The fatherless not eating of it also?
18Why, from my youth he grew up with me as though I were his father;
Since I left my mother’s womb I was herb guide.
19I never saw an unclad wretch,
A needy man without clothing,
20Whose loins did not bless me
As he warmed himself with the shearings of my sheep.
21If I raised my hand against the fatherless,
Looking to my supporters in the gate,
22May my arm drop off my shoulder;
My forearm break off c-at the elbow.-c
23For I am in dread of God-sent calamity;
I cannot bear His threat.
24Did I put my reliance on gold,
Or regard fine gold as my bulwark?
25Did I rejoice in my great wealth,
In having attained plenty?
26If ever I saw the light shining,
The moon on its course in full glory,
27And I secretly succumbed,
And my hand touched my mouth in a kiss,
28That, too, would have been a criminal offense,
For I would have denied God above.
29Did I rejoice over my enemy’s misfortune?
Did I thrill because evil befell him?
30I never let my mouthd sin
By wishing his death in a curse.
31(Indeed, the men of my clan said,
“We would consume his flesh insatiably!”)
32No sojourner spent the night in the open;
I opened my doors to the road.
33Did I hide my transgressions like Adam,
Bury my wrongdoing in my bosom,
34That I should [now] fear the great multitude,
And am shattered by the contempt of families,
So that I keep silent and do not step outdoors?
35O that I had someone to give me a hearing;
O that Shaddai would reply to my writ,
Or my accuser draw up a true bill!
36I would carry it on my shoulder;
Tie it around me for a wreath.
37I would give him an account of my steps,
Offer it as to a commander.
38If my land cries out against me,
Its furrows weep together;
39If I have eaten its produce without payment,
And made its [rightful] owners despair,
40May nettles grow there instead of wheat;
Instead of barley, stinkweed!
The words of Job are at an end.
32 These three men ceased replying to Job, for he considered himself right. 2Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was angry—angry at Job because he thought himself right against God. 3He was angry as well at his three friends, because they found no reply, but merely condemned Job. 4Elihu waited out Job’s speech, for they were all older than he. 5But when Elihu saw that the three men had nothing to reply, he was angry.
6Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite said in reply:
I have but few years, while you are old;
Therefore I was too awestruck and fearful
To hold forth among you.
7I thought, “Let age speak;
Let advanced years declare wise things.”
8But truly it is the spirit in men,
The breath of Shaddai, that gives them understanding.
9It is not the aged who are wise,
The elders, who understand how to judge.
10Therefore I say, “Listen to me;
I too would hold forth.”
11Here I have waited out your speeches,
I have given ear to your insights,
While you probed the issues;
12But as I attended to you,
I saw that none of you could argue with Job,
Or offer replies to his statements.
13I fear you will say, “We have found the wise course;
God will defeat him, not man.”
14He did not set out his case against me,
Nor shall I use your reasons to reply to him.
15They have been broken and can no longer reply;
Words fail them.
16I have waited till they stopped speaking,
Till they ended and no longer replied.
17Now I also would have my say;
I too would like to hold forth,
18For I am full of words;
The wind in my belly presses me.
19My belly is like wine not yet opened,
Like jugs of new wine ready to burst.
20Let me speak, then, and get relief;
Let me open my lips and reply.
21I would not show regard for any man,
Or temper my speech for anyone’s sake;
22For I do not know how to temper my speech—
My Maker would soon carry me off!
33
But now, Job, listen to my words,
Give ear to all that I say.
2Now I open my lips;
My tongue forms words in my mouth.
3My words bespeak the uprightness of my heart;
My lips utter insight honestly.
4The spirit of God formed me;
The breath of Shaddai sustains me.
5If you can, answer me;
Argue against me, take your stand.
6You and I are the same before God;
I too was nipped from clay.
7You are not overwhelmed by fear of me;
My pressure does not weigh heavily on you.
8Indeed, you have stated in my hearing,
I heard the words spoken,
9“I am guiltless, free from transgression;
I am innocent, without iniquity.
10But He finds reasons to oppose me,
Considers me His enemy.
11He puts my feet in stocks,
Watches all my ways.”
12In this you are not right;
I will answer you: God is greater than any man.
13Why do you complain against Him
That He does not reply to any of man’s charges?
14For God speaks a-time and again-a
—Though man does not perceive it—
15In a dream, a night vision,
When deep sleep falls on men,
While they slumber on their beds.
16Then He opens men’s understanding,
And by disciplining them leaves His signature
17To turn man away from an action,
To suppress pride in man.
