Job 33
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Elihu Confronts Job
33 But now, Job, pay attention to my speech,
and listen to all my words.
2 I am going to open my mouth;
my tongue will form words on my palate.
3 My words come from my upright(A) heart,
and my lips speak with sincerity what they know.
4 The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty(B) gives me life.(C)
5 Refute me if you can.
Prepare(D) your case against me; take your stand.(E)
6 I am just like you before God;
I was also pinched off from a piece of clay.(F)
7 Fear(G) of me should not terrify you;
the pressure I exert[a] against you will be light.
8 Surely you have spoken in my hearing,
and I have heard these very[b] words:
9 “I am pure, without transgression;
I am clean and have no guilt.(H)
10 But He finds reasons to oppose me;
He regards me as His enemy.(I)
11 He puts my feet in the stocks;
He stands watch(J) over all my paths.”
12 But I tell you that you are wrong in this matter,
since God is greater than man.(K)
13 Why do you take(L) Him to court
for not answering anything a person asks?[c]
14 For God speaks time and again,
but a person may not notice it.
15 In a dream, a vision(M) in the night,
when deep sleep falls on people(N)
as they slumber on their beds,
16 He uncovers their ears(O) at that time
and terrifies them[d] with warnings,
17 in order to turn a person from his actions
and suppress his pride.[e]
18 God spares his soul from the Pit,(P)
his life from crossing the river of death.[f]
19 A person may be disciplined on his bed(Q) with pain
and constant distress in his bones,(R)
20 so that he detests bread,
and his soul despises his favorite food.(S)
21 His flesh wastes away to nothing,[g]
and his unseen bones stick out.
22 He draws near to the Pit,
and his life to the executioners.
23 If there is an angel(T) on his side,
one mediator out of a thousand,
to tell a person what is right for him[h]
24 and to be gracious to him and say,
“Spare him from going down to the Pit;
I have found a ransom,”(U)
25 then his flesh will be healthier[i] than in his youth,
and he will return to the days of his youthful vigor.(V)
26 He will pray to God, and God will delight in him.
That man will see His face(W) with a shout of joy,
and God will restore his righteousness to him.(X)
27 He will look at men and say,
“I have sinned and perverted what was right;
yet I did not get what I deserved.[j]
28 He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit,
and I will continue to see the light.”
29 God certainly does all these things
two or three times to a man
30 in order to turn him back from the Pit,
so he may shine with the light of life.(Y)
31 Pay attention, Job, and listen to me.
Be quiet, and I will speak.
32 But if you have something to say,[k] answer me;
speak, for I would like to justify you.
33 If not, then listen to me;
be quiet, and I will teach you wisdom.
Footnotes
- Job 33:7 Lit you; my pressure
- Job 33:8 Lit heard a sound of
- Job 33:13 Lit court, for He does not answer all his words
- Job 33:16 LXX; MT reads and seals
- Job 33:17 Lit and cover pride within a man
- Job 33:18 Or from perishing by the sword
- Job 33:21 Lit away from sight
- Job 33:23 Or to vouch for a person’s uprightness
- Job 33:25 Hb obscure
- Job 33:27 Lit and the same was not to me
- Job 33:32 Lit If there are words
Job 33
EasyEnglish Bible
Elihu continues to speak
33 ‘But now, Job, listen to the things that I will tell you.
Listen carefully to everything that I will say.
2 I will speak to you now.
I am ready to tell you what I think.
3 I am an honest man, so you can believe what I say.
I will tell you what I know is true.
4 The Spirit of Almighty God has made me.
His breath gives me life.
5 Answer me now, Job, if you can.
Prepare yourself.
Be ready to explain your problem to me.
6 Listen! When God looks at us,
we are the same as each other.
God used clay to make both of us.
7 So you should not be afraid of me.
I will not do anything to hurt you.
8 I have heard the things that you have said, Job.
This is what I heard you say:
9 “I am not guilty. I have not done anything that is wrong.
I am pure and clean.
10 But God has decided to punish me!
He attacks me as if I am his enemy.
11 He has tied my feet with chains.
He always watches me to see where I go.”
12 But now I tell you this, Job: You are not right!
God is greater than any human.
13 So you should not argue against him.
You should not say,
“God does not answer any of my questions.”
