Job 33
1 Therefore, hear my speeches, Job, and listen to all my words.
So now, Job, I beg you, hear my speech; listen to all my words.
2 Behold, I have opened my mouth; let my tongue speak along with my throat.
See now, I have opened my mouth; my tongue has spoken in my mouth.
3 My words are from my simple heart, and my lips will speak a pure judgment.
My words come from the uprightness of my heart; my lips speak pure knowledge.
4 The Spirit of God made me, and the breath of the Almighty gave me life.
The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty has given me life.
5 If you can, answer me, and oppose me to my face.
If you can, answer me; set your words in order before me and stand up.
6 Behold, God has made me, just as he also has made you, and I, likewise, have been formed of the same clay.
See, I am just as you are in God's sight; I also have been formed out of the clay.
7 So, truly, do not let my wonders terrify you, and do not let my eloquence be burdensome to you.
See, terror of me will not make you afraid; neither will my pressure be heavy upon you.
8 For you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard the voice of your words, saying:
You have certainly spoken in my hearing; I have heard the sound of your words saying,
9 “I am clean and without sin; I am immaculate, and there is no iniquity in me.
'I am clean and without transgression; I am innocent, and there is no sin in me.
10 Yet he has discovered blame in me, and so he has treated me like his enemy.
See, God finds opportunities to attack me; he regards me as his enemy.
11 He has put my feet in fetters; he has kept watch over all my ways.”
He puts my feet in stocks; he watches all my paths.'
12 Therefore, it is for this reason that you have not been justified. For I tell you that God is greater than man.
See, in this you are not right—I will answer you, for God is greater than man.
13 Do you contend against him because he has not responded to all of your words?
Why do you struggle against him? He does not account for any of his doings.
14 God speaks once, and he does not repeat the same thing a second time.
For God speaks once— yes, twice, though man does not notice it.
15 Through a dream in a vision of the night, when a deep sleep falls over men, and they are sleeping in their beds,
In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, in slumber on the bed—
16 then, he opens the ears of men, and, educating them, he teaches discipline,
then God opens the ears of men, and frightens them with threats,
17 so that he may divert a man from the things that he is doing, and may free him from pride,
in order to pull man back from his sinful purposes, and keep pride from him.
18 rescuing his soul from corruption and his life from passing away by the sword.
God keeps man's life back from the pit, his life from crossing over to death.
19 Likewise, he rebukes by sorrow in bed, and he causes all of his bones to become weak.
Man is punished also with pain on his bed, with constant agony in his bones,
20 Bread becomes abominable to him in his life, and, to his soul, the meat which before he desired.
so that his life abhors food, and his soul abhors delicacies.
21 His body will waste away, and his bones, which had been covered, will be revealed.
His flesh is consumed away so that it cannot be seen; his bones, once not seen, now stick out.
22 His soul has approached corruption, and his life has drawn near to what is deadly.
Indeed, his soul draws close to the pit, his life to those who wish to destroy it.
23 If there were an angel speaking for him, one among thousands, to declare the fairness of the man,
But if there is an angel who can be a mediator for him, a mediator, one from among the thousands of angels, to show him what is right to do,
24 he will have mercy on him, and he will say, “Free him, so that he will not descend to destruction. I have found a reason to be favorable to him.
and if the angel is kind to him and says to God, 'Save this person from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom for him,'
25 His body is consumed by suffering. Let him return to the days of his youth.”
then his flesh will become fresher than a child's; he will return to the days of his youthful strength.
26 He will beg pardon from God, and he will be soothing to him; and he will look upon his face in jubilation, and he will restore his justice to man.
He will pray to God, and God will be kind to him, so that he sees God's face with joy. God will give the person his triumph.
27 He will consider mankind, and he will say: “I have sinned and truly I have offended, yet I was not treated as I deserved.”
Then that person will sing in front of other people and say, 'I sinned and perverted that which was right, but my sin was not punished.
28 He has freed his soul from continuing into destruction, so that, in living, it may see the light.
God has rescued my soul from going down into the pit; my life will continue to see light.'
29 Behold, all these things God works three times within each one,
See, God does all these things with a person, twice, yes, even three times,
30 so that he may revive their souls from corruption and enlighten them with the light of life.
to bring his soul back from the pit, so that he may be enlightened with the light of life.
31 Pay attention Job, and listen to me; and remain silent, while I speak.
Pay attention, Job, and listen to me; be silent and I will speak.
32 Yet, if you have anything to say, answer me and speak, for I want you to be treated justly.
If you have anything to say, answer me; speak, for I wish to prove that you are in the right.
33 But if you do not have anything to say, then listen to me. Be quiet and I will teach you wisdom.
If not, then listen to me; remain silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”
