Add parallel Print Page Options

21 Respondens autem Job, dixit:

Audite, quaeso, sermones meos, et agite poenitentiam.

Sustinete me, et ego loquar: et post mea, si videbitur, verba, ridete.

Numquid contra hominem disputatio mea est, ut merito non debeam contristari?

Attendite me et obstupescite, et superponite digitum ori vestro.

Et ego, quando recordatus fuero, pertimesco, et concutit carnem meam tremor.

Quare ergo impii vivunt, sublevati sunt, confortatique divitiis?

Semen eorum permanet coram eis: propinquorum turba et nepotum in conspectu eorum.

Domus eorum securae sunt et pacatae, et non est virga Dei super illos.

10 Bos eorum concepit, et non abortivit: vacca peperit, et non est privata foetu suo.

11 Egrediuntur quasi greges parvuli eorum, et infantes eorum exultant lusibus.

12 Tenent tympanum et citharam, et gaudent ad sonitum organi.

13 Ducunt in bonis dies suos, et in puncto ad inferna descendunt.

14 Qui dixerunt Deo: Recede a nobis, et scientiam viarum tuarum nolumus.

15 Quis est Omnipotens, ut serviamus ei? et quid nobis prodest si oraverimus illum?

16 Verumtamen quia non sunt in manu eorum bona sua, consilium impiorum longe sit a me.

17 Quoties lucerna impiorum extinguetur, et superveniet eis inundatio, et dolores dividet furoris sui?

18 Erunt sicut paleae ante faciem venti, et sicut favilla quam turbo dispergit.

19 Deus servabit filiis illius dolorem patris, et cum reddiderit, tunc sciet.

20 Videbunt oculi ejus interfectionem suam, et de furore Omnipotentis bibet.

21 Quid enim ad eum pertinet de domo sua post se, et si numerus mensium ejus dimidietur?

22 Numquid Deus docebit quispiam scientiam, qui excelsos judicat?

23 Iste moritur robustus et sanus, dives et felix:

24 viscera ejus plena sunt adipe, et medullis ossa illius irrigantur:

25 alius vero moritur in amaritudine animae absque ullis opibus:

26 et tamen simul in pulvere dormient, et vermes operient eos.

27 Certe novi cogitationes vestras, et sententias contra me iniquas.

28 Dicitis enim: Ubi est domus principis? et ubi tabernacula impiorum?

29 Interrogate quemlibet de viatoribus, et haec eadem illum intelligere cognoscetis:

30 quia in diem perditionis servatur malus, et ad diem furoris ducetur.

31 Quis arguet coram eo viam ejus? et quae fecit, quis reddet illi?

32 Ipse ad sepulchra ducetur, et in congerie mortuorum vigilabit.

33 Dulcis fuit glareis Cocyti, et post se omnem hominem trahet, et ante se innumerabiles.

34 Quomodo igitur consolamini me frustra, cum responsio vestra repugnare ostensa sit veritati?

22 Respondens autem Eliphaz Themanites, dixit:

Numquid Deo potest comparari homo, etiam cum perfectae fuerit scientiae?

Quid prodest Deo, si justus fueris? aut quid ei confers, si immaculata fuerit via tua?

Numquid timens arguet te, et veniet tecum in judicium,

et non propter malitiam tuam plurimam, et infinitas iniquitates tuas?

Abstulisti enim pignus fratrum tuorum sine causa, et nudos spoliasti vestibus.

Aquam lasso non dedisti, et esurienti subtraxisti panem.

In fortitudine brachii tui possidebas terram, et potentissimus obtinebas eam.

Viduas dimisisti vacuas, et lacertos pupillorum comminuisti.

10 Propterea circumdatus es laqueis, et conturbat te formido subita.

11 Et putabas te tenebras non visurum, et impetu aquarum inundantium non oppressum iri?

12 an non cogitas quod Deus excelsior caelo sit, et super stellarum verticem sublimetur?

13 Et dicis: Quid enim novit Deus? et quasi per caliginem judicat.

14 Nubes latibulum ejus, nec nostra considerat, et circa cardines caeli perambulat.

15 Numquid semitam saeculorum custodire cupis, quam calcaverunt viri iniqui,

16 qui sublati sunt ante tempus suum, et fluvius subvertit fundamentum eorum?

17 Qui dicebant Deo: Recede a nobis: et quasi nihil posset facere Omnipotens, aestimabant eum,

18 cum ille implesset domos eorum bonis: quorum sententia procul sit a me.

19 Videbunt justi, et laetabuntur, et innocens subsannabit eos:

20 nonne succisa est erectio eorum? et reliquias eorum devoravit ignis?

