Job 34:1-37 GNT

[1] You men are so wise, so clever; listen now to what I am saying. [3] You know good food when you taste it, but not wise words when you hear them. [4] It is up to us to decide the case. [5] Job claims that he is innocent, that God refuses to give him justice. [6] He asks, "How could I lie and say I am wrong? I am fatally wounded, but I am sinless." [7] Have you ever seen anyone like this man Job? He never shows respect for God. [8] He likes the company of evil people and goes around with sinners. [9] He says that it never does any good to try to follow God's will. [10] Listen to me, you men who understand! Will Almighty God do what is wrong? [11] He rewards people for what they do and treats them as they deserve. [12] Almighty God does not do evil; he is never unjust to anyone. [13] Did God get his power from someone else? Did someone put him in charge of the world? [14] If God took back the breath of life, [15] then everyone living would die and turn into dust again. [16] Now listen to me, if you are wise. [17] Are you condemning the righteous God? Do you think that he hates justice? [18] God condemns kings and rulers when they are worthless or wicked. [19] He does not take the side of rulers nor favor the rich over the poor, for he created everyone. [20] We may suddenly die at night. God strikes us down and we perish; he kills the mighty with no effort at all. [21] He watches every step we take. [22] There is no darkness dark enough to hide a sinner from God. [23] God does not need to set a time for us to go and be judged by him. [24] He does not need an investigation to remove leaders and replace them with others. [25] Because he knows what they do; he overthrows them and crushes them by night. [26] He punishes sinners where all can see it, [27] because they have stopped following him and ignored all his commands. [28] They forced the poor to cry out to God, and he heard their calls for help. [29] If God decided to do nothing at all, no one could criticize him. If he hid his face, we would be helpless. [30] There would be nothing that nations could do to keep godless oppressors from ruling them. [31] Job, have you confessed your sins to God and promised not to sin again? [32] Have you asked God to show you your faults, and have you agreed to stop doing evil? [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] Any sensible person will surely agree; and the wise who hear me will say [35] that Job is speaking from ignorance and that nothing he says makes sense. [36] Think through everything that Job says; you will see that he talks like an evil man. [37] To his sins he adds rebellion; in front of us all he mocks God.