Old/New Testament
34 Job remained silent, so Elihu continued.
2 Elihu: Hear my words, you men of wisdom;
listen to me, learned ones:
3 Our ears are capable of testing wisdom of words
the way the roofs of our mouths are capable of tasting food.[a]
4 Let us form a council here then, and decide among us what is right;
let us come together to know what is good in all of this.
5 After all, Job has told us, “I am innocent,
but God has denied my right to a fair hearing.
6 Though I am right, should I lie and claim to be wrong? No.
Let me put it to you simply:
I am gravely wounded as by an arrow,
but I am innocent.”
7 What other man is comparable to Job?
He drinks disdain like water.
8 He is not like the one who runs with the workers of wickedness
and associates himself with evil people.
9 In fact he even suggests, “A person receives no benefit
from pleasing God.”
In his first speech to Job, Elihu has been a cowboy, brazenly calling Job out for his blasphemous words about God. He has not exactly condemned Job as a wicked man; he has condemned Job for his reaction to his suffering and to God. This is unprecedented behavior, since a younger man would never contradict an elder, especially in the presence of other elders. Possibly realizing how disrespectfully he has been acting, and certainly noticing that Job isn’t responding well to his arguments, Elihu begins this second speech with a new approach. He tries to gain the support of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Maybe if other elders are on his side, Elihu can make Job understand that it is wrong to question God, the very Creator of justice.
10 Elihu: So, you men whose hearts have embraced wisdom, listen to me:
far be it from God to commit evil acts;
and from the Highest One[b] to engage in wrongdoing!
11 For He is like an employer
who pays workers according to what they have done;
He makes sure the rewards they receive match their conduct.
12 Oh, unimaginable thought—that God would cause evil!
The Highest One does not pervert justice!
13 Who designated Him as earth’s overseer?
Who placed Him in charge of the entire world?
14 If He made it His aim to do so,
if He recalled to Himself His spirit and His breath,
15 All living creatures would expire as one
and humankind would return to the dust from which He formed them.
16 If you are one of understanding, hear this!
Listen to what I am saying!
17 Can one who despises justice also govern?
And are you willing to render condemnation on the Righteous and Mighty One?
18 Is He not the One who says to the king, “You are worthless,”
and to the exalted nobility, “You are depraved.”
19 Is He not the One who refuses favoritism to royalty
and who will not put rich above poor?
After all, they are all the creations of His very own hands.
20 All of a sudden, in the middle of the night, people perish;
they are shaken, and then they pass away;
the strong and mighty, apart from any human hand, are taken.
21 For God’s eyes are on the paths people choose;
He surveys each of their steps.
22 There is no darkness, no gloomy shadow
in which wrongdoers may hide themselves from Him.
23 God does not need to scrutinize people further
or bring them before Him for judgment.
24 Without need of a lengthy investigation,
He breaks even the mighty into pieces,
and installs others to replace them.
25 And this is because He is already acquainted with their actions.
When the seemingly sudden midnight hour rolls over, they are crushed beneath it.
26 He strikes down people as if they were wicked—
front and center—a display for all to see
27 Simply because they turned from following Him,
because they no longer considered His ways.
28 As a result of their injustice,
the poor cried out to Him
And as you ought to know well,
He always hears the cries of the needy, of the oppressed peoples.
29 If God remains silent, who is fit to raise his voice against Him?
If He chooses to hide His face, who is able to see Him?
This goes for a nation or an individual;
all are the same.
30 A person estranged from God must be prevented from ruling over any nation
and from laying snares for the downfall of a people.
31 Has anyone then said to God,
“I have carried punishment,
but I will not offend again.
32 Teach me and fill in my blind spots,
and if I have done wrong, I will stop and do what is right.”
33 Is God obliged to reward you on your terms
for your personal revolt against Him?
You must decide that, not I.
Tell me, if you know what you believe,
34 People who comprehend such things,
wise folk who hear me say,
35 “Job speaks without knowledge;
his harangues are devoid of insight.”
36 May God try Job to the bitter end,
for he responds as the wicked do
37 And he keeps adding to his sins;
he claps his hands in rebellion in our very midst,
and he multiplies his offensive words against God.
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[c] pay it any mind.
14 How much less must He hear you—
you who say you cannot see Him,[d]
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,[e]
16 Job opens his mouth and out comes empty talk.
Yes, he heaps up words with ignorance.
15 Their peace was disturbed, however, when certain Judeans came with this teaching: “Unless you are circumcised according to Mosaic custom, you cannot be saved.” 2 Paul and Barnabas argued against this teaching and debated with the Judeans vehemently, so the church selected several people—including Paul and Barnabas—to travel to Jerusalem to dialogue about this issue with the apostles and elders there. 3 The church sent them on their way. They passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, stopping to report to the groups of believers there that outsiders were now being converted. This brought great joy to them all. 4 Upon arrival in Jerusalem, the church, the apostles, and the elders welcomed them warmly; and they reported all they had seen God do. 5 But there were some believers present who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees. They stood up and asserted,
Pharisees: No, this is not acceptable. These people must be circumcised, and we must require them to keep the whole Mosaic law.
6 The apostles and elders met privately to discuss how this issue should be resolved. 7 There was a lot of debate, and finally Peter stood up.
These debates give a glimpse of the cultural tensions present between Jewish and Gentile believers throughout the New Testament writings. The early Jewish believers still follow the traditional Jewish practices of Sabbath rest and kosher food. This is fine, until Jewish and Gentile Christians must share a table. How can they be truly unified as one church without being able to sit down together for a meal? This council affirms—under the influence of the Spirit’s work—that the outsiders may become Christians without becoming Jews first; but the outsiders should respect their Jewish brothers’ beliefs so they can fellowship together. The decision is a model for church unity: artificial hurdles should not be imposed for inclusion, but groups should willingly sacrifice their freedoms to promote unity in the church.
Peter: My brothers, you all know that in the early days of our movement, God decided that I should be the one through whom the first outsiders would hear the good news and become believers. 8 God knows the human heart, and He showed approval of their hearts by giving them the Holy Spirit just as He did for us. 9 In cleansing their hearts by faith, God has made no distinction between them and us. 10 So it makes no sense to me that some of you are testing God by burdening His disciples with a load that neither our forefathers nor we have been able to carry. 11 No, we all believe that we will be liberated through the grace of the Lord Jesus—they also will be rescued in the same way.
12 There was silence among them while Barnabas and Paul reported all the miraculous signs and wonders God had done through them among outsiders. 13 When they finished, James spoke.
James: My brothers, hear me. 14 Simon Peter reminded us how God first included outsiders in His favor, taking people from among them for His name. 15 This resonates with the words of the prophets:
16 “After this, I will return
and rebuild the house of David, which has fallen into ruins.
From its wreckage I will rebuild it;
17 So all the nations may seek the Eternal One—
including every person among the outsiders who has been called by My name.”[a]
This is the word of the Lord, 18 who has been revealing these things since ancient times.[b]
19 So here is my counsel: we should not burden these outsiders who are turning to God. 20 We should instead write a letter, instructing them to abstain from four things: first, things associated with idol worship; second, sexual immorality; third, food killed by strangling; and fourth, blood. 21 My reason for these four exceptions is that in every city there are Jewish communities where, for generations, the laws of Moses have been proclaimed; and on every Sabbath, Moses is read in synagogues everywhere.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.