(Job 1

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1 (Job 1:5) Job 1 — AMP 1 THERE WAS a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who [reverently] feared God and abstained from and shunned evil [because it was wrong]. 2 And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very great body of servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the East. 4 His sons used to go and feast in the house of each on his day (birthday) in turn, and they invited their three sisters to eat and drink with them. [Gen. 21:8; 40:20.] 5 And when the days of their feasting were over, Job sent for them to purify and hallow them, and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed or disowned God in their hearts. Thus did Job at all [such] times. 6 Now there was a day when the sons (the angels) of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (the adversary and accuser) also came among them. [Rev. 12:10.] 7 And the Lord said to Satan, From where did you come? Then Satan answered the Lord, From going to and fro on the earth and from walking up and down on it. 8 And the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who [reverently] fears God and abstains from and shuns evil [because it is wrong]? 9 Then Satan answered the Lord, Does Job [reverently] fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not put a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have conferred prosperity and happiness upon him in the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has, and he will curse You to Your face. 12 And the Lord said to Satan (the adversary and the accuser), Behold, all that he has is in your power, only upon the man himself put not forth your hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. 13 And there was a day when [Job's] sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house [on his birthday], 14 And there came a messenger to Job and said, The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 And the Sabeans swooped down upon them and took away [the animals]. Indeed, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you. 16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, The fire of God (lightning) has fallen from the heavens and has burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you. 17 While he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, The Chaldeans divided into three bands and made a raid upon the camels and have taken them away, yes, and have slain the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you. 18 While he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house, 19 And behold, there came a great [whirlwind] from the desert, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.


20 Then Job arose and rent his robe and shaved his head and fell down upon the ground and worshiped 21 And said, Naked (without possessions) came I [into this world] from my mother's womb, and naked (without possessions) shall I depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed (praised and magnified in worship) be the name of the Lord! 22 In all this Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly. Cross References sanctified: Job_41:25; Gen_35:2-3; Exo_19:10; 1Sa_16:5; Neh_12:30; Joh_11:55 rose up: Gen_22:3; Psa_5:3; Ecc_9:10 offered: Job_42:8; Gen_8:20; Exo_18:12, Exo_24:5; Lev_1:3-6 according: 1Ki_18:31; Act_21:26 It may be: 2Co_11:2 cursed: Job_1:11, Job_2:9; Lev_24:10-16; 1Ki_21:10, 1Ki_21:13 in their hearts: Gen_6:5; Jer_4:14, Jer_17:9-10; Mar_7:21-23; Act_8:22; 1Co_4:5 Thus: Job_27:10 continually: Heb. all the days, Luk_1:75, Luk_18:7; Eph_6:18 Job 1:5 — Barnes And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about - Dr. Good renders this, "as the days of such banquets returned." But this is not the idea intended. It is, when the banquets had gone round as in a circle through all the families, "then" Job sent and sanctified them. It was not from an anticipation that they "would" do wrong, but it was from the apprehension that they "might" have sinned. The word rendered "were gone about" (‫קף‬ ַ ָ ‫ נ‬naqaph) ̂ means properly to join together, and then to move round in a circle, to revolve, as festivals do; see the notes at Isa_29:1: "Let the festivals go round." Here it means that the days of their banqueting had gone round the circle, or had gone round the several families. Septuagint "When the days of the entertainment (or drinking, ποτου ́ potou) were finished." A custom of feasting similar to this prevails in China. "They have their fraternities which they call the brotherhood of the months; this consists of months according to the number of the days therein, and in a circle they go abroad to eat at one another's houses by turns. If one man has not conveniences to receive the fraternity in his own house, he may provide for them in another; and there are many public houses well furnished for this purpose." See Semedo's History of China, i chapter 13, as quoted by Burder in Rosenmüller's Morgenland. "in loc." That Job sent - Sent for them, and called them around him. He was apprehensive that they might have erred, and he took every measure to keep them pure, and to maintain the influence of religion in his family.


