Or the years draw near when you shall say,

'I find no pleasure in them.'

Before the sun is darkened,

And the light of moon and stars,

And the clouds return after the rain;

When the keepers of the house tremble,

The strong men bow themselves,

Those who look out of the windows are dimmed,
And the doors to the street are closed;
When the sound of the grinding is low,
And one rises at the voice of a bird,
And the daughters of song are all feeble.
Then too one is afraid of a height,
And the way is full of terrors.

The almond tree puts forth its blossoms,
The grasshopper limps along,

And the fire of passion is dead.

Before the silver cord is snapped,
And the golden bowl is broken,
The pitcher broken at the fountain,
And the wheel broken at the cistern;
For the man goes to his eternal home,
And the mourners go about the streets;
The dust returns to earth as it was,
And the breath returns to God who gave it.
"Vanity of vanities,' says Koheleth,
'All is illusion.'

356. LATER WISE MEN'S COMMENTS ON KOHELETH'S PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE

A good name is better than good ointment;
And the day of death than the day of one's birth.
It is better to go to the house of mourning
Than to go to the house of feasting,
For that is the common end of man,
And the living will lay it to heart.

Grief is better than laughter,

For through sadness the heart may be made glad.
The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning;
But the mind of fools is in the house of mirth.
It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man,
Than for one to listen to the song of fools.
For as the crackling of nettles under kettles,
So is the laughter of a fool; it is vanity.

Better is the end of a thing than its beginning;
Better is patience than a haughty spirit.
Do not quickly give way to anger,
Only fools cherish wrath in their hearts.

The words of the wise spoken quietly

Are more effective than the loud cry of an arch-fool. Wisdom is better than weapons,

But one sinner destroys much good.

A dead fly corrupts the perfumer's ointment,
So a little folly destroys precious wisdom.

Revere God and keep his commands,

For this is the whole duty of man;

For God will bring every deed to the judgment
That is passed on all secret acts, good or bad.

JOB

A LYRIC DRAMA PRESENTING VARIOUS INTERPRETATIONS OF THE MEANING OF SUFFERING

PROLOGUE

357. SUFFERING IS A TEST OF MAN'S PIETY

In the land of Uz there was a man named Job; and he was blameless and upright, one who revered God and avoided evil. He had seven sons and three daughters; and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred asses; and he had many servants, so that he was the richest man among all the peoples of the East. His sons used to gather and each in turn hold a feast in his own house; and they always invited their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When their round of feasting was over, it was Job's custom, in order to absolve them from all possible guilt, to offer burntofferings for each of them; for he said, 'Perhaps my sons have sinned and secretly cursed God.' And this Job never failed to do.

Now on a certain day when the sons of God presented themselves before Jehovah, the Adversary came with them. Jehovah said to the Adversary, 'From where do you come?' The Adversary answered, 'From going back and forth on the earth, and walking up and down on it.' And Jehovah said to the Adversary, 'Have you observed my servant Job? For there is no man like him on the earth, blameless and upright, who reveres God and avoids evil.' The Adversary replied, 'But is it for naught that Job fears God? Have you not yourself made a hedge all about him,

about his household, and about all that he has? You have blessed whatever he does, and his possessions have vastly increased. But just put out your hand now and touch all his possessions; he certainly will curse you to your face.' Then Jehovah said to the Adversary, 'See, everything that he possesses is in your power; only do not lay hands on Job himself.' So the Adversary left the presence of Jehovah.

Now on a certain day, as Job's sons and daughters were eating and drinking in the oldest brother's house, a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were ploughing and the asses were grazing near them when Sabeans suddenly attacked and seized them; the servants were put to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.

While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The fire of God has fallen from heaven and has completely burned up the sheep and the servants, and I alone have escaped to tell you.'

While this man was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The Chaldeans, attacking in three bands, raided the camels and drove them away; the servants were put to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.'

While this one was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking in their oldest brother's house when a great wind came from across the wilderness, struck the four corners of the house, and fell upon the young men and killed them. I alone have escaped to tell you.'

Then Job rose, tore his robe, shaved his head, prostrated himself on the ground and worshipped, saying:

Naked I came from my mother's womb,

And naked shall I return there!

Jehovah gave, Jehovah has taken away;
Blessed be the name of Jehovah!

In all this Job did not sin nor blame God.

On another day when the sons of God presented themselves before Jehovah, the Adversary came with them. And Jehovah said to the Adversary, 'From where do you come?'

The Adversary answered, 'From going back and forth on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.' Jehovah said to the Adversary, 'Have you observed my servant Job? For there is no man like him on the earth, blameless and upright, one who reveres God and avoids evil; he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me to ruin him without cause. The Adversary answered Jehovah, 'Skin for skin, yes, a man will give all that he has for his life. But just put out your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he certainly will curse you to your face.' Jehovah said to the Adversary, 'See, he is in your power; only spare his life.'

So the Adversary left the presence of Jehovah, and afflicted Job from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head with leprosy so terrible that he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself.

As he sat among the ashes, his wife said to him, 'Are you still holding to your piety? Curse God and die.' But he said to her, 'You speak like a senseless woman. We accept prosperity from God, shall we not also accept misfortune?' In all this Job said nothing that was wrong.

When Job's three friends heard of all this misfortune that had befallen him, they came each from his own home: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, for they had arranged to go