1 Or, and him The fatherless also, 'that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish 13

that had &c.

2 Or, clothed

came upon me:

And I caused the widow's heart to sing for
joy.

I put on righteousness, and it 'clothed me :

itself with me My justice was as a robe and a 'diadem.

3 Or, turban

I was eyes to the blind,

And feet was I to the lame.

I was a father to the needy:

4 Or, the cause And the cause of him that I knew not I

which I knew

not

5 Heb. great teeth.

6 Or, beside

Heb. with.

7 Or, the phenix

8 Heb. opened.

9 Or, by

searched out.

And I brake the jaws of the unrighteous,
And plucked the prey out of his teeth.
Then I said, I shall die in my nest,

And I shall multiply my days as 'the sand:
My root is spread out to the waters,

And the dew lieth all night upon my branch:
My glory is fresh in me,

And my bow is renewed in my hand.
Unto me men gave ear, and waited,

And kept silence for my counsel.
After my words they spake not again;
And my speech dropped upon them.
And they waited for me as for the rain;

And they opened their mouth wide as for the
latter rain.

10 Or, I smiled 10 If I laughed on them, they "believed it not;
And the light of my countenance they cast not

on them when

they had no

confidence

11 Or, were not confident

down.

I chose out their way, and sat as chief,

And dwelt as a king in the army,

As one that comforteth the mourners.

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

But now they that are younger than I have me i 30 in derision,

Whose fathers I disdained to set with the dogs

of my flock.

2 Yea, the strength of their hands, whereto should it profit me?

Men in whom 'ripe age is perished.

3 They are gaunt with want and famine;

1 Or, vigour

"They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of 2 Or, They flee

wasteness and desolation.

4 They pluck salt-wort by the bushes;

And the roots of the broom are their meat.

5 They are driven forth from the midst of men ; They cry after them as after a thief.

6 'In the clefts of the valleys must they dwell, In holes of the earth and of the rocks.

7 Among the bushes they bray;

into the wilder-
ness, into &c.
3 Or, which
yesternight

6

Under the 'nettles they 'are gathered together. Or, wild 8 They are children of fools, yea, children of base

men;

They were scourged out of the land.

9 And now I am become their song, Yea, I am a byword unto them.

10 They abhor me, they stand aloof from me,
And spare not to spit in my face.

II For he hath loosed "his cord, and afflicted me,
And they have cast off the bridle before me.

12 Upon my right hand rise the 12rabble;

They thrust aside my feet,

And they cast up against me their ways of

destruction,

13 They 1mar my path,

14

They set forward my calamity,

Even men that have no helper.

"As through a wide breach they come:

vetches
7 Or, stretch
themselves

8 Heb. men of

no name.

9 Or, are outcasts from the land

10 Or, at the sight of me 11 According to another reading, my cord (or bowstring). 12 Or, brood

13 Or, break up

14 Or, As a wide breaking

In the midst of the ruin they roll themselves in of waters

upon me.

15 Terrors are turned upon me,

15 They chase 16mine honour as the wind; And my welfare is passed away as a cloud. 16 And now my soul is poured out "within me; Days of affliction have taken hold upon me.

15 Or, Thou chasest 16 Or, my nobility

17 Heb. upon.

1 Or, corroded In the night season my bones are 'pierced in 17

and drop away

from me 2 Heb. from off.

3 Or, my

sinews take &c.

4 Or, By his great force is &c.

5

Or, the house of meeting for

&c.

6 Or, Howbeit doth not one

stretch out the hand in his

calamity therefore cry for

me,

And the pains that gnaw me take no rest.

"By the great force of my disease is my garment 18
disfigured:

It bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.
He hath cast me into the mire,

And I am become like dust and ashes.

I

cry unto thee, and thou dost not answer me :
I stand up, and thou lookest at me.
Thou art turned to be cruel to me:

19

20

21

With the might of thy hand thou persecutest me. Thou liftest me up to the wind, thou causest me 22 to ride upon it ;

And thou dissolvest me in the storm.

6

For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, 23
And to 'the house appointed for all living.

Surely against a ruinous heap he will not put 24
forth his hand;

Though it be in his destruction, one may utter a
cry because of these things.

fall? or in his Did not I weep for him that was in trouble?
Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
When I looked for good, then evil came;

help?

7 Or, blackened, but

not by the sun

And when I waited for light, there came dark

ness.

My bowels boil, and rest not;

Days of affliction are come upon me.

I go 'mourning without the sun :

I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.

I am a brother to jackals,

And a companion to ostriches.

25

26

27

28

29

And my pipe into the voice of them that weep.

I made a covenant with mine eyes;

I 31

How then should I look upon a maid?

2 'For what is the portion of God from above,

And the heritage of the Almighty from on high? I have of God

3 Is it not calamity to the unrighteous,

And disaster to the workers of iniquity? 4 Doth not he see my ways,

And number all my steps?

5 If I have walked with vanity,

And my foot hath hasted to deceit ;

6 (Let me be weighed in an even balance, That God may know mine integrity ;)

7 If my step hath turned out of the

way,

And mine heart walked after mine eyes,
And if any spot hath cleaved to mine hands:

8 Then let me sow, and let another eat;

9

Yea, let 'the produce of my field be rooted out.
If mine heart have been enticed unto a woman,
And I have laid wait at my neighbour's door :
10 Then let my wife grind unto another,
And let others bow down upon her.

II For that were an heinous crime;

Yea, it were an iniquity to be punished by the judges:

1 Or, For what portion should ...and what heritage &c.? Is there not calamity &c.?

2 Or, my

Heb. my offspring produce.

12 For it is a fire that consumeth unto Destruc- 3 Heb. tion,

And would root out all mine increase.

13 If I did despise the cause of my manservant or

of my maidservant,

When they contended with me:

14 What then shall I do when God riseth up ?
And when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?

15 Did not he that made me in the womb make
him?

And did not one fashion us in the womb? 16 If I have withheld 'the poor from their desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail; 17 Or have eaten my morsel alone,

And the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;

Abaddon.

See ch. xxvi.

6.

4 Or, aught

that the poor desired

1 Heb. the light.

2 Heb. my hand

hath kissed my mouth.

3 Or, denied God

Heb. palate.

5 Or, Oh that

we had of his flesh! we cannot be satisfied.

(Nay, from my youth he grew up with me as 18 with a father,

And I have been her guide from my mother's
womb ;)

If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, 19
Or that the needy had no covering;

If his loins have not blessed me,

And if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

20

If I have lifted up my hand against the father- 21 less,

Because I saw my help in the gate:

Then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder 22
blade,

And mine arm be broken from the bone.
For calamity from God was a terror to me,

And by reason of his excellency I could do
nothing.

If I have made gold my hope,

And have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence;

23

24

25

26

27

If I rejoiced because my wealth was great,
And because mine hand had gotten much;
If I beheld 'the sun when it shined,
Or the moon walking in brightness;
And my heart hath been secretly enticed,
And my mouth hath kissed my hand:
This also were an iniquity to be punished by the 28
judges:

For I should have 'lied to God that is above.

If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated 29

me,

Or lifted up myself when evil found him;

(Yea, I suffered not my 'mouth to sin

By asking his life with a curse ;)

If the men of my tent said not,

Who can find one that hath not been satisfied

with his flesh?

30

31