Книга Иова

The book of Job is called so because it contains a story about him, how he suffered, tempted by the devil, how he defeated him, piously enduring the blows inflicted on him, and how he received everything back doubly and became more famous than he was before. He suffered for seventy years and lived after the misfortunes for one hundred and seventy years, so that all the years of his life were two hundred and forty. Job lived before Moses because he was the fifth descendant of Esau after Abraham. On the occasion of the disasters that befell him, his friends came to him to console him, but they spoke to him speeches so offensive and merciless that it was considered a sin to them. But Job prayed to God for them, and they were forgiven. There are eight conversations between Job and his friends: three with Eliphaz, two with Zophar, and three with Baldad; then conversations with Elius, son of Barachiel, a Buzite. Finally the Lord appears to Job in a storm and a cloud, and Job answers the Lord with two speeches. This is where the book ends. The purpose of this whole book is to teach patience to those who fall into temptation, although their piety is known to everyone; so that they would not be tempted, but would exclaim: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; [as the Lord pleased, so it was done;] blessed be the name of the Lord" ; and again: “naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked I will return” ( Job 1:21 ); and, finally, that they may learn how great is the benefit of patience, for which they can receive a reward like Job. In addition, it is shown here that God is not the author of evil and does not tempt anyone, but all temptations befall people from evil spirits by God’s permission, for the glorification and improvement of people. This book is said to have been compiled by Solomon, unless it is the work of Moses. This is the content of this book, and the order of presentation is as follows. In the beginning it is said that Job lived in the country of Austidia; then Scripture testifies to his pious life, says that he had seven sons and three daughters, and the number of his flocks. His sons, coming to each other, held feasts every day with their three sisters; and Job called them and purified his sons, making a sacrifice for them to God. The Lord's first testimony about Job before the devil; the devil's first slander against Job before the Lord. The Lord gives power to the devil over everything that Job had, except himself. First of all, the devil sends Job news of the capture of his horses and donkeys, and the beating of his servants. The second messenger told Job that his sheep and their shepherds were burned. The third messenger reported to Job about the captivity of the camels and the beating of the servants. The fourth messenger comes to him and says that the house has collapsed and all his children have been killed. Despite all this that happened to Job, he did not sin before the Lord. The second testimony of the Lord before the devil in praise of Job, and the second slander of the devil against Job before the Lord. The Lord betrays Job to him so that his soul remains inviolable. The devil came out and struck Job from head to toe. Job, sitting on a dung heap, scraped his pus. The wife convinces Job to say a word against the Lord and die; but he reproaches her. Job's three friends, Eliphaz the king of Teman, Baldad the ruler of Shebhea, and Zophar the king of Minaea, heard about everything that had happened to him, and came to him, each from his own country, to look at him, and when they saw him, they each tore their clothes at the sight of such a disaster. Under such suffering, Job opened his mouth for the first time and cursed the day and night on which he was born. He said: “The servant is free from his master (Job 3:19), so to the sufferer is given light and life... who wait for death, and it is not” (Job 3:20-21). Would you be overjoyed and delighted that you found the coffin?” ( Job 3:22 ). In response to this, Eliphaz of Teman says to Job: “Remember, did anyone innocent perish, and where were the righteous exterminated? ( Job 4:7 ). The roar of the lion and the voice of the roaring one ceases, and the teeth of the skims are crushed; the mighty lion dies without prey, and the lioness’s children are scattered (Job 4:10–11). There is not a single mortal who would be more righteous than... God. And a husband is purer... than his Creator? ( Job 4:17 ). The foolish, he says, even if they took root, “immediately he cursed his house” (Job.5:3), because “the hungry will eat his harvest and take it from behind the thorns, and the thirsty will devour his property” (Job.5:5). “But man,” he continues, “is born into suffering, like sparks to rush upward” (Job.5:7). The Lord “captures the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the cunning becomes in vain” ( Job 5:13 ); and the Lord delivers the innocent from their needs, “and no evil will touch you the seventh time” (Job 5:19). “This is what we found out; so it is: listen to this and take note for yourself” (Job 5:27). Job’s first response to Eliphaz is this: “Oh, that my cries were truly weighed, and that my suffering were put on the scales along with them! It would surely pull over the sand of the seas! That is why my words are violent” (Job 6:2–3). Also: “Does a wild ass bray on the grass? Does a bull moo at his mash? ( Job 6:5 ). Is the hardness of stones my hardness? And is my flesh copper? ( Job 6:12 ) Again: “Is not a time appointed for man on earth, and are not his days like the days of a hired servant?” ( Job 7:1 ) Also: “If I have sinned, what will I do to You, O guardian of men! Why did You make me your enemy, so that I became a burden to myself?” ( Job 7:20 ). After Eliphaz, the second to speak to Job is Baldad of Sheba: “How long will you speak like this? - the words of your mouth are a stormy wind! Does God pervert judgment, and the Almighty pervert righteousness?” ( Job 8:2–3 ). And again: “Does reed rise without moisture? does reed grow without water? It is still fresh and uncut, but dries up before any grass. Such are the ways of all who forget God, and the hope of the hypocrite will perish” (Job 8:11-13). Job’s first response to Baldad is: “True! I know it is; but how can a person be justified before God? ( Job 9:2 ). Also: “He alone spreads out the heavens and walks on the heights of the sea” (Job 9:8). “If you act by force, then He is powerful; if by judgment, who will bring me together with Him? If I make excuses, my own lips will accuse me; if I am innocent, then He will find me guilty” (Job 9:19-20). And again: “My days are swifter than a messenger; they run, they see no good, they rush like light boats, like an eagle striving for prey” (Job 9:25–26). “Remember that You molded me like clay and turned me to dust? Wasn’t it You who poured me out like milk and thickened me like curds” (Job.10:9-10), etc. “Let me, as if I had never been, be carried from the womb to the tomb” (Job.10:19). After Eliphaz, Baldad speaks, and after Baldad, Zophar the Minaean, in turn, since each of them hoped to say something better to Job. “Is it impossible to answer many words,” says Zophar, “and is a man of many words right?” ( Job 11:2 ). “Then you will lift up your unblemished face, and you will be strong and not be afraid. Then you will forget grief: you will remember it like passing water. And your life will go clearer than half a day; You will become as bright as the morning” (Job 11:15–17). Job’s first response to Zophar is: “Truly, only you are men, and wisdom will die with you! And I have a heart like you” (Job 12:2-3). Again: “Who in all this does not recognize that the hand of the Lord has done this? In His hand is the soul of every living thing and the spirit of all human flesh” (Job 12:9–10). “He will stop the waters and everything will dry up; let them go, and they will transform the earth” (Job 12:15). Again: “Who will be born clean from an unclean? None. If his days are determined, and the number of his months is with You, if You have set a limit for him, which he will not cross” (Job 14:4-5). And again: “There is hope for a tree that, even if it is cut down, it will come to life again, and branches will not stop coming out of it” (Job 14:7). “And man dies and disintegrates; went away, and where is he? ( Job 14:10 ). The second series of conversations begins like this. Eliphaz says to Job: “Will a wise man answer with empty knowledge and fill his belly with the scorching wind (Job 15:2)? It is your mouth that accuses you, and not I” (Job 15:6). And again: “What is man, that he should be pure, and that he that is born of a woman should be righteous?” ( Job 15:14 ). Job’s second response to Eliphaz is: “I have heard many such things; you are all pathetic comforters! ( Job 16:2 ). And now here is my Witness in heaven, and my Protector in the highest! ( Job 16:19 ). Oh, that man could have a rivalry with God, as the son of man has with his neighbor!” ( Job 16:21 ). And again: “And they want to turn night into day, to bring light closer to the face of darkness. Even if I began to wait, then the underworld is my home; in darkness I will make my bed; I will say to the grave, You are my father; to the worm, You are my mother and my sister” (Job 17:12–14). After him, Baldad again says to Job: “When will you put an end to such speeches? Think it over, and then we'll talk. Why should we be considered animals and be humiliated in your own eyes? O you who rend your soul in your wrath! Is it possible for you to let the earth become desolate and the rock to move from its place?” ( Job 18:2–4 ). Job answers Baldad for the second time: “How long will you torment my soul and torment me with your speeches? Behold, you have already disgraced me ten times and are not ashamed to oppress me” (Job 19:2-3). Again: “He stripped off my glory and took the crown from my head. All around I have been ruined, and I am leaving; and like a tree He has plucked out my hope” (Job 19:9–10). And again: “He has removed my brothers from me, and those who know me are strangers to me (Job 19:13). I call my servant, and he does not answer; with my lips I must plead with him. My breath is disgusting to my wife, and I must beg her for the sake of the children of my womb. Even little children despise me: I rise up, and they mock me” (Job 19:16–18). “Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, my friends, for the hand of God has touched me. Why do you persecute me like God, and cannot be satisfied with my flesh? Oh, if only my words were