Job 34
New Catholic Bible
Elihu’s Second Speech[a]
Chapter 34
Let Us Explore What Is Right.[b] 1 Then Elihu continued and said:
2 “Listen to my words, you wise men;
you men of learning, hear what I have to say.
3 For the ear tests the value of words
as the palate does with food.
4 “Let us consider together what is right;
let us determine among ourselves what is good.
5 For Job has said, ‘I am innocent,
but God has denied me justice;
6 I am in desperate straits
despite the fact that I have done no wrong.’
7 “Was there ever a man like Job
with his thirst for blasphemous charges,
8 who keeps company with evildoers
and travels with wicked men?
9 Did he not state that no one derives any benefit
by being pleasing to God?
God Does Not Pervert Justice
10 “Therefore, listen to me like intelligent men.
Far be it from God to do evil;[c]
far be it from the Almighty to be unjust.
11 He requites everyone according to his deeds,
ensuring that he will receive what his conduct deserves.
12 There can be no doubt that God will never do wrong;
the Almighty will not pervert justice.
13 “Did someone else entrust the world to his keeping?
Who but he established the whole world?
14 If he were to take back his Spirit to himself
and withdraw back into himself his breath,
15 all flesh would perish instantaneously
and mankind would turn again to dust.
16 “If you have any semblance of intelligence, O Job,
pay attention to what I am saying.
17 How could an enemy of justice ever govern?
Would you dare to condemn the Righteous One, the Almighty,
18 who says to a king, ‘You are a scoundrel,’
and to nobles, ‘You are wicked men’?
19 “He shows no special respect to princes,
nor does he make any distinction between rich and poor,
for they are all the work of his hands.
20 They die suddenly, without warning,
in the middle of the night;
at his touch the rich are no more,
and he removes the mighty without lifting a finger.
God’s Eyes Observe the Ways of Humans
21 “For his eyes observe the ways of humans,
and he watches every step they take.
22 Nowhere is there darkness or gloom so dense
where evildoers may conceal themselves.
23 He forewarns no one when his time will come
to appear before God for judgment.
24 Without holding a trial he shatters the mighty
and establishes others in their place.
25 Knowing the sinful deeds they do,
he overthrows them at night and they are crushed.
26 “He strikes them down for their crimes
while others look on,
27 because they have turned away from following him
and paid no heed to any of his ways.
28 But they caused the cries of the poor to reach him,
so that he heard the anguished appeal of the afflicted.
29 “But if he remains silent and no one can condemn him,
and if he hides his face so that no one can behold him,
it is because he rules over nations and individuals
30 to prevent a godless man from ruling
and to set some wrongdoer free from affliction.
Job Is a Rebel to God[d]
31 “Suppose someone were to say to God,
‘I was wrong, but I will not offend anymore;
32 instruct me how to avoid sin
so that I will not do it again.’
33 In your opinion, should God then punish such a person
because he rejected his laws?
For it is up to you to decide, not me;
therefore, please enlighten us.
34 “Men of intelligence will say to me,
and any wise listener will assert:
35 ‘Job speaks without knowledge;[e]
what he says lacks any intelligence.’
36 Would that Job be tried to the limit,
since his answers are those of the wicked.
37 For he is adding rebellion to his sin
by making an end of justice among us
and insulting God with abusive words.”
Footnotes
- Job 34:1 Elihu’s thoughts become more spirited. He reaches the heart of the dispute: human suffering in the face of God’s justice.
- Job 34:1 The entire problem lies herein. Elihu mounts a fiery defense of God.
- Job 34:10 Far be it from God to do evil: Elihu is answering a charge that God does evil, which Job in his frustration has intimated; for he has insisted that God is punishing him wrongfully and allowing evildoers to flourish (Job 24:1-12).
- Job 34:31 Exacerbated by his torment, Job has forgotten mercy and, in the view of Elihu, he speaks like a sinner who is entrenched in his rebellion.
- Job 34:35 Job speaks without knowledge: this theme is found also in God’s first response (Job 38:2) and Job’s final response (Job 42:3).
Jobi 34
Albanian Bible
34 Elihu nisi përsëri të flasë dhe tha:
2 "Dëgjoni, o njerëz të urtë, fjalët e mia, dhe ju, njerëz të ditur, ma vini veshin!
3 Sepse veshi i shqyrton fjalët, ashtu si qiellza i shijon ushqimet.
4 Le të zgjedhim ne vetë atë që është e drejtë të pranojmë midis nesh atë që është e mirë.
5 Sepse Jobi ka thënë: "Jam i drejtë, por Perëndia më ka hequr drejtësinë time.
6 A duhet të gënjej kundër drejtësisë sime? Plaga ime është e pashërueshme, megjithëse jam pa mëkat".
7 Kush është si Jobi, që e pi përqeshjen si ujin,
8 që ecën bashkë me keqbërësit dhe shkon bashkë me njerëzit e këqij?
9 Sepse ka thënë: "Nuk i vlen fare njeriut të vendosë kënaqësinë e tij te Perëndia".
10 Më dëgjoni, pra, o njerëz me mend! Qoftë larg Perëndisë paudhësia dhe ligësia qoftë larg të Plotfuqishmit!
11 Sepse ai ia kthen njeriut sipas veprave të tij dhe secilin e bën të gjejë shpërblimin për sjelljen e tij.
12 Sigurisht Perëndia nuk kryen të keqen dhe i Plotfuqishmi nuk shtrembëron drejtësinë.
13 Kush i ka besuar kujdesin për tokën, ose kush e ka vendosur mbi tërë botën?
14 Në qoftë se Perëndia duhet të vendoste në zemër të vet të tërhiqte mbi vete Frymën e tij dhe frymën e tij,
15 çdo mish do të shkatërrohej njëkohësisht, dhe njeriu do të kthehej në pluhur.
