The Project Gutenberg eBook ofThe Bible, Douay-Rheims, Book 20: JobThis ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.Title: The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Book 20: JobRelease date: June 1, 2005 [eBook #8320]Most recently updated: December 26, 2020Language: EnglishCredits: This eBook was produced by David Widger from etext #1581 prepared by Dennis McCarthy, Atlanta, Georgia and Tad Book, student, Pontifical North American College, Rome*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BIBLE, DOUAY-RHEIMS, BOOK 20: JOB ***
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
Title: The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Book 20: JobRelease date: June 1, 2005 [eBook #8320]Most recently updated: December 26, 2020Language: EnglishCredits: This eBook was produced by David Widger from etext #1581 prepared by Dennis McCarthy, Atlanta, Georgia and Tad Book, student, Pontifical North American College, Rome
Title: The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Book 20: Job
Release date: June 1, 2005 [eBook #8320]Most recently updated: December 26, 2020
Language: English
Credits: This eBook was produced by David Widger from etext #1581 prepared by Dennis McCarthy, Atlanta, Georgia and Tad Book, student, Pontifical North American College, Rome
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BIBLE, DOUAY-RHEIMS, BOOK 20: JOB ***
This eBook was produced by David Widger
from etext #1581 prepared by Dennis McCarthy, Atlanta, Georgia and Tad Book, student, Pontifical North American College, Rome.
Translated from the Latin Vulgate
Diligently Compared with the Hebrew, Greek, and Other Editions in Divers Languages
THE OLD TESTAMENTFirst Published by the English College at DouayA.D. 1609 & 1610
and
THE NEW TESTAMENTFirst Published by the English College at RheimsA.D. 1582
With Annotations
The Whole Revised and Diligently Compared with the Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner A.D. 1749-1752
This Book takes its name from the holy man of whom it treats: who, according to the more probable opinion, was of the race of Esau; and the same as Jobab, king of Edom, mentioned Gen. 36.33. It is uncertain who was the writer of it. Some attribute it to Job himself; others to Moses, or some one of the prophets. In the Hebrew it is written in verse, from the beginning of the third chapter to the forty-second chapter.
Job Chapter 1
1:1. There was a man in the land of Hus, whose name was Job, and that man was simple and upright, and fearing God, and avoiding evil.
Hus… The land of Hus was a part of Edom; as appears from Lam. 4.21.Ibid. Simple… That is, innocent, sincere, and without guile.
1:2. And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters.
1:3. And his possession was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a family exceedingly great: and this man was great among all the people of the east.
1:4. And his sons went, and made a feast by houses, every one in his day. And sending, they called their three sisters, to eat and drink with them.
And made a feast by houses… That is, each made a feast in his own house and had his day, inviting the others, and their sisters.
1:5. And when the days of their feasting were gone about, Job sent to them, and sanctified them: and rising up early, offered holocausts for every one of them. For he said: Lest perhaps my sons have sinned, and have blessed God in their hearts. So did Job all days.
Blessed… For greater horror of the very thought of blasphemy, the scripture both here and ver. 11, and in the following chapter, ver. 5 and 9, uses the word bless to signify its contrary.
1:6. Now on a certain day, when the sons of God came to stand before the Lord, Satan also was present among them.
The sons of God… The angels.-Ibid. Satan also, etc.. This passage represents to us in a figure, accommodated to the ways and understandings of men, 1. The restless endeavours of Satan against the servants of God; 2. That he can do nothing without God's permission; 3. That God doth not permit him to tempt them above their strength: but assists them by his divine grace in such manner, that the vain efforts of the enemy only serve to illustrate their virtue and increase their merit.
1:7. And the Lord said to him: Whence comest thou? And he answered and said: I have gone round about the earth, and walked through it.
1:8. And the Lord said to him: Hast thou considered my servant, Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a simple and upright man, and fearing God, and avoiding evil?
1:9. And Satan answering, said: Doth Job fear God in vain?
1:10. Hast thou not made a fence for him, and his house, and all his substance round about, blessed the works of his hands, and his possession hath increased on the earth?
1:11. But stretch forth thy hand a little, and touch all that he hath, and see if he bless thee not to thy face.
1:12. Then the Lord said to Satan: Behold, all that he hath is in thy hand: only put not forth thy hand upon his person. And Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.
1:13. Now upon a certain day, when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine, in the house of their eldest brother,
1:14. There came a messenger to Job, and said: The oxen were ploughing, and the asses feeding beside them,
1:15. And the Sabeans rushed in, and took all away, and slew the servants with the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell thee.
1:16. And while he was yet speaking, another came, and said: The fire of God fell from heaven, and striking the sheep and the servants, hath consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell thee.
1:17. And while he also was yet speaking, there came another, and said: The Chaldeans made three troops, and have fallen upon the camels, and taken them; moreover, they have slain the servants with the sword: and I alone have escaped to tell thee.
1:18. He was yet speaking, and behold another came in, and said: Thy sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother,
1:19. A violent wind came on a sudden from the side of the desert, and shook the four corners of the house, and it fell upon thy children, and they are dead: and I alone have escaped to tell thee.
1:20. Then Job rose up, and rent his garments, and having shaven his head, fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
1:21. And said: Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: as it hath pleased the Lord, so is it done: blessed be the name of the Lord.
1:22. In all these things Job sinned not by his lips, nor spoke he any foolish thing against God.
Job Chapter 2
2:1. And it came to pass, when on a certain day the sons of God came, and stood before the Lord, and Satan came amongst them, and stood in his sight,
2:2. That the Lord said to Satan: Whence comest thou? And he answered, and said: I have gone round about the earth, and walked through it.
