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that I may live the rest of my time in repose. 79 Therefore I ask nothing contrary to your decree, master, you formed me mortal and not immortal; bring death upon me. Moses also supplicated similarly, saying: if you are going to do this to me, kill me. 7, 16 Depart from me, for my life is empty. My life is empty, instead of: I am failing, I no longer have strength. David also prayed similarly: remove your scourges from me, for I have failed from the strength of your hand. 7, 17-18 For what is man, that you have magnified him, or that you pay attention to him, or that you will visit him until the morning and judge him to repose? He puts forward for supplication the lowliness of man's nature and God's care for him. For what is man, he says, in his own nature? Nothing. But you, through the abundance of your love for mankind, have so magnified him, that you deign even to pay attention to him and visit his affairs with diligence each day; for this is what "in the morning" signifies. But since it is your judgment and decree to give him rest, that is, to prepare us to die, do not prolong my pains. Therefore he adds: 7, 19 How long will you not let me alone, nor let me go until I swallow my 80 spittle in pain? If I have sinned, what can I do to you? He says these things not despairing, but supplicating to learn, how long the pains will be prolonged for him, is it until he could neither spit nor utter anything? David also said similar things: How long, O God, will you be angry forever? Your wrath will burn like fire, remember what my substance is. For he too spoke not complaining, but supplicating, and put forward the weakness of nature in his supplication. Then, appeasing God even more, he says: If I have sinned, what can I do to you? Instead of: Even if I have sinned, what can I do to you? For indeed, my sin does not even affect you. And what can I do, except flee to your mercies? 7, O you who know the mind of men, why have you set me as a target of complaint for yourself? and I am a burden to you. But you also know, he says, master, as one who enters into thoughts, that many, often seeing me, your servant, enduring these things and being overlooked, blaspheme your name; and in a way I am a burden to you, becoming a cause of weighty words and blasphemy. He therefore says that 'a target of complaint' is a cause of outcry. 7, 21 And why have you not made a forgetting of my lawlessness and a cleansing of my sin? 81 And these words are full of supplication. For the "why," as has often been shown, is used in supplication or even from one desiring to learn the reason for the trials. And the meaning is this: Are you not, he says, a lover of mankind, are you not able to forgive sins and show the sinner pure through the multitude of your mercies? Why do I not also enjoy your goodness? 