1 And Bildad the Sabhean answered, and said, 2 When then wilt ye put an end to such speeches? Think it over, and then we will talk. 3 Why should we be counted as animals and humiliated in your own eyes? 4 O thou who tearest thy soul in thy wrath! Shall the earth be desolate for thee, and the rock be moved out of its place? 5 Yes, the light of the wicked shall be extinguished, and there shall be no spark of his fire. 6 The light of his tent shall be darkened, and his lamp shall be extinguished over him. 7 The steps of his power shall be shortened, and his own design shall bring him down, 8 for he shall fall into a snare with his own feet, and shall walk in the nets. 9 The noose shall catch his foot, and the robber shall catch him. 10 Snares are secretly laid out on the ground for him, and snares in the way. 11 Terrors will terrify him on all sides, and will cause him to rush hither and thither. 12 His strength shall be exhausted by hunger, and destruction is ready, at his side. 13 The firstborn of death shall devour the members of his body. 14 His hope shall be cast out of his tent, and this shall bring him down to the king of terrors. 15 They shall dwell in his tent, because he is no longer his; his dwelling shall be sprinkled with brimstone. 16 Its roots shall wither from below, and its branches shall wither from above. 17 His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and his name shall not be in the market-place. 18 They will cast him out of the light into darkness, and they will wipe him out from the face of the earth. 19 Neither his son nor his grandson shall be among his people, nor shall there be any one left in his gates. 20 His descendants will be terrified at his day, and his contemporaries will be trembling. 21 Such are the dwellings of the wicked, and such is the place of him who does not know God.

4. Job's answer: Between despair and hope in God, he asks his friends for mercy (Job 19)

1 And Job answered and said, 2 How long will you torment my soul, and torment me with words? 3 Behold, you have already put me to shame ten times, and you are not ashamed to oppress me. 4 If I have indeed sinned, my fault remains with me. 5 But if ye will exalt yourselves over me, and reproach me with my reproach, 6 know this, that God hath cast me down, and hath laid his net upon me. 7 Behold, I cry out, Offense! and no one listens; I cry out, and there is no judgment. 8 He hath barred my way, and I cannot pass, and hath put darkness upon my paths. 9 He hath taken away my glory from me, and hath taken off the crown from my head. 10 He hath destroyed me all around, and I am departing; and like a tree he plucked out my hope. 11 He is kindled with his wrath against me, and counts me among his enemies. 12 His armies came together, and directed their way to me, and encamped themselves round about my tent. 13 My brethren he hath removed from me, and those who know me shun me. 14 My loved ones have forsaken me, and my acquaintances have forgotten me. 15 The strangers in my house, and my maidservants, consider me a stranger; I became a stranger in their eyes. 16 I call my servant, and he will not answer; With my mouth I must beseech Him. 17 My breath is detestable to my wife, and I must beseech her for the sake of the children of my womb. 18 Even little children despise me: I rise up, and they mock me. 19 All my breastplates abhor me, and those whom I loved have turned against me. 20 My bones cleaved to my skin and my flesh, and I remained only with the skin about my teeth. 21 Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, my friends, for the hand of God has touched me. 22 Why do you also persecute me as God, and in my flesh you cannot be satisfied? 23 Oh, that my words were written! If they had been inscribed in Book 24 with an iron chisel with tin, they would have been carved in stone for eternity! 25 But I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will raise up from the dust this disintegrating skin of mine at the last day, 26 and I will see God in my flesh. 27 I will see him myself; my eyes, not the eyes of another, will see Him. My heart faints in my bosom! 28 You ought to have said, Why do we pursue him? As if the root of evil was found in me. 29 Fear the sword, for the sword is the avenger of iniquity, and know that there is judgment.

19.25-27. Words of hope that breaks through all of Job's lamentations. The phrase about the Redeemer (Hebrew gozl, protector, savior) does not have an absolutely accurate translation. The following translation is considered to be the closest to the original: "And I know: My Intercessor lives, and in the end will stand over the ashes; and after the dissolution of my skin, I will see God in my flesh." There is no reason to believe that this refers to the resurrection of the dead. The meaning of the text seems to be Job's hope that God will reveal Himself to him while Job is still alive. But if not in letter, then in spirit, these words reflect the expectation of the coming redemption and therefore have a pro-formative and messianic meaning.

5. The word of Zophar: the afflictions of the wicked; an allusion that Job cannot be innocent (Job 20)

1 And Zophar the Naamathite answered, and said, 2 My reflections impel me to answer, and I hasten to express them. 3 I have heard the reproach that is shameful to me, and the spirit of my understanding will answer for me. 4 Do you not know that from everlasting, from the time that man was set on earth, 5 the joy of the wicked is for a short time, and the joy of the hypocrite is momentary? 6 Though his majesty be exalted to the heavens, and his head touched the clouds, 7 as his dung he perishes for ever; Those who have seen him will say, Where is he? 8 Like a dream, he will fly away, and they will not find him; And like a night vision, it will disappear. 9 The eye that saw him shall see him no more, neither shall he see his place any more. 10 His sons will ingratiate themselves with the poor, and his hands will restore what he has stolen. 11 His bones are filled with the sins of his youth, and with him they shall lie in the dust. 12 If evil is sweet in his mouth, and he hides it under his tongue, 13 he guards it, and does not cast it away, but keeps it in his mouth, 14 then this food of his in his womb will be turned into the gall of adders within him. 15 The possessions which he swallowed shall he spit out: God shall pluck him out of his womb. 16 He sucks the venom of the serpent; the tongue of vipers will kill him. 17 He will not see streams, rivers flowing with honey and milk! 18 He will return what he has earned by labor, he will not swallow it; according to the proportion of his possessions there will be his retribution, but he will not rejoice. 19 For he oppressed, he sent away the poor; he seized houses that he did not build; 20 He knew not to be full in his belly, neither did he spare nothing in his greed. 21 Nothing has escaped from his gluttony, but his happiness shall not stand. 22 In the fullness of abundance it will be cramped; every hand of the offended will be lifted up against him. 23 And when he hath with which to fill his womb, he shall send upon him the wrath of his wrath, and shall rain upon him the sickness of his flesh. 24 If he flees from the weapons of iron, the bow of brass shall pierce him; 25 He will take out an arrow, and it will go out of the body, it will come out, flashing through its gall. The horrors of death will come upon him! 26 All that is dark is hidden within him; it will be consumed by fire, fanned by no one; evil will come upon even that which remains in his tent. 27 Heaven shall reveal his iniquity, and the earth shall rise up against him. 28 The gain of his house shall vanish; everything will be blurred in the day of His wrath. 29 This is the inheritance of God for the wicked man, and the inheritance which the Almighty has ordained for him.

