Ἰώβ 12
1 Ο δε Ιώβ απεκρίθη και είπε·
Then Job said [to his three friends],
2 Σεις είσθε αληθώς οι άνθρωποι, και με σας θέλει τελευτήσει η σοφία.
“You (talk as though/You think) [SAR] that you are the people [whom everyone should listen to], and that when you die, there will be no more wise people.
3 Και εγώ έχω σύνεσιν ως και υμείς· δεν είμαι κατώτερος υμών· και τις δεν γνωρίζει τοιαύτα πράγματα;
But I have as much good sense as you do; I am (not less wise than/certainly as wise as [LIT]) you. Certainly everyone knows [RHQ] all that you have said.
4 Έγεινα χλεύη εις τον πλησίον μου, όστις επικαλούμαι τον Θεόν, και μοι αποκρίνεται. Ο δίκαιος και άμεμπτος περιγελάται.
My friends all laugh at me now. Previously I habitually requested God to help me, and he answered/helped me. I am righteous, a very godly man [DOU], but everyone laughs at me.
5 Ο κινδυνεύων να ολισθήση με τους πόδας είναι εις τον στοχασμόν του ευτυχούντος ως λύχνος καταπεφρονημένος.
Those [like you] who have no troubles make fun of me; they cause those [like me] who are already suffering to have more troubles.
6 Αι σκηναί των ληστών ευτυχούσι, και οι παροργίζοντες τον Θεόν είναι εν ασφαλεία, εις τας χείρας των οποίων ο Θεός φέρει αφθονίαν.
Bandits live peacefully, and no one threatens those who cause God to become angry; their own strength is the god [that they worship].
7 Αλλ' ερώτησον τώρα τα ζώα, και θέλουσι σε διδάξει· και τα πετεινά του ουρανού, και θέλουσι σοι απαγγείλει·
“But ask the wild animals [what they know about God], and [if they could speak] they would teach you. [If you could] ask the birds, they would tell you.
8 ή λάλησον προς την γην, και θέλει σε διδάξει· και οι ιχθύες της θαλάσσης θέλουσι σοι διηγηθή.
[If you could] ask the creatures [that crawl] on the ground, or the fish in the sea, they would tell you [about God].
9 Τις εκ πάντων τούτων δεν γνωρίζει, ότι η χειρ του Κυρίου έκαμε ταύτα;
All of them certainly know [RHQ] that it is Yahweh who has made them with his hands.
10 Εν τη χειρί του οποίου είναι ψυχή πάντων των ζώντων και η πνοή πάσης ανθρωπίνης σαρκός.
He directs the lives of all living creatures; he gives breath to all [us] humans [to enable us to remain alive].
11 Το ωτίον δεν διακρίνει τους λόγους; και ο ουρανίσκος λαμβάνει γεύσιν του φαγητού αυτού;
And when we [SYN] hear what other people [like you] say, we [RHQ] think carefully about what they say [to determine what is good and what is bad], like we [SYN] taste food [to determine what is good and what is bad].
12 Η σοφία είναι μετά των γερόντων, και η σύνεσις εν τη μακρότητι των ημερών.
Old people are [often] very wise, and because of having lived many years, they understand much,
13 Εν αυτώ είναι η σοφία και η δύναμις· αυτός έχει βουλήν και σύνεσιν.
but God is wise and very powerful; he has good sense and understands [everything].
14 Ιδού, καταστρέφει, και δεν ανοικοδομείται· κλείει κατά του ανθρώπου, και ουδείς ο ανοίγων.
If he tears [something] down, no one can rebuild it; if he puts someone in prison, no one can open [the prison doors to allow that person to escape].
15 Ιδού, κρατεί τα ύδατα, και ξηραίνονται· πάλιν εξαποστέλλει αυτά, και καταστρέφουσι την γην.
When he prevents rain from falling, everything dries up. When he causes a lot of rain to fall, [the result is that] there are floods.
16 Μετ' αυτού είναι η δύναμις και η σοφία· αυτού είναι ο απατώμενος και ο απατών.
He is the one who is truly strong and wise; he rules over those who deceive others and those whom they deceive.
17 Παραδίδει λάφυρον τους βουλευτάς και μωραίνει τους κριτάς.
He [sometimes] causes [the king’s] officials to no longer be wise, and he causes judges to become foolish.
18 Λύει την ζώνην των βασιλέων και περιζώνει την οσφύν αυτών με σχοινίον.
He takes from kings the robes that they wear and puts loincloths around their waists, [causing them to become slaves].
19 Παραδίδει λάφυρον τους άρχοντας και καταστρέφει τους ισχυρούς.
He takes from priests the sacred clothes that they wear, [with the result that they no longer can do their work], and takes power from those who rule others.
20 Αφαιρεί τον λόγον των δεινών ρητόρων, και σηκόνει την σύνεσιν από των πρεσβυτέρων.
He [sometimes] causes those whom others trust to be unable to speak, and he causes old men to no longer have good sense.
21 Εκχέει καταφρόνησιν επί τους άρχοντας, και λύει την ζώνην των ισχυρών.
He causes those who have authority to be despised, and he causes those who are powerful to no longer have any power/strength.
22 Αποκαλύπτει εκ του σκότους βαθέα πράγματα, και εξάγει εις φως την σκιάν του θανάτου.
He causes things that are hidden in the darkness to be revealed.
23 Μεγαλύνει τα έθνη και αφανίζει αυτά· πλατύνει τα έθνη και συστέλλει αυτά.
He causes some nations to become very great, and [later] he destroys them; he causes the territory of some nations to become much larger, and [later] he causes them to be defeated and their people to be scattered.
24 Αφαιρεί την καρδίαν από των αρχηγών των λαών της γης, και κάμνει αυτούς να περιπλανώνται εν ερήμω αβάτω·
He causes [some] rulers to become foolish/stupid, and then he causes them to wander around, lost, in an barren desert.
25 ψηλαφώσιν εν σκότει χωρίς φωτός, και κάμνει αυτούς να παραφέρωνται ως ο μεθύων.
They grope around in the darkness, without any light, and he causes them to stagger like [SIM] people who are drunk.”