7, 21 But now I will depart to the earth, and rising in the morning I am no more. And he wove the shortness of life into his supplication, from all sides calling upon God for pity. And "rising in the morning I am no more" suggests such a meaning: for death, he says, is not like sleep; for after sleep, men rise in the morning and are again in life, but he who has died expects neither morning nor time spent with men. But Job said these things, conscious of no sin in himself, but speaking by way of concession, that: even if I have sinned, I ought, along with everyone, to enjoy the love of God for mankind. Therefore, through all this, the pious and God-loving and just and blameless mind of Job has been shown, even if he used a rather obscure delivery of his words. 82 CHAPTER SIX Beginning of the text: Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: How long will you speak these things? A long-winded spirit of your mouth. Preface to the chapter. Setting himself in opposition to what was just said by Job, Bildad criticizes him as long-winded, and he himself also has devolved into the same arguments as Eliphaz, supposing that afflictions follow sins. But since he knew the objection against him, that even if Job sinned, why were his children punished, he anticipates it and says that they too suffered on account of sins;

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ὕστερον δὲ χρόνον ἐν ἀναπαύσει ζήσωμαι. 79 οὐδὲν οὖν αἰτῶ παρὰ τὸ σὸν δόγμα, δέσποτα, θνητόν με ἔπλασας καὶ οὐκ ἀθάνατον· ἐπάγαγέ μοι τὸν θάνατον. τὸ ὅμοιον καὶ Μωσῆς ἱκέτευε λέγων· εἰ οὕτω μοι μέλλεις ποιεῖν, ἀπόκτεινόν με. 7, 16 ἀπόστα ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, κενὸς γάρ μου ὁ βίος. κενός μου ὁ βίος ἀντὶ τοῦ· ἐκλείπω, οὐκέτι ἔχω ἰσχύν. τὰ ὅμοια καὶ ∆αυὶδ ηὔχετο· ἀπόστησον ἀπ' ἐμοῦ τὰς μάστιγάς σου, ἀπὸ γὰρ τῆς ἰσχύος τῆς χειρός σου ἐγὼ ἐξέλιπον. 7, 1718 τί γάρ ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος, ὅτι ἐμεγάλυνας αὐτόν, ἢ ὅτι προσέχεις τὸν νοῦν εἰς αὐτὸν ἢ ἐπισκοπὴν αὐτοῦ ποιήσῃ ἕως τὸ πρωὶ καὶ εἰς ἀνάπαυσιν αὐτὸν κρινεῖς; τὸ τῆς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου φύσεως εὐτελὲς καὶ τοῦ θεοῦ περὶ αὐτὸν τὴν κηδεμονίαν εἰς ἱκεσίαν προβάλλεται. τί γάρ ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος, φησίν, εἰς ἰδίαν φύσιν; οὐδέν. σὺ δὲ διὰ πλῆθος φιλανθρωπίας οὕτως αὐτὸν ἐμεγάλυνας, ὅτι καὶ προσέχειν ἀξιοῖς αὐτῷ καὶ ἐπισκέπτῃ τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν μετὰ σπουδῆς καθ' ἡμέραν· τοῦτο γὰρ σημαίνει τὸ πρωί. πλὴν ἐπειδὴ κρίμα καὶ δόγμα σόν ἐστι τὸ διαναπαύειν αὐτόν, τουτέστι τὸ παρασκευάζειν ἡμᾶς τελευτᾶν, μὴ μακρύνῃς μοι τὰς ἀλγηδόνας. διὸ καὶ ἐπάγει· 7, 19 ἕως τίνος οὐκ ἐᾷς με οὐδὲ προίῃ με ἕως ἂν καταπίω τὸν 80 πτύελόν μου ἐν ὀδύνῃ; εἰ ἐγὼ ἥμαρτον, τί σοι δύναμαι πρᾶξαι; οὐκ ἀποδυσπετῶν ταῦτα λέγει, ἀλλ' ἱκετεύων μαθεῖν, μέχρι τίνος αὐτῷ τὰ τῶν