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
New Living Translation
Elihu Presents His Case against Job
33 “Listen to my words, Job;
pay attention to what I have to say.
2 Now that I have begun to speak,
let me continue.
3 I speak with all sincerity;
I speak the truth.
4 For the Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
5 Answer me, if you can;
make your case and take your stand.
6 Look, you and I both belong to God.
I, too, was formed from clay.
7 So you don’t need to be afraid of me.
I won’t come down hard on you.
8 “You have spoken in my hearing,
and I have heard your very words.
9 You said, ‘I am pure; I am without sin;
I am innocent; I have no guilt.
10 God is picking a quarrel with me,
and he considers me his enemy.
11 He puts my feet in the stocks
and watches my every move.’
12 “But you are wrong, and I will show you why.
For God is greater than any human being.
13 So why are you bringing a charge against him?
Why say he does not respond to people’s complaints?
14 For God speaks again and again,
though people do not recognize it.
15 He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night,
when deep sleep falls on people
as they lie in their beds.
16 He whispers in their ears
and terrifies them with warnings.
17 He makes them turn from doing wrong;
he keeps them from pride.
18 He protects them from the grave,
from crossing over the river of death.
19 “Or God disciplines people with pain on their sickbeds,
with ceaseless aching in their bones.
20 They lose their appetite
for even the most delicious food.
21 Their flesh wastes away,
and their bones stick out.
22 They are at death’s door;
the angels of death wait for them.
23 “But if an angel from heaven appears—
a special messenger to intercede for a person
and declare that he is upright—
24 he will be gracious and say,
‘Rescue him from the grave,
for I have found a ransom for his life.’
25 Then his body will become as healthy as a child’s,
firm and youthful again.
26 When he prays to God,
he will be accepted.
And God will receive him with joy
and restore him to good standing.
27 He will declare to his friends,
‘I sinned and twisted the truth,
but it was not worth it.[a]
28 God rescued me from the grave,
and now my life is filled with light.’
29 “Yes, God does these things
again and again for people.
30 He rescues them from the grave
so they may enjoy the light of life.
31 Mark this well, Job. Listen to me,
for I have more to say.
32 But if you have anything to say, go ahead.
Speak, for I am anxious to see you justified.
33 But if not, then listen to me.
Keep silent and I will teach you wisdom!”
Footnotes
- 33:27 Greek version reads but he [God] did not punish me as my sin deserved.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
