< איוב 36 >
Elihu [finished by] saying this:
כתר לי זעיר ואחוך כי עוד לאלוה מלים׃ | 2 |
“[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].
אשא דעי למרחוק ולפעלי אתן צדק׃ | 3 |
I will tell you what I have learned from many sources, in order to show that God, my creator, is just/fair.
כי אמנם לא שקר מלי תמים דעות עמך׃ | 4 |
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].
הן אל כביר ולא ימאס כביר כח לב׃ | 5 |
“Hey, God is [very] powerful, and he does not despise anyone, and he understands everything.
לא יחיה רשע ומשפט עניים יתן׃ | 6 |
He does not allow wicked people to remain alive, and he always acts justly toward those who are poor.
לא יגרע מצדיק עיניו ואת מלכים לכסא וישיבם לנצח ויגבהו׃ | 7 |
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.
ואם אסורים בזקים ילכדון בחבלי עני׃ | 8 |
But if people [who commit crimes] are caught, they [are thrown into prison and] are caused to suffer by being fastened with chains.
ויגד להם פעלם ופשעיהם כי יתגברו׃ | 9 |
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.
ויגל אזנם למוסר ויאמר כי ישבון מאון׃ | 10 |
He causes them to listen [MTY] to what he is warning them, and he commands them to turn away from [doing what is] evil.
אם ישמעו ויעבדו יכלו ימיהם בטוב ושניהם בנעימים׃ | 11 |
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.
ואם לא ישמעו בשלח יעברו ויגועו בבלי דעת׃ | 12 |
But if they do not (listen/pay attention) to him, they will die violently, not knowing [why God is causing them to die].
וחנפי לב ישימו אף לא ישועו כי אסרם׃ | 13 |
“Godless/Wicked people continue being angry, and they do not cry out for help, [even] when God is punishing them.
תמת בנער נפשם וחיתם בקדשים׃ | 14 |
They die while they are still young, disgraced because of their very immoral behavior [EUP].
יחלץ עני בעניו ויגל בלחץ אזנם׃ | 15 |
But God teaches people by causing them to suffer; by afflicting them, he causes them to listen to [MTY] what he is telling them.
ואף הסיתך מפי צר רחב לא מוצק תחתיה ונחת שלחנך מלא דשן׃ | 16 |
“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.
ודין רשע מלאת דין ומשפט יתמכו׃ | 17 |
But now, you are being punished [MTY] as wicked people are punished; [God] [PRS] has been punishing you (justly/as you deserve).
כי חמה פן יסיתך בספק ורב כפר אל יטך׃ | 18 |
So be careful that you are not deceived by [desiring to acquire] money or that you are not ruined by [accepting] large bribes.
היערך שועך לא בצר וכל מאמצי כח׃ | 19 |
[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.
אל תשאף הלילה לעלות עמים תחתם׃ | 20 |
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!
השמר אל תפן אל און כי על זה בחרת מעני׃ | 21 |
Be careful not to [begin doing] evil things, because [God] has caused you to suffer to prevent you from doing evil.
הן אל ישגיב בכחו מי כמהו מורה׃ | 22 |
“Hey, God is extremely powerful; there is certainly [RHQ] no teacher who teaches like he does.
מי פקד עליו דרכו ומי אמר פעלת עולה׃ | 23 |
No one has [RHQ] told him what he should do, and no one has [RHQ] said to him, ‘You have done what is wrong!’
זכר כי תשגיא פעלו אשר שררו אנשים׃ | 24 |
People have [always] sung to praise him, so you also should never forget to praise him for what he has done.
כל אדם חזו בו אנוש יביט מרחוק׃ | 25 |
Everyone has seen [what he has done], but [sometimes] we can see it only from far away.
הן אל שגיא ולא נדע מספר שניו ולא חקר׃ | 26 |
“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.
כי יגרע נטפי מים יזקו מטר לאדו׃ | 27 |
He draws water up [from the earth and puts it in clouds] and causes it to become rain.
אשר יזלו שחקים ירעפו עלי אדם רב׃ | 28 |
The rain pours down from the sky/clouds; God causes abundant showers to fall on everyone.
אף אם יבין מפרשי עב תשאות סכתו׃ | 29 |
No one can [RHQ] understand how the clouds move [across the sky] or how it thunders in the sky where God lives.
הן פרש עליו אורו ושרשי הים כסה׃ | 30 |
He causes lightning to flash all around him, but he causes the bottom of the oceans to remain dark.
כי בם ידין עמים יתן אכל למכביר׃ | 31 |
By providing plenty of rain for us, he enables us to have abundant food.
על כפים כסה אור ויצו עליה במפגיע׃ | 32 |
[It is as though] he holds the lightning in his hands, and [then] he commands it to strike where he wants it to.
יגיד עליו רעו מקנה אף על עולה׃ | 33 |
When we hear his thunder, we know that there will be a storm, and the cattle know it, too.”