Job Expounded, Commentary on Job · Chapter 13
¶ THE SVMME AND ORDER of the xiii. Chapter.
TSophar had before in the 11. chapter ver. 5. verie confidently reproued Iob, for that he had appealed vntounto God, as if his intent therein had bene onlie this, namelie to pleade his cause against God. Iob maketh aunswere, that not vponupon any presumption but trustinge to the goodnes of his cause, and to the assurance of an vpright conscience, he was so farr from recallinge that which he had once desired at Gods hands (and which in the ende he obtained beyonde all expectation of his aduersaries, as wee shall heare afterwarde in the 38. chapter) that he wisheth not, nor seketh for any thinge more earnestlie: not that euer it came in his minde to stande in contention with God about his alwaies most iust wisedome, or to present him selfe before Gods iudgement seat, as eueryevery way guiltles and vnreproueable, but because he desired to defende his innocencie against there slanderous accusatiōs, yea & to maintaine gods iustice against them, in the presence and iudgement of God him selfe. For he sheweth that their opinion concerning God can not stand nor take place, wheras they attribute that to God, which cannot possibly agree with his nature; by how much more vniustlie they dealt with him, falslie accusing him, as if with horrible impietie he had charged God with iniustice. All which is conteined in the former part of this Chapter, from the beginning of the 1. verse to the ende of the 13. Then comming nerer vntounto the matter, verse. 14.15.16. he denieth that he euer dispaired of his saluation, albeit he shewed him selfe past all hope of recouering this life, forasmuch as he gathered by the present state of his bodie, that God had so decreed. Neuerthelesse he denieth not, but God was able to restore him, if it should so please him, as he had taught before in the 12, Chapter ver. 10. Afterward vsing a short preface in the 17. verse and protesting in the 18. verse that he was compelled thus to do by the most false accusation of his aduersaries, whom he citeth before gods tribunall seat; finally in the 20. & 21. verses. beseeching God to remoue frō him his feareful power & terrible maiesty, before which nothing is able to abide, he maketh him the iudge and decider of this controuersie, namely, whether it were true which his aduersaries so constantly auouched, that he had layd this most grieuous affliction vponupon him for a punishment of his hipocrisie & former wickednes: and in the end he returneth to a most lamentable bewayling of his wrechednes and miserie.
CHAPTER XIII.
Vers. 1. Loe mine eye hath seene all (these things:) mine eare hath heard and vnderstood these things.
2. According to your knowledg, know J also: neither (in these things) doe I giuegive place to yow.
1. ANd here I speak nothing, but that which partly I hauehave seene with mine eyes, & partly hauehave heard with these eares, yea & hauehave throughly vnderstood it. 2 And as ye know these things so I knowe them likewise: so that in this knoweledg I am not any whit inferiour to yow.
3. Yea verilie J will speake to the almightie, and I desire to dispute with God.
4. For indede ye are forgers of lies; ye are all, I say, phisitions of no value.
5. O that yow would therfore in holding your peace hauehave kept silence: for that might hauehave bene vntounto yow for wisedome: (that is, a shew of wisdome.)
6. I pray yow heare my confutation, and hearken to the arguments of my lipps.
3. I wish, Tsophar, that I might speake to God face to face, which if it shoulde come to passe, yow sayd, my myserie and affliction would be double so great as it is: but I woulde yow should know, that I am not at all dismaid with these wordes, but am euen now readie to commune with God, neither do I wish any thing so much as to pleade my cause before his iudgement seat, not that I meane to accuse him, which neuer so much as once came in my thought; but onelyonly to disproue your false accusation. 4. For I say that those things which yow charge me with all, are meere lies, coulered with all the art and cunning which yow could vse: & that applying these plaisters and medicines to my sores, yow shall be neuer able to giuegive me any ease or comfort, howsoeuer yow would seem for no other cause to hauehave come vntounto me. 5. Now then I would to God, yow had still continued in that your seuen daies silence, rather then yow should hauehave broke foorth into these words. For so ye might hauehave seemed to hauehave bene wise 6. But forasmuch as I hauehave heard your accusations, I beseech yow in like manner to giuegive me the hearing, whiles I disproue and confute them, listen, I say, what reasons & arguments I can bring for my selfe, and for the defence of mine owne cause,
7. Will yee speake vniustly for God, and speake deceit for him?
8 Wil ye accept his person, or will you contend for God?
9 Shall it be good for you that he call you to reckoning? will ye mocke him as one man mocketh another?
10 (Nay) he wold reproue you, if you did secretly accept his person.
11 Shall not his brightnes make you afraide? and his feare fall vponupon you?
12 Your speeches are the words of ashes, and your stately bulwarkes are but bulwarkes of clay.
7 For what an vnseemelie matter, and what vnorderlie proceeding is this? Ought you to defende Gods iustice by vniustlie accusing me? or must you needes so free him from iniustice, that ye must charge me vvith hipocrisie? 8 What is this else but after the manner of corrupt Iudges, so to fauour one, that to gratifie or pleasure him, ye sticked not to condemne, and oppresse the innocent? 9 Doe you think that God vvill allovv your preposterous dealing for him, & that therefore he vvill bestovv vponupon you some great good turne, to revvard your good vvill, vvhen he shall search the secrets of your hearts? and as it is no hard matter to mocke men, so doe yee thinke that he vvill be mocked vvith those vaine cauills, and false accusations? 10 Surelie in no vvise, as vvho vvould not suffer this partialitie, this respecting, I say, and accepting of his person, no not if it vvere done closelie and without his knowledge. 11. If therefore the thing it selfe can not moue you, yet his maiestie ought to make you tremble, & his reuerence strike a feare into you. 12. For these things which you alledge as matters gathered by long obseruation, and which you thunder out against me, as if they were most certen & grounded axiomes, are indeed no more sound and substantiall then ashes; and those your hic forts as it were, & turrets out of which you assaile me, are made but of durt and mire.
13. Leaue talking to me and I will speake, and let come vponupon me what will.
Therefore for Gods sake, talke noe more to mee: these your wordes are a burden vntounto me. But I will speake for my selfe, befall me what will.
14. Why should I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my soule in mine hand?
Doe you rightlie gather by these my outcries and complaintes, that I was so farre out of my wittes, that tearing as it were my flesh with mine owne hands, I ment to vse any violence and crueltie towards my selfe, and willinglie to betraie mine owne life?
15. Loe let him slaie me, shall I not hope? notwithstanding J will defend my waies in his sight.
Nay I am so farre from seeking mine owne destruction by prouoking God, that on the contrarie side, if by this miserie hee doe not onelyonly afflict me, but euen kill me out right, notwithstanding I will not leaue off to hope and looke for a better life at his hands. And yet neuerthelesse in the meane time, I shall not be afraid to maintaine the integritie of my former life before his tribunall seate.
16. For he also himselfe shall be my saluation: for the hipocrite shall not enter into his sight.
For he him selfe shall be present with me, that I maie not perish, and much lesse will he suffer me to be wrongfully oppressed by you: which I durst neuer once to hope for, vnlesse I stood assured vponupon a good conscience, forasmuch as I know verie wel that al hipocrites are debarred from his presence.
17. In hearing listen to my wordes, and let your eare marke what I vtter.
18. Behold now, I hauehave prepared me to iudgement, I know that I shall be iustified.
19. Who is he that will plead with me? if now I hold my tongue I shall die.
17 Harken therefore, and diligentlie marke what I shall saie, not against God, but in mine owne defense against your false accusations. 18 Loe, here I stand readie prepared to plead mine owne cause, nothing at all doubting, but that I shall be cleered from your wrongful and vniust accusations. 19 Go to therefore, let there be no exception made for the prolonging of the matter; and come forth, which soeuer of you dare stand with me in law. For now better vvere it for me to die, then by holding my peace to betray my cause.
20 But doe not these two things with me, and then J shall not hide my selfe from thy face.
21 Withdraw thine hand from me, and let not thy feare make me afraide.
22 Either call thou, and J will answere, or let me speake, and answere thou me.
20 But forasmuch (O God) as I am to plead my cause before thee, I beseech the to graunt me two things, to the end I may boldlie and without feare speake in mine owne defence. 21 The one, that thou wilt withold thine hand in the meane while from striking me in this manner: the other, that thou bring not into iudgement that thy fearefull and terrible maiestie, to the deciding of this controuersie; but as it were laying it aside for the time, thou wouldest deale mercifullie with me, and so as the weakenes of mortall man is able to abide. 22 Put the case therefore, that I am to deale not with these men, but with thee, and that this whol matter is to be debated between vsus, seing that thy hand hath wounded me, and the question is, whether these iudge aright, saying, that I hauehave deserued this miserie by my wicked and vngodlie life. Here I giuegive thee the choise whether thou wilt be plaintife or defendant.
23 How many are my offences and my sinnes? shew me my transgressions and my faults.
24 Wherefore shouldest thou hide thy face, and take me for thine enemie?
23 I say not nay, yea, I am very wel content that thou lay my transgressions before my face, that I may see how many waies I hauehave sinned either more lightlie or more grieuouslie against thee. 24 For I would gladlie vnderstand, what those hainous crimes are, by which thou art so incensed and prouoked against me, that thou turnest thy face from me, & persecutest me, as if I were thine enemie.
25 Doest thou breake a leafe driuen to and fro? and doest thou pursue the drie stubble?
25 How soeuer the case standeth, what I pray thee doest thou else, dealing in this sort vvith me, but make triall of thy strength against a leafe, vvhichwhich vvith the least blast of vvind falleth to the ground? doest thou not labour to destroy the stubble, vvhichwhich is so drie that it no sooner toucheth the fire, but of it selfe by and by flameth and is consumed?
26 Because thou wrightest bitter things against me, and makest me to inherite the sinnes of my youth.
27 Thou puttest my feet also in the flockes, and lookest narrowlie vntounto all my pathes, and ingrauest thy selfe vponupon the rootes of my feete.
28 But he like rottennesse consumeth, and like a garment which is moth eaten.
26 Neither doe I say this to make the thing seeme greater then it is, as the vse is of nice and tender persons. For thou pronouncest and dravvest forth against me nothing else but sorovvv and bitternes, in so much that thou seemest to punish me for the olde transgressions of my youth, vvhichwhich came vntounto me, as it vvere, by right of inheritance, & vvhichwhich long ago, I thought had beene forgiuen me. 27 Yea as if thou fearedst least I should escape avvay, thou keepest me fast in fetters, and diligentlie vvatchest me vvhichwhich vvay so euer I go, & looke where I tread, there thou settest also thy foot and follovvest step by step after me. 28 And thus it commeth to passe that silly Iob being as a leafe driuen to & fro vvith the vvinde, and as the drie stubble, putrifyeth and falleth avvaie, and is consumed like a moth eaten garment.