Job 34:31–37

²⁷He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not;

⁹I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.

⁷O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.

⁸O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

⁹To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;

¹⁰Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

¹¹Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.

¹²And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

¹³As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

¹⁴Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.

¹³And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this;

¹⁴Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?

¹⁸¶ I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God.

¹⁹Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.

³¶ Then Job answered the Lord, and said,

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

⁵Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.

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

⁴¹And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:

³³Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly:

³⁴Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them.

³⁵For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.

³⁶Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it:

³⁷And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.

³⁸And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it.

⁸I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

²³Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

²⁴And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

¹²Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.

⁴Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.

⁵Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

⁸Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.

⁹Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.

¹⁰Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.

²I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.

¹¹Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?

¹³He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

²²That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

²⁵Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

²⁶Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

²⁷Neither give place to the devil.

²⁸Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

⁸Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

⁹And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

¹⁰And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?

¹¹He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.

¹²Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?

¹³And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.

¹⁴And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

²⁷He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not;

³²If thou hast any thing to say, answer me: speak, for I desire to justify thee.

⁹Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?

¹¹For the work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find according to his ways.

³¹Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.

⁶Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.

⁶Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;

⁷And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

²⁶Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

²For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;

³¹Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence.

⁴He teareth himself in his anger: shall the earth be forsaken for thee? and shall the rock be removed out of his place?

⁵If thou canst answer me, set thy words in order before me, stand up.

¹¹Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.

¹²Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou?

¹²Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.

¹³But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?

¹⁴Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.

¹⁵Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?

³⁰If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;

³¹If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;

³²Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.

³⁵Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?

²⁰Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

¹⁵I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.

¹⁰Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.

¹⁶If now thou hast understanding, hear this: hearken to the voice of my words.

²Hear my words, O ye wise men; and give ear unto me, ye that have knowledge.

⁴Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good.

¹⁶Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.

²Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?

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

²Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?

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.

¹¹Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

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

⁷Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?

¹⁵Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?

¹⁶For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me:

¹WHY, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days?

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.

³Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.

²Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.

²³Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.

²³For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

¹⁹If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

²⁰But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

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?

²Even to day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning.

¹⁶Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.

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?

⁷¶ And it was so, that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.

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

³Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?