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and the wicked suffer when the divine wrath falls upon them. And he seems to allude to the destruction of Job's children through the "young shoots," which signify the offshoots or branches or flowers. 86 8, 17-18 He sleeps upon a heap of stones, and will live in the midst of gravel. But if it should be swallowed up, the place will deny him. For, he says, the wicked are like those planted in earth that has no depth, but is stony and hard. For either they do not take root at all, or, if they do take root, because they have no depth of earth, they wither away, so that they are no longer even seen in the place. For "if it should be swallowed up" is instead of "if it should take root," and "the place will deny him" is instead of "he becomes invisible and unknown because of the calamity." And he seems to have rightly mentioned stones and gravel. For the wicked rest upon the harshness and irregularity of evil things; and if they seem to receive any word of godliness, they immediately vomit it out because they do not have a good and fruitful soul. 8, 18-19 Have you not seen such things, that the destruction of a wicked man is of this kind? These things, he says, you ought to consider also from what has happened to others. 8, 19 And he will cause another to sprout from the earth; for the Lord will not reject the blameless. For just as, he says, God makes the wicked in their prosperity to disappear, so also he causes the blameless, if they fall into any misfortune, to sprout again and establishes them in abundance. For the blameless man is not overlooked forever, nor does the wicked man prosper forever. And remaining with the trope of plants, he has set down "he will cause to sprout again." 87 8, 22 But he will not accept any gift from a wicked man; but he will fill the mouth of the truthful with laughter, and their lips with exultation. And their enemies shall be clothed with shame, and the dwelling of a wicked man shall not exist. And the gifts of the wicked are not acceptable to God, but he will fill the truthful with joy, so that, prospering, they may exult and glorify God. And the enemies of the just shall incur shame, and every way of life of the wicked shall be overturned. And through all these things this man also tried to show that the change happened to Job on account of wickedness. 88 CHAPTER SEVEN Beginning of the discourse; And Job answering says: I know of a truth that it is so. For how shall a mortal be just with the Lord? Preface to the chapter. Baldad having said: Will the Lord be unjust in judging, or will he who made all things pervert justice?, Job also concurs with the just judgment of God, saying: I know of a truth that it is so. And having declared with much assurance that God is just, he says that he is also wise and powerful and great, and that it is altogether difficult to strive against God. Then he establishes through many examples the