Psalm 136 - Job 4 - Job 5 - Job 6 - Job 7

Psalm 136

1Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good; For his loving kindness endures forever.

2Give thanks to the God of gods; For his loving kindness endures forever.

3Give thanks to the Lord of lords; For his loving kindness endures forever:

4To him who alone does great wonders; For his loving kindness endures forever:

5To him who by understanding made the heavens; For his loving kindness endures forever:

6To him who spread out the earth above the waters; For his loving kindness endures forever:

7To him who made the great lights; For his loving kindness endures forever:

8The sun to rule by day; For his loving kindness endures forever;

9The moon and stars to rule by night; For his loving kindness endures forever:

10To him who struck down the Egyptian firstborn; For his loving kindness endures forever;

11And brought out Israel from among them; For his loving kindness endures forever;

12With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm; For his loving kindness endures forever:

13To him who divided the Red Sea apart; For his loving kindness endures forever;

14And made Israel to pass through the midst of it; For his loving kindness endures forever;

15But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea; For his loving kindness endures forever:

16To him who led his people through the wilderness; For his loving kindness endures forever:

17To him who struck great kings; For his loving kindness endures forever;

18And killed mighty kings; For his loving kindness endures forever:

19Sihon king of the Amorites; For his loving kindness endures forever;

20Og king of Bashan; For his loving kindness endures forever;

21And gave their land as an inheritance; For his loving kindness endures forever;

22Even a heritage to Israel his servant; For his loving kindness endures forever:

23Who remembered us in our low estate; For his loving kindness endures forever;

24And has delivered us from our adversaries; For his loving kindness endures forever:

25Who gives food to every creature; For his loving kindness endures forever.

26Oh give thanks to the God of heaven; For his loving kindness endures forever.

The Wisdom of Israel

Job 4

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered, 2"If someone ventures to talk with you, will you be grieved? But who can withhold himself from speaking? 3Behold, you have instructed many, You have strengthened the weak hands. 4Your words have supported him who was falling, You have made firm the feeble knees. 5But now it is come to you, and you faint; It touches you, and you are troubled. 6Isn't your piety your confidence, The integrity of your ways your hope? 7"Remember, now, whoever perished, being innocent? Or where were the upright cut off? 8According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity, And sow trouble, Reap the same. 9By the breath of God they perish, By the blast of his anger are they consumed. 10The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, The teeth of the young lions, are broken. 11The old lion perishes for lack of prey, The cubs of the lioness are scattered abroad. 12"Now a thing was secretly brought to me, My ear received a whisper of it. 13In thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, 14Fear came on me, and trembling, Which made all my bones shake. 15Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair of my flesh stood up. 16It stood still, but I couldn't discern the appearance of it; A form was before my eyes. Silence, then I heard a voice, saying, 17'Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his Maker? 18Behold, he puts no trust in his servants. He charges his angels with error. 19How much more, those who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth! 20Between morning and evening they are destroyed. They perish forever without any regarding it. 21Isn't their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die, and that without wisdom.'

Job 5

1"Call now; is there any who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn? 2For resentment kills the foolish man, And jealousy kills the simple. 3I have seen the foolish taking root, But suddenly I cursed his habitation. 4His children are far from safety, They are crushed in the gate. Neither is there any to deliver them, 5Whose harvest the hungry eats up, And take it even out of the thorns; The snare gapes for their substance. 6For affliction doesn't come forth from the dust, Neither does trouble spring out of the ground; 7But man is born to trouble, As the sparks fly upward. 8"But as for me, I would seek God, To God would I commit my cause; 9Who does great things that can't be fathomed, Marvelous things without number; 10Who gives rain on the earth, And sends waters on the fields; 11So that he sets up on high those who are low, Those who mourn are exalted to safety. 12He frustrates the devices of the crafty, So that their hands can't perform their enterprise. 13He takes the wise in their own craftiness; The counsel of the cunning is carried headlong. 14They meet with darkness in the day-time, And grope at noonday as in the night. 15But he saves from the sword of their mouth, Even the needy from the hand of the mighty. 16So the poor has hope, And injustice shuts her mouth. 17"Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects: Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. 18For he wounds, and binds up; He injures, and his hands make whole. 19He will deliver you in six troubles; Yes, in seven there shall no evil touch you. 20In famine he will redeem you from death; In war, from the power of the sword. 21You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, Neither shall you be afraid of destruction when it comes. 22At destruction and famine you shall laugh, Neither shall you be afraid of the animals of the earth. 23For you shall be in league with the stones of the field. The animals of the field shall be at peace with you. 24You shall know that your tent is in peace. You shall visit your fold, and shall miss nothing. 25You shall know also that your seed shall be great, Your offspring as the grass of the earth. 26You shall come to your grave in a full age, Like a shock of grain comes in its season. 27Look this, we have searched it, so it is; Hear it, and know it for your good."

