The Bible (Old and New Testaments)

Or darkness, so that thou canst not see, And abundance of waters cover thee.

Is not God in the height of heaven? And behold the height of the stars, how high they are!

And thou sayest, What doth God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness?

Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he seeth not; And he walketh on the vault of heaven.

Wilt thou keep the old way Which wicked men have trodden?

Who were snatched away before their time, Whose foundation was poured out as a stream,

Who said unto God, Depart from us; And, What can the Almighty do for us?

Yet he filled their houses with good things: But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

The righteous see it, and are glad; And the innocent laugh them to scorn,

[Saying], Surely they that did rise up against us are cut off, And the remnant of them the fire hath consumed.

Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: Thereby good shall come unto thee.

Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, And lay up his words in thy heart.

If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, If thou put away unrighteousness far from thy tents.

And lay thou [thy] treasure in the dust, And [the gold of] Ophir among the stones of the brooks;

And the Almighty will be thy treasure, And precious silver unto thee.

For then shalt thou delight thyself in the Almighty, And shalt lift up thy face unto God.

Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he will hear thee; And thou shalt pay thy vows.

Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee; And light shall shine upon thy ways.

When they cast [thee] down, thou shalt say, [There is] lifting up; And the humble person he will save.

He will deliver [even] him that is not innocent: Yea, he shall be delivered through the cleanness of thy hands.

Then Job answered and said,

Even to-day is my complaint rebellious: My stroke is heavier than my groaning.

Oh that I knew where I might find him! That I might come even to his seat!

I would set my cause in order before him, And fill my mouth with arguments.

I would know the words which he would answer me, And understand what he would say unto me.

Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? Nay; but he would give heed unto me.

There the upright might reason with him; So should I be delivered for ever from my judge.

Behold, I go forward, but he is not [there]; And backward, but I cannot perceive him;

On the left hand, when he doth work, but I cannot behold him; He hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him.

But he knoweth the way that I take; When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

My foot hath held fast to his steps; His way have I kept, and turned not aside.

I have not gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured up the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

But he is in one [mind], and who can turn him? And what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.

For he performeth that which is appointed for me: And many such things are with him.

Therefore am I terrified at his presence; When I consider, I am afraid of him.

For God hath made my heart faint, And the Almighty hath terrified me;

Because I was not cut off before the darkness, Neither did he cover the thick darkness from my face.

Why are times not laid up by the Almighty? And why do not they that know him see his days?

There are that remove the landmarks; They violently take away flocks, and feed them.

They drive away the ass of the fatherless; They take the widow’s ox for a pledge.

They turn the needy out of the way: The poor of the earth all hide themselves.

Behold, as wild asses in the desert They go forth to their work, seeking diligently for food; The wilderness [yieldeth] them bread for their children.

They cut their provender in the field; And they glean the vintage of the wicked.

They lie all night naked without clothing, And have no covering in the cold.

They are wet with the showers of the mountains, And embrace the rock for want of a shelter.

There are that pluck the fatherless from the breast, And take a pledge of the poor;

[So that] they go about naked without clothing, And being hungry they carry the sheaves.

They make oil within the walls of these men; They tread [their] winepresses, and suffer thirst.

From out of the populous city men groan, And the soul of the wounded crieth out: Yet God regardeth not the folly.

These are of them that rebel against the light; They know not the ways thereof, Nor abide in the paths thereof.

The murderer riseth with the light; He killeth the poor and needy; And in the night he is as a thief.

The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, Saying, No eye shall see me: And he disguiseth his face.

In the dark they dig through houses: They shut themselves up in the day-time; They know not the light.

For the morning is to all of them as thick darkness; For they know the terrors of the thick darkness.

Swiftly they [pass away] upon the face of the waters; Their portion is cursed in the earth: They turn not into the way of the vineyards.

Drought and heat consume the snow waters: [So doth] Sheol [those that] have sinned.

The womb shall forget him; The worm shall feed sweetly on him; He shall be no more remembered; And unrighteousness shall be broken as a tree.

He devoureth the barren that beareth not, And doeth not good to the widow.

Yet [God] preserveth the mighty by his power: He riseth up that hath no assurance of life.

[God] giveth them to be in security, and they rest thereon; And his eyes are upon their ways.

They are exalted; yet a little while, and they are gone; Yea, they are brought low, they are taken out of the way as all others, And are cut off as the tops of the ears of grain.

And if it be not so now, who will prove me a liar, And make my speech nothing worth?

Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,

Dominion and fear are with him; He maketh peace in his high places.

Is there any number of his armies? And upon whom doth not his light arise?

How then can man be just with God? Or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?

Behold, even the moon hath no brightness, And the stars are not pure in his sight:

How much less man, that is a worm! And the son of man, that is a worm!

Then Job answered and said,

How hast thou helped him that is without power! How hast thou saved the arm that hath no strength!

How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom, And plentifully declared sound knowledge!

To whom hast thou uttered words? And whose spirit came forth from thee?

They that are deceased tremble Beneath the waters and the inhabitants thereof.

Sheol is naked before [God], And Abaddon hath no covering.

He stretcheth out the north over empty space, And hangeth the earth upon nothing.

He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; And the cloud is not rent under them.

He incloseth the face of his throne, And spreadeth his cloud upon it.

He hath described a boundary upon the face of the waters, Unto the confines of light and darkness.

The pillars of heaven tremble And are astonished at his rebuke.

He stirreth up the sea with his power, And by his understanding he smiteth through Rahab.

By his Spirit the heavens are garnished; His hand hath pierced the swift serpent.

Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways: And how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?

And Job again took up his parable, and said,

As God liveth, who hath taken away my right, And the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul

(For my life is yet whole in me, And the spirit of God is in my nostrils);

Surely my lips shall not speak unrighteousness, Neither shall my tongue utter deceit.

Far be it from me that I should justify you: Till I die I will not put away mine integrity from me.

My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: My heart shall not reproach [me] so long as I live.

Let mine enemy be as the wicked, And let him that riseth up against me be as the unrighteous.

For what is the hope of the godless, though he get him gain, When God taketh away his soul?

Will God hear his cry, When trouble cometh upon him?

Will he delight himself in the Almighty, And call upon God at all times?

I will teach you concerning the hand of God; That which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.

Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; Why then are ye become altogether vain?

This is the portion of a wicked man with God, And the heritage of oppressors, which they receive from the Almighty:

If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword; And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

Those that remain of him shall be buried in death, And his widows shall make no lamentation.

Though he heap up silver as the dust, And prepare raiment as the clay;

He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, And the innocent shall divide the silver.

He buildeth his house as the moth, And as a booth which the keeper maketh.