1Jeg lavede en aftale med mine øjne, at de aldrig måtte se med begær på en kvinde.2Hvad ville Gud sige, hvis jeg gjorde det? Ville den Almægtige ikke straffe mig?3Onde mennesker kan forvente at blive straffet, syndere må regne med at ende i ulykke.4Gud ser jo alt, hvad jeg gør, holder øje med hvert skridt, jeg tager.5Har jeg nogen sinde sagt et usandt ord? Har jeg bedraget et andet menneske?6Jeg vil gerne have Gud til at afsige dommen, for han ved, at jeg er uskyldig.7Hvis jeg har handlet imod Guds vilje, hvis mit hjerte har begæret, hvad mit øje så, eller hvis mine hænder har begået en udåd,8så lad en anden få lov at høste, hvad jeg har sået, så er det i orden, hvis alt bliver taget fra mig.9Hvis jeg har ladet mig bedåre af en andens kone, hvis jeg har stået og luret ved min nabos dør,10så er det i orden, at min kone forlader mig, og at en anden mand tager hende i favn.11For begær er en skændig og skamløs synd, en forbrydelse, der fortjener at blive straffet.12Begær er som en fortærende ild, der opbrænder hele ens livsværk.13Hvis jeg havde behandlet mine tjenere uretfærdigt, når de klagede til mig over noget,14så havde Gud ret til at kræve mig til regnskab. Jeg ville ikke have noget at sige til mit forsvar.15For Gud skabte mine tjenere såvel som mig, han skabte os alle på samme måde.16Har jeg nægtet de fattige hjælp eller taget håbet fra de sørgende enker?17Har jeg siddet og nydt min gode mad og nægtet at dele med de forældreløse?18Nej, jeg har altid taget mig kærligt af dem, som var jeg deres egen far eller mor.19Har jeg set en stakkel mangle tøj, en fattig, som savnede et tæppe?20Nej, de takkede mig for det tøj, jeg gav dem, for de fåreskind, de fik at varme sig med.21Hvis jeg har stemt for en dom imod den svage, fordi der var flertal for det i retten,22så gid min arm blev brækket af og min skulder vredet af led.23Jeg har altid frygtet den hellige Guds dom og straffen fra hans umådelige magt.24Har jeg måske sat min lid til mit guld og stolet på min rigdom i stedet for på Gud?25Har jeg bygget min glæde på min velstand i stedet for at bygge på Guds omsorg?26Har jeg kigget på det strålende sollys og den fortryllende månes glans,27så jeg begyndte at tilbede naturen i stedet for at tilbede Gud?28Så ville jeg dermed have fornægtet Gud, og den slags synder skal straffes hårdt.29Er jeg nogensinde brudt ud i jubel, når mine fjender blev ramt af ulykker?30Nej, jeg har aldrig forbandet mine fjender, for det ville være syndigt og ondt.31Har mine tjenestefolk nogensinde sagt, at jeg nægtede den sultne mad?32Nej, for jeg har aldrig vist en fremmed bort, men været gæstfri mod alle og enhver.33Har jeg nogensinde forsøgt at dække over en synd eller gået rundt med en dårlig samvittighed,34fordi jeg var bange for, hvad folk ville sige, og ikke kunne udholde tanken om deres dom?35Jeg ville ønske min sag kom for retten, så den Almægtige kunne afsige sin dom.[1]36Så ville jeg frimodigt møde op i retten og høre på anklagen med fuld opmærksomhed.37Jeg ville aflægge regnskab for alle mine handlinger og forsvare mig selv med værdighed.” Her slutter Jobs forsvarstale.38Har jeg nogensinde forbrudt mig mod jorden, så markerne anklagede mig, og plovfurerne græd?39Har jeg nogensinde nydt jordens afgrøde uden at betale, så de, der havde dyrket jorden, måtte dø af sult?40Lad min mark give tidsler i stedet for hvede og ukrudt i stedet for byg, hvis jeg har handlet sådan. Nu har jeg afsluttet mit forsvar, men jeg ville ønske, jeg kendte anklagen.
1“I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin? (Es 33,15; Matt 5,28)2What would be my portion from God above and my heritage from the Almighty on high? (Job 20,29)3Is not calamity for the unrighteous, and disaster for the workers of iniquity?4Does not he see my ways and number all my steps? (2.Krøn 16,9; Job 14,16; Job 34,21; Ord 5,21; Ord 15,3; Jer 16,17; Jer 32,19; Zak 4,10)5“If I have walked with falsehood and my foot has hastened to deceit;6(Let me be weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity!) (Dan 5,27)7if my step has turned aside from the way and my heart has gone after my eyes, and if any spot has stuck to my hands, (4.Mos 15,39; Job 11,15; Præd 11,9)8then let me sow, and another eat, and let what grows for me[1] be rooted out. (3.Mos 26,16; 5.Mos 28,30; 5.Mos 28,38; Joh 4,37)9“If my heart has been enticed toward a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door, (Job 24,15)10then let my wife grind for another, and let others bow down on her. (2.Mos 11,5; 2.Sam 12,11; Es 47,2; Jer 8,10)11For that would be a heinous crime; that would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges; (3.Mos 20,10; 5.Mos 22,22; Job 31,28)12for that would be a fire that consumes as far as Abaddon, and it would burn to the root all my increase. (Ord 6,27)13“If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant, when they brought a complaint against me,14what then shall I do when God rises up? When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him? (Salm 17,3)15Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb? (Job 34,19; Ord 14,31; Ord 22,2; Ef 6,9)16“If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, (Job 11,20; Job 17,5; Job 22,7)17or have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless has not eaten of it18(for from my youth the fatherless[2] grew up with me as with a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow[3]),19if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, or the needy without covering, (Job 24,7; Job 24,10; Job 29,13)20if his body has not blessed me,[4] and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep, (5.Mos 24,13; Job 29,13)21if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, because I saw my help in the gate, (Job 5,4; Job 22,9)22then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder, and let my arm be broken from its socket.23For I was in terror of calamity from God, and I could not have faced his majesty. (Job 13,11)24“If I have made gold my trust or called fine gold my confidence, (Job 4,6; Job 28,16; Mark 10,24)25if I have rejoiced because my wealth was abundant or because my hand had found much, (5.Mos 8,17; Salm 62,10)26if I have looked at the sun[5] when it shone, or the moon moving in splendor, (5.Mos 4,19; 5.Mos 17,3; 2.Kong 23,5; 2.Kong 23,11; Jer 44,17; Ez 8,16)27and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has kissed my hand,28this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I would have been false to God above. (Job 31,11)29“If I have rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me, or exulted when evil overtook him (Ord 17,5)30(I have not let my mouth sin by asking for his life with a curse), (Matt 5,44; Rom 12,14)31if the men of my tent have not said, ‘Who is there that has not been filled with his meat?’ (2.Mos 16,12; 1.Sam 25,11)32(the sojourner has not lodged in the street; I have opened my doors to the traveler), (1.Mos 19,2; Dom 19,20; Matt 25,35; Heb 13,2)33if I have concealed my transgressions as others do[6] by hiding my iniquity in my heart, (1.Mos 3,8; 1.Mos 3,12; Ord 28,13)34because I stood in great fear of the multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors— (2.Mos 23,2)35Oh, that I had one to hear me! (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!) Oh, that I had the indictment written by my adversary! (Job 13,22; Job 19,23)36Surely I would carry it on my shoulder; I would bind it on me as a crown; (Ord 6,21; Es 9,6; Es 22,22; Zak 6,11)37I would give him an account of all my steps; like a prince I would approach him.38“If my land has cried out against me and its furrows have wept together,39if I have eaten its yield without payment and made its owners breathe their last, (1.Kong 21,16; 1.Kong 21,19; Job 22,6; Luk 10,7; 2.Tim 2,6; Jak 5,4)40let thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended. (1.Mos 3,18)