Thou shalt also forget misery, and remember it only as waters that are passed away.

“Thou shalt also forget thy misery, and no more remember it, as waters that pass away. The mind feels the ills of the present life the more severely, in proportion as it neglects to take account of the good that comes after; and as it will not consider the rewards that are in store, it reckons all to be grievous that it undergoes; and hence the blinded imagination murmurs against the stroke of the scourge, and that is taken for an immeasurable woe, which by the days flowing on in their course is daily being brought to an end. But if a man once raise himself to things eternal, and fix the eye of the soul upon those objects which remain without undergoing change, he sees that here below all whatsoever runs to an end is almost nothing at all. He is subject to the adversities of the present life, but he bethinks himself that all that passes away is as nought. For the more vigorously he makes his way into the interior joys, he is the less sensible of pains without. Whence Zophar, not being afraid with boldfaced hardihood to instruct one better than himself, exhorts to righteousness, and shews how little chastening appears in the eyes of the righteous man. As if it were in plain words; 'If thou hast a taste of the joy which remains within, all that gives pain without forthwith becomes light.' Now he does well in likening the miseries of the present life to 'waters that pass away,' for passing calamity never overwhelms the mind of the Elect with the force of a shock, yet it does tinge it with the touch of sorrow. For it drops indeed with the bleeding of the wound, though it is not dashed from the certainty of its salvation. But it often happens that not only stripes inflict bruises, but that in the mind of each one of the righteous the temptings of evil spirits come in force, so that he is grieved by the stroke without, and is in some sort chilled within by temptation. Yet grace never forsakes him, which same the more severely it smites us in the dealings of Providence, so much the more does it watch over us in pity; for when it has begun to grow dark through temptation, the inward light kindles itself again.”

“But Zophar the Naamathite answering said, etc. Above, Job had said, among the other evils that he was suffering, that he was marvelously tormented by his friends who rose up against him as witnesses on God's behalf; touched by this word, Zophar answered. Hence it says, "But Zophar the Naamathite answering said: shall not he who speaks much also hear?" As if to say: you have spoken much and inordinately, wherefore it is no wonder if you have been rebuked by your friends; for if a man who speaks much were not to be rebuked, this inconvenient consequence would follow, that men would be reckoned just from the very fact that they are talkative. Hence it follows, "or shall a man full of talk be justified?" that is, be reckoned just? And because Job could say that deference ought to be shown to him on account of his dignity, Zophar excludes this, adding, "shall men hold their peace to you alone, and when you have mocked others, shall you not be refuted by anyone?" For he understood both himself and others to have been mocked in this, that Job had called them witnesses of God, and in that he had said above, "why do you detract from the words of truth?" And therefore he says it is not to be wondered at if others too speak against him. But perhaps Job could say that they had nothing to say against him or against his words, and to exclude this Zophar adds: "for you have said: my speech is pure" — this he takes from what Job had said above, "you will not find iniquity in my tongue, nor will folly resound in my jaws"; "and I am clean in your sight" — this Job had not said expressly, but Zophar wished to take it from his words, because he had argued that he was not being punished for sin, or from what he had said, "know that I have done nothing wicked," or from what he had said above, "have I not dissembled? have I not kept silence?" Now it is to be considered that, since sin is a deviation from the law of God, sin, or its magnitude, cannot be fully known unless the law of God is known: for "the right is judge both of itself and of the oblique." Since, therefore, Job said himself immune from sin, or that he had not sinned so gravely as he was being punished, Zophar reckoned this to happen because Job did not perfectly know the law of God, and therefore he says, "and would that God would speak with you, and would open his lips to you." This he seems to say in derision of Job, because Job had said, "show me why you judge me thus." And it can be said that God simply speaks to man when he inspires something of his wisdom into his heart, according to that word of the Psalm, "I will hear what the Lord God speaks in me"; but he opens his lips when through certain effects he reveals something to men, for by the lips the exterior voices are formed by which we express the interior conceptions of the heart. Now it is to be considered that we fall short of the understanding of divine things for a twofold reason. First, indeed, because since we cannot know the invisible things of God except through the things that have been made, and the things that have been made fall far short of the power of their maker, it is necessary that many things remain to be considered in the maker which are hidden from us; and these are called the secrets of God's wisdom, concerning which he says, "that he might show you the secrets of wisdom." Second, because we cannot even fully comprehend the very order of creatures, as it is dispensed by divine providence; for it is one way in human government and another in the divine. For among men, the higher someone is in ruling, the more his ordinance extends only to universal matters, leaving particulars to be dispensed by lower rulers, and thus the law of government of a higher ruler is universal and simple; but the higher God is in ruling, the more his ordinance extends even to the smallest things. Wherefore the law of his government is not only secret, if we look to the height of the ruler exceeding the whole proportion of the creature, but is also manifold, dispensing even singular and the smallest things under a fixed order; and therefore he added, "and that his law is manifold." And this indeed is to be considered not only in natural things, insofar as they are subject to the divine government, but also in human affairs. For human laws, because their framers could not have regard to all singular things, have regard to certain universals which occur for the most part; but how universal human statutes are to be applied to singular deeds is left to the prudence of the one acting. Wherefore in many things a man can fall short of rectitude, in which nevertheless he is not contrary to the law humanly enacted; but the divine law, insofar as it is in the wisdom of God, extends to all particular and the smallest things, and thus it cannot happen that a man discords from rectitude in something and is not contrary to the divine law. Since, therefore, man cannot attain to the divine law itself, as it is to be looked into in the secret of God's wisdom, and consequently cannot recognize its manifoldness, it happens that sometimes he does not think himself to be acting against the law of God when nevertheless he is so acting, or thinks he transgresses little when he transgresses much. Wherefore he adds, "and you would understand" — namely, if the secrets of wisdom and the manifoldness of the law of God were shown to you — "that much less is exacted of you by him," namely in enduring punishments, "than your iniquity deserves," which you either do not know or reckon small. And in this he seems to rebuke what Job had said above: "would that my sins, by which I have deserved wrath, and the calamity that I suffer, were weighed in a balance; this would appear heavier than the sand of the sea." And because he had supposed that in the divine wisdom there is something secret which had not yet been shown to Job, lest this could be denied, he confirms it by what follows, saying, "perhaps you will comprehend the footsteps of God." "Footsteps" are signs along the way of one who proceeds; but the works of God are called his ways, and the production of creatures by God is understood as a certain procession of God into creatures, insofar as the divine goodness, from him in whom it exists simply and supremely, proceeds, derived by degrees to its effects, while the higher things are found better than the lower. The footsteps of God, therefore, are certain signs found in creatures, from which God can be known to some extent through them. But since the human mind cannot totally and perfectly know even the creatures themselves, much less can it have perfect knowledge of the Creator himself, and therefore, asking, he adds, "and will you find the Almighty unto perfection?" As if to say: if you cannot perfectly know creatures, much less can you know the Creator; and he says pointedly "find," because reason, by a certain inquiry, proceeds from effects to the cause, which, while it comes to know through the effects, we are said to find. Nor is it a wonder if, the creatures not being perfectly known, the Creator is not perfectly known, because even if the creatures were perfectly known, the Creator would still not be perfectly known: for the cause can be perfectly known through the effects only when the effects equal the power of the cause, which cannot be said of God. And therefore he adds, "he is higher than heaven, and what will you do? deeper than hell, and how will you know? his measure is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea." These things are said under metaphor: for it must not be understood that God, who is incorporeal, is extended by corporeal dimensions, but he describes the greatness of his power under the likeness of corporeal greatness, because however great corporeal quantities appear to be, whether in height or depth or length or breadth, they nevertheless fall short of the greatness of God's power, which could make greater things; and therefore he pointedly named God "Almighty" beforehand. From this, therefore, he shows that he cannot be found perfectly in creatures, because, granted that all creatures were perfectly known, a power equal to him could not be known from them: what middle term, then, can be taken for knowing the power of God insofar as it exceeds every creature? And this he signifies when he says, "what will you do?" and "how will you know?" Now the divine power exceeds every creature not only in producing but also in preserving: for the preservation of a creature is from God alone, nor is there any power in a creature that could resist the divine will if it did not wish to preserve that creature any further. And therefore he adds, "if he overturns all things" — reducing them to nothing, namely by withdrawing being from them — "or gathers them into one" — bringing in confusion through the withdrawal of the order by which he distinguishes things — "who will contradict him?" that is, what power of a creature will be able to be contrary, preserving itself or other things in being against his will? But lest someone say that, although nothing could be preserved in being except through him, yet he preserves things in being as it were by debt, to exclude this he adds, "or who can say to him: why do you act thus?" as though demanding from him an account of a debt omitted. "For he knows the vanity of men," etc. After Zophar has shown that in the divine wisdom there is something secret which is incomprehensible to man, he proceeds to make manifest another thing that he had supposed earlier, namely that God exacts punishment from man for sin, and, to manifest this indeed, that God knows the deeds of men. Hence he says: I rightly say that less is exacted of you by God than your iniquity deserves, "for he knows the vanity of men," that is, the vain deeds of men. Now those things are usually called vain which are unstable because they are not made stable by their due ends; from this, therefore, comes the vanity of man, that his heart is not fixed in truth, by which alone it can be made stable, and from the fact that he withdraws from truth he works iniquity, inasmuch as he desires that which appears good in place of that which is good. Wherefore he adds, "and seeing" — namely, God — "iniquity," proceeding from the vanity of men, "does he not consider it?" namely, so as to punish it? For then a judge seems to let sin pass by inconsiderately when he dissembles and does not care to apply punishment, which does not seem to be said of God: since, therefore, he himself sees the vanity of men, he exacts punishment for iniquity. But just as it happens from vanity that a man declines toward iniquity, so from the same vanity it comes about that a man does not reckon himself subject to the divine judgment, and therefore he adds, "a vain man is lifted up into pride," namely so that he does not believe himself subject to his superior, and this is what he adds, "and thinks himself born free like a wild ass's colt." The wild ass is a forest ass, whose colt is born free from the dominion of man; but the colts of asses that are possessed by men are born into the servitude of men. Men, therefore, who do not think themselves subject to the divine judgment, reckon themselves as it were colts of the wild ass born free, although they see other men of the same condition constrained by divine judgment. This he seemed to say in derision of blessed Job, understanding from his words that he wished to contend as it were on equal terms with God, because he had said, "let him take his rod away from me, and let not his dread terrify me; I will speak and not fear him." And therefore he adds, "but you have hardened your heart," namely so as to defend your iniquity. And yet, with this hardening of heart, you have stretched out your hands to God in prayer, namely above, when he said, "I will say to God: do not condemn me"; and therefore your prayer is useless, for prayer is useful when a man first puts away his iniquity and afterward asks of God that he cease from punishing. And this is what he adds: "if you remove the iniquity that is in your hand from you," namely so that you cease from the wicked deed which you still have at hand, "and injustice does not remain in your tent," namely so that you restore what you have unjustly received and kept, or so that you correct your household, for whose offenses masters are sometimes punished on account of negligence in correcting them, "then you will be able to lift up," namely by praying to God, "your face without blemish," namely of guilt. And thus condemnation will cease, first indeed as regards the future, wherefore he adds, "and you will be steadfast," namely so that you are no longer shaken by tribulations, and you will also not fear future dangers. And because sometimes, although one does not fear the future, a man is nevertheless afflicted on account of the things he has lost or suffered, he adds, "you will also forget your misery," namely that which you have suffered up to now, on account of the abundance of goods that will come upon you; and he confirms this with an example when he adds, "and you will not remember it, like waters that have passed away," which he says because a man, after a rainstorm, when fair weather comes, forgets the preceding rains, or because the waters of rivers run very swiftly, and after they pass by no memory of them remains. But because Job had above raised two objections against the promise of prosperity in this life — namely, the devastation of his own body, when he said, "my flesh is clothed with rottenness," and the passing away of the days of his life, when he said, "my days have passed more swiftly," etc. — therefore, to exclude both objections, he adds, "and it will rise for you at evening like the brightness of noonday," as if to say: although it seems to you that your days have passed and your life is at its end, as it were toward evening, nevertheless so great a prosperity can come upon you that it will bring you back, as it were, to the joy of your youth; for just as by evening old age is understood, so by noonday youth, and he calls "brightness" the splendor of earthly prosperity. But against what he had said about the consumption of his own body, he adds, "and when you shall have thought yourself consumed" — namely on account of the infirmity you have suffered — "you shall rise like the morning star," that is, your body will return to its former beauty. And because Job had again said above that his days were consumed without any hope, he adds, "and you will have confidence, hope being set before you." And because Job had above disapproved the opinion of those who say that man, after death, after many ages have passed, returns again to this manner of living, Zophar says that this hope is not the one set before him, but rather the hope according to which man lives after death in the memories of men. This indeed happens from two things: in one way, from the tombs in which the bodies of the dead are laid up so that the memory of the departed may be preserved, whence they are also called monuments; and as to this he says, "and buried, you will sleep secure," as if no one will violate your sepulcher, nor will it even be feared that anyone will attempt it, wherefore he adds, "you will rest, and there will be none to terrify you." In another way, the dead live in the memories of men on account of the good deeds they did while alive, on account of which their life would be missed; and as to this he adds, "and many will entreat your face," that is, many will greatly desire your presence or will show reverence to your tomb, remembering your benefits. And because he had promised these things if Job wished to depart from iniquity, he consequently shows that these things are not given to the wicked, and therefore he adds, "but the eyes of the wicked will fail," because indeed the good things they desire they will not obtain: for then someone's eyes are said to fail when he looks to apprehend something that he is not able to attain. And just as the desired goods are not attained, so also the evils that they suffer or fear they cannot avoid, wherefore it follows, "and escape will perish from them," because indeed they will not be able to flee the evils. But after death they will not be in veneration or desire but in abomination on account of the evils they did, and this is what is added: "and their hope is the abomination of the soul," that is, that which can be hoped concerning them after death is that they be in abomination.”

“Because thou shall forget thy misery,.... Former afflictions and distresses; having an abundance of prosperity and happiness, and long continued; and so, in process of time, the miseries and distresses before endured are forgotten; thus it was with Joseph in his advanced state, and therefore he called one of his sons Manasseh, Gen 41:51; and as it is with convinced and converted persons and believers in Christ, who, under first convictions and awakenings, are filled with sorrow and distress, on a view of their miserable estate by nature; but when Christ is revealed to them as their Saviour and Redeemer, and the love of God is shed abroad in their hearts, and they have faith and hope in Jesus, and a comfortable view of heaven and happiness, and eternal life, by him, they forget their spiritual poverty, and remember their misery no more, unless it be to magnify the riches of the grace of God; see Pro 31:6; and remember it as waters that pass away; either the waters of the stream in a river, which, when gone, are seen and remembered no more or as waters occasioned by floods in the winter season, which when over, and summer is come, are gone and are no more discerned; and as they pass from the places where they were, so from the minds of men: or it may be respect is had to the waters of Noah's flood, which, according to the divine promise and oath, should no more go over the earth, Gen 9:15; and being past and gone, and no fear or danger of their returning, are forgotten.”

“16 For thou shalt forget thy grief, Shalt remember it as waters that flow by. 17 And thy path of life shall be brighter than mid-day; If it be dark, it shall become as morning. 18 And thou shalt take courage, for now there is hope; And thou shalt search, thou shalt lie down in safety. 19 And thou liest down without any one making thee afraid; And many shall caress thy cheeks. 20 But the eyes of the wicked languish, And refuge vanisheth from them, And their hope is the breathing forth of the soul. The grief that has been surmounted will then leave no trace in the memory, like water that flows by (not: water that flows away, as Olshausen explains it, which would be differently expressed; comp. Job 20:28 with Sa2 14:14). It is not necessary to change אתּה כּי into עתּה כּי (Hirzel); אתה, as in Job 11:13, strengthens the force of the application of this conclusion of his speech. Life (חלד, from חלד to glide away, slip, i.e., pass away unnoticed, (Note: Vid., Hupfeld on Psa 17:14, and on the other hand Bttcher, infer. 