Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

1 So these three men stopped trying to answer Iyov, because he remained convinced of his own righteousness.

2 But then the anger of Elihu the son of Barakh’el the Buzi, from the family of Ram, blazed up against Iyov for thinking he was right and God wrong.

3 His anger also blazed up against his three friends, because they had found no answer to Iyov but condemned him anyway.

4 Elihu had waited to speak to Iyov because they were older than he;

5 however, when Elihu saw that these three had no answer, his anger flared up.

6 Elihu the son of Barakh’el the Buzi said:

“I am young, and you are old,

so I held back from telling you my opinion.

7 I said, ‘Age should speak;

an abundance of years should teach wisdom.’

8 But it is the spirit in a person, the breath fromShaddai,

that gives him understanding —

9 it isn’t [only] the great who are wise

or the aged who know how to judge.

10 Therefore, I say, listen to me;

I too will express my opinion.

11 “Here, I waited for your words,

I listened to your reasoning,

as you were searching for what to say.

12 I paid attention to you,

but none of you convicted Iyov

or refuted his arguments.

13 So don’t say, ‘We found the wise course —

Let God defeat him, not a human being.’

14 For he did not direct his words against me,

and I won’t answer him with your arguments.

15 “They are confused, they don’t reply,

words have failed them.

16 But must I wait just because they don’t speak,

just because they stand there, stuck for an answer?

17 No, I will now give my answer;

I too will express my opinion.

18 For I am full of words;

the spirit within me compels me.

19 Yes, my insides feel like new wine under pressure,

like new wineskins ready to burst.

20 I must speak, to find relief;

I will open my lips and answer.

21 I will show no favor to anyone,

and I will flatter no one;

22 I don’t know how to flatter;

if I did, my maker would soon put an end to me.

1 “So, Iyov, please, hear my speech;

listen to all my words.

2 Look, I am opening my mouth;

the words are on the tip of my tongue.

3 I will say exactly what is on my mind;

what my lips know, they will speak sincerely.

4 It is the Spirit of God that made me,

the breath ofShaddaithat gives me life.

5 So refute me, if you can;

organize your words, take your stand!

6 Look, before God I’m the same as you;

I too am fashioned from clay.

7 You don’t need to be afraid of me;

my pressure on you will not be heavy.

8 “You spoke within my hearing,

and I heard what you said —

9 ‘I am clean, without transgression;

I am innocent, not guilty.

10 Yet [God] finds pretexts for accusing me;

he regards me as his enemy.

11 He puts my feet in the stocks

and watches wherever I go.’

12 “But in this, you are wrong; I will answer you:

God is greater than any mortal.

13 Why do you strive against him?

He will not defend his words —

14 God speaks once, even twice,

and still the hearer misses the point.

15 “In a dream, in a vision at night,

when slumber falls upon people,

as they sleep in their beds,

16 he opens people’s ears

and seals the matter with a warning,

17 to turn a person away from his action

and protect a man from pride,

18 so that he will keep himself away from the pit

and from perishing by the sword.

19 “He is also warned by pain when in bed,

when all his bones are hurting;

20 so that he detests bread

as well as richer food.

21 His flesh wastes away, till one can’t stand to look;

his bones protrude and become unsightly.

22 His soul comes close to the pit

and his life to those who bring death.

23 “If there is for him an angel,

a mediator, one among a thousand,

who can vouch for the man’s uprightness;

24 then [God] is gracious to him and says,

‘Redeem him from going down to the pit;

I have found a ransom.’

25 His flesh becomes fresher than that of a child,

he returns to the days of his youth.

26 He prays to God and is accepted by him,

so that he sees [God’s] face with joy,

and [God] repays the man for his righteousness.

27 He declares before everyone, ‘I sinned;

I perverted what was right,

and it gained me nothing.

28 [God] redeemed me from going into the pit,

and now my life sees light.’

29 God will accomplish all these things

twice, even three times, with a man,

30 to bring him back from the pit,

so that he can enjoy the light of the living.

31 “Pay attention, Iyov, listen to me;

keep quiet, and I will keep speaking.

32 If you have something to say, answer me;

speak, because I want to show that you are right.

33 If not, then listen to me;

keep quiet, and I will teach you wisdom.”

1 Elihu continued speaking:

2 “Hear my words, you sages!

Listen to me, you who know so much!

3 For the ear tests words,

just as the palate tastes food.

4 Let’s choose for ourselves what is just;

let’s decide among ourselves what is good.