power and incomprehensibility of God, and says that no one is just with God, except by grace, and that though he is conscious of nothing against himself, yet he is not justified by this. Then he puts forward the brevity of life for supplication and says that: if I am being punished as a wicked man, it were better for me to die. But overcoming impassioned fear because of his great love for God, since he cannot persuade his friends that he is not being punished for sins, he gladly states his case to the incorruptible God, trusting greatly in the just judgment of God, knowing that the Lord will not tolerate anything unjust to be spoken. These words, therefore, are not of one acting harshly, but as of a son speaking boldly to a father and as it were saying: Gladly do I plead my case with you, O father; for I know that you do not tolerate lying. And the one 89 saying these things exceedingly honors God as just and true and impartial. From such a disposition, therefore, he asks for a legal proceeding with God, and again, since he dared to speak at all, Forgive, he says, O master; for the surrounding pains have prepared me to speak at all. And again he holds forth the philanthropy of God, and his not remembering wrongs, and his munificence, and he beseeches him as creator to spare his creation; and he presents the power of God and asks to obtain some respite before death, not so much, I think, in order to be delivered from torments, as that he might be fully assured while living that God is not angry with him nor casts him away into darkness from his most luminous face. The words 9, 2 I know of a truth that it is so. I know, he says,

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καὶ οἱ ἀσεβεῖς πάσχουσι τῆς θείας ὀργῆς ἐπιπεσούσης. ἔοικε δὲ διὰ τῶν ῥαδάμνων, οἳ σημαίνουσι τὰς παραφυάδας ἢ κλάδους ἢ ἄνθη, τὴν ἀπώλειαν τῶν παίδων τοῦ Ἰὼβ αἰνίττεσθαι. 86 8, 1718 ἐπὶ συναγωγῇ λίθων κοιμᾶται, ἐν δὲ μέσῳ χαλίκων ζήσεται. ἐὰν δὲ καταπίῃ, ὁ τόπος ψεύσεται αὐτόν. ἐοίκασι γάρ, φησίν, οἱ ἀσεβεῖς τοῖς ἐν γῇ φυτευθεῖσι μὴ ἐχούσῃ βάθος, ἀλλὰ λιθώδει καὶ σκληρᾷ τυγχανούσῃ. ἢ γὰρ οὐδὲ ὅλως ῥιζοῦνται, ἢ, κἂν ῥιζωθῶσιν, διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν βάθος γῆς ξηραίνονται, ὡς μηδὲ φαίνεσθαι ἔτι ἐν τῷ τόπῳ. τὸ γὰρ ἐὰν καταπίῃ ἀντὶ τοῦ· ἐὰν ῥιζωθῇ, τὸ δὲ ὁ τόπος ψεύσεται αὐτὸν ἀντὶ τοῦ· ἀφανῆς γίνεται καὶ ἀνεπίγνωστος ὑπὸ τῆς συμφορᾶς. καλῶς δὲ ἔοικε λίθων καὶ χαλίκων μεμνῆσθαι. οἱ γὰρ ἀσεβεῖς ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν φαύλων τραχύτητι καὶ ἀνωμαλίᾳ ἐπαναπαύονται· κἂν δόξωσί τινα δέχεσθαι θεοσεβείας λόγον, εὐθέως ἐμοῦσιν αὐτὸν διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν εὔγειον καὶ καρποφόρον ψυχήν. 8, 1819 οὐχ ἑώρακας τοιαῦτα, ὅτι καταστροφὴ ἀσεβοῦς τοιαύτη; ταῦτα, φησίν, καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἑτέροις συμβεβηκότων ὀφείλεις θεωρῆσαι. 