 CHAPTERS 15 THROUGH THIRTY-ONE OF THE BOOK OF JOBE FROM THE WORLD INGLISH BIBLE This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. THE BOOK OF JOBE FROM THE WORLD INGLISH BIBLE CHAPTERS 15 THROUGH THIRTY-ONE CHAPTER 15 Then Eliphaz the Timonite answered, Should a wise man answer with vain knowledge and fill himself with the East wind? Should he reason with unprofitable talk or with speeches with which he can do no good? Yes, you do away with fear and hinder devotion before God, for your iniquity teaches your mouth and you choose the language of the crafty. Your own mouth condemns you and not I. Yes, your own lips testify against you. Are you the first man who was born or were you brought forth before the hills? Have you heard the secret counsel of God? Do you limit wisdom to yourself? What do you know that we don't know? What do you understand which is not in us? With us are both the gray-headed and the very aged men, much elder than your father. Are the consolations of God too small for you, even the word that is gentle toward you? Why does your heart carry you away? Why do your eyes flash that you turn your spirit against God and let such words go out of your mouth? What is man that he should be clean? What is he who is born of a woman that he should be righteous? Behold, he puts no trust in his holy ones. Yes, the heavens are not clean in his sight. How much less one who is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks iniquity like water? I will show you, listen to me. That which I have seen I will declare, which wise men have told by their fathers and have not hidden it, to whom alone the land was given, and no stranger passed among them. The wicked man writhes in pain all his days, even the number of years that are laid up for the oppressor. A sound of terrors is in his ears. In prosperity the destroyer shall come on him. He doesn't believe that he shall return out of darkness. He is waited for by the sword. He wanders abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? He knows that the day of darkness is ready at his hand. Distress and anguish make him afraid. They prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle. Because he has stretched out his hand against God and behaves himself proudly against the Almighty, he runs at him with a stiff neck, with the thick shields of his bucklers, because he has covered his face with his fatness and gathered fat on his thighs. He has lived in desolate cities, in houses which no one inhabited, which were ready to become heaps. He shall not be rich. Neither shall his substance continue. Neither shall their possessions be extended on the earth. He shall not depart out of darkness. The flame shall dry up his branches. By the breath of God's mouth shall he go away. Let him not trust in emptiness deceiving himself, for emptiness shall be his reward. It shall be accomplished before his time. His branch shall not be green. He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive tree. For the company of the godless shall be barren, and fire shall consume the tents of bribery. They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity. Their heart prepares deceit. CHAPTER XVI Then Job answered, I have heard many such things. You are all miserable comforters. Shall vain words have an end? Or what provokes you that you answer? I also could speak as you do. If your soul were in my soul's place, I could join words together against you and shake my head at you. But I would strengthen you with my mouth. The solace of my lips would relieve you. Though I speak, my grief is not subsided. Though I forbear, what am I eased? But now, God, you have surely worn me out. You have made desolate all my company. You have shriveled me up. This is a witness against me. My leanness rises up against me. It testifies to my face. He has torn me in his wrath and persecuted me. He has gnashed on me with his teeth. My adversary sharpens his eyes on me. They have gaped on me with their mouth. They have struck me on the cheek reproachfully. They gathered themselves together against me. God delivers me to the ungodly and casts me into the hands of the wicked. I was at ease and he broke me apart. Yes, he has taken me by the neck and dashed me to pieces. He has also set me up for his target. His archers surround me. He splits my kidneys apart and does not spare. He pours out my gall on the ground. He breaks me with breach on breach. He runs on me like a giant. I have sewed sackcloth on my skin and have thrust my horn in the dust. My face is red with weeping. Deep darkness is on my eyelids. Although there is no violence in my hands and my prayer is pure. Earth, don't cover my blood. Let my cry have no place to rest. Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven. He who vouches for me is on high. My friends scoff at me. My eyes pour out tears to God that he would maintain the right of a man with God, of a son of man with his neighbor. For when a few years are come, I shall go the way from whence I shall not return. Chapter 17 My spirit is consumed. My days are extinct and the grave is ready for me. Surely there are mockers with me. My eye dwells on their provocation. Now give a pledge. Be collateral for me with yourself. Who is there who will strike hands with me? For you have hidden their heart from understanding. Therefore you shall not exalt them. He who denounces his friends for a prey, even the eyes of his children shall fail. But he has made me a byword of the people. They spit in my face. My eye also is dim by reason of sorrow. All my members are as a shadow. A bright men shall be astonished at this. The innocent shall stir up himself against the godless. Yet shall the righteous hold on his way. He who has clean hands shall grow stronger and stronger. But as for you all, come on, now again. I shall not find a wise man among you. My days are past. My plans are broken off, as are the thoughts of my heart. They change the night and today, saying the light is near in the presence of darkness. If I look for Sheol as my house, if I have spread my couch in the darkness, if I have said to corruption, you are my father, to the worm, my mother and my sister, where then is my hope? As for my hope, who shall see it? Shall it go down with me to the gates of Sheol or descend together into the dust? Chapter 18 Then Bill Dad the shoe-hide answered, How long will you hunt for words? Consider, and afterwards we will speak. Why are we counted as animals which have become unclean in your sight? You who tear yourself in your anger, shall the earth be forsaken for you? Or shall the rock be removed out of its place? Yes, the light of the wicked shall be put out. The spark of his fire shall not shine. The light shall be dark in his tent. His lamp above him shall be put out. The steps of his strength shall be shortened. His own counsel shall cast him down. For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he wanders into its mesh. A snare will take him by the heel. A trap will catch him. A noose is hidden for him in the ground. A trap for him in the way. Terror shall make him afraid on every side, and shall chase him at his heels. His strength shall be famished. Calamity shall be ready at his side. The members of his body shall be devoured. The firstborn of death shall devour his members. He shall be rooted out of his tent where he trusts. He shall be brought to the king of terrors. There shall dwell in his tent that which is none of his. Sulphur shall be scattered on his habitation. His roots shall be dried up beneath. Above shall his branch be cut off. His memory shall perish from the earth. He shall have no name in the street. He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world. He shall have neither son nor grandson among his people, nor any remaining where he sojourned. Those who come after shall be astonished at his day, as those who went before were frightened. Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous. This is the place of him who doesn't know God. CHAPTER XIX Then Job answered, How long will you torment me and crush me with words? You have reproached me ten times. You aren't ashamed that you attack me. If it is true that I have erred, my error remains with myself. If indeed you will magnify yourselves against me, and plead against me my reproach, know now that God has subverted me, and has surrounded me with his net. Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard. I cry for help, but there is no justice. He has walled at my way so that I can't pass, and has set darkness in my paths. He has stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head. He has broken me down on every side, and I am gone. My hope he has plucked up like a tree. He has also kindled his wrath against me. He counts me among his adversaries. His troops come on together, build a seed ramp against me, and encamp around my tent. He has put my brothers far from me. My acquaintances are wholly estranged from me. My relatives have gone away. My familiar friends have forgotten me. Those who dwell in my house, and my maids count me for a stranger. I am an alien in their sight. I call to my servant, and he gives me no answer. I beg him with my mouth. My breath is offensive to my wife. I am loathsome to the children of my own mother. Even young children despise me. If I arise, they speak against me. All my familiar friends abhor me. They whom I loved have turned against me. My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh. I have escaped by the skin of my teeth. Have pity on me. Have pity on me, you my friends, for the hand of God has touched me. Why do you persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh? Oh, that my words were now written. Oh, that they were inscribed in a book. That with an iron pen and lead, they were engraved in the rock forever. But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives. In the end he will stand upon the earth. After my skin is destroyed, then in my flesh shall I see God, whom I, even I, shall see on my side. My eyes shall see, and not as a stranger. My heart is consumed within me. If you say, How we will persecute him, because the root of the matter is found in me. Be afraid of the sword, for wrath brings the punishments of the sword, that you may know there is a judgment. Chapter 20 Then so far the Namathite answered, Therefore do my thoughts give answer to me, even by reason of my haste that is in me. I have heard the reproof which puts me to shame. The spirit of my understanding answers me. Don't you know this from old time, since man was placed on earth, that the triumphing of the wicked is short, the joy of the godless