Job · Chapter 31

I made a covenant with my eyes not to gaze upon a married woman. and why should I gaze upon a virgin? Why should I gaze upon her? Such was Job’s piety, not to lay an eye even on an unmarried woman. [He would say,] “Perhaps, after a time, she will be married, and I will find myself attracted to her.” So is [this verse] explained in Avoth D’Rabbi Nathan (2:5).

'I made a covenant with my eyes' — as if I made a covenant with my eyes that they would not gaze at what I have no need for; and since I would not look, why then should I gaze upon a maiden? And as for those who do gaze — what portion will come to them from above, and what inheritance will the Almighty give them?

'I made a covenant,' etc. — as if to say: why has all this befallen me? Did I not make a covenant with my eyes, not to gaze upon anything forbidden? And what was the length of time in which I would look upon a maiden? I never gazed at her except for a brief moment, at a time when I was considering whether I, or perhaps my son, might marry her — but I never prolonged my gaze at her beyond the measure needed for recognition.

Should I look (etbonan) - An expression of intense gazing, as in "and I looked closely at him in the morning (va'etbonen elav baboker)" (I Kings 3).

'I made a covenant' — now he begins to reckon up that he committed no sin for which he would have deserved all this evil. And in contrast to what he had just said, that his harp had turned to mourning — for it had been his custom to play the harp when a bride entered the wedding canopy, to gladden groom and bride, and now it had turned to mourning over the death of his children — lest one say that this punishment came upon him because, while playing, he had sinned by lusting after the bride, he answers this: 'I made a covenant with my eyes; how then should I look upon a maid?' — meaning, whatever attention I gave to gazing upon her was only in order to gladden groom and bride, as it is said, 'Whoever benefits from a bridegroom's feast and does not gladden him…' — not to go seeking after what the eye desires.

Now what is the portion etc. that He recompensed me so?

'For what would be the portion' — he complains and protests, saying: see now, what is the portion given to me from God above, as repayment for my deeds? 'And the heritage,' etc. — the matter is repeated in other words.

'For what would be the portion of God from above' — what portion did God give me in return for this — is this my reward? — 'and the heritage of the Almighty from on high' — what inheritance did the Almighty bequeath to me on high, in the death of my children and the cutting off of the members of my household?

Is not misfortune, for the unjust He deserves it, not I. and deliverance Heb. ונכר, after the pattern of (Obadiah 1:12) “[And] you should not have looked on the day of your brother on the day of his being delivered (נכרו).”

'And disaster' — like 'in the day of his disaster' (Obadiah 1:12); its sense is from nekher, 'foreign,' meaning something bad which they were not accustomed to.

'And disaster' [venecher] — meaning: a strange and foreign calamity.

'Is it not calamity to the unrighteous' — is not calamity fitting for a man of iniquity? 'And disaster' — meaning, a strange and unfamiliar calamity, the like of which has never happened before, is fitting for the workers of iniquity, and not for a man like me.

'Is it not calamity to the unrighteous' — is this calamity that has befallen me not one that would befit the unrighteous, not me? And he adds that this calamity would be recognized as strange even 'to the workers of iniquity' — for even for workers of iniquity it is not fitting that children should die for the sins of their fathers; that too would be a foreign and strange thing.

and count all my steps and see whether I went with falsehood.

'Does not He' — he says this according to the view of his companions, meaning: if He does watch over the world, as you say, does He not see my ways, etc.?

My steps (tze'adai) - My paces.

'Does not He see' — that is to say: and if you think that I sinned only because you yourselves do not know what is hidden — well, does not Hashem see my ways, which are the ways of the soul, and also count all my steps, which are the deeds I actually performed? And He knows — both with respect to the ways of the soul…

hastened Heb. ותחש, and hurried, like (Isa. 60:22), “I will hasten it (אחישנה)”; (Ps. 90:10) “for it is soon (חיש) cut off.”

'Has hasted' — from the root of chushah, meaning to hurry.

'Has hasted' [vatachash] — meaning: hurried.

'If I have walked' — this connects to the previous verse, meaning: will He not see whether I have walked with men of falsehood, to make myself like them, and whether my foot has hastened to walk on the path of deceit?

Has hasted (vattachash) - And hurried, as in "I hastened, and delayed not (chashti velo hitmahmahti)" (Psalms 119:60).

'If I have walked with vanity' — in matters devoid of substance; and likewise with respect to steps and deeds, 'and my foot has hasted to deceit' — for every good deed I performed was done truly, not in flattery or deceit.

'Let me be weighed' — would that He weigh me in scales of justice, to set my merits against my sins; then God would know my integrity, for the merits would tip the balance.

Let me be weighed (yishkeleni) - From the term "mishkal" (weight). In a balance (bemoznei) - In the pan of the scales.

'Let me be weighed' — is it not that the scale and the balances of justice belong to Hashem, and He will weigh my deeds in righteous balances, and then He will know my integrity.

wrong Heb. מאום, that is a blemish, a shameful thing. This “alef” is written but not read, in the Great Masorah, and it is of the form of (Exod. 5:7), “You shall not continue (תאספון).” If I did this, I would deserve that this curse come upon me.

'Any spot' — the word is like me'umah, 'anything.'

'Any spot' [me'um] — meaning: like 'mum' (blemish) without the alef; or it may be like 'me'umah' (anything), the sense being: if anything gotten by theft or violence has clung to my hands.

'If my step has turned' — if my foot has turned aside from the proper and right way, and if my heart has walked after what my eyes saw, and if any blemish of transgression has clung to my hands.

My step (ashuri) - My foot, with which I take my steps, as in "my steps have held fast (tamoch ashurai)" (Psalms 17). Any spot (me'um) - Like "mum" (blemish); or it is from the term "me'umah" (something), meaning some matter of iniquity.

'If' — now he begins to pronounce sentence upon himself. 'If,' meaning: if it is true, as my companions have said — if my step has turned out of the way of true happiness, and if my heart has walked after my eyes, going about seeking after what the eyes desire, and if, as a result, any impurity has clung to my hands — then I decree judgment upon myself, for — 'Then let me sow, and another eat' — that is, the loss of his possessions; 'and let my offspring be rooted out' — that is, the loss of his children. Meaning: then let judgment come upon me in full measure, in justice and righteousness.

may I sow and another eat, and my produce be uprooted their roots should be torn up.

'Let the produce of my field be rooted out' — their root shall be cut off, like 'and root you out' (Psalms 52:5).

'Let the produce of my field be rooted out' [vetze'etza'ai yeshorashu] — meaning: the plants growing on my land would be uprooted; or it may mean that the children I am yet to father would die and be uprooted from the world. The first explanation is the more correct.

'Then let me sow' — then let the penalty be that I sow my field and another eat its produce. 'Let the produce of my field be rooted out' — or, let the growing plants be uprooted, roots and all.

Be rooted out (yeshorashu) - Let the roots be uprooted; and so, "lops the boughs (mesa'ef pu'rah)" (Isaiah 10:33), whose meaning is that He removes the branches.

and if I lurked at my neighbor’s doorway for his wife, He should requite me...

'If my heart have been enticed' — if my heart has been enticed by the evil inclination toward the love of a woman, and if I have lain in wait at my neighbor's door, pursuing love of his wife, to commit adultery with her.