8, 19 ἐκ δὲ γῆς ἄλλον ἀναβλαστήσει· ὁ γὰρ κύριος οὐ μὴ ἀποποιήσεται τὸν ἄκακον. ὥσπερ δέ, φησίν, τοὺς ἐν εὐημερίᾳ ἀσεβεῖς ὁ θεὸς ἐξαφανίζει, οὕτω καὶ τοὺς ἀκάκους, ἐὰν ἔν τινι δυσπραγίᾳ γένωνται, παρασκευάζει ἀναβλαστῆσαι καὶ ἐν εὐθηνίᾳ καθίστησιν. οὐ γὰρ εἰς τέλος ὁ ἄκακος περιορᾶται, οὐδὲ ὁ ἀσεβὴς εἰς τέλος εὐθηνεῖται. ἐπιμείνας δὲ τῇ τροπῇ τῶν βοτανῶν τὸ ἀναβλαστήσει τέθεικεν. 87 8, 22 πᾶν δὲ δῶρον ἀσεβοῦς οὐ δέξεται· ἀληθινῶν δὲ στόμα ἐμπλήσει γέλωτος, τὰ δὲ χείλη αὐτῶν ἀγαλλιάσεως. οἱ δὲ ἐχθροὶ αὐτῶν ἐνδύσονται αἰσχύνην, δίαιτα δὲ ἀσεβοῦς οὐκ ἔσται. καὶ τὰ μὲν δῶρα τῶν ἀσεβῶν οὐ δεκτὰ παρὰ τῷ θεῷ, τοὺς δὲ ἀληθινοὺς χαρᾶς ἐμπλήσει, ὡς εὐθηνουμένους ἀγαλλιᾶσθαι καὶ δοξάζειν τὸν θεόν. καὶ οἱ μὲν τῶν δικαίων ἐχθροὶ αἰσχύνην ὀφλήσουσι, τῶν δὲ ἀσεβῶν πᾶσα διαγωγὴ ἀνατραπήσεται. δι' ὅλων δὲ καὶ οὗτος δεῖξαι ἐπειράθη, ὡς ἡ μεταβολὴ τῷ Ἰὼβ διὰ ἀσέβειαν γέγονεν. 88 ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ ΕΒ∆ΟΜΟΝ Ἀρχὴ τοῦ ῥητοῦ· ὑπολαβὼν δὲ Ἰὼβ λέγει· ἐπ' ἀληθείας οἶδα, ὅτι οὕτως ἐστίν. πῶς γὰρ ἔσται δίκαιος βροτὸς παρὰ κυρίῳ; Προθεωρία τοῦ κεφαλαίου τοῦ Βαλδὰδ εἰρηκότος· μὴ ὁ κύριος ἀδικήσει κρίνων ἢ ὁ τὰ πάντα ποιήσας ταράξει τὸ δίκαιον, συντρέχει καὶ ὁ Ἰὼβ τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ δικαιοκρισίᾳ φάσκων· ἐπ' ἀληθείας οἶδα, ὅτι οὕτως ἐστίν. ἀποφηνάμενος δὲ μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς πληροφορίας δίκαιον τὸν θεόν φησιν, ὅτι καὶ σοφός ἐστι καὶ δυνατὸς καὶ μέγας, καὶ χαλεπὸν πάντῃ πρὸς θεὸν ἀντιτείνειν. εἶτα κατασκευάζει διὰ πλειόνων τοῦ θεοῦ τὸ δυνατὸν καὶ ἀκατάληπτον καί φησιν, ὅτι οὐδεὶς δίκαιος παρὰ τῷ θεῷ, εἰ μὴ κατὰ χάριν, καὶ ὅτι οὐδὲν μὲν σύνοιδεν ἑαυτῷ, πλὴν οὐκ ἐν τούτῳ δεδικαίωται. εἶτα τοῦ βίου τὸ ὀλιγοχρόνιον εἰς ἱκεσίαν προβάλλεται καί φησιν ὅτι· εἰ ὡς ἀσεβὴς κολάζομαι, ἄμεινόν μοι ἦν τὸ ἀποθανεῖν. ὑπὸ δὲ τῆς πολλῆς περὶ θεὸν ἀγάπης τὸν ἐμπαθῆ φόβον ὑπερβάς, ἐπειδὴ μὴ πείθει τοὺς φίλους, ὅτι οὐ δι' ἁμαρτίας κολάζεται, πρὸς τὸν ἀδέκαστον θεὸν ἡδέως τὴν ἑαυτοῦ λέγει δίκην, σφόδρα θαρρῶν τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ δικαιοκρισίᾳ, εἰδὼς ὅτι οὐκ ἀνέξεται κύριος ἄδικόν τι φθέγξασθαι. ταῦτα οὖν οὐ τραχυνομένου τυγχάνουσι τὰ ῥήματα, ἀλλ' ὡς υἱοῦ πρὸς πατέρα παρρησιαζομένου καὶ μονονουχὶ λέγοντος· ἡδέως σοι, ὦ πάτερ, δικάζομαι· οἶδα γάρ, ὅτι ψεύσασθαι οὐκ ἀνέχῃ. ὁ δὲ 89 ταῦτα λέγων ὑπερβαλλόντως τιμᾷ τὸν θεὸν ὡς δίκαιον καὶ ἀληθῆ καὶ ἀπροσωπόληπτον. ἐκ τοιαύτης οὖν διαθέσεως τὴν πρὸς θεὸν αἰτεῖ διαδικασίαν, καὶ πάλιν, ἐπειδὴ ὅλως ἐτόλμησεν λαλῆσαι, σύγγνωθι, φησίν, δέσποτα· αἱ γὰρ περιστᾶσαι ὀδῦναι καὶ ὅλως φθέγξασθαί με παρεσκεύασαν. καὶ πάλιν τὸ φιλάνθρωπον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἀμνησίκακον καὶ μεγαλόδωρον προίσχεται καὶ ἱκετεύει ὡς ποιητὴν φείσασθαι τοῦ ποιήματος· καὶ τὸ δυνατὸν τοῦ θεοῦ παρίστησι καὶ αἰτεῖ τινος ἀναψύξεως τυχεῖν πρὸ τελευτῆς, οὐχ οὕτως, οἶμαι, διὰ τὸ τῶν βασάνων ἀπαλλαγῆναι, ὡς ἵνα πληροφορηθῇ ζῶν, ὅτι οὐκ ὀργίζεται αὐτῷ ὁ θεὸς οὐδὲ ἀπορρίπτει αὐτὸν εἰς σκότος ἐκ τοῦ φωτεινοτάτου ἑαυτοῦ προσώπου. Αἱ λέξεισ 9, 2 ἐπ' ἀληθείας οἶδα, ὅτι οὕτως ἐστίν. οἶδα, φησι,