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