約伯的回答

19 約伯回答說:

「你們要折磨我多久?
用言語壓碎我到何時?
你們侮辱我已有十次之多,
苦待我也不以為恥。
即使我真有過錯,
也由我獨自承擔。
你們若真要妄自尊大,
利用我的恥辱來指責我,
也該知道是上帝冤枉了我,
用網羅套住我。
我喊冤,卻無人回應;
我呼救,卻不見公道。
上帝築起牆壘,阻斷我的路,
祂使黑暗籠罩我的路途。
祂剝去我的榮耀,
摘走我頭上的冠冕。
10 祂從四面攻擊我,直到我消逝;
祂把我的希望像樹一樣連根拔除。
11 祂向我發烈怒,
視我為仇敵。
12 祂的大軍蜂擁而來,
在我帳篷四周紮營,
將我團團圍住。

13 「祂使我的弟兄遠離我,
我的熟人完全背棄我。
14 我的親屬離開我,
我的摯友忘記我。
15 我的客人和婢女都視我如陌路,
把我當作外族人。
16 我呼喚僕人,他卻不回應;
我哀求他,他也不理睬。
17 我妻子厭惡我的氣息,
我的手足都嫌棄我。
18 連小孩子都鄙視我;
我一出現,他們就嘲笑我。
19 我的密友都憎惡我,
我愛的人也反對我。
20 我瘦得只剩下皮包骨,
我離死亡僅一線之隔[a]

21 「我的朋友啊,可憐我吧!可憐我吧!
因為上帝的手擊打我。
22 你們為何像上帝一樣逼我?
為何吃了我的肉還不滿足?
23 但願把我的話寫下來,
記錄在書卷上,
24 用鐵筆和鉛鐫刻在磐石上,
直存到永遠。
25 我知道我的救贖主活著,
最後祂必站在地上。
26 我的皮肉雖然要朽爛,
但我必活著[b]見上帝。
27 我要親自見祂,
我要親眼見祂。
我心中充滿渴望!
28 你們說禍根在我身上,
還想繼續迫害我。
29 你們自己應當畏懼刀劍,
因為烈怒會帶來刀劍的懲罰,
那時你們將知道有審判。」

Footnotes

  1. 19·20 我離死亡僅一線之隔」希伯來文是「我只剩牙皮逃脫」。
  2. 19·26 活著」或譯「在肉體之外」。

约伯责友待己宽待人严

19 约伯回答说:

“你们叫我受苦要到几时呢?

用话压碎我要到几时呢?

你们已经十次侮辱我,

你们苛刻地对我,也不觉得羞耻。

即使我真的有过错,

由我承担好了。

你们若真的妄自尊大攻击我,

用我的羞辱来证明我的不是,

那么,就知道是 神颠倒我的案件,

用他的网圈住我。

我呼叫‘强暴!’却没有回答;

我呼求,却得不到公断。

 神用篱笆拦阻我的道路,使我不能经过;

他又使黑暗笼罩我的路。

他从我身上剥去我的荣耀,

又挪去我头上的冠冕。

10 他四面拆毁我,我就离世,

他又把我这指望如树枝一样拔出来。

11 他的怒气向我发作,

把我看作他的敌人;

12 他的军队一起上来,

他们建筑高的斜道攻击我(“高的斜道”直译是“他们的道路”),在我的帐棚周围安营。

约伯被亲友疏远

13 他使我的族人远离我,

使我熟悉的人完全与我疏远。

14 我的亲戚离弃我,

我的朋友忘记我;

15 在我家中寄居的和我的婢女,都把我当作外人,

我在他们的眼中是个外族人。

16 我呼唤仆人,他不回答,

我得用口哀求他。

17 妻子厌恶我的气息,

同胞兄弟也厌弃我,

18 连小孩子也藐视我,

我一起来,他们就讥笑我;

19 我所有的密友都憎恶我,

我所爱的人也向我反脸。

20 我的骨头紧贴着皮肉,

我只剩牙皮逃过大难。

向友求怜

21 我的朋友啊!求你们怜悯我,怜悯我吧!

