But he said to her, “You speak as one of the [spiritually] foolish women speaks [ignorant and oblivious to God’s will]. Shall we indeed accept [only] good from God and not [also] accept adversity and disaster?” In [spite of] all this Job did not sin with [words from] his lips.

“As I have seen, those who plow wickedness
And those who sow trouble and harm harvest it.

“I have seen the foolish taking root [and outwardly prospering],
But I cursed his dwelling immediately [for his destruction was certain].

“He thrives and prospers [like a green plant] before the sun,
And his branches spread out over his garden.

“If he is snatched from his place [in the garden],
Then his place will forget him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’

Who commands the sun, and it does not shine;
Who seals up the stars [from view];

“If I were to wash myself with snow
And cleanse my hands with lye,

That You seek my guilt
And search for my sin?

‘If I sin, then You would take note and observe me,
And You would not acquit me of my guilt.

‘Why then did You bring me out of the womb?
Would that I had perished and no eye had seen me!

If sin is in your hand, put it far away [from you],
And do not let wrongdoing dwell in your tents;

Then, indeed, you could lift up your face [to Him] without moral defect,
And you would be firmly established and secure and not fear.

[Job continued:] “Behold, my eye has seen all this,
My ear has heard and understood it.

“How many are my iniquities and sins [that so much sorrow should come to me]?
Make me recognize and understand my transgression and my sin.

“But now You number [each of] my steps;
You do not observe nor take note of my sin.

“Are the consolations of God [as we have interpreted them to you] too trivial for you,
[Or] were we too gentle toward you [in our first speech] to be effective?

“I will tell you, listen to me;
And what I have seen I will also declare;

“I have sewed sackcloth over my skin [as a sign of mourning]
And have defiled my horn (symbol of strength) in the dust.

“Oh, that a man would mediate and plead with God [for me]
Just as a man [mediates and pleads] with his neighbor and friend.

If I call out to the pit (grave), ‘You are my father’;
And to the worm [that feeds on decay], ‘You are my mother and my sister [because I will soon be closest to you],’

“He has no offspring or prosperity among his people,
Nor any survivor where he sojourned.

Yet he perishes forever like his own refuse;
Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’

“Drought and heat consume the snow waters;
So does Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) [consume] those who have sinned.

How much less man, that maggot,
And the son of man, that worm!”

“Behold, all of you have seen it;
Why then do you act vainly and foolishly [cherishing worthless concepts]?

“The path [deep within] no bird of prey knows,
And the falcon’s eye has not caught sight of it.

“I go about mourning without comfort [my skin blackened by disease, not by the heat of the sun];
I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.

If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
Or any poor person without covering,

“No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin
By cursing my enemy and asking for his life.

But Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became indignant. His indignation was kindled and burned and he became upset with Job because he justified himself rather than God [and even expressed doubts about God’s character].

Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite said,

“I am young, and you are aged;
For that reason I was anxious and dared not tell you what I think.

“For I do not know how to flatter, [in an appropriate way, and I fear that],
My Maker would soon take me away.

“His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen,
And his bones which were not seen now stick out.

‘For he adds rebellion [in his unsubmissive, defiant attitude toward God] to his [unacknowledged] sin;
He claps his hands among us [in open mockery and contempt of God],
And he multiplies his words [of accusation] against God.’”

“For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth’;
And [He speaks] to the showers and to the downpour [of His mighty rains], ‘Be strong.’

“Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,