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34 Then Elihu continued,[a] saying:
2 Hear my words, you wise men,
and listen to me, you knowledgeable ones.
3 Doesn’t the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?
4 Let us judge for ourselves what is right;
let us decide together what is good.
5 For Job has declared, “I am righteous,
yet God has deprived me of justice.(A)
6 Would I lie about my case?(B)
My wound[b] is incurable,
though I am without transgression.”
7 What man is like Job?
He drinks derision(C) like water.
8 He keeps company with evildoers
and walks with wicked men.
9 For he has said, “A man gains nothing
when he becomes God’s friend.”(D)
10 Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding.
It is impossible for God to do wrong,
and for the Almighty to act unjustly.(E)
11 For He repays(F) a person according to his deeds,
and He brings his ways on him.
12 Indeed, it is true that God does not act wickedly
and the Almighty does not pervert justice.(G)
13 Who gave Him authority over the earth?
Who put Him in charge of the entire world?(H)
14 If He put His mind to it
and withdrew the spirit(I) and breath He gave,
15 every living thing would perish together
and mankind would return to the dust.(J)
16 If you have understanding, hear this;
listen to what I have to say.
17 Could one who hates justice govern the world?
Will you condemn the mighty Righteous One,(K)
18 who says to a king, “Worthless man!”
and to nobles, “Wicked men!”?(L)
19 God is not partial(M) to princes
and does not favor the rich over the poor,
for they are all the work of His hands.
20 They die suddenly in the middle of the night;
people shudder, then pass away.
Even the mighty are removed without effort.
21 For His eyes watch over a man’s ways,
and He observes all his steps.(N)
22 There is no darkness, no deep darkness,
where evildoers can hide themselves.(O)
23 God does not need to examine a person further,
that one should[c] approach Him in court.
24 He shatters the mighty without an investigation
and sets others in their place.(P)
25 Therefore, He recognizes their deeds(Q)
and overthrows them by night, and they are crushed.
26 In full view of the public,[d]
He strikes them for their wickedness,
27 because they turned aside from following Him
and did not understand any of His ways
28 but caused the poor to cry out to Him,
and He heard the outcry of the afflicted.(R)
29 But when God is silent, who can declare Him guilty?
When He hides His face, who can see Him?
Yet He watches over both individuals and nations,
30 so that godless men should not rule
or ensnare the people.
31 Suppose someone says to God,
“I have endured my punishment;
I will no longer act wickedly.
32 Teach me what I cannot see;
if I have done wrong, I won’t do it again.”
33 Should God repay you on your terms
when you have rejected His?
You must choose, not I!
So declare what you know.
34 Reasonable men will say to me,
along with the wise men who hear me,
35 “Job speaks without knowledge;(S)
his words are without insight.”
36 If only Job were tested to the limit,
because his answers are like those of wicked men.
37 For he adds rebellion to his sin;
he scornfully claps(T) in our presence,
while multiplying(U) his words against God.
35 Then Elihu continued, saying:
2 Do you think it is just when you say,
“I am righteous before God”?
3 For you ask, “What does it profit You,[e]
and what benefit comes to me, if I do not sin?”(V)
4 I will answer you
and your friends with you.
5 Look at the heavens and see;
gaze at the clouds high above you.
6 If you sin, how does it affect God?
If you multiply your transgressions, what does it do to Him?
7 If you are righteous, what do you give Him,
or what does He receive from your hand?(W)
8 Your wickedness affects a person like yourself,
and your righteousness another human being.
9 People cry out because of severe oppression;
they shout for help because of the arm of the mighty.(X)
10 But no one asks, “Where is God my Maker,(Y)
who provides us with songs in the night,(Z)
11 who gives us more understanding than the animals of the earth
and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?”(AA)
12 There they cry out, but He does not answer,
because of the pride of evil men.(AB)
13 Indeed, God does not listen to empty cries,
and the Almighty does not take note of it—
14 how much less when[f] you complain[g]
that you do not see Him,
that your case(AC) is before Him
and you are waiting(AD) for Him.
15 But now, because God’s anger does not punish
and He does not pay attention to transgression,[h]
16 Job opens his mouth in vain
and multiplies words without knowledge.(AE)
36 Then Elihu continued, saying:
2 Be patient with me a little longer, and I will inform you,
for there is still more to be said on God’s behalf.
