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Job 31

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1 διαθήκην ἐθέμην τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς μου καὶ οὐ συνήσω ἐπὶ παρθένον 2 καὶ τί ἐμέρισεν ὁ θεὸς ἀπάνωθεν καὶ κληρονομία ἱκανοῦ ἐξ ὑψίστων 3 οὐχὶ ἀπώλεια τῷ ἀδίκῳ καὶ ἀπαλλοτρίωσις τοῖς ποιοῦσιν ἀνομίαν 4 οὐχὶ αὐτὸς ὄψεται ὁδόν μου καὶ πάντα τὰ διαβήματά μου ἐξαριθμήσεται 5 εἰ δὲ ἤμην πεπορευμένος μετὰ γελοιαστῶν εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐσπούδασεν ὁ πούς μου εἰς δόλον 6 ἱσταίη με ἄρα ἐν ζυγῷ δικαίῳ οἶδεν δὲ ὁ κύριος τὴν ἀκακίαν μου 7 εἰ ἐξέκλινεν ὁ πούς μου ἐκ τῆς ὁδοῦ εἰ δὲ καὶ τῷ ὀφθαλμῷ ἐπηκολούθησεν ἡ καρδία μου εἰ δὲ καὶ ταῖς χερσίν μου ἡψάμην δώρων 8 σπείραιμι ἄρα καὶ ἄλλοι φάγοισαν ἄρριζος δὲ γενοίμην ἐπὶ γῆς 9 εἰ ἐξηκολούθησεν ἡ καρδία μου γυναικὶ ἀνδρὸς ἑτέρου εἰ καὶ ἐγκάθετος ἐγενόμην ἐπὶ θύραις αὐτῆς 10 ἀρέσαι ἄρα καὶ ἡ γυνή μου ἑτέρῳ τὰ δὲ νήπιά μου ταπεινωθείη 11 θυμὸς γὰρ ὀργῆς ἀκατάσχετος τὸ μιᾶναι ἀνδρὸς γυναῖκα 12 πῦρ γάρ ἐστιν καιόμενον ἐπὶ πάντων τῶν μερῶν οὗ {D'} ἂν ἐπέλθῃ ἐκ ῥιζῶν ἀπώλεσεν

1 And this was a man that had bound his eyes over by covenant; never should even his fancy dwell upon the thought of a maid! 2 Well I knew that God Almighty in high heaven would have neither part nor lot with me else; 3 ruin for the sinner his doom is, disinheritance for the wrong-doer. 4 Tell me, does not this God watch over every path I take, trace my footsteps one by one? 5 Walk I by crooked ways, run I eagerly after false dealing, 6 he can weigh my offence with true scales; let God himself bear witness to my innocence! 7 Have I strayed from my course; has my heart followed the lure of my eyes; are my hands stained with wrong? 8 Then let another man enjoy the harvest I have sowed, then let my race be doomed to extinction! 9 Have wiles of woman entangled my heart; did I lie in wait under my neighbour’s window? 10 Then be my own wife another’s whore, strangers be her bedfellows! 11 That were sin in me, and foul wrong done; 12 that fire, once lighted, will rage till all is consumed, never a crop shall escape it.

1

Pepigi fœdus cum oculis meis,
ut ne cogitarem quidem de virgine. 2
Quam enim partem haberet in me Deus desuper,
et hæreditatem Omnipotens de excelsis? 3
Numquid non perditio est iniquo,
et alienatio operantibus injustitiam? 4
Nonne ipse considerat vias meas,
et cunctos gressus meos dinumerat? 5
Si ambulavi in vanitate,
et festinavit in dolo pes meus, 6
appendat me in statera justa,
et sciat Deus simplicitatem meam. 7
Si declinavit gressus meus de via,
et si secutum est oculos meos cor meum,
et si manibus meis adhæsit macula, 8
seram, et alius comedat,
et progenies mea eradicetur. 9
Si deceptum est cor meum super muliere,
et si ad ostium amici mei insidiatus sum, 10
scortum alterius sit uxor mea,
et super illam incurventur alii. 11
Hoc enim nefas est,
et iniquitas maxima. 12
Ignis est usque ad perditionem devorans,
et omnia eradicans genimina.

