Job 33

1But now, Job, listen to my words,Give ear to all that I say.

2Now I open my lips;My tongue forms words in my mouth.

3My words bespeak the uprightness of my heart;My lips utter insight honestly.

4The spirit of God formed me;The breath of Shaddai sustains me.

5If you can, answer me;Argue against me, take your stand.

6You and I are the same before God;I too was nipped from clay.

7You are not overwhelmed by fear of me;My pressure does not weigh heavily on you.

8Indeed, you have stated in my hearing,I heard the words spoken,

9“I am guiltless, free from transgression;I am innocent, without iniquity.

10But [God] finds reasons to oppose me,And considers me an enemy.

11My feet are placed in stocks,And all my ways are watched.”

12In this you are not right;I will answer you: God is greater than any mortal.

13Why do you level the complaintThat there is no reply to anyone’s charges?

14For God speaks time and again—Though no one perceives it—

15In a dream, a night vision,When deep sleep falls on everyone,While they slumber on their beds.

16Then everyone’s understanding is opened,And God’s signature is left by disciplining them—

17To turn a mortal away from an action,To suppress pride in a man.

18[God] spares him from the Pit,His person, from perishing by the sword.

19He is reproved by pains on his bed,And the trembling in his bones is constant.

20He detests food;Fine food [is repulsive] to him.

21His flesh wastes away till it cannot be seen,And his bones are rubbed away till they are invisible.

22He comes close to the Pit,His life [verges] on death.

23If he has a representative,One advocate against a thousandTo declare the person upright,

24Then [God] has mercy on him and decrees,“Redeem him from descending to the Pit,For I have obtained his ransom;

25Let his flesh be healthier than in his youth;Let him return to his younger days.”

26He prays to God, who accepts him;He enters the divine presence with shouts of joy,For [God] requites humans for their righteousness.

27The contrite person declares to all,“I have sinned; I have perverted what was right;But I was not paid back for it.”

28He is redeemed from passing into the Pit;He, “me…I.” will enjoy the light.

29Truly, God does all these thingsTwo or three times to a man,

30To bring him back from the Pit,That he may bask in the light of life.

31Pay heed, Job, and hear me;Be still, and I will speak;

32If you have what to say, answer me;Speak, for I am eager to vindicate you.

33But if not, you listen to me;Be still, and I will teach you wisdom.