Elihu Rebukes Job

¹“But now, hear my speech, O Job,

and listen to all my words.

²Behold, I jopen my mouth;

the tongue in my mouth speaks.

³My words declare the uprightness of my heart,

and what my lips know they speak sincerely.

⁴kThe Spirit of God has made me,

and lthe breath of the Almighty gives me life.

⁵mAnswer me, if you can;

nset your words in order before me; take your stand.

⁶Behold, I am toward God as you are;

I too was pinched off from a piece of oclay.

⁷Behold, no pfear of me need terrify you;

my qpressure will not be heavy upon you.

⁸“Surely you have spoken in my ears,

and I have heard the sound of your words.

⁹You say, ‘I am rpure, without stransgression;

I am clean, and there is no iniquity in me.

¹⁰Behold, he finds occasions against me,

he tcounts me as his enemy,

¹¹he uputs my feet in the stocks

and vwatches all my paths.’

¹²“Behold, in this you are not right. I will answer you,

for God is greater than man.

¹³Why do you wcontend against him,

saying, ‘He xwill answer none of man's1 words’?2

¹⁴For God yspeaks in one way,

zand in two, though man adoes not perceive it.

¹⁵In ba dream, in ca vision of dthe night,

when cdeep sleep falls on men,

while they slumber on their beds,

¹⁶then he eopens the ears of men

and terrifies3 them with warnings,

¹⁷that he may turn man aside from his fdeed

and conceal pride from a man;

¹⁸he keeps back his soul from the pit,

his life from gperishing by the sword.

¹⁹“Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed

and with continual strife in his hbones,

²⁰so that his ilife loathes bread,

and his appetite jthe choicest food.

²¹His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen,

and his bones that were not seen kstick out.

²²His soul draws near lthe pit,

and his life to mthose who bring death.

²³If there be for him nan angel,

oa mediator, pone of the thousand,

to declare to man what is qright for him,

²⁴and he is merciful to him, and says,

‘Deliver him from going down into the pit;

I have found ra ransom;

²⁵let his flesh sbecome fresh with youth;

let him return to the days of his youthful vigor’;

²⁶then man4 tprays to God, and he accepts him;

he usees his face with a shout of joy,

and he vrestores to man his righteousness.

²⁷He sings before men and says:

‘I wsinned and perverted what was right,

and it was not repaid to me.

²⁸He has redeemed my xsoul from going down yinto the pit,

and my life shall zlook upon the light.’

²⁹“Behold, God does all these things,

twice, athree times, with a man,

³⁰to bring back his soul from the pit,

that he may be lighted with bthe light of life.

³¹Pay attention, O Job, listen to me;

be silent, and I will speak.

³²If you have any words, canswer me;

dspeak, for I desire to justify you.

³³If not, elisten to me;

be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”