Study Desk

Then Job responded,

"Even today my ^(C1)complaint is rebellion; ^(F1)His hand is ^(C2)heavy despite my groaning.

-"Oh that I knew how to find Him, That I might come to His home!

-"I would ^(C1)present my case before Him And fill my mouth with arguments.

-"I would learn the words which He would ^(F1)answer, And perceive what He would tell me.

-"Would He contend with me by ^(C1)the greatness of His power? No, surely He would pay attention to me.

-"There the upright would ^(C1)argue with Him; And I ^(F1)would be ^(C2)free of my Judge forever.

"Behold, I go forward but He is not there, And backward, but I ^(C1)cannot perceive Him;

When He acts on the left, I cannot see Him; He turns to the right, but I cannot see Him.

-"But He knows the ^(F1)way I take; When He has ^(C1)put me to the test, I will come out as gold.

-"My foot has ^(C1)held on to His path; I have kept His way and not turned aside.

-"I have not ^(F1)failed the command of His lips; I have treasured the ^(C1)words of His mouth ^(F2)more than my ^(F3)necessary food.

-"But He is unique, and who can ^(F1)make Him turn? Whatever His soul desires, He does it.

-"For He carries out what is destined for me, And many such destinies are with Him.

-"Therefore, I would be terrified at His presence; When I consider this, I am frightened of Him.

-"It is God who has made my ^(C1)heart faint, And the Almighty who has terrified me,

But I ^(C1)am not destroyed by darkness, Nor by ^(C2)deep gloom which covers me.

"^(C1)Why are ^(F1)times not stored up by the Almighty, And why do those who know Him not see ^(C2)His ^(F1)days?

-"People ^(C1)remove landmarks; They seize and ^(F1)devour flocks.

-"They drive away the donkeys of ^(C1)orphans; They seize the ^(C2)widow's ox as a pledge.

-"They push ^(C1)the needy aside from the road; The ^(C2)poor of the land have to hide themselves together.

-"Behold, like ^(C1)wild donkeys in the wilderness They ^(C2)go out scavenging for food in their activity, As ^(F1)bread for their children in the desert.

-"They harvest their feed in the field And glean the vineyard of the wicked.

-"^(C1)They spend the night naked, without clothing, And have no covering against the cold.

-"They are wet from the mountain rains, And they hug the rock for lack of a shelter.

-"Others snatch an ^(C1)orphan from the breast, And they seize it as a pledge against the poor.

-"The poor move about naked without clothing, And they carry sheaves, while going hungry.

-"Within the walls they produce oil; They tread wine presses but go thirsty.

-"From the city people groan, And the souls of the wounded cry for help; Yet God ^(C1)does not pay attention to the offensiveness.

"^(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?"