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 34,13 Hiob 34,13
Who hath enjoined him his way?Or who can say, Thou hast wrought unrighteousness?
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?Declare, {Hebrew: if thou knowest understanding.}if thou hast understanding.
Who determined the measures thereof, {Or, seeing}if thou knowest?Or who stretched the line upon it?
Whereupon were the {Hebrew: sockets.}foundations thereof {Hebrew: made to sink.}fastened?Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,
When the morning stars sang together,And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Or who shut up the sea with doors,When it brake forth, {Or, and issued}as if it had issued out of the womb;
When I made clouds the garment thereof,And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,
And {Hebrew: brake.}marked out for it my bound,And set bars and doors,
And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further;And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days began,And caused the dayspring to know its place;
That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,And the wicked be shaken out of it?
It is changed as clay under the seal;And all things stand forth {Or, as in a garment}as a garment:
And from the wicked their light is withholden,And the high arm is broken.
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?Or hast thou walked in the {Or, search}recesses of the deep?
Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee?Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?
Hast thou comprehended the earth in its breadth?Declare, if thou knowest it all.
Where is the way to the dwelling of light?And as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof,And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof?
Doubtless, thou knowest, for thou wast then born,And the number of thy days is great!
Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow,Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,
Which I have reserved against the time of trouble,Against the day of battle and war?
{Or, Which is the way to the place where the light is &c.}By what way is the light parted,Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?
Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood,Or the way for the lightning of the thunder;
To cause it to rain on a land where no man is;On the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
To satisfy the waste and desolate ground,And to cause the {Or, greensward}tender grass to spring forth?
Hath the rain a father?Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
Out of whose womb came the ice?And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath {Or, given it birth}gendered it?
The waters {Or, are congealed like stone}hide themselves and become like stone,And the face of the deep {Hebrew: cohereth.}is frozen.
Canst thou bind the {Or, chain Or, sweet influences}cluster of the Pleiades,Or loose the bands of Orion?
Canst thou lead forth {Or, the signs of the Zodiac}the Mazzaroth in their season?Or canst thou guide the Bear with her {Hebrew: sons.}train?
Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens?Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds,That abundance of waters may cover thee?
Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go,And say unto thee, Here we are?
Who hath put wisdom in the {Or, dark clouds}inward parts?Or who hath given understanding to the {Or, meteor}mind?
Who can number the clouds by wisdom?Or who can {Hebrew: cause to lie down.}pour out the bottles of heaven,
When the dust runneth into a mass,And the clods cleave fast together?
Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness,Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
When they couch in their dens,And abide in the covert to lie in wait?
Who provideth for the raven his prey,When his young ones cry unto God, And wander for lack of food?
Wilt thou even annul my judgment?Wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be justified?
Or hast thou an arm like God?And canst thou thunder with a voice like him?
Deck thyself now with excellency and dignity;And array thyself with honor and majesty.
Pour forth the overflowings of thine anger;And look upon every one that is proud, and abase him.
Thine, O Jehovah, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Jehovah, and thou art exalted as head above all.
I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning,Before the earth was.
When there were no depths, I was brought forth,When there were no fountains abounding with water.
Before the mountains were settled,Before the hills was I brought forth;
While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields,Nor the {Or, sum}beginning of the dust of the world.
When he {Or, prepared}established the heavens, I was there:When he set a circle upon the face of the deep,
When he made firm the skies above,When the fountains of the deep became strong,
When he gave to the sea {Or, his decree}its bound,That the waters should not transgress his commandment,When he {Or, appointed}marked out the foundations of the earth;
Then I was by him, as a master workman;And I {Or, had delight continually}was daily his delight, {Or, Sporting}Rejoicing always before him,
Who hath {Or, meted out}directed the Spirit of Jehovah, or being his counsellor hath taught him?
With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding?
and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can {Aramaic: strike.}stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
For of him, and through him, and unto him, are all things. To him be the glory {Greek: unto the ages.}for ever. Amen.