VerseAI

NIV

Job 36

  1. 1<pb/>Elihu continued:
  2. 2<pb/><t>“Bear with me a little longer and I will show you</t> <t>that there is more to be said in God’s behalf.</t>
  3. 3<t>I get my knowledge from afar;</t> <t>I will ascribe justice to my Maker.</t>
  4. 4<t>Be assured that my words are not false;</t> <t>one who has perfect knowledge is with you. <pb/></t>
  5. 5<t>“God is mighty, but despises no one;</t> <t>he is mighty, and firm in his purpose.</t>
  6. 6<t>He does not keep the wicked alive</t> <t>but gives the afflicted their rights.</t>
  7. 7<t>He does not take his eyes off the righteous;</t> <t>he enthrones them with kings</t> <t>and exalts them forever.</t>
  8. 8<t>But if people are bound in chains,</t> <t>held fast by cords of affliction,</t>
  9. 9<t>he tells them what they have done—</t> <t>that they have sinned arrogantly.</t>
  10. 10<t>He makes them listen to correction</t> <t>and commands them to repent of their evil.</t>
  11. 11<t>If they obey and serve him,</t> <t>they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity</t> <t>and their years in contentment.</t>
  12. 12<t>But if they do not listen,</t> <t>they will perish by the sword<f>[62]</f></t> <t>and die without knowledge. <pb/></t>
  13. 13<t>“The godless in heart harbor resentment;</t> <t>even when he fetters them, they do not cry for help.</t>
  14. 14<t>They die in their youth,</t> <t>among male prostitutes of the shrines.</t>
  15. 15<t>But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering;</t> <t>he speaks to them in their affliction. <pb/></t>
  16. 16<t>“He is wooing you from the jaws of distress</t> <t>to a spacious place free from restriction,</t> <t>to the comfort of your table laden with choice food.</t>
  17. 17<t>But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked;</t> <t>judgment and justice have taken hold of you.</t>
  18. 18<t>Be careful that no one entices you by riches;</t> <t>do not let a large bribe turn you aside.</t>
  19. 19<t>Would your wealth or even all your mighty efforts</t> <t>sustain you so you would not be in distress?</t>
  20. 20<t>Do not long for the night,</t> <t>to drag people away from their homes.<f>[63]</f></t>
  21. 21<t>Beware of turning to evil,</t> <t>which you seem to prefer to affliction. <pb/></t>
  22. 22<t>“God is exalted in his power.</t> <t>Who is a teacher like him?</t>
  23. 23<t>Who has prescribed his ways for him,</t> <t>or said to him, ‘You have done wrong’?</t>
  24. 24<t>Remember to extol his work,</t> <t>which people have praised in song.</t>
  25. 25<t>All humanity has seen it;</t> <t>mortals gaze on it from afar.</t>
  26. 26<t>How great is God—beyond our understanding!</t> <t>The number of his years is past finding out. <pb/></t>
  27. 27<t>“He draws up the drops of water,</t> <t>which distill as rain to the streams<f>[64]</f>;</t>
  28. 28<t>the clouds pour down their moisture</t> <t>and abundant showers fall on mankind.</t>
  29. 29<t>Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds,</t> <t>how he thunders from his pavilion?</t>
  30. 30<t>See how he scatters his lightning about him,</t> <t>bathing the depths of the sea.</t>
  31. 31<t>This is the way he governs<f>[65]</f> the nations</t> <t>and provides food in abundance.</t>
  32. 32<t>He fills his hands with lightning</t> <t>and commands it to strike its mark.</t>
  33. 33<t>His thunder announces the coming storm;</t> <t>even the cattle make known its approach.<f>[66]</f></t>