2:3. And the Lord said to Satan: Hast thou considered my servant, Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a man simple and upright, and fearing God, and avoiding evil, and still keeping his innocence? But thou hast moved me against him, that I should afflict him without cause.
2:4. And Satan answered, and said: Skin for skin; and all that a man hath, he will give for his life:
2:5. But put forth thy hand, and touch his bone and his flesh, and then thou shalt see that he will bless thee to thy face.
2:6. And the Lord said to Satan: Behold, he is in thy hand, but yet save his life.
2:7. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with a very grievous ulcer, from the sole of the foot even to the top of his head:
2:8. And he took a potsherd and scraped the corrupt matter, sitting on a dunghill.
2:9. And his wife said to him: Dost thou still continue in thy simplicity? bless God and die.
2:10. And he said to her: Thou hast spoken like one of the foolish women: If we have received good things at the hand of God, why should we not receive evil? In all these things Job did not sin with his lips.
2:11. Now when Job's three friends heard all the evil that had befallen him, they came every one from his own place, Eliphaz, the Themanite, and Baldad, the Suhite, and Sophar, the Naamathite. For they had made an appointment to come together and visit him, and comfort him.
2:12. And when they had lifted up their eyes afar off, they knew him not, and crying out, they wept, and rending their garments, they sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.
2:13. And they sat with him on the ground seven day and seven nights and no man spoke to him a word: for they saw that his grief was very great.
Job Chapter 3
3:1. After this, Job opened his mouth, and cursed his day,
Cursed his day… Job cursed the day of his birth, not by way of wishing evil to any thing of God's creation; but only to express in a stronger manner his sense of human miseries in general, and of his own calamities in particular.
3:2. And he said:
3:3. Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said: A man child is conceived.
3:4. Let that day be turned into darkness, let not God regard it from above, and let not the light shine upon it.
3:5. Let darkness, and the shadow of death, cover it, let a mist overspread it, and let it be wrapped up in bitterness.
3:6. Let a darksome whirlwind seize upon that night, let it not be counted in the days of the year, nor numbered in the months.
3:7. Let that night be solitary, and not worthy of praise.
3:8. Let them curse it who curse the day, who are ready to raise up a leviathan:
3:9. Let the stars be darkened with the mist thereof: let it expect light, and not see it, nor the rising of the dawning of the day:
3:10. Because it shut not up the doors of the womb that bore me, nor took away evils from my eyes.
3:11. Why did I not die in the womb? why did I not perish when I came out of the belly?
3:12. Why received upon the knees? why suckled at the breasts?
3:13. For now I should have been asleep and still, and should have rest in my sleep:
3:14. With kings and consuls of the earth, who build themselves solitudes:
3:15. Or with princes, that possess gold, and fill their houses with silver:
3:16. Or as a hidden untimely birth, I should not be; or as they that, being conceived, have not seen the light.
3:17. There the wicked cease from tumult, and there the wearied in strength are at rest.
3:18. And they sometime bound together without disquiet, have not heard the voice of the oppressor.
3:19. The small and great are there, and the servant is free from his master.
3:20. Why is light given to him that is in misery, and life to them that are in bitterness of soul?
3:21. That look for death, and it cometh not, as they that dig for a treasure:
3:22. And they rejoice exceedingly when they have found the grave?
3:23. To a man whose way is hidden, and God hath surrounded him with darkness?
3:24. Before I eat I sigh: and as overflowing waters, so is my roaring:
3:25. For the fear which I feared, hath come upon me: and that which I was afraid of, hath befallen me.
3:26. Have I not dissembled? have I not kept silence? have I not been quiet? and indignation is come upon me.
Job Chapter 4
4:1. Then Eliphaz, the Themanite, answered, and said:
4:2. If we begin to speak to thee, perhaps thou wilt take it ill; but who can withhold the words he hath conceived?
4:3. Behold thou hast taught many, and thou hast strengthened the weary hands:
4:4. Thy words have confirmed them that were staggering, and thou hast strengthened the trembling knees:
4:5. But now the scourge is come upon thee, and thou faintest: It hath touched thee, and thou art troubled.
4:6. Where is thy fear, thy fortitude, thy patience, and the perfection of thy ways?
4:7. Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished being innocent? or when were the just destroyed?
4:8. On the contrary, I have seen those who work iniquity, and sow sorrows, and reap them,
4:9. Perishing by the blast of God, and consumed by the spirit of his wrath.
4:10. The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the lioness, and the teeth of the whelps of lions, are broken:
4:11. The tiger hath perished for want of prey, and the young lions are scattered abroad.
4:12. Now there was a word spoken to me in private, and my ears by stealth, as it were, received the veins of its whisper.
4:13. In the horror of a vision by night, when deep sleep is wont to hold men,
4:14. Fear seized upon me, and trembling, and all my bones were affrighted:
4:15. And when a spirit passed before me, the hair of my flesh stood up.
4:16. There stood one whose countenance I knew not, an image before my eyes, and I heard the voice, as it were, of a gentle wind.
4:17. Shall man be justified in comparison of God, or shall a man be more pure than his maker?
Shall man be justified in comparison of God, etc… These are the words which Eliphaz had heard from an angel, which, ver. 15, he calls a spirit.
4:18. Behold, they that serve him are not steadfast, and in his angels he found wickedness:
4:19. How much more shall they that dwell in houses of clay, who have an earthly foundation, be consumed as with the moth?
4:20. From morning till evening they shall be cut down: and because no one understandeth, they shall perish for ever.
4:21. And they that shall be left, shall be taken away from them: they shall die, and not in wisdom.
