34:1   You men are so wise, so clever; listen now to what I am saying.

34:2   (SEE 34:1)

34:3   You know good food when you taste it, but not wise words when you hear them.

34:4   It is up to us to decide the case.

34:5   Job claims that he is innocent, that God refuses to give him justice.

34:6   He asks, "How could I lie and say I am wrong? I am fatally wounded, but I am sinless."

34:7   Have you ever seen anyone like this man Job? He never shows respect for God.

34:8   He likes the company of evil people and goes around with sinners.

34:9   He says that it never does any good to try to follow God's will.

34:10   Listen to me, you men who understand! Will Almighty God do what is wrong?

34:11   He rewards people for what they do and treats them as they deserve.

34:12   Almighty God does not do evil; he is never unjust to anyone.

34:13   Did God get his power from someone else? Did someone put him in charge of the world?

34:14   If God took back the breath of life,

34:15   then everyone living would die and turn into dust again.

34:16   Now listen to me, if you are wise.

34:17   Are you condemning the righteous God? Do you think that he hates justice?

34:18   God condemns kings and rulers when they are worthless or wicked.

34:19   He does not take the side of rulers nor favor the rich over the poor, for he created everyone.

34:20   We may suddenly die at night. God strikes us down and we perish; he kills the mighty with no effort at all.

34:21   He watches every step we take.

34:22   There is no darkness dark enough to hide a sinner from God.

34:23   God does not need to set a time for us to go and be judged by him.

34:24   He does not need an investigation to remove leaders and replace them with others.

34:25   Because he knows what they do; he overthrows them and crushes them by night.

34:26   He punishes sinners where all can see it,

34:27   because they have stopped following him and ignored all his commands.

34:28   They forced the poor to cry out to God, and he heard their calls for help.

34:29   If God decided to do nothing at all, no one could criticize him. If he hid his face, we would be helpless.

34:30   There would be nothing that nations could do to keep godless oppressors from ruling them.

34:31   Job, have you confessed your sins to God and promised not to sin again?

34:32   Have you asked God to show you your faults, and have you agreed to stop doing evil?

34:33   Since you object to what God does, can you expect him to do what you want? The decision is yours, not mine; tell us now what you think.

34:34   Any sensible person will surely agree; and the wise who hear me will say

34:35   that Job is speaking from ignorance and that nothing he says makes sense.

34:36   Think through everything that Job says; you will see that he talks like an evil man.

34:37   To his sins he adds rebellion; in front of us all he mocks God.