Job 33 - Easy To Read Version

¹ “Now, Job, listen to me.\par Listen carefully to the things I say.\par

² I am ready to speak.\par

³ My heart is honest,\par so I will speak honest words.\par I will speak the truth\par about the things I know.\par

⁴ God’s Spirit made me.\par My life comes from \{God\} All-Powerful.\par

⁵ Job, listen to me,\par and answer me if you can.\par Get your answers ready,\par so you can argue with me.\par

⁶ You and I are the same\par in front of God.\par God used clay to make both of us.\par

⁷ Job, don’t be afraid of me.\par I won’t be hard on you.\par

⁸ “But Job, I heard what you said.\par

⁹ You said:\par ‘I am pure.\par I am innocent\par I did nothing wrong.\par I am not guilty!\par

¹⁰ I did nothing wrong,\par but God is against me!\par God treated me like an enemy.\par

¹¹ God put chains on my feet.\par God watches everything I do.’\par

¹² “But Job, you are wrong about this.\par And I will prove you are wrong.\par Why? Because God knows more\par than any person. {\cf2\super [70]} \par

¹³ Job, you are arguing with God!\par You think God should explain\par everything to you.\par

^14-16 But maybe God does explain\par what he does.\par Maybe God speaks in ways that\par people don’t understand.\par

¹⁷ God warns people to stop them\par from doing wrong things,\par and to stop them from becoming proud.\par

¹⁸ God warns people so he can save them\par from going to the place of death. {\cf2\super [72]} \par God does that to save a person\par from being destroyed.\par

¹⁹ “Or, a person might hear God’s voice\par when that person is in bed\par and suffering from God’s punishment.\par God is warning that person with pain.\par That person is in so much pain\par that all his bones hurt.\par

²⁰ Then that person can’t eat.\par That person has so much pain\par that he hates even the best food.\par

²¹ His body wastes away until\par he becomes very thin\par and all his bones stick out.\par

²² That person is near the place of death. {\cf2\super [73]} \par And his life is close to death.\par

²³ “God has thousands of angels.\par Maybe one of those angels\par is watching over that person.\par That angel might speak for that person\par and tell about the good things he did.\par

²⁴ Maybe that angel will be kind to that person and say \{to God\},\par ‘Save this person from the place of death!\par I have found a way to pay for his \{sin\}.’\par

²⁵ Then that person’s body\par will become young and strong again.\par That person will be the same\par as when he was young.\par

²⁶ That person will pray to God,\par and God will answer his prayer.\par That person will shout with joy\par and worship God.\par He will live a good life again.\par

²⁷ Then that person will confess to people.\par He will say,\par ‘I sinned.\par I changed good into bad.\par But God didn’t give me\par the punishment I deserved!\par

²⁸ God saved my soul from going down\par to the place of death.\par Now I can enjoy life again.’\par

²⁹ “God does all these things\par again and again for that person.\par

³⁰ Why? To warn that person and to save\par his soul from the place of death {\cf2\super [74]} \par so that person can enjoy his life.\par

³¹ “Job, pay attention to me.\par Listen to me.\par Be quiet and let me talk.\par

³² But Job, if you want to disagree with me,\par then go ahead and talk.\par Tell me your argument,\par because I want to correct you.\par

³³ But Job, if you have nothing to say,\par then listen to me.\par Be quiet, and I will teach you wisdom.”\par