Job 33

Elihu Presents His Case against Job

¹“Listen to my words, Job;

pay attention to what I have to say.

²Now that I have begun to speak,

let me continue.

³I speak with all sincerity;

I speak the truth.

⁴For the Spirit of God has made me,

and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

⁵Answer me, if you can;

make your case and take your stand.

⁶Look, you and I both belong to God.

I, too, was formed from clay.

⁷So you don’t need to be afraid of me.

I won’t come down hard on you.

⁸“You have spoken in my hearing,

and I have heard your very words.

⁹You said, ‘I am pure; I am without sin;

I am innocent; I have no guilt.

¹⁰God is picking a quarrel with me,

and he considers me his enemy.

¹¹He puts my feet in the stocks

and watches my every move.’

¹²“But you are wrong, and I will show you why.

For God is greater than any human being.

¹³So why are you bringing a charge against him?

Why say he does not respond to people’s complaints?

¹⁴For God speaks again and again,

though people do not recognize it.

¹⁵He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night,

when deep sleep falls on people

as they lie in their beds.

¹⁶He whispers in their ears

and terrifies them with warnings.

¹⁷He makes them turn from doing wrong;

he keeps them from pride.

¹⁸He protects them from the grave,

from crossing over the river of death.

¹⁹“Or God disciplines people with pain on their sickbeds,

with ceaseless aching in their bones.

²⁰They lose their appetite

for even the most delicious food.

²¹Their flesh wastes away,

and their bones stick out.

²²They are at death’s door;

the angels of death wait for them.

²³“But if an angel from heaven appears—

a special messenger to intercede for a person

and declare that he is upright—

²⁴he will be gracious and say,

‘Rescue him from the grave,

for I have found a ransom for his life.’

²⁵Then his body will become as healthy as a child’s,

firm and youthful again.

²⁶When he prays to God,

he will be accepted.

And God will receive him with joy

and restore him to good standing.

²⁷He will declare to his friends,

‘I sinned and twisted the truth,

but it was not worth it.^a

²⁸God rescued me from the grave,

and now my life is filled with light.’

²⁹“Yes, God does these things

again and again for people.

³⁰He rescues them from the grave

so they may enjoy the light of life.

³¹Mark this well, Job. Listen to me,

for I have more to say.

³²But if you have anything to say, go ahead.

Speak, for I am anxious to see you justified.

³³But if not, then listen to me.

Keep silent and I will teach you wisdom!”