Book Of Job

	IOB.
[JOB’S UPRIGHTNESS (1:1–6)]
14090 14095 14100 14105 14110 14115 14120 14125 14130 14135	1175. Job was a full gentyll Jew, of hym is helfull forto here. For whoso his condicions knew of meknes myght fynd maters sere. Ever in his trewth he was full trew, os men may in his lyfyng lere. He lyfed ever als a lele Ebrew, in the land of us he had no pere. All yf he ware to knaw full mekyll in erthly myght, In hert he was full law and dred God day and nyght. 1176. He honerd God in all degré and ever was dredand to do yll. Fro foyles was he freke to flee and fayn all frenchep to fulfyll. He had a wyfe both fayr and free that redy was to werke his wyll, And sevyn suns semly to se and doyghturs thre full stabyll and styll. Of gold God had hym sent to mend with mony a store, Rych robys, and ryall rent. Myrth myght no man have more. 1177. He had hymself sevyn thowsand schepe in flokkes to flytt both to and fro, Thre thowsand camels forto kepe, and fyve hunderth asses also. He had in hyllys and daylys depe fyfty yoke of oxyn in ylkon two And servantes wele to wake and slepe in dyverse werkes with them to go. For plowes he had plenté his land to dele and dyght. In all the Est cuntré was non so mekyll of myght. 1178. All yf he regned in rych aray, of his gud rewle thus men may red: He lyfed full lelly in His Lay and to grefe God he had grett dred. His sevyn suns, als I herd say, mad ryall festes ther frendes to fede Ever ylkon sere be dyverse day, and ther thre systers con thei bede Ther fest so forto fyll with frendes old and yyng. Ther fader com them tyll and gafe them his blessyng.	salutary to hear; (t-note) (t-note) loyal Jew (i.e., on earth) (t-note) very humble (low) afraid; evil fools; eager glad sons handsome great supply sheep; (t-note) flocks to go; (t-note) donkeys deep dales (see note) Although good rule [of himself]; read feasts
[SATAN ASKS PERMISSION TO ATTACK JOB (1:7–12)]
14140 14145 14150 14155 14160 14165 14170 14175 14180	1179. The Fend that is our fals enmy to payr them putt hym furth in prese. Unto them had he grett envy and care to se them so wele encrese. He come before God Allmighty to gette hym leve, this is no lese, With tene to turment Job body so forto make his solace sese. All yf our Lord wele wyst of all his purpase playn, Nerthelese yett als Hym lyst the Fend thus con He frayn: 1180. “Whens comys thou, tell me in this tyd, and whore abowt now has thou bene?” He sayd, “Ser, I have walked wyd over all this werld withoutyn wene So forto seke on ylka syde for syners, and sum have I sene. Thor is my bourd to gare them byd tyll I may turment them with tene.” God says, “Takes thou no hede to Job, My trew servand, How he of God has dred, non lyke hym in no land? 1181. “In mynd he is full meke and law, both sobour and sothfast for certayn.” Then sayd the Fend unto that saw, “That Job Thee dredes ys all in vayn. Thou has so clossed hym, well I knaw, that no grefe may go hym agayn. Bot and Thou wold Thi hand withdraw and putt hym in my power playn, Full sone then sall Thou se how he suld turn full tyte. He suld not sett be Thee the mountynance of a myte. 1182. “Thou makes his catell forto creve and so Thou rewardes hym with ryches That he may mene of no myschefe. What ground is then of his gudnes?” Then sayd our Lord, “I gyfe thee leve of all his mobylles more and lese; Bot loke that thou no malyce meve his body to do any dystrese. I graunt thee power playn of all his erthly gud.” Then was the Fend full fayn and fast fro God he yode.	(i.e., Satan) injure; the throng; (see note) sadness lie; (see note) injury end Even though; knew well pleased ask; (t-note) From where without doubt sinners game to cause; wait low truthful those words protected against if (t-note) very quickly value of a mite grow (t-note) movable goods stir up went
[JOB LOSES HIS CHILDREN AND HIS RICHES (1:13–22)]
14185 14190 14195 14200 14205 14210 14215 14220 14225 14230 14235 14240 14245 14250 14255 14260 14265 14270 14275 14280 14285 14290	1183. So when tho two ware fayren in twene, the Fend sone putt furth his power. Job chylder then a howse within ware bresed to ded and broyght on bere. Sythyn all his bestes he wald not blyn to slo them and his servandes sere. And how this batell all con begyn, berys wyttenese mony a messynger That unto Job con tell, syghand with sympyll chere, How all this fayre befell. Who wyll take hede may lere. 1184. Fyrst com in on, wepand with wogh, to Job whore he in blys con byd: “Thin oxin went in wayn and plogh; thin asses pasturd them besyd. Com folk fro Saba and theyn them drogh and slogh thin hyne, is not to hyd. I wan away with noy enogh to tell thee tythynges in this tyd.” Unethes had he thus sayd when another com in With a full balfull brayd, and thus he con begyn. 1185. “A, ser,” he sayd, “to me take tent, for I may tell of mekyll tene. Thi sheperds and thi shepe ar shent, and all ther welth is wastyd clene. A sodan fyre was on them sent, so brym before had never bene. To bare bones all ar thei brent, bot I that was not nere them sene, I com thee forto tell how all this tene betyd.” Then langer he wold not dwell, bot sone com in the thryd. 1186. “Ser,” he sayd, “our yll enmyse, the Caldews, that we ever hath dryd, Thei come with thre grett cumpanys of men of armys in yrne cled. The camels all withoutyn price have thei tone and furth with them led, And sloyn thi servantes in the sam wyse bot me allon, that fro them fled. I was full fayn to fle and sythyn full fast to go Hyder at tell to thee of all this were and wo.” 1187. The ferth com then with febyll chere, the hardest hap in hand had he. “Alas,” he sayd, “for sorows sere, that I suld ever sych syghtys se! Thi sevyn suns and thre doyghturs dere ar ded, therfor full wo is me. I sall thee say on what manere, for now ther may no mendes be. Thei spake in certayn space to ete and drynke togeydder In the eldest brother place, and ylkon come thei ydder. 1188. “And als thei ware within the wonys, sett at ther fest full fayr and fast, A wynd com on them grett for the noyns and all the howse sone down yt cast. Yt bressed the barns both flesch and bons so that thei myght no langer last. I fled and was full wyll of wons tyll I was fro the perels past. And, ser, sen thus is kend, I red yow werke als wyse. Grett mornyng may not amend wher no relefe may ryse.” 1189. When Job had herd of all this care and saw yt myght no bettur be, His sorows ware so sere and sare that non for syte may on hym see. He rafe his cott and rent his hare, swylke hevenes in hert had he. Full well he wyst tho werkkes ware of the Fend and of his fals meneye. Down on his knese he kneled full low by hym alon, And to Hevyn he beheld, and thus he made his mone: 1190. “Lord God,” he sayd, “mekyll is Thi myght amang mankynd here forto knaw, That rewls all thyng be reson ryght Thi ryalté forto rede by raw. Thou dos nother be day ne nyght bot dewly evynhede, os Thee aw. Thou ponysch men here for ther plyght at lern them forto luf Thin Law. Thou kens me curtasly of my defawtes before. I wott I am worthy for syn to suffere more. 1191. “Thou gafe me of Thin awn gudnese all werldly welth to weld at wyll, All ryall rentes with grett ryches, all folke to be tendand me untyll. Now se I welle Thi wyll yt es that fare no ferther to fulfyll. Blessed Thou be with more and lese! I love Thi layn both lowd and styll.” When all this werke was wroyght, als men full ryght may rede, That Job yit trespast noyght nother in word ne dede.	(t-note) beaten to death; biers his (Job’s) beasts he (Satan); cease weeping with woe did live went out with wagons and plows drew them off slew your servants (t-note) Scarcely sorrowful rush take heed; (t-note) sadness (see note) such brim(stone) burned happened Chaldeans; dreaded (t-note) except (t-note) fourth; (t-note) (t-note) (t-note) building at once bruised the children despair sadness varied and profound grief; look tore his coat; hair (t-note) lament to rule properly proper justice; ought show; (t-note) (t-note) (t-note) such things any further; (t-note) in every way laws; publicly and privately; (t-note) (see note) read
