Ἰώβ 16

1 ὑπολαβὼν δὲ Ιωβ λέγει

Job replied [to Eliphaz and the others: ]

2 ἀκήκοα τοιαῦτα πολλά παρακλήτορες κακῶν πάντες

“I have heard things like that before; all of you, [instead of helping me, ] are only causing me to feel more miserable.

3 τί γάρ μὴ τάξις ἐστὶν ῥήμασιν πνεύματος ἢ τί παρενοχλήσει σοι ὅτι ἀποκρίνῃ

Will your speeches, which are only hot air, never end [RHQ]? Eliphaz, what bothers/irritates you so much that you continue replying to me?

4 κἀγὼ καθ’ ὑμᾶς λαλήσω εἰ ὑπέκειτό γε ἡ ψυχὴ ὑμῶν ἀντὶ τῆς ἐμῆς εἶτ’ ἐναλοῦμαι ὑμῖν ῥήμασιν κινήσω δὲ καθ’ ὑμῶν κεφαλήν

If it were you [three and not I] who were suffering, I could say the things that you are saying; I could make great speeches [to criticize/condemn you], and I could shake my head at you [to ridicule you].

5 εἴη δὲ ἰσχὺς ἐν τῷ στόματί μου κίνησιν δὲ χειλέων οὐ φείσομαι

But, [unlike all of you, ] with what I said [MTY] I would encourage you and try to cause your pain to be less.

6 ἐὰν γὰρ λαλήσω οὐκ ἀλγήσω τὸ τραῦμα ἐὰν δὲ καὶ σιωπήσω τί ἔλαττον τρωθήσομαι

“But now, if I talk, my pain does not decrease, and if I am silent, my pain still certainly does not [RHQ] go away.

7 νῦν δὲ κατάκοπόν με πεποίηκεν μωρόν σεσηπότα

God has now taken away all my strength, and he has destroyed my family.

8 καὶ ἐπελάβου μου εἰς μαρτύριον ἐγενήθη καὶ ἀνέστη ἐν ἐμοὶ τὸ ψεῦδός μου κατὰ πρόσωπόν μου ἀνταπεκρίθη

He has shriveled me up, and people think that shows that I [am a sinner]. And people see that I am only skin and bones, and they think that proves that I [am guilty].

9 ὀργῇ χρησάμενος κατέβαλέν με ἔβρυξεν ἐπ’ ἐμὲ τοὺς ὀδόντας βέλη πειρατῶν αὐτοῦ ἐπ’ ἐμοὶ ἔπεσεν

Because God is very angry with me and hates me, [it is as though he is a wild animal that] [MET] has gnashed his teeth at me because he is my enemy.

10 ἀκίσιν ὀφθαλμῶν ἐνήλατο ὀξεῖ ἔπαισέν με εἰς σιαγόνα ὁμοθυμαδὸν δὲ κατέδραμον ἐπ’ ἐμοί

People gape/stare at me with their mouths open [to sneer at me]; they have struck me on the face/cheek to ridicule me, and they crowd around me to threaten me.

11 παρέδωκεν γάρ με ὁ κύριος εἰς χεῖρας ἀδίκου ἐπὶ δὲ ἀσεβέσιν ἔρριψέν με

[It is as though] God has handed me over to ungodly people and turned me over to the wicked [DOU].

12 εἰρηνεύοντα διεσκέδασέν με λαβών με τῆς κόμης διέτιλεν κατέστησέν με ὥσπερ σκοπόν

Previously, I was living peacefully, but he crushed me; [it is as though] he grabbed my neck and smashed me to pieces. [It is as though] [MET] he set me up like a target;

13 ἐκύκλωσάν με λόγχαις βάλλοντες εἰς νεφρούς μου οὐ φειδόμενοι ἐξέχεαν εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν χολήν μου

people are surrounding me [and shooting arrows at me]. His arrows pierce my kidneys and cause the bile [from my liver] to spill onto the ground, and God does not pity me at all.

14 κατέβαλόν με πτῶμα ἐπὶ πτώματι ἔδραμον πρός με δυνάμενοι

[It is as though] [MET] I am a wall that he is breaking through; he rushes at me like [SIM] a soldier [attacking his enemies].

15 σάκκον ἔρραψα ἐπὶ βύρσης μου τὸ δὲ σθένος μου ἐν γῇ ἐσβέσθη

[“Because I am mourning, ] I wear pieces of rough cloth that I have sewed together, and I sit [here] in the dirt, very depressed/discouraged.

16 ἡ γαστήρ μου συγκέκαυται ἀπὸ κλαυθμοῦ ἐπὶ δὲ βλεφάροις μου σκιά

My face is red because I have cried very much, and there are dark circles around my eyes.

17 ἄδικον δὲ οὐδὲν ἦν ἐν χερσίν μου εὐχὴ δέ μου καθαρά

[All this has happened to me] even though I have not acted violently [toward anyone], and I [always] pray sincerely/honestly [to God].

18 γῆ μὴ ἐπικαλύψῃς ἐφ’ αἵματι τῆς σαρκός μου μηδὲ εἴη τόπος τῇ κραυγῇ μου

[When I die, ] I want the ground [APO] to [act as though I had been murdered and] cry out against those who killed me, and I do not want anyone to stop me while I am demanding [that God act justly toward] me.

19 καὶ νῦν ἰδοὺ ἐν οὐρανοῖς ὁ μάρτυς μου ὁ δὲ συνίστωρ μου ἐν ὑψίστοις

But even now, [I know that] there is someone in heaven who will testify for me, and he will say that what I have done is right.

20 ἀφίκοιτό μου ἡ δέησις πρὸς κύριον ἔναντι δὲ αὐτοῦ στάζοι μου ὁ ὀφθαλμός

My [three] friends scorn/ridicule me, but my eyes are full of tears [while I cry out] to God.

21 εἴη δὲ ἔλεγχος ἀνδρὶ ἔναντι κυρίου καὶ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου τῷ πλησίον αὐτοῦ

I pray that [the] one [who knows what I have done] would come to plead with God for me like people plead for their friends.

22 ἔτη δὲ ἀριθμητὰ ἥκασιν ὁδῷ δέ ᾗ οὐκ ἐπαναστραφήσομαι πορεύσομαι

[I say this because] within a few years [I will die]; I will walk along the [to the grave] from which I will never return.”