איוב לג

But now, Job, listen to my words,
Give ear to all that I say.

Now I open my lips;
My tongue forms words in my mouth.

My words bespeak the uprightness of my heart;
My lips utter insight honestly.

The spirit of God formed me;
The breath of Shaddai sustains me.

If you can, answer me;
Argue against me, take your stand.

You and I are the same before God;
I too was nipped from clay.

You are not overwhelmed by fear of me;
My pressure does not weigh heavily on you.

Indeed, you have stated in my hearing,
I heard the words spoken,

“I am guiltless, free from transgression;
I am innocent, without iniquity.

But [God] finds reasons to oppose me,
And considers me an enemy.

My feet are placed in stocks,
And all my ways are watched.”

In this you are not right;
I will answer you: God is greater than any mortal.

Why do you level the complaint
That there is no reply to anyone’s charges?

For God speaks time and again—
Though no one perceives it—

In a dream, a night vision,
When deep sleep falls on everyone,
While they slumber on their beds.

Then everyone’s understanding is opened,
And God’s signature is left by disciplining them—

To turn a mortal away from an action,
To suppress pride in a man.

[God] spares him from the Pit,
His person, from perishing by the sword.

He is reproved by pains on his bed,
And the trembling in his bones is constant.

He detests food;
Fine food [is repulsive] to him.

His flesh wastes away till it cannot be seen,
And his bones are rubbed away till they are invisible.

He comes close to the Pit,
His life [verges] on death.

If he has a representative,
One advocate against a thousand
To declare the person upright,

Then [God] has mercy on him and decrees,
“Redeem him from descending to the Pit,
For I have obtained his ransom;

Let his flesh be healthier than in his youth;
Let him return to his younger days.”

He prays to God, who accepts him;
He enters the divine presence with shouts of joy,
For [God] requites humans for their righteousness.

The contrite person declares to all,
“I have sinned; I have perverted what was right;
But I was not paid back for it.”

He is redeemed from passing into the Pit;
He, “me…I.” will enjoy the light.

Truly, God does all these things
Two or three times to a man,

To bring him back from the Pit,
That he may bask in the light of life.

Pay heed, Job, and hear me;
Be still, and I will speak;

If you have what to say, answer me;
Speak, for I am eager to vindicate you.

But if not, you listen to me;
Be still, and I will teach you wisdom.