Job 35:1-16

Job 35:1-16 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)

And Elihu answered and said: “Do you think this to be just? Do you say, ‘It is my right before God,’ that you ask, ‘What advantage have I? How am I better off than if I had sinned?’ I will answer you and your friends with you. Look at the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds, which are higher than you. If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him? And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him? If you are righteous, what do you give to him? Or what does he receive from your hand? Your wickedness concerns a man like yourself, and your righteousness a son of man. “Because of the multitude of oppressions people cry out; they call for help because of the arm of the mighty. But none says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night, who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’ There they cry out, but he does not answer, because of the pride of evil men. Surely God does not hear an empty cry, nor does the Almighty regard it. How much less when you say that you do not see him, that the case is before him, and you are waiting for him! And now, because his anger does not punish, and he does not take much note of transgression, Job opens his mouth in empty talk; he multiplies words without knowledge.”

Job 35:1-16 The Message (MSG)

Elihu lit into Job again: “Does this kind of thing make any sense? First you say, ‘I’m perfectly innocent before God.’ And then you say, ‘It doesn’t make a bit of difference whether I’ve sinned or not.’ “Well, I’m going to show you that you don’t know what you’re talking about, neither you nor your friends. Look up at the sky. Take a long hard look. See those clouds towering above you? If you sin, what difference could that make to God? No matter how much you sin, will it matter to him? Even if you’re good, what would God get out of that? Do you think he’s dependent on your accomplishments? The only ones who care whether you’re good or bad are your family and friends and neighbors. God’s not dependent on your behavior. “When times get bad, people cry out for help. They cry for relief from being kicked around, But never give God a thought when things go well, when God puts spontaneous songs in their hearts, When God sets out the entire creation as a science classroom, using birds and beasts to teach wisdom. People are arrogantly indifferent to God— until, of course, they’re in trouble, and then God is indifferent to them. There’s nothing behind such prayers except panic; the Almighty pays them no mind. So why would he notice you just because you say you’re tired of waiting to be heard, Or waiting for him to get good and angry and do something about the world’s problems? “Job, you talk sheer nonsense— nonstop nonsense!”

Job 35:1-16 King James Version (KJV)

Elihu spake moreover, and said, Thinkest thou this to be right, That thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God's? For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? And, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin? I will answer thee, And thy companions with thee. Look unto the heavens, and see; And behold the clouds which are higher than thou. If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? Or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him? If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? Or what receiveth he of thine hand? Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; And thy righteousness may profit the son of man. By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry: They cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty. But none saith, Where is God my maker, Who giveth songs in the night; Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, And maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven? There they cry, but none giveth answer, Because of the pride of evil men. Surely God will not hear vanity, Neither will the Almighty regard it. Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, Yet judgment is before him; therefore trust thou in him. But now, because it is not so, he hath visited in his anger; Yet he knoweth it not in great extremity: Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; He multiplieth words without knowledge.

Job 35:1-16 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)

Then Elihu continued and said, “Do you think this is according to justice? Do you say, ‘My righteousness is more than God’s’? For you say, ‘What advantage will it be to You? What profit will I have, more than if I had sinned?’ I will answer you, And your friends with you. Look at the heavens and see; And behold the clouds—they are higher than you. If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against Him? And if your transgressions are many, what do you do to Him? If you are righteous, what do you give to Him, Or what does He receive from your hand? Your wickedness is for a man like yourself, And your righteousness is for a son of man. “Because of the multitude of oppressions they cry out; They cry for help because of the arm of the mighty. But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs in the night, Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth And makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’ There they cry out, but He does not answer Because of the pride of evil men. Surely God will not listen to an empty cry, Nor will the Almighty regard it. How much less when you say you do not behold Him, The case is before Him, and you must wait for Him! And now, because He has not visited in His anger, Nor has He acknowledged transgression well, So Job opens his mouth emptily; He multiplies words without knowledge.”

Job 35:1-16 New Century Version (NCV)

Then Elihu said: “Do you think this is fair? You say, ‘God will show that I am right,’ but you also ask, ‘What’s the use? I don’t gain anything by not sinning.’ “I will answer you and your friends who are with you. Look up at the sky and see the clouds so high above you. If you sin, it does nothing to God; even if your sins are many, they do nothing to him. If you are good, you give nothing to God; he receives nothing from your hand. Your evil ways only hurt others like yourself, and the good you do only helps other human beings. “People cry out when they are in trouble; they beg for relief from powerful people. But no one asks, ‘Where is God, my Maker, who gives us songs in the night, who makes us smarter than the animals of the earth and wiser than the birds of the air?’ God does not answer evil people when they cry out, because the wicked are proud. God does not listen to their useless begging; the Almighty pays no attention to them. He will listen to you even less when you say that you do not see him, that your case is before him, that you must wait for him, that his anger never punishes, and that he doesn’t notice evil. So Job is only speaking nonsense, saying many words without knowing what is true.”

