The Living Bible (168 page)
Authors: Inc. Tyndale House Publishers
Tags: #BIBLES / Other Translations / Text
“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust upon a girl.
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I know full well that Almighty God above sends calamity on those who do.
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He sees everything I do and every step I take.
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“If I have lied and deceived—
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but God knows that I am innocent—
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or if I have stepped off God’s pathway, or if my heart has lusted for what my eyes have seen, or if I am guilty of any other sin, then let someone else reap the crops I have sown and let all that I have planted be rooted out.
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“Or if I have longed for another man’s wife,
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then may I die, and may my wife be in another man’s home and someone else become her husband.
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For lust is a shameful sin, a crime that should be punished.
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It is a devastating fire that destroys to hell and would root out all I have planted.
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“If I have been unfair to my servants,
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how could I face God? What could I say when he questioned me about it?
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For God made me and made my servant too. He created us both.
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“If I have hurt the poor, or caused widows to weep,
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or refused food to hungry orphans—
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(but we have always cared for orphans in our home, treating them as our own children)—
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or if I have seen anyone freezing and not given him clothing or fleece from my sheep to keep him warm,
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or if I have taken advantage of an orphan because I thought I could get away with it—
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if I have done any of these things, then let my arm be torn from its socket! Let my shoulder be wrenched out of place!
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Rather that than face the judgment sent by God; that I dread more than anything else. For if the majesty of God opposes me, what hope is there?
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“If I have put my trust in money,
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if my happiness depends on wealth,
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or if I have looked at the sun shining in the skies or the moon walking down her silver pathway
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and my heart has been secretly enticed, and I have worshiped them by kissing my hand to them,
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this, too, must be punished by the judges. For if I had done such things, it would mean that I denied the God of heaven.
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“If I have rejoiced at harm to an enemy—
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(but actually I have never cursed anyone nor asked for revenge)—
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or if any of my servants have ever gone hungry—
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(actually I have never turned away even a stranger but have opened my doors to all)—
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or if, like Adam, I have tried to hide my sins,
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fearing the crowd and its contempt so that I refused to acknowledge my sin and do not go out of my way to help others—
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(oh, that there were someone who would listen to me and try to see my side of this argument. Look, I will sign my signature to my defense; now let the Almighty show me that I am wrong; let
him
approve the indictments made against me by my enemies.
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I would treasure it like a crown.
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Then I would tell him exactly what I have done and why, presenting my defense as one he listens to).
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“Or if my land accuses me because I stole the fruit it bears, or if I have murdered its owners to get their land for myself,
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then let thistles grow on that land instead of wheat, and weeds instead of barley.”
Job’s words are ended.
The three men refused to reply further to Job because he kept insisting on his innocence.
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Then Elihu (son of Barachel, the Buzite, of the clan of Ram) became angry because Job refused to admit he had sinned and to acknowledge that God had just cause for punishing him.
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But he was also angry with Job’s three friends because they had been unable to answer Job’s arguments and yet had condemned him.
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Elihu had waited until now to speak because the others were older than he.
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But when he saw that they had no further reply, he spoke out angrily,
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and said, “I am young and you are old, so I held back and did not dare to tell you what I think,
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for those who are older are said to be wiser;
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but it is not mere age that makes men wise. Rather, it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty that makes him intelligent.
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So listen to me awhile and let me express my opinion.
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“I have waited all this time, listening very carefully to your arguments, but not one of them has convinced Job that he is a sinner or has proved that he is.
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And don’t give me that line about ‘only God can convince the sinner of his sin.’
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If Job had been arguing with me, I would not answer with that kind of logic!
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“You sit there baffled, with no further replies.
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Shall I then continue to wait when you are silent?
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No, I will give my answer too.
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For I am pent up and full of words, and the spirit within me urges me on.
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I am like a wine cask without a vent! My words are ready to burst out!
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I must speak to find relief, so let me give my answers.
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Don’t insist that I be cautious lest I insult someone, and don’t make me flatter anyone. Let me be frank lest God should strike me dead.
“Please listen, Job, to what I have to say.
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I have begun to speak; now let me continue.
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I will speak the truth with all sincerity.
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For the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
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Don’t hesitate to answer me if you can.
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“Look, I am the one you were wishing for, someone to stand between you and God and to be both his representative and yours.
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You need not be frightened of me. I am not some person of renown to make you nervous and afraid. I, too, am made of common clay.
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“You have said it in my hearing, yes, you’ve said it again and again—
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‘I am pure, I am innocent; I have not sinned.’
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You say God is using a fine-tooth comb to try to find a single fault, and so to count you as his enemy.
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‘And he puts my feet in the stocks,’ you say, ‘and watches every move I make.’
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“All right, here is my reply: In this very thing, you have sinned by speaking of God that way. For God is greater than man.
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Why should you fight against him just because he does not give account to you of what he does?
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“For God speaks again and again,
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in dreams, in visions of the night when deep sleep falls on men as they lie on their beds.
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He opens their ears in times like that and gives them wisdom and instruction,
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causing them to change their minds, and keeping them from pride, and warning them of the penalties of sin, and keeping them from falling into some trap.
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“Or God sends sickness and pain, even though no bone is broken,
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so that a man loses all taste and appetite for food and doesn’t care for even the daintiest dessert.
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He becomes thin, mere skin and bones,
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and draws near to death.
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“But if a messenger from heaven is there to intercede for him as a friend, to show him what is right, then God pities him and says,
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‘Set him free. Do not make him die, for I have found a substitute.’
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Then his body will become as healthy as a child’s, firm and youthful again.
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And when he prays to God, God will hear and answer and receive him with joy, and return him to his duties.
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And he will declare to his friends, ‘I sinned, but God let me go.
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He did not let me die. I will go on living in the realm of light.’
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“Yes, God often does these things for man—
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brings back his soul from the pit, so that he may live in the light of the living.
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Mark this well, O Job. Listen to me, and let me say more.
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But if you have anything to say at this point, go ahead. I want to hear it, for I am anxious to justify you.
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But if not, then listen to me. Keep silence and I will teach you wisdom!”