Job Chapter 5
5:1. Call now, if there be any that will answer thee, and turn to some of the saints.
5:2. Anger indeed killeth the foolish, and envy slayeth the little one.
5:3. I have seen a fool with a strong root, and I cursed his beauty immediately.
5:4. His children shall be far from safety, and shall be destroyed in the gate, and there shall be none to deliver them.
5:5. Whose harvest the hungry shall eat, and the armed man shall take him by violence, and the thirsty shall drink up his riches.
5:6. Nothing upon earth is done without a cause, and sorrow doth not spring out of the ground.
5:7. Man is born to labour, and the bird to fly.
5:8. Wherefore I will pray to the Lord, and address my speech to God:
5:9. Who doth great things, and unsearchable and wonderful things without number:
5:10. Who giveth rain upon the face of the earth, and watereth all things with waters:
5:11. Who setteth up the humble on high, and comforteth with health those that mourn.
5:12. Who bringeth to nought the designs of the malignant, so that their hands cannot accomplish what they had begun:
5:13. Who catcheth the wise in their craftiness, and disappointeth the counsel of the wicked:
5:14. They shall meet with darkness in the day, and grope at noonday as in the night.
5:15. But he shall save the needy from the sword of their mouth, and the poor from the hand of the violent.
5:16. And to the needy there shall be hope, but iniquity shall draw in her mouth.
5:17. Blessed is the man whom God correcteth: refuse not, therefore, the chastising of the Lord.
5:18. For he woundeth, and cureth: he striketh, and his hands shall heal.
5:19. In six troubles he shall deliver thee, and in the seventh, evil shall not touch thee.
5:20. In famine he shall deliver thee from death; and in battle, from the hand of the sword.
5:21. Thou shalt be hidden from the scourge of the tongue: and thou shalt not fear calamity when it cometh.
5:22. In destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: and thou shalt not be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
5:23. But thou shalt have a covenant with the stones of the lands, and the beasts of the earth shall be at peace with thee.
5:24. And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle is in peace, and visiting thy beauty, thou shalt not sin.
5:25. Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be multiplied, and thy offspring like the grass of the earth.
5:26. Thou shalt enter into the grave in abundance, as a heap of wheat is brought in in its season.
5:27. Behold, this is even so, as we have searched out: which thou having heard, consider it thoroughly in thy mind.
Job Chapter 6
6:1. But Job answered, and said:
6:2. O that my sins, whereby I have deserved wrath, and the calamity that I suffer, were weighed in a balance.
My sins, etc… He does not mean to compare his sufferings with his real sins: but with the imaginary crimes which his friends imputed to him: and especially with his wrath, or grief, expressed in the third chapter, which they so much accused. Though, as he tells them here, it bore no proportion with the greatness of his calamity.
6:3. As the sand of the sea, this would appear heavier: therefore, my words are full of sorrow:
6:4. For the arrows of the Lord are in me, the rage whereof drinketh up my spirit, and the terrors of the Lord war against me.
6:5. Will the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or will the ox low when he standeth before a full manger?
6:6. Or can an unsavoury thing be eaten, that is not seasoned with salt? or can a man taste that which, when tasted, bringeth death?
6:7. The things which before my soul would not touch, now, through anguish, are my meats.
6:8. Who will grant that my request may come: and that God may give me what I look for?
6:9. And that he that hath begun may destroy me, that he may let loose his hand, and cut me off?
6:10. And that this may be my comfort, that afflicting me with sorrow, he spare not, nor I contradict the words of the Holy one.
6:11. For what is my strength, that I can hold out? or what is my end, that I should keep patience?
6:12. My strength is not the strength of stones, nor is my flesh of brass.
6:13. Behold there is no help for me in myself, and my familiar friends also are departed from me.
6:14. He that taketh away mercy from his friend, for saketh the fear of the Lord.
6:15. My brethren have passed by me, as the torrent that passeth swiftly in the valleys.
6:16. They that fear the hoary frost, the snow shall fall upon them.
6:17. At the time when they shall be scattered they shall perish: and after it groweth hot, they shall be melted out of their place.
6:18. The paths of their steps are entangled: they shall walk in vain, and shall perish.
6:19. Consider the paths of Thema, the ways of Saba, and wait a little while.
6:20. They arc confounded, because I have hoped: they are come also even unto me, and are covered with shame.
6:21. Now you are come: and now, seeing my affliction, you are afraid.
6:22. Did I say: Bring to me, and give me of your substance?
6:23. Or deliver me from the hand of the enemy, and rescue me out of the hand of the mighty?
6:24. Teach me, and I will hold my peace: and if I have been ignorant of any thing, instruct me.
6:25. Why have you detracted the words of truth, whereas there is none of you that can reprove me?
6:26. You dress up speeches only to rebuke, and you utter words to the wind.
6:27. You rush in upon the fatherless, and you endeavour to overthrow your friend.
6:28. However, finish what you have begun: give ear and see whether I lie.
6:29. Answer, I beseech you, without contention: and speaking that which is just, judge ye.
6:30. And you shall not find iniquity in my tongue, neither shall folly sound in my mouth.
Job Chapter 7
7:1. The life of man upon earth is a warfare, and his days are like the days of a hireling.
7:2. As a servant longeth for the shade, as the hireling looketh for the end of his work;
7:3. So I also have had empty months, and have numbered to myself wearisome nights.
7:4. If I lie down to sleep, I shall say: When shall I rise? and again, I shall look for the evening, and shall be filled with sorrows even till darkness.
7:5. My flesh is clothed with rottenness and the filth of dust; my skin is withered and drawn together.