275 s., who, taking חלד in the sense of rooting into, translates: "the mildew springs up more brilliant than mid-day." But whatever judgment one may form of the primary idea of חלד, this meaning of חלד is too imaginary.) as αἰών, both life-time, Psa 39:6, and the world, Psa 49:2, here in the former sense), at the end of which thou thoughtest thou wert already, and which seemed to thee to run on into dismal darkness, shall be restored to thee (יקום with Munach on the ult. as Job 31:14, not on the penult.) brighter than noon-day (מן, more than, i.e., here: brighter than, as e.g., Mic 7:4, more thorny than); and be it ever so dark, it shall become like morning. Such must be the interpretation of תּעפה. It cannot be a substantive, for it has the accent on the penult.; as a substantive it must have been pointed תּעוּפה (after the form תּקוּדה, תּקוּמה, and the like). It is one of the few examples of the paragogic strengthened voluntative in the third pers., like Psa 20:4; Isa 5:19 (Note: In other instances, as תּרנּה, Pro 1:20; Pro 8:3, and ותּעגּבה, Eze 23:20, the ah is not the cohortative form, but either paragogic without special meaning or (so that the fut. has a double feminine form) as feminine termination, as is evident in Job 22:21, where the ah is combined with the inflection.) (Ges. 48, 3); the cohortative form of the future is used with or without אם (vid., on Psa 73:16) in hypothetical antecedent clauses (Ges. 128, 1). Translate therefore: should it become dark (accordingly correctly accented with Rebia mugrasch), from עוּף, to envelope one's self, to darken (whence עפתה, Job 10:22), not: shouldst thou become dark (Schlottm.). The feminine forms are instead of the neuter, like תּמטיר, it rains, Amo 4:7; חשׁכה, it becomes dark, Mic 3:6 (Ges. 137, 2). The fut. is followed by perff. consecutiva in Job 11:18 : And thou shalt take confidence, for there is ground for hope for thee; ישׁ, with the force of real and lasting existence. וחפרתּ is also perf. consec., and is rightly accented as such. If it were to be interpreted et si erubueris pudore tranquille cubabis, it would require the accent on the penult., since it would be a perf. hypotheticum. But although the seeming antithesis of וחפרת and לבטח (comp. Job 6:20) appears to favour this interpretation, it is nevertheless inadmissible, since it introduces a sadness into the promise: granted that thou shouldest be put to shame at this or that prospect; whereas, if חפר be taken in the sense of scrutari, as it is used by our poet (Job 3:21; Job 39:29) (not with Bttch., who comp. Ecc 5:11, in the signification fodere = to labour in the field, in which meaning it is not common), the tone of sadness is removed, and the accentuation is duly observed: and thou shalt search about (i.e., examine the state of thy household, which is expressed by וּפקדתּ in Job 5:24), thou shalt lay thyself down in peace (i.e., because thou findest everything in a prosperous condition, and hast no anxiety). This felling of security against every harm that may befall one's person or property, gained from trust in God, is expressed (Job 11:19) under the figure of the peaceful situation of a herd when removed from danger, - a figure which is borrowed from Lev 26:6, and is frequently repeated in the prophets (Isa 17:2; Zep 3:13). The promises of Zophar culminate in a future exaltation which shall command reverence and inspire trust: et mulcebunt faciem tuam multi. פּני חלּה, to approach any one in humble entreaty, generally used in reference to God; less frequently, as here and Psa 45:13; Pro 19:6, in reference to men in high positions. The end of the wicked, on the other hand, is told in Job 11:20. Zophar here makes use of the choicest expressions of the style of the prophetic psalms: כּלה, otherwise frequently used of those who pine away with longing, here and Job 17:5 of eyes that languish with unsatisfied longing; מנּהם (Aram. מנּהוןּ), poetic for מהם; נפשׁ מפּח, after the phrase נפשׁ נפח, he breathes forth his soul (Jer 15:9, comp. Job 31:39). The meaning is not that death is their only hope, but that every expectation remains unfulfilled; giving up the ghost is that whither all their disappointed hopes tend. That Zophar, in the mind of the poet, is the youngest of the three speakers, may be concluded from his introducing him last of all, although he is the most impetuous. Zophar manifests a still greater inability than the other two to bring Job to a right state of mind. His standpoint is the same as that of the others; like them, he regards the retributive justice of God as the principle on which alone the divine government in the world is exercised, and to which every act of this government is to be attributed, and it may indeed be assumed to be at work even when the relation of circumstances is mysterious and impenetrably dark to us. This limited view which the friends take of the matter readily accounts for the brevity of their speeches in comparison with Job's. This one locus communis is their only theme, which they reiterate constantly in some new and modified form; while the mind of Job is an exhaustless fountain of thought, suggested by the direct experiences of the past. Before the present dispensation of suffering came upon Job, he enjoyed the peace of true godliness, and all his thoughts and feelings were under the control of a consciousness, made certain by his experience, that God makes himself known to those who fear Him. Now, however, his nature, hitherto kept in subjection by divine grace, is let loose in him; the powers of