Job 33
New Living Translation
Elihu Presents His Case against Job
33 “Listen to my words, Job;
pay attention to what I have to say.
2 Now that I have begun to speak,
let me continue.
3 I speak with all sincerity;
I speak the truth.
4 For the Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
5 Answer me, if you can;
make your case and take your stand.
6 Look, you and I both belong to God.
I, too, was formed from clay.
7 So you don’t need to be afraid of me.
I won’t come down hard on you.
8 “You have spoken in my hearing,
and I have heard your very words.
9 You said, ‘I am pure; I am without sin;
I am innocent; I have no guilt.
10 God is picking a quarrel with me,
and he considers me his enemy.
11 He puts my feet in the stocks
and watches my every move.’
12 “But you are wrong, and I will show you why.
For God is greater than any human being.
13 So why are you bringing a charge against him?
Why say he does not respond to people’s complaints?
14 For God speaks again and again,
though people do not recognize it.
15 He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night,
when deep sleep falls on people
as they lie in their beds.
16 He whispers in their ears
and terrifies them with warnings.
17 He makes them turn from doing wrong;
he keeps them from pride.
18 He protects them from the grave,
from crossing over the river of death.
19 “Or God disciplines people with pain on their sickbeds,
with ceaseless aching in their bones.
20 They lose their appetite
for even the most delicious food.
21 Their flesh wastes away,
and their bones stick out.
22 They are at death’s door;
the angels of death wait for them.
23 “But if an angel from heaven appears—
a special messenger to intercede for a person
and declare that he is upright—
24 he will be gracious and say,
‘Rescue him from the grave,
for I have found a ransom for his life.’
25 Then his body will become as healthy as a child’s,
firm and youthful again.
26 When he prays to God,
he will be accepted.
And God will receive him with joy
and restore him to good standing.
27 He will declare to his friends,
‘I sinned and twisted the truth,
but it was not worth it.[a]
28 God rescued me from the grave,
and now my life is filled with light.’
29 “Yes, God does these things
again and again for people.
30 He rescues them from the grave
so they may enjoy the light of life.
31 Mark this well, Job. Listen to me,
for I have more to say.
32 But if you have anything to say, go ahead.
Speak, for I am anxious to see you justified.
33 But if not, then listen to me.
Keep silent and I will teach you wisdom!”
Footnotes
- 33:27 Greek version reads but he [God] did not punish me as my sin deserved.
Job 33
New International Version
33 “But now, Job, listen(A) to my words;
pay attention to everything I say.(B)
2 I am about to open my mouth;
my words are on the tip of my tongue.
3 My words come from an upright heart;(C)
my lips sincerely speak what I know.(D)
4 The Spirit(E) of God has made me;(F)
the breath of the Almighty(G) gives me life.(H)
5 Answer me(I) then, if you can;
stand up(J) and argue your case before me.(K)
6 I am the same as you in God’s sight;(L)
I too am a piece of clay.(M)
7 No fear of me should alarm you,
nor should my hand be heavy on you.(N)
8 “But you have said in my hearing—
I heard the very words—
9 ‘I am pure,(O) I have done no wrong;(P)
I am clean and free from sin.(Q)
10 Yet God has found fault with me;
he considers me his enemy.(R)
11 He fastens my feet in shackles;(S)
he keeps close watch on all my paths.’(T)
12 “But I tell you, in this you are not right,
for God is greater than any mortal.(U)
13 Why do you complain to him(V)
that he responds to no one’s words[a]?(W)
14 For God does speak(X)—now one way, now another(Y)—
though no one perceives it.(Z)
15 In a dream,(AA) in a vision(AB) of the night,(AC)
when deep sleep(AD) falls on people
as they slumber in their beds,
16 he may speak(AE) in their ears
and terrify them(AF) with warnings,(AG)
17 to turn them from wrongdoing
and keep them from pride,(AH)
18 to preserve them from the pit,(AI)
their lives from perishing by the sword.[b](AJ)
19 “Or someone may be chastened(AK) on a bed of pain(AL)
with constant distress in their bones,(AM)
20 so that their body finds food(AN) repulsive
and their soul loathes the choicest meal.(AO)
21 Their flesh wastes away to nothing,
and their bones,(AP) once hidden, now stick out.(AQ)
22 They draw near to the pit,(AR)
and their life to the messengers of death.[c](AS)
23 Yet if there is an angel at their side,
a messenger,(AT) one out of a thousand,
sent to tell them how to be upright,(AU)
24 and he is gracious to that person and says to God,
‘Spare them from going down to the pit;(AV)
I have found a ransom for them(AW)—
25 let their flesh be renewed(AX) like a child’s;
let them be restored as in the days of their youth’(AY)—
26 then that person can pray to God and find favor with him,(AZ)
they will see God’s face and shout for joy;(BA)
he will restore them to full well-being.(BB)
27 And they will go to others and say,
‘I have sinned,(BC) I have perverted what is right,(BD)
but I did not get what I deserved.(BE)
28 God has delivered(BF) me from going down to the pit,(BG)
and I shall live to enjoy the light of life.’(BH)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.