וַיֹּסֶף אִיּוֹב שְׂאֵת מְשָׁלוֹ וַיֹּאמַר׃

Job again took up his oration, or parable, and said:

חַי־אֵל הֵסִיר מִשְׁפָּטִי וְשַׁדַּי הֵמַר נַפְשִׁי

As God lives, I take an oath in the name of God, though He has averted my justice, and the Almighty, though He has embittered my soul,

כִּי־כָל־עוֹד נִשְׁמָתִי בִי וְרוּחַ אֱלוֹהַּ בְּאַפִּי

that as long as my soul is in me and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, as long as I am alive,

אִם תְּדַבֵּרְנָה שְׂפָתַי עַוְלָה וּלְשׁוֹנִי אִם יֶהְגֶּה רְמִיָּה

my lips will not speak injustice, and my tongue will not utter deceit.

חָלִילָה לִּי אִם־אַצְדִּיק אֶתְכֶם עַד־אֶגְוָע לֹא־אָסִיר תֻּמָּתִי מִמֶּנִּי

Far be it from me to justify the arguments you put forward, even though I confront a puzzle that I cannot solve; until I expire, I will not set aside my virtuousness from myself. I will not sin by agreeing with you, for if I confess to sins that I have not committed, I will have betrayed my integrity and impaired my ability to walk wholly with God.

בְּצִדְקָתִי הֶחֱזַקְתִּי וְלֹא אַרְפֶּהָ לֹא־יֶחֱרַף לְבָבִי מִיָּמָי

I have held on to my righteousness, and I will not relent; my heart has not shamed me, I have not entertained any shameful thoughts, all my days.

יְהִי כְרָשָׁע אֹיְבִי וּמִתְקוֹמְמִי כְעַוָּל

Let my enemy be considered like the wicked, and they who oppose me like the unjust. Job is speaking of the bitter end of the wicked. While his friends were alluding to him when they engaged in such talk, Job believes in his own righteousness, and refers to the harsh retribution that he believes awaits them.

כִּי מַה־תִּקְוַת חָנֵף כִּי יִבְצָע כִּי יֵשֶׁל אֱלוֹהַּ נַפְשׁוֹ

For what is the hope of the hypocrite, the wicked, when he profits, if he steals; after all, he will derive no benefit from his sin, as God will disburden him of, throw away, his life?

הצַעֲקָתוֹ יִשְׁמַע אֵל כִּי תָבוֹא עָלָיו צָרָה

Will God hear his, the wicked man’s, cry when trouble comes upon him?

אִם־עַל־שַׁדַּי יִתְעַנָּג יִקְרָא אֱלוֹהַּ בְּכָל־עֵת

Will he delight in the Almighty and call to God at all times? Since the wicked man is not close to God, he will not merit His assistance.

אוֹרֶה אֶתְכֶם בְּיַד־אֵל אֲשֶׁר עִם שַׁדַּי לֹא אֲכַחֵד

I will instruct you about the hand of God; I can state that everything is entrusted into the hands of God; I will not deny that it is with the Almighty. God has power over all.

הֵן אַתֶּם כֻּלְּכֶם חֲזִיתֶם וְלָמָּה־זֶּה הֶבֶל תֶּהְבָּלוּ

Behold, all of you have seen it, what goes on in the world; why are you blathering this futility? Why do you make such empty statements?

זֶה חֵלֶק־אָדָם רָשָׁע עִם־אֵל וְנַחֲלַת עָרִיצִים מִשַּׁדַּי יִקָּחוּ

This, the punishment detailed below, is the portion of a wicked person, which is kept for him with God and it is the lot that the mighty ones receive from the Almighty.

אִם־יִרְבּוּ בָנָיו לְמוֹ חָרֶב וְצֶאֱצָאָיו לֹא יִשְׂבְּעוּ־לָחֶם

If his children are many, it, his progeny, is for the sword, and his offspring will not have their fill of bread; they will experience shortage and hunger.

שְׂרִידָיו בַּמָּוֶת יִקָּבֵרוּ וְאַלְמְנֹתָיו לֹא תִבְכֶּינָה

His survivors, those who were not destroyed by the sword, will be buried by pestilence, and his widows will not cry, as there will be no surviving widows, or because the widows will be too preoccupied with their own cares to mourn, or because their captors will not permit them to eulogize their late husbands.

אִם־יִצְבֹּר כֶּעָפָר כָּסֶף וְכַחֹמֶר יָכִין מַלְבּוּשׁ

If he, the wicked, amasses much silver, like dust, which is accessible to all, and assembles a great deal of garments, like the plentiful dirt of the mountains,

יָכִין וְצַדִּיק יִלְבָּשׁ וְכֶסֶף נָקִי יַחֲלֹק

he will assemble those garments, but it will be the righteous who will don them; and of the silver he amassed, the innocent will partake, receive.

בָּנָה כעָשׁ בֵּיתוֹ וכְסֻכָּה עָשָׂה נֹצֵר

He has built his house like the thin cocoon of a moth pupa. His house will be unstable and will not protect him, and it will be flimsy, like a booth made by a watchman. Such booths were designed to last for only a brief period.

עָשִׁיר יִשְׁכַּב וְלֹא יֵאָסֵף עֵינָיו פָּקַח וְאֵינֶנּוּ

He will lie down due to illness when he is rich, but he will not so die. He will pass away without all his wealth, for when he has opened his eyes, he is still alive, and it is not. His wealth is gone, as it has been plundered while he lay ill.

תַּשִּׂיגֵהוּ כמַּיִם בַּלָּהוֹת לַיְלָה גְּנָבַתּוּ סוּפָה

Terrors, or demons and other harmful beings, will overtake him and wash him away like water; a storm abducts him at night.

יִשָּׂאֵהוּ קָדִים וְיֵלַךְ וִישָׂעֲרֵהוּ מִמְּקֹמוֹ

The east wind will pick him up, and he will be gone; it, the storm, sweeps him from his place.

וְיַשְׁלֵךְ עָלָיו וְלֹא יַחְמֹל מִיָּדוֹ בָּרוֹחַ יִבְרָח

He will cast upon him His anger, and will have no compassion; it, his wealth, or he, the one who would previously help him, will flee from his hand.

יִשְׂפֹּק עָלֵימוֹ כַפֵּימוֹ וְיִשְׁרֹק עָלָיו מִמְּקֹמוֹ

He, the wicked person, will clap his hands over it in a gesture of worry and sorrow, and howl and hiss in astonishment over it, his former helper or his lost wealth, from his place.