ὀδυνῶν παρατείνεται, ἆρα μέχρις οὗ μηδὲ πτῦσαι μηδὲ φθέγξασθαί τι δυνηθείῃ; παραπλήσια καὶ ∆αυὶδ ἔλεγεν· ἕως πότε, ὁ θεός, ὀργισθήσῃ εἰς τέλος; ἐκκαυθήσεται ὡς πῦρ ἡ ὀργή σου, μνήσθητι, τίς μου ἡ ὑπόστασις. καὶ γὰρ κἀκεῖνος οὐ μεμφόμενος, ἀλλ' ἱκετεύων ἔλεγε καὶ τὸ τῆς φύσεως ἀσθενὲς εἰς ἱκετηρίαν προυβάλλετο. εἶτα καὶ μειζόνως ἐκμειλισσόμενος τὸν θεόν φησιν· εἰ ἐγὼ ἥμαρτον, τί σοι δύναμαι πρᾶξαι; ἀντὶ τοῦ· εἰ δὲ καὶ ἥμαρτον, τί σοι δύναμαι ποιῆσαι; μάλιστα μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲ ἡ ἐμὴ ἁμαρτία εἰς σὲ ἀνατρέχει. τί δὲ καὶ ἔχω πρᾶξαι, εἰ μὴ εἰς τοὺς σοὺς οἰκτιρμοὺς καταφεύγειν; 7, ὁ ἐπιστάμενος τὸν νοῦν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, διὰ τί ἔθου με κατεντευκτήν σου; εἰμὶ δὲ ἐπὶ σοὶ φορτίον. ἀλλὰ καὶ οἶσθα, φησίν, δέσποτα, οἷα ταῖς ἐννοίαις ἐμβατεύων, ὡς πολλοὶ πολλάκις εἰς ἐμὲ τὸν σὸν ὁρῶντες θεράποντα ταῦτα ὑπομένοντα καὶ παρορώμενον βλασφημοῦσι τὸ σὸν ὄνομα· καί εἰμί σου τρόπον τινὰ φορτίον, βάρους ῥημάτων καὶ βλασφημίας αἴτιος γινόμενος. κατεντευκτὴν οὖν αἴτιον καταβοήσεώς φησιν. 7, 21 καὶ διὰ τὶ οὐκ ἐποιήσω λήθην τῆς ἀνομίας μου καὶ καθαρισμὸν τῆς ἁμαρτίας μου; 81 καὶ ταῦτα πλήρης ἱκεσίας τὰ ῥήματα. τὸ γὰρ διὰ τί, ὡς πολλάκις δέδεικται, ἱκετευτικῶς κεῖται ἢ καὶ ποθοῦντος τὴν αἰτίαν μαθεῖν τῶν ἐτασμῶν. ὁ δὲ νοῦς οὗτος· οὐκ εἶ, φησίν, φιλάνθρωπος, οὐχ ἱκανὸς συγχωρεῖν ἁμαρτίας καὶ καθαρὸν δεικνύναι διὰ πλῆθος οἰκτιρμῶν τὸν ἁμαρτήσαντα; διὰ τί μὴ κἀγὼ τῆς σῆς χρηστότητος ἀπολαύω; 7, 21 νυνὶ δὲ εἰς γῆν ἀπελεύσομαι, ὀρθρίζων δὲ οὐκέτι εἰμί. καὶ τὸ ὀλιγοχρόνιον τῆς ζωῆς ἔπλεξε τῇ ἱκετηρίᾳ πανταχόθεν εἰς οἶκτον τὸν θεὸν ἐκκαλούμενος. τὸ δὲ ὀρθρίζων οὐκέτι εἰμί τοιοῦτον ὑποβάλλει νοῦν· οὐ γάρ ἐστιν, φησίν, ὥσπερ ὕπνος ὁ θάνατος· μετὰ γὰρ τὸν ὕπνον οἱ ἄνθρωποι ὀρθρίζοντες πάλιν ἐν τῷ βίῳ τυγχάνουσιν, ὁ δὲ ἀποθανὼν οὔτε ὄρθρον προσδοκᾷ οὔτε μετὰ ἀνθρώπων διατριβήν. ταῦτα δὲ εἶπεν ὁ Ἰὼβ οὐδὲν μὲν ἑαυτῷ συνειδὼς ἁμάρτημα, κατὰ δὲ συγχώρησιν λέγων ὅτι· εἰ καὶ ἥμαρτον, μετὰ πάντων ὀφείλω τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίας ἀπολαῦσαι. δέδεικται τοίνυν διὰ πάντων ἡ εὐσεβὴς καὶ φιλόθεος καὶ δικαία καὶ ἄμεμπτος τοῦ Ἰὼβ γνώμη, εἰ καὶ ἀσαφέστερον τῇ ἀπαγγελίᾳ τῶν λόγων ἐχρήσατο. 82 ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ ΕΚΤΟΝ Ἀρχὴ τοῦ ῥητοῦ· ὑπολαβὼν δὲ Βαλδὰδ ὁ Σαυχίτης λέγει· μέχρι τίνος λαλήσεις ταῦτα; πνεῦμα πολυρρῆμον τοῦ στόματός σου. Προθεωρία τοῦ κεφαλαίου εἰς ἀντιλογίαν τῶν νῦν εἰρημένων ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἰὼβ καθιστάμενος ὁ Βαλδὰδ μέμφεται μὲν αὐτὸν ὡς πολυρρήμονα, εἰς τοὺς αὐτοὺς δὲ τῷ Ἐλιφὰζ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐξεκυλίσθη λόγους ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις τὰς κακώσεις ἀκολουθεῖν ὑπολαμβάνων. ἐπεὶ δὲ ᾔδει ἀντιπῖπτον αὐτῷ, ὅτι εἰ καὶ Ἰὼβ ἥμαρτεν, διὰ τί οἱ παῖδες ἐτιμωρήθησαν, προκαταλαμβάνει καί φησιν, ὅτι καὶ αὐτοὶ δι' ἁμαρτίας πεπόνθασιν·