1 But Job, responding, said:
2 I wish that my sins, for which I deserve wrath, and the calamity that I endure, were weighed out on a balance.
3 Compared to the sand of the sea, they would appear heavier, and so my words are full of sorrow.
4 For the arrows of the Lord are in me, my spirit drinks of their indignation, and the terrors of the Lord are soldiers against me.
5 Will the wild ass bray when he has grass? Or will the ox bellow when he stands before a full manger?
6 Or can one eat bland food, which is not seasoned with salt? Or can anyone taste that which, if tasted, causes death?
7 The things that my soul was unwilling to touch before, now, because of anguish, are my foods.
8 Who will grant that my petition may arrive and that God may bestow on me what I expect,
9 and that he who, at first, had crushed me, will let loose his hand and cut me down?
10 And may this be my consolation, that in afflicting me with sorrow, although he might not be lenient with me, I still do not contradict the words of the Holy One.
11 For what is my strength, that I may continue? Or what is my goal, so that I may act patiently?
12 My strength is not the strength of stones, nor is my flesh made of bronze.
13 Behold, there is no help for me in myself, and my loved ones also have withdrawn from me.
14 He who takes away mercy from his friend, abandons the fear of the Lord.
15 My brethren have disregarded me, like a torrent that passes swiftly through the steep valleys.
16 Those who fear frost, snow will rush over them.
17 At that time, when they are scattered, they will perish, and when it becomes hot, they will be freed from their place.
18 The paths of their steps are entangled; they will walk in vain and will perish.
19 Consider the paths of Thema, the ways of Saba, and wait a little while.
20 They have been thrown into confusion, just as I had hoped; they have even come to me and are overwhelmed with shame.
21 Now you have arrived, and merely by seeing my affliction, you are afraid.
22 Did I say: “Bring to me and give to me from your necessities?”
23 or, “Free me from the hand of the enemy and rescue me from the hand of the strong?”
24 Teach me, and I will be silent, and if by chance I have been ignorant of anything, instruct me.
25 Why have you diminished the words of truth, when there is none of you who is able to offer proof against me?
26 You prepare speeches as so much noise, and you offer words into the wind.
27 You encroach upon the orphan, and you strive to undermine your friend.
28 Such is true, so finish what you have begun. Listen closely, and see if I lie.
29 Respond, I beg you, without contention, and, speaking what is just, pass judgment.
30 And you will not find iniquity on my tongue, nor will foolishness resound in my throat.
1 The life of a man on the earth is a battle, and his days are like the days of a hired hand.
2 Just as a servant desires the shade, and just as the hired hand looks forward to the end of his work,
3 so also have I had empty months and have counted my burdensome nights.
4 If I lie down to sleep, I will say, “When will I rise?” And next I will hope for the evening and will be filled with sorrows even until darkness.
5 My flesh is clothed with particles of rottenness and filth; my skin is dried up and tightened.
6 My days have passed by more quickly than threads are cut by a weaver, and they have been consumed without any hope.
7 Remember that my life is wind, and my eye will not return to see good things.
8 Neither will the sight of man gaze upon me; your eyes are upon me, and I will not endure.
9 Just as a cloud is consumed and passes away, so he who descends to hell will not ascend.
10 He will not return again to his house, nor will his own place know him any longer.
11 And because of this, I will not restrain my mouth. I will speak in the affliction of my spirit. I will converse from the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I an ocean or a whale, that you have encircled me in a prison?
13 If I say, “My bed will comfort me, and I will find rest, speaking with myself on my blanket,”
14 then you will frighten me with dreams, and strike dread through visions,
15 so that, because of these things, my soul would choose hanging, and my bones, death.
16 I despair; by no means will I live any longer. Spare me, for my days are nothing.
17 What is man, that you should praise him? Or why do you place your heart near him?
18 You visit him at dawn, and you test him unexpectedly.
19 How long will you not spare me, nor release me to ingest my saliva?
20 I have sinned; what should I do for you, O keeper of men? Why have you set me against you, so that I have become burdensome even to myself?
21 Why do you not steal away my sin, and why do you not sweep away my iniquity? Behold, now I will sleep in the dust, and if you seek me in the morning, I will not remain.
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1 And I turned, and I lifted up my eyes and I saw. And behold, four four-horse chariots went out from the middle of two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of brass.
2 In the first chariot were red horses, and in the second chariot were black horses,
3 and in the third chariot were white horses, and in the fourth chariot were speckled horses, and they were strong.
