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Job’s Final Defense Continued
31 “I made a covenant with my eyes,
so[a] how could I look closely upon a virgin?
2 And what is the portion of God from above
or[b] the heritage of Shaddai from on high?
3 Is not disaster for the evil one
and ruin for the workers of mischief?
4 Does he not see my ways
and count all my steps?
5 “If I have walked with falseness,
and my foot has hastened to deceit,
6 let him weigh me in the balance of justice,
and let God know my blamelessness.
7 If my steps have turned aside from the way,
and my heart has walked after my eyes,
and my hand has clung to a spot,
8 let me sow, and let another eat,
and let my crops be rooted out.
9 “If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
and at my neighbor’s doorway I have lain in wait,
10 let my wife grind for another,
and let other men kneel over her,
11 for that is a shameful act,
and that is a criminal offense.[c]
12 Indeed, that is a fire that will consume up to Abaddon,
and it would uproot all my crop.
13 “If I have rejected my male or[d] female slave’s case
when their complaint was against me,
14 then[e] what shall I do when God rises up?
And when he enquires, how shall I answer him?
15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?
16 “If I have withheld the desire of the poor from them,
or[f] I have caused the widow’s eyes to fail,
17 or I have eaten my morsel alone,[g]
and the orphan has not eaten from it
18 (for from my childhood he[h] grew up with[i] me like a father,
and from my mother’s womb I guided her[j]),
19 if I have seen the one who perishes because of no clothing
or[k] that there is no covering for the poor,
20 if his loins have not blessed me,
or[l] by means of my sheep’s fleece he has warmed himself,
21 if I have raised my hand against an orphan
because I saw my supporters at the gate,
22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.
23 Indeed, the disaster from God was a dread for me,
and I was powerless[m] because of his majesty.
24 “If I have made gold my trust,
or[n] I have called fine gold my security,
25 if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great
or[o] because my hand found a fortune,
26 if I looked at the sun when it shone
or[p] at the moon moving in splendor,
27 and I was secretly enticed,[q]
and my hand threw them a kiss,[r]
28 this also is an iniquity to be judged,
for I have deceived God above.
29 “If I have rejoiced at the ruin of the one who hated me
or[s] have exulted when evil overtook him—
30 no,[t] I have not allowed my mouth to sin,
to ask his life with a curse.
31 Have the people of my tent not said,[u]
‘O that[v] someone[w] had not been satisfied with his meat’?
32 An alien has not lodged in the street;
I have opened my door to the traveler.
33 Have I concealed[x] my transgressions as other human beings
to hide my iniquity in my bosom
34 because I dreaded the great multitude,
and the contempt of clans terrified me,
so that I kept quiet, I did not go out of the doorway?
35 O that[y] I had[z] someone hearing me!
Here is my signature;
let Shaddai answer me!
As for[aa] the written communication that my adversary[ab] has written,
36 I would surely[ac] carry it on my shoulder;
I would bind it on me like a crown.
37 I would give him an account of my steps;
I would approach him like a noble.
38 If my land has cried out against me,
and its furrows have wept together,
39 if I have eaten its yield without payment,
or[ad] I have caused the breath of its owners to die,
40 let thorns grow in place of wheat
and noxious weeds in place of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
Elihu Rebukes Job and His Three Friends
32 Then these three men ceased from answering Job because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 So Elihu the son of Barakel the Buzite, from the clan of Ram, became angry.[ae] He became angry[af] at Job because he justified himself rather than God, 3 and he became angry[ag] at his three friends because they had not found an answer, and they had declared Job guilty. 4 Thus Elihu had waited for Job to speak[ah] because they were older than he.[ai] 5 When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, he became angry.[aj] 6 Then Elihu the son of Barakel the Buzite spoke up[ak] and said,
“I am young,[al] but[am] you[an] are old;
therefore I feared and became afraid of explaining my knowledge to you.[ao]
7 I thought,[ap] ‘Let days[aq] speak,
and let many years teach wisdom.’
8 “Truly, it is a spirit in a human being,
and the breath of Shaddai teaches them.
9 It is not the aged[ar] who are wise,
or[as] it is not the elders who understand justice.
10 Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;
let me also declare my knowledge myself.’
11 “Look, I waited for your[at] words;
I listened for your[au] insight,
until you searched out what to say.[av]
12 And I directed my attention to you;[aw]
and, look, there is no one for Job who refuted,
answering his words among you.
13 So do not say, ‘We have found wisdom;
let God refute him, not a man.’
14 But[ax] he did not direct his words[ay] to me,
and I will not answer him with your[az] words.
15 “They are dismayed; they no longer answer;
they have nothing to say.[ba]
16 And I have waited because they do not speak,
because they stand there and no longer answer.
17 I myself will answer my share also;
I myself will declare my knowledge also,
18 for I am full of words;[bb]
the spirit within me[bc] urges me.