Job 6

1Then Job answered, 2"Oh that my anguish were weighed, And all my calamity laid in the balances! 3For now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas, Therefore have my words been rash. 4For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, My spirit drinks up their poison. The terrors of God set themselves in array against me. 5Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass? Or does the ox low over his fodder? 6Can that which has no flavor be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg? 7My soul refuses to touch them; They are as loathsome food to me. 8"Oh that I might have my request; That God would grant the thing that I long for! 9Even that it would please God to crush me; That he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! 10Be it still my consolation, Yes, let me exult in pain that doesn't spare, That I have not denied the words of the Holy One. 11What is my strength, that I should wait? What is my end, that I should be patient? 12Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh of brass? 13Isn't it that I have no help in me, That wisdom is driven quite from me? 14"To him who is ready to faint, kindness should be shown from his friend; Even to him who forsakes the fear of the Almighty. 15My brothers have dealt deceitfully as a brook, As the channel of brooks that pass away; 16Which are black by reason of the ice, in which the snow hides itself: 17In the dry season, they vanish. When it is hot, they are consumed out of their place. 18The caravans that travel beside them turn aside; They go up into the waste, and perish. 19The caravans of Tema looked, The companies of Sheba waited for them. 20They were distressed because they were confident; They came there, and were confounded. 21For now you are nothing. You see a terror, and are afraid. 22Did I say, 'Give to me?' Or, 'Offer a present for me from your substance?' 23Or, 'Deliver me from the adversary's hand?' Or, 'Redeem me from the hand of the oppressors?' 24"Teach me, and I will hold my peace; Cause me to understand wherein I have erred. 25How forcible are words of uprightness! But your reproof, what does it reprove? 26Do you intend to reprove words, Seeing that the speeches of one who is desperate are as wind? 27Yes, you would even cast lots for the fatherless, And make merchandise of your friend. 28Now therefore be pleased to look at me, For surely I shall not lie to your face. 29Please return. Let there be no injustice; Yes, return again, my cause is righteous. 30Is there injustice on my tongue? Can't my taste discern mischievous things?

Job 7

1"Isn't a man forced to labor on earth? Aren't his days like the days of a hired hand? 2As a servant who earnestly desires the shadow, As a hireling who looks for his wages, 3So am I made to possess months of misery, Wearisome nights are appointed to me. 4When I lie down, I say, 'When shall I arise, and the night be gone?' I toss and turn until the dawning of the day. 5My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust. My skin closes up, and breaks out afresh. 6My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, And are spent without hope. 7Oh remember that my life is a breath. My eye shall no more see good. 8The eye of him who sees me shall see me no more. Your eyes shall be on me, but I shall not be. 9As the cloud is consumed and vanishes away, So he who goes down to Sheol shall come up no more. 10He shall return no more to his house, Neither shall his place know him any more. 11"Therefore I will not keep silent. I will speak in the anguish of my spirit. I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 12Am I a sea, or a sea-monster, That you put a guard over me? 13When I say, 'My bed shall comfort me, My couch shall ease my complaint;' 14Then you scar me with dreams, And terrify me through visions: 15So that my soul chooses strangling, Death rather than my bones. 16I loathe my life. I don't want to live forever. Leave me alone; for my days are but a breath. 17What is man, that you should magnify him, That you should set your mind on him, 18That you should visit him every morning, And test him every moment? 19How long will you not look away from me, Nor leave me alone until I swallow down my spittle? 20If I have sinned, what do I do to you, you watcher of men? Why have you set me as a mark for you, So that I am a burden to myself? 21Why do you not pardon my disobedience, and take away my iniquity? For now shall I lie down in the dust. You will seek me diligently, but I shall not be."