From the Greek Septuagint text as was used by First Century Christians

Chapter 1

¹ There was a certain man named Job who lived in the land of the AuSitidi. He was true, blameless, righteous, God fearing, and he distanced himself from all that was wicked. ² Now, he had seven sons and three daughters. He also had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred teams of oxen, and five hundred grazing female burros. In addition, he had a huge work force to serve him and many more to care for his land, ³ for the man had been born into a prosperous family from the sunrise in the east.

⁴ Well, his sons prepared banquets for each other, which were held once each day, and their three sisters were invited to eat and drink with them. ⁵ Then after all the banqueting was done, Job got up early in the morning to purify them. He offered sacrifices for each of them, plus a calf as a sin offering for their lives; for as Job said, ‘In case my sons thought something bad toward God.’ And that’s how Job always did things.

⁶ Then one day, {Look!} the messengers of God went to stand before Jehovah and the Opposer came along with them. ⁷ So Jehovah asked the Opposer, ‘Where have you come from?’

And the Opposer replied to Jehovah: ‘I’ve been on the earth walking around everywhere under the sky.’

⁸ Then Jehovah asked him, ‘Have you noticed and thought about My child Job? Why, there’s no one else like him on the earth, because he’s blameless, true, God fearing, and he distances himself from anything that is bad.’

⁹ And the Opposer stood before Jehovah and said: ‘Is Job really free to worship Jehovah? ¹⁰ Why, haven’t You protected him and everything in his household, and from everything on the outside around him that’s bad? You’ve blest everything he does, and You’ve provided huge herds of cattle for him throughout the land. ¹¹ Now, send Your hand and touch everything he has, and he will surely rave against You to Your face!’

¹² Then Jehovah said to the Opposer: ‘{Look!} I’m putting everything he has into your hands… just don’t touch him personally.’ So the Opposer left the presence of Jehovah.

¹³ Well, that same day, all of Job’s sons and daughters were drinking wine in the house of their older brother.

¹⁴ Then {Look!} a messenger came to Job and told him: ‘We were plowing with the teams of oxen and the female burros were grazing nearby, ¹⁵ when slavers came and took them all and killed all your servants with swords. I’m the only one who escaped, so I could bring this message to you.’

¹⁶ Well, while he was still speaking, another messenger arrived and said to Job: ‘Lightning came from the sky and burned up all the sheep… and the shepherds were destroyed the same way. I’m the only one who escaped, so I came to report it to you.’

¹⁷ And while he was still speaking, another messenger arrived and said to Job: ‘Three companies of cavalry attacked us, then they rounded up the camels and took them, and they killed all your servants with swords. I was the only one who escaped, so I’ve come to report this to you.’

¹⁸ Then while he was still speaking, another messenger arrived and told Job: ‘Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking with their older brother ¹⁹ when a tornado came toward them from out of the desert and touched down on the four corners of his house and destroyed it, killing all your children. I’m the only one who escaped, and I came to report it to you.’

²⁰ Well with that, Job got up and started ripping his clothes. Then he cut all the hair off his head, and he bowed all the way to the ground and said: ²¹ ‘I came out of my mother’s belly naked, and I will return there naked. Jehovah gave it and Jehovah took it away. So, as it seems good to Jehovah, that is what has come to pass. May the Name of the Lord be praised!’

²² Well, despite all these terrible things that happened to him, Job didn’t sin against Jehovah once, nor did he accuse God of foolishness.

Chapter 2

¹ Then on another day, God’s messengers again came to stand before Jehovah, and the Opposer came among them once more to stand before the Lord. ² And Jehovah asked the Opposer, ‘So, from what place have you come?’

And the Opposer again replied: ‘I’ve been on the earth walking around everywhere under the sky.’

³ So Jehovah asked him: ‘Have you been paying attention to my child Job; for there are none others like him on the earth. He’s not a wicked man; he’s true, blameless, God fearing… he stays away from anything that’s evil and he’s still innocent. Yet, you said [that he wouldn’t remain faithful] if everything he had was destroyed without a reason.’

⁴ Then the Opposer said to Jehovah: ‘Skin for skin… a man will give everything he has for his life. ⁵ It’s a fact that if You send Your hand to touch his flesh and bones, he will surely rave at You to Your face!’

⁶ And Jehovah replied to the Opposer: ‘{Look!} I’m giving him to you… just don’t take his life!’

⁷ So the Opposer left Jehovah and struck Job with terrible sores from his head to his feet. ⁸ As the result, he carried a broken piece of pottery to scrape the pus, and he sat in a pile of ashes.

⁹ Then his wife asked him, ‘How much longer are you going to endure this? Just speak a word to Jehovah and He will end it all!’

¹⁰ But he looked at her and said: ‘Why are you acting like such a foolish woman? Why, if we have looked for good things from the hand of Jehovah, shouldn’t we also endure the bad?’

¹¹ Then, when three of his friends heard of all the bad things that had happened to him, they each came from their lands to see him. There was EliPhaz the Temanite (a king), Baldad the Shuhite (a sovereign ruler), and Zophar the Minaean (a king). Now, they all came to visit him for the purpose of comforting him, ¹² but as they approached, they didn’t even recognize him. So they each started shouting, crying, ripping their clothes, and throwing dust in the air. ¹³ Then they sat down beside him for seven days and seven nights without speaking a word, for they recognized that this was an awful calamity, which was much worse than they had anticipated.

Chapter 3

¹ Well, after this, Job opened his mouth and cursed his day, ² saying: ³ ‘May the day I was born be destroyed, along with the night that they said, Look! It’s a boy! ⁴ May that night become very dark; may the Lord up above not seek it; may it not see the coming of dawn. ⁵ Rather, may it be taken by darkness, and by the shadow of death. May that day become dimmed; may that day now be cursed, ⁶ and its night carried away into darkness. May it not be a day of the year, nor may it be counted in one of the months. ⁷ May that night be one of grief, not that of happiness and joy; ⁸ and may the one who curses that day, also put a curse upon it. ⁸ May it be [swallowed by] a monster from the sea, ⁹ and may darkness cover the stars of that night, so they will no longer be seen… and may they never shine again. May the morning star not rise again, ¹⁰ for it failed to close my mother’s womb, so my eyes wouldn’t see such misery.

¹¹ ‘Why didn’t I die in her belly, instead of having been born? Why wasn’t I destroyed then and there? ¹² Why did her knees come to meet me, and why did her breasts then nurse me?

¹³ ‘Now may I got to bed and lie still. ¹⁴ May I sleep and find rest with the kings… the councilors of the earth who prance with their swords, ¹⁵ or with the rulers who had so much gold, and who filled their houses with silver.

¹⁶ ‘O that I might have been miscarried, within the womb of my mother, like babies who don’t see light of day, ¹⁷ and go where the rage and anger of the Godless, have all now been burned away… where the exhausted find rest for their bodies, ¹⁸ and where none of those of the ages, will hear voices tax collector’s voices again. ¹⁹ It’s where the small and the great both go… even the servant [along with] his master.

²⁰ ‘Why have those who are bitter seen light, and why is life given to those who are grieved, ²¹ and long for death that won’t come; those rooting for it as though it were treasure, ²² and would be overjoyed to attain it? ²³ For, to such a man, death becomes rest, when he has nowhere to go… when [our] God is against him.

²⁴ ‘My grain has now become moaning, and I’m crying and shaking in fear, ²⁵ for the things I once feared in my dreams have come true, and the things that I awed have now met me. ²⁶ I’m not at peace, or still, or at rest, for what’s come to me is [His] rage.’

Chapter 4

¹ Then EliPhaz the Temanite decided to speak. He said, ² ‘Do you often complain of your problems? Who can stand such strong talk?

³ ‘Now, you’ve given good advice to many, and you’ve comforted the hands of the weak; ⁴ you’ve lifted the timid with words, and encouraged those feeble in the knees. ⁵ But now that misery has touched you, you tend to be in a hurry.

⁶ ‘Aren’t you afraid of your own foolish ways… of your hopes and the evil of your ways? ⁷ Can you think of the pure who’ve ever been destroyed, or of anyone true who’s been wiped away?

⁸ ‘You know; I’ve seen people who were plowing in unnatural places, then those doing the sowing reap grief for themselves. ⁹ For, by the order of Jehovah they will perish, and with the breath of His wrath they’ll be wiped away. ¹⁰ Then the strength of the lion and the lioness’ voice, and the prancing of beasts will be gone. ¹¹ For the cub of a lion will die without prey, and their young won’t come to each other’s aid.

¹² ‘Now, if the things you say are all true, and if they all really happened, then none of these things would have come upon you. So, should my ears now believe, that He’s done an the unusual thing?

¹³ ‘An echo in the night brings fear to all men… ¹⁴ it stuns me, makes me tremble, and makes my bones rattle.

¹⁵ ‘Why, a spirit once came and looked in my face, which made me shudder and my flesh [crawl], and my hair stood erect [on my head]. ¹⁶ I stood up, for I knew not what I saw; but there it was in front of my eyes. Then I felt a breeze and I heard a voice say, ¹⁷ Why should a man be pure before God… for none of His servants are trusted by Him, and He thinks of His angels as crooked.

¹⁹ ‘Those who live in houses of clay, are made from the very same mortar, so He destroys them both just the same. ²⁰ [They come] in the morning and are gone by the evening… if they can’t help themselves they will die. He breathes upon them and they wither, and they perish because they are unwise.

Chapter 5

¹ ‘So call out, if any will listen, or if you see holy angels; ² for even a fool will stop being mad, and a wanderer brings an end to his search.

³ ‘I’ve seen fools laying plans, and then their homes were destroyed. ⁴ And though their sons were in a place that was safe, they were crushed at the doors of lesser men, and no one came to their aid.

⁵ ‘Now, the hungry can eat the things of the harvest, but those who are armed can siphon their strength. ⁶ So the ground may only bring work, and misery may sprout on the mountains. ⁷ Yet a man is born to do work, as young vultures will fly to high places.

⁸ ‘Yet I’ll still beg to Jehovah, and I’ll call to the Almighty God, ⁹ who does great things that can’t be explained… innumerable, unusual, things of honor; ¹⁰ He who sends water to the earth, and rain to places under the sky. ¹¹ For He lifts the humble up high, and those who are dying He raises.

¹² ‘He alters the plans of the clever, so there’s no way they can do what is true. ¹³ He beats the intelligence of the wise, and amazes the plans of the crafty. ¹⁴ In daylight, darkness can meet them, and at noon they may grope as at night. ¹⁵ For they may be killed in a war, and the weak may escape from the mighty; ¹⁶ so there’s hope for those without power, because unrighteous mouths may be closed.

¹⁷ ‘Blest is the man who’s disciplined by Jehovah… those who won’t ignore the Almighty! ¹⁸ For He brings pain and then He restores; He strikes and He heals with His hands. ¹⁹ Six times from problems He’ll save you, but in the seventh He’ll give you what’s bad. ²⁰ During famine He’ll save you from death, and in war set you free from iron hands. ²¹ From the whip of the tongue He will hide you, so you won’t fear the evils that come.

²² ‘Then at the unrighteous and lawless you will laugh, and wild animals you’ll no longer fear. ²³ With you, wild beasts will make peace, ²⁴ and then you’ll know there is peace in your house, when at home in your tent you don’t sin. ²⁵ And you’ll know that your seed will be many, and your children will be as weeds in a field.

²⁶ ‘Yet, you’ll go to your grave like grain in its harvest… like heaps on the floor in the hour it’s collected. ²⁷ {Look!} These are the things we’ve concluded, and these are the things we have heard. Only you know within yourself, if you have done something wrong.’

Chapter 6

¹ Then Job spoke. He said: ² ‘If anyone would take a balance scale, and measure my anger against my grief, they’d find that they both balance out… ³ but they’re still heavier than the sands on the seashore. It seems you haven’t heard the things that I’m saying, ⁴ for my body has been pierced by arrows from the Lord; their rage is drinking my blood; and when I start to speak they come to sting me.

⁵ ‘Why do wild burros cry out, when they aren’t looking for grain? And why does an ox moo from his stable, when there is plenty of food? ⁶ Should bread be eaten without salt… and what taste is there in empty words? ⁷ Yet, I’m unable to drive them out of my life, and I groan when I see my cereal grains, for they smell like a lion [to me].

⁸ ‘O if He’d give me the things that I’ve asked for… if Jehovah would give me the things that I’ve hope for. ⁹ From the start Jehovah has pierced me, and in the end it hasn’t been taken away! ¹⁰ So, may my city become my grave… for on its walls I would jump; that one I would gladly accept.

¹¹ ‘I’ve not lied about my God’s holy words, so why have I the strength to remain… why have I the strength to live on? ¹² Have I the strength of the rocks, and are my body parts made out of bronze?

¹³ ‘In Him have I not put my trust? Yet for me His help has been gone. ¹⁴ Has His mercy to me been forbidden, and have the visits of the Lord overlooked me? ¹⁵ Why, even close friends won’t look upon me; like a stream that’s gone dry or a wave that’s passed by, for now they all just walk past me. ¹⁶ Those who once showed me reverence, now fall on me like a bank of ice or snow, ¹⁷ that has melted away in the heat [of the day], and isn’t seen as what it once was. ¹⁸ That’s how I’ve been abandoned by all; I’m destroyed and I’ve become homeless.

¹⁹ ‘Behold the Temanite routes, and the Sabaean passes, O you who see clearly. ²⁰ For they owe shame to those in the cities, and the things they rely upon there. ²¹ For, without mercy you’ve all stood against me, as though you’re afraid of my sores. ²² Why, what have I asked of you, and what of your strength do I want? ²³ Just to save me from my enemies’ hands, and to snatch me away from the mighty!

²⁴ ‘Teach me and I’ll remain silent… if I’ve strayed, then show me! ²⁵ You appear to view the words of he who is true, as though they were all quite foul. But I haven’t asked for your strength, ²⁶ nor will your scolding stay me from speaking. I won’t put up with the things that you say, ²⁷ for you’ve come down on an orphan, and you’ve attacked one who’s a friend.

²⁸ ‘Now, as I look into your faces, I will not tell a lie. ²⁹ So just sit there and don’t be unrighteous. Just sit here with one who is just, ³⁰ for nothing wrong has come from my tongue, and from my throat comes things you should ponder.

Chapter 7

¹ ‘The purpose of man on the earth, is surely not just to be tried. For he lives his life as a hired daily worker, ² and as a servant in awe of his master, who looks for the shade of his shadow, and stands there awaiting his wages. ³ Thus for months I have waited in vain, filled with the nights of grief I’ve been given. ⁴ For, when I go to bed I say, When will it become day? And when I get up I ask, When will it be night once again?

‘I am filled with grief from morning til night, ⁵ and my body is rotting and filled up with worms. Like clods of earth I am melting away, as I’m scraping away all the pus. ⁶ My existence now weighs less than my words; it has perished in hopes unattained.

⁷ ‘Remember that my breath is my life, and that my eyes will no longer see good. ⁸ The eyes of those searching won’t see me, and though Your eyes are upon me I’m gone, ⁹ like a cloud that had drifted away in the sky.

¹⁰ ‘If a man goes down to his grave, he doesn’t come back again. There’s no way he’ll return to his house… his own home no longer knows him. ¹¹ But I won’t close up my mouth; I’ll still speak of my plight. I’ll keep baring my soul, and show the bitterness it holds.

¹² ‘Am I the sea or the dragon that guards it?

¹³ ‘I once said that my bed would bring comfort. But now all I have to offer myself, are my own words as I lie on my cot, ¹⁴ where it frighten me with my dreams, and with visions that strike me with terror.

¹⁵ ‘[Please], dismiss my breath from my life, and deliver my bones up to death! ¹⁶ Then, if I will patiently wait, I will live again in the ages. So, leave me because my life is now empty!

¹⁷ ‘O what is a man that You’d make him greater, or pay attention to the things that he thinks? ¹⁸ Why pay him a visit until [the next] morning, in order to judge him as he lies there resting?

¹⁹ ‘How much longer will [He] keep me alive, and refuse to let me go as I [lie here], swallowing my spit in my grief?

²⁰ If I have sinned, then what can I do, O One who knows the minds of all men? Why have You made me Your accuser, and why have I become Your burden? ²¹ Why not forget the laws that I’ve broken, and cleanse me from all of my sins? But now I’ll go into the ground, and no longer rise early again.’

Chapter 8

¹ Then Baldad the Shuhite spoke. He said: ² ‘How long will you use the breath from your mouth, to speak in such a talkative way? ³ Does Jehovah sin when He judges, or does the Maker of all harm the righteous? ⁴ So, if your sons had sinned before Him, it’s for their lawlessness that He sent them away.

⁵ ‘Why, to seek Jehovah you arose early, and before the Almighty you have begged. ⁶ But if you were pure and if you were true, He would have listened to all your requests, and restored your position of justice. ⁷ For, if at first your men had been few, in the end they’d be unnumbered.

⁸ ‘Ask the first generations, and trace the race of the fathers! ⁹ For, they were just here, but they didn’t know, the shadow that would cover their existence on the ground. ¹⁰ Doesn’t this tell you, and doesn’t this teach you… don’t such sayings come from your heart?

¹¹ ‘Can papyrus live without water? Can the bulrush live without drinking? ¹² As long as the plant has its roots, and before it has ever been picked; if it can’t drink from the garden, does it not wither and dry? ¹³ So it is with those who forget Jehovah… there is no hope for the Godless. ¹⁴ His house will never be lived in again, and spiders will then spread their tents there. ¹⁵ If no one comes to care for his house, it won’t be able to stand… it won’t remain lest someone comes to claim it.

¹⁶ ‘Why, whenever it’s wet under the sun, from what’s rotten, shoots will then sprout. ¹⁷ So, on a pile of stones he goes to bed, and he lives amidst all the gravel. ¹⁸ Then if the place should swallow him down, it will also cover him over.

‘Haven’t you seen such a thing? ¹⁹ For that’s how the Godless are undone! And then out of the ground sprouts another.

²⁰ ‘There’s no way that Jehovah would harm the good, for He accepts no gifts from the ungodly. ²¹ But the mouths of the true He fills up with laughter, and with their lips they then praise Him. ²² He’ll put all their enemies to shame, and the homes of the Godless will be gone.’

Chapter 9

¹ Then Job spoke. He said: ² ‘I know for a fact; what you’re saying is true, for how can man say he’s righteous before God? ³ So, if he should wish to argue, he’ll not prove God wrong with thousands of words. ⁴ For all His thoughts are truly wise… yes they’re strong and they’re great.

‘Who can approach Him in anger, and still have a hope to survive? ⁵ Do the mountains know who destroys them in rage? ⁶ Why, He shakes all that’s under the sky to its core, and then He shakes all its columns. ⁷ He just speaks to the sun and it doesn’t rise, and thus He can close up the stars.

⁸ ‘By Himself He can stretch out the sky, and He can walk on the sea like a floor. ⁹ It is He who made the PleiAdes, as well as Hesperus and ArcTurus, for He arranged the skies in the south. ¹⁰ He does great unfathomed and honorable things… extraordinary things unnumbered.

¹¹ ‘If He passed over me I’d not see it… if He passed me by I’d not know it. ¹² If He sends someone away, who thereafter returns? So who can ask Him, What have You done? ¹³ For, rage is truly beneath Him, as under the sky whales bow before Him.

¹⁴ ‘So, why then should He obey me, or why should He judge all my problems? ¹⁵ For, even if I prove to be righteous, He [has no reason to] hear me… yet I would still ask Him for His decisions. ¹⁶ Thus, if I should call, He should not listen, nor should I trust that He’s heard my voice.

¹⁷ ‘Yet, He shouldn’t destroy me in darkness, when my bruises are received without cause. ¹⁸ But He [no longer] allows me to breathe, and with bitterness He’s filled my [life]. ¹⁹ But because He’s so mighty and strong, who can stand and oppose Him?

²⁰ ‘Though, even if I were righteous, my mouth still says wicked things. And though I might [truly] be blameless, I’ll produce whatever is wrong. ²¹ And if I am truly ungodly, in my soul I did not know it, and my life may be taken away.

²² ‘For I have said: The great and the mighty kill in rage, ²³ and for the vile death is uncommon. They laugh at all of the righteous, ²⁴ when they’re handed up to the Godless. Yes, He covers the eyes of the judges… and if it isn’t He, then who?

²⁵ ‘Oh that my life was as light as a sprinter… yet my days ran away without knowing. ²⁶ Is there a hint of ships on the horizon, or of an eagle in search of its prey?

²⁷ ‘Thus to you I will say: If I’d just forget about speaking, and bow my head and just moan; ²⁸ and if I just let my limbs shiver, you’d still not find me free from blame. ²⁹ But if I am so godless, then why haven’t I died? ³⁰ Why, if in the snow I’d wash myself, and scrub all the dirt from my hands, ³¹ you would still dip me in filth, and be disgusted with all that I wear.

³² ‘Yet, you are just men like me, with whom I can be judged and compared. So we will all walk together, before the seat of His judgment… ³³ before the lawyers and accusers, and the One who listens to both. ³⁴ May He free me from the [whip], and may I not be twisted in fear. ³⁵ I will speak and I won’t be afraid, for I’m unaware of what I’ve done wrong.

Chapter 10

¹ ‘In my soul I’m so tired of moaning, so I’ll tell Him just how I feel. ² I will say to Jehovah: Do not say that I am ungodly… why have You judged me that way? ³ Would You think it good if I’d sinned, or if I’d disavowed the works of Your hands? Why believe what the godless have said… ⁴ why look at things as do humans? When You look, do You see as men see; ⁵ is Your existence like that of a man; are Your years as those of just men?

⁶ ‘Why, You’ve searched for all my law breaking, and You’ve traced out all of my sins, ⁷ so You know that I’m not ungodly; but who can now save me from Your hands? ⁸ For, it was Your hands that made me and shaped me, then You turned around and You struck me. ⁹ O remember the day that You shaped me, then stand me erect on the ground once again.

¹⁰ ‘You extracted me as though You were milking, then I was curdled as though I were cheese. ¹¹ You put me together with meat, skin, and bones, and then with nerves You entwined me. ¹² In mercy You put life within me, then watched over and guarded my breath.

¹³ ‘Since You can do all these things in Yourself, You can do all… there’s nothing that You cannot do. ¹⁴ So, if I should sin then protect me… declare me to be free of law breaking. ¹⁵ Alas to be found as ungodly! Yet if I am righteous I can’t raise my head, for I have been so dishonored.

¹⁶ ‘I’ve been caught like a lion for slaughter, for You’ve turned around to destroy me. ¹⁷ You’ve brought discipline upon me once more, and dealt with me in great rage, by bringing these trials upon me.

¹⁸ ‘So then; why then did you lead me out of the belly… why didn’t I die so my eyes wouldn’t see, ¹⁹ as one who had never been born? Why wasn’t I just dismissed, and sent to the tomb as I came from the womb, ²⁰ and why have I lived for so many years?

‘Now allow me to rest for a while, ²¹ and go to the place where I won’t return… to a land that’s shrouded and dim; ²² a land that’s dark through the ages; where light is gone and human life isn’t seen.’

Chapter 11

¹ Then Zophar the Minaean spoke saying: ² ‘He who has so much to be saying, should also listen in turn; for is the one so well spoken, proclaiming himself to be just?

‘Those born of women who live just short lives, are blest ³ for they’ve less to say. ⁴ No one is comparing himself to you, so don’t claim that your deeds are all pure, and you stand before Him without blame.

⁵ ‘O that Jehovah would speak, and tell you what He has to say. ⁶ Should He tell you of His great wisdom, for He has double that of yours. Then you would know that what’s happened to you, has come for your sins against God. ⁷ Search for the ways of Jehovah, and you’ll find that the Almighty, has also prepared for your end.

⁸ ‘Heaven is high, so what will you do? And what do you know, for there are things that are deeper than the place of the dead. ⁹ Is it longer than the span of the earth; is it wider than the width of the sea? ¹⁰ And if He’d destroy all that’s on earth, who could then ask what He’s done?

¹¹ ‘For He knows the deeds of those who break laws, and He won’t overlook the things that are wrong. ¹² Yet men keep swimming in words, and men born of women are like unthinking zebras.

¹³ ‘Now, if your heart is truly pure, and you can open your hands before Him, ¹⁴ and if He finds no laws have been broken, then stay a long way from injustice, and keep it out of your house! ¹⁵ For your face will then shine; your filth will be washed as by water that’s pure; and you will have nothing to fear. ¹⁶ You’ll forget your troubles as waves passing by, and you’ll have no reason for terror. ¹⁷ Your vows will be as morning stars, and at noon you’ll receive life. ¹⁸ You’ll have some hope if you will comply, and peace in place of anxiety and confusion. ¹⁹ You’ll be tranquil for none will then war against you, and many will turn and beg you for aid. ²⁰ But from them salvation won’t come, for their only hope is destruction, and the eyes of the godless will melt.’

Chapter 12

¹ Then Job spoke. He said: ² ‘Have you and the men who are with you, reached the end of your wisdom? ³ Why, I too have a heart that’s like yours. ⁴ But it seems that a just righteous man, has been born only for taunting.

⁵ ‘There’s a time appointed when each man must fall, and for his house to be pillaged by crooks. But may the wicked on that not rely, for the innocent will [be given] support, ⁶ and they’ll be disciplined in the rage of Jehovah.

⁷ ‘You could ask the four-footed creatures, if they’d choose to give you an answer; or ask the birds in the sky, if they are able to give a report, ⁸ to explain the details of the earth, and describe the fish in the sea. ⁹ Who among them all doesn’t already know, it’s the hand of Jehovah that made them? ¹⁰ For, in His hands are the lives of all things, as well as the breath of each man.

¹¹ ‘Men listen with their ears and examine each word, then inside their throats taste the meanings. ¹² Wisdom is ancient and knowledge is old, ¹³ for all wisdom and power come from Him, and with Him there’s advice and understanding.

¹⁴ ‘If He tears down, who can rebuild it? If He locks a man up, who can unlock him? ¹⁵ If He should choose to hold back the rain, then the whole earth will go dry. And when He lets it go, He can destroy and wipe it away.

¹⁶ ‘In Him there’s both might and strength; in Him there is knowledge and understanding. ¹⁷ He carries advisors away as His captives, and He amazes the judges of the earth. ¹⁸ It’s He who puts kings on their thrones, and ties a sash ‘round their waists. ¹⁹ He sends off the priests to be captives, and wipes away all the mighty.

²⁰ ‘He comprehends the lips of the honest, and understands the words of the elders. ²¹ Upon rulers He pours out dishonor, but those who are humble He heals. ²² He uncovers the darkness of deep things, and the shadow of death He leads into light.

²³ ‘He destroys nations that stray, and cuts down those who mislead them. ²⁴ He knows the hearts of the rulers of earth, and leads them in ways that they don’t understand. ²⁵ So, may they corrupt the darkness, not light; may they keep wandering as though they were drunk.

Chapter 13

¹ ‘Look, I’ve seen such things with my eyes, and I’ve heard such things with my ears. ² I know all the things that you know, and I have as much sense as do you. ³ Thus I will speak before God, and I’ll also scold if He will allow it.

⁴ ‘For, you are unrighteous doctors, and as healers you are very poor. ⁵ So, it would be a blessing if you’d just keep quiet, because that’s the [true] course of wisdom. ⁶ Now, listen to the things that I’ll tell you, and heed the judgments that come from my lips.

⁷ ‘Aren’t you speaking here before Jehovah… aren’t you being deceitful before Him, ⁸ and isn’t it time to back off? For your own judges you’ve now become!

⁹ ‘It would be good if He’d follow your tracks, so all that you do would be known, ¹⁰ and then He would discipline you, for each little thing that you’ve done; you’d wonder if He sees all your secrets.

¹¹ ‘Then in His awesome power won’t He spin you, and won’t fear of Him overcome you? ¹² For your prancing around will then become ashes, and your bodies will turn back to clay.

¹³ ‘So, be quiet as I pour out my rage, ¹⁴ as I take my flesh in my teeth, and I take my life in my hands. ¹⁵ For, even if the Almighty should lay His hands on me, I will still speak and complain before Him, ¹⁶ and this will bring my salvation, for before Him He’ll find no treacherous deeds.

¹⁷ ‘Listen to me; Hear my words! For I’ll shout them into your ears! ¹⁸ Look at me… yes see me! For I’m standing before you in judgment, and I know that I’ll be found righteous, ¹⁹ for the One who’s my judge is impartial.

‘Now I will be silent since I’ve reached the end. ²⁰ I’ll allow you two things to finish me off, and then I’ll go hide from your presence. ²¹ Just keep your hands at a distance, and don’t give me reason to fear you.

²² ‘You can call out to me and I’ll listen to you; you can speak and I’ll give an answer. ²³ Of how many sins am I guilty, and how many laws have I broken? Tell me just what they are!

²⁴ ‘Why is it that you are hiding from me, and consider me as lesser than you? ²⁵ Will you avoid me as leaves blown in the wind, or will you face me like grass in the air? ²⁶ For, about me you’ve written many bad things, and you’ve accused me of sins that are common to youth. ²⁷ You’ve prevented my feet from walking, for you’ve examined all of my deeds, and to the roots of my feet you’ve now reached.

²⁸ O I have now grown so old, for I look like a bag made of leather, and like a robe that’s been eaten by moths.

Chapter 14

¹ ‘For a man who is born of woman, life is short and filled with much rage; ² he drops off like a flower that has blossomed, and escapes like a shadow that’s gone.

³ ‘Haven’t You required an accounting of me? Haven’t I stood in judgment before You? ⁴ For who will be found clean of all filth? None!

⁵ ‘He lives but a day on the earth, and he counts off the months of his life, until he reaches the time he was given, and which he cannot pass by. ⁶ For, when You leave him he becomes still, so think well of the life of Your workman.

⁷ For a tree there’s still hope if it’s cut down, since it may blossom once more. The sprouting of its shoots never fail, ⁸ though its roots may be old in the ground. Yet even rocks will grow old, and even stones melt away.

⁹ ‘When the trunk of a tree smells water, it blossoms and bears fruit as though it were new. ¹⁰ But when a man reaches his end, that will not be undone… when a man falls, he’s no longer.

¹¹ ‘In time even seas will be gone, and rivers will be barren and dry. ¹² So, when man goes to sleep he won’t rise again, until [the stars] are sewn together… they never awaken from sleep.

¹³ ‘O that in the grave You had guarded and hid me, ‘til all Your anger has passed. Please order a time to be set for me, when You’ll mention my name once again. ¹⁴ Can a man live again after he dies, once the days of his life have all past? As for me, I will wait ‘til I live again; ¹⁵ when You’ll call me and then I will listen. O don’t undo the work of Your hands!

¹⁶ ‘You’ve counted all the things that I’ve done, and none of my sins have You overlooked. ¹⁷ So, take all the laws that I’ve broken, then seal them up in a bag, and mark off the ones that I didn’t mean to do.

¹⁸ ‘A mountain will fall into ruin, and a rock wears out where it stands. ¹⁹ In water stones become smooth, and floods wash the cliffs from the earth. That’s how You’ve destroyed the lengths of men’s lives… ²⁰ You stab him through and he dies… You just turn Your face and he’s gone. ²¹ So, He won’t know how many come from him, and he’s unaware if they’re few, ²² because his flesh now just aches, and for his life he now mourns.’

Chapter 15

¹ Then EliPhaz the Temanite spoke. He said: ² ‘Am I answering a man who is wise… one with an understanding spirit; who’s had misery since he came from the womb; ³ who scolds with sayings that’ll never be true, and with words which will never bring profit?

⁴ ‘Haven’t you forgotten your fear, as you speak before God? ⁵ Why, you’re guilty for the things that come from your mouth, and you haven’t examined the words of the great. ⁶ So, may your own mouth now correct you (not I), for against you your own lips testify.

⁷ ‘Were you the first man that was born… before the hills had been piled? ⁸ Did you hear how Jehovah arranged things? Did God then ask your advice, and was it from you that He gained all His wisdom?

⁹ ‘What do you know that we do not know, and what do you see that we’ve missed? ¹⁰ For we’re each much older than you, and our days are greater than those of your father.

¹¹ ‘Why, for all of your sins you’ve been whipped just a little, which you’ve blown out of proportion. ¹² Dare you see with your eyes, or to examine in your heart, how your rage has torn you from Jehovah, ¹³ since out of your mouth such things have now come?

¹⁴ ‘Which man do you know who’s without blame, of those who are born of a woman? ¹⁵ Yet He doesn’t trust even the holy… before Him the heavens aren’t pure. ¹⁶ Yet the filth of man can be very disgusting, for he sucks unrighteousness down like a drink.

¹⁷ ‘Now I will report… so listen! I will announce what I’ve seen… ¹⁸ the things that the wise men have told, which from their sons were not hidden.

¹⁹ ‘This land was given to your fathers alone, when there were no strangers among them. ²⁰ And for the ungodly there’s just confusion, while years are added to the mighty. ²¹ He listens in fear although there is peace, and this is his own undoing. ²² So, may he not think he’ll return from the darkness, when he’s in the grip of a hand made of iron. ²³ For the grain of vultures he’s now become, as he awaits the death of his body… the dark day that will whisk him away, ²⁴ as distress and disaster suck him down, and he falls like a general in battle. ²⁵ For, against Jehovah he has lifted his hands, and before the Lord he has stiffened his neck. ²⁶ So, in his own insolence he has run, with his thickness [hiding] behind his shield; ²⁷ for his face is covered with fat, and his thighs have now become flabby.

²⁸ ‘So, may he lodge in cities that are empty… in houses where no one now lives; where all who might have been found there, have now been carried away. ²⁹ May he not be rich or keep what he owns; may he not cast a shadow on the ground, ³⁰ nor may he flee from the darkness. May his bud soon wither away, and may his flower blow away in the wind. ³¹ May he not trust that he will survive, because, soon he’ll have nothing. ³² His corruption will then be all pruned away, so his branch won’t grow into a tree. ³³ May he be gathered like unripened grapes, and fall like a blossom before it’s an olive.

³⁴ ‘For the unrighteous the judgment is death, and for those taking bribes their homes will be burned. ³⁵ That’s what comes from the womb, because all that’s born there is grief. Emptiness is what he will receive, and in his gut he must live with his lies.’

Chapter 16

¹ Then Job spoke, saying, ² ‘Things like this I’ve all heard before, and as comforters you are very poor. ³ What order is there to windy words, and why do you bother to answer? ⁴ Now I’ll also speak as you’ve done, as though my life has been traded for yours. ⁵ Then I’ll attack you with my words, and at you I’ll shake my head.

⁶ ‘O may my mouth be given the strength… may the movement of my lips serve me well. ⁷ For, if I speak my sores will not ache, and if I say nothing, could they hurt less?

⁸ ‘Now that He’s worn me out, you have latched on to this festering fool, ⁹ and I sit here as proof that any lie I have told, has been answered to my face.

¹⁰ ‘For, He who I deal with has thrown me down, and against me He’s been grinding His teeth. The arrows of marauders have struck me, ¹¹ and sharp darts from His eyes have been shot in my knees… all together they’ve attacked me.

¹² ‘He has handed me to the unrighteous… He has thrown me to the ungodly. ¹³ He has taken away my chance to make peace, and plucked hairs from my head to be an example.

¹⁴ ‘They’ve encircled me with all their lances, and thrown them into my kidneys; they did nothing at all to spare me, but poured my bile on the ground. ¹⁵ They’ve knocked me down time and again… they’ve attacked me and won. ¹⁶ Then to my skin they sewed sackcloth, and my strength they’ve driven into the ground.

¹⁷ ‘My belly now burns from my crying, and my eyelids are darkened with shadows. ¹⁸ Yet, nothing wrong have I done, and my hands are clean from the things that I’ve vowed. ¹⁹ O ground, don’t cover the blood of my flesh, and don’t make any room for my cries.

²⁰ ‘Look; the heavens serve as my witness; high places will testify for me. ²¹ May the things that I beg for reach to Jehovah, and may the tears from my eyes drip before Him. ²² To God may such things serve as man’s proof… for the son of man and to his neighbor.

²³ ‘Now the days of my life have been counted and reached, and from the way that I’ve aged I’ll never go back.

Chapter 17

¹ ‘I’ve been destroyed and carried in the wind; I’ve begged to be buried but it hasn’t happened. ² So in weariness I ask What have I done? Have I stolen things belonging to strangers, ³ for who has tied up my hands?

⁴ ‘You’ve hidden intelligence from their hearts, and for this You’ll not exault them. ⁵ For, You’ll announce to them all of their badness, and make the eyes of their sons melt away.

⁶ ‘But You’ve made me a joke among nations, and that’s why they’re all now laughing at me. ⁷ My eyes are now callused from their rage, and I’ve been attacked by them all.

⁸ ‘The righteous have wondered and asked, Why can’t the just beat the lawless? ⁹ O may the trustworthy maintain their [righteous] course, and may the hands of the clean take much courage. ¹⁰ However; may it all be established, for in you I don’t find any truth.

¹¹ ‘My days are now spent in groaning, and the hope in my heart has been ripped away. ¹² Night for me is now day, and the face of darkness is closer.

¹³ ‘Though I remain, the grave is my home, and I’ll make my bed where it’s dim. ¹⁴ For death has now become my father, and rottenness are my mother and sisters.

¹⁵ O, what hope is there now for me? Where will I ever find goodness? ¹⁶ With me will they go to the grave; will we be buried together in the ground?’

Chapter 18

¹ Then Baldad the Shuhite spoke, saying, ² ‘When are you going to stop? Stop for a while and let us speak also! ³ Why must we stay silent before you, like those who walk on four feet?

⁴ ‘Anger has gotten the better of you. So what if you should have to die! Will all life under heaven then end, and will mountains be wiped from their foundations?

⁵ ‘For, the light of the irreverent will be extinguished, and their flame will be there no more. ⁶ The light in his home will become darkness, and his lamp will then be put out.

⁷ ‘The least of men search for things they once owned, and over their own advice they then trip. ⁸ May his foot then step in a snare, and in a net may he be entangled.

⁹ ‘O may he fall into a trap, and the snare hold him tighter. ¹⁰ For, the trip line is covered in the ground, and that which will grab and destroy him, is now hidden there on the road.

¹¹ ‘May grief surround and destroy him, ¹² and may hunger encircle his feet. For him a great downfall has been prepared, ¹³ and the soles of his feet will be eaten away.

‘May his beautiful things be eaten by death, ¹⁴ and may the place of his healing be taken away. For by royal decree these things happened, ¹⁵ so may they camp ‘round his tent through the night.

¹⁶ ‘May his beautiful things be covered with sulfur, ¹⁶ and may his roots dry out underneath him. May what he has reaped now fall upon him, ¹⁷ and the memory of his face be wiped from the land.

¹⁸ ‘May he be pushed from the light into darkness; ¹⁹ may his family forget his name. May his house remain under the sky, ²⁰ but let others live in it.

‘For, although he once lived in wonder, in the end he just sits here and moans. ²¹ This is the home of the unrighteous; it’s the place where they don’t know Jehovah.

Chapter 19

¹ Then Job spoke, saying: ² ‘How long are you going to weary my life, and demolish me with your words? All you know is what Jehovah has done, ³ and speak ill of me with no shame… you keep pressing against me.

⁴ ‘It’s a fact that I’ve been misled, and delusions are lodging within me. For I’m speaking words that should never be said… that mislead, and at the wrong time.

⁵ ‘So, you use me to look more important, and you attack me in scorn. ⁶ But know that Jehovah is He who’s disturbed, and it’s He that built fortresses against me. ⁷ So look; I laugh at your scorn!

‘I will no longer speak, for if should I shout I’ll never see justice. ⁸ I’m stuck in a circle that I can’t pass through, and darkness now covers my face. ⁹ He has taken away all my glory, and He’s removed the crown from my head.

¹⁰ ‘He has pulled me apart and strewn me; I was marked and cut down like a tree. ¹¹ In His rage He has treated me badly, as though I were His enemy. ¹² For, His marauders have gathered and attacked me, and encircled me in an ambush.

¹³ ‘Now all my brothers have left me, preferring strangers to me; and my friends no longer feel pity, and pretend that they do not know me.

¹⁴ ‘My dear ones have forgotten my name. ¹⁵ Why, I’m a foreigner to all of my neighbors, and to the women who once served me. ¹⁶ I call my servant and he doesn’t obey, as with my mouth I keep begging. ¹⁷ I call out to even my wife, and call sweetly to the sons of my concubines. ¹⁸ Yet they don’t listen, they just stand there.

¹⁹ ‘Those who know me now hate me, and the ones I once loved stand against me. ²⁰ For my skin and flesh are festered with sores, and my teeth have come loose from my bones.

²¹ ‘O show mercy… show mercy my friends, for the hand of Jehovah has touched me! ²² Why do you chase me as Jehovah has done, for aren’t you yet filled with my flesh?

²³ ‘O that my words may be written in a scroll, and then be preserved though the ages. ²⁴ With a pen of iron may they be written on lead, and may they be set in stone.

²⁵ ‘For I know that He who made me weak, has walked ‘round the earth through the ages, ²⁶ and it’s due to Him that my skin is so tired… because of Jehovah I’m totally worn out.

²⁷ ‘All things I’m aware of and seen with my eyes, have happened to me not to others. ²⁸ But what can I ask and what can I say… is the root of the problem in Him?

²⁹ ‘O bring me what’s good and cover me over, for soon Your rage will come to the lawless, and then they’ll reap their reward.’

Chapter 20

¹ Then Zophar the Minaean spoke, saying, ² ‘So far I’ve not chosen to disagree, with the words you are saying, for you don’t see things any different from me. ³ So I’ll heed your instructions that shame me, and note the spirit of your reply.

⁴ ‘Haven’t you known such things… that since man was first put on earth, ⁵ the happiness of the irreverent brings a downfall, and the joy of lawbreakers brings destruction? ⁶ For, even if his gifts should ascend to the sky, and his sacrifices should reach to the clouds; ⁷ when he thinks that all’s going well, that’s the time when he’ll perish.

‘Then those who know him will ask Where is he? ⁸ And as though he’s a dream, he’ll no longer be found. ⁹ From then on their eyes will overlook him, and no one will note where he once was.

¹⁰ ‘Then, though his sons may have destroyed the weak, and his hands lit the fires of grief; ¹¹ and though his bones held the vigor of youth, he’ll make his bed under the ground.

¹² ‘For, evil is sweet in his mouth, and he hides it under his tongue. ¹³ He’ll never leave it or abandon it, but he’ll bring it up out of his throat.

¹⁴ ‘Then, to help himself he’ll be unable, for the poison of asps is inside his gut. ¹⁵ So, all the wealth that he’s unjustly gained, will be collected and vomited out, as an angel drags him from his home.

¹⁶ ‘Then may he endure the rage of the dragon, and may the tongue of the snake then destroy him. ¹⁷ May he never again see cows being milked, or pastures of butter and honey.

¹⁸ ‘Then his wealth will seem empty and vain, and for them he’ll lose all his taste; for then they’ll be tough and cannot be chewed, and he’ll find he can’t take them along.

¹⁹ ‘And though he crushed houses of the mighty, and he’s taken many homes by force, his things will no longer be his, ²⁰ and the things he once owned will never be safe, nor can he retain the things he desired.

²¹ ‘Then none of his food will be left, and for this, good things will not blossom. ²² And when he has [all he’s desired], that’s when he’s cursed and the problems arise.

²³ ‘If then he can fill his own belly, God will send someone to succeed him. May He bring the rage of His anger, and upon him bring floods of grief.

²⁴ ‘From hands of iron may he not be saved; may he be shot through as with a brass bow. ²⁵ May the arrows go clean through his body, and may fear then walk in his house.

²⁶ ‘Then may he wait there in darkness, to be consumed by the fire of the ages, and may strangers bring evil to his house. ²⁷ May heaven uncover all his lawless deeds, and may the earth then rise up against him.

²⁸ ‘May his house be destroyed ‘til the end, and the day of [God’s] rage come upon him. ²⁹ For, this is [God’s] wage for the irreverent; it’s the possession he’s given by He who observes.’

Chapter 21

¹ Then Job spoke, saying, ² ‘Hear… O hear my words! I don’t need such comfort from you! ³ Help me… help me up, and I will then speak, and you will no longer ridicule me!

⁴ Why, by men, am I being accused, and why shouldn’t I also be angry? ⁵ You look at me in great wonder, as you put your hands to your jaws. ⁶ Though as I rush to remember, I retain the grief in my flesh.

⁷ ‘Why do the irreverent continue to live, and why do they grow so rich and old? ⁸ They plant whatever their souls might desire, and their children are there before their eyes. ⁹ Their houses continue to prosper, and none fear, for they don’t feel the whip of Jehovah.

¹⁰ ‘Their cows don’t give birth prematurely… all their pregnant are also protected, and none of them stumble and fall. ¹¹ Their sheep remain through the ages, and their children romp before them ¹² with flutes to their mouths, as they enjoy sacred hymns played on harps.

¹³ ‘For as long as they live they have good things, then in the grave they lie down to rest. ¹⁴ And they say to Jehovah, Overlook me, for I don’t wish to know all Your ways.

¹⁵ ‘So, why should we continue to serve Him, for what benefit is there in that? ¹⁶ He doesn’t inspect the hands of the godless, and they’re still filled with things that are good.

¹⁷ ‘Yet, their lamps will soon be extinguished… their reward is to feel the pain of His rage. ¹⁸ They’ll become like straw that’s blown in the wind, and as clouds of dust in a storm.

¹⁹ ‘May his possessions and sons all be lost, and may he know that it’s God who’s repaid him. ²⁰ May he see his slaughter with his own eyes, when Jehovah is not there to save him. ²¹ For, what joy will he have in his house, when all of his months have been numbered?

²² ‘Isn’t it Jehovah who teaches understanding, and who also gives people their insight… isn’t He the One who judges the wise? ²³ Yet one will die doing what he wishes… enjoying pleasure and prosperity, ²⁴ full and fat, and filled with much marrow. ²⁵ Yet another ends a life filled with what’s bitter, not having tasted things that are good. ²⁶ Yet they both go to sleep in the ground, and with decay they’re both covered.

²⁷ ‘So, I know what you’ll say as you’re pressuring me; ²⁸ you’ll ask, Where’s the house where princes will live, and where are the tents that protect the irreverent? ²⁹ Ask those who pass on the roads, and you’ll see that the signs are all very clear, ³⁰ for the day of destruction will enlighten the wicked, and in the day of His rage they’ll be removed.

³¹ ‘So, who’ll report his ways to [God’s] face, and tell Him the things He has done? And who will then come to repay him, ³² after he’s lain awake upon heaps of rubble, then to his tomb is carried away? ³³ For, in the gravel he’ll be covered, then all other men will come to see him, and a great number will then stand before him. ³⁴ So, why waste your time giving comfort, as you do nothing to bring me some rest?’

