For the arrows of the Almighty are within me,
The poison whereof drinketh up my spirit:
The terrors of God do set themselves in array

against me.
Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass?
Or loweth the ox over his fodder?
Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt?
Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
The things that my soul refused to touch
Are as my sorrowful meat.
Oh that I might have my request;
And that God would grant me the thing that I long

for! Even that it would please God to destroy me; That he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! Then should I

yet

have comfort; Yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not

spare; For I have not concealed the words of the Holy One. What is my strength, that I should hope? And what is mine end, that I should prolong my

life? Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh of brass? Is not my help in me? And is wisdom driven quite from me? To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from

his friend;

But he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.
My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook,
And as the stream of brooks they pass away;
Which are blackish by reason of the ice,
And wherein the snow is hid:
What time they wax warm, they vanish:
When it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.
The paths of their way are turned aside;
They go to nothing, and perish.
The troops of Tema looked,
The companies of Sheba waited for them.
They were confounded because they had hoped;
They came thither, and were ashamed.
For now ye are nothing;
Ye see my casting down, and are afraid.
Did I say, Bring unto me?
Or, Give a reward for me of your substance?
Or, Deliver me from the enemy's hand?
Or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty?
Teach me, and I will hold my tongue:
And cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
How forcible are right words!
But what doth your arguing reprove?
Do ye imagine to reprove words,
And the speeches of one that is desperate, which are

as wind?
Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless,

And

ye dig a pit for

your

friend. Now therefore be content, look upon me; For it is evident unto you if I lie. Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; Yea, return again, my righteousness is in it. Is there iniquity in my tongue? Cannot my taste discern perverse things? Is There not an appointed time to man upon earth? Are not his days also like the days of an hireling? As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, And as an hireling looketh for the reward of his

work: So am I made to possess months of vanity, And wearisome nights are appointed to me. When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the

night be gone? And I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawn

ing of the day. My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; My skin is broken, and become loathsome. My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, And are spent without hope. O remember that

my

life is wind: Mine

eye

shall no more see good. The eye

of him that hath seen me shall see me no

more:

Thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.

As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away:
So he that goeth down to the grave shall come up

no more.
He shall return no more to his house,
Neither shall his place know him any more.
Therefore I will not refrain

my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
Am I a sea, or a whale,
That thou settest a watch over me?
When I say, My bed shall comfort me,
My couch shall ease my complaint;
Then thou scarest me with dreams,
And terrifiest me through visions:
So that my soul chooseth strangling,
And death rather than

my

life. I loathe it; I would not live alway: Let me alone; for my days are vanity. What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? And that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him? And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, And try him every moment? How long wilt thou not depart from me, Nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle? I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou pre

server of men? Why hast thou set me as a mark against thee,

So that I am a burden to myself?
And why dost thou not pardon my transgression,
And take away mine iniquity?
For now shall I sleep in the dust;
And thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I

shall not be.

like a strong

Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,

How long wilt thou speak these things?
And how long shall the words of thy mouth be

wind?
Doth God pervert judgment?
Or doth the Almighty pervert justice?
If thy children have sinned against him,
And he have cast them

away

for their transgres

sion;

If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes,
And make thy supplication to the Almighty;
If thou wert pure and upright;
Surely now he would awake for thee,
And make the habitation of thy righteousness pro-

sperous. Though thy beginning was small, Yet thy latter end should greatly increase. For enquire, I pray thee, of the former age, And prepare thyself to the search of their fathers: (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, Because our days upon earth are a shadow:)