| [Radio announcer. Now Job will seal his evidence with an oath and sign the scroll.] 27:1Then Job took up his poem again saying: 2As God lives, who has refused me justice, By the Almighty, who has embittered my soul, 3While I breathe, While the spirit of God is in my nostrils, 4My lips will not speak a lie, Nor will my tongue be false. 5Far be it from me to say you are right; Until I die I will maintain my innocence. 6I hold to my integrity and won't let it go -- My heart finds no offense in my days. 31:1I made a pact with my eyes Not to gaze on a maiden. For I asked myself, 2What is God's allotment from above, What the heritage from the Almighty on high? 3Is it not disaster for the unrighteous, Woe for the workers of iniquity? 4Does he not see my ways And count all my steps? 5If I have walked with falsehood Or hurried my footsteps to deceive -- 6Let him weigh me in scales that are true, Let God know my innocence -- 7If my steps have strayed from the path Or my heart has followed my eyes, Or if there is any stain on my hands, 8Then may I sow and another eat, May my family after me be uprooted. 9If I have lost my heart to a woman, Laid in wait for her at my neighbor's door, 10Then may my wife grind for another, May others take her measure, 11For that would be a shameful indecency, An act deserving of punishment; 12It would be a fire burning down to the Abyss, Rooting out my family before me. 13If I ever ignored the right of my slave Or my slave girl in their grievance against me, 14Then what would I do if God should rise up? If he called me to account, what answer could I give? 15He who made me in the womb, did he not make him? Was he not the same who fashioned us both? 16Have I denied the poor their desire Or let a widow's eyes grow dim with hunger, 17Refused to share my crust with the orphan? 18Not I, who was father to the orphan from my youth, And eyes for the widow from my mother's belly! 19If I saw someone perishing for lack of a coat, A wretch going naked, 20And his loins did not bless me, Warmed by the fleece of my sheep, 21If I have raised my hand against the fatherless, Trusting to my advantage at court, 22Then may my arm drop off at the shoulder, May it be broken off at the elbow. 23For I dreaded calamity from God, I was awed by his splendor, so what could I do? 24If I have put my trust in gold, Said, "You are my faith" to Nubian gold, 25If I rejoiced for my great wealth, For the abundance my hand had gathered, 26If ever, when I saw the sun shining Or the moon walking in brightness, 27My thoughts were secretly seduced And my hand touched my mouth in a kiss, then 28That, too, would be an act deserving of punishment, A betrayal of God above. 29If I rejoiced at the destruction of my enemy Or exulted when evil found him 30Or let my mouth offend, which I did not, Seeking his life with a curse, 31If the men of my house ever Demanded payment in flesh -- And they did not -- 32And no stranger ever slept in the street, For I opened my door to the traveler, 33Or if I hid my sins like Adam, Concealing my guilt by covering it over, 34Or was panicked by the throng, So dreading the scorn of the clans That I kept silent, afraid to step from the door. . . 35Who will be my witness? Here is my mark, now let the Almighty reply. O that my adversary had written a scroll. 36I would carry it on my shoulder; I would make of it a crown for my head. 37I would count out to him the number of my steps; I would approach him like a prince. 38If my land cried out against me And its furrows wept together, 39If I took its yield and did not pay, So their lives ebbed away, who held the land, 40Then may thistles grow for wheat And stinking weeds for barley. The words of Job are ended. Storyteller. 32:1These three now ceased to answer Job, for he was righteous in his own eyes. 2But the anger of Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite of the Ram Clan was kindled, kindled against Job for arguing before God that he was right, 3and kindled against the three friends because they had found no answer and so had put God in the wrong. 4They were older, so Elihu had waited to speak with Job, 5but when he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, then his anger blazed. |
Job stands once more to quiet the crowd. To his friends. Addressing everyone. Job begins to pace back and forth, slowly at first, but then faster and faster. There is a spring in his walk. His health has been fully restored. God's hand has been removed far from him! The scribe hands Job the quill and with a flourish he writes a tav (X) in the scroll. Using the scroll as a prop. He returns the scroll and then paces again, but he speaks more softly. But Job keeps pacing and gesturing to God as the storyteller takes up the transition to Elihu. Job takes his seat at last when Elihu speaks. |
last changed April 29, 1997