Job, Act 3, Chapters 28-42

The wisdom poem. Miners sink shafts into the earth for sapphire and gold and find everything except the one thing they were looking for.

““But where shall wisdom be found? Where is the place of understanding?”— Job 28:12 (WEB)

Full passage — Job 28:1-28 WEB

1. 1“Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold which they refine.
2. 2Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted out of the ore.
3. 3Man sets an end to darkness, and searches out, to the furthest bound, the stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.
4. 4He breaks open a shaft away from where people live. They are forgotten by the foot. They hang far from men, they swing back and forth.
5. 5As for the earth, out of it comes bread; Underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
6. 6Sapphires come from its rocks. It has dust of gold.
7. 7That path no bird of prey knows, neither has the falcon’s eye seen it.
8. 8The proud animals have not trodden it, nor has the fierce lion passed by there.
9. 9He puts his hand on the flinty rock, and he overturns the mountains by the roots.
10. 10He cuts out channels among the rocks. His eye sees every precious thing.
11. 11He binds the streams that they don’t trickle. The thing that is hidden he brings out to light.
12. 12“But where shall wisdom be found? Where is the place of understanding?
13. 13Man doesn’t know its price; Neither is it found in the land of the living.
14. 14The deep says, ‘It isn’t in me.’ The sea says, ‘It isn’t with me.’
15. 15It can’t be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for its price.
16. 16It can’t be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
17. 17Gold and glass can’t equal it, neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
18. 18No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal. Yes, the price of wisdom is above rubies.
19. 19The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
20. 20Where then does wisdom come from? Where is the place of understanding?
21. 21Seeing it is hidden from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the birds of the sky.
22. 22Destruction and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’
23. 23“God understands its way, and he knows its place.
24. 24For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole sky.
25. 25He establishes the force of the wind. Yes, he measures out the waters by measure.
26. 26When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder;
27. 27then he saw it, and declared it. He established it, yes, and searched it out.
28. 28To man he said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. To depart from evil is understanding.’”

Job remembering the good years. When the gate was his, when young men stepped aside, when he was eyes to the blind — an elegy for a version of himself.

““Oh that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me;”— Job 29:2 (WEB)

Full passage — Job 29:1-25 WEB

1. 1Job again took up his parable, and said,
2. 2“Oh that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me;
3. 3when his lamp shone on my head, and by his light I walked through darkness,
4. 4as I was in the ripeness of my days, when the friendship of God was in my tent,
5. 5when the Almighty was yet with me, and my children were around me,
6. 6when my steps were washed with butter, and the rock poured out streams of oil for me,
7. 7when I went out to the city gate, when I prepared my seat in the street.
8. 8The young men saw me and hid themselves. The aged rose up and stood.
9. 9The princes refrained from talking, and laid their hand on their mouth.
10. 10The voice of the nobles was hushed, and their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
11. 11For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it commended me:
12. 12Because I delivered the poor who cried, and the fatherless also, who had no one to help him,
13. 13the blessing of him who was ready to perish came on me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
14. 14I put on righteousness, and it clothed me. My justice was as a robe and a diadem.
15. 15I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame.
16. 16I was a father to the needy. The cause of him who I didn’t know, I searched out.
17. 17I broke the jaws of the unrighteous, and plucked the prey out of his teeth.
18. 18Then I said, ‘I shall die in my own house, I shall count my days as the sand.
19. 19My root is spread out to the waters. The dew lies all night on my branch.
20. 20My glory is fresh in me. My bow is renewed in my hand.’
21. 21“Men listened to me, waited, and kept silence for my counsel.
22. 22After my words they didn’t speak again. My speech fell on them.
23. 23They waited for me as for the rain. Their mouths drank as with the spring rain.
24. 24I smiled on them when they had no confidence. They didn’t reject the light of my face.
25. 25I chose out their way, and sat as chief. I lived as a king in the army, as one who comforts the mourners.

And now. The sons of men he would not have set with the dogs of his flock make him their song. The reversal of the previous track, note for note.

