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Elihu Asks Job to Hear and Respond

33 “However now, Job, please (A)hear my speech,
And give ear to all my words.
Behold now, I open my mouth;
My tongue in my [a]mouth speaks.
My words are from the uprightness of my heart,
And my lips speak (B)knowledge sincerely.
The (C)Spirit of God has made me,
And the (D)breath of [b]the Almighty gives me life.
(E)Respond to me if you can;
Arrange yourselves before me, take your stand.
Behold, I belong to God like you;
I too have been [c]formed out of the (F)clay.
Behold, (G)no dread of me should terrify you,
Nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you.

“Surely you have spoken in my hearing,
And I have heard the sound of your speech:
‘I am (H)pure, (I)without transgression;
I am innocent, and there (J)is no guilt in me.
10 Behold, He finds reasons for opposition against me;
He (K)counts me as His enemy.
11 He (L)puts my feet in the stocks;
He keeps watch over all my paths.’
12 Behold, let me answer you; (M)you are not right in this,
For God is greater than mortal man.

13 “Why do you (N)contend against Him?
For He does not give an answer for all His doings.
14 Indeed (O)God speaks once,
Or twice, yet no one perceives it.
15 In a (P)dream, a vision of the night,
When deep sleep falls on men,
While they slumber in their beds,
16 Then (Q)He opens the ears of men,
And seals in their discipline,
17 That He may turn man aside from his conduct,
And [d]keep man from pride;
18 He (R)holds back his soul from the pit,
And his life from passing over [e]to death (S)by a weapon.

19 [f]Man is also reproved with (T)pain on his bed,
And with unceasing contention in his bones,
20 So that his life (U)loathes bread,
And his soul favorite food.
21 His (V)flesh wastes away from sight,
And his (W)bones which were not seen stick out.
22 Then (X)his soul draws near to the pit,
And his life to those who bring death.

23 “If there is an angel as (Y)mediator for him,
One out of a thousand,
To declare to a man what is [g]right for him,
24 Then let him be gracious to him, and say,
‘Deliver him from (Z)going down to the pit;
I have found (AA)atonement’;
25 Let his flesh become fresher than in youth,
Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor;
26 Then he will (AB)entreat God, and He will accept him,
And (AC)he will see His face with joyful shouts,
And He may restore His righteousness to man.
27 He will sing to men and say,
‘I (AD)have sinned and perverted what is right,
But He has not done (AE)what is due to me.
28 He has redeemed my soul from passing into the pit,
And my life shall (AF)see the light.’

29 “Behold, God does (AG)all these things twice, three times with men,
30 To (AH)bring back his soul from the pit,
That he may be enlightened with the light of life.
31 Pay attention, O Job, listen to me;
Keep silent, and I will speak.
32 Then if [h]you have any speech, respond to me;
Speak, for I desire to prove you righteous.
33 If not, (AI)listen to me;
Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 33:2 Lit palate
  2. Job 33:4 Heb Shaddai
  3. Job 33:6 Lit cut out of
  4. Job 33:17 Lit hide
  5. Job 33:18 Or Sheol
  6. Job 33:19 Lit He
  7. Job 33:23 Lit his uprightness
  8. Job 33:32 Lit there are words

Elihu Contradicts Job

33 “But please, Job, hear my speech,
And listen to all my words.
Now, I open my mouth;
My tongue speaks in my mouth.
My words come from my upright heart;
My lips utter pure knowledge.
(A)The Spirit of God has made me,
And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
If you can answer me,
Set your words in order before me;
Take your stand.
(B)Truly I am [a]as your spokesman before God;
I also have been formed out of clay.
(C)Surely no fear of me will terrify you,
Nor will my hand be heavy on you.

“Surely you have spoken [b]in my hearing,
And I have heard the sound of your words, saying,
‘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.

31 “Give ear, Job, listen to me;
Hold your peace, and I will speak.
32 If you have anything to say, answer me;
Speak, for I desire to justify you.
33 If not, (R)listen to me;
[g]Hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 33:6 Lit. as your mouth
  2. Job 33:8 Lit. in my ears
  3. Job 33:18 Lit. passing
  4. Job 33:20 desirable
  5. Job 33:24 an atonement
  6. Job 33:28 Kt. my
  7. Job 33:33 Keep silent

Eliú presenta sus argumentos contra Job

33 »Job, escucha mis palabras;
    presta atención a lo que tengo que decir.
Ahora que he comenzado a hablar,
    déjame continuar.
Hablo con toda sinceridad;
    digo la verdad.
El Espíritu de Dios me ha creado,
    y el aliento del Todopoderoso me da vida.
Respóndeme, si puedes;
    presenta tu argumento y define tu posición.
Mira, tú y yo, ambos, pertenecemos a Dios;
    yo también fui formado del barro.
Así que no tienes que tenerme miedo;
    no seré duro contigo.

»Tú has hablado en mi presencia
    y he escuchado tus palabras.
Dijiste: “Yo soy puro; no tengo pecado;
    soy inocente; no tengo culpa.
10 Dios busca pleito conmigo
    y me considera su enemigo.
11 Él puso mis pies en el cepo
    y vigila todos mis movimientos”.

12 »Pero estás equivocado, y te mostraré el porqué,
    pues Dios es más grande que todo ser humano.
13 Así que, ¿por qué presentas cargos contra él?
    ¿Por qué dices que no responde a las quejas de la gente?
14 Pues Dios habla una y otra vez,
    aunque la gente no lo reconozca.
15 Habla en sueños, en visiones nocturnas,
    cuando el sueño profundo cae sobre las personas
    mientras están acostadas.
16 Susurra a sus oídos
    y las aterroriza con advertencias.
17 Él hace que se aparten de sus malas acciones;
    no las deja caer en el orgullo.
18 Él las protege de la tumba,
    de cruzar el río de la muerte.

19 »Otras veces Dios emplea el dolor para disciplinar a la gente en su lecho de enfermo,
    con dolores incesantes en sus huesos.
20 Ellos pierden el apetito;
    no desean ni la comida más deliciosa.
21 Su carne se consume
    y son puro hueso.
22 Están a las puertas de la muerte;
    los ángeles de la muerte los esperan.

23 »Pero si aparece un ángel del cielo
    —un mensajero especial para interceder por una persona
    y para declarar que es recta—
24 él le tendrá compasión y dirá:
“Sálvalo de la tumba,
    porque he encontrado un rescate por su vida”.
25 Entonces su cuerpo se volverá tan sano como el de un niño,
    fuerte y juvenil otra vez.
26 Cuando él ore a Dios,
    será aceptado
y Dios lo recibirá con alegría
    y lo restaurará a una relación correcta.
27 Declarará a sus amigos:
“Pequé y torcí la verdad,
    pero no valió la pena.[a]
28 Dios me rescató de la tumba
    y ahora mi vida está llena de luz”.

29 »Así es, Dios actúa de esa forma
    una y otra vez por las personas.
30 Él las rescata de la tumba
    para que disfruten de la luz de la vida.
31 Toma nota, Job; escúchame,
    porque tengo más para decir.
32 Sin embargo, si tienes algo que decir, adelante,
    habla, porque deseo verte justificado;
33 pero si no, entonces escúchame.
    ¡Guarda silencio y te enseñaré sabiduría!».

Footnotes

  1. 33:27 La versión griega dice pero [Dios] no me castigó como lo merecía mi pecado.