Job 34
Dios Habla Hoy
Segundo discurso de Elihú
34 Ustedes, sabios e instruidos,
escuchen mis palabras.
3 El oído distingue las palabras,
igual que el paladar reconoce los sabores.
4 Así también, examinemos nosotros el caso
y decidamos lo que nos parezca mejor.
5 Job afirma: «Yo soy inocente,
pero Dios se niega a hacerme justicia.
6 Sería una mentira el admitir que soy culpable;
mi herida no sana, aun cuando no he pecado.»
7 ¡No hay nadie como Job!
Se burla de Dios como quien bebe agua;
8 le gusta juntarse con los malvados,
andar con la gente mala.
9 Dice que nada gana el hombre
con tratar de agradar a Dios.
10 Pero ustedes, gente sensata, escúchenme.
¡Ni pensar que Dios, el Todopoderoso,
haga el mal o cometa injusticias!
11 Él paga a cada uno según sus obras;
hace que cada cual reciba lo que merece.
12 En verdad, Dios, el Todopoderoso,
no hace nada malo ni injusto;
13 de nadie recibió el poder
para gobernar al mundo entero.
14-15 Si les quita a los hombres
el aliento de vida,
todos ellos mueren por igual
y otra vez vuelven al polvo.
16 Si tú eres sensato, escúchame;
pon atención a mis palabras.
17 Si Dios odiara la justicia, no podría gobernar.
¿Cómo puedes condenar a quien es inmensamente justo?
18 Si los reyes y los nobles son malvados,
Dios no duda en echárselo en cara.
19 Él no se pone de parte de los gobernantes,
ni favorece más a los ricos que a los pobres,
pues él fue quien los hizo a todos.
20 Los hombres mueren en un instante,
en medio de la noche;
la gente se alborota y desaparece;
el poderoso es eliminado sin esfuerzo humano.
21 Dios vigila los pasos del hombre
y conoce todas sus andanzas.
22 No hay tinieblas tan oscuras
que puedan ocultar a un malhechor.
23 Dios no fija un plazo al hombre
para que se presente ante él a juicio.
24 No necesita investigar
para derribar a los grandes
y dar a otros su lugar.
25 Dios conoce lo que hacen,
llega de noche y los destroza.
26 Los azota como a criminales,
a la vista de todos,
27 porque no quisieron obedecerle
ni aceptar sus normas de conducta.
28 Hicieron que los gritos de los pobres y oprimidos
llegaran hasta Dios, y él los escuchó.
29 Pero si Dios calla, ¿quién podrá condenarlo?
Si oculta su rostro, ¿quién podrá verlo?
Él vigila a pueblos e individuos
30 para que no gobierne al pueblo
un malvado que lo engañe.
31 ¿Acaso le has dicho a Dios:
«Me dejé engañar; no volveré a pecar.
32 Muéstrame las faltas que yo no veo.
Si he actuado mal, no lo volveré a hacer»?
33 ¿Acaso quieres que Dios te recompense
como mejor te parezca,
aunque tú lo hayas rechazado?
Ya que eres tú quien decide, y no yo,
dinos lo que sabes.
34 Los hombres sabios que me escuchan,
y las personas sensatas, me dirán:
35 «Job está hablando sin saber;
sus palabras no tienen sentido.
36 ¡Que se examine a fondo a Job,
pues sus respuestas son las de un malvado!
37 Job no sólo es pecador, sino rebelde;
delante de nosotros se burla de Dios
y se pone a discutir con él.»
Job 34
EasyEnglish Bible
Elihu continues to speak[a]
34 Elihu continued speaking and he said this:
2 ‘You men who are so wise and who know so much,
listen to me.
Hear what I have to say.
3 You recognize nice food when you eat it.
So you should recognize the value of my words.
4 We should decide among ourselves what is right.
We should agree together what is good.
5 Job has said, “I am not guilty.
But God refuses to judge me in a fair way.
6 I am right,
but nobody believes me.
I have not done anything wrong,
but I am suffering
and I am near to death.”
7 There has never been a man like Job!
He laughs at God as easily as he drinks water.
8 He is a friend of wicked people,
and people who do evil things.
9 Job says, “If anyone tries to please God,
it does not help them at all.”
10 So listen to me, you men who understand so much.
Almighty God can never do anything that is wrong or wicked!
11 He judges people fairly
as he sees the things that they do.
He gives people what they deserve.
12 It is true! Almighty God does not do wicked things.
He never refuses to judge people in a fair way.
13 God's great power did not come from anyone else!
He himself has authority over the whole world.
14 God could decide to remove life from the world.
He could take back his spirit and his breath.
15 If he did that, everyone that is alive would die.
As humans, we would become dirt again.[b]
16 If you really understand things, Job, listen to me.
Hear what I have to say.
17 If God refused to do what is right,
he could not rule the world.
He is the powerful Judge who knows what is right.
But you say that he is guilty!
18 It is God who may say to a king, “You are useless!”
He may say to rulers, “You are wicked!”
19 God created everyone.
He is not more kind to important people
than he is to other people.
He does not help rich people
more than he helps poor people.
20 Anyone may die suddenly,
in the middle of the night.
God may shake them, so that they die.
He easily removes even the most powerful people.
21 He watches the way that each person lives.
He sees what they do every day.
22 People who do wicked things cannot hide themselves.
There is no place dark enough for them to hide from God.
23 God does not have to tell people when they must come to him,
so that he can judge them.
24 He destroys powerful people,
and he chooses other people to take their place.
He does not have to ask them anything.
25 He already knows the things that they have done.
In the night, he removes their power,
and he destroys them.
26 He punishes them
because they have done wicked things.
He does that where everyone can see.
27 Those powerful people have turned away from God.
They have not respected his commands.
28 They were cruel to poor people,
so that God saw what was happening.
God heard those poor people
when they called to him for help.
29 But if God decides to do nothing,
no one can say that he is wrong.
If he hides himself, no one can see him.
But he still rules over people and over nations.
30 God does not let men rule,
if they do not respect his ways.
He stops them from causing trouble to the people.
31 Someone could say to God, “I am guilty,
and I have received my punishment.
But I will not do any more wrong things.
32 Show me the sins that I have done
when I did not know about them.
If I have done wrong things,
I will not do them again.”
33 But you, Job, refuse to accept God's justice.
Do you expect God to do what you think is right?
But you must choose what you will say.
I cannot decide for you.
So tell us what you are thinking now.
34 Wise people will agree with me.
When they hear my words, they will say,
35 “Job speaks like a fool who knows nothing.
He only says useless things.”
36 Yes Job, you speak to us like a wicked person.
So you should continue to suffer for ever!
37 You have not only done wrong things,
you have also turned against God.
You have shown that you do not respect us.
You have said many things that insult God.’
Footnotes
- 34:1 Elihu speaks to Job's friends (verse 2), as well as to Job himself (verses 7 to 9). Then he says that God cannot do anything wrong (verse 12). God is powerful but he is always fair (verse 17). God knows everything (verses 21 to 23). Job has not said sorry to God. So Elihu says that God will not forgive him. None of these things helps Job to understand why bad things have happened to him.
- 34:15 See Genesis 2:7.
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