34 Then Elihu continued,F saying:

2 Hear my words, you wise ones,

and listen to me, you knowledgeable ones.

3 Doesn’t the ear test words

as the palate tastes food?

4 Let us judge for ourselves what is right;

let us decide together what is good.

5 For Job has declared, “I am righteous,

yet God has deprived me of justice.i

6 Would I lie about my case?j

My woundG is incurable,

though I am without transgression.”

7 What man is like Job?

He drinks derisionk like water.

8 He keeps company with evildoers

and walks with wicked men.

9 For he has said, “A man gains nothing

when he becomes God’s friend.”l

10 Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding.

It is impossible for God to do wrong,

and for the Almighty to act unjustly.m

11 For he repaysn a person according to his deeds,

and he gives him what his conduct deserves.H

12 Indeed, it is true that God does not act wickedly

and the Almighty does not pervert justice.o

13 Who gave him authority over the earth?

Who put him in charge of the entire world?p

14 If he put his mind to it

and withdrew the spiritq and breath he gave,

15 every living thing would perish together

and mankind would return to the dust.r

16 If you have understanding, hear this;

listen to what I have to say.

17 Could one who hates justice govern the world?

Will you condemn the mighty Righteous One,s

18 who says to a king, “Worthless man!”

and to nobles, “Wicked men!”?t

19 God is not partialu to princes

and does not favor the rich over the poor,

for they are all the work of his hands.

20 They die suddenly in the middle of the night;

people shudder, then pass away.

Even the mighty are removed without effort.

21 For his eyes watch over a man’s ways,

and he observes all his steps.a

22 There is no darkness, no deep darkness,

where evildoers can hide.b

23 God does not need to examine a person further,

that one shouldA approach him in court.

24 He shatters the mighty without an investigation

and sets others in their place.c

25 Therefore, he recognizes their deedsd

and overthrows them by night, and they are crushed.

26 In full view of the public,B

he strikes them for their wickedness,

27 because they turned aside from following him

and did not understand any of his ways

28 but caused the poor to cry out to him,

and he heard the outcry of the needy.e

29 But when God is silent, who can declare him guilty?

When he hides his face, who can see him?

Yet he watches over both individuals and nations,

30 so that godless men should not rule

or ensnare the people.

31 Suppose someone says to God,

“I have endured my punishment;

I will no longer act wickedly.

32 Teach me what I cannot see;

if I have done wrong, I won’t do it again.”

33 Should God repay you on your terms

when you have rejected his?

You must choose, not I!

So declare what you know.

34 Reasonable men will say to me,

along with the wise men who hear me,

35 “Job speaks without knowledge;f

his words are without insight.”

36 If only Job were tested to the limit,

because his answers are like those of wicked men.

37 For he adds rebellion to his sin;

he scornfully clapsg in our presence,

while multiplyingh his words against God.

35 Then Elihu continued, saying:

2 Do you think it is just when you say,

“I am righteous before God”?

3 For you ask, “What does it profit you,C

and what benefit comes to me, if I do not sin?”i

4 I will answer you

and your friends with you.

5 Look at the heavens and see;

gaze at the clouds high above you.

6 If you sin, how does it affect God?

If you multiply your transgressions, what does it do to him?

7 If you are righteous, what do you give him,

or what does he receive from your hand?j

8 Your wickedness affects a person like yourself,

and your righteousness, a son of man.D

9 People cry out because of severe oppression;

they shout for help because of the power of the mighty.k

10 But no one asks, “Where is God my Maker,l

who provides us with songs in the night,m

11 who gives us more understanding than the animals of the earth

and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?”n

12 There they cry out, but he does not answer,

because of the pride of evil people.o

13 Indeed, God does not listen to empty cries,

and the Almighty does not take note of it—

14 how much less whenE you complainF

that you do not see him,

that your casea is before him

and you are waitingb for him.

15 But now, because God’s anger does not punish

and he does not pay attention to transgression,A

16 Job opens his mouth in vain

and multiplies words without knowledge.c

36 Then Elihu continued, saying:

2 Be patient with me a little longer, and I will inform you,

for there is still more to be said on God’s behalf.

3 I will get my knowledge from a distant place

and ascribe justice to my Maker.

4 Indeed, my words are not false;

one who has complete knowledge is with you.

5 Yes, God is mighty, but he despises no one;

he understands all things.B,d

6 He does not keep the wicked alive,e

but he gives justice to the oppressed.

7 He does not withdraw his gaze from the righteous,

but he seats them forever with enthroned kings,

and they are exalted.

8 If people are bound with chains

and trapped by the cords of affliction,

9 God tells them what they have done

and how arrogantly they have transgressed.

10 He opens their earsf to correction

and tells them to repent from iniquity.

11 If they listen and serve him,

they will end their days in prosperity

and their years in happiness.g

12 But if they do not listen,

they will cross the river of deathC

and die without knowledge.h

13 Those who have a godless heart harbor anger;

even when God binds them, they do not cry for help.

14 They die in their youth;

their life ends among male cult prostitutes.i

15 God rescues the afflicted by their affliction;

he instructs them by their torment.

16 Indeed, he lured you from the jawsD of distress

to a spacious and unconfined place.

Your table was spread with choice food.

17 Yet now you are obsessed with the judgment due the wicked;

judgment and justice have seized you.

18 Be careful that no one lures you with riches;E

do not let a large ransomF lead you astray.j

19 Can your wealthG or all your physical exertion

keep you from distress?k

20 Do not long for the night

when nations will disappear from their places.

21 Be careful that you do not turn to iniquity,

for that is why you have been tested byH affliction.

22 Look, God shows himself exalted by his power.

Who is a teacher like him?

23 Who has appointed his way for him,

and who has declared, “You have done wrong”?l

24 Remember that you should praise his work,

which people have sung about.m

25 All mankind has seen it;

people have looked at it from a distance.n

26 Yes, God is exalted beyond our knowledge;o

the number of his years cannot be counted.p

27 For he makes waterdrops evaporate;I

they distill the rain into itsJ mist,q

28 which the clouds pour out

and shower abundantly on mankind.

29 Can anyone understand how the clouds spread out

or how the thunder roars from God’s pavilion?a

30 See how he spreads his lightningb around him

and covers the depths of the sea.

31 For he judges the nations with these;

he gives food in abundance.c

32 He covers his hands with lightning

and commands it to hit its mark.

33 TheA thunder declares his presence;B

the cattle also, the approaching storm.