32Then these three men ceased from answering Job because he was righteous in his own eyes. ²So Elihu the son of Barakel the Buzite, from the clan of Ram, became angry.^a He became angry^b at Job because he justified himself rather than God, ³and he became angry^c at his three friends because they had not found an answer, and they had declared Job guilty. ⁴Thus Elihu had waited for Job to speak^d because they were older than he.^e ⁵When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, he became angry.^f ⁶Then Elihu the son of Barakel the Buzite spoke up^g and said,

“I am young,^h butⁱ you^j are old;

therefore I feared and became afraid of explaining my knowledge to you.^k

⁷I thought,^l ‘Let days^m speak,

and let many years teach wisdom.’

⁸“Truly, it is a spirit in a human being,

and the breath of Shaddai teaches them.

⁹It is not the agedⁿ who are wise,

or^o it is not the elders who understand justice.

¹⁰Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;

let me also declare my knowledge myself.’

¹¹“Look, I waited for your^p words;

I listened for your^q insight,

until you searched out what to say.^r

¹²And I directed my attention to you;^s

and, look, there is no one for Job who refuted,

answering his words among you.

¹³So do not say, ‘We have found wisdom;

let God refute him, not a man.’

¹⁴But^t he did not direct his words^u to me,

and I will not answer him with your^v words.

¹⁵“They are dismayed; they no longer answer;

they have nothing to say.^w

¹⁶And I have waited because they do not speak,

because they stand there and no longer answer.

¹⁷I myself will answer my share also;

I myself will declare my knowledge also,

¹⁸for I am full of words;^x

the spirit within me^y urges me.

¹⁹“Look, my internal organs are like unopened wine,

like new wineskins it^z is ready to burst open.

²⁰Let me speak that I may find relief;^a

let me open my lips, and let me answer.

²¹Please let me not show partiality to anyone,^b

and let me not show flattery to human beings,

²²for I do not know how to flatter,^c

else my Maker would soon^d put an end to me.

Read in Logos

Footnotes

aLiterally “the nose of Elihu became hot”
bLiterally “His nose became hot”
cLiterally “his nose became hot”
dLiterally “in words”
eLiterally “they were older than he as far as days”
fLiterally “his nose became hot”
gLiterally “answered”; see NET
hLiterally “Young I am as far as days”
iOr “and”
jPlural
kPlural
lOr “said”
mCompare the idiom of “as far as days” in vv. 4 and 6
nLiterally “many in days”
oHebrew “and”
pPlural
qPlural
rLiterally “words,” or “sentences”
sPlural
tHebrew “And”
uOr “sentences,” or “what he said”
vPlural
wLiterally “words fail from them,” or “sentences fail from them,” or “what to say fails from them”
xOr “sentences,” or “what to say”
yLiterally “the spirit of my stomach”
zAntecedent is “wine”
aLiterally “and let it find relief for me”
bLiterally “Not please I will lift up face of a man”
cLiterally “I will flatter”
dLiterally “like little”