Hiob 31
Hoffnung für Alle
Mein letztes Wort: Ich bin unschuldig!
31 »Mit meinen Augen habe ich einen Bund geschlossen,
niemals ein Mädchen lüstern anzusehen.
2 Was hätte ich von Gott sonst zu erwarten,
von ihm, der in der Höhe thront?
Welches Urteil hätte der Allmächtige
dann über mich verhängt?
3 Den Bösen trifft das Unheil,
und den Übeltätern schickt Gott Unglück.
4 Er sieht doch all mein Tun,
er kennt jeden Schritt.
5 War ich jemals verlogen und falsch,
habe ich andere betrogen?
6 Gott soll mich wiegen auf seiner gerechten Waage –
und er wird feststellen, dass ich unschuldig bin!
7 Wenn ich von seinem Wege abgewichen bin,
wenn mein Herz alles begehrte,
was meine Augen sahen,
oder wenn an meinen Händen irgendein Unrecht klebt,
8 dann soll ein anderer verzehren,
was ich gesät und geerntet habe,
ausreißen soll man das Getreide auf meinem Feld!
9 Wenn ich mich von der Frau meines Nachbarn betören ließ
und an ihrer Tür auf sie gewartet habe,
10 dann soll meine Frau für einen anderen kochen,
und andere sollen sich über sie hermachen!
11 Denn dann hätte ich eine Schandtat begangen,
ein Verbrechen, das vor die Richter gehört.
12 Ein Feuer ist der Ehebruch!
Es brennt bis in den Tod.
Es würde all mein Hab und Gut bis auf den Grund zerstören.
13 Wenn ich das Recht meines Knechtes
oder meiner Magd missachtet hätte,
als sie gegen mich klagten,
14 was wollte ich tun,
wenn Gott Gericht hält,
was könnte ich ihm erwidern,
wenn er mich zur Rechenschaft zieht?
15 Denn er, der mich im Mutterleib gebildet hat,
er hat auch meinen Knecht geschaffen.
Wir beide verdanken unser Leben ihm!
16 Niemals habe ich die Bitte eines Armen abgeschlagen
und keine Witwe weggeschickt,
die verzweifelt zu mir kam.
17 Ich habe mein Brot nicht für mich selbst behalten,
nein – mit den Waisenkindern habe ich es geteilt.
18 Von meiner Jugend an habe ich sie großgezogen wie ein Vater,
für die Witwen habe ich mein Leben lang gesorgt.
19 Habe ich ruhig zugesehen,
wie einer vor Kälte umkam?
Ließ ich den Armen ohne warme Kleider weitergehen?
20 Nein, die Wolle meiner Lämmer wärmte ihn,
er dankte mir von ganzem Herzen.
21 Wenn ich je ein Waisenkind bedrohte,
wohl wissend, dass ich vor Gericht die größere Macht besaß,
22 dann soll mir der Arm von der Schulter fallen,
abbrechen soll er, gerade am Gelenk!
23 Doch ich habe Gottes Strafgericht immer gefürchtet.
Die Furcht vor seiner Hoheit
hat mich vom Unrecht ferngehalten.
24 Ich habe nicht auf Gold vertraut;
zum reinen Gold habe ich niemals gesagt:
›Du sicherst mir das Leben!‹
25 Ich habe mir auch nichts
auf meinen großen Reichtum eingebildet,
den ich mit eigener Hand erworben habe.
26-27 Und hätte ich mich heimlich dazu verführen lassen,
die strahlende Sonne zu verehren
oder den Mond auf seiner silbernen Bahn –
28 auch das wäre ein Vergehen,
das vor die Richter gehört,
denn damit hätte ich Gott verleugnet,
der hoch über allen Gestirnen thront.
29 Habe ich hämisch gegrinst,
wenn meinen Feind das Unglück traf,
habe ich über seinen Untergang schadenfroh gelacht?
30 Nein, ich habe mit keinem Wort gesündigt,
ich habe ihn nicht verflucht,
ihm nicht den Tod gewünscht!
31-32 Kein Gast ist je von meinem Haus hungrig weggegangen,
keinen Fremden ließ ich draußen auf der Straße übernachten,
nein, meine Tür stand dem Wanderer stets offen –
meine Männer können es bezeugen!
33 Ich habe nie versucht,
mein Unrecht zu verbergen
oder meine Schuld geheim zu halten,
wie alle anderen es tun[a].
34 Ich bin nicht stumm zu Hause geblieben aus Angst,
dass meine Sippe mich verachten könnte;
ich scheute nicht die große Menge.
35 Ach, wenn Gott mich nur anhörte!
Hier ist die Unterschrift unter meine Verteidigung!
Ich erwarte, dass der Allmächtige mir darauf antwortet!
Mein Gegner soll seine Anklagen schriftlich niederlegen!
36 Ja, ich würde dieses Schriftstück auf der Schulter tragen
und es mir wie eine Krone aufsetzen!
37 Über jeden Schritt würde ich Gott Rechenschaft geben,
wie ein Fürst ihm gegenübertreten!
38 Wenn mein Acker meinetwegen um Hilfe schreien musste
und seine Furchen von Tränen durchnässt waren,
39 wenn ich seinen Ertrag verzehrt habe,
ohne ihm zu geben, was ihm zusteht;
wenn ich die Pächter zugrunde gerichtet habe,
40 dann sollen auf dem Acker
Dornen statt Weizen wachsen
und Unkraut statt der Gerste!«
Hier enden die Reden von Hiob.
Job 31
King James Version
31 I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?
2 For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
3 Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity?
4 Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?
5 If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit;
6 Let me be weighed in an even balance that God may know mine integrity.
7 If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands;
8 Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out.
9 If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour's door;
10 Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her.
11 For this is an heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges.
12 For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all mine increase.
13 If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me;
14 What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?
15 Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb?
16 If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;
17 Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;
18 (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother's womb;)
19 If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;
20 If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21 If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate:
22 Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone.
23 For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.
24 If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence;
25 If I rejoice because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much;
26 If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness;
27 And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand:
28 This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above.
29 If I rejoice at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him:
30 Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul.
31 If the men of my tabernacle said not, Oh that we had of his flesh! we cannot be satisfied.
32 The stranger did not lodge in the street: but I opened my doors to the traveller.
33 If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom:
34 Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of the door?
35 Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book.
36 Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me.
37 I would declare unto him the number of my steps; as a prince would I go near unto him.
38 If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain;
39 If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life:
40 Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.
Job 31
English Standard Version
Job's Final Appeal
31 “I have made a covenant with my (A)eyes;
how then could I gaze at a virgin?
2 What would be (B)my portion from God above
and (C)my heritage from the Almighty on high?
3 Is not calamity for the unrighteous,
and disaster for the workers of iniquity?
4 (D)Does not he see my ways
and (E)number all my steps?
5 “If I have walked with falsehood
and my foot has hastened to deceit;
6 (Let me be (F)weighed in a just balance,
and let God know my integrity!)
7 if my step has turned aside from the way
and (G)my heart has gone after my eyes,
and if any (H)spot has stuck to my hands,
8 then let me (I)sow, and another eat,
and let what grows for me[a] be rooted out.
9 “If my heart has been enticed toward a woman,
and I have (J)lain in wait at my neighbor's door,
10 then let my wife (K)grind for another,
and let others (L)bow down on her.
11 For that would be a heinous crime;
that would be an iniquity (M)to be punished by the judges;
12 for that would be a fire (N)that consumes as far as Abaddon,
and it would burn to the root all my increase.
13 “If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant,
when they brought a complaint against me,
14 what then shall I do when God rises up?
When he (O)makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
15 Did (P)not he who made me in the womb make him?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?
16 “If I have (Q)withheld anything that the poor desired,
or have (R)caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 or have eaten my morsel alone,
and the fatherless has not eaten of it
18 (for from my youth the fatherless[b] grew up with me as with a father,
and from my mother's womb I guided the widow[c]),
19 if I have seen anyone (S)perish for (T)lack of clothing,
or the needy without (U)covering,
20 if his body has not (V)blessed me,[d]
and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
21 if I have raised my hand against (W)the fatherless,
because I saw my help in (X)the gate,
22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.
23 For I was (Y)in terror of calamity from God,
and I could not have faced his (Z)majesty.
24 (AA)“If I have made gold my (AB)trust
or called (AC)fine gold my confidence,
25 if I have (AD)rejoiced because my wealth was abundant
or because (AE)my hand had found much,
26 (AF)if I have looked at the sun[e] when it shone,
or (AG)the moon moving in splendor,
27 and my heart has been secretly enticed,
and my mouth has kissed my hand,
28 this also would be (AH)an iniquity to be punished by the judges,
for I would have been false to God above.
29 “If I have (AI)rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me,
or exulted when evil overtook him
30 ((AJ)I have not let my mouth sin
by asking for his life with a curse),
31 if the men of my tent have not said,
‘Who is there that has not been filled with his (AK)meat?’
32 ((AL)the sojourner has not lodged in the street;
I have opened my doors to the traveler),
33 if I (AM)have concealed my transgressions (AN)as others do[f]
by hiding my iniquity in my heart,
34 because I stood in great fear of (AO)the multitude,
and the contempt of families terrified me,
so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors—
35 Oh, that I had one to hear me!
(Here is my signature! Let the Almighty (AP)answer me!)
Oh, that I had (AQ)the indictment written by my adversary!
36 Surely I would carry it on my (AR)shoulder;
I would (AS)bind it on me as (AT)a crown;
37 I would give him an account of all my steps;
like a prince I would approach him.
38 “If my land has cried out against me
and its furrows have wept together,
39 (AU)if I have eaten its yield without payment
and made its owners (AV)breathe their last,
40 let (AW)thorns grow instead of wheat,
and foul weeds instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
Hoffnung für Alle® (Hope for All) Copyright © 1983, 1996, 2002 by Biblica, Inc.®
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
