Job 35
1 Igitur Eliu haec rursum locutus est:
Then Elihu continued, saying,
2 Numquid aequa tibi videtur tua cogitatio, ut diceres: Iustior sum Deo?
“Do you think it's honest to claim you are right before God?
3 Dixisti enim: Non tibi placet quod rectum est: vel quid tibi proderit, si ego peccavero?
And you ask, ‘What benefit do I get? What good has it done me by not sinning?’
4 Itaque ego respondebo sermonibus tuis, et amicis tuis tecum.
I'll tell you, and your friends too!
5 Suspice caelum et intuere, et contemplare aethera quod altior te sit.
Just look up at the sky and see. Observe the clouds high above you.
6 Si peccaveris, quid ei nocebis? et si multiplicatae fuerint iniquitates tuae, quid facies contra eum?
If you sin, how does that harm God? How do your many sins affect God?
7 Porro si iuste egeris, quid donabis ei, aut quid de manu tua accipiet?
If you do what's right, what good are you doing for him?
8 Homini, qui similis tui est, nocebit impietas tua: et filium hominis adiuvabit iustitia tua.
No—your sins only affect people like yourself, and whatever good you do only affects them too.
9 Propter multitudinem calumniatorum clamabunt: et eiulabunt propter vim brachii tyrannorum.
People cry out because of terrible persecution; they call for someone to save them from their oppressors.
10 Et non dixit: Ubi est Deus, qui fecit me, qui dedit carmina in nocte,
But no one asks, ‘Where is the God my maker, the one who gives songs in the night,
11 Qui docet nos super iumenta terrae, et super volucres caeli erudit nos.
who teaches us more than the animals, and makes us wiser than the birds?’
12 Ibi clamabunt, et non exaudiet, propter superbiam malorum.
When they call out for help, God doesn't answer because they are proud and evil people.
13 Non ergo frustra audiet Deus, et Omnipotens causas singulorum intuebitur.
God doesn't listen to their empty cries; the Almighty doesn't pay them any attention.
14 Etiam cum dixeris: Non considerat: iudicare coram illo, et expecta eum.
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 Nunc enim non infert furorem suum, nec ulciscitur scelus valde.
You're saying that God doesn't punish people in his anger and pays little attention to sin.
16 Ergo Iob frustra aperit os suum, et absque scientia verba multiplicat.
You, Job, are talking nonsense, making long speeches when you know nothing!”
