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33,1a But now, he says, hear, O Job, my words, 1b and give ear to my speech. 33,2a for behold, I have opened my mouth, 2b and my tongue has spoken in my throat. 33,3a My heart is pure in its words, 3b and the understanding of my lips perceives purely. That is: ‘I do not speak these things from malice nor from envy.’ So that, even if the three friends said the same things as this man, yet perhaps not with the same mind nor on behalf of God, since both Judas and the eleven spoke the same things about the alabaster jar, but not with the same mind. So let us not examine the words, but the intention, with which each one was speaking. How? The ones wishing to cast him down, but the other, the opposite. And see, this man speaks later many things which God is about to say, so that God might rather justify himself, when he hears the same things also from the fellow servant, which he will hear later from the master. We also do this in the case of our household servants; when their fellow-servants accuse them, then we especially attack them too. For he cannot accuse them of doing this unjustly. 171 33,4a The divine Spirit is what made me, 4b and the breath, he says, of the Almighty is what teaches me. 33,5a If you are able, give me an answer to these things, 5b endure and stand you against me and I against you. 33,6a You have been formed from clay, just as I, 6b we have been formed from the same clay. Since he was saying: ‘If only there were one who judges’ and that ‘I am a man,’ ‘behold, I am like you, we are from the same,’ he says, ‘clay.’ 33,7a My fear will not confound you, 7b nor will my hand be heavy upon you. The things he was saying about God. 33,8a However, you said in my ears, 8b and I have heard the voice of your words, 33,9a because you say: I am pure, I have not sinned in my deeds, 9b and I am blameless; for I have not transgressed, 33, 10a but he has found a complaint against me. Since concerning God he was saying: He will not hear me, ‘This is what you are complaining about,’ he says, ‘that he did not hear your case. From where is it clear, tell me, that he did not hear? Because he chastises and punishes? This is his work, so as to make men better. ‘Often, then, he has delivered,’ he says, ‘many to extreme illness, and yet a man weakened by such sickness no one will be able to destroy, even if there were ten thousand death-bearing angels.’ 33,10b and he has considered me, he says, as an adversary to himself, 33,11a and he has put my foot in the stocks 11b and has watched all my ways. 33,12a For how do you say: I am righteous and he has not hearkened to me? 12b For he who is above mortals is eternal. 33,13 For you say: Why has he not hearkened to my case in any word? 33,14a For when the Lord has spoken once, 14b and in the second time, in a dream as a vision 172 33,15a in a meditation of the night, 15b as when a dreadful fear falls upon men 15c in slumberings upon the bed. 33,16a Then he opens the mind of men; 16b in such visions of fear he has terrified them 33,17a to turn a man from his iniquity, 17b and has delivered his body from an unjust fall 33,18a and has spared his soul from death 18b that he might not fall in war. 33,19a Again he has rebuked him with weakness on his bed, 19b and the multitude of his bones has grown numb. 33,20a And he will not be able to accept any food of bread, 20b and his soul will desire food, 33,21a until his flesh rots 21b and shows his bones bare, 33,22a and his soul draws near to death, 22b and his life to Hades. 33,23a If there should be a thousand death-bearing angels, 23b not one of them shall wound him. ‘He will not be able,’ he says, ‘since He Himself holds him.’ ‘And many,’ he says, ‘he has disciplined through dreams, and has snatched them from war and battle, but has delivered them to another punishment.’ What he says is something like this: ‘If you did not enjoy His providence, would you not have perished? Would you not have fallen in war and battle? So let this especially be proof of His providence to you, that wrestling with so great a disease and sickness you have not died, though you were able often, even without this sickness, if He had abandoned you, to die.’ And you say: Why do you not hearken to my righteousness in any word? For when the Lord has spoken once.

