Chapter 36

1Then Elihu spoke once more.

2Wait a little and let me hold forth;There is still more to say for God.

3I will make my opinions widely known;I will justify my Maker.

4In truth, my words are not false;A man of sound opinions is before you.

5See, God is mighty; He is not contemptuous;He is mighty in strength and mind.

6He does not let the wicked live;He grants justice to the lowly.

7He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous;With kings on thronesHe seats them forever, and they are exalted.

8If they are bound in shacklesAnd caught in trammels of affliction,

9He declares to them what they have done,And that their transgressions are excessive;

10He opens their understanding by discipline,And orders them back from mischief.

11If they will serve obediently,They shall spend their days in happiness,Their years in delight.

12But if they are not obedient,They shall perish by the sword,Die for lack of understanding.

13But the impious in heart become enraged;They do not cry for help when He afflicts them.

14They die in their youth;[Expire] among the depraved.

15He rescues the lowly from their affliction,And opens their understanding through distress.

16Indeed, He draws you away from the brink of distressTo a broad place where there is no constraint;Your table is laid out with rich food.

17You are obsessed with the case of the wicked man,But the justice of the case will be upheld.

18Let anger at his affluence not mislead you;Let much bribery not turn you aside.

19aWill your limitless wealth avail you,All your powerful efforts?

20Do not long for the nightWhen peoples vanish where they are.

21Beware! Do not turn to mischief;Because of that you have been tried by affliction.

22See, God is beyond reach in His power;Who governs like Him?

23Who ever reproached Him for His conduct?Who ever said, “You have done wrong”?

24Remember, then, to magnify His work,Of which men have sung,

25Which all men have beheld,Men have seen, from a distance.

26See, God is greater than we can know;The number of His years cannot be counted.

27He forms the droplets of water,Which cluster into rain, from His mist.

28The skies rain;They pour down on all mankind.

29Can one, indeed, contemplate the expanse of clouds,The thunderings from His pavilion?

30See, He spreads His lightning over it;It fills the bed of the sea.

31By these things He controls peoples;He gives food in abundance.

32Lightning fills His hands;He orders it to hit the mark.

33Its noise tells of Him.aThe kindling of anger against iniquity.