but for a moment. Though his height mount up to the heavens, and his head reach to the clouds, yet he shall perish forever like his own dung. Those who have seen him shall say, Where is he? He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found. Yes, he shall be chased away like a vision of the night. The eye which saw him shall see him no more. Neither shall his place any more see him. His children shall seek the favor of the poor. His hands shall give back his wealth. His bones are full of his youth, but youth shall lie down with him in the dust. Though wickedness is sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue, though he spare it and will not let it go, but keep it still within his mouth. Yet his food in his bowels is turned. It is cobra venom within him. He has swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again. God will cast them out of his belly. He shall suck cobra venom. The viper's tongue shall kill him. He shall not look at the rivers, the flowing streams of honey and butter, that for which he labored he shall restore and shall not swallow it down. According to the substance that he has gotten, he shall not rejoice, for he has oppressed and forsaken the poor. He has violently taken away a house, and he shall not build it up. Because he knew no quietness within him, he shall not save anything of that in which he delights. There was nothing left that he didn't devour, therefore his prosperity shall not endure. In the fullness of his sufficiency, distress shall overtake him. The hand of everyone who is in misery shall come on him. When he is about to fill his belly, God will cast the fierceness of his wrath on him. It will rain on him while he is eating. He shall flee from the iron weapon, the bronze arrow shall strike through him. He draws it forth, and it comes out of his body. Yes, the glittering point comes out of his liver. Terror is on him. All darkness is laid up for his treasures. An unfanned fire shall devour him. It shall consume that which is left in his tent. The heavens shall reveal his iniquity. The earth shall rise up against him. The increase of his house shall depart. They shall rush away in the day of his wrath. This is the portion of a wicked man from God. The heritage appointed to him by God. Then Job answered, Listen diligently to my speech. Let this be your consolation. Allow me, and I also will speak. After I have spoken, mock on. As for me, is my complaint to man? Why shouldn't I be impatient? Look at me and be astonished. See your hand on your mouth. When I remember, I am troubled. Horror takes hold of my flesh. Why do the wicked live? Become old? Yes, and grow mighty in power. Their child is established with them in their sight. They're offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear. Neither is the rod of God upon them. Their bowls breed without fail. Their cows cath and don't miscarry. They send forth their little ones like a flock. Their children dance. They sing to the tambourine and harp and rejoice at the sound of the pipe. They spend their days in prosperity. In an instant, they shall go down to Shale. They tell God, depart from us, for we don't want to know about your ways. What is the Almighty that we should serve him? What prophet should we have if we pray to him? Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand. The counsel of the wicked is far from me. How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out, that their calamity comes on them, that God distributes sorrows in his anger? How often is it that they are as stubble before the wind, as chaff that the storm carries away? You say, God lays up his iniquity for his children. Let him recompense it to himself that he may know it. Let his own eyes see his destruction. Let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty. For what does he care for his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off? Shall any teach God knowledge, seeing he judges those who are high? One dies in his full strength, being holy at ease and quiet. His pales are full of milk. The marrow of his bones is moistened. Another dies in bitterness of soul and never tastes of good. They lie down alike in the dust. The worm covers them. Behold, I know your thoughts, the devices with which you would wrong me. For you say, Where is the house of the prince? Where is the tent in which the wicked lived? Haven't you asked wayfaring men? Don't you know their evidences? That the evil man is reserved to the day of calamity? That they are led forth to the day of wrath. Who shall declare his way to his face? Who shall repay him what he has done? Yet he will be born to the grave. Men shall keep watch over the tomb. The clouds of the valley shall be sweet to him. All men shall draw after him, as there were innumerable before him. So how can you comfort me with nonsense, seeing that in your answers there remains only falsehood? Chapter 22 Then Eliphaz the Temmonite answered, Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself. Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous? Or does it benefit him that you make your ways perfect? Is it for your piety that he reproves you, that he enters with you into judgment? Isn't your wickedness great? Neither is there any end to your iniquities. For you have taken pledges from your brother for nothing, and stripped the naked of their clothing. You haven't given water to the weary to drink, and you have withheld bread from the hungry. But as for the mighty man, he had the earth, the honorable man, he lived in it. You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken. Therefore snares are around you, sudden fear troubles you, or darkness, so that you cannot see, and floods of water cover you. Isn't God in the heights of heaven? See the height of the stars, how high they are. You say, what does God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness? Thick clouds are recovering to him so that he doesn't see. He walks on the vault of the sky. Will you keep the old way which wicked men have trodden, who were snatched away before their time, whose foundation was poured out as a stream, who said to God, depart from us, and what can the Almighty do for us? Yet he filled their houses with good things. But the counsel of the wicked is far from me. The righteous see it, and are glad. The innocent ridicule them, saying, Surely those who rose up against us are cut off. The fire has consumed the remnant of them. Acquaint yourself with him now, and be at peace. Thereby good shall come to you. Please receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you shall be built up. If you put away unrighteousness far from your tents, lay your treasure in the dust, the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks. The Almighty will be your treasure, and precious silver to you. For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty, and shall lift up your face to God. You shall make your prayer to him, and he will hear you. You shall pay your vows. You shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established to you. Light shall shine on your ways. When they cast down, you shall say, Be lifted up. He will save the humble person. He will even deliver him who is not innocent. Yes, he shall be delivered through the cleanness of your hands. Then Job answered, Even today my complaint is rebellious. His hand is heavy in spite of my groaning. Oh, that I knew where I might find him. That I might come even to his seat. I would set my cause in order before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would tell me. Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No, but he would listen to me. There the upright might reason with him, so I should be delivered forever from my judge. If I go east, he is not there. If west, I can't find him. He works to the north, but I can't see him. He turns south, but I can't catch a glimpse of him. But he knows the way that I take. When he has tried me, I shall come forth like gold. My foot has held fast to his steps. I have kept his way, and not turned aside. I haven't gone back from the commandment of his lips. I have treasured up the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. But he stands alone, and who can oppose him? What his soul desires, even that he does. For he performs that which is appointed for me. Many such things are with him. Therefore I am terrified at his presence. When I consider, I am afraid of him. For God has made my heart faint. The Almighty has terrified me, because I was not cut off before the darkness. Neither did he cover the thick darkness from my face. Chapter 24 Why aren't times laid up by the Almighty? Why don't those who know him see his days? There are people who remove the landmarks. They violently take away flocks and feed them. They drive away the donkey of the fatherless. And they take the widow's ox for a pledge. They turn the needy out of the way. The poor of the earth all hide themselves. Behold, as wild donkeys in the desert, they go forth to their work, seeking diligently for food. The wilderness yields them bread for their children. They cut their provender in the field. They glean the vineyard of the wicked. They lie all night naked without clothing, and have no covering in the cold. They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for lack of a shelter. There are those who pluck the fatherless from the breast and take the pledge of the poor so that they go around naked without clothing. Being hungry, they carry the sheaves. They make oil within the walls of these men. They tread wine presses and suffer thirst. From out of the populous city, men groan. The soul of the wounded cries out. Yet God doesn't regard the folly. These are of those who rebel against the light. They don't know its ways, nor abide in its paths. The murderer rises with the light. He kills the poor and needy. In the night, he is like a thief. The eye also of the adulterer waits for the twilight, saying, No, I shall see me. He disguises his face. In the dark, they dig through houses. They shut themselves up in the daytime. They don't know the night. For the morning is to all of them like thick darkness. For they know the terrors of the thick darkness. They are foam on the surface of the waters. Their portion is cursed in the earth. They don't turn into the way of the vineyards. Drought and heat consume the snow waters. So does Sheol, those who have sinned. The womb shall forget him. The worm shall feed sweetly on him. He shall be no more remembered. Unrighteousness shall be broken as a tree. He devours the barren who don't bear. He shows no kindness to the widow. Yet God preserves the