Job 34
English Standard Version
Elihu Asserts God's Justice
34 Then Elihu answered and said:
2 “Hear my words, you wise men,
and give ear to me, you who know;
3 for (A)the ear tests words
as the palate tastes food.
4 Let us choose (B)what is right;
let us know among ourselves what is good.
5 For Job has said, ‘I am (C)in the right,
and (D)God has taken away my right;
6 in spite of my right I am counted a liar;
my wound is incurable, though I am (E)without transgression.’
7 What man is like Job,
who (F)drinks up scoffing like water,
8 who travels in company with evildoers
and walks (G)with wicked men?
9 For (H)he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing
that he should take delight in God.’
10 “Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding:
far be it from God that he should (I)do wickedness,
and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.
11 For according to (J)the work of a man he will repay him,
and (K)according to his ways he will make it befall him.
12 Of a truth, God will not do wickedly,
and (L)the Almighty will not pervert justice.
13 Who gave him charge over the earth,
and who (M)laid on him[a] the whole world?
14 If he should (N)set his heart to it
and (O)gather to himself his (P)spirit and his breath,
15 all flesh would perish together,
and man would (Q)return to dust.
16 “If you have understanding, hear this;
listen to what I say.
17 (R)Shall one who hates justice govern?
Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty,
18 who (S)says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’
and to nobles, ‘Wicked man,’
19 who (T)shows no partiality to princes,
nor regards the rich (U)more than the poor,
for (V)they are all the work of his hands?
20 In a moment (W)they die;
at (X)midnight the people are shaken and pass away,
and the mighty are taken away by (Y)no human hand.
21 “For his eyes are on (Z)the ways of a man,
and he sees all his (AA)steps.
22 There is no (AB)gloom or (AC)deep darkness
where evildoers may hide themselves.
23 For God[b] has no need to consider a man further,
that he should go before God in (AD)judgment.
24 He (AE)shatters the mighty without investigation
and sets (AF)others in their place.
25 Thus, knowing their works,
he (AG)overturns them in the night, and they are crushed.
26 He strikes them for their wickedness
in a place for all to see,
27 because they turned aside from (AH)following him
and had no regard for any of his ways,
28 so that they (AI)caused the cry of the poor to come to him,
and he (AJ)heard the cry of the afflicted—
29 When he is quiet, who can condemn?
When he hides his face, who can behold him,
whether it be a nation or a man?—
30 that a godless man should not reign,
that he should not ensnare the people.
31 “For has anyone said to God,
‘I have borne punishment; I will not offend any more;
32 (AK)teach me what I do not see;
if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’?
33 Will he then make repayment to suit you,
because you reject it?
For you must choose, and not I;
therefore (AL)declare what you know.[c]
34 Men of understanding will say to me,
and the wise man who hears me will say:
35 ‘Job (AM)speaks without knowledge;
his words are without insight.’
36 Would that Job were tried to the end,
because he answers like wicked men.
37 For he adds rebellion to his sin;
he (AN)claps his hands among us
and multiplies his words against God.”
Job 34
International Standard Version
Elihu Continues Speaking
34 Elihu continued speaking, and said:
2 “Listen to what I have to say, you wise men!
Pay attention to me, you educated people!
3 Since the ear tests words
like a palate tastes food,
4 let’s choose what’s right for us.
Let’s consider among ourselves what is good.”
Elihu Reviews Job’s Complaint against God’s Injustice
5 Now this is Job’s claim:
‘Even though I’m innocent,
God has stopped treating me righteously.
6 Have I lied concerning the justice that I deserve?[a]
My wound[b] is incurable,
though transgression cannot be attributed to me.’
7 “What man is like Job,
who drinks mockery like water,
8 traffics in those who practice evil,
and walks with wicked people?
9 Because he says, ‘There’s no profit
for a man to find joy with God.’”[c]
God is Just
10 “Therefore you men of understanding,[d] listen to me!
Far be it for God to practice wickedness,
or the Almighty to do what is wrong,
11 because he repays a person for his behavior;
and according to a person’s[e] conduct,
he lets it happen to[f] him.
12 Truly, God doesn’t practice wickedness,
and the Almighty doesn’t pervert justice.
13 Who entrusted the earth to him?
Who made him responsible for the entire inhabited world?
14 If he were to decide to do so,
that is, to take back to himself[g] his spirit and breath of life,[h]
15 every living thing would die all at once,[i]
and mankind would return to dust.”
God’s Rule is Just
16 If you have[j] understanding, listen to this!
Pay attention to what I have to say:
17 Can one who hates justice really govern?
And if God[k] is righteous and mighty, can you condemn him?[l]
18 Can one say to a king, ‘You’re vile!’
or to nobles, ‘You’re wicked!’?
19 Who isn’t partial to[m] princes?
Who doesn’t give preference to the nobles over the poor?
Nevertheless, all of them are his handiwork.
20 “They die suddenly, in the middle of the night;
people suffer seizures and pass away;
even valiant men can be taken away—
and not by human hands.
21 Yes, Job,[n] his eyes constantly watch the behavior of human beings;
he carefully observes their every step.
22 There’s no such thing as darkness to him—
not even deep darkness—
that can conceal those who practice evil.
23 He won’t examine mankind further,
that they would go before God to judgment.
24 He shatters valiant men without a need to investigate,
and he raises others in their place.
25 Thus he acknowledges their behavior, and overcomes them;
when night time comes, they are crushed.
26 “He strikes[o] the wicked among them
in a place where they can be seen
27 because they’ve abandoned their pursuit of him
and had no respect for any of his ways.
28 As a result, the cries of the poor have reached him
and he has heard the cry of the afflicted.
29 “If he remains silent, who will condemn him?
If he conceals his face, who can see him?
He watches over both nation and individual alike,
30 to keep the godless man from reigning
or laying a snare for the people.”
Elihu’s Challenge to Job
31 “Has anyone ever really told God,
‘I’ve endured,[p] and I won’t act corruptly anymore.
32 What I don’t see, instruct me!
If I’ve done anything evil, I won’t repeat it!’
33 “Should you not be paid back,
since you have rejected him?
You do the choosing! I won’t!
Tell us what you know!
Elihu’s Verdict: Job is not Wise
34 “Men of understanding, speak to me!
Are any of you men wise? Then listen to me!
35 Job has been speaking from his own ignorance,
and what he has to say lacks insight!
36 Oh, how Job needs to be given a full court trial,
as a rebuke to those who practice evil,
37 because he has been adding rebellion to his sin;
he claps his hands among us,[q]
and keeps on ranting against God.”
Footnotes
- Job 34:6 Lit. concerning my justice
- Job 34:6 Or cut
- Job 34:9 Cf. Mal 3:14
- Job 34:10 Lit. heart
- Job 34:11 Lit. man
- Job 34:11 Lit. it find
- Job 34:14 The Heb. lacks to himself
- Job 34:14 The Heb. lacks of life
- Job 34:15 Lit. die together
- Job 34:16 The Heb. lacks you have
- Job 34:17 Lit. he
- Job 34:17 The Heb. lacks him
- Job 34:19 Lit. Who doesn’t lift the faces of
- Job 34:21 The Heb. lacks Job
- Job 34:26 Or slaps
- Job 34:31 Or carry
- Job 34:37 I.e. as a gesture of disrespect
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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