On Job

On Job the Righteous A Memra of Forty On Job the Righteous And on the Trials He Endured The Creator inscribed a memorial of man in the book of life, that the wise man might learn from the sufferings of the righteous who triumphed. And when the will of the righteous was revealed to him, like the All-Knowing, he did not wish to conceal the wealth of their toil by the labor of their hands. He inscribed a memorial of their names in the book of his words, and like torches he set in their hands a path to life. In the likeness of types he fixed in his writings the name of the victorious, and he wove a beautiful crown for the head of victory. He placed their toil as a foundation in the book of his words, that man might seek the ways of their conduct through their labor. Like luminaries, the sun and the moon, he fixed their toil, that through their radiance they might show light to the hidden soul. He placed in his writings the name of the righteous as a model for the age, that everyone might know how to walk in the labors of the soul. They were a demonstration in their conduct to the eyes of the heart, that everyone might find the help of his soul through their labor. He did not build praises of the air for the righteous who loved him; he fixed their conduct as a sign for their posterity. He looked upon them when they were afflicted in the pains of the body, and in their violence he was revealed when they were swallowed up.

His strength strengthened the thoughts of his limbs in their contests, and through his endurance they gained victory in their struggles. Not with the flesh did they wage the struggle, fleshly ones, but with the head of the air; they descended to the contest with the tremors of souls. The Creator inscribed their triumphs and placed them in the archives, that everyone might learn about the struggle of flesh and spirit. In this struggle with spiritual beings, Job also triumphed, and the slanderer did not conquer through his violence in the contest. And that the flesh conquered the head of the air and vanquished the spirit, the Creator recorded the victory of man and the guilt of demons. He wrote the memorial of Job, the righteous one, in the book of words, and called him a man from whom everyone might learn that he is corporeal. He made known his land and showed his people that he was an Edomite, so that everyone might know that he was an earthly one, formed from the earth. He recounted the ways of the perfect one, upright and righteous and complete, and increased the honor of the word of his Lord with the simplicity of soul. He remembered his possessions and the abundance of his wealth, which was abundant on earth, and he was not disgraced by his possessions in the lands. He showed the excellent crowns of his ten children, and the love of his Lord did not diminish the affection for his children. He praised and magnified his humility towards his children, so that through sacrifices he might cover everyone lest they err. He introduced the lineage of the love of the righteous through the cause of Job, who came at all times to pray after her, the righteous one.

He came to the days as is his custom among the sons of Elohim, and he came to stand in the blood of God in the simplicity of the soul. He brought the accusation of the slanderer against his people, and he stood in their midst before God, not to pray. The Creator revealed two answers of two parties: the will of the just and the desire of the evil against the just. Not in lamentation and not in supplication did he say that he came, for the thick ones are not able to see the hidden from all. He desired to examine the thoughts of the just and the evil, because of what they are always hastening to the high threshold. The just were not able to see the hidden by means of that which comes, and the adversary was not able to speak with the essence. And if the just see the hidden in the simplicity of the soul, how can the slanderer look upon God? How is it right that not like hearing should the understanding be formed, to be diminished within and not be balanced by externals? By this he said that he came among the just to repay the debt of the simplicity of the soul to the one who sees all. The evil one came as the slanderer of Job the just, not to offer sacrifices of love like the just. He desired to spread out his entire thought concerning the cause of Job, while teaching us that this is his meditation against the just. The slanderer saw the abundance of the wealth of Job the just, and the loss of his mind that he might become weak and triumph over the earth.

the name of his deeds, the perfect and upright one, heard the accuser, and his accusations, the voices of the slanderer, came to bear the labors of Job. With the voice of the Creator, the slanderer was being proclaimed, who at all times proclaims his righteousness and perfection. The good of his labors and his alms flew through creation, and like arrows they pierced the envious one with his beauties. The error of wrath was stirring for him, that accuser, that he might know what this is, that with the little ones there are also manners. In the fire of anger, the slanderer was being consumed, that by the power of the destitute he might bring to light all that was hidden. He, with himself, bound a secret and mounted a chariot, that the slanderer might be able to conquer the labors of Job. With this chariot, he said that he came before God, that the slanderer of the righteous Job, who is not a just man, might be. He, with himself, not with the hidden one, spoke and said, "I have gone around the earth and spread nets to catch a man." Job alone broke the nets and shattered the snares, and was not ensnared in the traps and knots of iniquity. He was strong on the earth, and his body was firm, and his mind was resolute, and the good of his beauties triumphed in the four directions. "I have approached and tested him; he does not persuade me by the sign of his master, that like an athlete he is clothed and armed with the power of his help." The power of the Creator stood aside from his side, from the side of the one who approached him, and if not for him, he would have long ago, like every man, been hidden from him.

The name of his deeds, the perfect and upright one, heard the accuser, and his accusations, the voices of the slanderer, came to bear the labors of Job. With the voice of the Creator, the slanderer was being proclaimed, and he gave me the place to strike him with his afflictions. And he learned every battle that from the dead he was to the wearers of sufferings. In his strength, his mind was firm with his limbs, and if his afflictions were pressed, he would have been healed. His poverty and destitution did not humble him, and because of this, his words were not shaken by the tumult. Death did not snatch from him the portion of the decree of man, and if it had broken him, the mourning for his children would have turned to joys. In strength, the evil one was accusing Job, that his wealth wove for him a crown of victories, not his will. To the calumnies that he mounts against the righteous, the Creator revealed, by means of that which he writes, that he questions him as if he does not know. Not the Creator asks the evil one about his way, and the rebel did not see or speak with the Knower of All. In these voices, the Creator prepares for his testing, and to his questions he asks every hour as if he does not know. He asks Adam, "Where is Adam?" when he sees him, and he asks Cain, "Where is your brother?" and he knows where. He makes a voice heard in the anger of Sodom, that he might see the sisters, whether they did or completed a good deed that came to them. Here, the evil one asks from whence he came, while he teaches us that he wanders the earth and leads man astray. By means of questioning, he wishes to examine the calumny of the evil one, that he who eats the slander mounts every hour against the righteous.

Behold, you have set your heart upon my servant Job, revealing his thought: that there is none like him, the perfect and upright one, and he is heavy for me. The evil slanderer spoke to the Creator, not with a voice, but with a thought, all his desire that he might write for you with his finger. You have not stretched out the hand of mercy over his afflictions, and with your help, the healthy and strong one has fallen to the ground. By your might, his name triumphs in creation as a perfect one; take your help, and behold, he is exalted above every human. By your might, his name triumphs in creation as a perfect one; take your help, and behold, he is exalted above every human. The mercy of the hand is spread over Job like a covering; your right hand is suspended, and behold, the help of his soul is revealed. The gold of your word is laid upon the rust of the help of his soul, and by it his pain is received, hidden in the treasury of gold. Give me that I may seek him out in the loss of his possessions, as a firstborn, and reveal the rust of the laxity of his soul, that it is not true. In his strength, his mind is firm and not loosened; in the abundance of his possessions, he raises his spirit like a true one. From the dead, he is one who wears sufferings, formed from dust; and if the river of my commands passes through him, he will be shaken again. Open for me the door that I may enter against him by my severity, and I will place a sign for him with evil wiles, and his heart will tremble.

There is no death that does not grieve him in the loss of his possessions, and there is no affliction that is not cast upon him by the evil slander. This one was accounted an accuser, and not with his Lord did that insolent one speak. The power of words is inscribed in the scriptures, as of those who are, but not, however, did the hidden one speak anything with the rebel. By a sign he gave place to the evil one, with hidden movements, as when he hunts for spirits while being sent forth. He revealed the sign to the accuser clearly: "Behold, I deliver to you everything that Job possesses on earth." See the rebellion that the good one endured from his household, and he mustered his forces as for battle against Job. By his arrows the insolent one thought to terrify him, and in the loss of his possessions he sought to cast down the desire of his soul. He did not know that he was bound by the jealousy against the righteous, that the voice of loss does not disturb the purity of his soul. Like an affliction he looked upon him, casting forth thought, and he did not know that his sufferings would be hidden by his endurance. Not the hidden things of the Creator does he examine like the Creator, nor the thought of the soul does he discern like the Knower of All. And if he had paused before the threshold of the one who strikes the sinner, he would not have descended to the harsh evil with the righteous. Without knowledge he armed himself and went to battle, and began to shoot the arrow of his wrath at the righteous one.

It was the day when the accuser was cast down by the sons of Job, and the evil angel brought the news of the army that fell. The messenger came to the righteous one, and a terrible voice was heard: "Your possessions are destroyed, the heart is struck with great terror." The army fell and carried off the oxen with the herds, and the farmers and shepherds died in fierce anger. The evil one mounted the cause that errs in the name of the army, and the demon appeared like the captors who fell and carried off. The messenger came, not only from the army that fell, but came to see if anything had happened that was without loss. And the first one delivered the goodness of the army that fell, the other arrived and destroyed the goodness of the flocks that were lost. The wall of the height fell from its place like lightning, and the flocks and shepherds burned in flame. The messenger came, not only to spread the news that the Creator had not justly acted against your possessions. "Evil destructions have repaid you, your Lord, in place of your righteousness, that he brought down the wall and burned the flocks without loss." O the cunning one who hides snares and covers traps, that it may not be known to which one he drives perfectly. He disturbed the air and gathered the wall and burned the flocks, and stood to mock in wickedness what he had done to the Lord of Job. It was the day when he darkened his own wall and burned the flocks, and did not spare you the sacrifices of the just which you used to offer.

