1 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. V,y
6 He does not keep the wicked alive, z
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 ears a 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. b
they will cross the river of death W
and die without knowledge. c
13 Those who have a godless heart harbor anger;
even when God binds them, they do not cry for help.
their life ends among male cult prostitutes. d
15 God rescues the afflicted by their affliction;
he instructs them by their torment.
16 Indeed, he lured you from the jaws X 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; Y
do not let a large ransom Z lead you astray. e
19 Can your wealth A or all your physical exertion
keep you from distress? f
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 by B 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”? g
24 Remember that you should praise his work,
which people have sung about. h
people have looked at it from a distance. i
26 Yes, God is exalted beyond our knowledge; j
the number of his years cannot be counted. k
27 For he makes waterdrops evaporate; C
they distill the rain into its D mist, l
and shower abundantly on mankind.
29 Can anyone understand how the clouds spread out
or how the thunder roars from God’s pavilion? m
30 See how he spreads his lightning n around him
and covers the depths of the sea.
31 For he judges the nations with these;
he gives food in abundance. o
32 He covers his hands with lightning
and commands it to hit its mark.
33 The E thunder declares his presence; F
the cattle also, the approaching storm.