Job 36
1 And Elihu continued:
And Elihu added and said: —
2 “Bear with me a little longer, and I will show you that there is more to be said on God’s behalf.
Restrain thyself for me a little, and I will shew thee, that, yet—for GOD, there is justification,
3 I get my knowledge from afar, and I will ascribe justice to my Maker.
I will bring my knowledge from afar, and, to my Maker, will I attribute righteousness.
4 For truly my words are free of falsehood; one perfect in knowledge is with you.
For, of a truth—not false, are my words, One of competent knowledge, is with thee.
5 Indeed, God is mighty, but He despises no one; He is mighty in strength of understanding.
Lo! GOD, is mighty, yet will he not despise, Mighty in vigour of mind;
6 He does not keep the wicked alive, but He grants justice to the afflicted.
He will not keep alive one who is lawless, but, the right of oppressed ones, will he grant;
7 He does not take His eyes off the righteous, but He enthrones them with kings and exalts them forever.
He will not withdraw—from a righteous one—his eyes, —but, with kings on the throne, He hath seated men triumphantly, and they have been exalted.
8 And if men are bound with chains, caught in cords of affliction,
But, if, bound in fetters, they have been captured with cords of affliction,
9 then He tells them their deeds and how arrogantly they have transgressed.
Then hath he declared to them their deed, and their transgressions—that they were wont to behave themselves proudly;
10 He opens their ears to correction and commands that they turn from iniquity.
Thus hath he uncovered their ear to a warning, and said—that they should turn from iniquity.
11 If they obey and serve Him, then they end their days in prosperity and their years in happiness.
If they would hearken, and serve, they should complete their days, in prosperity, and their years, in pleasantness;
12 But if they do not obey, then they perish by the sword and die without knowledge.
But, if they would not hearken, by a weapon, should they pass away, and breathe their last, no one knowing.
13 The godless in heart harbor resentment; even when He binds them, they do not cry for help.
Yea, the impious in heart, should store up anger, They should not cry for help, when he bound them.
14 They die in their youth, among the male shrine prostitutes.
Their soul should die in youth, and their life, among the unclean.
15 God rescues the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ears in oppression.
He would deliver the humbled in his humiliation, and would uncover—in oppression—their ear.
16 Indeed, He drew you from the jaws of distress to a spacious and broad place, to a table full of richness.
Yea he might even have allured thee—out of the mouth of straitness, [into] a wide space—no narrowness there, —and, the food set down on thy table, should have been full of fatness.
17 But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked; judgment and justice have seized you.
But, with the plea of a lawless one, thou art full, Plea and sentence, will take fast hold.
18 Be careful that no one lures you with riches; do not let a large bribe lead you astray.
Because there is wrath, [beware] lest he take thee away with a stroke, Then let not, a great ransom, mislead thee.
19 Can your wealth or all your mighty effort keep you from distress?
Will he value thy riches? Nay not precious ore, nor all the forces of strength.
20 Do not long for the night, when people vanish from their homes.
Do not pant for the night, when peoples disappear from their place.
21 Be careful not to turn to iniquity, for this you have preferred to affliction.
Beware, do not turn unto iniquity, For, this, thou hast chosen rather than affliction.
22 Behold, God is exalted in His power. Who is a teacher like Him?
Lo, GOD, exalteth himself by his strength, Who like him doth teach?
23 Who has appointed His way for Him, or told Him, ‘You have done wrong’?
Who enjoined on him his way? and who ever said, Thou hast wrought perversity?
24 Remember to magnify His work, which men have praised in song.
Remember, that thou extol his work, of which men have sung;
25 All mankind has seen it; men behold it from afar.
Every son of earth, hath viewed it, Mortal man, looketh at it from afar.
26 Indeed, God is great—beyond our knowledge; the number of His years is unsearchable.
Lo, GOD, is greater than we can know, The number of his years, even past finding out!
27 For He draws up drops of water which distill the rain from the mist,
For he draweth up drops of water, They trickle as rain through his mist;
28 which the clouds pour out and shower abundantly on mankind.
With which the clouds flow down, They drop on man in abundance.
29 Furthermore, who can understand how the clouds spread out, how the thunder roars from His pavilion?
But surely none can understand the burstings of the cloud, the crashing of his pavilion!
30 See how He scatters His lightning around Him and covers the depths of the sea.
Lo! he hath spread out over it, his lightning, The bed of the sea, hath he covered.
31 For by these He judges the nations and provides food in abundance.
For, by those things, he executeth judgment on peoples, He giveth food in abundance:
32 He fills His hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark.
Upon both hands, he putteth a covering of lightning, and layeth command upon it against an assailant:
33 The thunder declares His presence; even the cattle regard the rising storm.
His rolling thunder telleth concerning him, —The cattle, even, concerning him that is coming up.
