Study Desk

"For I know that my Redeemer and Vindicator lives, And at the last He will take His stand upon the earth.

Whom I, even I, will see for myself, And my eyes will see Him and not another! My heart faints within me.

"If you say, 'How shall we [continue to] persecute him?' And 'What pretext for a case against him can we find [since we claim the root of these afflictions is found in him]?'

"Then beware and be afraid of the sword [of divine vengeance] for yourselves, For wrathful are the punishments of that sword, So that you may know there is judgment."

That the triumphing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the godless is only for a moment?

"He gives back what he has labored for and attained And cannot swallow it [down to enjoy it]; As to the riches of his labor, He cannot even enjoy them.

"For he has oppressed and neglected the poor; He has violently taken away houses which he did not build.

Complete darkness (misfortune) is held in reserve for his treasures. An unfanned fire will devour him; It will consume the survivor in his tent.

"As for me, is my complaint to man or about him? And why should I not be impatient and my spirit troubled?

"Yet they say to God, 'Depart from us, For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.

"You say, 'God stores away [the punishment of] man's wickedness for his children.' Let God repay him so that he may know and experience it.

"For what pleasure does he have in his house and family after he is dead, When the number of his months [of life] is cut off?

"For you say, 'Where is the house of the noble man? And where is the tent, the dwelling place of the wicked?'

"That evil men are [now] reserved for the day of disaster and destruction, They will be led away on the day of [God's] wrath?

"But who will confront him with his actions and rebuke him face to face, And who will repay him for what he has done?

"For you have taken pledges of your brothers without cause, And stripped men naked.

'Thick clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see, And He walks on the vault (circle) of the heavens.'

"They said to God, 'Depart from us! What can the Almighty do for us or to us?'

"You will also decide and decree a thing, and it will be established for you; And the light [of God's favor] will shine upon your ways.

"He will even rescue the one [for whom you intercede] who is not innocent; And he will be rescued through the cleanness of your hands."