Then Job answered and said,
Hear diligently my speech;
And let this be your consolations.
Suffer me, and I also will speak;
And after that I have spoken, {Or, thou shall mock}mock on.
As for me, is my complaint {Or, of}to man?
And why should I not be impatient?
{Hebrew: Look unto me.}Mark me, and be astonished,
And lay your hand upon your mouth.
Even when I remember I am troubled,
And horror taketh hold on my flesh.
Wherefore do the wicked live,
Become old, yea, wax mighty in power?
Their seed is established with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes.
Their houses are safe from fear,
Neither is the rod of God upon them.
Their bull gendereth, and faileth not;
Their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.
They send forth their little ones like a flock,
And their children dance.
They {Hebrew: lift up the voice.}sing to the timbrel and harp,
And rejoice at the sound of the pipe.
They spend their days in prosperity,
And in a moment they go down to Sheol.
And they say unto God, Depart from us;
For we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
And what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?
{Or, Ye say, Lo &c.}Lo, their prosperity is not in their hand:
The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
{Or, How oft is the lamp of the wicked put out, And how oft cometh their calamity upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger. They are as stubble…away.}How oft is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out?
That their calamity cometh upon them?
That God distributeth sorrows in his anger?
That they are as stubble before the wind,
And as chaff that the storm carrieth away?
{Or, God layeth up his iniquity for his children: He rewardeth him, and he shall know it. His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink &c.}Ye say, God layeth up his iniquity for his children.
Let him recompense it unto himself, that he may know it:
Let his own eyes see his destruction,
And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
For what careth he for his house after him,
When the number of his months is cut off?
Shall any teach God knowledge,
Seeing he judgeth those that are high?
One dieth in his full strength,
Being wholly at ease and quiet:
His pails are full of milk,
And the marrow of his bones is moistened.
And another dieth in bitterness of soul,
And never tasteth of good.
They lie down alike in the dust,
And the worm covereth them.
Behold, I know your thoughts,
And the devices wherewith ye would wrong me.
For ye say, Where is the house of the prince?
And where is the tent wherein the wicked dwelt?
Have ye not asked wayfaring men?
And do ye not know their evidences,
That the evil man is {Or, spared in &c.}reserved to the day of calamity?
That they are {Or, led away in &c.}led forth to the day of wrath?
Who shall declare his way to his face?
And who shall repay him what he hath done?
{Or, Moreover he is borne to the grave, And keepth watch over his tomb. The clots of the valley are sweet unto him; And all men draw &c.}Yet shall he be borne to the grave,
And men shall keep watch over the tomb.
The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him,
And all men shall draw after him,
As there were innumerable before him.
How then comfort ye me {Or, with vanity}in vain,
Seeing in your answers there remaineth only {Or, faithlessness}falsehood?
Querverweise zu Hiob 21,16 Hiob 21,16
and he said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: Jehovah gave, and Jehovah hath taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah.
Yet he filled their houses with good things:But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
Who knoweth not {Or, by}in all these,That the hand of Jehovah hath wrought this,
O my soul, come not thou into their {Or, secret}council;Unto their assembly, my glory, be not thou united;For in their anger they slew {Or, men}a man,And in their self-will they hocked {Or, oxen}an ox.
In whose hand is the soul of every living thing,And the {Or, spirit}breath of all mankind?
{Or, Happy}Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked,Nor standeth in the way of sinners,Nor sitteth in the seat of scoffers:
They that trust in their wealth,And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
My son, if sinners entice thee,Consent thou not.
None of them can by any means redeem his brother,Nor give to God a ransom for him;
Remove thy way far from her,And come not nigh the door of her house;
God will likewise {Or, break thee down}destroy thee for ever;He will take thee up, and pluck thee out of thy tent,And root thee out of the land of the living. [Selah
The righteous also shall see it, and fear,And shall laugh at him, saying,
Lo, this is the man that made not God his {Or, stronghold}strength,But trusted in the abundance of his riches,And strengthened himself in his wickedness.
There is no man that hath power over the {Or, wind}spirit to retain the {Or, wind}spirit; neither hath he power over the day of death; and there is no discharge {Or, in battle}in war: neither shall wickedness deliver him that is given to it.
And he called him, and said unto him, What is this that I hear of thee? render the account of thy stewardship; for thou canst be no longer steward.
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.