Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
Should not the multitude of words be answered?
And should a man full of talk be justified?
Should thy boastings make men hold their peace?
And when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?
For thou sayest, My doctrine is pure,
And I am clean in thine eyes.
But oh that God would speak,
And open his lips against thee,
And that he would show thee the secrets of wisdom!
For he is manifold in understanding.
Know therefore that God {Or, remitteth (Hebrew: causeth to be forgotten) unto thee of thine iniquity}exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
{Or, Canst thou find out the deep things of God?}Canst thou by searching find out God?
Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?
{Hebrew: The heights of heaven.}It is high as heaven; what canst thou do?
Deeper than Sheol; what canst thou know?
The measure thereof is longer than the earth,
And broader than the sea.
If he pass through, and shut up,
And {Hebrew: call an assembly.}call unto judgment, then who can hinder him?
For he knoweth false men:
He seeth iniquity also, {Or, and him that considereth not}even though he consider it not.
{Or, But an empty man will get understanding, when a wild ass's colt is born a man}But vain man is void of understanding,
Yea, man is born as a wild ass's colt.
If thou set thy heart aright,
And stretch out thy hands toward him;
If iniquity be in thy hand, put it far away,
And let not unrighteousness dwell in thy tents.
Surely then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot;
Yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear:
For thou shalt forget thy misery;
Thou shalt remember it as waters that are passed away,
And thy life shall {Or, rise above}be clearer than the noonday;
Though there be darkness, it shall be as the morning.
And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope;
Yea, thou shalt search about thee, and shalt take thy rest in safety.
Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid;
Yea, many shall make suit unto thee.
But the eyes of the wicked shall fail,
And {Hebrew: refuge is perished from them.}they shall have no way to flee;
And their hope shall be the giving up of the ghost.
Querverweise zu Hiob 11,20 Hiob 11,20
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,
And {Or, refuge shall fail the swift}flight shall perish from the swift; and the strong shall not strengthen his force; neither shall the mighty deliver {Hebrew: his soul (or, life).}himself;
So are the paths of all that forget God;And the hope of the godless man shall perish:
I also will do this unto you: I will appoint terror over you, even consumption and fever, that shall consume the eyes, and make the soul to pine away; and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; {Or, and}or went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
Whose confidence shall {Or, be cut off}break in sunder,And whose trust is a spider's {Hebrew: house.}web.
And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, and there shall be no rest for the sole of thy foot: but Jehovah will give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and pining of soul;
Shall not the day of Jehovah be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
He shall be rooted out of his tent where he trusteth;And {Hebrew: it shall (or, thou shall) bring him.}he shall be brought to the king of terrors.
I am weary with my crying; my throat is dried:Mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.
I saw the Lord standing {Or, upon}beside the altar: and he said, Smite the capitals, that the thresholds may shake; and break them in pieces on the head of all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: {Or, he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered}there shall not one of them flee away, and there shall not one of them escape.
Though they dig into Sheol, thence shall my hand take them; and though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down.
And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and it shall bite them.
For what is the hope of the godless, {Or, when God cutteth him off, When he taketh &c.}though he get him gain,When God taketh away his soul?
Our eyes do yet fail in looking for our vain help:In our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save.
how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? which having at the first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed unto us by them that heard;
The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him;And the desire of the righteous shall be granted.
Whoso curseth his father or his mother,His lamp shall be put out in blackness of darkness.
And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.
But Abraham said, {Greek: Child.}Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things: but now here he is comforted, and thou art in anguish.
And {Or, in all these things}besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that they that would pass from hence to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from thence to us.