John Chrysostom, Commentary on Job

my terrible things will be more trivial and less.” 16,6a For if I speak, I will not feel pain from the wound; 6b but if I am silent, how shall I be wounded less? Or he says this, that “if I were in your place and outside of these terrible things, then you would have known. For I would not feel pain when speaking.” Then again he reports the disaster: 16,7 But now he has made me weary, a fool, rotten; 16,8a and you have laid hold of me, it has become a testimony; 122 8b and my falsehood has risen up in me, 8c it has answered to my face. 16,9a Using wrath he has cast me down, 9b and he gnashed his teeth against me, 9c the arrows of his temptations fell upon me. 16,10a He has struck my eyes with javelins and leapt upon me with a bow. 10b He has struck me on the knees with a sharp wound, 10c and with one accord they ran down upon me. 16,11a For the Lord has delivered me into the hands of an unjust man, 11b and has cast me among the ungodly. 16,12a Being at peace, he scattered me, 12b and taking me by the hair, he tore me apart, 12c he has set me up as a target. 16,13a They surrounded me with spears 13b casting into my kidneys without sparing, 13c they poured out my life upon the earth. 16,14a They cast me down, fall upon fall, 14b mighty men ran upon me. “It is not enough,” he says, “that I am punished, but I also seem to be foolish,” or that, “I have been driven out of my natural mind.” Then he introduces him in human terms, warring against him with anger: 16,15a Sackcloth, he says, they have sewn upon my skin, 15b and my strength they have extinguished into the earth. That is, “it has blackened me,” either from evils or because sackcloth was put on. 16,16a My belly is burned up from weeping, 16b and upon my eyelids is the shadow of death. 16,17a For there was nothing unjust in my hands, 17b and my prayer is pure. 16,18a O earth, do not cover the blood of my flesh. For this is the custom for those in terrible circumstances, for their evils not to be covered. “So far am I,” he says, “from having a guilty conscience, that I wish all to see what I suffer.” 16,18b And may there be no place for my cry. “Do not cover my cry either.” 123 16,19a And now, behold, my witness is in the heavens, 19b and he that knows me is in the highest. 16,20a May my prayer come to the Lord, 20b and before him may my eye drop tears. As if saying, “May God hear these things,” he says, “may God see these things.” 16,21a And may my reproof be before the Lord, 21b and a son of man to his neighbor. That is, “I am judged by him.” Again the same things: 16,22a And numbered years have come to me, 22b and I shall go on a way by which I shall not return.

17,1a I am perishing, carried by the spirit. 1b And I ask for burial and do not obtain it;

17,2 I beseech, being weary, and what shall I do? 17,3a And strangers have stolen my possessions. 3b Who is this? Let him be bound by my hand, 17,4a because they have hidden their heart from understanding. 4b Therefore he will not exalt them, 17,5a he will announce wickedness to the portion. 5b but my eyes have failed for my sons. 17,6a You have made me a byword among the nations, 6b and I became a laughing-stock to them. 17,7a My eyes are blinded from wrath, 7b and I am greatly besieged by all. 17,8a Wonder has seized the truthful concerning me; 8b for a lawless man has risen up against a just man. “For not even this common thing of those who fare badly can I say, that I am pitied, but on the contrary I am laughed at by the foolish, the just are astonished at me.” 17,9a But may the faithful, he says, keep his own way 9b and he who is clean of hands take courage. “How,” he says, “can a faithful man henceforth hold to his own way? And how will a clean man have courage, when these things have turned out so contrary to hope? Let my affairs be as nothing; how will others stand in the way of virtue? But nevertheless I call you again to judgment.” 124 17,10a Nevertheless, by all means stand firm and come now; 10b for I do not find truth in you. 17,11a My days have passed in groaning, 11b and the joints of my heart have been broken. 17,12a I have made night into day, 12b light near the face of darkness. 17,13a For if I endure, Hades is my house, 13b and in darkness is my bed spread. 17,14a I have called Death to be my father, 14b and Corruption my mother and sister. 17,15a