The third time the evil one submitted the test of fire and the calamities, and another messenger came announcing the loss of the camels that perished. Three times the Chaldeans made their raids against the three regions, and they carried off the camels and killed the servants, and only one escaped. Three arrows the rebel shot against the three flocks, and not one of them was wounded in the armor of Job. Three grievous tidings he brought upon his hands, and the serenity of his soul was not disturbed by the malice of the evil one. Three afflictions he changed and struck him with three reports, and the bitterness in the body of Job did not tremble. Three times he entered into the furnace of testing with the fire of trial, and he showed the beauty of the gold of his soul, which was pure and bright. He burned the oxen and set fire to the flocks and carried off the camels, three kinds of possessions, and cut off the sheep, a few lambs. Three times the evil one descended to the contest, and he was put to shame, and in his three attempts he ascended, having been put to shame without victory. The wiles of the evil one were vain against the perfect one, and he was not ensnared in the traps of his wickedness. He hid in the three contests that the slanderer made, and he changed his armor and renewed the generation that would bear the victory. In the fire of his wrath that destroyer was consumed, who by the power of the Persians had moved against the contest by means of the rod.

The flame of his wrath was kindling her bitterness, and he was inflamed to add his fire to the children of Job. With the loss of the camels that perished, a new bitterness heard his name, and he turned the mercies and troubled the soul. In the houses of the seven with their sisters, they rejoiced in good fortune, and with the firstborn they hastened in harmony as was their custom. A harsh wind blew from the heights, not in its usual way, and it shook the foundations of the house, and it fell and buried the children. The roof fell and buried the children among their ten, and it mingled their blood with their cups on their tables. The rebel put on the guise of a friend to deceive Job, and in the likeness of a lover he showed himself in the loss of his children. Nothing like this had happened to the righteous, nor did this recompense repay the good who loved him. To you, Job, the Creator turned the order of his mercies, and mercy did not spare the wrath that came upon your possessions. It was not enough for him to burn your flocks and drown your camels, and to pour out his anger on your herds and kill the children. Not gently did the Creator act, who wronged your labors, and it was that afterwards he struck your children; he could have spared them. If his love for you were true, why did he not restrain himself? And if he repays labors gently, why did he act unjustly toward you?

O the accuser who was not satisfied with the sword of fire, and he began to pour out the bitterness of his wrath upon the Creator. He did not consider the spirit of wrath and kill your children, and he sought to afflict you through your heirs. In the generation of his children, the rebel thought that he would be merciful to him, that the love of his children would be difficult for him and would produce hatred. Finally, the slanderer kept for him a harsh generation, knowing that the bond of love of fire is bound to his children. Three battles the rebel waged with the righteous, and in the fourth he exhausted his arrows and stood ashamed. In this contest his hope was hung, and he was expecting that the name of the victor would be heard alone and that he would overcome Job. For his desire did not ascend to the end, nor did that perfect one incline to the name of the victor. O the athlete of righteousness, how much violence he endured, and was not broken by the blows of the generation. O the dead one clothed in the members of the pure one for sufferings, O the flesh that endured a generation with the spirit. O the son of Adam, dust of the earth who forgot his nature, and the mercy of his children did not turn him to the love of his Lord. O the thought that was troubled with the sufferings of death, that was not broken by the suffering of his children towards hatred. O the adamant that evil served with harsh things, and was not softened by the grievous tidings.

Not your children, the accuser, who was not satisfied with the sword of fire, and he began to pour out the bitterness of his wrath upon the Creator. He did not consider the spirit of wrath and kill your children, and he sought to afflict him with the pains of his children and his servants, and he was seeking the mercy of his Lord and was not healed. Love with love, Job, like a divider, and the love of the mercy of his Lord overcame the love of his children. He mourned greatly over his servants and did not become angry; he grieved for his children and sought his pain in the mercy of his Lord. The covering of his body was rent, and his hair was cut, but his heart was not rent by the dispute against his Creator. He was stripped of his form when he was born, he said, "Naked," and he was stripped of his appearance without covering, as when I came. My God gave to me, and he took away; his command is powerful. His name is blessed from his servants over every creature. The perfect one offered a voice of thanksgiving in place of his possessions, and he sealed his Lord over his violence without anger and wrath. The order of death of his children and his servants was completed, and he began anew another burden for the destruction of the body. With the fire of his wrath he was burning against Job, that he might deepen a pit and bury his lightness. But that great one, if he conquers the dust of Adam, he will cause the son of the living to laugh over the spirits. I left his servants and strengthened his soul with the trust of his Lord; I killed his children and blessed the name of Him who gives and takes.

You knew, Michael, that he is not to be healed among creatures, and the pain of his children did not afflict him as it did his adversary. To the temple of his body, Michael, it is right that he be near and hidden, for if he suffers through his members, he is not to be healed. He was accusing him wickedly in this, that he might bring to light the whole hidden will, and he was being reviled. The Creator revealed the whole hidden thing by means of that which was written, that he also would come with the righteous before God. He spread a sign over his whole thought by means of a question, and he himself added by means of that which he said, "I have gone around in the earth." Behold, you set your heart upon my servant Job; hear his testimony, that he is perfect and upright, and there is no one like him who honors me. He is not to be healed from affliction and perfection, and you bring it to me that I should destroy the good servant at your hands. He opened the whole thing to the hidden sign from the Creator, that it is not his own that is able to swallow the arrows of my blows. Every man who gives a blow and strikes himself, it is the self alone that loves suffering from everything. And if you wish to learn this, you arrogant one, stretch out your hand and strike him a little, and behold, he denies you. And if you strike the rod of your hand upon his members, he stands before your face and confesses to you without denial. He knows all the will of the slanderer's self, and he gave it to Job that he might live with him for the generation of his body.

Behold, I deliver Job into your hands; he signaled to the hidden one. His own self alone, he does not permit you to take his measure. The evil one perceived that the good one had quieted from his household, and he bent his bow and filled the arrows of the fire of his wrath. The evil one went out and struck Job with a grievous ulcer, from the crown of his head to his feet, without respite. A foul ulcer covered his body like a firstborn, and it drew from him the sound of pains in its harsh rupture. He shot the arrows of his anger into the fire of the furnace, and the body of Job was beautifully adorned with flame. The two champions descended to the arena of contest, the head of the air and the corporeal one, clothed in limbs. The corporeal one conquered the spiritual one by the power of will, and the spirit was defeated by the body through the laxity of the soul. The athlete of righteousness stood in the stadium, and he held a corporeal contest with the spirit. The spectators of the athletic contest were amazed at the high contests, and they marveled together at the corporeal one who conquered the spirit. O new contest that was not customary, where the one who devours is overcome, and the crown of victory is complete. The corporeal one devoured the spirit and consumed his body, and in his destruction he takes the victory as a true one. The rebel hid the request of his body and sought his own self; he created his limbs and strengthened his joints by means of violence.

The evil one was striking Job in the house of agonies, that he might sin by a will that is wholly bound. He extended his bodily will to the evil one who was striking, and his spiritual arrows were insufficient for the evil one. O bow that laughs and conquers in all his contests, and a single clod of earth casts him down when he sits and casts his weapon. O death, the natural end of the demons who contend with him, who stood while he was heavy and cast down the sign beneath his feet. O bodily athlete whom the spirits seized, and he brings out his heavy self, the body, from the light ones. O sailor who sails the sea in a harsh winter, and the disturbance of the waves does not trouble his faith. The evil one troubled him in the sea of his body along with his thought, and he moored the ship in the harbor of his self so that it would not be submerged. The plagues struck him like storms and were not healed, and the pain of death burned in his members and was not divided. The evil one struck the field of his body with a hail of pains, and his mouth repaid the sound of praise instead of blasphemy. His seven friends, the slanderers of the heart of his thought, concealed the wealth of the covering of his self within from the truth. He was not healed in the loss of his possessions and the pains of his body; his Lord crowned him with a crown of victory in place of his afflictions. He sought a path toward pain in the separation of his self; he made it a path for the pursuit of healing in the silence of his labors.

that he might receive the victory of truth against the evil one. He inscribed his memory in the likeness of an image within his books. Like a mirror of the clarity of the soul, he wrote his memory, that every contest of the soul might be cleansed by the beauties of Job. With this interpretation, the good one praises the afflicted, who were an image by their labors for the covering of truth. Not earthly praises did he weave for his athletes; the striker cast down the man to the earth toward affliction. Through the sufferings of Job, he opened a door for athletics, and began to take flesh as a prize against the spirits. His victories were like heralds in the limbs of every contest, that they might warn man not to be broken by the pains of the body. Like a trumpet, every contest cries out concerning his victory, that the prize is small, the pain slight, and the reward great. With each and every one, he submits himself to the pains he endures, that the pains of the prize may not equal the glory that is prepared. Job became like a mirror of the slackness of the soul, that while he was corporeal in the pains of the body, he conquered the spirit. On the path of his labors, he pursued every hour without weariness, and in the midst of his journey, he directed the victory toward our faith.