Job 35 New American Standard Bible

Elihu Sharply Rebukes Job

35 Then Elihu continued and said,

²“Do you think this is in accordance with ^(A)justice?
Do you say, ‘My righteousness is more than God’s’?
³For you say, ‘^(B)What advantage will it be to ^[a]You?
^(C)What benefit will I have, more than if I had sinned?’
⁴I will answer you,
And your friends with you.
⁵^(D)Look at the heavens and see;
And look at ^(E)the clouds—they are higher than you.
⁶If you have sinned, ^(F)what do you accomplish against Him?
And if your wrongdoings are many, what do you do to Him?
⁷If you are righteous, ^(G)what do you give to Him,
Or what does He receive from your hand?
⁸Your wickedness is for a man like yourself,
And your righteousness is for a son of man.

⁹“Because of the ^(H)multitude of oppressions they cry out;
They cry for help because of the arm ^(I)of the mighty.
¹⁰But ^(J)no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker,
Who ^(K)gives songs in the night,
¹¹Who ^(L)teaches us more than the animals of the earth
And makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’
¹²There ^(M)they cry out, but He does not answer
Because of the pride of evil people.
¹³^(N)God certainly will not listen to ^[b]an empty cry,
Nor will the Almighty regard it.
¹⁴How much less when ^(O)you say you do not look at Him,
The ^(P)case is before Him, and you must wait for Him!
¹⁵And now, because He has not avenged His anger,
Nor has He acknowledged ^[c]wrongdoing well,
¹⁶So Job opens his mouth with empty words;
He multiplies words ^(Q)without knowledge.”