Job 34
1 And Elihu answers and says:
And Elihu made answer and said,
2 “Hear, O wise men, my words, And, O knowing ones, give ear to me.
Give ear, you wise, to my words; and you who have knowledge, give attention to me;
3 For the ear tries words, And the palate tastes to eat.
For words are tested by the ear, as food is tasted by the mouth.
4 Let us choose judgment for ourselves, Let us know among ourselves what [is] good.
Let us make the decision for ourselves as to what is right; let us have the knowledge among ourselves of what is good.
5 For Job has said, I have been righteous, And God has turned aside my right,
For Job has said, I am upright, and it is God who has taken away my right;
6 Against my right do I lie? My arrow [is] mortal—without transgression.
Though I am right, still I am in pain; my wound may not be made well, though I have done no wrong.
7 Who [is] a man like Job? He drinks scoffing like water,
What man is like Job, a man who freely makes sport of God,
8 And he has traveled for company With workers of iniquity, So as to go with men of wickedness.
And goes in the company of evil-doers, walking in the way of sinners?
9 For he has said, It does not profit a man When he delights himself with God.
For he has said, It is no profit to a man to take delight in God.
10 Therefore, O men of heart, listen to me; Far be it from God to do wickedness, And [from] the Mighty to do perverseness,
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.
11 For He repays the work of man to him, And according to the path of each He causes him to find.
For he gives to every man the reward of his work, and sees that he gets the fruit of his ways.
12 Indeed, truly, God does not do wickedly, And the Mighty does not pervert judgment.
Truly, God does not do evil, and the Ruler of all is not a false judge.
13 Who has inspected for Himself the earth? And who has placed all the habitable world?
Who put the earth into his care, or made him responsible for the world?
14 If He sets His heart on him, [If] He gathers His Spirit and His breath to Himself,
If he made his spirit come back to him, taking his breath into himself again,
15 All flesh expires together, And man returns to dust.
All flesh would come to an end together, and man would go back to the dust.
16 And if [there is] understanding, hear this, Give ear to the voice of my words.
If you are wise, take note of this; give ear to the voice of my words.
17 Indeed, does one hating justice govern? Or do you condemn the Most Just?
How may a hater of right be a ruler? and will you say that the upright Ruler of all is evil?
18 Who has said to a king, Worthless, To princes, Wicked?
He who says to a king, You are an evil-doer; and to rulers, You are sinners;
19 That has not accepted the person of princes, Nor has known the rich before the poor, For all of them [are] a work of His hands.
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.
20 [In] a moment they die, And at midnight people shake, And they pass away, And they remove the mighty without hand.
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.
21 For His eyes [are] on the ways of each, And He sees all his steps.
For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps.
22 There is no darkness nor death-shade, For workers of iniquity to be hidden there;
There is no dark place, and no thick cloud, in which the workers of evil may take cover.
23 For He does not permit man anymore, To go to God in judgment,
For he does not give man a fixed time to come before him to be judged.
24 He breaks the mighty—no searching! And He appoints others in their stead.
He sends the strong to destruction without searching out their cause, and puts others in their place.
25 Therefore He knows their works, And He has overturned by night, And they are bruised.
For he has knowledge of their works, overturning them in the night, so that they are crushed.
26 As wicked He has struck them, In the place of beholders.
The evil-doers are broken by his wrath, he puts his hand on them with force before the eyes of all onlookers.
27 Because that against right They have turned aside from after Him, And have considered none of His ways,
Because they did not go after him, and took no note of his ways,
28 To cause to come to Him The cry of the poor, And He hears the cry of the afflicted.
So that the cry of the poor might come up to him, and the prayer of those in need come to his ears.
29 And He gives rest, and who makes wrong? And hides the face, and who beholds it? And in reference to a nation and to a man, [It is] the same.
30 From the reigning of a profane man, From the snares of a people;
31 For has any said to God: I have taken away, I do not do corruptly,
32 Besides [that which] I see, You show me, If I have done iniquity—I do not add?
33 Does He repay by you, that you have refused—That you choose, and not I? And what you have known, speak.
34 Let men of heart say to me, And a wise man is listening to me:
Men of knowledge, and all wise men, hearing me, will say,
35 Job—he does not speak with knowledge, And his words [are] not with wisdom.
Job's words do not come from knowledge; they are not the fruit of wisdom.
36 My Father! Let Job be tried—to victory, Because of answers for men of iniquity,
May Job be tested to the end, because his answers have been like those of evil men.
37 For he adds to his sin, He vomits transgression among us, And multiplies his sayings to God.”
For in addition to his sin, he is uncontrolled in heart; before our eyes he makes sport of God, increasing his words against him.
