Study Desk

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.

-"I ^(C1)put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a headband.

-"I was ^(C1)eyes to those who were blind, And feet to those who ^(F1)could not walk.

-"I was a father to ^(C1)the poor, And I investigated the case which I did not know.

-"I ^(C1)broke the jaws of the wicked And rescued the prey from his teeth.

-"Then I ^(F1)thought, 'I will die with my ^(F2)family, And I will multiply my days as the sand.

-'My ^(C1)root is spread out to the waters, And ^(C2)dew lies on my branch all night.

-'My glory is ever new with me, And my ^(C1)bow is renewed in my hand.'

"To me ^(C1)they listened and waited, And they kept silent for my advice.

-"After my words ^(C1)they did not speak again, And ^(C2)my speech dropped on them.

-"They waited for me as for the rain, And opened their mouths as for the late rain.

-"I smiled at them when they did not believe, And they did not look at ^(F1)my kindness ungraciously.

-"I chose a way for them and sat as ^(C1)chief, And lived as a king among the troops, As one who ^(C2)comforted the mourners.

"But now those who are younger than I ^(C1)mock me, Whose fathers I refused to put with the dogs of my flock.

-"Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me? Vigor had perished from them.

-"From poverty and famine they are gaunt, They who gnaw at the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,

Who pluck saltweed by the bushes, And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.

-"They are driven from the community; They shout against them as against a thief,

So that they live on the slopes of ravines, In holes in the ground and among the rocks.

-"Among the bushes they ^(F1)cry out; Under the weeds they are gathered together.

-"Worthless ^(F1)fellows, even ^(F2)those without a name, They were cast out from the land.

"And now I have become their ^(F1)(C1)taunt, And I have become a ^(F2)(C2)byword to them.

-"They loathe me and stand aloof from me, And they do not ^(F1)refrain from ^(C1)spitting in my face.

-"Because He has undone ^(F1)my ^(F2)bowstring and ^(C1)afflicted me, They have cast off ^(C2)the bridle before me.

-"On the right hand their ^(F1)mob arises; They ^(C1)push aside my feet ^(C2)and pile up their ways of destruction against me.

-"They ^(C1)break up my path, They promote my destruction; No one restrains them.

-"As through a wide gap they come, ^(F1)Amid the storm they roll on.

-"^(C1)Sudden terrors are turned upon me; They chase away my dignity like the wind, And my ^(F1)prosperity has passed away ^(C2)like a cloud.

"And now ^(C1)my soul is poured out ^(F1)within me; Days of misery have seized me.

-"At night it pierces ^(C1)my bones ^(F1)within me, And my gnawing pains do not rest.

-"By a great force my garment is ^(C1)distorted; It ties me up like the collar of my coat.

-"He has thrown me into the ^(C1)mire, And I have become like dust and ashes.

-"I ^(C1)cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.

-"You have ^(F1)become cruel to me; With the strength of Your hand You ^(C1)persecute me.

-"You ^(C1)lift me up to the wind and make me ride it; And You dissolve me in a storm.

-"For I know that You ^(C1)will bring me to death, And to the ^(C2)house of meeting for all living.

"Yet does one in a heap of ruins not reach out with his hand, Or in his disaster does he not ^(C1)cry out for help?

-"Have I not ^(C1)wept for the ^(F1)one whose life is hard? Was my soul not grieved for ^(C2)the needy?

-"When I ^(C1)expected good, evil came; When I waited for light, ^(C2)darkness came.

-"^(F1)I am seething ^(C1)within and cannot rest; Days of misery confront me.

-"I go about ^(F1)(C1)mourning without comfort; I stand up in the assembly and ^(C2)cry out for help.

-"I have become a brother to ^(C1)jackals, And a companion of ostriches.

-"My ^(C1)skin turns black ^(F1)on me, And my ^(C2)bones burn with ^(F2)fever.

-"Therefore my ^(C1)harp ^(F1)is turned to mourning, And my flute to the sound of those who weep.