13 εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐφαύλισα κρίμα θεράποντός μου ἢ θεραπαίνης κρινομένων αὐτῶν πρός με 14 τί γὰρ ποιήσω ἐὰν ἔτασίν μου ποιήσηται ὁ κύριος ἐὰν δὲ καὶ ἐπισκοπήν τίνα ἀπόκρισιν ποιήσομαι 15 πότερον οὐχ ὡς καὶ ἐγὼ ἐγενόμην ἐν γαστρί καὶ ἐκεῖνοι γεγόνασιν γεγόναμεν δὲ ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ κοιλίᾳ 16 ἀδύνατοι δὲ χρείαν ἥν πο{T'} εἶχον οὐκ ἀπέτυχον χήρας δὲ τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν οὐκ ἐξέτηξα 17 εἰ δὲ καὶ τὸν ψωμόν μου ἔφαγον μόνος καὶ οὐχὶ ὀρφανῷ μετέδωκα 18 ὅτι ἐκ νεότητός μου ἐξέτρεφον ὡς πατὴρ καὶ ἐκ γαστρὸς μητρός μου ὡδήγησα 19 εἰ δὲ καὶ ὑπερεῖδον γυμνὸν ἀπολλύμενον καὶ οὐκ ἠμφίασα 20 ἀδύνατοι δὲ εἰ μὴ εὐλόγησάν με ἀπὸ δὲ κουρᾶς ἀμνῶν μου ἐθερμάνθησαν οἱ ὦμοι αὐτῶν 21 εἰ ἐπῆρα ὀρφανῷ χεῖρα πεποιθὼς ὅτι πολλή μοι βοήθεια περίεστιν 22 ἀποσταίη ἄρα ὁ ὦμός μου ἀπὸ τῆς κλειδός ὁ δὲ βραχίων μου ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀγκῶνός μου συντριβείη 23 φόβος γὰρ κυρίου συνέσχεν με καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ λήμματος αὐτοῦ οὐχ ὑποίσω

13 Did I refuse justice to man-servant of mine or woman-servant, when they had complaint to bring? 14 Then it shall go hard with me when it is God’s turn to pronounce judgement; how shall I meet his scrutiny, 15 who fashioned in the womb this one and that, man and master alike? 16 Did I deny some poor man the alms he craved, keep the widow waiting for her pittance, 17 sit over my meal alone, and never an orphan boy to share it? 18 That were an ill return for the loving care that has borne me company as I grew up from childhood, ever since I left my mother’s womb.[1] 19 Did I spurn the naked that were ready to perish of cold, too poor to find clothing; 20 did I never earn thanks, from the back that went bare till fleece of my flock warmed it? 21 Did I threaten the friendless, whenever I could secure judgement against them in the market-place? 22 Then let shoulder of mine hang from shoulder-blade, every bone in my arm broken! 23 Nay, but God’s terrors overwhelmed, his majesty overbore me.

13
Si contempsi subire judicium cum servo meo et ancilla mea,
cum disceptarent adversum me: 14
quid enim faciam cum surrexerit ad judicandum Deus?
et cum quæsierit, quid respondebo illi? 15
Numquid non in utero fecit me, qui et illum operatus est,
et formavit me in vulva unus? 16
Si negavi quod volebant pauperibus,
et oculos viduæ expectare feci; 17
si comedi buccellam meam solus,
et non comedit pupillus ex ea 18
(quia ab infantia mea crevit mecum miseratio,
et de utero matris meæ egressa est mecum); 19
si despexi pereuntem, eo quod non habuerit indumentum,
et absque operimento pauperem; 20
si non benedixerunt mihi latera ejus,
et de velleribus ovium mearum calefactus est; 21
si levavi super pupillum manum meam,
etiam cum viderem me in porta superiorem: 22
humerus meus a junctura sua cadat,
et brachium meum cum suis ossibus confringatur. 23
Semper enim quasi tumentes super me fluctus timui Deum,
et pondus ejus ferre non potui.

24 εἰ ἔταξα χρυσίον ἰσχύν μου εἰ δὲ καὶ λίθῳ πολυτελεῖ ἐπεποίθησα 25 εἰ δὲ καὶ εὐφράνθην πολλοῦ πλούτου μοι γενομένου εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐ{P'} ἀναριθμήτοις ἐθέμην χεῖρά μου 26 ἦ οὐχ ὁρῶ μὲν ἥλιον τὸν ἐπιφαύσκοντα ἐκλείποντα σελήνην δὲ φθίνουσαν οὐ γὰρ ἐ{P'} αὐτοῖς ἐστιν 27 καὶ εἰ ἠπατήθη λάθρᾳ ἡ καρδία μου εἰ δὲ καὶ χεῖρά μου ἐπιθεὶς ἐπὶ στόματί μου ἐφίλησα 28 καὶ τοῦτό μοι ἄρα ἀνομία ἡ μεγίστη λογισθείη ὅτι ἐψευσάμην ἐναντίον κυρίου τοῦ ὑψίστου 29 εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐπιχαρὴς ἐγενόμην πτώματι ἐχθρῶν μου καὶ εἶπεν ἡ καρδία μου εὖγε 30 ἀκούσαι ἄρα τὸ οὖς μου τὴν κατάραν μου θρυληθείην δὲ ἄρα ὑπὸ λαοῦ μου κακούμενος 31 εἰ δὲ καὶ πολλάκις εἶπον αἱ θεράπαιναί μου τίς ἂν δῴη ἡμῖν τῶν σαρκῶν αὐτοῦ πλησθῆναι λίαν μου χρηστοῦ ὄντος 32 ἔξω δὲ οὐκ ηὐλίζετο ξένος ἡ δὲ θύρα μου παντὶ ἐλθόντι ἀνέῳκτο

24 In wealth did I put my trust, hail the bright gold as my life’s protector; 25 doted I upon my great riches, upon all my toil had earned? 26 When I gazed on the sun in its splendour, on the moon in her royal progress, 27 did these things steal my heart away, so that mouth kissed hand in adoration? 28 That were great wrong done, to deny the God who is higher than all. 29 Did I triumph over a fallen foe, rejoice at his ruin; 30 lend my lips to ill uses, cursing my enemy’s life away? 31 Rather, it was of myself men were fain to speak evil, men of my own household, and to their hearts’ content.[2] 32 Never had the stranger to lodge in the open, my doors were open to every wayfarer that passed.

