{Or, Why is it, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, That they who know him see not his days? }Why are times not laid up by the Almighty?
And why do not they that know him see his days?
There are that remove the landmarks;
They violently take away flocks, and feed them.
They drive away the ass of the fatherless;
They take the widow's ox for a pledge.
They turn the needy out of the way:
The {Or, meek}poor of the earth all hide themselves.
Behold, as wild asses in the desert
They go forth to their work, seeking diligently for {Hebrew: prey.}food;
The wilderness yieldeth them bread for their children.
They cut {Or, his}their provender in the field;
And they glean the vintage of the wicked.
They lie all night naked without clothing,
And have no covering in the cold.
They are wet with the showers of the mountains,
And embrace the rock for want of a shelter.
There are that pluck the fatherless from the breast,
And {Or, take in pledge that which is on the poor}take a pledge of the poor;
So that they go about naked without clothing,
And being hungry they carry the sheaves.
They make oil within the walls of these men;
They tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.
From out of the {Hebrew: city of men.}populous city men groan,
And the soul of the wounded crieth out:
Yet God regardeth not the folly.
These are of them that rebel against the light;
They know not the ways thereof,
Nor abide in the paths thereof.
The murderer riseth with the light;
He killeth the poor and needy;
And in the night he is as a thief.
The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight,
Saying, No eye shall see me:
And he {Or, putteth a covering on his face}disguiseth his face.
In the dark they dig through houses:
{Or, Which they had marked for themselves}They shut themselves up in the day-time;
They know not the light.
For {Or, thick darkness is to all of them as the morning; For they &c.}the morning is to all of them as thick darkness;
For they know the terrors of the thick darkness.
{Or, Ye say, Swiftly &c. Hebrew: Swift is he &c.}Swiftly they pass away upon the face of the waters;
Their portion is cursed in the earth:
They turn not into the way of the vineyards.
Drought and heat consume the snow waters:
So doth Sheol those that have sinned.
The womb shall forget him;
The worm shall feed sweetly on him;
He shall be no more remembered;
And unrighteousness shall be broken {Or, as a tree; even he that devoureth &c.}as a tree.
He devoureth the barren that beareth not,
And doeth not good to the widow.
Yet God preserveth the mighty by his power:
He riseth up that hath no assurance of life.
God giveth them to be in security, and they rest thereon;
{Or, But}And his eyes are upon their ways.
They are exalted; yet a little while, and they are gone;
{Or, And when they are &c.}Yea, they are brought low, they are {Or, gather in}taken out of the way as all others,
And are cut off as the tops of the ears of grain.
And if it be not so now, who will prove me a liar,
And make my speech nothing worth?
Querverweise zu Hiob 24,23 Hiob 24,23
For I was envious at the {Or, fools}arrogant,When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
For there are no pangs in their death;But their strength is firm.
They are not {Hebrew: in the trouble of men.}in trouble as other men;Neither are they plagued like other men.
Therefore pride is as a chain about their neck;Violence covereth them as a garment.
Their eyes stand out with fatness: {Or, The imagination of their heart overflow}They have more than heart could wish.
They scoff, and in wickedness utter oppression:They speak {Or, from on high}loftily.
They have set their mouth {Or, against}in the heavens,And their tongue walketh through the earth.
Therefore {Another reading is, he will bring back his people.}his people return hither:And waters of a full cup are drained by them.
And they say, How doth God know?And is there knowledge in the Most High?
Behold, these are the wicked;And, being alway at ease, they increase in riches.
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is {Or, emboldened}fully set in them to do evil.
Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God,And say in his heart, Thou wilt not require it?
Righteous art thou, O Jehovah, when I contend with thee; yet would I {Hebrew: speak of judgements.}reason the cause with thee: wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they at ease that deal very treacherously?
Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root; they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their {Hebrew: reins.}heart.
But thou, O Jehovah, knowest me; thou seest me, and triest my heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and {Hebrew: sanctify.}prepare them for the day of slaughter.
For he saith, Are not my princes all of them kings?
Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?
As my hand hath {Or, reached}found the kingdoms of the idols, whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;
shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?
Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest {Or, travail and grief}mischief and spite, {Or, to take it into thy hand}to requite it with thy hand:The {Or, hapless}helpless committeth himself unto thee;Thou hast been the helper of the fatherless.
Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to-morrow shall be as this day, a day great beyond measure.
Jehovah is in his holy temple;Jehovah, his throne is in heaven;His eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
and he reasoned within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where to bestow my fruits?
And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my grain and my goods.
And I will say to my {Or, life}soul, {Or, life}Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry.
But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night {Greek: they require thy soul.}is thy {Or, life}soul required of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be?
Jehovah trieth the righteous;But the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
But if that {Greek: bondservant.}servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;
For the ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah;And he {Or, weigheth carefully}maketh level all his paths.
When they are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in no wise escape.
The eyes of Jehovah are in every place,Keeping watch upon the evil and the good.
If {Hebrew: he that hateth thee}thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat;And if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
For thou wilt heap coals of fire upon his head,And Jehovah will reward thee.
The north wind bringeth forth rain:So doth a backbiting tongue an angry countenance.
If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of justice and righteousness in {Or, the state}a province, marvel not at the matter: for one higher than the high regardeth; and there are higher than they.
Jehovah hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.
Though they dig into Sheol, thence shall my hand take them; and though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down.
Thou that art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and that canst not look on perverseness, wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy peace when the wicked swalloweth up the man that is more righteous than he;
And I will kill her children with {Or, pestilence}death; and all the churches shall know that I am he that searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto each one of you according to your works.