And sanctified them - This expression, says Schultens, is capable of two interpretations. It may either mean that he "prepared" them by various lustrations, ablutions, and other ceremonies to offer sacrifice; or that he offered sacrifices for the purpose of procuring expiation for sins which they might actually have committed. The former sense, he remarks, is favored by the use of the word in Exo_19:10; 1Sa_16:5, where the word means to prepare themselves by ablutions to meet God and to worship him. The latter sense is demanded by the connection. Job felt as every father should feel in such circumstances, that there was reason to fear that God had not been remembered as he ought to have been, and he was therefore more fervent in his devotions, and called them around him, that their own minds might be affected in view of his pious solicitude. What father is there who loves God, and who feels anxious that his children should also, who does not feel special solicitude if his sons and his daughters are in a situation where successive days are devoted to feasting and mirth? The word here rendered "sanctified" (‫קַדש‬ ָ qadash) ̂ means properly to be pure, clean, holy; in Pihel, the form used here, to make holy, to sanctify, to consecrate, as a priest; and here it means, that he took measures to make them holy on the apprehension that they had sinned; that is, he took the usual means to procure for them forgiveness. The Septuagint renders it εκαθαριζεν ̓ ́ ekatharizen, he purified them. And rose up early in the morning - For the purpose of offering his devotions, and procuring for them expiation. It was customary in the patriarchal times to offer sacrifice early in the morning. See Gen_22:3; Exo_32:6. And offered burnt-offerings - Hebrew "and caused to ascend;" that is, by burning them so that the smoke ascended toward heaven. The word rendered "burnt-offerings" (‫לה‬ ָ ‫‛ עו‬olah) ̂ ̂ is from ‫לה‬ ָ ‫ע‬ ָ ‛alah, ̂ ̂ "to ascend" (the word used here and rendered "offered"), and means that which was made to ascend, to wit, by burning. It is applied in the Scriptures to a sacrifice that was wholly consumed on the altar, and answers to the Greek word οʽλοκαυστον ́ holokauston, "Holocaust." See the notes at Isa_1:11. Such offerings in the patriarchal times were made by the father of a family, officiating as priest in behalf of his household. Thus, Noah officiated, Gen_8:20; and thus also Abraham acted as the priest to offer sacrifice, Gen_12:7-8; Gen_13:18; Gen_22:13. In the earliest times, and among pagan nations, it was supposed that pardon might be procured for sin by offering sacrifice. In Homer there is a passage which remarkably corresponds with the view of Job before us; Iliad 9:493: The gods (the great and only wise) Are moved by offerings, vows, and sacrifice; Offending man their high compassion wins, And daily prayers atone for daily sins. POPE According to the number of them all - Sons and daughters. Perhaps an additional sacrifice for each one of them. The Septuagint renders this, "according to their numbers, καί μοσχον ́ εʽ́να περὶ αʽμαπτιας ́ περὶ τω ν ψυχω ν αυτω ̓ ν kai moschon hena peri hamartias peri ton̄ psuchon̄ auton̄ - a


