Lo, mine eye hath seen all this,
Mine ear hath heard and understood it.
What ye know, the same do I know also:
I am not inferior unto you.
Surely I would speak to the Almighty,
And I desire to reason with God.
But ye are forgers of lies;
Ye are all physicians of no value.
Oh that ye would altogether hold your peace!
And it would be your wisdom.
Hear now my reasoning,
And hearken to the pleadings of my lips.
Will ye speak unrighteously for God,
And talk deceitfully for him?
Will ye show partiality to him?
Will ye contend for God?
Is it good that he should search you out?
Or as one {Or, mocketh}deceiveth a man, will ye {Or, mock}deceive him?
He will surely reprove you,
If ye do secretly show partiality.
Shall not his majesty make you afraid,
And his dread fall upon you?
Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes,
Your defences are defences of clay.
Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak;
And let come on me what will.
{Or, At all adventures I will take &c.}Wherefore should I take my flesh in my teeth,
And put my life in my hand?
{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.
This also shall be my salvation,
That a godless man shall not come before him.
Hear diligently my speech,
And let my declaration be in your ears.
Behold now, I have set my cause in order;
I know that I {Or, shall be justified}am righteous.
Who is he that will contend with me?
For then {Or, if I hold my peace, I shall give up &c.}would I hold my peace and give up the ghost.
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.
How many are mine iniquities and sins?
Make me to know my transgression and my sin.
Wherefore hidest thou thy face,
And holdest me for thine enemy?
Wilt thou harass a driven leaf?
And wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?
For thou writest bitter things against me,
And makest me to inherit the iniquities of my youth:
Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks,
And markest all my paths;
Thou settest a bound to the soles of my feet:
{Hebrew: And he is like.}Though I am like a rotten thing that consumeth,
Like a garment that is moth-eaten.
Querverweise zu Hiob 13,1 Hiob 13,1
Who doeth great things and unsearchable,Marvellous things without number:
Who giveth rain upon the earth,And sendeth waters upon the fields;
So that he setteth up on high those that are low,And those that mourn are exalted to safety.
He frustrateth the devices of the crafty,So that their hands {Or, can perform nothing of worth}cannot perform their enterprise.
He taketh the wise in their own craftiness;And the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong.
They meet with darkness in the day-time,And grope at noonday as in the night.
But he saveth from the sword {Hebrew: out of their mouth.}of their mouth,Even the needy from the hand of the mighty.
So the poor hath hope,And iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
Now a thing was {Hebrew: brought by stealth.}secretly brought to me,And mine ear received a whisper thereof.
Who knoweth not {Or, by}in all these,That the hand of Jehovah hath wrought this,
In whose hand is the soul of every living thing,And the {Or, spirit}breath of all mankind?
Doth not the ear try words,Even as the palate tasteth its food?
{Or, With aged men, ye say, is wisdom}With aged men is wisdom,And in length of days understanding.
With {Hebrew: him.}God is wisdom and might;He hath counsel and understanding.
Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again;He shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.
Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up;Again, he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.
With him is strength and wisdom;The deceived and the deceiver are his.
He leadeth counsellors away stripped,And judges maketh he fools.
He looseth the bond of kings,And he bindeth their loins with a girdle.
He leadeth priests away stripped,And overthroweth the mighty.
He removeth the speech of the trusty,And taketh away the understanding of the elders.
He poureth contempt upon princes,And looseth the belt of the strong.
He uncovereth deep things out of darkness,And bringeth out to light the shadow of death.
He increaseth the nations, and he destroyeth them:He enlargeth the nations, and he leadeth them captive.
He taketh away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the {Or, land}earth,And causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
They grope in the dark without light;And he maketh them to {Hebrew: wander.}stagger like a drunken man.
Lo this, we have searched it, so it is;Hear it, and know thou it {Hebrew: for thyself.}for thy good.
Who is this that hideth counsel without knowledge?Therefore have I uttered that which I understood not,Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak;I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear;But now mine eye seeth thee:
Wherefore I {Or, loathe my words}abhor myself,And repent in dust and ashes.
For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age,And apply thyself to that which their fathers have searched out
(For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing,Because our days upon earth are a shadow);
Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee,And utter words out of their heart?
I will show thee, hear thou me;And that which I have seen I will declare
(Which wise men have toldFrom their fathers, and have not hid it;
Which we have heard and known,And our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children,Telling to the generation to come the praises of Jehovah,And his strength, and his wondrous works that he hath done.
that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you also, that ye also may have fellowship with us: yea, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ: