nkjv - Job:26-31

nkjv@Job:26:1 @ But Job answered and said:

nkjv@Job:26:2 @ "How have you helped him who is without power? How have you saved the arm that has no strength?

nkjv@Job:26:3 @ How have you counseled one who has no wisdom? And how have you declared sound advice to many?

nkjv@Job:26:4 @ To whom have you uttered words? And whose spirit came from you?

nkjv@Job:26:5 @ "The dead tremble, Those under the waters and those inhabiting them.

nkjv@Job:26:6 @ Sheol is naked before Him, And Destruction has no covering.

nkjv@Job:26:7 @ He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing.

nkjv@Job:26:8 @ He binds up the water in His thick clouds, Yet the clouds are not broken under it.

nkjv@Job:26:9 @ He covers the face of His throne, And spreads His cloud over it.

nkjv@Job:26:10 @ He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, At the boundary of light and darkness.

nkjv@Job:26:11 @ The pillars of heaven tremble, And are astonished at His rebuke.

nkjv@Job:26:12 @ He stirs up the sea with His power, And by His understanding He breaks up the storm.

nkjv@Job:26:13 @ By His Spirit He adorned the heavens; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.

nkjv@Job:26:14 @ Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, And how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?"

nkjv@Job:27:1 @ Moreover Job continued his discourse, and said:

nkjv@Job:27:2 @ "As God lives, who has taken away my justice, And the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,

nkjv@Job:27:3 @ As long as my breath is in me, And the breath of God in my nostrils,

nkjv@Job:27:4 @ My lips will not speak wickedness, Nor my tongue utter deceit.

nkjv@Job:27:5 @ Far be it from me That I should say you are right; Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.

nkjv@Job:27:6 @ My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; My heart shall not reproach me as long as I live.

nkjv@Job:27:7 @ "May my enemy be like the wicked, And he who rises up against me like the unrighteous.

nkjv@Job:27:8 @ For what is the hope of the hypocrite, Though he may gain much, If God takes away his life?

nkjv@Job:27:9 @ Will God hear his cry When trouble comes upon him?

nkjv@Job:27:10 @ Will he delight himself in the Almighty? Will he always call on God?

nkjv@Job:27:11 @ "I will teach you about the hand of God; What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.

nkjv@Job:27:12 @ Surely all of you have seen it; Why then do you behave with complete nonsense?

nkjv@Job:27:13 @ "This is the portion of a wicked man with God, And the heritage of oppressors, received from the Almighty:

nkjv@Job:27:14 @ If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword; And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

nkjv@Job:27:15 @ Those who survive him shall be buried in death, And their widows shall not weep,

nkjv@Job:27:16 @ Though he heaps up silver like dust, And piles up clothing like clay--

nkjv@Job:27:17 @ He may pile it up, but the just will wear it, And the innocent will divide the silver.

nkjv@Job:27:18 @ He builds his house like a moth, Like a booth which a watchman makes.

nkjv@Job:27:19 @ The rich man will lie down, But not be gathered up; He opens his eyes, And he is no more.

nkjv@Job:27:20 @ Terrors overtake him like a flood; A tempest steals him away in the night.

nkjv@Job:27:21 @ The east wind carries him away, and he is gone; It sweeps him out of his place.

nkjv@Job:27:22 @ It hurls against him and does not spare; He flees desperately from its power.

nkjv@Job:27:23 @ Men shall clap their hands at him, And shall hiss him out of his place.

nkjv@Job:28:1 @ "Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place where gold is refined.

nkjv@Job:28:2 @ Iron is taken from the earth, And copper is smelted from ore.

nkjv@Job:28:3 @ Man puts an end to darkness, And searches every recess For ore in the darkness and the shadow of death.

nkjv@Job:28:4 @ He breaks open a shaft away from people; In places forgotten by feet They hang far away from men; They swing to and fro.

nkjv@Job:28:5 @ As for the earth, from it comes bread, But underneath it is turned up as by fire;

nkjv@Job:28:6 @ Its stones are the source of sapphires, And it contains gold dust.

nkjv@Job:28:7 @ That path no bird knows, Nor has the falcon's eye seen it.

nkjv@Job:28:8 @ The proud lions have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.

nkjv@Job:28:9 @ He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the roots.

nkjv@Job:28:10 @ He cuts out channels in the rocks, And his eye sees every precious thing.

nkjv@Job:28:11 @ He dams up the streams from trickling; What is hidden he brings forth to light.

nkjv@Job:28:12 @ "But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

nkjv@Job:28:13 @ Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living.

nkjv@Job:28:14 @ The deep says, "It is not in me'; And the sea says, "It is not with me.'

nkjv@Job:28:15 @ It cannot be purchased for gold, Nor can silver be weighed for its price.

nkjv@Job:28:16 @ It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx or sapphire.

nkjv@Job:28:17 @ Neither gold nor crystal can equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold.

nkjv@Job:28:18 @ No mention shall be made of coral or quartz, For the price of wisdom is above rubies.

