Online Bible

Elihu Asks Job to Hear and Respond

“However now, Job, please ^ahear my speech,And give ear to all my words.2 “Behold now, I open my mouth;My tongue in my ¹mouth speaks.3 “My words are from the uprightness of my heart,And my lips speak ^aknowledge sincerely.4 “The ^aSpirit of God has made me,And the ^bbreath of ¹the Almighty gives me life.5 “^aRespond to me if you can;Arrange yourselves before me, take your stand.6 “Behold, I belong to God like you;I too have been ¹formed out of the ^aclay.7 “Behold, ^ano dread of me should terrify you,Nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you.

8 “Surely you have spoken in my hearing,And I have heard the sound of your speech:9 ‘I am ^apure, ^bwithout transgression;I am innocent, and there ^cis no guilt in me.10 ‘Behold, He finds reasons for opposition against me;He ^acounts me as His enemy.11 ‘He ^aputs my feet in the stocks;He keeps watch over all my paths.’12 “Behold, let me answer you; ^ayou are not right in this,For God is greater than mortal man.

13 “Why do you ^acontend against Him?For He does not give an answer for all His doings.14 “Indeed ^aGod speaks once,Or twice, yet no one perceives it.15 “In a ^adream, a vision of the night,When deep sleep falls on men,While they slumber in their beds,16 Then ^aHe opens the ears of men,And seals in their discipline,17 That He may turn man aside from his conduct,And ¹keep man from pride;18 He ^aholds back his soul from the pit,And his life from passing over ¹to death ^bby a weapon.

19 “¹Man is also reproved with ^apain on his bed,And with unceasing contention in his bones,20 So that his life ^aloathes bread,And his soul favorite food.21 “His ^aflesh wastes away from sight,And his ^bbones which were not seen stick out.22 “Then ^ahis soul draws near to the pit,And his life to those who bring death.

23 “If there is an angel as ^amediator for him,One out of a thousand,To declare to a man what is ¹right for him,24 Then let him be gracious to him, and say,‘Deliver him from ^agoing down to the pit;I have found ^batonement’;25 Let his flesh become fresher than in youth,Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor;26 Then he will ^aentreat God, and He will accept him,And ^bhe will see His face with joyful shouts,And He may restore His righteousness to man.27 “He will sing to men and say,‘I ^ahave sinned and perverted what is right,But He has not done ^bwhat is due to me.28 ‘He has redeemed my soul from passing into the pit,And my life shall ^asee the light.’

29 “Behold, God does ^aall these things twice, three times with men,30 To ^abring back his soul from the pit,That he may be enlightened with the light of life.31 “Pay attention, O Job, listen to me;Keep silent, and I will speak.32 “Then if ¹you have any speech, respond to me;Speak, for I desire to prove you righteous.33 “If not, ^alisten to me;Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Elihu Claims to Speak for God

“However, please ^ahear my speech, Job,And listen to all my words.2 “Behold now, I open my mouth,My tongue in my ¹mouth speaks.3 “My words are from the integrity of my heart,And my lips speak ^aknowledge sincerely.4 “The ^aSpirit of God has made me,And the ^bbreath of ¹the Almighty gives me life.5 “^aRefute me if you can;Line up against me, take your stand.6 “Behold, I belong to God, like you;I too have been ¹formed out of the ^aclay.7 “Behold, ^ano fear of me should terrify you,Nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you.

8 “You have in fact spoken ¹while I listened,And I heard the sound of your words:9 ‘I am ^apure, ^bwithout wrongdoing;I am innocent and there ^cis no guilt in me.10 ‘Behold, He ¹invents ²criticisms against me;He ^acounts me as His enemy.11 ‘He ^aputs my feet in the stocks;He watches all my paths.’12 “Behold, let me respond to you, ^ayou are not right in this,For God is greater than mankind.

13 “Why do you ^acomplain to HimThat He does not give an account of all His doings?14 “Indeed ^aGod speaks once,Or twice, yet no one notices it.15 “In a ^adream, a vision of the night,When deep sleep falls on people,While they slumber in their beds,16 Then ^aHe opens the ears of people,And horrifies them with warnings,17 So that He may turn a person away from bad conduct,And ¹keep a man from pride;18 He ^akeeps his soul back from the pit,And his life from perishing by the ^bspear.

19 “A person is also rebuked by ^apain in his bed,And with constant complaint in his bones,20 So that his life ^aloathes bread,And his soul, food ¹that he should crave.21 “His ^aflesh wastes away from sight,And his ^bbones, which were not seen, stick out.22 “Then ^ahis soul comes near to the pit,And his life to those who bring death.

23 “If there is an ^ainterceding angel for him,One out of a thousand,To remind a person of what is ¹right for him,24 And he is gracious to him, and says,‘Free him from ^agoing down to the pit,I have found a ^bransom’;25 Let his flesh become fresher than in youth,Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor;26 Then he will ^apray to God, and He will accept him,So that ^bhe may see His face with joy,And He will restore His righteousness to that person.27 “He will sing to people and say,‘I ^ahave sinned and perverted what is right,And it is not ^bproper for me.28 ‘He has redeemed my soul from going to the pit,And my life will ^asee the light.’

29 “Behold, God does ^aall these things for a man two or three times,30 To ^abring back his soul from the pit,So that he may be enlightened with the light of life.31 “Pay attention, Job, listen to me;Keep silent, and let me speak.32 “Then if ¹you have anything to say, answer me;Speak, for I would take pleasure in justifying you.33 “If not, ^alisten to me;Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”