Job 27
1 And Job further continued and said in his parable,
Job also added, taking up his parable, and said:
2 [As] God lives, who has thus judge me; and the Almighty, who has embittered my soul;
As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment, and the Almighty, who hath brought my soul to bitterness,
3 verily, while my breath is yet in [me], and the breath of God which remains to me is in my nostrils,
As long as breath remaineth in me, and the spirit of God in my nostrils,
4 my lips shall not speak evil words, neither shall my soul meditate unrighteous thoughts.
My lips shall not speak iniquity, neither shall my tongue contrive lying.
5 Far be it from me that I should justify you till I die; for I will not let go my innocence,
God forbid that I should judge you to be just: till I die I will not depart from my innocence.
6 but keeping fast to [my] righteousness I will by no means let it go: for I am not conscious to myself of having done any thing amiss.
My justification, which I have begun to hold, I will not forsake: for my heart doth not reprehend me in all my life.
7 Nay rather, but let mine enemies be as the overthrow of the ungodly, and they that rise up against me, as the destruction of transgressors.
Let my enemy be as the ungodly, and my adversary as the wicked one.
8 For what is the hope of the ungodly, that he holds to it? will he indeed trust in the Lord [and] be saved?
For what is the hope of the hypocrite if through covetousness he take by violence, and God deliver not his soul?
9 Will God hear his prayer? or, when distress has come upon him,
Will God hear his cry, when distress shall come upon him?
10 has he any confidence before him? or will [God] hear him as he calls upon him?
Or can he delight himself in the Almighty, and call upon God at all times?
11 Yet now I will tell you what is in the hand of the Lord: I will not lie concerning the things which are with the Almighty.
I will teach you by the hand of God, what the Almighty hath, and I will not conceal it.
12 Behold, you all know that you are adding vanity to vanity.
Behold you all know it, and why do you speak vain things without cause?
13 This is the portion of an ungodly man from the Lord, and the possession of oppressors shall come upon them from the Almighty.
This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the inheritance of the violent, which they shall receive of the Almighty.
14 And if their children be many, they shall be for slaughter: and if they grow up, they shall beg.
If his sons be multiplied, they shall be for the sword, and his grandsons shall not be filled with bread.
15 And they that survive of him shall utterly perish, and no one shall pity their widows.
They that shall remain of him, shall be buried in death, and his widows shall not weep.
16 Even if he should gather silver as earth, and prepare gold as clay;
If he shall heap together silver as earth, and prepare raiment as clay,
17 All these things shall the righteous gain, and the true-hearted shall possess his wealth.
He shall prepare indeed, but the just man shall be clothed with it: and the innocent shall divide the silver.
18 And his house is gone like moths, and like a spider's web.
He hath built his house as a moth, and as a keeper he hath made a booth.
19 The rich man shall lie down, and shall not continue: he has opened his eyes, and he is not.
The rich man when he shall sleep shall take away nothing with him: he shall open his eyes and find nothing.
20 Pains have come upon him as water, and darkness has carried him away by night.
Poverty like water shall take hold on him, a tempest shall oppress him in the night.
21 And a burning wind shall catch him, and he shall depart, and it shall utterly drive him out of his place.
A burning wind shall take him up, and carry him away, and as a whirlwind shall snatch him from his place.
22 And [God] shall cast [trouble] upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.
And he shall cast upon him, and shall not spare: out of his hand he would willingly flee.
23 He shall cause [men] to clap their hands against them, and shall hiss him out of his place.
He shall clasp his hands upon him, and shall hiss at him, beholding his place.
