And Job again took up his parable, and said,
Oh that I were as in the months of old,
As in the days when God watched over me;
When his lamp shined {Or, above}upon my head,
And by his light I walked through darkness;
As I was in {Hebrew: my days of autumn.}the ripeness of my days,
When the {Or, counsel}friendship of God was upon my tent;
When the Almighty was yet with me,
And my children were about me;
When my steps were washed with butter,
And the rock poured me out streams of oil!
When I went forth to the gate unto the city,
When I prepared my seat in the {Or, broad place}street,
The young men saw me and hid themselves,
And the aged rose up and stood;
The princes refrained from talking,
And laid their hand on their mouth;
The voice of the nobels was {Hebrew: hid.}hushed,
And their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.
For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me;
And when the eye saw me, it gave witness unto me:
Because I delivered the poor that cried,
The fatherless also, {Or, and him that had &c.}that had none to help him.
The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me;
And I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
I put on righteousness, and it {Or, clothed itself with me}clothed me:
My justice was as a robe and a {Or, turban.}diadem.
I was eyes to the blind,
And feet was I to the lame.
I was a father to the needy:
And {Or, the cause which i knew not}the cause of him that I knew not I searched out.
And I brake the {Hebrew: great teeth.}jaws of the unrighteous,
And plucked the prey out of his teeth.
Then I said, I shall die {Or, beside Hebrew: with.}in my nest,
And I shall multiply my days as the sand:
My root is {Hebrew: opened.}spread out {Or, by}to the waters,
And the dew lieth all night upon my branch;
My glory is fresh in me,
And my bow is renewed in my hand.
Unto me men gave ear, and waited,
And kept silence for my counsel.
After my words they spake not again;
And my speech distilled upon them.
And they waited for me as for the rain;
And they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain.
I smiled on them, when they had no confidence;
And the light of my countenance they cast not down.
I chose out their way, and sat as chief,
And dwelt as a king in the army,
As one that comforteth the mourners.
Querverweise zu Hiob 29,9 Hiob 29,9
If one assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved?But who can withhold himself from speaking?
{Hebrew: Look unto me.}Mark me, and be astonished,And lay your hand upon your mouth.
Therefore I will not refrain my mouth;I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
Behold, I am of small account; What shall I answer thee?I lay my hand upon my mouth.
In the multitude of words there wanteth not transgression;But he that refraineth his lips {Or, is wise}doeth wisely.
And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thy hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be priest unto the house of one man, or to be priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?
{Or, Know ye}Ye know this, my beloved brethren. But let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself,Or if thou hast thought evil,Lay thy hand upon thy mouth.