Howbeit, Job, I pray thee, hear my speech,
And hearken to all my words.
Behold now, I have opened my mouth;
My tongue hath spoken in my {Hebrew: palate.}mouth.
My words shall utter the uprightness of my heart;
And that which my lips know they shall speak sincerely.
The Spirit of God hath made me,
And the breath of the Almighty giveth me life.
If thou canst, answer thou me;
Set thy words in order before me, stand forth.
Behold, {Or, I am according to thy wish in God's stead}I am toward God even as thou art:
I also am formed out of the clay.
Behold, my terror shall not make thee afraid,
Neither shall my pressure be heavy upon thee.
Surely thou hast spoken in my hearing,
And I have heard the voice of thy words, saying,
I am clean, without transgression;
I am innocent, neither is there iniquity in me:
Behold, he findeth {Or, causes of alienation}occasions against me,
He counteth me for his enemy:
He putteth my feet in the stocks,
He marketh all my paths.
Behold, {Or, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, For &c.}I will answer thee, in this thou art not just;
For God is greater than man.
Why dost thou strive against him,
For that he giveth not account of any of his matters?
For God speaketh {Or, in one way, yea, in two}once,
Yea twice, though man regardeth it not.
In a dream, in a vision of the night,
When deep sleep falleth upon men,
In slumberings upon the bed;
Then he {Hebrew: uncovereth.}openeth the ears of men,
And sealeth their instruction,
{Or, That man may put away his purpose. And that he may hide}That he may withdraw man from his purpose,
And hide pride from man;
{Or, That he may keep back}He keepeth back his soul from the pit,
And his life from perishing by the {Or, weapons}sword.
He is chastened also with pain upon his bed,
{Another reading is, While all his bones are firm.}And with continual strife in his bones;
So that his life abhorreth bread,
And his soul dainty food.
His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen;
And his bones that were not seen stick out.
Yea, his soul draweth near unto the pit,
And his life to the destroyers.
If there be with him {Or, a messenger}an angel,
An interpreter, one {Or, of the thousand}among a thousand,
To show unto man {Or, his uprightness}what is right for him;
{Or, And he be gracious and say ransom his flesh &c.}Then God is gracious unto him, and saith,
Deliver him from going down to the pit,
I have found a ransom.
His flesh shall be fresher than a child's;
He returneth to the days of his youth.
He prayeth unto God, and he is favorable unto him,
So that he seeth his face with joy:
And he restoreth unto man his righteousness.
He {Or, looketh upon men}singeth before men, and saith,
I have sinned, and perverted that which was right,
And {Or, it was nor requited unto me Or, it was not meet for me}it profited me not:
He hath redeemed my soul from going into the pit,
And my life shall behold the light.
Lo, all these things doth God work,
Twice, yea thrice, with a man,
To bring back his soul from the pit,
That he may be enlightened with the light of {Or, life}the living.
Mark well, O Job, hearken unto me:
Hold thy peace, and I will speak.
If thou hast anything to say, answer me:
Speak, for I desire to justify thee.
If not, hearken thou unto me:
Hold thy peace, and I will teach thee wisdom.
Querverweise zu Hiob 33,23 Hiob 33,23
And {Or, a messenger}the angel of Jehovah came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you:
That which I see not teach thou me:If I have done iniquity, I will do it no more?
{Or, If one should desire…He could not &c.}If he be pleased to contend with him,He cannot answer him one of a thousand.
And that he would show thee the secrets of wisdom!For he is manifold in understanding.Know therefore that God {Or, remitteth (Hebrew: causeth to be forgotten) unto thee of thine iniquity}exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
And Jehovah, the God of their fathers, sent to them by his messengers, rising up early and sending, because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling-place:
Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O {Hebrew: Jah.}Jehovah,And teachest out of thy law;
which my soul still seeketh, but I have not found: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.
Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding:Far be it from God, that he should do wickedness,And from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.
but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until the wrath of Jehovah arose against his people, till there was no {Hebrew: healing.}remedy.
The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me; because Jehovah hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the {Or, poor}meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and {Or, opening of the eyes}the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
to proclaim the year of Jehovah's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that he may be glorified.
But I speak to you that are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I glorify my ministry;
Yea, of a surety, God will not do wickedly,Neither will the Almighty pervert justice.
Then spake Haggai Jehovah's messenger in Jehovah's message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith Jehovah.
And Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
How much less when thou sayest {Or, thou beholdest him not! The cause is before him, therefore wait thou for him}thou beholdest him not,The cause is before him, and thou waitest for him!
For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of Jehovah of hosts.
For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep.
But if we {Greek: discriminated.}discerned ourselves, we should not be judged.
But {Or, when we are judged of the Lord, we are chastened.}when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
I will fetch my knowledge from afar,And will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to his temple; {Or, even}and the {Or, angel}messenger of the covenant, whom ye desire, behold, he cometh, saith Jehovah of hosts.
and ye have forgotten the exhortation which reasoneth with you as with sons, {Proverbs 3:11 f.}My son, regard not lightly the chastening of the Lord,Nor faint when thou art reproved of him;
For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
{Or, Endure unto chastening}It is for chastening that ye endure; God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father chasteneth not?
But if ye are without chastening, whereof all have been made partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Furthermore, we had the fathers of our flesh to chasten us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of {Or, our spirits}spirits, and live?
For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed good to them; but he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness.
All chastening seemeth for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yieldeth peaceable fruit unto them that have been exercised thereby, even the fruit of righteousness.
Wherefore {Greek: make straight.}lift up the hands that hang down, and the palsied knees;
And if they be bound in fetters,And be taken in the cords of afflictions;
Then he showeth them their work,And their transgressions, that they have behaved themselves proudly.
He openeth also their ear to instruction,And commandeth that they return from iniquity.
If they hearken and serve him,They shall spend their days in prosperity,And their years in {Or, pleasantness}pleasures.
But if they hearken not, they shall perish by {Or, weapons}the sword,And they shall die without knowledge.
But they that are godless in heart lay up anger:They cry not for help when he bindeth them.
We are ambassadors therefore on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beseech you on behalf of Christ, be ye reconciled to God.
Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out:He is excellent in power;And {Or, to justice…he doeth no violence}in justice and plenteous righteousness he will not afflict.
Howbeit thou art just in all that is come upon us; for thou hast dealt truly, but we have done wickedly;
I know, O Jehovah, that thy judgments are righteous,And that in faithfulness thou hast afflicted me.
It is of Jehovah's lovingkindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.
For though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
Wherefore doth a living man complain, {Or, a man that is in his sins}a man for the punishment of his sins?
Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to Jehovah.
Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.
Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel: Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
When the righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, {Or, he shall die}and dieth {Or, because of it}therein; {Or, for}in his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
Therefore hath Jehovah watched over the evil, and brought it upon us; for Jehovah our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth, and we have not obeyed his voice.