Lexicon :: Strong's H1931 - hû'

[fn]There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God [with reverence] and abstained from and turned away from evil [because he honored God].

“May that day be darkness;

Let God above not care about it,

Nor light shine on it.

“As for that night, let darkness seize it;

Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;

Let it not be counted in the number of the months.

“The small and the great are there,

And the servant is free from his master.

“Remember now, who, being innocent, ever perished?

Or where [and in what circumstances] were those upright and in right standing with God destroyed?

“For He inflicts pain, but He binds up and gives relief;

He wounds, but His hands also heal.

“Behold this; we have investigated it, and it is true.

Hear and heed it, and know for yourself [for your own good].”

“He thrives and prospers [like a green plant] before the sun,

And his branches spread out over his garden.

“Behold, this is the joy of His way;

And from out of the dust others will spring up and grow [to take his place].

“It is all one; therefore I say,

‘He destroys [both] the blameless and the wicked.’

“The earth is given into the hands of the wicked;

He covers the faces of its judges [so that they are blind to justice].

If it is not He, then who is it [that is responsible for all this injustice]?

“For He recognizes and knows false and worthless men,

And He sees wickedness, will He not consider it?

“This also will be my salvation,

For a godless man may not come before Him.

“Who will argue and contend with me?

For then I would be silent and die.

While I waste away like a rotten thing,

Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

“What do you know that we do not know?

What do you understand that is not equally clear to us?

“The wicked man writhes with pain all his days,

And numbered are the years stored up for him, the ruthless one.

“He does not believe that he will return out of the darkness [for fear of being murdered],

And he is destined for the sword [of God’s vengeance].

“Give me a pledge (guarantee, promise) with Yourself [acknowledge my innocence before my death];

Who is there that will [fn]be my guarantor and give security for me?

“Can anyone teach God knowledge,

Seeing that He judges those on high?

“But who will confront him with his actions and rebuke him face to face,

And who will repay him for what he has done?

“Yet He filled their houses with good things;

But the counsel of the wicked and ungodly is far from me.

“Would He contend against me with His great power?

No, surely He would give attention to me.

“But He is unique and unchangeable, and who can turn Him?

And what His soul desires, that He does.

“They are insignificant on the surface of the water;

Their portion is cursed on the earth;

They do not turn toward the vineyards.

“Man puts an end to darkness [by bringing in a light],

And to the farthest bounds he searches out

The rock buried in gloom and deep shadow.

“The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;

And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

“God understands the way [to wisdom]

And He knows its place [for wisdom is with God alone].

“But to man He said, ‘Behold, the reverential and worshipful fear of the Lord—that is wisdom;

And to depart from evil is understanding.’”

“Does not God see my ways

And count all my steps?

“For adultery is a heinous and lustful crime;

Moreover, it would be a sin punishable by the judges.

This also would have been [a heinous] sin calling for judgment,

For I would have denied God above.

So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes [and could not be persuaded otherwise by them].

“But there is [a vital force and] a spirit [of intelligence] in man,

And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.

“When He keeps quiet, who then can condemn?

When He hides His face [withdrawing His favor and help], who then can behold Him [and make supplication to Him],

Whether it be a nation or a man by himself?—

“Its direction is turned around by His guidance,

That it may do whatever He commands it

On the face of the inhabited earth.

“Now people cannot look at the light when it is bright in the skies [without being blinded],

When the wind has passed and cleared them.

“His young ones suck up blood;

And where the slain are, there is he.”

“He is the first [in magnitude and power] of the works of God;

[Only] He who made him can bring near His sword [to master him].

“No one is so fierce [and foolhardy] that he dares to stir up Leviathan;

Who then is he who can stand before Me [or dares to contend with Me, the beast’s creator]?

“He looks on everything that is high [without terror];

He is monarch over all the sons of pride. [And now, Job, [fn]who are you who does not dare to disturb the beast, yet who dares resist Me, the beast’s creator? Everything under the heavens is Mine; therefore, who can have a claim against God?]”