Job 34:21-37
Job 34:21-37 The Message (MSG)
“He has his eyes on every man and woman. He doesn’t miss a trick. There is no night dark enough, no shadow deep enough, to hide those who do evil. God doesn’t need to gather any more evidence; their sin is an open-and-shut case. He deposes the so-called high and mighty without asking questions, and replaces them at once with others. Nobody gets by with anything; overnight, judgment is signed, sealed, and delivered. He punishes the wicked for their wickedness out in the open where everyone can see it, Because they quit following him, no longer even thought about him or his ways. Their apostasy was announced by the cry of the poor; the cry of the afflicted got God’s attention. “If God is silent, what’s that to you? If he turns his face away, what can you do about it? But whether silent or hidden, he’s there, ruling, so that those who hate God won’t take over and ruin people’s lives. “So why don’t you simply confess to God? Say, ‘I sinned, but I’ll sin no more. Teach me to see what I still don’t see. Whatever evil I’ve done, I’ll do it no more.’ Just because you refuse to live on God’s terms, do you think he should start living on yours? You choose. I can’t do it for you. Tell me what you decide. “All right-thinking people say— and the wise who have listened to me concur— ‘Job is an ignoramus. He talks utter nonsense.’ Job, you need to be pushed to the wall and called to account for wickedly talking back to God the way you have. You’ve compounded your original sin by rebelling against God’s discipline, Defiantly shaking your fist at God, piling up indictments against the Almighty One.”
Job 34:21-37 King James Version (KJV)
For his eyes are upon the ways of man, And he seeth all his goings. There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. For he will not lay upon man more than right; That he should enter into judgment with God. He shall break in pieces mighty men without number, And set others in their stead. Therefore he knoweth their works, And he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed. He striketh them as wicked men In the open sight of others; Because they turned back from him, And would not consider any of his ways: So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, And he heareth the cry of the afflicted. When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? And when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? Whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only: That the hypocrite reign not, Lest the people be ensnared. Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more: That which I see not teach thou me: If I have done iniquity, I will do no more. Should it be according to thy mind? He will recompense it, whether thou refuse, Or whether thou choose; and not I: Therefore speak what thou knowest. Let men of understanding tell me, And let a wise man hearken unto me. Job hath spoken without knowledge, And his words were without wisdom. My desire is that Job may be tried unto the end Because of his answers for wicked men. For he addeth rebellion unto his sin, He clappeth his hands among us, And multiplieth his words against God.
Job 34:21-37 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
“For His eyes are upon the ways of a man, And He sees all his steps. There is no darkness or deep shadow Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. For He does not need to consider a man further, That he should go before God in judgment. He breaks in pieces mighty men without inquiry, And sets others in their place. Therefore He knows their works, And He overthrows them in the night, And they are crushed. He strikes them like the wicked In a public place, Because they turned aside from following Him, And had no regard for any of His ways; So that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him, And that He might hear the cry of the afflicted— When He keeps quiet, who then can condemn? And when He hides His face, who then can behold Him, That is, in regard to both nation and man?— So that godless men would not rule Nor be snares of the people. “For has anyone said to God, ‘I have borne chastisement; I will not offend anymore; Teach me what I do not see; If I have done iniquity, I will not do it again’? Shall He recompense on your terms, because you have rejected it? For you must choose, and not I; Therefore declare what you know. Men of understanding will say to me, And a wise man who hears me, ‘Job speaks without knowledge, And his words are without wisdom. Job ought to be tried to the limit, Because he answers like wicked men. For he adds rebellion to his sin; He claps his hands among us, And multiplies his words against God.’ ”
Job 34:21-37 New Century Version (NCV)
“God watches where people go; he sees every step they take. There is no dark place or deep shadow where those who do evil can hide from him. He does not set a time for people to come before him for judging. Without asking questions, God breaks powerful people into pieces and puts others in their place. Because God knows what people do, he defeats them in the night, and they are crushed. He punishes them for the evil they do so that everyone else can watch, because they stopped following God and did not care about any of his ways. The cry of the poor comes to God; he hears the cry of the needy. But if God keeps quiet, who can blame him? If he hides his face, who can see him? God still rules over both nations and persons alike. He keeps the wicked from ruling and from trapping others. “But suppose someone says to God, ‘I am guilty, but I will not sin anymore. Teach me what I cannot see. If I have done wrong, I will not do it again.’ So, Job, should God reward you as you want when you refuse to change? You must decide, not I, so tell me what you know. “Those who understand speak, and the wise who hear me say, ‘Job speaks without knowing what is true; his words show he does not understand.’ I wish Job would be tested completely, because he answered like an evil man! Job now adds to his sin by turning against God. He claps his hands in protest, speaking more and more against God.”
Job 34:21-37 American Standard Version (ASV)
For his eyes are upon the ways of a man, And he seeth all his goings. There is no darkness, nor thick gloom, Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. For he needeth not further to consider a man, That he should go before God in judgment. He breaketh in pieces mighty men in ways past finding out, And setteth others in their stead. Therefore he taketh knowledge of their works; And he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed. He striketh them as wicked men In the open sight of others; Because they turned aside from following him, And would not have regard in any of his ways: So that they caused the cry of the poor to come unto him, And he heard the cry of the afflicted. When he giveth quietness, who then can condemn? And when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? Alike whether it be done unto a nation, or unto a man: That the godless man reign not, That there be none to ensnare the people. For hath any said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more: That which I see not teach thou me: If I have done iniquity, I will do it no more? Shall his recompense be as thou wilt, that thou refusest it? For thou must choose, and not I: Therefore speak what thou knowest. Men of understanding will say unto me, Yea, every wise man that heareth me: Job speaketh without knowledge, And his words are without wisdom. Would that Job were tried unto the end, Because of his answering like wicked men. For he addeth rebellion unto his sin; He clappeth his hands among us, And multiplieth his words against God.
Job 34:21-37 New International Version (NIV)
“His eyes are on the ways of mortals; he sees their every step. There is no deep shadow, no utter darkness, where evildoers can hide. God has no need to examine people further, that they should come before him for judgment. Without inquiry he shatters the mighty and sets up others in their place. Because he takes note of their deeds, he overthrows them in the night and they are crushed. He punishes them for their wickedness where everyone can see them, because they turned from following him and had no regard for any of his ways. They caused the cry of the poor to come before him, so that he heard the cry of the needy. But if he remains silent, who can condemn him? If he hides his face, who can see him? Yet he is over individual and nation alike, to keep the godless from ruling, from laying snares for the people. “Suppose someone says to God, ‘I am guilty but will offend no more. Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do so again.’ Should God then reward you on your terms, when you refuse to repent? You must decide, not I; so tell me what you know. “Men of understanding declare, wise men who hear me say to me, ‘Job speaks without knowledge; his words lack insight.’ Oh, that Job might be tested to the utmost for answering like a wicked man! To his sin he adds rebellion; scornfully he claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God.”
Job 34:21-37 New King James Version (NKJV)
“For His eyes are on the ways of man, And He sees all his steps. There is no darkness nor shadow of death Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. For He need not further consider a man, That he should go before God in judgment. He breaks in pieces mighty men without inquiry, And sets others in their place. Therefore He knows their works; He overthrows them in the night, And they are crushed. He strikes them as wicked men In the open sight of others, Because they turned back from Him, And would not consider any of His ways, So that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him; For He hears the cry of the afflicted. When He gives quietness, who then can make trouble? And when He hides His face, who then can see Him, Whether it is against a nation or a man alone?— That the hypocrite should not reign, Lest the people be ensnared. “For has anyone said to God, ‘I have borne chastening; I will offend no more; Teach me what I do not see; If I have done iniquity, I will do no more’? Should He repay it according to your terms, Just because you disavow it? You must choose, and not I; Therefore speak what you know. “Men of understanding say to me, Wise men who listen to me: ‘Job speaks without knowledge, His words are without wisdom.’ Oh, that Job were tried to the utmost, Because his answers are like those of wicked men! For he adds rebellion to his sin; He claps his hands among us, And multiplies his words against God.”
