against El.
35 Elihu spoke moreover, and said,
2 Thinkest thou this to be mishpat (right, just), that thou saidst, Tzidki meEl (I am cleared, in the right, justified before G-d)?
3 Ki (yet) thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? and, What profit shall I have, more than if I had sinned [see 9:22]?
4 I will answer thee, and thy companions with thee.
5 Look unto Shomayim, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou.
6 If thou sinnest, what doest thou against Him? Or if thy peysha’im be multiplied, what doest thou unto Him?
7 If thou be tzaddik (righteous), what givest thou Him? Or what receiveth He of thine yad?
8 Thy resha (wickedness) may hurt an ish as thou art; and thy tzedek may profit the ben adam.
9 They cry out under a load of oppression; they plead for relief from the zero’a of the rabbim.
10 But none saith, Where is Eloah Osai (G-d my Maker), Who giveth zemirot balailah (songs in the night);
11 Who teacheth us more than the behamot eretz, and maketh us wiser than the oph HaShomayim?
12 There they cry out, but none giveth answer, because of the ga’on (pride, arrogance) of ra’im (wicked men).
13 Surely El will not hear shav (vanity), neither will Shaddai regard it.
14 Although thou sayest thou cannot see Him, yet Din (the court case) is before Him; therefore trust thou, waiting for Him,
15 though ye say His anger does not pakad (visit, punish) anything and that He does not regard wickedness much;
16 Therefore doth Iyov open his mouth hevel (in vain); he multiplieth words without da’as.
36 Elihu also proceeded, and said,
2 Bear with me a little, and I will show thee that I have yet to speak on behalf of Eloah.
3 I will get my da’as from afar, and will ascribe tzedek to my Maker.
4 For truly my words shall not be sheker; one that is tamim (complete) in da’as is among thee.
5 See, El is kabir (mighty), and despiseth not any; He is kabir in ko’ach lev (strength of understanding).
6 He preserveth not the life of the rasha, but giveth mishpat to the aniyim.
7 He withdraweth not His eyes from the tzaddik, but with melachim are they on the kisse; yea, He doth establish them lanetzach (forever), and they are exalted.
8 And if they be bound in chains, and be held fast in chevlei oni (cords of affliction),
9 Then He showeth them their work, and their peysha’im that they have done arrogantly.
10 He openeth also their ozen to musar (discipline), and commandeth that they make teshuvah and turn from evil.
11 If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their yamim in tov (prosperity), and their shanim in contentment.
12 But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without da’as.
13 But the chanefei lev (irreligious in heart, hypocrites) incur wrath; they do not cry for help when He bindeth them.
14 They die in youth, their nefesh among the kedeshim (cult male prostitutes, youthful lusts).
15 He delivereth the oni in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression.
16 Even so would He have removed thee out of the tzar (distress) into a rachav (broad place), free from restriction, to the comfort of thy shulchan, full of choice food.
17 But thou hast been fixated on the din of the rasha; din and mishpat take hold on thee.
18 Because there is chemah, beware lest He take thee away with His stroke; then a rav kopher (great ransom) cannot deliver thee.
19 Will He esteem thy riches? No, not zahav, nor all the forces of ko’ach.
20 Desire not halailah (the night), when people are cut off in their place.
21 Take heed, regard not iniquity; for this hast thou chosen rather than oni.
22 See, El exalted by His ko’ach. Who is a moreh (teacher) like Him?
23 Who hath enjoined Him His derech? Or who can say, Thou hast done wrong?
24 Remember that thou must extol His work, of which anashim have sung praises.
25 Kol adam has seen it; enosh beholds it afar off.
26 See, El is great, and we know Him not, neither can the mispar of His shanim be searched out.
27 For He draws up the drops of mayim; He distills His mist as matar;
28 Which the clouds do drop and distill upon adam abundantly.
29 Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the thunderings of His sukkah?
30 See, He spreadeth His ohr upon it, and covereth the depths of the yam.
31 For by them governeth He the amim (nations); He giveth okhel in abundance.
32 His hands He covers with the ohr (lightning), and commandeth it to strike the mark.
33 The thunder thereof showeth concerning Him; the storm tells His indignant af (wrath).
37 At this also my lev trembleth, and is moved out of its place.
2 Hear attentively the rogez of His voice, and the sound that goeth out of His mouth.
3 He directeth it under kol HaShomayim, and His ohr (lightning) unto the ends of ha’aretz.
4 After it His kol (voice) roareth; He thundereth with the kol of His majesty; one cannot hold them back when His kol is heard.
5 El thundereth marvellously with His kol; gedolot doeth He, beyond our understanding.
6 For He saith to the snow, Fall thou to the eretz; likewise to the geshem matar, the heavy downpour of rain.
7 He sealeth up kol adam; that all men may know His work.
8 Then the chayyah (beasts) go into their lair, and remain in their places.
9 Out of its cheder (chamber) cometh the whirlwind; and cold out of the driving winds.
10 By the neshamah of El frost is given, and the broad mayim are frozen.
11 Also by watering He loadeth the thick cloud; He scattereth the anan of His ohr (lightning),
12 And it is turned round about by His guidance; that they may do whatsoever He commandeth them upon the face of the tevel (habitable world).
13 He causeth it to happen, whether for correction, or for His land, or for chesed.
14 Pay heed unto this, O Iyov; stand still, and consider the nifle’ot El (wondrous works of G-d).
15 Dost thou know how Elo’ah controls them, and caused the ohr (lightning) of His cloud to flash?
16 Dost thou know the spreading out of the clouds, the wondrous works of Him which is tamim in da’as?
17 You whose garments are hot, when the eretz is still because of the south wind,
18 Hast thou with Him spread out the shekhakim (clouds), hard as a molten mirror?
19 Teach us what we shall say unto Him, for we cannot order our case by reason of choshech.
20 Should it be told Him that I wish to speak? Or should an ish say that he would be swallowed up?
21 And now men cannot look at the bright ohr which is in the clouds, when the ruach passeth, and cleareth them.
22 Splendor of zahav cometh out of the north; with Elo’ah is awesome hod (majesty).
23 Touching Shaddai, we cannot reach Him; He is exalted in ko’ach, and in mishpat, and rov tzedakah; He does not oppress.
24 Anashim do therefore fear Him; He regardeth not any that are wise of heart.
38 Then Hashem answered Iyov out of the whirlwind, and said,
2 Who is this that darkeneth etzah (counsel) with words without da’as?
3 Gird up now thy loins like a gever; for I will ask of thee, and thou wilt answer Me.
4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of eretz? Tell, if thou hast binah.
5 Who hath drafted the dimensions thereof, if thou hast da’as? Or who hath stretched a measuring line across it?
6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof set? Or who laid the even-pinnah (cornerstone) thereof
7 When the kokhvei boker sang together, and all the Bnei Elohim shouted for joy?
8 Or who shut up the yam behind doors? Who brought it forth, issuing out of the rekhem (womb)
9 When I made the anan the garment thereof, and thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 And fixed bounds for it, and set bars and dlatot (doors),
11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; and poh (here) shall thy proud waves be stopped?
12 Hast thou commanded the boker since thy yamim began; or caused the shachar (dawn) to know its place;
13 That it might seize the ends of ha’aretz, that the resha’im be shaken out of it?
14 It is changed like chomer (clay) under the khotam (seal); and they stand out like a garment.
15 And from the resha’im their ohr is denied, and the upraised zero’a shall be broken.
16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the yam? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the tehom?
17 Have the sha’arei mavet been disclosed unto thee? Or hast thou seen the sha’arei tzalmavet?
18 Hast thou perceived the expanse of eretz? Tell Me if thou hast da’as of it all.
19 Where is the derech where ohr dwelleth? And as for choshech, where is the place thereof,
20 That thou shouldest take it to its border, and that thou shouldest have da’as of the paths to its bais?
21 Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? Or because the mispar of thy yamim is so great?
