Job 33
1 But, in very deed, hear, I pray thee, Job, my discourse, and, to all my words, give thou ear.
“But now, Job, listen carefully to all that I am going to say [DOU].
2 Lo! I pray thee, I have opened my mouth, My tongue, with my palate, hath spoken,
I am ready to tell you [MTY, DOU] [what I think].
3 Mine utterances come straight from mine own heart, and, what I know, my lips have truly spoken;
I know that I am speaking honestly and that I am speaking [MTY] sincerely.
4 The spirit of GOD, hath made me, and, the inspiration of the Almighty, giveth me life.
Almighty God has created me [as well as you], and his breath has caused me to live.
5 If thou art able to answer me, Set in order before me—take thy stand!
So, answer [what] I [say] if you can; think carefully [about how you will reply to me].
6 Lo! I am like thyself toward GOD, From clay, have I been nipped off, even I!
“God considers that you, and I are both [equal]; he formed both of us from clay.
7 Lo! my terror, will not startle thee, nor, my hand, upon thee, be heavy.
So you do not need to be afraid of me; I will not crush/oppress you [by what I say] [MTY].
8 But thou hast spoken in mine ears, and, the sound of words, I heard: —
I have heard you [DOU] speaking, and this is what you have said:
9 Pure am, I, without transgression, —Clean am, I, and have no iniquity;
‘I am innocent; I have not committed any sins; I am pure; I have not done things that are wrong.
10 Lo! occasions of hostility, would he find against me, He counteth me an enemy to him;
But God finds reasons to accuse me, and he considers that I am his enemy.
11 He putteth—in the stocks—my feet, He watcheth 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 Lo! in this, thou hast not been right—let me answer thee, For, 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 Wherefore, against him, hast thou contended? For, with none of his reasons, will he respond.
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, in one way, GOD may speak, —and, in a second way, one may not heed 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 the night, when a deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed,
[Sometimes he speaks to us] at night in dreams and visions, when we are on our beds, asleep [DOU].
16 Then, uncovereth he the ear of men, and, on their correction, affixeth a seal;
He reveals things [MTY] to us and terrifies us by the things he warns us about.
17 To turn a son of earth from his deed, while yet, pride, from man he concealeth:
He tell us those things in order that we stop doing [evil] things and to prevent us from becoming proud.
18 He keepeth back his said from the pit, and his life from passing away by a weapon.
He does not want us to be destroyed [MTY]; he wants to prevent us from dying [MTY] [while we are still young].
19 Or he is chastised with pain, upon his bed, and, the strife of his bones, is unceasing!
God also [sometimes] corrects us by forcing us to lie on our beds suffering much pain and with fever/aching in our bones.
20 So that his life maketh loathsome [his] food, and his soul, dainty meat;
The result is that we do not desire any food, not even very special food.
21 His flesh wasteth away out of sight, and bared are the bones once unseen;
Our bodies become very thin, with the result that we look like skeletons [HYP], and our bones stick out.
22 So doth his soul draw near to the pit, and his life to the inflicters of death:
[We know that] we will soon die and go to the place where dead people are.
23 If there hath been near him a messenger who could interpret—one of a thousand, to declare to the son of earth 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 hath he shewed him favour, and said, Set him free from going down to the pit, I have found a price of redemption!
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 His flesh hath been made fresher than a child’s, he hath returned 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 made supplication unto GOD, who hath accepted him, and he hath beheld his face with a shout of triumph, Thus hath he given back 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 He sang before men, and said, I sinned, and, uprightness, I perverted, yet he requited me not;
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 hath ransomed my soul from passing away into the pit, —and, my life, in the light, shall have vision.
He has saved me from dying and going to the place where dead people are, and I will continue to enjoy being alive.’
29 Lo! a these things, doth GOD work, two ways, three, with a man;
God does all these things for us many times;
30 To bring back his soul from the pit, to enlighten 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 Mark well, O Job, and hearken to me, Be silent, and, I, will speak:
So Job, listen to me; do not say anything more; just allow me to speak.
32 If there is anything to say, reply to me, Speak, for I desire to justify thee;
[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 not, do, thou, hearken unto me, Be silent, that I may teach thee 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.”