Job 34:21-37 Amplified Bible (AMP)
¶“For God’s eyes are on the ways of a man, And He sees all his steps. [Ps 34:15; Prov 5:21; Jer 16:17] “There is no darkness nor deep shadow Where the evildoers may hide themselves. “For He sets no appointed time for a man, That he should appear before Him in judgment. “He breaks mighty men without inquiry, And sets others in their place. [Dan 2:21] “Therefore He knows of their works, And He overthrows them in the night, So that they are crushed and destroyed. “He strikes them like the wicked In a public place, Because they turned aside from following Him And would not consider or show regard for any of His ways, [1 Sam 15:11] So that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him, And He heard the cry of the afflicted. [Ex 22:23; James 5:4] “When He keeps quiet, who then can condemn? When He hides His face [withdrawing His favor and help], who then can behold Him [and make supplication to Him], Whether it be a nation or a man by himself?— “So that godless men would not rule Nor be snares for the people. ¶“For has anyone said to God, ‘I have endured my chastisement; I will not offend anymore; Teach me what I do not see [in regard to how I have sinned]; If I have done wrong (injustice, unrighteousness), I will not do it again’? “Shall God’s retribution [for your sins] be on your terms, because you refuse to accept it? For you must do the choosing, and not I; Therefore say what you [truthfully] know. “Men of understanding will tell me, Indeed, every wise man who hears me [will agree], ‘Job speaks without knowledge, And his words are without wisdom and insight. ‘Job ought to be tried to the limit Because he answers like wicked men! ‘For he adds rebellion [in his unsubmissive, defiant attitude toward God] to his [unacknowledged] sin; He claps his hands among us [in open mockery and contempt of God], And he multiplies his words [of accusation] against God.’ ”
Job 34:21-37 New Living Translation (NLT)
“For God watches how people live; he sees everything they do. No darkness is thick enough to hide the wicked from his eyes. We don’t set the time when we will come before God in judgment. He brings the mighty to ruin without asking anyone, and he sets up others in their place. He knows what they do, and in the night he overturns and destroys them. He strikes them down because they are wicked, doing it openly for all to see. For they turned away from following him. They have no respect for any of his ways. They cause the poor to cry out, catching God’s attention. He hears the cries of the needy. But if he chooses to remain quiet, who can criticize him? When he hides his face, no one can find him, whether an individual or a nation. He prevents the godless from ruling so they cannot be a snare to the people. “Why don’t people say to God, ‘I have sinned, but I will sin no more’? Or ‘I don’t know what evil I have done—tell me. If I have done wrong, I will stop at once’? “Must God tailor his justice to your demands? But you have rejected him! The choice is yours, not mine. Go ahead, share your wisdom with us. After all, bright people will tell me, and wise people will hear me say, ‘Job speaks out of ignorance; his words lack insight.’ Job, you deserve the maximum penalty for the wicked way you have talked. For you have added rebellion to your sin; you show no respect, and you speak many angry words against God.”
Job 34:21-37 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
“For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps. There is no gloom or deep darkness where evildoers may hide themselves. For God has no need to consider a man further, that he should go before God in judgment. He shatters the mighty without investigation and sets others in their place. Thus, knowing their works, he overturns them in the night, and they are crushed. He strikes them for their wickedness in a place for all to see, because they turned aside from following him and had no regard for any of his ways, so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him, and he heard the cry of the afflicted— When he is quiet, who can condemn? When he hides his face, who can behold him, whether it be a nation or a man?— that a godless man should not reign, that he should not ensnare the people. “For has anyone said to God, ‘I have borne punishment; I will not offend any more; teach me what I do not see; if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’? Will he then make repayment to suit you, because you reject it? For you must choose, and not I; therefore declare what you know. Men of understanding will say to me, and the wise man who hears me will say: ‘Job speaks without knowledge; his words are without insight.’ Would that Job were tried to the end, because he answers like wicked men. For he adds rebellion to his sin; he claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God.”