Job 15:2–8

²⁶Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as wind?

²How long wilt thou speak these things? and how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind?

¹EPHRAIM feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.

¹³Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.

²Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?

³Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?

²What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you.

⁶Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

³⁶But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

³⁷For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

⁴He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,

⁵Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

⁴But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.

⁵O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom.

²I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all.

³Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest?

¹BUT Job answered and said,

²How hast thou helped him that is without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength?

³How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is?

¹³¶ Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?

¹⁴Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?

¹⁵And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.

³¹Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

¹³¶ So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it;

¹⁴And inquired not of the Lord: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.

¹⁰And a man’s uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the Lord.

²¹I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

¹⁴And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against me.

¹⁰Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God?

⁵But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.

⁶Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?

⁸I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:

¹⁴To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.

¹AND he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

¹²⁶It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law.

¹THE transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.

²For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful.

³The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good.

⁶And them that are turned back from the Lord; and those that have not sought the Lord, nor inquired for him.

²⁶If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.

³And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord.

⁴Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.

⁵And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.

⁵Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

⁶And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

⁷For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:

⁸But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

⁸Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.

⁴⁵A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

¹⁹Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.

²⁰Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son.

²Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp rasor, working deceitfully.

³Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.

⁴Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.

¹³He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.

²²This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.

²³If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent.

²⁴The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he?

²Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.

³What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?

³Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:

⁶The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.

²¹For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

²²Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

²²And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:

²⁰If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.

³⁷For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

⁸Surely thou hast spoken in mine hearing, and I have heard the voice of thy words, saying,

⁹I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me.

¹⁰Behold, he findeth occasions against me, he counteth me for his enemy,

¹¹He putteth my feet in the stocks, he marketh all my paths.

¹²Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man.

⁵For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment.

⁶Should I lie against my right? my wound is incurable without transgression.

⁷What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water?

⁸Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity, and walketh with wicked men.

⁹For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God.

²Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God’s?

³For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? and, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin?

⁸Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

³Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.

⁸So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away.

⁶⁵Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.

²Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

¹²With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.

⁴Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

⁵Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

⁶Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;

⁷When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

⁸Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?

⁹When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,

¹⁰And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,

¹¹And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

¹²Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;

¹³That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?

¹⁴It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.

¹⁵And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.

¹⁶Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?

¹⁷Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?

¹⁸Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.

¹⁹Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

²⁰That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?

²¹Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?

²²Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

²³Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?

²⁴By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?

²⁵Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;

²⁶To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;

²⁷To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?

²⁸Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

²⁹Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

³⁰The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

³¹Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?

³²Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?

³³Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

³⁴Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?

³⁵Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?

³⁶Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?

³⁷Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,

³⁸When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?

³⁹Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,

⁴⁰When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?

⁴¹Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.

²²The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.

²³I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.

²⁴When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.

²⁵Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:

¹AND Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.

¹⁰With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father.

³⁴For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counseller?

¹⁸For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?

¹⁶For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

⁹But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

¹⁰But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

¹¹For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

⁷Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

²⁹The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

⁶And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.

²No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.

⁵O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom.

⁶Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips.

⁴As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle;

¹⁵Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

²⁵¶ At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

¹¹He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

³⁵That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

³²For the froward is abomination to the Lord: but his secret is with the righteous.

¹⁴The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.

²⁵Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

²⁶But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: