Job 34
New Living Translation
Elihu Accuses Job of Arrogance
34 Then Elihu said:
2 “Listen to me, you wise men.
Pay attention, you who have knowledge.
3 Job said, ‘The ear tests the words it hears
just as the mouth distinguishes between foods.’
4 So let us discern for ourselves what is right;
let us learn together what is good.
5 For Job also said, ‘I am innocent,
but God has taken away my rights.
6 I 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?
8 He chooses evil people as companions.
He spends his time with wicked men.
9 He 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.
11 He repays people according to their deeds.
He treats people as they deserve.
12 Truly, God will not do wrong.
The Almighty will not twist justice.
13 Did someone else put the world in his care?
Who set the whole world in place?
14 If God were to take back his spirit
and withdraw his breath,
15 all 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.
17 Could God govern if he hated justice?
Are you going to condemn the almighty judge?
18 For he says to kings, ‘You are wicked,’
and to nobles, ‘You are unjust.’
19 He 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.
20 In 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.
22 No darkness is thick enough
to hide the wicked from his eyes.
23 We don’t set the time
when we will come before God in judgment.
24 He brings the mighty to ruin without asking anyone,
and he sets up others in their place.
25 He knows what they do,
and in the night he overturns and destroys them.
26 He strikes them down because they are wicked,
doing it openly for all to see.
27 For they turned away from following him.
They have no respect for any of his ways.
28 They cause the poor to cry out, catching God’s attention.
He hears the cries of the needy.
29 But 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.
30 He 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’?
32 Or ‘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.
34 After all, bright people will tell me,
and wise people will hear me say,
35 ‘Job speaks out of ignorance;
his words lack insight.’
36 Job, you deserve the maximum penalty
for the wicked way you have talked.
37 For you have added rebellion to your sin;
you show no respect,
and you speak many angry words against God.”
Job 34
New American Standard Bible
Elihu Vindicates God’s Justice
34 Then Elihu continued and said,
2 “Hear my words, you wise men,
And listen to me, you who understand.
3 For (A)the ear tests words
As the palate tastes food.
4 Let us choose for ourselves what is right;
Let us understand among ourselves what is good.
5 For Job has said, ‘(B)I am righteous,
But (C)God has taken away my right;
6 [a]Should I lie about my right?
My [b](D)wound is incurable, though I am without wrongdoing.’
7 What man is like Job,
Who (E)drinks up derision like water,
8 Who goes (F)in company with the workers of injustice,
And walks with wicked people?
9 For he has said, ‘(G)It is of no use to a man
When he becomes friends with God.’
10 “Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding.
Far be it from God to (H)do evil,
And from the Almighty to do wrong.
11 For He repays a person for (I)his work,
And lets things happen in correspondence to a man’s [c]behavior.
12 (J)God certainly will not act wickedly,
And the Almighty will not pervert justice.
13 Who (K)gave Him authority over the earth?
And who (L)has placed the whole world on Him?
14 If He were to [d]determine to do so,
If He were to (M)gather His [e]spirit and His breath to Himself,
15 [f](N)Humanity would perish together,
And mankind would (O)return to dust.
16 “But if you have understanding, hear this;
Listen to the sound of my words.
17 Shall (P)one who hates justice rule?
And (Q)will you condemn the righteous mighty One,
18 Who says to a king, ‘You worthless one,’
To nobles, ‘You wicked one’;
19 Who shows no (R)partiality to the prominent,
Nor regards the rich as above the poor,
Since they are all the (S)work of His hands?
20 In a moment they die, and (T)at midnight
People are shaken and pass away,
And (U)the powerful are taken away without a hand.
21 “For (V)His eyes are upon the ways of a person,
And He sees all his steps.
22 There is (W)no darkness or deep shadow
Where the workers of injustice can hide themselves.
23 For He does not (X)need to consider a person further,
That he should go before God in judgment.
24 He breaks in pieces the (Y)mighty without investigation,
And sets others in their place.
25 Therefore He (Z)knows their deeds,
And (AA)He overthrows them in the night,
And they are crushed.
26 He (AB)strikes them like the wicked
[g]In a public place,
27 Because they (AC)turned aside from following Him,
And (AD)had no regard for any of His ways,
28 So that they caused (AE)the cry of the poor to come to Him,
And that He would (AF)hear the cry of the afflicted—
29 When He keeps quiet, who can condemn?
And when He hides His face, who then can look at Him,
That is, regarding both nation and a person?—
30 So that (AG)godless people would not rule,
Nor be snares for the people.
31 “For has anyone said to God,
‘I have endured punishment;
I will not offend anymore;
32 Teach me what I do not see;
If I have (AH)done wrong,
I will not do it again’?
33 Shall God (AI)repay on your terms, because you have rejected His?
For you must choose, and not I;
Therefore declare what you know.
34 Men of understanding will say to me,
And a wise man who hears me,
35 ‘Job (AJ)speaks without knowledge,
And his words are without wisdom.
36 Oh that Job were tested [h]to the limit,
Because [i]he answers (AK)like sinners.
37 For he adds (AL)rebellion to his sin;
He (AM)claps his hands among us,
And multiplies his words against God.’”
1 Corinthians 4-6
New Living Translation
Paul’s Relationship with the Corinthians
4 So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries. 2 Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful. 3 As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point. 4 My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.
5 So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due.
6 Dear brothers and sisters,[a] I have used Apollos and myself to illustrate what I’ve been saying. If you pay attention to what I have quoted from the Scriptures,[b] you won’t be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another. 7 For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?
8 You think you already have everything you need. You think you are already rich. You have begun to reign in God’s kingdom without us! I wish you really were reigning already, for then we would be reigning with you. 9 Instead, I sometimes think God has put us apostles on display, like prisoners of war at the end of a victor’s parade, condemned to die. We have become a spectacle to the entire world—to people and angels alike.
10 Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honored, but we are ridiculed. 11 Even now we go hungry and thirsty, and we don’t have enough clothes to keep warm. We are often beaten and have no home. 12 We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us. 13 We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world’s garbage, like everybody’s trash—right up to the present moment.
14 I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. 15 For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. 16 So I urge you to imitate me.
17 That’s why I have sent Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of how I follow Christ Jesus, just as I teach in all the churches wherever I go.
18 Some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will not visit you again. 19 But I will come—and soon—if the Lord lets me, and then I’ll find out whether these arrogant people just give pretentious speeches or whether they really have God’s power. 20 For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power. 21 Which do you choose? Should I come with a rod to punish you, or should I come with love and a gentle spirit?
Paul Condemns Spiritual Pride
5 I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you—something that even pagans don’t do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother.[c] 2 You are so proud of yourselves, but you should be mourning in sorrow and shame. And you should remove this man from your fellowship.
3 Even though I am not with you in person, I am with you in the Spirit.[d] And as though I were there, I have already passed judgment on this man 4 in the name of the Lord Jesus. You must call a meeting of the church.[e] I will be present with you in spirit, and so will the power of our Lord Jesus. 5 Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed[f] and he himself[g] will be saved on the day the Lord[h] returns.
6 Your boasting about this is terrible. Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.[i] 8 So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread[j] of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread[k] of sincerity and truth.
9 When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. 10 But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. 11 I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer[l] yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people.
12 It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. 13 God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”[m]
Avoiding Lawsuits with Christians
6 When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to other believers[n]! 2 Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves? 3 Don’t you realize that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life. 4 If you have legal disputes about such matters, why go to outside judges who are not respected by the church? 5 I am saying this to shame you. Isn’t there anyone in all the church who is wise enough to decide these issues? 6 But instead, one believer[o] sues another—right in front of unbelievers!
7 Even to have such lawsuits with one another is a defeat for you. Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves are the ones who do wrong and cheat even your fellow believers.[p]
9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Avoiding Sexual Sin
12 You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. 13 You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. 14 And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead.
15 Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! 16 And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.”[q] 17 But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.
18 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. 19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
Notas al pie
- 4:6a Greek Brothers.