[JOB LOSES HIS HEALTH (2:1–10)]
14295 14300 14305 14310 14315 14320 14325 14330 14335 14340 14345 14350 14355 14360 14365 14370 14375 14380 14385	1192. Bot when the Fend saw for certayn that Job wold not unbowsom be, He hyde hym fast to God agayn to greve Hym in gretter degré. Bot God than to reprove hym playn sayd, “Satanas, now may thou se That Job dredes me not all in vayn bot in lele luf and charité. All wo that thou hath wroght both to hym and hys hyne, Thou may not chaunge his toyght to skyft fro Me and Myne.” 1193. Then sayd the Fend, “For all this fare wyll he not waynd in warld to wend. For catell wyll he have no care, he trows his frend wyll hym dyffend. Bot wold Thou towch his body bare and suffer seknes on hym be send, So suld Thou wytt yf that he ware lele lastand in Thi Law to lend.” God sayd, “I gyfe thee leve of his body all be dene. Bot luke that thou not greve his sawle bot kepe yt clene.” 1194. The Fend was then full fayn forthy that he of Job had swylk powsté. He mared hym sone with meselry, fro hed to fote nothyng was fre, Bot blayns and bledders all his body and scabbes whor skyn was wonnt to be. So satt he syghand sorely, grett sorow yt was that syght to se. All folke then hym forsoke that was his frend before. Men lathed on hym to loke and ylk day more and more. 1195. The Fend more care unto hym cast to make hym wake and wyll of wone. Thys blayns and bleders bolnd and brast and mad the flesch flytt fro the bone. His servandes, that before ware fast, ware fayn to fle and leved none. Bot so he was kest at the last in a mydyng sett allone. He that no man wold greve befor for his ryches, Now was muke most his releve forto inforse his flesch. 1196. He had no howse in forto dwell, ne cloghes for cold his cors to hyde, Bot in that mydyng muke omell thor was his toure als for his tyd. With a pott-scarth or with a schell he scraped the scabys on ylka syde. For yll are and unhonest smell ther wold non buske with hym to byde. Bot in all his myschefe full trew was his trowyng That God suld hym releve and owt of bale hym bryng. 1197. So os he rested in yll aray, his wyf turment hym more to teyne. “Now may men se,” thus con scho say, “of what condycions thou hath bene. Blyse God and dy and wend thi way, for other welthys is none to wene. Thou has not plessed Thi God to pay, that is wele by thi sorow sene.” “Alas,” he sayd, “for dole, why frays thou me with flytt? Thou spekes evyn als a foyle that hath no womans wytt. 1198. “Thier wordes thou werkes, we may warrand, thei are not rewled by ryght ne skyll. Sen that we take here of Goddes hand all werldly welth to weld at wyll, Why suld we not als stably stand when tenys and turfurs tydes us tyll, And love that Lord on ylka land, sen He governs both gud and yll. God gyfes us here certayn to weld both wyld and tame And takes yt agayn. blest mot ever be His name! 1199. “Of erth I wott I was furth broyght naked, yt nedes not at layn, And, when my werldly werkes ar wroyght, with teyne then sall I turn agayn. To bale or blyse wheder we be broyght, to Goddes bedyng we suld be bayn.” In all ther tales Job trespast noyght, ne spyd to spend his spech in vayn. So, als he lothly lendes alon in low degré, Thre of his faythfull frendes soght fere his syte to se.	disobedient hastened himself (t-note) loyal household shift shrink from; (t-note) believes allow sickness forthwith (see note) soul therefore; (t-note) power leprosy pustules and blisters supposed were loath grief helpless swelled and burst; (t-note) beside him (t-note) midden (dunghill) chair; (t-note) muck (dung) (t-note) midden muck together palace potsherd sick air; (see note); (t-note) no one would meet with him for long belief (t-note) suffering; (t-note) tormented; anger (see note) insults fool; (see note) These Since what; (t-note) sorrows and misfortunes happen to us (t-note) From dust I know be denied; (t-note) obedient these loathly remains (t-note)
[JOB’S THREE FRIENDS (2:11–13)]
14390 14395 14400 14405 14410	1200. Thei come ylkon fro dyverse place, now wyll we here how that thei heyght: Elyphath and Baladach toke that trace, and Sothar soyght to se that syght. For ylkon spake in dyverse space, so sall we wytt ther resons ryght. Bot when thei come before his face, to mell with mowth had thei no myght. Thei saw his syte so sad, for bale ther hertes myght breke. Thei ware so mased and mad, a word thei myght not speke. 1201. Bot on the erth then fell thei down and bett apon ther bodes bare. Thei rafe ther robes of rych renown, and als rude bestes oft thei rare. Thei cast powder on ther crown, as foran folke febylly thei fare. And so thei satt in that sessown, syghand sex days with sorow sare. Job saw that thei sayd noyght, bot sat so lang alone With mornyng as he moght. to God he mad his mone:	are called Eliphaz; Bildad Zophar (t-note) speak (t-note) beat; bodies; (t-note) tore roared ashes; (t-note) foreign sighing six; (see note); (t-note)
[JOB LAMENTS HIS PITIFUL EXISTENCE (3:1–26)]
14415 14420	1202. “Alas,” he sayd, “Lord, with Thi leve, why ledes Thou me thus to be lorn? I have not gone Thee forto grefe, ne forfeytt so felly here beforne. Why suld I suffer swylke myscheve of all men to have scath and skorn? Thi mercy, Lord, unto me Thou meve, els may I ban that I was born. And wold God that I had bene fro bryth broyght to my grave. Then suld non me have sene swylke hydows harm to have.”	forlorn transgressed so terribly otherwise; curse birth; (t-note) (t-note) hideous
[ELIPHAZ SAYS JOB HAS SURELY SINNED (4:1–5:27)]
14425 14430 14435 14440 14445	1203. Elyphath herd then how he ment, and saw how he in bale was boun And loved not God that it had lent, bot more to blame he has begun. “Job,” he says, “thou takes no tent to wrschep God als thou was wun. Thou makes thiself an innocent, as never defawt in thee was fun. Thou was wonnt to wysch how we suld suffer wo. Now thynke me wele be this thiself con noyght do so. 1204. “To ruse thiself I red thou blyn, yt dose us harme swylk wordes to here. Wytt sothly it is for thi syn that thee is sent thies sorows sere. Sen ther wunys none this werld within that in ther consciens are all clere, How dare thou so boldly begyn to maynten mys on this manere, To say thou has noyght done slyke fellows fandynges to fele! Man, knaw thiselfe ryght sone! Els wyll yt not be wele.”	(t-note) (t-note) you take no heed you were meant to do fashion yourself found teach praise; advise you cease Know truly you are sent these many sorrows; (t-note) Since there lives (t-note) misdeed trials; (t-note) (see note) Otherwise
[JOB SAYS HIS COMPLAINT IS JUST (6:1–7:21)]
