• Elihu Claims to Speak for God

  • 1 “However, please hear my speech, Job, And listen to all my words.
  • 2 “Behold now, I open my mouth, My tongue in my mouth speaks.
  • 3 “My words are from the integrity of my heart, And my lips speak knowledge sincerely.
  • 4 “The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
  • 5 “Refute me if you can; Line up against me, take your stand.
  • 6 “Behold, I belong to God, like you; I too have been formed out of the clay.
  • 7 “Behold, no fear of me should terrify you, Nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you.
  • 8 “You have in fact spoken while I listened, And I heard the sound of your words:
  • 9 ‘I am pure, without wrongdoing; I am innocent and there is no guilt in me.
  • 10 ‘Behold, He invents criticisms against me; He counts me as His enemy.
  • 11 ‘He puts my feet in the stocks; He watches all my paths.’
  • 12 “Behold, let me respond to you, you are not right in this, For God is greater than mankind.
  • 13 “Why do you complain to Him That He does not give an account of all His doings?
  • 14 “Indeed God speaks once, Or twice, yet no one notices it.
  • 15 “In a dream, a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls on people, While they slumber in their beds,
  • 16 Then He opens the ears of people, And horrifies them with warnings,
  • 17 So that He may turn a person away from bad conduct, And keep a man from pride;
  • 18 He keeps his soul back from the pit, And his life from perishing by the spear.
  • 19 “A person is also rebuked by pain in his bed, And with constant complaint in his bones,
  • 20 So that his life loathes bread, And his soul, food that he should crave.
  • 21 “His flesh wastes away from sight, And his bones, which were not seen, stick out.
  • 22 “Then his soul comes near to the pit, And his life to those who bring death.
  • 23 “If there is an interceding angel for him, One out of a thousand, To remind a person of what is right for him,
  • 24 And he is gracious to him, and says, ‘Free him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom’;
  • 25 Let his flesh become fresher than in youth, Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor;
  • 26 Then he will pray to God, and He will accept him, So that he may see His face with joy, And He will restore His righteousness to that person.
  • 27 “He will sing to people and say, ‘I have sinned and perverted what is right, And it is not proper for me.
  • 28 ‘He has redeemed my soul from going to the pit, And my life will see the light.’
  • 29 “Behold, God does all these things for a man two or three times,
  • 30 To bring 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 you have anything to say, answer me; Speak, for I would take pleasure in justifying you.
  • 33 “If not, listen to me; Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”