with the appendix found in the first printing Anno 1524. *)
1 The book of Job deals with this question: whether even the pious suffer misfortune from God? Here Job stands firm and holds that God also torments the pious without cause, only for His praise, as Christ Joh. 9, 3. also testifies of the one who was born of the covenant.
(2) Against this his friends sit down, and make great and long talk, wanting to keep God right, that he punishes no pious man; but if he punishes, then he must have sinned; and so have a worldly and human thought of God and his righteousness, as if he were like men, and his right like the right of the world is.
(3) Although Job, too, when he comes into mortal distress, speaks too much against God out of human weakness, and sins in suffering; and yet he insists that he is not guilty of such suffering before others, as is true. But in the end, God judges that Job, in speaking against God in suffering, has spoken wrongly, but that what he held against his friends about his innocence before suffering, he has spoken rightly.
4 Thus this book finally leads us to the conclusion that God alone is righteous, and yet one man is righteous against another, even before God. But it is written for our comfort that God allows His great saints to stumble, especially in adversity. For before Job is in fear of death, he praises God over the robbery of his goods and the death of his children. But when death comes to him under
1) "such a" - such.
When a man's eyes go out and God is revealed, his words show what thoughts a man has (be he as holy as he wants to be) against God: how he thinks that God is not God, but a vain judge and an angry tyrant, who drives by force, and asks for no one's good life. This is the highest piece in this book. Only those understand this who also experience and feel what it is to suffer God's wrath and judgment, and to have His grace hidden.
5. 2) But the speech of this book is so rich and splendid, as certainly no book in the whole Scripture; and if one should interpret it everywhere from word to word, and not that several times according to the sense (as the Jews and unintelligent interpreters want), no one would understand it. As when he speaks like this or like this: "The thirsty will drink up his goods", that is, the robbers will take it from him. Item: "The children of arrogance have never walked on it," that is, the young lions who walk proudly; and many such things. Item, "light" he calls happiness, "darkness" misfortune etc. For this reason, I fear that this third part will have to stand in for it and be rebuked by the smart ones, because it is a different book than the Latin Bible has. We let it go. We have taken pains to give a clear speech that is understandable to everyone, with an unadulterated sense and understanding; may someone suffer to do better.
2) This ยง forms Appendix 1524 mentioned above in the title.
*) In the complete editions of Luther's writings, this preface is found only in Walch and in the Erlanger, vol. 63, p. 25. In the Bible edition of 1524, the preface begins like this: "The Book of Job is not a difficult book because of its meaning, but only because of its language. For he who has written it deals with the question: whether also" etc.