14 God does speak to people.
He speaks to them in many different ways.
But often people do not recognize his voice.
15 Sometimes God speaks to people in dreams and visions.
He speaks to them at night, while they sleep in bed.
16 He tells them about things that will happen.
He warns them about terrible things,
so that they are afraid.
17 He tells them to turn away from their sins.
He tells them not to be proud.
18 He keeps people safe from death,
so that they do not go to their graves.
19 Or God may warn people with a painful illness.
He may make their bodies hurt all the time.
20 Then they do not want to eat anything.
They cannot eat even the best food.
21 Their bodies become very thin.
People can even see their bones.
22 They will soon die and go to their graves.
Death is waiting to take them away.
23 But perhaps an angel may come
to help one of those people.
He may speak on behalf of God,
as a special angel among the many thousands of God's angels.
The angel may tell that person
how to live in a way that is right.
24 Then God will be kind to that person.
God will say, “Save that person,
so that he does not go to his grave.
I have found someone to pay the price for his life.
So keep him alive.”
25 Then that person's body will become healthy again.
He will be strong, like a young man.
26 When he prays to God,
God will be happy to answer him.
He will again worship God with joy.
And God will give him a good way of life again.
27 That person will say clearly to everyone,
“I did things that were not right.
I did wrong things,
but God did not punish me as I deserved.
28 God rescued me from death,
so that I did not go to my grave.
Now I will enjoy life in the light.”
29 God does all these things for people.
He does them many times.
30 He saves a person from death,
so that he does not go to his grave.
He gives light to that person,
so that he may enjoy his life.
31 Job, listen carefully to me.
Be quiet, and I will speak to you.
32 After that, you may answer me,
if you have something to say.
If I could say that you have not done anything wrong,
that would make me happy.
33 But if you have nothing to say,
then listen to me.
Be quiet and I will teach you how to be wise.’
Job 33
New King James Version
Elihu Contradicts Job
33 “But please, Job, hear my speech,
And listen to all my words.
2 Now, I open my mouth;
My tongue speaks in my mouth.
3 My words come from my upright heart;
My lips utter pure knowledge.
4 (A)The Spirit of God has made me,
And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
5 If you can answer me,
Set your words in order before me;
Take your stand.
6 (B)Truly I am [a]as your spokesman before God;
I also have been formed out of clay.
7 (C)Surely no fear of me will terrify you,
Nor will my hand be heavy on you.
8 “Surely you have spoken [b]in my hearing,
And I have heard the sound of your words, saying,
9 ‘I(D) am pure, without transgression;
I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me.
10 Yet He finds occasions against me,
(E)He counts me as His enemy;
11 (F)He puts my feet in the stocks,
He watches all my paths.’
12 “Look, in this you are not righteous.
I will answer you,
For God is greater than man.
13 Why do you (G)contend with Him?
For He does not give an accounting of any of His words.
14 (H)For God may speak in one way, or in another,
Yet man does not perceive it.
15 (I)In a dream, in a vision of the night,
When deep sleep falls upon men,
While slumbering on their beds,
16 (J)Then He opens the ears of men,
And seals their instruction.
17 In order to turn man from his deed,
And conceal pride from man,
18 He keeps back his soul from the Pit,
And his life from [c]perishing by the sword.
19 “Man is also chastened with pain on his (K)bed,
And with strong pain in many of his bones,
20 (L)So that his life abhors (M)bread,
And his soul [d]succulent food.
21 His flesh wastes away from sight,
And his bones stick out which once were not seen.
22 Yes, his soul draws near the Pit,
And his life to the executioners.
23 “If there is a messenger for him,
A mediator, one among a thousand,
To show man His uprightness,
24 Then He is gracious to him, and says,
‘Deliver him from going down to the Pit;
I have found [e]a ransom’;
25 His flesh shall be young like a child’s,
He shall return to the days of his youth.
26 He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him,
He shall see His face with joy,
For He restores to man His righteousness.
27 Then he looks at men and (N)says,
‘I have sinned, and perverted what was right,
And it (O)did not profit me.’
28 He will (P)redeem [f]his soul from going down to the Pit,
And his life shall see the light.
29 “Behold, God works all these things,
Twice, in fact, three times with a man,
30 (Q)To bring back his soul from the Pit,
That he may be enlightened with the light of life.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