young bullock for sin or a sin-offeringfor their souls." It may be that my sons have sinned - He had no positive or certain proof of it. He felt only the natural apprehension which every pious father must, that his sons might have been overtaken by temptation, and perhaps, under the influence of wine, might have been led to speak reproachfully of God, and of the necessary restraints of true religion and virtue. And cursed God in their hearts - The word here rendered curse is that which is usually rendered "bless" ְ ‫ בָר ַך‬barak. ̄ It is not a little remarkable that the same word is used in senses so directly opposite as to "bless" and "to curse." Dr. Good contends that the word should be always rendered "bless," and so translates it in this place, "peradventure my sons may have sinned, "nor" blessed God in their hearts," understanding the Hebrew prefix ‫( ו‬v) as a disjunctive or negative participle. So too in Job_2:9, rendered in our common translation, "curse God and die," he translates it, "blessing God and dying." But the interpretation which the connection demands is evidently that of cursing, renouncing, or forgetting; and so also it is in Job_2:9. This sense is still more obvious in 1Ki_21:10: "Thou didst "blaspheme" ְ ‫ בָר ַך‬barak ̄ God and the king." So also 1Ki_21:13 of the same chapter - though here Dr. Good contends that the word should be rendered "bless," and that the accusation was that Naboth "blessed" or worshipped the gods, even Moloch - where he supposes the word ְ ‫מלֶך‬ ֶ melek, should be pointed ְ ‫מל ֶך‬ ֹ molek ̂ and read "Molech." But the difficulty is not removed by this, and after all it is probable that the word here, as in Job_2:9, means to "curse." So it is understood by nearly all interpreters. The Vulgate indeed renders it singularly enough, "Lest perhaps my sons have sinned, and have blessed God (et benedixerint Deo) in their hearts." The Septuagint, "Lest perhaps my sons in their mind have thought evil toward God" - κακὰ ενεοησαν ̓ ́ προς̀ Θεον́ kaka enenoesan ̄ pros Theon. The Chaldee, "Lest my sons have sinned and provoked YAHWEH ( ‫ )יהוה וארגיזדקדם‬in their hearts." Assuming that this is the sense of the word here, there are three ways of accounting for the fact that the same word should have such opposite significations. (1) One is that proposed by Taylor (Concor.), that pious persons of old regarded blasphemy as so abominable that they abhorred to express it by the proper name, and that therefore by an "euphemism" they used the term "bless" instead of "curse." But it should be said that nothing is more common in the Scriptures than words denoting cursing and blasphemy. The word ‫לה‬ ָ ‫' א‬alah, ̂ ̂ in the sense of cursing or execrating, occurs frequently. So the word ‫ ג ַָדף‬gadaph, ̂ means to blaspheme, and is often used; 2Ki_19:6, 2Ki_19:22; Isa_37:6, Isa_37:23; Psa_44:16. Other words also were used in the same sense, and there was no necessity of using a mere "euphemism" here. (2) A second mode of accounting for this double use of the word is. that this was the common term of salutation between friends at meeting and parting. It is then supposed to have been used in the sense of the English phrase "to bid farewell to." And then, like that phrase, to mean "to renounce, to abandon, to dismiss from the mind, to disregard." The words χαιρειν ́ chairein, in Greek, and "valere" in Latin, are used in this way. This explanation is suggested by Schultens, and is adopted by Rosenmüller and Noyes, who refer to the following places as parallel instances of the use of the word. Virg. Ecl. 8, 58. "Vivite Sylvoe" - a form, says the Annotator on Virgil (Delphin), of bidding farewell to, like the Greek χαιρετε ́ chairete - "a form used against those whom we reject with hatred, and wish to depart." Thus, Catull. 11. 17: Cum suis vivat, valeatque


