“ In a dream, in a vision of the night, When deep sleep falleth upon men, In slumberings upon the bed; Then he openeth the ears of men. And sealeth their instruction, That he may withdraw man from his purpose, And hide pride from man. He keepeth back his soul from the pit, And his life from perishing by the sword. He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, And the multitude of his bones with strong pain: So that his life abhorreth bread, And his soul dainty meat. His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen ”

“ Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, And whom God hath hedged in? For my sighing cometh before I eat, And my roarings are poured out like the waters. For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me. And that which I was afraid of is come unto me, I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; Yet trouble came. Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said.
If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? But who can withhold himself from speaking? Behold, thou hast instructed many, And thou hast strengthened the weak hands. ”

“ Neither is there any daysman betwixt us. That might lay his hand upon us both. Let him take his rod away from me. And let not his fear terrify me: Then would I speak, and not fear him; But it is not so with me. My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; Shew me wherefore thou contendest with me. Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress,
That thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, And shine upon the counsel of the wicked? ”

“ Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh of brass? Is not my help in me? And is wisdom driven quite from me? To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend; But he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty. My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, And as the stream of brooks they pass away; Which are blackish by reason of the ice, And wherein the snow is hid: What time they wax warm, they vanish: When it is hot, they are consumed out of their place. The paths of their way are turned aside; They go to nothing, and perish. ”

“ He buildeth his house as a moth, And as a booth that the keeper maketh. The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: He openeth his eyes, and he is not. Terrors take hold on him as waters, A tempest stealeth him away in the night. The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: And as a storm hurleth him out of his place. For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: He would fain flee out of his hand. Men shall clap their hands at him, And shall hiss him out of his place. Surely there is a vein for the silver, And a place for gold where they fine it. ”

“ Lo, their good is not in their hand: The counsel of the wicked is far from me. How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! And how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger. They are as stubble before the wind, And as chaff that the storm carrieth away. God layeth up his iniquity for his children: He rewardeth him, and he shall know it. His eyes shall see his destruction, And he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty. For what pleasure hath he in his house after him, When the number of his months is cut off in the midst? Shall any teach God knowledge? ”

“ One is so near to another, That no air can come between them. They are joined one to another, They stick together, that they cannot be sundered. By his neesings a light doth shine, And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. Out of his mouth go burning lamps, And sparks of fire leap out. Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, As out of a seething pot or caldron. His breath kindleth coals, And a flame goeth out of his mouth. In his neck remaineth strength, And sorrow is turned into joy before him. The flakes of his flesh are joined together: They are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved. ”

“ Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who hath given understanding to the heart? Who can number the clouds in wisdom? Or who can stay the bottles of heaven, When the dust groweth into hardness, And the clods cleave fast together? Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? Or fill the appetite of the young lions, When they couch in their dens, And abide in the covert to lie in wait? Who provideth for the raven his food? When his young ones cry unto God, They wander for lack of meat. Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? ”

“ Till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: My heart shall not reproach me so long as I live. Let mine enemy be as the wicked. And he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous. For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, When God taketh away his soul? Will God hear his cry When trouble cometh upon him? Will he delight himself in the Almighty? Will he always call upon God? I will teach you by the hand of God: That which is with the Almighty will I not conceal. ”

“ Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, And fill his belly with the east wind? Should he reason with unprofitable talk? Or with speeches wherewith he can do no good? Yea, thou castest off fear, And restrainest prayer before God. For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, And thou choosest the tongue of the crafty. Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: Yea, thine own lips testify against thee. Art thou the first man that was born? Or wast thou made before the hills? Hast thou heard the secret of God? And dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself? What knowest thou, that we know not? ”

“ Can the rush grow up without mire? Can the flag grow without water? Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, It withereth before any other herb. So are the paths of all that forget God; And the hypocrite's hope shall perish: Whose hope shall be cut off, And whose trust shall be a spider's web. He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: He shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure. ”

“ How hast thou helped him that is without power? How savest thou the arm that hath no strength? How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? And how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is? To whom hast thou uttered words? And whose spirit came from thee? Dead things are formed from under the waters, And the inhabitants thereof. Hell is naked before him, And destruction hath no covering. He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, And hangeth the earth upon nothing. He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds ”