mighty by his power. He rises up who has no assurance of life. God gives them security, and they rest in it. His eyes are on their ways. They are exalted, yet a little while, and they are gone. Yes, they are brought low. They are taken out of the way as all others, and are cut off as the tops of the ears of grain. If it isn't so now, who will prove me a liar and make my speech worth nothing? Chapter 25 Then Bildad the shoe-eyed answered, Dominion and fear are with him. He makes peace in his high places. Can his armies be counted? On whom does his light not arise? How then can man be just with God? Or how can he who is born of a woman be clean? Behold, even the moon has no brightness, and the stars are not pure in his sight. How much less man who is a worm, the son of man who is a worm? Chapter 26 Then Job answered, How have you helped him who is without power? How have you saved the arm that has no strength? How have you counseled him who has no wisdom and plentifully declared sound knowledge? To whom have you uttered words? Whose spirit came forth from you? Those who are deceased tremble, those beneath the waters and all that live in them. Shale is naked before God, and a badden has no covering. He stretches out the north over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing. He binds up the waters in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not burst under them. He encloses the face of his throne and spreads his cloud on it. He has described a boundary on the surface of the waters and to the confines of light and darkness. The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his rebuke. He stirs up the sea with his power, and by his understanding he strikes through Rahab. By his spirit the heavens are garnished. His hand has pierced the swift serpent. Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways. How small a whisper do we hear of him, but the thunder of his power. Who can understand? Chapter 27 Job again took up his parable and said, As God lives, who has taken away my right? The Almighty who has made my soul bitter, for the length of my life is still in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils. Surely my lips shall not speak unrighteousness, neither shall my tongue utter deceit. Far be it from me that I should justify you, until I die I would not put away my integrity from me. I hold fast to my righteousness and will not let it go. My heart shall not reproach me so long as I live. Let my enemy be as the wicked. Let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous. For what is the hope of the Godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life? Will God hear his cry when trouble comes on him? Will he delight himself in the Almighty and call on God at all times? I will teach you about the hand of God, that which is with the Almighty I will not conceal. Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves. Why, then, have you become altogether vain? This is the portion of a wicked man with God, a heritage of oppressors which they receive from the Almighty. If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword. His offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. Those who remain of him shall be buried in death. His widows shall make no lamentation. Though he heap up silver as the dust and prepare clothing as the clay, he may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver. He builds his house as the moth, as a booth which the watchmen makes. He lies down rich, but he shall not do so again. He opens his eyes, and he is not. Terror overtakes him like waters. A storm steals him away in the night. The east wind carries him away, and he departs. It sweeps him out of his place, for it hurls at him, and does not spare as he flees away from his hand. Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place. Chapter 28 Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold which they refine. Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted out of the ore. Man sets an end to darkness, and searches out to the furthest bound the stones of obscurity and of thick darkness. He breaks open a shaft away from where people live. They are forgotten by the foot. They hang far from men. They swing back and forth. As for the earth, out of it comes bread. Underneath it is turned up, as it were, by fire. Sapphires come from its rocks. It has dust of gold. That path no bird of prey knows. Neither has the falcon's eye seen it. The proud animals have not trod in it, nor has the fierce lion passed by there. He puts forth his hand on the flinty rock, and he overturns the mountains by the roots. He cuts out channels among the rocks. His eye sees every precious thing. He binds the streams that they don't trickle. The thing that is hidden, he brings forth to light. But where shall wisdom be found? Where is the place of understanding? Man doesn't know its price. Neither is it found in the land of the living. The deep says, it isn't in me. The sea says, it isn't within me. It can't be gotten for gold. Neither shall silver be weighed for its price. It can't be valued with the gold of Ophir. With the precious onyx or the sapphire. Gold and glass can't equal it. Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal. Yes, the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it. Neither shall it be valued with pure gold. Once then comes wisdom. Where is the place of understanding? Seeing it is hidden from the eyes of all living and kept close from the birds of the sky. Destruction and death say, we have heard a rumor of it with our ears. God understands its way and he knows its place. For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees under the whole sky. He establishes the force of the wind. Yes, he measures out of the waters by measure. When he made a decree for the rain and away for the lightning of the thunder, then he saw it and declared it. He established it, yes, and searched it out. To man he said, behold the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. To depart from evil is understanding. Job again took up his parable and said, O that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone on my head, and by his light I walked through darkness as I were in the ripeness of my days, when the friendship of God was in my tent, when the Almighty was yet with me and my children were around me, when my steps were washed with butter and the rock poured out streams of oil for me. When I went forth to the city gate, when I prepared my seat in the street, the young men saw me and hid themselves. The age rose up and stood. The princes refrained from talking and laid their hand on their mouth. The voice of the nobles was hushed and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouth. For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me, and when the eye saw me, it commended me, because I delivered the poor who cried and the fatherless also who had none to help him. The blessing of him who was ready to perish came on me and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness and it clothed me. My justice was as a robe and a diadem. I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy. The cause of him who I didn't know I searched out. I broke the jaws of the unrighteous and plucked the prey out of his teeth. Then I said, I shall die in my own house. I shall number my days as the sand. My root is spread out to the waters. The dew lies all night on my branch. My glory is fresh in me. My bow is renewed in my hand. Men listened to me, waited, and kept silence for my counsel. After my words, they didn't speak again. My speech fell on them. They waited for me as for the rain. Their mouths drank as with the spring rain. I smiled on them when they had no confidence. They didn't reject the light of my face. I chose out their way and sat as chief. I lived as a king in the army, as one who comforts the mourners. CHAPTER 30 But now those who are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to put with my sheep-dogs. Of what use is the strength of their hands to me? Men in whom ripe age has perished? They are gaunt from lack and famine. They gnaw the dry ground in the gloom of waste and desolation. They pluck salt herbs by the bushes. The roots of the broom are their food. They are driven out from the midst of men. They cry after them as after a thief. So that they dwell in frightful valleys and in holes of the earth and of rocks. Among the bushes they bray, and under the nettles they are gathered together. They are children of fools. Yes, children of basemen. They were flogged out of the land. Now I have become their song. Yes, I am a byword to them. They abhor me. They stand aloof from me and don't hesitate to spit in my face. For he has untied his cord and afflicted me, and they have thrown off restraint before me. On my right hand rise the rabble. They thrust aside my feet. They cast up against me their ways of destruction. They mar my path. They set forward my calamity without anyone's help. As through a wide breach they come, in the midst of the ruin they roll themselves in. Terrors have turned on me. They chase my honor as the wind. My welfare has passed away as a cloud. Now my soul is poured out within me. Days of affliction have taken hold on me. In the night season my bones are pierced in me, and the pains that gnaw me take no rest. By great force is my garment disfigured. It binds me about as the collar of my coat. He has cast me into the mire. I have become like dust and ashes. I cry to you and you do not answer me. I stand up and you gaze at me. You have turned to be cruel to me. With the might of your hand you persecute me. You lift me up to the wind and drive me with it. You dissolve me in the storm, for I know that you will bring me to death, to the house appointed for all living. However, doesn't one stretch out a hand in his fall or in his calamity, therefore, cry for help? Didn't I weep for him who was in trouble? Wasn't my soul grieved for the needy? When I looked for good, then evil came. When I waited for light, there came darkness. My heart is troubled and doesn't rest. Days of affliction have come on me. I go morning without the sun. I stand up in the assembly and cry for help. I am a brother to jackals and a companion to ostriches. My skin grows black and peels from me. My bones are burned with heat. Therefore my harp has turned to mourning and my pipe into the voice of those who weep. I made a covenant with my eyes. How, then, should I look lustfully at a young woman? For what is the portion from God above and the heritage from the Almighty on high? Is it not calamity to the unrighteous and disaster to the