Job 36:1-33 GW

[1] Elihu continued to speak to Job, [2] "Be patient with me a little longer, and I will show you that there is more to be said in God's defense. [3] I will get my knowledge from far away and prove that my Creator is fair. [4] Certainly, my words are not lies. The one who knows everything is speaking with you. [5] "Certainly, God is mighty. He doesn't despise anyone. He is mighty and brave. [6] He doesn't allow the wicked person to live. He grants justice to those who are oppressed. [7] He doesn't take his eyes off righteous people. He seats them on thrones with kings to honor them forever. [8] However, if righteous people are bound in chains and tangled in ropes of misery, [9] he tells them what they've done wrong and that they've behaved arrogantly. [10] He makes them listen to his warning and orders them to turn away from wrong. [11] "If righteous people listen and serve him, they will live out their days in prosperity and their years in comfort. [12] But if they don't listen, they will cross the River of Death and die like those who have no knowledge. [13] But those who have godless hearts remain angry. They don't even call for help when he chains them up. [14] They die while they're young, or they live on as male prostitutes in the temples of idols. [15] He rescues suffering people through their suffering, and he opens their ears through distress. [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. [17] But you are given the judgment evil people deserve. A fair judgment will be upheld. [18] Be careful that you are not led astray with riches. Don't let a large bribe turn you to evil ways. [19] Will your riches save you from having to suffer? Will all your mighty strength help you? [20] Don't look forward to the night, when people disappear from their places. [21] Be careful! Don't turn to evil, because you have chosen evil instead of suffering. [22] "God does great things by his power. Is there any teacher like him? [23] Who can tell him which way he should go? Who can say to him, 'You did wrong'? [24] Remember that you should praise his work. People have sung about it. [25] Every person has seen it. Mortals have looked at it from a distance. [26] "Certainly, God is so great that he is beyond our understanding. The number of his years cannot be counted. [27] He collects drops of water. He distills rain from his mist, [28] which then drips from the clouds. It pours down on many people. [29] Can anyone really understand how clouds spread out or how he thunders from his dwelling place? [30] Look, he scatters his flashes of lightning around him and covers the depths of the sea. [31] This is how he uses the rains to provide for people and to give them more than enough food. [32] He fills his hands with lightning and orders it to hit the target. [33] The thunder announces his coming. The storm announces his angry wrath.