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Job 32:1-33:33 — Elihu's First Speech

Job.32.1-33.33

¹So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. ²Then the anger of Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned against Job, because he justified himself rather than God. ³And his anger burned against his three friends because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job. ⁴Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job, because they were older than he. ⁵But when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouths of the three men, his anger burned. ⁶So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said: "I am young in years, and you are aged; therefore I held back and was afraid to declare what I know to you. ⁷I said, 'Days should speak, and many years should make wisdom known.' ⁸But truly it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives understanding. ⁹It is not the great who are wise, nor do the aged always understand justice. ¹⁰Therefore I say, 'Listen to me; I too will declare what I know.' ¹¹Look, I waited for your words; I listened for your insights while you searched for words. ¹²I paid close attention to you, and see, none of you proved Job wrong or answered his words. ¹³Lest you say, 'We have found wisdom; God will answer him, not man.' ¹⁴He has not directed his words against me, and I will not answer him with your arguments. ¹⁵They are dismayed; they answer no more; words have left them. ¹⁶And should I wait because they do not speak, because they stand there and answer no more? ¹⁷I too will answer for my part; I too will declare what I know. ¹⁸For I am full of words; the spirit within me presses me. ¹⁹Look, my inward being is like wine with no vent; like new wineskins it is ready to burst. ²⁰I must speak, that I may find relief; I will open my lips and answer. ²¹Let me not show partiality to any man, nor give flattering titles to anyone. ²²For I do not know how to flatter; otherwise my Maker would soon carry me away.

Chapter 33

¹"But now, Job, please hear my words, and listen to all I say. ²See now, I have opened my mouth; my tongue has begun to speak. ³My words come from the uprightness of my heart, and my lips speak knowledge sincerely. ⁴The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. ⁵If you can, answer me; set your case in order before me; take your stand. ⁶See, I am like you before God ; I too was formed from clay. ⁷Surely my dread will not terrify you, nor will my pressure weigh heavily on you. ⁸Surely you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard the sound of your words: ⁹'I am pure, without transgression; I am clean, and there is no iniquity in me. ¹⁰Yet he finds occasions against me; he counts me as his enemy. ¹¹He puts my feet in the stocks; he watches all my paths.' ¹²Look, in this you are not right. I will answer you, for God is greater than man. ¹³Why do you contend against him, because he does not answer for all his words? ¹⁴For God speaks in one way, and in two, though a person does not perceive it. ¹⁵In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people, while they slumber on their beds, ¹⁶then he opens people's ears and seals their warning, ¹⁷to turn a person away from his deed and to hide pride from a man, ¹⁸he keeps back his soul from the Pit, and his life from passing into death by the sword. ¹⁹He is also corrected with pain on his bed, and with continual agony in his bones, ²⁰so that his life loathes bread, and his soul the choicest food. ²¹His flesh wastes away from sight, and his bones, once unseen, stick out. ²²His soul draws near to the Pit, and his life to those who bring death. ²³If there is for him an angel, a mediator , one of a thousand, to declare to a person what is right for him, ²⁴and he is gracious to him and says, 'Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom,' ²⁵then his flesh becomes fresher than a youth's; he returns to the days of his youthful strength. ²⁶He prays to God, and God accepts him; he sees his face with a shout of joy, and he restores to man his righteousness. ²⁷He sings before men and says, 'I sinned and twisted what was right, yet I was not repaid according to it. ²⁸He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit, and my life will look upon the light.' ²⁹Look, all these things God does, twice, even three times, with a man, ³⁰to bring back his soul from the Pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of life. ³¹Pay attention, Job, and listen to me; be silent, and I will speak. ³²If you have anything to say, answer me; speak, for I desire to see you justified. ³³But if not, listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom."

Translation Notes

4/11/2026

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