““Now I have become their song. Yes, I am a byword to them.”— Job 30:9 (WEB)

Full passage — Job 30:1-31 WEB

1. 1“But now those who are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to put with my sheep dogs.
2. 2Of what use is the strength of their hands to me, men in whom ripe age has perished?
3. 3They are gaunt from lack and famine. They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of waste and desolation.
4. 4They pluck salt herbs by the bushes. The roots of the broom are their food.
5. 5They are driven out from among men. They cry after them as after a thief;
6. 6So that they dwell in frightful valleys, and in holes of the earth and of the rocks.
7. 7Among the bushes they bray; and under the nettles they are gathered together.
8. 8They are children of fools, yes, children of wicked men. They were flogged out of the land.
9. 9“Now I have become their song. Yes, I am a byword to them.
10. 10They abhor me, they stand aloof from me, and don’t hesitate to spit in my face.
11. 11For he has untied his cord, and afflicted me; and they have thrown off restraint before me.
12. 12On my right hand rise the rabble. They thrust aside my feet, They cast up against me their ways of destruction.
13. 13They mar my path, They set forward my calamity, without anyone’s help.
14. 14As through a wide breach they come, in the middle of the ruin they roll themselves in.
15. 15Terrors have turned on me. They chase my honor as the wind. My welfare has passed away as a cloud.
16. 16“Now my soul is poured out within me. Days of affliction have taken hold on me.
17. 17In the night season my bones are pierced in me, and the pains that gnaw me take no rest.
18. 18By great force is my garment disfigured. It binds me about as the collar of my coat.
19. 19He has cast me into the mire. I have become like dust and ashes.
20. 20I cry to you, and you do not answer me. I stand up, and you gaze at me.
21. 21You have turned to be cruel to me. With the might of your hand you persecute me.
22. 22You lift me up to the wind, and drive me with it. You dissolve me in the storm.
23. 23For I know that you will bring me to death, To the house appointed for all living.
24. 24“However doesn’t one stretch out a hand in his fall? Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?
25. 25Didn’t I weep for him who was in trouble? Wasn’t my soul grieved for the needy?
26. 26When I looked for good, then evil came; When I waited for light, there came darkness.
27. 27My heart is troubled, and doesn’t rest. Days of affliction have come on me.
28. 28I go mourning without the sun. I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.
29. 29I am a brother to jackals, and a companion to ostriches.
30. 30My skin grows black and peels from me. My bones are burned with heat.
31. 31Therefore my harp has turned to mourning, and my pipe into the voice of those who weep.

The oath of innocence. A covenant made with his eyes, a ledger of things he never did, and a closing demand that the indictment be written down so he can wear it.

“oh that I had one to hear me! Behold, here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me! Let the accuser write my indictment!”— Job 31:35 (WEB)

Full passage — Job 31:1-40 WEB

1. 1“I made a covenant with my eyes, how then should I look lustfully at a young woman?
2. 2For what is the portion from God above, and the heritage from the Almighty on high?
3. 3Is it not calamity to the unrighteous, and disaster to the workers of iniquity?
4. 4Doesn’t he see my ways, and count all my steps?
5. 5“If I have walked with falsehood, and my foot has hurried to deceit
6. 6(let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know my integrity);
7. 7if my step has turned out of the way, if my heart walked after my eyes, if any defilement has stuck to my hands,
8. 8then let me sow, and let another eat. Yes, let the produce of my field be rooted out.
9. 9“If my heart has been enticed to a woman, and I have laid wait at my neighbor’s door,
10. 10then let my wife grind for another, and let others sleep with her.
11. 11For that would be a heinous crime. Yes, it would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges:
12. 12For it is a fire that consumes to destruction, and would root out all my increase.
13. 13“If I have despised the cause of my male servant or of my female servant, when they contended with me;
14. 14What then shall I do when God rises up? When he visits, what shall I answer him?
15. 15Didn’t he who made me in the womb make him? Didn’t one fashion us in the womb?
16. 16“If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17. 17or have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless has not eaten of it
18. 18(no, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, her I have guided from my mother’s womb);
19. 19if I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or that the needy had no covering;
20. 20if his heart hasn’t blessed me, if he hasn’t been warmed with my sheep’s fleece;
21. 21if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, because I saw my help in the gate,
22. 22then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder blade, and my arm be broken from the bone.
23. 23For calamity from God is a terror to me. Because his majesty, I can do nothing.
24. 24“If I have made gold my hope, and have said to the fine gold, ‘You are my confidence;’
25. 25If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had gotten much;
26. 26if I have seen the sun when it shined, or the moon moving in splendor,
27. 27and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,
28. 28this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges; for I should have denied the God who is above.
29. 29“If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him
30. 30(yes, I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking his life with a curse);
31. 31if the men of my tent have not said, ‘Who can find one who has not been filled with his meat?’
32. 32(the foreigner has not camped in the street, but I have opened my doors to the traveler);
33. 33if like Adam I have covered my transgressions, by hiding my iniquity in my heart,
34. 34because I feared the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and didn’t go out of the door—
35. 35oh that I had one to hear me! Behold, here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me! Let the accuser write my indictment!
36. 36Surely I would carry it on my shoulder; and I would bind it to me as a crown.
37. 37I would declare to him the number of my steps. as a prince would I go near to him.
38. 38If my land cries out against me, and its furrows weep together;
39. 39if I have eaten its fruits without money, or have caused its owners to lose their life,
40. 40let briers grow instead of wheat, and stinkweed instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.

