John Chrysostom, Synopsis of Sacred Scripture

of the earth, and his life is like that of a day-laborer. that, If I have sinned, what can I do? That, Knowing the mind of men, why have you made me an accuser? And after Eliphaz, second, Bildad the Shuhite taking up, says to Job: How long will you speak? 56.364 A verbose spirit is in your mouth. Will the Lord be unjust in judging? or will he who made all things not provide what is just? Concerning this, Just as papyrus does not flourish without water, nor does the rush grow tall without drink; for while it is still on its root, it shall not be harvested. For before it falls, every plant will wither; so shall be the end of all who forget God. The first reply of Job to Bildad: that, In truth I know that it is so; for how shall a [mortal] be just before the Lord? Concerning this, Who alone stretched out the heaven, and walks upon the sea as upon the ground, making Pleiades and Hesperus. Who shall stand against the judgment of God? For if I am just, my mouth will be impious; and if I am blameless, I will prove crooked. Concerning this; My life is swifter than a runner. Or is there a track of a path for ships, or of a flying eagle seeking prey? Remember that you formed me from clay, and you are returning me to earth again. Or did you not milk me like milk, and so forth. As though I had not been. Why was I not delivered from the womb to the tomb? that [six]. After Eliphaz, Bildad; after Bildad, Zophar the Minaean in his own turn, so that each of them awaited to say the better things to Job. He who says many things, will also hear a reply. Concerning this; that your face will shine like pure water. And you will cast off filth, and will not be afraid, and you will forget your labor like a wave that has passed. For your prayer is like the morning star. The first reply of Job to Zophar: that, Are you the only men, or will wisdom die with you? And I too will have a heart like yours. Concerning this, Who has not known in all these things, that the hand of the Lord has done these things? That in his hand is the soul of all living things, and the spirit of all mankind. If, he says, he withholds the water, he will dry up the earth; but if he lets it go, he has destroyed it, having overturned it. Concerning this, Who will be clean from filth? But no one, even if his life on earth is but a single day. And, There is hope for a tree; if it be cut down, it will blossom again, and its shoot will not fail. But a man, having died, is gone; and a mortal, having fallen, is no more. A second beginning again. Eliphaz to Job: that, Will a wise man give an answer of a spirit of understanding? For your mouth convicts you, and not I. Concerning this, For what mortal being will be blameless? or will one born of a woman be just? The second reply of Job to