14450 14455 14460 14465 14470 14475 14480 14485 14490 14495 14500 14505	1205. Then answerd Job with drery toyght and sayd to them that sat besyd: “Wold God all yll that ever I wroyght and ther bales that I here byd Ware both in a payre of balans broyght forto be wowed and well dyscryd. Then suld ye se yourself unsoyght, for all that ye can tell this tyd, That my payns ar wele more and feller by sythes fyve Then ever I synd before in lengh of all my lyf. 1206. “My flesch is nother of yrn ne styele, ne my banes ar not mad of brase Bot of freyle mater ylk dele that with full lytyll payn may pase. And ye had faurth part that I fele, sore suld ye sygh and say, ‘Alas,’ For I fayr werse, I wott full wele, then any wrech that ever was. And ye myght wytt my wogh, then suld ye fynd before That I have sorow enogh yf ye make me no more. 1207. “For so carfull sorows ware never sene, ne so saklese, and I durst say, And your tales tempyse me to tene more then doles that I dre ylk day. To Myghty God I wyll me mene, ther is no mo that mend me may: Lord, lege me of thies carys keyn or wyn me fro this werld away. Sen servantes, frendes, and wyfe are glad fro me to gang, My saule laythes with my lyfe, Thou lattes me lyfe over lang. 1208. “And certes, Lord, with lefe of Thee, in my mynd mervayle have I That thou wyll putt furth Thi powsté and muster so Thi grett maystry In swylke a wofull wreche as me that hath no strengh to stand therby, And lettes full fellows folke go free that mekyll mo wo ware worthy. That suld be sene full sone and penauns ordand wore Eftur mens dedes wore done, and nother lese ne more. 1209. “A, Lord, as Thou me mad with myght, so may Thou make me to have mede, And Thou may loyse with labour lyght my lyfe and all that lyfes in lede. Bot when the Day of Dome is dyght men to be demed aftur ther dede, I sall be fun befor Thi syght sothfast enogh for any nede. For I wroght never swylke wrang, ne served never so unsele Forto have half so lang so fell payn als I fele.”	everything I have done these sorrows; suffer pair of balancing scales weighed; judged; (t-note) are far more more cruel by five times; (t-note) sinned iron nor steel bones frail; each part may pass [away] If; a quarter of what I feel; (t-note) If; know my woe; (t-note) such causeless, if I dare say; (t-note) tempt; anger suffer complain no other who relieve; these sharp pains; (t-note) take Since go is disgusted; (t-note) allow me to live too long for certain; leave power; (t-note) mastery (t-note) very evil people of much more woe; (t-note) very quickly if penance; (see note) (t-note) neither reward destroy in the nation Judgment Day comes; (see note) judged according to their deeds found deserved such misery
[BILDAD SAYS JOB SHOULD REPENT (8:1–22)]
14510 14515 14520 14525 14530 14535 14540 14545 14550 14555	1210. Then Baldath myght no langer byde, hym toyght this tale last to lang. He sayd, “Job, for thi pomp and prid is thou put in payns strang. How dere thou thusgayte with God chyd and deme that His werkyng ys wrang! Thi dedes here has thou justyfyed als thou had never wonned men amang. And, sertes, yf thou had bene ay styll stokyn in a stone, Yytt suld thou not be sene withowtyn syn gud wone. 1211. “For thou may here wysmen say thus, als Holy Wrytt wytnese allway: Septies in die cadet iustus — he says that sevyn sythis on a day Syns ryghtwys men here amang us. What sall then wreched syners say That ever are yll and vycyus and non bot God mend us may? Sen non may helpe bot He our myse forto amend, Mekly suffer suld we what saynd that He wyll send. 1212. “And thou makes proveys here playnly that Goddes ordynance ys owt of skyll — When thou thiself wyll justyfye and deme that thou hath done none yll — Thore takes thou fro God Allmighty the fredom that falys Hym untyll. For dome is His forto dystrye both word and werke at His awn wyll. Thou demys God is not stabyll to stand as hee justyce, Or els unresnabyll, when thou says on this wyse. 1213. “That thi penaunce is mekyll more then other folke before have feld, Or els thi werkes worthy wore that thou has wroyght in yowth or eld. I red thou sese and rew yt sore and beseke God to be thi beld, Lese that thou fare no warre therfor, for thou no thankyng to Hym wyll yeld. Yf God ware in gud wyll thi comforth to encrese, Swylke spech thi spede may spyll, and therfor hald thi pese.”	wait; (t-note) are you in this way; quarrel judge as if you; dwelled; (t-note) [even] if ever stuck under a rock judged plenty “Seven times the just will fall in a day”; (see note) times sins vicious misdeeds trial If; proofs reason judge (t-note) falls judgment; compel; (see note) high manner felt were advise you cease protector Lest; worse; (t-note) relief hold your peace
[JOB RESPONDS TO BILDAD (19:1–29)]
14560 14565 14570 14575 14580 14585 14590 14595 14600 14605 14610 14615	1214. Then answerd Job unto tho thre, and mekly thus he con hym mene. “Alas,” he says, “how lang thynke ye to turment me thus yow betwene? Of my payn suld ye have pety that my frendes ay before hath bene. Vengance of God hath towched me, that is with sorow on me sene. And sen ye see my sore and castes yt not to keyle, Yowr gabbyng greves me more then all the fawtes I fele. 1215. “Ye sett my fare bot als a fabyll, and my wordes tell ye wroyght in vayn And says that I make God unstabyll, for that I pleyn me of my payn. I say yt is unmesurabyll forto sett for my syn certayn, Bot God that kast me in this cabull may, when Hym lyst, lawse yt agayn. Wold God my wordes ware wryttyn, that thei ware not tynt, With a poyntyll of steylle in a hard stone of flynt 1216. “So that thei myght ever more be ment and made in mynd all men emang. Then suld all wytt whore so thei went wheder my wordes ware wele or wrang, And yf I ever to syn assent to be putt to slyke payn strang. God knaws my mynd and myn entent yf ye go whore ye have to gang. And, sertes, yf ye me slo, my fayth sall ever be fast And never depart Hym fro, als lang os my lyf may last. 1217. “My wytt is allway in this wyse, and so my trowth sall evermore be. My Sayvyour lyfes and never more dyse, and on the last day deme sall He. Then fro the erth sall I upryse, both bone and flesch, in faccion free, And with myn eyne in that assyse my Sayvyour then sall I see. All yf I byde in bale and be here bressed and brokyn, Thor sall I ryse all hale when all your speche is spokyn. 1218. “And there shal ye allso be sene for all youre saunttering and your saws. And then sall I be fun als clene as ye that all this bostes blaws. Ye come als men me to mene and seys me suffur so sore thraws, Bot more ye tempe me unto tene. and God that all our conciance knaws, He wott I have not wroyght so gretly Hym agayn Wherfor I suld be broyght to fele slyke perles payn.”	(see note) moan pity who since relieve talking; (t-note) doings; fable you say are complain this bondage loose it (t-note) lost stylus of iron; (t-note) on remembered; (t-note) everyone know wherever right go strong (t-note) dies; (see note); (t-note) judge fashion eyes; assize Even if I endure in grief bruised There (i.e., at Doomsday); whole (t-note) hypocrisy; words who blow hards all these boasts as men to pity me; (t-note) such sore wounds; (t-note) sorrow inner thoughts feel such painful perils
[ZOPHAR SAYS JOB IS WICKED (20:1–29)]
14620 14625 14630 14635 14640 14645 14650 14655 14660 14665 14670 14675	1219. Sophar says then, “For soth I trow, Job, thou justyfyse thiself overlang. Yf thou had never done yll or now, thou servys to suffer sorows strang. For all thi werkes thou wyll avowe whedder so thei were wele or wrang. Wele bettur ware thee forto bow and graunt thi gylt now or thou gang. Thou wenes so all be wun thi dedes to justyfye. Bot that fare sall be fun full fals ypocrysie. 1220. “For in this werld werkes none so wele that wott wheder his werke be wroyght Unto his sorow or to his sele. For, when the soth is all up soyght, Of gud werke God dose ylk dele. Bot He yt werke, the werke is noyght. And of the Fend, als folke may fele, full yll bargans ere furth broyght. Sen non ther werkes may wytt qwylk is trew forto treyst, Pray God to ordand yt and reward als Hym lyst. 1221. “Thou hath governd so grett degré and had this werld all at thi wyll. Yf thou trespast to two or thre, ther durst none say that thou dyd yll. And yf on trespast unto thee, all had he never so opyn skyll, Auder thou or other of thi meneye wold nothyng spare his sped to spyll. So for thi grett ryches that God gaf of His grace, All men both more and lese ware fayn to take thi trace. 1222. “And now wyll non sett by thi saw als wytty os thi wordes wore. God wyll that thou of Hym have aw and sett His honoure ever before. And for thou sall thiself knaw, He sufferd to dystroy thi store, And all thi guddes He con withdraw and sent thee sekenes sad and sore Thi pacience so to prove and thi sadnese assay, Wheder thou wyll last in love or fayle for lytyll affray. 1223. “Thou may wele wytt that wrang thou went and thi wordes ware not wyty To say thiselfe an innocent, as he that ware no wo worthy. Therfor I rede thou thee repent and mekly aske of God mercy And say this sekenes that is sent is for thi mysrewle ryghtwysly. And lett no rusyng ryse, ne graunt of thi gud dede Thiself thou suld dyspyse, then wyll God make thi mede.”	truth I believe too much before you deserve (t-note) before you go (die) think; accustomed revealed [to be] knows whether happiness does each part; (see note) Unless Devil Since no one their trust desires dared; (t-note) even if; such evident reason; (t-note) Either; company advantage glad to follow your lead message; (t-note) desires goods fail for a little fright wise advise boasting reward
