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 understand.3 “For ^athe ear tests wordsAs the palate tastes food.4 “Let us choose for ourselves what is right;Let us understand among ourselves what is good.5 “For Job has said, ‘^aI am righteous,But ^bGod has taken away my right;6 ¹Should I lie about my right?My ²^awound is incurable, though I am without wrongdoing.’7 “What man is like Job,Who ^adrinks up derision like water,8 Who goes ^ain company with the workers of injustice,And walks with wicked people?9 “For he has said, ‘^aIt is of no use to a manWhen he becomes friends with God.’

10 “Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding.Far be it from God to ^ado evil,And from the Almighty to do wrong.11 “For He repays a person for ^ahis work,And lets things happen in correspondence to a man’s ¹behavior.12 “^aGod certainly will not act wickedly,And the Almighty will not pervert justice.13 “Who ^agave Him authority over the earth?And who ^bhas placed the whole world on Him?14 “If He were to ¹determine to do so,If He were to ^agather His ²spirit and His breath to Himself,15 ¹^aHumanity would perish together,And mankind 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, ‘You worthless one,’To nobles, ‘You wicked one’;19 Who shows no ^apartiality to the prominent,Nor regards the rich as above the poor,Since they are all the ^bwork of His hands?20 “In a moment they die, and ^aat midnightPeople are shaken and pass away,And ^bthe powerful are taken away without a hand.

21 “For ^aHis eyes are upon the ways of a person,And He sees all his steps.22 “There is ^ano darkness or deep shadowWhere the workers of injustice can hide themselves.23 “For He does not ^aneed to consider a person further,That he should go before God in judgment.24 “He breaks in pieces the ^amighty without investigation,And sets others in their place.25 “Therefore He ^aknows their deeds,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 would ^bhear the cry of the afflicted—29 When He keeps quiet, who can condemn?And when He hides His face, who then can look at Him,That is, regarding both nation and a person?—30 “So that ^agodless people would not rule,Nor be snares for the people.

31 “For has anyone said to God,‘I have endured punishment;I will not offend anymore;32 Teach me what I do not see;If I have ^adone wrong,I will not do it again’?33 “Shall God ^arepay on your terms, because you have rejected His?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 ‘Oh that Job were tested ¹to the limit,Because ²he answers ^alike sinners.37 ‘For he adds ^arebellion to his sin;He ^bclaps his hands among us,And multiplies his words against God.’”