Job 6:12–23

¹⁸His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron.

²⁴His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.

¹²For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.

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

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

³But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these?

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

²⁸But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me?

⁴But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

²Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

¹⁷A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

²⁶And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.

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

²⁹Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?

³Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

⁴⁰But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?

⁴Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God.

⁵But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should asswage your grief.

²¹Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me.

³Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.

⁴Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.

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

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.

¹¹And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake.

¹¹My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.

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?

⁹Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.

¹⁸¶ I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.

³²Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

¹²For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:

¹³But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.

¹⁴We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.

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.

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.

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

¹²These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

⁵¶ Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.

⁶For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.

¹⁸Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.

¹AND Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

¹⁹Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned.

¹⁵Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah:

¹⁴The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled.

²³Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners,

¹AND when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions.

²²The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants: they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.

²³Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad, were thy merchants.

⁷And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.

³And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.

¹⁰The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.

³And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads.

⁴Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads.

¹³O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.

⁵And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

³³As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

¹¹My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.

¹⁶At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.

⁵¶ Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.

⁶For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

²²Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?

⁹We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.

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

¹¹¶ Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.

¹²And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.

¹³So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.

¹⁵My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away;

³¹Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

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.

⁹Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.

¹⁷For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,

¹⁸And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!

⁹And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

¹⁰Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

³Behold, here I am: witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.

³³I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.

¹¹Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold.

²¹And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.

²⁰In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.

²Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;

¹⁵But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.

⁷None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:

⁸(For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)

⁴⁸After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:

⁸And I said unto them, We after our ability have redeemed our brethren the Jews, which were sold unto the heathen; and will ye even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold unto us? Then held they their peace, and found nothing to answer.