(Verses 9–10) ‘If’ — so too, if my heart was enticed by a woman, meaning a married woman, and on account of this I lay in wait at my neighbor’s door to commit adultery with his wife, then I accept the judgment: ‘let my wife grind for another’ — that is, let her become a lowly maidservant, grinding at the millstones, as it is written, ‘even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill’ (Exodus 11:5); ‘and upon her let others kneel down’ to commit adultery with her — measure for measure.

may my wife grind for someone else Our Sages explained this as an expression of sexual intercourse, as in (Jud. 16:21), “and he did grind in the prison house.”

'Then let my wife grind to another' — he likened the act to two women grinding at a mill; note that a final nun sometimes stands in place of a final mem, as in 'to the end of the days' (Daniel 12:13) and 'take for yourself wheat' (Ezekiel 4:9).

'Then let my wife grind to another' — meaning: this is related to the grinding done at a mill.

'Let my wife grind to another' — let the penalty be that, out of the greatness of poverty, my wife shall grind grain at the hand-mill for someone else, to sustain herself; and let this be the cause that others besides myself bow down over her — for, being driven in pursuit of her livelihood, she will find men who force or seduce her into harlotry.

Bow down (yichre'un) - From the term "kri'ah" (kneeling), and its meaning here is lying down for licentiousness. Others (acherin) - Like "acherim" (others), with a mem [i.e., the ordinary plural ending, here spelled instead with a nun].

For that is lewdness and I feared that if I committed it, that it is iniquity deserving punishment iniquity for which judgment of suffering is fit to come.

'By the judges' — like 'he shall pay as the judges determine' (Exodus 21:22); meaning that judgment shall be exacted from him.

'Heinous crime' [zimah] — meaning: a disgraceful thing. 'To be punished by the judges' [plili] — meaning: judged in itself, on account of the severity of the sin.

'For that were a heinous crime' — for the thought of harlotry is an evil thought, and it is an iniquity fit to be judged.

A heinous crime (zimah) - An evil scheme, as in "it is depravity (zimah hi)" (Leviticus 18). By the judges (pelilim) - An expression of judgment, as in "that you gave judgment for your sister (asher pilalt la'achotech)" (Ezekiel 16).

‘For that were a heinous crime’ — he explains the reason for the punishment: • A) Because it is a heinous crime, and it testifies to an evil trait in the soul, that it should sink so deep into thoughts of licentiousness; • B) That it is ‘an iniquity to be punished by the judges’ — for even the judges of the land render a sharp and severe judgment on this, upon the suit of the husband; • C) Because ‘it is a fire’ — the deed itself is like a fire that consumes the body of the sinner unto destruction, and it also ‘would root out all my increase’ — meaning, the loss of children and possessions, like a fire that devours everything it finds.

and it uproots all my grain i.e., this fire. Therefore, I refrained from committing [this sin]. When he speaks with an expression of uprooting, he says תְּשָׁרֵשׁ, and to express roots, he also uses תַּשְׁרֵשׁ. Similarly, יְשֹׁרָשׁוּ is an expression of uprooting and יַשְׁרִשׁוּ is an expression of a root.

'Would root out' — the verb is related to the noun 'root' (shoresh).

'Would root out' [teshoresh] — meaning: would uproot. 'And He fashioned us in one womb' — meaning: one and the same agent formed both of us in the womb in which we were made.

'For it is a fire' — the thought of harlotry is like a fire that goes on burning until it consumes everything; so too the thought of harlotry burns like a fire and does not rest until its deed is accomplished. And it is fitting that the penalty likewise be that this very sin consume everything, and not rest until it roots out all my produce, to uproot everything, root and all.

'If I did despise' — did I despise the cause of my manservant or my maidservant, at the time they had a dispute or a claim against me? Did I not draw near with them to judgment, even though my hand had power over them?

‘If I did despise’ — this is directed against what Eliphaz had said to him, ‘widows you have sent away empty’ (Job 22:9); he says that not only did he never touch the inheritance of widows and orphans, he did not even despise the cause of his manservant or his maidservant, even though they were his own property, bought with his money. And the sense is: if I despised the cause of my servant, when they contended with me, so that I would not attend to his cause, then —

then what will I do etc. I took this to heart, and when He visits, what will I answer Him?

'What then shall I do' — for I said to myself: though they have not the power to stand against me, yet what shall I do when God rises up against me, and when He charges this sin against me — what shall I answer Him?

He remembers (yifkod) - An expression of remembrance and providence.

‘What then shall I do when God rises up’ — for behold, I too have a grievance against God, and I contend with Him over the afflictions He brought upon me for nothing. And what shall I do when He rises up and holds me to account, replying to me and saying —

and form us both in the womb? I in my mother’s womb and he in his mother’s womb—did not One creator form us?

'And did not One fashion us' — one God made us both.

'Did not He who made me in the womb' — is he then inferior and lesser than I? Did not He who made me in my mother's womb also make him in his mother's womb, and did He not fashion all of us in one womb — that of Eve, who was the mother of all the living? If so, we are all brethren.

‘Did not He who made me in the womb make him’ — Hashem will say to me: How can you cry out against your Master, Hashem, when you yourself did not heed the cause of your own servant, even though he is your equal? For in the very womb in which I was created, my servant too was created; both were formed in a woman’s womb, and both came forth from the same womb, the womb of a woman — and yet I did not heed his cry. How then can you seek judgment against your Master, God, in heaven?

I cause...to fail in that I did not fulfill her desire, which is “failure of the eyes.” One who desires and does not achieve is called “failure of the eyes.”

'Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail' — that I robbed her, and so her eyes failed, longing for that which I had taken from her.

'Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail' — meaning: that I withheld from her the fulfillment of her requests.

'If I have withheld' — have I ever withheld from giving what the poor desired? Have I ever caused the eyes of a widow to fail, by not fulfilling her request?

To fail (achalah) - One who longs for something and does not attain it - his condition is called "kilyon einayim" (a failing of the eyes).

‘If’ — this is directed against what Tzophar had said to him (ch. 20), ‘for he has crushed and forsaken the poor’ (Job 20:19); he replies that not only did he never rob the poor and the destitute, but also: if I withheld from the poor what they wanted and asked for, or if I caused the eyes of a widow, who looked to me for her salvation, to fail, without my having saved her —

'Or have eaten' — did I ever eat my bread alone, etc.?

‘Or have eaten’ — or if I ate my morsel by myself, and the fatherless did not eat of it — if I did all this, then indeed, ‘what shall I do when God rises up,’ for regarding all this God will argue against me: ‘Did not He who made me in the womb make him’ also, and so on.

For, from my youth it raised me This virtue [raised me] as a father who raises me and teaches me. So did the uprightness of my heart teach me from my youth. and from my mother’s womb I led it This trait.

'From my youth he grew up with me as with a father' — the orphan grew up together with me. 'I have been her guide' — refers back to the widow mentioned above. Some say instead: that from my youth the orphan grew up with me, and 'from my mother's womb I guided her' refers to my righteousness; but the first explanation is more correct, because it fits together with the verses both above and below.

'He grew up with me' [gidlani] — meaning: he grew up together with me.

'No, from my youth' — just as a father raises his son from the time of his youth, so did the trait of righteousness raise me from my youth, and it never departed from me; and from the time I came out of my mother's womb I have continued to practice that same trait, and I have not departed from it. He speaks here by way of exaggeration, meaning: I clung to it so strongly, as though it took hold of me and I took hold of it.

I guided her (anchenah) - I led her, as in "and God did not lead them (velo nacham)" (Exodus 13).

‘For from my youth he grew up with me as with a father’ — is it not then that ‘what shall I do when God rises up,’ who Himself raised me from my youth? For I too was an orphan, and Hashem raised me as a father raises a child; and He will ask why I did not do for the orphan what Hashem did for me — that He gave me bread and became a father to me. ‘And from my mother’s womb I have guided her’ — for my mother remained a widow, and I guided her from the day I came forth from the womb, that is, from my youth; through the help of Hashem, who raised me as a father, He also watched over my mother to keep her alive, and once I grew up, I provided for my mother. If so, how could I cause the eyes of a widow or orphan to fail, and forget the kindnesses Hashem did for me and for my mother?

'If I have seen' — if I saw a man perishing and wasting away for lack of clothing, or if I saw that the needy had no covering.

(Verses 19–20) ‘If’ — this is directed against what was said to him, ‘and you have stripped the clothes off the naked’ (Job 22:6); he says: if I saw a wanderer without clothing, or a needy person who had no covering, did not his loins bless me — for he was warmed by the fleece of my sheep, and I gave him clothing and covering to warm him?

'If his loins have not blessed me' — did not that man's loins bless me? For did I not clothe him? And indeed his loins blessed me on this account — this is a figure of speech. 'And if he were not warmed with the fleece' — was his body not warmed by the fleece of my sheep? Did I not indeed make him a garment from the shearing?

His loins (chalatzav) - His waist.

'If I have lifted up my hand' — if I raised my hand against the fatherless to strike him, confident that I would find help for myself in the gate of judgment, while the fatherless one's help had vanished.

Have I lifted up (heniphoti) - I have raised, as in "you shall not lift up iron upon them (lo taniph aleihem barzel)" (Deuteronomy 27:5).

‘If I have lifted up’ — he adds that even when a fatherless child came before him at the gate of judgment (for Job was a judge who sat at the gate), and he saw that, according to the law, the orphan was liable to be flogged, he still did not lift his hand against him to strike him himself — even though he saw ‘my help in the gate,’ meaning that the gate of judgment gave him the standing to strike the orphan, as it is written, ‘then it shall be, if the wicked man deserves to be beaten…’ (Deuteronomy 25:2) — nevertheless he refrained from striking him with his own hand. And if I did this, I set the very terms of my own sentence, for —

from its shoulder blade That is the width of the shoulder. from its bone That is the upper bone, which is round as a reed (קנה), and because it is round as a reed, it is called so.

'My shoulder' — let the recompense of my punishment be that my shoulder — that is, the raised joint of the arm — fall away from its shoulder-blade, that is, the broad part of the shoulder; or that my arm be broken away from the upper bone, the round one, shaped like a reed.

And my arm (ve'ezro'i) - The letter alef is extra [i.e., an added prefix].

‘Then let my shoulder’ — that is, the upper arm bone — ‘fall from the shoulder-blade’; and let ‘my arm,’ the part below the shoulder, ‘be broken’ from ‘the bone,’ which is below the arm — for I refrained from striking the orphan for two reasons:

fear to me His misfortune, which He brought upon the wicked, was fear in my eyes; therefore, I refrained from doing it.

'And by reason of His majesty' [u-mise'eto] — meaning: and because of His exaltedness.

'For calamity from God was a terror to me' — I refrained from raising my hand, for I had great fear of Him who comes to repay recompense; nor could I ever have done such a thing, because of the majesty of God — meaning, beyond the fear of punishment that I always had, I had also the fear of His majesty.

A) ‘For calamity from God was a terror to me’ — I feared that, out of dread of punishment, He would bring calamity and ruin upon me for doing so; • B) ‘And by reason of His majesty I could do nothing’ — for even apart from fear of punishment, I simply could not have done such a thing, out of awe of His grandeur, for I was ashamed before Hashem, who watches over my deeds, to do such a thing.

my hope Heb. כסלי, like (8:14), “whose confidence (כסלו) shall be cut off.” My hope and my thought, and because the kidneys are on the flanks (כסלים), and the kidneys advise, the thought is called כֶּסֶל. and to jewelry A gathering of gold and treasures. I said, ‘My confidence.’ therewith to strengthen myself over the poor.

'My confidence' — my support, like 'for Hashem will be your confidence' (Proverbs 3:26).

'My hope' [kisli] — meaning: my trust. 'And to the fine gold' [velakatem] — meaning: and to the gold.

'If I have made gold my hope' — did I ever set my trust in gold? Did I ever say of fine gold, 'You are my confidence,' and cease to trust in Hashem?

My confidence (kisli) - An expression of trust, as in "is not your fear of God your confidence (kislatecha)" (above, 4). And to the fine gold (velakketem) - This is fine gold.

‘If I have made’ — this is directed against what Eliphaz had said to him, ‘that he stretched out his hand against God, and behaves himself proudly against the Almighty’ (Job 15:25), and likewise said, ‘and you have said, What does God know? Can He judge through the thick darkness?’ (Job 22:13); he responds that he never removed his trust from Hashem in any way: he did not rely on wealth — and to this he says, ‘If I have made gold my hope’ — nor on the strength of his own hand, and to this he says —

If I rejoiced because my wealth I did not behave with joy in the presence of the poor so as not to make them envious of me.

'If I rejoiced' — did I rejoice that my wealth was great, and that my hand had found abundant riches? As if to say: were not the acquisitions of this world reckoned by me as nothing at all, that I should rejoice in them?

Great (kabir) - Much, as in "very small, not great (miz'ar lo chabir)" (Isaiah 16:14).

‘If I rejoiced’ — because my wealth and my strength were great; nor did I rely on diligence and effort, and to this he says, ‘and because my hand had gotten much’; nor did I trust in success and good fortune, and to this he says —

If I saw light shining The sun in the orbit of its might, and its brightness. and the moon becoming brighter Heb. יקר. Progressively brighter, like (Zech. 14:6), “bright (יקרות) light”; (Ps. 37:20), “like the glory (כיקר) off the meadows.”

'If I beheld the sun' — the Hebrew word for 'light' here refers to the sun. 'Or the moon walking in brightness' — that is, in the middle of the month, when the moon is full.

'If I beheld the sun when it shined' [or ki yahel] — meaning: the sun when it gives light; and similar to this [usage] is the verse, 'and, behold, darkness and distress, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof' (Isaiah 5:30).

'If I beheld' — when I saw the light of the sun shining most brightly, and the moon giving light and going on adding to its brightness—

It shined (yahel) - It gives light and shines, as in "when His lamp shone (behilo nero)" (above, 29). Brightness (yakar) - An expression of illumination and clarity; and so, "a radiant light (or yekarot)" (Zechariah 14).

‘If I beheld the sun when it shined’ — if I set my heart upon the light of fortune shining down upon me from above, or upon the moon, which ‘walks in brightness’ and signifies my success — and not only did I never declare this with my mouth, but even if —

And my heart was secretly enticed to the sun and the moon, saying that they are gods, like some heathens, who have gone astray (and worship) all the host of heaven.

'And my heart has been secretly enticed' — like 'lest your heart be enticed' (Deuteronomy 11:16). 'And my mouth has kissed my hand' — this is a type of idol worship; for most of the ancients, before the prophets arose, used to worship the two great lights, the sun and moon. Therefore he says: this too would be a punishable iniquity, for I would have been false to the God above — meaning, the One who is above the heavenly lights.

'Has been secretly enticed' [vayift] — meaning: related to the words 'pituy' (enticement) and 'hasatah' (incitement).

'And my heart has been secretly enticed' — was my heart, because of their great light, secretly enticed in thought to say that there was divinity in them, so that I had to put my hand to my mouth to seal it, so as not to let this evil thing pass out from my lips? Meaning: was it really so, in astonishment? Just as my mouth never spoke anything evil, so too my heart was never enticed even in thought.

Has kissed (vatishak) - An expression of joining and attachment; it is borrowed from the term "neshikah" (kissing), which is the joining of the lips.

‘And my heart has been secretly enticed’ — to think so within my heart, in secret — even though ‘my mouth has kissed my hand’ and I never let the matter pass my lips, even so —

'This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judges' — for I said: even the thought alone is an iniquity fit to be judged, since by it I would be denying the God who sits above, in that I would be attributing divinity to the work of His own hands.

To God (la'El) - [Equivalent to] 'be'El' (with/against God); the letter lamed stands in place of a bet. So too, 'you have chosen for the son of Yishai (bocher attah leven Yishai)' (I Samuel 20) - whose true construction is '[against] the son of Yishai' (bevn Yishai), i.e. with a bet.

‘This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judges’ — for even the mere thought is an iniquity deserving of punishment and severe judgment; ‘for I should have lied to God that is above’ — for that would be a denial of Hashem, to attribute one’s success to the moon, the stars, and fortune. And although a person is not ordinarily punished for a thought alone, when that thought amounts to heresy and denial of Him, one is punished even for the thought.

'Or exulted' — that is, to rejoice.

'At the destruction' [befid] — meaning: at the calamity. 'Or exulted' [vehit'orarti] — meaning: and I rejoiced; the sense being: did I rouse myself to make the movements of joy and gladness?

'If I rejoiced' — did I rejoice over the calamity of him who hated me? Did I ever bestir myself to rise up against him to pay him back, when evil found him, thinking: once he has begun to fall, he will not rise again?

At the destruction (befid) - Its meaning is like 'eid' (ruin); as in 'in one's calamity' (above, 30); and it means ruin and misfortune. Exulted (vehit'orarti) - From the term denoting arousal and intensification.

(29–30–31) 'If I rejoiced' — Also, do not say that afflictions came upon me because I rejoiced at the downfall of those who hated me, as it is written, 'When your enemy falls, do not rejoice … lest Hashem see it and it be evil in His eyes, and He turn away His wrath from him' (cf. Proverbs 24:17–18). Concerning this he said that he did not rejoice at the ruin of those who hated him — and more than that, 'or exulted when evil found him' really means that he stirred himself up to look into whether the men of his tent had said such a thing. For at the time evil befell one who hated him, even though he had not given his mouth over to sin by asking for that man's life with a curse, and even though he knew that he himself had not cursed him with an oath, nor sinned with his palate by swearing to curse him and to ask for his life to die by that oath — nevertheless, at the time evil befell his enemy, he stirred himself up to look into whether the men of his tent had not said, 'Who can find one who has not been satisfied with his flesh?' He roused himself to investigate whether some curse against his enemy had not gone out from the men of his tent, lest it be thought they wished to see vengeance upon him and would not be satisfied short of his flesh. So that not only did he himself not curse his enemy nor rejoice at his downfall, but he was strict even with the members of his own household, and stirred himself up to look into this matter — whether a curse against his enemy had gone out from them, or even a word of vengeance, saying they would not be satisfied with his flesh were it given into their hands to take vengeance on him.

but I did not allow my palate to sin to provoke my enemy and to sue him for money that he does not owe me, in order to adjure him and to ask for the soul of my enemy with an oath.

'By asking his life with a curse' — that is, to curse him.

'With a curse' [ba'alah] — meaning: with a curse.

'Indeed, I suffered not my mouth to sin' — meaning: it was not merely that I did not pay him back at the time; rather, even if I had some monetary claim against him, I did not, even then, let loose my palate to sin against him by demanding his life with an oath of imprecation, so as to make him swear falsely and bring guilt upon his own soul.

I suffered not (velo natati) - [Meaning] I did not allow, as in 'and Sichon did not allow (velo natan Sichon)' (Numbers 21:23).

We will not be sated Because of the hatred that they bore against me for burdening them with hospitality toward guests.

'Who can find one who has not been satisfied with his meat' — because no stranger ever spent the night outside; rather, he lodged in my tent.

'The men of my tent' [metei ohali] — meaning: the people of my tent.

'If not' — did not the men of my tent and my own lads say about me, 'Who would give us to eat of his meat, that we eat and never be satisfied' — meaning, we eat so eagerly out of craving that we long to eat still more — for they had become like enemies to me?

to the road The doors of my house were not inside and enclosed by a gatehouse outside, or surrounded by corners to stop the wayfarers from coming, but open to the crossroads so that whoever wishes to come may do so.

'To the roadside' [la'orach] — meaning: to the road, so that I might see travelers as they arrived and gather them into my house.

'In the street' — and the reason was that in my place, the stranger who came from a foreign land never lodged outside; I myself opened the doors of my house to the guest who came, for I did not trust the men of my tent to let in everyone who came. Or, the meaning is: I opened my doors facing the road, to stir the hearts of people to come to my house; and because of this, wayfarers multiplied greatly, and it became a burden for my household to attend to them, and for this they became like enemies to me.

To the roadside (la'orach) - This is a term shared [in meaning] both for the person who comes from the road (the wayfarer) and for the road itself.

'In the street' — having related that he gave the orphans bread, and the poor clothing and garments, he now says that he gave them lodging and a dwelling as well, for even the stranger did not lodge in the street; he opened his doors even to wayfarers, that they might be guests in his home, as it is written, 'Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and to bring the outcast poor into your home; when you see the naked, to cover him?' (Isaiah 58:7).

in my hiding place Heb. בחבי, like בְּמַחַבוֹאִי.

'If after the manner of men I covered my transgressions' — as is the way of people, to conceal their transgressions from others. 'By hiding' — like 'hide yourself for a little moment' (Isaiah 26:20).

'By hiding' [bechubi] — meaning: in my concealment.

'If ... I covered' — did I ever cover my transgressions after the manner of other people, who cover their transgressions and deny them? For whenever any matter of transgression happened to befall me, did I ever deny it? 'By hiding' — this too connects back to 'if,' meaning: was it ever my way to hide my iniquity in a secret place, so that it should not become known to anyone? This repeats the same idea in other words.

In my bosom (bechubi) - Like 'bechov'i,' with an alef; it is from the term 'machavo'ah' (hiding place).

(33–34) 'If I covered' — And if you say that I sinned in secret and concealed my sins, he therefore says: Did I cover my transgressions as other men do, and hide my iniquity in my hiding place, because I dreaded and feared to reveal my iniquity before the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified and broke me at the time I would reveal my iniquity — so that afterward I would be forced into silence, and could not go out of the door for very shame? Behold, I feared no man, nor the multitude, and I had no need to hide my sins for fear of their scorn and shame —

For I would subdue Originally I would subdue a great multitude of wicked men, but now, even among the Chaldeans—“This people has never been” (Isa. 23:13).

'Because I feared' — that is, I am afraid. 'And the most contemptible among families terrified me' — the one despised among families terrifies me and frightens me. 'Terrified me' — compare 'in place of God' (Genesis 30:2).

'I feared the great multitude' [e'erotz hamon rabbah] — meaning: I would have been able to hold a great multitude of people in check. 'And the most contemptible among families terrified me' [uvuz mishpachot yechiteni] — meaning: the most despised person among the families would subdue and demean me; or the sense may be that it refers to a man from the most contemptible of families.

'Because I feared' — meaning: did I ever do such a thing, that this should now befall me — I, who once had the power in my hand to overawe and break a great multitude of people, and who now am broken and terrified by the most despised of the families, so that I am forced to keep silent and endure it, and dare not go out of the door of my house for fear of him?

I feared (e'erotz) - [Meaning] I break, as in 'in the clefts of the valleys (ba'arutz nechalim)' (above, 30). Multitude (hamon) - A large populace; and for further clarification it adds the word 'rabbah' (great). Terrified me (yechatteni) - From the term 'chittat' (terror) and 'shever' (breaking). I kept silence (ve'edom) - And I was silent, as in 'and Aaron kept silence (vayidom Aharon)' (Leviticus 10).

behold my inscription; may the Almighty bear witness for me Would that the Omnipresent bear witness for me in judgment, as He wrote concerning me (1:8): “For there is none like him on earth, a sincere and upright man, God-fearing.” Also Moses, who wrote his Book and my Book, will bear witness concerning me. (Another explanation:) This is what Job says, “Give it to inscribe me and my virtue.” may the Almighty answer me for this request. and may my opponent write a book May he too write a book to contend with me.

'Lo, here is my signature' — some say that the word is missing an alef, i.e., short for 'I desire,' and the sense is: I long for the Almighty to answer me. But the correct view is that it is related to 'set a mark' (Ezekiel 9:4); and the meaning is: everything that I have inscribed, may the Almighty be the One to answer for it. 'My adversary' — literally, 'the man of my dispute'; he explains it as one who would contend on my behalf, not against me.

'My signature' [tavi] — meaning: my mark; and 'tavi' is from the same root as 'and set a mark' [vehitvita tav] (Ezekiel 9:4). 'Let the Almighty answer me' [ya'aneni] — let Him testify for me; or the sense of 'tavi' ['my signature'] may be 'my desire' [ta'avati], with the aleph omitted — a defective spelling — in which case the meaning of 'let Him answer me' would be that He will answer me when I argue with Him over my claims, for Job had already longed for this, as he mentioned earlier.

'Oh that,' etc. — would that I had a man who would listen to me and fulfill my desire; for indeed my desire is that the Almighty answer me, telling me what my transgression is, as he said above, 'I would speak, and let Him answer me... how many are my iniquities,' etc. Or, that the man who disputes with me, my adversary at law, would write down in a book all the words of his argument, so that they should stand for many days, and a later generation could examine with whom justice lay — as he said above, 'Oh that they were inscribed in a book.'

My signature (tavi) - Like 'ta'avi' (my desire); it is from the term 'ta'avah' (desire), with the alef dropped. So too, Targum Yonatan renders it 'regugi'; and likewise for 'you shall not covet (velo titaveh)' (Deuteronomy 5), which Targum Onkelos renders 'velo teirog.' Answer me (ya'aneni) - From the term 'aniyah' (response) and 'teshuvah' (reply). The indictment (vesefer) - The vav [conjunction, ordinarily 'and'] stands in place of 'or' (o).

'Oh that I had one to hear me!' — one who would hear and agree with my words. 'Lo, here is my signature' — this phrase is elliptical for 'Lo, here are the marks of the Almighty'; and the continuation, 'let the Almighty answer me — and that I had the indictment which my adversary has written,' means that my adversary, the one who argues with me, will answer me and say to me: 'Lo, here are the marks of the Almighty' — behold, Hashem marked and inscribed upon my flesh my sin, for the sores that are on my flesh are the writing that Hashem wrote, inscribing my iniquity; and that is the very indictment that He wrote. That is to say, He engraved upon my flesh my transgressions, in plagues and wounds, in letters written as in a book. On the phrase 'Surely not' (the opening of Job 31:36), he answers: were I not carrying this book (that is, the record of my iniquity and the marks of my sin) upon my shoulder as a yoke and a burden — that is, were it not stuck fast to my body — I would bind it to myself as a crown; I would make of it a crown for honor and glory. For in Hashem's book my merits were written, not my sins, for —

Would I not carry him The writer of the book. bind it I will bind the book to me as crowns.

'I would bind it' — like 'bind them' (Proverbs 6:21); its meaning is like 'I would place.'

'I would bind it' [e'endenu] — meaning: I would tie it.

'Surely' — if I find a man who fulfills my desire in either one of these two ways, then indeed I will carry it upon my shoulder, and it will not be a burden to me, and I will bind it upon my head to be crowns for me, for I will love it greatly and glory in it.

Surely (im lo) - This is an expression of oath, as in 'surely I have stilled and quieted my soul (im lo shivviti vedomamti)' (Psalms 131:2). I would bind it (e'endenu) - An expression of tying and binding, as in 'bind them about your neck (andem al gargeroteicha)' (Proverbs 6:21).

I will tell him the number of my steps to that man.

'I would declare to him the number of my steps' — I would declare all my ways to him, openly.

'The number' — I will tell him the number of my steps, meaning: I will reveal to him the secrets of my heart, and I will draw him near, as one draws near a prince.

'I would declare to him the number of my steps' — I would tell this book, and inscribe in it, the number of my steps, all of which were fitting and good. 'As a prince would I go near to him' — I would draw near to it as to a prince and a leader, for it is that book which guides me, and which knows all my ways and steps; and I would adorn myself with this book, in which my deeds were recorded. The only defect is that the book of my sores is not fit to be borne on my head as a crown, for instead it was made upon my shoulder, as a yoke and a burden.

If my soil complains about me concerning the gleanings, the forgotten sheaves, and the end [of the field], as well as tithes, [claiming] that I did not extract tithes properly. and its furrows weep together that I plowed with an ox and with a donkey together.

'If ... against me' — he returns to his earlier train of thought, and says: if my land cries out against me, testifying that it is held by me through robbery, and if its furrows weep together, lamenting that I have withheld under my hand the wages of the laborers who worked the ground — this is a figure of speech.

Its furrows (telameha) - The garden beds, as in 'the furrows of my field (talmei sadai)' (Hosea 10).

'If' — he concludes his statement: does my land, crying out because it lies desolate, cry out against me? Did I cause it to become desolate? Or do its furrows, which weep together, weep against me? Was this brought about by my sin?

without money to hire workers and to oppress them [by not paying them]. Another explanation. This refers to the second tithe, concerning which it is written (Deut. 14:25): “And you shall tie the money in your hand.” and I caused pain to its owner The sharecropper who tills it.

'Or have caused its tillers to be disappointed' — like 'the giving up of the spirit' (Job 11:20).

'Or have caused its tillers to be disappointed' [hifachti] — meaning: I caused worry.

'If its strength' — now he goes back and spells out his words in full, saying: if I consumed the strength of the field and its produce without paying its price in money to those who worked the land, and if I caused grief and pain to the soul of its original owner, robbing him of his field without the money of his wages.

Have caused ... to be disappointed (hiphachti) - I have grieved [them], as in 'a failing (mappach) of soul' (above, 11).

(39–40) 'If I have eaten its fruits without money' — or caused its tillers to be disappointed? That is to say: if I seized the field from its owners without payment, and so caused its tillers to be disappointed, so that thistles should grow up instead of wheat, and the land lie desolate — behold, I bought fields with money; I did not oppress, and I did not rob. And so my land does not cry out against me, for this was not brought about through my iniquities. 'The words of Job are ended' — his replies to his three companions are ended, and they too ceased from answering him. Therefore, 'the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite was kindled …' (Job 32:2), etc.

noisome weeds Heb. באשה, (a malodorous plant) like בְּאֻשִׁים (Isa. 5:2). And if I did not do so, may thistles emerge instead of wheat. (Rabbi Oshia taught: The Torah teaches you practical advice, that in a field beset with thistles it is advisable to sow wheat, and in a field beset with weeds, it is advisable to sow barley. This is the reading of Yalkut.) Now what is the reason? “Instead of wheat, thistles shall emerge.” Until this point, he repeatedly prophesies many prophecies, and you say: Job’s words are ended? Rather, Job says as follows, “If I have not done so, may Job’s words be ended, and may he have no pretext for saying before You (Deut. 26:13), ‘I have cleared away what is holy.’” I saw this in the Pesikta of the portion עשר תעשר (ibid. 14), explained in this manner from these verses.

'And noisome weeds' — a type of thorn, like 'and it brought forth wild grapes' (Isaiah 5:2).

'Noisome weeds' [באשה] — this is a species of thorn-plant, from the same root as ‘and it brought forth wild grapes’ (Isaiah 5:2); the meaning is that when he sows his land, it will not produce a crop, but thorns and thistles will grow up in it instead. Explanation of the words of the response: Job again took up his parable, defending himself that he had not sinned at all, and complaining of his friends who attributed to him iniquity and wickedness. He said: Would that I were as I was in the days gone by, when Hashem watched over me — meaning, that I prospered, as when His lamp shone upon my head, so that by its light I walked through darkness and had light; as I was in my youth, when the friendship of Hashem was upon my tent — meaning, that thanks to my good fortune I was helped in whatever I undertook. While Hashem was with me, my young men were round about me to attend upon me; when I washed my steps in cream, out of the abundance of the prosperity that came to me, and Hashem brought forth for me oil out of the rock. Then, when I went out to the gate of the city and prepared my seat in the street, the young men saw me and hid themselves in shame before me, and the aged rose and stood to honor me. The princes and nobles who had been speaking held back their words when I came, out of fear of me — how much more so the rest of the people — because the ear that heard of my deeds and my righteousness blessed me, and the eye that saw bore witness to my righteousness and the integrity of my heart. For I would rescue the poor man who cried out against the violence done to him, and the orphan who had no one to help him; the man perishing in his bitterness — his blessing came upon me, meaning that he would bless me for the kindness I showed him — and the widow, bitter of soul, I would fill with joy through the good I did for her. I clothed myself in righteousness, and through my great diligence in it, it in turn clothed me — meaning, that righteousness itself would come to me, so that I might clothe myself in it further; for once this trait grows strong in a person’s heart, the poor and the downtrodden come to him, and this becomes a further cause for him to hold all the more fast to it. In this way I clothed myself in justice and uprightness as in a robe and a turban that wrap around a person and encompass him. I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame — meaning, that I helped them and made up for what they lacked, as far as I was able. I was a father to the needy, to save them from those who wronged them; and when I did not know the merits of a dispute, I would investigate it to its truth, and once I found the truth, I would compel the wrongdoer by force to restore to the victim what had been taken from him by violence. And because my deeds were of this character — of uprightness and righteousness — I was confident that I would die in my nest, meaning, that my children would not die in my lifetime and my house would not be destroyed, and I was confident that my days would be long, until the number of the days of my life would be like the sand on the seashore for multitude. And I say that, by this merit of mine, my root would be open to the waters, and the dew would lodge in my branch — meaning, that I would not lack the wealth on which I was sustained, and good would come to me from every side, and I would ever grow and increase in my possessions, like a tree that draws its nourishment both from above and from below. And I was confident that my glory would ever renew itself with me — meaning, not merely that my glory would remain with me, but that it would continually increase in keeping with the goodness of my deeds, and that my strength and might would continually grow. The nobles and the princes listened to me when I spoke, to act according to my words; they waited and hoped for what I would say even before I said it, and fell silent until my counsel came, and once my counsel came, they did not think of taking any other counsel, but accepted it and carried it out. My word would drop upon them, so that each would repeat to another what I had said. They waited for my counsel as a person waits for rain, and their mouths would open wide to ask my counsel, as people ask Hashem for the latter rain. When I laughed at them, it was as though they could not believe that I was joking, and they would not let the light of my face fall, out of the fear of me that was upon their faces — a fear that kept them from laughing at me or mocking me. When I wished to choose their way and go with them, I sat as chief, dwelling among them like a king among his troops, awe-inspiring, or like one who comforts mourners, to whom people give heed, to hear his words and so remove their grief from them. Or the sense of ‘I chose their way’ may be that I myself would choose for them the way they should go in each matter they were about to undertake, since they would seek counsel from me; and I would sit as chief, just as I sat in their midst. But now the times have turned, so that men younger than I in years mock me — men whose fathers were so base that I would have disdained to set them with the dogs of my flock to guard me, for they were base in every respect. Even in strength and might they were of no account at all — so base that their time was wasted on them, for there was no use in them whatsoever; so base were they that they were solitary, without company, on account of the want and hunger that were always upon them, and so they would flee to parched, dark, gloomy places to hide there and cover their disgrace. Out of great want and hunger they would cut mallow-leaves from the bush to eat, and the roots of the broom-plant were their bread and their food, even though these things are not fit to be a person’s food. They were driven out from among people, out of the shame these people felt at them; they would shout at them when they came in, as one shouts at a thief — and so they went to hide in the clefts of the wadis, in holes in the ground and in holes in the rocks. Among the bushes they would cry out from hunger and nakedness, and under the thorns and thistles they would huddle and be bruised, letting the thorns pierce their flesh easily, for they were naked. These, then, were the men who mocked him — base men, men without a name, meaning that no name was left to them because of their baseness; men brought low and sunk lower than the very ground. Now, as I judge, he said this against Zophar, who was younger than he in years and had reviled him and held him in great contempt — or he said it against Bildad and Zophar, as we noted earlier. Now I have become their song, a mockery and a laughingstock to them all day long, and I have become a byword to them, for they speak of nothing but scorn for me — even though they are younger than I in years; and being base men of this low character, they abhor me and keep far from me, and make so light of me that, upon looking at me, they spit in contempt for me. And the reason for this is that Hashem loosed the restraint by which people had formerly been bound out of fear of me, and so afflicted me by this means; each of them removed and cast off the bridle of fear that had been upon them because of me. Upon my right hand rise young men; they thrust away my feet to make me fall, and they cast up against me the paths of their disaster, out of their constant eagerness to harm me. That path on which they tread to harm me is well-trodden and beaten down, like a path that many people tread. When I wish to strive after anything, they tear up my path, so that what I intended is kept from me. They aid my ruin — meaning, that they add breach upon breach to my breach — and these men, who are base men, had no one to help them before, on account of their baseness. Or the sense of ‘they profit by my calamity’ may be that they benefit, as it were, from my ruin, and therefore wish to harm me. As through a wide breach through which water bursts and rushes rapidly, so these base men come at me to hurt me; beneath the desolation that comes upon me, they roll themselves at me in pain, to add pain to my pain. Terrors are turned upon me; each of them pursues my spirit like the wind, and my welfare is chased away like a cloud that passes swiftly. And now, out of the intensity of my pains, I have come to the point where my life seems to have poured out and been cast away from me, and the days of my affliction take hold of me — the opposite of what I used to think, that Hashem would perpetuate my prosperity and lengthen my days as a reward for my good deeds. At night my very bones are pierced within me, and my sinews do not rest their movement at all, even in sleep, out of the intensity of my pain and the abnormal heat within my body. He says this because the pulse of a sleeping man does not beat as strongly as the pulse of a man awake, on account of the natural heat withdrawing inward into the body during sleep, as has been explained in the natural sciences. Through the great force of my illness my garment is changed, on account of the foul discharge issuing from my whole body, which constantly soils my clothing; it binds me about the neck like my own tunic-collar, and so my illness girds me about my whole body. My illness has cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes, as though there were no life left in me. And over this violence done to me I cry out to You, and You do not answer me; or if I stood silent and did not cry out to You, You would take no notice of me, to watch over me and save me. You have turned cruel to me, so that You strike me with these cruel blows, and hate me with utter hatred, striking me with Your power like the blow of an enemy; You lift me up and make me ride upon the wind, which throws me into confusion and shakes me with violent tremors, and You take from me the sound judgment by which I used to conduct myself, out of the great confusion and turmoil that this suffering has stirred into my mind. I know that You will bring me back to death, and to the house appointed for all the living, which is the grave; and even though these men offer me comfort, theirs is a hollow comfort. But He will not stretch out a hand to answer the plea and petition that a person makes to Hashem [against death] — and even though, at the time of death, people are commonly found crying out to Hashem, so that it is, as it were, well known to all that crying out to Hashem avails, there is no force in this popular notion sufficient to overturn the position dictated by sense-experience and reasoning, as stated earlier — meaning, that prayer is of no avail in this. And it is possible to say that the intent here is this: even though I attribute to Hashem, within the chain of causes, the fact that He will bring me to death, in truth He does not stretch out a hand against the plea; rather, in the destruction that comes upon these lowly existing things — even though it is by His hand that it comes upon them — there is found a generosity toward other existing things. That is to say, in this way the Agent’s generosity extends to the coming-into-being of things in this lower world, for coming-into-being never occurs for anything except through the passing-away of something else; and we should not conclude from this that the passing-away is intended for its own sake — rather, it is unintended, while the coming-into-being is what is intended. And had it been possible for these forms to endure forever within their matter, Hashem would not have withheld this from them; but instead He placed within them the means to preserve their existence as far as possible. Did I not weep for him whose day was hard, and did my soul not grieve for the needy — since I felt distress at their distress — that this punishment should now come upon me, so that in every matter in which I hoped for good, evil came instead, and when I looked for light, the darkness of troubles came upon me? My bowels boiled with the heat of my boils and were not still, and had no rest from their boiling, and the days of my affliction came upon me. From the abundance of my troubles I went about blackened, though no sun had scorched me; out of the abundance of my troubles I am not ashamed to cry out in the assembly. I have become a brother to jackals and a companion to ostriches, to wail continually and rouse up mourning. My skin has grown black upon me, and my bones have dried up from great dryness, and my harp has turned to mourning, and my flute to the voice of those who weep. Now, in truth, had I not felt distress at the distress of him whose