Job 32–37

Elihu Speaks

32These three men stopped trying to answer Job, because he was so sure he was right. ²But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, from the family of Ram, became very angry with Job, because Job claimed he was right instead of God. ³Elihu was also angry with Job’s three friends who had no answer to show that Job was wrong, yet continued to blame him. ⁴Elihu had waited before speaking to Job, because the three friends were older than he was. ⁵But when Elihu saw that the three men had nothing more to say, he became very angry.

⁶So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said this:

“I am young,

and you are old.

That is why I was afraid

to tell you what I know.

⁷I thought, ‘Older people should speak,

and those who have lived many years should teach wisdom.’

⁸But it is the spirit in a person,

the breath of the Almighty, that gives understanding.

⁹It is not just older people who are wise;

they are not the only ones who understand what is right.

¹⁰So I say, listen to me.

I too will tell you what I know.

¹¹I waited while you three spoke,

and listened to your explanations.

While you looked for words to use,

¹²I paid close attention to you.

But not one of you has proved Job wrong;

none of you has answered his arguments.

¹³Don’t say, ‘We have found wisdom;

only God will show Job to be wrong, not people.’

¹⁴Job has not spoken his words against me,

so I will not use your arguments to answer Job.

¹⁵“These three friends are defeated and have no more to say;

words have failed them.

¹⁶Now they are standing there with no answers for Job.

Now that they are quiet, must I wait to speak?

¹⁷No, I too will speak

and tell what I know.

¹⁸I am full of words,

and the spirit in me causes me to speak.

¹⁹I am like wine that has been bottled up;

I am ready to burst like a new leather wine bag.

²⁰I must speak so I will feel relief;

I must open my mouth and answer.

²¹I will be fair to everyone

and not flatter anyone.

²²I don’t know how to flatter,

and if I did, my Maker would quickly take me away.

33“Now, Job, listen to my words.

Pay attention to everything I say.

²I open my mouth

and am ready to speak.

³My words come from an honest heart,

and I am sincere in saying what I know.

⁴The Spirit of God created me,

and the breath of the Almighty gave me life.

⁵Answer me if you can;

get yourself ready and stand before me.

⁶I am just like you before God;

I too am made out of clay.

⁷Don’t be afraid of me;

I will not be hard on you.

⁸“But I heard what you have said;

I heard every word.

⁹You said, ‘I am pure and without sin;

I am innocent and free from guilt.

¹⁰But God has found fault with me;

he considers me his enemy.

¹¹He locks my feet in chains

and closely watches everywhere I go.’

¹²“But I tell you, you are not right in saying this,

because God is greater than we are.

¹³Why do you accuse God

of not answering anyone?

¹⁴God does speak—sometimes one way and sometimes another—

even though people may not understand it.

¹⁵He speaks in a dream or a vision of the night

when people are in a deep sleep,

lying on their beds.

¹⁶He speaks in their ears

and frightens them with warnings

¹⁷to turn them away from doing wrong

and to keep them from being proud.

¹⁸God does this to save people from death,

to keep them from dying.

¹⁹People may be corrected while in bed in great pain;

they may have continual pain in their very bones.

²⁰They may be in such pain that they even hate food,

even the very best meal.

²¹Their body becomes so thin there is almost nothing left of it,

and their bones that were hidden now stick out.

²²They are near death,

and their life is almost over.

²³“But there may be an angel to speak for him,

one out of a thousand, who will tell him what to do.

²⁴The angel will beg for mercy and say:

‘Save him from death.

I have found a way to pay for his life.’

²⁵Then his body is made new like a child’s.

It will return to the way it was when he was young.

²⁶That person will pray to God, and God will listen to him.

He will see God’s face and will shout with happiness.

And God will set things right for him again.

²⁷Then he will say to others,

‘I sinned and twisted what was right,

but I did not receive the punishment I should have received.

²⁸God bought my life back from death,

and I will continue to enjoy life.’

²⁹“God does all these things to a person

two or even three times

³⁰so he won’t die as punishment for his sins

and so he may still enjoy life.

³¹“Job, pay attention and listen to me;

be quiet, and I will speak.

³²If you have anything to say, answer me;

speak up, because I want to prove you right.

³³But if you have nothing to say, then listen to me;

be quiet, and I will teach you wisdom.”

34Then Elihu said:

²“Hear my words, you wise men;

listen to me, you who know a lot.

³The ear tests words

as the tongue tastes food.

⁴Let’s decide for ourselves what is right,

and let’s learn together what is good.

⁵“Job says, ‘I am not guilty,

and God has refused me a fair trial.

⁶Instead of getting a fair trial,

I am called a liar.

I have been seriously hurt,

even though I have not sinned.’

⁷There is no other man like Job;

he takes insults as if he were drinking water.

⁸He keeps company with those who do evil

and spends time with wicked men,

⁹because he says, ‘It is no use

to try to please God.’

¹⁰“So listen to me, you who can understand.

God can never do wrong!

It is impossible for the Almighty to do evil.

¹¹God pays people back for what they have done

and gives them what their actions deserve.

¹²Truly God will never do wrong;

the Almighty will never twist what is right.

¹³No one chose God to rule over the earth

or put him in charge of the whole world.

¹⁴If God should decide

to take away life and breath,

¹⁵then everyone would die together

and turn back into dust.

¹⁶“If you can understand, hear this;

listen to what I have to say.

¹⁷Can anyone govern who hates what is right?

How can you blame God who is both fair and powerful?

¹⁸God is the one who says to kings, ‘You are worthless,’

or to important people, ‘You are evil.’

¹⁹He is not nicer to princes than other people,

nor kinder to rich people than poor people,

because he made them all with his own hands.

²⁰They can die in a moment, in the middle of the night.

They are struck down, and then they pass away;

powerful people die without help.

²¹“God watches where people go;

he sees every step they take.

²²There is no dark place or deep shadow

where those who do evil can hide from him.

²³He does not set a time

for people to come before him for judging.

²⁴Without asking questions, God breaks powerful people into pieces

and puts others in their place.

²⁵Because God knows what people do,

he defeats them in the night, and they are crushed.

²⁶He punishes them for the evil they do

so that everyone else can watch,

²⁷because they stopped following God

and did not care about any of his ways.

²⁸The cry of the poor comes to God;

he hears the cry of the needy.

²⁹But if God keeps quiet, who can blame him?

If he hides his face, who can see him?

God still rules over both nations and persons alike.

³⁰He keeps the wicked from ruling

and from trapping others.

³¹“But suppose someone says to God,

‘I am guilty, but I will not sin anymore.

³²Teach me what I cannot see.

If I have done wrong, I will not do it again.’

³³So, Job, should God reward you as you want

when you refuse to change?

You must decide, not I,

so tell me what you know.

³⁴“Those who understand speak,

and the wise who hear me say,

³⁵‘Job speaks without knowing what is true;

his words show he does not understand.’

³⁶I wish Job would be tested completely,

because he answered like an evil man!

³⁷Job now adds to his sin by turning against God.

He claps his hands in protest,

speaking more and more against God.”

35Then Elihu said:

²“Do you think this is fair?

You say, ‘God will show that I am right,’

³but you also ask, ‘What’s the use?

I don’t gain anything by not sinning.’

⁴“I will answer you

and your friends who are with you.

⁵Look up at the sky

and see the clouds so high above you.

⁶If you sin, it does nothing to God;

even if your sins are many, they do nothing to him.

⁷If you are good, you give nothing to God;

he receives nothing from your hand.

⁸Your evil ways only hurt others like yourself,

and the good you do only helps other human beings.

⁹“People cry out when they are in trouble;

they beg for relief from powerful people.

¹⁰But no one asks, ‘Where is God, my Maker,

who gives us songs in the night,

¹¹who makes us smarter than the animals of the earth

and wiser than the birds of the air?’

¹²God does not answer evil people when they cry out,

because the wicked are proud.

¹³God does not listen to their useless begging;

the Almighty pays no attention to them.

¹⁴He will listen to you even less

when you say that you do not see him,

that your case is before him,

that you must wait for him,

¹⁵that his anger never punishes,

and that he doesn’t notice evil.

¹⁶So Job is only speaking nonsense,

saying many words without knowing what is true.”

Elihu’s Speech Continues

36Elihu continued:

²“Listen to me a little longer, and I will show you

that there is more to be said for God.

³What I know comes from far away.

I will show that my Maker is right.

⁴You can be sure that my words are not false;

one who really knows is with you.

⁵“God is powerful, but he does not hate people;

he is powerful and sure of what he wants to do.

⁶He will not keep evil people alive,

but he gives the poor their rights.

⁷He always watches over those who do right;

he sets them on thrones with kings

and they are honored forever.

⁸If people are bound in chains,

or if trouble, like ropes, ties them up,

⁹God tells them what they have done,

that they have sinned in their pride.

¹⁰God makes them listen to his warning

and commands them to change from doing evil.

¹¹If they obey and serve him,

the rest of their lives will be successful,

and the rest of their years will be happy.

¹²But if they do not listen,

they will die by the sword,

and they will die without knowing why.

¹³“Those who have wicked hearts hold on to anger.

Even when God punishes them, they do not cry for help.

¹⁴They die while they are still young,

and their lives end in disgrace.

¹⁵But God saves those…