Job 34–35

Furthermore Elihu ^aanswered and said,

²Hear my words, O ye wise men;

And give ear unto me, ye that have knowledge.

^3bFor the ear trieth words,

As the mouth tasteth meat.

^4cLet us choose to us judgment:

Let us know among ourselves what is good.

⁵For Job hath said, ^dI am righteous:

And ^eGod hath taken away my judgment.

^6fShould I lie against my right?

My wound is incurable ^gwithout transgression.

⁷What man is like Job,

^hWho drinketh up scorning like water?

⁸Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity,

And walketh with wicked men.

⁹For ⁱhe hath said, It ^kprofiteth a man nothing

That he should delight himself with God.

¹⁰Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding:

^lFar be it from God, ^mthat he should do wickedness;

And from the Almighty, ⁿthat he should commit iniquity.

^11oFor the work of a man shall he render unto him,

And cause every man to find ^paccording to his ways.

¹²Yea, surely God will not do wickedly,

Neither will ^qthe Almighty pervert judgment.

¹³Who hath ^rgiven him a charge over the earth?

Or ^swho hath disposed the whole world?

¹⁴If he ^tset his heart upon man,

If he ^ugather unto himself his ^vspirit and his breath;

¹⁵All flesh shall ^uperish together,

And man ^uwshall turn again unto dust.

¹⁶If now thou hast understanding, ^xhear this:

Hearken to the voice of my words.

^17yShall even he that hateth right govern?

And wilt thou condemn him that is most just?

¹⁸Is it fit ^zto say to a king, Thou art ^awicked?

And to princes, Ye are ungodly?

¹⁹How much less to him that ^baccepteth not the persons of princes,

Nor regardeth the ^crich more than the poor?

For ^dthey all are the work of his hands.

^20eIn a moment shall they die,

And the people shall be troubled ^fat midnight, and pass away:

And the mighty shall be taken away ^gwithout hand.

^21hFor his eyes are upon the ways of man,

And he seeth all his ⁱgoings.

^22kThere is no darkness, nor ^lshadow of death,

Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.

²³For he will not lay upon man more than right;

That he should enter into judgment with God.

²⁴He shall ^llbreak in pieces mighty men without number,

And set ^mothers in their stead.

²⁵Therefore he knoweth their works,

And he ⁿoverturneth them ^oin the night, so that they are destroyed.

²⁶He ^pstriketh them as wicked men

In the open sight of others;

²⁷Because they turned back from him,

And would not ^qconsider any of his ways:

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

And ^she heareth the cry of the afflicted.

²⁹When he ^tgiveth quietness, who then can make trouble?

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

Whether it be done against a nation,

Or against a man only:

³⁰That the hypocrite reign not,

Lest ^xthe people be ensnared.

³¹Surely it is meet to be said unto God,

I ^yhave borne chastisement, I will not ^zoffend any more:

^32aThat which I see not teach thou me:

If I have done iniquity, I will do no more.

³³Should it be according to thy mind? he will recompense it,

Whether thou refuse, or whether thou choose; and not I:

Therefore ^bspeak what thou knowest.

³⁴Let men of understanding tell me,

And let a wise man hearken unto me.

³⁵Job hath spoken ^cwithout knowledge,

And his words were without wisdom.

³⁶My desire is that Job may be tried unto the end

Because of his answers for wicked men.

³⁷For he addeth rebellion unto his sin,

He clappeth ^dhis hands amongst us,

And multiplieth his words against God.

XXXV.Elihu ^aspake moreover, and said, ²Thinkest thou this to be right,

That thou saidst, ^bMy righteousness is more than God’s?

³For thou saidst, ^cWhat advantage will it be unto thee?

And, ^dWhat profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin?

⁴I will answer thee,

And ^ethy companions with thee.

^5fLook unto the heavens, and see;

And behold the clouds which are higher than thou.

⁶If thou sinnest, ^gwhat doest thou against him?

Or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him?

^7hIf thou be righteous, what givest thou him?

Or what receiveth he of thine hand?

⁸Thy wickedness may hurt ⁱa man as thou art;

And thy righteousness may profit ⁱthe son of man.

⁹By reason of the multitude of ^koppressions they ^lmake the oppressed to cry:

They ^lcry out by reason of the arm of the mighty.

¹⁰But none saith, Where is God ^mmy Maker,

ⁿWho giveth songs ^oin the night;

¹¹Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth,

And maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?

¹²There they cry, ^pbut none giveth answer,

Because of the pride of evil men.

¹³Surely God will not hear vanity,

Neither will the Almighty ^qregard it.

¹⁴Although thou sayest ^rthou shalt not see him,

Yet judgment is before him; therefore ^strust thou in him.

¹⁵But now, because it is not so, he hath ^tvisited in his anger;

Yet he knoweth it not in great extremity:

¹⁶Therefore doth Job ^uopen his mouth ^xin vain;

He ^ymultiplieth words ^zwithout knowledge.

XXXVI.