Job 13
1 Lo! myn iye siy alle thingis, and myn eere herde; and Y vndurstood alle thingis.
Lo, all [this] hath my eye seen, my ear hath heard and noted it for itself;
2 Euene with youre kunnyng also Y kan, and Y am not lowere than ye.
As much as ye know, do I also know: I do not fall short compared with you.
3 But netheles Y schal speke to Almyyti God, and Y coueite to dispute with God;
However, I would gladly speak to the Almighty; and to argue with God do I desire.
4 and firste Y schewe you makeris of leesyng, and louyeris of weyward techyngis.
But ye are inventors of falsehood, physicians of no value are all of you.
5 And `Y wolde that ye weren stille, that ye weren gessid to be wise men.
Oh, who would grant that ye might keep a profound silences! and it would he accounted unto you as wisdom.
6 Therfor here ye my chastisyngis; and perseyue ye the doom of my lippis.
Do hearken but to my reasoning, and listen to the pleadings of my lips.
7 Whether God hath nede to youre leesyng, that ye speke gilis for hym?
Will ye speak wrong things for God? and will ye speak for him deceitfully?
8 Whether ye taken his face, and enforsen to deme for God?
Will ye show him undue favor, when ye contend for God?
9 Ethir it schal plese hym, fro whom no thing mai be hid? Whether he as a man schal be disseyued with youre falsnessis?
Will it be well if he should search you out? or as one overreacheth another mortal, do ye expect to overreach him?
10 He schal repreue you; for ye taken his face in hiddlis.
He will surely reprove you, if in secret you show him undue favor.
11 Anoon as he schal stire hym, he schal disturble you; and his drede schal falle on you.
Doth not his excellency terrify you? and his dread fall upon you?
12 Youre mynde schal be comparisound to aische; and youre nollis schulen be dryuun in to clei.
The things you remember are mere proverbs of ashes, your high-places are high-places of clay.
13 Be ye stille a litil, that Y speke, what euer thing the mynde hath schewid to me.
Keep silence toward me, that I may indeed speak, and let pass over me what will.
14 Whi to-rende Y my fleischis with my teeth, and bere my lijf in myn hondis?
Whatever it may cost, I will take my flesh in my teeth, and my life will I put in my hand.
15 Yhe, thouy God sleeth me, Y schal hope in hym; netheles Y schal preue my weies in his siyt.
Lo, though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: only I will argue my own ways before him.
16 And he schal be my sauyour; for whi ech ypocrite schal not come in his siyt.
Even he will come to my assistance; for a hypocrite cannot come before him.
17 Here ye my word, and perseyue ye with eeris derke and harde figuratif spechis.
Listen well to my word, and to my demonstration with your ears.
18 Yf Y schal be demed, Y woot that Y schal be foundun iust.
Behold now, I have arrayed my cause: I know that I shall be indeed justified.
19 Who is he that is demed with me? Come he; whi am Y stille, and am wastid?
Who is he that will contend with me? for now, if I keep silence, I must perish.
20 Do thou not to me twei thingis oneli; and thanne Y schal not be hid fro thi face.
Only two things do not unto me: then will I not hide myself from thy presence.
21 Make thin hond fer fro me; and thi drede make not me aferd.
Remove thy hand far from me; and let not thy dread terrify me.
22 Clepe thou me, and Y schal answere thee; ethir certis Y schal speke, and thou schalt answere me.
Then call thou, and I will answer; or let me speak, and do thou reply to me.
23 Hou grete synnes and wickidnessis haue Y? Schewe thou to me my felonyes, and trespassis.
How many are my iniquities and sins? my transgression and my sin let me know.
24 Whi hidist thou thi face, and demest me thin enemy?
Wherefore wilt thou hide thy face, and regard me as an enemy unto thee?
25 Thou schewist thi myyt ayens a leef, which is rauyschid with the wynd; and thou pursuest drye stobil.
Wilt thou terrify a leaf driven about [by the wind]? and wilt thou pursue dry stubble?
26 For thou writist bitternessis ayens me; and wolt waste me with the synnes of my yong wexynge age.
That thou writest bitter decrees against me, and assignest unto me the iniquities of my youth;
27 Thou hast set my foot in a stok, and thou hast kept alle my pathis; and thou hast biholde the steppis of my feet.
And [that] thou puttest my feet in the stocks, and watchest narrowly all my paths; [and] settest for thyself a mark upon the soles of my feet?
28 And Y schal be wastid as rot, and as a cloth, which is etun of a mouyte.
And yet the body decayeth like a rotten thing, as a garment that the moth hath eaten.
