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Elihu Continues

Are You Really Innocent?

35 Elihu said:
Job, are you really innocent
    in the sight of God?[a]
Don't you honestly believe
    it pays to obey him?
I will give the answers
    to you and your friends.
* Look up to the heavens
    (A) and think!
Do your sins hurt God?
Is any good you may have done
    at all helpful to him?
The evil or good you do
    only affects other humans.

In times of trouble,
everyone begs the mighty God
    to have mercy.
10 But after their Creator
helps them through hard times,
    they forget about him,
11 though he makes us wiser
    than animals or birds.
12 God won't listen to the prayers
    of proud and evil people.
13 If God All-Powerful refuses
to answer their empty prayers,
14     he will surely deny
your impatient request
    to face him in court.
15 Job, you were wrong to say
    God doesn't punish sin.
16 Everything you have said
    adds up to nonsense.

Elihu Continues

Be Patient a While Longer

36 Elihu said:
Be patient a while longer;
I have something else to say
    in God's defense.
God always does right—
and this knowledge
    comes straight from God.[b]
You can rest assured
    that what I say is true.
Although God is mighty,
he cares about everyone
    and makes fair decisions.

The wicked are cut down,
and those who are wronged
    receive justice.
God watches over good people
and places them in positions
    of power and honor forever.
But when people are prisoners
    of suffering and pain,
* God points out their sin
    and their pride,
10 then he warns them
    to turn back to him.
11 And if they obey,
they will be successful
    and happy from then on.
12 But if they foolishly refuse,
they will be rewarded
    with a violent death.

Godless People Are Too Angry

13 Godless people are too angry
to ask God for help
    when he punishes them.
14 So they die young
    in shameful disgrace.
15 Hard times and trouble
are God's way
    of getting our attention!
16 And at this very moment,
God deeply desires
    to lead you from trouble
and to spread your table
    with your favorite food.

17 Now that the judgment
for your sins
    has fallen upon you,
18 don't let your anger
and the pain you endured
    make you sneer at God.
19 Your reputation and riches
cannot protect you
    from distress,
20 nor can you find safety
    in the dark world below.[c]
21 Be on guard! Don't turn to evil
    as a way of escape.
22 God's power is unlimited.
He needs no teachers
23     to guide or correct him.

Others Have Praised God

24 Others have praised God
for what he has done,
    so join with them.
25 From down here on earth,
everyone has looked up and seen
26     how great God is—
God is more than we imagine;
no one can count the years
    he has lived.
* 27 God gathers moisture
into the clouds
28     and supplies us with rain.
29 Who can understand
    how God scatters the clouds
and speaks from his home
    in the thunderstorm?
30 And when God sends lightning,
it can be seen
    at the bottom of the sea.[d]
31 By producing such rainstorms,
God rules the world
    and provides us with food.
32 Each flash of lightning
is one of his arrows
    striking its target,
33 and the thunder tells
    of his anger against sin.[e]

Footnotes

  1. 35.2 are … God: Or “is it right for you to accuse God?”
  2. 36.3 comes straight from God: The Hebrew text has “comes from a distant place,” which refers to the place where God lives; Elihu is claiming that he learned this from God.
  3. 36.20 below: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verses 18-20.
  4. 36.30 sea: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 30.
  5. 36.33 sin: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 33.

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