Job 35
1 And Elihu answers and says:
Then Elihu continued, saying,
2 “Have you reckoned this for judgment [when] you have said, My righteousness [is] more than God’s?
“Do you think it's honest to claim you are right before God?
3 For you say, What does it profit You? What do I profit from my sin?
And you ask, ‘What benefit do I get? What good has it done me by not sinning?’
4 I return words, and your friends with you,
I'll tell you, and your friends too!
5 Behold attentively the heavens—and see, And behold the clouds, They have been higher than you.
Just look up at the sky and see. Observe the clouds high above you.
6 If you have sinned, what do you do against Him? And your transgressions have been multiplied, What do you do to Him?
If you sin, how does that harm God? How do your many sins affect God?
7 If you have been righteous, What do you give to Him? Or what does He receive from your hand?
If you do what's right, what good are you doing for him?
8 For a man like yourself [is] your wickedness, And for a son of man your righteousness.
No—your sins only affect people like yourself, and whatever good you do only affects them too.
9 Because of the multitude of oppressions They cause to cry out, They cry because of the arm of the mighty.
People cry out because of terrible persecution; they call for someone to save them from their oppressors.
10 And none said, Where [is] God my Maker? Giving songs in the night,
But no one asks, ‘Where is the God my maker, the one who gives songs in the night,
11 Teaching us more than the beasts of the earth, Indeed, He makes us wiser than the bird of the heavens.
who teaches us more than the animals, and makes us wiser than the birds?’
12 There they cry, and He does not answer, Because of the pride of evildoers.
When they call out for help, God doesn't answer because they are proud and evil people.
13 Surely God does not hear vanity, And the Mighty does not behold it.
God doesn't listen to their empty cries; the Almighty doesn't pay them any attention.
14 Indeed, though you say you do not behold Him, Judgment [is] before Him, and stays for Him.
How much less will God hear you when you say he can't see you? Your case is before him, so you have to wait for him.
15 And now, because there is not, He has appointed His anger, And He has not known in great extremity.
You're saying that God doesn't punish people in his anger and pays little attention to sin.
16 And Job opens his mouth [with] vanity, He multiplies words without knowledge.”
You, Job, are talking nonsense, making long speeches when you know nothing!”