doubt, mistrust, impatience, and despondency have risen up; his inner life is fallen into the anarchy of conflict; his mind, hitherto peaceful and well-disciplined, is become a wild chaotic confusion; and hence his speeches, in comparison with those of the friends, are as roaring cataracts to small confined streams. But in this chaos lie the elements of a new creation; the harsh pertinacity with which the friends maintain their one dogma only tends to give an impulse to it. The new truth, the solution of the mystery, springs from this spiritual battle Job has to fight, from which, although not scathless, he still shall come forth as conqueror. Is the dogma of the friends, then, so pure a doctrine (זך לקח) as that which, according to Zophar's words, Job claims for himself? On Zophar's side it is maintained that God always acts in accordance with justice, and Job maintains that God does not always so act. The maxim of the friends is false in the exclusiveness with which they maintain it; the conclusion to which they are urged gives evidence of the fallacy of the premises: they must condemn Job, and consequently become unjust, in order to rescue the justice of God. Job's maxim, on the other hand, is true; but it is so unconnected as it stands, that it may be turned over any moment and changed into a falsehood. For that God does not act everywhere as the Just One is a truth, but that He sometimes acts unjustly is blasphemy. Between these two Job hangs in suspense. For the stedfast consciousness of his innocence proves to him that God does not always act as the Just One; shall he therefore suppose that God deals unjustly with him? From this blasphemous inversion of his maxim, Job seeks refuge in the absolute power of God, which makes that just which is unjust according to the clearest human consciousness. This is the feeble thread on which Job's piety hangs. Should this be cut, it would be all over with him. The friends do their best to cut it in twain. Zophar's speech is like a sword-thrust at it. For while Eliphaz and Bildad with cautious gentleness describe suffering more as chastisement than as punishment, Zophar proceeds more boldly, and demands of Job that he should humble himself, as one who has incurred punishment from God. Of sin on Job's part which may have called down the divine judgment, Zophar knows as little as Job himself. But he wishes that God would grant Job some revelation of His infinite wisdom, since he refuses to humble himself. Then he would confess his folly, and see that God not only does not punish him unjustly, but even allows much of his guilt to go unpunished. Job is therefore to turn penitently to God, and to put away that evil which is the cause of his suffering, in order that he may be heard. Then shall his hopeless condition become bright with hope; whereas, on the other hand, the downfall of the wicked is beyond recovery. Ewald aptly remarks that thus even the concluding words of the speeches of the friends are always somewhat equivocal. "Eliphaz just adds a slight caution, Bildad introduces the contrast in a few words, and Zophar adds but a word; all these seem to be as the forerunners of a multitude of similar harsh threatenings, ch. 15, 18, 20." What impression will this harsh treatment of Zophar's produce on Job? Job is to humble himself as a sinner who is undergoing the punishment of his sin, though the measure of it is far below the degree of his guilt; and while he does not deny his sinful weaknesses, he is nevertheless convinced that he is righteous, and having as such experienced the favour of God, cannot become an object of punishment. Brentius discriminatingly observes here: Videntur et Sophar et reliqui amici Hiob prorsus ignorare quid sit aut efficiat Evangelion et fides in promissionem Dei; sic argumentantur contra Hiobem, quasi nullus unquam possit coram Deo fide justificari. The language is rather too much in accordance with the light of the New Testament; but it is true that the friends know nothing whatever of the condition of a truly righteous man, over whom the law with its curse, or the retributive justice of God, has no power. The interpretation of affliction in accordance with the recognition of this principle is strange to them; and this is just the issue which is developed by the drama in the case of Job - the idea which comes to light in the working out of the plot. Even Job does not perceive the solution of the mystery, but, in the midst of the conflict, is in a state of ignorance which excites compassion; the ignorance of the friends arising from their shallowness of understanding, on the contrary, creates aversion. When Zophar, therefore, wishes that God would grant Job some revelation of His infinite wisdom, it is indeed true that Job is greatly in need of it; but it is self-deceiving pride which leads Zophar to imagine that he has no need of it himself. For this Wisdom which has decreed the suffering of Job is hidden from his also; and yet he does not treat the suffering of his friend as a divine mystery. He explains it as the working of the retributive justice of God; but since he endeavours thus to explain the mystery, he injures his cause, and if possible injures also the slender thread by which Job's faith hangs. For should Job regard his sufferings as a just divine retribution, he could then no longer believe on God as the Just One.”