The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Elihu continued speaking:
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And Elihu made answer and said,
2 "Hear my words, you sages! Listen to me, you who know so much!
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Give ear, you wise, to my words; and you who have knowledge, give attention to me;
3 For the ear tests words, just as the palate tastes food.
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For words are tested by the ear, as food is tasted by the mouth.
4 Let's choose for ourselves what is just; let's decide among ourselves what is good.
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Let us make the decision for ourselves as to what is right; let us have the knowledge among ourselves of what is good.
5 For Iyov says, 'I am in the right, but God is denying me justice.
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For Job has said, I am upright, and it is God who has taken away my right;
6 Against justice, I am considered a liar; my wound is mortal, though I committed no crime.'
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Though I am right, still I am in pain; my wound may not be made well, though I have done no wrong.
7 "Is there a man like Iyov, who drinks in scoffing like water,
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What man is like Job, a man who freely makes sport of God,
8 who keeps company with evildoers and goes with wicked men,
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And goes in the company of evil-doers, walking in the way of sinners?
9 since he thinks, 'It profits a person nothing to be in accord with God'?
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For he has said, It is no profit to a man to take delight in God.
10 "So listen to me, you men with sense! Far be it from God to do anything wicked!
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Now then, you wise, take note; you men of knowledge, give ear to me. Let it be far from God to do evil, and from the Ruler of all to do wrong.
11 For he pays people back for what they do and sees that each gets what his conduct deserves.
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For he gives to every man the reward of his work, and sees that he gets the fruit of his ways.
12 It is certain that God does nothing wicked; Shaddai will not pervert justice.
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Truly, God does not do evil, and the Ruler of all is not a false judge.
13 Did someone else put him in charge of the earth? Who else established the entire world?
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Who put the earth into his care, or made him responsible for the world?
14 If he were to take back man's heart to himself, if he gathered to himself his spirit and breath;
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If he made his spirit come back to him, taking his breath into himself again,
15 all flesh would instantly perish, everyone would return to dust.
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All flesh would come to an end together, and man would go back to the dust.
16 "If you have any sense, [Iyov,] hear this; listen to what I am saying.
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If you are wise, take note of this; give ear to the voice of my words.
17 Should a hater of justice be in control? If you wouldn't tell a king, 'You're a scoundrel!'or nobles, 'You are wicked men!'then you shouldn't condemn the Just and Mighty One,
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How may a hater of right be a ruler? and will you say that the upright Ruler of all is evil?
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He who says to a king, You are an evil-doer; and to rulers, You are sinners;
19 who is neither partial toward princes nor favors the rich over the poor, since they all are the work of his hands.
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Who has no respect for rulers, and who gives no more attention to those who have wealth than to the poor, for they are all the work of his hands.
20 They may die in a moment, in the middle of the night -the people are shaken and pass away, the mighty are removed without human hands.
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Suddenly they come to an end, even in the middle of the night: the blow comes on the men of wealth, and they are gone, and the strong are taken away without the hand of man.
21 For he keeps watch on a person's ways; he sees his every step.
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For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps.
22 There is no darkness, no death-like gloom, where wrongdoers can hide;
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There is no dark place, and no thick cloud, in which the workers of evil may take cover.
23 for he doesn't give warning to people when they must appear before God in judgment.
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For he does not give man a fixed time to come before him to be judged.
24 He shatters the mighty without needing to investigate and sets up others in their place.
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He sends the strong to destruction without searching out their cause, and puts others in their place.
25 Therefore, aware of what they are doing, he overturns them by night, and they are crushed.
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For he has knowledge of their works, overturning them in the night, so that they are crushed.
26 He strikes them as if they were common criminals in the open sight of others,
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The evil-doers are broken by his wrath, he puts his hand on them with force before the eyes of all onlookers.
27 because they turned away from following him and gave no thought to any of his ways,
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Because they did not go after him, and took no note of his ways,
28 thereby bringing before him the cries of the poor; and he hears the cries of the oppressed.
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So that the cry of the poor might come up to him, and the prayer of those in need come to his ears.
29 "But if God is silent, who can accuse him; if he hides his face, who can see him? He may do this to nations and persons alike,
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30 so that godless men will not become kings, and the people will not be lured into traps.
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31 "For has anyone said to God, 'I have been chastised without having offended;
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32 teach me what I have failed to see; and if I have done wrong, I will do it no more'?
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33 Must his rewards meet your approval? Well, you are the one who doesn't like them, so you, not I, should pick the alternative; come on, say what you think!
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34 Intelligent people will tell me, every wise man who hears me will say,
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Men of knowledge, and all wise men, hearing me, will say,
35 'Iyov is speaking without thinking; his words lack discernment.'
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Job's words do not come from knowledge; they are not the fruit of wisdom.
36 "I wish Iyov would be kept on trial forever, because he answers like wicked men.
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May Job be tested to the end, because his answers have been like those of evil men.
37 For now to his sin he adds rebellion; he [mockingly] claps his hands among us and keeps adding to his words against God."
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For in addition to his sin, he is uncontrolled in heart; before our eyes he makes sport of God, increasing his words against him.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.