Job 34
1 And Helyu pronounside, and spak also these thingis,
And Elihu made answer and said,
2 Wise men, here ye my wordis, and lerned men, herkne ye me; for the eere preueth wordis,
Give ear, you wise, to my words; and you who have knowledge, give attention to me;
3 and the throte demeth metis bi taast.
For words are tested by the ear, as food is tasted by the mouth.
4 Chese we doom to vs; and se we among vs, what is the betere.
Let us make the decision for ourselves as to what is right; let us have the knowledge among ourselves of what is good.
5 For Job seide, Y am iust, and God hath distried my doom.
For Job has said, I am upright, and it is God who has taken away my right;
6 For whi lesynge is in demynge me, and myn arowe is violent with out ony synne.
Though I am right, still I am in pain; my wound may not be made well, though I have done no wrong.
7 Who is a man, as Joob is, that drynkith scornyng as watir?
What man is like Job, a man who freely makes sport of God,
8 that goith with men worchynge wickidnesse, and goith with vnfeithful men?
And goes in the company of evil-doers, walking in the way of sinners?
9 For he seide, A man schal not plese God, yhe, thouy he renneth with God.
For he has said, It is no profit to a man to take delight in God.
10 Therfor ye men hertid, `that is, vndurstonde, here ye me; vnpite, `ethir cruelte, be fer fro God, and wickidnesse fro Almyyti God.
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 For he schal yelde the werk of man to hym; and bi the weies of ech man he schal restore to hym.
For he gives to every man the reward of his work, and sees that he gets the fruit of his ways.
12 For verili God schal not condempne with out cause; nether Almyyti God schal distrie doom.
Truly, God does not do evil, and the Ruler of all is not a false judge.
13 What othere man hath he ordeyned on the lond? ether whom hath he set on the world, which he made?
Who put the earth into his care, or made him responsible for the world?
14 If God dressith his herte to hym, he schal drawe to hym silf his spirit and blast.
If he made his spirit come back to him, taking his breath into himself again,
15 Ech fleisch schal faile togidere; `and a man schal turne ayen in to aisch.
All flesh would come to an end together, and man would go back to the dust.
16 Therfor if thou hast vndurstondyng, here thou that that is seid, and herkne the vois of my speche.
If you are wise, take note of this; give ear to the voice of my words.
17 Whether he that loueth not doom may be maad hool? and hou condempnest thou so myche him, that is iust?
How may a hater of right be a ruler? and will you say that the upright Ruler of all is evil?
18 Which seith to the kyng, Thou art apostata; which clepith the duykis vnpitouse, `ethir vnfeithful.
He who says to a king, You are an evil-doer; and to rulers, You are sinners;
19 `Which takith not the persoones of princes, nether knew a tyraunt, whanne he stryuede ayens a pore man; for alle men ben the werk of hise hondis.
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 Thei schulen die sudeynli, and at mydnyyt puplis schulen be troblid, `ethir schulen be bowid, as othere bookis han; and schulen passe, and schulen take `awei `a violent man with out hond.
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 For the iyen of God ben on the weies of men, and biholdith alle goyngis of hem.
For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps.
22 No derknessis ben, and no schadewe of deeth is, that thei, that worchen wickidnesse, be hid there;
There is no dark place, and no thick cloud, in which the workers of evil may take cover.
23 for it is `no more in the power of man, that he come to God in to doom.
For he does not give man a fixed time to come before him to be judged.
24 God schal al to-breke many men and vnnoumbrable; and schal make othere men to stonde for hem.
He sends the strong to destruction without searching out their cause, and puts others in their place.
25 For he knowith the werkis of hem; therfor he schal brynge yn niyt, and thei schulen be al to-brokun.
For he has knowledge of their works, overturning them in the night, so that they are crushed.
26 He smoot hem, as vnpitouse men, in the place of seinge men.
The evil-doers are broken by his wrath, he puts his hand on them with force before the eyes of all onlookers.
27 Whiche yeden awei fro hym bi `castyng afore, and nolden vndurstonde alle hise weies.
Because they did not go after him, and took no note of his ways,
28 That thei schulden make the cry of a nedi man to come to hym, and that he schulde here the vois of pore men.
So that the cry of the poor might come up to him, and the prayer of those in need come to his ears.
29 For whanne he grauntith pees, who is that condempneth? Sithen he hidith his cheer, who is that seeth hym? And on folkis and on alle men `he hath power `to do siche thingis.
30 Which makith `a man ypocrite to regne, for the synnes of the puple.
31 Therfor for Y haue spoke to God, also Y schal not forbede thee.
32 If Y erride, teche thou me; if Y spak wickidnesse, Y schal no more adde.
33 Whether God axith that wickidnesse of thee, for it displeside thee? For thou hast bigunne to speke, and not Y; that if thou knowist ony thing betere, speke thou.
34 Men vndurstondynge, speke to me; and a wise man, here me.
Men of knowledge, and all wise men, hearing me, will say,
35 Forsothe Joob spak folili, and hise wordis sownen not techyng.
Job's words do not come from knowledge; they are not the fruit of wisdom.
36 My fadir, be Joob preuede `til to the ende; ceesse thou not fro the man of wickidnesse,
May Job be tested to the end, because his answers have been like those of evil men.
37 `that addith blasfemye ouer hise synnes. Be he constreyned among vs in the meene tyme; and thanne bi hise wordis stire he God to the doom.
For in addition to his sin, he is uncontrolled in heart; before our eyes he makes sport of God, increasing his words against him.