22 Hast thou entered into the otzrot (storehouses) of the snow? Or hast thou seen the otzrot of barad (hail),
23 Which I have reserved for the time of tzar, for the yom kerav (battle) and milchamah (war)?
24 Which is the derech where the ohr is distributed, where is scattered the east wind upon eretz?
25 Who hath cut a channel for the overflowing of waters, or a derech for the lightning of thunder,
26 To cause it to rain on eretz, where lo ish is; on midbar, wherein there is lo adam;
27 To saturate a desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the desheh to spring forth?
28 Hath the rain an av? Or who hath begotten the drops of tal (dew)?
29 Out of whose beten cometh the ice? And the frost of Shomayim, who giveth birth to it?
30 The mayim harden like even (stone), and the face of tehom is frozen.
31 Canst thou bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loose the bonds of Orion?
32 Canst thou bring forth Mazzarot in their times? Or canst thou guide the Bear with its banim?
33 Knowest thou the chukkot of Shomayim? Canst thou set the rule over ha’aretz?
34 Canst thou lift up thy kol (voice) to the clouds, that abundance of mayim may cover thee?
35 Canst thou send lightning bolts, that they may go and say unto thee, Hineinu (here we are)?
36 Who hath put chochmah in the inward parts, or who hath given binah to the mind?
37 Who can number the clouds in chochmah, or who can tip the waterskins of Shomayim,
38 When the dust hardens into a clump, and the clods cleave fast together?
39 Wilt thou hunt the teref for the lioness, or fill the appetite of her whelps,
40 When they crouch in their me’onot (dens), and abide in the lair to lie in ambush?
41 Who provideth for the raven his food? When his young ones cry unto El, they wander about for lack of okhel.
39 Dost thou have da’as of the et (time) when the mountain goats give birth, or art thou shomer to watch when the doe bears her fawn?
2 Canst thou number the months that they fulfil, or dost thou have da’as of the et (time) when they give birth?
3 They crouch down, they bring forth their yeledim, their chavalim (birth pains) are cast off in riddance.
4 Their banim gain strength, they grow up in the bar (open, wild); they go forth, and return not unto them.
5 Who hath sent out the pere (wild donkey) free, or who hath untied the ropes of the arod (wild donkey, onager),
6 Whose bais I have made the aravah, and the barren land his mishkenot (dwellings)?
7 He laughs at the tumult of the kiryah (city), neither regardeth he the shouts of the driver.
8 The range of the harim is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing.
9 Will the wild ox be willing to be thy eved, or stay the night by thy evus (animal feeding trough)?
10 Canst thou bind the wild ox to the furrow with a rope, or will it behind thee till the amakim (valleys)?
11 Wilt thou depend on him, because his ko’ach is great, or wilt thou hand over thy heavy work to him?
12 Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring in thy zera (grain), and gather it into thy goren (threshing floor)?
13 Joyfully flapping are the wings of the ostrich, but are her wings and feathers like the khasidah (stork)?
14 For the ostrich layeth her betzim (eggs) la’aretz (on the ground), and warmeth them in the sand,
15 And forgetteth that the regel may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them.
16 She treats harshly her banim, as though they were not hers; though her labor should be in vain, yet she is without pachad (fear, care),
17 Because Elo’ah hath deprived her of chochmah, neither hath he imparted to her binah.
18 Yet at the et (time) she flaps her wings [to run], she laughs at the sus and his rider.
19 Hast thou given the sus gevurah? Hast thou clothed his neck with a flowing mane?
20 Canst thou make him leap like an arbeh (locust)? The hod (glory) of his snorting strikes terror.
21 He paweth in the emek (valley), and rejoiceth in his koach; he chargeth into the fray.
22 He laugheth at pachad, and nothing fears; neither turneth he back from the cherev.
23 The quiver rattleth at his side, the glittering spear and the kidon (scimitar, curved sword).
24 He eats up the eretz with fierceness and rogez (rage); neither standeth he still at the sound of the shofar.
25 As often as the shofar, he snorts Aha! and he smelleth the milchamah afar off, the shout of the sarim, and the teru’ah (battle cry).
26 Doth the hawk fly by thy binah, and stretch her wings toward the south?
27 Doth the nesher (eagle) mount up at thy command, and make her ken (nest) on high?
28 She dwelleth and abideth on the cliff, upon the crag of the rock, its metzudah (stronghold).
29 From there she seeketh the okhel (food, prey), and her eyes behold it from afar off.
30 Her young ones feast on dahm; and where the chalalim (slain ones) are, there it is.
40 Moreover Hashem answered Iyov, and said,
2 Shall he that contendeth with Shaddai correct him? The mokhiach Eloah (rebuker of G-d), let him answer it.
3 Then Iyov answered Hashem, and said,
4 See, I am vile; what shall I answer Thee? I will lay mine yad upon my mouth.
5 Once have I spoken, but I will not answer; yea, shtayim (twice), but I will proceed no further.
6 Then answered Hashem unto Iyov out of the whirlwind, and said,
7 Gird up thy loins now like a gever. I will question thee, and thou shall answer Me.
8 Wilt thou also annul My mishpat (justice)? Wilt thou condemn Me, that thou mayest be justified?
9 Hast thou a zero’a like El? Or canst thou thunder with a kol (voice) like Him?
10 Adorn thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with hod (glory) and hadar (splendor).
11 Unleash thy evrot af (furious wrath); and behold every one that is proud, and bring him low.
12 Look on every one that is proud, and humble him, and tread down the resha’im in their place.
13 Bury them in the aphar together; shroud their faces in the crypt.
14 Then odecha (will I confess, admit unto thee) that thine own right hand can save thee.
15 Hinei now behemot (hippopotamus), which I made along with thee; he eateth grass like an ox.
16 Hinei now, his koach is in his loins, and his force is in the sinews of his beten (belly).
17 He moveth his zanav (tail) like a cedar branch; the sinews of his thighs are firmly interwoven.
18 His atzmot are like tubes of nechoshet; his limbs are like rods of barzel (iron).
19 He is the reshit (firstling) of the ways of El; He, his Maker, can approach it with His cherev.
20 Surely the harim bring forth food for him, where all the wild beasts play.
21 He lieth under the shade of lotus plants, beseter (in the covert) of the reed and marsh.
22 The lotus plants cover him with their shadow; the willows by the nakhal (brook, stream) surround him.
23 See, when the nahar (river) rages, he is not alarmed; he is confident, though Yarden breaketh forth upon his mouth.
24 While he is looking can one capture him? With mokeshim (hooks) can one pierce his nose?
41 Canst thou draw out Leviathan with a khakah (fishhook)? Or tie down his leshon with a cord?
2 (26) Canst thou put a hook into his af (nose)? Or bore his jaw through with a barb?
3 (27) Will he make many tachanunim unto thee? Will he speak soft words unto thee?
4 (28) Will he make a brit (covenant) with thee? Wilt thou take him for an eved olam?
5 (29) Wilt thou play with him as with a pet bird? Or wilt thou leash him for thy na’arot (maidens)?
6 (30) Shall traders barter for him? Shall they divide him among the Kena’anim (Canaanites, merchants)?
7 (31) Canst thou fill his ohr (skin) with harpoons? Or his head with fishing spears?
8 (32) Lay thine hand upon him; remember the milchamah. Thou wilt not do it more.
9 (41:1) See, every tokhelet (expectation) is false; shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
10 (41:2) None is so foolhardy that dare stir him up. Mi (who) then is able to stand before Me?
11 (41:3) Mi (who) hath given Me, that I must repay him? Whatsoever is under the kol HaShomayim is Mine.
12 (41:4) I will not keep silent about his members, nor his gevurah, nor the grace of his form.
13 (41:5) Mi (who) can remove his outer garment? Or mi (who) can come near him with a double bridle?
14 (41:6) Mi (who) can open the doors of his face? Terror is round about his teeth.
15 (41:7) His scales are his ga’avah (pride), shut up together as with a rigid chotam (seal).
16 (41:8) One is so near to another, that no ruach (air) can pass between them.
17 (41:9) They are joined one to another; they stick together, inseparably.
18 (41:10) By his sneezings ohr flares out, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the shachar.
19 (41:11) Out of his mouth goeth flame, and sparks of eish leap out.
20 (41:12) Out of his nostrils goeth forth smoke, like a seething pot or caldron.
21 (41:13) His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.
22 (41:14) In his neck resideth oz (strength), and terror dances before him.
23 (41:15) The flanks of his basar are joined together; they are firm in themselves, immoveable.
24 (41:16) His lev (chest) is as firm as an even (stone); yea, as hard as the lower millstone.
25 (41:17) When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid; shuddering they retreat.
26 (41:18) The cherev of him that reacheth at him cannot hold—the spear, the dart, nor the harpoon.
27 (41:19) He esteemeth barzel (iron) like straw, and nechoshet as rotten wood.
28 (41:20) The arrow cannot make him flee; sling stones are turned with him into stubble.
29 (41:21) Clubs are counted as straw; he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.
30 (41:22) Sharp shards are his under parts; he leaveth a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
31 (41:23) He maketh the deep to boil like a pot; he stirreth the yam like a pot of ointment.
32 (41:24) He maketh a wake to shine after him; one would think the deep to be white hair.
33 (41:25) Upon earth there is not his equal, who is created without fear.
34 (41:26) He beholdeth all things lofty; he is a melech over every proud beast.
42 Then Iyov answered Hashem, and said,
2 I have da’as that Thou canst do all things, and that no purpose of Thine can be thwarted.
3 Who is this that hideth etzah (counsel) without da’as? Therefore have I judged without understanding things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
4 Shema, I beseech Thee, and I will speak; I will ask of Thee, and declare Thou unto me.
5 I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ozen, but now mine eye hath seen Thee.
6 Therefore I abhor myself, and nichamti (I am sorry, I make teshuvah) in dust and ashes.
7 And it was so, that after Hashem had spoken these words unto Iyov, Hashem said to Eliphaz the Temani, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends; for ye have not spoken in reference to Me the thing that is nekhonah (correct), like Avdi Iyov hath.
8 Therefore take unto you now seven bulls and seven rams, and go to Avdi Iyov, and offer up for yourselves olah (burnt offering); and Avdi Iyov shall pray for you; for him will I accept; lest I deal with you after your nevalah (folly), in that ye have not spoken in reference to Me the thing which is nekhonah (correct), like Avdi Iyov.
9 So Eliphaz the Temani and Bildad the Shuchi and Tzophar the Na’amati went, and did according as Hashem commanded them. Hashem also accepted Iyov.
10 And Hashem restored the fortunes of Iyov, when he prayed for his friends; also Hashem gave Iyov twice as much as he possessed before.
11 Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat lechem with him in his bais; and they expressed sympathy with him, and comforted him over all the ra’ah that Hashem had brought upon him; every ish also gave him a kesitah, and every ish a ring of zahav.
12 So Hashem blessed the acharit (latter end) of Iyov more than his reshit; for he had fourteen thousand tzon, and six thousand gemalim, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-donkeys.
13 He had also seven banim and shalosh banot.
14 And he called the shem of the first, Yemima, and the shem of the second, Ketziah, and the shem of the third, Keren-hapuch.
15 And in kol ha’aretz were no nashim found so fair as the banot Iyov; and their av gave them nachalah with their achim.
16 After this lived Iyov an hundred and forty shanah, and saw his banim, and his banei banim, even arba’ah dorot.
17 So Iyov died, being zaken and full of yamim.
1 Shir HaShirim, which is Sh’lomo’s
2 Let him kiss me with the neshikot (kisses) of his mouth; for better is dodecha (thy love) than yayin (wine).
3 Tovim is the fragrance of thy shmanim (ointments); thy shem (name) is like shemen (ointment) poured forth; therefore do the alamot love thee [alamot, young unmarried virgins; pl of almah virgin; see Shir HaShirim 6:8; Yeshayah 7:14; Bereshis 24:43; Shemot 2:8; Mishlei 30:19, where the word has this explicit or implicit meaning throughout the Tanakh; see page vii].
4 Draw me; so will we run after thee; the Melech hath brought me into his chadarim (chambers); we will be glad and rejoice in thee; we will extol dodecha (thy love) more than yayin; uprightly have they loved thee.
5 Shechorah (black, dark, sun-blackened) am I, yet lovely, O ye banot Yerushalayim, like the oholim (tents) of Kedar, like the curtains of Sh’lomo.
6 Let your eyes burn not into me because I am black, because the shemesh hath burned its eyes into me; bnei immi (my step-brothers) were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the kramim (vineyards); but mine own kerem (vineyard) have I not kept.
7 O tell me, thou whom my nefesh loveth, where feedest thou? Where makest thou thy flock to lie down at noon? For why should I be as one who veils herself among the edrei chaverecha (the flocks of thy chaverim, fellow companions)?
8 If thou know not, O thou fairest among nashim, go thy way forth by the footprints of the tzon, and feed thy young goats beside the mishkenot haro’im (the tents of the shepherds).
9 O my love, to a susah (mare) among the chariots of Pharaoh do I compare thee.
10 Thy cheeks are lovely with ornaments, thy tzavar (neck) with necklaces.
11 Ornaments of zahav will we make for thee, studded with kesef.
12 While the Melech is at his table, my spikenard perfume has yielded its fragrance.
13 Dodi (my beloved) is to me a sachet of myrrh that lieth in my bosom.
14 Dodi (my beloved) is to me as a cluster of henna blooms in the kramim (vineyards) of Ein-Gedi.
15 See, thou art yafeh (fair), my love; see, thou art fair; thine eynayim are yonim (doves).
16 See, thou art yafeh (handsome), dodi (my beloved), yea, na’im (pleasing); also our couch is verdant.
17 The beams of our bais are cedar, and our rafters are cypress.
2 I am the rose of Sharon, and the shoshan (lily) of the valleys.
2 As the shoshan (lily) among thorns, so is my love among the banot.
3 As the tapuach (apple tree) among the trees of the wood, so is dodi (my beloved) among the banim. Betzilloh (in his shade, shadow) chimmadti (I desire [see Shir HaShirim 5:16]), and his p’ri (fruit) is sweet to my taste.
4 He brought me to the Bais HaYayin, and his degel (standard, banner, flag) over me is ahavah.
5 Sustain me with cakes of raisins, comfort me with apples: ki cholat ahavah ani (for I am faint with ahavah, lovesick).
6 His left hand is under my rosh, and his right hand doth embrace me.
7 I charge you, O ye banot Yerushalayim, by the gazelles, and by the deer of the sadeh, that ye arouse nor awake HaAhavah till it pleases [i.e., until its own time—see 3:5; 8:4].
8 Kol dodi (the voice of my beloved)! Hinei, he cometh leaping upon the harim, bounding over the hills.
9 Dodi (my beloved) is like a gazelle or a young deer; hinei, he standeth behind our Kotel (Wall); he looketh forth at the chalonot (windows), peering through the lattices [Rev 3:20].
10 Dodi (my beloved) spoke, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
11 For, hinei, the winter is past, the geshem (rain) is over and gone;
12 The flowers appear on ha’aretz; the time of zemer (song, singing of birds) has come; and the voice of the turtledove is heard in Artzeinu (our Land);
13 The te’enah (fig tree) putteth forth her early figs, and the vines with the tender grape give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
14 O my yonah (dove), that art in the clefts of the rock, in the seter (secret place) of the cliff, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is lovely.
15 Catch the shu’alim (foxes), the shu’alim ketanim (little foxes), that spoil the kramim (vines); for krameinu (our [blooming] vines) have tender grapes.
16 Dodi (my beloved) is mine, and I am his; he feedeth among the lilies.
17 Until HaYom (the day) break, and the shadows flee away, turn, dodi (my beloved), and be thou like a gazelle or a young deer upon the hills of Beter.
3 In the nights on my bed I sought him whom my nefesh loveth; I sought him, but I found him not.
2 So I will rise then, and go about the city in the streets, and in the rechovot (open squares, places); I will seek him whom my nefesh loveth; I sought him, but found him not.
3 The shomrim (watchmen) that go about the city found me; to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my nefesh loveth?
4 Scarcely had I passed from them, when I found him whom my nefesh loveth; I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into the bais immi (the house of my mother), and into the cheder of her that conceived me.
5 I charge you, O ye banot Yerushalayim, by the gazelles, and by the deer of the sadeh, that ye arouse nor awake HaAhavah till it pleases [i.e., until its own time, see 2:7; 8:4].
6 Who is this that cometh out of the midbar like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense from all the fragrant powders of the rokhel (merchant)?
7 Hinei, his conveyance [see palanquin, 3:9], which is Sh’lomo’s; threescore gibborim (valiant men) are around it, of the Gibborei Yisroel.
8 They all hold swords, being expert in michamah (war); every man hath his cherev (sword) at his side against the pachad (terror, dread) of the nights.
9 HaMelech Sh’lomo made himself an appiryon (palanquin, mobile throne carried on a litter on the shoulders of men) of the wood of the Levanon.
10 He made the pillars thereof of kesef, the support thereof of zahav, the cushion of it of purple, the interior thereof being inlaid with Ahavah, by the banot Yerushalayim.
11 Come out, O ye banot Tziyon, and behold Sh’lomo HaMelech with the atarah (crown) wherewith his em crowned him in the Yom Chasunoh (day of his wedding), and in the Yom Simchat Libo (day of the gladness of his heart [see Rv 19:6-10; Ep 5:22-33; Yn 3:29; 2C 11:1-2; Yeshayah 54:5-6; Yirmeyah 2:2 Yechezkel 16:8-14,20-21,32,38; Hoshea 2:16,18-20 and here see the Shulamite as a type of the Kehillah of Moshiach and Sh’lomo Ben Dovid a type of Moshiach Ben Dovid the Ro’eh HaTov, the Good Shepherd])
4 Behold, thou art yafeh, my love; behold, thou art yafeh; thine eyes are yonim (doves) behind your veil; thy hair is like an eder (flock) of goats descending from Mount Gil`ad.
2 Thy teeth are like an eder of sheep that are just shorn, coming up from washing; whereof every one is matched, and none is missing among them.