Elihu, angry and young, who waited because of their years and has now stopped waiting. Full of words, constrained by the spirit within, like new wineskins about to burst.

“But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.”— Job 32:8 (WEB)

Full passage — Job 32:1-22 WEB

1. 1So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
2. 2Then the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel, the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was kindled against Job. His wrath was kindled because he justified himself rather than God.
3. 3Also his wrath was kindled against his three friends, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.
4. 4Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job, because they were elder than he.
5. 5When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was kindled.
6. 6Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered, “I am young, and you are very old; Therefore I held back, and didn’t dare show you my opinion.
7. 7I said, ‘Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.’
8. 8But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.
9. 9It is not the great who are wise, nor the aged who understand justice.
10. 10Therefore I said, ‘Listen to me; I also will show my opinion.’
11. 11“Behold, I waited for your words, and I listened for your reasoning, while you searched out what to say.
12. 12Yes, I gave you my full attention, but there was no one who convinced Job, or who answered his words, among you.
13. 13Beware lest you say, ‘We have found wisdom, God may refute him, not man;’
14. 14for he has not directed his words against me; neither will I answer him with your speeches.
15. 15“They are amazed. They answer no more. They don’t have a word to say.
16. 16Shall I wait, because they don’t speak, because they stand still, and answer no more?
17. 17I also will answer my part, and I also will show my opinion.
18. 18For I am full of words. The spirit within me constrains me.
19. 19Behold, my breast is as wine which has no vent; like new wineskins it is ready to burst.
20. 20I will speak, that I may be refreshed. I will open my lips and answer.
21. 21Please don’t let me respect any man’s person, neither will I give flattering titles to any man.
22. 22For I don’t know how to give flattering titles; or else my Maker would soon take me away.

God speaks in dreams and in pain — Elihu’s argument that suffering is instruction rather than sentence, delivered with the confidence only a young man could bring to it.

“For God speaks once, yes twice, though man pays no attention.”— Job 33:14 (WEB)

