Job 35-37 (New American Standard Bible)

Job 35

Elihu Sharply Reproves Job

 ¹Then Elihu continued and said,
    ²"Do you think this is according to ^(A)justice?
         Do you say, 'My righteousness is more than God's'?
    ³"For you say, '^(B)What advantage will it be to You?
         ^(C)What profit will I have, more than if I had sinned?'
    ⁴"I will answer you,
         And your friends with you.
    ⁵"^(D)Look at the heavens and see;
         And behold ^(E)the clouds--they are higher than you.
    ⁶"If you have sinned, ^(F)what do you accomplish against Him?
         And if your transgressions are many, what do you do to Him?
    ⁷"If you are righteous, ^(G)what do you give to Him,
         Or what does He receive from your hand?
    ⁸"Your wickedness is for a man like yourself,
         And your righteousness is for a son of man.
    ⁹"Because of the ^(H)multitude of oppressions they cry out;
         They cry for help because of the arm ^(I)of the mighty.
    ¹⁰"But ^(J)no one says, 'Where is God my Maker,
         Who ^(K)gives songs in the night,
    ¹¹Who ^(L)teaches us more than the beasts of the earth
         And makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?'
    ¹²"There ^(M)they cry out, but He does not answer
         Because of the pride of evil men.
    ¹³"Surely ^(N)God will not listen to an empty cry,
         Nor will the Almighty regard it.
    ¹⁴"How much less when ^(O)you say you do not behold Him,
         The ^(P)case is before Him, and you must wait for Him!
    ¹⁵"And now, because He has not visited in His anger,
         Nor has He acknowledged transgression well,
    ¹⁶So Job opens his mouth emptily;
         He multiplies words ^(Q)without knowledge."

Job 36

Elihu Speaks of God's Dealings with Men

 ¹Then Elihu continued and said,
    ²"Wait for me a little, and I will show you
         That there is yet more to be said in God's behalf.
    ³"I will fetch my knowledge from afar,
         And I will ascribe ^(R)righteousness to my Maker.
    ⁴"For truly ^(S)my words are not false;
         One who is ^(T)perfect in knowledge is with you.
    ⁵"Behold, God is mighty but does not ^(U)despise any;
         He is ^(V)mighty in strength of understanding.
    ⁶"He does not ^(W)keep the wicked alive,
         But gives justice to ^(X)the afflicted.
    ⁷"He does not ^(Y)withdraw His eyes from the righteous;
         But ^(Z)with kings on the throne
         He has seated them forever, and they are exalted.
    ⁸"And if they are bound in fetters,
         And are caught in the cords of ^(AA)affliction,
    ⁹Then He declares to them their work
         And their transgressions, that they have ^(AB)magnified themselves.
    ¹⁰"^(AC)He opens their ear to instruction,
         And ^(AD)commands that they return from evil.
    ¹¹"If they hear and serve Him,
         They will ^(AE)end their days in prosperity
         And their years in ^(AF)pleasures.
    ¹²"But if they do not hear, they shall perish ^(AG)by the sword
         And they will ^(AH)die without knowledge.
    ¹³"But the godless in heart lay up anger;
         They do not cry for help when He binds them.
    ¹⁴"They die in youth,
         And their life perishes among the ^(AI)cult prostitutes.
    ¹⁵"He delivers the afflicted in their ^(AJ)affliction,
         And ^(AK)opens their ear in time of oppression.
    ¹⁶"Then indeed, He ^(AL)enticed you from the mouth of distress,
         Instead of it, a broad place with no constraint;
         And that which was set on your table was full of fatness.
    ¹⁷"But you were full of ^(AM)judgment on the wicked;
         Judgment and justice take hold of you.
    ¹⁸"Beware that ^(AN)wrath does not entice you to scoffing;
         And do not let the greatness of the ^(AO)ransom turn you aside.
    ¹⁹"Will your riches keep you from distress,
         Or all the forces of your strength?
    ²⁰"Do not long for ^(AP)the night,
         When people vanish in their place.
    ²¹"Be careful, do ^(AQ)not turn to evil,
         For you have preferred this to ^(AR)affliction.
    ²²"Behold, God is exalted in His power;
         Who is a ^(AS)teacher like Him?
    ²³"Who has appointed Him His way,
         And who has said, '^(AT)You have done wrong'?
    ²⁴"Remember that you should ^(AU)exalt His work,
         Of which men have ^(AV)sung.
    ²⁵"All men have seen it;
         Man beholds from afar.
    ²⁶"Behold, God is ^(AW)exalted, and ^(AX)we do not know Him;
         The ^(AY)number of His years is unsearchable.
    ²⁷"For ^(AZ)He draws up the drops of water,
         They distill rain from the mist,
    ²⁸Which the clouds pour down,
         They drip upon man abundantly.
    ²⁹"Can anyone understand the ^(BA)spreading of the clouds,
         The ^(BB)thundering of His pavilion?
    ³⁰"Behold, He spreads His lightning about Him,
         And He covers the depths of the sea.
    ³¹"For by these He ^(BC)judges peoples;
         He ^(BD)gives food in abundance.
    ³²"He covers His hands with the lightning,
         And ^(BE)commands it to strike the mark.
    ³³"Its ^(BF)noise declares His presence;
         The cattle also, concerning what is coming up.

