Part 15 (2/2)

LII

Then my soul would have chosen strangling, And death by my own resolve: But I spurned it, for I shall not live for ever; Let me be, for my days are a breath.

LIII

What is man that thou shouldst magnify him?

And that thou shouldst set thine heart upon him?

That thou shouldst visit him every morning, And try him every moment?[206]

LIV

Why wilt thou not look away from me?

Nor leave me in peace while there is breath in my throat?

Why hast thou set me up as a b.u.t.t, So that I am become a target for thee?

LV

Why dost thou not rather pardon my misdeed, And take away mine iniquity?

For now I must lay myself down in the dust, And thou shalt seek me, but I shall not be.

LVI

BILDAD:

How long wilt thou utter these things, And shall the words of thy mouth be like a storm wind?

Doth G.o.d pervert judgment?

Or doth the Almighty corrupt justice?

LVII

If thou wouldst seek unto G.o.d, And make thy supplication to the Almighty, He would hear thy prayer, And restore the house of thy blamelessness.

LVIII

For inquire, I pray thee, of the bygone age, And give heed to the search of the forefathers; Shall they not teach thee, And utter words out of their heart?

LIX

Can the papyrus grow without marsh?

Can the Nile-reed shoot up without water?

Whilst still in its greenness uncut, It withereth before any herb.

LX

Such is the end of all that forget G.o.d, And even thus shall the hope of the impious perish, Whose hope is as gossamer threads, And whose trust is as a spider's web.

LXI

For he leans upon his house, And has a firm footing to which he cleaves; He is green in the glow of the sun, And his branch shooteth forth in his garden.

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