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Job 21

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1 ὑπολαβὼν δὲ Ιωβ λέγει 2 ἀκούσατε ἀκούσατέ μου τῶν λόγων ἵνα μὴ ᾖ μοι πα{R'} ὑμῶν αὕτη ἡ παράκλησις 3 ἄρατέ με ἐγὼ δὲ λαλήσω εἶ{T'} οὐ καταγελάσετέ μου 4 τί γάρ μὴ ἀνθρώπου μου ἡ ἔλεγξις ἢ διὰ τί οὐ θυμωθήσομαι 5 εἰσβλέψαντες εἰς ἐμὲ θαυμάσατε χεῖρα θέντες ἐπὶ σιαγόνι 6 ἐάν τε γὰρ μνησθῶ ἐσπούδακα ἔχουσιν δέ μου τὰς σάρκας ὀδύναι

1 But Job answered: 2 Listen, do but listen to me, and then, if you will, repent of your charity; 3 let me have my say, and then mock on. 4 It is not as if I bore a grudge against man; I have better reason than that to be indignant. 5 Mark my complaint well, and you shall be astonished, hold your breath[1] in amazement, 6 as I too tremble with dismay at the thought of it.

1 Respondens autem Job, dixit: 2

Audite, quæso, sermones meos,
et agite pœnitentiam. 3
Sustinete me, et ego loquar:
et post mea, si videbitur, verba, ridete. 4
Numquid contra hominem disputatio mea est,
ut merito non debeam contristari? 5
Attendite me et obstupescite,
et superponite digitum ori vestro. 6
Et ego, quando recordatus fuero, pertimesco,
et concutit carnem meam tremor.

7 διὰ τί ἀσεβεῖς ζῶσιν πεπαλαίωνται δὲ καὶ ἐν πλούτῳ 8 ὁ σπόρος αὐτῶν κατὰ ψυχήν τὰ δὲ τέκνα αὐτῶν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς 9 οἱ οἶκοι αὐτῶν εὐθηνοῦσιν φόβος δὲ οὐδαμοῦ μάστιξ δὲ παρὰ κυρίου οὐκ ἔστιν ἐ{P'} αὐτοῖς 10 ἡ βοῦς αὐτῶν οὐκ ὠμοτόκησεν διεσώθη δὲ αὐτῶν ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχουσα καὶ οὐκ ἔσφαλεν 11 μένουσιν δὲ ὡς πρόβατα αἰώνια τὰ δὲ παιδία αὐτῶν προσπαίζουσιν 12 ἀναλαβόντες ψαλτήριον καὶ κιθάραν καὶ εὐφραίνονται φωνῇ ψαλμοῦ 13 συνετέλεσαν δὲ ἐν ἀγαθοῖς τὸν βίον αὐτῶν ἐν δὲ ἀναπαύσει ᾅδου ἐκοιμήθησαν

7 How is it that godless men live on, meet with advancement, enjoy their riches undisturbed? 8 Long they live, to see their posterity thrive about them, kinsmen and grandsons thronging all around. 9 Safe and sound their dwelling-place; God’s scourge passes them by; 10 never bull of theirs failed to gender, cow to calve; 11 blithe as lambs the little children go out to play; 12 everywhere is tambour and harp-playing, everywhere the pipe’s merry note. 13 So, full of ease, their life passes, and they go down at last without a struggle to the grave.

7
Quare ergo impii vivunt,
sublevati sunt, confortatique divitiis? 8
Semen eorum permanet coram eis:
propinquorum turba et nepotum in conspectu eorum. 9
Domus eorum securæ sunt et pacatæ,
et non est virga Dei super illos. 10
Bos eorum concepit, et non abortivit:
vacca peperit, et non est privata fœtu 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 λέγει δὲ κυρίῳ ἀπόστα ἀ{P'} ἐμοῦ ὁδούς σου εἰδέναι οὐ βούλομαι 15 τί ἱκανός ὅτι δουλεύσομεν αὐτῷ καὶ τίς ὠφέλεια ὅτι ἀπαντήσομεν αὐτῷ 16 ἐν χερσὶν γὰρ ἦν αὐτῶν τὰ ἀγαθά ἔργα δὲ ἀσεβῶν οὐκ ἐφορᾷ 17 οὐ μὴν δὲ ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀσεβῶν λύχνος σβεσθήσεται ἐπελεύσεται δὲ αὐτοῖς ἡ καταστροφή ὠδῖνες δὲ αὐτοὺς ἕξουσιν ἀπὸ ὀργῆς 18 ἔσονται δὲ ὥσπερ ἄχυρα πρὸ ἀνέμου ἢ ὥσπερ κονιορτός ὃν ὑφείλατο λαῖλαψ

14 And these are the men who bade God keep his distance from them, refused to learn his will;[2] 15 what right had he, the Omnipotent, to their obedience, what advantage would they gain by offering prayer to him? 16 These are the godless folk whose counsel I must shun because they cannot command their own good fortune! 17 Tell me, how often in very deed are the hopes of the wicked extinguished, engulfed by the flood? Does God’s vengeance often deal out misfortune to them, 18 sweeping them away like chaff before the wind, ashes beneath the storm?

