Online Bible

Elihu Vindicates God’s Justice

Elihu continued his discourse and said,

2 “Hear my words, you wise men,And listen to me, you who have so much knowledge.3 “For ^athe ear puts words to the testAs the palate tastes food.4 “Let us choose for ourselves that which is right;Let us know among ourselves what is good.5 “For Job has said, ‘^aI am righteous and innocent,But ^bGod has taken away my right; Job 33:96 Although I am right, I am accounted a liar.My ^awound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’7 “What man is like Job,Who ^adrinks up derision like water,8 Who goes ^ain company with those who do evilAnd walks with wicked men?9 “For he has said, ‘^aIt profits a man nothingWhen he takes delight and is pleased with God and obeys Him.’

10 “Therefore hear me, you men of understanding.Far be it from God that He would ^ado wickedness,And from the Almighty to do wrong.11 “For God pays a man according to ^ahis work,And He will make every man find appropriate compensation according to his way.12 “Surely ^aGod will not act wickedly,Nor will the Almighty pervert justice.13 “Who ^aput God in charge over the earth?And who ^bhas laid on Him the whole world?14 “If God should determine to do so,If He should ^agather to Himself that is, withdraw from man His life-giving spirit and His breath,15 All ^aflesh would perish together,And man would ^breturn to dust. Ps 104:29; Eccl 12:7

16 “If you now have understanding, hear this;Listen to the sound of my words.17 “Shall ^aone who hates justice and is an enemy of right govern?And ^bwill you condemn Him who is just and mighty?18 “God who says to a king, ‘You are worthless and vile,’Or to princes and nobles, ‘You are wicked and evil’?19 “Who is not ^apartial to princes,Nor does He regard the rich above the poor,For they all are the ^bwork of His hands.20 “In a moment they die, even ^aat midnightThe people are shaken and pass away,And ^bthe powerful are taken away without a human hand.

21 “For God’s ^aeyes are on the ways of a man,And He sees all his steps. Ps 34:15; Prov 5:21; Jer 16:1722 “There is ^ano darkness nor deep shadowWhere the evildoers may hide themselves.23 “For He sets no ^aappointed time for a man,That he should appear before Him in judgment.24 “He breaks ^amighty men without inquiry,And sets others in their place. Dan 2:2125 “Therefore He ^aknows of their works,And ^bHe overthrows them in the night,So that they are crushed and destroyed.26 “He ^astrikes them like the wickedIn a public place,27 Because they ^aturned aside from following HimAnd would ^bnot consider or show regard for any of His ways, 1+@Sam 15:1128 So that they caused ^athe cry of the poor to come to Him,And He ^bheard the cry of the afflicted. Ex 22:23; James 5:429 “When He keeps quiet, who then can condemn?When He hides His face withdrawing His favor and help, who then can behold Him and make supplication to Him,Whether it be a nation or a man by himself?—30 “So that ^agodless men would not ruleNor be snares for the people.

31 “For has anyone said to God,‘I have endured my chastisement;I will not offend anymore;32 Teach me what I do not see in regard to how I have sinned;If I have ^adone wrong (injustice, unrighteousness) ,I will not do it again’?33 “Shall God’s ^aretribution for your sins be on your terms, because you refuse to accept it?For you must do the choosing, and not I;Therefore say what you truthfully know.34 “Men of understanding will tell me,Indeed, every wise man who hears me will agree,35 ‘Job ^aspeaks without knowledge,And his words are without wisdom and insight.36 ‘Job ought to be tried ¹to the limitBecause he answers ^alike wicked men!37 ‘For he adds ^arebellion in his unsubmissive, defiant attitude toward God to his unacknowledged sin;He ^bclaps his hands among us in open mockery and contempt of God,And he multiplies his words of accusation against God.’”

Elihu Vindicates God’s Justice

Then Elihu continued and said,

2 “Hear my words, you wise men,And listen to me, you who know.3 “For ^athe ear tests wordsAs the palate tastes food.4 “Let us choose for ourselves what is right;Let us know among ourselves what is good.5 “For Job has said, ‘^aI am righteous,But ^bGod has taken away my right;6 ¹Should I lie concerning my right?My ²^awound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’7 “What man is like Job,Who ^adrinks up derision like water,8 Who goes ^ain company with the workers of iniquity,And walks with wicked men?9 “For he has said, ‘^aIt profits a man nothingWhen he ¹is pleased with God.’

10 “Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding.Far be it from God to ^ado wickedness,And from the Almighty to do wrong.11 “For He pays a man according to ^ahis work,And makes ¹him find it according to his way.12 “Surely, ^aGod will not act wickedly,And the Almighty will not pervert justice.13 “Who ^agave Him authority over the earth?And who ^bhas laid on Him the whole world?14 “If He should ¹determine to do so,If He should ^agather to Himself His spirit and His breath,15 All ^aflesh would perish together,And man would ^breturn to dust.

16 “But if you have understanding, hear this;Listen to the sound of my words.17 “Shall ^aone who hates justice rule?And ^bwill you condemn the righteous mighty One,18 Who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’To nobles, ‘Wicked ones’;19 Who shows no ^apartiality to princesNor regards the rich above the poor,For they all are the ^bwork of His hands?20 “In a moment they die, and ^aat midnightPeople are shaken and pass away,And ^bthe mighty are taken away without a hand.

21 “For ^aHis eyes are upon the ways of a man,And He sees all his steps.22 “There is ^ano darkness or deep shadowWhere the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.23 “For He does not ^aneed to consider a man further,That he should go before God in judgment.24 “He breaks in pieces ^amighty men without inquiry,And sets others in their place.25 “Therefore He ^aknows their works,And ^bHe overthrows them in the night,And they are crushed.26 “He ^astrikes them like the wicked¹In a public place,27 Because they ^aturned aside from following Him,And ^bhad no regard for any of His ways;28 So that they caused ^athe cry of the poor to come to Him,And that He might ^bhear the cry of the afflicted—29 When He keeps quiet, who then can condemn?And when He hides His face, who then can behold Him,That is, in regard to both nation and man?—30 “So that ^agodless men would not ruleNor be snares of the people.

31 “For has anyone said to God,‘I have borne chastisement;I will not offend anymore;32 Teach me what I do not see;If I have ^adone iniquity,I will not do it again’?33 “Shall He ^arecompense on your terms, because you have rejected it?For you must choose, and not I;Therefore declare what you know.34 “Men of understanding will say to me,And a wise man who hears me,35 ‘Job ^aspeaks without knowledge,And his words are without wisdom.36 ‘Job ought to be tried ¹to the limit,Because he answers ^alike wicked men.37 ‘For he adds ^arebellion to his sin;He ^bclaps his hands among us,And multiplies his words against God.’”