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to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor, eternal life," God gives, "but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, wrath and fury" follows. But they will turn out empty for him, and his belly will bring forth deceit. For every 408 deed of his, as has been said before, is filled with vanity, taking pains in his belly. "For he has conceived trouble and brought forth iniquity," that is, his belly bearing deceit. And here he says deceit means all wickedness. Deceit is therefore also a form of wickedness, but nonetheless all wickedness is also called by this name according to what is said: "O full of all deceit and all recklessness" and "Therefore, putting away all deceit and hypocrisy." And one must understand the belly as the ... which agrees with evil things or with good things. And Job, taking up the discourse, says: I have heard many such things; you are all miserable comforters. He shows through these things that having associated with men he knows many things from what he has heard. And since they indifferently bring their consolations to those in difficult circumstances while being disposed toward them as if they were wicked, reasonably, just as the three friends have also done, he added "miserable comforters, all of you," meaning either that all of them, in ignorance of what is happening, speak otherwise than as they ought, stirring up rather than soothing painful things, or he said "all" meaning the three; for from this number comes the multitude. For what? Is there not order in the words of the spir409 it? - - - ξατ 13 Job 16:6a For if I speak, I will not feel pain from the wound. He wishes to show his genuine disposition, that "I care for your salvation, so that even if I am in pain, I use exhortation." For even if others who are in pain and distress are content with their own sorrows, yet for this man the salvation of his friends is to be preferred. Job 16:6b And if I am silent, how shall I be wounded less? "And if silently," he says, "I should wish to bear the reproaches, not only will I not carry away the glory of philosophy, but on the contrary I will be judged more greatly as a transgressor, since the silence is thought to arise from a guilty conscience about what is said." Job 16:7 But now he has made me weary, a fool, rotten according to them, and he says this also, affirming that this has happened to him from God; but the matter was not so. For even if God permitted it, yet He did not do this primarily, but because the adversary had requested it. And here "fool" means insensible; for he joined to it the word "rotten." Job 16:8a And he has taken hold of me; it has become a testimony The phrase "he has taken hold of me" instead of "he has laid hold of." And this has become a testimony for me. For indeed the courage of the blessed Job was set forth, heard by all.

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μὲν καθ' ὑπομονὴν ἔργου ἀγαθοῦ δόξαν καὶ τιμὴν ζητοῦσιν ζωὴν αἰώνιον" δίδωσιν θεός, "τοῖς δὲ ἐξ ἐριθείας καὶ ἀπειθοῦσιν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ ὀργὴ καὶ θυμὸς" ἕπεται. ἀποβήσεται δὲ αὐτῷ κενά, ἡ δὲ κοιλία αὐτοῦ ὑποίσει δόλον. πᾶσα 408 γὰρ αὐτοῦ πρᾶξις, ὡς προείρηται, ματαιότητος πεπλήρωται ἐν γαστρὶ λαμβάνοντος ὀδύνας. "συνέλαβεν γὰρ πόνον καὶ ἔτεκεν ἀδικίαν", δηλονότι τῆς κοιλίας αὐτοῦ δόλον φερούσης. δόλον δὲ ἐνταῦθα τὴν πᾶ σαν κακίαν φησίν. ἔσ̣τ̣ι̣ν̣ μ̣ὲν οὖν καὶ εἶδος κακίας ὁ δόλος, οὐδὲν δ' ἧττον καὶ πᾶσα κακία̣ καλεῖται τῷ ὀνόματι κ̣ατὰ τὸ ει᾿̣ρημένον· "ὦ πλήρης παντὸς δόλου καὶ πάσης ῥαδιουργίας" καὶ "διὸ ἀποθέμενοι πάντα δόλον καὶ ὑπόκρισιν". κοιλίαν δὲ δε̣ι῀̣ νοεῖν τὴν τὸ δ····· ··ς ψ····κα·· συνκατατ̣ι´̣θ̣ε̣τ̣αι τοῖς κακοῖς ἢ τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς. ὑπολαβὼν δὲ Ἰὼβ λέγει· ἀκήκοα τοιαῦτα πολλά· παρακλήτορες κακῶν πάντες. δείκνυσιν διὰ τούτων, ὡς συνὼν ἀνθρώποις οἶδεν πολλὰ ἀκούσας. καὶ ἐπεὶ ἀδιαφόρως τοῖς ἐν π̣ερισ̣τ̣άσεσιν οὖσιν προσάγουσιν τὰς παρακλήσεις μετὰ τοῦ διακεῖσθαι περὶ αὐτῶν ὡς φαύλων, εἰκότως, καθὰ καὶ οἱ τρεῖς πεποιήκασιν φίλοι, ἐπήγαγεν τὸ "παρακλήτορες κακῶν πάντες" σημαίνων ἤτοι ὅτι πάντες ἀγνοίᾳ τῶν συμβαινόντων ἑτέρως ἢ ὡς δεῖ φθέγγονται ἐγείροντες μᾶλλον ἢ συστέλλοντες τὰ ἀνιαρά, ἢ τοὺς τρεῖς "πάντας" εἶπεν· καὶ γὰρ ἀπὸ τούτου τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ τὸ πλῆθος. τί γάρ; μὴ τάξις ἐστὶν ῥήμασιν πνεύ409 ματος; - - - ξατ 13 ιοβ 16,6α ἐὰν γὰρ λαλήσω, οὐκ ἀλγήσω τὸ τραῦμα. θέλει τὴν διάθεσιν αὐτοῦ τὴν γνησίαν ἐπιδείξασθαι ὅτι «ἐμοὶ μέλει τῆς ὑμετέρας σωτηρίας, ὥστε εἰ καὶ ἀλγῶ, χρῶμαι τῇ παραινέσει». εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἄλλοι ἀλγοῦντες καὶ ἀνιώμενοι ἀρκοῦνται ταῖς καθ' ἑαυτοὺς ἀνίαις, ἀλλὰ τούτῳ ἡ σωτηρία τῶν φίλων προκριτέα. ιοβ 16,6β ἐὰν δὲ καὶ σιωπήσω, τί ἔλαττον τρωθήσομαι; «εἰ δὲ καὶ σιωπῇ», φησίν, «ἐνέγκαι τὰ ὀνείδη βουληθείην, οὐ μόνον φιλοσοφίας δόξαν οὐκ ἀποίσομαι, ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον μειζόνως ὡς παράνομος κριθήσομαι τῆς σιωπῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ περὶ τὰ λεγόμενα συνειδότος γίνεσθαι νομιζομένης.» ιοβ 16,7 νῦν δὲ κατάκοπόν με πεποίηκεν, μωρόν, σεσηπότα κατ' αὐτοὺς καὶ τοῦτο λέγει φάσκων ἐκ θεοῦ τοῦτο αὐτῷ συμβεβηκέναι· οὐχ οὕτως δὲ εἶχε τὸ πρᾶγμα. εἰ γὰρ καὶ ὁ θεὸς συνεχώρησεν, ἀλλά γε οὐ προηγουμένως τοῦτο πεποίηκεν, ἀλλ' ἐξαιτησαμένου τοῦ ἀντικειμένου. "μωρὸν" δὲ ἐνταῦθα τὸ ἀναίσθητον· συνῆψε γὰρ τούτῳ τὸ "σεσηπότα". ιοβ 16,8α καὶ ἐλάβετό μου, εἰς μαρτύριον ἐγενήθη τὸ "ἐπελάβετό μου" ἀντὶ τοῦ «καθήψατο». τοῦτο δὲ εἰς μαρτύριόν μοι ἐγενήθη. καὶ γὰρ τῷ ὄντι ἡ ἀνδρεία τοῦ μακαρίου Ἰὼβ πᾶσιν ἐξάκουστος ἐξετέθη.