[JOB REAFFIRMS HIS FAITH; RESPONDS THAT THE WICKED CAN GO UNPUNISHED (21:1–34)]
14680 14685 14690 14695 14700	1224. Job then for bale began to qwake, swylk angers in his hert had he. “Alas!” he sayd, “When sall ye slake with tene thus forto turment me? Yf God more vengance on me take to make me turment on a tre, My ryghtwysnes sall I never forsake, therin I hope my helpe sall be. When ryghtwyse Juge sall sytt to deme ever ylka dele, Then all the werld sall wytt who dyd wrang and who wele. 1225. “Bot, sertes, ther is a comyn case that trobyls me in wytt allway: A man that spendes his lyfes space in syn that sorow is forto say, And to no man amendes mase bot dose ever yll all that he may, And evermore hape and hele he has and gud enogh both nyght and day; And he that rewls hym ryght mydnyght, morn, and noyne, He has dole day and nyght. How ys this dewly done?”	grief; shake cease insult [Even] if tormented on a tree; (see note); (t-note) (t-note) in that pass judgment over everything know certainly troubles my mind (t-note) makes amends does wickedness in every way he can happiness and health wealth rules himself rightly noon sorrow
[ELIPHAZ SAYS JOB MUST BE WICKED (15:1–35)]
14705 14710	1226. Elyphath then answerd agayn and says, “Then, man, grett ferly have I That thou labours thi wytt in vayn and fyllys thi toyght with fantasy. Tho that lyfes wele, thei ar certayn forto have blyse how so thei dy. Tho that lyfes yll to thei be slayn sall wun in wo, as yt is worthy. And if thei syn forsake and mend whyls thei have myght, Thei may als wynly wake als thei that lyfes full ryght.	wonder Those who live well however they die (t-note) dwell pleasantly awake
[PARABLE OF THE RICH MAN AND THE LEPER (LUKE 16:19–31)]
14715 14720 14725 14730 14735	1227. “To this may men in sampyll tell and lyghtly lere, yf yt be late, Of the ryche man how yt fell, and of a lazar that lay at his gate. The ryche wold with no mercy mell bot lyf in lust erly and late. Therfor he had his hame in Hell with fendes foule and fyre full hate. With fylth ther was he fed for all his fare before, And the lazar was led to wun in myrth evermore. 1228. “Forthi I rede thou thee avyse and that thou of slyke bostyng blyn, When thou thiself so justyfyse to say thi payn passys thi syn. For whoso wyll with rusyng ryse and wenys so wrschep forto wyn, Thei sall be sett in law assyse and haldyn down for all ther dyn. Then is it wytt to bewarre for ferd of slyke a fall. Yll or wele yf we fare, evermore love God of all.”	example; (see note) learn, even if it is late happened leper speak devils dung dwell (t-note) such boasting cease surpasses boasting intends thus honor legal assize held (t-note) fear
[JOB RESPONDS DECLARING HIS INNOCENCE (16:1–17:16)]
14740 14745 14750 14755 14760	1229. Job then says, “Forsoth I trow for all the kavtels that ye can That yt sall fall by me and yow als yt fell by the pepyll than. For ye lend in your lordschepes now and weldes the welthys your faders wan, And yow lyst nawder bend ne bow ne graunt servyce to no gud man. To me ye con take tent and turment yow betwene A sely innocent, that may no malyse mene. 1230. “And yf yt sall be als ye say, that tho in Hell sall have ther hame That lyfes in lust and lykyng ay and hath all welth of wyld and tame And none anoye be nyght ne day, then to yourself sall fall the same. Therfor I wold ye wentt your way and lett me lyg here law and lame. And when ye part me fro, I aske of God this boyne, That here come nevermo to dere me als ye have done.”	Truly I believe cunning devices; (t-note) (t-note) remain wield; won desire neither take heed pitiable intends; (see note); (t-note) pleasure always trouble (t-note) wish you lie here low boon harm
[BILDAD INSISTS JOB MUST HAVE SINNED (18:1–21)]
14765 14770 14775 14780 14785 14790 14795 14800 14805 14810 14815 14820 14825 14830	1231. Baldach brast owt with wordes breme and says, “Thou doytes in this degré, When thou dare take on thee to deme what werkyng sall worth of us thre. To God allon that same suld seme, for demer of all erth is He. Unto thi yowth thou suld take yeme, and in thiself then suld thou se That thi werkes hath bene warre forto deme al by dene And febyler be fare then any of ours have bene. 1232. “For thou had yemyng in thi yowthe and fyndyng of thi frendes in fere, When we trayveld by north and sowth to seke our sele on sydes sere. God gaf thee myght to mell with mowth befor all folk both fere and nere, And sotell carpyng non we cowth bot comyn course of craftes clere. Thou had of frendes before swylke fee os myght not fayle, And all our erthly store gatt we with grett travayle. 1233. “Thou trespast never in no degré by ther tales that we here thee tell, And forto nevyn no more dyd he that clerkes says had his hame in Hell. Bot for he was of gold and fee rychest that in his land con dwell And of the pore hade no pyté, for that defawt full fowle he fell. And so sall all tho do that has here welth gud woyne And takes no tent therto to helpe them that has none. 1234. “Whyls thou myght in thi lordschepe lend, forto have wo thou wold not wene. That thou was ryche, full wele was kend, thi catell in all cuntreys clene. Bot wher thou auder gaf or send to solace the seke, that was not sene, Or any man in myschef mend, ther is non swylke maters to mene. When thou so lordly foyre, then suld thou have had toyght Forto part with the pore and nede that had noyght. 1235. “Yf thou were meke and myld of mode, what mend that to other men Bot so with gawdes to gett ther gud as he that cowd no cawtels ken. So in thi strengh when that thou stud, thou suld wysly have wayted then To febyll folke that wanted fode and fast ware fest in fylth and fen. Thou suld have loked to lawse tho that ware bun and thrall. Meknes is lytyll at prays bot mercy be mengyd with all. 1236. “Thou rusys thiself of ryghtwysnes; what favour suld thou therfor fang, When no man durst do thee dystreyse, wheder thi werkes ware wele or wrang, Bot ylka man, both more and lese, ware glad fro thi grevance to gang. Thi pompe and pride wyll prove exprese thou has bene an yll levere lang. Therfor aske God mercy that thou has sayd of myse, And wytt thou is worthy forto fele warre then this.”	rough; (t-note) You are foolish judge is proper to alone judge; (t-note) pay attention worse altogether worse by far care together; (t-note) happiness in every place speak far and near subtle argument (t-note) property these mention (t-note) did those in plenty takes no heed well was known either sick; seen; (t-note) mention lived divide; poor needy (t-note) tricks to take their goods trickeries know attended bound; shit release bound and enslaved (t-note) unless mingled boasts get dared (t-note) long been a sinful person; (t-note) sin feel far worse
[JOB OBSERVES THAT GOD ALONE KNOWS THE REASON (9:1–22)]
14835 14840 14845 14850 14855 14860 14865 14870 14875 14880	1237. Job says then with sympyll chere, “Alas, this lyf lyges yow full lyght, And wold God that ye thre in fere suld fele yt both day and nyght, Or that my domysman wold apere my dedes dewly to deme and dyght. Then suld ye se yourselfe all sere that your reprovyng is unryght, Ne that this grete vengaunce is noght thus on me tone For my mysgovernaunse, ne for my syn alon. 1238. “Bot ather yt is to this entent that God wyll schew His grett maystry In me, a wofull innocent, to make other beware therby; Or els for ye suld yow repent, that wrethes me thus wrangwysly, Or sorow sere be to yow sent, so worthy wore als wele os I; Or els unto this end may seknes oft be sawyn, For falshed of the Fend amang men suld be knawn. 1239. “And yf the Fend this wo hath wroyght and mad me to have this myschefe, I have gud mynd his myght is noyght ferrer then God wyll gyf hym lefe. And when the soth is all up soygt, yf God have graunt hym me to grefe, My body he has in balys broyght, bot to my saule he may not mefe. Therfor I hym defy and all his felows fare And als your cumpany that encressys all my care. 1240. “For, sertes, ye sall have syn and shame to wreke yow so in wordes vayne, So bytterly me forto blame for that I pleyne me of my payn. And, sertanly, feld ye the same, to say fowler ye suld be fayn. Therfor I pray yow hast yow hame; God leyn that ye com never agayn! For your unfrendly fayre with your carpyng so keyn Has made my myschef mare then yt suld els have bene.”	concerns you very little together judge determine and judge in various ways reproof is unjust (t-note) taken (t-note) either; (see note); (t-note) other [people] yourselves who chastise various sorrows sickness; sown Devil more; leave [to have] truth sorrows interfere also grief wreak lament if you felt fouler; ready haste yourselves homeward; (t-note) grant sharp more; (t-note) otherwise
[ZOPHAR REPEATS HIS CHARGE THAT JOB IS GUILTY (11:1–20)]
14885 14890 14895 14900	1241. Sother says, “Forsoth I fele, when all thi tale is told tyll end, Thou says thi sorow and thin unsele comys ather of God or of the Fend And for thin awn dedes never a dele. This mater is of myse remynd, For and thou wold avyse thee wele, I trow thou cowd not tell the tend Of werkes that thou has wroyght agayns Goddes Commawndment, And now wyll graunt ryght noyght bot als an innocent. 1242. “An innocent in erth is none, ne never was, ne never sall be, That dyd never grefe bot God alon and Mary His moyder, a maydyn free. And thou rekyns thiself for on and makes thee thore als holy as He! And we wott wele thou hath mysgone and greved thi God in sere degré. Sen we have sayd thee lang and thou no myse wyll mend, Fayrwele! For we wyll gang; us lyst no lenger lend.”	Truly I feel innocence never a part wrongly interpreted (recounted) if you would think rightly tenth [part] (see note) therefore know well various ways Since; spoken to you long misdeeds we desire no longer to stay
[ELIPHAZ REMINDS JOB THAT TIME IS SHORT (22:1–30)]
14905 14910 14915 14920 14925	1243. Then Elypach with wordes hend sayd, “Job, thou spendes thi spech in vayn To say thi care comys of the Fend, for of that fare is he full fayn. When thi wo at his wyll sall wend, that settes hym thore als thi soverayn. Dyfye hym and make God thi frend and fand his frenschep forto frayn. For thi care comys of kynd, yf thou thee wele avyse, Als bokes makes in mynd and wyttenes, ser, on this wyse: 1244. “Homo natus de muliere, he says a man of a woman born, Hic breui vivens tempore, in lytyll tym his lyf is forlorn, And fylled with fayndyngs sall he be and with myschefes mydday and morn, Ryght os a flour is fayr to se and sone wast als yt was beforn. So ere we ylkon wroyght to trayvell, tray, and teyne And sorows sere unsoyght, als our elders have beyne.	courteous sorrow glad busy yourself; question sorrow; by nature unless you rule yourself well As books Man born of a woman; (see note) Here living for a short time lost hardships flower wasted are we each of us travails, struggles, and grief many
[THE FRIENDS LEAVE; JOB ADDRESSES GOD]
14930 14935 14940 14945 14950 14955 14960 14965 14970 14975	1245. “And sen thou says thiself is on that never greved in no degré, Fayrewele, we lefe thee here allone, for other ways to wend have we.” Job says, “Wold God that ye ware gone so that ye mett never more with me. Then to God may I make my moyne; ther is none that may helpe bot He. All erthly frendes are faynt and fals into affye. Now wyll I make my playnt to god God Allmighty. 1246. “Nunc parce mihi, Domine! Lord God that gyfes gudnes and grace, Lord, in Thi myght have mynd of me and spare me, Lord, a lytyll space; And of my payns, Lord, have pyté and teche me forto take Thi trace, So that I myght have mynd of Thee to tell my counsayle in this case. Lord, thou makes men to encrese with corn and catell clene And sodanly to sese, als by myself is sene. 1247. “A, Lord, sen thou may at Thi lyst and at Thi lykyng lowd and styll Make men in erth forto be blest and have all wardly welth at wyll, And sythyn in wo, or ever thei wyst, forto have evyll and angers yll — Sen I so lang have myrthes myst — Lord, spare me now that I not spyll. Thei have made me debate that ware my frendes before. I am so mased and mate that I may now no more. 1248. “Memento, queso, Domine, umthynke Thee, Lord that last sall ay, Quod sicut lutum feceris me, that Thou mad me of erth and clay With bonys and synows semly to se, with flesch and fell in ryght aray In bale awhyle here forto be and sythyn as a wed wast away. Bot my saule forto save, that lyges in Thin awn chose, That hope I Thou wyll have and lett no lust yt lose.	since (t-note) go complaint; (t-note) weak trust Now spare me, Lord!; (see note) path; (see note) clarify my opinion end since; desire publicly and privately blessed; (t-note) worldly then, before they are even aware joy missed be destroyed amazed and dejected Remember, I beseech Thee, Lord; (see note) recall to Yourself; (see note) That Thou hast made me as the clay (t-note) bones; fair to look upon skin grief then; weed lies in Your own choice; (t-note) allow; [to] lose it
[PROOF OF GOD’S POWER: THE RAISING OF LAZARUS (JOHN 11:38–44)]
14980 14985	1249. “Lord, Lazar that lay low os led, dolven as the ded suld be dyght, Full faur days stynkand in that sted and lokyn fro all erthly lyght, Thou raysed hym up to lyf fro ded and mad hym man in erthly myght. So may Thou rayse me be Thi red fro dole that I dre day and nyght. Thou wot, and Thi wyll wore, for fro Thee is noyght hyd, That my payns ere wele more then yll that ever I dyd.	Lazarus; (see note) buried rotting in that place; (t-note) locked word from the sorrow; suffer know, if are far more
[PROOF OF GOD’S POWER: THE THIEF ON THE CROSS (LUKE 23:39–43)]
14990 14995 15000	1250. “And the thefe that on the Crose hang, that in lust had led all his lyfe And manys murtheryng mad oft amang and styrd men unto mekyll stryfe, Thou gaf hym grace with Thee to gang in Paradyse with ryotes ryfe. And thou wott I wroght never swylke wrang to murther nother man ne wyfe, Ne never manys gud I stale nother in stall ne in stabyll. Why I suld byd this bale? This is unmesurabyll.	Cross murdering of men much (t-note) many joys (t-note) murder neither men’s goods I stole; (t-note) suffer this grief
[JOB GIVES HIMSELF OVER TO GOD’S POWER]
