New Living Translation | English Standard Version |
1Elihu continued speaking: | 1And Elihu continued, and said: |
2“Let me go on, and I will show you the truth. For I have not finished defending God! | 2“Bear with me a little, and I will show you, for I have yet something to say on God’s behalf. |
3I will present profound arguments for the righteousness of my Creator. | 3I will get my knowledge from afar and ascribe righteousness to my Maker. |
4I am telling you nothing but the truth, for I am a man of great knowledge. | 4For truly my words are not false; one who is perfect in knowledge is with you. |
5“God is mighty, but he does not despise anyone! He is mighty in both power and understanding. | 5“Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise any; he is mighty in strength of understanding. |
6He does not let the wicked live but gives justice to the afflicted. | 6He does not keep the wicked alive, but gives the afflicted their right. |
7He never takes his eyes off the innocent, but he sets them on thrones with kings and exalts them forever. | 7He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous, but with kings on the throne he sets them forever, and they are exalted. |
8If they are bound in chains and caught up in a web of trouble, | 8And if they are bound in chains and caught in the cords of affliction, |
9he shows them the reason. He shows them their sins of pride. | 9then he declares to them their work and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly. |
10He gets their attention and commands that they turn from evil. | 10He opens their ears to instruction and commands that they return from iniquity. |
11“If they listen and obey God, they will be blessed with prosperity throughout their lives. All their years will be pleasant. | 11If they listen and serve him, they complete their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasantness. |
12But if they refuse to listen to him, they will cross over the river of death, dying from lack of understanding. | 12But if they do not listen, they perish by the sword and die without knowledge. |
13For the godless are full of resentment. Even when he punishes them, they refuse to cry out to him for help. | 13“The godless in heart cherish anger; they do not cry for help when he binds them. |
14They die when they are young, after wasting their lives in immoral living. | 14They die in youth, and their life ends among the cult prostitutes. |
15But by means of their suffering, he rescues those who suffer. For he gets their attention through adversity. | 15He delivers the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ear by adversity. |
16“God is leading you away from danger, Job, to a place free from distress. He is setting your table with the best food. | 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. |
17But you are obsessed with whether the godless will be judged. Don’t worry, judgment and justice will be upheld. | 17“But you are full of the judgment on the wicked; judgment and justice seize you. |
18But watch out, or you may be seduced by wealth. Don’t let yourself be bribed into sin. | 18Beware lest wrath entice you into scoffing, and let not the greatness of the ransom turn you aside. |
19Could all your wealth or all your mighty efforts keep you from distress? | 19Will your cry for help avail to keep you from distress, or all the force of your strength? |
20Do not long for the cover of night, for that is when people will be destroyed. | 20Do not long for the night, when peoples vanish in their place. |
21Be on guard! Turn back from evil, for God sent this suffering to keep you from a life of evil. Elihu Reminds Job of God’s Power | 21Take care; do not turn to iniquity, for this you have chosen rather than affliction. |
22“Look, God is all-powerful. Who is a teacher like him? | 22Behold, God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him? |
23No one can tell him what to do, or say to him, ‘You have done wrong.’ | 23Who has prescribed for him his way, or who can say, ‘You have done wrong’? |
24Instead, glorify his mighty works, singing songs of praise. | 24“Remember to extol his work, of which men have sung. |
25Everyone has seen these things, though only from a distance. | 25All mankind has looked on it; man beholds it from afar. |
26“Look, God is greater than we can understand. His years cannot be counted. | 26Behold, God is great, and we know him not; the number of his years is unsearchable. |
27He draws up the water vapor and then distills it into rain. | 27For he draws up the drops of water; they distill his mist in rain, |
28The rain pours down from the clouds, and everyone benefits. | 28which the skies pour down and drop on mankind abundantly. |
29Who can understand the spreading of the clouds and the thunder that rolls forth from heaven? | 29Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds, the thunderings of his pavilion? |
30See how he spreads the lightning around him and how it lights up the depths of the sea. | 30Behold, he scatters his lightning about him and covers the roots of the sea. |
31By these mighty acts he nourishes the people, giving them food in abundance. | 31For by these he judges peoples; he gives food in abundance. |
32He fills his hands with lightning bolts and hurls each at its target. | 32He covers his hands with the lightning and commands it to strike the mark. |
33The thunder announces his presence; the storm announces his indignant anger. | 33Its crashing declares his presence; the cattle also declare that he rises. |
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. |
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