7:6. My days have passed more swiftly than the web is cut by the weaver, and are consumed without any hope.
7:7. Remember that my life is but wind, and my eye shall not return to see good things.
7:8. Nor shall the sight of man behold me: thy eyes are upon me, and I shall be no more.
7:9. As a cloud is consumed, and passeth away: so he that shall go down to hell shall not come up.
7:10. Nor shall he return any more into his house, neither shall his place know him any more.
7:11. Wherefore, I will not spare my month, I will speak in the affliction of my spirit: I will talk with the bitterness of my soul.
7:12. Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou hast inclosed me in a prison?
7:13. If I say: My bed shall comfort me, and I shall be relieved, speaking with myself on my couch:
7:14. Thou wilt frighten me with dreams, and terrify me with visions.
7:15. So that my soul rather chooseth hanging, and my bones death.
7:16. I have done with hope, I shall now live no longer: spare me, for my days are nothing.
7:17. What is a man, that thou shouldst magnify him or why dost thou set thy heart upon him?
7:18. Thou visitest him early in the morning, and thou provest him suddenly.
7:19. How long wilt thou not spare me, nor suffer me to swallow down my spittle?
7:20. I have sinned: what shall I do to thee, O keeper of men? why hast thou set me opposite to thee and am I become burdensome to myself?
7:21. Why dost thou not remove my sin, and why dost thou not take away my iniquity? Behold now I shall sleep in the dust: and if thou seek me in the morning, I shall not be.
Job Chapter 8
8:1. Then Baldad, the Suhite, answered, and said:
8:2. How long wilt thou speak these things, and how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind?
8:3. Doth God pervert judgment, or doth the Almighty overthrow that which is just?
8:4. Although thy children have sinned against him, and he hath left them in the hand of their iniquity:
8:5. Yet if thou wilt arise early to God, and wilt beseech the Almighty:
8:6. If thou wilt walk clean and upright, he will presently awake unto thee, and will make the dwelling of thy justice peaceable:
8:7. In so much, that if thy former things were small thy latter things would be multiplied exceedingly.
8:8. For inquire of the former generation, and search diligently into the memory of the fathers:
8:9. (For we are but of yesterday, and are ignorant that our days upon earth are but a shadow.)
8:10. And they shall teach thee: they shall speak to thee, and utter words out of their hearts.
8:11. Can the rush be green without moisture? or sedge bush grow without water?
8:12. When it is yet in flower, and is not plucked u with the hand, it withereth before all herbs.
8:13. Even so are the ways of all that forget God, an the hope of the hypocrite shall perish:
8:14. His folly shall not please him, and his trust shall be like the spider's web.
8:15. He shall lean upon his house, and it shall no stand: he shall prop it up, and it shall not rise:
8:16. He seemeth to have moisture before the sun cometh; and at his rising, his blossom shall shoot forth.
8:17. His roots shall be thick upon a heap of stones; and among the stones he shall abide.
8:18. If one swallow him up out of his place, he shall deny him, and shall say: I know thee not.
8:19. For this is the joy of his way, that others may spring again out of the earth.
8:20. God will not cast away the simple, nor reach out his hand to the evil doer:
8:21. Until thy mouth be filled with laughter, and thy lips with rejoicing.
8:22. They that hate thee, shall be clothed with confusion: and the dwelling of the wicked shall not stand.
Job Chapter 9
9:1. And Job answered, and said:
9:2. Indeed I know it is so, and that man cannot be justified, compared with God.
9:3. If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one for a thousand.
9:4. He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath resisted him, and hath had peace?
9:5. Who hath removed mountains, and they whom he overthrew in his wrath, knew it not.
9:6. Who shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.
9:7. Who commandeth the sun, and it riseth not: and shutteth up the stars, as it were, under a seal:
9:8. Who alone spreadeth out the heavens, and walketh upon the waves of the sea,
9:9. Who maketh Arcturus, and Orion, and Hyades, and the inner parts of the south.
Arcturus, etc… These are names of stars or constellations. In Hebrew,Ash, Cesil, and Cimah. See note chap. 38, ver. 31.
9:10. Who doth things great and incomprehensible, and wonderful, of which there is no number.
9:11. If he come to me, I shall not see him: if he depart, I shall not understand.
9:12. If he examine on a sudden, who shall answer him? or who can say: Why dost thou so?
9:13. God, whose wrath no man can resist, and under whom they stoop that bear up the world.
9:14. What am I then, that I should answer him, and have words with him?
9:15. I, who although I should have any just thing, would not answer, but would make supplication to my judge.
9:16. And if he should hear me when I call, I should not believe that he had heard my voice.
9:17. For he shall crush me in a whirlwind, and multiply my wounds even without cause.
Without cause… That is, without my knowing the cause: or without any crime of mine.
9:18. He alloweth not my spirit to rest, and he filleth me with bitterness.
9:19. If strength be demanded, he is most strong: if equity of judgment, no man dare bear witness for me.
9:20. If I would justify myself, my own mouth shall condemn me: if I would shew myself innocent, he shall prove me wicked.
9:21. Although I should be simple, even this my soul shall be ignorant of, and I shall be weary of my life.
9:22. One thing there is that I have spoken, both the innocent and the wicked he consumeth.
9:23. If he scourge, let him kill at once, and not laugh at the pains of the innocent.
9:24. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked, he covereth the face of the judges thereof: and if it be not he, who is it then?
9:25. My days have been swifter than a post: they have fled away and have not seen good.
9:26. They have passed by as ships carrying fruits, as an eagle flying to the prey.
9:27. If I say: I will not speak so: I change my face, and am tormented with sorrow.
