“Every word of God proves true.
He is a shield
To those who take refuge in him.
Do not add to his words.
Otherwise he will rebuke you.
You will be found a liar.”
The answer to the series of questions is simple, God. Every word of God proves to be true. He is like a shield to those who run for help to him. Do not add to his words or else he will rebuke you and call you a liar.
“Better is a dry morsel with quiet
Than a house full of feasting with strife.
A slave who deals wisely
Will rule over a child who acts shamefully.
The slave will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
The crucible is for silver.
The furnace is for gold.
Yahweh tests the heart.
An evildoer listens to wicked lips.
A liar gives heed to a mischievous tongue.
Those who mock the poor
Insult their maker.
Those who are glad at calamity
Will not go unpunished.”
You are better off with a dry morsel of bread in quiet peaceful solitude than having a house full of feasting and strife at the same time. A slave who is wise will rule over a child who acts shamefully. In fact, this slave will gain the inheritance as if he was one of the brothers. Both silver and gold have to go through a crucible furnace. So too, Yahweh tests the human heart. An evildoer listens to wicked lips, while a liar follows mischievous tongues. Anyone who mocks poor people actually insults their maker, the creator. Those who are happy about bad news will not go unpunished.
“In all toil
There is profit.
But mere talk
Leads only to poverty.
The crown of the wise
Is their wisdom.
But folly
Is the garland of fools.
A truthful witness saves lives.
But one who utters lies is a betrayer.”
There is profit or gain in all kinds of work. Mere talk, on the other hand, just leads to poverty. The crown for the wise is their wisdom, but the foolish have a garland of folly as their crown. The truthful witness saves lives, while the liar actually betrays life itself.
“Then Elihu continued and said.
‘Hear my words!
You wise men!
Give ear to me!
You who know!
The ear tests words,
As the palate tastes food.
Let us choose what is right.
Let us determine among ourselves what is good.
Job has said.
‘I am innocent.
God has taken away my justification.
In spite of being right,
I am counted a liar.
My wound is incurable.
I am without transgression.’
Who is there like Job?
Who drinks up scoffing like water?
Who goes in company with evildoers?
Who walks with the wicked?
He has said.
‘It profits one nothing to take delight in God.’”
Elihu turned to the 3 friends of Job, the 3 wise comforters. Elihu wanted them to listen to what he had to say. Listening was a skill like tasting food. You had to acquire the skill of listening. He had asked what is right and good, a great philosophical question. Job claimed that he was innocent. God had taken away his rightful justification. Others have called him a liar, which is an incurable wound. He claimed that he had not done anything wrong. He has absorbed the mocking of others like he was drinking water. Who is in the company of the wicked and the evil doers? Job had said that there is no advantage in delighting in God. Somehow Elihu believes that he will settle this issue.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 