Слике страница
PDF
ePub

Or if any spot besmirches my hands,
Then let me sow and another eat,
And let all my produce be rooted up.

If I have ever been lured by a woman,
Or lain in wait at my neighbor's door,

Then let my wife grind as a slave for another,
And let other men bow down upon her;
For adultery is a heinous crime,

A crime indeed that calls for judgment,
A fire that eats to the depths of hell,

And it would completely consume all my increase.

If I had spurned the cause of my servant,

And that of my maid, when they argued against me;
What would I do when God takes vengeance?
And when he accuses me, what would I answer?
Did not he who made me create him also,

And the same one fashion us each in the womb?

From the days of my youth like a father he reared me, And he was my guide from the time I was born.

If I have denied the poor their desire,
Or disappointed the hopes of the widow,
Or if I have eaten my morsel alone,
So that the fatherless has not shared it;
If I have seen any naked and perishing,
Or anyone needy with nothing to cover him,
If the loins of such have not blessed my gifts,

And his body been warmed by a fleece from my sheep;
If against the just I have raised my hands,

Because I saw an ally in the court,

Let my shoulder then fall from its blade,
And my arm be wrenched from the socket.
For the fear of God restrains me,

And his majesty renders me helpless.

If I have put my faith in gold,

And have said to fine gold, 'In you I trust!'

If I have rejoiced that my wealth is great,
And because my hand has gained much-

If I have rejoiced at my enemy's ruin,
Or exulted when evil befell him,
If I have permitted my mouth to sin
By demanding his life with a curse—

If the men of my household have not said,
'Who is not satisfied with his food?'

If ever a stranger has lodged in the street,
Or I have not opened my doors to the traveller—

If like Adam I hid my wrong-doing,
By concealing my guilt in my bosom,
Because of my fear of the multitude,
And my dread of public contempt,
And kept silent behind closed doors—

If my land cries out against me,
And its furrows weep together;

If I have eaten its fruits without paying,
And caused its owners to lose their lives,
Let thistles grow instead of wheat,
And stinking weeds instead of barley.

Oh, for someone to hear me !
Behold my defence all signed!
Let now the Almighty answer,
My Adversary write the indictment!
On my shoulder I would bear it,
As a crown I would bind it round me;
I would tell him my every act;

Like a prince I would enter his presence!

THE SPEECH OF ELIHU

382. SUFFERING IS ONE OF THE WAYS BY

WHICH GOD SPEAKS TO MAN

Then the wrath of Elihu the Buzite was aroused against Job, because he had maintained that he was more just than God, and because he saw that Job's three friends had found no answer. So Elihu spoke

up and said:

I am but young in years,

While you are very old,

And so I held back, and feared

To tell you my opinion.

I felt that days should speak,

That the mature should teach wisdom.

But there is a spirit in men,

The Almighty's breath gives them insight.

The aged are not always wise,

Nor do elders best discern truth.

Therefore I urge you to hear me,
While I, too, state my opinion.

I waited while you spoke,
And listened to your reasoning;
While you carefully chose your words,
I gave to you close heed.

But none brought conviction to Job,
Not one of you refuted his claims.

Amazed, they answer no more,
They have not a word to say.

Must I wait because they are silent

And stand thus, with no further answer?

I must speak and so find relief,
I must open my lips and answer.

So now, Job, hear my speech,
And listen to all that I say.
Then answer me, if you can,
Stand forth, and debate with me.
In the sight of God I am like you,
I, too, was formed out of clay.
The spirit of God has made me,
The Almighty's breath gives me life.
No dread of me need appal you,

And my hand shall not rest on you heavily.

Why do you strive against God
Because he gives you no answer?
For God has one way of speaking,
Yes, two, but he does not repeat it:
In a dream, in a vision of night,
When deep sleep falls upon men,
As they slumber upon their beds,
Then he opens the ears of men,
And instructs them by terrible warnings,
To turn men aside from wrong-doing,
And to save their bodies from ruin,
To keep them back from the grave,
And their lives from descending to hell.

On a bed of pain he is chastened,
And all his bones grow stiff,
He utterly loathes all bread,
And abhors the daintiest food.
His flesh is wasted and lean,
And all his bones stick out.

His soul draws near to the grave,
And his life to the angels of death.

If there be with him an angel,
An interpreter, one of a thousand,

To make known to the man what is right,
Then God will be gracious and say:
'Deliver him from the grave;

I have found for his life a ransom.'
His flesh shall be fresh as a child's,
And the days of his youth shall return.

The sufferer God saves through his suffering,
And opens his ear by adversity.

He would have led you out of distress,

To a broad place, where there is no constraint,
And where your table would be full of fatness.
But instead the full fate of the wicked is yours,
Judgment and justice hold you captive.
Will your cry deliver you from distress,
Or all the resources of your might?

Hark to the roar of his voice,

And the sound that goes forth from his mouth.
He sends it throughout the heavens,

To the ends of the earth his lightning.
In the wake of it roars his voice,
With a voice majestic he thunders,
And he does not restrain his lightnings,
Whenever his voice is heard.

« ПретходнаНастави »