moechis. So Aesch. Agam. 574: Καὶ πολλὰ χαιρειν ́ ξυμφοραι ς καταξιω Kai polla chairein cumforais katacio.̄ Thus, Plutarch, Dion. p. 975. So Cicero in a letter to Atticus (Psa_8:8), in which he complains of the disgraceful flight of Pompey, applies to him a quotation from Aristophanes; πολλὰ χαιρειν ́ ειπων ̓ ̀ τω ͅ καλω ͅ polla chairein eipon̄ tō kalō - "bidding farewell to honour he fled to Brundusium;" compare Ter. And. 4:2. 14. Cicero de Nat. Deor. 1. 44. According to this interpretation, it means that Job apprehended they had renounced God in their hearts. that is, had been unmindful of him, and had withheld from him the homage which was due. - This is plausible: but the difficulty is in making out the use of this sense of the word in Hebrew. That the word was used as a mode of "parting salutation" among the Hebrews is undoubted. It was a solemn form of invoking the divine blessing when friends separated; compare Gen_28:3; Gen_47:10. But I find no use of the word where it is applied to separation in the sense of "renouncing," or bidding farewell to "in a bad sense;" and unless some instances of this kind can be adduced, the interpretation is unsound, and though similar phrases are used in Greek, Latin, and other languages, it does not demonstrate that this use of the word obtained in the Hebrew. (3) A third, and more simple explanation is that which supposes that the original sense of the word was "to kneel." This, according to Gesenius, is the meaning of the word in Arabic. So Castell gives the meaning of the word - "to bend the knees for the sake of honour;" that is, as an act of respect. So in Syriac, "Genua flexit̂ procubuit." So "Genu." the "knee." Then it means to bend the knee for the purpose of invoking God, or worshipping. In the Piel, the form used here, it means (1) to bless God, to celebrate, to adore; (2) to bless men - that is, to "invoke" blessings on them; to greet or salute them - in the sense of invoking blessings on them when we meet them; 1Sa_15:13; Gen_47:7; 2Sa_6:20; or when we part from them; Gen_47:10; 1Ki_8:66; Gen_24:60; (3) to "invoke evil," in the sense of "cursing others." The idea is, that punishment or destruction is from God, and hence, it is "imprecated" on others. In one word, the term is used, as derived from the general sense of kneeling, in the sense of "invoking" either blessings or curses; and then in the general sense of blessing or cursing. This interpretation is defended by Selden, de jure Nat. et Gent. Lib. II. 100:11:p. 255, and by Gesenius, Lexicon. The idea here is, that Job apprehended that his sons, in the midst of mirth, and perhaps revelry, had been guilty of irreverence, and perhaps of reproaching God inwardly for the restraints of virtue and piety. What is more common in such scenes? What was more to be apprehended? Thus did Job continually - It was his regular habit whenever such an occasion occurred. He was unremitted in his pious care; and his solicitude lest his sons should have sinned never ceased - a beautiful illustration of the appropriate feelings of a pious father in regard to his sons. The Hebrew is, "all day;" that is, at all times.


Alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet, as Omega is the last. These letters occur in the text of Rev_1:8, Rev_1:11; Rev_21:6; Rev_22:13, and are represented by "Alpha" and "Omega" respectively (omitted in R.V., Rev_1:11). They mean "the first and last." (Compare Heb_12:2; Isa_41:4; Isa_44:6; Rev_1:11, Rev_1:17; Rev_2:8.) In the symbols of the early Christian Church these two letters are frequently combined with the cross or with Christ's monogram to denote his divinity. H1 — Strong ‫אב‬

'ab̂ awb A primitive word; father in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote application: - chief, (fore-) father ([-less]), X patrimony, principal. Compare names in "Abi-" Lineage of — Exo_6:16-20; Jos_21:4; Jos_21:10; 1Ch_6:2-3; 1Ch_23:13 Marriage of — Exo_6:23 Children of — Exo_6:23; Exo_6:25; 1Ch_6:3; 1Ch_24:1-2 Descendants of — Exo_6:23; Exo_6:25; 1Ch_6:3-15; 1Ch_6:50-53; 1Ch_24:1-31 Meets Moses in the wilderness and is made spokesman for Moses — Exo_4:14-16; Exo_4:2731; Exo_7:1-2 Inspiration of — Exo_12:1; Lev_10:8; Lev_11:1; Lev_13:1; Lev_15:1; Num_2:1; Num_4:1; Num_4:17; Num_18:1; Num_19:1; Num_20:12 Commissioned as a deliverer of Israel — Exo_6:13; Exo_6:26-27; Jos_24:5; 1Sa_12:8; Psa_77:20; Psa_105:26; Mic_6:4 Summoned to Sinai with Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders — Exo_19:24; Exo_24:1; Exo_24:910 Priesthood of — Exo_28:1; Exo_29:9; Num_17:1-13; Num_18:1; Psa_99:6; Heb_5:4 Consecration of, to the priesthood — Ex 28-29; Lev_8:1-36 Enters upon the priestly office — Lev_9:1-24 – See Priest, High Descendants of, ordained priests forever — Exo_28:40-43; Exo_29:9; Num_3:3; Num_18:1; 1Ch_23:13; 2Ch_26:18


