1Then Elihu said:

2“Do you think this is just?

You say, ‘I am in the right, not God.’

3Yet you ask him, ‘What profit is it to me,

and what do I gain by not sinning?’

4“I would like to reply to you

and to your friends with you.

5Look up at the heavens and see;

gaze at the clouds so high above you.

6If you sin, how does that affect him?

If your sins are many, what does that do to him?

7If you are righteous, what do you give to him,

or what does he receive from your hand?

8Your wickedness only affects humans like yourself,

and your righteousness only other people.

9“People cry out under a load of oppression;

they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful.

10But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker,

who gives songs in the night,

11who teaches us more than he teachesthe beasts of the earth

and makes us wiser thanthe birds in the sky?’

12He does not answer when people cry out

because of the arrogance of the wicked.

13Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea;

the Almighty pays no attention to it.

14How much less, then, will he listen

when you say that you do not see him,

that your case is before him

and you must wait for him,

15and further, that his anger never punishes

and he does not take the least notice of wickedness.

16So Job opens his mouth with empty talk;

without knowledge he multiplies words.”

1Then Elihu said:

2“Hear my words, you wise men;

listen to me, you men of learning.

3For the ear tests words

as the tongue tastes food.

4Let us discern for ourselves what is right;

let us learn together what is good.

5“Job says, ‘I am innocent,

but God denies me justice.

6Although I am right,

I am considered a liar;

although I am guiltless,

his arrow inflicts an incurable wound.’

7Is there anyone like Job,

who drinks scorn like water?

8He keeps company with evildoers;

he associates with the wicked.

9For he says, ‘There is no profit

in trying to please God.’

10“So listen to me, you men of understanding.

Far be it from God to do evil,

from the Almighty to do wrong.

11He repays everyone for what they have done;

he brings on them what their conduct deserves.

12It is unthinkable that God would do wrong,

that the Almighty would pervert justice.

13Who appointed him over the earth?

Who put him in charge of the whole world?

14If it were his intention

and he withdrew his spiritand breath,

15all humanity would perish together

and mankind would return to the dust.

16“If you have understanding, hear this;

listen to what I say.

17Can someone who hates justice govern?

Will you condemn the just and mighty One?

18Is he not the One who says to kings, ‘You are worthless,’

and to nobles, ‘You are wicked,’

19who shows no partiality to princes

and does not favor the rich over the poor,

for they are all the work of his hands?

20They die in an instant, in the middle of the night;

the people are shaken and they pass away;

the mighty are removed without human hand.

21“His eyes are on the ways of mortals;

he sees their every step.

22There is no deep shadow, no utter darkness,

where evildoers can hide.

23God has no need to examine people further,

that they should come before him for judgment.

24Without inquiry he shatters the mighty

and sets up others in their place.

25Because he takes note of their deeds,

he overthrows them in the night and they are crushed.

26He punishes them for their wickedness

where everyone can see them,

27because they turned from following him

and had no regard for any of his ways.

28They caused the cry of the poor to come before him,

so that he heard the cry of the needy.

29But if he remains silent, who can condemn him?

If he hides his face, who can see him?

Yet he is over individual and nation alike,

30to keep the godless from ruling,

from laying snares for the people.

31“Suppose someone says to God,

‘I am guilty but will offend no more.

32Teach me what I cannot see;

if I have done wrong, I will not do so again.’

33Should God then reward you on your terms,

when you refuse to repent?

You must decide, not I;

so tell me what you know.

34“Men of understanding declare,

wise men who hear me say to me,

35‘Job speaks without knowledge;

his words lack insight.’

36Oh, that Job might be tested to the utmost

for answering like a wicked man!

37To his sin he adds rebellion;

scornfully he claps his hands among us

and multiplies his words against God.”

1“But now, Job, listen to my words;

pay attention to everything I say.

2I am about to open my mouth;

my words are on the tip of my tongue.

3My words come from an upright heart;

my lips sincerely speak what I know.

4The Spirit of God has made me;

the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

5Answer me then, if you can;

stand up and argue your case before me.

6I am the same as you in God’s sight;

I too am a piece of clay.

7No fear of me should alarm you,

nor should my hand be heavy on you.

8“But you have said in my hearing—

I heard the very words—

9‘I am pure, I have done no wrong;

I am clean and free from sin.

10Yet God has found fault with me;

he considers me his enemy.

11He fastens my feet in shackles;

he keeps close watch on all my paths.’

12“But I tell you, in this you are not right,

for God is greater than any mortal.

13Why do you complain to him

that he responds to no one’s words?

