Job 35
1 Elihu spake moreover, and said,
Then Elihu also said this:
2 Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God’s?
“[Job, ] do you think that what you said is right/correct? You say, ‘God knows that I am innocent,’
3 For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? and, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin?
and you say [to God], ‘What good have I received for not sinning? What benefit have I received from that?’ [DOU, RHQ]
4 I will answer thee, and thy companions with thee.
[Well, ] I will answer you, and I will answer your three friends, too.
5 Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou.
“[Job], look up at the sky; look at the clouds that are high above you and realize [that God is far above everything].
6 If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him?
If you have sinned, that does not [RHQ] harm God at all. If many times you do things that are wrong, that certainly does not [RHQ] affect him [DOU].
7 If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?
And if you are righteous, does that help God? No, he is not benefited by anything that you do [DOU].
8 Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; and thy righteousness may profit the son of man.
It is other people who suffer because of the wicked things that you do, but by doing good things for people, you help them.
9 By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry: they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty.
“People cry out because of the many things that people do to others to (oppress them/treat them cruelly); they call for help because of the things that powerful people do [MTY] to them.
10 But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night;
But (no one/none of them) calls out [to God], saying ‘Why does God, my creator, [not help me]? He [should] enable me to sing [joyful] songs, [instead of very sad songs, ] during the night.
11 Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?
He [should be able to] teach us more than all the wild animals do; he [should] enable us to become wiser than [all] the birds are!’
12 There they cry, but none giveth answer, because of the pride of evil men.
People cry out [for help], but God does not answer them, because those who cry out are proud and evil people.
13 Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it.
It is useless for them to cry out, because God, the Almighty One, does not pay any attention to what they say.
14 Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, yet judgment is before him; therefore trust thou in him.
So, when you complain that you cannot see God, and you tell him that you are waiting for him [to decide whether or not you should be punished for what you have done], God will not listen to you, either!
15 But now, because it is not so, he hath visited in his anger; yet he knoweth it not in great extremity:
Furthermore, [you say that] because he does not pay attention when people commit sins, he does not become angry and punish them.
16 Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.
You say things that are useless; you say a lot of things without knowing [what you are talking about].”