- 4:6b Or If you learn not to go beyond “what is written.”
- 5:1 Greek his father’s wife.
- 5:3 Or in spirit.
- 5:4 Or In the name of the Lord Jesus, you must call a meeting of the church.
- 5:5a Or so that his body will be destroyed; Greek reads for the destruction of the flesh.
- 5:5b Greek and the spirit.
- 5:5c Other manuscripts read the Lord Jesus; still others read our Lord Jesus Christ.
- 5:7 Greek has been sacrificed.
- 5:8a Greek not with old leaven.
- 5:8b Greek but with unleavened [bread].
- 5:11 Greek a brother.
- 5:13 Deut 17:7.
- 6:1 Greek God’s holy people; also in 6:2.
- 6:6 Greek one brother.
- 6:8 Greek even the brothers.
- 6:16 Gen 2:24.
1 Corinthians 4-6
New American Standard Bible
Servants of Christ
4 This is the way any person is to regard us: as (A)servants of Christ and (B)stewards of (C)the mysteries of God. 2 In this case, moreover, it is required [a]of stewards that one be found trustworthy. 3 But to me it is an insignificant matter that I would be examined by you, or by any human [b]court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. 4 For I (D)am not aware of anything against myself; however I am not (E)vindicated by this, but the one who examines me is the Lord. 5 Therefore (F)do not go on [c]passing judgment before [d]the time, but wait (G)until the Lord comes, who will both (H)bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of human hearts; and then (I)praise will come to each person from God.
6 Now these things, brothers and sisters, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos on your account, so that in us you may learn not to exceed (J)what is written, so that no one of you will (K)become [e]arrogant (L)in behalf of one against the other. 7 For who considers you as superior? (M)What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?
8 You are (N)already filled, you have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we also might reign with you! 9 For I think, God has exhibited us, the apostles, last of all as men (O)condemned to death, because we (P)have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to mankind. 10 We are (Q)fools on account of Christ, but (R)you are prudent in Christ! (S)We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are without honor! 11 Up to this present hour we are both (T)hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed and roughly treated and homeless; 12 and we labor, (U)working with our own hands; when we are (V)verbally abused, we bless; when we are (W)persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we [f]reply as friends; we have (X)become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.
14 I do not write these things to (Y)shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved (Z)children. 15 For if you were to have countless (AA)tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in (AB)Christ Jesus I (AC)became your father through the (AD)gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you, be (AE)imitators of me. 17 For this reason I (AF)have sent to you (AG)Timothy, who is my (AH)beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, (AI)just as I teach everywhere in every church. 18 Now some have become [g](AJ)arrogant, as though I were not (AK)coming to you. 19 But I (AL)will come to you soon, (AM)if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the [h]words of those who are (AN)arrogant, but their power. 20 For the kingdom of God is (AO)not in [i]words, but in power. 21 What do you desire? (AP)That I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?
Sexual Immorality Rebuked
5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and sexual immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, namely, that someone has (AQ)his father’s wife. 2 [j]You (AR)have become [k]arrogant and [l]have not (AS)mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be (AT)removed from your midst.
3 For I, on my part, though (AU)absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. 4 (AV)In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and [m]I with you in spirit, (AW)with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 I have decided [n]to (AX)turn such a person over to (AY)Satan for the destruction of his [o]body, so that his spirit may be saved on (AZ)the day of the [p]Lord.
6 (BA)Your boasting is not good. (BB)Do you not know that (BC)a little [q]leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? 7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our (BD)Passover also has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let’s celebrate the feast, (BE)not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
9 I wrote to you in my letter (BF)not to associate with sexually immoral people; 10 I did not at all mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the greedy and swindlers, or with (BG)idolaters, for then you would have to leave the world. 11 But [r]actually, I [s]wrote to you not to associate [t]with any so-called (BH)brother if he is a sexually immoral person, or a greedy person, or (BI)an idolater, or is verbally abusive, or habitually drunk, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a person. 12 For what business of mine is it to judge (BJ)outsiders? (BK)Do you not judge those who are within the church? 13 But those who are outside, God [u]judges. (BL)Remove the evil person from among yourselves.