19 “Look, my internal organs are like unopened wine,
like new wineskins it[bd] is ready to burst open.
20 Let me speak that I may find relief;[be]
let me open my lips, and let me answer.
21 Please let me not show partiality to anyone,[bf]
and let me not show flattery to human beings,
22 for I do not know how to flatter,[bg]
else my Maker would soon[bh] put an end to me.
Elihu Rebukes Job
33 “But now, please hear my speeches,[bi] Job,
and hear[bj] all my words.
2 Please look, I open my mouth;
my tongue in my mouth speaks.
3 My words declare my heart’s uprightness,
and my lips sincerely speak what my lips know.[bk]
4 The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of Shaddai gives life to me.
5 “If you are able, answer me.
Present your argument before me;[bl] take your stand.
6 Look, before God I am like you;[bm]
I myself was also formed from clay.
7 Look, dread of me should not terrify you,
and my hand will not be heavy upon you.
8 “Surely you have spoken in my ears,
and I have heard the sound of your words:[bn]
9 ‘I am clean, without transgression;
I am pure, and there is no guilt in me.
10 Look, he finds fault against me;
he reckons me as his enemy;
11 he puts my feet in the block;
he watches all my paths.’
12 “Look, in this you are not right—I will answer you:
Indeed, God is greater than a human being.
13 Why do you contend against him,
that he will not answer all a person’s words?
14 Indeed, God speaks in one way,
even[bo] in two,[bp] yet someone does not perceive it.
15 “In a dream, a vision of the night,
when a deep sleep falls on men slumbering on their bed,
16 then he opens the ear of men,
and he frightens them with a warning[bq]
17 to turn human beings aside from their deeds,
and he keeps man from pride.
18 He spares his life from the pit
and his life from passing over the river of death.
19 “And he is reproved with pain on his bed,
even[br] with the strife of his bones continually,
20 so that[bs] his life loathes bread,
and his inner self[bt] loathes appetizing food.[bu]
21 His flesh is wasted away from sight,
and his bones, which are invisible, are bared.
22 And he[bv] draws near to the pit
and his life to the killers.
23 “If there is a messenger beside him, a mediator, one of a thousand,[bw]
to declare to a human being his uprightness
24 so that[bx] he is gracious to him, and he says,
‘Deliver him from descending into the pit;
I have found a ransom.’
25 His flesh is renewed with his youth;
he returns to the days of his youthful strength.
26 He prays to God, then he accepts him,
and he sees his face with a shout of joy,
and he repays to the human being his righteousness.
27 “He will sing to men, and he will say,
‘I have sinned and have perverted what is right,
and it was not paid back to me.
28 He redeemed my life from going down into the pit,
so[by] I will enjoy the light.’[bz]
29 Look, God does all these things
twice, three times[ca] with a person
30 to bring his life back from the pit
so that he may enjoy the light of life.[cb]
31 “Listen attentively, Job; listen to me;
be silent, and I will speak.
32 If you have anything to say,[cc] answer me;[cd]
speak, for I desire to justify you.[ce]
33 If not, you listen to me;
be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”
New Covenant Ministry
3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we, like some, need letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You are our letter, inscribed on our hearts, known and read by all people, 3 revealing that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, inscribed not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets but on tablets of human hearts.
4 Now we possess such confidence through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, 6 who also makes us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
7 But if the ministry of death in letters carved on stone came with glory, so that the sons of Israel were not able to look intently into the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, which was transitory, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be even more with glory? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, by much more will the ministry of righteousness overflow with glory. 10 For indeed what had been glorified has not been glorified in this case, on account of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was transitory came with glory, by much more what remains is with glory.
12 Therefore, because we[a] have such a hope, we use much boldness, 13 and not as Moses used to place a veil over his face, in order that the sons of Israel would not stare at the end of what was transitory. 14 But their minds were hardened. For until this very day, the same veil remains upon the reading of the old covenant, not being uncovered, because it is done away with in Christ. 15 But until today, whenever Moses is read aloud, a veil lies upon their heart, 16 but whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, reflecting[b] the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory into glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
A Prayer for Rescue
43 Judge me, O God, and plead my case
against[a] an unfaithful[b] nation.
From a man of deceit and wickedness rescue me,
2 because you are the God of my refuge.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 Send your light and your truth;
they shall lead[c] me.
They shall bring me to your holy mountain[d]
and to your dwelling places.
4 Then[e] I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my surpassing joy,[f]
and I will praise you with lyre,
O God, my God.
5 Why are you in despair,[g] O my soul?
And why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God, because I will again praise him,
my salvation[h] and my God.
8 He who sows injustice will reap calamity,
and the rod of his anger will fail.
9 He who is generous[a] will be blessed,
for he gives to the poor from his own bread.
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