Elihu continued his challenge
34
1 Then Elihu continued by saying this:
2 “You men who think that you [SAR] are very wise, hear me;
listen to what I am saying, you men who say that you know so much.
3 And when we [SYN] hear what other people like you say,
we [RHQ] think carefully about what they say to determine what is good and what is bad,
like we [SYN] taste food to determine what is good.
4 We need to decide who is saying what is right
and to determine among ourselves what is good/best.
5 Job has said, ‘I am innocent,
but God has refused to judge me fairly/justly.
6 Even though I have always done what is right,
he is lying about me.
Even though I have not done what is wrong,
he has caused me to suffer, and I will certainly die.’
7 ◄Is there any person like Job, who insults others as easily as people accept a drink of water?/There is no person like Job, who insults others as easily as people accept a drink of water.► [RHQ]
8 He habitually associates with people who do what is evil
and spends time with wicked people.
9 He has said, ‘It is useless for people to try to please God.’
10 So, you men who claim that you understand everything, listen to me!
Almighty God would never consider doing anything that is wicked or wrong [DOU]!
11 He ◄pays back/punishes► people for what they have done;
he gives them what they deserve for the way that they have conducted their lives.
12 Truly, Almighty God never does what is wicked;
he always [LIT] does what is fair/just.
13 The authority that he has to rule everything on the earth, no one [RHQ] gave it to him;
no one [RHQ] put him in control of the whole world.
He has always had that authority.
14 If he would take his spirit back to himself,
15 everyone would die immediately,
and their corpses would soon become dirt again.
16 So, Job, if you say that you understand everything,
listen to what I am saying.
17 God could certainly not [RHQ] govern the world if he hated doing what is fair/just.
So, will you condemn God, who is righteous and powerful, saying that what he has done is wrong?
18 He tells some kings that they are worthless,
and he says to some officials that they are wicked.
19 He does not favor rulers more than he favors others;
he does not favor rich people more than poor people,
because he created all of them.
20 They often die suddenly;
he strikes them at midnight and they die;
he gets rid of mighty people without the help of any humans [SYN].
21 He sees [MTY] everything that people do;
when we walk, he watches every step that we take.
22 There is no gloom or darkness [DOU] that is very dark,
with the result that sinners can hide from God in that darkness.
23 God does not need to set a time
when we will stand in front of him in order that he may judge us.
He can judge us whenever he wants to.
24 He destroys mighty people without needing to investigate what they have done,
and he appoints others to take their places.
25 Because he already knows what they have done,
he removes them at night and gets rid of them.
26 Where many people can see it,
he strikes/punishes them because of the wicked things that they have done;
27 he strikes them because they turned away from doing what he wanted them to do
and did not pay attention to any of his commands.
28 They mistreated the poor people,
with the result that those poor people cried out to God for help,
and he heard those afflicted people when they cried out to him.
29 But if God decides to do nothing to punish wicked people,
no one can criticize/condemn him.
If a godless/wicked man rules a nation,
a man who tricks/deceives the people,
30 and if God hides his face with the result that he does not see and punish that ruler,
no one will be able to prevent that ruler doing those things.
31 Job, have you or anyone else ever said to God, ‘I have been punished for my sins,
and I will not sin anymore;
32 so teach/show me what sins I have committed;
if I have done anything that is evil,
I will not do it anymore.’?
33 Job, you object to what God has done to you,
but do you think that he will do what you want him to do?
It is you who must choose what you say to God, not I;
so tell me what you are thinking about this.
34 People who have good sense, those who are wise and who listen to what I say,
will say to me,
35 ‘Job is speaking ignorantly;
what he says is nonsense.’
36 I think that Job should be taken to a court and ◄put on trial/judged► thoroughly,
because he answers us his friends like wicked men would answer.
37 To add to the other sins that he has committed, he is rebelling against God;
he shows us that he does not respect God [IDI],
making long speeches saying that God has punished him unjustly.”