August 16 – Job 32 and 33 from the Old Testament
Job 32 and 33 – Elihu’s First Speech
32:1 So these three men refused to answer Job further, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 32:2 Then Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry. He was angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. 32:3 With Job’s three friends he was also angry, because they could not find an answer, and so declared Job guilty. 32:4 Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job, because the others were older than he was. 32:5 But when Elihu saw that the three men had no further reply, he became very angry.
Elihu Claims Wisdom
32:6 So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite spoke up:
“I am young, but you are elderly;
that is why I was fearful,
and afraid to explain to you what I know.
32:7 I said to myself, ‘Age should speak,
and length of years should make wisdom known.’
32:8 But it is a spirit in people,
the breath of the Almighty,
that makes them understand.
32:9 It is not the aged who are wise,
nor old men who understand what is right.
32:10 Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me.
I, even I, will explain what I know.’
32:11 Look, I waited for you to speak;
I listened closely to your wise thoughts,while you were searching for words.
32:12 Now I was paying you close attention,
yet there was no one proving Job wrong,
not one of you was answering his statements!
32:13 So do not say, ‘We have found wisdom!
God will refute him, not man!’
32:14 Job has not directed his words to me,
and so I will not reply to him with your arguments.
Job’s Friends Failed to Answer
32:15 “They are dismayed and cannot answer any more;
they have nothing left to say.
32:16 And I have waited. But because they do not speak,
because they stand there and answer no more,
32:17 I too will answer my part,
I too will explain what I know.
32:18 For I am full of words,
and the spirit within me constrains me.
32:19 Inside I am like wine which has no outlet,
like new wineskins ready to burst!
32:20 I will speak, so that I may find relief;
I will open my lips, so that I may answer.
32:21 I will not show partiality to anyone,
nor will I confer a title on any man.
32:22 for I do not know how to give honorary titles,
if I did, my Creator would quickly do away with me.
Elihu Invites Job’s Attention
33:1 “But now, O Job, listen to my words,
and hear everything I have to say!
33:2 See now, I have opened my mouth;
my tongue in my mouth has spoken.
33:3 My words come from the uprightness of my heart,
and my lips will utter knowledge sincerely.
33:4 The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
33:5 Reply to me, if you can;
set your arguments in order before me
and take your stand!
33:6 Look, I am just like you in relation to God;
I too have been molded from clay.
33:7 Therefore no fear of me should terrify you,
nor should my pressure be heavy on you.
Elihu Rejects Job’s Plea of Innocence
33:8 “Indeed, you have said in my hearing
(I heard the sound of the words!):
33:9 ‘I am pure, without transgression;
I am clean and have no iniquity.
33:10 Yet God finds occasions with me;
he regards me as his enemy!
33:11 He puts my feet in shackles;
he watches closely all my paths.’
33:12 Now in this, you are not right – I answer you,
for God is greater than a human being.
33:13 Why do you contend against him,
that he does not answer all a person’s words?
Elihu Disagrees With Job’s View of God
33:14 “For God speaks, the first time in one way,
the second time in another,
though a person does not perceive it.
33:15 In a dream, a night vision,
when deep sleep falls on people
as they sleep in their beds.
33:16 Then he gives a revelation to people,
and terrifies them with warnings,
33:17 to turn a person from his sin,
and to cover a person’s pride.
33:18 He spares a person’s life from corruption,
his very life from crossing over the river.
33:19 Or a person is chastened by pain on his bed,
and with the continual strife of his bones,
33:20 so that his life loathes food,
and his soul rejects appetizing fare.
33:21 His flesh wastes away from sight,
and his bones, which were not seen,
are easily visible.
33:22 He draws near to the place of corruption,
and his life to the messengers of death.
33:23 If there is an angel beside him,
one mediator out of a thousand,
to tell a person what constitutes his uprightness;
33:24 and if God is gracious to him and says,
‘Spare him from going down
to the place of corruption,
I have found a ransom for him,’
33:25 then his flesh is restored like a youth’s;
he returns to the days of his youthful vigor.
33:26 He entreats God, and God delights in him,
he sees God’s face with rejoicing,
and God restores to him his righteousness.
33:27 That person sings to others, saying:
‘I have sinned and falsified what is right,
but I was not punished according to what I deserved.
33:28 He redeemed my life
from going down to the place of corruption,
and my life sees the light!’
