Study Desk

Another day came when the sons of God came to serve Adonai , and among them came the Adversary to serve Adonai .

Adonai asked the Adversary, "Did you notice my servant Iyov, that there's no one like him on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil, and that he still holds on to his integrity, even though you provoked me against him to destroy him for no reason?"

His wife asked him, "Why do you still hold on to your integrity? Curse God, and die!"

May that day be darkness, may God on high not seek it, may no light shine on it,

[Why give light] to a man who wanders blindly, whom God shuts in on every side?

class="poetry"> Iyov said, "Perish the day I was born and the night that said, ‘A man is conceived.' May that day be darkness, may God on high not seek it, may no light shine on it, may gloom dark as death defile it, may clouds settle on it, may it be terrified by its own blackness. "As for that night, may thick darkness seize it, may it not be joined to the days of the year, may it not be numbered among the months; may that night be desolate, may no cry of joy be heard in it; may those who curse days curse it, those who[se curses] could rouse Livyatan; may the stars of its twilight be dark, may it look for light but get none, may it never see the shimmer of dawn — because it didn't shut the doors of the womb I was in and shield my eyes from trouble. "If I had been stillborn, if I had died at birth, had there been no knees to receive me or breasts for me to suck. Then I would be lying still and in peace, I would have slept and been at rest, along with kings and their earthly advisers, who rebuilt ruins for themselves, or with princes who had [plenty of] gold, who filled their houses with silver. Or I could have been like a hidden, miscarried child that never saw light. "There the wicked cease their raging, there the weary are at rest, prisoners live at peace together without hearing a taskmaster's yells. Great and small alike are there, and the slave is free of his master. "So why must light be given to the miserable and life to the bitter in spirit? They long for death, but it never comes; they search for it more than for buried treasure; when at last they find the grave, they are so happy they shout for joy. [Why give light] to a man who wanders blindly, whom God shuts in on every side? "My sighing serves in place of my food, and my groans pour out in a torrent; for the thing I feared has overwhelmed me, what I dreaded has happened to me. I have no peace, no quiet, no rest; and anguish keeps coming."

Isn't your fear of God your assurance, and the integrity of your ways your hope?

At a breath from God, they perish; at a blast from his anger, they are consumed.

‘Can a human be seen by God as righteous? Can a mortal be pure before his maker?

[God] doesn't trust his own servants, he finds fault even with his angels;

"If I were you, I would seek God; I would make my plea to him.

For God does great deeds beyond investigation, wonders beyond all reckoning.

"How happy the person whom God corrects! So don't despise Shaddai's discipline.

For the arrows of Shaddai find their mark in me, and my spirit is drinking in their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.

"If only I could have my wish granted, and God would give me what I'm hoping for —

that God would decide to crush me, that he would let his hand loose and cut me off!

Does God distort judgment? Does Shaddai pervert justice?

"If you will earnestly seek God and plead for Shaddai's favor,

Such are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of a hypocrite will perish —

"Look, God will not reject a blameless man; nor will he uphold wrongdoers.