“ He openeth also their ear to discipline, And commandeth that they return from iniquity. If they obey and serve him, They shall spend their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasures. But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, And they shall die without knowledge. But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath: They cry not when he bindeth them. They die in youth, And their life is among the unclean. He delivereth the poor in his affliction, And openeth their ears in oppression. ”

“ He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked. If the scourge slay suddenly, He will laugh at the trial of the innocent. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: He covereth the faces of the judges thereof; If not, where, and who is he? Now my days are swifter than a post: They flee away, they see no good. They are passed away as the swift ships: As the eagle that hasteth to the prey. If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself: I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent. If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain? ”

“ Who knoweth not in all these That the hand of the Lord hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind. Doth not the ear try words? And the mouth taste his meat? With the ancient is wisdom; And in length of days understanding. With him is wisdom and strength, He hath counsel and understanding. Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: He shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. ”

“ And should a man full of talk be justified Should thy lies make men hold their peace? And when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed? For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, And I am clean in thine eyes. But oh that God would speak, And open his lips against thee; And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, That they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee Less than thine iniquity deserveth. Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? ”

“ Shall a man be more pure than his maker? Behold, he put no trust in his servants; And his angels he charged with folly: How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Which are crushed before the moth? They are destroyed from morning to evening: They perish for ever without any regarding it. Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? They die, even without wisdom. Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; And to which of the saints wilt thou turn? For wrath killeth the foolish man, And envy slayeth the silly one. ”

“ Even the firstborn of death shall devour his strength. His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, And it shall bring him to the king of terrors. It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: Brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation. His roots shall be dried up beneath, And above shall his branch be cut off. His remembrance shall perish from the earth, And he shall have no name in the street. He shall be driven from light into darkness, And chased out of the world. He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, Nor any remaining in his dwellings. ”

“ They pluck the fatherless from the breast, And take a pledge of the poor. They cause him to go naked without clothing, And they take away the sheaf from the hungry; Which make oil within their walls, And tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst. Men groan from out of the city, And the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them. They are of those that rebel against the light; They know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof. The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, And in the night is as a thief. ”

“ Hold thy peace, and I shall teach thee wisdom. Furthermore Elihu answered and said, Hear my words, O ye wise men; And give ear unto me, ye that have knowledge. For the ear trieth words, As the mouth tasteth meat. Let us choose to us judgment: Let us know among ourselves what is good. For Job hath said, I am righteous: And God hath taken away my judgment. Should I lie against my right? My wound is incurable without transgression. What man is like Job, Who drinketh up scorning like water? Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity, And walketh with wicked men. ”

“ The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, And the number of years is hidden to the oppressor. A dreadful sound is in his ears: In prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him. He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, And he is waited for of the sword. He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? He knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand. Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; They shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle. For he stretcheth out his hand against God, And strengtheneth himself against the Almighty. ”

“ For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: Therefore shalt thou not exalt them. He that speaketh flattery to his friends, Even the eyes of his children shall fail. He hath made me also a byword of the people; And aforetime I was as a tabret. Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, And all my members are as a shadow. Upright men shall be astonied at this, And the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite. The righteous also shall hold on his way, And he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger. ”

“ Because there is wrath, beware lest he take thee away with his stroke: Then a great ransom cannot deliver thee. Will he esteem thy riches? No, not gold, nor all the forces of strength. Desire not the night, When people are cut off in their place. Take heed, regard not iniquity: For this hast thou chosen rather than affliction. Behold, God exalteth by his power: Who teacheth like him? Who hath enjoined him his way? Or who can say. Thou hast wrought iniquity? Remember that thou magnify his work. Which men behold. Every man may see it; Man may behold it afar off. ”

“ He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: The stones of darkness, and the shadow of death. The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; Even the waters forgotten of the foot: They are dried up, they are gone away from men. As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: And under it is turned up as it were fire. The stones of it are the place of sapphires: And it hath dust of gold. There is a path which no fowl knoweth. And which the vulture's eye hath not seen: The lion's whelps have not trodden it, Nor the fierce lion passed by it. He putteth forth his hand upon the rock ”

“ Drought and heat consume the snow waters: So doth the grave those which have sinned. The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; He shall be no more remembered; And wickedness shall be broken as a tree. He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: And doeth not good to the widow. He draweth also the mighty with his power: He riseth up, and no man is sure of life. ”