Job 33
Tree of Life Version
33 “But now, Job, listen to my words
and give ear to everything I say.
2 See now, I open my mouth;
my tongue in my mouth speaks.
3 My words are from my upright heart;
my lips speak sincerely what they know.
4 “The Ruach of God has made me;
the breath of Shaddai gives me life.
5 Answer me, if you can;
array yourselves before me;
take your stand!
6 Look, I am the same as you before God;
I too am formed from clay.
7 See, no fear of me should terrify you,
nor should my pressure be heavy on you.
8 “Indeed, you have said in my hearing,
—I heard the sound of the words:
9 ‘I am pure, without transgression;
I am innocent, without iniquity.
10 Yet, He has found fault with me;
He considers me His enemy.
11 He puts my feet in the shackles;
He watches closely all my paths.’
12 “But in this, you are not right—
I answer you, for God is greater than a mortal.
13 Why do you contend against Him
that He does not answer all His words.
14 Indeed, God speaks once, even twice,
yet no one perceives it.
15 “In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls on men, as they slumber in bed,
16 Then He opens the ears of men
and seals their instruction,
17 in order to turn a man from his conduct
and to cover a person’s pride.
18 He spares his soul from the Pit
and his life from perishing by the sword.
19 Or a person is chastened with pain on his bed,
with continual strife in his bones,
20 so that his life loathes bread,
and his soul, desirable food.
21 His flesh wastes away from sight,
and his bones, once unseen, now stick out.
22 His soul draws near to the Pit
and his life to the messengers of death.
23 “If there is an angel beside him, a messenger, one out of a thousand,
to declare to a man his uprightness,
24 then He is gracious to him, and says
‘Deliver him from going down to the Pit—
I have found a ransom;’
25 let his flesh be restored like a child’s;
let him return to the days of his youth.’
26 He entreats God and is accepted by Him;
he sees His face with a shout of joy;
He restores to the man his righteousness.
27 He sings to others, saying,
‘I have sinned and perverted what is right,
but I did not get what I deserved.
28 He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit,
and my life sees the light.’
29 “Indeed, God does all these things,
twice, even three times with a man,
30 to bring his soul back from the Pit,
that he may be illuminated with the light of life.
31 Pay attention, Job, listen to me;
Be silent, and I will speak.
32 If you have anything to say, answer me.
Speak, for I want to justify you.
33 If not, then listen to me.
Be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”
Job 33
King James Version
33 Wherefore, Job, I pray thee, hear my speeches, and hearken to all my words.
2 Behold, now I have opened my mouth, my tongue hath spoken in my mouth.
3 My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart: and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly.
4 The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.
5 If thou canst answer me, set thy words in order before me, stand up.
6 Behold, I am according to thy wish in God's stead: I also am formed out of the clay.
7 Behold, my terror shall not make thee afraid, neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee.
8 Surely thou hast spoken in mine hearing, and I have heard the voice of thy words, saying,
9 I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me.
10 Behold, he findeth occasions against me, he counteth me for his enemy,
11 He putteth my feet in the stocks, he marketh all my paths.
12 Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man.
13 Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters.
14 For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;
16 Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction,
17 That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.
18 He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.
19 He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain:
20 So that his life abhorreth bread, and his soul dainty meat.
21 His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; and his bones that were not seen stick out.
22 Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroyers.
23 If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his uprightness:
24 Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.
25 His flesh shall be fresher than a child's: he shall return to the days of his youth:
26 He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness.
27 He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not;
28 He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light.
29 Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man,
30 To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living.
31 Mark well, O Job, hearken unto me: hold thy peace, and I will speak.
32 If thou hast anything to say, answer me: speak, for I desire to justify thee.
33 If not, hearken unto me: hold thy peace, and I shall teach thee wisdom.
Job 33
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 33
1 Therefore, O Job, hear my discourse;
listen to all my words.
2 Behold, now I open my mouth;
my tongue and voice form words.
3 I will state directly what is in my mind,
my lips shall speak knowledge clearly;
4 For the spirit of God made me,
the breath of the Almighty keeps me alive.(A)
5 If you are able, refute me;
draw up your arguments and take your stand.
6 Look, I am like you before God,
I too was pinched from clay.[a](B)
7 Therefore fear of me should not dismay you,
nor should I weigh heavily upon you.
8 But you have said in my hearing,
as I listened to the sound of your words:
9 “I am clean, without transgression;
I am innocent, there is no guilt in me.(C)
10 Yet he invents pretexts against me
and counts me as an enemy.[b](D)
11 He puts my feet in the stocks,
watches all my paths!”(E)
12 In this you are not just, let me tell you;
for God is greater than mortals.
13 Why, then, do you make complaint against him
that he gives no reply to their words?(F)
14 For God does speak, once,
even twice, though you do not see it:[c]
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls upon mortals
as they slumber in their beds.
16 It is then he opens their ears
and with a warning, terrifies them,
17 By turning mortals from acting
and keeping pride away from a man,
18 He holds his soul from the pit,
his life from passing to the grave.
19 Or he is chastened on a bed of pain,
suffering continually in his bones,
20 So that to his appetite food is repulsive,
his throat rejects the choicest nourishment.(G)
21 His flesh is wasted, it cannot be seen;
bones, once invisible, appear;
22 His soul draws near to the pit,
his life to the place of the dead.
23 If then there be a divine messenger,[d]
a mediator, one out of a thousand,
to show him what is right,
24 He will take pity on him and say,
“Deliver him from going down to the pit;
I have found him a ransom.”
25 Then his flesh shall become soft as a boy’s;
he shall be again as in the days of his youth.
26 He shall pray and God will favor him;
he shall see God’s face with rejoicing;(H)
for he restores a person’s righteousness.
27 He shall sing before all and say,
“I sinned and did wrong,
yet I was not punished accordingly.
28 He delivered me from passing to the pit,
and my life sees light.”
29 See, all these things God does,
two, even three times, for a man,
30 Bringing back his soul from the pit
to the light, in the light of the living.
31 Be attentive, Job, listen to me!
Be silent and I will speak.
32 If you have anything to say, then answer me.
Speak out! I should like to see you justified.
33 If not, then you listen to me;
be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.
Footnotes
- 33:6 Pinched from clay: a reference to the tradition that human beings were made from clay; cf. Gn 2:7; Jb 10:9; Is 64:7.
- 33:10 Enemy: see note on 1:1; cf. 13:24.
- 33:14 Elihu asserts that God speaks through warning in dream and also through pain. However, his presupposition is that the restored person admits sinfulness (v. 27). This of course is not relevant to Job’s situation.
- 33:23 Divine messenger: or “angel,” one of the thousands who serve as mediators.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.