Job 34
1 Pronuntians itaque Eliu, etiam hæc locutus est:
And Elihu made answer and said,
2 Audite sapientes verba mea, et eruditi auscultate me:
Give ear, you wise, to my words; and you who have knowledge, give attention to me;
3 Auris enim verba probat, et guttur escas gustu diiudicat.
For words are tested by the ear, as food is tasted by the mouth.
4 Iudicium eligamus nobis, et inter nos videamus quid sit melius.
Let us make the decision for ourselves as to what is right; let us have the knowledge among ourselves of what is good.
5 Quia dixit Iob: Iustus sum, et Deus subvertit iudicium meum.
For Job has said, I am upright, and it is God who has taken away my right;
6 In iudicando enim me, mendacium est: violenta sagitta mea absque ullo peccato.
Though I am right, still I am in pain; my wound may not be made well, though I have done no wrong.
7 Quis est vir ut est Iob, qui bibit subsannationem quasi aquam:
What man is like Job, a man who freely makes sport of God,
8 Qui graditur cum operantibus iniquitatem, et ambulat cum viris impiis?
And goes in the company of evil-doers, walking in the way of sinners?
9 Dixit enim: Non placebit vir Deo, etiam si cucurrerit cum eo.
For he has said, It is no profit to a man to take delight in God.
10 Ideo viri cordati audite me, absit a Deo impietas, et ab Omnipotente iniquitas.
Now then, you wise, take note; you men of knowledge, give ear to me. Let it be far from God to do evil, and from the Ruler of all to do wrong.
11 Opus enim hominis reddet ei, et iuxta vias singulorum restituet eis.
For he gives to every man the reward of his work, and sees that he gets the fruit of his ways.
12 Vere enim Deus non condemnabit frustra, nec Omnipotens subvertet iudicium.
Truly, God does not do evil, and the Ruler of all is not a false judge.
13 Quem constituit alium super terram? aut quem posuit super orbem, quem fabricatus est?
Who put the earth into his care, or made him responsible for the world?
14 Si direxerit ad eum cor suum, spiritum illius et flatum ad se trahet.
If he made his spirit come back to him, taking his breath into himself again,
15 Deficiet omnis caro simul, et homo in cinerem revertetur.
All flesh would come to an end together, and man would go back to the dust.
16 Si habes ergo intellectum, audi quod dicitur, et ausculta vocem eloquii mei.
If you are wise, take note of this; give ear to the voice of my words.
17 Numquid qui non amat iudicium, sanari potest? et quomodo tu eum, qui iustus est, in tantum condemnas?
How may a hater of right be a ruler? and will you say that the upright Ruler of all is evil?
18 Qui dicit regi, apostata: qui vocat duces impios:
He who says to a king, You are an evil-doer; and to rulers, You are sinners;
19 Qui non accipit personas principum: nec cognovit tyrannum, cum disceptaret contra pauperum: opus enim manuum eius sunt universi.
Who has no respect for rulers, and who gives no more attention to those who have wealth than to the poor, for they are all the work of his hands.
20 Subito morientur, et in media nocte turbabuntur populi, et pertransibunt, et auferent violentum absque manu.
Suddenly they come to an end, even in the middle of the night: the blow comes on the men of wealth, and they are gone, and the strong are taken away without the hand of man.
21 Oculi enim eius super vias hominum, et omnes gressus eorum considerat.
For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps.
22 Non sunt tenebræ, et non est umbra mortis, ut abscondantur ibi qui operantur iniquitatem.
There is no dark place, and no thick cloud, in which the workers of evil may take cover.
23 Neque enim ultra in hominis potestate est, ut veniat ad Deum in iudicium.
For he does not give man a fixed time to come before him to be judged.
24 Conteret multos, et innumerabiles, et stare faciet alios pro eis.
He sends the strong to destruction without searching out their cause, and puts others in their place.
25 Novit enim opera eorum: et idcirco inducet noctem, et conterentur.
For he has knowledge of their works, overturning them in the night, so that they are crushed.
26 Quasi impios percussit eos in loco videntium.
The evil-doers are broken by his wrath, he puts his hand on them with force before the eyes of all onlookers.
27 Qui quasi de industria recesserunt ab eo, et omnes vias eius intelligere noluerunt:
Because they did not go after him, and took no note of his ways,
28 Ut pervenire facerent ad eum clamorem egeni, et audiret vocem pauperum.
So that the cry of the poor might come up to him, and the prayer of those in need come to his ears.
29 Ipso enim concedente pacem, quis est qui condemnet? ex quo absconderit vultum, quis est qui contempletur eum et super gentes et super omnes homines?
30 Qui regnare facit hominem hypocritam propter peccata populi.
31 Quia ergo ego locutus sum ad Deum, te quoque non prohibebo.
32 Si erravi, tu doce me: si iniquitatem locutus sum, ultra non addam.
33 Numquid a te Deus expetit eam, quia displicuit tibi? tu enim cœpisti loqui, et non ego: quod si quid nosti melius, loquere.
34 Viri intelligentes loquantur mihi, et vir sapiens audiat me.
Men of knowledge, and all wise men, hearing me, will say,
35 Iob autem stulte locutus est, et verba illius non sonant disciplinam.
Job's words do not come from knowledge; they are not the fruit of wisdom.
36 Pater mi, probetur Iob usque ad finem: ne desinas ab homine iniquitatis.
May Job be tested to the end, because his answers have been like those of evil men.
37 Quia addit super peccata sua blasphemiam, inter nos interim constringatur: et tunc ad iudicium provocet sermonibus suis Deum.
For in addition to his sin, he is uncontrolled in heart; before our eyes he makes sport of God, increasing his words against him.
