Part 12 (2/2)

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 G.o.d, and escheweth 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._

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

6 _And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold he is in thine hand; but save his life._

7-- _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._

8 _And he took him a potsherd to sc.r.a.pe himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes._

9-- _Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse G.o.d, 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 G.o.d, 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_.

CHAP. III. A.V.

1 _After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day_.

2 _And Job spake, and said_:

I

JOB:

Would the day had perished wherein I was born, And the night which said: behold, a man child!

Would that G.o.d on high had not called for it, And that light had not shone upon it!

II

Would that darkness and gloom had claimed it for their own; Would that clouds had hovered over it; Would it never had been joined to the days of the year, Nor entered into the number of the months!

III

Would that that night had been barren, And that rejoicing had not come therein; That they had cursed it who curse the days,[196]

That the stars of its twilight had waxed dim!

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