Chapter 22

¹ Then EliPhaz the Temanite spoke, saying: ² ‘Doesn’t Jehovah teach wisdom and understanding? ³ So, why should He be concerned, if what you’re doing is pure; or what good is it to Him if you make your ways simple? ⁴ Will He discipline you for the things that you say, or will He join with you in your judgment?

⁵ ‘Haven’t you done many bad things… can your sins even be counted? ⁶ Have you taken your brothers’ needs for no reason, and removed the clothes from the naked; ⁷ and refused to give water for the thirsty to drink, and taken scraps of food from the famished?

⁸ ‘You’ve shown favor to the faces of some, while you’ve moved the poor in the land. ⁹ You’ve sent widows away with nothing at all, and orphans you’ve treated badly. ¹⁰ So, the snares that you set have now captured you, and an extraordinary war has rushed in upon you.

¹¹ ‘So, light for you is now darkness, and when you sleep you’re covered in dew. ¹² For, He who lives does pay attention, and the insolent He humbles.

¹³ ‘You asked, What does the Almighty know? and, Can He judge what happens in darkness? ¹⁴ For, He’s concealed by the clouds and He can’t be seen, as He travels across the curve of the sky.

¹⁵ ‘It’s not yours to guard the road of ages, that was walked upon by the righteous, ¹⁶ who were taken away in untimely [deaths], like rivers overflowing their banks. ¹⁷ For even they [have had reason to] ask, What will God do to us… what will the Almighty bring?

¹⁸ ‘It’s He who filled their houses with good things, while the ways of the Godless are far away; ¹⁹ and when they see them the righteous do laugh, and the blameless will sneer upon them. ²⁰ For, the things that support them have vanished, and their clothes have been burned up in fire.

²¹ ‘So, you must be strong if you wish to survive, and you’ll receive the fruitage of goodness. ²² Remove the things you’ve said from your mouth, then put His words in your heart… ²³ turn back and be humble before God, and stay away from wrongdoing!

²⁴ ‘Around yourself build a rock wall, as with the stones from the Wadi Sophir. ²⁵ Then from your enemies the Almighty will save you, and He’ll purify you as though refining silver.

²⁶ ‘So, confess [your sins] to Jehovah, and look up to the heavens with joy. ²⁷ Make vows to Him and He’ll listen to you, and He’ll give you the strength to do as you’ve vowed. ²⁸ He’ll restore you to a righteous condition, and all your ways will be bright again.

²⁹ ‘For, the one who makes himself humble, will admit that he’s been too proud; and he who is humbled He’ll save. ³⁰ The innocent will be rescued by Him, but first you must clean up your hands!’

Chapter 23

¹ Then Job spoke, saying: ² ‘I know for a fact that my change of state, is something that’s out of my hands. O His hand is so heavy, and how it has caused me to moan. ³ But who knows if I’ll be able to find Him, and come to the end of this matter.

⁴ ‘So, upon myself I’ll pass judgment, and with scolding words I’ll fill my mouth. ⁵ Then perhaps I may learn the cure… for He’ll tell me, and then I’ll understand… for He’ll answer!.

⁶ ‘He’ll come to me with great strength, and I know He won’t do so unsurely. ⁷ From Him truth and correction will come, then may He bring an end to my case. ⁸ Why, if I am the first that must go, and if I should no longer be, then how can I know how it has worked out?

⁹ ‘With His left hand He acts and I can’t hold Him back; and what He covers with His right I’ll never see. ¹⁰ He already knows all my ways, for He’s examined me as though I were gold.

¹¹ ‘So, I’ll walk in the paths as He sees them, and all of His ways I will keep. There’s no way that I’ll turn from His thoughts; ¹² there’s no way that I’ll overlook them. For, I’ve kept His words close to my heart, and I’ve tucked away the things He has said. ¹³ But even if He’s found me guilty, there’s no one who can contradict Him.

¹⁴ ‘When there’s something He wants He just does it, so I think of Him when I am corrected. ¹⁵ For, grave are the things that come from His face, and I think of them and stand in terror.

¹⁶ ‘Yet, Jehovah has softened my heart; the Almighty has moved me to action. ¹⁷ For, I never suspected that darkness would come, and before my face all would go dim.

Chapter 24

¹ ‘Why has Jehovah overlooked our time; ² why does He bypass the borders of the godless… those who seize both the shepherds and the sheep?

³ ‘Away from orphans they’ve taken the burros, and the cows that were the security of widows. ⁴ They’ve prevented the disabled from walking upright, so the gentle of the earth would all run and hide.

⁵ ‘They act like burros who wander in a field, and consider the bread of the infants delicious. ⁶ For they harvest in fields not their own, and reap before it is ripe.

‘The godless hire the disabled, in order to work in their vineyards, and then do not pay them or feed them. ⁷ They leave them naked and without clothes, and take away what they need to survive. ⁸ So, from the mists of the mountains they get wet, and they hide in the rocks for protection.

⁹ ‘They grab orphans… they take them away from the breast, in order to pay back a loan. ¹⁰ ‘They rest on the naked and mistreat them, and take scraps of food from the hungry. ¹¹ They lie in wait in the alleys to do bad, and the ways justice they do not know. ¹² In the cities they throw people out of their homes, and cause the souls of their children to moan.

¹³ ‘So, why does the One who is watching, fail to act on this earth? For they pay no attention to Him, and disregard all that is just… taking the easiest way. ¹⁴ Under cover of darkness they murder, and during the night they are thieves.

¹⁵ ‘The adulterer watches for darkness and says, They’ll not know that my eyes are watching. Then his face remains hidden, carving peepholes in homes in the darkness.

¹⁶ ‘During the day they lock themselves in, thus they never know light. ¹⁷ But they see the shadow of death in the morning, and they see the bad things it brings.

¹⁸ ‘Though he sees his face in the water as good, may his portion on the earth forever be cursed, and may the things that he plants dry and wither.

¹⁹ ‘They have grabbed the arms of the orphans, ²⁰ so [please] keep their sins in Your mind. Like fog, may they soon pass away, and like the dew may they vanish.

‘Please repay him for the way he has acted… may the unjust be destroyed like rotting wood. ²¹ For he has mistreated barren women, and he hasn’t shown mercy to the helpless.

²² ‘He has beaten the disabled to the ground in his rage, but he knows that his life is insecure. ²³ So, may these sick not hope to be healed, and may their illness bring them death!

²⁴ ‘Many have been harmed by their arrogant ways, so like a mallow may they wither in the heat… like an ear of grain that that falls on its own.

²⁵ ‘If such things aren’t so, then call me a liar, and pay no attention to the things that I’ve said.’

Chapter 25

¹ Then Baldad the Shuhite said, ² ‘What kind of insight and fear does he have… this one who makes it sound so important? ³ Let’s not assume we’ll be saved from the robbers, and that we’ll never be ambushed.

⁴ ‘For, how can a man claim he’s righteous before God; how can a man born of woman, try to make himself clean? ⁵ For, He orders the moon and it doesn’t shine, and even stars are impure before Him. ⁶ But all of mankind is rotten, and the sons of men are just worms.’

Chapter 26

¹ Then Job spoke, saying, ² ‘Who are those closest to you… who do you turn to for aid? Isn’t it to the ones who are mighty… to those with great muscled arms? ³ To whom do you turn when you need advice; isn’t it to those who are known to be wise? And whom do you chose to follow; isn’t it those who have the most power? ⁴ Then, to whom are you speaking these words, and whose breath is now coming from you? ⁵ Will giants start acting like midwives, and go under the water for neighbors?

⁶ ‘Why, the grave lies naked before Him, and He’s wrapped in a robe of destruction. ⁷ He stretches the north wind on nothing, and upon nothing He’s hung the earth. ⁸ He takes water and binds it in clouds, yet the bottoms of the clouds do not rip. ⁹ With the front of His throne He supports it, and He spreads the clouds all around it.

¹⁰ ‘By His order the face of the sea is round, from where the light reaches to darkness. ¹¹ The columns of heaven He’s spread about, and they shake when they hear His rage.

¹² ‘By His strength He has settled the sea in its bed, and in His wisdom He’s filled it with whales. ¹³ The bolts from the skies stand in awe, and He’s ordered the death of the dragon that rebelled.

¹⁴ ‘Look! These are just a part of His ways… for He breathes a word and we listen! So, who knows when He will bring change… when He’ll bring the strength of His thunder.’

Chapter 27

¹ Then Job continued on in his defense. ² ‘As God lives (the One who has judged me… the Almighty who has made my life bitter); ³ as long as my breath is still in me, and the Breath of the Divine One remains in my nose, ⁴ my lips will not speak lawless things, nor will my life contemplate wrong. ⁵ For such things bring the sentence of death… yet I’ll make no claim of innocence.

⁶ ‘I’ll hold onto what’s right and never let go, for I know when I’m doing things that are wrong. ⁷ But may my enemies be undone like the Godless, and my opposers be destroyed like the lawless.

⁸ ‘What kind of hope have the Godless? Do they think they’ll be saved by Jehovah… ⁹ that to his prayers God will listen, or come when he is in need? ¹⁰ Can he stand before Him confidently, as one who can call and be heard?

¹¹ ‘Now, I’ll tell you what Jehovah holds in His hand… I won’t lie about the Almighty’s things. ¹² {Look!} When you pile uselessness upon uselessness you will know it… ¹³ it’s the reward the ungodly get from Jehovah, and what the mighty receive.

¹⁴ ‘Should the Almighty come to their aid, and should their sons become many? No! For their purpose is just to be slaughtered, and they’ll beg to be allowed to grow into men. ¹⁵ For, those who remain will die of the plague, and none will show mercy to their widows.

¹⁶ ‘If they gather silver as though it were dirt, and set aside gold as though mortar, ¹⁷ the righteous will [soon] own these things, and those who are true will control it.

¹⁸ ‘Then his house will belong to the moths, and to the cobwebs of spiders, ¹⁹ for the rich man will sleep and he won’t rise again. And though his eyes are wide open, he will not be alive.

²⁰ ‘Grief will pour like water upon him, and at night the darkness will overtake him. ²¹ A burning wind will snatch him away, and like chaff, he’ll be blown from his place.

²² ‘He’ll throw him away and no one will save him; he’ll be thrown from His hands into exile. ²³ Then men will clap their hands at him, and whistle at him from their places.

Chapter 28

¹ ‘There is a place where silver is mined, and a place where gold is refined. ² Men take iron out of the ground, and copper is quarried like stones. ³ And this is how He’s established darkness, and precisely set all its limits. For darkness is very like stone, and it brings the shadow of death.

⁴ ‘There’s a place where streams flow into dust, as righteous ways are forgotten by man. ⁵ But bread will sprout from under the ground, where it’s then roasted in a fire.

⁶ ‘There’s a place where sapphires are found, and where supplies of gold may be mined. ⁷ And there’s a road that even birds do not know, and is overlooked by the eyes of an eagle. ⁸ It hasn’t been walked by the sons of the rich, nor has a lion ever trod there. ⁹ Yet, He’s stretched forth His hand on a place He’s dug out, and overturned the roots of mountains. ¹⁰ The banks of rivers He has torn up, and my eyes have seen such great wonders. ¹¹ He’s uncovered the beds of the rivers, and He displays His power in the light. ¹² But, where can wisdom be found, and where is the place of great learning? ¹³ For, no man really knows of the way, and it can’t be found among men. ¹⁴ Says the abyss: You cannot find it in me! And says the sea In me neither. ¹⁵ So, no one can make an investment in her, nor with silver can she be bought.

¹⁶ ‘She can’t be compared to all Ophir’s gold, nor to precious onyx or sapphires. ¹⁷ With gold and crystals she can’t be compared, and she can’t be bought with gold coins. ¹⁸ Rocks falling from above and glass won’t be mentioned, for wisdom is higher than all that’s within us. ¹⁹ To the topaz of Ethiopia she can’t be compared, nor may she be equaled by finest gold.

²⁰ ‘When it comes to wisdom; where can she be found, and from what kind of place comes understanding? ²¹ She has escaped the notice of every man, and is hidden from the birds in the sky.

²² ‘Thus say the days of destruction and death: We have heard of her fame, ²³ but God speaks well of her way, and knows where she can be found. ²⁴ He peers the heavens inspecting all things, so He knows what happens on the earth.

²⁵ ‘He has weighed all that He’s made; He’s measured the wind and the water. ²⁶ When He made them He saw and counted it all, then He made a way for the thunder. ²⁷ He looked at it all and described it; and He who prepared it tracked all its ways.

²⁸ ‘And thereafter He said: {Look!} Wisdom is being like God, and higher knowledge is staying away from what’s evil.’

Chapter 29

¹ Then Job continued his reply. ² ‘O that He’d return me to that month again; to the days when God watched over me; when His lamp was lit over my head, ³ and by His light I traveled through darkness; ⁴ when I walked down the roads in importance, and when God watched over my house; ⁵ when I was exceedingly plump, and my children were all gathered around me; ⁶ when all that I did poured like butter, and mountainous things poured like milk; ⁷ when in the morning I entered the city, and they’d put out a chair for me in the square. ⁸ It was a time when young men hid before me, and the old arose in respect. ⁹ Then stout men would all stop their speaking, and place their fingers over their mouths.

¹⁰ ‘Then all those who listened called me blest, and their tongues would stick in their throats; ¹¹ they heard with their ears and then praised me, and when they saw me they stepped aside. ¹² For, I’d rescued the poor from the hands of the mighty, and to orphans with no helpers I brought aid.

¹³ ‘O bless me again, you who are dying, and may mouths of widows praise me once more. ¹⁴ For, I used to dress to give justice, and put on a robe that was doubled; ¹⁵ I was the eye for the blind, as well as the foot for the lame, ¹⁶ and a father to the disabled. When I didn’t know the right thing to do, it worked out well anyhow. ¹⁷ I broke the molars of the unrighteous, and snatched their prey from their teeth.

¹⁸ ‘I said, I’ll grow old and round like the trunk of a palm; I’ll have many more years yet to live, ¹⁹ for my roots have reached deep to the water, and dew settles in my harvest.

²⁰ ‘My glory meant little to me back then, for I entrusted my bow to His hands. ²¹ Then men would pay attention to me, and stay silent as I offered them council. ²² When I was speaking they never spoke, for they were joyful whenever I talked… ²³ as the ground enjoys rain when it’s thirsty, that’s how they listened to my words.

²⁴ ‘At them I never laughed, and so they trusted my words, for the light of my face was always there. ²⁵ I showed them the way and I was their prince, and I camped like a king ‘midst his army. Yet, I never forgot the need to give comfort, to all of those who were mourning.

Chapter 30

¹ ‘But now by their least, I’m ridiculed; and those whose fathers I viewed with contempt, now give correction to me… yes, those I once thought unworthy, to serve as dogs to watch over my flocks.

² ‘Now, what value is the strength of their hands to me, since they’ve been completely wiped out? ³ They’re in need, and hungry, with nothing… they’re miserable like those who flee from a war, to hide in a place without water.

⁴ ‘They stand on the shore and pick seaweed, for plants from the sea are their grain. They have no honor and have nothing to offer; they’re looked on as worthless and lacking all good.

‘They’ve gnawed the roots of trees in their hunger, ⁵ but now they’ve risen against me like thieves… ⁶ those whose homes were once burrows, and who had to live among rocks.

⁷ ‘They’ll look for places to yell… those who have homes made of sticks. ⁸ They’re the sons of fools without honor, so their fame will be wiped from the earth.

⁹ ‘But now they strum harps about me, for I’m the topic of their discussion. ¹⁰ They hate me and stay far away, and into my face they now spit. ¹¹ For, He’s opened His quiver and shot me through, then led me away from His presence.

¹² ‘So, the hands of their offspring have risen against me, and they stick out their legs and kick me. ¹³ They’ve wiped out my ways in their paths of destruction, and taken the clothes that I wore.

‘He has run me through with His spear, ¹⁴ and He’s judged me as He has wished. I’m befouled with grief, ¹⁵ for grief has returned. My hope has become like the wind, and my salvation has become like a cloud.

¹⁶ ‘Soon my life will be poured out, for I’ve had enough days of my grief. ¹⁷ All night long my bones burn, and my nerves are all broken and shattered. ¹⁸ Its power has grabbed onto my robe, and wrapped my clothes up to my butt.

¹⁹ ‘Now you treat me as though I were dirt, and think all I deserve is just ashes. ²⁰ I’ve cried out to you but you do not hear… you just stand there and think of my plight.

²¹ ‘Altogether you’ve attacked me without mercy, and with your strong hands you have whipped me. ²² You’ve handed me over to grief, and taken away my salvation.

²³ ‘I know that death will soon wipe me away, for the home of all mortals is the ground; ²⁴ so should I think of killing myself, or let someone else do it?

²⁵ ‘O I’ve cried over every disabled man, and I’ve moaned when I saw those in need. ²⁶ But I’m waiting for good things to happen, and look for good days not bad.

²⁷ ‘My belly is noisy and it rumbles, as though awaiting the days of my poorness. ²⁸ I am moaning without any comfort, as I stand and cry out among the congregation.

²⁹ Now I’ve become a brother to trapped demons, and to ostriches I’m a companion. ³⁰ My skin is now very dark, as my bones swelter in the heat. ³¹ So, though my harp is still played in mourning, my hymns are all about weeping for me.

Chapter 31

¹ ‘I’ve made a vow with my eyes, that I’ll not pay attention to virgins… ² for what’s been given is from God up above, and for what inheritance the Most High sees fit.

³ ‘Why, to the unjust comes woe and destruction, and he who breaks laws is all alone. ⁴ So, why won’t He consider my ways, and count the number of my footsteps? ⁵ For, I haven’t traveled with jokesters, and my feet haven’t hurried to do treachery.

⁶ ‘I can stand on a scale, and prove myself just in the balance, for Jehovah knows that I’ve done no wrong. ⁷ My foot hasn’t turned from His way (though my eyes often follow my heart), and my hands have never touched bribes. ⁸ Yet, what I have planted others now eat, for I no longer have roots in the ground.

⁹ ‘If my heart has followed the wife of another, and if I stood in wait at her doors, ¹⁰ may my wife then please other men, and my babies thereafter be humbled. ¹¹ For he who defiles another man’s wife, should receive unrestrained anger. ¹² May fire burn in all of their parts, and may they be destroyed to their roots.

¹³ ‘If I treated my debts to my servants as worthless, and if my maids have ever had to beg me, ¹⁴ what could I say to [God] when He beats me… when He comes to visit what answer could I give? ¹⁵ For, weren’t they also born from a womb, and didn’t all come from the belly?

¹⁶ ‘But the disabled who were needy never missed out, and the eyes of the widows weren’t wasted. ¹⁷ For, even when I ate my food all alone, didn’t I save some and share it with orphans? ¹⁸ Like a father, I fed them the food from my mouth, and I led them as from the womb of my mother.

¹⁹ ‘And if I hadn’t clothed the one who was naked, ²⁰ or helped the disabled unless they would bless me, and taken the wool that came from my lambs, and used it to warm up their shoulders; ²¹ and if I had lifted no hands to help orphans, or those who relied on me to give aid, ²² may my shoulders be pulled from my collar bones, and my arms be broken at the elbows.

²³ ‘It was the fear of Jehovah that caused me to act, for without His care I couldn’t have endured. ²⁴ If I had trusted in gold for my strength, or in gems had put all my trust; ²⁵ why, even if I knew that I’d receive wealth, and if I’d gotten my hands on great treasure, ²⁶ would I see the sunshine starting to dim, and the moon as it’s starting to wane?

²⁷ ‘Now, if my heart deceived me in private, and I fondly put my hand to my mouth, ²⁸ then let this be considered the worst of law breaking, for I’ve lied to the Most High Jehovah.

²⁹ ‘If I’ve been happy at the downfall of enemies, and said in my heart, Well done! ³⁰ Then let my ears hear the curses I’m due, and may my people speak of my badness.

³¹ ‘For, I’ve never said to my female attendants, O that you’d give me some of your flesh! ³² Nor had I forgotten the need to be gracious, and my door was always open to lodge strangers.

³³ ‘Unintentional sins I’ve never hidden, and I’ve never been swayed by a crowd. ³⁴ I’ve not turned the disabled away from my door, or sent them away with empty stomachs.

³⁵ ‘O, that I’d be given someone to listen… someone in awe of the hand of Jehovah! For, I’ve never sent anyone a bill, ³⁶ nor would I read it while wearing a crown. ³⁷ I just tore them all up and gave them all back, without getting what was due from my debtors.

³⁸ ‘Perhaps the ground has a reason to moan, and maybe her furrows have a reason to weep. ³⁹ Yet, if I took some of its strength, ⁴⁰ and ate it alone without paying; or if the life of the land’s master is angry, and he’s bothered because I took some of his things, ⁴¹ may my wheat become stinging nettles, and my barley be turned into weeds.’

And with that, Job stopped speaking.

Chapter 32

¹ After that, all got quiet, and Job’s three friends stopped contradicting him, for they recognized him to be righteous. ² Then EliHu (the son of BarachiEl the Buzite, a descendant of Ram from Ausis) became very angry with Job for declaring himself righteous before God. ³ And he was indignant with Job’s three friends, because they couldn’t give Job a reply, and they found him to be a righteous man.

⁴ EliHu had been waiting to give an answer to Job, for the others were older in years. ⁵ And when no reply came from the mouths of these men, he was angry and became enraged.

⁶ So, EliHu (the son of BarachiEl the Buzite) then said: ‘Because I’m much younger in years, and you are much older than I, I’ve chosen not to speak until now, for the things that I know I feared to speak.

⁷ ‘I said, This isn’t the time to be speaking, for with their years they’ve gained much more wisdom. ⁸ Yet, although there’s a spirit in humans, the Breath of the Almighty does the teaching. ⁹ For, the wise don’t live long enough lives, so the old don’t always understand what is just.

¹⁰ ‘Now, I beg you all to listen to me, and I’ll tell you the things that I know. ¹¹ Give ear to the things that I say, and I’ll speak to you free of charge.

¹² ‘Examine my words and you’ll see; no one has given correction to Job. ¹³ Don’t say that you’ve found wisdom from God, ¹⁴ for who has allowed you to speak such words?’

¹⁵ Well, at that, they all were afraid and refused to give a reply, because the words they were hearing had the sound of age… ¹⁶ and because he had waited and refused to speak until they stood with no answer.

¹⁷ So EliHu said: ‘Now I am ready to speak, for I have many things that I wish to say. ¹⁸ The wind from my chest I cannot hold back, ¹⁹ for it bubbles within as though it’s young wine. It’s been tied up in me like a bellows of a forge, and it’s been awaiting the time to break out.

²⁰ ‘So, now I will speak and give myself rest, for it has come time to open my lips. ²¹ I’m not embarrassed to speak before men, nor will I feel shame before humans. ²² For, if I show favor to people, by moths may I then be devoured.

Chapter 33

¹ ‘Listen, O Job, to my words, and give ear to what I am saying! ² Because, {Look!} I have opened my mouth, and I’m using my tongue now to speak. ³ These words are pure and come from my heart, so what comes from my lips is all clean.

⁴ ‘It was the Breath of the Divine One that made me; it’s by the Breath of the Almighty that I‘m taught. ⁵ So, if you are able to give me an answer, then reply about all of these things! Wait! Stand here [and face] me, and I’ll stand up to you!

⁶ ‘You were made of clay (as was I)… from the same dirt we were molded, ⁷ so, there’s no reason to twist against me in fear.

⁸ ‘Now, the things that I heard you say, and the things that I heard you speak, ⁹ are: I am pure and I have not sinned; I’m blameless and broken no laws. ¹⁰ Yet, though He has no reason to complain, He considers me His opponent. ¹¹ He has put my feet in stocks made of wood, and watched all the things that I do.

‘So now; How can you say you are righteous, and that He’s paid no attention to you? ¹² Why, He has lived through the ages, and He is above all [us] mortals. ¹³ Yet you ask, Why hasn’t He noted my righteousness, and why hasn’t He heard what I’ve said?

¹⁴ ‘Jehovah may only speak once, or He may reply a second time. ¹⁵ He may send a dream or a vision in the night, bringing fear as a man sleeps in his bed. ¹⁶ He uncovers the things a man thinks, and sees the things that do scare him… then He uses such things to bring fear upon him… ¹⁷ to turn man away from his sins, and to rescue his body from downfall. ¹⁸ He is saving his life from death, and protecting him in times of war.

¹⁹ ‘When we are sick in our beds, and when our bones cannot move, that’s our discipline from Him. ²⁰ So, when we’re offered grain we won’t take it, though what our lives need is food. ²¹ Our flesh will just lay there and fester, until our bones can finally be seen; ²² until death finally approaches, bringing an end to our lives in the grave.

²³ ‘Though thousands of [God’s] messengers can come to bring death, there’s no way that one will pierce you through, if in your heart you’d change your purpose, and turn to Jehovah again.

‘We should complain to men about our own selves, and speak of the laws we have broken; ²⁴ and then God will support us, and not allow us to fall into death. He’ll make our bodies like new once again, as someone who is plastering a wall, and refill our bones with their marrow. ²⁵ Like a baby, he’ll make our flesh tender, and restore us again to the man we once were.

²⁶ ‘If one makes a vow to Jehovah, and his vow is thereafter accepted, he’ll walk away with a face that is clean, and with a mouth speaking praises… for He is just with all men.

²⁷ ‘So, each should blame himself and then say: What are the things that I’ve done? What have I done to be disciplined, and what are the sins I’ve committed? ²⁸ O save my life from corruption, so I can live to see light once again!

²⁹ ‘Look! This is how the Almighty deals with men, and the three things that He does. ³⁰ For, He has saved my life from death, so my life can praise Him in light.

³¹ ‘O Job; give me an ear and hear what I say… be quiet, for I am now speaking! ³² But if there are words you can answer, then speak; for you should be given what’s just! ³³ But if not, just hear me out… be quiet and I’ll tell you what’s wise!’

Chapter 34

¹ Then EliHu continued: ² ‘Hear me now, O wise men… give an ear O you who have knowledge! ³ For the ear judges words as the mouth tastes it’s food, ⁴ so we should each be judged by ourselves, for we all know if we have been good.

⁵ ‘Now Job has said I am righteous; yet Jehovah has closed up my case. ⁶ And he lied about me when He judged me, so I shake my spear at His injustice.

⁷ ‘Job is a man who drinks [wine], and still sneers as though it were water. ⁸ For, he has no sin and is never irreverent, and has nothing to do with the lawless, nor has he gone along with the godless.

⁹ ‘Now, perhaps you think it all wrong, for someone to watch over men, ¹⁰ Yet, all are watched by Jehovah, and He searches through all of our hearts.

‘Hear me! Before Jehovah may I not be found irreverent, and may the Almighty not view me unjust! ¹¹ For, He pays back to men all they deserve, and in his pathways each man will find Him.

¹² ‘Can you imagine Jehovah being guilty of wrong, or the Almighty not being just? Isn’t it He who created the earth, ¹³ and didn’t He make all that’s under the sky?

¹⁴ ‘Now, if He would hold back His power, or if He’d withdraw His Breath, ¹⁵ all life on earth would come to an end, and mortals would return to the place they were formed.

¹⁶ ‘Listen! What if He didn’t correct us? Give an ear to the sound of His words! ¹⁷ {Look!} He’s the One who hates all lawbreaking, and through the ages He’s righteous, so He’ll destroy all the wicked!

¹⁸ ‘It’s impertinent to say to a king, You have broken the law, or to say to a prince, You have acted ungodly. ¹⁹ Who may disrespect a person of honor, for the mighty are not appointed, just because [God] likes their faces.

²⁰ ‘Nothing good will come when we cry out to men, for they’re unrighteous and won’t help the needy. ²¹ But He observes the things that they do, and their acts don’t escape His attention.

²² ‘There is no place for the lawless to hide, ²³ for He tolerates men no more that He needs to. ²⁴ Yet, all men are inspected by God, and He see the ones doing wrong.

‘He sees the things that cannot be seen, as well as things that are to be honored… extraordinary things unnumbered. ²⁵ He knows all the things that we do, and He returns with them to humble us at night.

²⁶ ‘He wipes away the ungodly, for they are visible before Him… ²⁷ those who turn from God’s Laws, and who do not recognize His rules.

²⁸ ‘The cries of the needy reach up to Him, and He hears the calls of the poor. ²⁹ So, He’s the One who brings rest, thus who would dare to condemn Him?

‘If He hides His face who will see Him, whether it is a nation or just a man? ³⁰ Why, He can appoint a hypocrite as king, if He finds the people unruly.

³¹ ‘Has anyone ever heard a mighty one say, I’ve been blest so I need no [aid]? ³² Or, unless you can show that you know of my sins, there is nothing more I must do?

³³ ‘Will He pay for the things that you’ve thrown away? You give the answer… You tell me!

³⁴ ‘Understanding hearts will reply to such things, and a wise man will listen to what I am saying. ³⁵ But Job comprehends not the things that he said, and his words don’t reflect higher knowledge.

³⁶ ‘So, learn, O Job; don’t reply as a fool… ³⁷ don’t add any more to our sins, for we’re all considered law breakers, when we stand and speak to Jehovah.’

Chapter 35

¹ Then EliHu continued, ² ‘Why is justice so important to you? Who are you to say I am righteous; I don’t deserve vengeance from God? ³ Do you ask, Have I committed some sin? About this I’ll give you an answer, and tell it to these, your three friends.

⁴ ‘Look up to the sky and see… see how high the clouds are above you! ⁵ So, if you’ve sinned, then what will you do? ⁶ What can you accomplish if you’ve broken [God’s] laws?

⁷ ‘Why, if you are truly such a righteous man, what are the things you can give Him, and what will He accept from your hands? ⁸ Will He accept irreverence from men, or accept righteousness from sons of men?

⁹ ‘Many call out because they’ve been robbed… but they yell at the strong one who robbed them. ¹⁰ They don’t ask: Where is the God that made me… the One who’s in charge of night watches, ¹¹ who made me different from the beasts of the earth, and different from the birds in the sky?

¹² ‘Oh they can call out, but no one will listen, about the insolence of the wicked. ¹³ But there are no things that Jehovah doesn’t watch, because He is [God] the Almighty. ¹⁴ He sees all those who break laws, and you can beg for Him to come and save you… that is; if you are able to praise Him right now!

¹⁵ ‘He doesn’t assign numbers to His anger, and He’s set no limits upon sins. ¹⁶ Yet, foolishly Job has opened his mouth, for in ignorance he’s weighed his words.’

Chapter 36

¹ EliHu continued, saying, ² ‘Be patient a little longer and I’ll teach you, for I have [much] more to say. ³ I’ve gained my knowledge from a land far away, and I’ve learned to do as I say. ⁴ So, I’ll speak of truth and of righteous things, and you’ll find that I’m not telling lies.

⁵ ‘Jehovah wouldn’t harm an honest man, who is mighty and has a brave heart. ⁶ And He won’t return life to the Godless, nor will He judge the poor unjustly. ⁷ He doesn’t look away from the righteous, for they’ll sit as kings upon thrones, and the victory seat they’ll be given, where they will be honored by men.

⁸ ‘The criminal who is shackled in handcuffs, in the cords of poverty will be wrapped. ⁹ Then He’ll speak of all the bad that he’s done, and of all his many transgressions.

¹⁰ ‘But [God] listens to what the righteous ones say, and warns them to turn from all badness. ¹¹ And if they should listen and serve [Him], they’ll live very long lives, and spend many years with good things. So, when they come to the end of their days, they will have beautiful things.

¹² ‘But the ungodly won’t be preserved, for they’re unwilling to look to Jehovah; and though they’ve been told time and again, they’ll keep refusing to listen.

¹³ ‘Although the hypocrite’s heart calls for rage, he won’t yell for He has him bound. ¹⁴ Their lives will end while they are still young, for [God’s] messengers will pierce them through. ¹⁵ Why, they’ve mistreated the weak and disabled, but He’ll deal justly with the meek.

¹⁶ ‘When an enemy uses his mouth to deceive, He opens an abyss underneath it, where their table of good things are thrown. ¹⁷ For, He won’t fail to bring justice to the righteous, ¹⁸ but on the impious He’ll bring His rage. Because, in godlessness they’ve willingly taken bribes, thus in justice they’ll receive the things they deserve.

¹⁹ So, don’t blind your minds when disabled ones beg, nor drag off those needing help in the night. ²⁰ But you should go up and help them, so others can see your example. ²¹ Just be careful not to mistreat them, or take advantage of their poorness.

²² ‘{Look!} The strong use their strength to conquer, but who is this one that’s so mighty? ²³ Who examines the things that he does, and who tells him when he’s done wrong? ²⁴ Remember it’s the great things that we each do, which give us control over men. ²⁵ And each man then can see in himself, how many mortals have been pierced through.

²⁶ ‘{Look!} the Strong One is great and none of us know Him, for there’s no end to His years. ²⁷ Why, He counts the numbers of each drop of rain, before they’re formed into clouds. ²⁸ Then they flow past the things that grow old, and shadows of clouds cover unnumbered mortals.

‘He’s established a time for animal’s lives, and they understand the order. Yet, you don’t bother to think of such things, nor does your heart know your own body. ²⁹ But, remember when you see clouds spreading apart, the same thing is true of the tent that’s your body.

³⁰ ‘{Look!} He has stretched out the light above us, and the roots of the seas He has covered. ³¹ Then between them He judges the people, and He nourishes those who are strong. ³² He covers the light with His hands, and He tells the clouds what to do. ³³ So, we can trust that He’ll speak to His friends, and provide them a haven from injustice.

Chapter 37

¹ ‘So, this is why my heart was so bothered. They’re the things that have made my heart drop. ² So, listen to my report on God’s rage, for what I say comes from His mouth! ³ He’s the sovereign of all places under heaven, and His light shines upon the wings of the earth. ⁴ Though voices may yell out at Him, He thunders at the sound of His insults. For He must bargain with no one… with none of those who hear His voice.

⁵ ‘The Strong One speaks (and His voice is like thunder) of the untold great things He’s done. ⁶ For it’s He who orders the snow, and says Go to the ground! And in winter, the rain follows His orders.

⁷ ‘He seals up the hands of all men, so they will know of their weakness.

⁸ ‘Wild animals live under His protection, and in their lairs they are tranquil.

⁹ ‘From the innermost bedrooms comes grief, and from places far away comes a chill.

¹⁰ ‘From the Breath of the Strong One comes ice, and water is steered wherever He chooses.

¹¹ ‘If He covers a cloud it disappears, and then the light comes forth in its order. ¹² The cyclones are then turned aside, by His rules for the ways they should work.

¹³ ‘Whether for instruction, or His land, or His mercy, it is He who orders such things for the earth. ¹⁴ So, pay attention to such things, O Job… stand in awe of God’s power! ¹⁵ For, we know that it all comes from God, who created the light from the darkness. ¹⁶ He can tell the difference between every cloud, as well as the great ways the wicked will fall.

¹⁷ ‘Now your clothes are all hot and sticky, yet from the south blows peace for this land.

¹⁸ ‘So, will you now join Him in making mountains, ¹⁸ or the old things that you’d see as a vision in a mirror? ¹⁹ Teach me what I should tell Him, and let’s end all of this banter! ²⁰ For, is there a scribe with a scroll here beside me, so that I should have to satisfy him?

²¹ ‘Why, the light is shining so plainly, illuminating all things that are old. It’s as though He has parted the clouds, ²² and they’re shining like gold in the north. Why, their honor and glory reflect the Almighty, ²³ for nowhere else may we find such strength.

‘It is He alone who brings honest judgment, so, don’t you think that He’s listening to you? ²⁴ Why, all men have reason to fear Him, including all those who think their hearts wise.’

Chapter 38

¹ Then, after EliHu finished his speech, Jehovah spoke to Job from the clouds during a storm, saying, ² ‘Who is it that’s hiding counsel from Me, and thinks he can cover the things in his heart? ³ Now, wrap up your loins and act like a man, for I’ll ask you, and then you answer Me!

⁴ ‘Where were you when I laid the foundations of earth? Tell me if you know and if you understand! ⁵ Who was it that laid out its measures… do you know? And who laid the string down upon it? ⁶ Upon what are its hooks supported, and who laid the slabs for its foundation?

⁷ ‘When I did this, the stars all praised Me, and all My messengers roared in a cheer. ⁸ Then I closed up the seas with gates, when it was forced from its mother. ⁹ I established the clouds as its clothing, and fog to wrap it up like a baby. ¹⁰ Thereafter, I established its limits, and I bolted their gates into place. ¹¹ Then I said, This is as far as you come; you cannot go any farther, and your waves must now break within you.

¹² ‘Did I use you to bring morning light, or to set the morning star in its place; ¹³ or to grab hold of the wings of the earth, and shake off all the ungodly?

¹⁴ ‘Have you picked up a piece of clay from the ground, and used it to create something living? And who brought powers of speech to the earth?

¹⁵ ‘Have you taken the light from the ungodly, or broken the arms of the proud? ¹⁶ Have you come to the springs of the sea, and have you walked in the tracks of the deep? ¹⁷ Why, you fear when death’s gates are opened, and you’re alarmed when grave keepers look upon you.

¹⁸ ‘Have you been told about all under heaven? Then tell Me how great it all is! ¹⁹ Where is the land that light comes from, and from what kind of place comes the darkness? ²⁰ If you could lead Me to their limits, that is, even if you even knew of their paths, ²¹ then I would know that it’s so, for that would be the time you were born, and you would have lived many years.

²² ‘Have you yet found the treasuries of snow? Have you seen where the hail is all stored? ²³ Has the hour of enemies been determined for you, and the day for battle and war?

²⁴ ‘Why, where does frost go when it leaves, and where under heaven goes the south wind? ²⁵ Who prepares the storms when they blow, ²⁶ and who holds back rain from the ground?

²⁷ ‘Who made the deserts where no men can live, so the unwalked and uninhabited lands can be filled, and sprout with new shoots of green? ²⁸ Who is the father of rain, and who gave birth to the dewdrops? ²⁹ From whose womb does the ice come forth, and who gives birth to frost from the sky, ³⁰ that then drops to become flowing water? Who has changed the face of the ungodly, and who has created their alarm?

³¹ ‘Have you seen what bonds the PleiAdes constellation, and have you opened the barriers of Orion? ³² Have you opened MazurOth when it can be seen, or have you led Hesperus by its tail? ³³ Do you know how the orbits of the heavens all work, or how things under the sky work together? ³⁴ Can you call to a cloud and make it tremble, then obey you and pour out a storm? ³⁵ Can you send for the lightning… will it ask What is it and obey you?

³⁶ ‘Who gave women the wisdom to weave, and who gave them skill to embroider? ³⁷ Who in his wisdom can count all the clouds… who leans upon the heavens and the earth? ³⁸ Who poured out the powder that created the earth, and stuck it together as a block of stone?

³⁹ ‘Will you hunt for lions as prey, and will you be filled with the lives of wild beasts? ⁴⁰ Yet, they’re to be feared when they’re in their lairs, or when lying in wait in the woods.

⁴¹ ‘Who gives carrion to the crow for its young, as it calls to Jehovah while searching for grain?

Chapter 39

¹ ‘Tell Me this, if you know: When do rock antelopes give birth; and have you seen the birth pangs of hinds? ² Have you counted the months for them to give birth, and do you know the length of their birth pangs? ³ Do you know how their offspring are nourished without fear, and can you bring an end to their birth pains? ⁴ For, their young rip out and many are born, then walk away to never return.

⁵ ‘Who is it that set zebras free… who untied them from bondage? ⁶ It is I who made his home, in the deserts and salt flats… it was I who made him a tent. ⁷ Why, he laughs at the complaints of those in the cities, and to tax collectors he pays no attention. ⁸ He views the mountains as his pastures, as he searches for green things to eat.

⁹ ‘Is the rhinoceros willing to serve you? Can you allow him to sleep in your stable? ¹⁰ Can you tie him with straps and put on a yoke, then use him to plow up your fields? ¹¹ Can you trust him to do this because he’s so strong, and will he lighten the work that you do? ¹² Then, can you trust him to carry packs of seeds, and haul them to threshing-floors?

¹³ ‘Consider now ostriches’ wings… those whose feathers storks use for their nests. ¹⁴ Why, they lay their eggs on the ground, and incubate them in the dust. ¹⁵ And if she forgets them they may be lost, or wild animals of the fields may come and crush them. ¹⁶ So, she’s hardened herself against her own young, that she isn’t sad when her work is wasted. ¹⁷ It was God who removed all her wisdom, and gave her scant understanding. ¹⁸ But, when she spreads her feathers to run, she ridicules the horse and its rider.

¹⁹ ‘Was it you who gave the horse all its strength, or who caused his neck [to tremble] in fear? ²⁰ Are you the one who gave him full armor, and put the glory of daring in his breasts? ²¹ In the fields he grazes and prances, and in his strength he runs in the plains. ²² He laughs when he meets up with spears, and he doesn’t turn from weapons of iron. ²³ When he’s struck by arrows and swords, ²⁴ he gets angry and tears up the ground. He’ll not quit ‘til the trumpet is blown, ²⁵ and when it blows, he just says Well done! Why, he can smell war from a distance, for he stands on two legs and whinnies.

²⁶ ‘Was it you who gave hawks their looks of defiance, as they set their wings to fly toward the south? ²⁷ Was it by your order that eagles fly high, or vultures lodge in nests ²⁸ among rocks? ²⁹ From there he searches for food, where his eyes then watch from a distance. ³⁰ His young are befouled in blood, for he can find what has just died.’

³¹ Then Jehovah God said to Job: ³² ‘Have you chosen to correct the One who’s so able… can he who teaches God give an answer?’

³³ And Job replied to Jehovah: ³⁴ ‘Then, why must I still go on begging, and for what am I being corrected and scolded? Why, the things that I’ve said are treated as nothing!

‘But, what reply can I give to such things? So, I’ll just cover my mouth with my hands… ³⁵ I’ve spoken and I’ll say no more.’

Chapter 40

¹ Then the Lord spoke to Job from out of the cloud, saying: ² ‘Now, wrap up your loins and act like a man, then I will ask you and you answer Me! ³ Can you undo My decisions? Can you imagine that I’d treat you some other way… or that you would appear to be righteous?

⁴ ‘Is your arm as the arm of Jehovah, and does your voice (like His) speak in thunder? ⁵ Then lift yourself up and stand tall in your power; wrap glory and honor upon you! ⁶ Send His messengers here in your rage, and make the arrogant humble! ⁷ Wipe away all who’re too proud; make the godless start rotting right now! ⁸ Hide them all under the ground, and fill their faces with dishonor! ⁹ Then I’ll agree that your right hand can save.

¹⁰ ‘Then lift yourself up in stature and might, and clothe yourself with honor and glory! ¹¹ Then send [My] angels in anger, and make the arrogant humble… ¹² extinguish those who are proud… yes, right now cause the impious to rot! ¹³ Hide them inside the ground altogether, and fill their faces with dishonor! ¹⁴ For surely you know that your right hand can save!

¹⁵ ‘Behold indeed the beast standing by you, for the grass that it eats is the same as for oxen; ¹⁶ but notice the strength in his loins, for his power is in the navel of his belly.

¹⁷ ‘He sets his tail like a cypress, and his nerves are all closely joined. ¹⁸ His sides are as though they were made out of brass, and his spine is much like cast iron. ¹⁹ Yet, this was the beginning of things shaped by [God]; it was made to be mocked by His angels.

²⁰ ‘When he climbs upon a mountain that’s chiseled, he becomes a cause for great joy, to the four-footed beasts who in Tartarus live. ²¹ He sleeps under all kinds of trees… by papyrus, and reeds, and flowering rushes. ²² He sits in the shadows of trees and their branches, along with birds [that are hidden]. ²³ When [the rain] pours, he doesn’t notice, for he trusts that it runs from the Jordan to his mouth.

²⁴ ‘When he is on watch, can anyone take him? If you catch him in a snare, will you drill [a hole] through his nose?

Chapter 41

¹ ‘Can you lead the dragon by a hook; can you put a halter ‘round his nose? ² Will you put a hook though his nose as a clasp, and bore a hole in his lip? ³ Will he speak and beg you in an earnest soft way; ⁴ will he make an agreement with you… will you take him as your servant through the ages? ⁵ Will you play with him like a bird… would you cage him like a sparrow for a child? ⁶ Wouldn’t you rather feed him to the nations… set him aside for Phoenician peoples?

⁷ ‘If all that floats were brought together, there’s no way they could carry his hide or his tail, nor can fishermen’s boats bear his head.

⁸ ‘Then upon him you’ll lay your hand, and you’ll remember the war in your body, that has now come to an end.

⁹ ‘Have you not seen him (yes you who are speaking), have you not wondered at this? ¹⁰ Are you not awed by what I’ve prepared? Yes, who is the one that can oppose me? ¹¹ O you can oppose me but I’ll still remain, since all under heaven is Mine!

¹² ‘I won’t keep silent for his sake; and My power to show mercy is equal to his. ¹³ Who will uncover the front of his clothes, and enter the fold of his chest plate? ¹⁴Who will open the gates of his face, for round about his teeth there is fear. ¹⁵ His insides are like shields made of brass, and his sinews are as emery stone. ¹⁶ Each of them cleave together, and wind in no way [can blow] through them, ¹⁷ for as a man and his brother are cleaved, they are held together and cannot be parted.

¹⁸ ‘His sneezing brings about brightness, and his eyes are like the morning star. ¹⁹ From out of his mouth comes burning lamps, like the scattered grates of a fire. ²⁰ From his nostrils comes the smoke of a furnace, burning with the fire from coals. ²¹ His life is much like live coals, and flames shoot from his mouth.

²² ‘In his neck there dwells power, and before him runs much destruction. ²³ The flesh of his body cleaves tightly, and if it rains upon him he’s not shaken.

²⁴ ’His heart is fixed like a stone… he stands as an anvil that cannot be shaped. ²⁵ When he turns he brings fear to four-footed beasts… upon those that leap on the ground.

²⁶ ‘If he meets with lances, nothing will happen, nor does he fear chest plates or spears. ²⁷ For he views iron as just straw, and brass as wood that is rotten. ²⁸ By bows of brass he can’t be pierced, and he views [stone] slingers as grass. ²⁹ He thinks of hammers as stubble, and ridicules the quaking of those carrying fire.

³⁰ ‘His bed is strewn with sharp points; and all the gold in the sea, under him are as ¹⁹ coals on the grates, and as just so much mud.

³¹ ‘He breaks from the abyss as though a brass cauldron; he thinks of the sea as his own ointment jar, ³² and the abyss of Tartarus as his captive. For, to him the abyss is just a promenade.

³³ ‘There’s nothing on earth that’s quite like him, for he was made to be mocked by My angels. ³⁴ He can see all lofty things, and he is the king of all things in the waters.’

