Online Bible

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.’”

Elihu Answers That God Will Be Just

Then Elihu answered and said,

2 “Hear my speech, you wise men,And give ear to me, you who know.3 “For ^athe ear tests wordsAs the palate tastes food.4 “Let us choose for ourselves what is just;Let us know among ourselves what is good.5 “For Job has said, ‘^aI am righteous,But ^bGod has removed my justice;6 ¹Should I lie concerning my justice?My ²^awound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’7 “What man is like Job,Who ^adrinks up mocking like water,8 But he travels ^ain company with the workers of iniquity,And walks with wicked men?9 “For he has said, ‘^aIt is of no use to a manWhen he ¹is pleased with God.’

10 “Therefore, listen to me, you men with a heart of wisdom.Far be it from God to ^ado injustice,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 “Truly, ^aGod will not act wickedly,And the Almighty will not pervert justice.13 “Who ^aappointed Him with authority over the earth?And who ^bhas laid on Him the whole world?14 “If He should set His heart on it,If He should ^agather to Himself His spirit and His breath,15 All ^aflesh would breathe its last together,And man would ^breturn to dust.

16 “But if you have understanding, hear this;Give ear to the sound of my speech.17 “Shall ^aone who hates justice ¹rule?And ^bwill you condemn the righteous mighty One,18 Who says to a king, ‘Vile one,’To nobles, ‘Wicked ones’;19 Who shows no ^apartiality to princesNor recognizes 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 shadow of deathWhere the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.23 “¹For 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 searching anything out,And sets others in their place.25 “Therefore He ^arecognizes their labors,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 insight from 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 So if He keeps quiet, who then can condemn?So if He hides His face, who then can perceive Him?He is above both nation and man altogether,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 work destructively anymore;32 Instruct me what I do not behold;If I have ^adone injustice,I will not do it again’?33 “Shall He ^arepay on your terms, because you have rejected it?For you must choose, and not I;Therefore say what you know.34 “Men with a heart of wisdom will say to me,And a wise man who hears me,35 ‘Job ^aspeaks without knowledge,And his words are without insight.36 ‘Job ought to be tested ¹to the limitBecause he answers ^alike wicked men.37 ‘For he adds ^atransgression to his sin;He ^bstrikes his hands together among us,And multiplies his words against God.’”