1 ① My eyes have seen all this,
my ears have heard and understood.
2What you know, I also know;
I am not inferior to you.
3But I would like to speak to the Almighty,
I want to plead my case with God.
4You are glossing over the problem
and offering false remedies.
5If only you would keep silent,
that would at least be wisdom.
6Hear now my argument;
listen to my defense.
7Will you speak falsely for God?
Will you defend him with false inventions?
8Will you side with him
and advocate on his behalf?
9What if he examines you?
Could he be deceived as people are?
10He will rebuke you for sure
if in secret you show partiality.
11You will be terrified by his majesty,
and you will be in dread of him.
12Heaps of ashes are your maxims;
mounds of clay are your defenses.
13 ② So keep silent and let me speak;
this will be at my own risk.
14I am putting myself in jeopardy
and gambling for my life.
15Though he may slay me,
I will still argue with him;
16and this boldness might even save me
for godless do not dare draw near him.
17Carefully listen to my words,
give my case a hearing.
18I will proceed in due form
believing that I am guiltless.
19If anyone makes good his charges,
I am ready to be silenced and die.
20Only grant me these two things, O God,
and from you I will not hide:
21Withdraw your hand far from me,
and do not frighten me with your terrors.
22Summon me and I will respond;
or let me speak and then have your reply.
23What are my faults, what are my sins?
Make them all known to me.
24Why hide your face from me
and consider me your enemy?
25Why torment a wind-blown leaf
or pursue a withered straw?
26But you search for accusations
and you recall the sins of my youth.
27You shackle my feet,
keep watch on all my paths
and mark out my footsteps.
- Job 13,1 Faced with a meaningless life, human wisdom does not have an adequate answer. So Job accuses these wise men who pretend to justify God while forgetting reality (13:1-6). Will you defend God with false inventions (v. 7)? It is better to keep quiet and admit our own ignorance. This boldness might even save me (v. 16). Job is so convinced that God is just that he wants to force him to break his silence. Perhaps God will make him die because of his boldness but, at least, Job will have had an answer and he will know why he dies (13:13-20). Job's bold attitude corrects the widespread image of a believer as one who accepts with resignation without trying to understand. Job does not fall down before God like a slave, but rather, being conscious of his dignity in the eyes of his Maker, he asks for an explanation. Job 13,13 In 14:13-17 Job mentions the place of the dead, or Sheol, or netherworld, where the Jews thought that, after death, they would have some semblance of life, but would be more like prisoners far from Yahweh than like human beings who are alive and praise God (see Is 38:18-19). When someone has been called and loved by God he can no longer accept that he will disappear forever. And if God were to let him survive in a place not close to God, he would always long to reach God: I would wait for my release, You would call and I would answer you. In chapters 15-18 everyone proceeds without listening to the other: Job expresses his despair and his friends repeat their conviction that misfortunes are for the wicked.
- Job 13,1 Faced with a meaningless life, human wisdom does not have an adequate answer. So Job accuses these wise men who pretend to justify God while forgetting reality (13:1-6). Will you defend God with false inventions (v. 7)? It is better to keep quiet and admit our own ignorance. This boldness might even save me (v. 16). Job is so convinced that God is just that he wants to force him to break his silence. Perhaps God will make him die because of his boldness but, at least, Job will have had an answer and he will know why he dies (13:13-20). Job's bold attitude corrects the widespread image of a believer as one who accepts with resignation without trying to understand. Job does not fall down before God like a slave, but rather, being conscious of his dignity in the eyes of his Maker, he asks for an explanation. Job 13,13 In 14:13-17 Job mentions the place of the dead, or Sheol, or netherworld, where the Jews thought that, after death, they would have some semblance of life, but would be more like prisoners far from Yahweh than like human beings who are alive and praise God (see Is 38:18-19). When someone has been called and loved by God he can no longer accept that he will disappear forever. And if God were to let him survive in a place not close to God, he would always long to reach God: I would wait for my release, You would call and I would answer you. In chapters 15-18 everyone proceeds without listening to the other: Job expresses his despair and his friends repeat their conviction that misfortunes are for the wicked.