δεινὰ ἔσται μοι φαυλότερα καὶ ἐλάττω.» 16,6a ἐὰν γὰρ λαλήσω, οὐκ ἀλγήσω τὸ τραῦμα· 6b ἐὰν δὲ καὶ σιωπήσω, τί ἔλαττον τρωθήσομαι; ἢ τοῦτό φησιν, ὅτι «εἰ ἤμην ἐν τοῖς ὑμετέροις καὶ τῶν δεινῶν ἐκτός, τότε ἂν ἔγνωτε. οὐ γὰρ ἤλγουν λαλῶν.» εἶτα πάλιν τὴν συμφορὰν ἀναγγέλλει· 16,7 νῦν δὲ κατάκοπόν με πεποίηκε, μωρόν, σεσηπότα· 16,8a καὶ ἐπελάβου μου, εἰς μαρτύριον ἐγενήθη· 122 8b καὶ ἀνέστη ἐν ἐμοὶ τὸ ψεῦδός μου, 8c κατὰ πρόσωπόν μου ἀνταπεκρίθη. 16,9a ὀργῇ χρησάμενος κατέβαλέ με, 9b ἔβρυξε δὲ ἐπ' ἐμὲ τοὺς ὀδόντας αὐτοῦ, 9c βέλη πειρατηρίων αὐτοῦ ἐπ' ἐμοὶ ἔπεσεν. 16,10a ἔπαισεν ἀκίσιν ὀφθαλμούς μου καὶ ἐνήλατό μοι ἐν τόξῳ. 10b ἕλκει ὀξεῖ ἔπαισέ με ἐπὶ τὰ γόνατα, 10c ὁμοθυμαδὸν δὲ κατέδραμον ἐπ' ἐμέ. 16,11a παρέδωκε γάρ με ὁ κύριος εἰς χεῖρας ἀδίκου, 11b ἐπὶ δὲ ἀσεβεῖς ἔρριψέ με. 16,12a εἰρηνεύοντα διεσκέδασέ με, 12b λαβὼν δὲ τῆς κόμης διέτιλέ με, 12c κατέστησέ με ὥσπερ σκοπόν. 16,13a ἐκύκλωσάν με λόγχαις 13b βάλλοντες εἰς νεφρούς μου οὐ φειδόμενοι, 13c ἐξέχεαν εἰς γῆν τὴν ζωήν μου. 16,14a κατέβαλόν με πτῶμα ἐπὶ πτώματι, 14b ἔδραμον ἐπ' ἐμὲ δυνατοί. «οὐκ ἀρκεῖ», φησίν, «ὅτι κολάζομαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ δοκῶ ἀνόητος εἶναι», ἢ ὅτι· «ἐξέστην τῶν κατὰ φύσιν φρενῶν.» εἶτα ἀνθρωπίνως αὐτὸν εἰσάγει πολεμοῦντα αὐτῷ μετὰ θυμοῦ· 16,15a σάκκον, φησίν, ἔρραψαν ἐπὶ βύρσῃ μου, 15b τὸ δὲ σθένος μου εἰς γῆν ἔσβεσαν. τουτέστιν· «ἐμελάνωσέ με», ἢ ἀπὸ κακῶν ἢ ὅτι σάκκος περιεγένετο. 16,16a ἡ γαστήρ μου συγκέκαυται ἀπὸ κλαυθμοῦ, 16b ἐπὶ δὲ βλεφάρων μου σκιὰ θανάτου. 16,17a ἄδικον γὰρ οὐδὲν ἦν ἐν χερσί μου, 17b εὐχὴ δέ μου καθαρά. 16,18a γῆ, μὴ καλύψῃς ἐφ' αἵματι τῆς σαρκός μου. τοῦτο γὰρ ἔθος τοῖς ἐν δεινοῖς οὖσι τὰ κακὰ αὐτῶν μὴ καλύπτεσθαι. «τοσοῦτον ἀπέχω», φησίν, «τοῦ συνειδέναι ἑαυτῷ, ὥστε βούλομαι πάντας ὁρᾶν, ἃ πάσχω.» 16,18b μηδὲ εἴη τόπος τῆς κραυγῆς μου. «μηδὲ τὴν κραυγήν μου καλύψῃς.» 123 16,19a καὶ νῦν ἰδοὺ ἐν οὐρανοῖς ὁ μάρτυς μου, 19b ὁ δὲ συνίστωρ μου ἐν ὑψίστοις. 16,20a ἀφίκοιτο ἡ δέησίς μου πρὸς κύριον, 20b ἐναντίον δὲ αὐτοῦ στάξαι μου ὁ ὀφθαλμός. μονονουχὶ λέγων· «ἀκούσαι ταῦτα ὁ θεός», φησίν, «ἴδοι ταῦτα ὁ θεός.» 16,21a εἴη δὲ ὁ ἔλεγχός μου ἔναντι κυρίου, 21b καὶ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου τῷ πλησίον αὐτοῦ. τουτέστιν· «δικάζομαι πρὸς αὐτόν.» πάλιν τὰ αὐτά· 16,22a ἔτη δὲ ἀριθμητὰ ἥκασί μοι, 22b ὁδῷ δέ, ᾗ οὐκ ἀναστραφήσομαι, πορεύσομαι.