Chapter 42

¹ Then Job spoke to the Lord saying: ² ‘I know that You can do all, and there is no end to Your power, ³ so who can hide their ideas from You, and who holds back their words and thinks You can’t [hear them]? For, You’ve spoken to me of things I don’t know; things great and wonderful of which I was unaware.

⁴ ‘But hear, O Jehovah, for I still have something to say! I’ll ask You and then You can teach me! ⁵ In the past, I’ve heard men talk about You, but now my own eyes have seen You, ⁶ and I consider myself as worthless; for before You I have melted away, and I think of myself as ashes and dirt.’

⁷ It was after Jehovah had said all these things to Job, that Jehovah said to EliPhaz the Temanite, ‘You and your two friends have sinned, for you haven’t spoken the truth, as did My attendant Job. ⁸ Now, go get seven calves and seven rams, and take them to My attendant Job, so he may offer them on your behalf. Then Job My attendant will make a vow for your sake, since I don’t hold him to blame. On his account I would have destroyed you, for the things you’ve said about My attendant Job.’

⁹ So, EliPhaz the Temanite, Baldad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Minaean went and did as Jehovah had told them. Then He dismissed their sins against Job.

¹⁰ Thereafter, Jehovah blest Job. And he in turn made a vow for his friends, and he forgave them for all their sins.

Thereafter, Jehovah gave him double… twice as much as he had before. ¹¹ And when all of his brothers and sisters heard of the good things that had happened, they all came to see him, and he had twice as many friends as he had at first. They all ate and drank along with him, and offered him much consolation. Yet, they wondered at all the things that had happened, and at all the things that Jehovah had done. Then each one gave him a lamb, and an unmarked four-drachma gold coin.

¹² So, Jehovah blessed Job’s ending, and he had more than he had before. He had ten thousand cows, four thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand oxen teams, and a thousand grazing mare burros. ¹³ Then seven more sons were born to him, as well as three more daughters. ¹⁴ He named the first one Day; he called the second one Casia; and the third he named AmalThaia’s Horn. ¹⁵ Among all the women who lived under heaven, none were prettier than the daughters of Job, and he gave them an inheritance among their brothers.

¹⁶ After his calamity, Job lived on a hundred and seventy more years, so he reached two hundred and forty. Then Job saw his sons, and the sons of his sons, through the fourth generation. ¹⁷ Thereafter, Job finally came to his end, an old man who’d lived a full life.

Notes

Soul

The Greek word psyche (as in psychology) has been translated many ways, including soul, life, etc. However, psyche actually means something that breathes. It is used in the Bible to describe both breathing animals and breathing humans. So by definition, a soul cannot leave the body, because a soul is what the living body (whether human or animal) is (see Genesis 2:7).

In ancient Greece, philosophers eventually added another meaning to psyche: The inner person (as opposed to the person that others see and come to know). And with time, the pagan religion of Greece started to teach that this inner person is its own entity and can never die (is immortal). Over the centuries, this pagan Greek doctrine thereafter crept into the Christian religions. Please see the link Soul for more history of the word.

However, such Greek philosophical thought never influenced Jesus and his Apostles. So, they consistently used psyche to indicate a living person or animal. Therefore, the later teaching that the soul is immortal stands in direct conflict with Jesus’ promise of a resurrection, because, if a person is immortal (can never die) he/she can never be resurrected (brought back to life).

In addition, the teaching of the immortality of the human soul is totally without support from the Bible. For the word immortal(ity) (Gr: athanasia or undying) is only mentioned in the Bible in two places, and it isn’t used with or applied to the word soul in either case. Both of these scriptures show that immortality is only given by God as a reward for righteousness. And as Ezekiel 18:4 says, ‘The person (gr. psyche or ‘soul’) that is sinning will die (gr. apothaneitai).’

Of course, there are places in the Bible where the word soul means more than just a living, fleshly body. For example, God is recorded to have spoken of ‘My Soul’ in several places. Obviously, God is much more than just a ‘soul’ as most people think of that term, and He surely wasn’t talking about His having a human body. So we must conclude that what He was referring to is His life.

Then there are Jesus’ words found at Matthew 10:28, which read, ‘Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the person (psyche or soul). Rather, be afraid of him who can destroy both the person (soul) and the body in the garbage dump.’ Here, Jesus is using the word psyche (soul) to refer to the value of life that remains with God until the resurrection. And he obviously isn’t referring the soul as immortal in this instance, because he says God will destroy (gr. apolesai) the [unrighteous] soul or person.

Unfortunately, no single word can be used to translate psyche in every possible Bible application, so various terms are used herein, depending on the circumstances, but always in an attempt to harmonize with the meaning.

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Satan, Opposer, Lucifer, Beelzebub

It is appropriate that the heavenly name of the great Opposer and Slanderer of God is never given in the Bible. However, several terms (and one mistakenly) have been used to describe him. Here is a list of those descriptions:

· Satan: This is a Hebrew word meaning, opposer, resistor, and a smart person who does things to serve his own interests. It was applied to the Evil One, because of his opposition to God. And so, to keep from misleading people into thinking of it as a name, it is translated as ‘the Opposer’ (not Satan), herein.

· Devil: This is the only Greek word (Diabolos) used in the Bible to describe the evil one. The first part of the word, dia, means through, and bolos means throw (it’s where we get the English words ball and bowl). So, Devil means one who throws through, which amounts to slanderer in Greek, so that’s the way it’s translated herein.

· Lucifer: The name Lucifer is commonly tied to the Biblical Opposer; however, the name doesn’t appear in most versions of the Bible. It does appear once in the King James Version, at Isaiah 14:12, in which the King of Babylon is referred to as Lucifer, Son of the Morning. However, the original Hebrew words were: Helel ben Shahar – Day Star, Son of the Dawn. So, there is no direct link in the Bible between the entity known in Hebrew as Satan and the person who was referred to as Lucifer. This mistranslation was created by Augustine, when he was translating the text in Isaiah from the original Hebrew into Latin.

· BeelZebub: There are eight references in the Bible to this Hebrew noun, and it does refer to the Slanderer. However, once again, this is not a proper name. It appears to be a title. Beel (like Baal) means Lord, and Zebub appears to refer to flies (the insects). So, BeelZebub likely means Lord of Flies.

Is the Opposer (Slanderer or BeelZebub) a real person? All one has to do is look at the titles he was given above to realize that he is. To deny his existence negates the rest of the Bible. For example, when dealing with Adam’s sin, why did God adhere so closely to a law, when other options were available to Him? Why didn’t he just destroy rebellious Adam and create another man?

The fact is, He created men and His messengers with the ability to choose whether to serve Him or not, so none are automatons. And as a man failed in the Paradise of Pleasure, we can assume (and as the Scriptures support) that there were failures (and rebels) in the heavens also. This is the reason why it became necessary to have a law that clearly outlined what rebellion against God constituted, and what the consequences for violating that law would be. It was obviously for the sake of the millions of millions of heavenly spirit (breath) creatures that the issue of rebellion here on the earth had to be resolved by legal means, and in a way that demonstrated the love and loyalty of God’s first-born son, which resulted in the painful need for a ‘ransom’ (Jesus’ death).

And the idea, which some have promoted, that the Slanderer isn’t real, raises other questions. For example; While Jesus was being tempted in the desert, was he simply struggling with the bad within himself rather than against a real, evil personality? If so, we would have to conclude that there was bad in Jesus.

Also, was the battle in heaven (as spoken of at Revelation the Twelfth Chapter) just figurative and not a real war against the Opposer and his messengers? And if so, then there must be ‘evil thoughts’ in heaven, prior to that battle. And, in what sense would ‘the Opposer’ and his ‘messengers’ lose the battle and be confined to the earth? Also, why would internal evil be ‘angry’ in knowing that he just has ‘a short period of time left?’

And lastly, when the Opposer entered God’s presence and spoke to Him (Job the First Chapter), could we assume that this inherent evil was found in God? That isn’t likely.

However, there is some question as to the use of the Greek word Diabolos found at 1 Chronicles 21:1 (in the Greek Septuagint). First, since Diabolos is a Greek word and First Chronicles was written in Hebrew, we would assume that Diabolos (Slanderer) was substituted for the Hebrew word Satan (Opposer). But the text seems to imply that a slanderer (or resistor), not the Slanderer, had come to David. So, we don’t really know if the text implies that the Evil One came to him personally; if it was just an evil spirit that came over him; or if someone bad had urged David to defy God and take a census of Israel.

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Bless or Praise?

This is a tough one, and we won’t say that our position on the translation of this word can’t be changed. The Greek word that we are struggling with is eulogetos. The first part of the word eu, is Greek for good. The last part of the word, logetos, means words (or expressions). So, a literal translation of eulogetos is good words. And our question is: Is this all that a blessing amounts to?

Yes, we know that this word has been translated as bless, blest, and blessing in other Bibles. So why rock the boat? Because these translators have simply found too many errors in many commonly-accepted renderings. And here, for example, if eulogetos is properly translated as blessing each time (which carries the English nuance, ‘causing good things to happen’), then, how can humans ‘bless God?’ We do know that we can praise God, however.

Eulogetos is the word that we derive the English word eulogy from… that is, the kind words that are said of the deceased at a funeral. Such words are never said as a blessing, (it’s a bit late for that); they are said in praise of the deceased individual. However, there are definitely places where eulogetos can’t be translated as praise or praising.

So, perhaps the real meaning is (or is at least is similar to) praise. And when praises come from God, this means blessings to humans.

This isn’t the same word that we have rendered as blest in other portions of this translation (for an example, see Matthew 5:5). The word in question there is makarios, which is rendered as happy in certain other Bibles. However, we believe that blest is the proper way to translate that Greek word.

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The Heavens or Sky, the Earth or the Land?

In both the Ancient Scriptures of Israel (OT) and the Christian Era Scriptures (NT), we find all the realm of creation divided into three entities; the heavens (or sky), the earth (the land or ground), and the seas (the waters). Now, in contemporary English, we understand that there is a difference between the heavens and the sky, the earth and the land (or ground), and the seas and waters. However, in both Hebrew and Greek, these fine distinctions that we accept because of our modern technology, can’t be found. So, Genesis 1:1 could literally be translated as, ‘In the beginning, God created the sky and the ground.’

This is accurate, because it was the view of man from the earth. There was the land that he stood on, the sky above him, and the waters or seas over there. There was no technical understanding of the earth as a planet, because men didn’t view the earth as we do today, as a ball in space… it just wasn’t necessary at the time! However, because of these distinctions that we understand so well today, translators must choose the proper words to provide the right nuances in English, in order for readers to grasp the proper meaning of each text.

This is why you’ll find the Greek word ourano translated as both heaven(s) and sky herein, depending on the context. You’ll also find the Greek words ge and ges translated as earth, ground, or land, depending on the context. So, the symbolic words at 2 Peter 3:5, 6, for example, are translated herein as, ‘The thing that they don’t want to understand is this: That the ancient earth and sky were out of the water, but (in obedience to God’s instructions) they stood together between the waters.’ (For an example of the problems created by the wrong use of the words ge and ges, see the linked document Isaiah 24 - Is It Speaking of Armageddon?).

Notice that the ‘earth and sky’ were located ‘between the water.’ So, although other Bibles translated this verse as speaking of the ‘heavens and earth,’ the reference is to the portion of the heavens that are close to the earth… to the sky. Likewise, at Matthew 5:5, where Jesus spoke of the ‘meek’ as inheriting ‘the earth; since he was talking about people receiving an ‘allotment’ on the earth,’ we have chosen to translate ges as earth, not land or ground. However, the words land and ground are equally correct.

And finally, when it comes to the seas (gr. thalassa), there are already distinctions as to different types of waters in the Greek text. For instance, seas are called thalassa and rivers are called potamos (or ‘flowing’). However, notice (in Revelation 20: 13) how the resurrection of the dead is divided between those who died on land and those who were lost in the water, ‘The sea gave up its dead, death and the grave gave up those dead in them, and they were all judged by the things that they did.’

We again find all three of these realms of creation brought together symbolically at Revelation 21:1, where it says, ‘Then I saw a new earth and sky, because the previous earth and sky had disappeared, as did the sea.’

Also, in the case of where EliJah was taken in a celestial chariot, most people think he was taken to (as their Bibles put it) ‘heaven,’ where he went to live with God. This isn’t true, because King JehoRam later received a letter from Elijah (see 2 Chronicles 21:12). So, God had apparently used the celestial chariot to take him into the sky (the proper translation here), where he was then taken to another place here on the earth. For more information on this, see the linked document, The Hereafter.

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God’s Messengers

Most Bible translations render the Greek word aggelos (pronounced ahn-gel-ose – with a hard g) as angel wherever it is found. However, aggelos is just the Greek word for messenger. True, in most cases where the Bible speaks of angels, it is referring to spirit messengers from God. However, this may not be the meaning in every instance, and always translating it as angel may distort what was said in certain instances.

For example, consider the words at Acts 12:15, where Peter had just been released from prison and had appeared at the door of some faithful Christians. In Greek, the latter part of this verse reads, ‘oi de elegon Ho aggelos estin autou’ and is often translated as, ‘They began to say, It is his angel.’

This rendering doesn’t sound reasonable, for it would have been unusual for Christians to assume that an angel from God (who looked like Peter) was standing and knocking at their door. Rather, the rendering we have used herein makes more sense, ‘So they said, It’s his messenger.’

Another good example of why aggelos shouldn’t always be translated as angel can be found at Genesis 32:3, which reads in Greek, ‘Apasteile de Iakob aggelous emprosthen autou pros Hesau ton adelphon autou’ or, ‘Sent of Jacob angels ahead of him toward Esau the brother of him.’ Here Jacob was obviously sending human messengers to his brother, not heavenly ones (angels).

And consider the words at Numbers 20:14, where we read that Moses sent messengers (gr. aggelous – messengers, plural) from Cades to the king of Edom.’ Then in verse 16, it says that ‘Jehovah … heard our voice and sent His messenger (gr. aggelon – messenger, singular) who brought us out of Egypt.’

Obviously, although the same word (with only conjugated variations) is used to speak of two different types of messengers here… those who are human and those who were sent from heaven by God. As the result, most Bibles translate the first instance as messengers, but the second as angel. We have not chosen to make this distinction, and we have rendered the word as messenger or messengers in each instance, because this proper translation of the word provides readers a better look at what position these heavenly sons of God held. For, angel isn’t a heavenly rank, it’s a duty.

Also, consider the words of Haggai 1:13, where we read: ‘Then the Messenger (or angel) of Jehovah, Haggai, one of the messengers (or angels) of Jehovah, said to the people: Jehovah says, I am with you!’

Yet, Haggai was just a man, not a spirit.

Translating aggelos as messenger (when it truly means an ‘angel’) helps to provide readers a better, deeper understanding of the actual role that such spiritual sons of God play in His dealings with mankind. And it helps us to understand why the Bible never speaks of female or baby angels.

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Hades: Hell or the Grave?

The Greek word Hades (they pronounced it hah-des) has been translated both as Hell (which is thought of as a place of torture) and as the Grave in other Bible versions (such as the King James). Since one word can’t mean two very different things, which translation is correct?

Hades (like the English word Hell) actually means the place of the dead. However, as pagan Greek philosophy started to develop and creep into Christianity, the later-day Greek view of Hades (a place of torture) was applied to it. Was this a correct application?

An insight into how the ancient Hebrews and the early Christians understood the word can be gained by looking at how it was applied in the Greek Septuagint translation of the Ancient Scriptures of Israel (the ‘Old Testament’ Bible of Jesus’ day). There, the Hebrew word Sheol is translated into Greek as Hades in every instance; yet in each case, these are obvious references to the grave (the place of the dead), not to a place of conscious torture (see Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10).