3 Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy mouth is naveh (lovely); thy temple is like a half-pomegranate within thy veil.
4 Thy tzavar (neck) is like the migdal Dovid girt with battlements, whereon there hang a thousand mogen [Dovid], all the shields of Gibborim.
5 Thy two breasts are like two ofarim (fawns, young deer) that are twins, which graze among the lilies.
6 Until HaYom (the day) break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the har hamor (mountain of myrrh), and to the hill of frankincense.
7 Thou art all yafeh, my love; there is no mum (blemish, spot, defect, flaw) in thee.
8 Come with me from the Levanon, my kallah (bride), with me from the Levanon; come down from the heights of Amanah, from the top of Senir and Chermon, from the dens of the arayot (lions), from the hills of the nemerim (leopards).
9 Thou hast ravished my lev, my sister, my kallah; thou hast ravished my lev with one of thy glances, with one link of thy necklace.
10 How fair is thy love, my sister, my kallah! How much better is thy love than yayin! And the scent of thine perfumes than any spice!
11 Thy lips, O my kallah, drip like the honeycomb; devash and cholov are under thy tongue; and the scent of thy garments is like the scent of the Levanon.
12 A gan (garden) locked is my sister, my kallah; a spring enclosed, a ma’ayan (fountain) sealed.
13 Thy plants are a pardeis (park, paradise) of pomegranates, with pleasant p’ri; henna with spikenard,
14 Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with kol atzei levonah (all kinds of incense trees); myrrh and aloes, with all the finest spices:
15 A na’yan (fountain) of gardens, a be’er (well) of mayim chayyim (well of living waters), and streams from the Levanon.
16 Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south wind; blow upon my gan (garden), that the fragrances thereof may flow out. Let dodi (my beloved) come into his gan (garden), and let him taste its choice pri (fruits).
5 I am come into my gan (garden), my sister, my kallah; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my devash (honey); I have drunk my yayin with my cholov (milk): Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, dodim.
2 I sleep, but my lev waketh: it is the voice of dodi (my beloved) that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my yonah (dove) tammati (my undefiled, my perfect one); for my head is filled with tal (dew), and my hair with the drops of the lailah.
3 I have put off my kuttonet (kesones, chiton, robe); how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?
4 Dodi (my beloved) thrust his hand through the latchopening, my heart began pounding for him.
5 I arose to open to dodi (my beloved); and my hands dripped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the man’ul (lock, door bolt).
6 I opened to dodi (my beloved); but dodi had withdrawn and gone; my nefesh departed when he spoke; I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.
7 The shomrim (watchmen) that went about the city found me, they beat me, they wounded me; the shomrei hachomat (i.e., the shomrim, the guardians [of the city on the wall]) took away my cloak from me.
8 I charge you, O banot Yerushalayim, if ye find dodi (my beloved), what will ye tell him? Tell him shecholat ahavah ani (I am faint with ahavah, lovesick [see 2:5]).
9 How is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among nashim? How is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?
10 Dodi (my beloved) is radiant and ruddy, unrivaled by ten thousand.
11 His head is like the purest gold, his hair is wavy and shachor (black) as the raven.
12 His eyes are like yonim (doves) by the streams of mayim, washed with cholov, jewels fitly set.
13 His cheeks are like beds of spices, like sweet flowers; his lips like shoshanim (lilies), dripping sweet scented myrrh.
14 His hands are like rods of zahav set with chrysolites; his body is like a polished work of ivory decorated with sapphires.
15 His legs are like pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine zahav; his countenance is like the Levanon, bachor (one being choice) like the cedars.
16 His mouth is most sweet; yea, he is machamaddim (altogether desirable [see Shir HaShirim 2:3; Chaggai 2:7 says Moshiach is the Desired of all Nations]). This is dodi (my beloved), and this is my friend, O banot Yerushalayim. [T.N. The next chapter is commented on extensively beginning at page vii. This section is one of the most important Scriptures in the Bible because it buttresses Isa 7:14 and its foundational meaning.]
6 Where is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among nashim? Where is thy beloved turned aside, that we may seek him with thee?
2 Dodi (my beloved) is gone down into his gan (garden), to the beds of spices, to feed in the ganim (gardens), and to gather shoshanim (lilies).
3 I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine; he feedeth among the shoshanim.
4 Thou art yafeh, O my love, as Tirtzah, lovely as Yerushalayim, awe-inspiring as bannered troops on the march.
5 Turn away thine eyes from me, for they overwhelm me; thy hair is as an eder of goats that descend from Gil‘ad.
6 Thy teeth are as an eder harechalim (flock of ewes) which go up from the washing, whereof every one is matched, and there is not one missing among them.
7 As a half pomegranate is thy temple within thy veil.
8 There are threescore melakhot (queens), and fourscore pilagshim (concubines), and alamot (young unmarried virgins) without number [T.N. Alamot is plural of almah, "virgin," alamot, "virgins;" see Shir HaShirim 1:3; Yeshayah 7:14; Bereshis 24:43; Shemot 2:8; Mishlei 30:19 where the word means explicitly or implicitly "virgin" and where "young woman" is not an adequate rendering, in this case, since the King was hardly interested in only young women in his harem, but demanded "virgins"; the older Jewish translations like Harkavy’s so translated the word as "virgin" in this verse until it became politically incorrect to do so in later, more liberal Jewish translations into English].
9 My yonah (dove), tammati (my perfect one, my undefiled) is unique; she is the only one of her em (mother), she is the barah (choice one) of her that bore her. The banot saw her, they called her blessed; yea, the melakhot and the pilagshim [see 6:8] praise her.
10 Who is she that looks forth like the shachar (dawn), yafeh as the levanah (moon), clear as the sun, and aweinspiring as bannered troops on the march?
11 I went down into the grove of nut trees to see the blossoms of the valley, and to see whether hagefen (the vine) flourished and the pomegranates bloomed.
12 Before I was aware, my nefesh lifted me up to the merkevot of ammi (my people) of one, a royal one.
13 (7:1) Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may gaze upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the mecholat Machanayim (dance of the Machanayim [see Bereshis 32:3]).
7 How beautiful are thy feet in sandals, O prince’s daughter! Thy graceful legs are like jewels, ma’aseh yedei amon (the work of the hands of an artist, see Prov 8:30).
2 (7:3) Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not wine: thy waist is like a mound of chittim (wheat) encircled by shoshanim (lilies).
3 (7:4) Thy two breasts are like two fawns that are twins of a gazelle.
4 (7:5) Thy tzavar (neck) is like a migdal of ivory; thine eyes like the pools of Cheshbon, by the sha’ar (gate) of Bat-Rabbim; thy nose is like the migdal of the Levanon which looketh toward Damascus.
5 (7:6) Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like royal tapestry; Melech is held captive in its tresses.
6 (7:7) How fair and how pleasant art thou, O Ahavah, for delights!
7 (7:8) This thy stature is like a tamar (palm tree), and thy breasts eshkolot (clusters [of fruit]).
8 (7:9) I said, I will climb up to the tamar, I will take hold of the branches thereof; now also thy breasts shall be as eshkelot hagefen (clusters of the vine), and the scent of thy breath like apples;
9 (7:10) And the roof of thy mouth like the best yayin of dodi (my beloved), that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.
10 (7:11) I am my beloved’s, and to me goeth forth his teshukah (desire).
11 (7:12) Come, dodi (my beloved), let us go forth into the sadeh; let us lodge in the villages.
12 (7:13) Let us get up early to the kramim (vineyards); let us see if the gefen budded, whether the tender grape appears, and the pomegranates bloom; there will I give thee my love.
13 (7:14) The mandrakes send out their fragrance, and at our doors are all manner of pleasant fruits, chadashim (new ones) and yeshanim (old ones), which I have stored up and kept for thee, O dodi (my beloved). [T.N. Just as there are different classes of women in the harem—so there are different residences in the book of Esther, for the malkah, for the pilegesh and for the almah or betulah; cf Song 6:8 and Esther chp 2.]
8 O that thou were like my brother, that nursed the breasts of immi (my mother)! Then, if I should find thee outside, I would kiss thee; yea, and no one would look down on me.
2 I would lead thee, and bring thee into bais immi [see 3:4]. Thou wouldest instruct me; I would cause thee to drink of spiced yayin and the nectar of my pomegranate.
3 His left hand should be under my rosh, and his right hand embrace me.
4 I charge you, O banot Yerushalayim, that ye arouse nor awake HaAhavah (the Love) till it pleases [i,e., until its own time, see 2:7; 3:5] .
5 Who is this that cometh up from the midbar, leaning upon her beloved? Under the tapuach (apple tree) I awakened thee; it was there thy em conceived thee; there she who brought thee forth conceived thee.