21 Acquiesce igitur ei, et habeto pacem, et per haec habebis fructus optimos.

22 Suscipe ex ore illius legem, et pone sermones ejus in corde tuo.

23 Si reversus fueris ad Omnipotentem, aedificaberis, et longe facies iniquitatem a tabernaculo tuo.

24 Dabit pro terra silicem, et pro silice torrentes aureos.

25 Eritque Omnipotens contra hostes tuos, et argentum coacervabitur tibi.

26 Tunc super Omnipotentem deliciis afflues, et elevabis ad Deum faciem tuam.

27 Rogabis eum, et exaudiet te, et vota tua reddes.

28 Decernes rem, et veniet tibi, et in viis tuis splendebit lumen.

29 Qui enim humiliatus fuerit, erit in gloria, et qui inclinaverit oculos, ipse salvabitur.

30 Salvabitur innocens: salvabitur autem in munditia manuum suarum.

23 Respondens autem Job, ait:

Nunc quoque in amaritudine est sermo meus, et manus plagae meae aggravata est super gemitum meum.

Quis mihi tribuat ut cognoscam et inveniam illum, et veniam usque ad solium ejus?

Ponam coram eo judicium, et os meum replebo increpationibus:

ut sciam verba quae mihi respondeat, et intelligam quid loquatur mihi.

Nolo multa fortitudine contendat mecum, nec magnitudinis suae mole me premat.

Proponat aequitatem contra me, et perveniat ad victoriam judicium meum.

Si ad orientem iero, non apparet; si ad occidentem, non intelligam eum.

Si ad sinistram, quid agam? non apprehendam eum; si me vertam ad dexteram, non videbo illum.

10 Ipse vero scit viam meam, et probavit me quasi aurum quod per ignem transit.

11 Vestigia ejus secutus est pes meus: viam ejus custodivi, et non declinavi ex ea.

12 A mandatis labiorum ejus non recessi, et in sinu meo abscondi verba oris ejus.

13 Ipse enim solus est, et nemo avertere potest cogitationem ejus: et anima ejus quodcumque voluit, hoc fecit.

14 Cum expleverit in me voluntatem suam, et alia multa similia praesto sunt ei.

15 Et idcirco a facie ejus turbatus sum, et considerans eum, timore sollicitor.

16 Deus mollivit cor meum, et Omnipotens conturbavit me.

17 Non enim perii propter imminentes tenebras, nec faciem meam operuit caligo.

Job

21 Then Job replied:

“Listen carefully to my words;(A)
    let this be the consolation you give me.(B)
Bear with me while I speak,
    and after I have spoken, mock on.(C)

“Is my complaint(D) directed to a human being?
    Why should I not be impatient?(E)
Look at me and be appalled;
    clap your hand over your mouth.(F)
When I think about this, I am terrified;(G)
    trembling seizes my body.(H)
Why do the wicked live on,
    growing old and increasing in power?(I)
They see their children established around them,
    their offspring before their eyes.(J)
Their homes are safe and free from fear;(K)
    the rod of God is not on them.(L)
10 Their bulls never fail to breed;
    their cows calve and do not miscarry.(M)
11 They send forth their children as a flock;(N)
    their little ones dance about.
12 They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre;(O)
    they make merry to the sound of the pipe.(P)
13 They spend their years in prosperity(Q)
    and go down to the grave(R) in peace.[a](S)
14 Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!(T)
    We have no desire to know your ways.(U)
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
    What would we gain by praying to him?’(V)
16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands,
    so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.(W)

17 “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?(X)
    How often does calamity(Y) come upon them,
    the fate God allots in his anger?(Z)
18 How often are they like straw before the wind,
    like chaff(AA) swept away(AB) by a gale?(AC)
19 It is said, ‘God stores up the punishment of the wicked for their children.’(AD)
    Let him repay the wicked, so that they themselves will experience it!(AE)
20 Let their own eyes see their destruction;(AF)
    let them drink(AG) the cup of the wrath of the Almighty.(AH)
21 For what do they care about the families they leave behind(AI)
    when their allotted months(AJ) come to an end?(AK)

22 “Can anyone teach knowledge to God,(AL)
    since he judges even the highest?(AM)
23 One person dies in full vigor,(AN)
    completely secure and at ease,(AO)
24 well nourished(AP) in body,[b]
    bones(AQ) rich with marrow.(AR)
25 Another dies in bitterness of soul,(AS)
    never having enjoyed anything good.
26 Side by side they lie in the dust,(AT)
    and worms(AU) cover them both.(AV)

27 “I know full well what you are thinking,
    the schemes by which you would wrong me.
28 You say, ‘Where now is the house of the great,(AW)
    the tents where the wicked lived?’(AX)
29 Have you never questioned those who travel?
    Have you paid no regard to their accounts—
30 that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity,(AY)
    that they are delivered from[c] the day of wrath?(AZ)
31 Who denounces their conduct to their face?
    Who repays them for what they have done?(BA)
32 They are carried to the grave,
    and watch is kept over their tombs.(BB)
33 The soil in the valley is sweet to them;(BC)
    everyone follows after them,
    and a countless throng goes[d] before them.(BD)

34 “So how can you console me(BE) with your nonsense?
    Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!”(BF)

Eliphaz

22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite(BG) replied:

“Can a man be of benefit to God?(BH)
    Can even a wise person benefit him?(BI)
What pleasure(BJ) would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?(BK)
    What would he gain if your ways were blameless?(BL)

“Is it for your piety that he rebukes you
    and brings charges against you?(BM)
Is not your wickedness great?
    Are not your sins(BN) endless?(BO)
You demanded security(BP) from your relatives for no reason;(BQ)
    you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked.(BR)
You gave no water(BS) to the weary
    and you withheld food from the hungry,(BT)
though you were a powerful man, owning land(BU)
    an honored man,(BV) living on it.(BW)
And you sent widows(BX) away empty-handed(BY)
    and broke the strength of the fatherless.(BZ)
10 That is why snares(CA) are all around you,(CB)
    why sudden peril terrifies you,(CC)
11 why it is so dark(CD) you cannot see,
    and why a flood of water covers you.(CE)

12 “Is not God in the heights of heaven?(CF)
    And see how lofty are the highest stars!
13 Yet you say, ‘What does God know?(CG)
    Does he judge through such darkness?(CH)
14 Thick clouds(CI) veil him, so he does not see us(CJ)
    as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.’(CK)
15 Will you keep to the old path
    that the wicked(CL) have trod?(CM)
16 They were carried off before their time,(CN)
    their foundations(CO) washed away by a flood.(CP)
17 They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!
    What can the Almighty do to us?’(CQ)
18 Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,(CR)
    so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.(CS)
19 The righteous see their ruin and rejoice;(CT)
    the innocent mock(CU) them, saying,
20 ‘Surely our foes are destroyed,(CV)
    and fire(CW) devours their wealth.’

21 “Submit to God and be at peace(CX) with him;(CY)
    in this way prosperity will come to you.(CZ)
22 Accept instruction from his mouth(DA)
    and lay up his words(DB) in your heart.(DC)
23 If you return(DD) to the Almighty, you will be restored:(DE)
    If you remove wickedness far from your tent(DF)
24 and assign your nuggets(DG) to the dust,
    your gold(DH) of Ophir(DI) to the rocks in the ravines,(DJ)
25 then the Almighty will be your gold,(DK)
    the choicest silver for you.(DL)
26 Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty(DM)
    and will lift up your face(DN) to God.(DO)
27 You will pray to him,(DP) and he will hear you,(DQ)
    and you will fulfill your vows.(DR)
28 What you decide on will be done,(DS)
    and light(DT) will shine on your ways.(DU)
29 When people are brought low(DV) and you say, ‘Lift them up!’
    then he will save the downcast.(DW)
30 He will deliver even one who is not innocent,(DX)
    who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”(DY)

Job

23 Then Job replied:

“Even today my complaint(DZ) is bitter;(EA)
    his hand[e] is heavy in spite of[f] my groaning.(EB)
If only I knew where to find him;
    if only I could go to his dwelling!(EC)
I would state my case(ED) before him
    and fill my mouth with arguments.(EE)
I would find out what he would answer me,(EF)
    and consider what he would say to me.
Would he vigorously oppose me?(EG)
    No, he would not press charges against me.(EH)
There the upright(EI) can establish their innocence before him,(EJ)
    and there I would be delivered forever from my judge.(EK)

“But if I go to the east, he is not there;
    if I go to the west, I do not find him.
When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;
    when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.(EL)
10 But he knows the way that I take;(EM)
    when he has tested me,(EN) I will come forth as gold.(EO)
11 My feet have closely followed his steps;(EP)
    I have kept to his way without turning aside.(EQ)
12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;(ER)
    I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.(ES)

13 “But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?(ET)
    He does whatever he pleases.(EU)
14 He carries out his decree against me,
    and many such plans he still has in store.(EV)
15 That is why I am terrified before him;(EW)
    when I think of all this, I fear him.(EX)
16 God has made my heart faint;(EY)
    the Almighty(EZ) has terrified me.(FA)
17 Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,(FB)
    by the thick darkness that covers my face.

Footnotes

  1. Job 21:13 Or in an instant
  2. Job 21:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  3. Job 21:30 Or wicked are reserved for the day of calamity, / that they are brought forth to
  4. Job 21:33 Or them, / as a countless throng went
  5. Job 23:2 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew / the hand on me
  6. Job 23:2 Or heavy on me in