5 For Iyov says, ‘I am in the right,

but God is denying me justice.

6 Against justice, I am considered a liar;

my wound is mortal, though I committed no crime.’

7 “Is there a man like Iyov,

who drinks in scoffing like water,

8 who keeps company with evildoers

and goes with wicked men,

9 since he thinks, ‘It profits a person nothing

to be in accord with God’?

10 “So listen to me, you men with sense!

Far be it from God to do anything wicked!

11 For he pays people back for what they do

and sees that each gets what his conduct deserves.

12 It is certain that God does nothing wicked;

Shaddaiwill not pervert justice.

13 Did someone else put him in charge of the earth?

Who else established the entire world?

14 If he were to take back man’s heart to himself,

if he gathered to himself his spirit and breath;

15 all flesh would instantly perish,

everyone would return to dust.

16 “If you have any sense, [Iyov,] hear this;

listen to what I am saying.

17-18 Should a hater of justice be in control?

If you wouldn’t tell a king, ‘You’re a scoundrel!’

or nobles, ‘You are wicked men!’

then you shouldn’t condemn the Just and Mighty One,

19 who is neither partial toward princes

nor favors the rich over the poor,

since they all are the work of his hands.

20 They may die in a moment, in the middle of the night —

the people are shaken and pass away,

the mighty are removed without human hands.

21 For he keeps watch on a person’s ways;

he sees his every step.

22 There is no darkness, no death-like gloom,

where wrongdoers can hide;

23 for he doesn’t give warning to people

when they must appear before God in judgment.

24 He shatters the mighty without needing to investigate

and sets up others in their place.

25 Therefore, aware of what they are doing,

he overturns them by night, and they are crushed.

26 He strikes them as if they were common criminals

in the open sight of others,

27 because they turned away from following him

and gave no thought to any of his ways,

28 thereby bringing before him the cries of the poor;

and he hears the cries of the oppressed.

29 “But if God is silent, who can accuse him;

if he hides his face, who can see him?

He may do this to nations and persons alike,

30 so that godless men will not become kings,

and the people will not be lured into traps.

31 “For has anyone said to God,

‘I have been chastised without having offended;

32 teach me what I have failed to see;

and if I have done wrong, I will do it no more’?

33 Must his rewards meet your approval?

Well, you are the one who doesn’t like them,

so you, not I, should pick the alternative;

come on, say what you think!

34 Intelligent people will tell me,

every wise man who hears me will say,

35 ‘Iyov is speaking without thinking;

his words lack discernment.’

36 “I wish Iyov would be kept on trial forever,

because he answers like wicked men.

37 For now to his sin he adds rebellion;

he [mockingly] claps his hands among us

and keeps adding to his words against God.”

1 Elihu went on to say:

2 “Are you so convinced you are right,

that you say, ‘I am more just than God’?

3 For you ask what advantage it is to you,

‘How do I gain from not sinning?’

4 “Here is my answer to you,

to you and to your friends:

5 Look at the heavens and see;

observe the skies, high above you.

6 If you sin, how do you hurt him?

If your crimes are many, how do you affect him?

7 If you are righteous, what do you give him?

What benefit does he get from you?

8 Your wickedness can affect only others like you,

and your righteousness only other human beings.

9 People cry out from under many oppressions;

they cry for help from under the fist of the mighty.

10 But no one asks, ‘Where is God my maker,

who causes glad songs to ring out at night,

11 who teaches us more than he teaches wild animals

and makes us wiser than the birds in the air?’

12 They may cry out, but no one answers,

because of evil men’s pride.

13 For God will not listen to empty cries;

Shaddaipays no attention to them.

14 All the more when you say that you don’t see him!

Just be patient; he’s considering the matter.

15 But now, just because he doesn’t get angry and punish,

does it mean he doesn’t know what arrogance is?

16 So Iyov is being futile when he opens his mouth;

he is piling up words without knowledge.”

1 Elihu added:

2 “Bear with me a little, and I will show you

that there is more to say on God’s behalf.

3 I may search far and wide for my arguments,

but I will ascribe righteousness to God my maker.

4 For the fact is that my words are true;

you have with you a man whose views are pure.

5 “Look, God is powerful and despises no one,

powerful in his strength of understanding.

6 He does not preserve the lives of the wicked,

but he gives justice to the poor.

