Ye have heard of the patience of Job. JAMES v. n, A.V.
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you. I. PETER iv. 12, A.V.
Let thy gold be cast in the furnace, Thy red gold precious and bright ;
Do not fear the hungry fire
With its caverns of burning light,
And thy gold shall return more precious
Free from every spot and stain.
In the cruel furnace of sorrow
Cast thy heart. Do not faint nor wail, Let thy hand be firm and steady ;
Do not let thy spirit quail, But wait till the trial is over
And take thy heart again.
PREFACE
It is very difficult to write any sort of preface or introduction to the book of Ayub. It is written in the tersest and most condensed style, without a superfluous word, and makes tremendous demands upon any one who attempts to give an English version of it. That all its difficulties are solved in the rendering now offered, the translator does not pretend to claim ; he can only say that he has made great endeavours to follow the thought of the writer through his often enigmatical language, and if he has not always been successful in this, he has at least arrived at a very much better understanding of the book and its writer while making the endeavour. Many passages which are simply unintelligible in our previous English versions yield a plain and intelligible sense enough when every word is given its true root meaning, and due regard is given to the continuity of the thought and the general plan of the book.
The castrophe, however, is not a little remarkable, and
has been greatly obscured by the fact that a large part of
what appears in our English versions, as referring to
Leviathan, is really a description of man ; though the subject
does not appear to have recognised his own portrait, as seen
from without, and sketched for him by a master hand. From
chap. xli. 17, to the end of the chapter, Man is the subject
of the speaker. The Septuagint translator so understood
the passage, and though the language is highly enigmatical, still the plain rendering is MAN SHALL CLEAVE TO HIS BROTHER, and unless man be in some sense the subject the catastrophe becomes unintelligible.
Ayub had been complaining that he could not get a
hearing; but when at last the Almighty intervenes, He does so
to plead His own cause, and demands that Ayub shall
answer Him. " Wilt thou condemn Me that thou mayestbe
righteous ? " Chap. xl. 8 A.V. And He concludes His speech
in fact by complaining that Ayub is too proud to speak
to Him. And so Ayub understood what he heard, as
his reply makes clear. It was not the Almighty who was
the source of his troubles and trials, and even the jealousy
and enmity of Satan would have had little or no power if
he had not found men willing instruments in his hand ; first
to destroy and carry off his property, and afterwards to ply
him with counsels of despair. Man in fact has not yet learned
his power, and constantly allows himself to become a tool in
the hands of his mortal foe to his own injury, and that of
his brother man. " When he arises the gods will give way ; they will be broken and miss the road."
R. SADLER.
Hail, smiling Morn, that tip'st the hills with gold.
Whose rosy fingers ope the gates of day ; Who, the gay face of Nature dost unfold,
At whose bright presence darkness flies away !
THE BOOK OF AYUB
1. THERE WAS A MAN IN THE LAND OF UZ, Ayub by name. And this man was whole-hearted and straightforward, one that feared the gods and turned aside from evil.
2. And there were born to him seven sons and three
daughters; and he had acquired seven thousand sheep, and
three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and
five hundred she-asses, and his servants were multiplied
greatly ; and this man was renowned among all the sons of
the East.
3. And. his sons went and kept open house each his day, and sent and called their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of feasting had gone about, Ayub used to send and cleanse them. And he rose early in the morning and offered burnt-offerings commemorating them all ; for Ayub said, Perchance my sons have done amiss and been guilty of presumption. Thus did Ayub regularly.
5. And the day arrived for the sons of the gods to go
in and present themselves before Jehovah, and Satan also
went in in their midst.