Job 34

Job 34:1 Then Elihu continued, and said:

Job 34:2 Hear my words, wise ones, and listen to me, knowing ones.

Job 34:3 Doesn’t the ear test words as the palate tastes food?

Job 34:4 Let us judge for ourselves what is right; let us decide together what is good.

Job 34:5 Because Job has declared, “I am righteous, yet God has deprived me of justice.

Job 34:6 Would I lie about my case? My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.”

Job 34:7 What healthy man is like Job? He drinks derision like water.

Job 34:8 He keeps company with evildoers and walks with wicked men.

Job 34:9 Because he has said, “A healthy man gains nothing when he becomes God’s friend.”

Job 34:10 Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding. It is impossible for God to do wrong and for the Almighty to act unjustly.

Job 34:11 Because he repays a person according to his deeds, and he gives him what his conduct deserves.

Job 34:12 It is also true that God does not act wickedly, and the Almighty does not pervert justice.

Job 34:13 Who gave him authority over the land? Who put him in charge of the continents?[1]

Job 34:14 If he put his mind to it and withdrew the breath and breathing he gave,

Job 34:15 every living thing would expire together, and Adam would return to the dust.

Job 34:16 If you have insight, hear this; listen to what I have to say.

Job 34:17 Could one who hates justice govern the world? Will you condemn the mighty Righteous One,

Job 34:18 who says to a king, “Worthless man!” and to nobles, “Wicked men!”?

Job 34:19 God is not partial to princes and does not favor the rich over the poor, for they are all the work of his hands.

Job 34:20 They die suddenly in the middle of the night; people shudder, then pass away. Even the mighty are removed without effort.

Job 34:21 For his eyes watch over a man’s ways, and he observes all his steps.

Job 34:22 There is no darkness, no deep darkness, where evildoers can hide.

Job 34:23 God does not need to examine a person further, so that one should approach him in court.

Job 34:24 He shatters the mighty without an investigation and sets others in their place.

Job 34:25 Therefore, he recognizes their deeds and overthrows them by night, and they are crushed.

Job 34:26 In full view of the public, he strikes them for their wickedness,

Job 34:27 because they turned aside from following him and did not understand any of his ways

Job 34:28 but caused the poor to cry out to him, and he heard the outcry of the needy.

Job 34:29 But when God is silent, who can declare him guilty? When he hides his face, who can see him? Yet he watches over both individuals and nations,

Job 34:30 so that godless men should not rule or ensnare the people.

Job 34:31 Suppose someone says to God, “I have endured my punishment; I will no longer act wickedly.

Job 34:32 Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I won’t do it again.”

Job 34:33 Should God repay you on your terms when you have rejected his? You must choose, not I! So, declare what you know.

Job 34:34 Reasonable men will say to me, along with the wise healthy men who hear me,

Job 34:35 “Job speaks without knowledge; his words are without insight.”

Job 34:36 If only Job were tested to the limit, because his answers are like those of wicked men.

Job 34:37 Because he adds rebellion to his sin; he scornfully claps in our presence, while multiplying his words against God.

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[1] תֵּבֵל = continents.

links:

defending God
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Thursday, January 27, 2022
wrong assumption

The Job shelf in my library

Job 33

Job 33:1 But now, Job, pay attention to my speech, and listen to all my words.

Job 33:2 I am going to open my mouth; my tongue will form words on my palate.

Job 33:3 My words come from my upright heart, and my lips speak with sincerity what they know.

Job 33:4 The Breath of God has made me, and the breathing of the Almighty gives me life.

Job 33:5 Refute me if you can. Prepare your case against me; take your stand.

Job 33:6 I am just like you before God; I was also pinched off from a piece of clay.

Job 33:7 Fear of me should not terrify you; no pressure from me should weigh you down.

Job 33:8 Surely you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard these very words:

Job 33:9 “I am pure, without transgression; I am clean and have no iniquity.

Job 33:10 But he finds reasons to oppose me; he regards me as his enemy.

Job 33:11 He puts my feet in the stocks; he stands watch over all my paths.”

Job 33:12 But I tell you that you are not right since God is greater than a mortal.

Job 33:13 Why do you take him to court for not answering anything a person asks?

Job 33:14 Because God speaks time and again, but a person may not notice it.

Job 33:15 In a dream, a vision in the night, when deep sleep comes over people as they slumber on their beds,

Job 33:16 he unstops their ears and terrifies them with warnings,

Job 33:17 to turn Adam from his actions and suppress the pride of a healthy man.

Job 33:18 God spares his throat from the Pit, his life from crossing the river of death.

Job 33:19 A person may be disciplined on his bed with pain and constant distress in his bones,

Job 33:20 so that his life detests bread, and his throat despises his favorite food.

