Job 34

1 And Elihu answereth and saith:

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 doth try words, And the palate tasteth to eat.

For words are tested by the ear, as food is tasted by the mouth.

4 Judgment let us choose 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 hath said, 'I have been righteous, And God hath 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? Mortal [is] mine arrow — 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 drinketh scoffing like water,

What man is like Job, a man who freely makes sport of God,

8 And he hath travelled 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 hath said, 'It doth not profit a man, When he delighteth 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, hearken 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 the work of man he repayeth to him, And according to the path of each He doth cause 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 Yea, truly, God doth not do wickedly, And the Mighty doth not pervert judgment.

Truly, God does not do evil, and the Ruler of all is not a false judge.

13 Who hath inspected for Himself the earth? And who hath placed all the habitable world?

Who put the earth into his care, or made him responsible for the world?

14 If He doth set on him His heart, His spirit and his breath unto Him He gathereth.

If he made his spirit come back to him, taking his breath into himself again,

15 Expire doth all flesh together, And man to dust returneth.

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 Yea, doth one hating justice govern? Or the Most Just dost thou condemn?

How may a hater of right be a ruler? and will you say that the upright Ruler of all is evil?

18 Who hath said to a king — 'Worthless,' Unto princes — 'Wicked?'

He who says to a king, You are an evil-doer; and to rulers, You are sinners;

19 That hath not accepted the person of princes, Nor hath known the rich before the poor, For a work of His hands [are] all of them.

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 Shake do people, 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 all his steps He doth see.

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 doth not suffer man any more, To go unto God in judgment,

For he does not give man a fixed time to come before him to be judged.

24 He breaketh the mighty — no searching! And He appointeth others in their stead.

He sends the strong to destruction without searching out their cause, and puts others in their place.

25 Therefore He knoweth their works, And He hath 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 hath stricken 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 none of His ways have considered wisely,

Because they did not go after him, and took no note of his ways,

28 To cause to come in unto Him The cry of the poor, And the cry of the afflicted He heareth.

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 giveth rest, and who maketh wrong? And hideth the face, and who beholdeth 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 unto God hath any said: 'I have taken away, I do not corruptly,

32 Besides [that which] I see, shew Thou me, If iniquity I have done — I do not add?'

33 By thee doth He recompense, That thou hast refused — That thou dost choose, and not I? And what thou hast known, speak.

34 Let men of heart say to me, And a wise man is hearkening to me.

Men of knowledge, and all wise men, hearing me, will say,

35 Job — not with knowledge doth he speak, 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 — unto 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 doth add to his sin, Transgression among us he vomiteth, And multiplieth 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.