1 And Elius resumed and said,
2 What is this that thou thinkest to be according to right? who art thou that thou hast said, I am righteous before the Lord? 4 I will answer thee, and thy three friends.
5 Look up to the sky and see; and consider the clouds, how high they are above thee. 6 If thou hast sinned, what wilt thou do? and if too thou hast transgressed much, what canst thou perform? 7 And suppose thou art righteous, what wilt thou give him? or what shall he receive of thy hand? 8 Thy ungodliness may affect a man who is like to thee; or thy righteousness a son of man. 9 They that are oppressed of a multitude will be ready to cry out; they will call for help because of the arm of many. 10 But none said, Where is God that made me, who appoints the night-watches; 11 who makes me to differ from the four-footed beasts of the earth, and from the birds of the sky? 12 There they shall cry, and none shall hearken, even because of the insolence of wicked men.
13 For the Lord desires not to look on error, for he is the Almighty One. 14 He beholds them that perform lawless deeds, and he will save me: and do thou plead before him, if thou canst praise him, as it is possible even now. 15 For he is not now regarding his wrath, nor has he noticed severely any trespass. 16 Yet Job vainly opens his mouth, in ignorance he multiplies words.
About this text. This is Sir Lancelot Brenton’s 1851 translation of the Septuagint — the Greek Old Testament the Orthodox Church reads, rather than the Hebrew text behind most English Bibles. It is in the public domain. Words in italics are ones Brenton supplied that the Greek does not have; he marked them so that a reader could tell the difference, and they are kept that way here. The numbered notes are his own. Its English is Victorian, and does not match the modern English of the New Testament pages on this site.