Study Desk

"^(F1)Others have been with those who rebel against the light; They do not want to know its ways Nor stay in its paths.

-"The murderer ^(C1)arises at dawn; He ^(C2)kills the poor and the needy, And at night he is like a thief.

-"The eye of the ^(C1)adulterer watches for ^(F1)twilight, Saying, 'No eye will see me.' And he ^(F2)disguises his face.

-"In the darkness they ^(C1)dig into houses, They ^(C2)shut themselves up by day; They do not know the light.

-"For the morning is the same to him as thick darkness, For he is familiar with the ^(C1)terrors of thick darkness.

"They are ^(F1)(C1)insignificant on the surface of the water; Their plot of land on the earth is ^(C2)cursed. They do not turn ^(F2)toward the ^(C3)vineyards.

-"Dryness and heat ^(C1)snatch away the snow waters, As ^(F1)(C2)Sheol snatches those who have sinned.

-"A ^(F1)(C1)mother will forget him; The ^(C2)maggot feeds sweetly until he is ^(C3)no longer remembered. And injustice will be broken ^(C4)like a tree.

-"He wrongs the ^(F1)infertile woman, And does no good for ^(C1)the widow.

-"But He drags off the mighty by ^(C1)His power; He rises, but ^(C2)no one has assurance of life.

-"He provides them ^(C1)with security, and they are supported; And His ^(C2)eyes are on their ways.

-"They are exalted a ^(C1)little while, then they are gone; Moreover, they are ^(C2)brought low, and like everything they are gathered up; Like the heads of grain they wither.

-"Now if it is not so, ^(C1)who can prove me a liar, And make my speech worthless?"

Then Bildad the Shuhite responded,

"^(C1)Dominion and awe ^(F1)belong to Him Who makes peace in ^(C2)His heights.

-"Is there any number to ^(C1)His troops? And upon whom does His light not rise?

-"How then can mankind be ^(C1)righteous with God? Or how can anyone who is born of woman be ^(C2)pure?

-"If even ^(C1)the moon has no brightness And the ^(C2)stars are not pure in His sight,

How much less ^(C1)man, that ^(C2)maggot, And a son of man, that worm!"

Then Job responded,

"What a help you are to ^(F1)(C1)the weak! You have saved the arm ^(C2)without strength!

-"What advice you have given to one without wisdom! What helpful insight you have abundantly ^(F1)provided!

-"To whom have you uttered words? And whose ^(F1)spirit was expressed through you?

"The ^(F1)(C1)departed spirits are made to tremble Under the waters and their inhabitants.

-"^(F1)(C1)Sheol is naked before Him, And ^(F2)(C2)Abaddon has no covering.

-"He ^(C1)stretches out the north over empty space And hangs the earth on nothing.

-"He ^(C1)wraps up the waters in His clouds, And the cloud does not burst under them.

-"He ^(F1)(C1)obscures the face of the ^(F2)full moon And spreads His cloud over it.

-"He has inscribed a ^(C1)circle on the surface of the waters At the ^(C2)boundary of light and darkness.

-"The pillars of heaven tremble And are amazed at His rebuke.

-"With His power He ^(C1)quieted the sea, And by His ^(C2)understanding He shattered ^(F1)(C3)Rahab.

-"By His breath the ^(C1)heavens are ^(F1)cleared; His hand has pierced ^(C2)the fleeing serpent.

-"Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; And how faint ^(C1)a word we hear of Him! But His mighty ^(C2)thunder, who can understand?"

Job again took up his ^(C1)discourse and said,

"As God lives, ^(C1)who has taken away my right, And the Almighty, ^(C2)who has embittered my soul,

For as long as ^(F1)life is in me, And the ^(F2)(C1)breath of God is in my nostrils,

My lips certainly will not speak unjustly, Nor will ^(C1)my tongue mutter deceit.

-"Far be it from me that I should declare you right; Until I die, ^(C1)I will not ^(F1)give up my integrity.

-"I have ^(C1)kept hold of my righteousness and will not let it go. My heart does not rebuke any of my days.

"May my enemy be as the wicked, And ^(F1)my opponent as the criminal.

-"For what is ^(C1)the hope of the godless when he makes an end of life, When God requires ^(C2)his ^(F1)life?

-"Will God ^(C1)hear his cry When ^(C2)distress comes upon him?

-"Or will he take ^(C1)pleasure in the Almighty? Will he call on God at all times?

-"I will instruct you in the ^(F1)power of God; What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.