15005 15010 15015 15020 15025 15030 15035 15040 15045	1251. “Bot, Lord, in comforth to encresse this wold I wytt, and Thi wyll wore, Wheder my sorow sall ever sesse or yt sall last thus evermore. I wyle not pray for pride ne pese, ne guddes agayn forto restore, Bot yf thou wold of Thi gudnes be my frend als Thou was before. For whyls Thou was my frend, all folke ware than full fayn Att my wyll forto wend and non to gruche agayn. 1252. “Whyls I moght governd grett degré, all daynthes dere to me wold draw. All men and wemen wrschept me in servys both in ded and saw, Both dukes and erlys in ylk cuntré, and lordes that led ther landes law. Os I wold byd, so suld yt be fro tyme thei couth my consayll knaw. And now lyfes ther no lad that me wyll loke ne lufe, Bot all folke are full glad to put me to reprove. 1253. “My catell cayred in mony a clough with mekyll myrth myd day and morn. Myn oxyn went to wayn or plough with hyne to herber hay or corn. Now have I noyght bot noy enogh; all folke ere fayn me forto scorn. So all my welth is turned to wogh; was never swylke wrych of woman born. I had all daynthes dere that men myght aftur thynke. Now wyll non negh me nere for fylth and for fowle stynke. 1254. “And therfor, Lord, have mynd amang of me, Thi man ay whyls I moght. Have pety of my payns strang that sakles ere to me soght. For thou wott wele I wroght never wrang why I suld in swylke bale be broyght. Bot at Thi lyst, schort or lang, and at Thi wyll all bus be wroyght. In Thee I trow and trest that Thou my sawle sayve. Lord, led me als Thou lyst. I kepe noyght els to crave.”	would I know, if; (t-note) nor peace unless as; (see note) very glad grieve against me (t-note) pleasant things; (t-note) honored; (t-note) service; deed and word lawfully look upon nor honor; (t-note) reproof traveled; valley (t-note) cart or plow; (t-note) servants to gather harms are glad woe wretch delicacies come near me foul always while I might [remain so]; (see note) innocent know well such sorrow desire must believe and trust desire
[GOD RESPONDS TO JOB’S APPEAL (38:1–41:34)]
15050 15055 15060 15065 15070 15075 15080 15085 15090 15095 15100 15105	1255. When Job had thus apertly prayd, God, that is ever of mercy free, Of his prayers was noyght well payd and unto hym all thus sayd He: “Thi prayers, Job, of myse er grayd so forto make thi playnt of Me. I have herd all how thou hath sayd that I have done grett wrang to thee To make thi penance more, als thee thynke in thi toyght, Then thi werkes worthy wore that thou in werld hath wroyght. 1256. “Thou rusys thiself of ryghtwysnes als thou in werld ware never gylty. So by thi playnt thou proves exprese that thou is God als wele os I. For I am He that ryghwyse is and ryghtwyse Juge to justyfye All erthly men, both more and lese, aftur ther werkyng is worthy. I gafe thee power playn to be all other abufe. Thou gyfes to Me agayn bot plenyng and reprofe. 1257. “Thou says thiself an innocent, als he that never couth do none yll, And wele thou wott how thou has went in werdly welth ever at wyll. Thou wyst never what myslykyng ment, for non durst trespase thee untyll. Now rede I that thou thee repent and love thi Lord, both lowd and styll, That may putt thee to payn and sythyn flytt yt thee fro, And gyfe thee gudes agayn yf thou can serve hym so. 1258. “For and thou had never done mys bot greved thi God in this aray, Thou ware not worthy to be in blyse bot thou amend yt whyls thou may. Yf thou wyll werke ase I thee wysse, putt thi wyt in His wyll allway, Then wyll thi God forgyfe thee this and lett thee be in blyse for ay. Knaw thiselfe for unclene and evyll in all degré, And thynke what ayre hath beyne and what sall aftur be. 1259. “And yf thou wyll werke on this wyse, graunt to God that thou is gylty. Then wyll He graunt thee grace to ryse and mend thee of thi meselry. Therfor I rede thou thee avyse and mekly that thou aske mercy, And then that thou make sacrafyce for thi gylt to God Allmighty.” When all ther saws ware sayd, then God away was gone, And Job als man amayde full mekly made his mone:	openly; (see note); (t-note) generous not well pleased wrongly are sent thus (t-note) (see note) boasts as if as well as I righteous (t-note) in return complaining and rebuke call (t-note) discomfort dared I advise publicly and privately then remove goods (t-note) if; misdeed bliss unless direct you forever (see note) earlier; (t-note) leprosy these; (t-note) as a man dismayed meekly
[JOB’S HUMBLE PRAYER (42:1–6)]
15110 15115 15120 15125 15130 15135 15140 15145 15150 15155 15160 15165	1260. “I love Thee, Lord of ylka lede, that me has lerned to lere Thi Lay. I wrschep Thee in word and dede in all the myght that ever I may. Of no kyns thyng now I have nede, for all my wo is went away. Bot of that dome now have I dred that sall be done on the last day, How I sall answer thore of the dedes in my yowthe That I have done before, sen tym I counsell couthe. 1261. “What sall I do, wrech wyll of wone? Whore sall I hye me forto hyde Unto Thi dredfull dome be done and all by jugment justyfyed? I have no gatt bot to God allon to teld me under in that tyde, And His gudnes beys never gone, in His beld is me best to byd. Bot God that all gud is sall deme then all be dene By rewle of ryghtwysnes and of no mercy mene. 1262. “Dimitte ergo me, Domine, ut ego plangam paululum. A lytyll whyle, Lord, suffer me, that lang hath bene both def and dum, That I may meyne me unto Thee and schew my syns all and sum. And lett my corse here clensed be so that my sawle, Lord, never come In the land of dole and dyn qwylk I wott ordand is For them that endes in syne and geytes no forgyfnes. 1263. “Lord God, that governs hegh and law, I love Thi sand both lowd and styll. My wekydnese now well I knaw that I have wroyght agayns Thi wyll. For I have oft sayd in my saw that I dyd never so mekyll of yll, Ne never greved agayns Thi Law lyke to the payns ware putt me tyll. I wott I have done wrang; that sayng rewys me sore. Lord, mell mercy amang, I wyll trespas no more. 1264. “And that I have done day or nyght agayns wrschep or wyll of Thee, I wyll amend yt at my myght whyls any lyfe lastes in me; So, Lord, that, when Thi dome is dyght that Thou sall deme ever ylk degré, That I be sene then in Thi syght amang them that sall saved be. For in that otterest end helpe forto nevyn is none, Ne medcyn that may mend bot Thi mercy allon.”	every nation taught to follow; Law honor power judgment wretch without hope haste course; (t-note) protect; (t-note) goodness is shelter; dwell forthwith (t-note) Thus suffer me, Lord; (see note) that I may lament a little deaf and mute address myself toward body; (see note) which I know; (t-note) (t-note) words; publicly and privately; (t-note) speech speech I rue greatly show sin honor judgment is ready; (t-note) uttermost invoke except
[ALL IS RETURNED TO JOB (42:10–17)]
15170 15175 15180 15185 15190 15195 15200 15205 15210 15215	1265. When Job had thus made his prayer, then was his grefe all gon, I geyse. His wyfe com than with woman chere and askyd hym gudly forgyfnes. His servandes come on sydes sere and asked hym mercy more and lese. Hys neghtbours and his frendes in fere releved hym with full grett ryches, So that in lytyll space God made hym to be more Of power in all plays then ever he was before. 1266. Hys ryches and his ryalté, as robes and rentes and other aray, Hys waynys and ploughys and foran fee were all dobyll by dyverse day. And aftur with his wyfe had hee sevyn semly suns, the sothe to say, And thre doyghturs; in ther degré were none fundon so fayre os thei. He had all welth at wyll and hele fro hede to heyll. He loved God lowd and styll als worthy was full wele. 1267. When he was sett in this assyse and waryscht well of all his wo, To God than mad he sacrafyce als He before had bydyn hym do. He saw his suns full rychly ryse in grett degré to ryd and go, And his doyghturs als wemen wyse to grett wrschep wed also. He teched them to take hede in ther werkyng allway Ther God to luf and dred both by nyght and day. 1268. Then lyfed Job aftur his grett dystresse one hunderth wynters and fawrty And loved God ay of more and lese that so his myrth wold multyplye. Thus lykyd God forto prove exprese his grett meknes with messelry; And for He fand his fayth ay fresch, he wuns in welth, als is worthy. God graunt us grace to lyfe in luf and charité, That we our gast may gyfe to myrth. So moyte yt be! AMEN DE JOB.	I understand; (see note) feminine cheer many sides together all places carts; imported livestock doubled handsome sons found so beautiful as health; heel publicly and privately (t-note) was relieved commanded him [to] do (see note) honor wedded taught 140 years always; (t-note) (t-note) leprosy (see note) lives (see note) souls

