Job 32:6-33:33
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
6 So Elihu, son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said:
I am young and you are very old;
therefore I held back and was afraid
to declare to you my knowledge.
7 I thought, days should speak,
and many years teach wisdom!(A)
8 But there is a spirit in human beings,(B)
the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.
9 It is not those of many days who are wise,
nor the aged who understand the right.
10 Therefore I say, listen to me;
I also will declare my knowledge!
11 Behold, I have waited for your words,
have given ear to your arguments,
as you searched out what to say.
12 Yes, I followed you attentively:
And look, none of you has convicted Job,
not one could refute his statements.
13 So do not say, “We have met wisdom;[a]
God can vanquish him but no mortal!”
14 For had he addressed his words to me,
I would not then have answered him with your words.
15 They are dismayed, they make no more reply;
words fail them.
16 Must I wait? Now that they speak no more,
and have ceased to make reply,
17 I too will speak my part;
I also will declare my knowledge!
18 For I am full of words;
the spirit within me compels me.
19 My belly is like unopened wine,
like wineskins ready to burst.
20 Let me speak and obtain relief;
let me open my lips, and reply.
21 I would not be partial to anyone,
nor give flattering titles to any.
22 For I know nothing of flattery;
if I did, my Maker would soon take me away.
Chapter 33
1 Therefore, O Job, hear my discourse;
listen to all my words.
2 Behold, now I open my mouth;
my tongue and voice form words.
3 I will state directly what is in my mind,
my lips shall speak knowledge clearly;
4 For the spirit of God made me,
the breath of the Almighty keeps me alive.(C)
5 If you are able, refute me;
draw up your arguments and take your stand.
6 Look, I am like you before God,
I too was pinched from clay.[b](D)
7 Therefore fear of me should not dismay you,
nor should I weigh heavily upon you.
8 But you have said in my hearing,
as I listened to the sound of your words:
9 “I am clean, without transgression;
I am innocent, there is no guilt in me.(E)
10 Yet he invents pretexts against me
and counts me as an enemy.[c](F)
11 He puts my feet in the stocks,
watches all my paths!”(G)
12 In this you are not just, let me tell you;
for God is greater than mortals.
13 Why, then, do you make complaint against him
that he gives no reply to their words?(H)
14 For God does speak, once,
even twice, though you do not see it:[d]
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls upon mortals
as they slumber in their beds.
16 It is then he opens their ears
and with a warning, terrifies them,
17 By turning mortals from acting
and keeping pride away from a man,
18 He holds his soul from the pit,
his life from passing to the grave.
19 Or he is chastened on a bed of pain,
suffering continually in his bones,
20 So that to his appetite food is repulsive,
his throat rejects the choicest nourishment.(I)
21 His flesh is wasted, it cannot be seen;
bones, once invisible, appear;
22 His soul draws near to the pit,
his life to the place of the dead.
23 If then there be a divine messenger,[e]
a mediator, one out of a thousand,
to show him what is right,
24 He will take pity on him and say,
“Deliver him from going down to the pit;
I have found him a ransom.”
25 Then his flesh shall become soft as a boy’s;
he shall be again as in the days of his youth.
26 He shall pray and God will favor him;
he shall see God’s face with rejoicing;(J)
for he restores a person’s righteousness.
27 He shall sing before all and say,
“I sinned and did wrong,
yet I was not punished accordingly.
28 He delivered me from passing to the pit,
and my life sees light.”
29 See, all these things God does,
two, even three times, for a man,
30 Bringing back his soul from the pit
to the light, in the light of the living.
31 Be attentive, Job, listen to me!
Be silent and I will speak.
32 If you have anything to say, then answer me.
Speak out! I should like to see you justified.
33 If not, then you listen to me;
be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.
Footnotes
- 32:13 Met wisdom: in Job’s arguments.
- 33:6 Pinched from clay: a reference to the tradition that human beings were made from clay; cf. Gn 2:7; Jb 10:9; Is 64:7.
- 33:10 Enemy: see note on 1:1; cf. 13:24.
- 33:14 Elihu asserts that God speaks through warning in dream and also through pain. However, his presupposition is that the restored person admits sinfulness (v. 27). This of course is not relevant to Job’s situation.
- 33:23 Divine messenger: or “angel,” one of the thousands who serve as mediators.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.