Job 19-21
Complete Jewish Bible
19 Then Iyov answered:
2 “How long will you go on making me angry,
crushing me with words?
3 You’ve insulted me ten times already;
aren’t you ashamed to treat me so badly?
4 Even if it’s true that I made a mistake,
my error stays with me.
5 “You may take a superior attitude toward me
and cite my disgrace as proof against me;
6 but know that it’s God who has put me in the wrong
and closed his net around me.
7 If I cry, ‘Violence!’ no one hears me;
I cry aloud, but there is no justice.
8 “He has fenced off my way, so that I can’t pass;
he has covered my paths with darkness.
9 He has stripped me of my glory
and removed the crown from my head.
10 He tears every part of me down — I am gone;
he uproots my hope like a tree.
11 “Inflamed with anger against me,
he counts me as one of his foes.
12 His troops advance together,
they make their way against me
and encamp around my tent.
13 “He has made my brothers keep their distance,
those who know me are wholly estranged from me,
14 my kinsfolk have failed me,
and my close friends have forgotten me.
15 Those living in my house consider me a stranger;
my slave-girls too — in their view I’m a foreigner.
16 I call my servant, and he doesn’t answer,
even if I beg him for a favor!
17 “My wife can’t stand my breath,
I am loathsome to my own family.
18 Even young children despise me —
if I stand up, they start jeering at me.
19 All my intimate friends abhor me,
and those I loved have turned against me.
20 My bones stick to my skin and flesh;
I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
21 “Pity me, friends of mine, pity me!
For the hand of God has struck me!
22 Must you pursue me as God does,
never satisfied with my flesh?
23 I wish my words were written down,
that they were inscribed in a scroll,
24 that, engraved with iron and filled with lead,
they were cut into rock forever!
25 “But I know that my Redeemer lives,
that in the end he will rise on the dust;
26 so that after my skin has been thus destroyed,
then even without my flesh, I will see God.
27 I will see him for myself,
my eyes, not someone else’s, will behold him.
My heart grows weak inside me!
28 “If you say, ‘How will we persecute him?’ —
the root of the matter is found in me.
29 You had best fear the sword,
for anger brings the punishment of the sword,
so that you will know there is judgment!”
20 Tzofar the Na‘amati replied,
2 “My thoughts are pressing me to answer;
I feel such an urge to speak!
3 I have heard reproof that outrages me,
but a spirit past my understanding gives me a reply.
4 “Don’t you know that ever since time began,
ever since humans were placed on earth,
5 that the triumph of the wicked is always short-lived,
and the joy of the ungodly is gone in a moment?
6 His pride may mount to the heavens,
his head may touch the clouds;
7 but he will vanish completely, like his own dung —
those who used to see him will ask, ‘Where is he?’
8 Like a dream he flies off and is not found again;
like a vision in the night he is chased away.
9 The eye which once saw him will see him no more,
his place will not behold him again.
10 His children will have to pay back the poor;
his hands will restore their wealth.
11 His bones may be filled with [the vigor of] his youth,
but it will join him lying in the dust.
12 “Wickedness may taste sweet in his mouth,
he may savor and roll it around on his tongue,
13 he may linger over it and not let it go
but keep it there in his mouth —
14 yet in his stomach his food goes bad,
it works inside him like snake venom;
15 the wealth he swallows he vomits back up;
God makes him disgorge it.
16 He sucks the poison of asps,
the viper’s fangs will kill him.
17 He will not enjoy the rivers,
the streams flowing with honey and cream.
18 He will have to give back what he toiled for;
he won’t get to swallow it down —
to the degree that he acquired wealth,
he won’t get to enjoy it.
19 “For he crushed and abandoned the poor,
seizing houses he did not build,
20 because his appetite would not let him rest,
in his greed he let nothing escape;
21 nothing is left that he did not devour;
therefore his well-being will not last.
22 With all needs satisfied, he will be in distress;
the full force of misery will come over him.
23 “This is what will fill his belly! —
[God] will lay on him all his burning anger
and make it rain over him, into his insides.
24 If he flees from the weapon of iron,
the bow of bronze will pierce him through —
25 he pulls the arrow out of his back,
the shining tip comes out from his innards;
terrors come upon him.
26 “Total darkness is laid up for his treasures,
a fire fanned by no one will consume him,
and calamity awaits what is left in his tent.
27 The heavens will reveal his guilt,
and the earth will rise up against him.
28 The income of his household will be carried off;
his goods will flow away on the day of his wrath.
29 This is God’s reward for the wicked,
the heritage God decrees for him.”
21 Then Iyov responded:
2 “Listen carefully to my words;
let this be the comfort you give me.
3 Bear with me as I speak;
then, after I have spoken, you can go on mocking.
4 “As for me, is my complaint merely to other people?
Don’t I have grounds for being short-tempered?
5 Look at me, and be appalled;
cover your mouth with your hand!
6 Whenever I recall it, I am in shock;
my whole body shudders.
7 “Why do the wicked go on living,
grow old and keep increasing their power?
8 They see their children settled with them,
their posterity assured.
9 Their houses are safe, with nothing to fear;
God’s rod is not on them.
10 Their bulls are fertile without fail,
their cows get pregnant and don’t miscarry.
11 They produce flocks of babies,
and their children dance around.
12 They sing with tambourines and lyres
and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.
13 They spend their days in prosperity
and go down to the grave in peace.
14 “Yet to God they said, ‘Leave us alone!
We don’t want to know about your ways.
15 What is Shaddai, that we should serve him?
What do we gain if we pray to him?’
16 Isn’t their prosperity already theirs?
The plans of the wicked are far from me.
17 “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
How often does their calamity come upon them?
How often does [God] deal out pain in his anger,
18 to make them like straw in the wind,
like chaff carried off by a storm?
19 God lays up for their children
[the punishment for their] iniquity.
He should lay it on [the wicked] themselves,
so that they can feel it!
20 Let their own eyes see their own destruction
and themselves drink the wrath of Shaddai.
21 What joy can they have in their family after them,
given that their months are numbered?
22 “Can anyone teach God knowledge?
After all, he judges those who are on high.
23 One person dies in his full strength,
completely at ease and content;
24 his pails are full of milk,
and the marrow in his bones is moist.
25 Another dies with embittered heart,
never having tasted happiness.
26 They lie down alike in the dust,
and the worm covers them both.
27 “Look, I know what you are thinking
and your plans to do me wrong.
28 You ask, ‘Where is the great man’s house?
Where is the tent where the wicked once lived?’
29 Haven’t you ever questioned travelers?
Don’t you accept their testimony
30 that the evil man is saved on the day of disaster,
rescued on the day of wrath?
31 So who will confront him with his ways?
Who will repay him for what he has done?
32 For he is carried off to the grave,
people keep watch over his tomb,
33 the clods of the valley are sweet to him;
so everyone follows his example,
just as before him were countless others.
34 “Why offer me such meaningless comfort?
Of your answers, only the perfidy remains.”
Iyov 19-21
Orthodox Jewish Bible
19 Then Iyov answered and said,
2 How long will ye torment my nefesh, and crush me with words?
3 These ten times have ye reproached me; ye have no bushah that ye cause me astonishment.
4 And be it indeed that I have erred, mine meshugah (error) remaineth with myself.
5 If indeed ye will magnify yourselves above me, and use against me my cherpah (reproach, humiliation),
6 Have da’as now that Eloah hath put me in the wrong, and hath encompassed me with his matzud (net).
7 Behold, when I cry chamas, I am not heard; I cry for help, but there is no mishpat.
8 He hath fenced around my way that I cannot pass, and set choshech in my paths.
9 He hath stripped me of my kavod, and taken the ateret from my rosh.
10 He breaks me down on every side till I am gone, and mine tikveh hath He uprooted like an etz.
11 He hath also kindled His wrath against me, and He counteth me unto Him as His tzar (enemy).
12 His forces come together, and raise up their seige ramp against me, and encamp around my ohel.
13 He hath put achai (my brethren) far from me, and mine acquaintances are verily estranged from me.
14 My kerov (near and dear) have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me.
15 They that dwell in mine bais, and my maidservants, count me for a zar; I am a nokhri in their sight.
16 I summoned avdi, and he gave me no answer; I entreated him with my mouth.
17 My ruach is repulsive to my isha, loathsome to bnei beten of mine.
18 Even avilim (little children) treat me with contempt; I appear, and they ridicule me.
19 All my metei sod (confidants) detest me, and they whom I loved are turned against me.
20 My etzem cleaveth to my ohr (skin) and to my basar, and I am escaped only by the skin of my teeth.
21 Chanuni, chanuni, O ye my friends; for the yad Eloah hath touched me.
22 Why do ye persecute me like El, not satisfied with my basar?
23 Oh that my words were but written! O that they were recorded in a sefer!
24 That they were engraved with a pen of barzel and with oferet (lead) in the tzur forever!
25 For Ani yadati Goeli chai (I know that my Redeemer liveth), and that he shall stand up at Acharon (at the Last) upon aphar (dust, the earth);
26 And though after my ohr (skin) has been thus destroyed, yet from my basar I shall see Eloah;
27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold and no other; my heart faints within me.
28 But ye think, How we will persecute him, seeing the shoresh (root) of the matter is found in me?
29 Be ye afraid of the cherev; for wrath bringeth the avonot (punishments) of the cherev, that ye may know there is a judgment.
20 Then answered Tzophar the Na’amati, and said,
2 Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and ba’avur (because of [this]) I make haste.
3 I hear the musar that insults me, and the ruach of my understanding causeth me to answer.
4 Knowest thou not this of old, since adam was placed upon earth,
5 That the triumphing of the resha’im is short, and the simchat chanef (joy of the hypocrite) but for a moment?
6 Though his excellency mount up to Shomayim, and his rosh reach unto the clouds;
7 Yet he shall perish lanetzach (forever) like his own dung; they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?
8 He shall fly away as a chalom, and shall not be found; yea, he shall be chased away as a chezyon lailah.
9 The ayin also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his makom any more behold him.
10 His banim shall seek the favor of the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods.
11 His atzmot are full of youthful vigor, which shall lie down with him in the aphar.
12 Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his leshon;
13 Though he savor it, and forsake it not, but keep it still betoch (within) his mouth;
14 Yet his lechem in his stomach is turned sour; it is the venom of vipers within him.
15 He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again; El shall drive them out of his beten.
16 He shall suck the venom of asps; the viper’s leshon shall slay him.
17 He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of devash and khemah (butter, curds).
18 That which he labored for shall he give back, and shall not swallow it down; he shall not rejoice according to his chayil temurah (business profit).
19 Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the destitute; because he hath violently seized a bais which he built not;
20 Surely he knew no quiet in his beten; he shall not save anything which he desired.
21 There shall none of his ochel be left; therefore his posterity will not endure.
22 In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in distress; kol yad of misery shall come upon him.
23 When he is about to fill his beten, He shall cast the charon af (fury of His wrath) upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.
24 He shall flee from the weapon of barzel (iron), and the keshet of bronze shall strike him through.
25 It is drawn, and cometh out of their body; yea, the glittering point cometh out of his gall; emim (terrors [of death]) are upon them.
26 Kol choshech is reserved for his treasures; an eish not fanned shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his ohel.
27 Shomayim shall reveal his iniquity; and eretz shall rise up against him.
28 The increase of his bais shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in [G-d’s] Yom Af.
29 This is the chelek of an adam rasha from Elohim, and the nachalah decreed unto him by El (G-d).
21 But Iyov answered and said,
2 Hear diligently my speech, and let this be your tanechumot (consolations).
3 Bear with me that I may speak; and achar (after) that I have spoken, mock on.
4 As for me, is my complaint to adam (mortals)? Or why should my ruach not become impatient?
5 Look at me, and be astonished, and lay your yad upon your peh (mouth).
6 Even when I remember I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my basar.
7 Madu’a (why) do the resha’im live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?
8 Their zera is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes.
9 Their batim (houses) are shalom from pachad; neither is the shevet Eloah upon them.
10 Their shor (bull) breeds, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and doth not miscarry her calf.
11 They send forth their little ones like a tzon, and their yeladim jump about.
12 They sing to the tambourine and kinnor, and rejoice at the sound of the flute.
13 They spend their yamim in tov, and in a moment go down to Sheol.
14 Therefore they say unto El, Depart from us; for we desire not the da’as of Thy ways.
15 What is Shaddai, that we should serve Him? And what profit should we have, if we importune Him?
16 Lo, their tov is not in their yad; the etzah (counsel, scheme) of the resha’im is far from me.
17 How oft is the ner (light) of the resha’im put out! And how oft cometh their destruction upon them and He distributeth pains in His anger.
18 They are as straw before the ruach, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away.
19 Eloah layeth up his iniquity for his banim; He payeth him back, and he shall know it.
20 His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of Shaddai.
21 For what pleasure hath he in his bais after him, when the mispar (number) of his months is cut off?
22 Shall any teach El da’as, seeing He judgeth those that are on high?
23 Zeh (this one) dieth in his full prosperity, being wholly at ease and secure.
24 His troughs are full of cholov, and his atzmot are moistened with marrow.
25 And another dieth in the marah (bitterness) of his nefesh, and never eateth with pleasure.
26 They shall lie down alike in the aphar, and the worms shall cover them.
27 Behold, I know your machshevot, and the stratagems which ye wrongfully imagine against me.
28 For ye say, Where is the bais of the tyrant? And where are the ohel mishkenot of the resha’im?
29 Have ye not asked them that travel the derech? And do ye not accept their testimony,
30 That the rah is spared in the yom eid (day of calamity)? They shall be rescued in the yom avarot (day of wrath).
31 Who shall declare his derech to his face? And who shall repay him what he hath done?
32 Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the gadish (gravemound).
33 The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and kol adam shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him.
34 How then comfort ye me with hevel (empty nothings), seeing in your answers there is nothing left but falsehood?
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
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