BOOK OF JOB: EXPLANATORY NOTES

ABBREVIATIONS: CA: Gower, Confessio Amantis; CM: Cursor mundi; CT: Chaucer, Canterbury Tales; DBTEL: A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature, ed. Jeffrey; HS: Peter Comestor, Historia Scholastica, cited by book and chapter, followed by Patrologia Latina column in parentheses; K: Kalén-Ohlander edition; MED: Middle English Dictionary; NOAB: New Oxford Annotated Bible; OED: Oxford English Dictionary; OFP: Old French Paraphrase, British Library, MS Egerton 2710, cited by folio and column; Whiting: Whiting, Proverbs, Sentences, and Proverbial Phrases; York: York Plays, ed. Beadle. For other abbreviations, see Textual Notes.

The book of Job is omitted by Comestor, who turns from the fourth book of Kings to Tobit (Tobias), which here in the Paraphrase follows Job. Neither is this particular order of books indebted to the traditional sequence of the major biblical traditions. The Vulgate passes from the books of Kings and the Chronicles (the latter largely subsumed into the paraphrase of the former here and thus not expected to appear), to Ezra, Nehemias, Tobit, Judith, and Esther, before turning at last to Job. The Septuagint more or less agrees with the Vulgate up to Nehemias, but then turns to the Psalms, the Prayer of Manasseh, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, before Job occurs — we are then given Wisdom of Solomon, Wisdom of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Esther, and Judith before Tobit. Only in the nine-volume bible of Cassiodorus do we find some semblance of the order given here: after his section of the “Kings” (which includes the Chronicles) Cassiodorus’ next division is the “Prophets” (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and the twelve minor prophets), followed by Psalms and the five books of “Wisdom.” None of these texts lend themselves to the kind of reconstructive, “historical” narrative that concerns the Paraphrase-poet. The next division, however, is “Hagiography”: Job, Tobit, Esther, Judith, Maccabees, and Esdras — precisely the same order of texts (aside from the missing Esdras) that appears in the Paraphrase. One of the poet’s presumed sources for much of his work up to this point has been OFP, but that ends abruptly in the middle of the fourth book of Kings (see explanatory note to line 14088b, above). His sources for the remainder of his work are far less certain. Perhaps as a result of these circumstances, or perhaps because Job can be so inspiring to poets and artists alike, the Paraphrase-poet is at his most distant from the biblical text when he moves through this book. Though one might say, from a strictly scriptural standpoint, that the Paraphrase’s text is thus “garbled,” it is an inspired refashioning, a subtle, theologically profound permutation of what Bloom calls “one of the world’s great poems” (Where Shall Wisdom, p. 13).

14118 fyfty yoke of oxyn. Job 1:3 gives the number of Job’s oxen as five hundred. Since neither HS nor OFP include Job within their paraphrase, and the Middle English poem Pety Job does not include these opening details as it concentrates on Job’s Dirige, the derivation of this number is unknown.

14138 putt hym furth in prese. The image, as in Job 1:6, is of a council of heavenly beings, among whom is Satan: one of many beings greater than man but lesser than (and subservient to) God. This depiction is far different from the “Devil” figure familiar to most of the West; for discussion of the development of Satan over time, see Elaine Pagels’ informative and fascinating Origin of Satan.

14142 to gette hym leve, this is no lese. The Paraphrase-poet here admits the unfamiliarity of a Satan obedient to God; see note to line 14138.

14213–14 A sodan fyre . . . so brym. The poet’s choice of the term brym is no elaboration: Job 1:16 describes the fire that consumes Job’s stock as a fire from God in Heaven, i.e., brimstone.

14289–92 K (4:14) regards these lines as “anacoluthon” — that is, lacking sequence — since it would make more sense for them to occur before Job’s preceding lament.

14315–16 Bot luke that thou not greve / his sawle bot kepe yt clene. God’s command to Satan in Job 2:6 is not that Job’s soul be saved, but his life. The poet’s alteration from life to soul might well result from the significant interest in the late Middle Ages on the soul and salvation as revealed in the many medieval works incorporating debates between the soul and body.

14347 yll are. The concern of Job’s contemporaries with his “ill air” reflects an understanding of disease as being related to invisible but poisonous pockets of air. This concept lasted well into the nineteenth century in the West; the term malaria, for instance, which according to the OED first appeared in 1740, literally means “bad air.”

14357 Blyse. So Job 2:9 in the Hebrew and in the Vulgate (“Benedic Deo”), though many modern translations have replaced the term with “Curse.” The original is wholly accurate, however, to what we might call a sarcastic stance on the part of Job’s wife.

14363–64 Thou spekes evyn als a foyle / that hath no womans wytt. In Job 2:10 he says his wife speaks “like one of the foolish women.” The change here is intriguing: her foolish speech is emblematic not of being a woman but of being less than a woman. This is yet one more revelation of the relatively high regard in which the poet seems to hold women, a regard that, at times, quietly pushes even Scripture aside.

14408 sex days. According to Job 2:13, the three men sit with him for seven days and nights.

14447 Man, knaw thiselfe. The advice is proverbial, deriving from (at least) the Ancient Greeks (the originating source varies, but it was famously inscribed on the walls of the forecourt of the Delphic Oracle). For some of its many appearances in Middle English, see Whiting K100.

14494–95 penauns ordand wore / Eftur mens dedes wore done. Job recommends that the pains of penance (more properly speaking, the acts of satisfaction that reflect the penitent’s contrition) ought to equate to the pains of the sins to which they correspond; this advice is in perfect theoretic keeping with the dicta of the Church.

14501 when the Day of Dome is dyght. Job’s reference to Judgment Day here is perhaps surprising given Western associations between this subject and Christian theology, especially as it is derived from the misunderstood book of the Apocalypse (Revelation). Yet, as Daniel 12:1–3 shows, the doctrine of resurrection and judgment does have some roots in late Jewish thought (for discussion of the history, see Segal’s Life after Death). Beginning with Clement of Rome, Christian exegetes have also pointed to Job 19:25–27 as a reference to Christian understandings of life after death (thus, e.g., Augustine, City of God22.29), seeing in these “difficult, probably textually corrupt, verses” (NOAB, p. 645) a “locus classicus of the doctrine of resurrection” (Zink, “Impatient Job,” p. 147). By the later Middle Ages, this connection was generally considered factual, no doubt largely due to Jerome’s Christologically-influenced translation of the lines in the Vulgate. Thus “Domesday” also appears in Pety Job; see especially line 255.

14523 This line, an echo of Proverbs 24:16 (“Septies enim cadet iustus et resurget”), does not appear in Job or in Pety Job.

14539 For dome is His forto dystrye. Ohlander’s glossary ("Old French Parallels," p. 28) lists dystrye under the verb dystroy(e), meaning “to destroy.” Though unnoted by the MED, a far more likely meaning would be related to the verb distreinen, meaning “to compel.”

14557–616 The poet (or his source) is paraphrasing Job very loosely throughout, which makes it difficult to correspond between Paraphrase and Bible at any given point. This section, for instance, seemingly ought to be Job’s first response to Bildad (chapters 9–10), but it is, instead, his second (chapter 19).

14595 My Sayvyour lyfes. Job’s reference to Christ is a technically ahistorical appearance of Christianity in the poet’s paraphrase of this Jewish text, but it is one with origins in the Church Fathers.

14633 Of gud werke God dose ylk dele. Zophar’s point, one that does not explicitly appear in Job, is one of deep theological import: whether or not humans can “effect” grace — whether they are capable of doing good without God actually doing the good for them. The question came to a forefront in the early fifth century, as a result of the teachings of the British monk Pelagius, who “could not accept that human beings were so corrupted at birth that they could not help sinning” (Bell, Cloud, p. 144). This position brought Pelagius into conflict with Augustine, who believed that the Fall left mankind inherently “fallen, damned, doomed, condemned. At birth we are simply ‘one lump of sin’ and because we are so totally, so helplessly corrupted, we can no more do good of our own power than a blind man can see” (Bell, Cloud, p. 147). Pelagianism was condemned in the West, partly due to Augustine’s reputation, but the issue continued to resurface for centuries, requiring repeated condemnations. Thomas Bradwardine, for example, felt it was necessary to write a full treatise denouncing the belief in fourteenth-century England (De causa Dei contra Pelagium et de virtute causarum). As we see here, the Paraphrase-poet is in keeping with the orthodox position.

14682 to make me turment on a tre. The point seems to be that even if God were to crucify him, Job would still maintain his integrity. He will not betray his righteousness so long as he believes in a righteous (if incomprehensible) God (see the following lines). At the same time, it is difficult not to see in this nonbiblical insertion to Job’s reply a reference to Christ. Though Job suffers terribly, the Paraphrase-poet also seems to say, Christ suffered more: the torment of the Crucifixion lies far beyond even Job’s experience.

