| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1Elihu spake moreover, and said, | 1Then Elihu said: |
| 2Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God's? | 2"Do you think this is just? You say, 'I am in the right, not God.' |
| 3For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? and, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin? | 3Yet you ask him, 'What profit is it to me, and what do I gain by not sinning?' |
| 4I will answer thee, and thy companions with thee. | 4"I would like to reply to you and to your friends with you. |
| 5Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou. | 5Look up at the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds so high above you. |
| 6If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him? | 6If you sin, how does that affect him? If your sins are many, what does that do to him? |
| 7If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand? | 7If you are righteous, what do you give to him, or what does he receive from your hand? |
| 8Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; and thy righteousness may profit the son of man. | 8Your wickedness only affects humans like yourself, and your righteousness only other people. |
| 9By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry: they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty. | 9"People cry out under a load of oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful. |
| 10But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night; | 10But no one says, 'Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night, |
| 11Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven? | 11who teaches us more than he teaches the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds in the sky?' |
| 12There they cry, but none giveth answer, because of the pride of evil men. | 12He does not answer when people cry out because of the arrogance of the wicked. |
| 13Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it. | 13Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea; the Almighty pays no attention to it. |
| 14Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, yet judgment is before him; therefore trust thou in him. | 14How 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, |
| 15But now, because it is not so, he hath visited in his anger; yet he knoweth it not in great extremity: | 15and further, that his anger never punishes and he does not take the least notice of wickedness. |
| 16Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge. | 16So Job opens his mouth with empty talk; without knowledge he multiplies words." |
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