9 6 as were in the kingdom of Artaxerxes, both them that were near and them that were afar off, 21 to establish these as joyful days, and to keep the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar; 22 for on these days the Jews obtained rest from their enemies: and as to the month, which was Adar, in which a change was made for them, from mourning to joy, and from sorrow to a good day, + For the order of the king was in force, that he should be celebrated in all the kingdom. And in the city Susa the Jews slew five hundred men: both Pharsannes, and Delphon and Phasga, and Pharadatha, and Barea, and Sarbaca, and Marmasima, and Ruphæus, and Arsæus, and Zabuthæus, 10 the ten sons of Aman the son of Amadathes the Bugaan, the enemy of the Jews, and they plundered their to spend the whole of it in good days property on the same day: "and the of feasting and gladness, Gr. wednumber of them that perished in Susa sending portions to their dings. was rendered to the king. 12 And the friends, and to the poor. 23 And the king said to Esther, The Jews have Jews consented to this accordingly as slain five hundred men in the city Mardochæus wrote to them, 24 showing Susa; and how, thinkest thou, have how Aman the son of Amadathes the they used them in the rest of the Macedonian fought against them, how country? What then dost thou yet he made a decree and cast 'lots + Gr. lot. ask, that it may be done for thee? to destroy them utterly; 25 also how 13 And Esther said to the king, Let it he went into the king, telling him to be granted to the Jews so to treat them hang Mardochæus: but all the calamito-morrow as to hang the ten sons of ties he tried to bring upon the Jews Aman. 14 And he permitted it to be came upon himself, and he was hanged, so done; and he gave up to the Jews and his children. 26 Therefore these of the city the bodies of the sons of days were called Phruræ, because of Aman to hang. 15 And the Jews the lots; (for in their language they assembled in Susa on the fourteenth are called Phruræ;) because of the day of Adar, and slew three hundred words of this letter, and because of all men, but plundered no property. 16 And they suffered on this account, and all the rest of the Jews who were in the that happened to them. 27 And Markingdom assembled, and helped one dochæus made it a settled thing, and + Gr.lit. them another, and obtained rest the Jews took upon themselves, and mutual act of from their enemies: for they upon their seed, and upon those that the parts is the destroyed fifteen thousand were joined to them to observe it, neither reflective act of of them on the thirteenth would they on any account behave Eph. 5. 19; day of Adar, but took no differently: but these days were to be Col. 3. 16. spoil. 17 And they rested a memorial kept in every generation, on the fourteenth of the same month, and city, and family, and province. and kept it as a day of rest with joy 28 And these days of the Phruræ, said and gladness. 18 And the Jews in the they, shall be kept for ever, and their city Susa assembled also on the four-memorial shall not fail in any generateenth day, and rested; and they kept tion. 29 And queen Esther, the daughalso the fifteenth with joy and glad-ter of Aminadab, and Mardochæus the 19 On this account then it is Jew, wrote all that they had done, that the Jews dispersed in every foreign and the confirmation of the letter of land keep the fourteenth of Adar as a Phruræ. 31 And Mardochæus and + Gr. good day. *holy day with joy, sending Esther the queen appointed a fast for portions to one another. 20 And Mar- themselves privately, even at that time dochæus wrote these things in a book, also having formed their plan against and sent them to the Jews, as many their own health. 32 And Esther estab selves, i. e. the reciprocal or the whole. See ness. lished it by a command for ever, and that cried to God, and were delivered: it was written for a memorial. to, or, came in 10. And the king levied a tax upon his kingdom both by land and sea. And as for his strength and valour, and the wealth and glory of his kingdom, behold, they are written in the book of the Persians and Medes, for a memorial. And Mardochæus + 3 was *Gr. succeeded viceroy to king Artaxerxes, to the place of. and was a great man in the kingdom, and honoured by the Jews, and passed his life beloved of all his nation. And Mardochæus said, These things have been done of God. For I remember the dream which I had concerning these matters: for not one particular of them has failed. There was the little fountain, which became a river, and there was light, and the sun, and much water. The river is Esther, whom the king married, and made queen. And the two serpents are I and Aman. And the nations are those nations that combined to destroy the name of the Jews. But as for my nation, this is Israel, even they 545 for the Lord delivered his people, and the Lord rescued us out of all these calamities; and God wrought such signs and great wonders as have not been done among the na- tie. on the tions. Therefore did he side of. ordain two lots, one for the people of God, and one for all the other nations. And these two lots came for an appointed season, and for a day of judgment, before God, and for all the nations. And God remembered his people, and vindicated his inheritance. And they shall observe these days, in the month Adar, on the fourteenth and on the