Job 33
Evangelical Heritage Version
33 But now, Job, listen to my speech.
Pay close attention to all my words.
2 Listen, because I have opened my mouth.
See how my tongue shapes words in my mouth.
3 My speech will reveal my upright heart.
My lips express my knowledge plainly.[a]
4 The spirit[b] of God made me.
The breath of the Almighty gave me life.
5 Refute me if you are able.
Lay out your case before me! Take your stand!
6 Look, my mouth belongs to God, just as your mouth does.
Like you I was snipped off from a lump of clay.
7 Look, you should not be terrified by how awesome I am.
Pressure from me should not intimidate you.
8 However, you said this in my hearing,
and I did hear the sound of these words:
9 “I am pure, without any sinful rebellion.
I am clean. I have no guilt.
10 But look how God finds pretexts to oppose me.
He treats me like his enemy.
11 He has put my feet in stocks.
He patrols all my paths.”
12 Job, listen to this!
You are not right.
I must refute you!
Certainly, God is greater than a man.
13 Why do you bring charges against him,
just because he does not answer all of a man’s questions?
14 God does speak, sometimes one way, sometimes another,
but people do not pay attention to it.
15 In a dream, in a vision in the night,
when people are falling into a deep sleep,
while they slumber on their beds,
16 he whispers a revelation into people’s ears,
and he confirms his warnings to them,
17 in order to turn a man from his course of action
and to suppress a person’s pride.
18 He spares his life from the pit.
He spares his life from crossing the stream of death.[c]
19 Or a person may be disciplined on his bed by pain
and by continual agony in his bones,
20 so that his life makes food disgusting to him,
and he has no appetite for delicious food.
21 His flesh wastes away and disappears,
and his bones, which were hidden, now stick out.
22 Then his soul draws near to destruction,
and his life to those who bring death.
23 If there is a messenger at his side to mediate,
one out of a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him,
24 if he is gracious to him,
if he says, “Spare him from going down to the pit.
I have found a ransom for him,”
25 then his flesh would become more vigorous than it was in his youth.
He would return to days of youthful vitality.
26 Then he would pray to God,
and God would be pleased with him.
With a joyful cry he would see God’s face,
and God would restore his righteousness to the man.
27 Then the man would turn to people and say,[d]
“I have sinned, and I have perverted what is right,
yet I was not punished as much as I deserved.
28 God has redeemed my soul from passing into the pit,
and my life will see the light.”
29 Look, God does all these things with a man—
two times, or even three times—
30 to bring back his soul from the pit,
so that light shines on him among the living.
31 Pay attention, Job. Listen to me.
Be silent, so that I may speak.
32 If you have anything to say, answer me.
Speak up, for I would be delighted to declare you innocent.
33 If you have nothing to say, listen to me
Be silent, so I may teach you wisdom.
Job 33
Lexham English Bible
Elihu Rebukes Job
33 “But now, please hear my speeches,[a] Job,
and hear[b] all my words.
2 Please look, I open my mouth;
my tongue in my mouth speaks.
3 My words declare my heart’s uprightness,
and my lips sincerely speak what my lips know.[c]
4 The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of Shaddai gives life to me.
5 “If you are able, answer me.
Present your argument before me;[d] take your stand.
6 Look, before God I am like you;[e]
I myself was also formed from clay.
7 Look, dread of me should not terrify you,
and my hand will not be heavy upon you.
8 “Surely you have spoken in my ears,
and I have heard the sound of your words:[f]
9 ‘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
- Job 33:1 Or “my sentences,” or “what I have to say”
- Job 33:1 Or “give ear to”
- Job 33:3 Literally “the knowledge of my lips”
- Job 33:5 Literally “to the face of me”
- Job 33:6 Literally “I am like your mouth”
- Job 33:8 Or “sentences,” or “what you say”
- Job 33:14 Hebrew “and”
- Job 33:14 Or “time and again” (NJPS, HCSB)
- Job 33:16 Literally “with their warning he frightens”
- Job 33:19 Hebrew “and”
- Job 33:20 Hebrew “and”
- Job 33:20 Or “soul”
- Job 33:20 Literally “food of desire”
- Job 33:22 Literally “his inner self/soul”
- Job 33:23 That is, “unique,” or “one of a kind”
- Job 33:24 Hebrew “and”
- Job 33:28 Hebrew “and”
- Job 33:28 Literally “my life in the light will see”
- Job 33:29 Or “time and again,” or “oftentimes” (NASB, NASU), or “several times”
- Job 33:30 Literally “to be lighted with the light of the life”
- Job 33:32 Literally “If there are words,” or “If there are sentences”
- Job 33:32 Literally “return to me”
- Job 33:32 Literally “your righteousness”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
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