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I am surrounded by calamities, and that: I am like those who were previously scourged and again and many times were brought to another examination and other tortures. 10, 17 But you have used great wrath against me, and you have brought temptations upon me. He calls wrath the punishment that was greatly inflicted upon him, and temptations the evils that were waged against him. And these things hold to prayer and pious supplication with fitting lamentation. 10, 1819 Why then did you bring me out of the womb and I did not die, no eye saw me and I became as though I had not been? And why from the womb was I not removed to the tomb? Ecclesiastes said these things later, calling blessed the one who died over the one who lives, and the one who was not born over both; but man has fallen into such a painful life because he did not remain with God nor keep the divine commandments. And the blessed Job longed for death not only because of the pains, but because, as we have said, being of a short life 109 and with his time being prolonged, he suspected he had endured abandonment from God. 10, 21 Is not the time of my life short? Let me rest a little before I go to the place from which I shall not return. Again he brings forward the shortness of life for supplication, and he is not ignorant of the mystery of the resurrection, as we will show in the following sections. And he teaches a most beautiful doctrine, that one who has once departed from life no longer returns to this life, as those who concoct tales of reincarnation mythologize. 10, 2122 To a dark and gloomy land, to a land of eternal darkness, where there is no light, nor can one see the life of mortals. He fears lest, if he should die amid his tortures and trials, he should be in complete rejection from the face of God and be counted among the impious in Hades, who inhabit the eternal darkness according to the voice of the Savior that said: They will bind his feet and hands and cast him into the outer darkness. For since God is light by nature, those who are cast outside the face of God find themselves in darkness. Therefore, he asks not to be found in offense against God, but that it might be shown to him, as it were, through the relief from his tortures, that he has acquired God's favor. For not yet having been taught the cause of the temptations, the righteous man justly loses heart and is troubled. 110 CHAPTER EIGHT The beginning of the saying: And Zophar the Minaean took up and said: Shall he who speaks many things also hear in reply? Or does the eloquent man think he is righteous? Preface to the chapter. Since Job had spoken sharply, Zophar contends more vehemently. And first he mocks him for his verbosity, then he finds fault with him as having said: I am pure and blameless, and not having understood from what disposition he wished to be judged by God, would that, he