Job33

¹“However, please hear my speech, Job, And listen to all my words.

²Behold now, I open my mouth, My tongue in my mouth speaks.

³My words are from the integrity of my heart, And my lips speak knowledge sincerely.

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

⁵Refute me if you can; Line up against me, take your stand.

⁶Behold, I belong to God, like you; I too have been formed out of the clay.

⁷Behold, no fear of me should terrify you, Nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you.

⁸“You have in fact spoken while I listened, And I heard the sound of your words:

⁹‘I am pure, without wrongdoing; I am innocent and there is no guilt in me.

¹⁰Behold, He invents criticisms against me; He counts me as His enemy.

¹¹He puts my feet in the stocks; He watches all my paths.’

¹²Behold, let me respond to you, you are not right in this, For God is greater than mankind.

¹³“Why do you complain to Him That He does not give an account of all His doings?

¹⁴Indeed God speaks once, Or twice, yet no one notices it.

¹⁵In a dream, a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls on people, While they slumber in their beds,

¹⁶Then He opens the ears of people, And horrifies them with warnings,

¹⁷So that He may turn a person away from bad conduct, And keep a man from pride;

¹⁸He keeps his soul back from the pit, And his life from perishing by the spear.

¹⁹“A person is also rebuked by pain in his bed, And with constant complaint in his bones,

²⁰So that his life loathes bread, And his soul, food that he should crave.

²¹His flesh wastes away from sight, And his bones, which were not seen, stick out.

²²Then his soul comes near to the pit, And his life to those who bring death.

²³“If there is an interceding angel for him, One out of a thousand, To remind a person of what is right for him,

²⁴And he is gracious to him, and says, ‘Free him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom’;

²⁵Let his flesh become fresher than in youth, Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor;

²⁶Then he will pray to God, and He will accept him, So that he may see His face with joy, And He will restore His righteousness to that person.

²⁷He will sing to people and say, ‘I have sinned and perverted what is right, And it is not proper for me.

²⁸He has redeemed my soul from going to the pit, And my life will see the light.’

²⁹“Behold, God does all these things for a man two or three times,

³⁰To bring back his soul from the pit, So that he may be enlightened with the light of life.

³¹Pay attention, Job, listen to me; Keep silent, and let me speak.

³²Then if you have anything to say, answer me; Speak, for I would take pleasure in justifying you.

³³If not, listen to me; Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”