Job 33:21 His flesh wastes away to nothing, and his unseen bones stick out.

Job 33:22 He draws near to the Pit, and his life to the executioners.

Job 33:23 If there is an angel on his side, one mediator out of a thousand, to tell a person what is right for him

Job 33:24 and to be gracious to him and say, “Spare him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom,”

Job 33:25 then his flesh will be healthier than in his youth, and he will return to the days of his youthful vigor.

Job 33:26 He will pray to God, and God will delight in him. He will see his face with a shout of joy, and God will restore to that mortal his righteousness.

Job 33:27 He will look at men and say, “I have sinned and perverted what was right; yet I did not get what I deserved.

Job 33:28 He redeemed my throat from going down to the Pit, and I will continue to see the light.”

Job 33:29 God indeed does all these things two or three times to a healthy man

Job 33:30 to turn his throat back from the Pit so that he may shine with the light of life.

Job 33:31 Pay attention, Job, and listen to me. Be quiet, and I will speak.

Job 33:32 But if you have something to say, answer me; speak, because I would like to justify you.

Job 33:33 If not, then listen to me; be quiet, and I will teach you wisdom.

links:

is God speaking?
not the voice of God

The Job shelf in my library

Job 32

Job 32:1 So these three men quit answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

Job 32:2 Then Elihu, son of Barachel the Buzite from the family of Ram, became angry. He was furious at Job because he had justified his throat rather than God.

Job 32:3 He was also angry at Job’s three friends because they had found no answer and yet had condemned him.

Job 32:4 Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were all older than he.

Job 32:5 But when he saw that the three men could not answer Job, he became angry.

Job 32:6 So Elihu, son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said, “I am young in years, while you are old; that is why I was timid and afraid to tell you what I knew.”

Job 32:7 I thought that age should speak, and maturity should teach wisdom.

Job 32:8 But it is the breath in a mortal — the breathing from the Almighty — that gives anyone understanding.

Job 32:9 It is not only the old who are wise or the elderly who understand how to judge.

Job 32:10 That is why I say, “Listen to me. I, too, will declare what I know.”

Job 32:11 Look, I waited for your conclusions; I listened to your insights as you sought for words.

Job 32:12 I paid close attention to you. Yet no mortal proved Job wrong; not one of you refuted his arguments.

Job 32:13 So do not claim, “We have found wisdom; let God deal with him, not man.”

Job 32:14 But Job has not directed his argument to me, and I will not respond to him with your arguments.

Job 32:15 Job’s friends are dismayed and can no longer answer; words have left them.

Job 32:16 Should I continue to wait now that they are silent — now that they stand there and no longer answer?

Job 32:17 I too will answer; yes, I will tell what I know.

Job 32:18 For I am full of words, and my spirit compels me to speak.

Job 32:19 My heart is like unvented wine; it is about to burst like new wineskins.

Job 32:20 I must speak so that I can find relief; I must open my lips and respond.

Job 32:21 I will be partial to no one, and I will not give anyone an undeserved title.

Job 32:22 Because I do not know how to give such titles; otherwise, my Maker would remove me in an instant.

links:

having to say something
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Wednesday, January 26, 2022
wisdom to shut up

The Job shelf in my library

Job 31

Job 31:1 I have cut a covenant with my eyes. How then could I investigate a young woman?

Job 31:2 For what portion would I have from God above, or what inheritance from the Almighty on high?

Job 31:3 Doesn’t disaster come to the unjust and misfortune to evildoers?

Job 31:4 Does he not see my ways and number all my steps?

Job 31:5 If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has rushed to deceit,

Job 31:6 let God weigh me on accurate scales, and he will recognize my integrity.

Job 31:7 If my step has turned from the road, my heart has followed my eyes, or impurity has stained my hands,

Job 31:8 let someone else eat what I have sown, and let my crops be uprooted.

Job 31:9 If my heart has gone astray over a woman or I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door,

Job 31:10 let my own wife grind grain for another man, and let other men bow down over her.

Job 31:11 For that would be a disgrace; it would be an iniquity deserving punishment.

Job 31:12 For it is a fire that consumes down to Abaddon; it would destroy my entire harvest.

Job 31:13 If I have dismissed the case of my male or female servants when they made a complaint against me,

Job 31:14 what could I do when God stands up to judge? How should I answer him when he calls me to account?

Job 31:15 Did not the one who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same God form us both in the womb?

