כִּי אֹזֶן מִלִּין תִּבְחָן. כַּאֲשֶׁר הַחֵיךְ יִטְעַם הָאֹכֶל:

For the ear tests words as the palate tastes food.

my right [my] To prove my words.

I call a liar I accuse my Judge of being a liar, because He did not judge me fairly.

incurable Heb. אנוש, My wound is sore, like (II Sam. 12:15), “and it became mortally ill (ויאנש).”

my wound Heb. חצי [lit. my arrow].

A man derives no benefit A man derives no benefit if he perfects his ways.

Who gave Him a charge over the earth Who rules over Him, saying, ‘Why did You do so?’ or ‘I did not command You so’? For who gave Him a charge over His dominion, and why should He find pretexts for His creatures? He need not answer one who rules over Him by saying ‘Because of this I harmed him.’

If He puts His heart on man to destroy him, why should He come upon him with a pretext? He can immediately gather in to Himself... His spirit and His soul His spirit and His soul that He blew into him, and no one will stop Him. Thus, all flesh will perish together.

And if you wish, understand And if you wish, understand. hearken to this This בּינה is not a noun but an imperative expression, like (Ps. 5:2), “consider (בּינה) my meditation.” Therefore, these two are accented on the first syllable, on the “beth,” whereas all the others are accented on the final syllable, on the “nun.”

Will...even one who hates judgment Will the Omnipresent heal [even the one who hates the judgment] of the just Judge? If you say that [to do so] is not judgment, for He acted not in accordance with the law, is it possible that you should condemn One Who is very righteous?

very Heb. כביר, an expression denoting “exceedingly.”

Is it proper to say of a king, ‘scoundrel’ Is it fit and proper to say of a king, ‘scoundrel,’ or ‘wicked’ of nobles?

Who did not respect princes That is to say, the King of the world, before Whom there is no favoritism.

a prince Heb. שוע, a prince, as in (Isa. 32:5), “nor shall a deceitful person be said to be noble (שוע).”

In a moment, they die when He wishes.

and at midnight as He did to the Egyptians,

an [entire] people quakes in a moment and passes away.

it is not in their hands it is not in their hands, and they have no strength.

For He will not place additional [guilt] on a man That is to say: You said (23:6), ‘He will not place upon me anything but my sins,’ only my sins alone, and I reply to you that the Holy One, blessed be He, will not place on His creatures additional accusations over their transgression. [The word] עוד is an expression of addition.

to go to God in judgment When He comes upon His creatures to debate with them.

He shatters Heb. ירע, [like] ירוֹצֵץ. He shatters, and like (Isa. 24:19), “has broken (התרעעה).”

and He stands others in their stead.

Because He recognizes their deeds Because He recognizes their deeds, whether good or evil, He does not need to debate.

He turns night A time of darkness and trouble for them, and they are crushed.

In the place of the wicked Heb. תחת, in their location.

He smote them The people of Sodom.

in the place of viewers Before everyone’s eyes.

Because they turned away from following Him Heb. אשר על-כן as in (Num. 10:31), “because (על- כן) you knew our camping in the desert.” [This is] like: because (מפני אשר) they turned away from following Him, and they brought before Him and upon Him the cry of the poor.

When He quiets He gives the poor [some peace and] quiet from those who oppress [them]. Now who will deal wickedly anymore? And as long as He hid His face, who will see Him?

whether [it be done] to a nation or to a man, alike As for individuals, [or] as for a multitude it is the same to Him to quiet [them] and to hide His face.

And it shall be quiet, that a flattering man shall not reign because of the snares of the people Over the poor, who reigned.

because of the snares of the people [who were guilty] of iniquity, and concerning such a God, you should not have said, ‘scoundrel,’ and ‘wicked.

For to God should be said To be said to Him. It is fitting and proper for all those who suffer pains to say, ‘I bear, accept, and tolerate Your judgments, and I will not destroy myself.’ Further, the one who is judged must say...

Besides what I see Besides what I know to perceive in Your words, You instruct me, and if I have committed injustice, I will not continue.

From you should He pay it, for you despised etc. so did Elihu say to Job, “Should the Holy One, blessed be He, have taken counsel from you about repaying you?”

for you despised saying (above 7: 16), “I despised [my life]; I will not live forever”; (above 6:9) “enlarge His hand and finish me off.” Do you think that He would collect from you according to your thoughts and your desire, and you would choose the payment—not I? Elihu spoke instead of the Holy One, blessed be He, with a question.

Men of understanding will say to me that Job does not speak with knowledge.

My Father! May [Job] be tried You are my Father. The Holy One, blessed be He, is the Father of all. If only Job were tried to eternity, in order that there be repentance among men of iniquity. And also to men Scripture speaks in this manner (II Kings 5:13): “‘Master (אבי), if the prophet spoke to you to do a difficult thing etc.’” Another explanation: אבי is like (Ecc. 12:5), “and the sexual desire (האביונה) will fail,” an expression of desire. Menachem (Machbereth p. 11) associated it in this manner, and this is its interpretation: אָבִי יִבָּחֵן אִיוֹב עַד נֶצַח, my wish and my desire are that Job should be tried to eternity (omitted in some editions).

he speaks loquaciously Heb. יספוק is an expression of many words and raising the voice.

among us he speaks loquaciously He asks, Why should we be concerned with his words? (above 19:4), ‘And even if I have indeed erred, let my error stay with me,’ and he does not know that we are punished, and he increases iniquities for us because we are listening. So it is explained in Leviticus Rabbah (4:6).