Job 36
1 And Elihu added and said: —
Elihu [finished by] saying this:
2 Restrain thyself for me a little, and I will shew thee, that, yet—for GOD, there is justification,
“[Job, ] be patient with me a little longer, because I have something else to teach you. I have something else to say that God [wants you to know].
3 I will bring my knowledge from afar, and, to my Maker, will I attribute righteousness.
I will tell you what I have learned from many sources, in order to show that God, my creator, is just/fair.
4 For, of a truth—not false, are my words, One of competent knowledge, is with thee.
I am not saying anything to you that is false; I, who am standing in front of you, am someone who understands things (very well/perfectly) [HYP].
5 Lo! GOD, is mighty, yet will he not despise, Mighty in vigour of mind;
“Hey, God is [very] powerful, and he does not despise anyone, and he understands everything.
6 He will not keep alive one who is lawless, but, the right of oppressed ones, will he grant;
He does not allow wicked people to remain alive, and he always acts justly toward those who are poor.
7 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.
He always watches over [MTY] those who are righteous; he allows them to sit on thrones [and rule] with kings, and they are honored forever.
8 But, if, bound in fetters, they have been captured with cords of affliction,
But if people [who commit crimes] are caught, they [are thrown into prison and] are caused to suffer by being fastened with chains.
9 Then hath he declared to them their deed, and their transgressions—that they were wont to behave themselves proudly;
When that happens, God shows them what they have done; he shows them the sins that they have committed, and he shows them that they have been proud/arrogant.
10 Thus hath he uncovered their ear to a warning, and said—that they should turn from iniquity.
He causes them to listen [MTY] to what he is warning them, and he commands them to turn away from [doing what is] evil.
11 If they would hearken, and serve, they should complete their days, in prosperity, and their years, in pleasantness;
If they (listen to/heed) him and serve him, [after they get out of prison] they will prosper for all the years that they are alive and be peaceful/happy.
12 But, if they would not hearken, by a weapon, should they pass away, and breathe their last, no one knowing.
But if they do not (listen/pay attention) to him, they will die violently, not knowing [why God is causing them to die].
13 Yea, the impious in heart, should store up anger, They should not cry for help, when he bound them.
“Godless/Wicked people continue being angry, and they do not cry out for help, [even] when God is punishing them.
14 Their soul should die in youth, and their life, among the unclean.
They die while they are still young, disgraced because of their very immoral behavior [EUP].
15 He would deliver the humbled in his humiliation, and would uncover—in oppression—their ear.
But God teaches people by causing them to suffer; by afflicting them, he causes them to listen to [MTY] what he is telling them.
16 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.
“And Job, [I think that] God [wants to] bring you out of your troubles and allow you to live without distress; he wants your table to be full of very nice food.
17 But, with the plea of a lawless one, thou art full, Plea and sentence, will take fast hold.
But now, you are being punished [MTY] as wicked people are punished; [God] [PRS] has been punishing you (justly/as you deserve).
18 Because there is wrath, [beware] lest he take thee away with a stroke, Then let not, a great ransom, mislead thee.
So be careful that you are not deceived by [desiring to acquire] money or that you are not ruined by [accepting] large bribes.
19 Will he value thy riches? Nay not precious ore, nor all the forces of strength.
[If you are deceived by those things, ] it certainly will not [RHQ] help you to cry out when you are distressed; all of your strength will not help you.
20 Do not pant for the night, when peoples disappear from their place.
Do not wish that it would be nighttime [in order that God will not see you and punish you], because night is the time when [even] people-groups are destroyed!
21 Beware, do not turn unto iniquity, For, this, thou hast chosen rather than affliction.
Be careful not to [begin doing] evil things, because [God] has caused you to suffer to prevent you from doing evil.
22 Lo, GOD, exalteth himself by his strength, Who like him doth teach?
“Hey, God is extremely powerful; there is certainly [RHQ] no teacher who teaches like he does.
23 Who enjoined on him his way? and who ever said, Thou hast wrought perversity?
No one has [RHQ] told him what he should do, and no one has [RHQ] said to him, ‘You have done what is wrong!’
24 Remember, that thou extol his work, of which men have sung;
People have [always] sung to praise him, so you also should never forget to praise him for what he has done.
25 Every son of earth, hath viewed it, Mortal man, looketh at it from afar.
Everyone has seen [what he has done], but [sometimes] we can see it only from far away.
26 Lo, GOD, is greater than we can know, The number of his years, even past finding out!
“Hey, God is very great, and we are not able to know how great he is, and we do not know how old he is.
27 For he draweth up drops of water, They trickle as rain through his mist;
He draws water up [from the earth and puts it in clouds] and causes it to become rain.
28 With which the clouds flow down, They drop on man in abundance.
The rain pours down from the sky/clouds; God causes abundant showers to fall on everyone.
29 But surely none can understand the burstings of the cloud, the crashing of his pavilion!
No one can [RHQ] understand how the clouds move [across the sky] or how it thunders in the sky where God lives.
30 Lo! he hath spread out over it, his lightning, The bed of the sea, hath he covered.
He causes lightning to flash all around him, but he causes the bottom of the oceans to remain dark.
31 For, by those things, he executeth judgment on peoples, He giveth food in abundance:
By providing plenty of rain for us, he enables us to have abundant food.
32 Upon both hands, he putteth a covering of lightning, and layeth command upon it against an assailant:
[It is as though] he holds the lightning in his hands, and [then] he commands it to strike where he wants it to.
33 His rolling thunder telleth concerning him, —The cattle, even, concerning him that is coming up.
When we hear his thunder, we know that there will be a storm, and the cattle know it, too.”