9:28. I feared all my works, knowing that thou didst not spare the offender.
9:29. But if so also I am wicked, why have I laboured in vain?
9:30. If I be washed, as it were, with snow waters, and my hands shall shine ever 80. clean:
9:31. Yet thou shalt plunge me in filth, and my garments shall abhor me.
9:32. For I shall not answer a man that is like myself: nor one that may be heard with me equally in judgment.
9:33. There is none that may be able to reprove both, and to put his hand between both.
9:34. Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me.
9:35. I will speak, and will not fear him: for I cannot answer while I am in fear.
Job Chapter 10
10:1. My soul is weary of my life, I will let go my speech against myself, I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
10:2. I will say to God: Do not condemn me: tell me why thou judgest me so?
10:3. Doth it seem good to thee that thou shouldst calumniate me, and oppress me, the work of thy own hands, and help the counsel of the wicked?
10:4. Hast thou eyes of flesh: or, shalt thou see as man seeth?
10:5. Are thy days as the days of man, and are thy years as the times of men:
10:6. That thou shouldst inquire after my iniquity, and search after my sin?
10:7. And shouldst know that I have done no wicked thing, whereas there is no man that can deliver out of thy hand?
10:8. Thy hands have made me, and fashioned me wholly round about, and dost thou thus cast me down headlong on a sudden?
10:9. Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay, and thou wilt bring me into dust.
10:10. Hast thou not milked me as milk, and curdled me like cheese?
10:11. Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh: thou hast put me together with bones and sinews:
10:12. Thou hast granted me life and mercy, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.
10:13. Although thou conceal these things in thy heart, yet I know that thou rememberest all things.
10:14. If I have sinned, and thou hast spared me for an hour: why dost thou not suffer me to be clean from my iniquity?
10:15. And if I be wicked, woe unto me: and if just, I shall not lift up my head, being filled with affliction and misery.
10:16. And for pride thou wilt take me as a lioness, and returning, thou tormentest me wonderfully.
10:17. Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and multipliest thy wrath upon me, and pains war against me.
10:18. Why didst thou bring me forth out of the womb? O that I had been consumed, that eye might not see me!
10:19. I should have been as if I had not been, carried from the womb to the grave.
10:20. Shall not the fewness of my days be ended shortly? Suffer me, therefore, that I may lament my sorrow a little:
10:21. Before I go and return no more, to a land that is dark and covered with the mist of death:
10:22. A land of misery and darkness, where the shadow of death, and no order, but everlasting horror dwelleth.
Job Chapter 11
Sophar reproves Job, for justifying himself, and invites him to repentance.
11:1. Then Sophar the Naamathite answered, and said:
11:2. Shall not he that speaketh much, hear also? or shall a man full of talk be justified?
11:3. Shall men hold their peace to thee only? and when thou hast mocked others, shall no man confute thee?
11:4. For thou hast said: My word is pure, and I am clean in thy sight.
11:5. And I wish that God would speak with thee, and would open his lips to thee,
11:6. That he might shew thee the secrets of wisdom, and that his law is manifold, and thou mightest understand that he exacteth much less of thee, than thy iniquity deserveth.
11:7. Peradventure thou wilt comprehend the steps of God, and wilt find out the Almighty perfectly?
11:8. He is higher than heaven, and what wilt thou do? he is deeper than hell, and how wilt thou know?
11:9. The measure of him is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.
11:10. If he shall overturn all things, or shall press them together, who shall contradict him?
11:11. For he knoweth the vanity of men, and when he seeth iniquity, doth he not consider it?
11:12. A vain man is lifted up into pride, and thinketh himself born free like a wild ass's colt.
11:13. But thou hast hardened thy heart, and hast spread thy hands to him.
11:14. If thou wilt put away from thee the iniquity that is in thy hand, and let not injustice remain in thy tabernacle:
11:15. Then mayst thou lift up thy face without spot, and thou shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear.
11:16. Thou shalt also forget misery, and remember it only as waters that are passed away.
11:17. And brightness like that of the noonday, shall arise to thee at evening: and when thou shalt think thyself consumed, thou shalt rise as the day star.
11:18. And thou shalt have confidence, hope being set before thee, and being buried thou shalt sleep secure.
11:19. Thou shalt rest, and there shall be none to make thee afraid: and many shall entreat thy face.
11:20. But the eyes of the wicked shall decay, and the way to escape shall fail them, and their hope the abomination of the soul.
Job Chapter 12
Job's reply to Sophar. He extols God's power and wisdom.
12:1. Then Job answered, and said:
12:2. Are you then men alone, and shall wisdom die with you?
12:3. I also have a heart as well as you: for who is ignorant of these things, which you know?
12:4. He that is mocked by his friends as I, shall call upon God and he will hear him: for the simplicity of the just man is laughed to scorn.
12:5. The lamp despised in the thoughts of the rich, is ready for the time appointed.
12:6. The tabernacles of robbers abound, and they provoke God boldly; whereas it is he that hath given all into their hands:
12:7. But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee: and the birds of the air, and they shall tell thee.
12:8. Speak to the earth, and it shall answer thee: and the fishes of the sea shall tell.
12:9. Who is ignorant that the hand of the Lord hath made all these things?
12:10. In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the spirit of all flesh of man.
12:11. Doth not the ear discern words, and the palate of him that eateth, the taste?
12:12. In the ancient is wisdom, and in length of days prudence.
12:13. With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.
12:14. If he pull down, there is no man that can build up: if he shut up a man, there is none that can open.
12:15. If he withhold the waters, all things shall be dried up: and if he send them out, they shall overturn the earth.
12:16. With him is strength and wisdom: he knoweth both the deceivers, and him that is deceived.
