Then Job answered and said,
I have heard many such things:
{Or, Wearisome}Miserable comforters are ye all.
Shall {Hebrew: words of wind.}vain words have an end?
Or what provoketh thee that thou answerest?
I also could speak as ye do;
If your soul were in my soul's stead,
I could join words together against you,
And shake my head at you.
But I would strengthen you with my mouth,
And the solace of my lips would assuage your grief.
Though I speak, my grief is not assuaged;
And though I forbear, {Hebrew: what departeth from me?}what am I eased?
But now he hath made me weary:
Thou hast made desolate all my company.
And thou hast {Or, shrivelled me up}laid fast hold on me, which is a witness against me:
And my leanness riseth up against me,
It testifieth to my face.
He hath torn me in his wrath, and {Or, hated}persecuted me;
He hath gnashed upon me with his teeth:
Mine adversary sharpeneth his eyes upon me.
They have gaped upon me with their mouth;
They have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully:
They gather themselves together against me.
God delivereth me to the ungodly,
And casteth me into the hands of the wicked.
I was at ease, and he brake me asunder;
Yea, he hath taken me by the neck, and dashed me to pieces:
He hath also set me up for his mark.
His {Or, arrows Or, mighty ones}archers compass me round about;
He cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare;
He poureth out my gall upon the ground.
He breaketh me with breach upon breach;
He runneth upon me like a {Or, mighty man}giant.
I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin,
And have {Or, defiled}laid my horn in the dust.
My face is red with weeping,
And on my eyelids is the shadow of death;
Although there is no violence in my hands,
And my prayer is pure.
O earth, cover not thou my blood,
And let my cry {Or, have no more place}have no resting-place.
Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven,
And he that voucheth for me is on high.
My friends scoff at me:
But mine eye poureth out tears unto God,
{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!
For when a few years are come,
I shall go the way whence I shall not return.
Querverweise zu Hiob 16,9 Hiob 16,9
And if my head exalt itself, thou huntest me as a lion;And again thou showest thyself marvellous upon me.
{Or, Among}Like the profane mockers in feasts,They gnashed upon me with their teeth.
Wherefore hidest thou thy face,And holdest me for thine enemy?
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.
The wicked plotteth against the just,And gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks,And markest all my paths;Thou settest a bound to the soles of my feet:
Thou that tearest thyself in thine anger,Shall the earth be forsaken for thee?Or shall the rock be removed out of its place?
All thine enemies have opened their mouth wide against thee;They hiss and gnash the teeth; they say, We have swallowed her up;Certainly this is the day that we looked for; we have found, we have seen it.
He hath also kindled his wrath against me,And he counteth me unto him as one of his adversaries.
Now consider this, ye that forget God,Lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver:
Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, Jehovah will be a light unto me.
He is unto me as a bear lying in wait, as a lion in secret places.
For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and there shall be none to deliver.