Job 33–34

33Howbeit, Job, I pray thee, hear my speech,

And hearken to all my words.

²Behold now, I have opened my mouth;

My tongue hath spoken in my mouth.

³My words shall utter the uprightness of my heart;

And that which my lips know they shall speak sincerely.

⁴The Spirit of God hath made me,

And the breath of the Almighty giveth me life.

⁵If thou canst, answer thou me;

Set thy words in order before me, stand forth.

⁶Behold, I am toward God even as thou art:

I also am formed out of the clay.

⁷Behold, my terror shall not make thee afraid,

Neither shall my pressure be heavy upon thee.

⁸Surely thou hast spoken in my hearing,

And I have heard the voice of thy words, saying,

⁹I am clean, without transgression;

I am innocent, neither is there iniquity in me:

¹⁰Behold, he findeth occasions against me,

He counteth me for his enemy:

¹¹He putteth my feet in the stocks,

He marketh all my paths.

¹²Behold, I will answer thee, in this thou art not just;

For God is greater than man.

¹³Why dost thou strive against him,

For that he giveth not account of any of his matters?

¹⁴For God speaketh once,

Yea twice, though man regardeth it not.

¹⁵In a dream, in a vision of the night,

When deep sleep falleth upon men,

In slumberings upon the bed;

¹⁶Then he openeth the ears of men,

And sealeth their instruction,

¹⁷That he may withdraw man from his purpose,

And hide pride from man;

¹⁸He keepeth back his soul from the pit,

And his life from perishing by the sword.

¹⁹He is chastened also with pain upon his bed,

And with continual strife in his bones;

²⁰So that his life abhorreth bread,

And his soul dainty food.

²¹His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen;

And his bones that were not seen stick out.

²²Yea, his soul draweth near unto the pit,

And his life to the destroyers.

²³If there be with him an angel,

An interpreter, one among a thousand,

To show unto man what is right for him;

²⁴Then God is gracious unto him, and saith,

Deliver him from going down to the pit,

I have found a ransom.

²⁵His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s;

He returneth to the days of his youth.

²⁶He prayeth unto God, and he is favorable unto him,

So that he seeth his face with joy:

And he restoreth unto man his righteousness.

²⁷He singeth before men, and saith,

I have sinned, and perverted that which was right,

And it profited me not:

²⁸He hath redeemed my soul from going into the pit,

And my life shall behold the light.

²⁹Lo, all these things doth God work,

Twice, yea thrice, with a man,

³⁰To bring back his soul from the pit,

That he may be enlightened with the light of the living.

³¹Mark well, O Job, hearken unto me:

Hold thy peace, and I will speak.

³²If thou hast anything to say, answer me:

Speak, for I desire to justify thee.

³³If not, hearken thou unto me:

Hold thy peace, and I will teach thee wisdom.

34Moreover Elihu answered and said,

²Hear my words, ye wise men;

And give ear unto me, ye that have knowledge.

³For the ear trieth words,

As the palate tasteth food.

⁴Let us choose for us that which is right:

Let us know among ourselves what is good.

⁵For Job hath said, I am righteous,

And God hath taken away my right:

⁶Notwithstanding my right I am accounted a liar;

My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.

⁷What man is like Job,

Who drinketh up scoffing like water,

⁸Who goeth in company with the workers of iniquity,

And walketh with wicked men?

⁹For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing

That he should delight himself with God.

¹⁰Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding:

Far be it from God, that he should do wickedness,

And from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.

¹¹For the work of a man will he render unto him,

And cause every man to find according to his ways.

¹²Yea, of a surety, God will not do wickedly,

Neither will the Almighty pervert justice.

¹³Who gave him a charge over the earth?

Or who hath disposed the whole world?

¹⁴If he set his heart upon himself,

If he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;

¹⁵All flesh shall perish together,

And man shall turn again unto dust.

¹⁶If now thou hast understanding, hear this:

Hearken to the voice of my words.

¹⁷Shall even one that hateth justice govern?

And wilt thou condemn him that is righteous and mighty?—

¹⁸Him that saith to a king, Thou art vile,

Or to nobles, Ye are wicked;

¹⁹That respecteth not the persons of princes,

Nor regardeth the rich more than the poor;

For they all are the work of his hands.

²⁰In a moment they die, even at midnight;

The people are shaken and pass away,

And the mighty are taken away without hand.

²¹For his eyes are upon the ways of a man,

And he seeth all his goings.

²²There is no darkness, nor thick gloom,

Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.

²³For he needeth not further to consider a man,

That he should go before God in judgment.

²⁴He breaketh in pieces mighty men in ways past finding out,

And setteth others in their stead.

²⁵Therefore he taketh knowledge of their works;

And he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed.

²⁶He striketh them as wicked men

In the open sight of others;

²⁷Because they turned aside from following him,

And would not have regard in any of his ways:

²⁸So that they caused the cry of the poor to come unto him,

And he heard the cry of the afflicted.

²⁹When he giveth quietness, who then can condemn?

And when he hideth his face, who then can behold him?

Alike whether it be done unto a nation, or unto a man:

³⁰That the godless man reign not,

That there be none to ensnare the people.

³¹For hath any said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more:

³²That which I see not teach thou me:

If I have done iniquity, I will do it no more?

³³Shall his recompense be as thou wilt, that thou refusest it?

For thou must choose, and not I:

Therefore speak what thou knowest.

³⁴Men of understanding will say unto me,

Yea, every wise man that heareth me:

³⁵Job speaketh without knowledge,

And his words are without wisdom.

³⁶Would that Job were tried unto the end,

Because of his answering like wicked men.

³⁷For he addeth rebellion unto his sin;

He clappeth his hands among us,

And multiplieth his words against God.