Another revealing application of the word Hades is found at Revelation the 20:13. It says there, ‘The sea (gr. he thalassa) gave up its dead, death and the grave (gr. thanatos kai ho hades) gave up those dead in them, and they were all judged by the things that they did.’

So, notice that those who die at sea are differentiated from those who are buried in graves (Hades) and in other places (thanatos). Therefore, Hades is better translated as grave.

In the book of Job, another word that is used once in the Christian-era Scriptures and often translated as Hell, is found in two places. That Greek word is Tartarus, which refers to the place where evil gods or angels are sent. For more information, see the linked document, Is There a Burning Hell?

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Who Was Job?

While many Bible commentators claim that Job was a contemporary of Moses, because Moses is credited with writing the book, the ancient language used in it appears to date the writing to sometime before Israel’s stay in Egypt, to around the time of Abraham. And it interesting that one ancient (non-inspired) writing says that the man’s full name was Jobab (although he was called Job) and that he was a grandson of Abraham through Isaac’s son Esau. This seems logical, because he was obviously a worshiper of Abraham’s God Jehovah.

Job has often been described as an oriental, giving us the impression that he was Chinese. And the reason for this, is that he was said to have been ‘born to a prosperous family from the sunrise in the east.’ However, saying that he came from the east doesn’t necessarily mean that he came from thousands of miles to the east. So, his family could have settled somewhere just east of the Promised Land.

The Septuagint says that he was from the land of the Ausitidi, which differs from the Hebrew text, where we read that he was from the land of Uz. Of course, since the Greek text post-dates the Hebrew text, Ausitidi may have been the name of the place (which was earlier called Uz) in the Third Century B.C.E.

Another thing to note is that the word Ausitidi appears to be of Greek origin and could mean ‘The People from the Place Without Grain,’ referring to a desert east of the Promised Land. For, the first two letters (Au) are Greek for without, sitos means wheat or grain, and the suffix (idi) refers to a people or race. Also, the young man EliHu, was described as coming from a place called Ausis (Job 32:8), which appears to be the name of that land, so the people who lived there were then likely referred to as the Ausitidi.

It is also noticeable that some Greek texts render the word Uz as Aus, so Ausitidi could simply refer to the people from the land of Uz.

The land of Uz likely refers to the land of Abraham’s nephew Uz, who is mentioned at Genesis 22:21. However, there was also a man named Uz who was a grandson of Noah’s son Shem. But either way, it is likely the land of people who were close relatives of Abraham. So, Uz is probably the land where Abraham sent his servant to get a wife for his son Isaac, which is thought to be located in the desert west of the Euphrates in modern Iraq and directly east of the Promised Land. And if these assumptions are true, then Job was a relative of Abraham (a great nephew), but not a direct descendant.

Further proof of where Job was from, comes from the lands where his three friends lived. For all three seem to have been related to Abraham, and each of their countries or lands is located in the SW part of Iraq.

Also, notice the reference to the Jordan River at Job 40:18, where it says, ‘And when it rains, he pays no attention, for when it runs to the Jordan he will drink it.’ So, the water from that land runs to the Jordan.

Who later inhabited the land of Uz (or Ausitidi)? It was the descendants of Esau, for we read at Lamentations 4:21, ‘So, rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, she who lives in the land of Uz!’

As we pointed out, the Book of Job was originally a song, and this can be seen in the poetry of the verses. So one might wonder; if it is a true story, why it was told in this unusual way. For an answer, it helps to understand how ancient stories were communicated in the Middle East. In fact, a study of current Arab culture will show that among nomadic peoples, stories of actual events are still communicated through poetic songs that employ memory aids. So, a story can be told accurately and beautifully, although the wording isn’t always the same.

As the result, we have concluded that; although Moses may have written the book of Job, it was actually an inspired story that was sung and handed down through people of the Middle East for centuries, and then it was recorded in writing in the Sixteenth Century B.C.E.

Then, could the book of Job have been just a myth that was handed down in ancient songs? No, for although the story was transmitted poetically, certain subtleties appear, which show the motivations of the speakers that go beyond the normal scope of human imagination. Take for example, the words of EipPhaz the Temanite. Notice how (as recorded at Job 4:17, 18) this man had once been spoken to by a demon that told him, ‘Why should a man be pure before Jehovah… why not do the things that are wrong? For none of His servants are trusted by God, and He thinks of His angels as crooked.’

Yet, look at how these words of a demon had influenced this man’s thinking about God, for the next time he spoke (at Job 15:15) he said: ‘Yet He doesn’t trust even the holy… before Him even the heavens aren’t pure.’ Such a subtle continuity of arguments, where seven or more spoke at different times, indicates that the story is a quite accurate account of what was actually said.

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Breath

The Greek word pneuma (as in pneumonia, a breathing disease) means breath or wind – the movement of air. In other Bible translations, this word is often translated as spirit or ghost, as in Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. However, spirit is just a shortened form of the Latin word spiritu, which just means breath in Latin. And ghost conveys another meaning altogether.

The most common use of the word pneuma in the Bible is to imply an unseen force (such as breath or wind). And the problem with translating it as spirit or ghost is that many people have started believing that the unseen force that is called [God’s] Holy Breath herein, is another God-like person and part of a Divine ‘Trinity.’ This can’t be true, because the only scripture that can be used to support this theory (that is, where the Father, the Son, and the Holy Breath’ are spoken of together) is found at Matthew 28:19, which appears to be spurious (See the Note in Matthew). All other scriptures that are used to prove the Trinity theory fail to mention the Holy Breath as part of that group. And the King James wording of 1 John 5:7 (which was used for years to attempt to prove the Trinity) is also spurious (something that was added to the Bible). So, there are no actual Bible references that mention God’s Holy Breath along with the Father and the Son.

Therefore, to prevent confusion, the Greek word pneuma is frequently translated as breath herein. However, there are exceptions, as in instances where the Bible refers to demons as ‘spirits.’ Translating pneuma as breath in these cases, although correct, might just be confusing. There are also places where we have left pneuma translated as spirit, when the word implies a person's tendency (or spirit). And, since the nuance implied by the word spirit in the English language (an unseen power) is correct, we recently changed back to translating pneuma as spirit in several places, when referring to God’s Holy Spirit. However, recognize that pneuma is often best defined by calling it [God’s] Holy Breath. For an example, see the Note Worshiping God In Spirit and Truth.

Another important use of the word pneuma is in the phrase, ‘Breath of Life.’ This phrase appears to mean more than just breathing, for it seems to refer to the entire mechanics of life itself. It’s the unseen force of life for all creatures… it’s what makes each cell alive. However, nowhere does the Bible describe the ‘pneuma’ as immortal, nor is it the same as the soul (a breathing thing), so it can (figuratively) ‘return to God’ at death,’ because all hope of future life depends on God and His promise of a resurrection.

Note in particular how the term Breath is used at Job 27:3, where Job spoke of God’s Breath or Spirit. For there he asked, ‘Does the Breath of the Divine One remain in my nose?’ As you can see from his application of this word, pneuma obviously referred to God’s Breath, not to a person or to an unseen force. He was talking about that which comes from God and which caused him (Job) to breathe… the Breath of Life.

It is interesting that at Genesis 6:3 God says, ‘I won’t allow My Breath to stay with these men through the age, for they are fleshly.’ In Greek that reads, ‘Ou me katameine to pneuma mou en tois anthropois toutoiseis ton aiona, dia ai einai autous sarka,’ or, ‘Not not should stay the Breath Mine with these men the age through, their being flesh.’

While the words Breath Mine (pneuma mou) here can refer to God’s Holy Breath, it seems more likely that He is referring to the breath of life that He gave to Adam. So it appears as though; what God was saying here is that the breath of life (of the people of that age) would be removed prematurely. However, since God referred to it as ‘My Breath,’ there may be a link implied between God’s Holy Breath and the breath of life.
For more information, see the linked document, ‘The Powers of God’s Holy Spirit.’

However, when Jesus died (as the words recorded at John 19:30 say), ‘he hung his head and gave up the breath’ (gr. kai klinas ten kephalen paredoken to pneuma, or, and inclined his head giving/up the breath). In this case, the obvious reference is to ‘the breath of life,’ or that force which gave him life as a human.

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Dragon

That the Bible speaks about what is translated as dragons several times, raises some interesting questions. The dragon (although supposedly a mythical animal) is one of the world’s most widely recognized creatures. It is highly regarded in the Buddhist religion and is seen in ancient religious carvings from around the world. This testifies that people have believed in the existence of dragons for as far back as human records go. Why?

Note that dragons are thought of as animals with the bodies of snakes (gr. orphis), but they also have feet and legs. However, other Bible references seem to imply that the ancient use of the term dragon (gr. drakonta) and its apparent Hebrew counterparts, leviathan or behemoth, were used to describe any sort of fearsome wild beasts.

What was the dragon? Revelation 12:9 tells us, when it says, ‘So, the huge dragon was thrown out. He is the first snake, the one who is called the Slanderer and Opposer, who is misleading the whole earth.’

So from the above, we see that this vision in Revelation identifies the dragon as ‘the Opposer’ and ‘the Slanderer,’ and it says that he was the first snake, the one who seduced Eve in the ‘Paradise of Delights’ (see Genesis 3:2).

The fact that the dragon is viewed as a snake with legs in religious legends throughout the world, testifies to the fact that people everywhere once believed in the Bible account in Genesis, and they also believed that when God cursed the snake to ‘travel on its chest and belly,’ it lost its legs.

It is interesting that dragons are also part of the folklore of Europe, for who hasn’t heard the story of St. George and the dragon. Yet, if you read that story, you’ll see that it is actually an allegory about man’s fight against sin and the Slanderer. So in that case, it refers to the original dragon, or the first creature of terror.

Notice that faithful Job asked God (at Job 7:12), ‘Am I the sea or the dragon that guards it?’ This view that a dragon guarded the edges of the seas was common throughout Europe until after the Sixteenth Century, for dragons were usually drawn at the edges of maps of seas during that time. Yet, the actual original reference may have been to animals and fish that men feared and didn’t understand (fearsome beasts), not snakes with legs.

However, notice how vividly Job described the Slanderer as the dragon at Job 26:12, 13, where we read, ‘By His strength He has settled the sea in its bed, and in His wisdom He’s filled it with whales. The bolts from the skies stand in awe of Him, and He’s ordered the death of the dragon that rebelled.’

We find a whole Chapter in Job (Chapter 41) that is obviously a description of the evil one, but has gone mistranslated for centuries, simply because its meaning has been misunderstood. Other Bibles speak of a leviathan or a behemoth here, and some of a crocodile. However, in the Septuagint, we find no name at all or any explanation, leaving us to guess what is being described.

It is unusual that some translators have thought that this creature was a crocodile, for crocodile is a Greek word that is easily recognized, since it is spelled almost the same as in English. There is one place where that word is found in the Law of Moses, at Leviticus 11:25, when listing animals that shouldn’t be eaten, and in that place, most Bibles also translate the word crocodile wrong.

Yet, if you read the text of Job 41, you’ll see an obvious reference to a fire-breathing dragon. For notice how verses 18-21 describe it: ‘His sneezing brings about brightness, and his eyes are like the morning star. From out of his mouth comes burning lamps, like the scattered grates of a fire. From out of his nostrils comes the smoke of a furnace, burning with the fire from coals. His life is much like live coals, and flames shoot from his mouth.’

At this point, critics could say the Bible was talking about a mythical dragon, and others would say that God is describing a wild ox. Yet, notice the further description in verses 31, 32: ‘He breaks from the abyss as though a brass cauldron; he thinks of the sea as his own ointment jar, and the abyss of Tartarus as his captive. For, to him the abyss just a promenade.’

If you examine these verses, you’ll see that God is using cryptic text to explain to Job just who is to blame for his problems. Yet, the word Tartarus (the place where evil gods are sent) isn’t found again in the Bible until the reference at 2 Peter 2:4, and the only mention of his coming out of his prison (pit or abyss) is found at Revelation 20:7.

Clearly, this second-to-the-last Chapter in Job, as in any good writing, brings back into play all the characters that the book started with.

Then, why did Jewish scribes and translators have so much trouble understanding this Chapter, that there are obvious deletions? There are four likely reasons:

· They didn’t believe in fire-breathing dragons

· They didn’t know that the Slanderer was the dragon

· They didn’t know of the Slanderer’s position in Tartarus or the pit

· A correct understanding would have linked the Book of Job to the Scriptures of the Christian era.

It is interesting that we again find mention of a dragon at Isaiah 27:1, where we read: ‘In that day, God will bring His great, holy, and strong sword against the dragon – the crooked and fleeing snake – and He will do away with the dragon, the one in the sea.’ This is an obvious reference to the destruction of the same dragon mentioned at Revelation 12:9 above, but it goes unnoticed in Hebrew texts, where the word leviathan is once more misunderstood. Of course, the word dragon is of Greek origin, so its use came after the Hebrew text was written; and regardless of popular (mis)conceptions, leviathan is probably its Hebrew equivalent.

What is particularly interesting about this scripture, is that it speaks of the dragon from the sea in the same words as found at Ezekiel 32:2, where the reference is obviously to the land of Egypt and to its destruction. And you will also find references to the land of Egypt in the song of Isaiah 26, 27. However, this song seems to speak of some future time when God’s people (Israel) are released from a symbolic Egypt at Armageddon, for notice the words of the prophecy found at Isaiah 26:19-21, which say:

‘We will not fall, though others will fall,
But the dead will be raised from their tombs.
Then all on the earth will be joyful,
For, as dew You’ll send them a cure,
While the lands of the godless will fall.

‘Proceed, O my people, to enter your bedrooms…
Go inside and lock your doors,
Then hide in there for a while!
Because this will happen, then that;
And the rage of Jehovah will pass.

‘{Look!} From His Holy Place Jehovah sends rage,
Upon those who live in the land.
Then the ground won’t cover all of the blood,
Nor [the bodies] of those He destroys.’

So, Egypt seems to be used here as a symbol of the godless nations that are destroyed in the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:16) and the dragon that represents them, appears to be the Opposer.

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Science and Inspiration

Especially in the book of Job do we find some amazingly accurate statements about our universe, which can be used to prove that portion of the Bible inspired and scientific. Note, for example, what is written at Job 26:7, ‘He stretches the north wind out on nothing, and on nothing He has hung the earth.’ And again, in verse 10, ‘By His order the face of the sea is round, from where light reaches to the darkness.’

Why, the fact that the earth is round and hung on nothing wasn’t really believed by most people until the time of Christopher Columbus, and the earth wasn’t truly proven round to some people until the time of space travel.

And notice the statement at Job 39:38, ‘Who poured out the powder that made the earth, and stuck it together like a block of stone?’

Science has just recently concluded that the earth, and much of the universe was formed by clouds of dust. So, is this inspiration or ancient wisdom? We simply don’t know, for none of these words were dissertations on scientific revelations; they were poetic discussions of the powers of God.

Remember that; many forms of art (including songs and poetry) are said to be inspired. And if we look at the meaning of that word (inspired), we can see that it means ‘breathed in,’ or that it comes from God. Can this be so, and can all works that are said to be inspired actually have God’s Breath as their source? We don’t know for sure, but we do know that all men received their breath (spirit) from God (the Breath of Life), so perhaps we all have a small portion of His power, which goes untapped until we strive for greatness. And perhaps prophetic words are enhanced when one searches for them in the power of verse or song.

Notice, for example, what EliHu said, as recorded at Job 32:8: ‘Yet, although there’s a spirit in humans, the Breath of the Almighty does the teaching.’ So, perhaps we all have some of God’s Spirit or Breath, which would explain the power that an unrighteous man such as BalaAm had.

For more information, see the linked documents, ‘The Bible’s Internal Proofs of its Authentic History,’ and ‘The Powers of God’s Holy Spirit.’

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