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33,1a οὐ μὴν δέ, φησίν, ἀλλ' ἄκουσον, ˉ̓Ιώβ, τὰ ῥήματά μου 1b καὶ τὴν λαλιάν μου ἐνωτίζου. 33,2a ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἤνοιξα τὸ στόμα μου, 2b καὶ ἐλάλησεν ἡ γλῶσσά μου ἐν τῷ λάρυγγί μου. 33,3a καθαρά μου ἡ καρδία ἐν ῥήμασιν, 3b σύνεσις δὲ χειλέων μου καθαρὰ νοήσει. τουτέστιν· «οὐκ ἀπὸ βασκανίας οὐδὲ ἀπὸ φθόνου ταῦτα φθέγγομαι.» ὥστε, εἰ καὶ τὰ αὐτὰ εἶπον οἱ τρεῖς φίλοι ἅπερ οὗτος, ἀλλ' ἴσως οὐ μετὰ τῆς αὐτῆς γνώμης οὐδὲ ὑπὲρ τοῦ θεοῦ, ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ Ἰούδας καὶ οἱ ἕνδεκα τὰ αὐτὰ ἐφθέγξαντο περὶ τοῦ ἀλαβάστρου, ἀλλ' οὐ μετὰ τῆς αὐτῆς γνώμης. ὥστε μὴ τὰ ῥήματα ἐξετάζωμεν, ἀλλὰ τὴν διάνοιαν, μεθ' ἧς ἔλεγεν ἕκαστος. πῶς; οἱ μὲν αὐτὸν καταβαλεῖν βουλόμενοι, ὁ δὲ τοὐναντίον. καὶ ὅρα, ὕστερος οὗτος φθέγγεται πολλά, ὧν ὁ θεὸς μέλλει λέγειν, ἵνα μᾶλλον ὁ θεὸς ἀπολογήσηται, ὅταν καὶ παρὰ τοῦ ὁμοδούλου τὰ αὐτὰ ἀκούσῃ, ἅπερ ὕστερον παρὰ τοῦ δεσπότου. τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς ποιοῦμεν ἐπὶ τῶν οἰκετῶν· ὅταν οἱ σύνοικοι αὐτοῖς ἐγκαλέσωσιν, τότε μάλιστα καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐπιτιθέμεθα. ἐκείνοις γὰρ ἐγκαλέσαι οὐκ ἔχει ὡς ἀδίκως τοῦτο ποιοῦσιν. 171 33,4a πνεῦμα θεῖον τὸ ποιῆσάν με, 4b πνοὴ δέ, φησίν, παντοκράτορος ἡ διδάσκουσά με. 33,5a ἐὰν δυνηθῇς, δός μοι ἀπόκρισιν πρὸς ταῦτα, 5b ὑπόμεινον καὶ στῆθι σὺ κατ' ἐμὲ καὶ ἐγὼ κατὰ σέ. 33,6a ἐκ πηλοῦ διήρτισαι σὺ ὡς καὶ ἐγώ, 6b ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ διηρτίσμεθα πηλοῦ. ἐπειδὴ ἔλεγεν· «εἴ γε ἦν ὁ διακρίνων» καὶ ὅτι «ἄνθρωπός εἰμι», «ἰδού, ἐγὼ κατὰ σέ εἰμι, ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐσμεν», φησίν, «πηλοῦ». 33,7a οὐχὶ ὁ φόβος μου στροβήσει σε, 7b οὐδὲ ἡ χείρ μου βαρεῖα ἐπὶ σοὶ ἔσται. ἃ περὶ τοῦ θεοῦ ἔλεγεν. 33,8a πλὴν εἶπας ἐν ὠσί μου, 8b φωνὴν δὲ ῥημάτων σου ἀκήκοα, 33,9a διότι λέγεις, ὅτι· καθαρός εἰμι, οὐχ ἥμαρτον τοῖς ἔργοις, 9b ἄμεμπτος δέ εἰμι· οὐ γὰρ ἠνόμησα, 33, 10a μέμψιν δὲ κατ' ἐμοῦ εὗρεν. ἐπειδὴ περὶ τοῦ θεοῦ ἔλεγεν· οὐκ εἰσακούσεταί μου, «τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὃ ἐγκαλεῖς», φησίν, «ὅτι οὐκ εἰσήκουσέ σου τῆς δίκης. πόθεν δῆλον, εἰπέ μοι, ὅτι οὐκ εἰσήκουσεν; ὅτι κολάζει καὶ τιμωρεῖται; τοῦτο ἔργον αὐτῷ, ὥστε βελτίους ποιεῖν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους. πολλάκις γοῦν νόσῳ», φησίν, «παρέδωκεν ἐσχάτῃ πολλούς, καὶ ὅμως ἐν ἀρρωστίᾳ τοιαύτῃ ἐξησθενημένον τὸν ἄνθρωπον οὐδεὶς ἀνελεῖν δυνήσεται, κἂν μύριοι ὦσιν ἄγγελοι θανατηφόροι.» 