The Daily Audio Bible

Elihu Keeps On Speaking

34 Then Elihu said, ² “Hear my words, you wise men. Listen to me, you who know. ³ For the ear tests words as the mouth tastes food. ⁴ Let us choose for ourselves what is right. Let us know among ourselves what is good. ⁵ For Job has said, ‘I am right and good, but God has taken away my right. ⁶ Would I lie about my right? I have been hurt so that I cannot be healed, but I have done no wrong.’ ⁷ What man is like Job, who drinks up words against him like water? ⁸ He goes among those who do wrong, and walks with sinful men. ⁹ For he has said, ‘A man gets nothing by trying to please God.’

¹⁰ “So listen to me, you men of understanding. Far be it from God to do what is sinful, and from the All-powerful to do wrong. ¹¹ For He pays a man by the work he does. He will see that a man is paid for what he does. ¹² For sure God will not do wrong. The All-powerful will not turn what is right into sin. ¹³ Who gave Him the power over the earth? Who gave Him the whole world to take care of? ¹⁴ If He should take back His spirit and His breath, ¹⁵ all flesh would die together, and man would return to dust.

¹⁶ “If you have understanding, hear this. Listen to what I say. ¹⁷ Should one who hates what is right be the one to rule? Will you say that He Who is right and good and strong is guilty? ¹⁸ Who says to a king, ‘You are of no worth,’ and to rulers, ‘You are sinful’? ¹⁹ Who shows no favor to princes, or thinks of the rich as more important than the poor? They are all the work of His hands. ²⁰ In a short time they die. At midnight the people are shaken and pass away. And the powerful are taken away by no human hand.

²¹ “For God’s eyes are upon the ways of a man, and He sees all his steps. ²² There is no darkness or shadow where sinners can hide themselves. ²³ For God does not need to set a time for man to go before Him and be judged. ²⁴ He breaks powerful men in pieces without asking any reason, and puts others in their place. ²⁵ For He knows their works. He puts them down in the night, and they are crushed. ²⁶ God punishes them for their sin where everyone can see them. ²⁷ Because they turned aside from following Him. They did not care about any of His ways. ²⁸ So they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him. And He heard the cry of those in need. ²⁹ When He keeps quiet, who can say He is wrong? When He hides His face, who can see Him? But He is over both nation and man. ³⁰ So men without God should not rule and should not be a trap for the people.

³¹ “For has any one said to God, ‘I have suffered punishment, and will not cause any more trouble? ³² Teach me what I cannot see. If I have sinned, I will do it no more’? ³³ Will God ask what you want to do, when you will not do what He says? You must decide, and not I. So tell what you know. ³⁴ Men of understanding will say to me, and wise men who hear me say, ³⁵ ‘Job speaks without much learning. His words are without wisdom. ³⁶ Job should be tried to the end, because he answers like sinful men. ³⁷ To his sin he adds a strong will against God. Making fun he claps his hands among us, and speaks many words against God.’”

Elihu Keeps On Talking

35 Then Elihu said, ² “Do you think this is right? Do you say, ‘I am more right than God’? ³ For you ask, ‘What will You get by it? How will it be better for me than if I had sinned?’ ⁴ I will answer you, and your friends with you. ⁵ Look at the heavens and see. See the clouds which are higher than you. ⁶ If you have sinned, what does that do to God? If you have done many wrongs, what does that do to Him? ⁷ If you are right and good, what do you give to Him? What does He receive from you? ⁸ Your wrong-doing may hurt another man and your being right and good may help him.

⁹ “People cry out because of their many hard times. They cry for help because of the arm of the powerful. ¹⁰ But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs in the night, ¹¹ Who teaches us more than the animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’ ¹² There they cry out, but He does not answer because of the pride of sinful men. ¹³ For sure God will not listen to an empty cry. The All-powerful will not do anything about it. ¹⁴ How much less when you say you do not see Him, that your trial is before Him, and you must wait for Him! ¹⁵ And now, because God has not punished in His anger, and does not watch for sin, ¹⁶ Job opens his mouth with empty talk. He speaks many words without much learning.”

Elihu Keeps On Speaking

36 Then Elihu spoke more and said, ² “Wait for me a little longer, and I will show you that there is yet more to be said for God. ³ I bring my learning from far away, and will tell how right and good my Maker is. ⁴ For sure my words are not false. One who is perfect in much learning is with you.

