Shared Word Translation
Job 33
Elihu: Listen to My Words
“But now, Job, please hear my speech,
and give ear to all my words.
Look, now I open my mouth;
my tongue speaks in my palate.
My words come from the uprightness of my heart,
and my lips speak knowledge clearly.
The Spirit of God made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
If you can, answer me;
arrange yourself before me; take your stand.
Look, I am like you before God;
I also was pinched from clay.
Look, no terror of me should frighten you,
and my pressure will not be heavy upon you.
You Have Said, I Am Pure
Surely you have spoken in my hearing,
and I have heard the sound of your words:
‘I am pure, without transgression;
I am clean, and there is no guilt in me.
Look, he finds occasions against me;
he considers me his enemy.
He puts my feet in the stocks;
he watches all my paths.’
Look, in this you are not right, I answer you,
for God is greater than a human.
Why do you contend against him
because he does not answer all a person’s words?
God Speaks in More Than One Way
For God speaks in one way,
and in two, though a person does not perceive it:
in a dream, a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls upon people,
in slumber upon the bed.
Then he opens the ears of people
and seals their instruction,
to turn a person from his deed
and hide pride from a man,
to hold back his life from the pit
and his life from passing over by the weapon.
A Person Is Corrected with Pain
A person is corrected with pain upon his bed
and with continual strife in his bones,
so that his life loathes bread
and his soul desirable food.
His flesh wastes away from sight,
and his bones once unseen stick out.
His life draws near to the pit,
and his life to those who bring death.
If There Is a Messenger for Him
If there is a messenger for him,
an interpreter, one among a thousand,
to declare to a human what is upright for him,
then he is gracious to him and says,
‘Deliver him from going down to the pit;
I have found a ransom.’
His flesh becomes fresher than in youth;
he returns to the days of his youthful strength.
He prays to God, and God accepts him;
he sees God’s face with a joyful shout,
and God restores to a human his righteousness.
He sings before people and says,
‘I sinned and twisted what was right,
and it was not repaid to me.
He redeemed my life from passing into the pit,
and my life will see the light.’
God Does These Things Again and Again
Look, God does all these things
twice, three times with a person,
to bring back his life from the pit,
that he may be enlightened with the light of life.
Pay attention, Job; listen to me.
Be silent, and I will speak.
If you have words, answer me;
speak, for I desire to justify you.
If not, listen to me;
be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”