Judges Israel in the absence of Moses — Exo_24:14 Makes the golden calf — Exo_32:1-35; Act_7:40; Deu_9:20-21 Rod of, buds — Num_17:1-13; Heb_9:4 Rod of, preserved — Num_17:1-13; Heb_9:4 Murmured against, by the people — Exo_5:20-21; Exo_16:2-10; Num_14:2-5; Num_14:10; Num_16:3-11; Num_16:41; Num_20:2; Psa_106:16 Places pot of manna in the ark — Exo_16:34 With Hur supports the hands of Moses during battle — Exo_17:12 His benedictions upon the people — Lev_9:22; Num_6:23 Forbidden to mourn the death of his sons, Nadab and Abihu — Lev_10:6; Lev_10:19 Intercedes for Miriam — Num_12:11-12 Stays the plague by priestly intercession — Num_16:46-48 Jealous of Moses — Num_12:1 His presumption, when the rock is smitten — Num_20:10-12 Not permitted to enter Canaan — Num_20:12; Num_20:23-29 Age of, at death — Exo_7:7; Num_33:38-39 Death and burial of — Num_20:27-28; Deu_10:6; Deu_32:50 Character of — Psa_106:16

Job 1:1-22 1 There happened to be a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man proved to be blameless and upright, and fearing God and turning aside from bad. 2 And seven sons and three daughters came to be born to him. 3 And his livestock got to be seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels and five hundred spans of cattle and five hundred she-asses, along with a very large body of servants; and that man came to be the greatest of all the Orientals.


4 And his sons went and held a banquet at the house of each one on his own day; and they sent and invited their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And it would occur that when the banquet days had gone round the circuit, Job would send and sanctify them; and he got up early in the morning and offered up burnt sacrifices according to the number of all of them; for, said Job, “maybe my sons have sinned and have cursed God in their heart.” That is the way Job would do always. 6 Now it came to be the day when the sons of the [true] God entered to take their station before Jehovah, and even Satan proceeded to enter right among them. 7 Then Jehovah said to Satan: “Where do you come from?” At that Satan answered Jehovah and said: “From roving about in the earth and from walking about in it.” 8 And Jehovah went on to say to Satan: “Have you set your heart upon my servant Job, that there is no one like him in the earth, a man blameless and upright, fearing God and turning aside from bad?” 9 At that Satan answered Jehovah and said: “Is it for nothing that Job has feared God? 10 Have not you yourself put up a hedge about him and about his house and about everything that he has all around? The work of his hands you have blessed, and his livestock itself has spread abroad in the earth. 11 But, for a change, thrust out your hand, please, and touch everything he has [and see] whether he will not curse you to your very face.” 12 Accordingly Jehovah said to Satan: “Look! Everything that he has is in your hand. Only against him himself do not thrust out your hand!” So Satan went out away from the person of Jehovah. 13 Now it came to be the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their brother the firstborn. 14 And there came a messenger to Job, and he proceeded to say: “The cattle themselves happened to be plowing and the she-asses were grazing at the side of them 15 when the Sa·be´ans came making a raid and taking them, and the attendants they struck down with the edge of the sword; and I got to escape, only I by myself, to tell you.” 16 While this one was yet speaking that one came and proceeded to say: “The very fire of God fell from the heavens and went blazing among the sheep and the attendants and eating them up; and I got to escape, only I by myself, to tell you.” 17 While that one was yet speaking another one came and proceeded to say: “The Chal·de´ans made up three bands and went dashing against the camels and taking them, and the attendants they struck down with the edge of the sword; and I got to escape, only I by myself, to tell you.” 18 While this other one was yet speaking, still another one came and proceeded to say: “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their brother the firstborn. 19 And, look! there came a great wind from the region of the wilderness, and it went striking the four corners of the house, so that it fell upon the young people and they died. And I got to escape, only I by myself, to tell you.” 20 And Job proceeded to get up and rip his sleeveless coat apart and cut the hair off his head and fall to the earth and bow down 21 and say: “Naked I came out of my mother’s belly,