6. Job's answer: The wicked enjoy prosperity (Job 21)

1 And Job answered, and said, 2 Listen attentively to my speech, and it shall be a comfort to me from you. 3 Be patient with me, and I will speak; and after I have spoken, mock. 4 Is my speech to man? How can I not be faint-hearted? 5 Look at me, and be terrified, and put your finger on your mouth. 6 As soon as I remember, I shudder, and trembling overcomes my body. 7 Why do the wicked live, reach old age, and be strong in strength? 8 Their children are with them before them, and their children are before their eyes. 9 Their houses are safe from fear, and the rod of God is not upon them. 10 The ox impregnates them, and does not cast them out: the cow conceives them, and does not cast them out. 11 Like a flock, they let out their little ones, and their children leap up. 12 They shout to the voice of the tympanum and the harp, and rejoice at the sound of the pipe; 13 spend their days in happiness and instantly descend into hell. 14 And yet they say unto God, Depart from us, for we do not want to know thy ways. 15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what is the use of having recourse to Him? 16 See, their happiness is not at their hands. "The counsel of the wicked, be far from me!" 17 How often does the lamp of the wicked go out, and trouble comes upon them, and he gives them afflictions in his wrath for their portion? 18 They must be like a straw before the wind, and like a chaff that is carried away by a whirlwind. 19 Thou shalt say, God preserves his misfortune for his children. "Let him reward him himself, that he may know it." 20 Let his eyes see his misfortune, and let him himself drink from the wrath of the Almighty. 21 For what care shall he have for his house after him, when the number of his months shall be ended? 22 But shall God teach wisdom, when he judges even those on high? 23 One dies in the fullness of his strength, perfectly calm and peaceful; 24 His intestines are full of fat, and his bones are watered with marrow. 25 And another dieth with a sorrowful soul, having tasted no good. 26 And they shall lie together in the dust, and the worm shall cover them. 27 I know your thoughts and the artifices that you weave against me. 28 You will say, 'Where is the house of the prince, and where is the tent in which the wicked dwelt?' 29 Have you not asked the travelers, and are you unacquainted with their observations, 30 that in the day of destruction the wicked man is spared, and in the day of wrath he is cast aside? 31 Who shall present to him before him his way, and who shall recompense him for what he has done? 32 He is escorted to the tombs, and a guard is placed on his grave. 33 Sweet to him are the blocks of the valley, and after him comes a crowd of people, and those who go before him are innumerable. 34 How then do you want to comfort me with vainness? There is only one lie left in your answers.

THIRD CONVERSATION

The order of the sections of the third discourse was apparently broken by ancient scribes. Here is a hypothetical reconstruction of the original sequence of the text in accordance with the works of biblical exegetes.

1. Eliphaz's Word: He accuses Job of iniquity and exhorts him to turn to God (Job 22)

1 And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, 2 Can a man be of benefit to God? A wise man benefits himself. 3 What pleasure is it to the Almighty that you are righteous? And will it profit Him that you keep your ways in integrity? 4 Shall he, fearing thee, enter into controversy with thee, and go to sue thee? 5 Surely thy wickedness is great, and thy iniquities have no end. 6 Surely thou hast taken pledges from thy brethren for nothing, and hast taken off the garments of the half-naked. 7 To him that was weary of thirst he gave not water to drink, and to him that was hungry he withheld bread; 8 And to the mighty man thou didst give the land, and the dignified dwelt therein. 9 Thou hast sent away widows empty-handed, and hast left orphans empty-handed. 10 Wherefore there are snares round about thee, and thou hast been troubled by sudden terror, 11 or darkness, in which thou canst see nothing, and a multitude of waters has covered thee. 12 Is not God above the heavens? Look up at the stars, how high they are! 13 And you say, 'What does God know?' Can He judge through the darkness? 14 The clouds are his veil, so that he does not see, but walks only in the circle of heaven. 15 Do you hold fast to the way of the ancients, in which wicked men walked, 16 who were prematurely cut off when the waters were poured out under their foundations? 17 And they said to God, 'Get thee behind us! and what will the Almighty do to them? 18 And he filled their houses with good. But the counsel of the wicked be far from me! 19 The righteous saw and rejoiced, and the blameless laughed at them: 20 Our enemy was destroyed, and the fire devoured what was left of them. 21 Draw near to him, and thou shalt be at peace; through this good will come to you. 22 Receive out of his mouth the law, and put his words in your heart. 23 If you turn to the Almighty, you will be settled again, you will remove iniquity from your tent 24 and you will count the shining metal to dust, and the gold of Ophir to the stones of the streams. 25 And thy Almighty shall be thy gold, and thy shining silver, 26 for then shalt thou rejoice in the Almighty, and lift up thy face to God. 27 Pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. 28 Thou shalt set a purpose, and it shall come to pass with thee, and light shall shine upon thy ways. 29 And when any man shall be despised, thou shalt say, Exaltation! and he will save him who is downcast, 30 he will deliver him who is not innocent, and he will be saved by the cleanliness of your hands.