331 "But please, Job, hear my speech, And listen to all my words. 2 Now, I open my mouth; My tongue speaks in my mouth. 3 My words come from my upright heart; My lips utter pure knowledge. 4 The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life. 5 If you can answer me, Set your words in order before me; Take your stand. 6 Truly I am as your spokesman before God; I also have been formed out of clay. 7 Surely no fear of me will terrify you, Nor will my hand be heavy on you.
8 "Surely you have spoken in my hearing, And I have heard the sound of your words, saying, 9 'I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me. 10 Yet He finds occasions against me, He counts me as His enemy; 11 He puts my feet in the stocks, He watches all my paths.' 12 "Look, in this you are not righteous. I will answer you, For God is greater than man. 13 Why do you contend with Him? For He does not give an accounting of any of His words.
14 For God may speak in one way, or in another, Yet man does not perceive it. 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls upon men, While slumbering on their beds, 16 Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction. 17 In order to turn man from his deed, And conceal pride from man, 18 He keeps back his soul from the Pit, And his life from perishing by the sword.
19 "Man is also chastened with pain on his bed, And with strong pain in many of his bones, 20 So that his life abhors bread, And his soul succulent food. 21 His flesh wastes away from sight, And his bones stick out which once were not seen. 22 Yes, his soul draws near the Pit, And his life to the executioners. 23 "If there is a messenger for him, A mediator, one among a thousand, To show man His uprightness, 24 Then He is gracious to him, and says, 'Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom'; 25 His flesh shall be young like a child's, He shall return to the days of his youth. 26 He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him, He shall see His face with joy, For He restores to man His righteousness. 27 Then he looks at men and says, 'I have sinned, and perverted what was right, And it did not profit me.' 28 He will redeem his soul from going down to the Pit, And his life shall see the light.
29 "Behold, God works all these things, Twice, in fact, three times with a man, 30 To bring back his soul from the Pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of life. 31 "Give ear, Job, listen to me; Hold your peace, and I will speak. 32 If you have anything to say, answer me; Speak, for I desire to justify you. 33 If not, listen to me; Hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom."
331 "But now, hear my speech, O Job, and listen to all my words. 2 Behold, I open my mouth; the tongue in my mouth speaks. 3 My words declare the uprightness of my heart, and what my lips know they speak sincerely. 4 The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. 5 Answer me, if you can; set your words in order before me; take your stand. 6 Behold, I am toward God as you are; I too was formed from a piece of clay. 7 Behold, no fear of me need terrify you; my pressure will not be heavy upon you.
8 "Surely, you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard the sound of your words. 9 You say, 'I am clean, without transgression; I am pure, and there is no iniquity in me. 10 Behold, he finds occasions against me, he counts me as his enemy; 11 he puts my feet in the stocks, and watches all my paths.' 12 "Behold, in this you are not right. I will answer you. God is greater than man. 13 Why do you contend against him, saying, 'He will answer none of my words'?
14 For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it. 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, while they slumber on their beds, 16 then he opens the ears of men, and terrifies them with warnings, 17 that he may turn man aside from his deed, and cut off pride from man; 18 he keeps back his soul from the Pit, his life from perishing by the sword.
19 "Man is also chastened with pain upon his bed, and with continual strife in his bones; 20 so that his life loathes bread, and his appetite dainty food. 21 His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen; and his bones which were not seen stick out. 22 His soul draws near the Pit, and his life to those who bring death. 23 If there be for him an angel, a mediator, one of the thousand, to declare to man what is right for him; 24 and he is gracious to him, and says, 'Deliver him from going down into the Pit, I have found a ransom; 25 let his flesh become fresh with youth; let him return to the days of his youthful vigor'; 26 then man prays to God, and he accepts him, he comes into his presence with joy. He recounts to men his salvation, 27 and he sings before men, and says: 'I sinned and perverted what was right, and it was not requited to me. 28 He has redeemed my soul from going down into the Pit, and my life shall see the light.'
29 "Behold, God does all these things, twice, three times, with a man, 30 to bring back his soul from the Pit, that he may see the light of life. 31 Give heed, O Job, listen to me; be silent, and I will speak. 32 If you have anything to say, answer me; speak, for I desire to justify you. 33 If not, listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom."
331 And now, O Job, give ear to my words, and take note of all I say. 2 See, now my mouth is open, my tongue gives out words. 3 My heart is overflowing with knowledge, my lips say what is true. 4 The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Ruler of all gives me life. 5 If you are able, give me an answer; put your cause in order, and come forward. 6 See, I am the same as you are in the eyes of God; I was cut off from the same bit of wet earth. 7 Fear of me will not overcome you, and my hand will not be hard on you.
8 But you said in my hearing, and your voice came to my ears: 9 I am clean, without sin; I am washed, and there is no evil in me: 10 See, he is looking for something against me; in his eyes I am as one of his haters; 11 He puts chains on my feet; he is watching all my ways. 12 Truly, in saying this you are wrong; for God is greater than man. 13 Why do you put forward your cause against him, saying, He gives no answer to any of my words?
14 For God gives his word in one way, even in two, and man is not conscious of it: 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep comes on men, while they take their rest on their beds; 16 Then he makes his secrets clear to men, so that they are full of fear at what they see; 17 In order that man may be turned from his evil works, and that pride may be taken away from him; 18 To keep back his soul from the underworld, and his life from destruction.
19 Pain is sent on him as a punishment, while he is on his bed; there is no end to the trouble in his bones; 20 He has no desire for food, and his soul is turned away from delicate meat; 21 His flesh is so wasted away, that it may not be seen, and his bones. ... 22 And his soul comes near to the underworld, and his life to the angels of death. 23 If now there may be an angel sent to him, one of the thousands which there are to be between him and God, and to make clear to man what is right for him; 24 And if he has mercy on him, and says, Let him not go down to the underworld, I have given the price for his life: 25 Then his flesh becomes young again, and he comes back to the days of his early strength; 26 He makes his prayer to God, and he has mercy on him; he sees God's face with cries of joy; he gives news of his righteousness to men; 27 He makes a song, saying, I did wrong, turning from the straight way, but he did not give me the reward of my sin. 28 He kept my soul from the underworld, and my life sees the light in full measure.
29 Truly, God does all these things to man, twice and three times, 30 Keeping back his soul from the underworld, so that he may see the light of life. 31 Take note O Job, give ear to me; keep quiet, while I say what is in my mind. 32 If you have anything to say, give me an answer; for it is my desire that you may be judged free from sin. 33 If not, give attention to me, and keep quiet, and I will give you wisdom.