Job 37

Elihu Says God Is Back of the Storm

    ¹"At this also my heart trembles,
         And leaps from its place.
    ²"Listen closely to the ^(BG)thunder of His voice,
         And the rumbling that goes out from His mouth.
    ³"Under the whole heaven He lets it loose,
         And His lightning to the ^(BH)ends of the earth.
    ⁴"After it, a voice roars;
         He thunders with His majestic voice,
         And He does not restrain the lightnings when His voice is heard.
    ⁵"God ^(BI)thunders with His voice wondrously,
         Doing ^(BJ)great things which we cannot comprehend.
    ⁶"For to ^(BK)the snow He says, 'Fall on the earth,'
         And to the ^(BL)downpour and the rain, 'Be strong.'
    ⁷"He ^(BM)seals the hand of every man,
         That ^(BN)all men may know His work.
    ⁸"Then the beast goes into its ^(BO)lair
         And remains in its den.
    ⁹"Out of the ^(BP)south comes the storm,
         And out of the north the cold.
    ¹⁰"From the breath of God ^(BQ)ice is made,
         And the expanse of the waters is frozen.
    ¹¹"Also with moisture He ^(BR)loads the thick cloud;
         He ^(BS)disperses ^(BT)the cloud of His lightning.
    ¹²"It changes direction, turning around by His guidance,
         That it may do whatever He ^(BU)commands it
         On the ^(BV)face of the inhabited earth.
    ¹³"Whether for ^(BW)correction, or for ^(BX)His world,
         Or for ^(BY)lovingkindness, He causes it to happen.
    ¹⁴"Listen to this, O Job,
         Stand and consider the wonders of God.
    ¹⁵"Do you know how God establishes them,
         And makes the lightning of His cloud to shine?
    ¹⁶"Do you know about the layers of the thick clouds,
         The ^(BZ)wonders of one ^(CA)perfect in knowledge,
    ¹⁷You whose garments are hot,
         When the land is still because of the south wind?
    ¹⁸"Can you, with Him, ^(CB)spread out the skies,
         Strong as a molten mirror?
    ¹⁹"Teach us what we shall say to Him;
         We ^(CC)cannot arrange our case because of darkness.
    ²⁰"Shall it be told Him that I would speak?
         Or should a man say that he would be swallowed up?
    ²¹"Now men do not see the light which is bright in the skies;
         But the wind has passed and cleared them.
    ²²"Out of the north comes golden splendor;
         Around God is awesome majesty.
    ²³"The Almighty--^(CD)we cannot find Him;
         He is ^(CE)exalted in power
         And ^(CF)He will not do violence ^(CG)to justice and abundant righteousness.
    ²⁴"Therefore men ^(CH)fear Him;
         He does not ^(CI)regard any who are wise of heart."