workers of iniquity? Doesn't he see my ways and number all my steps? If I have walked with falsehood and my foot has hurried to deceit, let me be weighed in an even balance that God may know my integrity. If my step has turned out of the way, if my heart walked after my eyes, if any defilement has stuck into my hands, then let me sow and let another eat. Yes, let the produce of my field be rooted out. If my heart has been enticed to a woman and I have laid weight at my neighbor's door, then let my wife grind for another and let others sleep with her. For that would be a heinous crime. Yes, it would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges. For it is a fire that consumes to destruction and would root out all my increase. If I have despised the cause of my male servant or of my female servant when they contended with me, what then shall I do when God rises up? When he visits, what shall I answer him? Didn't he who made me in the womb make him? Didn't one fashion us in the womb? If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, or have eaten my morsel alone and the fatherless has not eaten of it, no, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, her have I guided from my mother's womb. If I have seen any parish for want of clothing or that the needy had no covering, if his heart hasn't blessed me, if he hasn't been warned with my sheep's fleece, if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, because I saw my help in the gate, then let my shoulder fall from my shoulder blade and my arm be broken from the bone, for calamity from God is a terror to me. Because his majesty, I can do nothing. If I have made gold my hope and have said to the fine gold, you are my confidence. If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great and because my hand had gotten much, if I have seen the sun when it shined or the moon moving in splendor and my heart has been secretly enticed and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth, this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges. For I should have denied the God who is above. If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me or lifted up myself when evil found him, yes, I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking his life with a curse. If the men of my tent have not said, who can find one who has not been filled with his meat? The foreigner has not lodged in the street, but I have opened my doors to the traveler. If, like Adam, I have covered my transgressions by hiding my iniquity in my heart because I feared the great multitude and the contempt of families terrified me so that I kept silence and didn't go out of the door, oh, that I had one to hear me. Behold, here is my signature. Let the Almighty answer me. Let the accuser write my indictment. Surely I would carry it on my shoulder and I would bind it to me as a crown. I would declare to him the number of my steps. As a prince would I go near to him? If my land cries out against me and its furrows weep together, if I have eaten its fruits without money or have caused its owners to lose their life, let briars grow instead of wheat and stinkwood instead of barley. The words of Job are ended. chapters 15 through 31 of the Book of Job chapters 32 through 42 of the Book of Job from the World English Bible this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org the Book of Job from the World English Bible chapters 32 through 42 chapter 32 so these three men ceased to answer Job because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barahel, the Buseite of the family of Ram was kindled against Job. His wrath was kindled because he justified himself rather than God. Also his wrath was kindled against his three friends because they had found no answer and yet condemned Job. Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were elder than he. When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men his wrath was kindled. Elihu, the son of Barahel, the Buseite, answered I am young and you are very old therefore I held back and didn't dare show you my opinion. I said days should speak and multitude of years should teach wisdom. But there is a spirit in man and the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding. It is not the great who are wise nor the aged who understand justice. Therefore I said listen to me I also will show you my opinion. Behold, I waited for your words and I listened for your reasoning while you searched out what to say. Yes, I gave you my full attention but there was no one who convinced Job or who answered his words among you. Beware lest you say we have found wisdom, God may refute him, not man for he has not directed his words against me neither will I answer him with your speeches. They are amazed, they answer no more they don't have a word to say. Shall I wait because they don't speak because they stand still and answer no more? I also will answer my part and I also will show my opinion for I am full of words the spirit within me constrains me. Behold, my breast is as wine which has no vent like new wineskins it is ready to burst. I will speak that I may be refreshed I will open my lips and answer. Please don't let me respect any man's person neither will I give flattering titles to any man for I don't know how to give flattering titles or else my maker would soon take me away. Chapter 33 However Job, please hear my speech and listen to all my words. See now I have opened my mouth my tongue has spoken in my mouth my words shall utter the uprightness of my heart that which my lips know they shall speak sincerely. The spirit of God has made me and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. If you can, answer me set your words in order before me and stand forth. Behold, I am toward God even as you are. I am also formed out of the clay. Behold, my terror shall not make you afraid neither shall my pressure be heavy on you. Surely you have spoken in my hearing I have heard the voice of your words saying I am clean without disobedience I am innocent neither is there iniquity in me. Behold, he finds occasions against me he counts me for his enemy he puts my feet in the stocks he marks all my paths Behold, I will answer you in this you are not just for God is greater than man. Why do you strive against him because he doesn't give account of any of his matters? For God speaks once, yes twice though man pays no attention. In a dream, in a vision of the night when deep sleep falls on men in slumbering on the bed then he opens the ears of men and seals their instruction that he may withdraw man from his purpose and hide pride from man. He keeps back his soul from the pit and his life from perishing by the sword. He is chastened also with pain on his bed with continual strife in his bones so that his life abhors bread and his soul dainty food. His flesh is so consumed away that it can't be seen his bones that were not seen stick out. Yes, his soul draws near to a pit and his life to the destroyers. If there is beside him an angel an interpreter one among a thousand to show to man what is right for him then God is gracious to him and says deliver him from going down to the pit I have found a ransom. His flesh shall be fresher than a child's he returns to the days of his youth he prays to God and he is favorable to him so that he sees his face with joy he restores to man his righteousness he sings before men and says I have sinned and perverted that which was right and it didn't profit me he has redeemed my soul from going to the pit my life shall see the light behold God works all these things twice yes three times with a man to bring back his soul from the pit that he may be enlightened with the light of the living Mark well Job and listen to me hold your peace and I will speak if you have anything to say answer me speak for I desire to justify you if not listen to me hold your peace and I will teach you wisdom Chapter 34 moreover Elihu answered hear my words you wise men give ear to me you who have knowledge for the ear tries words as the palette tastes food let us choose for us that which is right let us know among ourselves what is good for Job has said I am righteous God has taken away my right not withstanding my right I am considered a liar my wound is incurable though I am without disobedience what man is like Job who drinks scorn like water who goes in company with the workers of iniquity and walks with wicked men for he has said it profits a man nothing that he should delight himself with God therefore listen to me you men of understanding far be it from God that he should do wickedness from the Almighty that he should commit iniquity for the work of a man he will render to him and cause every man to find according to his ways yes surely God will not do wickedly neither will the Almighty pervert justice who put him in charge of the earth or who has appointed him over the whole world if he set his heart on himself if he gathered to himself his spirit and his breath all flesh would perish together and man would turn again to dust if now you have understanding hear this listen to the voice of my words shall even one who hates justice govern will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty who says to a king vile or to nobles wicked who doesn't respect the persons of princes nor regards the rich more than the poor for they are all the work of his hands in a moment they die even at midnight the people are shaken and pass away the mighty are taken away without a hand for his eyes are on the ways of man he sees all his goings there is no darkness nor thick gloom where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves for he doesn't need to consider a man further that he should go before God in judgment he breaks in pieces mighty men in ways past finding out and sets others in their place therefore he takes knowledge of their works he overturns them in the night so that they are destroyed he strikes them as wicked men in the open sight of others because they turned aside from following him and wouldn't pay attention to any of his ways so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him he heard the cry of the afflicted when he gives quietness who then can condemn when he hides his face who then can see him a like whether to a nation or to a man that the godless man may not reign that there be no one to ensnare the people for has any said to God I am guilty but I will not offend any more teach me that which I don't see if I have done iniquity I will do it no more shall his recompense be as you desire that you refuse it for you must choose and not I therefore speak what you know men of understanding