Chapter 34

  And Elihu made answer and said,  

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  Give ear, you wise, to my words; and you who have knowledge, give attention to me;  

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  For words are tested by the ear, as food is tasted by the mouth.  

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  Let us make the decision for ourselves as to what is right; let us have the knowledge among ourselves of what is good.  

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  For Job has said, I am upright, and it is God who has taken away my right;  

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  Though I am right, still I am in pain; my wound may not be made well, though I have done no wrong.  

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  What man is like Job, a man who freely makes sport of God,  

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  And goes in the company of evil-doers, walking in the way of sinners?  

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  For he has said, It is no profit to a man to take delight in God.  

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  Now then, you wise, take note; you men of knowledge, give ear to me. Let it be far from God to do evil, and from the Ruler of all to do wrong.  

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  For he gives to every man the reward of his work, and sees that he gets the fruit of his ways.  

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  Truly, God does not do evil, and the Ruler of all is not a false judge.  

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  Who put the earth into his care, or made him responsible for the world?  

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  If he made his spirit come back to him, taking his breath into himself again,  

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  All flesh would come to an end together, and man would go back to the dust.  

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  If you are wise, take note of this; give ear to the voice of my words.  

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  How may a hater of right be a ruler? and will you say that the upright Ruler of all is evil?  

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  He who says to a king, You are an evil-doer; and to rulers, You are sinners;  

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  Who has no respect for rulers, and who gives no more attention to those who have wealth than to the poor, for they are all the work of his hands.  

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  Suddenly they come to an end, even in the middle of the night: the blow comes on the men of wealth, and they are gone, and the strong are taken away without the hand of man.  

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  For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps.  

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  There is no dark place, and no thick cloud, in which the workers of evil may take cover.  

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  For he does not give man a fixed time to come before him to be judged.  

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  He sends the strong to destruction without searching out their cause, and puts others in their place.  

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  For he has knowledge of their works, overturning them in the night, so that they are crushed.  

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  The evil-doers are broken by his wrath, he puts his hand on them with force before the eyes of all onlookers.  

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  Because they did not go after him, and took no note of his ways,  

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  So that the cry of the poor might come up to him, and the prayer of those in need come to his ears.  

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  Men of knowledge, and all wise men, hearing me, will say,  

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  Job's words do not come from knowledge; they are not the fruit of wisdom.  

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  May Job be tested to the end, because his answers have been like those of evil men.  

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  For in addition to his sin, he is uncontrolled in heart; before our eyes he makes sport of God, increasing his words against him.  

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