Then Job answered and said,
Of a truth I know that it is so:
{Or, For}But how can man be just {Or, before}with God?
{Or, If one should desire…He could not &c.}If he be pleased to contend with him,
He cannot answer him one of a thousand.
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength:
Who hath hardened himself against him, and prospered?—
Him that removeth the mountains, and they know it not,
When he overturneth them in his anger;
That shaketh the earth out of its place,
And the pillars thereof tremble;
That commandeth the sun, and it riseth not,
And sealeth up the stars;
That alone stretcheth out the heavens,
And treadeth upon the {Hebrew: high places.}waves of the sea;
That maketh the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the chambers of the south;
That doeth great things past finding out,
Yea, marvellous things without number.
Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not:
He passeth on also, but I perceive him not.
Behold, he seizeth the prey, who can {Or, turn him back}hinder him?
Who will say unto him, What doest thou?
God will not withdraw his anger;
The helpers of {Or, arrogancy See Isaiah 30:7.}Rahab {Or, did}do stoop under him.
How much less shall I answer him,
And choose out my words to reason with him?
Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer;
I would make supplication to my judge.
If I had called, and he had answered me,
Yet would I not believe that he hearkened unto my voice.
{Hebrew: He who.}For he breaketh me with a tempest,
And multiplieth my wounds without cause.
He will not suffer me to take my breath,
But filleth me with bitterness.
If we speak of strength, {Or, Lo, here am I, saith he: And if of justice, Who &c.}lo, he is mighty!
And if of justice, Who, saith he, will summon me?
Though I be righteous, mine own mouth shall condemn me:
Though I be perfect, {Or, he}it shall prove me perverse.
{Or, Though I be perfect, I will not regard &c.}I am perfect; I regard not myself;
I despise my life.
It is all one; therefore I say,
He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.
If the scourge slay suddenly,
He will mock at the {Or, calamity}trial of the innocent.
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;
He covereth the faces of the judges thereof:
If it be not he, who then is it?
Now my days are swifter than a {Or, runner}post:
They flee away, they see no good,
They are passed away as the {Hebrew: ships of reed.}swift ships;
As the eagle that swoopeth on the prey.
If I say, I will forget my complaint,
I will put off my sad countenance, and {Hebrew: brighten up.}be of good cheer;
I am afraid of all my sorrows,
I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.
I shall be condemned;
Why then do I labor in vain?
If I wash myself {Another reading is, with snow.}with snow water,
And {Hebrew: cleanse my hands with lye.}make my hands never so clean;
Yet wilt thou plunge me in the ditch,
And mine own clothes shall abhor me.
For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him,
That we should come together in judgment.
There is no umpire betwixt us,
That might lay his hand upon us both.
Let him take his rod away from me,
And let not his terror make me afraid:
Then would I speak, and not fear him;
For I am not so in myself.
Querverweise zu Hiob 9,20 Hiob 9,20
Of a truth I know that it is so: {Or, For}But how can man be just {Or, before}with God?
For {Or, thy mouth teacheth thine iniquity}thine iniquity teacheth thy mouth,And thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.
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.
Surely thou hast spoken in my hearing,And I have heard the voice of thy words, saying,
I am clean, without transgression;I am innocent, neither is there iniquity in me:
Behold, he findeth {Or, causes of alienation}occasions against me,He counteth me for his enemy:
He putteth my feet in the stocks,He marketh all my paths.
Behold, {Or, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, For &c.}I will answer thee, in this thou art not just;For God is greater than man.
Why dost thou strive against him,For that he giveth not account of any of his matters?
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?
Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I;Yea, thine own lips testify against thee.
Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect: but I press on, if so be that I may {Or, lay hold, seeing that also I was laid hold on}lay hold on that for which also I was laid hold on by Christ Jesus.
Brethren, I count not myself {Many ancient authorities omit yet.}yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before.
I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the {Or, upward}high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Let us therefore, as many as are {Or, full-grown 1 Corinthians 2:6.}perfect, be thus minded: and if in anything ye are otherwise minded, this also shall God reveal unto you:
He that hath a wayward heart findeth no good;And he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into {Or, calamity}mischief.
So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
Job speaketh without knowledge,And his words are without wisdom.
wranglings of men corrupted in mind and bereft of the truth, supposing that godliness is a way of gain.
Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.
Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vanity;He multiplieth words without knowledge.
If thou, {Hebrew: Jah.}Jehovah, shouldest mark iniquities,O Lord, who could stand?
In the multitude of words there wanteth not transgression;But he that refraineth his lips {Or, is wise}doeth wisely.
And enter not into judgment with thy servant;For in thy sight no man living is righteous.
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts.
But he, desiring to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor?
And I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
And he said unto them, Ye are they that justify yourselves in the sight of men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
For in many things we all stumble. If any stumbleth not in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also.