will tell me yes every wise man who hears me Job speaks without knowledge his words are without wisdom I wish that Job were tried to the end because of his answering like wicked men for he adds rebellion to his sin he claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God Chapter 35 moreover, I like you answered do you think this to be your right or do you say my righteousness is more than God's that you ask what advantage will it be to you what profit shall I have more than if I had sinned I will answer you and your companions with you look to the heavens and see see the skies which are higher than you if you have sinned what effect do you have against him if your transgressions are multiplied what do you do to him if you are righteous what do you give him or what does he receive from your hand your wickedness may hurt a man as you are and your righteousness may profit a son of man by reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out they cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty but none says where is God my maker who gives songs in the night who teaches us more than the animals of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky there they cry but none gives answer because of the pride of evil men surely God will not hear an empty cry neither will the Almighty regard it how much less when you say you don't see him the cause is before him and you wait for him but now because he has not visited in his anger neither does he greatly regard arrogance therefore Job opens his mouth with empty talk and he multiplies words without knowledge Chapter 36 Elihu continued and said bear with me a little and I will show you for I still have something to say on God's behalf I will get my knowledge from afar and I will ascribe righteousness to my maker for truly my words are not false one who is perfect in knowledge is with you behold God is mighty and doesn't despise anyone he is mighty in strength and understanding he doesn't preserve the life of the wicked but gives to the afflicted their right he doesn't withdraw his eyes from the righteous but with kings on the throne he sets them forever and they are exalted if they are bound in fetters and are taken in the cords of afflictions then he shows them their work and their transgressions that they have behaved themselves proudly he also opens their ears to instruction and commands that they return from iniquity if they listen and serve him they shall spend their days in prosperity and their years and pleasures but if they don't listen they shall perish by the sword they shall die without knowledge but those who are godless in heart lay up anger they don't cry for help when he binds them they die in youth their life perishes among the unclean he delivers the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ear in oppression yes he would have allured you out of distress into a broad place where there is no restriction that which is set on your table would be full of fatness but you are full of the judgment of the wicked judgment and justice take hold of you don't let riches entice you to wrath neither let the great size of a bribe turn you aside would your wealth sustain you into stress or all the might of your strength don't desire the night when people are cut off in their place take heed don't regard iniquity for you have chosen this rather than affliction behold god is exalted in his power who is a teacher like him who has prescribed the way for him or who can say you have committed unrighteousness remember that you magnify his work whereof men have sung all men have looked there on man sees it afar off behold god is great and we don't even know him the number of his years is unsearchable for he draws up the drops of water which distill and rain from his vapor which the skies pour down and which drop on man abundantly yes can any understand the spreading of the clouds and the thunderings of his pavilion behold he spreads his light around him he covers the bottom of the sea for by these he judges the people he gives food in abundance he covers his hands with the lightning and commands it to strike the mark its noise tells about him and the livestock also concerning the storm that comes up Chapter 37 yes at this my heart trembles and is moved out of its place here oh hear the noise of his voice the sound that goes out of his mouth he sends it forth under the whole sky and his lightning to the ends of the earth after it a voice roars he thunders with the voice of his majesty he doesn't hold back anything when his voice is heard god thunders marvelously with his voice he does great things which we can't comprehend for he says to the snow fall on the earth likewise to the shower of rain and to the showers of his mighty rain he seals up the hand of every man that all men whom he has made may know it then the animals take cover and remain in their dens out of its chamber comes the storm and cold out of the north by the breath of god ice is given and the breath of the waters is frozen yes he holds the thick cloud with moisture he spreads abroad the cloud of his lightning it is turned around by his guidance that they may do whatever he commands them on the surface of the habitable world whether it is for correction or for his land or for loving kindness that he causes it to come listen to this job stand still and consider the wondrous works of god do you know how god controls them and causes the lightning of his cloud to shine do you know the workings of the clouds the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge you whose clothing is warm when the earth is still by reason of the south wind can you with him spread out the sky which is strong as a cast metal mirror teach us what we shall tell him for we can't make our case by reason of darkness shall it be told him that I would speak or shall a man wish that he were swallowed up now men don't see the light which is bright in the skies but the wind passes and clears them out of the north comes golden splendor with god is awesome majesty we can't reach the almighty he is exalted in power in justice and great righteousness he will not depress therefore men revere him he doesn't regard any who are wise of heart Chapter 38 then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind who is this who darkens council by words without knowledge brace yourself like a man for I will question you then you answer me where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth declare if you have understanding who determined its measures if you know or who stretched the line on it where upon were its foundations fastened or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of god shouted for joy or who shut up the sea with doors when it broke forth from the womb when I made clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness marked out for it my bound set bars and doors and said here you may come but no further here your proud waves shall be stayed have you commanded the morning in your days and caused the dawn to know its place that it might take hold of the ends of the earth and shake the wicked out of it it is changed as clay under the seal and stands forth as a garment from the wicked their light is withheld the high arm is broken have you entered into the springs of the sea or have you walked in the recesses of the deep have the gates of death been revealed to you and have you seen the gates of the shadow of death have you comprehended the earth and its breath declare if you know it all what is the way to the dwelling of light as for darkness where is its place that you should take it to its bound that you should discern the paths to its house surely you know for you were born then and the number of your days is great have you entered the treasuries of the snow or have you seen the treasures of the hail which I have reserved against the time of trouble against the day of battle and war by what way is the lightning distributed or the east wind scattered on the earth who has cut a channel for the flood water or the path for the thunderstorm to cause it to rain on a land where no man is on the wilderness on which there is no man to satisfy the waste at desolate ground to cause the tender grass to spring forth does the rain have a father or who fathers the drops of dew out of whose womb came the ice the gray frost of the sky who has given birth to it the waters become hard like stone the surface of the deep is frozen can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades or loosen the cords of Orion can you lead forth the constellations in their seasons or can you guide the bear with her cubs do you know the laws of the heavens can you establish its dominion over the earth can you lift up your voice to the clouds that abundance of water may cover you can you send forth lightnings that they may go do they report to you here we are who has put wisdom in the inward parts or who has given understanding to the mind who can number the clouds by wisdom or who can pour out the bottles of the sky when the dust runs into a mass and the clods of earth stick together can you hunt the prey for the lioness or satisfy the appetite of the young lions when they crouch in their dens and lie and wait in the thicket who provides for the raveness prey when the young ones cry to God and wander for lack of food Chapter 39 do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth do you watch when the doe bears fawns can you number the months that they fulfill or do you know the time when they give birth they bow themselves they bring forth their young they end their labor pains the young ones become strong they grow up in the open field they go forth and don't return again who has set the wild donkey free or who has loosened the bonds of the swift donkey whose home I have made in the wilderness and the salt land his dwelling place he scorns the tumult of the city neither does he hear the shouting of the driver the range of the mountains is his pasture he searches after every green thing will the wild ox be content to serve you or will he stay by your feeding trough can you hold the wild ox in the furrow with his harness or will he till the valleys after you will you trust him because his strength is great or will you leave to him your labor will you confide in him that he will bring home your seed and gather the grain of your threshing floor the wings of the ostrich wave proudly but are they the feathers and plumage of love for she leaves her eggs on the earth warms them in the dust and forgets that the foot may crush them or that the wild animal may trample them she deals harshly with her young ones as if they