says, it were possible for God to speak righteousness to you, so that both from his wisdom and from his power you might know that he punished you by rendering what was according to your deserts. Then, having shown the power of God and the lowliness of man, he advises Job to turn to prayer and to repent for what he had previously sinned; for thus he will have God propitious to him, who will cause him to be free from his present troubles and to regain his former prosperity. The words 11, 2 Shall he who speaks many things also hear in reply? Or does the eloquent man think he is righteous? Theodotion has rendered it more clearly, saying: Shall the talkative man 111 be uncontradicted? And what he says is this: The nature of the righteous is not judged by a multitude of words, nor, if someone is well-spoken and eloquent, is he righteous on that account; but there is also a contradiction to clear and fluent words. 11, 2 Blessed is one born of woman, being of few days. Or he says "blessed" by antiphrasis, instead of: near to a curse and entangled in sin is he who is of few days and born of woman, in order to say that: being a man, do not think you are without sin. Or he calls "of few days" one who is not drawn into many things, in order to say that: you, talking much nonsense, are not blessed, but accursed. 11, 3 Do not be profuse in words. For there is no one to judge against you. Since Job had asked God to stand with him in judgment; Do not, he says, speak nonsense in vain; for you will not have God judging against you. 11, 46 For do not say,

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περιβάλλομαι συμφοραῖς, καὶ ὅτι· ἔοικα τοῖς πρότερον μαστιχθεῖσι καὶ αὖθις καὶ πολλάκις εἰς ἑτέραν ἐξέτασιν καὶ βασάνους ἄλλας φερομένοις. 10, 17 ὀργῇ δὲ μεγάλῃ μοι ἐχρήσω, ἐπήγαγες δὲ ἐπ' ἐμὲ πειρατήρια. ὀργὴν τὴν τιμωρίαν φησὶ τὴν μεγάλως αὐτῷ ἐπενηνεγμένην, πειρατήρια δὲ τὰ ἐπιστρατευθέντα αὐτῷ κακά. δεήσεως δὲ ἔχεται ταῦτα καὶ θεοσεβοῦς ἱκεσίας σὺν ὀδυρμῷ τῷ προσήκοντι. 10, 1819 ἵνα τί οὖν ἐκ κοιλίας με ἐξήγαγες καὶ οὐκ ἀπέθανον, ὀφθαλμός με οὐκ εἶδεν καὶ ὥσπερ οὐκ ὢν ἐγενόμην; διὰ τί δὲ ἐκ γαστρὸς εἰς μνῆμα οὐκ ἀπηλλάγην; ταῦτα ὁ Ἐκκλησιαστὴς ὕστερον εἶπε μακαρίζων τὸν ἀποθανόντα ὑπὲρ τὸν ζῶντα καὶ τὸν μὴ γενόμενον ὑπὲρ ἀμφοτέρους· τοιαύτῃ δὲ περιπέπτωκεν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὀδυνηρᾷ ζωῇ διὰ τὸ μὴ μεῖναι παρὰ θεῷ μηδὲ φυλάξαι τὰ θεῖα προστάγματα. ὁ δὲ μακάριος Ἰὼβ ἐπόθει τὸν θάνατον οὐ μόνον διὰ τὰς ἀλγηδόνας, ἀλλ' ὅτι, ὡς ἔφημεν, ὀλιγοχρόνιος 109 ὢν καὶ τοῦ χρόνου παρατεινομένου ὑπώπτευεν ἐγκατάλειψιν ὑπομεμενηκέναι παρὰ θεοῦ. 10, 21 ἦ οὐκ ὀλίγος ἐστὶν ὁ χρόνος τοῦ βίου μου; ἔασόν με ἀναπαύσασθαι μικρὸν πρὸ τοῦ με πορευθῆναι, ὅθεν οὐκ ἀναστρέψω. πάλιν τὸ ὀλιγοχρόνιον εἰς ἱκεσίαν προβάλλεται, καὶ οὐκ ἀγνοεῖ μὲν τὸ τῆς ἀναστάσεως μυστήριον, ὡς ἐν τοῖς ἐφεξῆς ἐπιδείξομεν. δόγμα δὲ διδάσκει κάλλιστον, ὅτι ὁ ἅπαξ ἐξελθὼν τοῦ βίου οὐκέτι εἰς τόνδε τὸν βίον ἐπαναστρέφει, ὡς μυθολογοῦσιν οἱ τὰς μετενσωματώσεις τερατευόμενοι. 