made anniversary festivals.

Mordecai's greatness.

CHAP. X.

30 And he sent the letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth, 31 To confirm these days of Purim in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry.

32 And the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book.

CHAP. 1.

A

cai's advancement.

ND the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea. 2 And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?

3 For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.

3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great houshold; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

4 And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

5 And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early

in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou ? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast

d the Sabeans fell upon and took them away; ey have slain the ser with the edge of the and I only am escaped tell thee.

CHAP. II.

1 Satan appearing again before God obtaineth further leave to tempt Job. 7 He smiteth him with sore boils. 9 Job reproveth his wife, moving him to curse God, 11 His three friends condole with him in silence.

A

GAIN there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.

hile he was yet speak ere came also another, d, The fire of God is rom heaven, and hath up the sheep, and the , and consumed them; mly am escaped alone to

e.

Jadeurseth the

CHAP. III.

# And he took him a potsherd ness seize up krape himself withal; and joined untot he sat down among ong the ashes. let it not con Then said his wife unto of the month him, Dost thou still retain thine 7 Lo, let tha interity curse God, and die. let no joyful But he said unto her, Thou 8 Let them peakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive

In all this did not Job

in with his lips.

Il Now when Job's three

the day, whe up their mou 9 Let the s thereof be da light, but ha it see the da

fends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they tame every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite,

2 And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and es cheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. 4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.

hile he was yet speak ere came also another, 1, The Chaldeans made ee bands, and fell upon hels, and have carried vay, yea, and slain the with the edge of the and I only am escaped tell thee.

ile he was yet speaking, ame also another, and my sons and thy daughe eating and drinking their eldest brother's

5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.

Bidad the Shuhite, and Bophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment meether to come to mourn with um and to comfort him.

6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.

71 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his

crown.

10 Because

doors of my hid sorrow f

And when they lifted up

their eyes afar off, and knew

11 Why d womb? wh

tim not, they lifted up their

wice, and wept; and they rent

the ghost w

the belly?

very one his mantle, and sprinbied dust upon their heads to.

vand heaven.

12 Why di

me? or wh should suck

So they sat down with him

13 For now

still and be have slept:

rest,

14 With k

of the earth late places f

the ground seven days and seven nights, and none ake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very

CHAP. IIL

15 Or wit

gold, who

with silver

16 Or as birth I ha fants which 17 There

Lath carma the day and services of from troub theluth. 13 The ease of death. weary be a He complainath of life, because 18 There

Amouth, and cursed his day.
FTER this opened Job his

gether; the of the oppr 19 The

And Job spake, and said, there; and a Let the day perish wherein from his m I was born, and the night in thiet it was said, There is a tan child conceived.

Let that day be darkness; let at God regard it from above, better let the light shine up

20 Where him that is unto the bi

21 Which

it cometh more than 22 Which

Let darkness and the sha- and are dow of death stain it; let a find the gu thud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. As for that night, let dark

653

23 Why man who whom Go

8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes. 91 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. 10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.

12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.

13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him for they saw that his grief was very

great.

A

FTER this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day. 2 And Job spake, and said, 3 Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.

4 Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.

5 Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. 6 As for that night, let dark

day of his birth.

ness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.

7 Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.

8 Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.

9 Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day: 10 Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.

11 Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?

12 Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck?

13 For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,

14 With kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves;

15 Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver:

16 Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light.

17 There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.

18 There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor.

19 The small and great are there; and the servant is free, from his master.

20 Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul;

21 Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures; 22 Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?

23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in ?

Eliphas reproveth Job,

24 For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters.

25 For the thing which I great ly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.

26 I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.

CHAP. IV.

1 Eliphaz reproveth Job for want of religion. 7 He teacheth God's judgments to be not for the righteous, but for the wicked. 12 His fearful vision, to humble the excellency of

creatures before God.

T

THEN Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, 2 If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking?

3 Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.

4 Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.

5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.

6 Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?

7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off'?

8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.

9 By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.

10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.

11 The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad.

12 Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof.

13 In thoughts from the vi

and relateth his vision. sions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,

14 Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.

15 Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up:

16 It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,

17 Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?

18 Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly:

19 How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?

20 They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.

21 Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.

CHAP. V. 1 The harm of inconsideration. 3 The end of the wicked is misery. 6 God is to be regarded in affliction. 17 The happy end of God's cor rection.

CALL now, if there be any

that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?

2 For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.

3 I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation.

4 His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.

5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.

6 Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;

9 Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:

10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields:

11 To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety. 12 He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.

13 He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.

14 They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night.

15 But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.

16 So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth. 17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: there+ fore despise not thou the chas tening of the Almighty:

18 For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.

19 He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.

20 In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.

21 Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.

22 At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

23 For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.

24 And thou shalt know that

of God's correction.

thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habita tion, and shalt not sin.

25 Thou shalt know aiso that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth.

26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his

season.

27 Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good. CHAP. VI.

1 Job sherweth that his complaints are

is

not causeless. 8 He wisheth for death, wherein he assured of comfort. 14 He reproveth his friends of unkindness.

BUT Job answered and said,

Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together!

3 For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: thereforemy words are swallowed up. 4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.

5 Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder?

6 Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

7 The things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat.

8 Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for! 9 Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! 10 Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.

11 What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong my life?