were not hers though her labor is in vain she is without fear because God has deprived her of wisdom neither has he imparted to her understanding when she lifts herself on high she scorns the horse at his rider have you given the horse might have you clothed his neck with a quivering mane have you made him to leap as a locust the glory of his snorting is awesome he paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength he goes out to meet the armed men he mocks at fear and is not dismayed neither does he turn back from the sword the quiver rattles against him the flashing spear and the javelin he eats up the ground with fierceness and rage neither does he stand still at the sound of the trumpet as often as the trumpet sounds he snorts, argh he smells the battle afar off the thunder of the captains and the shouting is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars and stretches her wings toward the south is it at your command that the ingle mounts up and makes his nest on high on the cliff he dwells and makes his hold on the point of the cliff and the stronghold from there he spies out the prey his eyes see it afar off his young ones also suck up blood where the slain are there he is Chapter 40 moreover Yahweh answered Job shall he who argues contend with the Almighty he who argues with God let him answer it then Job answered Yahweh behold I am of small account what shall I answer you I lay my hand on my mouth I have spoken once and I will not answer yes twice but I will proceed no further then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind now brace yourself like a man I will question you and you will answer me will you even annul my judgment will you condemn me that you may be justified or do you have an arm like God can you thunder with a voice like him now deck yourself with excellence and dignity array yourself with honor and majesty pour out the fury of your anger look at everyone who is proud and bring him low look at everyone who is proud and humble him crush the wicked in their place hide them in the dust together find their faces in the hidden place then I will also admit to you that your own right hand can save you see now behemoth which I made as well as you he eats grass like an ox look now his strength is in his thighs his force is in the muscles of his belly he moves his tail like a cedar the sinews of his thighs are knit together his bones are like tubes of brass his limbs are like bars of iron he is the chief of the ways of God he who made him gives him his sword surely the mountains produce food for him where all the animals of the field play he lies under the lotus tree in the covert of the reeds and the marsh the lotuses cover him with their shade the willows of the brooks surround him behold if a river overflows he doesn't tremble he is confident though the Jordan swells even to his mouth shall any take him when he is on the watch or pierce through his nose with a snare Chapter 41 can you draw out leviathan with a fish hook or press down his tongue with a cord can you put a rope into his nose or pierce his jaw through with a hook will he make any petitions to you or will he speak soft words to you will he make a covenant with you that you should take him ever a servant forever will you play with him as with a bird will you bind him for your girls will traders barter for him will they part him among their merchants can you fill his skin with barbed irons or his head with fish spears lay your hand on him remember the battle and do so no more behold the hope of him is in vain won't one be cast down even to the side of him none is so fierce that they dare stir him up who then is he who can stand before me who has first given to me that I should repay him everything under the heavens is mine I will not keep silence concerning his limbs nor his mighty strength nor his goodly frame who can strip off his outer garments who shall come within his jaws who can open the doors of his face around his teeth is terror strong scales are his pride shut up together with a close seal one is so near to another that no air can come between them they are joined one to another they stick together so that they can't be pulled apart his sneezing flashes out light his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning out of his mouth go burning torches sparks of fire leap forth out of his nostrils a smoke goes as of a boiling pot over the reeds of fire his breath kindles coals a flame goes forth from his mouth there is strength in his neck terror dances before him the flakes of his flesh are joined together they are firm on him they can't be moved his heart is as firm as a stone yes firm as the lower millstone when he raises himself up the mighty are afraid they retreat before his thrashing if anyone attacks him with a sword it can't prevail nor can spear the dart nor the pointed shaft he counts iron as straw and brass as rotten wood the iron can't make him flee sling stones are like chaff to him clubs are counted as stubble he laughs at the rushing of the javelin his undersides are like sharp pot-shirts leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge he makes the deep to boil like a pot he makes the sea like a pot of ointment he makes a path shine after him one would think the deep had white hair on earth there is not his equal that is made without fear he sees everything that is high he is king over all the sons of pride Chapter 42 Then Job answered Yahweh I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be restrained you asked who is this who hides counsel without knowledge therefore I have uttered that which I did not understand things too wonderful for me which I didn't know you said listen now and I will speak I will question you and you will answer me I had her of you by the hearing of the ear but now my eye sees you therefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes it was so that after Yahweh had spoken these words to Job Yahweh said to Eliphaz the Temmonite my wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends for you have not spoken of me the thing that is right as my servant Job has now therefore take to yourself southern bulls and southern rams and go to my servant Job and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering and my servant Job shall pray for you for I will accept him that I not deal with you according to your folly for you have not spoken of me the thing that is right as my servant Job has so Eliphaz the Temmonite and Bildad the shoe height and Zophar the Namethite went and did what Yahweh commanded them and Yahweh accepted Job Yahweh turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends Yahweh gave Job twice as much as he had before then came there to him all his brothers and all his sisters and all those who had been of his acquaintance before and ate bread with him in his house they comforted him and consoled him concerning all the evil that Yahweh had brought on him everyone also gave him a piece of money and everyone a ring of gold so Yahweh blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning he had fourteen thousand sheep six thousand camels one thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand female donkeys he had also seven sons and three daughters he called the name of the first Jemima and the name of the second Kizaya and the name of the third Kiran Hepoch in all the land where no women found so beautiful as the daughters of Job their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers after this Job lived one hundred forty years and saw his sons and his sons sons to four generations so Job died being old and full of days End of the Book of Job Blessed is the man who doesn't walk in the council of the wicked nor stand in the way of sinners nor sit in the seat of scoffers but his delight is in Yahweh's law on his law he meditates day and night he will be like a tree planted by streams of water that brings forth its fruit in its season whose leaf also does not wither whatever he does shall prosper the wicked are not so but are like chaff which the wind drives away therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous for Yahweh knows the way of the righteous but the way of the wicked shall perish Psalm 2 why do the nations rage and the peoples plot a vain thing the kings of the earth take a stand and the rulers take council together against Yahweh and against his anointed saying let's break their bonds apart and cast their cords from us he who sits in the heavens will laugh the Lord will have them in derision then he will speak to them in his anger and terrify them in his wrath yet I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion I will tell of the decree Yahweh said to me my son today I have become your father ask of me and I will give the nations for your inheritance the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession you shall break them with a rod of iron you shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel now therefore be wise you kings be instructed you judges of the earth serve Yahweh with fear and rejoice with trembling with sincere homage to the sun lest he be angry and you perish in the way for his wrath will soon be kindled blessed are all those who take refuge in him Psalm 3 a Psalm by David when he fled from Absalom his son Yahweh how my adversaries have increased many are those who rise up against me many there are who say of my soul there is no help for him in God Selah but you Yahweh are a shield around me my glory and the one who lifts up my head I cry to Yahweh with my voice and he answers me out of his holy hill Selah I laid myself down and slept I awakened for Yahweh sustains me I will not be afraid of tens of thousands of people who have set themselves against me on every side arise Yahweh save me my God for you have struck all of my enemies on the cheekbone you have broken the teeth of the wicked salvation belongs to Yahweh your blessings be on your people Selah Psalm 4 for the chief musician on stringed instruments a Psalm of David answer me when I call God of my righteousness give me relief from my distress have mercy on me and hear my prayer you sons of men how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor will you love vanity and seek after falsehood Selah but know that Jehovah has set apart for himself him who is godly Yahweh will hear when I call to him stand in awe and don't sin search your heart on your bed and be still Selah offer the sacrifices of righteousness put your trust in Yahweh many say who will show us any good Yahweh let the light of your face shine on us you have put gladness in my heart more than when their