6 Set me as a chotam (seal) upon thine lev, as a chotam upon thine zero’a (arm); for ahavah is strong as mavet (death); kinah (jealousy) as unyielding as Sheol; the flames thereof are flames of eish, the flame of Hashem.
7 Mayim rabbim (many waters) cannot quench HaAhavah, neither can the floods drown it; if a man would give all the wealth of his bais for ahavah, it would be utterly scorned.
8 We have an achot ketannah (little sister), and she hath as yet no breasts. What shall we do for achoteinu (our sister) in the day when she shall be spoken for?
9 If she be a chomah (wall), we will build upon her a pinnacle of kesef; and if she be a delet (door), we will enclose her with panels of cedar.
10 I am a chomah (wall), and my breasts, like migdalot; then was I in his eyes like one that findeth shalom.
11 Sh’lomo had a kerem (vineyard) at Baal-Hamon; he gave over the kerem (vineyard) unto caretakers; each had to pay a thousand pieces of kesef for the p’ri (fruit) thereof.
12 My kerem (vineyard), which is mine, is at my own disposal [see 7:13 (12)]; thou, O Sh’lomo, the thousand are for thee, and two hundred for those that tend the p’ri thereof!
13 Thou that dwellest in the ganim (gardens), the chaverim are listening for thy voice; cause me to hear it.
14 Make haste, dodi (my beloved), and be thou like to a gazelle or a young deer upon the mountains where spices grow.
1 Now it came to pass in the yamim when HaShofetim (the Judges) ruled, that there was a ra’av (famine) in the land. And a certain ish (man) of Beit-Lechem Yehudah went to sojourn in the sadei Moav, he, and his isha (wife), and his two banim (sons).
2 And the shem (name) of the ish (man) was Elimelech, and the shem (name) of his isha (wife) Naomi, and the shem of his two banim Machlon and Kilyon, Ephrathites of Beit-Lechem Yehudah. And they came into the sadei Moav, and continued there.
3 And Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left (alive) and her two banim.
4 And they took them wives of the nashim (women) of Moav; the shem (name) of the one was Orpah, and the shem (name) of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about eser shanim (ten years).
5 And Machlon and Kilyon died also both of them; and the isha was left (alive), surviving with neither her yeladim nor her ish.
6 Then she arose with her kallot, that she might make teshuvah (return) from the sadei Moav: for in the sadeh of Moav she had heard how that Hashem had visited His people in giving them lechem (bread).
7 Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two kallot with her; and they set on the derech (way, road) to make teshuvah (return) unto Eretz Yehudah.
8 And Naomi said unto her two kallot, Go, go back each to her beis em (mother’s house): may Hashem show chesed (lovingkindness) to you, as ye have dealt with hamesim (the dead ones), and with me.
9 Hashem grant you that ye may find menuchah (resting place), each of you in the bais of her ish. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.
10 And they said unto her, Surely we will make teshuvah (return) with thee unto thy people.
11 And Naomi said, Turn back, my banot; why will ye go with me? Are there yet any more banim in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
12 Turn back, my banot, go your way; for I am too old to have an ish. If I should say, I have tikvah, if I should have an ish halailah (tonight), and should also bear banim,
13 Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? Would ye stay from having ba’alim (husbands) for them? Nay, my banot; for it is more mar (bitter) for me than you, for the Yad Hashem has gone out against me.
14 And they lifted up their voice, and wept again; and Orpah kissed [cf Mt 26:49] her chamot; but Ruth clung unto her.
15 And she said, Hinei, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people, and unto her g-ds; return thou after thy sister-inlaw.
16 And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy G-d shall be Elohai;
17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried. Hashem do so to me, and more also, if anything but HaMavet part thee and me.
18 When she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she left urging her.
19 So they two went until they came to Beit-Lechem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Beit-Lechem, that kol ha’ir (all the town) was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?
20 And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi [Pleasant], call me Mara [Bitter]; for Shaddai hath dealt very bitterly with me.
21 I went away full and Hashem hath brought me back empty; why then call me Naomi, seeing Hashem hath testified against me, and Shaddai hath made me very bitter?
22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her kallah, with her, which returned out of the sadei Moav; and they came to Beit-Lechem in the beginning of katzir seorim (barley harvest).
2 And Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, an ish gibbor chayil, of the mishpochah of Elimelech; and shmo was Boaz.
2 And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the sadeh, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I shall find chen (grace, favor). And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.
3 And she went, and came, and gleaned in the sadeh behind the kotzerim (harvesters, reapers); and it so happened that she came on a part of the sadeh belonging unto Boaz, who was of the mishpochah of Elimelech.
4 And, hinei, Boaz came from Beit-Lechem, and said unto the kotzerim, Hashem be with you. And they answered him, Yevarech’chah Adonoi (Hashem bless thee).
5 Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the kotzerim, Whose na’arah is this?
6 And the servant that was set over the kotzerim answered and said, It is the na’arah from Moav that came back with Naomi out of the sadeh of Moav.
7 And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the kotzerim among the omarim (sheaves); so she came, and hath worked steadily from the boker even until now, except for a short rest in the bais.
8 Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another sadeh, neither go from hence, but abide here close by my ne’arot;
9 Let thine eyes be on the sadeh that they do reap, and go thou after them; have I not charged the ne’arim that they shall not touch thee? And when thou art athirst, go unto the kelim (vessels), and drink of that which the ne’arim have drawn.
10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found chen (favor, grace) in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a nokhriyah (foreigner, alien)?
11 And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shown me, all that thou hast done unto thy chamot since the mot (death) of thine ish; and how thou hast left thy av and thy em, and the eretz moledet, and art come unto an Am (people) which thou knewest not heretofore.
12 Hashem recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of Hashem Elohei Yisroel, under Whose wings thou art come to seek refuge.
13 Then she said, Let me find chen (favor, grace) in thy sight, adoni; for that thou hast brought nachamah (comfort) to me, and for that thou hast spoken to the lev of thine shifcha, though I be not like unto one of thine shfakhot.
14 And Boaz said unto her, At et haokhel (mealtime) come thou hither, and eat of the lechem, and dip thy morsel in the chometz. And she sat beside the kotzerim; and he offered her roasted grain, and she did eat, and was filled, and had left over [shirayim].
15 And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his ne’arim, saying, Let her glean even among the omarim, and reproach her not;
16 And let fall also some [out from the omarim] of the handfuls on purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.
17 So she gleaned in the sadeh until the erev, and she threshed what she had gleaned; and it was about an ephah of seorim.
18 And she took it up, and went into the town; and her chamot saw what she had gleaned; and she brought forth, and gave to her the left over [shirayim] after she had been filled.
19 And her chamot said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned hayom (today)? And where did you work? Baruch be he who did take knowledge of thee. And she showed her chamot with whom she had worked, and said, Shem HaIsh with whom I worked hayom (today) is Boaz.
20 And Naomi said unto her kallah, Baruch hu l’Hashem asher lo azav chasdo et haChayyim v’et haMesim (Blessed be he of Hashem who hath not abandoned his chesed to the living and to the dead). And Naomi said unto her, The man is karov unto us. MiGoaleinu hu (he is one of our kinsmen redeemers).
21 And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep close by my ne’arim, until they have ended kol HaKatzir that is mine.
22 And Naomi said unto Ruth her kallah, It is tov, my daughter, that thou go out with his ne’arot, because in someone else’s sadeh you might be harmed.
23 So she kept close by the ne’arot of Boaz to glean unto the end of katzir haseorim and of katzir chittim; and dwelt with her chamot.
3 Then Naomi her chamot said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek manoach (a resting place) for thee, that it may be well with thee?
2 And now is not Boaz our relative, with whose ne’arot thou wast? Hinei, he winnoweth haseorim halailah in the threshing floor.
3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the threshing floor; but make not thyself known unto the Ish, until he shall have done eating and drinking.
4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the makom (place) where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.
5 And she said unto her, Kol that thou sayest unto me I will do.
6 And she went down unto the threshing floor, and did according to kol that her chamot bade her.
7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his lev was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.
8 And it came to pass in the middle of the night, that the man was afraid, and turned himself; and, hinei, an isha lay at his feet!
9 And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid; spread therefore thy robe over thine amah (handmaid); for thou art a Go’el (Redeemer).
10 And he said, Berukhah at laHashem, my daughter; for thou hast showed more chesed in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not the bochurim, whether poor or rich.
11 And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest; for kol sha’ar ami doth have da’as that thou art an aishes chayil (virtuous woman, Prov 31).
12 And now it is true that I am thy Go’el; howbeit there is a Go’el karov mimeini (Redeemer nearer than I).
13 Tarry this night, and it shall be in the boker, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a Go’el, well; let him do the Go’el’s part; let him redeem you. But if he will not do the part of a Go’el to thee, then will I do the part of a Go’el to thee, as Hashem liveth. Lie down until HaBoker.
