Job 30:8–31

²²Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.

⁶For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

¹⁸The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.

⁴Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.

²⁴And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.

²²How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

⁷¶ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

³He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counseller to do wickedly.

¹⁸And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.

²⁷And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, as did the house of Ahab: for he was the son in law of the house of Ahab.

⁴In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

¹⁰For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.

¹¹Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.

¹²Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.

¹³This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.

⁶He hath made me also a byword of the people; and aforetime I was as a tabret.

⁶³Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their musick.

¹⁴I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day.

⁴I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn.

¹⁵But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not:

¹⁶With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.

¹¹I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them.

¹²They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards.

¹⁴Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people.

⁶I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

⁶⁷Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,

¹⁴¶ And the Lord said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.

⁸Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.

⁹Then shall his brother’s wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother’s house.

³⁰And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.

⁶He hath made me also a byword of the people; and aforetime I was as a tabret.

¹³He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me.

¹⁴My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me.

¹⁹All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me.

⁶Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

⁵⁶But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.

⁷All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.

⁸Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.

²¹He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty.

¹⁸He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle.

²¹I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?

⁵¶ And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came.

⁶And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left.

⁷And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial:

⁸The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man.

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.

⁶⁷Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,

⁶⁸Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?

³⁹¶ And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,

⁴⁰And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

⁴¹Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,

⁴²He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

⁴³He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

⁴⁴The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.

⁹Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.

²¹Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.

¹²His troops come together, and raise up their way against me, and encamp round about my tabernacle.

⁵And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.

¹⁸Yea, young children despised me; I arose, and they spake against me.

⁴Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings.

⁵The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me. Selah.

¹²¶ As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

²⁶For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.

¹⁵And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.

⁷Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:

⁸And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.

¹⁶Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood:

⁴The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.

¹⁴Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.

¹⁵Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.

³Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.

⁴For 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.

²²I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.

²³For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.

⁴My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.

⁵Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.

¹⁵I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.

⁴¶ O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.

¹⁶For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me.

²⁵For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.

¹⁴Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions:

⁹As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more.

²⁷If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself:

²⁸I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.

⁴When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.

¹⁴I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.

¹²Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

²⁴For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters.

¹²For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.

¹⁵And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord.

¹³I reckoned till morning, that, as a lion, so will he break all my bones: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.

¹⁹He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain:

²⁰So that his life abhorreth bread, and his soul dainty meat.

²¹His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; and his bones that were not seen stick out.

⁴When 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 dawning of the day.

²O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.

²Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak: O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed.

³My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O Lord, how long?

⁴Return, O Lord, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies’ sake.

⁵For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?

⁶I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.

²For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore.

³There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.

⁴For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.

⁵My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.

⁶I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.

⁷For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh.

⁸I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.

²⁰My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.

⁷¶ So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

⁵My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome.

⁵¶ Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

⁶From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

⁵My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.

³¹Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me.

²⁷And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:

⁶Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

¹⁴Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.

⁶Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.

¹SAVE me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul.

²I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.

⁸And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.

⁷Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.

⁸Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.

²O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.

⁴O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?

⁵Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure.

⁹Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him?

⁴⁴Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through.

²³But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.

¹⁴If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity.

¹⁵If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction;

¹⁶For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me.

¹⁷Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me.

⁹He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.

¹⁰They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me.

¹¹God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked.

¹²I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.

¹³His archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground.

¹⁴He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon me like a giant.

⁶Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

³Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?

⁶Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net.

⁷Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.

⁸He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths.

⁹He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head.

¹⁴All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased.

²⁵Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?

²⁶For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth.

²⁷Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly unto all my paths; thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet.

²⁸And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth, as a garment that is moth eaten.

²²Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh?

⁶Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me.

⁹Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!

²⁰I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?

²¹And 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.

⁷Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more?

⁸Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore?

⁹Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.

¹³Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.

²¹The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place.

⁴The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

²Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them.

³Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.

¹⁹The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

¹³The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.

¹¹At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,

¹²Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them.

¹⁸They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away.

¹⁷For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause.

³Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:

¹⁰And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.

⁵Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

⁶Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

⁷Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

⁸There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.

⁵For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

²⁷And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

¹⁴For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.

¹⁹In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

⁵Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;

³³The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him.

¹⁹The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.

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

⁸Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.

⁷Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.

³¹So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.

³⁹¶ And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,

⁴⁰And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

⁴¹Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,

⁴²He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

⁴³He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

⁴⁴The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.

²⁵Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it: let them not say, We have swallowed him up.

¹⁵Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

¹³But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.

¹⁴I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother.

¹⁷But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive.

⁹(As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.

²⁷Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.

⁷Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

⁸¶ Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.

²⁰Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.

⁴They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together.

¹⁶If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;

¹⁷Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;

¹⁸(For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother’s womb;)

¹⁹If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;

²⁰If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

²¹If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate:

³⁵Jesus wept.

⁴¹¶ And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,

²¹He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.

³¹He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.

⁵Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.

¹⁷He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

⁸He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.

¹HELP, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.

¹⁵We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!

¹⁹Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!

²⁵For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.

²⁶I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.

¹⁰¶ Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.

⁶The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him.

⁸He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths.

¹⁷Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face.

¹²For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the Lord unto the gate of Jerusalem.

¹¹Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.

¹⁸Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail?

¹⁸He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.

¹⁸Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand.

¹¹Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city.

²⁰Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.

¹⁹¶ My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.

²⁰Behold, O Lord; for I am in distress: my bowels are troubled; mine heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is as death.

⁴Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.

⁶I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.

⁹I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

²For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

³He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

⁴¶ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

⁷Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.

¹I AM the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.

²He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light.

³Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day.

⁸Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls.

⁶I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert.

¹⁴I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister.

³And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

¹⁹Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.

²¹But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.

²²And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.

¹⁴Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me.

⁸Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick.

³For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth.

⁸³For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; yet do I not forget thy statutes.

⁴My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.

¹⁰Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine.

¹⁵The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning.

⁴My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.

¹⁸¶ Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.

⁴A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

¹²And in that day did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:

⁷The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh.

⁸The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.

⁹They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.

¹BY the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

²We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.

³For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.

⁴How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?