14713–24 The parable of the rich man and the leper, often entitled “Dives and Lazarus,” was a popular one in the Middle Ages. It appears, for instance, in Chaucer’s Summoner’s Tale, where the friar notes that “Lazar and Dives lyveden diversly, / And divers gerdon hadden they therby” (CT III[D]1877–78). The poet’s use of the parable is interesting here for its ambiguity. Spoken by Eliphaz, it nevertheless appears to support Job’s Lazarus-like position against the self-assured self-righteousness of his friends. Eliphaz thus incriminates his own actions by being unable to recognize the leper before him.

14748 no malyse mene. Job insists that his intentions are benevolent toward the friends who rebuke him — and toward the God that may or may not have kind intentions. Job’s insistence on his integrity allows the line to be read in several ways given the variant meanings of the verb mene in Middle English: to intend, speak, comprehend, or explain (MED menen, v.1–2).

14845–64 Job’s assessment of what is going on is remarkably accurate. He neither judges nor blames God, but rather attempts to acknowledge what he is experiencing. Job sees that the Fiend cannot touch his soul and, in articulating so clearly the leeway God has given the Fiend, indirectly praises God for granting him control over his own soulful decisions.

14896 Mary His moyder. There is, of course, no precedent in the biblical book of Job for a reference to Mary as Mater Dei, but the insertion reveals the universal appeal of the Job story, which remains as profound for its medieval Christian readers as it did for its antique Hebrew writers. At the same time, its inclusion here is highly ambiguous. Zophar appears to acknowledge God as a redemptive principle, yet his words are more judgmental than merciful. Like Bildad, he is more committed to his understanding of righteous retribution than truth.

14917–20 K notes (1:cxcii) an echo of Pety Job, lines 289–90. The Latin is from Job 14:1, the fifth lesson of the Dirge (see explanatory note to line 14941).

14941 Job begins his “playnt” (line 14939) with a proclamation of his complete trust in God’s power as he prays for mercy. This Latin phrase, from Job 7:16, is the first of the Nine Lessons of the Dirge, a sequence of verses drawn from Job (Job 7:16–21 [lesson 1], 10:1–7 [2], 10:8–12 [3], 13:22–28 [4], 14:1–6 [5], 14:13–16 [6], 17:1–3 and 11-25 [7], 19:20–27 [8], and 10:18–22 [9]) recited during the Matins of the Office of the Dead (Moral Love Songs, ed. Fein, p. 289). Fein characterizes the late Middle Ages as “a culture that fully embraced the Office of the Dead as a ritualized way to enclose and confront death, or at least to accept its mystery through time-honored words of earnest entreaty, rebellion, questioning, and submission. . . . Repetition of the Latin — whether fully understood or not by auditors — would most likely have been a somber but comforting experience” (p. 289). The first of these devotions became representative of the whole sequence in symbolizing the condition of man; it serves, for instance, as the end-stanza refrain in Pety Job, just as it has a prominent place in several other similarly penitential works.

14946 teche me forto take Thi trace. The line may well owe something to the antiphon that begins the first nocturn of Matins, “Dirige, Domine Deus meus” (“Direct my path, O Lord my God”), from which the Dirge takes its name (see explanatory note to line 14941). The term trace, as Job uses it here, appears to be influenced by the kind of Platonic theological philosophies associated with Bonaventure; this same mode of thinking also deepens our understanding of Job’s further request to “have mynd of Thee” in the following line: Job understands that it is his mind that interposes obstacles between him and his goal, so he asks God for guidance in using his mind.

14965–68 K notes (1:cxcii) an echo of Pety Job, lines 157–59. The Latin is from Job 10:9, the third lesson of the Dirge (see explanatory note to line 14941).

14966 umthynke. The verb is most often reflexive in Middle English, especially when directed toward God, and it reflects the unbiased circumspection Job desires from his prosecutors, the kind of perspective only God can provide.

14977–94 Job’s discourse on God’s merciful power leads the poet to incorporate two New Testament stories into his text: the raising of Lazarus and the Gospel story of the thief upon the cross. One implication of this seems to be that the book of Job, with its troubling questions of evil, power, and justice, is an asynchronous text: not constrained to any one time or timeline but for all times, existing outside of timelines. The overlay is thus not unlike the climax of Piers Plowman, in which the mind, functioning outside time and space, can join Abraham and Moses in racing to witness the Crucifixion, deliverance, and resurrection of Christ, “that redeeming aspect of Trinity whereby eternity is realized in time and space” (Peck, “Number,” p. 38).

15008 be my frend als Thou was before. The Paraphrase-poet emphasizes the value of friendship as Job, whose public, conventional friends have proved to be inadequate, nevertheless desires friendship. As Laelius notes in Cicero’s De amicitia 19, the need for companionship is part of human nature. Job’s concern, then, is that he seems to have lost his one truly adequate friend, God.

15038 Thi man ay whyls I moght. Job places himself in the subservient position of a feudal relationship with God, a bond built on personal loyalty and the exchange of a vassal’s support for the lord’s protection. Homage, the act of thus becoming another’s “man” (Latin homo), involved the vassal kneeling before the lord and placing his joined hands (as in prayer) between those of his lord. The relationship was technically indissoluble, like marriage, yet what Job seeks is the reassurance that these bonds still function. It is worth noting that, although as a vassal he might doubt his lord’s protection in his case (given the attacks to which he has been made subject), Job does not waver in his support for his Lord.

15049–15104 God’s reply to Job is substantially different from that which appears at the end of the biblical text. Most noticeable in its absence is God’s long sequence of rhetorical questions in Job 38–41 that famously puts Job and all mortals “in their place”: “Canst thou draw out the Leviathan with a hook? . . . Will he make a covenant with thee, and wilt thou take him to be a servant for ever?” (Job 40:20–23). Instead of this “bombardment of exuberances” that “is unanswerable, and substitutes power for justification” (Bloom, Where Shall Wisdom, p. 17), the Paraphrase-poet has God simply insist on Job’s need to be submissive before Him, and to admit to his own inherent sinfulness before the perfection of the Divine. In this regard, God’s speech seems most indebted to the words of the missing fourth friend, Elihu (Job 33–37), a fact that may lie behind God’s strange shift to speaking in the third person starting in line 15079.

15058 als thee thynke in thi toyght. God makes clear that He knows even Job’s unspoken thoughts, a fact that Job states in the biblical text (Job 42:2).

15093–94 God’s statement that all who are born after the Fall are unclene / and evyll in all degré acknowledges the basic need for baptism, which Job has not participated in. At the same time, Job’s movement beyond complaint toward the expression of his complete love of God in stanza 1260 opens the way for him to participate in God’s will that “is ever of mercy free” (line 15050). Note that Job’s “wo is went away” (line 15114) once God addresses him, and he prays that he might “clensed be” (line 15139).

15133–36 K notes (1:cxcii) an echo of Pety Job, lines 660–61. The Latin is from Job 10:20, the ninth lesson of the Dirge (see explanatory note to line 14941).

15139–44 Compare Chaucer’s Parson’s Tale, which cites this passage in Job as a step in the contritional process that leads to satisfaction (CT X[I]175–87).

15170 then was his grefe all gon, I geyse. The Paraphrase-poet’s tag, I geyse, introduces some interesting ambiguities. On the one hand, it might indicate an experiential truth (“I perceive”) that testifies to the efficacy of devout prayer; on the other hand, it might indicate an experiential doubt (“I guess”) about Job truly being relieved of the grief of losing so many of his loved ones as a result of God allowing the Fiend to do so much physical harm to the loyal man.

15197–15204 The poet infuses his conclusion with romance elements as Job’s good ending is shown by the worshipful heritage of his children. Thus Job’s “myrth wold multyplye” (line 15208), along with his wealth (line 15212).

15211 fresch. See explanatory note to line 12355, above.

15213–16 God graunt us grace to lyfe / in luf and charité, / That we our gast may gyfe / to myrth. The poet’s prayer restates the theme of love and charity expressed most clearly in his New Testament insertions to the narrative (Dives and Lazarus, the thief on the cross), and his specificity about the reception of grace — that it gives mirth to the soul, rather than the body — underscores the fundamental lesson of Job.

BOOK OF JOB: TEXTUAL NOTES