因为 神的手击打了我。

22 你们为甚么有如 神那样逼迫我?

还不因吃我的肉感到满足吗?

深信终必得蒙救恩

23 但愿我的话现在都写下,

都刻在书简上,

24 用铁笔又用铅,

永远刻在盘石上。

25 我知道我的救赎主活着,

最后他必在地上兴起(“最后他必在地上兴起”或译:“最后他必站立在地上”)。

26 我的皮肉遭受毁坏以后,这事就要发生,

我必在肉体以外得见 神。

27 我必见他在我身边,

我要亲眼见他,并非外人,

我的心肠在我里面渴想极了。

28 你们若说:‘惹事的根既然在他,

我们要怎样逼迫他呢?’

29 你们就当惧怕刀剑,

因为这些罪孽带来刀剑的惩罚,

好使你们知道有审判。”

Job’s Fifth Response[a]

Chapter 19

God Has Wronged Me.[b] Job then answered with these words:

“How much longer will you torment me
    and oppress me with your words?
You have reproached me now ten times,
    and you mistreat me shamelessly.
And even if it were true that I have erred,
    the fault would be completely mine.
“If indeed you want to exalt yourselves above me
    and use my humiliation against me,
know that God has wronged me
    and cast his net over me.
Even when I protest that I have been wronged,
    no one comes forward to support me,
    and I receive no justice when I cry out for help.
“He has blocked my path so that I cannot pass,
    and he has shrouded my way in darkness.
He has deprived me of my honor
    and removed the crown from my head.
10 He assails me on every side until I succumb;
    he has uprooted my hope like a tree.
11 He has inflamed his anger against me
    and looks upon me as his enemy.
12 His troops move forward as a single force;
    they have surrounded me with siegeworks
    and encamped around my tent.
13 “He has caused my brethren to turn against me;
    my friends are completely estranged from me.
14 My relatives and my companions now ignore me,
    and those who were guests in my house have forgotten me.
15 Even my serving girls regard me as a stranger;
    I have become an alien in their eyes.
16 When I summon my servant, he does not respond,
    no matter how much I plead with him.
17 “My wife finds my breath repulsive;
    my stench is loathsome to my relatives.
18 Even young children despise me;[c]
    when I approach, they turn their backs on me.
19 All of my dearest friends abhor me;
    those I love have turned against me.
20 I have become just skin and bones
    and have escaped with only my gums.[d]
21 “Have pity on me, my friends, have pity on me,
    for the hand of God has touched me.
22 Must you pursue me just as God does?
    Will not my flesh ever be enough to satisfy you?[e]

I Know That My Redeemer Lives[f]

23 “How I wish that my words might be written down
    and inscribed on a scroll!
24 How I wish that with an iron chisel and with lead
    they were engraved in stone forever!
25 “But I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and that at the end he will stand upon the dust.
26 After my awakening, he will call me close to him,
    and then from my own flesh I will see God.
27 I will see him with my own eyes;
    my eyes, not those of another, will behold him.
    How my heart within me yearns for that moment!
28 “As for you who say,
    ‘How we will persecute him,
    for the root of the trouble lies in him,’
29 beware of the sword that is pointed toward you,
    for the avenger of wickedness is the sword,
    and then you will know that there is indeed a judgment.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 19:1 Though persecuted by God and condemned by humans, Job remains certain that he will someday see his cause triumphant and God himself acting as his defender.
  2. Job 19:1 Job is not going to justify himself before his friends any longer; it is the justice of God and not his own that is at issue. Job lets forth an ardent lamentation, an appeal for pity.
  3. Job 19:18 Even young children despise me: this fact was a great embarrassment in a patriarchal society, which insisted that its elders be respected and honored (see Ex 20:12).
  4. Job 19:20 The translation of this verse is uncertain. Most commentators believe it means “I am nothing and possess nothing except my skin and bones.”
  5. Job 19:22 To eat someone’s flesh meant to mistreat him and especially to slander him (see Ps 27:2).
  6. Job 19:23 This is regarded as the best-known and most-beloved passage in the Book of Job as well as the culmination of Job’s understanding of his situation and his relationship with God. At the end of his life, Job is convulsed by a cry of hope, which he utters like a challenge, and also by the prospect of meeting his God, whom he will really see with his own eyes (Job 42:5).
    God is Job’s defender; originally, a goel was a close relative of somebody slain, who had to avenge that relative’s blood, raise up a posterity to the dead man’s wife, and redeem his property. Job, therefore, expects a liberation.
    The Vulgate Latin translation interpreted this as resurrection of the body after death. The direct meaning of the Hebrew text may be extended, in a Christian perspective, to include the resurrection, but the Book of Job does not perceive this so clearly.