-"Behold, all of you have seen it; Why then do you talk of nothing?

"This is ^(C1)the portion of a wicked person from God, And the inheritance which ^(C2)tyrants receive from the Almighty:

Though his sons are many, ^(F1)they are destined ^(C1)for the sword; And his ^(C2)descendants will not be satisfied with bread.

-"His survivors will be buried because of the plague, And ^(F1)their ^(C1)widows will not be able to weep.

-"Though he piles up silver like dust, And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay,

He may prepare it, ^(C1)but the righteous will wear it And the innocent will divide the silver.

-"He has built his ^(C1)house like the ^(F1)spider's web, Or a hut which the watchman has made.

-"He lies down rich, but never ^(F1)again; He opens his eyes, and ^(C1)it no longer exists.

-"^(C1)Terrors overtake him like a flood; A storm steals him away ^(C2)in the night.

-"The east ^(C1)wind carries him away, and he is gone; For it sweeps him ^(C2)away from his place.

-"For it will hurl at him ^(C1)without mercy; He will certainly try to ^(C2)flee from its ^(F1)power.

-"People will ^(F1)clap their hands at him, And will ^(C1)whistle at him from their places.

"Certainly there is a ^(F1)mine for silver And a place ^(F2)for refining gold.

-"Iron is taken from the dust, And copper is smelted from rock.

-"Man puts an end to darkness, And ^(C1)to the farthest limit he searches out The rock in gloom and deep shadow.

-"He ^(F1)sinks a shaft away from ^(F2)inhabited areas, Forgotten by the foot; They hang and swing, away from people.

-"^(F1)From the earth comes food, And underneath, it is turned over like fire.

-"Its rocks are the ^(F1)source of sapphires, And its dust contains gold.

-"No bird of prey knows the path, Nor has the falcon's eye caught sight of it.

-"The ^(F1)proud animals have not trodden it, Nor has the lion passed over it.

-"He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the ^(F1)base.

-"He carves out channels through the rocks, And his eye sees anything precious.

-"He dams up the streams from ^(F1)flowing, And brings to light what is hidden.

"But ^(C1)where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

-"^(C1)Mankind does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living.

-"The ocean depth says, 'It is not in me'; And the sea says, 'It is not with me.'

-"^(C1)Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, Nor can silver be weighed as its price.

-"It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx, or sapphire.

-"^(C1)Gold or glass cannot equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for articles of pure gold.

-"Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned; And the acquisition of ^(C1)wisdom is more valuable than pearls.

-"The topaz of ^(F1)Cush cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in ^(C1)pure gold.

-"^(C1)Where then does wisdom come from? And where is this place of understanding?

-"It is hidden from the eyes of every living creature, And concealed from the birds of the sky.

-"^(F1)(C1)Abaddon and Death say, 'With our ears we have heard a report of it.'

"^(C1)God understands its way, And He knows its place.

-"For He ^(C1)looks to the ends of the earth; He sees everything under the heavens.

-"When He imparted ^(C1)weight to the wind, And ^(C2)assessed the waters by measure,

When He made a ^(C1)limit for the rain, And a course for the ^(C2)thunderbolt,

Then He saw it and declared it; He established it and also searched it out.

-"And to mankind He said, 'Behold, the ^(C1)fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to turn away from evil is understanding.'"

Job again took up his ^(C1)discourse and said,

"Oh that I were as in months gone by, As in the days when God ^(C1)watched over me;

When ^(C1)His lamp shone over my head, And ^(C2)by His light I walked through darkness;

Just as I was in the days of my youth, When the ^(C1)protection of God was over my tent;

When ^(F1)the Almighty was still with me, And my children were around me;

When my steps were bathed in ^(C1)cream, And the ^(C2)rock poured out streams of oil for me!

-"When I went out to ^(C1)the gate of the city, When I ^(F1)took my seat in the public square,

The young men saw me and hid themselves, And the old men arose and stood.

-"The leaders ^(C1)stopped talking And ^(C2)put their hands on their mouths;

The voices of the prominent people were ^(F1)(C1)hushed, And their ^(C2)tongues stuck to their palates.

-"For when ^(C1)an ear heard, it called me blessed, And when an eye saw, it testified in support of me,

Because I saved ^(C1)the poor who cried for help, And the ^(C2)orphan who had no helper.

-"The blessing of the one who ^(C1)was about to perish came upon me, And I made the ^(C2)widow's heart sing for joy.