After I spoke, they had nothing to say, when what I said hit them.

They waited for me as one waits for rain, as one opens his mouth to drink in a spring rain shower.

I smiled at them when they had no confidence, and no one could discourage me.

I set an example of the way to live, as a leader would; I lived like a king among his army; like one who comforts mourners."

"But now they mock me; men who are far younger than I, whose fathers I would have hated to entrust with my own sheep dogs.

Unproductive due to poverty and hunger, they could only scratch in parched soil, devastated and desolated.

They lived in the most dangerous of ravines, in holes in the ground, and among rocks.

But God has loosened his cord and afflicted me; so they've cast off all restraints in my presence.

They come like those who breach through a wall; as everything crashes around me they'll roll on and on!

The night racks my bones; and the pain that gnaws on me will not rest.

I cry for help to you, but you won't answer me; I stand still, but you only look at me.

you carried me off in a wind storm, making me ride on it while you toss me about as the storm roars around me.

"Surely he won't stretch his hand against the needy, will he, especially if they cry to him in their calamity?

Haven't I wept for the one who is going through hard times? Haven't I grieved for the needy?

I'm boiling mad inside, and I won't remain silent; the time for my affliction to confront me has arrived.

"In growing darkness, I walked without sunlight; I stood in the congregation to cry for help.

But my harp is in mourning; my flute plays only songs for those who are weeping."

"I made a covenant with my eyes; how, then, can I focus my attention on a virgin?

What would I have from God above, what heritage from the Almighty on high,

He watches my life, observing every one of my actions, does he not?"

"If I've lived my life in the company of vanity, or run quickly to embrace deception,

let my righteousness be weighed in honest scales, and God will make known my integrity.

"If my heart has been seduced by a woman and I've laid in wait at my friend's door,

because something as lascivious as that is an iniquity that should be judged.

"If I've refused to help my male and female servants when they complain against me,

what will I do when God stands up to act? When he asks the questions, how will I answer him?

The one who made me in the womb made them, too, didn't he? Didn't the same one prepare each of us in the womb?"

if I've raised my hand against an orphan when I thought I would against him in court,

For I'm terrified of what calamity God may have in store for me; and I cannot endure his grandeur."

"If I've put my confidence in gold, if I've told gold, "You're my security,'

if I've found joy in great wealth that I own, if I've earned a lot with my own hands,

if I look at the sun when it shines or the moon as it rises in steady splendor,

so that in the depths of my deceived heart I worshipped them with my mouth and hands,

"Have I rejoiced in the destruction of those who hate me, or have I been happy that evil caught up with him?

People in my household have said, "We cannot find anyone who has not been satisfied with his meat,' haven't they?

No stranger ever spent the night in the street, because I opened my doors to travelers."

I'll wear it on my shoulder, or tie it on my head for a crown!

I'll give an account for every step I've taken; I'll approach him confidently like a Commander-in-Chief."

"If my land were to cry out against me or if all its furrows wept as one,

These three men stopped responding to Job, because he was claiming to be righteous, in his own opinion.

But then Barachel's son Elihu from Buz, one of Ram's descendants, got really angry. He was furious with Job because he had been declaring himself righteous instead of vindicating God.

but when he saw that there had been no response from those three, he got even more angry.

However, a spirit exists in mankind, and the Almighty's breath gives him insight."

let him not direct a rebuke toward me. I won't be responding to him with your arguments.

"Job's friends won't reason with him anymore; discouraged, words escape them.

"I will contribute my arguments as an answer; I'll declare what I know,

My insides feel like unvented wine, like it's about to burst like a new wineskin.

I won't discriminate against anyone, and I won't flatter any person,

since I don't know the first thing about how to flatter; and the one who made me would sweep me away as if I were nothing."

Answer me, if you can! Present your case! Take your stand in my presence!

Don't be afraid of me; I'll go easy on you."

He has bound my feet in shackles, and keeps watching everything I do.'"

in a dream or night vision, when a deep sleep falls on mankind while they sleep on their beds.

That's when he opens the ear of mankind, authenticating his messages to them,

"He is being reproved by painful bed rest, with continual aching in his bones.

"If there's a messenger appointed to mediate for Job one out of a thousand to represent the man's integrity on his behalf,

Let his flesh be rejuvenated as he was in his youth! Let him recover the strength of his youth.

traffics in those who practice evil, and walks with wicked people?

Can one who hates justice really govern? And if God is righteous and mighty, can you condemn him?

Can one say to a king, "You're vile!' or to nobles, "You're wicked!'?

"They die suddenly, in the middle of the night; people suffer seizures and pass away; even valiant men can be taken away and not by human hands.

He won't examine mankind further, that they would go before God to judgment.

He shatters valiant men without a need to investigate, and he raises others in their place.

Thus he acknowledges their behavior, and overcomes them; when night time comes, they are crushed.

"He strikes the wicked among them in a place where they can be seen

"Has anyone ever really told God, "I've endured, and I won't act corruptly anymore.

What I don't see, instruct me! If I've done anything evil, I won't repeat it!'

"Should you not be paid back, since you have rejected him? You do the choosing! I won't! Tell us what you know!

Job has been speaking from his own ignorance, and what he has to say lacks insight!

because he has been adding rebellion to his sin; he claps his hands among us, and keeps on ranting against God."

In response, Elihu said:

He never asks, "Where is God, my Creator, who gives me songs in the night,

Theirs is a useless plea God won't listen; the Almighty won't pay any attention.

Even though you complain that you can't perceive him, your case is already pending for judgment in his presence so keep on placing your hope in him.

"So now, if he doesn't inflict punishment in his anger, then he doesn't keep track of your many transgressions.

When he began speaking, he communicated only worthlessness; he added words upon words without knowing anything."

"Be patient with me a moment longer, and I'll show you that there's more to say on God's behalf.

because what I have to say isn't deceptive, and the one who has perfect knowledge is with you."

He won't stop looking at righteous people; he seats them on thrones with kings forever, and they are exalted.

"If they're bound in chains, caught in ropes of affliction,

he'll reveal their actions to them, when their transgressions have become excessive.

If they listen and serve him, they'll finish their lives in prosperity and their years will be pleasant.

"But if they won't listen, they'll perish by the sword and die in their ignorance.

The godless at heart cherish anger; they won't cry out for help when God afflicts them.

They die in their youth; and their life will end among temple prostitutes.

He'll deliver the afflicted through their afflictions and open their ears when they are oppressed."

So that no one entices you with riches, don't let a large ransom turn you astray.

"Will your wealth sustain you when you're in distress, despite your most powerful efforts?

Don't long for night, when people vanish in their place.

"Indeed, God is exalted in his power. Who is like him as a teacher?

When the clouds pour down; they drop their rain on all of humanity.

"Furthermore, can anyone understand cloud patterns, or the thundering in his pavilion?

His thunder roars after it; his majestic voice will thunder; and no one can trace them once his voice has been heard.

"Then a beast enters its lair and remains in its den.

It whirls about in circles at his direction to accomplish all that he commands throughout the surface of the entire world,

whether for discipline on his land or to demonstrate his gracious love, he causes it to be realized."

Do you understand his wondrous work of balancing the clouds, the one whose knowledge is perfect,

Can you spread out the skies like he does; can you cast them as one might a mirror?

Tell us! What are we to say to him? Can we prepare our case to face him when our faces are in darkness?

Has it been relayed to God that I want to talk? Can a person speak when he is confused?"