14 And she lay at his feet until HaBoker; and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that an isha came into the threshing floor.
15 Also he said, Bring the mitpachat (shawl) that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of seorim (barley) and laid it on her; and she went into the town.
16 And when she came to her chamot, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that HaIsh had done to her.
17 And she said, These six measures of seorim gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty-handed unto thy chamot (mother-in-law).
18 Then said she, Wait, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall; for HaIsh will not rest until the matter is settled HaYom.
4 Then went Boaz up to the sha’ar, and sat him down there; and, hinei, the Go’el of whom Boaz spoke came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! Turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.
2 And he took a minyan of the zekenim of the town, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.
3 And he said unto the Go’el, Naomi, that is come again out of the sadeh of Moav, selleth a share of sadeh, which was achinu (our brother) Elimelech’s;
4 And I thought to advise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the zekenim of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it; but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it.
5 Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the sadeh of the hand of Naomi, thou must acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the eshet hamet (wife of the dead man), lahakim (to raise up, resurrect) the shem hamet upon his nachalah (inheritance).
6 And the Go’el said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own nachalah; redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it.
7 Now this was the manner in former time in Yisroel concerning the geulah (redemption) and concerning the temurah (the substitute, exchange), for to confirm all things; a man plucked off his sandal, and gave it to his neighbor; and this was an attestation in Yisroel.
8 Therefore the Go’el said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his sandal.
9 And Boaz said unto the zekenim, and unto kol haAm, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Kilyon’s and Machlon’s, of the hand of Naomi.
10 Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Machlon, have I purchased to be my wife, lahakim (to raise up, resurrect) the shem hamet (name of the dead man) upon his nachalah, that the shem of the dead man be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the sha’ar of his place; ye are edim (witnesses) HaYom.
11 And kol HaAm that were in the sha’ar, and the zekenim, said, We are edim. Hashem make the isha haba’ah (the woman coming, see Gn 3:15; Isa 7:14) into thine bais [i.e. Bais Dovid] like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the Bais Yisroel; and do thou worthily in Ephrat, and be famous in Beit-Lechem;
12 And let thy bais be like the bais of Peretz, whom Tamar bore unto Yehudah, of the zera (Bereshis 22:18; Ga 3:16) which Hashem shall give thee of this na’arah.
13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his isha; and when he went in unto her, Hashem gave her conception, and she bore ben [see Isa 7:14].
14 And the nashim said unto Naomi, Baruch Hashem, which hath not left thee this yom without a Go’el. May shmo be famous in Yisroel.
15 And may he restore your nefesh and be a nourisher of thine old age; for thy kallah, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than shiva banim, hath born him.
16 And Naomi took the yeled, and laid him in her kheyk (bosom), and became omenet (nurse) unto it.
17 And the women her shchenim gave him a name, saying, There is a ben born to Naomi; and they called his name Oved; he is the father of Yishai, the father of Dovid.
18 Now these are the toldot of Peretz; Peretz fathered Chetzron,
19 And Chetzron fathered Ram, and Ram fathered Amminadav,
20 And Amminadav fathered Nachshon, and Nachshon fathered Salmon,
21 And Salmon fathered Boaz, and Boaz fathered Oved,
22 And Oved fathered Yishai, and Yishai fathered Dovid.
1 How doth HaIr (the city, Yerushalayim) sit solitary, that was full of people! How is she become like an almanah (widow)! She that was great among the Goyim, and sarah (princess) among the provinces, how is she become a forced laborer!
2 She weepeth bitterly in the lailah (night), and her tears are on her cheeks; among all her lovers she hath no Menachem (comforter); all her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies.
3 Yehudah is gone into the Golus (Exile) under affliction, and under great avodah (servitude); she dwelleth among the Goyim; she findeth no manoach (rest); all her rodefim (persecutors) overtook her in dire straits.
4 The darkhei Tziyon (approaches to Tziyon) do mourn, because none come to mo’ed (set feasts); all her she’arim (gates) are desolate; her kohanim sigh, her betulot (virgins) are afflicted, and she is in bitterness.
5 Her adversaries are now the rosh (supreme, master); her enemies prosper; for Hashem hath afflicted her because of the multitude of her peysha’im (transgressions); her olalim (little children) are gone into captivity before the enemy.
6 And from Bat Tziyon all her beauty has departed; her sarim (princes) are become like deer that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the rodef (persecutor, pursuer).
7 In the yamim (days) of her affliction and of her persecutions, Yerushalayim remembers all her pleasant things that she had miymei kedem (in the days of old), when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and there was no ozer (helper) for her; the adversaries saw her, and did mock at her downfall.
8 Yerushalayim hath grievously sinned; therefore she is niddah (unclean, Jewish woman’s untouchability during menstruation; Vayikra 15:19); all that honored her despise her, because they have seen her erom (nakedness); yea, she sigheth, and turneth away for shame.
9 Her filthiness is in her skirts; she remembereth not her latter end; therefore she sank appallingly; she had no Menachem (comforter). O Hashem, behold my affliction; for the enemy hath triumphed.
10 The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her precious things; for she hath seen how the Goyim entered into her [Beis] Hamikdash, whom Thou didst command that they should not enter into Thy Kahal (congregation, community).
11 All her people sigh, they seek lechem; they have given their precious things for bread to revive the nefesh; see, O Hashem, and consider that I am become despised.
12 Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Consider, and see if there be any sorrow like my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith Hashem hath afflicted me in the Yom Charon Af (day of His fierce anger).
13 From above hath He sent eish into my atzamot (bones), and it prevaileth against them; He hath spread a net for my feet, He hath turned me back; He hath made me desolate and kol hayom (ever) languishing.
14 The yoke of my peysha’im hath been fastened by His hand; they [i.e., my sins] intertwine themselves and set upon my tzavar (neck); He hath made my strength to fall; Hashem hath delivered me into their hands, from whom I am not able to rise up.
15 Hashem hath taken away all my strong ones in my midst; He hath proclaimed a mo’ed (set time) against me to crush my young men; Hashem hath trodden the winepress for the Betulat Bat Yehudah.
16 For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with mayim, because the Menachem (comforter) that should refresh my nefesh is far from me; my children are desolate, because the enemy hath prevailed.
17 Tziyon stretcheth forth her hands, yet there is no Menachem (comforter) for her; Hashem hath commanded concerning Ya’akov, that his adversaries should be round about him; Yerushalayim is as a niddah (menstruous woman) among them.
18 Tzaddik is Hashem; for I have rebelled against His mouth; hear, I pray you, kol amim (all people), and behold my sorrow; my betulot and my bochurim are gone into captivity.
19 I called for my lovers, but they have deceived me; my kohanim and my zekenim gave up the ghost (i.e., expired) in HaIr (the City), while they sought okhel (food) to revive their nefashot.
20 Consider, O Hashem how I am in distress; my bowels are troubled; mine lev is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled; without (i.e., outside), the cherev (sword) bereaveth, within (i.e., babayit, at home) it is like mavet (death).
21 They have heard that I sigh; there is no Menachem (comforter); all mine enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that Thou hast done it; Thou bringest the Yom Karata (the day that Thou has proclaimed), that they (all the peoples; see 1:18) may be like me.
22 Let all their wickedness come before Thee; and do unto them, as Thou hast done unto me for all my peysha’im; for my sighs are many, and my lev is faint.
2 How hath Adonoi covered Bat Tziyon with a cloud in His anger, and hurled down from Shomayim unto Eretz the tiferet Yisroel, and remembered not His hadom (footstool) in the Day of His Wrath!
2 Adonoi hath swallowed up all the habitations of Ya’akov, and hath not pitied; He hath torn down in His Wrath the strongholds of Bat Yehudah; He hath brought them down to the ground; chillel (He hath defiled) the mamlachah and the sarim (princes) thereof.
3 He hath cut off in His fierce anger kol keren Yisroel; He hath drawn back His right hand from before the oyev, and He burned against Ya’akov like a flaming eish, which devoureth all around.
4 He hath bent His keshet (bow) like an oyev; He took His stand with His right hand as an adversary, and slaughtered all that were pleasant to the eye in the ohel Bat Tziyon; He poured out His fury like eish.
5 Adonoi was like an oyev; He hath swallowed up Yisroel, He hath swallowed up all her armonot (palaces); He hath destroyed His strongholds, and hath increased in Bat Yehudah mourning and lamentation.
6 And He hath violently destroyed His sukkah, as if it were of a gan (garden); He hath laid waste His Mo’ed; Hashem hath caused Mo’ed and Shabbos to be forgotten in Tziyon, and in the indignation of His anger hath spurned Melech and Kohen.
