Job 33
Legacy Standard Bible
Elihu Asks Job to Hear and Respond
33 “However now, Job, please (A)hear my speech,
And give ear to all my words.
2 Behold now, I open my mouth;
My tongue in my [a]mouth speaks.
3 My words are from the uprightness of my heart,
And my lips speak (B)knowledge sincerely.
4 The (C)Spirit of God has made me,
And the (D)breath of [b]the Almighty gives me life.
5 (E)Respond to me if you can;
Arrange yourselves before me, take your stand.
6 Behold, I belong to God like you;
I too have been [c]formed out of the (F)clay.
7 Behold, (G)no dread of me should terrify you,
Nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you.
8 “Surely you have spoken in my hearing,
And I have heard the sound of your speech:
9 ‘I am (H)pure, (I)without transgression;
I am innocent, and there (J)is no guilt in me.
10 Behold, He finds reasons for opposition against me;
He (K)counts me as His enemy.
11 He (L)puts my feet in the stocks;
He keeps watch over all my paths.’
12 Behold, let me answer you; (M)you are not right in this,
For God is greater than mortal man.
13 “Why do you (N)contend against Him?
For He does not give an answer for all His doings.
14 Indeed (O)God speaks once,
Or twice, yet no one perceives it.
15 In a (P)dream, a vision of the night,
When deep sleep falls on men,
While they slumber in their beds,
16 Then (Q)He opens the ears of men,
And seals in their discipline,
17 That He may turn man aside from his conduct,
And [d]keep man from pride;
18 He (R)holds back his soul from the pit,
And his life from passing over [e]to death (S)by a weapon.
19 “[f]Man is also reproved with (T)pain on his bed,
And with unceasing contention in his bones,
20 So that his life (U)loathes bread,
And his soul favorite food.
21 His (V)flesh wastes away from sight,
And his (W)bones which were not seen stick out.
22 Then (X)his soul draws near to the pit,
And his life to those who bring death.
23 “If there is an angel as (Y)mediator for him,
One out of a thousand,
To declare to a man what is [g]right for him,
24 Then let him be gracious to him, and say,
‘Deliver him from (Z)going down to the pit;
I have found (AA)atonement’;
25 Let his flesh become fresher than in youth,
Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor;
26 Then he will (AB)entreat God, and He will accept him,
And (AC)he will see His face with joyful shouts,
And He may restore His righteousness to man.
27 He will sing to men and say,
‘I (AD)have sinned and perverted what is right,
But He has not done (AE)what is due to me.
28 He has redeemed my soul from passing into the pit,
And my life shall (AF)see the light.’
29 “Behold, God does (AG)all these things twice, three times with men,
30 To (AH)bring back his soul from the pit,
That he may be enlightened with the light of life.
31 Pay attention, O Job, listen to me;
Keep silent, and I will speak.
32 Then if [h]you have any speech, respond to me;
Speak, for I desire to prove you righteous.
33 If not, (AI)listen to me;
Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”
Job 33
International Standard Version
Elihu Begins His Discourse
33 “Now please listen to what I have to say, Job.
Listen to every word!
2 Look! I’ve begun to speak,[a]
and I’m fashioning my words.[b]
3 I speak from the innocence[c] of my heart;
and my lips will utter what I sincerely know.
4 “The spirit of God fashioned me;
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
5 Answer me, if you can!
Present your case! Take your stand in my presence!
6 Look! As far as God is concerned,[d] I’m just like you are—
I, too, have been pinched off from a piece of clay.
7 Don’t be afraid of me;
I’ll go easy[e] on you.”
Elihu Reviews Job’s Claim for Innocence
8 “You spoke clearly so I could hear;
I’ve heard what you’ve said:
9 ‘I’m pure. I’m without sin;
I’m innocent. I’m harboring no iniquity inside of me.
10 Nevertheless, God[f] has found a pretext to attack me;
he considers me his enemy.
11 He has bound my feet in shackles,
and keeps watching everything I do.’”[g]
God Responds to Humanity’s Need
12 “You aren’t right about this;
My response is that God is greater than human beings.
13 Why are you arguing with him?
He doesn’t have to give explanations for what he does to you!
14 “God speaks time and time again[h]—
but nobody notices—
15 in a dream or night vision,
when a deep sleep falls on mankind
while they sleep on their beds.
16 That’s when he opens the ear of mankind,
authenticating his messages[i] to them,
17 turning a person from his actions,
keeping him[j] from pride,
18 sparing his soul from the Pit[k]
and his life from violent death.[l]
19 “He is being reproved by painful bed rest,
with continual aching in his bones.
20 He cannot stand his food,
and he[m] has no desire for appetizing food.
21 His flesh wastes away;
his bones, which once couldn’t be seen, are visible.
22 His soul is getting close to the Pit;[n]
his life is approaching its executioner.”
God Delivers through His Ransom
23 “If there’s a messenger[o] appointed to mediate for Job[p]
—one out of a thousand—
to represent the man’s integrity on his behalf,
24 to show favor to him and to plead,
‘Deliver him from having to go down to the Pit[q]—
I know where his ransom is!’
25 Let his flesh be rejuvenated[r] as he was in his youth!
Let him recover the strength of his youth.
26 Let him pray to God
and he will accept him;
he will appear before him with joyful shouts!”
The Song of the Ransomed
27 “He’ll sing to mankind with these words:
‘I’ve sinned. I have twisted what is right.
Yet he has not repaid me like I deserve.[s]
28 He has redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit;[t]
my life will see the light.’
29 Indeed God does all these things
again and again[u] with a person
30 to bring back his soul from the Pit;[v]
to light him with the light of life.”
Elihu Invites Job to Respond
31 “Job, pay attention! Listen to me!
Be silent and let me speak.
32 If you have anything to say, answer me;
speak up, because I’d be happy to vindicate you.
33 But if you have nothing to say, then at least listen to me!
Be quiet and learn some wisdom from me.”
Footnotes
- Job 33:2 Lit. I’ve opened my mouth
- Job 33:2 Lit. and my tongue speaks in my mouth
- Job 33:3 Or integrity
- Job 33:6 Lit. Look! Before God
- Job 33:7 Lit. my hand won’t be heavy
- Job 33:10 Lit. he
- Job 33:11 Lit. watching all my paths
- Job 33:14 Lit. speaks once and twice
- Job 33:16 Lit. mankind, sealing his instruction
- Job 33:17 Lit. man
- Job 33:18 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife
- Job 33:18 Lit. from death by the sword
- Job 33:20 Lit. his soul
- Job 33:22 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife
- Job 33:23 Or an angel
- Job 33:23 Lit. him
- Job 33:24 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife
- Job 33:25 Lit. grew fresh
- Job 33:27 The Heb. lacks like I deserve
- Job 33:28 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife
- Job 33:29 Lit. things twice, three times
- Job 33:30 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife
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