http://gospeltranslations.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Job%2C_Part_3 2026-04-20T18:35:41Z Revision history for this page on the wiki MediaWiki 1.16alpha http://gospeltranslations.org/w/index.php?title=Job,_Part_3&diff=14455&oldid=prev 2008-10-12T21:52:06Z

<p>New page: {{info}}Some days the swelling pinched his eyes&lt;br&gt;Shut, so he couldn&#39;t see the flies&lt;br&gt;That gorged their black bellies in&lt;br&gt;The putrid pus that seeped like thin&lt;br&gt;And yellow sap from c...</p> <p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{info}}Some days the swelling pinched his eyes&lt;br&gt;Shut, so he couldn't see the flies&lt;br&gt;That gorged their black bellies in&lt;br&gt;The putrid pus that seeped like thin&lt;br&gt;And yellow sap from crimson bark&lt;br&gt;Built up with dreadful days of dark&lt;br&gt;And drying blood. Only his wife&lt;br&gt;Dared touch his cloak, and with a knife&lt;br&gt;Relieve at times some throbbing boil,&lt;br&gt;And with her own bare hands pour oil&lt;br&gt;On his malignant neck and smooth&lt;br&gt;It down along his back to soothe&lt;br&gt;His pain. As days and weeks went by,&lt;br&gt;The quiet news that Job might die&lt;br&gt;Spread down to Teman and the clan&lt;br&gt;Of Eliphaz the Wise, and ran&lt;br&gt;Its course along the western way&lt;br&gt;Among the Arab tribes, who say&lt;br&gt;Their father was the ancient chief&lt;br&gt;Named Shuah, known for proverbs, brief&lt;br&gt;And penetrating to the soul,&lt;br&gt;Where Bildad had his school, and stole&lt;br&gt;The hearts of all the Shuhite men.&lt;br&gt;The news went northward too, and when&lt;br&gt;It reached the town of Tadimor,&lt;br&gt;The old man Zophar wept, and wore&lt;br&gt;His grieving robe as he set out&lt;br&gt;To meet with Bildad on the route&lt;br&gt;From Babylon, and then connect&lt;br&gt;With Eliphaz — all three bedecked&lt;br&gt;For burying their friend, if they&lt;br&gt;Should come in time.&amp;nbsp;<br /> <br /> Eight weeks, one day,&lt;br&gt;And seven painful hours had passed&lt;br&gt;Since Job was struck. &quot;How can I last,&quot;&lt;br&gt;He often thought, &quot;How can I take&lt;br&gt;One hour more and not forsake&lt;br&gt;My God?&quot; <br /> <br /> One afternoon Job raised&lt;br&gt;His pinched and swollen eyes, and praised&lt;br&gt;His God, because he saw three friends.&lt;br&gt;Job said, &quot;O, how your coming lends&lt;br&gt;New strength to this old rotten corpse.&lt;br&gt;'Twas you, Bildad, who said, 'It warps&lt;br&gt;The mind to let it soak too long&lt;br&gt;In solitude.' Behold, no throng&lt;br&gt;Around the mighty Job, well bent,&lt;br&gt;As you would say, and had been spent&lt;br&gt;And broken too, but for my queen,&lt;br&gt;My servant queen, and mirror of&lt;br&gt;My God. But I do need and love&lt;br&gt;Your coming. Sit. And do not touch&lt;br&gt;This corpse. One, only, loves so much&lt;br&gt;As that.&quot; <br /> <br /> Through seven days they sat,&lt;br&gt;And wept with Job, so broken that&lt;br&gt;They could not speak. Job felt the power&lt;br&gt;Of silent love, and every hour&lt;br&gt;Was like a gift. <br /> <br /> But near the end&lt;br&gt;Of seven days a boding blend&lt;br&gt;Of grey and scarlet streaked the sky,&lt;br&gt;And Job waked with a trembling sigh:&lt;br&gt;&quot;I've seen this sky before. It seeps&lt;br&gt;from some great battle in the deeps&lt;br&gt;Of angel-riven heav'n. And if&lt;br&gt;I know the signs, it means some cliff&lt;br&gt;Is in my way. O God, hold on&lt;br&gt;To me. I have no strength. This dawn&lt;br&gt;Is dark'ning over me, and I&lt;br&gt;Do fear another fall may lie&lt;br&gt;Before me in this path of pain.&quot; <br /> <br /> That morning in the dripping rain&lt;br&gt;The words of Eliphaz ripped like&lt;br&gt;A chasm through the heart of Job:&lt;br&gt;&quot;Think now, good friend, and let me probe&lt;br&gt;With you the wisdom of the wise:&lt;br&gt;Have any ears on earth, or eyes&lt;br&gt;Perceived the innocent so slain,&lt;br&gt;Or have the upright ever lain&lt;br&gt;In ashes as we see you lie,&lt;br&gt;Or suffered with such boils? Apply&lt;br&gt;What mind is left to you, and find&lt;br&gt;The cause of this great pain behind&lt;br&gt;Your seeming innocence. And seek&lt;br&gt;Your God in penitence, and keep&lt;br&gt;No longer secret all your sins.&quot; <br /> <br /> Job didn't move, or speak. The winds&lt;br&gt;Of such incriminations crashed&lt;br&gt;Against his stagg'ring soul and smashed&lt;br&gt;The fingers barely grasping to&lt;br&gt;The goodness of his God. &quot;That's true,&lt;br&gt;Great prince of Uz.&quot; The voice belonged&lt;br&gt;To Bildad. &quot;O, whom have you wronged,&lt;br&gt;Once noble Job? For I have learned&lt;br&gt;A hundred proverbs, all concerned&lt;br&gt;With why calamities befall&lt;br&gt;A man. And one thread runs through all:&lt;br&gt;The righteous have a prosperous lot,&lt;br&gt;But those who curse and sin do not.&lt;br&gt;The more your sin is large or small,&lt;br&gt;The more your comforts rise and fall.&lt;br&gt;Uncover what is hidden, friend,&lt;br&gt;And there will be a happy end.&quot; <br /> <br /> With swollen eyes unblinking fixed&lt;br&gt;On Bildad's face, Job felt a mixed&lt;br&gt;Affection in his soul. &quot;I've known&lt;br&gt;These men for decades now. This tone,&lt;br&gt;This thin and artificial slur&lt;br&gt;Against my life does not concur&lt;br&gt;With years of empathy and love.&quot;&lt;br&gt;Job spied the bleeding sky above,&lt;br&gt;And pondered whence this turnabout&lt;br&gt;Had come. And then Zophar spoke out:&lt;br&gt;&quot;Remember, Job, the Lord is high&lt;br&gt;Above the earth, and he can spy&lt;br&gt;Iniquity in any place.&lt;br&gt;There is no hiding sin. The face&lt;br&gt;Of the Almighty is not veiled&lt;br&gt;By man, nor has he ever failed&lt;br&gt;To see and judge. Job, let your sin&lt;br&gt;Be put away, and hide not, in&lt;br&gt;Your tents, the bounty of deceit;&lt;br&gt;And then your days will all be sweet.&quot; <br /> <br /> Job pulled himself up on one side&lt;br&gt;And trembling said, &quot;How can you chide&lt;br&gt;A blameless soul, when God, for naught,&lt;br&gt;Has, like a wounded eagle, caught&lt;br&gt;It in his snare and plucked it bare&lt;br&gt;And broken both its wings? I dare&lt;br&gt;You, friends, to demonstrate your word;&lt;br&gt;Make known to me how I have erred.&lt;br&gt;I am not guilty as you say.&lt;br&gt;And should the great Almighty slay&lt;br&gt;Me in this cage, I will with my&lt;br&gt;Last breath protest your charge, deny&lt;br&gt;My guilt, and call your wisdom vain:&lt;br&gt;Cliches among the dullards; plain&lt;br&gt;And bright as day to all the blind;&lt;br&gt;Green words, unripened in the mind.&lt;br&gt;Whence comes this cure? A crystal ball?&lt;br&gt;Worthless physicians are you all.&quot; <br /> <br /> Then Eliphaz set tenderness&lt;br&gt;aside, and said, &quot;God will not bless&lt;br&gt;A stubborn soul. How great must be&lt;br&gt;Your crime, to hide relentlessly&lt;br&gt;Behind the guise of innocent&lt;br&gt;Travail. I hear the bleak lament&lt;br&gt;Of widows that you must have mocked,&lt;br&gt;And orphans weeping that you locked&lt;br&gt;Outside your doors.&quot; Bildad joined in:&lt;br&gt;&quot;Come, Job, what other cause but sin,&lt;br&gt;Would make God crush your children there?&quot;&lt;br&gt;He pointed to the valley where&lt;br&gt;The house of Zachan used to stand.&lt;br&gt;&quot;You build your fragile hope on sand&lt;br&gt;If you cannot discern the hand&lt;br&gt;Of God in your demise.&quot; <br /> <br /> Job scanned&lt;br&gt;The faces of his friends, if there&lt;br&gt;Might be some opening, or prayer.&lt;br&gt;&quot;O, I discern the hand of God,&lt;br&gt;My friends, I grant no other rod&lt;br&gt;The slightest countenance. What I&lt;br&gt;Deny is not that God on high&lt;br&gt;Makes winds to blow and lightning strike,&lt;br&gt;But that he rules as you might like.&lt;br&gt;I do not know why I lie here&lt;br&gt;And you sit there. But I am clear&lt;br&gt;It is not that I've sinned and you&lt;br&gt;are clean. Your maxims, be they few&lt;br&gt;Or thousands, will not stand before&lt;br&gt;The bar of God. O that some door&lt;br&gt;Were opened to the court of God,&lt;br&gt;And I might make my case unflawed&lt;br&gt;Before the Judge of all the world,&lt;br&gt;And prove this storm has not been hurled&lt;br&gt;Against me or my children there&lt;br&gt;Because of hidden crimes. O spare&lt;br&gt;Me now, my friends, your packages&lt;br&gt;Of God, your simple adages:&lt;br&gt;&quot;Be good and strong, but weak when wrong.&quot;&lt;br&gt;They make good rote and clever song,&lt;br&gt;But do not hold the wisdom of&lt;br&gt;Our God. A whisper from above&lt;br&gt;Is all I have. Yet from it I&lt;br&gt;Have learned through horrid nights that my&lt;br&gt;Redeemer lives, and when my skin&lt;br&gt;Has been destroyed, then from within&lt;br&gt;Shall I behold him on my side,&lt;br&gt;And I will live though I have died.&quot; <br /> <br /> Come let us make with candle three&lt;br&gt;An advent warning by the sea —&lt;br&gt;A signal where the sailors cling&lt;br&gt;To life through reefs of suffering,&lt;br&gt;And need the blast of light and bell:&lt;br&gt;Beware, what here beneath may dwell.&lt;br&gt;Beware of subtle, shrewd assaults,&lt;br&gt;A half-truth can be wholly false.&lt;br&gt;Beware of wisdom made in schools,&lt;br&gt;And proverbs in the mouth of fools.&lt;br&gt;Beware of claims that rise too tall:&lt;br&gt;&quot;the upright stand and wicked fall&quot;&lt;br&gt;Beware the thought that all is vain,&lt;br&gt;In time God's wisdom will be plain.</div>

Greetje