fifteenth day of the month, with an assembly, and joy and gladness before God, throughout the generations for ever among his people Israel. In the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, Dositheus, who said that he was a priest and a Levite, and Ptolemy his son, brought in the published letter of Phruræ, which they said existed, and which Lysimachus the son of Ptolemy, who was in Jerusalem, had interpreted. JO B. try. 2 CHAPTER I. VERSES 1, 17. cattle the + Gr. hedged without him, house, and that out all his pos 1. THERE was a certain man in blameless, true, godly, abstaining from the land of Ausis, whose name was everything evil? Then the devil Job; and that man was true, blameless, answered, and said before the Lord, righteous, and godly, abstaining from Does Job worship the Lord for everything evil. And he had seven nothing? 10 Hast thou not sons and three daughters. And his 'made a hedge about him, roundthe parts cattle consisted of seven thousand and about his household, and the inner sheep, three thousand camels, five hun- and all his possessions round parts of his dred yoke of oxen, five hundred she- about? and hast thou not which is withasses in the pastures, and a very great blessed the works of his sessions round + Lit. minis- household, and he had a hands, and multiplied his about great husbandry on the cattle upon the land? 11 But put forth earth; and that man was most noble thine hand, and touch all that he has: of the men of the east. And his sons verily he will bless thee to thy face. visiting one another prepared a ban-12 Then the Lord said to the devil, quet every day, taking with them also Behold, I give into thine hand all that their three sisters to eat and drink he has, but touch not himself. So the with them. And when the days of devil went out from the presence of the banquet were completed, Job sent the Lord. 13 And it came to pass on and purified them, having risen up in a certain day, that Job's sons and the morning, and offered sacrifices for his daughters were drinking wine in them, according to their number, and the house of their elder brother. + Gr. sin. one calf for a sin-offering 14 And, behold, there came a messenger for their souls: for Job said, Lest per- to Job, and said to him, The yokes of adventure my sons have thought evil oxen were ploughing, and the shein their minds against God. Thus then asses were feeding near them; 15 and Job did continually. And it came the spoilers came and took them for a to pass on a day, that, behold, the prey, and slew the servants with the angels of God came to stand before the sword; and I having escaped alone am Lord, and the devil came with them. come to tell thee. 16 While he was yet And the Lord said to the devil, speaking, there came another mesWhence art thou come? And the devil senger, and said to Job, Fire has fallen answered the Lord, and said, I am from heaven, and burnt up the sheep, come from compassing the earth, and and devoured the shepherds likewise; + Gr. the earth walking up and down in and I having escaped alone am come under heaven. *the world. 8 And the Lord to tell thee. 17 While he was yet said to him, Hast thou diligently considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the carth, a man 7 speaking, there came another messenger, and said to Job, The horsemen formed three companies against us, and surrounded the camels, and took them for a prey, and slew the servants with the sword; and I only escaped, and am come to tell thee. 18 While he is yet speaking, another messenger comes, saying to Job, While thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking with their elder brother; 19 suddenly a great wind came on from the desert, +Gr. touched. and caught the four corners of the house, and the house fell upon thy children, and they are dead; and I have escaped alone, and am come to tell thee. 20 So Job arose, and rent his garments, and shaved the hair of his head, and fell on the earth, and worshipped, 21 and said, I myself came forth naked from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, the Lord has taken away: as it seemed good to the Lord, so has it come to pass; blessed be the name of the Lord. 22 In all these events that befell him Job sinned not at all before the Lord, and did not impute folly to God. + Gr. earth under heaven. 2. And it came to pass on a certain day, that the angels of God came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came among them to stand before the Lord. And the Lord said to the devil, Whence comest thou? Then the devil said before the Lord, I am come from going through the *world, and walking about the whole earth. And the Lord said to the devil, Hast thou then observed my servant Job, that there is none of men upon the earth like him, a harmless, true, blameless, godly man, abstaining from all evil? and he yet cleaves to innocence, whereas thou hast told me to destroy his substance without cause? And the devil answered and said to the Lord, Skin for skin, all that a man has will he give as a ransom for his life. 5 Nay, but put forth thine hand, and touch his bones + Gr. plural. and his flesh: verily he will bless thee to thy face. And the Lord 6 9 (said to the devil, Behold, I deliver him up to thee; only save his life. So the devil went out from the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from his feet to his head. And he took a potsherd