Job 36
1 Elihu continued speaking.
And Elihu addeth and saith: —
2 “Be patient with me just a little while longer and let me explain. I still have something to say on God's behalf.
Honour me a little, and I shew thee, That yet for God [are] words.
3 I will share my extensive knowledge, and I will prove my Creator is in the right.
I lift up my knowledge from afar, And to my Maker I ascribe righteousness.
4 I assure you that what I'm saying are not lies, for I am a man whose knowledge is of the highest order.
For, truly, my words [are] not false, The perfect in knowledge [is] with thee.
5 God is mighty, but doesn't despise anyone; he is powerful in strength and understanding.
Lo, God [is] mighty, and despiseth not, Mighty [in] power [and] heart.
6 He does not keep the wicked alive, but gives justice to the oppressed.
He reviveth not the wicked, And the judgment of the poor appointeth;
7 He always pays attention those who do right, and places them on thrones with kings, honoring them eternally.
He withdraweth not from the righteous His eyes, And [from] kings on the throne, And causeth them to sit for ever, and they are high,
8 If they are bound in chains, tied down by ropes of suffering,
And if prisoners in fetters They are captured with cords of affliction,
9 then he explains to them what they've done—their arrogant sins.
Then He declareth to them their work, And their transgressions, Because they have become mighty,
10 He makes them pay attention and orders them to stop sinning.
And He uncovereth their ear for instruction, And saith that they turn back from iniquity.
11 If they listen and do what God says they will live out their lives in happiness.
If they do hear and serve, They complete their days in good, And their years in pleasantness.
12 But if they do not listen they will die a violent death, ignorant of God.
And if they do not hearken, By the dart they pass away, And expire without knowledge.
13 Those who reject God hold on to their bitterness. Even when he disciplines them they do not cry out to him for help.
And the profane in heart set the face, They cry not when He hath bound them.
14 They die in their youth; their lives end among the male temple prostitutes.
Their soul dieth in youth, And their life among the defiled.
15 Through suffering God saves those who suffer; he gets their attention through their troubles.
He draweth out the afflicted in his affliction, And uncovereth in oppression their ear.
16 God is trying to rescue you from the jaws of trouble to a place of freedom and safety, filling your table full of the very best food.
And also He moved thee from a strait place, [To] a broad place — no straitness under it, And the sitting beyond of thy table Hath been full of fatness.
17 But you are preoccupied with the fate of the wicked; judgment and justice fill your mind.
And the judgment of the wicked thou hast fulfilled, Judgment and justice are upheld — because of fury,
18 But be careful that your anger doesn't seduce you into mockery; and don't let the size of the ‘bribe’ lead you into sin.
Lest He move thee with a stroke, And the abundance of an atonement turn thee not aside.
19 Will your cry for help sustain you when troubles come?
Doth He value thy riches? He hath gold, and all the forces of power.
20 Do not long for the night when people are suddenly taken away.
Desire not the night, For the going up of peoples in their stead.
21 Watch out that you don't turn to evil! For it's because of this that you are being tested through suffering.
Take heed — do not turn unto iniquity, For on this thou hast fixed Rather than [on] affliction.
22 Look how much power God has! What teacher is like him?
Lo, God doth sit on high by His power, Who [is] like Him — a teacher?
23 Who has instructed him what to do? Who can say to him ‘You have done wrong’?
Who hath appointed unto Him his way? And who said, 'Thou hast done iniquity?'
24 Instead you should praise him for what he has done, as people have done in song.
Remember that thou magnify His work That men have beheld.
25 Everyone has seen God's creation, though only from a distance.
All men have looked on it, Man looketh attentively from afar.
26 See how great God is—more than we can understand! No one can count his years.
Lo, God [is] high, And we know not the number of His years, Yea, there [is] no searching.
27 He draws up the water and distils it into the dew and the rain.
When He doth diminish droppings of the waters, They refine rain according to its vapour,
28 The clouds pour down rain, falling plentifully on humankind.
Which clouds do drop, They distil on man abundantly.
29 Can anyone understand how the clouds spread out, or how thunder roars from where he lives?
Yea, doth [any] understand The spreadings out of a cloud? The noises of His tabernacle?
30 See how he scatters lightning around him, and covers the depths of the sea in darkness.
Lo, He hath spread over it His light, And the roots of the sea He hath covered,
31 By these actions he rules the people, he provides abundant food.
For by them He doth judge peoples, He giveth food in abundance.
32 He holds lightning in his hands and commands where it should strike.
By two palms He hath covered the light, And layeth a charge over it in meeting,
33 Thunder declares his presence—even cattle know when a storm is coming.
He sheweth by it [to] his friend substance, Anger against perversity.
