Job 34-37

New Living Translation

² “Listen to me, you wise men.
    Pay attention, you who have knowledge.
³ Job said, ‘The ear tests the words it hears
    just as the mouth distinguishes between foods.’
⁴ So let us discern for ourselves what is right;
    let us learn together what is good.
⁵ For Job also said, ‘I am innocent,
    but God has taken away my rights.
⁶ I am innocent, but they call me a liar.
    My suffering is incurable, though I have not sinned.’

⁷ “Tell me, has there ever been a man like Job,
    with his thirst for irreverent talk?
⁸ He chooses evil people as companions.
    He spends his time with wicked men.
⁹ He has even said, ‘Why waste time
    trying to please God?’

¹⁰ “Listen to me, you who have understanding.
    Everyone knows that God doesn’t sin!
    The Almighty can do no wrong.
¹¹ He repays people according to their deeds.
    He treats people as they deserve.
¹² Truly, God will not do wrong.
    The Almighty will not twist justice.
¹³ Did someone else put the world in his care?
    Who set the whole world in place?
¹⁴ If God were to take back his spirit
    and withdraw his breath,
¹⁵ all life would cease,
    and humanity would turn again to dust.

¹⁶ “Now listen to me if you are wise.
    Pay attention to what I say.
¹⁷ Could God govern if he hated justice?
    Are you going to condemn the almighty judge?
¹⁸ For he says to kings, ‘You are wicked,’
    and to nobles, ‘You are unjust.’
¹⁹ He doesn’t care how great a person may be,
    and he pays no more attention to the rich than to the poor.
    He made them all.
²⁰ In a moment they die.
    In the middle of the night they pass away;
    the mighty are removed without human hand.

²¹ “For God watches how people live;
    he sees everything they do.
²² No darkness is thick enough
    to hide the wicked from his eyes.
²³ We don’t set the time
    when we will come before God in judgment.
²⁴ He brings the mighty to ruin without asking anyone,
    and he sets up others in their place.
²⁵ He knows what they do,
    and in the night he overturns and destroys them.
²⁶ He strikes them down because they are wicked,
    doing it openly for all to see.
²⁷ For they turned away from following him.
    They have no respect for any of his ways.
²⁸ They cause the poor to cry out, catching God’s attention.
    He hears the cries of the needy.
²⁹ But if he chooses to remain quiet,
    who can criticize him?
When he hides his face, no one can find him,
    whether an individual or a nation.
³⁰ He prevents the godless from ruling
    so they cannot be a snare to the people.

³¹ “Why don’t people say to God, ‘I have sinned,
    but I will sin no more’?
³² Or ‘I don’t know what evil I have done—tell me.
    If I have done wrong, I will stop at once’?

³³ “Must God tailor his justice to your demands?
    But you have rejected him!
The choice is yours, not mine.
    Go ahead, share your wisdom with us.
³⁴ After all, bright people will tell me,
    and wise people will hear me say,
³⁵ ‘Job speaks out of ignorance;
    his words lack insight.’
³⁶ Job, you deserve the maximum penalty
    for the wicked way you have talked.
³⁷ For you have added rebellion to your sin;
    you show no respect,
    and you speak many angry words against God.”

² “Do you think it is right for you to claim,
    ‘I am righteous before God’?
³ For you also ask, ‘What’s in it for me?
    What’s the use of living a righteous life?’

⁴ “I will answer you
    and all your friends, too.
⁵ Look up into the sky,
    and see the clouds high above you.
⁶ If you sin, how does that affect God?
    Even if you sin again and again,
    what effect will it have on him?
⁷ If you are good, is this some great gift to him?
    What could you possibly give him?
⁸ No, your sins affect only people like yourself,
    and your good deeds also affect only humans.

⁹ “People cry out when they are oppressed.
    They groan beneath the power of the mighty.
¹⁰ Yet they don’t ask, ‘Where is God my Creator,
    the one who gives songs in the night?
¹¹ Where is the one who makes us smarter than the animals
    and wiser than the birds of the sky?’
¹² And when they cry out, God does not answer
    because of their pride.
¹³ But it is wrong to say God doesn’t listen,
    to say the Almighty isn’t concerned.
¹⁴ You say you can’t see him,
    but he will bring justice if you will only wait.^[a]
15 You say he does not respond to sinners with anger
    and is not greatly concerned about wickedness.^[b]
16 But you are talking nonsense, Job.
    You have spoken like a fool.”

² “Let me go on, and I will show you the truth.
    For I have not finished defending God!
³ I will present profound arguments
    for the righteousness of my Creator.
⁴ I am telling you nothing but the truth,
    for I am a man of great knowledge.

⁵ “God is mighty, but he does not despise anyone!
    He is mighty in both power and understanding.
⁶ He does not let the wicked live
    but gives justice to the afflicted.
⁷ He never takes his eyes off the innocent,
    but he sets them on thrones with kings
    and exalts them forever.
⁸ If they are bound in chains
    and caught up in a web of trouble,
⁹ he shows them the reason.
    He shows them their sins of pride.
¹⁰ He gets their attention
    and commands that they turn from evil.

¹¹ “If they listen and obey God,
    they will be blessed with prosperity throughout their lives.
    All their years will be pleasant.
¹² But if they refuse to listen to him,
    they will cross over the river of death,
    dying from lack of understanding.
¹³ For the godless are full of resentment.
    Even when he punishes them,
    they refuse to cry out to him for help.
¹⁴ They die when they are young,
    after wasting their lives in immoral living.
¹⁵ But by means of their suffering, he rescues those who suffer.
    For he gets their attention through adversity.

¹⁶ “God is leading you away from danger, Job,
    to a place free from distress.
    He is setting your table with the best food.
¹⁷ But you are obsessed with whether the godless will be judged.
    Don’t worry, judgment and justice will be upheld.
¹⁸ But watch out, or you may be seduced by wealth.^[c]
    Don’t let yourself be bribed into sin.
¹⁹ Could all your wealth^[d]
    or all your mighty efforts
    keep you from distress?
²⁰ Do not long for the cover of night,
    for that is when people will be destroyed.^[e]
21 Be on guard! Turn back from evil,
    for God sent this suffering
    to keep you from a life of evil.

²⁶ “Look, God is greater than we can understand.
    His years cannot be counted.
²⁷ He draws up the water vapor
    and then distills it into rain.
²⁸ The rain pours down from the clouds,
    and everyone benefits.
²⁹ Who can understand the spreading of the clouds
    and the thunder that rolls forth from heaven?
³⁰ See how he spreads the lightning around him
    and how it lights up the depths of the sea.
³¹ By these mighty acts he nourishes^[f] the people,
    giving them food in abundance.
³² He fills his hands with lightning bolts
    and hurls each at its target.
³³ The thunder announces his presence;
    the storm announces his indignant anger.^[g]

37 “My heart pounds as I think of this.
    It trembles within me.
² Listen carefully to the thunder of God’s voice
    as it rolls from his mouth.
³ It rolls across the heavens,
    and his lightning flashes in every direction.
⁴ Then comes the roaring of the thunder—
    the tremendous voice of his majesty.
    He does not restrain it when he speaks.
⁵ God’s voice is glorious in the thunder.
    We can’t even imagine the greatness of his power.

⁶ “He directs the snow to fall on the earth
    and tells the rain to pour down.
⁷ Then everyone stops working
    so they can watch his power.
⁸ The wild animals take cover
    and stay inside their dens.
⁹ The stormy wind comes from its chamber,
    and the driving winds bring the cold.
¹⁰ God’s breath sends the ice,
    freezing wide expanses of water.
¹¹ He loads the clouds with moisture,
    and they flash with his lightning.
¹² The clouds churn about at his direction.
    They do whatever he commands throughout the earth.
¹³ He makes these things happen either to punish people
    or to show his unfailing love.

¹⁴ “Pay attention to this, Job.
    Stop and consider the wonderful miracles of God!
¹⁵ Do you know how God controls the storm
    and causes the lightning to flash from his clouds?
¹⁶ Do you understand how he moves the clouds
    with wonderful perfection and skill?
¹⁷ When you are sweltering in your clothes
    and the south wind dies down and everything is still,
¹⁸ he makes the skies reflect the heat like a bronze mirror.
    Can you do that?

¹⁹ “So teach the rest of us what to say to God.
    We are too ignorant to make our own arguments.
²⁰ Should God be notified that I want to speak?
    Can people even speak when they are confused?^[h]
21 We cannot look at the sun,
    for it shines brightly in the sky
    when the wind clears away the clouds.
²² So also, golden splendor comes from the mountain of God.^[i]
    He is clothed in dazzling splendor.
²³ We cannot imagine the power of the Almighty;
    but even though he is just and righteous,
    he does not destroy us.
²⁴ No wonder people everywhere fear him.
    All who are wise show him reverence.^[j]”