約伯記 19
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
約伯的回答
19 約伯回答說：
2 「你們要折磨我多久？
用言語壓碎我到何時？
3 你們侮辱我已有十次之多，
苦待我也不以為恥。
4 即使我真有過錯，
也由我獨自承擔。
5 你們若真要妄自尊大，
利用我的恥辱來指責我，
6 也該知道是上帝冤枉了我，
用網羅套住我。
7 我喊冤，卻無人回應；
我呼救，卻不見公道。
8 上帝築起牆壘，阻斷我的路，
祂使黑暗籠罩我的路途。
9 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。」
Job 19
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 19
Job’s Fifth Reply. 1 [a]Then Job answered and said:
2 How long will you afflict my spirit,
grind me down with words?
3 These ten times you have humiliated me,
have assailed me without shame!
4 Even if it were true that I am at fault,
my fault would remain with me;
5 If truly you exalt yourselves at my expense,
and use my shame as an argument against me,
6 Know then that it is God who has dealt unfairly with me,
and compassed me round with his net.
7 If I cry out “Violence!” I am not answered.(A)
I shout for help, but there is no justice.
8 He has barred my way and I cannot pass;
veiled my path in darkness;
9 He has stripped me of my glory,
taken the diadem from my brow.
10 He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone;
he has uprooted my hope like a tree.
11 He has kindled his wrath against me;
he counts me one of his enemies.(B)
12 His troops advance as one;
they build up their road to attack me,
encamp around my tent.
13 My family has withdrawn from me,(C)
my friends are wholly estranged.
14 My relatives and companions neglect me,
my guests have forgotten me.
15 Even my maidservants consider me a stranger;
I am a foreigner in their sight.
16 I call my servant, but he gives no answer,
though I plead aloud with him.
17 My breath is abhorrent to my wife;(D)
I am loathsome to my very children.
18 Even young children despise me;
when I appear, they speak against me.
19 All my intimate friends hold me in horror;
those whom I loved have turned against me!(E)
20 My bones cling to my skin,
and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.[b]
21 Pity me, pity me, you my friends,
for the hand of God has struck me!
22 Why do you pursue me like God,
and prey insatiably upon me?
23 Oh, would that my words were written down!(F)
Would that they were inscribed in a record:[c]
24 That with an iron chisel and with lead
they were cut in the rock forever!
25 As for me, I know that my vindicator lives,[d]
and that he will at last stand forth upon the dust.(G)
26 This will happen when my skin has been stripped off,
and from my flesh I will see God:
27 I will see for myself,
my own eyes, not another’s, will behold him:
my inmost being is consumed with longing.
28 But you who say, “How shall we persecute him,
seeing that the root of the matter is found in him?”
29 Be afraid of the sword for yourselves,
for your anger is a crime deserving the sword;
that you may know that there is a judgment.
Footnotes
- 19:1 Job continues railing against his friends (vv. 2–5), and describing God’s savage attack in words reminiscent of 16:9–17.
- 19:20 Skin of my teeth: although the metaphor is not clear, this has become a proverbial expression for a narrow escape. It does not fit Job’s situation here.
- 19:23–24 What Job is about to say is so important that he wants it recorded in a permanent manner.
- 19:25–27 The meaning of this passage is obscure because the original text has been poorly preserved and the ancient versions do not agree among themselves. Job asserts three times that he shall see a future vindicator (Hebrew goel), but he leaves the time and manner of this vindication undefined. The Vulgate translation has Job indicating a belief in resurrection after death, but the Hebrew and the other ancient versions are less specific.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.