< Job 16 >

1 respondens autem Iob dixit
Then Job answered:
2 audivi frequenter talia consolatores onerosi omnes vos estis
“I have heard many things like these; miserable comforters are you all.
3 numquid habebunt finem verba ventosa aut aliquid tibi molestum est si loquaris
Is there no end to your long-winded speeches? What provokes you to continue testifying?
4 poteram et ego similia vestri loqui atque utinam esset anima vestra pro anima mea consolarer et ego vos sermonibus et moverem caput meum super vos
I could also speak like you if you were in my place; I could heap up words against you and shake my head at you.
5 roborarem vos ore meo et moverem labia quasi parcens vobis
But I would encourage you with my mouth, and the consolation of my lips would bring relief.
6 sed quid agam si locutus fuero non quiescet dolor meus et si tacuero non recedet a me
Even if I speak, my pain is not relieved, and if I hold back, how will it go away?
7 nunc autem oppressit me dolor meus et in nihili redacti sunt omnes artus mei
Surely He has now exhausted me; You have devastated all my family.
8 rugae meae testimonium dicunt contra me et suscitatur falsiloquus adversus faciem meam contradicens mihi
You have bound me, and it has become a witness; my frailty rises up and testifies against me.
9 collegit furorem suum in me et comminans mihi infremuit contra me dentibus suis hostis meus terribilibus oculis me intuitus est
His anger has torn me and opposed me; He gnashes His teeth at me. My adversary pierces me with His eyes.
10 aperuerunt super me ora sua exprobrantes percusserunt maxillam meam satiati sunt poenis meis
They open their mouths against me and strike my cheeks with contempt; they join together against me.
11 conclusit me Deus apud iniquum et manibus impiorum me tradidit
God has delivered me to unjust men; He has thrown me to the clutches of the wicked.
12 ego ille quondam opulentus repente contritus sum tenuit cervicem meam confregit me et posuit sibi quasi in signum
I was at ease, but He shattered me; He seized me by the neck and crushed me. He has set me up as His target;
13 circumdedit me lanceis suis convulneravit lumbos meos non pepercit et effudit in terra viscera mea
His archers surround me. He pierces my kidneys without mercy and spills my gall on the ground.
14 concidit me vulnere super vulnus inruit in me quasi gigans
He breaks me with wound upon wound; He rushes me like a mighty warrior.
15 saccum consui super cutem meam et operui cinere cornu meum
I have sewn sackcloth over my skin; I have buried my horn in the dust.
16 facies mea intumuit a fletu et palpebrae meae caligaverunt
My face is red with weeping, and deep shadows ring my eyes;
17 haec passus sum absque iniquitate manus meae cum haberem mundas ad Deum preces
yet my hands are free of violence and my prayer is pure.
18 terra ne operias sanguinem meum neque inveniat locum in te latendi clamor meus
O earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry for help never be laid to rest.
19 ecce enim in caelo testis meus et conscius meus in excelsis
Even now my witness is in heaven, and my advocate is on high.
20 verbosi mei amici mei ad Deum stillat oculus meus
My friends are my scoffers as my eyes pour out tears to God.
21 atque utinam sic iudicaretur vir cum Deo quomodo iudicatur filius hominis cum collega suo
Oh, that a man might plead with God as he pleads with his neighbor!
22 ecce enim breves anni transeunt et semitam per quam non revertar ambulo
For when only a few years are past I will go the way of no return.

< Job 16 >