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¹ Therfor, Joob, here thou my spechis, and herkene alle my wordis.² Lo! Y haue openyd my mouth, my tunge schal speke in my chekis.³ Of symple herte ben my wordis, and my lippis schulen speke clene sentence.⁴ The spirit of God made me, and the brething of Almyyti God quykenyde me.⁵ If thou maist, answere thou to me, and stoonde thou ayens my face.⁶ Lo! God made me as and thee; and also Y am formyd of the same cley.⁷ Netheles my myracle make thee not afeerd, and myn eloquence be not greuouse to thee.

⁸ Therfor thou seidist in myn eeris, and Y herde the vois of thi wordis;⁹ Y am cleene, and with out gilt, and vnwemmed, and wickidnesse is not in me.¹⁰ `For God foond querels in me, therfor he demyde me enemy to hym silf.¹¹ He hath set my feet in a stok; he kepte alle my pathis.¹² Therfor this thing it is, in which thou art not maad iust; Y schal answere to thee, that God is more than man.¹³ Thou stryuest ayenus God, that not at alle wordis he answeride to thee.

¹⁴ God spekith onys, and the secounde tyme he rehersith not the same thing.¹⁵ God spekith bi a dreem in the visioun of nyyt, whanne sleep fallith on men, and thei slepen in the bed.¹⁶ Thanne he openith the eeris of men, and he techith hem, `and techith prudence;¹⁷ that he turne awei a man fro these thingis whiche he made, and delyuere hym fro pride; delyuerynge his soule fro corrupcioun,¹⁸ and his lijf, that it go not in to swerd.

¹⁹ Also God blameth a synnere bi sorewe in the bed, and makith alle the boonys of hym `to fade.<sup>20</sup> Breed is maad abhomynable to hym in his lijf, and mete desirable `bifor to his soule.²¹ His fleisch schal faile for rot, and hise boonys, that weren hilid, schulen be maad nakid.²² His soule schal neiye to corrupcioun, and his lijf to thingis `bryngynge deeth.²³ If an aungel, oon of a thousynde, is spekynge for hym, that he telle the equyte of man, God schal haue mercy on hym,²⁴ and schal seie, Delyuere thou hym, that he go not doun in to corrupcioun; Y haue founde in what thing Y schal do merci to hym.²⁵ His fleisch is wastid of turmentis; turne he ayen to the daies of his yonge wexynge age.²⁶ He schal biseche God, and he schal be quemeful to hym; and he schal se his face in hertly ioye, and he schal yelde to man his riytfulnesse.²⁷ He schal biholde men, and he schal seie, Y haue synned, and verili Y haue trespassid; and Y haue not resseyued, as Y was worthi.²⁸ For he delyueride his soule, that it schulde not go in to perischyng, but that he lyuynge schulde se liyt.

²⁹ Lo! God worchith alle these thingis in thre tymes bi alle men;³⁰ that he ayen clepe her soulis fro corrupcioun, and liytne in the liyt of lyuynge men.³¹ Thou, Joob, perseyue, and here me, and be thou stille, the while Y speke.³² Sotheli if thou hast what thou schalt speke, answere thou to me, speke thou; for Y wole, that thou appere iust.³³ That if thou hast not, here thou me; be thou stille, and Y schal teche thee wisdom.