day was hard and of the needy, and had I instead rejoiced at their calamity, it would have been fitting that these punishments should come upon me — but I did feel distress at their distress, so why then have these troubles come upon me? I made a covenant with my eyes, not to gaze upon a maiden with intent to lie with her, out of fear of Hashem’s punishment; for what is the portion of God from above, and the heritage of the Almighty from on high, for one who does such a deed? Is it not fitting that calamity — a strange and foreign calamity — should come upon workers of iniquity? Why, then, has this foreign calamity come upon me? Does not Hashem see my ways, and number all my steps? Were He to see whether I have walked in paths of falsehood, or whether my foot has hastened to deceit — were Hashem to weigh me in a just balance, He would then know my integrity. And so it is clear that I did not deserve to have this punishment reach me from Hashem. If my steps have turned aside from the straight path, and my heart has followed my eyes to desire and covet what is not mine, and if any trace of robbery has clung to my hands, then let this curse come upon me: that what I sow in my fields another shall eat, and the produce that grows for me in my fields shall be uprooted. If my heart has been enticed toward a woman married to another, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door to come in to her, then let this curse come upon me: that my wife shall grind for another, and other men shall lie with her. He mentions grinding because in that era it was one of the particular tasks a wife performed for her husband, and it is clear that such tasks would not be performed by a woman for anyone but her husband, except on account of extreme poverty or on account of adultery — and indeed this custom continued down to the time of our Sages, of blessed memory, which is why they too mention grinding among the tasks a wife performs for her husband. It is also possible that this curse means that he would die, and his wife would become another man’s wife; and so he says that she would perform for another this task which, in that era, only a wife performed for her husband — that is, she would have another man besides him, who would have relations with her — and so he says, ‘and let others kneel over her.’ For that is a heinous crime — an iniquity to be punished by the judges — had I striven to commit adultery with my neighbor’s wife; for it is a fire that consumes to destruction, and would burn and root out and uproot all my produce, had I coveted what belonged to my neighbor, and had anything belonging to my companion clung to my hands unlawfully — meaning, that he had indeed guarded himself from these evils, out of his fear of Hashem and of the punishment he believed would come upon anyone who committed them. Did I despise the cause of my manservant or my maidservant when they argued with me, on account of their lowliness and my power over them? In truth, I guarded myself from this, out of fear that punishment from Hashem would reach me. For what shall I do when God rises up to judge me, and when He examines and investigates my affairs and puts them to the test — what shall I answer Him, and what excuse shall I have? Is it not so that He who made me in the womb made him also, and that one and the same Agent — namely, Hashem — fashioned us both in the womb of our mother? And so it is not fitting for me to lift myself up over him, so as to despise his cause when he disputes with me. Did I withhold from the poor what they desired, and did I let the eyes of the widow fail from waiting, so that I would not fulfill the wishes of her heart? Did I eat my morsel alone, without feeding the orphan from it? In truth, that is not how it was — for from my youth this trait was already in me, that the orphan was raised with me as though I were a father to him, and from the time I came out of my mother’s womb I comforted the widow and guided her toward whatever was fitting, to the extent of my ability. And when I saw someone perishing for lack of clothing, and a needy man with no true covering, his loins would bless me, for I covered him from his nakedness, and he would be warmed from the fleece of my sheep, for I would clothe him. Did I lift up my hand against the orphan to strike him, relying on seeing men in the gate to help me, and so having no fear of him? Had I done so, this curse would come upon me — that my shoulder blade would fall from my shoulder, and my arm would be broken from its socket. From all of this I guarded myself, out of fear that Hashem’s calamity would reach me, and that I would not be able to escape His majesty. Did I set my hope on gold, and put joy in my heart because my wealth was great and my hand had gained much riches and fortune, so that I forgot Hashem because of my wealth? Did I look upon the sun as it shone, and the moon going forth in its precious splendor, its light coming from the sun, and did my heart become enticed by this — even in secret — to believe that the sun is a god, from which its light is bestowed upon the moon, and which reveals its workings in this lower world; and did my hand come to touch my mouth [in a kiss of homage], so that I would not utter aloud what I had entertained in my heart? In truth, I guarded myself from this — meaning, that I did not entertain this thought in my heart at all — for it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges, since I would then have lied to God who is above. Even had I merely entertained the thought — no person may permit himself to indulge in doubt in such a matter, for it may be that, owing to the limits of his understanding, the truth becomes hidden from him, and he comes to deny that God exists at all. Did I rejoice at the calamity of one who hated me, and rouse myself to gladness and joy when evil found him? I did not allow my mouth to sin by calling down evil upon him and cursing him — how much less did I rejoice at his calamity! Or the sense of ‘I roused myself when evil found him’ may be that I myself was struck with anguish and grief when evil found him, because I felt distress at his distress. And even though he was one who hated me — in truth, the men of my tent hated me, so much so that, out of the abundance of their hatred for me, they said, ‘Would that we had some of his flesh, that we might eat it,’ and we could never be satisfied, so great was our desire to eat it and consume it entirely. And this hatred came about because I burdened them with the work of tending to guests, for no stranger had to lodge in the street — I would open my door at the very roadside, so that travelers, coming and going, could enter my house. Did I cover my transgression as other men do, hiding my iniquity so that it would not be counted against me, even though I had in truth committed an iniquity? In truth, I did not do this, for I had not sinned at all, and had no need to do so. Or its sense may be that even if it happened that I transgressed against someone, I did not cover my transgression by justifying myself with false words, but rather admitted the truth — for I was of such strength and power that I could have overawed a great multitude. Yet even then, when some low man, held in contempt by his own family, quarreled with me, I kept silent and did not answer him a word, and did not go out of the door of my house to quarrel with him, so as to keep myself far from strife. Would that I had someone to hear me concerning this violence done to me, so that these undeserved pains had come upon me for good reason! Or the sense of ‘that I could overawe a great multitude’ may be: whereas formerly I had the power to overawe a great multitude, now the times have turned against me, so that even one held in contempt by his own family can now terrify me. He says this against his friends, who held him in contempt — the very men he described earlier as base men, men without a name. Now, out of the abundance of their contempt for me, I kept silent and could not go out of the door, so as to escape their scorn. Would that I had someone to hear me — someone who would listen and investigate whether the matter is as they say, that I have sinned, and that this trouble has come upon me because of the abundance of my transgressions and my sins. Now, the sign and token I have of my righteousness is that the Almighty will be my witness that I have not sinned, if indeed He pays heed to such matters — as he said, ‘Behold, my witness is in heaven’ (Job 16:19); and the document written by the man who disputes with me and argues against my words is likewise a witness for me, on account of the flaws and errors in his arguments. And so I love that document so greatly that I would carry it upon my shoulder and bind it upon myself as a crown. Indeed, were he willing to listen to me, I would declare to him the number of my steps; I would hide nothing, so that he might see the truth and judge as is fitting, and I would draw near to him as a person draws near to a lord or a prince — since it is a testimony to my righteousness and the integrity of my heart, through exposing his flaws and bringing them to light. There is one who explains ‘tavi’ [my signature] as from the same root as ‘to desire’ [אוה], with the aleph elided; and if so, the sense would be: ‘Behold, my desire is that Hashem would answer me in my dispute with him, and also that the document my adversary writes should contain all his arguments and all of mine’ — for Job had already longed for this and said, ‘Oh, that my words were written down!’ (Job 19:23); and were it not so, I would carry this document upon my shoulder and bind it upon myself as a crown, out of my love for it. And it is possible to say that the sense of his words, ‘I would declare to him the number of my steps,’ is: I would declare to my adversary the number of my steps, so that he might write it in a document, and I would draw near to him as though he were a lord to me, even though he is my adversary. If my land cried out against me — that is, at being wrongfully seized — and I caused the life of its owner to fail; or if its furrows wept together, on account of my defrauding the wages of the one who plowed it, and consuming its produce without payment, then let this curse come upon me: that instead of the seed sown in it, thorns and briers should grow up. The general principle that emerges from all this is: that he said he had not sinned at all; and that, even before this punishment came upon him, he never believed that a person is not held accountable for his deeds — rather, he feared that Hashem would hold him accountable for his deeds, as does anyone who believes in reward and punishment. Therefore it cannot be said that this punishment came upon him for some sin of his, on the theory that he believed Hashem abandons the people of the earth and pays no heed to any of their deeds. And so he complained against Hashem, who had turned his fortune from the height of good to the depth of evil, though there was no violence in his hands.

'Instead of wheat' — then let the recompense of the punishment be that in the place of the wheat that was sown, thistles shall come up, and in the place of the barley, noisome weeds shall grow. 'The words of Job are ended' — these too are the words of Job, who said: my words are finished, and I will speak no more from now on. As if to say: behold, I have already recounted the uprightness of my ways and the greatness of the pain that has come upon me, after the abundance of greatness and success that I once had, and I have no answer left to give concerning my case — so what more, then, should I go on to say? (What emerges from these words is that he recounts the greatness of his former stature and the magnitude of the success that he once had, and the merit of his deeds, on account of which greatness and honor came to him — and how the matter was turned from one extreme to the other, so that even the young and the most despised of families disgrace him, and he suffers various pains, and not on account of any sin, for he was exceedingly careful in every matter that requires care; and he goes on at length recounting the abundance of his righteousness and the uprightness of his conduct, and passes sentence on himself, accepting the recompense of punishment, should he have sinned in any matter.)

Thistles (choach) - A kind of thorn. Noisome weeds (ba'shah) - It resembles barley, but is inferior to it; as in 'and it brought forth wild grapes (be'ushim)' (Isaiah 5), a species that resembles grapes but is inferior to them.