Job 9:2–4

¹⁷Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?

⁴How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?

²And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.

²⁰Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

⁴⁶If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;

³And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee?

⁴Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.

²Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.

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

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

³If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?

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

²Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.

⁸If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

²⁰For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

¹⁵For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

¹⁶For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.

³Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!

⁴I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments.

⁵I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me.

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

⁷There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge.

³⁵Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book.

³⁶Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me.

³⁷I would declare unto him the number of my steps; as a prince would I go near unto him.

¹³Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters.

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

³²For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment.

³³Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both.

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

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.

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?

¹⁴If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;

¹⁵All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.

⁵Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom.

²⁰Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

³³O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

¹⁰To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

¹⁷And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

¹⁸And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

¹⁹If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: and if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead?

²⁴Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

²⁵To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

¹HE, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

²²Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?

¹²And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the Lord God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.

²⁰Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:

³⁴And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:

³⁵And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

³⁶At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellers and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.

³⁷Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

²⁰But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:

²¹And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.

²²And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;

²³But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:

²⁴Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.

²⁵¶ And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

²⁶This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.

²⁷TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.

²⁸PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

²⁹Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

³⁰¶ In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.

¹⁹And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

⁸Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

¹⁴For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.

¹⁵For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth.

¹⁶And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

¹⁷As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?

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.

¹³With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.

²³He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.

²⁴Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.

²⁵For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.

²⁶He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers:

²⁷Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks.

⁹Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?

¹⁰Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.

¹⁴Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.

²⁴O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

⁵To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.