the Fifth Week after Easter
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Christian Standard Bible ®
Job 32
Elihu's Angry Response
1 So these three men quit answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.(a) 2 Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite(b) from the family of Ram became angry. He was angry at Job because he had justified(c) himself rather than God. 3 He was also angry at Job's three friends because they had failed to refute him and yet had condemned him.[a]
4 Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were all older than he. 5 But when he saw that the three men could not answer Job, he became angry.
6 So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite replied:
I am young in years,
while you are old;
therefore I was timid and afraid
to tell(d) you what I know.
7 I thought that age should speak
and maturity should teach wisdom.
8 But it is a spirit in man[b]
and the breath(e) of the Almighty
that give him understanding.
9 It is not only the old who are wise
or the elderly who understand how to judge.
10 Therefore I say, "Listen to me.
I too will declare what I know."
11 Look, I waited for your conclusions;
I listened to your insights
as you sought for words.
12 I paid close attention to you.
Yet no one proved Job wrong;
not one of you refuted his arguments.
13 So do not claim, "We have found wisdom;
let God deal with him, not man."
14 But Job has not directed his argument to me,
and I will not respond to him with your arguments.
15 Job's friends are dismayed and can no longer answer;
words have left them.
16 Should I continue to wait now that they are silent,
now that they stand there and no longer answer?
17 I too will answer;[c]
yes, I will tell what I know.
18 For I am full of words,
and my spirit[d] compels me to speak.(f)
19 My heart[e] is like unvented wine;
it is about to burst like new wineskins.(g)
20 I must speak so that I can find relief;
I must open my lips and respond.
21 I will be partial to no one,(h)
and I will not give anyone an undeserved title.
22 For I do not know how to give such titles;
otherwise, my Maker would remove me in an instant.
Christian Standard Bible ®
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
