1 Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,
2 As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;
3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;
4 My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.
5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.
6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.
7 Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.
8 For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?
9 Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him?
10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God?
11 I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.
12 Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus altogether vain?
13 This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty.
14 If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.
15 Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep.
16 Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay;
17 He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.
18 He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh.
19 The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not.
20 Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night.
21 The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place.
22 For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.
23 Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.
<html><b>Then Job again</b> His friends refrained from answering as Elihu reprimanded them, for they stood and replied no more (32:3).</html>
<html><b>As God lives</b> I swear that indeed He took away my right. From here Rabbi Joshua derived that Job served the Omnipresent out of love. No one swears by the king’s life unless he loves the king.</html>
<html><b>that I should justify you</b> That I should say that you are right in condemning me. <b>I will not give up my innocence</b> I will not concede to your words and say that I am not innocent.</html>
<html><b>I have maintained my righteousness</b> To say that I am righteous. <b>my heart will not reproach</b> me because of my days, i.e., because of any manner or trait with which I deported myself in my days. Therefore, perforce, my enemy shall be like a wicked man.</html>
<html><b>For what is the hope of a flatterer</b> For why should I be a wicked man and a robber? What is the end of a wicked man who takes money by force? <b>when God casts off</b> Heb. ישל. When the Omnipresent casts his soul off him. This is an expression of (Exod. 3:5), “Remove (של) your shoes”; (Deut. 19:5), “and the iron [head] slips off (ונשל).”</html>
<html><b>Or will he delight with the Almighty</b> The double interrogative is like all double interrogatives. the first one is customarily prefixed by a “hey” and the second one by אִם ; e.g., (Amos 6:12), “Will horses run (הירצון) on the rock, or (אִם) will one plow with cattle?” (Job 6:30), “Is there (היש) injustice in my tongue, or (אִם) will my palate not understand wickedness?” Here, too, will God hearken to his cry…or will he delight with the Almighty? Will one who is a wicked man or a flatterer perhaps be able to delight and rely on the salvations of the Holy One, blessed be He, and call to Him in time of trouble? This is a question.</html>
<html><b>I will instruct you</b> what the standard is that is in God’s hand, and the way… <b>what is with the Almighty I will not conceal</b> Like (above 23:10), “Because He knows the way that is with me.”</html>
<html><b>all of you have seen</b> that this is the portion of a wicked man. <b>now why do you become altogether vain?</b> To be wicked and hypocritical.</html>
<html><b>If his sons increase</b> they will increase for the sword. <b>in death</b> They will die amidst suffering and sicknesses, until his widows will be happy at their death and will not weep.</html>
<html><b>and He will distribute [his] money to the innocent</b> The Holy One, blessed be He, will distribute the wicked man’s money to an innocent one.</html>
<html><b>He builds…as a moth</b> As a moth, who builds his hole which does not endure, and like a booth that the watchman of the fig tree and the vineyard makes, which is not permanent. (Another explanation: that the watchman of the vineyard, who does not watch it at all times, made. I heard this. Absent in certain editions.)</html>
<html><b>He dies rich</b> He will die with his riches, but sometimes he will not be gathered in to burial.</html>
<html><b>Terrors</b> Demons. <b>a tempest snatches him away</b> and casts him away in disgrace.</html>
<html><b>And he will cast upon him</b> i.e., the one who casts evil upon him will show no compassion. <b>from his hand</b> of the wicked man, and from his strength. from his place. <b>he will flee</b> His counselor, who assisted him from the start, will flee from assisting him at the time of his downfall, as Charbonah did to Haman (Esther 7:9).</html>
<html><b>They clap their hands over them</b> Those who knew [him] long ago and now see his ruin.</html>