Job 35:1-16 American Standard Version (ASV)

Moreover Elihu answered and said, Thinkest thou this to be thy right, Or sayest thou, My righteousness is more than God’s, That thou sayest, What advantage will it be unto thee? And, What profit shall I have, more than if I had sinned? I will answer thee, And thy companions with thee. Look unto the heavens, and see; And behold the skies, which are higher than thou. If thou hast sinned, what effectest thou against him? And if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him? If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? Or what receiveth he of thy hand? Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; And thy righteousness may profit a son of man. By reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out; They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty. But none saith, Where is God my Maker, Who giveth songs in the night, Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, And maketh us wiser than the birds of the heavens? There they cry, but none giveth answer, Because of the pride of evil men. Surely God will not hear an empty cry, Neither will the Almighty regard it. How much less when thou sayest thou beholdest him not, The cause is before him, and thou waitest for him! But now, because he hath not visited in his anger, Neither doth he greatly regard arrogance; Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vanity; He multiplieth words without knowledge.

Job 35:1-16 New International Version (NIV)

Then Elihu said: “Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I am in the right, not God.’ Yet you ask him, ‘What profit is it to me, and what do I gain by not sinning?’ “I would like to reply to you and to your friends with you. Look up at the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds so high above you. If you sin, how does that affect him? If your sins are many, what does that do to him? If you are righteous, what do you give to him, or what does he receive from your hand? Your wickedness only affects humans like yourself, and your righteousness only other people. “People cry out under a load of oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful. But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night, who teaches us more than he teaches the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds in the sky?’ He does not answer when people cry out because of the arrogance of the wicked. Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea; the Almighty pays no attention to it. How much less, then, will he listen when you say that you do not see him, that your case is before him and you must wait for him, and further, that his anger never punishes and he does not take the least notice of wickedness. So Job opens his mouth with empty talk; without knowledge he multiplies words.”

Job 35:1-16 New King James Version (NKJV)

Moreover Elihu answered and said: “Do you think this is right? Do you say, ‘My righteousness is more than God’s’? For you say, ‘What advantage will it be to You? What profit shall I have, more than if I had sinned?’ “I will answer you, And your companions with you. Look to the heavens and see; And behold the clouds— They are higher than you. If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him? Or, if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to Him? If you are righteous, what do you give Him? Or what does He receive from your hand? Your wickedness affects a man such as you, And your righteousness a son of man. “Because of the multitude of oppressions they cry out; They cry out for help because of the arm of the mighty. But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs in the night, Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, And makes us wiser than the birds of heaven?’ There they cry out, but He does not answer, Because of the pride of evil men. Surely God will not listen to empty talk, Nor will the Almighty regard it. Although you say you do not see Him, Yet justice is before Him, and you must wait for Him. And now, because He has not punished in His anger, Nor taken much notice of folly, Therefore Job opens his mouth in vain; He multiplies words without knowledge.”

Job 35:1-16 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Elihu continued speaking [to Job] and said, “Do you think this is according to [your] justice? Do you say, ‘My righteousness is more than God’s’? “For you say, ‘What advantage have you [by living a righteous life]? What profit will I have, more [by being righteous] than if I had sinned?’ “I will answer you, And your companions with you. “Look to the heavens and see; And behold the skies which are [much] higher than you. “If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against Him? And if your transgressions are multiplied, what have you done to Him? “If you are righteous, what do you give God, Or what does He receive from your hand? “Your wickedness affects only a man such as you, And your righteousness affects only a son of man [but it cannot affect God, who is sovereign]. ¶“Because of the multitudes of oppressions the people cry out; They cry for help because of the [violent] arm of the mighty. “But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs [of rejoicing] in the night, [Acts 16:25] Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth And makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’ “The people cry out, but He does not answer Because of the pride of evil men. “Surely God will not listen to an empty cry [which lacks trust], Nor will the Almighty regard it. “Even though you say that you do not see Him [when missing His righteous judgment on earth], Yet your case is before Him, and you must wait for Him! “And now, because He has not [quickly] punished in His anger, Nor has He acknowledged transgression and arrogance well [and seems unaware of the wrong of which a person is guilty], Job uselessly opens his mouth And multiplies words without knowledge [drawing the worthless conclusion that the righteous have no more advantage than the wicked].”

Job 35:1-16 New Living Translation (NLT)

Then Elihu said: “Do you think it is right for you to claim, ‘I am righteous before God’? For you also ask, ‘What’s in it for me? What’s the use of living a righteous life?’ “I will answer you and all your friends, too. Look up into the sky, and see the clouds high above you. If you sin, how does that affect God? Even if you sin again and again, what effect will it have on him? If you are good, is this some great gift to him? What could you possibly give him? No, your sins affect only people like yourself, and your good deeds also affect only humans. “People cry out when they are oppressed. They groan beneath the power of the mighty. Yet they don’t ask, ‘Where is God my Creator, the one who gives songs in the night? Where is the one who makes us smarter than the animals and wiser than the birds of the sky?’ And when they cry out, God does not answer because of their pride. But it is wrong to say God doesn’t listen, to say the Almighty isn’t concerned. You say you can’t see him, but he will bring justice if you will only wait. You say he does not respond to sinners with anger and is not greatly concerned about wickedness. But you are talking nonsense, Job. You have spoken like a fool.”