Lawsuits Discouraged
6 Does any one of you, when he has a [v]case against [w]his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and (BM)not before the [x]saints? 2 Or (BN)do you not know that (BO)the [y]saints will judge (BP)the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to form the smallest [z]law courts? 3 (BQ)Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? 4 So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, [aa]do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church? 5 (BR)I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you anyone wise who will be able to decide between his (BS)brothers and sisters, 6 but brother goes to law with brother, and that before (BT)unbelievers?
7 Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. (BU)Why not rather suffer the wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 On the contrary, you yourselves do wrong and defraud. And this to your (BV)brothers and sisters!
9 Or (BW)do you not know that the unrighteous will not (BX)inherit the kingdom of God? (BY)Do not be deceived; (BZ)neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor [ab]homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor those habitually drunk, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will (CA)inherit the kingdom of God. 11 (CB)Such were some of you; but you were (CC)washed, but you were (CD)sanctified, but you were (CE)justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and [ac]in the Spirit of our God.
The Body Is the Lord’s
12 (CF)All things are permitted for me, but not all things are of benefit. All things are permitted for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 (CG)Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, however God will (CH)do away with both [ad]of them. But the body is not for sexual immorality, but (CI)for the Lord, and (CJ)the Lord is for the body. 14 Now God has not only (CK)raised the Lord, but (CL)will also raise us up through His power. 15 (CM)Do you not know that (CN)your bodies are parts of Christ? Shall I then take away the parts of Christ and make them parts of a prostitute? [ae](CO)Far from it! 16 Or (CP)do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “(CQ)The two shall become one flesh.” 17 But the one who joins himself to the Lord is (CR)one spirit with Him. 18 (CS)Flee sexual immorality. Every other sin that a person commits is outside the body, but the [af]sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or (CT)do you not know that (CU)your body is a [ag]temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from [ah]God, and that (CV)you are not your own? 20 For (CW)you have been bought for a price: therefore glorify God in (CX)your body.
Notas al pie
- 1 Corinthians 4:2 Lit in
- 1 Corinthians 4:3 Lit day
- 1 Corinthians 4:5 Lit judging anything
- 1 Corinthians 4:5 I.e., the appointed time of judgment
- 1 Corinthians 4:6 Lit puffed up
- 1 Corinthians 4:13 Or conciliate
- 1 Corinthians 4:18 Lit puffed up
- 1 Corinthians 4:19 Lit word
- 1 Corinthians 4:20 Lit word
- 1 Corinthians 5:2 Or have you...?
- 1 Corinthians 5:2 Lit puffed up
- 1 Corinthians 5:2 Or have you...?
- 1 Corinthians 5:4 Lit my spirit, with the power
- 1 Corinthians 5:5 Or that you are to turn
- 1 Corinthians 5:5 Lit flesh
- 1 Corinthians 5:5 One early ms Lord Jesus
- 1 Corinthians 5:6 I.e., fermented dough
- 1 Corinthians 5:11 Lit now
- 1 Corinthians 5:11 Or have written
- 1 Corinthians 5:11 Lit together if anyone called a brother is
- 1 Corinthians 5:13 Or will judge
- 1 Corinthians 6:1 Lit matter
- 1 Corinthians 6:1 Lit the other
- 1 Corinthians 6:1 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
- 1 Corinthians 6:2 See note 2 v 1
- 1 Corinthians 6:2 I.e., to try trivial cases
- 1 Corinthians 6:4 Or appoint them...church!
- 1 Corinthians 6:9 Two Gr words in the text, prob. submissive and dominant male homosexuals
- 1 Corinthians 6:11 Or by
- 1 Corinthians 6:13 Lit this and these
- 1 Corinthians 6:15 Lit May it never happen!
- 1 Corinthians 6:18 Or one who practices sexual immorality
- 1 Corinthians 6:19 Or sanctuary
- 1 Corinthians 6:19 Or God? And you...own
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
