Job 35

Then Elihu continued to speak, and he said, 2 “Job, it is not right for you to say that you have been doing what is right but God has been doing what is wrong. 3 You are basically saying that when you ask, ‘What good things have I received because I have not sinned? How am I better off than I would be if I had sinned?’ \* 4 I will answer those questions for you, and I will also respond to what your three friends have said. 5 Job, look up at the sky. See how high the clouds are above you! {God is far higher than that!} \* 6 So if you sin, that does not harm God at all. Even if you do many wrong things, that does not hurt him. 7 On the other hand, if you do what is right, that does not make God better off. No, you are not giving God something that he does not already have. 8 The only ones who suffer if you are wicked are other people. The only ones you might help by being good are other humans. \* 9 People call for others to help them because of the many things that wicked people do that make them suffer. They call for help because of the things that powerful people do to oppress them. 10 But people do not ask God, their Creator, to help them. People do not expect God to enable them to sing joyful songs because he has rescued them. 11 People do not realize that God wants to teach them how to live wisely. God does that for people, not for wild animals or for the birds in the sky. \* 12 Even when people do pray to God for help, God does not answer them, because they arrogantly continue to do what is wrong. 13 God, the Almighty One, does not respond at all when people pray but do not really mean what they are saying. 14 You are telling God that you have made your case against him but that you are still waiting for him to answer your accusations. You are saying that God has not been helping you. Since you say those things, you should certainly not expect God to respond to you! \* 15 You also say that God does not pay much attention when people commit sins, and so he does not become angry and punish them. 16 My friends, you see that Job has said things that are completely useless. He says many things without knowing what he is talking about.” \*