Job 34

1Elihu said in reply:

2Listen, O wise men, to my words;You who have knowledge, give ear to me.

3For the ear tests argumentsAs the palate tastes food.

4Let us decide for ourselves what is just;Let us know among ourselves what is good.

5For Job has said, “I am right;God has deprived me of justice.

6I declare the judgment against me false;My arrow-wound is deadly, though I am free from transgression.”

7What man is like Job,Who drinks mockery like water;

8Who makes common cause with evildoers,And goes with those who are wicked?

9For he says, “A man gains nothingWhen he is in God’s favor.”

10Therefore, men of understanding, listen to me;Wickedness be far from God,Wrongdoing, from Shaddai!

11For [God] pays mortals according to their actions,And provides for people according to their conduct;

12For God surely does not act wickedly;Shaddai does not pervert justice.

13Who placed the earth in God’s charge?Who ordered the entire world?

14If [God] but intends it,Spirit and breath can be recalled;

15All flesh would at once expire,And humankind return to dust.

16If you would understand, listen to this;Give ear to what I say.

17Would one who hates justice govern?Would you condemn the Just Mighty One?

18Would you call a king a scoundrel,Nobles, wicked?

19[God] is not partial to princes;The honorable are not preferred to the wretched;For all of them are the work of God’s hands.

20Some die suddenly in the middle of the night;People are in turmoil and pass on;Even heroes are removed—not by human hands.

21For God’s eyes are upon everyone’s ways,Observing their every step.

22Neither darkness nor gloom offersA hiding-place for evildoers.

23There is no set time for anyoneTo appear before God in judgment.

24The mighty are shattered without numberAnd others set in their place.

25Truly, [God] knows their deeds;Night is over, and they are crushed.

26The wicked are struck downWhere people can see,

27Because they acted disloyallyAnd have not understood any of God’s ways;

28Thus the cry of the poor is admitted;The cry of the needy is heard.

29When [God] is silent, who will condemn?If the divine face becomes hidden, who will see it,Be it nation or person?

30No one impious rules anymore,Nor do those who ensnare the people.

31Has anyone said to God,“I will bear [my punishment] and offend no more.

32What I cannot see You teach me.If I have done iniquity, I shall not do so again”?

33Should [God] requite as you see fit?But you have acted with disdain!You must decide, not I;Speak what you know.

34Men of understanding say to me,Wise men who hear me,

35“Job does not speak with knowledge;His words lack understanding.”

36Would that Job were tried to the limitFor answers that befit those who are evil.

37He adds to his sin;He increases his transgression among us;He multiplies his statements against God.