7 He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous;

but when he sets kings on their throne forever,

they may become proud;

8 if, then, they are bound in chains,

held in oppressive cords,

9 he shows them the results of their doings,

the crimes caused by their pride.

10 He sounds a warning in their ears

and orders them to repent of their evil.

11 “If they pay attention and obey him,

they spend their days in prosperity;

their years pass pleasantly.

12 But if they don’t pay attention,

they perish by the sword

and die without learning their lesson.

13 The godless in heart cherish their anger,

not crying for help when he binds them.

14 Their soul perishes in their youth,

and their life becomes depraved.

15 “God, with his affliction,

delivers the afflicted;

and he gets their attention

by pressing on them.

16 Indeed [Iyov], he is drawing you

away from distress

to an untroubled open place,

with rich food on your table.

17 But the judgment on the wicked

applies fully to you,

judgment and condemnation

take hold [of them].

18 For beware of wrath

when abundance entices you;

don’t let a big bribe

turn you aside.

19 Will your great wealth help you?

or all your efforts, no matter how strong?

20 Don’t desire the night,

when people suddenly die.

21 Be careful; turn away from wrongdoing;

for because of this, you have been tested by affliction.

22 “Look, God is exalted in his strength;

who is a teacher like him?

23 Who ever prescribed his course for him?

Who ever said, ‘What you are doing is wrong’?

24 Remember, rather, to magnify his work,

of which many have sung.

25 Everyone has seen it,

[but] humans see it [only] from a distance.

26 Look, God is great, beyond what we can know;

the number of his years is uncountable.

27 “He makes the droplets of water,

which condense into rain from his mist.

28 The clouds pour it down

upon humankind in abundance.

29 Can anyone fathom the spreading of the clouds,

or the crashes that come from his canopy?

30 See how he scatters his lightning over it

and covers the roots of the sea.

31 By these things he judges the people

and also gives food in plenty.

32 He gathers the lightning into his hands

and commands it to strike the target.

33 Its crashing announces its presence

and apprises the cattle of what is coming.

1 “At this, my own heart trembles

and leaps out of its place.

2 Just listen to the rumbling of his voice,

to the thunder that comes from his mouth!

3 He sends it out under all of heaven,

his lightning to the ends of the earth.

4 There follows a sound, a roar —

he is thundering with his majestic voice,

and he keeps releasing [the lightning]

even while his voice is being heard.

5 “God thunders wonderfully with his voice,

he does great things beyond our understanding.

6 He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth!’ —

likewise to the light rain, also to the downpour.

7 He brings all human activity to a stop,

so that everyone he has made can know it.

8 Then the animals go into their lairs

and hibernate in their dens.

9 “Out of its chamber comes the storm,

with cold out of the north.

10 By the breath of God, ice is given,

and the wide waters freeze over.

11 He weighs the clouds down with moisture,

and they flash forth his lightning.

12 He, by his plans, turns them around,

so they do what he commands them anywhere on earth;

13 he brings them forth on the earth

sometimes to punish, sometimes to express his grace.

14 “Listen to this, Iyov!

Stop, and consider God’s wonders.

15 Do you know how God puts them in place,

how he causes lightning to flash from his cloud?

16 Do you know how he balances the clouds?

These are marvels of him who knows everything!

17 “You, sweltering in your clothing

as the earth lies still under a sultry south wind,

18 can you, with him, spread out the sky,

hard as a cast metal mirror?

19 Teach us what we should tell him,

for the darkness keeps us from organizing our case.

20 Is he to be told that I will speak?

Can a man speak at all when he is already swallowed up?

21 Now people don’t see the light,

which is bright in the sky;

but then the wind blows

and clears [the clouds] away.

22 Out of the north comes a golden glow,

fearsome majesty surrounding God.

23 Shaddai, whom we cannot find,

whose power is immense,

in his great righteousness

does not pervert justice.

24 This is why people fear him;

he does not consider those

who think of themselves as wise.”

1 ThenAdonaianswered Iyov out of the storm:

2 “Who is this, darkening my plans

with his ignorant words?

3 Stand up like a man, and brace yourself;

I will ask questions; and you, give the answers!

4 “Where were you when I founded the earth?

Tell me, if you know so much.

5 Do you know who determined its dimensions

or who stretched the measuring line across it?

6 On what were its bases sunk,

or who laid its cornerstone,

7 when the morning stars sang together,

and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8 “Who shut up the sea behind closed doors

when it gushed forth from the womb,

9 when I made the clouds its blanket

and dense fog its swaddling cloth,

10 when I made the breakers its boundary

set its gates and bars,

11 and said, ‘You may come this far, but no farther;

here your proud waves must stop’?

12 “Have you ever in your life called up the dawn

and made the morning know its place,

13 so that it could take hold of the edges of the earth

and shake the wicked out of it?

14 Then the earth is changed like clay under a seal,

until its colors are fixed like those of a garment.

15 But from the wicked the light is withheld,

and the arm raised [to strike] is broken.

16 “Have you gone down to the springs of the sea

or explored the limits of the deep?

17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you,

the gates of death-like darkness?

18 Have you surveyed the full extent of the earth?

Say so, if you know it all!

19 “Which way leads to where light has its home?

and darkness, where does it dwell?

20 If you knew, you could take each to its place

and set it on its homeward path.

21 You know, of course, because you were born then;

by now you must be very old!

22 “Have you gone into the storehouses for snow

or seen the storehouses for hail,

23 which I save for times of trouble,

for days of battle and war?

24 “By what path is light dispersed,

or the east wind poured out on the land?

25 Who cut a channel for the downpours,

or a way for the lightning and thunder,

26 causing it to rain where no one is,

in a desert without anyone there,

27 drenching the waste and desolate [ground],

till the tender grass sprouts?

28 Does the rain have a father?

Who is the father of dewdrops?

29 From whose womb does ice come?

Who gives birth to the frost of heaven,

30 when water becomes as hard as stone,

and the surface of the deep freezes solid?

31 “Can you tie up the cords of the Pleiades

or loosen the belt of Orion?

32 Can you lead out the constellations of the zodiac in their season

or guide the Great Bear and its cubs?

33 Do you know the laws of the sky?

Can you determine how they affect the earth?

34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds

and make them cover you with a flood of rain?

35 Can you send lightning bolts on their way?

Will they say to you, ‘Here we are’?

36 “Who put wisdom in people’s inner parts?

Who gave understanding to the mind?

37 Who, by wisdom, can number the clouds?

Who can tilt the water-skins of heaven,

38 so that the dust becomes a mass [of mud],

and its clods stick together?

39 “Can you hunt prey for a lioness

or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

40 when they crouch in their dens

or lie in ambush in their lairs?

41 Who provides food for the raven

when his young cry out to God

and wander about for lack of food?

1 “Do you know when mountain goats give birth?

Have you seen deer in labor?

2 Can you tell how many months they carry their young?

Do you know when they give birth,

3 when they crouch down and bring forth their young,

when they deliver their fawns?

4 Their young become strong, growing up in the open;

they leave and never return.

5 “Who lets the wild donkey roam freely?

Who sets the wild donkey loose from its shackles?

6 I made the ‘Aravah its home,

the salty desert its place to live.

7 It scorns the noise of the city

and hears no driver’s shouts.

8 It ranges over the hills for its pasture,

searching for anything green.

9 “Would a wild ox be willing to serve you?

Would it stay by your stall?

10 Could you tie a rope around its neck

and make it plow furrows for you?

11 Would you trust its great strength enough

to let it do your heavy work,

12 or rely on it to bring home your seed

and gather the grain from your threshing-floor?

13 “An ostrich’s wings beat wildly,

although its pinions lack plumage.

14 It leaves its eggs on the ground

and lets them be warmed by the sand,

15 forgetting that a foot may crush them

or a wild animal trample on them.

16 It treats its chicks heartlessly,

as if they were not its own;

even if her labor is in vain,

it really doesn’t care;

17 because God has deprived it of wisdom

and given it no share in understanding.

18 When the time comes, it flaps its wings,

scorning both horse and rider.

19 “Did you give the horse its strength?

Did you clothe its neck with a mane?

20 Did you make him able to leap like a locust?

Its majestic snorting is frightening!

21 It paws with force and exults with vigor,

then charges into the battle;

22 mocking at fear, unafraid,

it does not shy away from the sword.

23 The [rider’s] quiver rattles over it,

[his] gleaming spear and javelin.

24 Frenzied and eager, it devours the ground,

scarcely believing theshofarhas sounded.

25 At the sound of theshofarit whinnies;

as from afar it scents the battle,

the roar of the chiefs and the shouting.

26 “Is it your wisdom that sets the hawk soaring,

spreading its wings toward the south?

27 Does the eagle fly up when you say so,

to build its nest in the heights?

28 It lives and spends its nights on the cliffs;

a rocky crag is its fortress.

