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already been established, then he will perish completely. Concerning this, His bones were filled with his youth. And that, If wickedness is sweet in his mouth, he will hide it under his tongue. Like the gall of an asp in its belly, so wealth gathered from unjust deeds will be vomited up. That, He has toiled for what is empty and vain, gathering wealth of which he will not taste. That, He has crushed the houses of many helpless. A bronze bow, he says, will wound him, and an arrow will pass through his mouth. And stars will walk in his dwelling places. For this is the portion of a wicked man from the Lord. Job's second response to Zophar: Listen, listen to my words, so that there may be no comfort from you. For what? Is my reproof for a man? For why do the wicked live, and grow old in wealth and abundance? And their one with child was saved. Where the wicked one says to the Lord: Depart from me, I do not wish to know your ways. What is the Almighty, that I should serve him? Is it not the Lord who teaches understanding and knowledge? But he discerns labors. So I know you, that you press upon me with audacity. And concerning this, Where is the house of the rulers? The wicked man is spared for the day of destruction; and after him every man will depart. Eliphaz, taking up again for the third time, says: Is it not the Lord who teaches understanding and knowledge? For what does it matter to the Lord, if you were blameless in your works? Here Eliphaz says to Job that, You have sent widows away empty, and have mistreated orphans. And you said, What does the mighty one know? Those who say, What will the Lord do to us? and what will the ruler of all bring upon us? Concerning this, The Lord will render you pure like silver tried by fire. Look up to heaven cheerfully. And when you pray to him, he will hear you, and you will be saved by your clean hands. Job's third response to Eliphaz. And indeed I know, that my mercy is from my hand, and his hand has become heavy upon my groaning. If darkness will come upon me with great strength. The wicked have transgressed a boundary, and have made many naked sleep without clothing. May their plants appear dry from the earth; for they have seized the sheaf of the orphans. Bildad, taking up for the third time, says: He who makes the whole universe in the highest. For let no one suppose that 56.366 there is a drawing aside for the sower (or, pirates). But how can a mortal be righteous before the Lord? If a man is decay, and if a son of man is a worm? Job's third response to Bildad: Whom are you about to help? or whom will you follow? Is it not he who has the greatest power? For Hades is naked before him. He who hangs the earth on nothing, binding up water in his clouds. And by his command he put to death the apostate dragon. When Zophar no longer added anything a third time, but the two greater ones also fell silent, as no longer having a word in their mouth, because Job established himself as righteous, Job adds his second preface about himself; and they, being silent, listen, being benefited. As the Lord lives, he says, who has thus judged me, and my Almighty, who has embittered my soul; truly while my breath is still in me, and the divine spirit that is in my nostrils, my lips will not speak iniquity. I will declare to you what is in the hand of the Lord. Behold, you all know that you devise empty things for the empty. This is the portion of a wicked man from the Lord. That if his sons become many, they will be for slaughter; and no one will have mercy on their widows. If the wicked gathers silver like earth; a place from which it comes? and a place for gold from which it is refined? Iron comes from the earth, and bronze is quarried like stone. My eye, he says, has seen everything precious. But his wisdom, from where was it found? The deep said, It is not in me; and the sea said, It is not with me. Draw out wisdom beyond the innermost things. The topaz of Ethiopia will not be equal to it, and it will not be weighed with pure gold. The Lord well established its way; for he himself oversees everything under heaven, knowing all things on the earth, the weight of the winds, the measures of the waters. He said to man: Behold, piety is wisdom. And when the three fell silent, Job, adding to his preface, says: Who would set me according to the month of days past,

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ἤδη ἐστηρίχθαι, τότε εἰς τέλος ἀπολεῖται. Περὶ τοῦ, Ὀστᾶ αὐτοῦ ἀνεπλήσθησαν νεότητος αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ὅτι, Ἂν γλυκανθῇ ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ κακία, κρύψει αὐτὴν ὑπὸ τὴν γλῶσσαν αὐτοῦ. Ὥσπερ χολὴ ἀσπίδος ἐν γαστρὶ αὐτῆς, οὕτω πλοῦτος ἐξ ἀδίκων συναγόμενος ἐξεμεθήσεται. Ὅτι, Εἰς κενὰ καὶ μάταια ἐκοπίασε, συνάγων πλοῦτον ἐξ οὗ οὐ γεύσεται. Ὅτι, Πολλῶν ἀδυνάτων οἴκους ἔθλασε. Τρῶσαι αὐτὸν, φησὶ, τόξον χάλκειον, καὶ διεξέλθοι διὰ στόματος αὐτοῦ βέλος. Ἄστρα δὲ ἐν διαίταις αὐτοῦ περιπατήσουσιν. Αὕτη γὰρ ἡ μερὶς ἀνθρώπου ἀσεβοῦς παρὰ Κυρίου. ∆ευτέρα τοῦ Ἰὼβ πρὸς Σωφὰρ ἀντίλεξις· Ἀκούσατε, ἀκούσατέ μου τῶν λόγων, ἵνα ᾖ μὴ παρ' ὑμῶν παράκλησις. Τί γάρ; μὴ ἀνθρώπῳ μου ἡ ἔλεγξις; ∆ιὰ τί γὰρ ἀσεβεῖς ζῶσι, πεπαλαίωνται δὲ καὶ ἐν πλούτῳ καὶ εὐθηνίᾳ; ∆ιεσώθη δὲ αὐτῶν ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχουσα. Ὅπου Λέγει ὁ ἀσεβὴς τῷ Κυρίῳ· Ἀπόστηθι ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, ὁδούς σου εἰδέναι οὐ βούλομαι. Τί ἱκανὸς ὅτι δουλεύσομαι αὐτῷ; Πότερον οὐχὶ ὁ Κύριός ἐστιν ὁ διδάσκων σύνεσιν καὶ ἐπιστήμην; Αὐτὸς δὲ πόνους διακρίνει. Ὥστε οἶδα ὑμᾶς, ὅτι τόλμῃ ἔγκεισθέ μοι. Καὶ περὶ τοῦ, Ποῦ ἐστιν οἶκος ἀρχόντων; Εἰς ἡμέραν ἀπωλείας κουφίζεται ὁ πονηρός· καὶ ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ἀπελεύσεται. Τρίτος πάλιν ὑπολαβὼν Ἐλιφὰζ λέγει· Πότερον οὐχὶ ὁ Κύριός ἐστιν ὁ διδάσκων σύνεσιν καὶ ἐπιστήμην; Τί γὰρ μέλει τῷ Κυρίῳ, ἐὰν σὺ ἦσθα τοῖς ἔργοις ἄμεμπτος; Ἐνταῦθα λέγει Ἐλιφὰζ πρὸς Ἰὼβ, ὅτι Χήρας ἐξαπέστειλας κενὰς, ὀρφανοὺς δὲ ἐκάκωσας. Καὶ εἶπας, Τί ἔγνω ὁ ἰσχυρός; Οἱ λέγοντες, Τί ποιήσει ἡμῖν Κύριος; καὶ τί ἐπάξεται ἡμῖν ὁ πάντων κρατῶν; Περὶ τοῦ, Καθαρὸν ἀποδώσει σε Κύριος ὥσπερ ἄργυρον πεπυρωμένον. Ἀνάβλεψον εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἱλαρῶς. Εὐξαμένου δέ σου πρὸς αὐτὸν, εἰσακούσεταί σου, καὶ διασωθήσῃ ἐν καθαραῖς χερσί σου. Τρίτη τοῦ Ἰὼβ ἀντίλεξις πρὸς Ἐλιφάζ. Καὶ δὴ οἶδα, ὅτι χειρός μου ἡ ἐλεημοσύνη μού ἐστι, καὶ ἡ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ βαρεῖα γέγονε ἐπ' ἐμῷ στεναγμῷ. Εἰ ἐν πολλῇ ἰσχύϊ ἐπελεύσεταί μοι σκότος. Ἀσεβεῖς ὅρον ὑπερέβησαν, καὶ γυμνοὺς πολλοὺς ἐκοίμισαν ἄνευ ἱματίων. Ἀναφανείη τὰ φυτὰ αὐτῶν ἀπὸ γῆς ξηρά· ἀγκαλίδα γὰρ ὀρφανῶν ἥρπασαν. Τρίτος ὑπολαβὼν Βαλδὰδ λέγει· Ὁ ποιῶν τὴν σύμπασαν ἐν ὑψίστῳ. Μὴ γάρ τις ὑπολάβοι, ὅτι 56.366 ἐστὶ παρέλκυσις σπείραντι (λ. πειραταῖς). Πῶς δὲ δίκαιος βροτὸς ἔναντι Κυρίου; Ἐὰν δὲ ἄνθρωπος σαπρία, καὶ εἰ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου σκώληξ; Τρίτη τοῦ Ἰὼβ πρὸς Βαλδὰδ ἀντίλεξις· Τίνι μέλλεις βοηθεῖν; ἢ τίνι ἐπακολουθήσεις; Οὐχ ᾧ μεγίστη δύναμις; Γυμνὸς γὰρ ὁ ᾅδης ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ. Ὁ κρεμάζων γῆν ἐπ' οὐδενὸς, δεσμεύων ὕδωρ ἐν νεφέλαις αὐτοῦ. Προστάγματι δὲ ἐθανάτωσε δράκοντα ἀποστάτην. Μηκέτι προσθέντος καὶ τοῦ Σωφὰρ τρίτως, ἀλλ' ὑποσιωπησάντων καὶ τῶν μειζόνων δύο, ὡς οὐκέτι λόγον ἐχόντων ἐν στόματι, διὰ τὸ θέσθαι δίκαιον τὸν Ἰὼβ, ἐπισυνάπτει τὸ περὶ αὐτοῦ προοίμιον δεύτερον Ἰώβ· κἀκεῖνοι σιωπήσαντες ἀκούουσιν ὠφελούμενοι. Ζῇ, φησὶ, Κύριος, ὃς οὕτω με κέκρικε, καὶ ὁ παντοκράτωρ μου, ὁ πικράνας μου τὴν ψυχήν· ᾖ μὴν ἔτι τῆς πνοῆς ἐνούσης, πνεῦμα δὲ θεῖον τὸ περιόν μοι ἐν ῥισὶ, μὴ λαλήσειν μου τὰ χείλη ἀνομίαν. Ἀναγγελῶ ὑμῖν, τί ἐστιν ἐν χειρὶ Κυρίου. Ἰδοὺ δὴ πάντες οἴδατε, ὅτι κενὰ κενοῖς ἐπιβουλεύετε. Αὕτη ἡ μερὶς ἀνθρώπου ἀσεβοῦς παρὰ Κυρίου. Ὅτι ἐὰν πολλοὶ γένωνται οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ, εἰς σφαγὴν ἔσονται· χήρας δὲ αὐτῶν οὐδεὶς ἐλεήσει. Ἐὰν συνάγῃ ὁ ἀσεβὴς ἴσα γῇ ἀργύριον· τόπος ὅθεν γίνεται; τόπος δὲ χρυσίου ὅθεν διηθεῖται; Σίδηρος μὲν ἐκ γῆς γίνεται, χαλκὸς δὲ ἴσα λίθῳ λατομεῖται. Πᾶν τίμιον, φησὶν, εἶδέ μου ὁ ὀφθαλμός. Ἡ δὲ σοφία αὐτοῦ πόθεν εὑρέθη; Ἄβυσσος εἶπε, Οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἐμοί· καὶ θάλασσα εἶπε, Οὐκ ἔστι μετ' ἐμοῦ. Ἕλκυσον σοφίαν ὑπὲρ τὰ ἐσώτατα. Οὐκ ἰσωθήσεται αὐτῇ τοπάζιον Αἰθιοπίας, καὶ χρυσίῳ καθαρῷ οὐ συμβασταχθήσεται. Ὁ Κύριος εὖ συνέστησε αὐτῆς τὴν ὁδόν· αὐτὸς γὰρ τὴν ὑπ' οὐρανὸν πᾶσαν ἐφορᾷ, εἰδὼς τὰ ἐν τῇ γῇ πάντα, ἀνέμων σταθμὸν, ὑδάτων μέτρα. Εἶπεν ἀνθρώπῳ· Ἰδοὺ ἡ θεοσέβειά ἐστι σοφία. Ἀποσιωπησάντων δὲ τῶν τριῶν, προσθεὶς Ἰὼβ ἐν τῷ προοιμίῳ λέγει· Τίς ἄν με θείη κατὰ μῆνα ἔμπροσθεν ἡμερῶν,