4 And I responded and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?”
5 And the angel answered and said to me, “These are the four winds of heaven, which go forth to stand in the presence of the Sovereign of all the earth.”
6 The one with the black horses was departing into the land of the North, and the white went forth after them, and the speckled went forth towards the land of the South.
7 Yet those who were the most strong, went out, and sought to go and to roam quickly through all the earth. And he said, “Go, walk throughout the earth.” And they walked throughout the earth.
8 And he called me and spoke with me, saying, “Behold, those who go forth to the land of the North, have quieted my spirit in the land of the North.”
9 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
10 From those of the captivity, take from Heldai, and from Tobijah, and from Jedaiah. You will approach in that day, and you will go into the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah, who came from Babylon.
11 And you will take gold and silver; and you will make crowns, and you will set them on the head of Jesus the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
12 And you will speak to him, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: Behold, a man; the Rising is his name. And under him, he will rise up, and he will build a temple to the Lord.
13 And he will raise a temple to the Lord. And he will carry the glory, and he will sit and rule upon his throne. And he will be a priest upon his throne, and a counsel of peace will be between the two of them.
14 And the crowns will be to Heldai, and Tobijah, and Jedaiah, as well as to Hem, the son of Zephaniah, as a memorial in the temple of the Lord.
15 And those who are far away, will approach, and will build in the temple of the Lord. And you will know that the Lord of hosts sent me to you. Yet this shall be only if, when hearing, you will have heeded the voice of the Lord your God.
1 And it happened, in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Kislev.
2 And Sharezer and Regemmelech, and the men who were with them, sent to the house of God, to entreat the face of the Lord,
3 to speak to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and to the prophets, saying: “Must there be weeping with me in the fifth month, and must I sanctify myself, as I have now done for many years?”
4 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying:
5 Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying: Although you may have fasted and mourned in the fifth and the seventh month for these seventy years, did you indeed keep a fast unto me?
6 And when you did eat and drink, did you not eat for yourselves, and drink only for yourselves?
7 Are not these the words that the Lord has spoken by the hand of the former prophets, when Jerusalem was still inhabited, so that it would prosper, itself and the cities around it, and those inhabitants towards the South and in the plains?
8 And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying:
9 Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: Judge with true judgment, and act with mercy and compassion, each and every one with his brother.
10 And do not find fault with the widow, and the orphan, and the newcomer, and the poor. And let not a man consider evil in his heart towards his brother.
11 But they were not willing to pay attention, and they turned aside their shoulder to depart, and they pressed upon their ears, so that they would not hear.
12 And they set their heart like the hardest stone, so that they would not hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts has sent with his Spirit by the hand of the former prophets. And so a great indignation came from Lord of hosts.
13 And it happened, just as he had spoken, and they did not pay attention. So then, they shall cry out, and I will not heed, says the Lord of hosts.
14 And I dispersed them throughout all the kingdoms that they did not know. And the land was left desolate behind them, so that no one was passing through or returning. And they made the desirable land into a deserted place.
8 Let them that make them become like unto them: and all such as trust in them.
9 The house of Israel hath hoped in the Lord: he is their helper and their protector.
10 The house of Aaron hath hoped in the Lord: he is their helper and their protector.
11 They that fear the Lord hath hoped in the Lord: he is their helper and their protector.
12 The Lord hath been mindful of us, and hath blessed us. He hath blessed the house of Israel: he hath blessed the house of Aaron.
13 He hath blessed all that fear the Lord, both little and great.
14 May the Lord add blessings upon you: upon you, and upon your children.
21 For certainly, you have listened to him, and you have been instructed in him, according to the truth that is in Jesus:
22 to set aside your earlier behavior, the former man, who was corrupted, by means of desire, unto error,
23 and so be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24 and so put on the new man, who, in accord with God, is created in justice and in the holiness of truth.
25 Because of this, setting aside lying, speak the truth, each one with his neighbor. For we are all part of one another.
26 Be angry, but do not be willing to sin. Do not let the sun set over your anger.
27 Provide no place for the devil.
28 Whoever was stealing, let him now not steal, but rather let him labor, working with his hands, doing what is good, so that he may have something to distribute to those who suffer need.
29 Let no evil words proceed from your mouth, but only what is good, toward the edification of faith, so as to bestow grace upon those who listen.
30 And do not be willing to grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you have been sealed, unto the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness and anger and indignation and outcry and blasphemy be taken away from you, along with all malice.
32 And be kind and merciful to one another, forgiving one another, just as God has forgiven you in Christ.
