Elihu Speaks

Job 32–34 (selections)

ca. 1200–332 BCE

Chapter 32

¹These three men ceased replying to Job, for he considered himself right. ²Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was angry—angry at Job because he thought himself right against God. ³He was angry as well at his three friends, because they found no reply, but merely condemned Job. [ . . . ]

⁶Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite said in reply:

I have but few years, while you are old;

Therefore I was too awestruck and fearful

To hold forth among you.

⁷I thought, “Let age speak;

Let advanced years declare wise things.”

⁸But truly it is the spirit in men,

The breath of Shaddai, that gives them understanding.

⁹It is not the aged who are wise,

The elders, who understand how to judge. [ . . . ]

¹²But as I attended to you,

I saw that none of you could argue with Job,

Or offer replies to his statements. [ . . . ]

¹⁷Now I also would have my say;

I too would like to hold forth,

¹⁸For I am full of words;

The wind in my belly presses me.

¹⁹My belly is like wine not yet opened,

Like jugs of new wine ready to burst.

²⁰Let me speak, then, and get relief;

Let me open my lips and reply. [ . . . ]

Chapter 33

¹But now, Job, listen to my words,

Give ear to all that I say. [ . . . ]

⁸Indeed, you have stated in my hearing,

I heard the words spoken,

⁹“I am guiltless, free from transgression;

I am innocent, without iniquity.

¹⁰But He finds reasons to oppose me,

Considers me His enemy.

¹¹He puts my feet in stocks,

Watches all my ways.”

¹²In this you are not right;

I will answer you: God is greater than any man.

¹³Why do you complain against Him

That He does not reply to any of man’s charges?

¹⁴For God speaks ^atime and again^a

—Though man does not perceive it—

¹⁵In a dream, a night vision,

When deep sleep falls on men,

While they slumber on their beds.

¹⁶Then He opens men’s understanding,

And by disciplining them leaves His signature

¹⁷To turn man away from an action,

To suppress pride in man.

¹⁸He spares him from the Pit,

His person, from perishing by the sword.

¹⁹He is reproved by pains on his bed,

And the trembling in his bones is constant.

²⁰He detests food;

Fine food [is repulsive] to him.

²¹His flesh wastes away till it cannot be seen,

And his bones are rubbed away till they are invisible.

²²He comes close to the Pit,

His life [verges] on death.

²³If he has a representative,

One advocate against a thousand

To declare the man’s uprightness,

²⁴Then He has mercy on him and decrees,

“Redeem him from descending to the Pit,

For I have obtained his ransom;

²⁵Let his flesh be healthier than in his youth;

Let him return to his younger days.”

²⁶He prays to God and is accepted by Him;

He enters His presence with shouts of joy,

For He requites a man for his righteousness. [ . . . ]

²⁸He redeemed him from passing into the Pit;

He will enjoy the light.

²⁹Truly, God does all these things

Two or three times to a man,

³⁰To bring him back from the Pit,

That he may bask in the light of life. [ . . . ]

Chapter 34

¹⁰Therefore, men of understanding, listen to me;

Wickedness be far from God,

Wrongdoing, from Shaddai!

¹¹For He pays a man according to his actions,

And provides for him according to his conduct;

¹²For God surely does not act wickedly;

Shaddai does not pervert justice.

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Notes

Lit. “once . . . twice.”

Credits

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 1.

Elihu Speaks

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Notes

Credits

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Chapter 32

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