My soul is weary of my life;
I will give free course to my complaint;
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
I will say unto God, Do not condemn me;
Show me wherefore thou contendest with me.
Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress,
That thou shouldest despise the {Hebrew: labor.}work of thy hands,
And shine upon the counsel of the wicked?
Hast thou eyes of flesh?
Or seest thou as man seeth?
Are thy days as the days of man,
Or thy years as man's days,
That thou inquirest after mine iniquity,
And searchest after my sin,
Although thou knowest that I am not wicked,
And there is none that can deliver out of thy hand?
Thy hands have framed me and fashioned me
Together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.
Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast fashioned me as clay;
And wilt thou bring me into dust again?
Hast thou not poured me out as milk,
And curdled me like cheese?
Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh,
And knit me together with bones and sinews.
Thou hast granted me life and lovingkindness;
And thy {Or, care}visitation hath {Or, I am filled with ignominy, but look thou…for it increaseth: thou &c.}preserved my spirit.
Yet these things thou didst hide in thy heart;
I know that this is with thee:
If I sin, then thou markest me,
And thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity.
If I be wicked, woe unto me;
And if I be righteous, yet shall I not lift up my head;
Being filled with ignominy,
And looking upon mine affliction.
And if my head exalt itself, thou huntest me as a lion;
And again thou showest thyself marvellous upon me.
Thou renewest thy witnesses against me,
And increasest thine indignation upon me:
{Or, Host after host is against me}Changes and warfare are with me.
Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb?
I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me.
I should have been as though I had not been;
I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.
Are not my days few? {Another reading is, let him cease, and leave me alone.}cease then,
And let me alone, that I may {Hebrew: brighten up.}take comfort a little,
Before I go whence I shall not return,
Even to the land of darkness and of the shadow of death;
The land dark as {Hebrew: thick darkness.}midnight,
The land of the shadow of death, without any order,
And where the light is as {Hebrew: thick darkness.}midnight.
Querverweise zu Hiob 10,3 Hiob 10,3
For Job hath said, I am righteous,And God hath taken away my right:
{Or, Should I lie against my right?}Notwithstanding my right I am accounted a liar; {Hebrew: Mine arrow.}My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.
What man is like Job,Who drinketh up scoffing like water,
For Jehovah heareth the needy,And despiseth not his prisoners.
Thou {Or, shall call, and I will &c.}wouldest call, and I would answer thee:Thou wouldest have a desire to the work of thy hands.
Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man,Neither will he uphold the evil-doers.
{The Hebrew as pointed reads, Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art vile? Or, to nobles, Ye are wicked?}Him that saith to a king, Thou art vile,Or to nobles, Ye are wicked;
That respecteth not the persons of princes,Nor regardeth the rich more than the poor;For they all are the work of his hands.
Righteous art thou, O Jehovah, when I contend with thee; yet would I {Hebrew: speak of judgements.}reason the cause with thee: wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they at ease that deal very treacherously?
Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root; they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their {Hebrew: reins.}heart.
But thou, O Jehovah, knowest me; thou seest me, and triest my heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and {Hebrew: sanctify.}prepare them for the day of slaughter.
That respecteth not the persons of princes,Nor regardeth the rich more than the poor;For they all are the work of his hands.
Jehovah will perfect that which concerneth me:Thy lovingkindness, O Jehovah, endureth for ever;Forsake not the works of thine own hands.
He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous:But with kings upon the throneHe setteth them for ever, and they are exalted.
And if they be bound in fetters,And be taken in the cords of afflictions;
Then he showeth them their work,And their transgressions, that they have behaved themselves proudly.
But now, O Jehovah, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
But thou {Or, hast filled up}art full of the judgment of the wicked:Judgment and justice take hold on thee.
Wherefore let them also that suffer according to the will of God commit their souls in well-doing unto a faithful Creator.
{Or, Because there is wrath, beware lest thou be led away by the sufficiency}For let not wrath stir thee up against chastisements;Neither let the greatness of the ransom turn thee aside.
Shall he that cavilleth contend with the Almighty?He that argueth with God, let him answer it.
Wilt thou even annul my judgment?Wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be justified?
He hath led me and caused me to walk in darkness, {Or, without light}and not in light.
Surely against me he turneth his hand again and again all the day.
My flesh and my skin hath he {Or, worn out}made old; he hath broken my bones.
He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail.
He hath made me to dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead.
He hath walled me about, that I cannot go forth; he hath made my chain heavy.
Yea, when I cry, and call for help, he shutteth out my prayer.
He hath walled up my ways with hewn stone; he hath made my paths crooked.
He is unto me as a bear lying in wait, as a lion in secret places.
He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces; he hath made me desolate.
He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.
He hath caused the {Hebrew: sons.}shafts of his quiver to enter into my reins.
I am become a derision to all my people, and their song all the day.
He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath sated me with wormwood.
He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones; he hath covered me with ashes.
And thou hast {Or, cast off}removed my soul far off from peace; I forgat prosperity.
And I said, My strength is perished, and mine expectation from Jehovah.