Job 33
1 “And yet, please, O Job, Hear my speech and give ear [to] all my words.
“But now, Job, listen carefully to all that I am going to say [DOU].
2 Now behold, I have opened my mouth, My tongue has spoken in the palate.
I am ready to tell you [MTY, DOU] [what I think].
3 Of the uprightness of my heart [are] my sayings, And my lips have clearly spoken knowledge.
I know that I am speaking honestly and that I am speaking [MTY] sincerely.
4 The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Mighty quickens me.
Almighty God has created me [as well as you], and his breath has caused me to live.
5 If you are able—answer me, Set in array before me—station yourself.
So, answer [what] I [say] if you can; think carefully [about how you will reply to me].
6 Behold, I [am], according to your word, for God, I have also been formed from the clay.
“God considers that you, and I are both [equal]; he formed both of us from clay.
7 Behold, my terror does not frighten you, And my burden on you is not heavy.
So you do not need to be afraid of me; I will not crush/oppress you [by what I say] [MTY].
8 Surely you have spoken in my ears, And the sounds of words I hear:
I have heard you [DOU] speaking, and this is what you have said:
9 I [am] pure, without transgression, I [am] innocent, and I have no iniquity.
‘I am innocent; I have not committed any sins; I am pure; I have not done things that are wrong.
10 Behold, He develops hindrances against me, He reckons me for an enemy to Him,
But God finds reasons to accuse me, and he considers that I am his enemy.
11 He puts my feet in the stocks, He watches all my paths.
[It is as though] he has put my feet (in stocks/between wooden blocks to prevent me from walking away), and he watches everything that I do.’ [MTY]
12 Behold, you have not been righteous [in] this, I answer you, that God is greater than man.
But what you have said is wrong, and I will tell you [what you have said that is wrong]. God is much greater than any human.
13 Why have you striven against Him, When [for] all His matters He does not answer?
So, (why are you arguing against God, saying ‘He never answers my questions’?/you should not be arguing against God, saying ‘He never answers my questions.’) [RHQ]
14 For once God speaks, and twice (he does not behold it),
God does speak [to us] in various ways, but we do not pay any attention to what he says.
15 In a dream—a vision of night, In the falling of deep sleep on men, In slumberings on a bed.
[Sometimes he speaks to us] at night in dreams and visions, when we are on our beds, asleep [DOU].
16 Then He uncovers the ear of men, And seals for their instruction,
He reveals things [MTY] to us and terrifies us by the things he warns us about.
17 To turn aside man [from] doing, And He conceals pride from man.
He tell us those things in order that we stop doing [evil] things and to prevent us from becoming proud.
18 He keeps back his soul from corruption, And his life from passing away by a dart.
He does not want us to be destroyed [MTY]; he wants to prevent us from dying [MTY] [while we are still young].
19 And he has been reproved With pain on his bed, And the strife of his bones [is] enduring.
God also [sometimes] corrects us by forcing us to lie on our beds suffering much pain and with fever/aching in our bones.
20 And his life has nauseated bread, And his soul desirable food.
The result is that we do not desire any food, not even very special food.
21 His flesh is consumed from being seen, And his bones are high, they were not seen!
Our bodies become very thin, with the result that we look like skeletons [HYP], and our bones stick out.
22 And his soul draws near to the pit, And his life to those causing death.
[We know that] we will soon die and go to the place where dead people are.
23 If there is a messenger by him, An interpreter—one of a thousand, To declare for man his uprightness,
“But sometimes an angel [may come to one of us], one of the thousands of angels who come to intervene between us and God, to tell us what are the right things for us [to do].
24 Then He favors him and says, Ransom him from going down to the pit, I have found an atonement.
The angel is kind to us and says to God, ‘Release that person, so that he does not descend to the place where dead people are! Do that because I have found the money to pay so that he can be released!
25 Fresher [is] his flesh than a child’s, He returns to the days of his youth.
Allow his body to be strong again; allow him to be strong like he was when he was a youth!’
26 He makes supplication to God, And He accepts him. And he sees His face with shouting, And He returns to man His righteousness.
When that happens, that person will pray to God, and God will accept/answer him; he will (enter God’s presence/worship God) joyfully, and then he will tell others how God saved him [from dying].
27 [Then] he looks on men and says, I sinned, and I have perverted uprightness, And it has not been profitable to me.
He will sing as he tells everyone, ‘I sinned, and I did things that were not right, but God did not punish me in the way that I deserved.
28 He has ransomed my soul From going over into the pit, And my life looks on the light.
He has saved me from dying and going to the place where dead people are, and I will continue to enjoy being alive.’
29 Behold, God works all these, Twice, [even] three times with man,
God does all these things for us many times;
30 To bring back his soul from the pit, To be enlightened with the light of the living.
he keeps us [SYN] from [dying and] going to the place where the dead are, in order that we can continue to enjoy being alive [IDM].
31 Attend, O Job, listen to me, Keep silent, and I speak.
So Job, listen to me; do not say anything more; just allow me to speak.
32 If there are words—answer me, Speak, for I have a desire to justify you.
[After I speak], if you have something more that you want to say to me, say it, because I would like to find a way to declare that you (are innocent/have not done what is wrong).
33 If there are not—listen to me, Keep silent, and I teach you wisdom.”
But if you have nothing more that you want to say, then just listen to me, and I will teach you how to become wise.”