14For God does speak—now one way, now another—

though no one perceives it.

15In a dream, in a vision of the night,

when deep sleep falls on people

as they slumber in their beds,

16he may speak in their ears

and terrify them with warnings,

17to turn them from wrongdoing

and keep them from pride,

18to preserve them from the pit,

their lives from perishing by the sword.

19“Or someone may be chastened on a bed of pain

with constant distress in their bones,

20so that their body finds food repulsive

and their soul loathes the choicest meal.

21Their flesh wastes away to nothing,

and their bones, once hidden, now stick out.

22They draw near to the pit,

and their life to the messengers of death.

23Yet if there is an angel at their side,

a messenger, one out of a thousand,

sent to tell them how to be upright,

24and he is gracious to that person and says to God,

‘Spare them from going down to the pit;

I have found a ransom for them—

25let their flesh be renewed like a child’s;

let them be restored as in the days of their youth’—

26then that person can pray to God and find favor with him,

they will see God’s face and shout for joy;

he will restore them to full well-being.

27And they will go to others and say,

‘I have sinned, I have perverted what is right,

but I did not get what I deserved.

28God has delivered me from going down to the pit,

and I shall live to enjoy the light of life.’

29“God does all these things to a person—

twice, even three times—

30to turn them back from the pit,

that the light of life may shine on them.

31“Pay attention, Job, and listen to me;

be silent, and I will speak.

32If you have anything to say, answer me;

speak up, for I want to vindicate you.

33But if not, then listen to me;

be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Elihu

1So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. 3He was also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him.4Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because they were older than he. 5But when he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, his anger was aroused.

6So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said:

“I am young in years,

and you are old;

that is why I was fearful,

not daring to tell you what I know.

7I thought, ‘Age should speak;

advanced years should teach wisdom.’

8But it is the spiritin a person,

the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.

9It is not only the oldwho are wise,

not only the aged who understand what is right.

10“Therefore I say: Listen to me;

I too will tell you what I know.

11I waited while you spoke,

I listened to your reasoning;

while you were searching for words,

12I gave you my full attention.

But not one of you has proved Job wrong;

none of you has answered his arguments.

13Do not say, ‘We have found wisdom;

let God, not a man, refute him.’

14But Job has not marshaled his words against me,

and I will not answer him with your arguments.

15“They are dismayed and have no more to say;

words have failed them.

16Must I wait, now that they are silent,

now that they stand there with no reply?

17I too will have my say;

I too will tell what I know.

18For I am full of words,

and the spirit within me compels me;

19inside I am like bottled-up wine,

like new wineskins ready to burst.

20I must speak and find relief;

I must open my lips and reply.

21I will show no partiality,

nor will I flatter anyone;

22for if I were skilled in flattery,

my Maker would soon take me away.

1“I made a covenant with my eyes

not to look lustfully at a young woman.

2For what is our lot from God above,

our heritage from the Almighty on high?

3Is it not ruin for the wicked,

disaster for those who do wrong?

4Does he not see my ways

and count my every step?

5“If I have walked with falsehood

or my foot has hurried after deceit—

6let God weigh me in honest scales

and he will know that I am blameless—

7if my steps have turned from the path,

if my heart has been led by my eyes,

or if my hands have been defiled,

8then may others eat what I have sown,

and may my crops be uprooted.

9“If my heart has been enticed by a woman,

or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,

10then may my wife grind another man’s grain,

and may other men sleep with her.

11For that would have been wicked,

a sin to be judged.

12It is a fire that burns to Destruction;

it would have uprooted my harvest.

13“If I have denied justice to any of my servants,

whether male or female,

when they had a grievance against me,

14what will I do when God confronts me?

What will I answer when called to account?

15Did not he who made me in the womb make them?

Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?

16“If I have denied the desires of the poor

or let the eyes of the widow grow weary,

17if I have kept my bread to myself,

not sharing it with the fatherless—

18but from my youth I reared them as a father would,

and from my birth I guided the widow—

19if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing,

or the needy without garments,

20and their hearts did not bless me

for warming them with the fleece from my sheep,

21if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,

knowing that I had influence in court,

22then let my arm fall from the shoulder,

let it be broken off at the joint.

23For I dreaded destruction from God,

and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.

24“If I have put my trust in gold

or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’

25if I have rejoiced over my great wealth,

the fortune my hands had gained,

26if I have regarded the sun in its radiance

or the moon moving in splendor,

27so that my heart was secretly enticed

and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,

28then these also would be sins to be judged,

for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.

29“If I have rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune

or gloated over the trouble that came to him—

30I have not allowed my mouth to sin

by invoking a curse against their life—

31if those of my household have never said,

‘Who has not been filled with Job’s meat?’—

32but no stranger had to spend the night in the street,

for my door was always open to the traveler—

33if I have concealed my sin as people do,

by hiding my guilt in my heart

34because I so feared the crowd

and so dreaded the contempt of the clans

that I kept silent and would not go outside—

35(“Oh, that I had someone to hear me!

I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me;

let my accuser put his indictment in writing.

36Surely I would wear it on my shoulder,

I would put it on like a crown.

37I would give him an account of my every step;

I would present it to him as to a ruler.)—

38“if my land cries out against me

and all its furrows are wet with tears,

39if I have devoured its yield without payment

or broken the spirit of its tenants,

40then let briers come up instead of wheat

and stinkweed instead of barley.”

The words of Job are ended.

1“But now they mock me,

men younger than I,

whose fathers I would have disdained

to put with my sheep dogs.

2Of what use was the strength of their hands to me,

since their vigor had gone from them?

3Haggard from want and hunger,

they roamedthe parched land

in desolate wastelands at night.

4In the brush they gathered salt herbs,

and their foodwas the root of the broom bush.

5They were banished from human society,

shouted at as if they were thieves.

6They were forced to live in the dry stream beds,

among the rocks and in holes in the ground.

7They brayed among the bushes

and huddled in the undergrowth.

8A base and nameless brood,

they were driven out of the land.

9“And now those young men mock me in song;

I have become a byword among them.

10They detest me and keep their distance;

they do not hesitate to spit in my face.

11Now that God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me,

they throw off restraint in my presence.

12On my right the tribeattacks;

they lay snares for my feet,

they build their siege ramps against me.

13They break up my road;

they succeed in destroying me.

‘No one can help him,’ they say.

14They advance as through a gaping breach;

amid the ruins they come rolling in.

15Terrors overwhelm me;

my dignity is driven away as by the wind,

my safety vanishes like a cloud.

16“And now my life ebbs away;

days of suffering grip me.

17Night pierces my bones;

my gnawing pains never rest.

18In his great power God becomes like clothing to me;

he binds me like the neck of my garment.

19He throws me into the mud,

and I am reduced to dust and ashes.

20“I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer;

I stand up, but you merely look at me.

21You turn on me ruthlessly;

with the might of your hand you attack me.

22You snatch me up and drive me before the wind;

you toss me about in the storm.

23I know you will bring me down to death,

to the place appointed for all the living.

24“Surely no one lays a hand on a broken man

when he cries for help in his distress.

25Have I not wept for those in trouble?

Has not my soul grieved for the poor?

26Yet when I hoped for good, evil came;

when I looked for light, then came darkness.

27The churning inside me never stops;

days of suffering confront me.

28I go about blackened, but not by the sun;

I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.

29I have become a brother of jackals,

a companion of owls.

30My skin grows black and peels;

my body burns with fever.

31My lyre is tuned to mourning,

and my pipe to the sound of wailing.

Job’s Final Defense

1Job continued his discourse:

2“How I long for the months gone by,

for the days when God watched over me,

3when his lamp shone on my head

and by his light I walked through darkness!

4Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,

when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house,

5when the Almighty was still with me

and my children were around me,

6when my path was drenched with cream

and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.

7“When I went to the gate of the city

and took my seat in the public square,

8the young men saw me and stepped aside

and the old men rose to their feet;

9the chief men refrained from speaking

and covered their mouths with their hands;

10the voices of the nobles were hushed,

and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.

11Whoever heard me spoke well of me,

and those who saw me commended me,

12because I rescued the poor who cried for help,

and the fatherless who had none to assist them.

13The one who was dying blessed me;

I made the widow’s heart sing.

14I put on righteousness as my clothing;

justice was my robe and my turban.

15I was eyes to the blind

and feet to the lame.

16I was a father to the needy;

I took up the case of the stranger.

17I broke the fangs of the wicked

and snatched the victims from their teeth.

18“I thought, ‘I will die in my own house,

my days as numerous as the grains of sand.

19My roots will reach to the water,

and the dew will lie all night on my branches.

20My glory will not fade;

the bow will be ever new in my hand.’

21“People listened to me expectantly,

waiting in silence for my counsel.

22After I had spoken, they spoke no more;

my words fell gently on their ears.

23They waited for me as for showers

and drank in my words as the spring rain.

24When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it;

the light of my face was precious to them.

25I chose the way for them and sat as their chief;

I dwelt as a king among his troops;

I was like one who comforts mourners.