Job 34
Legacy Standard Bible
Elihu Answers That God Will Be Just
34 Then Elihu answered and said,
2 “Hear my speech, 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 for ourselves what is just;
Let us know among ourselves what is good.
5 For Job has said, ‘(B)I am righteous,
But (C)God has removed my justice;
6 [a]Should I lie concerning my justice?
My [b](D)wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’
7 What man is like Job,
Who (E)drinks up mocking like water,
8 But he travels (F)in company with the workers of iniquity,
And walks with wicked men?
9 For he has said, ‘(G)It is of no use to a man
When he [c]is pleased with God.’
10 “Therefore, listen to me, you men with a heart of wisdom.
Far be it from God to (H)do injustice,
And from the Almighty to do wrong.
11 For He pays a man according to (I)his work,
And makes [d]him find it according to his way.
12 Truly, (J)God will not act wickedly,
And the Almighty will not pervert justice.
13 Who (K)appointed Him with authority over the earth?
And who (L)has laid on Him the whole world?
14 If He should set His heart on it,
If He should (M)gather to Himself His spirit and His breath,
15 All (N)flesh would breathe its last together,
And man would (O)return to dust.
16 “But if you have understanding, hear this;
Give ear to the sound of my speech.
17 Shall (P)one who hates justice [e]rule?
And (Q)will you condemn the righteous mighty One,
18 Who says to a king, ‘Vile one,’
To nobles, ‘Wicked ones’;
19 Who shows no (R)partiality to princes
Nor recognizes the rich above the poor,
For they all are the (S)work of His hands?
20 In a moment they die, and (T)at midnight
People are shaken and pass away,
And (U)the mighty are taken away without a hand.
21 “For (V)His eyes are upon the ways of a man,
And He sees all his steps.
22 There is (W)no darkness or shadow of death
Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
23 [f]For He does not (X)need to consider a man further,
That he should go before God in judgment.
24 He breaks in pieces (Y)mighty men without searching anything out,
And sets others in their place.
25 Therefore He (Z)recognizes their labors,
And (AA)He overthrows them in the night,
And they are crushed.
26 He (AB)strikes them like the wicked
[g]In a public place,
27 Because they (AC)turned aside from following Him,
And (AD)had no insight from any of His ways;
28 So that they caused (AE)the cry of the poor to come to Him,
And that He might (AF)hear the cry of the afflicted.
29 So if He keeps quiet, who then can condemn?
So if He hides His face, who then can perceive Him?
He is above both nation and man altogether,
30 So that (AG)godless men would not rule
Nor be snares of the people.
31 “For has anyone said to God,
‘I have borne chastisement;
I will not work destructively anymore;
32 Instruct me what I do not behold;
If I have (AH)done injustice,
I will not do it again’?
33 Shall He (AI)repay on your terms, because you have rejected it?
For you must choose, and not I;
Therefore say what you know.
34 Men with a heart of wisdom will say to me,
And a wise man who hears me,
35 ‘Job (AJ)speaks without knowledge,
And his words are without insight.
36 Job ought to be tested [h]to the limit
Because he answers (AK)like wicked men.
37 For he adds (AL)transgression to his sin;
He (AM)strikes his hands together among us,
And multiplies his words against God.’”
Footnotes
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
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