Job 33–34

Chapter 33

Elihu Presents His Case against Job

¹“Listen to my words, Job;

pay attention to what I have to say.

²Now that I have begun to speak,

let me continue.

³I speak with all sincerity;

I speak the truth.

⁴For the Spirit of God has made me,

and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

⁵Answer me, if you can;

make your case and take your stand.

⁶Look, you and I both belong to God.

I, too, was formed from clay.

⁷So you don’t need to be afraid of me.

I won’t come down hard on you.

⁸“You have spoken in my hearing,

and I have heard your very words.

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

I am innocent; I have no guilt.

¹⁰God is picking a quarrel with me,

and he considers me his enemy.

¹¹He puts my feet in the stocks

and watches my every move.’

¹²“But you are wrong, and I will show you why.

For God is greater than any human being.

¹³So why are you bringing a charge against him?

Why say he does not respond to people’s complaints?

¹⁴For God speaks again and again,

though people do not recognize it.

¹⁵He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night,

when deep sleep falls on people

as they lie in their beds.

¹⁶He whispers in their ears

and terrifies them with warnings.

¹⁷He makes them turn from doing wrong;

he keeps them from pride.

¹⁸He protects them from the grave,

from crossing over the river of death.

¹⁹“Or God disciplines people with pain on their sickbeds,

with ceaseless aching in their bones.

²⁰They lose their appetite

for even the most delicious food.

²¹Their flesh wastes away,

and their bones stick out.

²²They are at death’s door;

the angels of death wait for them.

²³“But if an angel from heaven appears—

a special messenger to intercede for a person

and declare that he is upright—

²⁴he will be gracious and say,

‘Rescue him from the grave,

for I have found a ransom for his life.’

²⁵Then his body will become as healthy as a child’s,

firm and youthful again.

²⁶When he prays to God,

he will be accepted.

And God will receive him with joy

and restore him to good standing.

²⁷He will declare to his friends,

‘I sinned and twisted the truth,

but it was not worth it.

²⁸God rescued me from the grave,

and now my life is filled with light.’

²⁹“Yes, God does these things

again and again for people.

³⁰He rescues them from the grave

so they may enjoy the light of life.

³¹Mark this well, Job. Listen to me,

for I have more to say.

³²But if you have anything to say, go ahead.

Speak, for I am anxious to see you justified.

³³But if not, then listen to me.

Keep silent and I will teach you wisdom!”

Chapter 34

Elihu Accuses Job of Arrogance

Then Elihu said:

²“Listen to me, you wise men.

Pay attention, you who have knowledge.

³Job said, ‘The ear tests the words it hears

just as the mouth distinguishes between foods.’

⁴So let us discern for ourselves what is right;

let us learn together what is good.

⁵For Job also said, ‘I am innocent,

but God has taken away my rights.

⁶I am innocent, but they call me a liar.

My suffering is incurable, though I have not sinned.’

⁷“Tell me, has there ever been a man like Job,

with his thirst for irreverent talk?

⁸He chooses evil people as companions.

He spends his time with wicked men.

⁹He has even said, ‘Why waste time

trying to please God?’

¹⁰“Listen to me, you who have understanding.

Everyone knows that God doesn’t sin!

The Almighty can do no wrong.

¹¹He repays people according to their deeds.

He treats people as they deserve.

¹²Truly, God will not do wrong.

The Almighty will not twist justice.

¹³Did someone else put the world in his care?

Who set the whole world in place?

¹⁴If God were to take back his spirit

and withdraw his breath,

¹⁵all life would cease,

and humanity would turn again to dust.

¹⁶“Now listen to me if you are wise.

Pay attention to what I say.

¹⁷Could God govern if he hated justice?

Are you going to condemn the almighty judge?

¹⁸For he says to kings, ‘You are wicked,’

and to nobles, ‘You are unjust.’

¹⁹He doesn’t care how great a person may be,

and he pays no more attention to the rich than to the poor.

He made them all.

²⁰In a moment they die.

In the middle of the night they pass away;

the mighty are removed without human hand.

²¹“For God watches how people live;

he sees everything they do.

²²No darkness is thick enough

to hide the wicked from his eyes.

²³We don’t set the time

when we will come before God in judgment.

²⁴He brings the mighty to ruin without asking anyone,

and he sets up others in their place.

²⁵He knows what they do,

and in the night he overturns and destroys them.

²⁶He strikes them down because they are wicked,

doing it openly for all to see.

²⁷For they turned away from following him.

They have no respect for any of his ways.

²⁸They cause the poor to cry out, catching God’s attention.

He hears the cries of the needy.

²⁹But if he chooses to remain quiet,

who can criticize him?

When he hides his face, no one can find him,

whether an individual or a nation.

³⁰He prevents the godless from ruling

so they cannot be a snare to the people.

³¹“Why don’t people say to God, ‘I have sinned,

but I will sin no more’?

³²Or ‘I don’t know what evil I have done—tell me.

If I have done wrong, I will stop at once’?

³³“Must God tailor his justice to your demands?

But you have rejected him!

The choice is yours, not mine.

Go ahead, share your wisdom with us.

³⁴After all, bright people will tell me,

and wise people will hear me say,

³⁵‘Job speaks out of ignorance;

his words lack insight.’

³⁶Job, you deserve the maximum penalty

for the wicked way you have talked.

³⁷For you have added rebellion to your sin;

you show no respect,

and you speak many angry words against God.”