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33 Howbeit, Job, I pray thee, hear my speech,
And hearken to all my words.
Behold now, I have opened my mouth;
My tongue hath spoken in my [a]mouth.
My words shall utter the uprightness of my heart;
And that which my lips know they shall speak sincerely.
The Spirit of God hath made me,
And the breath of the Almighty giveth me life.
If thou canst, answer thou me;
Set thy words in order before me, stand forth.
Behold, [b]I am toward God even as thou art:
I also am formed out of the clay.
Behold, my terror shall not make thee afraid,
Neither shall my pressure be heavy upon thee.

Surely thou hast spoken in my hearing,
And I have heard the voice of thy words, saying,
I am clean, without transgression;
I am innocent, neither is there iniquity in me:
10 Behold, he findeth [c]occasions against me,
He counteth me for his enemy;
11 He putteth my feet in the stocks,
He marketh all my paths.
12 Behold, [d]I will answer thee, in this thou art not just;
For God is greater than man.

13 Why dost thou strive against him,
For that he giveth not account of any of his matters?
14 For God speaketh [e]once,
Yea twice, though man regardeth it not.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,
When deep sleep falleth upon men,
In slumberings upon the bed;
16 Then he [f]openeth the ears of men,
And sealeth their instruction,
17 [g]That he may withdraw man from his purpose,
And hide pride from man;
18 [h]He keepeth back his soul from the pit,
And his life from perishing by the [i]sword.

19 He is chastened also with pain upon his bed,
[j]And with continual strife in his bones;
20 So that his life abhorreth bread,
And his soul dainty food.
21 His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen;
And his bones that were not seen stick out.
22 Yea, his soul draweth near unto the pit,
And his life to the destroyers.

23 If there be with him [k]an angel,
An interpreter, one [l]among a thousand,
To show unto man [m]what is right for him;
24 [n]Then God is gracious unto him, and saith,
Deliver him from going down to the pit,
I have found a ransom.
25 His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s;
He returneth to the days of his youth.
26 He prayeth unto God, and he is favorable unto him,
So that he seeth his face with joy:
And he restoreth unto man his righteousness.
27 He [o]singeth before men, and saith,
I have sinned, and perverted that which was right,
And [p]it profited me not:
28 He hath redeemed my soul from going into the pit,
And my life shall behold the light.

29 Lo, all these things doth God work,
Twice, yea thrice, with a man,
30 To bring back his soul from the pit,
That he may be enlightened with the light of [q]the living.
31 Mark well, O Job, hearken unto me:
Hold thy peace, and I will speak.
32 If thou hast anything to say, answer me:
Speak, for I desire to justify thee.
33 If not, hearken thou unto me:
Hold thy peace, and I will teach thee wisdom.

Footnotes

  1. Job 33:2 Hebrew palate.
  2. Job 33:6 Or, I am according to thy wish in God’s stead
  3. Job 33:10 Or, causes of alienation
  4. Job 33:12 Or, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee; For etc.
  5. Job 33:14 Or, in one way, yea, in two
  6. Job 33:16 Hebrew uncovereth.
  7. Job 33:17 Or, That man may put away his purpose, And that he may hide
  8. Job 33:18 Or, That he may keep back
  9. Job 33:18 Or, weapons
  10. Job 33:19 Another reading is, While all his bones are firm.
  11. Job 33:23 Or, a messenger
  12. Job 33:23 Or, of the thousand
  13. Job 33:23 Or, his uprightness
  14. Job 33:24 Or, And he be gracious . . . and say . . . ransom: his flesh etc.
  15. Job 33:27 Or, looketh upon men
  16. Job 33:27 Or, it was not requited unto me. Or, it was not meet for me
  17. Job 33:30 Or, life

Elihu Rebukes Job

33 “But now, please hear my speeches,[a] Job,
and hear[b] all my words.
Please look, I open my mouth;
my tongue in my mouth speaks.
My words declare my heart’s uprightness,
and my lips sincerely speak what my lips know.[c]
The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of Shaddai gives life to me.
“If you are able, answer me.
Present your argument before me;[d] take your stand.
Look, before God I am like you;[e]
I myself was also formed from clay.
Look, dread of me should not terrify you,
and my hand will not be heavy upon you.
“Surely you have spoken in my ears,
and I have heard the sound of your words:[f]
‘I am clean, without transgression;
I am pure, and there is no guilt in me.
10 Look, he finds fault against me;
he reckons me as his enemy;
11 he puts my feet in the block;
he watches all my paths.’
12 “Look, in this you are not right—I will answer you:
Indeed, God is greater than a human being.
13 Why do you contend against him,
that he will not answer all a person’s words?
14 Indeed, God speaks in one way,
even[g] in two,[h] yet someone does not perceive it.
15 “In a dream, a vision of the night,
when a deep sleep falls on men slumbering on their bed,
16 then he opens the ear of men,
and he frightens them with a warning[i]
17 to turn human beings aside from their deeds,
and he keeps man from pride.
18 He spares his life from the pit
and his life from passing over the river of death.
19 “And he is reproved with pain on his bed,
even[j] with the strife of his bones continually,
20 so that[k] his life loathes bread,
and his inner self[l] loathes appetizing food.[m]
21 His flesh is wasted away from sight,
and his bones, which are invisible, are bared.
22 And he[n] draws near to the pit
and his life to the killers.
23 “If there is a messenger beside him, a mediator, one of a thousand,[o]
to declare to a human being his uprightness
24 so that[p] he is gracious to him, and he says,
‘Deliver him from descending into the pit;
I have found a ransom.’
25 His flesh is renewed with his youth;
he returns to the days of his youthful strength.
26 He prays to God, then he accepts him,
and he sees his face with a shout of joy,
and he repays to the human being his righteousness.
27 “He will sing to men, and he will say,
‘I have sinned and have perverted what is right,
and it was not paid back to me.
28 He redeemed my life from going down into the pit,
so[q] I will enjoy the light.’[r]
29 Look, God does all these things
twice, three times[s] with a person
30 to bring his life back from the pit
so that he may enjoy the light of life.[t]
31 “Listen attentively, Job; listen to me;
be silent, and I will speak.
32 If you have anything to say,[u] answer me;[v]
speak, for I desire to justify you.[w]
33 If not, you listen to me;
be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 33:1 Or “my sentences,” or “what I have to say”
  2. Job 33:1 Or “give ear to”
  3. Job 33:3 Literally “the knowledge of my lips”
  4. Job 33:5 Literally “to the face of me”
  5. Job 33:6 Literally “I am like your mouth”
  6. Job 33:8 Or “sentences,” or “what you say”
  7. Job 33:14 Hebrew “and”
  8. Job 33:14 Or “time and again” (NJPS, HCSB)
  9. Job 33:16 Literally “with their warning he frightens”
  10. Job 33:19 Hebrew “and”
  11. Job 33:20 Hebrew “and”
  12. Job 33:20 Or “soul”
  13. Job 33:20 Literally “food of desire”
  14. Job 33:22 Literally “his inner self/soul”
  15. Job 33:23 That is, “unique,” or “one of a kind”
  16. Job 33:24 Hebrew “and”
  17. Job 33:28 Hebrew “and”
  18. Job 33:28 Literally “my life in the light will see”
  19. Job 33:29 Or “time and again,” or “oftentimes” (NASB, NASU), or “several times”
  20. Job 33:30 Literally “to be lighted with the light of the life”
  21. Job 33:32 Literally “If there are words,” or “If there are sentences”
  22. Job 33:32 Literally “return to me”
  23. Job 33:32 Literally “your righteousness”