grain and their new wine are increased in peace I will both lay myself down and sleep for you Yahweh alone make me live in safety Psalm 5 for the chief musician with the flutes a Psalm of David give ear to my words Yahweh consider my meditation listen to the voice of my cry my king and my God for to you do I pray Yahweh in the morning you shall hear my voice in the morning I will lay my requests before you and will watch expectantly for you are not a God who has pleasure in wickedness evil can't live with you the arrogant shall not stand in your sight you hate all workers of iniquity you will destroy those who speak lies Yahweh abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man but as for me in the abundance of your loving kindness I will come into your house I will bow toward your holy temple in reverence of you lead me Yahweh in your righteousness because of my enemies make your way straight before my face for there is no faithfulness in their mouth their heart is destruction their throat is an open tomb they flatter with their tongue hold them guilty God let them fall by their own counsels thrust them out in the multitude of their transgressions for they have rebelled against you but let all those who take refuge in you rejoice let them always shout for joy because you defend them let them also who love your name be joyful in you for you will bless the righteous Yahweh you will surround them with favor as with a shield Psalm 6 for the chief musician instruments upon the eight-stringed lyre a Psalm by David Yahweh don't rebuke me in your anger neither discipline me in your wrath have mercy on me Yahweh for I am faint Yahweh heal me for my bones are troubled my soul is also in great anguish but you Yahweh how long return Yahweh deliver my soul and save me for your loving kindness sake for in death there is no memory of you in Sheol who shall give you thanks I am weary with my groaning every night I flood my bed I drench my couch with my tears my eye wastes away because of grief it grows old because of my adversaries depart from me all you workers of iniquity for Yahweh has heard the voice of my weeping Yahweh has heard my supplication Yahweh accepts my prayer may all my enemies be ashamed and dismayed they shall turn back they shall be disgraced suddenly Psalm 7 a meditation by David which he sang to Yahweh concerning the words of Kush the Benjamin Yahweh my God I take refuge in you you gave me from all those who pursue me and deliver me lest they tear apart my soul like a lion ripping it in pieces while there is none to deliver Yahweh my God if I have done this if there is iniquity in my hands if I have rewarded evil to him who was at peace with me yes if I have delivered him who without cause was my adversary let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it and lay my life down to the earth and lay my glory in the dust Silla arise Yahweh in your anger lift up yourself against the rage of my adversaries awake for me you have commanded judgment let the congregation of the people surround you rule over them on high Yahweh administers judgment to the peoples judge me Yahweh according to my righteousness and to my integrity that is in me oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end but establish the righteous their minds and hearts are searched by the righteous God my shield is with God who saves the upright in heart God is a righteous judge yes a God who has indignation every day if a man doesn't relent he will sharpen his sword he has bent and strung his bow he has prepared for himself the instruments of death he makes ready his flaming arrows behold he travails with iniquity yes he has conceived mischief and brought forth falsehood he has dug a hole and has fallen into the pit which he made the trouble he causes shall return to his own head his violence shall come down on the crown of his own head I will give thanks to Yahweh according to his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of Yahweh most high Psalm 8 for the chief musician on an instrument of gath a Psalm by David Yahweh our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth who has set your glory above the heavens from the lips of babes and infants you have established strength because of your adversaries that you might silence the enemy and the avenger when I consider your heavens the work of your fingers the moon and the stars which you have ordained what is man that you think of him what is the son of man that you care for him you have made him a little lower than God and crowned him with glory and honor you make him a ruler over the works of your hands you have put all things under his feet all sheep and cattle yes the animals of the field the birds of the sky the fish of the sea whatever passes through the paths of the sea Yahweh our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth Psalm 9 for the chief musician set to the death of the son a Psalm by David I will give thanks to Yahweh with my whole heart I will tell of all your marvelous works I will be glad and rejoice in you I will sing praise to your name almost high when my enemies turn back they stumble and perish in your presence for you have maintained my just cause you sit on the throne judging righteously you have rebuked the nations you have destroyed the wicked you have blotted out their name forever and ever the enemy is overtaken by endless ruin the very memory of the cities which you have overthrown has perished but Yahweh reigns forever he has prepared his throne for judgment he will judge the world in righteousness he will administer judgment to the peoples in uprightness Yahweh will also be a high tower for the oppressed a high tower in times of trouble those who know your name will put their trust in you for you Yahweh have not forsaken those who seek you sing praises to Yahweh who dwells in Zion and declare among the peoples what he has done for he who avenges blood remembers them he doesn't forget the cry of the afflicted have mercy on me Yahweh see my affliction by those who hate me and lift me up from the gates of death the time I show forth all your praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion I will rejoice in your salvation the nations have sunk down in the pit that they made in the net which they hid their own foot has taken Yahweh has made himself known he has executed judgment the wicked is snared by the work of his own hands meditation say la the wicked shall be turned back into shield even all the nations that forget God for the needy shall not always be forgotten nor the hope of the poor perish forever arise Yahweh don't let man prevail let the nations be judged in your sight put them in fear Yahweh let the nations know that they are only men say la Psalm 10 why do you stand far off Yahweh why do you hide yourself in times of trouble in arrogance the wicked hunt down the weak they are caught in the schemes that they devise for the wicked boasts of his heart's cravings he blesses the greedy and condemns Yahweh the wicked in the pride of his face has no room in his thoughts for God his ways are prosperous at all times he is haughty and your laws are far from his sight as for all his adversaries he sneers at them he says in his heart I shall not be shaken for generations I shall have no trouble his mouth is full of cursing deceit and oppression under his tongue is mischief and iniquity he lies in wait near the villages from ambushes he murders the innocent his eyes are secretly set against the helpless he lurks in secret as a lion in his ambush he lies in wait to catch the helpless he catches the helpless when he draws him in his net the helpless are crushed they collapse they fall under his strength he says in his heart God has forgotten he hides his face he will never see it arise Yahweh God lift up your hand don't forget the helpless why does the wicked person condemn God and say in his heart God won't call me into account but you do see trouble and grief you consider it to take it into your hand you help the victim and the fatherless break the arm of the wicked as for the evil man Yahweh is king forever and ever the nations will perish out of his land Yahweh you have heard the desire of the humble you will prepare their heart you will cause your ear to hear to judge the fatherless and the oppressed that man who is of the earth may terrify no more End of chapters 1 through 10 chapters 11 through 20 of the book of Psalms from the world English Bible this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org the book of Psalms from the world English Bible chapters 11 through 20 Psalm 11 in Yahweh I take refuge how can you say to my soul flee as a bird to your mountain for behold the wicked bend their bows they set their arrows on the strings that they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart if the foundations are destroyed what can the righteous do Yahweh is in his holy temple Yahweh is on his throne in heaven his eyes observe his eyes examine the children of men Yahweh examines the righteous but the wicked and him who loves violence his soul hates on the wicked he will rain blazing coals fire sulfur and scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup for Yahweh is righteous he loves righteousness the upright shall see his face Psalm 12 for the chief musician upon an eight-stringed liar a Psalm by David help Yahweh for the godly man ceases for the faithful fail from among the children of men everyone lies to his neighbor they speak with flattering lips and with a double heart may Yahweh cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that boasts who have said with our tongue we will prevail our lips are our own who is Lord over us because of the oppression of the weak and because of the groaning of the needy I will now arise says Yahweh I will set him in safety from those who malign him the words of Yahweh are flawless words as silver refined in a clay furnace purified seven times you will keep them Yahweh you will preserve them from this generation forever the wicked walk on every side when what is vile is exalted among the sons of men Psalm 13 for the chief musician a Psalm by David how long Yahweh will you forget me forever how long will you hide your face from me how long shall I take counsel in my soul having sorrow in my heart every day how long shall my enemy triumph over me behold and answer me Yahweh my God give light to my eyes lest I sleep in death lest my enemies say I have prevailed against him lest my adversaries rejoice when I fall but I trust in your loving kindness my heart rejoices in your salvation I will sing to Yahweh because he has been good to me Psalm 14 for