12:17. He bringeth counsellors to a foolish end, and judges to insensibility.
12:18. He looseth the belt of kings, and girdeth their loins with a cord.
12:19. He leadeth away priests without glory, and overthroweth nobles.
12:20. He changeth the speech of the true speakers, and taketh away the doctrine of the aged.
12:21. He poureth contempt upon princes, and relieveth them that were oppressed.
12:22. He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth up to light the shadow of death.
12:23. He multiplieth nations, and destroyeth them, and restoreth them again after they were overthrown.
12:24. He changeth the heart of the princes of the people of the earth, and deceiveth them that they walk in vain where there is no way.
12:25. They shall grope as in the dark, and not in the light, and he shall make them stagger like men that are drunk.
Job Chapter 13
Job persists in maintaining his innocence: and reproves his friends.
13:1. Behold my eye hath seen all these things, and my ear hath heard them, and I have understood them all.
13:2. According to your knowledge I also know: neither am I inferior to you.
13:3. But yet I will speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God.
13:4. Having first shewn that you are forgers of lies, and maintainers of perverse opinions.
13:5. And I wish you would hold your peace, that you might be thought to be wise men.
13:6. Hear ye therefore my reproof, and attend to the judgment of my lips.
13:7. Hath God any need of your lie, that you should speak deceitfully for him?
13:8. Do you accept this person, and do you endeavour to judge for God?
13:9. Or shall it please him, from whom nothing can be concealed? or shall he be deceived as a man, with your deceitful dealings?
13:10. He shall reprove you, because in secret you accept his person.
13:11. As soon as he shall move himself, he shall trouble you: and his dread shall fall upon you.
13:12. Your remembrance shall be compared to ashes, and your necks shall be brought to clay.
13:13. Hold your peace a little while, that I may speak whatsoever my mind shall suggest to me.
13:14. Why do I tear my flesh with my teeth, and carry my soul in my hands?
13:15. Although he should kill me, I will trust in him: but yet I will reprove my ways in his sight.
13:16. And he shall be my saviour: for no hypocrite shall come before his presence.
13:17. Hear ye my speech, and receive with your ears hidden truths.
13:18. If I shall be judged, I know that I shall be found just.
13:19. Who is he that will plead against me? let him come: why am I consumed holding my peace?
13:20. Two things only do not to me, and then from thy face I shall not be hid:
13:21. Withdraw thy hand far from me, and let not thy dread terrify me.
13:22. Call me, and I will answer thee: or else I will speak, and do thou answer me.
13:23. How many are my iniquities and sins? make me know my crimes and offenses.
13:24. Why hidest thou thy face, and thinkest me thy enemy?
13:25. Against a leaf, that is carried away with the wind, thou shewest thy power, and thou pursuest a dry straw.
13:26. For thou writest bitter things against me, and wilt consume me for the sins of my youth.
13:27. Thou hast put my feet in the stocks, and hast observed all my paths, and hast considered the steps of my feet:
13:28. Who am to be consumed as rottenness, and as a garment that is motheaten.
Job Chapter 14
Job declares the shortness of man's days: and professes his belief of a resurrection.
14:1. Man born of a woman, living for a short time, is filled with many miseries.
14:2. Who cometh forth like a flower, and is destroyed, and fleeth as a shadow, and never continueth in the same state.
14:3. And dost thou think it meet to open thy eyes upon such an one, and to bring him into judgment with thee?
14:4. Who can make him clean that is conceived of unclean seed? is it not thou who only art?
14:5. The days of man are short, and the number of his months is with thee: thou hast appointed his bounds which cannot be passed.
14:6. Depart a little from him, that he may rest until his wished for day come, as that of the hireling.
14:7. A tree hath hope: if it be cut, it growth green again, and the boughs thereof sprout.
14:8. If its roots be old in the earth, and its stock be dead in the dust:
14:9. At the scent of water, it shall spring, and bring forth leaves, as when it was first planted.
14:10. But man when he shall be dead, and stripped and consumed, I pray you where is he?
14:11. As if the waters should depart out of the sea, and an emptied river should be dried up;
14:12. So man when he is fallen asleep shall not rise again; till the heavens be broken, he shall not awake, nor rise up out of his sleep.
14:13. Who will grant me this, that thou mayst protect me in hell, and hide me till thy wrath pass, and appoint me a time when thou wilt remember me?
That thou mayst protect me in hell… That is, in the state of the dead; and in the place where the souls are kept waiting for their Redeemer.
14:14. Shall man that is dead, thinkest thou, live again? all the days in which I am now in warfare, I expect until my change come.
14:15. Thou shalt call me, and I will answer thee: to the work of thy hands thou shalt reach out thy right hand.
14:16. Thou indeed hast numbered my steps, but spare my sins.
14:17. Thou hast sealed up my offences as it were in a bag, but hast cured my iniquity.
14:18. A mountain falling cometh to nought, and a rock is removed out of its place.
14:19. Waters wear away the stones, and with inundation the ground by little and little is washed away: so in like manner thou shalt destroy man.
14:20. Thou hast strengthened him for a little while, that he may pass away for ever: thou shalt change his face, and shalt send him away.
14:21. Whether his children come to honour or dishonour, he shall not understand.
14:22. But yet his flesh, while he shall live, shall have pain, and his soul shall mourn over him.
Job Chapter 15
Eliphaz returns to the charge against Job, and describes the wretched state of the wicked.
15:1. And Eliphaz the Themanite, answered, and said:
15:2. Will a wise man answer as if he were speaking in the wind, and fill his stomach with burning heat?
15:3. Thou reprovest him by words, who is not equal to thee, and thou speakest that which is not good for thee.
15:4. As much as is in thee, thou hast made void fear, and hast taken away prayers from before God.
Thou hast made void fear… That is, cast off the fear of offending God.
15:5. For thy iniquity hath taught thy mouth, and thou imitatest the tongue of blasphemers.
15:6. Thy own mouth shall condemn thee, and not I: and thy own lips shall answer thee.
15:7. Art thou the first man that was born, or wast thou made before the hills?
15:8. Hast thou heard God's counsel, and shall his wisdom be inferior to thee?
15:9. What knowest thou that we are ignorant of? what dost thou understand that we know not?
15:10. There are with us also aged and ancient men, much elder than thy fathers.
15:11. Is it a great matter that God should comfort thee? but thy wicked words hinder this.
15:12. Why doth thy heart elevate thee, and why dost thou stare with thy eyes, as if they were thinking great things?
15:13. Why doth thy spirit swell against God, to utter such words out of thy mouth?
15:14. What is man that he should be without spot, and he that is born of a woman that he should appear just?
15:15. Behold among his saints none is unchangeable, and the heavens are not pure in his sight.
15:16. How much more is man abominable, and unprofitable, who drinketh iniquity like water?
15:17. I will shew thee, hear me: and I will tell thee what I have seen.
15:18. Wise men confess and hide not their fathers.
Wise men confess and hide not their fathers… That is, the knowledge and documents they have received from their fathers they are not ashamed to own.
15:19. To whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger hath passed among them.
15:20. The wicked man is proud all his days, and the number of the years of his tyranny is uncertain.
15:21. The sound of dread is always in his ears: and when there is peace, he always suspecteth treason.
15:22. He believeth not that he may return from darkness to light, looking round about for the sword on every side.
15:23. When he moveth himself to seek bread, he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
15:24. Tribulation shall terrify him, and distress shall surround him, as a king that is prepared for the battle.
15:25. For he hath stretched out his hand against God, and hath strengthened himself against the Almighty.
15:26. He hath run against him with his neck raised up, and is armed with a fat neck.
15:27. Fatness hath covered his face, and the fat hangeth down on his sides.
15:28. He hath dwelt in desolate cities, and in desert houses that are reduced into heaps.
15:29. He shall not be enriched, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he push his root in the earth.
15:30. He shall not depart out of darkness: the flame shall dry up his branches, and he shall be taken away by the breath of his own mouth.
15:31. He shall not believe, being vainly deceived by error, that he may be redeemed with any price.
15:32. Before his days be full he shall perish: and his hands shall wither away.
15:33. He shall be blasted as a vine when its grapes are in the first flower, and as an olive tree that casteth its flower.
15:34. For the congregation of the hypocrite is barren, and fire shall devour their tabernacles, who love to take bribes.
15:35. He hath conceived sorrow, and hath brought forth iniquity, and his womb prepareth deceits.
Job Chapter 16
Job expostulates with his friends: and appeals to the judgment of God.
16:1. Then Job answered, and said:
16:2. I have often heard such things as these: you are all troublesome comforters.
16:3. Shall windy words have no end? or is it any trouble to thee to speak?
16:4. I also could speak like you: and would God your soul were for my soul.
16:5. I would comfort you also with words, and would wag my head over you.
16:6. I would strengthen you with my mouth, and would move my lips, as sparing you.
16:7. But what shall I do? If I speak, my pain will not rest: and if I hold my peace, it will not depart from me.
16:8. But now my sorrow hath oppressed me, and all my limbs are brought to nothing.
16:9. My wrinkles bear witness against me, and a false speaker riseth up against my face, contradicting me.
16:10. He hath gathered together his fury against me, and threatening me he hath gnashed with his teeth upon me: my enemy hath beheld me with terrible eyes.
16:11. They have opened their mouths upon me, and reproaching me they have struck me on the cheek, they are filled with my pains.
16:12. God hath shut me up with the unjust man, and hath delivered me into the hands of the wicked.
16:13. I that was formerly so wealthy, am all on a sudden broken to pieces: he hath taken me by my neck, he hath broken me, and hath set me up to be his mark.
16:14. He hath compassed me round about with his lances, he hath wounded my loins, he hath not spared, and hath poured out my bowels on the earth,
16:15. He hath torn me with wound upon wound, he hath rushed in upon me like a giant.
16:16. I have sowed sackcloth upon my skin, and have covered my flesh with ashes.
16:17. My face is swollen with weeping, and my eyelids are dim.
16:18. These things have I suffered without the iniquity of my hand, when I offered pure prayers to God.
16:19. O earth, cover not thou my blood, neither let my cry find a hiding place in thee.
16:20. For behold my witness is in heaven, and he that knoweth my conscience is on high.
16:21. My friends are full of words: my eye poureth out tears to God.
16:22. And O that a man might so be judged with God, as the son of man is judged with his companion!
16:23. For behold short years pass away, and I am walking in a path by which I shall not return.
Job Chapter 17
Job's hope in God: he expects rest in death.
17:1. My spirit shall be wasted, my days shall be shortened and only the grave remaineth for me.
17:2. I have not sinned, and my eye abideth in bitterness.
Not sinned… That is, I am not guilty of such sins as they charge me with.
17:3. Deliver me, O Lord, and set me beside thee, and let any man's hand fight against me.
17:4. Thou hast set their heart far from understanding, therefore they shall not be exalted.
17:5. He promiseth a prey to his companions, and the eyes of his children shall fail.
17:6. He hath made me as it were a byword of the people, and I am an example before them.
17:7. My eye is dim through indignation, and my limbs are brought as it were to nothing.