10, 2122 εἰς γῆν σκοτεινὴν καὶ ζοφεράν, εἰς γῆν σκότους αἰωνίου, οὗ οὐκ ἔστιν φέγγος οὐδὲ ὁρᾶν ζωὴν βροτῶν. δέδοικε μή, ἐὰν μετὰ τῶν βασάνων τελευτήσῃ καὶ τῶν ἐτασμῶν, ἐν τελείᾳ ἀπορριφῇ τοῦ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ γένηται καὶ μετὰ τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ καταλεχθῇ, οἵτινες τὸ αἰώνιον οἰκοῦσι σκότος κατὰ τὴν τοῦ σωτῆρος φωνὴν τὴν φήσασαν· δήσουσιν αὐτοῦ τοὺς πόδας καὶ χεῖρας καὶ ἐκβαλοῦσιν αὐτὸν εἰς τὸ σκότος τὸ ἐξώτερον. φωτὸς γὰρ ὄντος κατὰ φύσιν τοῦ θεοῦ οἱ ἔξω τοῦ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ βαλλόμενοι ἐν σκότει τυγχάνουσιν. αἰτεῖ τοιγαροῦν, μὴ ἐν προσκρούσει τοῦ θεοῦ καταληφθῆναι, ἀλλ' οἱονεὶ δειχθῆναι αὐτῷ διὰ τῆς τῶν βασάνων ἀνέσεως, ὅτι ἵλεω τὸν θεὸν ἐκτήσατο. οὔπω γὰρ διδαχθεὶς τὴν αἰτίαν τῶν πειρασμῶν ἐνδίκως ὁ δίκαιος ὀλιγωρεῖ καὶ ταράττεται. 110 ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ ΟΓ∆ΟΟΝ Ἀρχὴ τοῦ ῥητοῦ· ὑπολαβὼν δὲ Σωφὰρ ὁ Μιναῖος λέγει· ὁ τὰ πολλὰ λέγων καὶ ἀντακούσεται; ἢ καὶ ὁ εὔλαλος οἴεται δίκαιος εἶναι; Προθεωρία τοῦ κεφαλαίου ἀποτάδην τοῦ Ἰὼβ διαλεχθέντος σφοδρότερον ὁ Σωφὰρ διαμάχεται. καὶ πρῶτον μὲν ἐπὶ πολυλογίᾳ σκώπτει, εἶτα μέμφεται ὡς εἰρηκότα ὅτι· καθαρὸς καὶ ἄμωμός εἰμι, καὶ οὐ νενοηκώς, ἐκ ποίας διαθέσεως ἤθελε κρίνεσθαι πρὸς θεόν, εἴθε, φησίν, ἦν δυνατὸν δικαιολογήσασθαί σοι θεόν, ἵνα καὶ ἐκ τῆς σοφίας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκ τῆς δυνάμεως γνῷς, ὡς τὸ κατ' ἀξίαν σοι ἀπονέμων ἐτιμωρήσατό σε. εἶτα δείξας τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν δύναμιν καὶ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὸ εὐτελὲς παραινεῖ τῷ Ἰὼβ εἰς εὐχὴν τραπῆναι καὶ μετανοῆσαι ἐφ' οἷος πρότερον ἥμαρτεν· οὕτω γὰρ ἔσται αὐτῷ ἵλεω τὸν θεὸν καταστησόμενον τῶν τε παρόντων δεινῶν ἔξω γενέσθαι καὶ τὴν προτέραν εὐδαιμονίαν ἀπολαβεῖν. Αἱ λέξεισ 11, 2 ὁ τὰ πολλὰ λέγων καὶ ἀντακούσεται; ἢ καὶ ὁ εὔλαλος οἴεται δίκαιος εἶναι; σαφέστερον ὁ Θεοδοτίων ἐκδέδωκεν εἰρηκώς· μὴ ὁ πολύλογος ἀν 111 _α_ν_τ_ί_ρ_ρ_η_τ_ο_ς_ _ἔ_σ_τ_α_ι_; ὃ δὲ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· οὐκ ἐν πλήθει λόγων ἡ τοῦ δικαίου κρίνεται φύσις οὐδέ, εἴ τις εὔστομος καὶ εὐεπής, ἤδη παρὰ τοῦτο δίκαιος· ἀλλ' ἔστι καὶ πρὸς τοὺς τοροὺς καὶ εὐτροχάλους λόγους ἀντίρρησις. 11, 2 εὐλογημένος γενητὸς γυναικὸς ὀλιγόβιος. ἢ κατὰ ἀντίφρασίν φησι τὸ εὐλογημένος ἀντὶ τοῦ· κατάρας ἐγγὺς καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας εἰλούμενος ὁ ἐκ γυναικὸς ὀλιγόβιος, ἵνα εἴπῃ ὅτι· ἄνθρωπος ὢν μὴ οἴου ἀναμάρτητος εἶναι. ἢ ὀλιγόβιον λέγει τὸν μὴ εἰς πολλὰ περιελκόμενον, ἵνα εἴπῃ ὅτι· σὺ πολλὰ φλυαρῶν οὐκ εὐλογημένος εἶ, ἀλλ' ἐπικατάρατος. 11, 3 μὴ πολὺς ἐν ῥήμασι γίνου. οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν ὁ ἀντικρινόμενός σοι. ἐπειδὴ θεὸν ᾔτησεν ὁ Ἰὼβ καταστῆναι αὐτῷ εἰς κρίσιν· μὴ μάτην, φησίν, φλυάρει· οὐ γὰρ ἕξεις θεὸν ἀντικρινόμενόν σοι. 11, 46 μὴ γὰρ λέγε,