Jó 23

NOVA VULGATA	NEW JERUSALEM
1 Respondens autem Iob ait:	1 Job spoke next. He said:
2 “ Nunc quoque in amaritu tudine est querela mea, et manus eius aggravata est super gemitum meum.	2 My lament is stil rebellious; despite my groans, his hand is just as heavy.
3 Quis mihi tribuat, ut cognoscam et inveniam illum et veniam usque ad solium eius?	3 Wil no one help me to know how to travel to his dwel ing?
4 Ponam coram eo iudicium et os meum replebo increpationibus,	4 I should set out my case to him, advancing any number of grievances.
5 ut sciam verba, quae mihi respondeat, et intellegam quid loquatur mihi.	5 Then I could learn his defence, every word of it, taking note of everything he said to me.
6 Num multa fortitudine contendet mecum? Non! Ipse tantum audiat!	6 Would he put al his strength into this debate with me? No, he would only have to give his attention tome,
7 Tunc iustus disceptabit cum illo, et ego evaderem in perpetuo a iudice meo.	7 to recognise his opponent as upright and so I should win my case for ever.
8 Si ad orientem iero, non apparet; si ad occidentem, non intellegam eum.	8 If I go to the east, he is not there; or to the west, I stil cannot see him.
9 Si ad sinistram pergam, non apprehendam eum; si me vertam ad dexteram, non videbo illum.	9 If I seek him in the north, he is not to be found, invisible as ever, if I turn to the south.
10 Ipse vero scit viam meam, et, si probaverit me, quasi aurum egrediar.	10 And yet he knows every step I take! Let him test me in the crucible: I shall come out pure gold.
11 Vestigia eius secutus est pes meus, viam eius custodivi et non declinavi ex ea.	11 My footsteps have fol owed close in his, I have walked in his way without swerving;
12 A mandatis labiorum eius non recessi et in sinu meo abscondi verba oris eius.	12 I have not neglected the commandment of his lips, in my heart I have cherished the words of hismouth.
13 Ipse enim solus est, et quis repellet eum? Et anima eius, quodcumque voluit, hoc fecit.	13 But once he has made up his mind, who can change it? Whatever he plans, that he carries out.
14 Cum expleverit in me voluntatem suam, et alia multa similia praesto sunt ei;	14 No doubt, then, but he wil carry out my sentence, like so many other decrees that he has made.
15 et idcirco a facie eius turbatus sum et considerans eum timore sollicitor.	15 That is why I am ful of fear before him, and the more I think, the greater grows my dread of him.
16 Deus mollivit cor meum, et Omnipotens conturbavit me.	16 God has undermined my courage, Shaddai has filled me with fear.
17 Non enim perii propter imminentes tenebras, nec faciem meam operuit caligo.	17 The darkness having failed to destroy me, I am plunged back into obscurity by him!