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¹I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I look at a young woman?

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

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

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

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

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

⁷If my step has turned from the way, my heart has followed my eyes, or impurity has stained my hands,

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

⁹If my heart has gone astray over a woman or I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,

¹⁰let my own wife grind grain for another man, and let other men sleep with her.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

²³For disaster from God terrifies me, and because of his majesty I could not do these things.

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

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

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

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

²⁸this would also be an iniquity deserving punishment, for I would have denied God above.

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

³⁰I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life with a curse.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

³⁹if I have consumed its produce without payment or shown contempt for its tenants,

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

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

²Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite from the family of Ram became angry. He was angry at Job because he had justified himself rather than God.

³He was also angry at Job’s three friends because they had failed to refute him and yet had condemned him.

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

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

⁶So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite replied: I am young in years, while you are old; therefore I was timid and afraid to tell you what I know.

⁷I thought that age should speak and maturity should teach wisdom.

⁸But it is the spirit in a person— the breath from the Almighty— that gives anyone understanding.

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

¹⁰Therefore I say, “Listen to me. I too will declare what I know.”

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

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

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

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

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

¹⁶Should I continue to wait now that they are silent, now that they stand there and no longer answer?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

⁴The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

¹²But I tell you that you are wrong in this matter, since God is greater than man.

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

¹⁴For God speaks time and again, but a person may not notice it.

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

¹⁶he uncovers their ears and terrifies them with warnings,

¹⁷in order to turn a person from his actions and suppress the pride of a person.

¹⁸God spares his soul from the Pit, his life from crossing the river of death.

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

²⁰so that he detests bread, and his soul despises his favorite food.

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

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

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

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

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

²⁶He will pray to God, and God will delight in him. That person will see his face with a shout of joy, and God will restore his righteousness to him.

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

²⁸He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit, and I will continue to see the light.”

²⁹God certainly does all these things two or three times to a person

³⁰in order to turn him back from the Pit, so he may shine with the light of life.

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

³²But if you have something to say, answer me; speak, for I would like to justify you.

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

¹Then Elihu continued, saying:

²Hear my words, you wise ones, and listen to me, you knowledgeable ones.

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

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

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

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

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

⁸He keeps company with evildoers and walks with wicked men.

⁹For he has said, “A man gains nothing when he becomes God’s friend.”

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

¹¹For he repays a person according to his deeds, and he gives him what his conduct deserves.

¹²Indeed, it is true that God does not act wickedly and the Almighty does not pervert justice.

¹³Who gave him authority over the earth? Who put him in charge of the entire world?

¹⁴If he put his mind to it and withdrew the spirit and breath he gave,

¹⁵every living thing would perish together and mankind would return to the dust.

¹⁶If you have understanding, hear this; listen to what I have to say.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

²⁹But 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,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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