nkjv@Job:28:19 @ The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold.

nkjv@Job:28:20 @ "From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?

nkjv@Job:28:21 @ It is hidden from the eyes of all living, And concealed from the birds of the air.

nkjv@Job:28:22 @ Destruction and Death say, "We have heard a report about it with our ears.'

nkjv@Job:28:23 @ God understands its way, And He knows its place.

nkjv@Job:28:24 @ For He looks to the ends of the earth, And sees under the whole heavens,

nkjv@Job:28:25 @ To establish a weight for the wind, And apportion the waters by measure.

nkjv@Job:28:26 @ When He made a law for the rain, And a path for the thunderbolt,

nkjv@Job:28:27 @ Then He saw wisdom and declared it; He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.

nkjv@Job:28:28 @ And to man He said, "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding."'

nkjv@Job:29:1 @ Job further continued his discourse, and said:

nkjv@Job:29:2 @ "Oh, that I were as in months past, As in the days when God watched over me;

nkjv@Job:29:3 @ When His lamp shone upon my head, And when by His light I walked through darkness;

nkjv@Job:29:4 @ Just as I was in the days of my prime, When the friendly counsel of God was over my tent;

nkjv@Job:29:5 @ When the Almighty was yet with me, When my children were around me;

nkjv@Job:29:6 @ When my steps were bathed with cream, And the rock poured out rivers of oil for me!

nkjv@Job:29:7 @ "When I went out to the gate by the city, When I took my seat in the open square,

nkjv@Job:29:8 @ The young men saw me and hid, And the aged arose and stood;

nkjv@Job:29:9 @ The princes refrained from talking, And put their hand on their mouth;

nkjv@Job:29:10 @ The voice of nobles was hushed, And their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.

nkjv@Job:29:11 @ When the ear heard, then it blessed me, And when the eye saw, then it approved me;

nkjv@Job:29:12 @ Because I delivered the poor who cried out, The fatherless and the one who had no helper.

nkjv@Job:29:13 @ The blessing of a perishing man came upon me, And I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.

nkjv@Job:29:14 @ I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a turban.

nkjv@Job:29:15 @ I was eyes to the blind, And I was feet to the lame.

nkjv@Job:29:16 @ I was a father to the poor, And I searched out the case that I did not know.

nkjv@Job:29:17 @ I broke the fangs of the wicked, And plucked the victim from his teeth.

nkjv@Job:29:18 @ "Then I said, "I shall die in my nest, And multiply my days as the sand.

nkjv@Job:29:19 @ My root is spread out to the waters, And the dew lies all night on my branch.

nkjv@Job:29:20 @ My glory is fresh within me, And my bow is renewed in my hand.'

nkjv@Job:29:21 @ "Men listened to me and waited, And kept silence for my counsel.

nkjv@Job:29:22 @ After my words they did not speak again, And my speech settled on them as dew.

nkjv@Job:29:23 @ They waited for me as for the rain, And they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain.

nkjv@Job:29:24 @ If I mocked at them, they did not believe it, And the light of my countenance they did not cast down.

nkjv@Job:29:25 @ I chose the way for them, and sat as chief; So I dwelt as a king in the army, As one who comforts mourners.

nkjv@Job:30:1 @ "But now they mock at me, men younger than I, Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.

nkjv@Job:30:2 @ Indeed, what profit is the strength of their hands to me? Their vigor has perished.

nkjv@Job:30:3 @ They are gaunt from want and famine, Fleeing late to the wilderness, desolate and waste,

nkjv@Job:30:4 @ Who pluck mallow by the bushes, And broom tree roots for their food.

nkjv@Job:30:5 @ They were driven out from among men, They shouted at them as at a thief.

nkjv@Job:30:6 @ They had to live in the clefts of the valleys, In caves of the earth and the rocks.

nkjv@Job:30:7 @ Among the bushes they brayed, Under the nettles they nestled.

nkjv@Job:30:8 @ They were sons of fools, Yes, sons of vile men; They were scourged from the land.

nkjv@Job:30:9 @ "And now I am their taunting song; Yes, I am their byword.

nkjv@Job:30:10 @ They abhor me, they keep far from me; They do not hesitate to spit in my face.

nkjv@Job:30:11 @ Because He has loosed my bowstring and afflicted me, They have cast off restraint before me.

nkjv@Job:30:12 @ At my right hand the rabble arises; They push away my feet, And they raise against me their ways of destruction.

nkjv@Job:30:13 @ They break up my path, They promote my calamity; They have no helper.

nkjv@Job:30:14 @ They come as broad breakers; Under the ruinous storm they roll along.

nkjv@Job:30:15 @ Terrors are turned upon me; They pursue my honor as the wind, And my prosperity has passed like a cloud.

nkjv@Job:30:16 @ "And now my soul is poured out because of my plight; The days of affliction take hold of me.

nkjv@Job:30:17 @ My bones are pierced in me at night, And my gnawing pains take no rest.

