Elihu Asserts God’s Justice
1 Then Elihu answered and said:
2 “Hear my words, you wise men,
and give ear to me, you who know;
3 for gthe ear tests words
as the palate tastes food.
4 Let us choose hwhat is right;
let us know among ourselves what is good.
5 For Job has said, ‘I am iin the right,
and jGod has taken away my right;
6 in spite of my right I am counted a liar;
my wound is incurable, though I am kwithout transgression.’
7 What man is like Job,
who ldrinks up scoffing like water,
8 who travels in company with evildoers
and walks mwith wicked men?
9 For nhe has said, ‘It profits a man nothing
that he should take delight in God.’
10 “Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding:
far be it from God that he should odo wickedness,
and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.
11 For according to pthe work of a man he will repay him,
and qaccording to his ways he will make it befall him.
12 Of a truth, God will not do wickedly,
and rthe Almighty will not pervert justice.
13 Who gave him charge over the earth,
and who slaid on him1 the whole world?
14 If he should tset his heart to it
and ugather to himself his vspirit and his breath,
15 all flesh would perish together,
and man would wreturn to dust.
16 “If you have understanding, hear this;
listen to what I say.
17 xShall one who hates justice govern?
Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty,
18 who ysays to a king, ‘Worthless one,’
and to nobles, ‘Wicked man,’
19 who zshows no partiality to princes,
nor regards the rich amore than the poor,
for bthey are all the work of his hands?
20 In a moment cthey die;
at dmidnight the people are shaken and pass away,
and the mighty are taken away by eno human hand.
21 “For his eyes are on fthe ways of a man,
and he sees all his fsteps.
22 There is no ggloom or hdeep darkness
where evildoers may hide themselves.
23 For God2 has no need to consider a man further,
that he should go before God in ijudgment.
24 He jshatters the mighty without investigation
and sets lothers in their place.
25 Thus, knowing their works,
he moverturns them in the night, and they are crushed.
26 He strikes them for their wickedness
in a place for all to see,
27 because they turned aside from nfollowing him
and had no regard for any of his ways,
28 so that they ocaused the cry of the poor to come to him,
and he pheard the cry of the afflicted—
29 When he is quiet, who can condemn?
When he hides his face, who can behold him,
whether it be a nation or a man?—
30 that a godless man should not reign,
that he should not ensnare the people.
31 “For has anyone said to God,
‘I have borne punishment; I will not offend any more;
32 rteach me what I do not see;
if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’?
33 Will he then make repayment to suit you,
because you reject it?
For you must choose, and not I;
therefore sdeclare what you know.3
34 Men of understanding will say to me,
and the wise man who hears me will say:
35 ‘Job tspeaks without knowledge;
his words are without insight.’
36 Would that Job were tried to the end,
because he answers like wicked men.
37 For he adds rebellion to his sin;
he uclaps his hands among us
and multiplies his words against God.”
Elihu Condemns Job
1 And Elihu answered and said:
2 “Do you think this to be just?
Do you say, v‘It is my right before God,’
3 that you ask, w‘What advantage have I?
How am I better off than if I had sinned?’
4 I will answer you
and xyour friends with you.
5 yLook at the heavens, and see;
and behold the clouds, which are higher than you.
6 If you have sinned, zwhat do you accomplish against him?
And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?
7 aIf you are righteous, what do you give to him?
Or what does he receive from your hand?
8 Your wickedness concerns a man like yourself,
and your righteousness ba son of man.
9 “Because of the multitude of coppressions people dcry out;
they call for help because of the arm of ethe mighty.4
10 But none says, ‘Where is God my fMaker,
who gives gsongs in the night,
11 who teaches us hmore than the beasts of the earth
and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’
12 There they icry out, but he does not answer,
because of the pride of evil men.
13 Surely God does not hear an empty cry,
nor does the Almighty regard it.
14 How much less when you say that you jdo not see him,
that the case is before him, and you are kwaiting for him!
15 And now, because lhis anger does not punish,
and he does not take much note of transgression,5
16 Job opens his mouth in empty talk;
Abraham Justified by Faith
1 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, tour forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but unot before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? v“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now wto the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but xbelieves in1 him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
7 y“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not zcount his sin.”
9 Is this blessing then only for athe circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? bFor we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 cHe received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was dto make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
The Promise Realized Through Faith
13 For ethe promise to Abraham and his offspring fthat he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 gFor if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For hthe law brings wrath, but iwhere there is no law jthere is no transgression.
16 That is why it depends on faith, kin order that the promise may rest on grace and lbe guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, mwho is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, n“I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, owho gives life to the dead and calls into existence pthe things that do not exist. 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, q“So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was ras good as dead (ssince he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered tthe barrenness2 of Sarah’s womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that uGod was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But vthe words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us wwho believe in xhim who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 ywho was delivered up for our trespasses and raised zfor our justification.
