Job 35
Legacy Standard Bible
Elihu Answers Job
35 Then Elihu answered and said,
2 “Do you think this is according to (A)justice?
Do you say, ‘My righteousness is more than God’s’?
3 For you say, ‘(B)What use will it be to [a]You?
(C)What profit will I have, more than if I had sinned?’
4 I will respond to you,
And your friends with you.
5 (D)Look at the heavens and see;
And perceive (E)the clouds—they are higher than you.
6 If you have sinned, (F)what do you accomplish against Him?
And if your transgressions are many, what do you do to Him?
7 If you are righteous, (G)what do you give to Him,
Or what does He receive from your hand?
8 Your wickedness is for a man like yourself,
And your righteousness is for a son of man.
9 “Because of (H)many oppressions they cry out;
They cry for help because of the arm (I)of many oppressors.
10 But (J)no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker,
Who (K)gives songs of praise in the night,
11 Who (L)teaches us more than the beasts of the earth
And makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’
12 There (M)they cry out, but He does not answer
Because of the pride of evil men.
13 Surely (N)God will not listen to [b]an empty cry,
Nor will the Almighty perceive it.
14 How much less when (O)you say you do not perceive Him,
The (P)case is before Him, and you must wait for Him!
15 And now, because He has not visited in His anger,
Nor has He acknowledged [c]transgression well,
16 So Job opens his mouth vainly;
He multiplies words (Q)without knowledge.”
Job 35
New Living Translation
Elihu Reminds Job of God’s Justice
35 Then Elihu said:
2 “Do you think it is right for you to claim,
‘I am righteous before God’?
3 For you also ask, ‘What’s in it for me?
What’s the use of living a righteous life?’
4 “I will answer you
and all your friends, too.
5 Look up into the sky,
and see the clouds high above you.
6 If you sin, how does that affect God?
Even if you sin again and again,
what effect will it have on him?
7 If you are good, is this some great gift to him?
What could you possibly give him?
8 No, your sins affect only people like yourself,
and your good deeds also affect only humans.
9 “People cry out when they are oppressed.
They groan beneath the power of the mighty.
10 Yet they don’t ask, ‘Where is God my Creator,
the one who gives songs in the night?
11 Where is the one who makes us smarter than the animals
and wiser than the birds of the sky?’
12 And when they cry out, God does not answer
because of their pride.
13 But it is wrong to say God doesn’t listen,
to say the Almighty isn’t concerned.
14 You say you can’t see him,
but he will bring justice if you will only wait.[a]
15 You say he does not respond to sinners with anger
and is not greatly concerned about wickedness.[b]
16 But you are talking nonsense, Job.
You have spoken like a fool.”
Footnotes
- 35:13-14 These verses can also be translated as follows: 13 Indeed, God doesn’t listen to their empty plea; / the Almighty is not concerned. / 14 How much less will he listen when you say you don’t see him, / and that your case is before him and you’re waiting for justice.
- 35:15 As in Greek and Latin versions; the meaning of this Hebrew word is uncertain.
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.
