Job 36

God is mighty and teaches

And Elihu continued: ²“Bear with me a little longer, and I will show you that there is more to be said on God’s behalf. ³I get my knowledge from afar, and I will ascribe justice to my Maker.

⁴For truly my words are free of falsehood; one perfect in knowledge is with you. ⁵Indeed, God is mighty, but He despises no one; He is mighty in strength of understanding. ⁶He does not keep the wicked alive, but He grants justice to the afflicted.

⁷He does not take His eyes off the righteous, but He enthrones them with kings and exalts them forever.a ⁸And if men are bound with chains, caught in cords of affliction, ⁹then He tells them their deeds and how arrogantly they have transgressed.

¹⁰He opens their ears to correction and commands that they turn from iniquity. ¹¹If they obey and serve Him, then they end their days in prosperity and their years in happiness.b ¹²But if they do not obey, then they perish by the sword and die without knowledge.

¹³The godless in heart harbor resentment; even when He binds them, they do not cry for help. ¹⁴They die in their youth, among the male shrine prostitutes. ¹⁵God rescues the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ears in oppression.

¹⁶Indeed, He drew you from the jaws of distress to a spacious and broad place, to a table full of richness.c ¹⁷But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked; judgment and justice have seized you. ¹⁸Be careful that no one lures you with riches; do not let a large bribe lead you astray.

¹⁹Can your wealth or all your mighty effort keep you from distress? ²⁰Do not long for the night, when people vanish from their homes. ²¹Be careful not to turn to iniquity, for this you have preferred to affliction.

²²Behold, God is exalted in His power. Who is a teacher like Him?d ²³Who has appointed His way for Him, or told Him, ‘You have done wrong’? ²⁴Remember to magnify His work, which men have praised in song.

²⁵All mankind has seen it; men behold it from afar. ²⁶Indeed, God is great—beyond our knowledge; the number of His years is unsearchable.e ²⁷For He draws up drops of water which distill the rain from the mist, ²⁸which the clouds pour out and shower abundantly on mankind.

²⁹Furthermore, who can understand how the clouds spread out, how the thunder roars from His pavilion? ³⁰See how He scatters His lightning around Him and covers the depths of the sea. ³¹For by these He judges the nations and provides food in abundance.

³²He fills His hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark. ³³The thunder declares His presence; even the cattle regard the rising storm.