24
Si putavi aurum robur meum,
et obrizo dixi: Fiducia mea; 25
si lætatus sum super multis divitiis meis,
et quia plurima reperit manus mea; 26
si vidi solem cum fulgeret,
et lunam incedentem clare, 27
et lætatum est in abscondito cor meum,
et osculatus sum manum meam ore meo: 28
quæ est iniquitas maxima,
et negatio contra Deum altissimum. 29
Si gavisus sum ad ruinam ejus qui me oderat,
et exsultavi quod invenisset eum malum: 30
non enim dedi ad peccandum guttur meum,
ut expeterem maledicens animam ejus. 31
Si non dixerunt viri tabernaculi mei:
Quis det de carnibus ejus, ut saturemur? 32
foris non mansit peregrinus:
ostium meum viatori patuit.

33 εἰ δὲ καὶ ἁμαρτὼν ἀκουσίως ἔκρυψα τὴν ἁμαρτίαν μου 34 οὐ γὰρ διετράπην πολυοχλίαν πλήθους τοῦ μὴ ἐξαγορεῦσαι ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν εἰ δὲ καὶ εἴασα ἀδύνατον ἐξελθεῖν θύραν μου κόλπῳ κενῷ 35 τίς δῴη ἀκούοντά μου χεῖρα δὲ κυρίου εἰ μὴ ἐδεδοίκειν συγγραφὴν δέ ἣν εἶχον κατά τινος 36 ἐ{P'} ὤμοις ἂν περιθέμενος στέφανον ἀνεγίνωσκον 37 καὶ εἰ μὴ ῥήξας αὐτὴν ἀπέδωκα οὐθὲν λαβὼν παρὰ χρεοφειλέτου 38 εἰ ἐ{P'} ἐμοί ποτε ἡ γῆ ἐστέναξεν εἰ δὲ καὶ οἱ αὔλακες αὐτῆς ἔκλαυσαν ὁμοθυμαδόν 39 εἰ δὲ καὶ τὴν ἰσχὺν αὐτῆς ἔφαγον μόνος ἄνευ τιμῆς εἰ δὲ καὶ ψυχὴν κυρίου τῆς γῆς ἐκβαλὼν ἐλύπησα 40 ἀντὶ πυροῦ ἄρα ἐξέλθοι μοι κνίδη ἀντὶ δὲ κριθῆς βάτος καὶ ἐπαύσατο Ιωβ ῥήμασιν

33 Men are frail; does sin lie on my conscience undisclosed, does the memory of guilt rankle in my bosom? 34 Was I daunted by fear of the throng, of my neighbours’ contemptuous looks? Did I hold my tongue,[3] and keep within doors? 35 O that my cause might be tried; that he, the Almighty, would grant my request, that he, my judge, would write my record down; 36 how proudly I would bear it with me, shoulder-high, wear it as a crown! 37 I would proclaim it wherever I went, fit for a king’s eyes to read. 38 Can these lands of mine bear testimony against me, can their furrows tell a sad tale 39 of harvests enjoyed, and no price paid for them, of labourers cruelly treated? 40 Then thistles for wheat, thorns for barley may it yield me.

Ended herewith are the sayings of Job.

33
Si abscondi quasi homo peccatum meum,
et celavi in sinu meo iniquitatem meam; 34
si expavi ad multitudinem nimiam,
et despectio propinquorum terruit me:
et non magis tacui, nec egressus sum ostium. 35
Quis mihi tribuat auditorem,
ut desiderium meum audiat Omnipotens,
et librum scribat ipse qui judicat, 36
ut in humero meo portem illum,
et circumdem illum quasi coronam mihi? 37
Per singulos gradus meos pronuntiabo illum,
et quasi principi offeram eum. 38
Si adversum me terra mea clamat,
et cum ipsa sulci ejus deflent: 39
si fructus ejus comedi absque pecunia,
et animam agricolarum ejus afflixi: 40
pro frumento oriatur mihi tribulus,
et pro hordeo spina. Finita sunt verba Job.

[1] Literally, ‘For mercy grew up with me from my childhood, and came out of my mother’s womb with me’; the sense may be that Job himself was always a merciful man, but the parenthesis is awkward. There is no mention of mercy in the Hebrew text.

[2] Literally, ‘If the folk of my tabernacle did not say, Who will give us of his flesh, that we may be glutted?’ This is usually interpreted, in various ways, as if ‘his flesh’ could mean ‘the dishes of meat which he provides’, but this is very improbable. For ‘eating a man’s flesh’ in the sense of traducing him, see 19.22 above.

[3] Literally, according to the Latin version, ‘And did I not rather hold my tongue’, but this obscures the sense of the passage.

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