Full passage — Job 33:1-33 WEB

1. 1“However, Job, please hear my speech, and listen to all my words.
2. 2See now, I have opened my mouth. My tongue has spoken in my mouth.
3. 3My words shall utter the uprightness of my heart. That which my lips know they shall speak sincerely.
4. 4The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
5. 5If you can, answer me. Set your words in order before me, and stand up.
6. 6Behold, I am toward God even as you are. I am also formed out of the clay.
7. 7Behold, my terror shall not make you afraid, neither shall my pressure be heavy on you.
8. 8“Surely you have spoken in my hearing, I have heard the voice of your words, saying,
9. 9‘I am clean, without disobedience. I am innocent, neither is there iniquity in me.
10. 10Behold, he finds occasions against me. He counts me for his enemy.
11. 11He puts my feet in the stocks. He marks all my paths.’
12. 12“Behold, I will answer you. In this you are not just, for God is greater than man.
13. 13Why do you strive against him, because he doesn’t give account of any of his matters?
14. 14For God speaks once, yes twice, though man pays no attention.
15. 15In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, in slumbering on the bed;
16. 16Then he opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction,
17. 17That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.
18. 18He keeps back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.
19. 19He is chastened also with pain on his bed, with continual strife in his bones;
20. 20So that his life abhors bread, and his soul dainty food.
21. 21His flesh is so consumed away, that it can’t be seen. His bones that were not seen stick out.
22. 22Yes, his soul draws near to the pit, and his life to the destroyers.
23. 23“If there is beside him an angel, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show to man what is right for him;
24. 24then God is gracious to him, and says, ‘Deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom.’
25. 25His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s. He returns to the days of his youth.
26. 26He prays to God, and he is favorable to him, so that he sees his face with joy. He restores to man his righteousness.
27. 27He sings before men, and says, ‘I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it didn’t profit me.
28. 28He has redeemed my soul from going into the pit. My life shall see the light.’
29. 29“Behold, God does all these things, twice, yes three times, with a man,
30. 30to bring back his soul from the pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of the living.
31. 31Mark well, Job, and listen to me. Hold your peace, and I will speak.
32. 32If you have anything to say, answer me. Speak, for I desire to justify you.
33. 33If not, listen to me. Hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Far be it from God to do wickedness. A defense of divine justice built entirely out of assertion, hammered flat over an industrial pulse.

“Yes surely, God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert justice.”— Job 34:12 (WEB)

Full passage — Job 34:1-37 WEB

1. 1Moreover Elihu answered,
2. 2“Hear my words, you wise men. Give ear to me, you who have knowledge.
3. 3For the ear tries words, as the palate tastes food.
4. 4Let us choose for us that which is right. Let us know among ourselves what is good.
5. 5For Job has said, ‘I am righteous, God has taken away my right:
6. 6Notwithstanding my right I am considered a liar. My wound is incurable, though I am without disobedience.’
7. 7What man is like Job, who drinks scorn like water,
8. 8Who goes in company with the workers of iniquity, and walks with wicked men?
9. 9For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should delight himself with God.’
10. 10“Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness, from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.
11. 11For the work of a man he will render to him, and cause every man to find according to his ways.
12. 12Yes surely, God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert justice.
13. 13Who put him in charge of the earth? or who has appointed him over the whole world?
14. 14If he set his heart on himself, If he gathered to himself his spirit and his breath,
15. 15all flesh would perish together, and man would turn again to dust.
16. 16“If now you have understanding, hear this. Listen to the voice of my words.
17. 17Shall even one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty?—
18. 18Who says to a king, ‘Vile!’ or to nobles, ‘Wicked!’?
19. 19Who doesn’t respect the persons of princes, nor respects the rich more than the poor; for they all are the work of his hands.
20. 20In a moment they die, even at midnight. The people are shaken and pass away. The mighty are taken away without a hand.
21. 21“For his eyes are on the ways of a man. He sees all his goings.
22. 22There is no darkness, nor thick gloom, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
23. 23For he doesn’t need to consider a man further, that he should go before God in judgment.
24. 24He breaks in pieces mighty men in ways past finding out, and sets others in their place.
25. 25Therefore he takes knowledge of their works. He overturns them in the night, so that they are destroyed.
26. 26He strikes them as wicked men in the open sight of others;
27. 27because they turned away from following him, and wouldn’t pay attention to any of his ways,
28. 28so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him. He heard the cry of the afflicted.
29. 29When he gives quietness, who then can condemn? When he hides his face, who then can see him? Alike whether to a nation, or to a man,
30. 30that the godless man may not reign, that there be no one to ensnare the people.
31. 31“For has any said to God, ‘I am guilty, but I will not offend any more.
32. 32Teach me that which I don’t see. If I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’?
33. 33Shall his recompense be as you desire, that you refuse it? For you must choose, and not I. Therefore speak what you know.
34. 34Men of understanding will tell me, yes, every wise man who hears me:
35. 35‘Job speaks without knowledge. His words are without wisdom.’
36. 36I wish that Job were tried to the end, because of his answering like wicked men.
37. 37For he adds rebellion to his sin. He claps his hands among us, and multiplies his words against God.”

The cry of the oppressed that goes unanswered because of pride. Elihu narrowing in, and getting closer to the truth than the other three ever managed.

“But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night,”— Job 35:10 (WEB)

Full passage — Job 35:1-16 WEB

1. 1Moreover Elihu answered,
2. 2“Do you think this to be your right, or do you say, ‘My righteousness is more than God’s,’
3. 3That you ask, ‘What advantage will it be to you? What profit shall I have, more than if I had sinned?’
4. 4I will answer you, and your companions with you.
5. 5Look to the heavens, and see. See the skies, which are higher than you.
6. 6If you have sinned, what effect do you have against him? If your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?
7. 7If you are righteous, what do you give him? Or what does he receive from your hand?
8. 8Your wickedness may hurt a man as you are, and your righteousness may profit a son of man.
9. 9“By reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out. They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty.
10. 10But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night,
11. 11who teaches us more than the animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’
12. 12There they cry, but no one gives answer, because of the pride of evil men.
13. 13Surely God will not hear an empty cry, neither will the Almighty regard it.
14. 14How much less when you say you don’t see him. The cause is before him, and you wait for him!
15. 15But now, because he has not visited in his anger, neither does he greatly regard arrogance.
16. 16Therefore Job opens his mouth with empty talk, and he multiplies words without knowledge.”

The thunder of his power. Elihu turning from argument to weather — clouds, lightning, the balancings of the clouds — and losing the thread of his own case in the awe.

“Behold, God is great, and we don’t know him. The number of his years is unsearchable.”— Job 36:26 (WEB)

Full passage — Job 36:1-33 WEB

1. 1Elihu also continued, and said,
2. 2“Bear with me a little, and I will show you; for I still have something to say on God’s behalf.
3. 3I will get my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
4. 4For truly my words are not false. One who is perfect in knowledge is with you.
5. 5“Behold, God is mighty, and doesn’t despise anyone. He is mighty in strength of understanding.
6. 6He doesn’t preserve the life of the wicked, but gives to the afflicted their right.
7. 7He doesn’t withdraw his eyes from the righteous, but with kings on the throne, he sets them forever, and they are exalted.
8. 8If they are bound in fetters, and are taken in the cords of afflictions,
9. 9then he shows them their work, and their transgressions, that they have behaved themselves proudly.
10. 10He also opens their ears to instruction, and commands that they return from iniquity.
11. 11If they listen and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.
12. 12But if they don’t listen, they shall perish by the sword; they shall die without knowledge.
13. 13“But those who are godless in heart lay up anger. They don’t cry for help when he binds them.
14. 14They die in youth. Their life perishes among the unclean.
15. 15He delivers the afflicted by their affliction, and opens their ear in oppression.
16. 16Yes, he would have allured you out of distress, into a wide place, where there is no restriction. That which is set on your table would be full of fatness.
17. 17“But you are full of the judgment of the wicked. Judgment and justice take hold of you.
18. 18Don’t let riches entice you to wrath, neither let the great size of a bribe turn you aside.
19. 19Would your wealth sustain you in distress, or all the might of your strength?
20. 20Don’t desire the night, when people are cut off in their place.
21. 21Take heed, don’t regard iniquity; for you have chosen this rather than affliction.
22. 22Behold, God is exalted in his power. Who is a teacher like him?
23. 23Who has prescribed his way for him? Or who can say, ‘You have committed unrighteousness?’
24. 24“Remember that you magnify his work, whereof men have sung.
25. 25All men have looked on it. Man sees it afar off.
26. 26Behold, God is great, and we don’t know him. The number of his years is unsearchable.
27. 27For he draws up the drops of water, which distill in rain from his vapor,
28. 28Which the skies pour down and which drop on man abundantly.
29. 29Yes, can any understand the spreading of the clouds, and the thunderings of his pavilion?
30. 30Behold, he spreads his light around him. He covers the bottom of the sea.
31. 31For by these he judges the people. He gives food in abundance.
32. 32He covers his hands with the lightning, and commands it to strike the mark.
33. 33Its noise tells about him, and the livestock also concerning the storm that comes up.

The storm arriving during the speech. Elihu describing golden splendor out of the north while the actual whirlwind gathers behind him, and he never gets to finish.

“God thunders marvelously with his voice. He does great things, which we can’t comprehend.”— Job 37:5 (WEB)

Full passage — Job 37:1-24 WEB

1. 1“Yes, at this my heart trembles, and is moved out of its place.
2. 2Hear, oh, hear the noise of his voice, the sound that goes out of his mouth.
3. 3He sends it out under the whole sky, and his lightning to the ends of the earth.
4. 4After it a voice roars. He thunders with the voice of his majesty. He doesn’t hold back anything when his voice is heard.
5. 5God thunders marvelously with his voice. He does great things, which we can’t comprehend.
6. 6For he says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth;’ likewise to the shower of rain, and to the showers of his mighty rain.
7. 7He seals up the hand of every man, that all men whom he has made may know it.
8. 8Then the animals take cover, and remain in their dens.
9. 9Out of its room comes the storm, and cold out of the north.
10. 10By the breath of God, ice is given, and the width of the waters is frozen.
11. 11Yes, he loads the thick cloud with moisture. He spreads abroad the cloud of his lightning.
12. 12It is turned around by his guidance, that they may do whatever he commands them on the surface of the habitable world,
13. 13Whether it is for correction, or for his land, or for loving kindness, that he causes it to come.
14. 14“Listen to this, Job. Stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.
15. 15Do you know how God controls them, and causes the lightning of his cloud to shine?
16. 16Do you know the workings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge?
17. 17You whose clothing is warm, when the earth is still by reason of the south wind?
18. 18Can you, with him, spread out the sky, which is strong as a cast metal mirror?
19. 19Teach us what we shall tell him, for we can’t make our case by reason of darkness.
20. 20Will it be told him that I would speak? Or should a man wish that he were swallowed up?
21. 21Now men don’t see the light which is bright in the skies, but the wind passes, and clears them.
22. 22Out of the north comes golden splendor. With God is awesome majesty.
23. 23We can’t reach the Almighty. He is exalted in power. In justice and great righteousness, he will not oppress.
24. 24Therefore men revere him. He doesn’t regard any who are wise of heart.”

The answer, at last, and it is a cross-examination. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth — seventy questions, none of them about Job’s case.

““Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding.”— Job 38:4 (WEB)

Full passage — Job 38:1-41 WEB

1. 1Then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind,
2. 2“Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
3. 3Brace yourself like a man, for I will question you, then you answer me!
4. 4“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding.
5. 5Who determined its measures, if you know? Or who stretched the line on it?
6. 6Whereupon were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone,
7. 7when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8. 8“Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke out of the womb,
9. 9when I made clouds its garment, and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10. 10marked out for it my bound, set bars and doors,
11. 11and said, ‘Here you may come, but no further. Here your proud waves shall be stayed?’
12. 12“Have you commanded the morning in your days, and caused the dawn to know its place;
13. 13that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and shake the wicked out of it?
14. 14It is changed as clay under the seal, and presented as a garment.
15. 15From the wicked, their light is withheld. The high arm is broken.
16. 16“Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?
17. 17Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18. 18Have you comprehended the earth in its width? Declare, if you know it all.
19. 19“What is the way to the dwelling of light? As for darkness, where is its place,
20. 20that you should take it to its bound, that you should discern the paths to its house?
21. 21Surely you know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great!
22. 22Have you entered the treasuries of the snow, or have you seen the treasures of the hail,
23. 23which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
24. 24By what way is the lightning distributed, or the east wind scattered on the earth?
25. 25Who has cut a channel for the flood water, or the path for the thunderstorm;
26. 26To cause it to rain on a land where no man is; on the wilderness, in which there is no man;
27. 27to satisfy the waste and desolate ground, to cause the tender grass to grow?
28. 28Does the rain have a father? Or who fathers the drops of dew?
29. 29Out of whose womb came the ice? The gray frost of the sky, who has given birth to it?
30. 30The waters become hard like stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen.
31. 31“Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion?
32. 32Can you lead the constellations out in their season? Or can you guide the Bear with her cubs?
33. 33Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you establish its dominion over the earth?
34. 34“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover you?
35. 35Can you send out lightnings, that they may go? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are?’
36. 36Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the mind?
37. 37Who can count the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of the sky,
38. 38when the dust runs into a mass, and the clods of earth stick together?
39. 39“Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40. 40when they crouch in their dens, and lie in wait in the thicket?
41. 41Who provides for the raven his prey, when his young ones cry to God, and wander for lack of food?