16 Në qoftë se ke mend, dëgjoje këtë, vër veshin për të dëgjuar atë që po të them.
17 A mund të qeverisë ai që urren drejtësinë? A guxon ti të dënosh të Drejtin, të Fuqishmin?
18 Ai që i thotë një mbreti: "Je për t’u përbuzur" dhe princave: "Jeni të këqij".
19 Por ai nuk bën asnjë anësi me të mëdhenjtë dhe as e konsideron të pasurin më tepër se të varfrin, sepse të gjithë janë vepra e duarve të tij.
20 Në një çast ata vdesin; në mesin e natës njerëzia tronditet dhe zhduket, të fuqishmit çohen tutje pa dorë njeriu.
21 Sepse ai i mban sytë te rrugët e njeriut, dhe shikon tërë hapat e tij.
22 Nuk ka terr as hije vdekjeje, ku mund të fshihen njerëzit e këqij.
23 Në fakt Perëndia nuk ka nevojë ta kqyrë gjatë një njeri para se ta nxjerrë për gjykim para tij.
24 Ai i ligështon të fuqishmit pa bërë hetim dhe vë të tjerë në vendin e tyre.
25 Duke qenë se i njeh veprat e tyre, i rrëzon natën dhe ata shkatërrohen;
26 i godet si njerëz të këqij para syve të të gjithëve,
27 sepse janë larguar nga ai pa u kujdesur për rrugët e tij,
28 deri sa të arrijë tek ai britma e të varfrit, sepse ai dëgjon britmën e të pikëlluarve.
29 Kur Perëndia jep qetësinë, kush do ta dënojë? Kur fsheh fytyrën e tij, kush do të mund ta shikojë, qoftë kundër një kombi të tërë ose kundër një njeriu të vetëm,
30 për të penguar që i pabesi të mbretërojë dhe që populli të zihet ndër leqe?
31 Dikush mund t’i thotë Perëndisë: "Unë e mbart fajin tim, po nuk do ta bëj më të keqen;
32 tregomë atë që nuk arrij të shikoj; në rast se kam kryer ndonjë paudhësi, nuk do ta bëj më"?
33 A duhet të të shpërblejë ai në bazë të konditave të tua, sepse ti nuk pranon gjykimin e tij? Ti duhet të zgjedhësh dhe jo unë; prandaj thuaj atë që di.
34 Njerëzit me mend; si çdo njeri i urtë që më dëgjon, do të më thonë:
35 "Jobi flet pa mend, fjalët e tij nuk kanë dituri".
36 Le të provohet Jobi deri në fund, sepse përgjigjet e tij janë si ato të njerëzve të këqij,
37 sepse i shton mëkatit të tij revoltën, rreh duart mes nesh dhe i shumëzon fjalët e tij kundër Perëndisë".
Job 34
International Children’s Bible
34 Then Elihu said:
2 “Hear my words, you men who think you are wise.
Listen to me, you men who think you know a lot.
3 The ear tests words
as the tongue tastes food.
4 Let’s decide for ourselves what is right.
And let’s learn together what is good.
5 “Job says, ‘I am not guilty.
But God has refused me a fair trial.
6 Instead of getting a fair trial,
I am called a liar.
I have been seriously hurt,
even though I have not sinned.’
7 There is no other man like Job.
He takes insults as if he were drinking water.
8 He is around people who do evil.
He spends time with wicked men.
9 This is because he says, ‘It does not help a man
to try and please God.’
10 “So listen to me, you who can understand.
God All-Powerful can never do wrong!
It is impossible for God to do evil.
11 God pays a person back for what he has done.
God gives him what his actions deserve.
12 Truly God will never do wrong!
God All-Powerful will never twist what is right.
13 No one chose God to rule over the earth.
No one put him in charge of the whole world.
14 God could decide
to take away his spirit and breath.
15 If he did, all people would die together.
And they would all turn back into dust.
16 “If you can understand, hear this.
Listen to what I have to say.
17 Can anyone govern who hates what is right?
How can you blame God who is both fair and powerful?
18 God is the one who says to kings, ‘You are worth nothing.’
And he says to important people, ‘You are evil.’
19 God is not better to princes than other people.
He is not better to rich people than poor people.
This is because he made them all with his own hands.
20 They can die in a moment, in the middle of the night.
The rich are struck down, and then they pass away.
Powerful people die without man’s help.
21 “God watches where people go.
He sees every step they take.
22 There is no dark place or deep shadow
where those who do evil can hide from God.
23 God does not need to watch people more closely.
He does not need for men to come before him for judging.
24 Without asking questions, God breaks powerful people into pieces.
And he puts other people in their place.
25 This is because God knows what people do.
He defeats them in the night, and they are crushed.
26 He punishes them for the evil things they do.
He does it so that everyone else can watch.
27 This is because they stopped following God.
They did not care about any of his ways.
28 God lets the cry of poor people reach him.
He hears the cry of the needy.
29 But if God keeps quiet, who can blame him?
If he hides his face, no one can see him.
But God still rules over both men and nations.
30 He still keeps wicked men from ruling.
And he keeps them from trapping others.
31 “But suppose such a man says to God,
‘I am guilty, but I will not sin anymore.
32 Teach me what I cannot see.
If I have done wrong, I will not do it again.’
33 So, Job, should God reward you the way you want
when you will not change your heart and life?
You must decide, not I.
So tell me what you know.
34 “Men who understand speak.
And wise men who hear me say,
35 ‘Job speaks without knowing what is true.
His words show he does not understand.’
36 I wish Job would be tested completely
because he answered like an evil man!
37 Job has sinned, and now he turns against God.
He claps his hands as an insult.
And he speaks more and more against God.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
