Job 34
1 pronuntians itaque Heliu etiam haec locutus est
Then Elihu continued:
2 audite sapientes verba mea et eruditi auscultate me
“You [three] men who [think that you] [SAR] are very wise, hear me; listen to what I am saying, you men who [say that you] know so much.
3 auris enim verba probat et guttur escas gustu diiudicat
When we [SYN] hear what other people [like you] say, we [RHQ] think carefully about what they say [to determine what is good and what is bad], like we [SYN] taste food [to determine what is good].
4 iudicium eligamus nobis et inter nos videamus quid sit melius
We need to decide [who is saying] what is right and to determine among ourselves what is good/best.
5 quia dixit Iob iustus sum et Deus subvertit iudicium meum
Job has said, ‘I am innocent, but God has refused to judge me fairly/justly.
6 in iudicando enim me mendacium est violenta sagitta mea absque ullo peccato
Even though I have always done what is right, he is lying about me. Even though I have not done what is wrong, he has caused me to suffer, and I will certainly die.’
7 quis est vir ut est Iob qui bibit subsannationem quasi aquam
(Is there any person like Job, who insults others as easily as people accept a drink of water?/There is no person like Job, who insults others as easily as people accept a drink of water.) [RHQ]
8 qui graditur cum operantibus iniquitatem et ambulat cum viris impiis
He habitually associates with people who do what is evil and spends time with wicked people.
9 dixit enim non placebit vir Deo etiam si cucurrerit cum eo
He has said, ‘It is useless for people to try to please God.’
10 ideo viri cordati audite me absit a Deo impietas et ab Omnipotente iniquitas
“So, you men who [claim that you] understand everything, listen to me! Almighty God would never consider doing anything that is wicked or wrong [DOU]!
11 opus enim hominis reddet ei et iuxta vias singulorum restituet
He (pays back/punishes) people for what they have done; he gives them what they deserve for the way that they have conducted their lives.
12 vere enim Deus non condemnabit frustra nec Omnipotens subvertet iudicium
Truly, Almighty God never does what is wicked; he always [LIT] does what is fair/just.
13 quem constituit alium super terram aut quem posuit super orbem quem fabricatus est
The authority that he has to rule everything on the earth, no one [RHQ] gave it to him; no one [RHQ] put him in control of the whole world. [He has always had that authority].
14 si direxerit ad eum cor suum spiritum illius et flatum ad se trahet
If he would take his spirit back to himself,
15 deficiet omnis caro simul et homo in cinerem revertetur
everyone would die [immediately], and their corpses would soon become dirt again.
16 si habes ergo intellectum audi quod dicitur et ausculta vocem eloquii mei
“So, [Job], if [you say that you] understand everything, listen to what I am saying.
17 numquid qui non amat iudicium sanare potest et quomodo tu eum qui iustus est in tantum condemnas
God could certainly not [RHQ] govern the world if he hated doing what is fair/just. So, will you condemn God, who is righteous and powerful, [saying that what he has done is wrong]?
18 qui dicit regi apostata qui vocat duces impios
He tells [some] kings that they are worthless, and he says to [some] officials that they are wicked.
19 qui non accipit personas principum nec cognovit tyrannum cum disceptaret contra pauperem opus enim manuum eius sunt universi
He does not favor rulers [more than he favors others]; he does not favor rich people more than poor people, because he created all of them.
20 subito morientur et in media nocte turbabuntur populi et pertransibunt et auferent violentum absque manu
People [often] die suddenly; he strikes them at midnight and they die; he even gets rid of mighty people without the help of any humans [SYN].
21 oculi enim eius super vias hominum et omnes gressus eorum considerat
“He sees [MTY] everything that people do; [when we walk, ] he watches every step that we take.
22 non sunt tenebrae et non est umbra mortis ut abscondantur ibi qui operantur iniquitatem
There is no gloom or darkness [DOU] that is so dark that sinners can hide [from him] in that darkness.
23 neque enim ultra in hominis potestate est ut veniat ad Deum in iudicium
God does not [need to] set a time when we will stand in front of him in order that he may judge us. [He can judge us whenever he wants to].
24 conteret multos innumerabiles et stare faciet alios pro eis
He destroys mighty people without [needing to] investigate [what they have done], and he appoints others to take their places.
25 novit enim opera eorum et idcirco inducet noctem et conterentur
Because he [already] knows what they have done, he removes them at night and gets rid of them.
26 quasi impios percussit eos in loco videntium
Where [many] people can see it, he strikes/punishes them because of the wicked things that they have done;
27 qui quasi de industria recesserunt ab eo et omnes vias eius intellegere noluerunt
he strikes them because they turned away from doing what he wanted them to do and did not pay attention to any of his commands.
28 ut pervenire facerent ad eum clamorem egeni et audiret vocem pauperum
They [mistreated] the poor people, with the result that those poor people cried out to God [for help], and he heard those afflicted people when they cried out [to him].
29 ipso enim concedente pacem quis est qui condemnet ex quo absconderit vultum quis est qui contempletur eum et super gentem et super omnes homines
But if God decides to do nothing [to punish wicked people], no one can criticize/condemn him. If a godless/wicked man rules a nation, a man who tricks/deceives the people,
30 qui regnare facit hominem hypocritam propter peccata populi
and if [God] hides his face [with the result that he does not see that ruler or punish him], no one will be able to prevent that ruler [from doing those things].
31 quia ergo ego locutus sum ad Deum te quoque non prohibeo
“Job, have you or anyone else ever said to God, ‘I have been punished [for my sins], and I will not sin any more;
32 si erravi tu doce me si iniquitatem locutus sum ultra non addam
so teach/show me what [sins I have committed]; if I have done anything that is evil, I will not do it any more’?
33 numquid a te Deus expetit eam quia displicuit tibi tu enim coepisti loqui et non ego quod si quid nosti melius loquere
[Job, ] you object to what God has done to you, but do you think that he will do what you want him to do? It is you who must choose [what you say to God], not I; so tell me what you are thinking about this.
34 viri intellegentes loquantur mihi et vir sapiens audiat me
“People who have good sense, those who are wise and who listen to what I say, will say to me,
35 Iob autem stulte locutus est et verba illius non sonant disciplinam
‘Job is speaking ignorantly; what he says is nonsense.’
36 pater mi probetur Iob usque ad finem ne desinas in hominibus iniquitatis
I think that Job should be taken to a court and (put on trial/judged), because he answers [us his friends] like wicked men would answer.
37 quia addit super peccata sua blasphemiam inter nos interim constringatur et tunc ad iudicium provocet sermonibus suis Deum
To add to the [other] sins that he has committed, he is rebelling [against God]; he shows us that he does not respect God [IDM], making long speeches [saying that God has punished him unjustly].”
