Moreover Elihu answered and said,
Hear my words, ye wise men;
And give ear unto me, ye that have knowledge.
For the ear trieth words,
As the palate tasteth food.
Let us choose for us that which is right:
Let us know among ourselves what is good.
For Job hath said, I am righteous,
And God hath taken away my right:
{Or, Should I lie against my right?}Notwithstanding my right I am accounted a liar;
{Hebrew: Mine arrow.}My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.
What man is like Job,
Who drinketh up scoffing like water,
Who goeth in company with the workers of iniquity,
And walketh with wicked men?
For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing
That he should {Or, consent with See Psalm 50:18}delight himself with God.
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.
For the work of a man will he render unto him,
And cause every man to find according to his ways.
Yea, of a surety, God will not do wickedly,
Neither will the Almighty pervert justice.
Who gave him a charge over the earth?
Or who hath {Or, laid upon him}disposed the whole world?
{According to another reading, If he cause his heart to return unto himself.}If he set his heart upon {Or, man Hebrew: him.}himself,
If he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;
All flesh shall perish together,
And man shall turn again unto dust.
{Or, Only understand}If now thou hast understanding, hear this:
Hearken to the voice of my words.
Shall even one that hateth justice govern?
And wilt thou condemn him that is righteous and mighty?—
{The Hebrew as pointed reads, Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art vile? Or, to nobles, Ye are wicked?}Him that saith to a king, Thou art vile,
Or to nobles, Ye are wicked;
That respecteth not the persons of princes,
Nor regardeth the rich more than the poor;
For they all are the work of his hands.
In a moment they die, {Or, and at midnight the people &c.}even at midnight;
The people are shaken and pass away,
And the mighty are taken away without hand.
For his eyes are upon the ways of a man,
And he seeth all his goings.
There is no darkness, nor thick gloom,
Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
For he needeth not further to consider a man,
That he should go before God in judgment.
He breaketh in pieces mighty men {Or, without inquisition}in ways past finding out,
And setteth others in their stead.
Therefore he taketh knowledge of their works;
And he overturneth them in the night, so that they are {Hebrew: crushed.}destroyed.
He striketh them as wicked men
{Hebrew: In the place of beholders.}In the open sight of others;
Because they turned aside from following him,
And would not have regard in any of his ways:
{Or, That they might cause…And that he might hear}So that they caused the cry of the poor to come unto him,
And he heard the cry of the afflicted.
When he giveth quietness, who then can condemn?
And when he hideth his face, who then can behold him?
Alike whether it be done unto a nation, or unto a man:
That the godless man reign not,
That there be none to ensnare the people.
For hath any said unto God,
I have borne chastisement, {Or, though I offend not}I will not offend any more:
That which I see not teach thou me:
If I have done iniquity, I will do it no more?
Shall his recompense be as thou wilt, that thou refusest it?
For thou must choose, and not I:
Therefore speak what thou knowest.
Men of understanding will say unto me,
Yea, every wise man that heareth me:
Job speaketh without knowledge,
And his words are without wisdom.
Would that Job were tried unto the end,
Because of his answering like wicked men.
For he addeth rebellion unto his sin;
He clappeth his hands among us,
And multiplieth his words against God.
Querverweise zu Hiob 34,9 Hiob 34,9
It is all one; therefore I say,He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.
Will he delight himself in the Almighty,And call upon God at all times?
If the scourge slay suddenly,He will mock at the {Or, calamity}trial of the innocent.
{Or, So shall thou have thy delight in &c.}Delight thyself also in Jehovah;And he will give thee the {Hebrew: petitions.}desires of thy heart.
If I wash myself {Another reading is, with snow.}with snow water,And {Hebrew: cleanse my hands with lye.}make my hands never so clean;
Yet wilt thou plunge me in the ditch,And mine own clothes shall abhor me.
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.
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 said unto God, Depart from us;And, What can the Almighty do {Or, to}for {Hebrew: them.}us?
That thou sayest, What advantage will it be unto thee?And, What profit shall I have, more than if I had sinned?
Ye have said, It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept his charge, and that we have walked {Or, in mourning apparel}mournfully before Jehovah of hosts?