The Trial of Job

Job's Complaint

[Radio announcer. They waited until Job spoke.]

^3:1Then Job opened his mouth and cursed his day.
²He raised his voice, saying:

³Curse the day that I was born,
The night that said "A manchild is begot."
⁴Let that day be darkness;
God forget it
And the light shine not upon it.
⁵Murk and terror take it,
Storm and eclipse.
⁶Gloom swallow that night.
Strike it from the calendar;
Erase it from the roll of the months.
⁷May that night be barren
With no cry of joy in it.

⁸Sound the great sea-spells
that call Leviathan;

The Storyteller resettles herself behind Job. Now as the Scribe she will write the words of Job in the same scroll she read from before. Her raven's quill pen is poised.

Job speaks quietly at first, with his head bowed, but he becomes more vehement as he continues. Over the course of the play Job gradually regains his vigor, so his health is completely restored even before
God's appearance at the end of the play.

Job raises his arms to set the fateful seal on the curse.

If the audience can be persuaded that chaos has really been summoned, so much the better, that earthquakes, for instance, might actually happen during the performance. Near the end of the play, God will quell this fear by relating how he defeated Leviathan in battle at the beginning of the world. The story of Job is a retelling of the creation myth, and as such it is also a healing ritual. Done at full pitch, cast and audience together will fall out of normal time into the myth.

Now the four messengers blow their conches, echoing each other eerily. Then just as the audience's eyes have time to spot them, all the house lights go dark. Complete darkness is what is wanted if that is possible. Job's voice rises above the fading conch echoes as the messengers go out.

Stir the depths against that night. ⁹Darken its first twilight stars So it seeks the light in vain And does not find the faintest dawn, ¹⁰For it did not shut my mother's womb, Nor save my eyes from sorrow.
¹¹Why did I not die at birth, Emerge from the womb and expire? ¹²Why was there a lap to cradle me, Breasts for me to suck? ¹³For now I would be lying in peace, Asleep and at rest		Music as the lights come up slowly. Job is disappointed to find he is still there.
¹⁴With the ancient kings and counselors Who built the ruins of the earth, ¹⁵Or with princes who had gold And houses filled with silver. ¹⁶Would I had been hidden like a stillbirth, A babe that never saw the light,		Pointing feebly to the tombs of the rich.
¹⁷There, where the wicked cease strife, Where the weary find rest, ¹⁸Where prisoners take their ease, Ignoring the taskmaster's shouts.		Job indicates the Pit, the common grave for the poor.
¹⁹Small and great alike are there And slave is free from master. ²⁰Why give light to the wretched, Life to the bitter in soul, ²¹Who long for a death that never comes, Seeking it like buried treasure, ²²Who are glad And rejoice greatly to find the grave, ²³Whose way is hidden, Whom God balks at every turn? ²⁴Sighs are my food And groans my drink.		Gesturing down at the earth. He looks at his friends, for the first time.
²⁵The very thing I dread, it comes upon me; What I fear, it comes to me. ²⁶There is no peace for me, no rest, No repose; only trouble comes.		Job looks up to Heaven. It is God whom he fears! He looks at his friends - trouble!
[Radio announcer. Then noble Eliphaz answered Job.] ^4:1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered, saying, *²Perhaps a word* is more than you can bear, But who could be silent now? ³Think how many you have instructed, Giving strength to feeble hands. ⁴Your words have upheld the stumbling, Braced their weak knees. ⁵But now it comes upon you, and you falter; It touches you, and you are overwhelmed. ⁶Is not your fear your assurance, Your blameless conduct your hope? ⁷Can you recall the innocent one who perished Or the righteous one who came to nothing? ⁸In my experience it is those who plow evil And sow trouble that reap the same. ⁹God need only breathe and they perish; At a blast of his anger they are gone. ¹⁰The lion's roar is extinguished, And the growl of the lion on the hunt. ¹¹The mighty lion perishes for lack of prey And the cubs of the lioness are scattered. ¹²A word came furtively to me once, And my ear caught it's whisper. ¹³My thoughts were awhirl from visions of the night; It was the hour when slumber falls upon men. ¹⁴A shiver of horror ran through me And my bones quaked with fear. ¹⁵A breath slid over my face; The hairs of my body bristled. ¹⁶Something was there, but I could not make it out; It was just a form before my eyes. And then I heard a still voice saying,**		Eliphaz is a still powerful sixty years of age, noble of bearing, with flowing gray hair and a full beard nearly white. He speaks with authority in a distinguished baritone voice, and is simply dressed in a fine white robe. He is the same actor in the same costume who played God in the Prologue.
¹⁷"Can an ordinary mortal be just before God? Can even the finest man be purer than his maker?" ¹⁸For when he distrusts his own servants And charges the angels themselves with error, ¹⁹What then of those who dwell in houses of clay That are founded on dust? They are crushed as easily as a moth. ²⁰Morning to evening and they are shattered; They perish and are forever nameless. ²¹Just like a tent whose mainstay is loosened, They collapse and die without wisdom.		Eliphaz wants to bring the saying "just before God" to Job's attention. Perhaps Job, the admired judge, had secretly tried to surpass God in justice. There is a double meaning that is hard to convey in English. To be "just before" also means to be more just than -- more just than God.
		Musical interlude.
^5:1So make your appeal! Will you find an answer? To which of the holy ones will you turn? [Radio announcer. But Job wasn't having any, so Eliphaz decided on stronger medicine.]		Eliphaz looks expectantly at Job, who shrugs and turns away.
²Anger kills the fool And passion takes the easily enticed. ³I have seen the fool take root Until his household is suddenly cursed,		Eliphaz wags his finger. Job sees.
⁴His children abandoned, helpless, Lost in the crush, defenseless at court. ⁵His harvest the hungry consume Down to the last grain among the thorns While robbers thirst after his goods. ⁶Woe does not sprout from the dust And sorrow does not spring from the earth. ⁷A man begets touble As sparks fly up.		The 4 messengers and 3 angels have found seats in the house. Their part now is to encourage the audience to be the jury at Job's trial. Here they hiss Eliphaz for reminding Job of his children. The Crowd onstage are a very vocal group, too, agreeing and disagreeing all along the way in a mumbly buzz.
⁸As for me, I would apply to God And lay my case before God Himself, ⁹Doer of great things unsearchable, Marvels beyond number, ¹⁰Who gives rain upon the earth And sends water upon the open fields, ¹¹Who exalts the lowly And secures the wretched. ¹²He thwarts the plots of the crafty And their hands miss the prize. ¹³He catches the clever in their own guile And their wily schemes are carried headlong. ¹⁴They meet with darkness at noon And grope their way as if day were night. ¹⁵Thus he rescues the simple from the sword And the poor from the hands of the strong. ¹⁶Thus the humble have hope And evil's mouth is stopped. ¹⁷Happy is the man whom God corrects; Accept, therefore, the discipline of the Almighty. ¹⁸For he wounds, but he binds up; He strikes a blow, but his hand also heals. ¹⁹From six troubles he will save you; In seven no harm will come to you. ²⁰In famine he will keep you from starvation, In war from the stroke of the sword. ²¹Evil sayings will have no power over you; Approaching ruin will not frighten you.		Kindly spoken again.
²²At destruction and famine you will laugh; Wild beasts you'll need not fear. ²³For you will be in league with the stones of the field And at peace with the beasts of the earth. ²⁴You will know that your tent is secure, Inspect your flocks and miss nothing. ²⁵You will know that your descendants are many, Your offspring as the grass of the earth. ²⁶You will come in full vigor to the grave As a sheaf of wheat in its season is reaped. ²⁷All this we have confirmed; it is true. Now hear it and know it yourself.		This line is the source of Job's harshest criticism of God, that God laughs at the despair of the innocent. Job hears the irony and laughs with a gesture to the audience. This gesture will be picked up later by Job's friends.
[Radio announcer. Job was not pleased with Eliphaz' talk about the anger of the fool.] ^6:1Then Job answered, saying: ²Would that my vexation might be weighed With all my ills added into the balance! ³They outweigh the sands of the sea; That is why my words are like a drunkard's, ⁴For the arrows of the Almighty pierce me; My spirit drinks their poison -- God's terrors are arrayed against me. ⁵Does the wild ox bray when he has grass Or the ox bellow over his fodder?		Eliphaz has angered Job with talk about the passions of the fool. Job sits up straighter.
⁶Can froth be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in dreamer's drool? ⁷I have no appetite for such things; They are like the pain in my belly. ⁸Oh that what I have begged be given, That God grant me my hope, ⁹That it please God to crush me, To loose his hand and cut me off. ¹⁰It would be my comfort And I would exult even in throes unsparing, For I have not denied the Holy One's words. ¹¹What strength have I, that I should have hope? What is my end that I should keep on living?		An insulting reference to Eliphaz' dream vision. Job eyes Eliphaz obliquely, but drops his gaze when Eliphaz challenges him.
¹²Is my strength the strength of stones Or is my flesh bronze? ¹³Is there no one who will support me? Has all resource been driven so far away?		Job's friends turn away. Job pauses, hoping to be contradicted. But his friends have lost sympathy for him.
¹⁴Loyalty is due a sick friend, Even if he renounce the fear of the Almighty. ¹⁵My brothers are treacherous as a desert stream; They are like a wadi that overflows its banks, ¹⁶Running dark with ice		Aside. Renouncing fear of the Almighty is an unthinkable for Job, but under the impact of losing his friends, he is struck by his own words.
And swollen with the snow melt. ¹⁷But comes the heat, they vanish, A new season and they fade. ¹⁸Caravans change their course; They go off in the desert and perish. ¹⁹The caravans of Tema look; The travelers of Sheba yearn. ²⁰But they are confounded and disappointed Who come trusting the promise of water. ²¹So are you to me, And I to you am but a sight and a fright.		Job's friends confer.
²²Have I asked you to make me a gift Or ransom me with your wealth? ²³Have I said, "rescue me from my enemy" Or "save me from brigands"? ²⁴Teach me and I will say no more; Show me where I have been wrong. ²⁵Honest reproof can be savored, But your arguments, what are they? ²⁶To fault a man's words, is that your intent, *A despairing man's talk as so much wind?* ²⁷Would you cast lots over an orphan, too, Or sell a friend if you could get your price? [Radio announcer. At that, Job's friends got up to go, and would have, if he hadn't called them back.] ²⁸Now look at me, please; Would I lie to your face? ²⁹Give over this injustice, I pray you; For my righteousness' sake, relent. ³⁰Is there wickedness on my tongue? Can my mouth not tell one word from another?		The three begin to leave, but Job's softer tone now stops them. Eliphaz does look back back at Job, who drops his gaze once more.

Continued...
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last changed November 17, 2014