And taketh it even out of the thorns,

And the snare gapeth for their substance.
For affliction cometh not forth of the dust,
Neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;
But man is born unto trouble,

As the sparks fly upward.

But as for me, I would seek unto God,
And unto God would I commit my cause:

Which doeth great things and unsearchable:
Marvellous things without number:
Who giveth rain upon the earth,

And sendeth waters upon the fields:

So that he setteth up on high those that be low;
And those which mourn are exalted to safety.

He frustrateth the devices of the crafty,

So that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.

He taketh the wise in their own craftiness:

And the counsel of the froward is carried headlong."9
They meet with darkness in the day-time,

And grope at noonday as in the night.

40

But he saveth from the sword of their mouth,4°
Even the needy from the hand of the mighty.
So the poor hath hope,

And iniquity stoppeth her mouth.

Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth :
Therefore despise not thou the chastening of the
Almighty."

For he maketh sore, and bindeth up;

He woundeth, and his hands make whole.

He shall deliver thee in six troubles;

Yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
In famine he shall redeem thee from death;

And in war from the power of the sword.

Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue; Neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it

cometh.

At destruction and dearth thou shalt laugh:

Neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth. For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field; And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. And thou shalt know that thy tent is in peace;

And thou shalt visit thy fold and shalt miss nothing. Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, And thine offspring as the grass of the earth. Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age,

Like as a shock of corn cometh in in its season.

Lo this, we have searched it, so it is;

Hear it, and know thou it for thy good.

Јов

vii, 2-21. Oh that my vexation were but weighed,

And my calamity laid in the balances together!

For now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas:
Therefore have my words been rash.

For the arrows of the Almighty are within me,

The poison whereof my spirit drinketh up:

The terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.

Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass ?

Or loweth the ox over his fodder?

Can that which hath no savour be eaten without salt?

Or is there any taste in the white of an egg ?
What things my soul refused to touch,

These are as my loathsome meat.

Oh that I might have my request;

And that God would grant me the thing that I long for!

Even that it would please God to crush me;

That he would let loose his hand and cut me off!

Then should I yet have comfort;

Yea, I would exult in pain that spareth not:

For I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

What is my strength that I should wait?

And what is mine end, that I should be patient?

Is my strength the strength of stones?

Or is my flesh of brass?

Is it not that I have no help in me,

And that sound wisdom is driven quite from me?

To him that is ready to faint kindness should be shewed from his friend;

Even to him that forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.

My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook,
As the channel of brooks that pass away;
Which are black by reason of the ice,

And wherein the snow hideth itself:

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 up into the waste and perish.
The caravans of Tema looked,

The companies of Sheba waited for them;
They were ashamed because they had hoped;
They came thither and were confounded.

For now ye are nothing;

Ye see a terror, and are afraid.

Did I say, Give unto me?

Or, Offer a present for me of your substance?
Or, Deliver me from the adversary's hand?

Or, Redeem me from the hand of the oppressors?
Teach me and I will hold my peace;

And cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
How forcible are words of uprightness!

But what doth your arguing reprove?

Do ye imagine to reprove words?

Seeing that the speeches of one that is desperate are

as wind.

Yea, ye would cast lots upon the fatherless,
And make merchandise of your friend.

Now therefore be pleased to look upon me;
For surely I shall not lie to your face.
Return, I pray you, let there be no injustice;
Yea, return again, my cause is righteous.
Is there injustice on my tongue?

Cannot my taste discern mischievous things?

Is there not a time of service to man upon earth?
And are not his days like the days of an hireling?

As a servant that earnestly desireth the shadow,
And as an hireling that looketh for his wages,