< Job 35 >

1 Then Elihu also said this:
ויען אליהו ויאמר
2 “[Job, ] do you think that what you said is right/correct? You say, ‘God knows that I am innocent,’
הזאת חשבת למשפט אמרת צדקי מאל
3 and you say [to God], ‘What good have I received for not sinning? What benefit have I received from that?’ [DOU, RHQ]
כי-תאמר מה-יסכן-לך מה-אעיל מחטאתי
4 [Well, ] I will answer you, and I will answer your three friends, too.
אני אשיבך מלין-- ואת-רעיך עמך
5 “[Job], look up at the sky; look at the clouds that are high above you and realize [that God is far above everything].
הבט שמים וראה ושור שחקים גבהו ממך
6 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].
אם-חטאת מה-תפעל-בו ורבו פשעיך מה-תעשה-לו
7 And if you are righteous, does that help God? No, he is not benefited by anything that you do [DOU].
אם-צדקת מה-תתן-לו או מה-מידך יקח
8 It is other people who suffer because of the wicked things that you do, but by doing good things for people, you help them.
לאיש-כמוך רשעך ולבן-אדם צדקתך
9 “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.
מרב עשוקים יזעיקו ישועו מזרוע רבים
10 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.
ולא-אמר--איה אלוה עשי נתן זמרות בלילה
11 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!’
מלפנו מבהמות ארץ ומעוף השמים יחכמנו
12 People cry out [for help], but God does not answer them, because those who cry out are proud and evil people.
שם יצעקו ולא יענה-- מפני גאון רעים
13 It is useless for them to cry out, because God, the Almighty One, does not pay any attention to what they say.
אך-שוא לא-ישמע אל ושדי לא ישורנה
14 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!
אף כי-תאמר לא תשורנו דין לפניו ותחולל לו
15 Furthermore, [you say that] because he does not pay attention when people commit sins, he does not become angry and punish them.
ועתה--כי-אין פקד אפו ולא-ידע בפש מאד
16 You say things that are useless; you say a lot of things without knowing [what you are talking about].”
ואיוב הבל יפצה-פיהו בבלי-דעת מלין יכבר

< Job 35 >