Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,
If one assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved?
But who can withhold himself from speaking?
Behold, thou hast instructed many,
And thou hast strengthened the weak hands.
Thy words have upholden him that was falling,
And thou hast made firm the {Hebrew: bowing.}feeble knees.
But now it is come unto thee, and thou {Or, art grieved}faintest;
It toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.
Is not thy fear of God thy confidence,
And the integrity of thy ways thy hope?
Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent?
Or where were the upright cut off?
According as I have seen, they that plow iniquity,
And sow {Or, mischief}trouble, reap the same.
By the breath of God they perish,
And by the blast of his anger are they consumed.
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion,
And the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
The old lion perisheth for lack of prey,
And the whelps of the lioness are scattered abroad.
Now a thing was {Hebrew: brought by stealth.}secretly brought to me,
And mine ear received a whisper thereof.
In thoughts from the visions of the night,
When deep sleep falleth on men,
Fear came upon me, and trembling,
Which made all my bones to shake.
Then {Or, a breath passed over}a spirit passed before my face;
The hair of my flesh stood up.
It stood still, but I could not discern the appearance thereof;
A form was before mine eyes:
{Or, I heard a still voice}There was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,
Shall mortal man {Or, be just before God}be more just than God?
Shall a man {Or, be pure before his Maker}be more pure than his Maker?
Behold, he putteth no trust in his servants;
And his angels he chargeth with folly:
How much more them that dwell in houses of clay,
Whose foundation is in the dust,
Who are crushed {Or, like}before the moth!
{Or, From morning to evening}Betwixt morning and evening they are {Hebrew: broken in pieces.}destroyed:
They perish for ever without any regarding it.
{Or, Is not their excellency which is in them removed?}Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them?
They die, and that without wisdom.
Querverweise zu Hiob 4,6 Hiob 4,6
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was {Hebrew: Iyob.}Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and turned away from evil.
{Or, Though he slay me, yet will I wait for him}Behold, he will slay me; I have no hope:Nevertheless I will {Hebrew: argue.}maintain my ways before him.
Where then is my hope?And as for my hope, who shall see it?
And Jehovah said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job? {Or, that}for there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and turneth away from evil.
Then Satan answered Jehovah, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
For Jehovah will be thy confidence,And will keep thy foot from being taken.
Wherefore girding up the loins of your mind, be sober and set your hope perfectly on the grace that {Greek: is being brought.}is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
Although there is no violence in my hands,And my prayer is pure.
Hast not thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath, on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his {Or, cattle}substance is increased in the land.
In the fear of Jehovah is strong confidence;And {Or, the children of him that hath it}his children shall have a place of refuge.
And if ye call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to each man's work, pass the time of your sojourning in fear:
My foot hath held fast to his steps;His way have I kept, and turned not aside.
Remember now, O Jehovah, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
I have not gone back from the commandment of his lips;I have treasured up the words of his mouth {Or, more than my own law}more than my {Or, portion See Proverbs 30:8 }necessary food.
Far be it from me that I should justify you:Till I die I will not put away mine integrity from me.
My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go:My heart {Or, doth not reproach me for any of my days}shall not reproach me so long as I live.
Because I delivered the poor that cried,The fatherless also, {Or, and him that had &c.}that had none to help him.
The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me;And I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
I put on righteousness, and it {Or, clothed itself with me}clothed me:My justice was as a robe and a {Or, turban.}diadem.
I was eyes to the blind,And feet was I to the lame.
I was a father to the needy:And {Or, the cause which i knew not}the cause of him that I knew not I searched out.
And I brake the {Hebrew: great teeth.}jaws of the unrighteous,And plucked the prey out of his teeth.
I made a covenant with mine eyes;How then should I look upon a virgin?
{Or, for what portion should I have of God…And what heritage &c? Is there not calamity &c.?}For what is the portion from God above,And the heritage from the Almighty on high?
Is it not calamity to the unrighteous,And disaster to the workers of iniquity?
Doth not he see my ways,And number all my steps?
If I have walked with falsehood,And my foot hath hasted to deceit
(Let me be weighed in an even balance,That God may know mine integrity);
If my step hath turned out of the way,And my heart walked after mine eyes,And if any spot hath cleaved to my hands:
Then let me sow, and let another eat;Yea, let {Or, my offspring Hebrew: my produce.}the produce of my field be rooted out.
If my heart hath been enticed unto a woman,And I have laid wait at my neighbor's door;
Then let my wife grind unto another,And let others bow down upon her.
For that were a heinous crime;Yea, it were an iniquity to be punished by the judges:
For it is a fire that consumeth unto {Hebrew: Abaddon. See chapter 26:6}Destruction,And would root out all mine increase.
If I have despised the cause of my man-servant or of my maid-servant,When they contended with me;
What then shall I do when God riseth up?And when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?
Did not he that made me in the womb make him?And did not one fashion us in the womb?
If I have withheld {Or, aught that the poor desired}the poor from their desire,Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
Or have eaten my morsel alone,And the fatherless hath not eaten thereof
(Nay, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,And her have I guided from my mother's womb);
If I have seen any perish for want of clothing,Or that the needy had no covering;
If his loins have not blessed me,And if he hath not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless,Because I saw my help in the gate:
Then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder-blade,And mine arm be broken from the bone.
For calamity from God is a terror to me,And by reason of his majesty I can do nothing.
If I have made gold my hope,And have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence;
If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,And because my hand had gotten much;
If I have beheld {Hebrew: the light.}the sun when it shined,Or the moon walking in brightness,
And my heart hath been secretly enticed,And {Hebrew: my hand hath kissed my mouth.}my mouth hath kissed my hand:
This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judges;For I should have denied the God that is above.
If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me,Or lifted up myself when evil found him
(Yea, I have not suffered by {Hebrew: palate.}mouth to sinBy asking his life with a curse);
If the men of my tent have not said,Who can find one that hath not been filled with his meat?
(The sojourner hath not lodged in the street;But I have opened my doors to {Hebrew: the way.}the traveller);
If {Or, after the manner of men}like Adam I have covered my transgressions,By hiding mine iniquity in my bosom,
Because I feared the great multitude,And the contempt of families terrified me,So that I kept silence, and went not out of the door—
Oh that I had one to hear me!(Lo, here is my {Hebrew: mark.}signature, let the Almighty answer me)And that I had the {Hebrew: book.}indictment which mine adversary hath written!
Surely I would carry it upon my shoulder;I would bind it unto me as a crown:
I would declare unto him the number of my steps;As a prince would I {Or, present it to him}go near unto him.
If my land crieth out against me,And the furrows thereof weep together;
If I have eaten the {Hebrew: strength.}fruits thereof without money,Or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life:
Let {Or, thorns}thistles grow instead of wheat,And {Or, noisome weeds}cockle instead of barley.The words of Job are ended.