And life unto the bitter in soul;
Which long for death, but it cometh not;
And dig for it more than for hid treasures;
Which rejoice exceedingly,
And are glad, when they can find the grave?
Why is light given to a man whose way is hid,
And whom God hath hedged in?
For my sighing cometh before I eat,
And my roarings are poured out like the waters.
For the thing which I greatly feared is come

upon me, And that which I was afraid of is come unto me. I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither

was I quiet; Yet trouble came.

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be

grieved?
But who can withhold himself from speaking?
Behold, thou hast instructed many,
And thou hast strengthened the weak hands.
Thy words have upholdeh him that was falling,
And thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.
But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest;
It toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.
Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope,

And the uprightness of thy ways?
Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being

innocent?
Or where were the righteous cut off?
Even as I have seen,
They that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap

the same. By the blast of God they perish, And by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed. The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce

lion, And the teeth of the young lions, are broken. The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, And the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad. Now a thing was secretly brought to me, And mine ear received a little thereof. In thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falleth on men, Fear came upon me, and trembling, Which made all

my

bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair of

my

flesh stood up: It stood still, but I could not discern the form there

of:
An image was before mine eyes,
There was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,
Shall mortal man be more just than God?

Shall a man be more pure than his maker?
Behold, he put no trust in his servants;
And his angels he charged with folly:
How much less in them that dwell in houses of

clay,
Whose foundation is in the dust,
Which are crushed before the moth?
They are destroyed from morning to evening:
They perish for ever without any regarding it.
Doth not their excellency which is in them go

away? They die, even without wisdom. Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; And to which of the saints wilt thou turn? For wrath killeth the foolish man, And envy slayeth the silly one. I have seen the foolish taking root: But suddenly I cursed his habitation. His children are far from safety, And they are crushed in the gate, Neither is there any to deliver them. Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, And taketh it even out of the thorns, And the robber swalloweth up their substance. Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, Neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; Yet man is born unto trouble,

As the sparks fly upward.
I would seek unto God,
And unto God would I commit my cause:
Which doeth great things and unsearchable;
Marvellous things without number:
Who giveth rain upon the earth,
And sendeth waters upon the fields:
To set up on high those that be low;
That those which mourn may be exalted to safety.
He disappointeth the devices of the crafty,
So that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.
He taketh the wise in their own craftiness:
And the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.
They meet with darkness in the daytime,
And grope in the noonday as in the night.
But he saveth the poor from the sword,
From their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.
So the

poor

hath hope,
And iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth:
Therefore despise not thou the chastening of the

Almighty:
For he maketh sore,

and bindeth up:
He woundeth, and his hands make whole.
He shall deliver thee in six troubles:
Yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
In famine he shall redeem thee from death:

And in war from the power of the sword.
Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue:
Neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when

it cometh. At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: Neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the

earth. For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the

field: And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with

thee. And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be

in peace;

And thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not

sin. Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, And thine offspring as the grass of the earth. Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, Like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season. Lo this, we have searched it, so it is;

Hear it, and know thou it for thy good. But Job answered and said, Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, And my calamity laid in the balances together! For now it would be heavier than the sand of the

sea:

Therefore my words are swallowed up.