Part 308 (2/2)

5:18. For he woundeth, and cureth: he striketh, and his hands shall heal.

5:19. In six troubles he shall deliver thee, and in the seventh, evil shall not touch thee.

5:20. In famine he shall deliver thee from death; and in battle, from the hand of the sword.

5:21. Thou shalt be hidden from the scourge of the tongue: and thou shalt not fear calamity when it cometh.

5:22. In destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: and thou shalt not be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

5:23. But thou shalt have a covenant with the stones of the lands, and the beasts of the earth shall be at peace with thee.

5:24. And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle is in peace, and visiting thy beauty, thou shalt not sin.

5:25. Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be multiplied, and thy offspring like the gra.s.s of the earth.

5:26. Thou shalt enter into the grave in abundance, as a heap of wheat is brought in in its season.

5:27. Behold, this is even so, as we have searched out: which thou having heard, consider it thoroughly in thy mind.

Job Chapter 6

6:1. But Job answered, and said:

6:2. O that my sins, whereby I have deserved wrath, and the calamity that I suffer, were weighed in a balance.

My sins, etc... He does not mean to compare his sufferings with his real sins: but with the imaginary crimes which his friends imputed to him: and especially with his wrath, or grief, expressed in the third chapter, which they so much accused. Though, as he tells them here, it bore no proportion with the greatness of his calamity.

6:3. As the sand of the sea, this would appear heavier: therefore, my words are full of sorrow:

6:4. For the arrows of the Lord are in me, the rage whereof drinketh up my spirit, and the terrors of the Lord war against me.

6:5. Will the wild a.s.s bray when he hath gra.s.s? or will the ox low when he standeth before a full manger?

6:6. Or can an unsavoury thing be eaten, that is not seasoned with salt?

or can a man taste that which, when tasted, bringeth death?

6:7. The things which before my soul would not touch, now, through anguish, are my meats.

6:8. Who will grant that my request may come: and that G.o.d may give me what I look for?

6:9. And that he that hath begun may destroy me, that he may let loose his hand, and cut me off?

6:10. And that this may be my comfort, that afflicting me with sorrow, he spare not, nor I contradict the words of the Holy one.

6:11. For what is my strength, that I can hold out? or what is my end, that I should keep patience?

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