“As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;”
As God lives, who has taken away my judgment, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, invoking the divine name in oath-language while simultaneously accusing God of injustice, establishing Job's willingness to stake his entire testimony on the truth of his claim. The oath formula as God lives traditionally introduces statements the speaker is willing to die for, suggesting that Job's accusation carries the weight of ultimate commitment. The accusation that God has taken away Job's judgment—his right to justice—frames Job's suffering as fundamentally a juridical wrong, a deprivation of the fair hearing that righteousness demands. The bitterness of Job's soul becomes attributed to divine action, transforming Job's suffering into an expression of how God has treated Job rather than mere circumstance.
Church Fathers on Job 27:2
As God liveth, Who hath taken away my judgment, and the Almighty, Who hath brought my soul to bitterness. By which same words blessed Job at once tells his own circumstances, and represents the times of Holy Church under affliction, wherein she is borne down by the open frowardness of unbelievers, and vexed by the bitterness of persecution. For in two ways the Church is subject to be tried by her adversaries, viz. that she should suffer persecution either by words or swords.…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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