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 9,34 Hiob 9,34
Shall not his majesty make you afraid,And his dread fall upon you?
Oh that I were as in the months of old,As in the days when God watched over me;
When his lamp shined {Or, above}upon my head,And by his light I walked through darkness;
As I was in {Hebrew: my days of autumn.}the ripeness of my days,When the {Or, counsel}friendship of God was upon my tent;
When the Almighty was yet with me,And my children were about me;
When my steps were washed with butter,And the rock poured me out streams of oil!
When I went forth to the gate unto the city,When I prepared my seat in the {Or, broad place}street,
The young men saw me and hid themselves,And the aged rose up and stood;
The princes refrained from talking,And laid their hand on their mouth;
The voice of the nobels was {Hebrew: hid.}hushed,And their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.
For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me;And when the eye saw me, it gave witness unto me:
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.
Then I said, I shall die {Or, beside Hebrew: with.}in my nest,And I shall multiply my days as the sand:
My root is {Hebrew: opened.}spread out {Or, by}to the waters,And the dew lieth all night upon my branch;
My glory is fresh in me,And my bow is renewed in my hand.
Unto me men gave ear, and waited,And kept silence for my counsel.
After my words they spake not again;And my speech distilled upon them.
And they waited for me as for the rain;And they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain.
I smiled on them, when they had no confidence;And the light of my countenance they cast not down.
I chose out their way, and sat as chief,And dwelt as a king in the army,As one that comforteth the mourners.
Only do not two things unto me;Then will I not hide myself from thy face:
Withdraw thy hand far from me;And let not thy terror make me afraid.
Then call thou, and I will answer;Or let me speak, and answer thou me.
Therefore am I terrified at his presence;When I consider, I am afraid of him.
For calamity from God is a terror to me,And by reason of his majesty I can do nothing.
Behold, my terror shall not make thee afraid,Neither shall my pressure be heavy upon thee.
Yea, at this my heart trembleth,And is moved out of its place.
Remove thy stroke away from me:I am consumed by the {Hebrew: conflict.}blow of thy hand.
Who knoweth the power of thine anger,And thy wrath according to the fear that is due unto thee?