| English Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1And Elihu continued, and said: | 1Then Elihu continued, saying: |
| 2“Bear with me a little, and I will show you, for I have yet something to say on God’s behalf. | 2Be patient with me a little longer, and I will inform you, for there is still more to be said on God's behalf. |
| 3I will get my knowledge from afar and ascribe righteousness to my Maker. | 3I will get my knowledge from a distant place and ascribe justice to my Maker. |
| 4For truly my words are not false; one who is perfect in knowledge is with you. | 4For my arguments are without flaw; one who has perfect knowledge is with you. |
| 5“Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise any; he is mighty in strength of understanding. | 5Yes, God is mighty, but He despises no one; He understands all things. |
| 6He does not keep the wicked alive, but gives the afflicted their right. | 6He does not keep the wicked alive, but He gives justice to the afflicted. |
| 7He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous, but with kings on the throne he sets them forever, and they are exalted. | 7He does not remove His gaze from the righteous, but He seats them forever with enthroned kings, and they are exalted. |
| 8And if they are bound in chains and caught in the cords of affliction, | 8If people are bound with chains and trapped by the cords of affliction, |
| 9then he declares to them their work and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly. | 9God tells them what they have done and how arrogantly they have transgressed. |
| 10He opens their ears to instruction and commands that they return from iniquity. | 10He opens their ears to correction and insists they repent from iniquity. |
| 11If they listen and serve him, they complete their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasantness. | 11If they serve Him obediently, they will end their days in prosperity and their years in happiness. |
| 12But if they do not listen, they perish by the sword and die without knowledge. | 12But if they do not obey, they will cross the river of death and die without knowledge. |
| 13“The godless in heart cherish anger; they do not cry for help when he binds them. | 13Those who have a godless heart harbor anger; even when God binds them, they do not cry for help. |
| 14They die in youth, and their life ends among the cult prostitutes. | 14They die in their youth; their life ends among male cult prostitutes. |
| 15He delivers the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ear by adversity. | 15God rescues the afflicted by their affliction; He instructs them by their torment. |
| 16He also allured you out of distress into a broad place where there was no cramping, and what was set on your table was full of fatness. | 16Indeed, He lured you from the jaws of distress to a spacious and unconfined place. Your table was spread with choice food. |
| 17“But you are full of the judgment on the wicked; judgment and justice seize you. | 17Yet now you are obsessed with the judgment due the wicked; judgment and justice have seized you. |
| 18Beware lest wrath entice you into scoffing, and let not the greatness of the ransom turn you aside. | 18Be careful that no one lures you with riches; do not let a large ransom lead you astray. |
| 19Will your cry for help avail to keep you from distress, or all the force of your strength? | 19Can your wealth or all your physical exertion keep you from distress? |
| 20Do not long for the night, when peoples vanish in their place. | 20Do not long for the night when nations will disappear from their places. |
| 21Take care; do not turn to iniquity, for this you have chosen rather than affliction. | 21Be careful that you do not turn to iniquity, for that is why you have been tested by affliction. |
| 22Behold, God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him? | 22Look, God shows Himself exalted by His power. Who is a teacher like Him? |
| 23Who has prescribed for him his way, or who can say, ‘You have done wrong’? | 23Who has appointed His way for Him, and who has declared, "You have done wrong"? |
| 24“Remember to extol his work, of which men have sung. | 24Remember that you should praise His work, which people have sung about. |
| 25All mankind has looked on it; man beholds it from afar. | 25All mankind has seen it; people have looked at it from a distance. |
| 26Behold, God is great, and we know him not; the number of his years is unsearchable. | 26Yes, God is exalted beyond our knowledge; the number of His years cannot be counted. |
| 27For he draws up the drops of water; they distill his mist in rain, | 27For He makes waterdrops evaporate; they distill the rain into its mist, |
| 28which the skies pour down and drop on mankind abundantly. | 28which the clouds pour out and shower abundantly on mankind. |
| 29Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds, the thunderings of his pavilion? | 29Can anyone understand how the clouds spread out or how the thunder roars from God's pavilion? |
| 30Behold, he scatters his lightning about him and covers the roots of the sea. | 30See how He spreads His lightning around Him and covers the depths of the sea. |
| 31For by these he judges peoples; he gives food in abundance. | 31For He judges the nations with these; He gives food in abundance. |
| 32He covers his hands with the lightning and commands it to strike the mark. | 32He covers His hands with lightning and commands it to hit its mark. |
| 33Its crashing declares his presence; the cattle also declare that he rises. | 33The thunder declares His presence; the cattle also, the approaching storm. |
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