Job 36
1 And Elihu continued:
And Elihu adds and says:
2 “Bear with me a little longer, and I will show you that there is more to be said on God’s behalf.
“Honor me a little, and I show you, That yet for God [are] words.
3 I get my knowledge from afar, and I will ascribe justice to my Maker.
I lift up my knowledge from afar, And I ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
4 For truly my words are free of falsehood; one perfect in knowledge is with you.
For my words [are] truly not false, The perfect in knowledge [is] with you.
5 Indeed, God is mighty, but He despises no one; He is mighty in strength of understanding.
Behold, God [is] mighty, and does not despise, Mighty [in] power [and] heart.
6 He does not keep the wicked alive, but He grants justice to the afflicted.
He does not revive the wicked, And appoints the judgment of the poor;
7 He does not take His eyes off the righteous, but He enthrones them with kings and exalts them forever.
He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous, And [from] kings on the throne, And causes them to sit forever, and they are high,
8 And if men are bound with chains, caught in cords of affliction,
And if prisoners in chains They are captured with cords of affliction,
9 then He tells them their deeds and how arrogantly they have transgressed.
Then He declares to them their work, And their transgressions, Because they have become mighty,
10 He opens their ears to correction and commands that they turn from iniquity.
And He uncovers their ear for instruction, And commands that they turn back from iniquity.
11 If they obey and serve Him, then they end their days in prosperity and their years in happiness.
If they hear and serve, They complete their days in good, And their years in pleasantness.
12 But if they do not obey, then they perish by the sword and die without knowledge.
And if they do not listen, They pass away by the dart, And expire without knowledge.
13 The godless in heart harbor resentment; even when He binds them, they do not cry for help.
And the profane in heart set the face, They do not cry when He has bound them.
14 They die in their youth, among the male shrine prostitutes.
Their soul dies in youth, And their life among the defiled.
15 God rescues the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ears in oppression.
He draws out the afflicted in his affliction, And uncovers their ear in oppression.
16 Indeed, He drew you from the jaws of distress to a spacious and broad place, to a table full of richness.
And He also moved you from a narrow place [To] a broad place—no constriction under it, And the sitting beyond of your table has been full of fatness.
17 But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked; judgment and justice have seized you.
And you have fulfilled the judgment of the wicked, Judgment and justice are upheld because of fury,
18 Be careful that no one lures you with riches; do not let a large bribe lead you astray.
Lest He move you with a stroke, And the abundance of an atonement not turn you aside.
19 Can your wealth or all your mighty effort keep you from distress?
Does He value your riches? He has gold, and all the forces of power.
20 Do not long for the night, when people vanish from their homes.
Do not desire the night, For the going up of peoples in their stead.
21 Be careful not to turn to iniquity, for this you have preferred to affliction.
Take heed—do not turn to iniquity, For you have fixed on this Rather than [on] affliction.
22 Behold, God is exalted in His power. Who is a teacher like Him?
Behold, God sits on high by His power, Who [is] like Him—a teacher?
23 Who has appointed His way for Him, or told Him, ‘You have done wrong’?
Who has appointed to Him His way? And who said, You have done iniquity?
24 Remember to magnify His work, which men have praised in song.
Remember that you magnify His work That men have beheld.
25 All mankind has seen it; men behold it from afar.
All men have looked on it, Man looks attentively from afar.
26 Indeed, God is great—beyond our knowledge; the number of His years is unsearchable.
Behold, God [is] high, And we do not know the number of His years, Indeed, there [is] no searching.
27 For He draws up drops of water which distill the rain from the mist,
When He diminishes droppings of the waters, They refine rain according to its vapor,
28 which the clouds pour out and shower abundantly on mankind.
Which clouds drop, They distill on man abundantly.
29 Furthermore, who can understand how the clouds spread out, how the thunder roars from His pavilion?
Indeed, do [any] understand The spreadings out of a cloud? The noises of His dwelling place?
30 See how He scatters His lightning around Him and covers the depths of the sea.
Behold, He has spread His light over it, And He has covered the roots of the sea,
31 For by these He judges the nations and provides food in abundance.
For He judges peoples by them, He gives food in abundance.
32 He fills His hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark.
By two palms He has covered the light, And lays a charge over it in meeting,
33 The thunder declares His presence; even the cattle regard the rising storm.
His shout shows it, The livestock also, the rising [storm].”
