35 Then Elihu said:

“Do you think this is just?
    You say, ‘I am in the right,(A) not God.’(B)
Yet you ask him, ‘What profit is it to me,[a]
    and what do I gain by not sinning?’(C)

“I would like to reply to you
    and to your friends with you.
Look up at the heavens(D) and see;
    gaze at the clouds so high above you.(E)
If you sin, how does that affect him?
    If your sins are many, what does that do to him?(F)
If you are righteous, what do you give to him,(G)
    or what does he receive(H) from your hand?(I)
Your wickedness only affects humans like yourself,(J)
    and your righteousness only other people.(K)

“People cry out(L) under a load of oppression;(M)
    they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful.(N)
10 But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker,(O)
    who gives songs(P) in the night,(Q)
11 who teaches(R) us(S) more than he teaches[b] the beasts of the earth
    and makes us wiser than[c] the birds in the sky?’
12 He does not answer(T) when people cry out
    because of the arrogance(U) of the wicked.(V)
13 Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea;
    the Almighty pays no attention to it.(W)
14 How much less, then, will he listen
    when you say that you do not see him,(X)
that your case(Y) is before him
    and you must wait for him,(Z)
15 and further, that his anger never punishes(AA)
    and he does not take the least notice of wickedness.[d](AB)
16 So Job opens his mouth with empty talk;(AC)
    without knowledge he multiplies words.”(AD)

Footnotes

  1. Job 35:3 Or you
  2. Job 35:11 Or night, / 11 who teaches us by
  3. Job 35:11 Or us wise by
  4. Job 35:15 Symmachus, Theodotion and Vulgate; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

Elihu’s Third Speech[a]

Chapter 35

How Does Human Conduct Affect God? Then Elihu continued his speech, saying:

“Do you think that you can defend your uprightness
    by claiming that you are just before God?
For you said: ‘What does it mean to you?
    Or what would you gain if I sinned?’
I will provide an answer for you
    and your three friends as well.
“Look up to the skies and see;
    observe the clouds towering above you.
If you sin, how can that affect God?
    And if your offenses are multiplied, how do you hurt him?
If you are righteous, what do you give him?
    What does he receive from your hand?
Your wickedness affects only someone like you,
    and your righteousness affects only your fellow men.

No One Asks, “Where Is God?”

“People cry out under the weight of oppression;
    they cry for help against the power of the mighty.
10 But not one of them asks, ‘Where is God, my Maker,
    who protects me during the night,
11 who gave us greater intelligence than the animals of the earth
    and made us wiser than the birds of the air?’
12 Although they cry out, God does not answer
    because of the pride of the wicked.
13 “But it is foolish to say that God does not hear
    or that the Almighty does not pay attention.
14 Even though you do not see him,
    he is aware of your plight,
    and you must wait for his decision.
15 But now, because God does not grow angry and punish
    and because he allows transgressions to go unheeded,
16 Job gives vent to his anger with empty talk
    and babbles a stream of utter nonsense.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 35:1 The silence of God is what upsets human beings. Is the Eternal One perhaps indifferent to human tragedies? Elihu looks for a different explanation: God is silent because unhappy human beings lack faith in their prayers, and they sin through pride. But the entire passage is obscure in its development.

Tercer discurso de Eliú

35 Eliú también siguió diciendo:

«¿De veras crees todo lo que has dicho,
y que te creas más justo que Dios?
Tú le has dicho: “¿Qué provecho sacas
de que yo sea inocente, o de que haya pecado?”
Esto yo lo puedo responder,
lo mismo a ti que a tus amigos.
Levanta los ojos, y escudriña el cielo;
las nubes que ves están por encima de ti.
Si haces lo malo, en nada afectas a Dios;
si aumentas tus pecados, tampoco le afectas.
Si haces el bien, ¿en qué lo beneficias?
¿Qué provecho saca de tu buen comportamiento?

»A la gente como tú le afecta su propia maldad,
otros como tú se aprovechan de la justicia.(A)
Claman por causa de tanta violencia,
y piden ayuda ante el poder de los poderosos.
10 Pero no hay quien pregunte por Dios, su creador,
que durante la noche les infunde ánimo,
11 que les da más entendimiento que a los animales,
que los hace más sabios que a los pájaros.
12 Esa gente clama, pero Dios no los escucha
por causa de su maldad y soberbia.
13 Dios no atiende a peticiones huecas;
el Todopoderoso no las toma en cuenta.

14 »Tú dices que no puedes ver a Dios;
pero ten paciencia, que tu caso está en sus manos.
15 Según tú, Dios no se enoja ni castiga,
ni se fija en la conducta del hombre;
16 pero eso que dices, Job, no tiene sentido;
hablas mucho pero no sabes lo que dices.»