Job
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English: New American Standard Bible |
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Job 29 [Commentary]
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And Job again took up his discourse and said, |
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"Oh that I were as in months gone by, As in the days when God watched over me;
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When His lamp shone over my head, And by His light I walked through darkness;
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As I was in the prime of my days, When the friendship of God was over my tent;
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When the Almighty was yet with me, And my children were around me;
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When my steps were bathed in butter, And the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
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"When I went out to the gate of the city, When I took my seat in the square,
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The young men saw me and hid themselves, And the old men arose and stood.
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"The princes stopped talking And put their hands on their mouths;
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The voice of the nobles was hushed, And their tongue stuck to their palate.
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"For when the ear heard, it called me blessed, And when the eye saw, it gave witness of me,
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Because I delivered the poor who cried for help, And the orphan who had no helper.
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"The blessing of the one ready to perish came upon me, And I made the widow's heart sing for joy.
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"I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a turban.
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"I was eyes to the blind And feet to the lame.
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"I was a father to the needy, And I investigated the case which I did not know.
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"I broke the jaws of the wicked And snatched the prey from his teeth.
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"Then I thought, `I shall die in my nest, And I shall multiply my days as the sand.
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`My root is spread out to the waters, And dew lies all night on my branch.
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`My glory is ever new with me, And my bow is renewed in my hand.'
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"To me they listened and waited, And kept silent for my counsel.
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"After my words they did not speak again, And my speech dropped on them.
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"They waited for me as for the rain, And opened their mouth as for the spring rain.
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"I smiled on them when they did not believe, And the light of my face they did not cast down.
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"I chose a way for them and sat as chief, And dwelt as a king among the troops, As one who comforted the mourners.
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Job 30 [Commentary]
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"But now those younger than I mock me, Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.
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"Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me? Vigor had perished from them.
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"From want and famine they are gaunt Who gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,
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Who pluck mallow by the bushes, And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.
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"They are driven from the community; They shout against them as against a thief,
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So that they dwell in dreadful valleys, In holes of the earth and of the rocks.
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"Among the bushes they cry out; Under the nettles they are gathered together.
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"Fools, even those without a name, They were scourged from the land.
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"And now I have become their taunt, I have even become a byword to them.
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"They abhor me and stand aloof from me, And they do not refrain from spitting at my face.
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"Because He has loosed His bowstring and afflicted me, They have cast off the bridle before me.
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"On the right hand their brood arises; They thrust aside my feet and build up against me their ways of destruction.
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"They break up my path, They profit from my destruction; No one restrains them.
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"As through a wide breach they come, Amid the tempest they roll on.
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"Terrors are turned against me; They pursue my honor as the wind, And my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.
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"And now my soul is poured out within me; Days of affliction have seized me.
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"At night it pierces my bones within me, And my gnawing pains take no rest.
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"By a great force my garment is distorted; It binds me about as the collar of my coat.
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"He has cast me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes.
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"I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.
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"You have become cruel to me; With the might of Your hand You persecute me.
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"You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride; And You dissolve me in a storm.
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"For I know that You will bring me to death And to the house of meeting for all living.
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"Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, Or in his disaster therefore cry out for help?
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"Have I not wept for the one whose life is hard? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
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"When I expected good, then evil came; When I waited for light, then darkness came.
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"I am seething within and cannot relax; Days of affliction confront me.
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"I go about mourning without comfort; I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.
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"I have become a brother to jackals And a companion of ostriches.
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"My skin turns black on me, And my bones burn with fever.
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"Therefore my harp is turned to mourning, And my flute to the sound of those who weep.
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Job 31 [Commentary]
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"I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin?
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"And what is the portion of God from above Or the heritage of the Almighty from on high?
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"Is it not calamity to the unjust And disaster to those who work iniquity?
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"Does He not see my ways And number all my steps?
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"If I have walked with falsehood, And my foot has hastened after deceit,
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Let Him weigh me with accurate scales, And let God know my integrity.
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"If my step has turned from the way, Or my heart followed my eyes, Or if any spot has stuck to my hands,
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Let me sow and another eat, And let my crops be uprooted.
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"If my heart has been enticed by a woman, Or I have lurked at my neighbor's doorway,
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May my wife grind for another, And let others kneel down over her.
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"For that would be a lustful crime; Moreover, it would be an iniquity punishable by judges.
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"For it would be fire that consumes to Abaddon, And would uproot all my increase.
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"If I have despised the claim of my male or female slaves When they filed a complaint against me,
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What then could I do when God arises? And when He calls me to account, what will I answer Him?
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"Did not He who made me in the womb make him, And the same one fashion us in the womb?
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"If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
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Or have eaten my morsel alone, And the orphan has not shared it
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(But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, And from infancy I guided her),
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If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering,
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If his loins have not thanked me, And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
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If I have lifted up my hand against the orphan, Because I saw I had support in the gate,
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Let my shoulder fall from the socket, And my arm be broken off at the elbow.
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"For calamity from God is a terror to me, And because of His majesty I can do nothing.
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"If I have put my confidence in gold, And called fine gold my trust,
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If I have gloated because my wealth was great, And because my hand had secured so much;
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If I have looked at the sun when it shone Or the moon going in splendor,
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And my heart became secretly enticed, And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,
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That too would have been an iniquity calling for judgment, For I would have denied God above.
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"Have I rejoiced at the extinction of my enemy, Or exulted when evil befell him?
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"No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for his life in a curse.
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"Have the men of my tent not said, `Who can find one who has not been satisfied with his meat'?
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"The alien has not lodged outside, For I have opened my doors to the traveler.
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"Have I covered my transgressions like Adam, By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
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Because I feared the great multitude, And the contempt of families terrified me, And kept silent and did not go out of doors?
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"Oh that I had one to hear me! Behold, here is my signature; Let the Almighty answer me! And the indictment which my adversary has written,
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Surely I would carry it on my shoulder, I would bind it to myself like a crown.
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"I would declare to Him the number of my steps; Like a prince I would approach Him.
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"If my land cries out against me, And its furrows weep together;
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If I have eaten its fruit without money, Or have caused its owners to lose their lives,
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Let briars grow instead of wheat, And stinkweed instead of barley." The words of Job are ended.
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NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE
Copyright (C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by:
THE LOCKMAN FOUNDATION
LA HABRA, CA 90631
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All Rights Reserved
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