to scrape away the discharge, and sat upon a dung-heap outside the city. And when much time had passed, his wife said to him, How long wilt thou hold out, saying, Behold, I wait yet a little while, expecting the hope of my deliverance? for, behold, thy memorial is abolished from the earth, even thy sons and daughters, the pangs and pains of my womb which I bore in vain with sorrows; and thou thyself sittest down to spend the nights in the open air among the corruption of worms, and I am a wanderer and a servant from place to place and house to house, waiting for the setting of the sun, that I may rest from my labours and my pangs which now beset me: but say some word against the Lord, and die. 10 But he looked on her, and said to her, Thou hast spoken like one of the foolish women. If we have received good things of the hand of the Lord shall we not endure evil things? In all these things that happened to him Job sinned not at all with his lips before God. Now his three friends having heard of all the evil that was come upon him, came to him each from his own country: Eliphaz the king of the Thamans, Baldad, sovereign of the Saucheans, Sophar king of the Minæans: and they came to him with one accord, to comfort and to visit him. 12And when they saw him from a distance they did not know him; and they cried with a loud voice, and wept, and rent every one his garment, and sprinkled dust upon their heads, 13 and they sat down beside him seven days and seven nights, and no one of them spoke; for they saw that his affliction was dreadful and very great. 3. After this Job opened his mouth, Alex. day. + Or, let that day be cursed. ness &c. + Gr. it. 2 and cursed his day, saying, 3 Let the day perish in which I was born, and that night in which they said, Behold + Heb. and a man-child! 4 Let that *night be darkness, and let not the Lord regard it from above, neither let light come upon it. 5 But let darkness and the shadow of death seize it; let blackness come upon it; +6 let that day and night be And as for that cursed, let darkness carry night, let dark them away; let it not come into the days of the year, neither let it be numbered with the days of the months. But let that night be pain, and let not mirth come upon it, nor joy. But let him that curses that day curse it, even he that +Or, monster. is ready to attack the great See Gen. 1. 21. * whale. 9 Let the stars of than. Possibly that night be darkened; let to Isa. 27. 1. it remain dark, and not come into light; and let it not see the morning star arise: 10 because it shut not up the gates of my mother's womb, for so it would have removed sorrow from my eyes. "For why died I not in the belly? and why did I not come forth from the womb and die immediately? 12 And why did the knees support me? and why did I suck the breasts? 13 Now I should have lain down and been quiet, I should have slept and been at rest, 14 with kings and councillors of the earth, who gloried in their swords; Heb. Levia the LXX. refer + Gr. on. -am הרב .Heb biguous. 15 or with rulers, whose gold was abundant, who filled their houses with silver: 16 or I should have been as an untimely birth proceeding from his mother's womb, or as infants who never saw light. 17 There the ungodly have burnt out the fury of rage; there the wearied in body rest. And the men of old time have together ceased to hear the exactor's voice. 19 The small and great are there, and the servant that feared his lord. 20 For why is light given to those who are in bitterness, and life to the souls which are in griefs? Who desire death, and obtain it not, digging for it as for treasures; 22 and would be very joyful if they should gain it? 23 Death is rest to such a man, for God has hedged him in. 24 For my groaning comes before my food, and I weep being beset with terror. 25 For the terror of which I meditated has come upon me, and that which I had feared has befallen me. 26 I was not at peace, nor quiet, nor had I rest; yet wrath came upon me. 6 Is quoted by Bos, guileless 4. Then Eliphaz the Thamanite answered and said, 2 Hast thou been often spoken to in distress? but who shall endure the force of thy words? 3 For whereas thou hast instructed many, and hast strengthened the hands of the weak one, 4 and hast supported the failing with words, and hast imparted courage to feeble knees. 5 Yet now that pain has come upon thee, and touched thee, thou art troubled. not thy fear founded in folly, thy hope also, and the mischief of +One MS. thy way? 7 Remember then gives akakia, who has perished, being ness." pure? or when were the true-hearted utterly destroyed? Accordingly as I have seen men ploughing barren places, and they that sow them will reap sorrows for themselves. They shall perish by the command of the Lord, and shall be utterly consumed by the breath of his wrath. 10 The strength of the lion, and the voice of the lioness, and the exulting cry of serpents are quenched. "The old lion + Gr. anthas perished for want of eater? food, and the lions' whelps have forsaken one another. 12 But if there had been any truth in thy words, none of these evils would have befallen thee. Shall not mine ear receive excellent revelations from him? 13 But as when terror falls upon men, with dread and a sound in the night, 14 horror and trembling seized me, and caused all my bones greatly to shake. 15 And a spirit came before my face; and my 9 lion, qy, ant |