Job 33
Amplified Bible
Elihu Claims to Speak for God
33 “However, Job, please listen to my words,
And pay attention to everything I say.
2
“Behold, I have opened my mouth [to begin my speech];
My tongue in my mouth is going to speak.
3
“My words will express the uprightness of my heart,
And my lips will speak what they know with utter sincerity.
4
“The Spirit of God has made me,
And the breath of [a]the Almighty gives me life [which inspires me].
5
“Answer me, if you can;
Set yourselves before me, take your stand.
6
“Behold, I belong to God like you;
I too was formed out of the clay.
7
“Behold, I will not make you afraid or terrified of me [for I am only mortal and not God],
Nor should any pressure from me weigh heavily upon you.
8
“Surely you have spoken in my hearing,
And I have heard the sound of your words, saying:
9
‘I am pure, without transgression;
I am innocent and there is no guilt in me.
10
‘Behold, God finds pretexts against me;
He counts me as His enemy.
11
‘He puts my feet in the stocks [to hinder and humiliate me];
He [suspiciously] watches all my paths,’ [you say].
12
“Look, let me answer you, in this you are not right or just;
For God is greater and far superior to man.
13
“Why do you complain against Him?
That He does not answer [you with] all His doings.
14
“For God speaks once,
And even twice, yet no one notices it [including you, Job].
15
“In a dream, a vision of the night [one may hear God’s voice],
When deep sleep falls on men
While slumbering upon the bed,
16
Then He opens the ears of men
And seals their instruction,
17
That He may turn man aside from his conduct,
And keep him from pride;
18
He holds back his soul from the pit [of destruction],
And his life from passing over into Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead).
19
“Man is also disciplined with pain on his bed,
And with unceasing complaint in his bones,
20
So that his life makes him loathe food,
And his soul [loathe] even his favorite dishes.
21
“His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen,
And his bones which were not seen now stick out.
22
“Then his soul draws near to the pit [of destruction],
And his life to those who bring death (the destroyers).
23
“If there is an angel as a mediator for him,
One out of a thousand,
To explain to a man what is right for him [that is, how to be in right standing with God],
24
Then [b]the angel is gracious to him, and says,
‘Spare him from going down to the pit [of destruction];
I have found a ransom [a consideration, or reason for redemption, an atonement]!’
25
“Let his flesh be restored and become fresher than in youth;
Let him return to the days of his youthful strength.
26
“He will pray to God, and He shall be favorable to him,
So that he looks at His face with joy;
For God restores to man His righteousness [that is, his right standing with God—with its joys].
27
“He sings out to other men,
‘I have sinned and perverted that which was right,
And it was not proper for me!
28
‘God has redeemed my life from going to the pit [of destruction],
And my life shall see the light.’”
29
[Elihu comments,] “Behold, God does all these things [c]twice, yes, three times, with a man,
30
To bring his life back from the pit [of destruction],
That he may be enlightened with the light of the living.
31
“Pay attention, Job, listen to me;
Keep silent, and I will speak.
32
“If you have anything to say, answer me;
Speak, for I desire to justify you.
33
“If not [and you have nothing to say], listen to me;
Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”
Job 33
The Message
33 1-4 “So please, Job, hear me out,
honor me by listening to me.
What I’m about to say
has been carefully thought out.
I have no ulterior motives in this;
I’m speaking honestly from my heart.
The Spirit of God made me what I am,
the breath of God Almighty gave me life!
God Always Answers, One Way or Another
5-7 “And if you think you can prove me wrong, do it.
Lay out your arguments. Stand up for yourself!
Look, I’m human—no better than you;
we’re both made of the same kind of mud.
So let’s work this through together;
don’t let my aggressiveness overwhelm you.
8-11 “Here’s what you said.
I heard you say it with my own ears.
You said, ‘I’m pure—I’ve done nothing wrong.
Believe me, I’m clean—my conscience is clear.
But God keeps picking on me;
he treats me like I’m his enemy.
He’s thrown me in jail;
he keeps me under constant surveillance.’
12-14 “But let me tell you, Job, you’re wrong, dead wrong!
God is far greater than any human.
So how dare you haul him into court,
and then complain that he won’t answer your charges?
God always answers, one way or another,
even when people don’t recognize his presence.
15-18 “In a dream, for instance, a vision at night,
when men and women are deep in sleep,
fast asleep in their beds—
God opens their ears
and impresses them with warnings
To turn them back from something bad they’re planning,
from some reckless choice,
And keep them from an early grave,
from the river of no return.
19-22 “Or, God might get their attention through pain,
by throwing them on a bed of suffering,
So they can’t stand the sight of food,
have no appetite for their favorite treats.
They lose weight, wasting away to nothing,
reduced to a bag of bones.
They hang on the cliff-edge of death,
knowing the next breath may be their last.
23-25 “But even then an angel could come,
a champion—there are thousands of them!—
to take up your cause,
A messenger who would mercifully intervene,
canceling the death sentence with the words:
‘I’ve come up with the ransom!’
Before you know it, you’re healed,
the very picture of health!
26-28 “Or, you may fall on your knees and pray—to God’s delight!
You’ll see God’s smile and celebrate,
finding yourself set right with God.
You’ll sing God’s praises to everyone you meet,
testifying, ‘I messed up my life—
and let me tell you, it wasn’t worth it.
But God stepped in and saved me from certain death.
I’m alive again! Once more I see the light!’
29-30 “This is the way God works.
Over and over again
He pulls our souls back from certain destruction
so we’ll see the light—and live in the light!
31-33 “Keep listening, Job.
Don’t interrupt—I’m not finished yet.
But if you think of anything I should know, tell me.
There’s nothing I’d like better than to see your name cleared.
Meanwhile, keep listening. Don’t distract me with interruptions.
I’m going to teach you the basics of wisdom.”
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.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
