Job 12:4

Option A

I have become one who causes his neighbor to smile,

   I who called upon God and He answered me,

      A blameless and upright man, a laughingstock.

I think something is lost in translation. I struggled with this first stitch to the point I am not sure I really had an answer. My vocabulary is probably just too limited. I know the feeling, but laughingstock and mockery at not the right words to me.

‘One who causes his neighbor to smile’ was also ‘mockery’ and ‘laughingstock’. ‘Neighbor’ was also ‘friend’ and ‘God’s friend’. I preferred the concept of God’s friend, but I could not figure out how to make it work without the word I don’t know.

The only real variation on the second stitch is that it refers to God’s friend ‘Who called upon God and was answered’. Following the logic, this could also apply to the neighbor or regular friend as well.

‘Blameless and upright’ were matched to the first descriptions of Job in the book, but were picked from ‘just’, ‘righteous’, ‘innocent’, and ‘perfect saint’. Again, the description could be applied to the neighbor, friend, or God’s friend rather than Job.

Option B

I have become one who causes God’s friend to smile,

   Who calls upon God and is answered,

      To a blameless and upright man, a laughingstock.

I have a report due today that I am trying to rearrange. All the facts remain the same and all my opinions remain the same, but the sequence can be used to tell the story with less specificity. I was writing the report to support my testimony, but now it might be better suited to avoid the need to testify at all.

Finally using a dictionary, I find that mockery can be thought of as an imitation.

Option C

I have become an imitation of a friend of God’s,

  Who calls upon God and is answered,

      A mockery of a blameless and upright man.

That sounds right. I guess I did not know what mockery really was. It is the right word, but I do not like the laughingstock option. It could probably be repeated in both places, but I want to leave the alternate in so I remember.

Everyday we run through life making assumptions and making mistakes. I am reminded of one of my college roommates who read with a dictionary at hand to make sure he did not make mistakes by making assumptions. I always appreciated this characteristic, but I rarely apply it. I do have a thesaurus and a dictionary at hand to work on the amalgamation, but I do not use it on the work side of the room often enough.

So, I will use Option C and think about how this changes the complexion of the verse and how Job is maybe understanding how this period of struggle is changing him. I hope it is changing me. I am often wrong and I know it, but sometimes I do not know exactly when. I am sure God will show me if I slow down to let Him.

 

(Written 4/11/23, Posted 4/29, Job 256)