Thereafter, as I lay upon my bed, in the middle of the night, a bright
light suddenly shone in my chamber, and I heard a voice calling me,
"Jobab, Jobab!" (and I answered, "Here am I"). And the voice said, "Rise
up, and I will tell thee that which I have to say. Verily, this idol to
whom offerings are brought, and wine poured out in libations, is not a
god, but is a work of the evil power whereby he deceives the sons of
men." Then I bowed myself down and said, "Lord, who hast come to
enlighten my soul, I beseech thee, give me leave to go and cleanse this
place that is polluted by the enemy, so that offerings shall no more be
made to him; but, indeed, who is there that can withstand me, seeing
that I am ruler over this country?"
The voice answered me out of the light, "Thou canst indeed destroy
that place; but I must forewarn thee of that which will ensue,
according as I have in hand to tell thee from the Lord." And I
answered, "All that He commandeth thy servant will I hear and do."
And the voice said again, "If thou takest upon thee to destroy this
abode of Satan's, he will rise up and fight against thee; he will
bring upon thee many plagues; he will take away all thy gods; he will
slay thy children. Only he will not be able to take thy life. And, if
thou endurest to the end, thy name shall become famous among all
generations for ever; and I will restore thee to thy former estate,
and recompense thee double, and thou shalt rise up again in the
resurrection of the just. Be thou therefore like a fighter who giveth
blows and endureth them, looking to win the crown of victory; and
then shalt thou know that the Lord is righteous, and true, and
mighty, giving strength to His chosen."
And I, my children, answered him, "I will verily endure even unto
death, and will not draw back." Then the angel set a mark upon my
forehead, and departed from me; and in the same night I arose and
gathered to me fifty of my servants, and went and destroyed the
temple of the idol, laying it even with the ground. Then I returned
to my house, and commanded that the doors should be made fast.
Hearken now, my children, and wonder; for as soon as I had come into
my house, and had commanded the doors to be shut, and had told the
keepers of the doors to say to any that came that I was not at
leisure to see them, Satan came, having put on the appearance of a
beggar, and said to the maid that kept the door, "Tell Job that I
desire to speak with him." She came to me, therefore, and I told her
again, "Tell him that I have no leisure to see him."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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