Job 34

Then Elihu continued to speak, and he said, 2 “I want everyone who is wise to hear what I am about to say. I want everyone who knows a lot to listen to me. 3 I want you to listen carefully to me because when people hear others speak, they need to decide whether what the others are saying is right or wrong. They do this just as people taste food to decide whether it is good or bad. \* 4 I would like all of us to decide together who is right, Job or his friends. I would like us to find out together what is a good way to understand his situation. 5 We need to consider this carefully together because Job has said, ‘I am innocent, but God has not judged me fairly.’ 6 Job has said he would not lie about whether he has done what is right. He has spoken as if God had shot him with an arrow and wounded him so badly that he will die, even though he is innocent. \* 7 I have not heard anyone else speak the way Job does. People drink water to satisfy their thirst, and mocking God seems to satisfy Job. 8 His friends are people who do what is wrong. He spends time with wicked people. 9 We know that this is true about him because he has said, ‘It is useless for people to want to please God.’ \* 10 So, all of you who understand things well, listen to me! God would never consider doing anything that was wicked! No, Shaddai would never consider doing anything that was wrong! 11 We can be confident that God treats people fairly because we can see that he rewards or punishes people properly for what they have done. God gives people what they deserve for the manner in which they have lived. 12 No, God never does anything wicked. Shaddai always treats people fairly. \* 13 God did not need anyone to give him the authority to rule the people who live on the earth. He did not need anyone to put him in control of all the people in the world. 14 If God ever thought only about himself and not also about the world he created, if God ever stopped keeping people and animals alive, 15 then every living thing would die immediately, and the bodies of people would soon become soil again. \* 16 So, Job, if you truly want to understand, then listen carefully to what I am about to say. 17 God could certainly not hate what is right and still rule the world. So you really cannot say that God, who is righteous and powerful, has done something wrong. \* 18 God tells some kings that they are worthless, and he says to some officials that they are wicked. 19 God does not treat rulers better than he treats other people. God does not treat rich people more respectfully than he treats poor people. After all, God created all people. 20 If people use their power to oppress others, God punishes them by killing them. Those people are not expecting to have troubles and die, and humans do not kill them, but God kills them very quickly. \* 21 God punishes oppressive people because he sees everything that people do. God is aware of each individual action that a person does. 22 Wicked people can not escape from God by hiding in places where it is very dark. 23 Now God does not need to examine a person further before passing judgment on that person. \* 24 God does not need to investigate what people have done. He knows whether important people have done wrong, and he destroys them if they have. He then appoints others to take their places. 25 Because he already knows what they have done, he removes them quickly and gets rid of them. \* 26 God kills them because of the wicked things that they have done. Many people see him do it. 27 God kills them because they stopped doing what he wanted them to do and did not pay attention to his commands. 28 They mistreated poor people. Those poor people prayed to God for help, and God answered their prayers. \* 29 Yet even if God decides not to punish wicked people right away, no one can criticize him. If God does not reveal what he is doing, no one can understand it. God controls every nation and every person. 30 God makes sure that those who rule honor him. He makes sure that rulers do not oppress the people whom they rule. \* 31 Suppose someone says to God, ‘I recognize that I am suffering because I have sinned. I do not want to sin any longer. 32 Please show me what sins I have committed. I will stop doing anything that is evil.’ 33 If a person said that to God, do you think that God would continue to punish him? Now you have been saying that God does not treat people fairly, so it is important for you to decide what you think God would do. I will not suggest the answer myself. We would like to hear you say what you think about this. \* 34 {But unfortunately, I believe that} when people who have good sense and people who are wise hear my question and your answer, they will say to me, 35 ‘Job is speaking ignorantly. What he says does not make sense.’ \* 36 It would be good if God put Job on trial and investigated every last detail of his case. God should do that because Job has been speaking just as wicked people speak. 37 God should put Job on trial because in addition to sinning, he is saying that God does not treat people fairly. Knowing that we were watching, he clapped his hands to insult God. He has made long speeches to say that God has punished him unjustly.” \*