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I[a] will reply to you,[b]
and to your friends with you.
Gaze at the heavens and see;
consider the clouds, which are higher than you.[c]
If you sin, how does it affect God?[d]
If your transgressions are many,
what does it do to him?[e]
If you are righteous, what do you give to God,
or what does he receive from your hand?
Your wickedness affects only[f] a person like yourself,
and your righteousness only other people.[g]

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Footnotes

  1. Job 35:4 tn The emphatic pronoun calls attention to Elihu who will answer these questions.
  2. Job 35:4 tn The Hebrew text adds, “with words,” but since this is obvious, for stylistic reasons it has not been included in the translation.
  3. Job 35:5 tn The preposition is taken here as a comparative min (מִן). The line could also read “that are high above you.” This idea has appeared in the speech of Eliphaz (22:12), Zophar (11:7-8), and even Job (9:8-11).
  4. Job 35:6 tn Heb “him” (also in v. 7); the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  5. Job 35:6 tn See Job 7:20.
  6. Job 35:8 tn The phrase “affects only” is supplied in the translation of this nominal sentence.sn According to Strahan, “Elihu exalts God’s greatness at the cost of His grace, His transcendence at the expense of His immanence. He sets up a material instead of a spiritual stand of profit and loss. He does not realize that God does gain what He desires most by the goodness of men, and loses what He most loves by their evil.”
  7. Job 35:8 tn Heb “and to [or for] a son of man, your righteousness.”

I will respond to you,
And your friends with you.
(A)Look at the heavens and see;
And perceive (B)the clouds—they are higher than you.
If you have sinned, (C)what do you accomplish against Him?
And if your transgressions are many, what do you do to Him?
If you are righteous, (D)what do you give to Him,
Or what does He receive from your hand?
Your wickedness is for a man like yourself,
And your righteousness is for a son of man.

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