written down! ( Job 19:21–23 ). I will see God in my flesh. I will see Him myself; my eyes, not the eyes of another, will see Him. My heart melts in my chest! You should say: why are we pursuing him? It's as if the root of evil was found in me. Fear the sword, for the sword is the avenger of iniquity, and know that there is judgment” (Job 19:26–29). Then for the second time Zophar says to Job: “My thoughts prompt me to answer, and I hasten to express them” (Job 20:2). Also: “The joy of the wicked is short-lived, and the joy of the hypocrite is momentary (Job 20:5). Like his dung, he is lost forever” (Job 20:7). And again: “His bones are filled with the sins of his youth, and with him they will lie in the dust. If evil is sweet in his mouth, he hides it under his tongue (Job 20:11-12). This food of his in his womb will turn into the bile of asps within him. The property that he swallowed will vomit: God will tear him out of his womb (Job 20:14-15). He will return what he has acquired through labor, and will not swallow it; As he has, his retribution will come, but he will not rejoice. For he oppressed, sent away the poor; captured houses that he did not build (Job 20:18–19). A copper bow will pierce him; will begin to take out the arrow, and it will come out of the body, come out, sparkling through its bile; the horrors of death will come upon him! ( Job 20:24–25 ). This is the destiny of the wicked man from God and the inheritance assigned to him by the Almighty!” ( Job 20:29 ). Job’s second answer to Zophar is this: “Listen carefully to my speech, and this will be my consolation from you (Job 21:2). Is my speech to a person? How can I not be cowardly? ( Job 21:4 ). Why do the lawless live, reach old age, and are strong in strength? ( Job 21:7 ). The ox impregnates them and does not throw them out, the cow conceives them and does not throw them out (Job 21:10). And yet they say to God: get away from us, we do not want to know Your ways! What is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what is the use of resorting to Him? ( Job 21:14–15 ). But can God be taught wisdom when He judges those above? ( Job 21:22 ). I know your thoughts and the tricks that you weave against me” (Job 21:27). And again: “You will say: where is the prince’s house (Job 21:28)? On the day of destruction the evildoer is spared (Job 21:30), and a crowd of people follows him” (Job 21:33). After this, Eliphaz said for the third time: “Can a man benefit God? A reasonable person benefits himself. What pleasure is it to the Almighty that you are righteous? And will He benefit from your keeping your ways pure?” ( Job 22:2–3 ). “You,” Eliphaz continues to say to Job, “sent widows away empty-handed and left orphans empty-handed” (Job 22:9). “And you say: what does God know? can He judge through darkness? ( Job 22:13 ). They told God: get away from us! And what will the Almighty do to them? ( Job 22:17 ). And again: “And the Almighty will be your gold and your shining silver (Job 22:25). For then you will rejoice in the Almighty and lift up your face to God. You will pray to Him, and He will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows (Job.22:26-27), and ... he will deliver the innocent, and he will be saved by the purity of your hands” (Job.22:30). Job’s third answer to Eliphaz is this: “Even now my speech is bitter: my sufferings are heavier than my groans (Job 23:2). Let Him just pay attention to me (Job.23:6). They move boundaries, drive away flocks and graze at home (Job.24:2), ...naked spend the night without cover and without clothing in the cold” (Job.24:7). “He is light on the surface of the water, cursed is his part on the earth, and he does not look at the road of the vineyards. Drought and heat swallow up the snowy water; so does the grave swallow up sinners” (Job 24:18–19). Then for the third time Baldad says: “The power and the fear are with Him; He creates peace on His heights! Is there an account of His armies? And on whom does His light not rise? And how can a person be right before God, and how can one born of a woman be pure? ( Job 25:2–4 ). Much less is man, who is a worm, and the son of man, who is a moth” (Job 25:6). Job’s third answer to Baldad is: “How have you helped the powerless, strengthened the arm of the weak (Job 26:2)? The underworld is naked before Him (Job 26:6)... He spread out the north over the void, hung the earth on nothing. He encloses the waters in His clouds, and the cloud does not disperse under them (Job.26:7-8), ...His hand formed a swift scorpion” (Job.26:13). Since Zophar did not speak a third time, and the first two fell silent, having no more words on their lips, because Job had proven his righteousness, Job begins to talk about it a second time, and they listen silently, for their own benefit. “As the Lord lives,” he says, “he has deprived me of judgment, and the Almighty has grieved my soul, so that as long as my breath is in me and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, my mouth will not speak unrighteousness, and my tongue will not utter a lie!” ( Job 27:2–4 ). “I will tell you what is in the hand of God... (Job 27:11) Behold, you have seen it all yourself; and why are you talking so much? This is the portion of the wicked man from God, and the inheritance that the oppressors receive from the Almighty (Job 27:12-13). If his sons multiply, it is by the sword; and his descendants will not be satisfied with bread (Job 27:14), ...and their widows will not weep. If he collects heaps of silver... ( Job 27:15–16 ), ... so! Silver has a source, and gold has a place where it is melted. Iron comes from the earth; copper is smelted from the stone" (Job 28:1-2). “And his eye sees all that is precious” (Job 28:10). “But where is wisdom found?” ( Job 28:12 ). “The Abyss says: It is not in me; and the sea says, “Not mine” (Job 28:14). “And there is nothing to mention about corals and pearls, and the acquisition of wisdom is higher than rubies. Ethiopian topaz is not equal to it; It is not valued with pure gold” (Job 28:18–19). “God knows her way, and He knows her place. For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees under the whole heaven. When He assigned weight to the wind and arranged the water according to measure” (Job 28:23–25). “And he said to the man, Behold, the fear of the Lord is true wisdom, and shunning evil is understanding” (Job 28:28). Since all three were silent, Job began to speak again: “Oh, that I were as in the previous months, as in those days when God protected me, when His lamp shone over my head, and by His light I walked among the darkness (Job.29:2-3), ... when I went out to the gates of the city and set up my seat in the square (Job.29:7). I saved the crying sufferer and the helpless orphan (Job 29:12). The blessing of the perishing one came to me, and I brought joy to the widow’s heart (Job 29:13). I was the eyes of the blind and the feet of the lame; I was a father to the poor, and I examined the litigation, which I did not know, carefully (Job.29:15-16). I broke the jaws of the wicked and plucked from his teeth the stolen goods” (Job 29:17). “After my words they no longer reasoned; my speech fell upon them” (Job 29:22). “I appointed their paths and sat at their head and lived as a king in the circle of soldiers, as a comforter to those who mourn” (Job 29:25). “Outcast people, people without a name, the scum of the earth! I have now become their song and the food of their conversation (Job 30:8-9). They abhor me, withdraw from me, and do not refrain from spitting in my face” (Job 30:10). “He threw me into the mud, and I became like dust and ashes” (Job.30:19), “You have become cruel to me, with a strong hand you fight against me” (Job.30:21). “I have become a brother to the jackals and a friend to the ostriches” (Job 30:29). “If my heart was seduced by a woman and I built forts at my neighbor’s door (Job 31:9), let my wife attack another (Job 31:10). Because this is a crime, this is lawlessness, subject to judgment” (Job 31:11). “If I saw someone perishing without clothing and the poor without covering (Job.31:19), did not his loins bless me, and was he not warmed by the wool of my sheep” (Job.31:20)? “Let my shoulder fall from my back, and let my arm be broken off from my elbow” (Job 31:22). “Did I rejoice at the death of my enemy and triumph when misfortune befell him? I did not allow my lips to sin by cursing his soul” (Job 31:29-30). “I would tell him the number of my steps, I would become close to him as to a prince. If my land cried out against me and its furrows complained against me (Job 31:37–38), ... instead of wheat, thistle grows and instead of barley, cockle” (Job 31:40). The next story is about Elius the son of Barachiel, a Buzite, who was angry with Job because he called himself righteous before the Lord. “And Elihu the son of Barachiel, the Buzite, answered and said, “I am young in years, but you are old men; therefore I was timid and afraid to tell you my opinion” (Job 32:6). When the three were silent, Elius stood up and shamelessly spoke against Job: “For I am full of speeches, and the spirit within me oppresses me” (Job.32:18); and then continues: “The Spirit of God created me, and the breath of the Almighty gave me life. If you can, answer me and stand before me” (Job 33:4–5). “To lead a person away from any enterprise and remove pride from him (Job 33:17), to lead his soul from the abyss and his life from being struck by the sword. Or he is admonished by sickness on his bed and severe pain in all his bones” (Job 33:18-19). “The flesh disappears from him, so that it is not visible, and his bones are revealed, which were not visible” (Job 33:21). “He will look at people and say: I have sinned and perverted the truth, and it has not been repaid to me” (Job 33:27). Elius also said to Job: “Listen, Job, listen to me, be silent, and I will speak. If you have something to say, answer; speak, for I would desire your justification” (Job 33:31–32). For the third time Elius says: “Listen, O wise men, to my speech, and incline your ear to me, O wise men! For the ear discerns words as the larynx discerns the taste of food” (Job 34:2–3); and continues: “Is there such a man as Job, who drinks mockery like water, joins in fellowship with the workers of iniquity, and walks with wicked people?” ( Job 34:7–8 ). “There cannot be unrighteousness with God or unrighteousness with the Almighty, for He deals with a man according to the works of a man and rewards him according to the ways of a man” (Job 34:10-11). “Is it possible to say to a king: you are a wicked person, and to princes: you are lawless people? But He does not look at the faces of princes and does not prefer the rich to the poor, because they are all the work of His hands” (Job 34:18-19). “He crushes the mighty without examination and puts others in their place” (Job 34:24). “Wise men will say to me, and a wise man who listens to me: Job does not speak wisely, and his words are not meaningful” (Job 34:34–35). For the fourth time Elius says to Job: “Do you consider it fair that you said: I am more right than God?” ( Job 35:2 ) And for the fifth time Elius begins to speak, and neither Job nor his three friends listen to him, as an atheist - from which it is revealed that these three have come to their senses. He says to Job: “Wait for me a little, and I will show you that I have more to say for God” (Job 36:2); and continues: “Take heed to this, Job; stand and understand the wonderful works of God” (Job 37:14). “Will what I say be made known to Him? Has anyone said that what is said comes to Him?” ( Job 37:20 ). Or “fair weather comes from the north” ( Job 37:22 )? The Lord, who then appeared, justifies Job and, teaching the secret of Christ, says to Job: “Who is this who darkens Providence with words without meaning?” ( Job 38:2 ). The Lord’s speech is as follows: “You shut the sea with gates (Job 38:8), ... and said: Hitherto you will come and not pass over, and is this the limit of your proud waves?” ( Job 38:11 ). Or “so that the earth changes like clay under a seal,” asks the Lord, “and becomes like a coat of many colors” (Job 38:14)? “Have the gates of death been opened for you, and have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?” ( Job 38:17 ). “Have you entered into the storehouses of snow and seen the treasuries of hail” (Job 38:22)? “Which way does the light spread and the east wind spread across the earth?” ( Job 38:24 ) “Who makes the channels for the pouring out of water” ( Job 38:25 )? And also: “Does rain have a father?” ( Job 38:28 ) “From whose belly comes ice, and the frost of heaven, who gives birth to it?” ( Job 38:29 ). “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds so that the waters may cover you in abundance? Can you send lightning, and will they go and say to you: here we are? ( Job 38:34–35 ). “Who put wisdom into the heart, or who gave meaning to the mind?” ( Job 38:36 ). “Who prepares the crow’s food when its chicks cry to God, wandering without food?” ( Job 38:41 ). “Did you give beautiful wings to the peacock and feathers and down to the ostrich? He leaves his eggs on the ground and warms them on the sand (Job.39:13–14) ... because God did not give him wisdom and did not give him meaning (Job.39:17); ...is mocked by the horse” (Job 39:18). “Does the hawk fly by your wisdom (Job 39:26); ...is it at your word that the eagle ascends and builds its nest on high?” ( Job 39:27 ). And the Lord also said to Job: “Will he who competes with the Almighty still teach? He who reproaches God, let him answer Him” (Job 39:32). Job answered the Lord: “Behold, I am worthless; How will I answer You? I put my hand on my mouth” (Job 39:34). The Lord, appearing to Job for the second time, said to him from the cloud: “Gird up your loins like a man: I will ask you, and you explain to Me” (Job 40:2). “Then I also admit,” says the Lord, “that your right hand is able to save you. This is the hippopotamus that I created, just like you; he eats grass like an ox (Job 40:9–10). Behold, his strength is in his loins, and his strength in the muscles of his belly; turns his tail like a cedar; the veins on his thighs are intertwined (Job.40:11–12); his legs are like copper pipes; his bones are like iron rods (Job 40:13); ...he lies down under the shady trees” (Job 40:16). “Can you pull out Leviathan with a fish and grab his tongue with a rope?” ( Job 40:20 ). “Can you pierce his skin with a spear and his head with a fisherman’s point?” ( Job 40:26 ). “The sword that touches him will not stand, neither the spear, nor the javelin, nor the armor. He considers iron as straw, copper as rotten wood” (Job 41:18–19). Thus spoke the Lord, and Job concluded his speech with the following words: “I know that You can do everything, and that Your purpose cannot be stopped. Who is this one who darkens Providence, not understanding anything? “So, I spoke about things that I did not understand, about things that were wonderful to me, which I did not know” (Job 42:2-3). “Therefore I renounce and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6). The Lord reproaches Eliphaz the Temanite: “The Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: My anger burns against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me as truly as My servant Job” (Job 42:7). Then a sacrifice was made for the three friends by Job, the priest of God. It goes on to say how the Lord enriched Job, and how, through his prayer for his friends, the Lord forgave them their sin. When all Job's relatives heard about this, they came to him, ate and drank with him, were amazed at him and each gave him one lamb and four gold drachmas. It is written about him that he will rise with those whom the Lord will raise. This is the entire content of the book of Job. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: