GodsWord - Job - 36

36:1  Elihu continued to speak to Job,

36:2  "Be patient with me a little longer, and I will show you that there is more to be said in God's defense.

36:3  I will get my knowledge from far away and prove that my Creator is fair.

36:4  Certainly, my words are not lies. The one who knows everything is speaking with you.

36:5  "Certainly, God is mighty. He doesn't despise anyone. He is mighty and brave.

36:6  He doesn't allow the wicked person to live. He grants justice to those who are oppressed.

36:7  He doesn't take his eyes off righteous people. He seats them on thrones with kings to honor them forever.

36:8  However, if righteous people are bound in chains and tangled in ropes of misery,

36:9  he tells them what they've done wrong and that they've behaved arrogantly.

36:10  He makes them listen to his warning and orders them to turn away from wrong.

36:11  "If righteous people listen and serve him, they will live out their days in prosperity and their years in comfort.

36:12  But if they don't listen, they will cross the River of Death and die like those who have no knowledge.

36:13  But those who have godless hearts remain angry. They don't even call for help when he chains them up.

36:14  They die while they're young, or they live on as male prostitutes in the temples of idols.

36:15  He rescues suffering people through their suffering, and he opens their ears through distress.

36:16  "Yes, he lured you away from the jaws of trouble into an open area where you were not restrained, and your table was covered with rich foods.

36:17  But you are given the judgment evil people deserve. A fair judgment will be upheld.

36:18  Be careful that you are not led astray with riches. Don't let a large bribe turn you to evil ways.

36:19  Will your riches save you from having to suffer? Will all your mighty strength help you?

36:20  Don't look forward to the night, when people disappear from their places.

36:21  Be careful! Don't turn to evil, because you have chosen evil instead of suffering.

36:22  "God does great things by his power. Is there any teacher like him?

36:23  Who can tell him which way he should go? Who can say to him, 'You did wrong'?

36:24  Remember that you should praise his work. People have sung about it.

36:25  Every person has seen it. Mortals have looked at it from a distance.

36:26  "Certainly, God is so great that he is beyond our understanding. The number of his years cannot be counted.

36:27  He collects drops of water. He distills rain from his mist,

36:28  which then drips from the clouds. It pours down on many people.

36:29  Can anyone really understand how clouds spread out or how he thunders from his dwelling place?

36:30  Look, he scatters his flashes of lightning around him and covers the depths of the sea.

36:31  This is how he uses the rains to provide for people and to give them more than enough food.

36:32  He fills his hands with lightning and orders it to hit the target.

36:33  The thunder announces his coming. The storm announces his angry wrath.