17:8. The just shall be astonished at this, and the innocent shall be raised up against the hypocrite.
17:9. And the just man shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.
17:10. Wherefore be you all converted, and come, and I shall not find among you any wise man.
17:11. My days have passed away, my thoughts are dissipated, tormenting my heart.
17:12. They have turned night into day, and after darkness I hope for light again.
17:13. If I wait hell is my house, and I have made my bed in darkness.
Hell… Sheol. The region of the dead.
17:14. I have said to rottenness: Thou art my father; to worms, my mother and my sister.
17:15. Where is now then my expectation, and who considereth my patience?
17:16. All that I have shall go down into the deepest pit: thinkest thou that there at least I shall have rest?
Deepest pit… Literally, hell.
Job Chapter 18
Baldad again reproves Job and describes the miseries of the wicked.
18:1. Then Baldad the Suhite answered, and said:
18:2. How long will you throw out words? understand first, and so let us speak.
18:3. Why are we reputed as beasts, and counted vile before you?
18:4. Thou that destroyest thy soul in thy fury, shall the earth be forsaken for thee, and shall rocks be removed out of their place?
18:5. Shall not the light of the wicked be extinguished, and the flame of his fire not shine?
18:6. The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and the lamp that is over him, shall be put out.
18:7. The step of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down headlong.
18:8. For he hath thrust his feet into a net, and walketh in its meshes.
18:9. The sole of his foot shall be held in a snare, and thirst shall burn against him.
18:10. A gin is hidden for him in the earth, and his trap upon the path.
18:11. Fears shall terrify him on every side, and shall entangle his feet.
18:12. Let his strength be wasted with famine, and let hunger invade his ribs.
18:13. Let it devour the beauty of his skin, let the firstborn death consume his arms.
18:14. Let his confidence be rooted out of his tabernacle, and let destruction tread upon him like a king.
18:15. Let the companions of him that is not, dwell in his tabernacle, let brimstone be sprinkled in his tent.
18:16. Let his roots be dried up beneath, and his harvest destroyed above.
18:17. Let the memory of him perish from the earth, and let not his name be renowned in the streets.
18:18. He shall drive him out of light into darkness, and shall remove him out of the world.
18:19. His seed shall not subsist, nor his offspring among his people, nor any remnants in his country.
18:20. They that come after him shall be astonished at his day, and horror shall fall upon them that went before.
18:21. These then are the tabernacles of the wicked, and this the place of him that knoweth not God.
Job Chapter 19
Job complains of the cruelty of his friends; he describes his own sufferings: and his belief of a future resurrection.
19:1. Then Job answered, and said:
19:2. How long do you afflict my soul, and break me in pieces with words?
19:3. Behold, these ten times you confound me, and are not ashamed to oppress me.
19:4. For if I have been ignorant, my ignorance shall be with me.
19:5. But you set yourselves up against me, and reprove me with my reproaches.
19:6. At least now understand, that God hath not afflicted me with an equal judgment, and compassed me with his scourges.
With an equal judgment… St. Gregory explains these words thus: Job being a just man, and truly considering his own life, thought that his affliction was greater than his sins deserved: and in that respect, that the punishment was not equal, yet it was just, as coming from God, who gives a crown of justice to those who suffer for righteousness' sake, and proves the just with tribulations, as gold is tried by fire.
19:7. Behold I shall cry suffering violence, and no one will hear: I shall cry aloud, and there is none to judge.
19:8. He hath hedged in my path round about, and I cannot pass, and in my way he hath set darkness.
19:9. He hath stripped me of my glory, and hath taken the crown from my head.
19:10. He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am lost, and he hath taken away my hope, as from a tree that is plucked up.
19:11. His wrath is kindled against me, and he hath counted me as his enemy.
19:12. His troops have come together, and have made themselves a way by me, and have besieged my tabernacle round about.
19:13. He hath put my brethren far from me, and my acquaintance like strangers have departed from me.
19:14. My kinsmen have forsaken me, and they that knew me, have forgotten me.
19:15. They that dwell in my house, and my maidservants have counted me as a stranger, and I have been like an alien in their eyes.
19:16. I called my servant, and he gave me no answer, I entreated him with my own mouth.
19:17. My wife hath abhorred my breath, and I entreated the children of my womb.
19:18. Even fools despised me, and when I was gone from them, they spoke against me.
19:19. They that were sometime my counsellors, have abhorred me: and he whom I loved most is turned against me.
19:20. The flesh being consumed, my bone hath cleaved to my skin, and nothing but lips are left about my teeth.
19:21. Have pity on me, have pity on me, at least you my friends, because the hand of the Lord hath touched me.
19:22. Why do you persecute me as God, and glut yourselves with my flesh?
19:23. Who will grant me that my words may be written? who will grant me that they may be marked down in a book?
19:24. With an iron pen and in a plate of lead, or else be graven with an instrument in flint stone?
19:25. For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and in the last day I shall rise out of the earth.
Ver. 25, 26, and 27 shew Job's explicit belief in his Redeemer, and also of the resurrection of the flesh, not as one tree riseth in place of another, but that the selfsame flesh shall rise at the last day, by the power of God, changed in quality but not in substance, every one to receive sentence according to his works in this life.
19:26. And I shall be clothed again with my skin, and in my flesh I shall see my God.
19:27. Whom I myself shall see, and my eyes shall behold, and not another: this my hope is laid up in my bosom.
19:28. Why then do you say now: Let us persecute him, and let us find occasion of word against him?
19:29. Flee then from the face of the sword, for the sword is the revenger of iniquities: and know ye that there is a judgment.