17,1a ὀλέκομαι πνεύματι φερόμενος. 1b δέομαι δὲ ταφῆς καὶ οὐ τυγχάνω·

17,2 λίσσομαι κάμνων, καὶ τί ποιήσω; 17,3a ἔκλεψαν δέ μου ἀλλότριοι τὰ ὑπάρχοντα. 3b τίς ἐστιν οὗτος; τῇ χειρί μου συνδεθήτω, 17,4a ὅτι καρδίαν αὐτῶν ἔκρυψαν ἀπὸ φρονήσεως. 4b διὰ τοῦτο οὐ μὴ ὑψώσῃ αὐτούς, 17,5a τῇ μερίδι ἀναγγελεῖ κακίας. 5b ὀφθαλμοὶ δέ μοι ἐπὶ υἱοὺς ἐτάκησαν. 17,6a ἔθου με θρύλημα ἐν ἔθνεσιν, 6b καὶ ἀπέβην αὐτοῖς γέλως. 17,7a πεπήρωνται ἀπὸ ὀργῆς οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου, 7b καὶ πεπολιόρκημαι ὑπὸ πάντων μεγάλως. 17,8a θαῦμα ἔσχεν ἀληθινοὺς ἐπ' ἐμοί· 8b δικαίῳ γὰρ παράνομος ἐπανέστη. «οὐδὲ γὰρ τὸ κοινὸν τοῦτο τῶν δυσπραγούντων ἔχω εἰπεῖν, ὅτι ἐλεοῦμαι, ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον γελῶμαι παρὰ τῶν ἀνοήτων, ἐκπλήττονται οἱ δίκαιοι ἐπ' ἐμοί.» 17,9a σχοίη δέ, φησίν, πιστὸς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ὁδὸν 9b καὶ ὁ καθαρὸς χερσὶν ἀναλάβοι θάρσος. «πῶς», φησίν, «δύναται λοιπὸν πιστὸς ἔχεσθαι τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ὁδοῦ; πῶς δὲ καθαρὸς ἕξει θάρσος τούτων οὕτως ἐκβεβηκότων παρ' ἐλπίδα; ἔστω τὰ ἐμὰ ἐν οὐδενί· πῶς ἄλλοι στήσονται ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ τῆς ἀρετῆς; πλὴν ἀλλὰ πάλιν ὑμᾶς καλῶ εἰς κριτήριον.» 124 17,10a οὐ μὴν δὲ ἀλλὰ πάντως ἐρείδετε καὶ δεῦτε δή· 10b οὐ γὰρ εὑρίσκω ἐν ὑμῖν ἀληθές. 17,11a αἱ ἡμέραι μου παρῆλθον ἐν βρώμῳ, 11b ἐρράγη δὲ τὰ ἄρθρα τῆς καρδίας μου. 17,12a νύκτα εἰς ἡμέραν ἔθηκα, 12b φῶς ἐγγὺς ἀπὸ προσώπου σκότους. 17,13a ἐὰν γὰρ ὑπομείνω, ᾅδης μου ὁ οἶκος, 13b ἐν δὲ γνόφῳ ἔστρωταί μου ἡ στρωμνή. 17,14a θάνατον προσεκαλεσάμην πατέρα μου εἶναι, 14b μητέρα δέ μου καὶ ἀδελφὴν σαπρίαν. 17,15a