⁵ “See, God is powerful, but does not hate anyone. He is powerful in strength of understanding. ⁶ He does not keep the sinful alive, but gives what is right and fair to those who are troubled. ⁷ He does not turn His eyes away from those who are right with Him. He puts them on the throne with kings and they are honored forever. ⁸ If they are tied up in chains and caught in the ropes of trouble, ⁹ then He makes known to them their work and their sins, that they have shown pride. ¹⁰ He makes them listen to teaching, and tells them to turn away from sin. ¹¹ If they hear and serve Him, the rest of their days will be filled with what they need and their years with peace. ¹² But if they do not hear, they will die by the sword. They will die without learning.

¹³ “But those who do not know God keep anger in their heart. They do not cry for help when He puts them in chains. ¹⁴ They die when they are young. And their life ends among those who sell the use of their bodies in the houses of the false gods. ¹⁵ He takes those who suffer out of their suffering. He speaks to them in times of trouble. ¹⁶ He led you from being close to trouble to a wide place where you were free with your table full of food.

¹⁷ “But you wanted to punish the sinful. Punishment and being fair have taken hold of you. ¹⁸ Be careful or anger will tempt you to laugh at the truth. Do not take pay in secret for wrong-doing and be turned aside. ¹⁹ Will your riches or all your power keep you from trouble? ²⁰ Do not desire the night, when people are taken from their place. ²¹ Be careful, do not turn to sin. For you have chosen this instead of suffering. ²² See, God is honored in His power. Who is a teacher like Him? ²³ Who has told Him the way He should go? And who has said, ‘You have done wrong’?

²⁴ “Remember that you should honor His work, of which men have sung. ²⁵ All men have seen it. Man sees it from far away. ²⁶ See, God is honored, and we do not know Him. We are not able to know the number of His years. ²⁷ For He takes up the drops of water that become rain, ²⁸ which the clouds pour down. Much rain falls on man. ²⁹ Can anyone understand how the clouds are spread out, or how He thunders from His tent? ³⁰ See, He spreads His lightning around Him and covers the bottom of the sea. ³¹ For by these He judges the people and He gives much food. ³² He covers His hands with the lightning, and tells it to hit the mark. ³³ His thunder tells of a storm coming, and cattle also know it is coming.

Paul Is Faithful in Preaching the Good News

4 Through God’s loving-kindness, He has given us this job to do. So we do not give up. ² We have put away all things that are done in secret and in shame. We do not play with the Word of God or use it in a false way. Because we are telling the truth, we want men’s hearts to listen to us. God knows our desires. ³ If the Good News we preach is hidden, it is hidden to those who are lost in sin. ⁴ The eyes of those who do not believe are made blind by Satan who is the god of this world. He does not want the light of the Good News to shine in their hearts. This Good News shines as the shining-greatness of Christ. Christ is as God is. ⁵ We do not preach about ourselves. We preach Christ Jesus the Lord. We are your servants because of Jesus. ⁶ It was God Who said, “The light will shine in darkness.” ^(A) He is the One Who made His light shine in our hearts. This brings us the light of knowing God’s shining-greatness which is seen in Christ’s face.

⁷ We have this light from God in our human bodies. This shows that the power is from God. It is not from ourselves. ⁸ We are pressed on every side, but we still have room to move. We are often in much trouble, but we never give up. ⁹ People make it hard for us, but we are not left alone. We are knocked down, but we are not destroyed. ¹⁰ We carry marks on our bodies that show the death of Jesus. This is how Jesus makes His life seen in our bodies. ¹¹ Every day of our life we face death because of Jesus. In this way, His life is seen in our bodies. ¹² Death is working in us because we work for the Lord, but His life is working in you.

Prayer because of Troubles

44 O God, we have heard with our ears. Our fathers have told us what work You did in their days, in the days long ago. ² With Your own hand You made the nations leave, and put our fathers in the land. You brought trouble upon the nations, and You spread them out. ³ It was not by their sword that they took the land. Their own arm did not save them. But it was Your right hand, and Your arm, and the light of Your face, for You favored them.

⁴ You are my King, O God. Jacob wins because You say it must be so. ⁵ Through You we will push away those who hate us. Through Your name we will walk over those who rise up against us. ⁶ For I will not trust my bow, and my sword will not save me. ⁷ But You have saved us from those who fight against us. You have put to shame those who hate us. ⁸ In God we have had our pride all day long. And we will give thanks to Your name forever.

¹⁰ Send away the man who laughs at the truth, and arguing, fighting and shame will stop.

¹¹ He who loves a pure heart and is kind in his speaking has the king as his friend.

¹² The eyes of the Lord keep watch over much learning, but He destroys the words of the man who is not faithful.