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 paleæ ante faciem venti,
et sicut favilla quam turbo dispergit.

19 ἐκλίποι υἱοὺς τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτοῦ ἀνταποδώσει πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ γνώσεται 20 ἴδοισαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σφαγήν ἀπὸ δὲ κυρίου μὴ διασωθείη 21 ὅτι τί θέλημα αὐτοῦ ἐν οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ με{T'} αὐτόν καὶ ἀριθμοὶ μηνῶν αὐτοῦ διῃρέθησαν

19 But perhaps God is reserving for the children punishment of their father’s sins? Nay, let the sinner himself feel the retribution when it comes; 20 his own eyes must see the blow fall, his own lips drink in the divine vengeance! 21 Little he cares what befalls his posterity after he is gone, though halved be the time of its continuance.

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 πότερον οὐχὶ ὁ κύριός ἐστιν ὁ διδάσκων σύνεσιν καὶ ἐπιστήμην αὐτὸς δὲ φόνους διακρινεῖ 23 οὗτος ἀποθανεῖται ἐν κράτει ἁπλοσύνης αὐτοῦ ὅλος δὲ εὐπαθῶν καὶ εὐθηνῶν 24 τὰ δὲ ἔγκατα αὐτοῦ πλήρη στέατος μυελὸς δὲ αὐτοῦ διαχεῖται 25 ὁ δὲ τελευτᾷ ὑπὸ πικρίας ψυχῆς οὐ φαγὼν οὐδὲν ἀγαθόν 26 ὁμοθυμαδὸν δὲ ἐπὶ γῆς κοιμῶνται σαπρία δὲ αὐτοὺς ἐκάλυψεν

22 The God that passes judgement on his angels needs none to instruct him![3] 23 Here is one man goes to his death sound and strong, rich and happy, 24 well covered with flesh, his bones full of marrow; 25 another, all misery and poverty, 26 and he, no less than the other, has dust for bed, worms for coverlet.

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 animæ
absque ullis opibus: 26
et tamen simul in pulvere dormient,
et vermes operient eos.

27 ὥστε οἶδα ὑμᾶς ὅτι τόλμῃ ἐπίκεισθέ μοι 28 ὅτι ἐρεῖτε ποῦ ἐστιν οἶκος ἄρχοντος καὶ ποῦ ἐστιν ἡ σκέπη τῶν σκηνωμάτων τῶν ἀσεβῶν 29 ἐρωτήσατε παραπορευομένους ὁδόν καὶ τὰ σημεῖα αὐτῶν οὐκ ἀπαλλοτριώσετε 30 ὅτι εἰς ἡμέραν ἀπωλείας κουφίζεται ὁ πονηρός εἰς ἡμέραν ὀργῆς αὐτοῦ ἀπαχθήσονται 31 τίς ἀπαγγελεῖ ἐπὶ προσώπου αὐτοῦ τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐποίησεν τίς ἀνταποδώσει αὐτῷ 32 καὶ αὐτὸς εἰς τάφους ἀπηνέχθη καὶ ἐπὶ σορῷ ἠγρύπνησεν 33 ἐγλυκάνθησαν αὐτῷ χάλικες χειμάρρου καὶ ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ἀπελεύσεται καὶ ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ ἀναρίθμητοι

27 Spare me those thoughts I know already, those reasons that would crush me! 28 What becomes of the tyrant’s palace, of the evil-doer’s home, at last? 29 Ask any wayfarer (you say) that knows them, and you shall hear the same account of the matter: 30 The rogue’s villainy is being reserved for future punishment, he is being slowly drawn on to his doom. 31 Fools, how can anyone bring home his guilt to him now, punish the wrong he did? 32 He is being slowly drawn on to his tomb, where he shall wait on in the ranks of the dead; 33 made welcome in the dark valley,[4] whither all men shall follow, as numberless that went before him.

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 hæc eadem illum intelligere cognoscetis: 30
quia in diem perditionis servatur malus,
et ad diem furoris ducetur. 31
Quis arguet coram eo viam ejus?
et quæ 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 πῶς δὲ παρακαλεῖτέ με κενά τὸ δὲ ἐμὲ καταπαύσασθαι ἀ{F'} ὑμῶν οὐδέν

34 Vain is all your consolation, while the answer you give me matches so ill with truth.

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

[1] Literally, ‘put your hands on your mouths’.

[2] vv. 14-33. The interpretation here given to this passage is designed to make Job’s remarks consistent with each other and with his general line of argument. Several of them would appear at first sight (especially as read in the Latin version) to favour the notion that God inflicts signal punishment on evil-doers. But it seems clear that these do not reflect Job’s own sentiments; they are an ironical presentation of his opponents’ point of view, e.g., verse 16 and the first half of verse 19.

[3] It is hard to see how this verse fits into the context, and some think it has been misplaced. The idea seems to be that Job’s comforters are offering an apology for the Providential order such as God himself would not approve of.

[4] The Latin here gives the strange rendering, ‘the gravel of Cocytus’. In pagan mythology, Cocytus was a river flowing through the underworld.

Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd