Job 34
1 And Elihu made answer and said,
And Elius continued, and said,
2 Give ear, you wise, to my words; and you who have knowledge, give attention to me;
Hear me, you wise men; listen, you that have knowledge.
3 For words are tested by the ear, as food is tasted by the mouth.
For the ear tries words, and the mouth tastes meat.
4 Let us make the decision for ourselves as to what is right; let us have the knowledge among ourselves of what is good.
Let us choose judgment to ourselves: let us know amount ourselves what is right.
5 For Job has said, I am upright, and it is God who has taken away my right;
For Job has said, I am righteous: the Lord has removed my judgment.
6 Though I am right, still I am in pain; my wound may not be made well, though I have done no wrong.
And he has erred in my judgment: my wound is severe without unrighteousness [of mine].
7 What man is like Job, a man who freely makes sport of God,
What man is as Job, drinking scorning like water?
8 And goes in the company of evil-doers, walking in the way of sinners?
[saying], I have not sinned, nor committed ungodliness, nor had fellowship with workers of iniquity, to go with the ungodly.
9 For he has said, It is no profit to a man to take delight in God.
For you should not say, There shall be no visitation of a man, whereas [there is] a visitation on him from the Lord.
10 Now then, you wise, take note; you men of knowledge, give ear to me. Let it be far from God to do evil, and from the Ruler of all to do wrong.
Therefore hear me, you that are wise in heart: far be it from me to sin before the Lord, and to pervert righteousness before the almighty.
11 For he gives to every man the reward of his work, and sees that he gets the fruit of his ways.
Yes, he renders to a man accordingly as each of them does, and in a man's path he will find him.
12 Truly, God does not do evil, and the Ruler of all is not a false judge.
And think you that the Lord will do wrong, or will the Almighty who made the earth wrest judgment?
13 Who put the earth into his care, or made him responsible for the world?
And who is he that made [the whole world] under heaven, and all things therein?
14 If he made his spirit come back to him, taking his breath into himself again,
For if he would confine, and restrain his spirit with himself;
15 All flesh would come to an end together, and man would go back to the dust.
all flesh would die together, and every mortal would return to the earth, whence also he was formed.
16 If you are wise, take note of this; give ear to the voice of my words.
Take heed lest he rebuke [you]: hear this, listen to the voice of words.
17 How may a hater of right be a ruler? and will you say that the upright Ruler of all is evil?
Behold then the one that hates iniquities, and that destroys the wicked, who is for ever just.
18 He who says to a king, You are an evil-doer; and to rulers, You are sinners;
[He is] ungodly that says to a king, You are a transgressor, [that says] to princes, O most ungodly one.
19 Who has no respect for rulers, and who gives no more attention to those who have wealth than to the poor, for they are all the work of his hands.
[Such a one] as would not reverence the face of an honorable man, neither knows how to give honor to the great, so as that their persons should be respected.
20 Suddenly they come to an end, even in the middle of the night: the blow comes on the men of wealth, and they are gone, and the strong are taken away without the hand of man.
But it shall turn out vanity to them, to cry and beseech a man; for they dealt unlawfully, the poor being turned aside [from their right].
21 For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps.
For he surveys the works of men, and nothing of what they do has escaped him.
22 There is no dark place, and no thick cloud, in which the workers of evil may take cover.
Neither shall there be a place for the workers of iniquity to hide themselves.
23 For he does not give man a fixed time to come before him to be judged.
For he will not lay upon a man more [than right].
24 He sends the strong to destruction without searching out their cause, and puts others in their place.
For the Lord looks down upon all men, who comprehends unsearchable things, glorious also and excellent things without number.
25 For he has knowledge of their works, overturning them in the night, so that they are crushed.
Who discovers their works, and will bring night about [upon them], and they shall be brought low.
26 The evil-doers are broken by his wrath, he puts his hand on them with force before the eyes of all onlookers.
And he quite destroys the ungodly, for they are seen before him.
27 Because they did not go after him, and took no note of his ways,
Because they turned aside from the law of God, and did not regard his ordinances,
28 So that the cry of the poor might come up to him, and the prayer of those in need come to his ears.
so as to bring before him the cry of the needy; for he will hear the cry of the poor.
And he will give quiet, and who will condemn? and he will hide his face, and who shall see him? whether [it be done] against a nation, or against a man also:
causing a hypocrite to be king, because of the waywardness of the people.
For [there is] one that says to the Mighty One, I have received [blessings]; I will not take a pledge:
I will see apart from myself: do you show me if I have done unrighteousness; I will not do [so] any more.
Will he take vengeance for it on you, whereas you will put [it] far [from you]? for you shall choose, and not I; and what you know, speak you.
34 Men of knowledge, and all wise men, hearing me, will say,
Because the wise in heart shall say this, and a wise man listens to my word.
35 Job's words do not come from knowledge; they are not the fruit of wisdom.
But Job has not spoken with understanding, his words are not [uttered] with knowledge.
36 May Job be tested to the end, because his answers have been like those of evil men.
Howbeit do you learn, Job: no longer make answer as the foolish:
37 For in addition to his sin, he is uncontrolled in heart; before our eyes he makes sport of God, increasing his words against him.
that we add not to our sins: for iniquity will be reckoned against us, if [we] speak many words before the Lord.