18He spares him from the Pit,
His person, from perishing by the sword.
19He is reproved by pains on his bed,
And the trembling in his bones is constant.
20He detests food;
Fine food [is repulsive] to him.
21His flesh wastes away till it cannot be seen,
And his bones are rubbed away till they are invisible.
22He comes close to the Pit,
His life [verges] on death.
23If he has a representative,
One advocate against a thousand
To declare the man’s uprightness,
24Then He has mercy on him and decrees,
“Redeem him from descending to the Pit,
For I have obtained his ransom;
25Let his flesh be healthierb than in his youth;
Let him return to his younger days.”
26He prays to God and is accepted by Him;
He enters His presence with shouts of joy,
For He requites a man for his righteousness.
27Hec declaresb to men,
“I have sinned; I have perverted what was right;
But I was not paid back for it.”
28He redeemed d-him from passing into the Pit;
He-d will enjoy the light.
29Truly, God does all these things
Two or three times to a man,
30To bring him back from the Pit,
That he may bask in the light of life.
31Pay heed, Job, and hear me;
Be still, and I will speak;
32If you have what to say, answer me;
Speak, for I am eager to vindicate you.
33But if not, you listen to me;
Be still, and I will teach you wisdom.
34
Elihu said in reply:
2Listen, O wise men, to my words;
You who have knowledge, give ear to me.
3For the ear tests arguments
As the palate tastes food.
4Let us decide for ourselves what is just;
Let us know among ourselves what is good.
5For Job has said, “I am right;
God has deprived me of justice.
6I declare the judgment against me false;
My arrow-wound is deadly, though I am free from
transgression.”
7What man is like Job,
Who drinks mockery like water;
8Who makes common cause with evildoers,
And goes with wicked men?
9For he says, “Man gains nothing
When he is in God’s favor.”
10Therefore, men of understanding, listen to me;
Wickedness be far from God,
Wrongdoing, from Shaddai!
11For He pays a man according to his actions,
And provides for him according to his conduct;
12For God surely does not act wickedly;
Shaddai does not pervert justice.
13Who placed the earth in His charge?
Who ordered the entire world?
14If He but intends it,
He can call back His spirit and breath;
15All flesh would at once expire,
And mankind return to dust.
16If you would understand, listen to this;
Give ear to what I say.
17Would one who hates justice govern?
Would you condemn the Just Mighty One?
18Would you call a king a scoundrel,
Great men, wicked?
19He is not partial to princes;
The noble are not preferred to the wretched;
For all of them are the work of His hands.
20Some die suddenly in the middle of the night;
People are in turmoil and pass on;
Even great men are removed—not by human hands.
21For His eyes are upon a man’s ways;
He observes his every step.
22Neither darkness nor gloom offers
A hiding-place for evildoers.
23He has no set time for man
To appear before God in judgment.
24He shatters mighty men without number
And sets others in their place.
25Truly, He knows their deeds;
Night is over, and they are crushed.
26He strikes them down with the wicked
Where people can see,
27Because they have been disloyal to Him
And have not understood any of His ways;
28Thus He lets the cry of the poor come before Him;
He listens to the cry of the needy.
29When He is silent, who will condemn?
If He hides His face, who will see Him,
Be it nation or man?
30The impious man rule no more,
Nor do those who ensnare the people.
31Has he said to God,
“I will bear [my punishment] and offend no more.
32What I cannot see You teach me.
If I have done iniquity, I shall not do so again”?
33Should He requite as you see fit?
But you have despised [Him]!
You must decide, not I;
Speak what you know.
34Men of understanding say to me,
Wise men who hear me,
35“Job does not speak with knowledge;
His words lack understanding.”
36Would that Job were tried to the limit
For answers which befit sinful men.
37He adds to his sin;
He increases his transgression among us;
He multiplies his statements against God.
35
Elihu said in reply:
2Do you think it just
To say, “I am right against God”?
3If you ask how it benefits you,
“What have I gained from not sinning?”
4I shall give you a reply,
You, along with your friends.
5Behold the heavens and see;
Look at the skies high above you.
6If you sin, what do you do to Him?
If your transgressions are many,
How do you affect Him?
7If you are righteous,
What do you give Him;
What does He receive from your hand?
8Your wickedness affects men like yourself;
Your righteousness, mortals.
9Because of contention the oppressed cry out;
They shout because of the power of the great.
10But none says, “Where is my God, my Maker,
Who gives strength in the night;
11Who gives us more knowledge than the beasts of the earth,
Makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?”
12Then they cry out, but He does not respond
Because
