15 For the Jews that were in Shushan assembled on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men at Shushan; but on the prey they laid not their hand.

16 But the other Jews that were in the king's provinces assembled, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of their foes seventy and five thousand, (but they laid not their hands on the prey.)

17 On the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day 5 of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

18 But the Jews that were at Shushan assembled on the thirteenth day of the month, and on the fourteenth of it: and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

19 Therefore the Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the unwalled towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar a

the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them;

25 But 7 when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

26 Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of 8 Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come to them,

27 The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves to them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed time every year;

28 And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not 10 fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them i perish from their seed.

29 Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with 12 all authority, to confirm this second letter of Purim.

30 And he sent the letters to 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

decai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had decreed 13 for themselves and for their seed, the

21 To establish this among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,

22 As the days in which the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned to them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day, that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.

23 And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written to them;

24 Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is,

10 Heb.pass.

|

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

a

2 And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters.

5

3 His substance also was seven thou-4 sand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great 2 household; so that this man was the greatest of all the 3 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 ended, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose 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 4 continually.

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

6

7

9

of the east. 1 Kings 21. 10. 13. Heb. all the duys. Heb. the adversary. Heb. in the midst of

them.

1 Pet. 5. 8. Heb. hast thou set thy

heart on?

8

or, cattle. Heb. if he

curse thee not to thy face.

10 Heb.hand.

11 or, a great

7 And the LORD said to Satan, Whence fire. comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro 12 Heb. on the earth, and from walking up and rushed. down upon it.

8 And the LORD said to Satan, 7 Hast thou considered my servant Job, that 13 Heb. from there is none like him on the earth, a peraside, &c. fect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and shunneth evil?

9 Then Satan answered the LORD, 14 or, robe. and said, Doth Job fear God for naught?

10 Hast not thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all Ec. 5. 15. that he hath on every side? thou hast 1 Tim. 6. 7. blessed the work of his hands, and his

8 substance is increased in the land.
11 But put forth thy hand now, and
touch all that he hath, 9 and he will curse
thee to thy face.

12 And the LORD said to Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy 10 power; only upon himself put not forth thy hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

13 And there was a day when his

15 or, attributed folly to

God.

a c. 1. 7.

sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house:

14 And there came a messenger to Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them :

15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, took them away;

slain the servants with Yes, they have Sword; and I only have escaped alone to tell thee.

16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, 11 The fire of God hath fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I only have escaped alone to tell thee.

17 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made three bands, and 12 fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yes, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only have escaped alone to tell thee.

18 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house:

19 And behold, there came a great wind 13 from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only have escaped alone to tell thee.

20 Then Job arose, and rent his 14 mantle, and shaved his head, and fell upon the ground, and worshiped,

21 And said, & Naked came I from my mother's womb, and naked shall I retúrn thither: The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

22 In all this Job sinned not, nor 15 charged God foolishly.

CHAP. II.

1 Satan appearing again before God, obtain. eth 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.

AGAIN 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.

2 And the LORD said to Satan, Whence comest thou? and Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down upon it.

3 And the LORD said to Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that

there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and shunneth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, 1 to destroy him without cause.

4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, even, all that a man hath will he give for his life.

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

6 And the LORD said to Satan, Behold, he is in thy hand; 2 but save his life. 7¶ So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to his crown.

8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself with it; and he sat down among the ashes.

9 Then said his wife to him, Dost thou still retain thy integrity? 3 curse God, and die.

10 But he said to 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 had 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.

eyes

12 And when they lifted their up afar off, and knew him not, they raised their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads towards heaven. 13 So they sat down with him upon 8 Heb. wait. the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spoke a word to him: for they saw that his grief was very great.

b c. 19. 8.

before my food.

9 Heb.

AFTER this Job opened his mouth, 19 Heb.

and cursed his day.

2 And Job 1 spoke, and said,

3 Let the day perish in which 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.

feared a fear, and it came upon

me.

1 Heb. a word.

2 Heb. who can refrain

from

5 Let darkness and the shades of death 2 stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; 3 let the blackness of the day ter- words? rify it.

As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined to the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.

3 Heb. the bowing

knees.

7 Lo, let that night be solitary, let no Prov. 22. 8. joyful voice come therein.

8 Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up 5 heir mourning.

Hos. 10. 13.

9 Let the stars of its twilight be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day:

10 Because it prevented not my birth, nor hid sorrow from my eyes.

11 Why died I not from the womb? why did I not expire at the time of my birth?

12 Why did the knees receive me? or why the breasts that I should be nursed? 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 counselors of the earth, who built desolate places for themselves;

15 Ór with princes that had gold, who

filled their houses with silver:

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

17 There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary are at rest. 18 There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. and the servant is free from his master. 19 The small and great are there;

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

21 Whos long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures;

22 Who 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?

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

25 For 10 the thing which I greatly feared hath come upon me, and that which I dreaded hath come to 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 excellencies of creatures before God.