3 I will get my knowledge from a distant place
and ascribe justice to my Maker.
4 For my arguments are without flaw;[i]
one who has perfect knowledge is with you.
5 Yes, God is mighty, but He despises no one;
He understands all things.[j](AF)
6 He does not keep the wicked alive,(AG)
but He gives justice to the afflicted.
7 He does not remove His gaze from the righteous,
but He seats them forever with enthroned kings,
and they are exalted.
8 If people are bound with chains
and trapped by the cords of affliction,
9 God tells them what they have done
and how arrogantly they have transgressed.
10 He opens their ears(AH) to correction
and insists they repent from iniquity.
11 If they serve Him obediently,
they will end their days in prosperity
and their years in happiness.(AI)
12 But if they do not obey,
they will cross the river of death[k]
and die without knowledge.(AJ)
13 Those who have a godless heart harbor anger;
even when God binds them, they do not cry for help.
14 They die in their youth;
their life ends among male cult prostitutes.(AK)
15 God rescues the afflicted by their affliction;
He instructs them by their torment.
16 Indeed, He lured you from the jaws[l] of distress
to a spacious and unconfined place.
Your table was spread with choice food.
17 Yet now you are obsessed with the judgment due the wicked;
judgment and justice have seized you.
18 Be careful that no one lures you with riches;[m]
do not let a large ransom[n] lead you astray.(AL)
19 Can your wealth[o] or all your physical exertion
keep you from distress?(AM)
20 Do not long for the night
when nations will disappear from their places.
21 Be careful that you do not turn to iniquity,
for that is why you have been tested by[p] affliction.
22 Look, God shows Himself exalted by His power.
Who is a teacher like Him?
23 Who has appointed His way for Him,
and who has declared, “You have done wrong”?(AN)
24 Remember that you should praise His work,
which people have sung about.(AO)
25 All mankind has seen it;
people have looked at it from a distance.(AP)
26 Yes, God is exalted beyond our knowledge;(AQ)
the number of His years cannot be counted.(AR)
27 For He makes waterdrops evaporate;[q]
they distill the rain into its[r] mist,(AS)
28 which the clouds pour out
and shower abundantly on mankind.
29 Can anyone understand how the clouds spread out
or how the thunder roars from God’s pavilion?(AT)
30 See how He spreads His lightning(AU) around Him
and covers the depths of the sea.
31 For He judges the nations with these;
He gives food in abundance.(AV)
32 He covers His hands with lightning
and commands it to hit its mark.
33 The[s] thunder declares His presence;[t]
the cattle also, the approaching storm.
The Light of the Gospel
4 Therefore, since we have this ministry because we were shown mercy,(A) we do not give up.(B) 2 Instead, we have renounced shameful secret things, not walking(C) in deceit or distorting God’s message,(D) but commending ourselves to every person’s conscience in God’s sight by an open display of the truth.(E) 3 But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case, the god of this age(F) has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,[a](G) who is the image of God.(H) 5 For we are not proclaiming ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord,(I) and ourselves as your slaves because of Jesus. 6 For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”(J) has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge(K) of God’s glory(L) in the face of Jesus Christ.
Treasure in Clay Jars
7 Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power(M) may be from God and not from us. 8 We are pressured in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; 9 we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. 10 We always carry the death of Jesus(N) in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who live are always given over to death(O) because of Jesus, so that Jesus’ life may also be revealed in our mortal flesh. 12 So death works in us, but life in you.
Psalm 44
Israel’s Complaint
For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.
1 God, we have heard with our ears—
our ancestors have told us—
the work You accomplished in their days,
in days long ago:(A)
2 to plant them,
You drove out the nations with Your hand;
to settle them,
You crushed the peoples.(B)
3 For they did not take the land by their sword—
their arm did not bring them victory—
but by Your right hand, Your arm,
and the light of Your face,
for You were pleased with them.(C)
4 You are my King, my God,
who ordains[a] victories for Jacob.(D)
5 Through You we drive back our foes;
through Your name we trample our enemies.(E)
6 For I do not trust in my bow,
and my sword does not bring me victory.(F)
7 But You give us victory over our foes
and let those who hate us be disgraced.(G)
8 We boast in God all day long;
we will praise Your name forever.(H)
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