Eliphaz. For I have heard many such things. For all are miserable comforters. Behold, my witness is in the heavens; and my advocate is in the highest. May there be a refutation for a man before the Lord. Concerning this, He has set the night into day. For if I wait, Hades is my house. For I have called Death my father, and corruption my mother and sister. And a second time again Bildad taking up, says to Job: How long will you not cease? For what, if you die, is the world under heaven uninhabited? Second of Job to Bildad: How long will you vex my soul, and crush me with arguments? speaking against me without being ashamed? Concerning this, He has stripped my glory from me, and taken the crown from my 56.365 head, and has cut off my hope like a tree. Concerning this, that my brothers have stood aloof from me, they have known strangers rather than me; and my friends have become merciless. I called my servant, and he did not obey; and I besought my wife, and she did not attend; and I called the sons of my concubines, but they have disowned me forever. Have mercy on me, have mercy, O friends. Why do you persecute me, as the Lord does? For who would grant that my words be written? These things were accomplished for me by the Lord. For my eye has seen and not another. We shall find a root of the matter in him. Beware also yourselves of a covering. A second time again Zophar taking up, says to Job: I did not suppose that you would contradict these things in this way. Concerning this, The joy of the impious is an extraordinary fall; and the delight of the lawless is destruction. But when he seems

γῆς, καὶ ὥσπερ μισθίου αὐθημερινοῦ ἡ ζωὴ αὐτοῦ. ὅτι, Εἰ ἐγὼ ἥμαρτον, τί δυνήσομαι πρᾶξαι; Ὅτι, Ἐπιστάμενος τὸν νοῦν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, διατί ἔθου με κατεντευκτήν; Μετὰ δὲ Ἐλιφὰζ δεύτερος ὑπολαβὼν Βαλδὰδ ὁ Σαυχεώτης λέγει πρὸς Ἰώβ· Μέχρι τίνος λαλήσεις; 56.364 Πνεῦμα πολυῤῥῆμον ἐν τῷ στόματί σου. Μὴ ὁ Κύριος ἀδικήσει κρίνων; ἢ ὁ τὰ πάντα ποιήσας οὐ παρέξει τὸ δίκαιον; Περὶ τοῦ, Ὥσπερ οὐ θάλλει πάπυρος ἄνευ ὕδατος, ἢ ὑψοῦται βούτομος ἄνευ πότου· ἔτι γὰρ ὢν ἐπὶ ῥίζαν, οὐ μὴ θερισθῇ. Πρὸ τοῦ γὰρ πεσεῖν πᾶσαν βοτάνην ξηρανθήσεται· οὕτως ἔσται τὰ ἔσχατα πάντα τῶν ἐπιλανθανομένων τοῦ Θεοῦ. Πρώτη τοῦ Ἰὼβ πρὸς Βαλδὰδ ἀντίλεξις· ὅτι, Ἐπ' ἀληθείας οἶδα, ὅτι οὕτως ἐστί· πῶς γὰρ ἔσται δίκαιος [βροτὸς] παρὰ Κυρίῳ; Περὶ τοῦ, Ὁ τανύσας τὸν οὐρανὸν μόνος, καὶ περιπατῶν ἐπὶ θαλάσσης ὡς ἐπ' ἐδάφους, ποιῶν Πλειάδα καὶ Ἕσπερον. Τίς κρίματος Θεοῦ ἀντιστήσεται; Ἐάν τε γὰρ ὦ δίκαιος, τὸ στόμα μου ἀσεβήσει· κἄν τε ὦ ἄμεμπτος, σκολιὸς ἀποβήσομαι. Περὶ τοῦ· Ὁ βίος μού ἐστιν ἐλαφρότερος δρομέως. Εἰ καὶ ἐστὶ ναυσὶν ἴχνος ὁδοῦ, ἢ ἀετοῦ πετομένου ζητοῦντος βοράν; Μνήσθητι, ὅτι πηλόν με ἔπλασας, εἰς δὲ γῆν με πάλιν ἀποστρέφεις. Ἢ οὐχ ὥσπερ γάλα με ἤμελξας, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Ὥσπερ ἐγινόμην οὐκ ὤν. ∆ιατί ἐκ γαστρὸς εἰς μνῆμα οὐκ ἀπηλλάγην; ὅτι [σιξ]. Μετὰ Ἐλιφὰζ Βαλδὰδ, μετὰ Βαλδὰδ Σωφὰρ ὁ Μηναῖος κατὰ τὴν οἰκείαν τάξιν, ὥσθ' ἕκαστον αὐτῶν περιμένειν τὰ κρείττονα λέγειν πρὸς τὸν Ἰώβ. Ὁ τὰ πολλὰ λέγων, καὶ ἀντακούσεται. Περὶ τοῦ· ὅτι Ἀναλάμψει σου τὸ πρόσωπον ὥσπερ ὕδωρ καθαρόν. Ἐκδύσῃ δὲ ῥύπον, καὶ οὐ φοβηθήσῃ, καὶ τὸν κόπον ἐπιλήσῃ ὥσπερ κῦμα παρελθόν. Ἡ γὰρ εὐχή σου ὡς ἑωσφόρος. Πρώτη τοῦ Ἰὼβ πρὸς Σωφὰρ ἀντίλεξις· ὅτι, Ὑμεῖς μόνοι ἐστὲ ἄνθρωποι, ἢ μεθ' ὑμῶν τελευτήσει σοφία; Κἀμοὶ μὲν καρδία καθ' ὑμᾶς ἔσται. Περὶ τοῦ, Τίς οὐκ ἔγνω ἐν πᾶσι τούτοις, ὅτι χεὶρ Κυρίου ἐποίησε ταῦτα; Ὅτι ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ ψυχὴ πάντων τῶν ζώντων, καὶ πνεῦμα παντὸς ἀνθρώπου. Ἐὰν, φησὶ, τὸ ὕδωρ κωλύσῃ, ξηρανεῖ τὴν γῆν· ἐὰν δὲ ἐπαφῇ, ἀπώλεσεν αὐτὴν καταστρέψας. Περὶ τοῦ, Τίς καθαρὸς ἔσται ἀπὸ ῥύπου; Ἀλλ' οὐθεὶς, ἐὰν κἂν μία ἡμέρα ὁ βίος αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Καὶ, ∆ένδρῳ ἐστὶν ἐλπίς· ἐὰν μὲν ἐκκοπῇ, καὶ πάλιν ἀνθήσει, καὶ ὁ ῥάδαμνος αὐτοῦ οὐ μὴ ἐκλίπῃ. Ἀνὴρ δὲ τελευτήσας ᾤχετο· πεσὼν δὲ βροτὸς, οὐκέτι ἔνι. ∆ευτέρα ἀρχὴ πάλιν. Ἐλιφὰζ πρὸς Ἰώβ· ὅτι, Πότερον σοφὸς ἀπόκρισιν δώσει συνέσεως πνεῦμα; Ἐλέγξαι σε γὰρ τὸ στόμα σου, καὶ μὴ ἐγώ. Περὶ τοῦ, Τίς γὰρ ὢν βροτὸς, ἔσται ἄμεμπτος; ἢ ἔσται δίκαιος γεννητὸς γυναικός; ∆ευτέρα ἀντίλεξις Ἰὼβ πρὸς Ἐλιφάζ. Ἀκήκοαγὰρ τοιαῦτα πολλά. Παρακλήτορες γὰρ κακῶν πάντες. Ἰδοὺ ἐν οὐρανοῖς ὁ μάρτυς μου· ὁ δὲ συνίστωρ μου ἐν ὑψίστοις. Εἴη δὲ ἔλεγχος ἀνδρὶ ἐναντίον Κυρίου. Περὶ τοῦ, Τὴν νύκτα εἰς ἡμέραν τέθεικε. Ἐὰν γὰρ ὑπομείνω, ᾅδης μου ὁ οἶκος. Θάνατον γὰρ ἐπεκάλεσα πατέρα μου εἶναι, μητέρα δὲ καὶ ἀδελφήν μου σαπρίαν. ∆εύτερος δὲ πάλιν ὑπολαβὼν Βαλδὰδ, λέγει πρὸς Ἰώβ· Μέχρι τίνος οὐ παύσῃ; Τί γὰρ, ἐὰν σὺ ἀποθάνῃς, ἀοίκητος ἡ ὑπ' οὐρανόν; ∆ευτέρα Ἰὼβ πρὸς Βαλδάδ· Ἕως τίνος ἔγκοπον ποιήσετε τὴν ψυχήν μου, καὶ καθαιρεῖτέ με λογισμοῖς; καταλαλεῖτέ μου οὐκ αἰσχυνόμενοι; Περὶ τοῦ, Τὴν δόξαν μου ἐξ ἐμοῦ ἐξεῖλε, ἀφεῖλε δὲ στέφανον ἀπὸ κεφαλῆς 56.365 μου, ἐξέκοψε δὲ ὥσπερ δένδρον τὴν ἐλπίδα μου. Περὶ τοῦ, ὅτι Ἀπ' ἐμοῦ ἀδελφοί μου ἀπέστησαν, ἔγνωσαν ἀλλοτρίους ἢ ἐμέ· φίλοι δέ μου ἀνελεήμονες γεγόνασι. Θεράποντά μου ἐκάλεσα, καὶ οὐχ ὑπήκουσε· καὶ ἱκέτευον τὴν γυναῖκά μου, καὶ οὐ προσέσχε· προσεκαλούμην δὲ υἱοὺς παλλακίδων μου, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα δὲ ἀπεποιήσαντό με. Ἐλεήσατέ με, ἐλεήσατε, ὦ φίλοι. ∆ιατί με διώκετε, ὥσπερ ὁ Κύριος; Τίς γὰρ ἂν δοίη γραφῆναι τὰ ῥήματά μου; Παρὰ Κυρίου ταῦτά μοι συνετελέσθη. Ὁ γὰρ ὀφθαλμός μου ἑώρακε καὶ οὐκ ἄλλος. Ῥίζαν λόγου εὑρήσομεν ἐν αὐτῷ. Εὐλαβήθητε καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀπὸ ἐπικαλύμματος. ∆εύτερον πάλιν ὑπολαβὼν Σωφὰρ λέγει πρὸς Ἰώβ· Οὐχ οὕτως ὑπελάμβανον ἀντερεῖν σε ταῦτα. Περὶ τοῦ, Εὐφροσύνη ἀσεβῶν πτῶμα ἐξαίσιον· χαρμονὴ δὲ παρανόμων ἀπώλεια. Ὅτε δὲ δοκεῖ