nkjv@Job:30:18 @ By great force my garment is disfigured; It binds me about as the collar of my coat.

nkjv@Job:30:19 @ He has cast me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes.

nkjv@Job:30:20 @ "I cry out to You, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You regard me.

nkjv@Job:30:21 @ But You have become cruel to me; With the strength of Your hand You oppose me.

nkjv@Job:30:22 @ You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride on it; You spoil my success.

nkjv@Job:30:23 @ For I know that You will bring me to death, And to the house appointed for all living.

nkjv@Job:30:24 @ "Surely He would not stretch out His hand against a heap of ruins, If they cry out when He destroys it.

nkjv@Job:30:25 @ Have I not wept for him who was in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor?

nkjv@Job:30:26 @ But when I looked for good, evil came to me; And when I waited for light, then came darkness.

nkjv@Job:30:27 @ My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest; Days of affliction confront me.

nkjv@Job:30:28 @ I go about mourning, but not in the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.

nkjv@Job:30:29 @ I am a brother of jackals, And a companion of ostriches.

nkjv@Job:30:30 @ My skin grows black and falls from me; My bones burn with fever.

nkjv@Job:30:31 @ My harp is turned to mourning, And my flute to the voice of those who weep.

nkjv@Job:31:1 @ "I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman?

nkjv@Job:31:2 @ For what is the allotment of God from above, And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?

nkjv@Job:31:3 @ Is it not destruction for the wicked, And disaster for the workers of iniquity?

nkjv@Job:31:4 @ Does He not see my ways, And count all my steps?

nkjv@Job:31:5 @ "If I have walked with falsehood, Or if my foot has hastened to deceit,

nkjv@Job:31:6 @ Let me be weighed on honest scales, That God may know my integrity.

nkjv@Job:31:7 @ If my step has turned from the way, Or my heart walked after my eyes, Or if any spot adheres to my hands,

nkjv@Job:31:8 @ Then let me sow, and another eat; Yes, let my harvest be rooted out.

nkjv@Job:31:9 @ "If my heart has been enticed by a woman, Or if I have lurked at my neighbor's door,

nkjv@Job:31:10 @ Then let my wife grind for another, And let others bow down over her.

nkjv@Job:31:11 @ For that would be wickedness; Yes, it would be iniquity deserving of judgment.

nkjv@Job:31:12 @ For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction, And would root out all my increase.

nkjv@Job:31:13 @ "If I have despised the cause of my male or female servant When they complained against me,

nkjv@Job:31:14 @ What then shall I do when God rises up? When He punishes, how shall I answer Him?

nkjv@Job:31:15 @ Did not He who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?

nkjv@Job:31:16 @ "If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

nkjv@Job:31:17 @ Or eaten my morsel by myself, So that the fatherless could not eat of it

nkjv@Job:31:18 @ (But from my youth I reared him as a father, And from my mother's womb I guided the widow );

nkjv@Job:31:19 @ If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or any poor man without covering;

nkjv@Job:31:20 @ If his heart has not blessed me, And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

nkjv@Job:31:21 @ If I have raised my hand against the fatherless, When I saw I had help in the gate;

nkjv@Job:31:22 @ Then let my arm fall from my shoulder, Let my arm be torn from the socket.

nkjv@Job:31:23 @ For destruction from God is a terror to me, And because of His magnificence I cannot endure.

nkjv@Job:31:24 @ "If I have made gold my hope, Or said to fine gold, "You are my confidence';

nkjv@Job:31:25 @ If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my hand had gained much;

nkjv@Job:31:26 @ If I have observed the sun when it shines, Or the moon moving in brightness,

nkjv@Job:31:27 @ So that my heart has been secretly enticed, And my mouth has kissed my hand;

nkjv@Job:31:28 @ This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment, For I would have denied God who is above.

nkjv@Job:31:29 @ "If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, Or lifted myself up when evil found him

nkjv@Job:31:30 @ (Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for a curse on his soul);

nkjv@Job:31:31 @ If the men of my tent have not said, "Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?'

nkjv@Job:31:32 @ (But no sojourner had to lodge in the street, For I have opened my doors to the traveler );

nkjv@Job:31:33 @ If I have covered my transgressions as Adam, By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,

nkjv@Job:31:34 @ Because I feared the great multitude, And dreaded the contempt of families, So that I kept silence And did not go out of the door--

nkjv@Job:31:35 @ Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my mark. Oh, that the Almighty would answer me, That my Prosecutor had written a book!

nkjv@Job:31:36 @ Surely I would carry it on my shoulder, And bind it on me like a crown;

nkjv@Job:31:37 @ I would declare to Him the number of my steps; Like a prince I would approach Him.

nkjv@Job:31:38 @ "If my land cries out against me, And its furrows weep together;

nkjv@Job:31:39 @ If I have eaten its fruit without money, Or caused its owners to lose their lives;

nkjv@Job:31:40 @ Then let thistles grow instead of wheat, And weeds instead of barley." The words of Job are ended.

nkjv@Job:32:1 @ So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.