The interrogation continues into the animal kingdom — mountain goats, wild donkeys, the ostrich who forgets her eggs, the horse who laughs at fear.

““Have you given the horse might? Have you clothed his neck with a quivering mane?”— Job 39:19 (WEB)

Full passage — Job 39:1-30 WEB

1. 1“Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears fawns?
2. 2Can you count the months that they fulfill? Or do you know the time when they give birth?
3. 3They bow themselves, they bear their young. They end their labor pains.
4. 4Their young ones become strong. They grow up in the open field. They go out, and don’t return again.
5. 5“Who has set the wild donkey free? Or who has loosened the bonds of the swift donkey,
6. 6Whose home I have made the wilderness, and the salt land his dwelling place?
7. 7He scorns the tumult of the city, neither does he hear the shouting of the driver.
8. 8The range of the mountains is his pasture, He searches after every green thing.
9. 9“Will the wild ox be content to serve you? Or will he stay by your feeding trough?
10. 10Can you hold the wild ox in the furrow with his harness? Or will he till the valleys after you?
11. 11Will you trust him, because his strength is great? Or will you leave to him your labor?
12. 12Will you confide in him, that he will bring home your seed, and gather the grain of your threshing floor?
13. 13“The wings of the ostrich wave proudly; but are they the feathers and plumage of love?
14. 14For she leaves her eggs on the earth, warms them in the dust,
15. 15and forgets that the foot may crush them, or that the wild animal may trample them.
16. 16She deals harshly with her young ones, as if they were not hers. Though her labor is in vain, she is without fear,
17. 17because God has deprived her of wisdom, neither has he imparted to her understanding.
18. 18When she lifts up herself on high, she scorns the horse and his rider.
19. 19“Have you given the horse might? Have you clothed his neck with a quivering mane?
20. 20Have you made him to leap as a locust? The glory of his snorting is awesome.
21. 21He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength. He goes out to meet the armed men.
22. 22He mocks at fear, and is not dismayed, neither does he turn back from the sword.
23. 23The quiver rattles against him, the flashing spear and the javelin.
24. 24He eats up the ground with fierceness and rage, neither does he stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
25. 25As often as the trumpet sounds he snorts, ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26. 26“Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars, and stretches her wings toward the south?
27. 27Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up, and makes his nest on high?
28. 28On the cliff he dwells, and makes his home, on the point of the cliff, and the stronghold.
29. 29From there he spies out the prey. His eyes see it afar off.
30. 30His young ones also suck up blood. Where the slain are, there he is.”

Brace yourself like a man. A second round of questions, and Behemoth introduced as exhibit one — chief of the ways of God, lying under the lotus.

“Will you even annul my judgment? Will you condemn me, that you may be justified?”— Job 40:8 (WEB)

Full passage — Job 40:1-24 WEB

1. 1Moreover Yahweh answered Job,
2. 2“Shall he who argues contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.”
3. 3Then Job answered Yahweh,
4. 4“Behold, I am of small account. What shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth.
5. 5I have spoken once, and I will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.”
6. 6Then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind,
7. 7“Now brace yourself like a man. I will question you, and you will answer me.
8. 8Will you even annul my judgment? Will you condemn me, that you may be justified?
9. 9Or do you have an arm like God? Can you thunder with a voice like him?
10. 10“Now deck yourself with excellency and dignity. Array yourself with honor and majesty.
11. 11Pour out the fury of your anger. Look at everyone who is proud, and bring him low.
12. 12Look at everyone who is proud, and humble him. Crush the wicked in their place.
13. 13Hide them in the dust together. Bind their faces in the hidden place.
14. 14Then I will also admit to you that your own right hand can save you.
15. 15“See now, behemoth, which I made as well as you. He eats grass as an ox.
16. 16Look now, his strength is in his thighs. His force is in the muscles of his belly.
17. 17He moves his tail like a cedar. The sinews of his thighs are knit together.
18. 18His bones are like tubes of brass. His limbs are like bars of iron.
19. 19He is the chief of the ways of God. He who made him gives him his sword.
20. 20Surely the mountains produce food for him, where all the animals of the field play.
21. 21He lies under the lotus trees, in the covert of the reed, and the marsh.
22. 22The lotuses cover him with their shade. The willows of the brook surround him.
23. 23Behold, if a river overflows, he doesn’t tremble. He is confident, though the Jordan swells even to his mouth.
24. 24Shall any take him when he is on the watch, or pierce through his nose with a snare?