HEN Eliphaz the Temanite answer

Ted and said,

2 If we essay i to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but 2 who can refrain from speaking?

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

4 Thy words have upheld him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened 3 the feeble knees.

5 But now it hath 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?

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

13 In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men. 14 Fear 6 came upon me, and trem-19 bling, which made 7 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 its form: an image was before my 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:

14 They 10 meet with darkness in the day-time, 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 inistoppeth her mouth.

5

19 How much less in them that dwell inhouses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth? 20 They are 10 destroyed from morn-7 ing to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.

21 Doth not their excellence which is in them depart? 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 regard. ed in affliction. 17 The happy end of God's correction.

CALL now, if there

is any that will answer thee; and to which of the

saints wilt thou i turn?

17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:

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

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

20 In famine he will redeem thee from death: and in war 11 from the power of the sword.

21 Thou shalt be hid 12 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 13 that thy tabernacle will be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not

14 sin.

25 Thou shalt know also that thy seed will be 15 great, and thy offspring as the grass of the earth.

26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, as a shock of corn 16 cometh in in its season.

27 Lo this, we have searched it, so it Psal. 107. is; hear it, and know thou it 17 for thy good.

substance.

6 Although 3 affliction cometh not forth from the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;

7 Yet man is born to 4 trouble, as 5 the sparks fly upward.

8 I would seek to God, and to God, would I commit my cause:

9. Who doeth great things 6 and unsearchable; wonderful things 7 without number:

10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the s fields: 11. To set on high those that are low:

2.

Heb.

at grass.

CHAP. VI.

1 Job showeth that his complaints are not causeless: 8 He wisheth for death, in which he is assured comfort: 14 He reproveth his friends unkindness.

UT Job answered and said,

B2Oh that my grief were thoroughly

weighed, and my calamity 1 laid in the balances together!

3 For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore 2 my words are swallowed up.

4 a For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison of which drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God set themselves in array against me.

5 Doth the wild ass bray 3 when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder?

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

7 The things that my soul refused to Itouch are as my sorrowful food.

8 Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me 4 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!

Before CHRIST, 1520.

tation.

10 Then should I yet have comfort; 4 Heb. yes, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not spare; for I have not con-s Heb. cealed the words of the Holy One.

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

12 Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh 5 of brass? 13 Is not my help in me? and is wis-9 dom driven quite from me?

146 To him that is afflicted pity should be shown from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.

15 My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away;

16 Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and in which the snow is hid: 17 In the time when they become warm, they vanish: 8 when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place. 18 The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing, and perish. 19 The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them. 20 They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed.

21 10 For now ye are u nothing: ye see my casting down, and are afraid. 22 Did I say, Bring to me? or Give a reward for me of your substance?

23 Or, Deliver me from the enemy's hand? or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty?

24 Teach me, and I will hold my tongue and cause me to understand in what I have erred.

25 How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove?

26 Do ye imagine to reprove words,

I arise, and 3 the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro to the dawning of the day.

5 My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken and become lothsome.

a

brazen.

6 Heb. him that

melteth.

7 Heb. they are cut off. 8 Heb. in the Heb. eztinguished. 10 or, for now ye are

heat thereof.

like to
them:

Heb. to it. 11 Heb. not.

12 Heb.

fall upon. ye cause to

13 Heb.

before your face. 14 That is, in

this matter.

15 Heb. my palate.

1 or, a war.

fare. peth after.

2 Heb. ga

3 Heb. the measured? evening be

a c. 36. 22.

Psal. 90. 6.
& 102. 11. &

103. 15. &
144. 4.

Isa. 40. 6,

Jas. 4. 14.

8 The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thy eyes are upon me, and I am not.

9 As the cloud is consumed and van

isheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more.

10 He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him

any more.

11 Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

12 Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?

13 When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint;

14 Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions:

15 So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather 7 than my life.

16 Ilothe it; I would not live always: let me alone; for my days are vanity.

17 What is man, that thou shouldst magnify him? and that thou shouldst set thy heart upon him?

18 And that thou shouldst visit him every morning, and try him every momeni ?

19 How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow my spittle?

20 I have sinned; what shall I do to thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?

21 And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniqui

ate, which are as wind?

27 Yes, 12 ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your friend.

not return.

5 To see, that

28 Now therefore be content, look up-is, to enjoy. on me; for it is 13 evident to you if I lie. 29 Return, I pray you, let it not be in-6 That is, I iquity; yes, return again, my righteousness is 14 in it.

30 Is there iniquity in my tongue? can-7 not is my taste discern perverse things? CHAP. VII. 1 Job excuseth his desire of death: 12 He com plaineth of his own restlessness, and of God's watchfulness.

S there not 1 an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of a hireling?

2 As a servant 2 earnestly desireth the shadow, and as a hireling looketh for the reward of his work;

3 So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.

4 When I lie down, I say, When shall

can live no

longer.

Heb. in the hand of their transgression.

b c. 22. 23.

2 How long wilt thou speak these things? and how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind?

3 a Doth God pervert judgment; or doth the Almighty pervert justice?

4 If thy children have sinned against him, and he hath cast them away for their transgression;

5 If thou wouldst seek to God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty;

6 If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.