So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.
Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.
Now Elihu had {Hebrew: waited for Job with words.}waited to speak unto Job, because they were elder than he.
And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was kindled.
And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said,
I am young, and ye are very old;
Wherefore I held back, and durst not show you mine opinion.
I said, Days should speak,
And multitude of years should teach wisdom.
But there is a spirit in man,
And the breath of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
It is not the great that are wise,
Nor the aged that understand justice.
Therefore I {Or, say}said, Hearken to me;
I also will show mine opinion.
Behold, I waited for your words,
I listened for your reasonings,
Whilst ye searched out what to say.
Yea, I attended unto you,
And, behold, there was none that convinced Job,
Or that answered his words, among you.
{Or, Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom; God thrusteth him down, not man Now he &c.}Beware lest ye say, We have found wisdom;
God may vanquish him, not man:
For he hath not directed his words against me;
Neither will I answer him with your speeches.
They are amazed, they answer no more:
They have not a word to say.
And shall I wait, because they speak not,
Because they stand still, and answer no more?
I also will answer my part,
I also will show mine opinion.
For I am full of words;
The spirit within me constraineth me.
Behold, my breast is as wine which hath no vent;
Like new wine-skins {Or, which are ready}it is ready to burst.
I will speak, that I may {Or, find relief}be refreshed;
I will open my lips and answer.
Let me not, I pray you, respect any man's person;
Neither will I give flattering titles unto any man.
For I know not to give flattering titles;
Else would my Maker soon take me away.
Querverweise zu Hiob 32,1 Hiob 32,1
Return, I pray you, let there be no injustice;Yea, return again, {Hebrew: my righteousness is in it.}my cause is righteous.
I will say unto God, Do not condemn me;Show me wherefore thou contendest with me.
Although thou knowest that I am not wicked,And there is none that can deliver out of thy 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.
There the upright might reason with him;So should I be delivered for ever from my judge.
Surely my lips {Or, do}shall not speak uprighteousness,Neither {Or, doth}shall my tongue utter deceit.
Far be it from me that I should justify you:Till I die I will not put away mine integrity from me.
My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go:My heart {Or, doth not reproach me for any of my days}shall not reproach me so long as I live.
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.
I made a covenant with mine eyes;How then should I look upon a virgin?
{Or, for what portion should I have of God…And what heritage &c? Is there not calamity &c.?}For what is the portion from God above,And the heritage from the Almighty on high?
Is it not calamity to the unrighteous,And disaster to the workers of iniquity?
Doth not he see my ways,And number all my steps?
If I have walked with falsehood,And my foot hath hasted to deceit
(Let me be weighed in an even balance,That God may know mine integrity);
If my step hath turned out of the way,And my heart walked after mine eyes,And if any spot hath cleaved to my hands:
Then let me sow, and let another eat;Yea, let {Or, my offspring Hebrew: my produce.}the produce of my field be rooted out.
If my heart hath been enticed unto a woman,And I have laid wait at my neighbor's door;
Then let my wife grind unto another,And let others bow down upon her.
For that were a heinous crime;Yea, it were an iniquity to be punished by the judges:
For it is a fire that consumeth unto {Hebrew: Abaddon. See chapter 26:6}Destruction,And would root out all mine increase.
If I have despised the cause of my man-servant or of my maid-servant,When they contended with me;
What then shall I do when God riseth up?And when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?
Did not he that made me in the womb make him?And did not one fashion us in the womb?
If I have withheld {Or, aught that the poor desired}the poor from their desire,Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
Or have eaten my morsel alone,And the fatherless hath not eaten thereof
(Nay, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,And her have I guided from my mother's womb);
If I have seen any perish for want of clothing,Or that the needy had no covering;
If his loins have not blessed me,And if he hath not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless,Because I saw my help in the gate:
Then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder-blade,And mine arm be broken from the bone.
For calamity from God is a terror to me,And by reason of his majesty I can do nothing.
If I have made gold my hope,And have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence;
If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,And because my hand had gotten much;
If I have beheld {Hebrew: the light.}the sun when it shined,Or the moon walking in brightness,
And my heart hath been secretly enticed,And {Hebrew: my hand hath kissed my mouth.}my mouth hath kissed my hand:
This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judges;For I should have denied the God that is above.
If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me,Or lifted up myself when evil found him
(Yea, I have not suffered by {Hebrew: palate.}mouth to sinBy asking his life with a curse);
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.
If my land crieth out against me,And the furrows thereof weep together;
If I have eaten the {Hebrew: strength.}fruits thereof without money,Or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life:
Let {Or, thorns}thistles grow instead of wheat,And {Or, noisome weeds}cockle instead of barley.The words of Job are ended.
I am clean, without transgression;I am innocent, neither is there iniquity in me: