| New King James Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Elihu also proceeded and said: | 1Then Elihu continued, saying: |
| 2“Bear with me a little, and I will show you That there are yet words to speak 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 fetch my knowledge from afar; I will 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, but despises no one; He is mighty in strength of understanding. | 5Yes, God is mighty, but He despises no one; He understands all things. |
| 6He does not preserve the life of the wicked, But gives justice to the oppressed. | 6He does not keep the wicked alive, but He gives justice to the afflicted. |
| 7He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous; But they are on the throne with kings, For He has seated 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 fetters, Held in the cords of affliction, | 8If people are bound with chains and trapped by the cords of affliction, |
| 9Then He tells them their work and their transgressions— That they have acted defiantly. | 9God tells them what they have done and how arrogantly they have transgressed. |
| 10He also opens their ear to instruction, And commands that they turn from iniquity. | 10He opens their ears to correction and insists they repent from iniquity. |
| 11If they obey and serve Him, They shall spend their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasures. | 11If they serve Him obediently, they will end their days in prosperity and their years in happiness. |
| 12But if they do not obey, They shall perish by the sword, And they shall die without knowledge. | 12But if they do not obey, they will cross the river of death and die without knowledge. |
| 13“But the hypocrites in heart store up wrath; 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 perverted persons. | 14They die in their youth; their life ends among male cult prostitutes. |
| 15He delivers the poor in their affliction, And opens their ears in oppression. | 15God rescues the afflicted by their affliction; He instructs them by their torment. |
| 16“Indeed He would have brought you out of dire distress, Into a broad place where there is no restraint; And what is set on your table would be full of richness. | 16Indeed, He lured you from the jaws of distress to a spacious and unconfined place. Your table was spread with choice food. |
| 17But you are filled with the judgment due the wicked; Judgment and justice take hold of you. | 17Yet now you are obsessed with the judgment due the wicked; judgment and justice have seized you. |
| 18Because there is wrath, beware lest He take you away with one blow; For a large ransom would not help you avoid it. | 18Be careful that no one lures you with riches; do not let a large ransom lead you astray. |
| 19Will your riches, Or all the mighty forces, Keep you from distress? | 19Can your wealth or all your physical exertion keep you from distress? |
| 20Do not desire the night, When people are cut off in their place. | 20Do not long for the night when nations will disappear from their places. |
| 21Take heed, do not turn to iniquity, For you have chosen this rather than affliction. | 21Be careful that you do not turn to iniquity, for that is why you have been tested by affliction. |
| 22“Behold, God is exalted by His power; Who teaches like Him? | 22Look, God shows Himself exalted by His power. Who is a teacher like Him? |
| 23Who has assigned Him His way, Or who has said, ‘You have done wrong’? | 23Who has appointed His way for Him, and who has declared, "You have done wrong"? |
| 24“Remember to magnify His work, Of which men have sung. | 24Remember that you should praise His work, which people have sung about. |
| 25Everyone has seen it; Man looks on it from afar. | 25All mankind has seen it; people have looked at it from a distance. |
| 26“Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him; Nor can the number of His years be discovered. | 26Yes, God is exalted beyond our knowledge; the number of His years cannot be counted. |
| 27For He draws up drops of water, Which distill as rain from the mist, | 27For He makes waterdrops evaporate; they distill the rain into its mist, |
| 28Which the clouds drop down And pour abundantly on man. | 28which the clouds pour out and shower abundantly on mankind. |
| 29Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds, The thunder from His canopy? | 29Can anyone understand how the clouds spread out or how the thunder roars from God's pavilion? |
| 30Look, He scatters His light upon it, And covers the depths of the sea. | 30See how He spreads His lightning around Him and covers the depths of the sea. |
| 31For by these He judges the peoples; He gives food in abundance. | 31For He judges the nations with these; He gives food in abundance. |
| 32He covers His hands with lightning, And commands it to strike. | 32He covers His hands with lightning and commands it to hit its mark. |
| 33His thunder declares it, The cattle also, concerning the rising storm. | 33The thunder declares His presence; the cattle also, the approaching storm. |
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