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Elihu Claims to Speak for God

¹ "However, Job, please ^(C1)listen to my words,
And pay attention to everything I say.

² "Behold, I have opened my mouth to begin my speech;
My tongue in my mouth is going to speak.

³ "My words will express the uprightness of my heart,
And my lips will speak ^(C1)what they know with utter sincerity.

⁴ "The ^(C1)Spirit of God has made me,
And the ^(C2)breath of ^(F1)the Almighty gives me life which inspires me.

⁵ "^(C1)Answer me, if you can;
Set yourselves before me, take your stand.

⁶ "Behold, I belong to God like you;
I too was formed out of the ^(C1)clay.

⁷ "Behold, I will ^(C1)not make you afraid or terrified of me for I am only mortal and not God,
Nor should any pressure from me weigh heavily upon you.

⁸ "Surely you have spoken in my hearing,
And I have heard the sound of your words, saying:

⁹ 'I am ^(C1)pure, ^(C2)without transgression;
I am innocent and there ^(C3)is no guilt in me.

¹⁰ 'Behold, God finds pretexts against me;
^(C1)He counts me as His enemy.

¹¹ 'He ^(C1)puts my feet in the stocks to hinder and humiliate me;
He suspiciously watches all my paths,' you say.

¹² "Look, let me answer you, ^(C1)in this you are not right or just;
For God is greater and far superior to man.

¹³ "Why do you ^(C1)complain against Him?
That He does not answer you with all His doings.

¹⁴ "For ^(C1)God speaks once,
And even twice, yet no one notices it including you, Job.

¹⁵ "In a ^(C1)dream, a vision of the night one may hear God's voice,
When deep sleep falls on men
While slumbering upon the bed,

¹⁶ Then ^(C1)He opens the ears of men
And seals their instruction,

¹⁷ That He may turn man aside from his conduct,
And keep him from pride;

¹⁸ He ^(C1)holds back his soul from the pit of destruction,
And his life from ^(C2)passing over into Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead).

¹⁹ "Man is also disciplined with ^(C1)pain on his bed,
And with unceasing complaint in his bones,

²⁰ So that his life makes him ^(C1)loathe food,
And his soul loathe even his favorite dishes.

²¹ "His ^(C1)flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen,
And his ^(C2)bones which were not seen now stick out.

²² "Then ^(C1)his soul draws near to the pit of destruction,
And his life to those who bring death (the destroyers).

²³ "If there is an angel as a ^(C1)mediator for him,
One out of a thousand,
To explain to a man what is right for him that is, how to be in right standing with God,

²⁴ Then ^(F1)the angel is gracious to him, and says,
'Spare him from ^(C1)going down to the pit of destruction;
I have found a ^(C2)ransom a consideration, or reason for redemption, an atonement!'

²⁵ "Let his flesh be restored and become fresher than in youth;
Let him return to the days of his youthful strength.

²⁶ "He will ^(C1)pray to God, and He shall be favorable to him,
So that ^(C2)he looks at His face with joy;
For God restores to man His righteousness that is, his right standing with God—with its joys.

²⁷ "He sings out to other men,
'I ^(C1)have sinned and perverted that which was right,
And it was not ^(C2)proper for me!

²⁸ 'God has redeemed my life from going to the pit of destruction,
And my life shall ^(C1)see the light.'"

²⁹ Elihu comments, "Behold, God does ^(C1)all these things ^(F1)twice, yes, three times, with a man,

³⁰ To ^(C1)bring his life back from the pit of destruction,
That he may be enlightened with the light of the living.

³¹ "Pay attention, Job, listen to me;
Keep silent, and I will speak.

³² "If you have anything to say, answer me;
Speak, for I desire to justify you.

³³ "If not and you have nothing to say, ^(C1)listen to me;
Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom."