Beginning

32 The three men refused to reply further to Job because he kept insisting on his innocence.

² Then Elihu (son of Barachel, the Buzite, of the clan of Ram) became angry because Job refused to admit he had sinned and to acknowledge that God had just cause for punishing him. ³ But he was also angry with Job’s three friends because they had been unable to answer Job’s arguments and yet had condemned him. ⁴ Elihu had waited until now to speak because the others were older than he.

⁵ But when he saw that they had no further reply, he spoke out angrily, ⁶ and said, “I am young and you are old, so I held back and did not dare to tell you what I think, ⁷ for those who are older are said to be wiser; ^8-9 but it is not mere age that makes men wise. Rather, it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty that makes him intelligent. ¹⁰ So listen to me awhile and let me express my opinion.

^11-12 “I have waited all this time, listening very carefully to your arguments, but not one of them has convinced Job that he is a sinner or has proved that he is. ¹³ And don’t give me that line about ‘only God can convince the sinner of his sin.’ ¹⁴ If Job had been arguing with me, I would not answer with that kind of logic!

¹⁵ “You sit there baffled, with no further replies. ¹⁶ Shall I then continue to wait when you are silent? ¹⁷ No, I will give my answer too. ¹⁸ For I am pent up and full of words, and the spirit within me urges me on. ¹⁹ I am like a wine cask without a vent! My words are ready to burst out! ²⁰ I must speak to find relief, so let me give my answers. ^21-22 Don’t insist that I be cautious lest I insult someone, and don’t make me flatter anyone. Let me be frank lest God should strike me dead.

33 “Please listen, Job, to what I have to say. ² I have begun to speak; now let me continue. ³ I will speak the truth with all sincerity. ⁴ For the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. ⁵ Don’t hesitate to answer me if you can.

⁶ “Look, I am the one you were wishing for, someone to stand between you and God and to be both his representative and yours. ⁷ You need not be frightened of me. I am not some person of renown to make you nervous and afraid. I, too, am made of common clay.

⁸ “You have said it in my hearing, yes, you’ve said it again and again— ⁹ ‘I am pure, I am innocent; I have not sinned.’ ¹⁰ You say God is using a fine-tooth comb to try to find a single fault, and so to count you as his enemy. ¹¹ ‘And he puts my feet in the stocks,’ you say, ‘and watches every move I make.’

¹² “All right, here is my reply: In this very thing, you have sinned by speaking of God that way. For God is greater than man. ¹³ Why should you fight against him just because he does not give account to you of what he does?

¹⁴ “For God speaks again and again, ¹⁵ in dreams, in visions of the night when deep sleep falls on men as they lie on their beds. ¹⁶ He opens their ears in times like that and gives them wisdom and instruction, ^17-18 causing them to change their minds, and keeping them from pride, and warning them of the penalties of sin, and keeping them from falling into some trap.

¹⁹ “Or God sends sickness and pain, even though no bone is broken, ²⁰ so that a man loses all taste and appetite for food and doesn’t care for even the daintiest dessert. ²¹ He becomes thin, mere skin and bones, ²² and draws near to death.

^23-24 “But if a messenger from heaven is there to intercede for him as a friend, to show him what is right, then God pities him and says,^[a] ‘Set him free. Do not make him die, for I have found a substitute.’ ²⁵ Then his body will become as healthy as a child’s, firm and youthful again. ²⁶ And when he prays to God, God will hear and answer and receive him with joy, and return him to his duties. ²⁷ And he will declare to his friends, ‘I sinned, but God let me go. ²⁸ He did not let me die. I will go on living in the realm of light.’

²⁹ “Yes, God often does these things for man— ³⁰ brings back his soul from the pit, so that he may live in the light of the living. ³¹ Mark this well, O Job. Listen to me, and let me say more. ³² But if you have anything to say at this point, go ahead. I want to hear it, for I am anxious to justify you. ³³ But if not, then listen to me. Keep silence and I will teach you wisdom!”

34 Elihu continued:

² “Listen to me, you wise men. ³ We can choose the sounds we want to listen to; we can choose the taste we want in food, ⁴ and we should choose to follow what is right. But first of all we must define among ourselves what is good. ⁵ For Job has said, ‘I am innocent, but God says I’m not. ⁶ I am called a liar, even though I am innocent. I am horribly punished, even though I have not sinned.’

^7-8 “Who else is as arrogant as Job? He must have spent much time with evil men, ⁹ for he said, ‘Why waste time trying to please God?’

¹⁰ “Listen to me, you with understanding. Surely everyone knows that God doesn’t sin! ¹¹ Rather, he punishes the sinners. ¹² There is no truer statement than this: God is never wicked or unjust. ¹³ He alone has authority over the earth and dispenses justice for the world. ¹⁴ If God were to withdraw his Spirit, ¹⁵ all life would disappear and mankind would turn again to dust.

¹⁶ “Listen now and try to understand. ¹⁷ Could God govern if he hated justice? Are you going to condemn the Almighty Judge? ¹⁸ Are you going to condemn this God who says to kings and nobles, ‘You are wicked and unjust’? ¹⁹ For he doesn’t care how great a man may be, and doesn’t pay any more attention to the rich than to the poor. He made them all. ²⁰ In a moment they die, and at midnight great and small shall suddenly pass away, removed by no human hand.

²¹ “For God carefully watches the goings on of all mankind; he sees them all. ²² No darkness is thick enough to hide evil men from his eyes, ²³ so there is no need to wait for some great crime before a man is called before God in judgment. ²⁴ Without making a big issue over it, God simply shatters the greatest of men and puts others in their places. ²⁵ He watches what they do and in a single night he overturns them, destroying them, ²⁶ or openly strikes them down as wicked men. ²⁷ For they turned aside from following him, ²⁸ causing the cry of the poor to come to the attention of God. Yes, he hears the cries of those being oppressed. ^29-30 Yet when he chooses not to speak, who can criticize? Again, he may prevent a vile man from ruling, thus saving a nation from ruin, and he can depose an entire nation just as easily.

³¹ “Why don’t people exclaim to their God, ‘We have sinned, but we will stop,’ ³² or ‘We know not what evil we have done; only tell us, and we will cease at once’?

³³ “Must God tailor his justice to your demands? Must he change the order of the universe to suit your whims? The answer must be obvious even to you! ^34-35 Anyone even half bright will agree with me that you, Job, are speaking like a fool. ³⁶ You should be given the maximum penalty for the wicked way you have talked about God. ³⁷ For now you have added rebellion, arrogance, and blasphemy to your other sins.”