29 From there it spots its prey,

its eyes see it far off.

30 Its young ones suck up blood;

wherever the slain are, there it is.”

1 Continuing to address Iyov,Adonaisaid:

2 “Does the critic still want to disputeShaddai?

Let him who wants to correct God give an answer!”

3 Then Iyov replied toAdonai:

4 “I am too ashamed; I have nothing to say.

I lay my hand over my mouth.

5 Yes, I spoke once, but I won’t answer more;

all right, twice, but I won’t go on.”

6 Adonaianswered Iyov out of the storm:

7 “Stand up like a man, and brace yourself;

I will ask questions; and you, give the answers!

8 “Are you impugning my justice?

Putting me in the wrong to prove yourself right?

9 Do you have an arm like God’s?

Can you thunder with a voice like his?

10 Come on, deck yourself with majesty and dignity,

robe yourself in glory and splendor.

11 Let loose your furious anger,

look at all who are proud, and humble them.

12 Look at all who are proud, and bring them down;

tread down the wicked where they stand.

13 Bury them in the ground together,

bind their faces in the hidden world.

14 If you do this, then I will confess to you

that your own power can save you.

15 “Now consider Behemot, whom I made along with you.

He eats grass like an ox.

16 What strength he has in his loins!

What power in his stomach muscles!

17 He can make his tail as stiff as a cedar,

the muscles in his thighs are like cables,

18 his bones are like bronze pipes,

his limbs like iron bars.

19 “He ranks first among God’s works.

Only his maker can approach him with his sword.

20 The mountains produce food for him there,

where all the wild animals play.

21 He lies down under the thorny lotus bushes

and is hidden by the reeds in the swamp;

22 the lotus bushes cover him with their shade,

and the willows by the stream surround him.

23 If the river overflows, it doesn’t worry him;

he is confident even if the Yarden rushes by his mouth.

24 Can anyone catch him by his eyes

or pierce his nose with a hook?

25 “And Livyatan! Can you catch him with a fishhook

or hold his tongue down with a rope?

26 Can you put a ring in his nose

or pierce his jaw with a barb?

27 Will he entreat you at length?

Will he speak with you softly?

28 Will he agree with you

to be your slave forever?

29 Will you play with him as you would with a bird

or keep him on a string to amuse your little girls?

30 Will a group of fishermen turn him into a banquet?

Will they divide him among the merchants?

31 Can you fill his skin with darts

or his head with fish-spears?

32 If you lay your hand on him,

you won’t forget the fight, and you’ll never do it again!

1 “Look, any hope [of capturing him] is futile —

one would fall prostrate at the very sight of him.

2 No one is fierce enough to rouse him,

so who can stand up to me?

3 Who has given me anything

and made me pay it back?

Everything belongs to me

under all of heaven.

4 “I have more to say about his limbs,

his strong talk, and his matchless strength.

5 Who can strip off his [scaly] garment?

Who can enter his jaws?

6 Who can pry open the doors of his face,

so close to his terrible teeth?

7 “His pride is his rows of scales,

tightly sealed together —

8 one is so close to the next

that no air can come between them;

9 they are stuck one to another,

interlocked and impervious.

10 “When he sneezes, light flashes out;

his eyes are like the shimmer of dawn.

11 From his mouth go fiery torches,

and sparks come flying out.

12 His nostrils belch steam

like a caldron boiling on the fire.

13 His breath sets coals ablaze;

flames pour from his mouth.

14 “Strength resides in his neck,

and dismay dances ahead of him [as he goes].

15 The layers of his flesh stick together;

they are firm on him, immovable.

16 His heart is as hard as a stone,

yes, hard as a lower millstone.

17 When he rears himself up, the gods are afraid,

beside themselves in despair.

18 “If a sword touches him, it won’t stick;

neither will a spear, or a dart, or a lance.

19 He regards iron as straw

and bronze as rotten wood.

20 An arrow can’t make him flee;

for him, slingstones are so much chaff.

21 Clubs count as hay,

and he laughs at a quivering javelin.

22 His belly is as sharp as fragments of pottery,

so he moves across the mud like a threshing-sledge.

23 “He makes the depths seethe like a pot,

he makes the sea [boil] like a perfume kettle.

24 He leaves a shining wake behind him,

making the deep seem to have white hair.

25 “On earth there is nothing like him,

a creature without fear.

26 He looks straight at all high things.

He is king over all proud beasts.”