And naked shall I return there. Jehovah himself has given, and Jehovah himself has taken away. Let the name of Jehovah continue to be blessed.” 22 In all this Job did not sin or ascribe anything improper to God. New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures TopPrevious chapterNext chapter Home | Beliefs | Future | Medical | Topics | Contact Us | Publications | Languages | Search | Index

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Job 38:1-41 1 And Jehovah proceeded to answer Job out of the windstorm and say: 2 “Who is this that is obscuring counsel By words without knowledge? 3 Gird up your loins, please, like an able-bodied man, And let me question you, and you inform me. 4 Where did you happen to be when I founded the earth? Tell [me], if you do know understanding. 5 Who set its measurements, in case you know, Or who stretched out upon it the measuring line? 6 Into what have its socket pedestals been sunk down, Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When the morning stars joyfully cried out together, And all the sons of God began shouting in applause? 8 And [who] barricaded the sea with doors, Which began to go forth as when it burst out from the womb; 9 When I put the cloud as its garment


And thick gloom as its swaddling band, 10 And I proceeded to break up my regulation upon it And to set a bar and doors, 11 And I went on to say, ‘This far you may come, and no farther; And here your proud waves are limited’? 12 Was it from your days onward that you commanded the morning? Did you cause the dawn to know its place, 13 To take hold on the extremities of the earth, That the wicked ones might be shaken out from it? 14 It transforms itself like clay under a seal, And things take their station as in clothing. 15 And from the wicked ones their light is held back, And the high arm itself gets broken. 16 Have you come to the sources of the sea, Or in search of the watery deep have you walked about? 17 Have the gates of death been uncovered to you, Or the gates of deep shadow can you see? 18 Have you intelligently considered the broad spaces of the earth? Tell, if you have come to know it all. 19 Where, now, is the way to where light resides? As for darkness, where, now, is its place, 20 That you should take it to its boundary And that you should understand the roadways to its house? 21 Have you come to know because at that time you were being born, And [because] in number your days are many? 22 Have you entered into the storehouses of the snow, Or do you see even the storehouses of the hail, 23 Which I have kept back for the time of distress, For the day of fight and war? 24 Where, now, is the way by which the light distributes itself, [And] the east wind scatters about upon the earth?


25 Who has divided a channel for the flood And a way for the thunderous storm cloud, 26 To make it rain upon the land where there is no man, [Upon] the wilderness in which there is no earthling man, 27 To satisfy storm-stricken and desolate places And to cause the growth of grass to sprout? 28 Does there exist a father for the rain, Or who gave birth to the dewdrops? 29 Out of whose belly does the ice actually come forth, And as for the hoarfrost of heaven, who indeed brings it to birth? 30 The very waters keep themselves hidden as by stone, And the surface of the watery deep makes itself compact. 31 Can you tie fast the bonds of the Ki´mah constellation, Or can you loosen the very cords of the Ke´sil constellation? 32 Can you bring forth the Maz´za·roth constellation in its appointed time? And as for the Ash constellation alongside its sons, can you conduct them? 33 Have you come to know the statutes of the heavens, Or could you put its authority in the earth? 34 Can you raise your voice even to the cloud, So that a heaving mass of water itself may cover you? 35 Can you send forth lightnings that they may go And say to you, ‘Here we are!’? Job 41:1-34 1 “Can you draw out Le·vi´a·than with a fishhook, Or with a rope can you hold down its tongue? 2 Can you put a rush in its nostrils, Or with a thorn can you bore its jaws? 3 Will it make many entreaties to you, Or will it say soft words to you? 4 Will it conclude a covenant with you, That you may take it as a slave to time indefinite?


5 Will you play with it as with a bird, Or will you tie it for your young girls? 6 Will partners barter for it? Will they divide it up among tradesmen? 7 Will you fill its skin with harpoons, Or its head with fish spears? 8 Put your hand upon it. Remember the battle. Do not do it again. 9 Look! One’s expectation about it will certainly be disappointed. One will also be hurled down at the mere sight of it. 10 None is so audacious that he should stir it up. And who is it that can hold his ground before me? 11 Who has given me something first, that I ought to reward him? Under the whole heavens it is mine. 12 I shall not keep silent about its parts Or the matter of [its] mightiness and the grace of its proportions. 13 Who has uncovered the face of its clothing? Into its double jaw who will enter? 14 The doors of its face who has opened? Its teeth round about are frightful. 15 Furrows of scales are its haughtiness, Closed as with a tight seal. 16 One to the other they fit closely, And not even air can come in between them. 17 Each one to the other they are stuck together; They grasp one another and cannot be separated. 18 Its very sneezings flash forth light, And its eyes are like the beams of dawn. 19 Out of its mouth there go lightning flashes, Even sparks of fire make their escape. 20 Out of its nostrils smoke goes forth,


Like a furnace set aflame even with rushes. 21 Its soul itself sets coals ablaze, And even a flame goes forth out of its mouth. 22 In its neck lodges strength, And before it despair leaps. 23 The folds of its flesh do cling together; They are as a casting upon it, immovable. 24 Its heart is cast like stone, Yes, cast like a lower millstone. 25 Due to its rising up the strong get frightened; Due to consternation they get bewildered. 26 Overtaking it, the sword itself does not prove equal, Nor spear, dart or arrowhead. 27 It regards iron as mere straw, Copper as mere rotten wood. 28 An arrow does not chase it away; The slingstones have been changed for it into mere stubble. 29 A club has been regarded [by it] as mere stubble, And it laughs at the rattling of a javelin. 30 As pointed earthenware fragments are its underparts; It spreads out a threshing instrument upon the mire. 31 It causes the depths to boil just like a pot; It makes the very sea like an ointment pot. 32 Behind itself it makes a pathway shine; One would regard the watery deep as gray-headedness. 33 Upon the dust there is not the like of it, The one made to be without terror. 34 Everything high it sees. It is king over all majestic wild beasts.� New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures TopPrevious chapterNext chapter


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Copyright © 2006 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved. 36 Who put wisdom in the cloud layers, Or who gave understanding to the sky phenomenon? 37 Who can exactly number the clouds in wisdom, Or the water jars of heaven—who can tip [them] over, 38 When the dust pours out as into a molten mass, And the clods of earth themselves get stuck together? 39 Can you hunt prey for a lion itself And can you satisfy the lively appetite of young lions, 40 When they crouch in the hiding places, [Or] keep lying in the covert for an ambush? 41 Who prepares for the raven its food When its own young ones cry to God for help, [When] they keep wandering about because there is nothing to eat? New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures TopPrevious chapterNext chapter Home | Beliefs | Future | Medical | Topics | Contact Us | Publications | Languages | Search | Index

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Job 42:1-17 1 And Job proceeded to answer Jehovah and say: 2 “I have come to know that you are able to do all things, And there is no idea that is unattainable for you. 3 ‘Who is this that is obscuring counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I talked, but I was not understanding