Job 31:16 If I have refused the wishes of the poor or let the widow’s eyes go blind,

Job 31:17 if I have eaten my few crumbs alone without letting the fatherless eat any of it —

Job 31:18 for from my youth, I raised him as his father, and since the day I was born I guided the widow —

Job 31:19 if I have seen anyone dying for lack of clothing or a needy person without a cloak,

Job 31:20 if he did not bless me while warming himself with the fleece from my sheep,

Job 31:21 if I ever cast my vote against a fatherless child when I saw that I had support in the city gate,

Job 31:22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my back, and my arm be pulled from its socket.

Job 31:23 Because disaster from God terrifies me, and because of his majesty, I could not do these things.

Job 31:24 If I placed my confidence in gold or called fine gold my trust,

Job 31:25 if I have rejoiced because my wealth is great or because my own hand has acquired so much,

Job 31:26 if I have gazed at the sun when it was shining or at the moon moving in splendor,

Job 31:27 so that my heart was secretly enticed, and I threw them a kiss,

Job 31:28 this would also be an iniquity deserving punishment, because I would have denied God above.

Job 31:29 Have I rejoiced over my enemy’s distress, or become excited when trouble came his way?

Job 31:30 I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his throat with a curse.

Job 31:31 Haven’t the members of my household said, “Who is there who has not had enough to eat at Job’s table?”

Job 31:32 No stranger had to spend the night on the street, for I opened my door to the traveler.

Job 31:33 Have I covered my transgressions as others do by hiding my iniquity in my heart

Job 31:34 because I greatly feared the crowds and because the contempt of the clans terrified me, so I grew silent and would not go outside?

Job 31:35 If only I had someone to hear my case! Here is my signature; let the Almighty answer me. Let my Opponent compose his indictment.

Job 31:36 I would surely carry it on my shoulder and wear it like a crown.

Job 31:37 I would give him an account of all my steps; I would approach him like a prince.

Job 31:38 If my land cries out against me and its furrows join in weeping,

Job 31:39 if I have consumed its produce without payment or caused its owners’ throat to expire,

Job 31:40 then let thorns grow instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley. The words of Job are concluded.

links:

implied charges
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Thursday, January 23, 2020
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Tuesday, January 25, 2022
the old fashioned way
trial by implication

The Job shelf in my library

Job 30

Job 30:1 But now they ridicule me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have rejected as tenders of my sheep dogs.

Job 30:2 What use to me was the strength of their hands? Their vigor was gone from them.

Job 30:3 Emaciated from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, the desolate wasteland by night.

Job 30:4 They plucked mallow among the shrubs, and the roots of the broom tree were their food.

Job 30:5 They were banished from human society; people shouted at them as if they were thieves.

Job 30:6 They are living on the slopes of the wadis, among the rocks and in holes in the ground.

Job 30:7 They bray among the shrubs; they huddle beneath the thistles.

Job 30:8 Stupid men, without even a name. They were forced to leave the land.

Job 30:9 Now I am mocked by their songs; I have become an object of scorn to them.

Job 30:10 They abhor me and keep their distance from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.

Job 30:11 Because God has loosened my bowstring and oppressed me, they have cast off restraint in my presence.

Job 30:12 The rabble rise at my right; they trap my feet and construct their siege ramp against me.

Job 30:13 They tear up my path; they contribute to my destruction, without anyone to help them.

Job 30:14 They advance as through a gaping breach; they keep rolling in through the ruins.

Job 30:15 Terrors are turned loose against me; they chase my dignity away like the wind, and my prosperity has passed by like a cloud.

Job 30:16 Now my throat is poured out within me, and days of suffering have seized me.

Job 30:17 Night pierces my bones, but my gnawing pains never rest.

Job 30:18 My clothing is distorted with great force; he chokes me by the neck of my garment.

Job 30:19 He throws me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes.

Job 30:20 I cry out to you for help, but you do not answer me; when I stand up, you merely look at me.

Job 30:21 You have turned against me with cruelty; you harass me with your strong hand.

Job 30:22 You lift me on the wind and make me ride it; you scatter me in the storm.

Job 30:23 Yes, I know that you will lead me to death—the place appointed for all who live.

Job 30:24 Yet no one would send out his hand against a ruined person when he cries out to him for help because of his distress.

Job 30:25 Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times? Has my throat not grieved for the needy?

Job 30:26 But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness came.

Job 30:27 I am churning within and cannot rest; days of suffering confront me.

Job 30:28 I walk about darkened, but not by the sun. I stood in the assembly and cried out for help.

Job 30:29 I have become a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches.

Job 30:30 My skin darkens and flakes off, and my bones burn with fever.

Job 30:31 My lyre is used for mourning, and my flute to make the sound of weeping.

Links:

he listens
honest to God
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Monday, August 1, 2016
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Wednesday, August 3, 2016

The Job shelf in my library