33,10b καὶ ἥγηταί με, φησίν, ὥσπερ ὑπεναντίον ἑαυτῷ, 33,11a ἔθετο δὲ ἐν ξύλῳ τὸν πόδα μου 11b καὶ ἐφύλαξέ μου πάσας τὰς ὁδούς. 33,12a πῶς γὰρ λέγεις, ὅτι· δίκαιός εἰμι καὶ οὐκ ἐπακήκοέ μου; 12b αἰώνιος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ ἐπάνω βροτῶν. 33,13 λέγεις γάρ· διὰ τί τῆς δίκης μου οὐκ ἐπακήκοεν ἐν παντὶ ῥήματι; 33,14a ἐν γὰρ τῷ ἅπαξ λαλήσαι ὁ κύριος, 14b ἐν δὲ τῷ δευτέρῳ ἐνύπνιον ὡς φάσμα 172 33,15a ἐν μελέτῃ νυκτερινῇ, 15b ὡς ὅταν ἐπιπίπτῃ φόβος δεινὸς ἐπ' ἀνθρώπους 15c ἐπὶ νυσταγμάτων ἐπὶ κοίτης. 33,16a τότε ἀνακαλύπτει νοῦν ἀνθρώπων· 16b ἐν εἴδεσι φόβου τοιούτοις ἐξεφόβησεν αὐτοὺς 33,17a ἀποστρέψαι ἄνθρωπον ἐξ ἀδικίας αὐτοῦ, 17b τὸ δὲ σῶμα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ ἀδικίας πτώματος ἐρρύσατο 33,18a καὶ ἐφείσατο τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ θανάτου 18b τοῦ μὴ πεσεῖν αὐτὸν ἐν πολέμῳ. 33,19a πάλιν δὲ ἤλεγξεν αὐτὸν μαλακίᾳ ἐπὶ κοίτης, 19b καὶ πλῆθος ὀστέων αὐτοῦ ἐνάρκησεν. 33,20a πᾶν δὲ βρωτὸν σίτου οὐ μὴ δύνηται προσδέξασθαι, 20b καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ βρῶσιν ἐπιθυμήσει, 33,21a ἕως ἂν σαπῶσιν αὐτοῦ αἱ σάρκες 21b καὶ ἀποδείξῃ τὰ ὀστᾶ αὐτοῦ κενά, 33,22a ἐγγίσῃ δὲ ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ εἰς θάνατον, 22b ἡ δὲ ζωὴ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ. 33,23a ἐὰν ὦσι χίλιοι ἄγγελοι θανατηφόροι, 23b εἷς ἐξ αὐτῶν οὐ μὴ τρώσῃ αὐτόν. «οὐ δυνήσεται», φησίν, «ἐπειδὴ αὐτὸς κατέχει.» «πολλοὺς δέ», φησίν, «καὶ δι' ὀνειράτων ἐπαίδευσεν, καὶ πολέμου μὲν καὶ μάχης ἐξήρπασεν, ἑτέρᾳ δὲ παρέδωκεν τιμωρίᾳ.» ὃ λέγει, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· «εἰ μὴ τῆς προνοίας ἀπήλαυες τῆς αὐτοῦ, οὐκ ἂν ἀπώλου; οὐκ ἂν ἐν πολέμῳ καὶ μάχῃ κατέπεσες; ὥστε μάλιστα τοῦτό σοι τεκμήριον ἔστω τῆς προνοίας, ὅτι τοσαύτῃ προσπαλαίων νόσῳ καὶ ἀρρωστίᾳ οὐ τέθνηκας δυνάμενος πολλάκις καὶ χωρὶς τῆς ἀρρωστίας ταύτης, εἴ γε ἐγκατέλιπεν αὐτός, ἀποθανεῖν.» καὶ λέγεις· διὰ τί τῆς δικαιοσύνης μου οὐκ ἐπακούεις ἐν παντὶ ῥήματι; ἐν γὰρ τῷ ἅπαξ λαλήσαι ὁ κύριος.