Things too wonderful for me, which I do not know. 4 ‘Hear, please, and I myself shall speak. I shall question you, and you inform me.’ 5 In hearsay I have heard about you, But now my own eye does see you. 6 That is why I make a retraction, And I do repent in dust and ashes.” 7 And it came about after Jehovah had spoken these words to Job, that Jehovah proceeded to say to El´i·phaz the Te´man·ite: “My anger has grown hot against you and your two companions, for YOU men have not spoken concerning me what is truthful as has my servant Job. 8 And now take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job, and YOU men must offer up a burnt sacrifice in YOUR own behalf; and Job my servant will himself pray for YOU. His face only I shall accept so as not to commit disgraceful folly with YOU, for YOU have not spoken concerning me what is truthful, as has my servant Job.” 9 Accordingly El´i·phaz the Te´man·ite and Bil´dad the Shu´hite [and] Zo´phar the Na´a·ma·thite went and did just as Jehovah had spoken to them; and so Jehovah accepted Job’s face. 10 And Jehovah himself turned back the captive condition of Job when he prayed in behalf of his companions, and Jehovah began to give in addition all that had been Job’s, in double amount. 11 And there kept coming to him all his brothers and all his sisters and all those formerly knowing him, and they began to eat bread with him in his house and to sympathize with him and to comfort him over all the calamity that Jehovah had let come upon him; and they proceeded each one to give him a piece of money and each one a gold ring. 12 As for Jehovah, he blessed the end of Job afterward more than his beginning, so that he came to have fourteen thousand sheep and six thousand camels and a thousand spans of cattle and a thousand she-asses. 13 He also came to have seven sons and three daughters. 14 And he went calling the name of the first Je·mi´mah and the name of the second Ke·zi´ah and the name of the third Ker´en-hap´puch. 15 And no women were found as pretty as Job’s daughters in all the land, and their father proceeded to give them an inheritance in among their brothers. 16 And Job continued living after this a hundred and forty years and came to see his sons and his grandsons—four generations. 17 And gradually Job died, old and satisfied with days. New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures TopPrevious chapterNext chapter Home | Beliefs | Future | Medical | Topics | Contact Us | Publications | Languages | Search | Index


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Job 40:1-24 1 And Jehovah proceeded to answer Job and say: 2 “Should there be any contending of a faultfinder with the Almighty? Let the reprover of God himself answer it.” 3 And Job went on to answer Jehovah and say: 4 “Look! I have become of little account. What shall I reply to you? My hand I have put over my mouth. 5 Once have I spoken, and I will not answer; And twice, and I will add nothing.” 6 And Jehovah went on to answer Job out of the windstorm and say: 7 “Gird up your loins, please, like an able-bodied man; I shall question you, and you inform me. 8 Really, will you invalidate my justice? Will you pronounce me wicked in order that you may be in the right? 9 Or do you have an arm like that of the [true] God, And with a voice like his can you make it thunder? 10 Deck yourself, please, with superiority and highness; And with dignity and splendor may you clothe yourself. 11 Let flow the furious outbursts of your anger, And see every one haughty and bring him low. 12 See every one haughty, humble him, And tread down the wicked right where they are. 13 Hide them together in the dust, Bind their very faces in the hidden place, 14 And I, even I, shall commend you, Because your right hand can save you.


15 Here, now, is Be·he´moth that I have made as well as you. Green grass it eats just as a bull does. 16 Here, now, its power is in its hips, And its dynamic energy in the tendons of its belly. 17 It bends down its tail like a cedar; The sinews of its thighs are interwoven. 18 Its bones are tubes of copper; Its strong bones are like wrought-iron rods. 19 It is the beginning of the ways of God; Its Maker can bring near his sword. 20 For the mountains themselves bear their produce for it, And all the wild beasts of the field themselves play there. 21 Under the thorny lotus trees it lies down, In the concealed place of reeds and the swampy place. 22 The thorny lotus trees keep it blocked off with their shadow; The poplars of the torrent valley surround it. 23 If the river acts violently, it does not run in panic. It is confident, although the Jordan should burst forth against its mouth. 24 Before its eyes can anyone take it? With snares can anyone bore [its] nose? New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures TopPrevious chapterNext chapter Home | Beliefs | Future | Medical | Topics | Contact Us | Publications | Languages | Search | Index

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