the chief musician by David the fool has said in his heart there is no God they are corrupt they have done abominable works there is none who does good Yahweh looked down from heaven on the children of men to see if there were any who understood who sought after God they have all gone aside they have together become corrupt there is none who does good no not one have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge who eat up my people as they eat bread and don't call on Yahweh there they were in great fear for God is in the generation of the righteous you frustrate the plan of the poor because Yahweh is his refuge oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion when Yahweh restores the fortunes of his people then Jacob shall rejoice and Israel shall be glad Psalm 15 a Psalm by David Yahweh who shall dwell in your sanctuary who shall live on your holy hill he who walks blamelessly does what is right and speaks the truth in his heart he who doesn't slander with his tongue nor does evil to his friend nor casts slurs against his fellow man in whose eyes a vile man is despised but who honors those who fear Yahweh he who keeps an oath even when it hurts and doesn't change he who doesn't lend out his money for usury nor take a bribe against the innocent he who does these things shall never be shaken Psalm 16 a poem by David preserve me God for in you do I take refuge my soul you have said to Yahweh you are my Lord apart from you I have no good thing as for the saints who are in the earth they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight their sorrows shall be multiplied who give gifts to another God their drink offerings of blood I will not offer nor take their names on my lips Yahweh assigned my portion and my cup you made my lot secure the lions have fallen to me in pleasant places yes I have a good inheritance I will bless Yahweh who has given me counsel yes my heart instructs me in the night seasons I have said Yahweh always before me because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices my body shall also dwell in safety for you will not leave my soul in sheol neither will you allow your holy one to seek corruption you will show me the path of life in your presence is fullness of joy in your right hand are pleasures for evermore Psalm 17 a prayer by David here Yahweh my righteous plea give ear to my prayer that doesn't go out of deceitful lips let my sentence come forth from your presence let your eyes look on equity you have proved my heart you have visited me in the night you have tried me and found nothing I have resolved that my mouth shall not disobey as for the works of men by the words of your lips I have kept myself from the ways of the violent my steps have held fast to your paths my feet have not slipped I have called on you for you will answer me God turn your ear to me hear my speech show your marvelous loving kindness you who save those who take refuge by your right hand from their enemies keep me as the apple of your eye hide me under the shadow of your wings from the wicked who oppress me my deadly enemies who surround me they close up their callous hearts with their mouth they speak proudly they have now surrounded us in our steps they set their eyes to cast us down to the earth he is like a lion that is greedy of his prey as it were a young lion lurking in secret places arise Yahweh, confront him, cast him down deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword from men by your hand Yahweh, from men of the world deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword from men by your hand, Yahweh from men of the world whose portion is in this life you fill the belly of your cherished ones your sons have plenty and they store up wealth for their children as for me I shall see your face in righteousness I shall be satisfied when I awake with seeing your form Psalm 18 for the chief musician by David, the servant of Yahweh who spoke to Yahweh the words of the song in the day that Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul he said I love you Yahweh, my strength Yahweh is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer my God, my rock in whom I take refuge my shield and the horn of my salvation my high tower I call on Yahweh who is worthy to be praised and I am saved from my enemies the cords of death surrounded me the floods of ungodliness made me afraid the cords of sheol were around me the snares of death came on me in my distress I called on Yahweh and cried to my God he heard my voice out of his temple my cry before him came into his ears then the earth shook and trembled the foundations also of the mountains quaked and were shaken because he was angry smoke went out of his nostrils consuming fire came out of his mouth coals were kindled by it he bowed the heavens also and came down thick darkness was under his feet he rode on a cherub and flew yes he soared on the wings of the wind he made darkness his hiding place his pavilion around him darkness of waters thick clouds of the skies at the brightness before him his thick clouds passed hailstones and coals of fire Yahweh also thundered in the sky the most high uttered his voice hailstones and coals of fire he sent out his arrows and scattered them yes great lightning bolts and routed them the channels of waters appeared the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke Yahweh at a blast of the breath of your nostrils he sent from on high he took me he drew me out of many waters he delivered me from my strong enemy from those who hated me for they were too mighty for me they came on me in the day of my calamity but Yahweh was my support he brought me forth also into a large place he delivered me because he delighted in me Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness according to the cleanness of my hands he has recompensed me for I have kept the ways of Yahweh and have not wickedly departed from my God for all his ordinances were before me I didn't put away his statutes from me I was also blameless with him I kept myself from my iniquity therefore Yahweh has rewarded me according to his righteousness according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight with the merciful you will show yourself merciful with the perfect man you will show yourself perfect with the pure you will show yourself pure but with the crooked you will show yourself shrewd for you will save the afflicted people but the haughty eyes you will bring down for you will light my lamp Yahweh my God will light up my darkness for by you I advance through a troop by my God I leap over a wall as for God his way is perfect the word of Yahweh is tried he is a shield to all those who take refuge in him for who is God except Yahweh who is a rock besides our God the God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect he makes my feet like deer's feet and sets me on my high places he teaches my hands to war so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze you have also given me the shield of your salvation your right hand sustains me your gentleness has made me great you have enlarged my steps under me my feet have not slipped I will pursue my enemies and overtake them neither will I turn again until they are consumed I will strike them through so that they will not be able to rise they shall fall under my feet for you have armed me with strength to the battle you have subdued under me those who rose up against me you have also made my enemies turn their backs to me that I might cut off those who hate me they cried but there was none to save even to Yahweh but he didn't answer them then I beat them small as the dust before the wind I cast them out as the mire of the streets you have delivered me from the strivings of the people you have made me the head of the nations a people whom I have not known shall serve me as soon as they hear of me they shall obey me the foreigners shall submit to me the foreigners shall fade away and shall come trembling out of their close places Yahweh lives and blessed be my rock exalted be the God of my salvation even the God who executes vengeance for me and subdues people under me he rescues me from my enemies yes you lift me up above those who rise up against me you deliver me from the violent man therefore I will give thanks to you Yahweh among the nations and will sing praises to your name he gives great deliverance to his king and shows loving kindness to his anointed to David and to his seed for evermore Psalm 19 for the chief musician a Psalm by David the heavens declare the glory of God the expanse shows his handiwork day after day they pour forth speech and night after night they display knowledge there is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard their voice has gone out through all the earth their words to the end of the earth in them he has set a tent for the sun which is as a bridegroom coming out of his room like a strong man rejoicing to run his course his going forth is from the end of the heavens his circuit to its ends there is nothing hidden from its heat Yahweh's law is perfect restoring the soul Yahweh's testimony is sure making wise the simple Yahweh's precepts are right rejoicing the heart Yahweh's commandment is pure enlightening the eyes the fear of Yahweh is clean enduring forever Yahweh's ordinances are true and righteous altogether more to be desired are they than gold yes than much fine gold sweeter also than honey and the extract of the honeycomb moreover by them is your servant warned in keeping them there is great reward who can discern his errors forgive me from my hidden errors keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins let them not have dominion over me then I will be upright I will be blameless and innocent of great transgression let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight Yahweh my rock and my redeemer Psalm 20 for the chief musician a Psalm by David may Yahweh answer you in the day of trouble may the name of the God of Jacob set you up on high send you help from the sanctuary grant you support from Zion remember all your offerings and accept your burnt sacrifice Selah may he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your counsel we will triumph in your salvation in the name of our God we will set up our banners may Yahweh grant all your requests now I know that Yahweh saves his anointed he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand some trust in chariots and some in horses but we trust the name of Yahweh our God they are bowed down and fallen but we rise up and stand upright save Yahweh let the king answer us when we call End of chapters 11 through 20