Job 32-35

Job 32

¹So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

²This kindled the anger of Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram. He burned with anger against Job for justifying himself rather than God,

³and he burned with anger against Job’s three friends because they had failed to refute Job, and yet had condemned him.

⁴Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because the others were older than he.

⁵But when he saw that the three men had no further reply, his anger was kindled.

⁶So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite declared: “I am young in years, while you are old; that is why I was timid and afraid to tell you what I know.

⁷I thought that age should speak, and many years should teach wisdom.

⁸But there is a spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.

⁹It is not only the old who are wise, or the elderly who understand justice.

¹⁰Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me; I too will declare what I know.’

¹¹Indeed, I waited while you spoke; I listened to your reasoning; as you searched for words,

¹²I paid you full attention. But no one proved Job wrong; not one of you rebutted his arguments.

¹³So do not claim, ‘We have found wisdom; let God, not man, refute him.’

¹⁴But Job has not directed his words against me, and I will not answer him with your arguments.

¹⁵Job’s friends are dismayed, with no more to say; words have escaped them.

¹⁶Must I wait, now that they are silent, now that they stand and no longer reply?

¹⁷I too will answer; yes, I will declare what I know.

¹⁸For I am full of words, and my spirit within me compels me.

¹⁹Behold, my belly is like unvented wine; it is about to burst like a new wineskin.

²⁰I must speak and find relief; I must open my lips and respond.

²¹I will be partial to no one, nor will I flatter any man.

²²For I do not know how to flatter, or my Maker would remove me in an instant.

Job 33

¹“But now, O Job, hear my speech, and listen to all my words.

²Behold, I will open my mouth; my address is on the tip of my tongue.

³My words are from an upright heart, and my lips speak sincerely what I know.

⁴The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

⁵Refute me if you can; prepare your case and confront me.

⁶I am just like you before God; I was also formed from clay.

⁷Surely no fear of me should terrify you; nor will my hand be heavy upon you.

⁸Surely you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard these very words:

⁹‘I am pure, without transgression; I am clean, with no iniquity in me.

¹⁰Yet God finds occasions against me; He counts me as His enemy.

¹¹He puts my feet in the stocks; He watches over all my paths.’

¹²Behold, you are not right in this matter. I will answer you, for God is greater than man.

¹³Why do you complain to Him that He answers nothing a man asks?

¹⁴For God speaks in one way and in another, yet no one notices.

¹⁵In a dream, in a vision in the night, when deep sleep falls upon men as they slumber on their beds,

¹⁶He opens their ears and terrifies them with warnings

¹⁷to turn a man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride,

¹⁸to preserve his soul from the Pit and his life from perishing by the sword.

¹⁹A man is also chastened on his bed with pain and constant distress in his bones,

²⁰so that he detests his bread, and his soul loathes his favorite food.

²¹His flesh wastes away from sight, and his hidden bones protrude.

²²He draws near to the Pit, and his life to the messengers of death.

²³Yet if there is a messenger on his side, one mediator in a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him,

²⁴to be gracious to him and say, ‘Spare him from going down to the Pit; I have found his ransom,’

²⁵then his flesh is refreshed like a child’s; he returns to the days of his youth.

²⁶He prays to God and finds favor; he sees God’s face and shouts for joy, and God restores His righteousness to that man.

²⁷Then he sings before men with these words: ‘I have sinned and perverted what was right; yet I did not get what I deserved.

²⁸He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit, and I will live to see the light.’

²⁹Behold, all these things God does to a man, two or even three times,

³⁰to bring back his soul from the Pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of life.

³¹Pay attention, Job, and listen to me; be silent, and I will speak.

³²But if you have something to say, answer me; speak up, for I would like to vindicate you.

³³But if not, then listen to me; be quiet, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Job 34

¹Then Elihu continued:

²“Hear my words, O wise men; give ear to me, O men of learning.

³For the ear tests words as the mouth tastes food.

⁴Let us choose for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good.

⁵For Job has declared, ‘I am righteous, yet God has deprived me of justice.

⁶Would I lie about my case? My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’

⁷What man is like Job, who drinks up derision like water?

⁸He keeps company with evildoers and walks with wicked men.

⁹For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should delight in God.’

¹⁰Therefore listen to me, O men of understanding. Far be it from God to do wrong, and from the Almighty to act unjustly.

¹¹For according to a man’s deeds He repays him; according to a man’s ways He brings consequences.

¹²Indeed, it is true that God does not act wickedly, and the Almighty does not pervert justice.

¹³Who gave Him charge over the earth? Who appointed Him over the whole world?

¹⁴If He were to set His heart to it and withdraw His Spirit and breath,

¹⁵all flesh would perish together and mankind would return to the dust.

¹⁶If you have understanding, hear this; listen to my words.

¹⁷Could one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn the just and mighty One,

¹⁸who says to kings, ‘You are worthless!’ and to nobles, ‘You are wicked,’

¹⁹who is not partial to princes and does not favor rich over poor? For they are all the work of His hands.

²⁰They die in an instant, in the middle of the night. The people convulse and pass away; the mighty are removed without human hand.

²¹For His eyes are on the ways of a man, and He sees his every step.

²²There is no darkness or deep shadow where the workers of iniquity can hide.

²³For God need not examine a man further or have him approach for judgment.

²⁴He shatters the mighty without inquiry and sets up others in their place.

²⁵Therefore, He recognizes their deeds; He overthrows them in the night and they are crushed.

²⁶He strikes them for their wickedness in full view,

²⁷because they turned aside from Him and had no regard for any of His ways.

²⁸They caused the cry of the poor to come before Him, and He heard the outcry of the afflicted.

²⁹But when He remains silent, who can condemn Him? When He hides His face, who can see Him? Yet He watches over both man and nation,

³⁰that godless men should not rule or lay snares for the people.

³¹Suppose someone says to God, ‘I have endured my punishment; I will offend no more.

³²Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do it again.’

³³Should God repay you on your own terms when you have disavowed His? You must choose, not I; so tell me what you know.

³⁴Men of understanding will declare to me, and the wise men who hear me will say:

³⁵‘Job speaks without knowledge; his words lack insight.’

³⁶If only Job were tried to the utmost for answering like a wicked man.

³⁷For he adds rebellion to his sin; he claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God.”

Job 35

¹And Elihu went on to say:

²“Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I am more righteous than God.’

³For you ask, ‘What does it profit me, and what benefit do I gain apart from sin?’

⁴I will reply to you and to your friends as well.

⁵Look to the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds high above you.

⁶If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him? If you multiply your transgressions, what do you do to Him?

⁷If you are righteous, what do you give Him, or what does He receive from your hand?

⁸Your wickedness affects only a man like yourself, and your righteousness only a son of man.

⁹Men cry out under great oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the mighty.

¹⁰But no one asks, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives us songs in the night,

¹¹who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?’

¹²There they cry out, but He does not answer, because of the pride of evil men.

¹³Surely God does not listen to empty pleas, and the Almighty does not take note of it.

¹⁴How much less, then, when you say that you do not see Him, that your case is before Him and you must wait for Him,

¹⁵and further, that in His anger He has not punished or taken much notice of folly!

¹⁶So Job opens his mouth in vain and multiplies words without knowledge.”