Leviathan unchained. Four chapters of divine speech culminating in a creature nobody can hook, tame, or sell, whose sneezes flash light — brutalist and unhurried.

“On earth there is not his equal, that is made without fear.”— Job 41:33 (WEB)

Full passage — Job 41:1-34 WEB

1. 1“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fish hook, or press down his tongue with a cord?
2. 2Can you put a rope into his nose, or pierce his jaw through with a hook?
3. 3Will he make many petitions to you, or will he speak soft words to you?
4. 4Will he make a covenant with you, that you should take him for a servant forever?
5. 5Will you play with him as with a bird? Or will you bind him for your girls?
6. 6Will traders barter for him? Will they part him among the merchants?
7. 7Can you fill his skin with barbed irons, or his head with fish spears?
8. 8Lay your hand on him. Remember the battle, and do so no more.
9. 9Behold, the hope of him is in vain. Won’t one be cast down even at the sight of him?
10. 10None is so fierce that he dare stir him up. Who then is he who can stand before me?
11. 11Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Everything under the heavens is mine.
12. 12“I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, nor his mighty strength, nor his goodly frame.
13. 13Who can strip off his outer garment? Who shall come within his jaws?
14. 14Who can open the doors of his face? Around his teeth is terror.
15. 15Strong scales are his pride, shut up together with a close seal.
16. 16One is so near to another, that no air can come between them.
17. 17They are joined to one another. They stick together, so that they can’t be pulled apart.
18. 18His sneezing flashes out light. His eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
19. 19Out of his mouth go burning torches. Sparks of fire leap out.
20. 20Out of his nostrils a smoke goes, as of a boiling pot over a fire of reeds.
21. 21His breath kindles coals. A flame goes out of his mouth.
22. 22There is strength in his neck. Terror dances before him.
23. 23The flakes of his flesh are joined together. They are firm on him. They can’t be moved.
24. 24His heart is as firm as a stone, yes, firm as the lower millstone.
25. 25When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid. They retreat before his thrashing.
26. 26If one attacks him with the sword, it can’t prevail; nor the spear, the dart, nor the pointed shaft.
27. 27He counts iron as straw; and brass as rotten wood.
28. 28The arrow can’t make him flee. Sling stones are like chaff to him.
29. 29Clubs are counted as stubble. He laughs at the rushing of the javelin.
30. 30His undersides are like sharp potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
31. 31He makes the deep to boil like a pot. He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32. 32He makes a path shine after him. One would think the deep had white hair.
33. 33On earth there is not his equal, that is made without fear.
34. 34He sees everything that is high. He is king over all the sons of pride.”

I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you. The retraction, the restoration, and the friends told to bring seven bulls and let Job pray for them.

“I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you.”— Job 42:5 (WEB)

Full passage — Job 42:1-17 WEB

1. 1Then Job answered Yahweh,
2. 2“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be restrained.
3. 3You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ therefore I have uttered that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I didn’t know.
4. 4You said, ‘Listen, now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you will answer me.’
5. 5I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you.
6. 6Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
7. 7It was so, that after Yahweh had spoken these words to Job, Yahweh said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you, and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job has.
8. 8Now therefore, take to yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept him, that I not deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job has.”
9. 9So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did what Yahweh commanded them, and Yahweh accepted Job.
10. 10Yahweh turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends. Yahweh gave Job twice as much as he had before.
11. 11Then came there to him all his brothers, and all his sisters, and all those who had been of his acquaintance before, and ate bread with him in his house. They comforted him, and consoled him concerning all the evil that Yahweh had brought on him. Everyone also gave him a piece of money, and everyone a ring of gold.
12. 12So Yahweh blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys.
13. 13He had also seven sons and three daughters.
14. 14He called the name of the first, Jemimah; and the name of the second, Keziah; and the name of the third, Keren Happuch.
15. 15In all the land were no women found so beautiful as the daughters of Job. Their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.
16. 16After this Job lived one hundred forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, to four generations.
17. 17So Job died, being old and full of days.