Job 35
The Voice
35 Elihu continued advising.
2 Elihu: Job, is this your idea of justice,
that you would say, “My righteousness exceeds God’s”?
3 For you say something like, “What good does it do You if I do right?
What is in it for me if I don’t sin?”
4 I will return your words with my own,
and I will answer your friends with you.
5 Look at the skies above and take notice.
See how high the clouds are—they are so far above you!
6 Surely, if the clouds maintain such a distance,
one must wonder: how high up and far away is God?
If you sin, how much have you really accomplished against Him?
If you pile up your sins, if you stack them high, what does it do to Him?
7 Likewise, if you are righteous, what does that confer to Him,
or what gift does He receive from your outstretched hand of righteous generosity?
8 Listen! Your wickedness affects your own kind,
and your righteousness only helps other human beings.
9 People call out to God when they feel the crush of oppression.
They implore Him for deliverance from the strong hand of tyranny.
10 But none of them pleads in this way: “Where is God, my Creator,
who gives songs of comfort in the silence and suffering of night,
11 Who enlightens us more than the animals of the field,
who instructs us in wisdom more than the birds of the air?”
12 And so, in the absence of such prayers,
God does not answer the cries of the people
because they cry with the arrogance of the wicked.
13 Indeed, God does not hear the vain and empty cry,
nor does the Highest One[a] pay it any mind.
14 How much less must He hear you—
you who say you cannot see Him,[b]
You who say you have already pled your case before Him
but that you are still waiting for Him.
15 And now, here we are.
Because God has not been swift to punish in His anger,
because He does not concern Himself with great arrogance,[c]
16 Job opens his mouth and out comes empty talk.
Yes, he heaps up words with ignorance.
Job 35
Legacy Standard Bible
Elihu Answers Job
35 Then Elihu answered and said,
2 “Do you think this is according to (A)justice?
Do you say, ‘My righteousness is more than God’s’?
3 For you say, ‘(B)What use will it be to [a]You?
(C)What profit will I have, more than if I had sinned?’
4 I will respond to you,
And your friends with you.
5 (D)Look at the heavens and see;
And perceive (E)the clouds—they are higher than you.
6 If you have sinned, (F)what do you accomplish against Him?
And if your transgressions are many, what do you do to Him?
7 If you are righteous, (G)what do you give to Him,
Or what does He receive from your hand?
8 Your wickedness is for a man like yourself,
And your righteousness is for a son of man.
9 “Because of (H)many oppressions they cry out;
They cry for help because of the arm (I)of many oppressors.
10 But (J)no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker,
Who (K)gives songs of praise in the night,
11 Who (L)teaches us more than the beasts of the earth
And makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’
12 There (M)they cry out, but He does not answer
Because of the pride of evil men.
13 Surely (N)God will not listen to [b]an empty cry,
Nor will the Almighty perceive it.
14 How much less when (O)you say you do not perceive Him,
The (P)case is before Him, and you must wait for Him!
15 And now, because He has not visited in His anger,
Nor has He acknowledged [c]transgression well,
16 So Job opens his mouth vainly;
He multiplies words (Q)without knowledge.”
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
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