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 13,15 Hiob 13,15
Behold now, I have set my cause in order;I know that I {Or, shall be justified}am righteous.
Although thou knowest that I am not wicked,And there is none that can deliver out of thy hand?
{Or, For}But as for me I know that my {Or, vindicator Hebrew: goel.}Redeemer liveth,And at last he will stand up upon the {Hebrew: dust.}earth:
{Or, And after my skin hath been thus destroyed, Yet from my flesh shall I see God}And after my skin, even this body, is destroyed,Then without my flesh shall I see God;
Whom I, even I, shall see, {Or, for myself}on my side,And mine eyes shall behold, and not as a stranger.My {Hebrew: reins.}heart is consumed within me.
If ye say, How we will persecute him!And that the root of the matter is found in me;
Although there is no violence in my hands,And my prayer is pure.
{Or, For}But he knoweth {Hebrew: the way that is with me.}the way that I take;When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
{Or, That one might plead for a man with God. As a son of man pleadeth for his neighbor}That he would maintain the right of a man with God,And of a son of man with his neighbor!
Yea, though I walk through the valley of {Or, deep darkness (and so elsewhere)}the shadow of death,I will fear no evil; for thou art with me;Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
I would set my cause in order before him,And fill my mouth with arguments.
I would know the words which he would answer me,And understand what he would say unto me.
Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power?Nay; {Or, he would only give heed}but he would give heed unto me.
There the upright might reason with him;So should I be delivered for ever from my judge.
The wicked is thrust down in his {Or, calamity}evil-doing;But the righteous hath a refuge in his death.
Far be it from me that I should justify you:Till I die I will not put away mine integrity from me.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
If the men of my tent have not said,Who can find one that hath not been filled with his meat?
(The sojourner hath not lodged in the street;But I have opened my doors to {Hebrew: the way.}the traveller);
If {Or, after the manner of men}like Adam I have covered my transgressions,By hiding mine iniquity in my bosom,
Because I feared the great multitude,And the contempt of families terrified me,So that I kept silence, and went not out of the door—
Oh that I had one to hear me!(Lo, here is my {Hebrew: mark.}signature, let the Almighty answer me)And that I had the {Hebrew: book.}indictment which mine adversary hath written!
Surely I would carry it upon my shoulder;I would bind it unto me as a crown:
I would declare unto him the number of my steps;As a prince would I {Or, present it to him}go near unto him.
nor height, nor depth, nor any other {Or, creation}creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Shall he that cavilleth contend with the Almighty?He that argueth with God, let him answer it.
Behold, I am of small account; What shall I answer thee?I lay my hand upon my mouth.
Once have I spoken, and I will not answer;Yea, twice, but I will proceed no further.
Wilt thou even annul my judgment?Wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be justified?
because if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.