Job 34
1 And Elihu made answer and said,
And Elihu commenced, and said,
2 Give ear, you wise, to my words; and you who have knowledge, give attention to me;
Hear, O ye wise men, my words; and ye that have knowledge, give ear unto me.
3 For words are tested by the ear, as food is tasted by the mouth.
For the ear proveth words, as the palate tasteth the food.
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 for ourselves what is just: let us acknowledge between ourselves what is good.
5 For Job has said, I am upright, and it is God who has taken away my right;
For Job hath said, “I am righteous; and God hath taken away justice from me.
6 Though I am right, still I am in pain; my wound may not be made well, though I have done no wrong.
Should I lie concerning the justice due me? incurable is [my wound from] the arrow I bear in me without any transgression.”
7 What man is like Job, a man who freely makes sport of God,
What man is there like Job, who drinketh scorning like water,
8 And goes in the company of evil-doers, walking in the way of sinners?
And is on the road to keep company with the wrong-doers, and to walk with men of wickedness?
9 For he has said, It is no profit to a man to take delight in God.
For he hath said, “It profiteth a man nothing when he acteth according to the pleasure of God.”
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 ye men of sense hearken unto me: far is it from God to practise wickedness; and from the Almighty to do wrong!
11 For he gives to every man the reward of his work, and sees that he gets the fruit of his ways.
For the work of a son of earth doth he recompense unto him, and according to the path of man doth he permit things to occur to him.
12 Truly, God does not do evil, and the Ruler of all is not a false judge.
Yea, surely God will not condemn unjustly, nor will the Almighty pervert justice.
13 Who put the earth into his care, or made him responsible for the world?
Who hath given him a charge concerning the earth? or who hath intrusted [him] the whole world?
14 If he made his spirit come back to him, taking his breath into himself again,
If he were to set his heart upon man, he would gather unto himself his spirit and his breath:
15 All flesh would come to an end together, and man would go back to the dust.
All flesh would perish together, and the son of earth would return again unto dust.
16 If you are wise, take note of this; give ear to the voice of my words.
If then thou wishest to understand, hear this: give ear to the sound of my words.
17 How may a hater of right be a ruler? and will you say that the upright Ruler of all is evil?
Is it possible that he who hateth justice should govern? or wilt thou condemn the righteous mighty One?
18 He who says to a king, You are an evil-doer; and to rulers, You are sinners;
[Is it fit] to say to a king, Thou art worthless? and to princes, Ye are wicked?
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.
Whereas he is one that showeth no favor to chieftains, and distinguisheth not the rich before the indigent; for all of them are the work of his hands.
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.
In a moment will they die, and in the midst of the night; people are moved, and pass away: and the mighty will be removed without a human hand.
21 For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps.
For big eyes are upon the ways of man, and all his steps doth he see.
22 There is no dark place, and no thick cloud, in which the workers of evil may take cover.
There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the evil-doers can hide themselves.
23 For he does not give man a fixed time to come before him to be judged.
For he need not direct [his attention] a long time upon man, that he should enter into judgment before God.
24 He sends the strong to destruction without searching out their cause, and puts others in their place.
He breaketh down mighty men without [long] searching, and placeth others in their stead.
25 For he has knowledge of their works, overturning them in the night, so that they are crushed.
For the reason that he knoweth their deeds: therefore he overturneth them in the night, and they are crushed.
26 The evil-doers are broken by his wrath, he puts his hand on them with force before the eyes of all onlookers.
Among wicked men doth he strike them, in the place where [many] see them:
27 Because they did not go after him, and took no note of his ways,
Because they have departed from following him, and have not considered all his ways.
28 So that the cry of the poor might come up to him, and the prayer of those in need come to his ears.
Bringing before them the cry of the indigent, and the cry of the afflicted which he had to hear.
When he now granteth rest, who will condemn [him]! and when he hideth his face, who can behold him? whether it be against a nation, or against one man, it is the same:
That no hypocritical man may reign, that such shall not be a mare to the people.
For truly it is only fitting to say unto God, “I bear [cheerfully], I will not do any wrong;
What I cannot see myself, do thou truly teach me; if I have done what is unjust, I will do so no more.”
Should he then according to thy view send a recompense, because thou hast rejected him? “Because thou must choose, and not I?” and what thou knowest, do speak.
34 Men of knowledge, and all wise men, hearing me, will say,
Men of sense will say unto me, and every wise man who heareth me,
35 Job's words do not come from knowledge; they are not the fruit of wisdom.
That Job hath not spoken with knowledge, and that his words are without intelligence.
36 May Job be tested to the end, because his answers have been like those of evil men.
Oh that Job may therefore be probed continually, in order to give answers against sinful men.
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.
For he addeth unto his sin transgression: among us he uttereth too many loud words, and multiplieth his speeches against God.
