איוב לגJob 33
But now, Job, listen to my words,Give ear to all that I say.
Now I open my lips;My tongue forms words in my mouth.
My words bespeak the uprightness of my heart;My lips utter insight honestly.
The spirit of God formed me;The breath of Shaddai sustains me.
If you can, answer me;Argue against me, take your stand.
You and I are the same before God;I too was nipped from clay.
You are not overwhelmed by fear of me;My pressure does not weigh heavily on you.
Indeed, you have stated in my hearing,I heard the words spoken,
“I am guiltless, free from transgression;I am innocent, without iniquity.
But [God] finds reasons to oppose me,And considers me an enemy.
My feet are placed in stocks,And all my ways are watched.”
In this you are not right;I will answer you: God is greater than any mortal.
Why do you level the complaintThat there is no reply to anyone’s charges?
For God speaks time and again—Though no one perceives it—
In a dream, a night vision,When deep sleep falls on everyone,While they slumber on their beds.
Then everyone’s understanding is opened,And God’s signature is left by disciplining them—
To turn a mortal away from an action,To suppress pride in a man.
[God] spares him from the Pit,His person, from perishing by the sword.
He is reproved by pains on his bed,And the trembling in his bones is constant.
He detests food;Fine food [is repulsive] to him.
His flesh wastes away till it cannot be seen,And his bones are rubbed away till they are invisible.
He comes close to the Pit,His life [verges] on death.
If he has a representative,One advocate against a thousandTo declare the person upright,
Then [God] has mercy on him and decrees,“Redeem him from descending to the Pit,For I have obtained his ransom;
Let his flesh be healthier than in his youth;Let him return to his younger days.”
He prays to God, who accepts him;He enters the divine presence with shouts of joy,For [God] requites humans for their righteousness.
The contrite person declares to all,“I have sinned; I have perverted what was right;But I was not paid back for it.”
He is redeemed from passing into the Pit;He, “me…I.” will enjoy the light.
Truly, God does all these thingsTwo or three times to a man,
To bring him back from the Pit,That he may bask in the light of life.
Pay heed, Job, and hear me;Be still, and I will speak;
If you have what to say, answer me;Speak, for I am eager to vindicate you.
But if not, you listen to me;Be still, and I will teach you wisdom.