Job

19 Then Job replied:

“How long will you torment(A) me
    and crush(B) me with words?
Ten times(C) now you have reproached(D) me;
    shamelessly you attack me.
If it is true that I have gone astray,
    my error(E) remains my concern alone.
If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me(F)
    and use my humiliation against me,
then know that God has wronged me(G)
    and drawn his net(H) around me.(I)

“Though I cry, ‘Violence!’ I get no response;(J)
    though I call for help,(K) there is no justice.(L)
He has blocked my way so I cannot pass;(M)
    he has shrouded my paths in darkness.(N)
He has stripped(O) me of my honor(P)
    and removed the crown from my head.(Q)
10 He tears me down(R) on every side till I am gone;
    he uproots my hope(S) like a tree.(T)
11 His anger(U) burns against me;
    he counts me among his enemies.(V)
12 His troops advance in force;(W)
    they build a siege ramp(X) against me
    and encamp around my tent.(Y)

13 “He has alienated my family(Z) from me;
    my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.(AA)
14 My relatives have gone away;
    my closest friends(AB) have forgotten me.
15 My guests(AC) and my female servants(AD) count me a foreigner;
    they look on me as on a stranger.
16 I summon my servant, but he does not answer,
    though I beg him with my own mouth.
17 My breath is offensive to my wife;
    I am loathsome(AE) to my own family.
18 Even the little boys(AF) scorn me;
    when I appear, they ridicule me.(AG)
19 All my intimate friends(AH) detest me;(AI)
    those I love have turned against me.(AJ)
20 I am nothing but skin and bones;(AK)
    I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.[a]

21 “Have pity on me, my friends,(AL) have pity,
    for the hand of God has struck(AM) me.
22 Why do you pursue(AN) me as God does?(AO)
    Will you never get enough of my flesh?(AP)

23 “Oh, that my words were recorded,
    that they were written on a scroll,(AQ)
24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool(AR) on[b] lead,
    or engraved in rock forever!(AS)
25 I know that my redeemer[c](AT) lives,(AU)
    and that in the end he will stand on the earth.[d]
26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
    yet[e] in[f] my flesh I will see God;(AV)
27 I myself will see him
    with my own eyes(AW)—I, and not another.
    How my heart yearns(AX) within me!

28 “If you say, ‘How we will hound(AY) him,
    since the root of the trouble lies in him,[g]
29 you should fear the sword yourselves;
    for wrath will bring punishment by the sword,(AZ)
    and then you will know that there is judgment.[h](BA)

Footnotes

  1. Job 19:20 Or only by my gums
  2. Job 19:24 Or and
  3. Job 19:25 Or vindicator
  4. Job 19:25 Or on my grave
  5. Job 19:26 Or And after I awake, / though this body has been destroyed, / then
  6. Job 19:26 Or destroyed, / apart from
  7. Job 19:28 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts me
  8. Job 19:29 Or sword, / that you may come to know the Almighty