7 Adonoi hath cast off His Mizbe’ach, He hath disowned His Mikdash, He hath given up into the yad oyev the chomot armonot of hers; they have raised shouts in the Beis Hashem, as in the Yom Mo’ed.
8 Hashem hath purposed to destroy the Chomat Bat Tziyon; He hath stretched out a measuring line, He hath not withdrawn His hand from destroying; therefore He made the rampart and the chomah to lament; they languished together.
9 Her she’arim are sunk into the ground; He hath destroyed and broken her bars; her melech and her sarim (princes) are among the Goyim; the torah is no more; her nevi’im also find no chazon (vision) from Hashem.
10 The Ziknei Bat Tziyon sit upon the ground, and keep silence; they have cast up aphar upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth; the Betulot Yerushalayim hang down their heads to the ground.
11 Mine eyes do fail from weepings, my insides are troubled, empty and poured upon ha’aretz, for the destruction of Bat Ami; because the olel and the infant swoon in the rechovot of the city.
12 They say to their imahot, Where is grain and yayin? Say they when they swooned like the wounded in the rechovot Ir, when their nefesh ebbed away into the kheyk imahot of them.
13 What thing shall I say to thee? What thing shall I liken to thee, O Bat Yerushalayim? What shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O Betulat Bat Tziyon? For thy shever (destruction) is as gadol as the yam. Who can heal thee?
14 Thy nevi’im have seen false and worthless visions for thee; and they have not exposed thine avon, to ward off thy captivity; but have seen for thee mase’ot shav and madduchim (false and misleading burdens, oracles).
15 All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at Bat Yerushalayim, saying, Is this the Ir that men call Kelilat Yofi Masos L’Khol HaAretz (perfection in beauty, the joy of the whole earth)?
16 All thine enemies have opened their mouth against thee; they hiss and gnash their teeth; they say, We have swallowed her up; certainly this is the Yom that we waited for; we have found, we have seen it.
17 Hashem hath done that which He had devised; He hath fulfilled His word that He decreed in the yemai kedem; He hath overthrown, and hath not pitied, and He hath caused thine oyev to gloat over thee, He hath exalted the keren of thine adversaries.
18 Their lev cried unto Adonoi, O Chomat Bat Tziyon, let tears run down like a river yomam valailah; give thyself no relief; let not thine eye rest.
19 Arise, cry out balailah; in the beginning of the night watches pour out thine lev like mayim before the face of Adonoi; lift up thy hands to Him for the nefesh of thy ollelim, that faint for hunger on every street corner.
20 Look, Hashem, and consider to whom Thou hast done this. Shall the nashim eat their offspring, the children they have cared for? Shall the Kohen and the Navi be slain in the Mikdash Adonoi?
21 The na’ar and the zaken lie in the dust of the streets; my betulot and my bochurim are fallen by the cherev; Thou hast slain them in the Day of Thy Wrath; Thou hast slaughtered, and not pitied.
22 Thou hast summoned as in a Yom Mo’ed my terrors all around, so that in the Yom Af Hashem none escaped nor remained; those that I have swaddled and reared hath mine oyev consumed.
3 I am the gever that hath seen affliction by the rod of His wrath.
2 He hath driven me away, and brought me into choshech, but not into ohr.
3 Surely against me is He turned; He turneth His yad against me kol hayom.
4 My basar and my ohr (skin) hath He made old; He hath broken my atzmot.
5 He hath set up seigeworks against me, and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
6 He hath set me in dark places, like the mesei olam (long dead).
7 He hath hedged me about, that I cannot escape; He hath made my chain heavy.
8 Also when I cry and call out, He shutteth out my tefillah.
9 He hath barred my ways with hewn stone, He hath made my paths crooked.
10 He was unto me like a dov (bear) lying in wait, and like an aryeh in mistarim (hiding places).
11 He hath turned aside the darkhei of mine, and pulled me in pieces; He hath made me desolate.
12 He hath bent His keshet, and set me as a target for the khetz (arrow).
13 He hath caused the arrows of His quiver to enter into my organs.
14 I was a derision to kol ami; and their [mocking] song kol hayom.
15 He hath filled me with merorim (bitter herbs); He hath made me drunk with suffering.
16 He hath also broken my teeth with gravel, He hath covered me with aphar.
17 And Thou hast removed my nefesh far off from shalom; I forgot tovah (prosperity).
18 And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from Hashem;
19 Remember mine oni (affliction) and my misery, the sorrow and the trouble.
20 My nefesh hath them still in remembrance, and is downcast in me.
21 This I recall to my lev, therefore have I hope:
22 Because of the chasdei Hashem we are not consumed, for His rachamim fail not.
23 They are chadashim every boker; great is Thy faithfulness.
24 Hashem is my chelek, saith my nefesh; therefore in hope will I wait for Him.
25 Hashem is tov unto them that wait for Him, to the nefesh that seeketh Him.
26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the Teshu’at Hashem.
27 It is tov for a gever that he bear the ol (yoke) from his youth.
28 He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because He hath laid it upon him.
29 He putteth his mouth in the aphar; there may yet be tikvah.
30 He offereth his lekhi (cheek) to him that striketh him; he is filled full with reproach [Isa 50:6].
31 For Adonoi will not cast off l’olam (forever);
32 But though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion according to the rov chasadav (the multitude of His mercies).
33 For He doth not afflict willingly nor bring grief to Bnei Ish.
34 To crush under His feet kol asirei eretz (all the prisoners of the earth),
35 To turn aside the mishpat gever (the right of a man) before the face of Elyon,
36 To subvert a man in his cause, Adonoi approveth not.
37 Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when Adonoi commandeth it not?
38 Out of the mouth of Elyon proceedeth not hara’ot (the woe) and hatov (the good)?
39 Why doth an adam chai (any man alive) complain, a gever for the punishment of his sins?
40 Let us search and test derakheinu (our ways), and let us turn again to Hashem.
41 Let us lift up levavenu (our heart) with our hands unto El baShomayim.
42 We have transgressed and have rebelled; Atah lo salachta (Thou hast not pardoned, forgiven).
43 Thou hast covered with af (anger), and pursued us; Thou hast slain, Thou hast not pitied.
44 Thou hast covered Thyself with an anan, that our tefillah not pass through.
45 Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse among the amim.
46 Kol oyveinu (all our enemies) have opened their mouths against us.
47 Pachad (terror) and a snare is come upon us, ruin and destruction.
48 Mine eye runneth down with streams of mayim for the destruction of Bat Ami.
49 Mine eye will flow down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission
50 Till Hashem look down, and behold from Shomayim.
51 Mine eye affecteth mine nefesh because of all the banot of my city.
52 Mine enemies hunted me down, like a tzippor (bird), without cause.
53 They have cut off my life in the bor (pit) and cast an even (stone) upon me.
54 Mayim flowed over mine rosh; then I said, I am cut off.
55 I called upon Thy Shem, Hashem, out of the lowest pit.
56 Thou hast heard my voice; close not thine ear at my sighing, at my cry.
57 Thou drewest near on the Yom that I called upon Thee; Thou saidst, Fear not.
58 Adonoi, Thou hast pleaded the causes of my nefesh; Thou hast redeemed my life.
59 Hashem, Thou hast seen my wrong; uphold my cause.
60 Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their machsh’vot against me.
61 Thou hast heard their reproach, Hashem, and all their machsh’vot against me;
62 The whisperings of those that rose up against me, and their muttering against me kol hayom.
63 Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; Ani (I) am their mocking song.
64 Render unto them a gemul (recompence), Hashem, according to the work of their hands.
65 Give them hardness of lev as thy curse unto them.
66 Pursue in anger and destroy them from under HaShomayim of Hashem.
4 How has the zahav lost its luster! How is the most fine gold changed! The avnei kodesh are poured out on every street corner.
2 The precious Bnei Tziyon, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the yotzer (potter)!
3 Even the jackals offer the breast; they nurse their young ones; the Bat Ami is become heartless, like the ostriches in the midbar.
4 The leshon of the nursing infant cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst; the olalim beg for lechem, and no man giveth it unto them.
5 They that did feed delicately are destitute in the chutzot; they that were brought up in purple lie on dunghills.
6 For the punishment of the iniquity of the Bat Ami is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands helped her.
7 Her nobles were purer than snow; they were whiter than cholov, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their appearance was of sapphire;
8 Their visage is blacker than soot; they are not known in the streets; their skin cleaveth to their atzmot; it is dried up, it is become like a stick.
9 They that are slain with the cherev are better than they that are slain with hunger; for these pine away, being pierced for want of the increase of the sadeh.
10 The hands of the pitiful nashim have cooked their own yeladim; they were their meat in the destruction of the Bat Ami.
11 Hashem hath accomplished His fury; He hath poured out His charon af, and hath kindled an eish in Tziyon, and it hath devoured the yesodot thereof.
12 The malkhei eretz, and all the inhabitants of the tevel (world), would not have believed that the adversary and the oyev should have entered into the sha’arei Yerushalayim.
13 For the sins of her Nevi’im, and the iniquities of her Kohanim, that have shed the dahm of the Tzaddikim in the midst of her,
14 They have groped about like ivrim (blind men) in the streets; they have defiled themselves with dahm, so that men dare not touch their garments.
15 They cried unto them, Go away; tamei (unclean)! Depart, depart, touch not; so they fled away and wandered. They said among the Goyim, They shall no more sojourn there.
16 The anger of Hashem hath scattered them; He will no more regard them; they respected not the persons of the Kohanim; they showed no favor to the Zekenim.
17 As for us, our eyes failed looking in vain for ezratenu (our help); from our towers we have watched for a nation that could not save us.
18 They stalk our steps, that we cannot go in our streets; kitzeinu (our end) is near, our yamim are numbered; for kitzeinu is come.
19 Our pursuers are swifter than the eagles of Shomayim; they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the midbar.
20 The Moshiach of Hashem, who was our very life, was taken in their traps, of whom we said, Under his shadow [of protection] we shall live among the Goyim.
21 Rejoice and be glad, O Bat Edom, that dwellest in Eretz Uz; the kos (cup) also shall pass unto thee; thou shalt be drunk, and shalt be stripped naked.
22 The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O Bat Tziyon; He will no more prolong your Golus; He will visit thine iniquity, O Bat Edom; He will expose thy sins.
5 Remember, Hashem, what is come upon us; consider, and behold our reproach.
2 Our nachalah is turned over to zarim, our batim (houses) to foreigners.
3 We are yetomim and fatherless, immoteinu are like almanot.
4 We must pay kesef for our own mayim; our wood is sold unto us.
5 Our necks are under persecution; we are weary, and have no rest.
6 We have submitted to the Mitzrayim, and to the Assyrians, to get enough lechem.
7 Avoteinu have sinned, and are no more; and we have borne their iniquities.
8 Avadim have ruled over us; there is none that doth deliver us out of their yad.
9 We get our lechem with the peril of our lives because of the cherev of the midbar.
10 Our skin was hot like an oven because we burn with ra’av (hunger, famine).
11 They ravished the nashim in Tziyon, and the betulot in the towns of Yehudah.
12 Sarim (princes) are hanged by their yad; the faces of Zekenim were not respected.
13 They took the bochurim to grind, and the ne’arim staggered under the wood.
14 The zekenim have ceased from the sha’ar, the bochurim from their music.
15 The joy of our heart is gone; mekholeinu (our dance) is turned into mourning.
16 The ateret is fallen from our head; woe unto us, for we have sinned!
17 For this our lev is faint; because of these things our eyes are dim.
18 Because of the Har Tziyon, which is desolate, the jackals prowl upon it.
19 Thou, Hashem, remainest forever;Thy throne from generation to generation.
20 Why dost Thou forget us forever, and forsake us for so long?
21 Restore us, Hashem, to Thyself that we may return; renew yamenu (our days) as of old.
22 Unless Thou hast utterly rejected us and Thou art angry with us beyond measure.
1 Divrei Kohelet, Ben Dovid, Melech in Yerushalayim.
2 Hevel havalim, saith Kohelet, hevel havalim; all is hevel.
3 What profit hath a man from all his amal (toil) which he hath toiled under the shemesh?
4 Dor v’dor, generations come and go, passing away; but ha’aretz remaineth l’olam.
5 The shemesh also ariseth, and the shemesh goeth down, and hasteth to its place, there to arise again.
6 The ruach (wind) goeth toward the darom (south), and turneth about unto the tzafon (north); it whirleth about continually, and the ruach returneth again according to its circuits.
7 All the neharot (rivers) run into the yam; yet the yam is not full; unto the place from whence the neharot come, thither they return to go again.
8 All things are wearisome; no ish can express it; the ayin is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ozen full with hearing.
9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done; and there is nothing chadash under the shemesh.
10 Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is chadash? L’olamim (ages ago), which were before us, it hath been already.
11 There is no zichron (remembrance) of former things; neither shall there be with those who come after any zikaron (recollection) of things that are to come.
12 I, Kohelet, was Melech over Yisroel in Yerushalayim.
13 And I set my lev to seek and search out by chochmah concerning all things that are done under Shomayim; what grievous task hath Elohim given to the bnei haAdam to be afflicted therewith.
14 I have seen all the ma’asim that are done under the shemesh; and, hinei, all is hevel and chasing after ruach (wind).
15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and chesron (that which is lacking) cannot be numbered.
16 I communed with mine own lev, saying, Hinei, I am come to greatness, even greater chochmah than all they that have been before me over Yerushalayim; yea, my lev had great experience of chochmah and da’as.
17 And I applied my lev to have da’as of chochmah, and to have da’as of holelot (madness) and sichlut (folly); I perceived that this also is striving after ruach (wind).
18 For in much chochmah (wisdom) is much ka’as (grief, vexation); and he that increaseth da’as increaseth mach’ov (sorrow).
2 I said in mine lev, Come now, I will test thee with simchah, therefore enjoy tov; and, hinei, this also is hevel.
2 I said of laughter, It is mad; and of simchah, What doeth it accomplish?
3 I searched in mine lev to draw my basar on with yayin, my mind guiding me with chochmah; and to lay hold on sichlut (folly), till I might see what was tov for bnei haAdam, which they should do under Shomayim all the few days of their life.
4 I undertook me great works; I built me batim (houses); I planted me kramim (vineyards);
5 I made me ganot (gardens) and parks, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them;
6 I made me reservoirs of mayim, to water therewith the forest of trees tzomeiach (sprouting up);
7 I bought me avadim and shfakhot, and had bnei bayit (avadim born in my bais); also I had great possessions of herds and tzon more than all that were in Yerushalayim before me;
8 I amassed for me also kesef and zahav, and the treasure of melachim and of the provinces; I acquired for me men singers and women singers, and the delights of bnei haAdam, musical instruments of all kinds.
9 So I was great, and excelled more than all that were before me in Yerushalayim; also my chochmah remained with me.
10 And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my lev from any simchah; for my lev rejoiced in all my amal (labor); and this was my chelek (portion) for all my amal.
11 Then I looked on kol ma’asim that my hands had wrought, and on the amal that I had labored to do; and, hinei, all was hevel and chasing after ruach, and there was no profit under the shemesh.
12 And I turned myself to consider chochmah, and holelot, and sichlut; for what can the adam do who cometh after HaMelech? Even that which hath been done already.
13 Then I saw that chochmah excelleth sichlut, as far as ohr excelleth choshech.
14 The chacham (wise man) hath eyes in his rosh; but the kesil (fool) walketh in choshech; but I myself perceived also that the same mikreh (fortune) happeneth to them all.
15 Then said I in my lev, As the mikreh befalls the kesil, so also will the same mikreh befall me; and wherein have I then been of more chochmah? Then I said in my lev, This also is hevel.
16 For no zichron (remembrance) of the chacham—-no less the kesil—remains l’olam; seeing that in hayamim haba’im (the days to come) all shall be forgotten. How can the chacham die just like the kesil?
17 Therefore I hated HaChayyim (Life); because the ma’aseh that is wrought under the shemesh is grievous unto me; for all is hevel and chasing after ruach.
18 Yea, I hated all my amal for which I had toiled under the shemesh; because I must leave it unto the adam that shall occupy my place after me.
19 And who hath da’as whether he shall be a chacham or a kesil? Nevertheless shall he have shlitah (control, authority) over all my amal for which I have toiled, and have poured out my chochmah under the shemesh. This also is hevel.
20 Therefore I turned aside to give up my lev to despair over all the wearisome amal with which I toiled under the shemesh.
21 For there is an adam whose amal is with chochmah, and da’as, and kishron (skill); yet to an adam that hath not worked for it he must leave it for his chelek. This also is hevel and a ra’ah rabbah.
22 For what hath adam for all his amal, and for all the striving of his lev, wherein he hath labored under the shemesh?
23 For all his yamim are machovim (sorrows), and his travail ka’as (grief, vexation); yea, his lev taketh not rest balailah. This also is hevel.
24 There is nothing better for adam, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his nefesh find satisfaction in his amal. Also this I saw; even this was from the Yad HaElohim.
25 For who can eat, or who can find enjoyment without Hashem?
26 For to the adam that is pleasing in His sight, Hashem gives chochmah, and da’as, and simchah; but to the choteh (sinner) Hashem giveth travail; Hashem giveth the work of gathering and storing up, that Hashem may give to him that pleases HaElohim. This also is hevel and chasing after ruach.
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