Job 36
Holman Christian Standard Bible
36 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 For my arguments are without flaw;[a]
one who has perfect knowledge is with you.
5 Yes, God is mighty, but He despises no one;
He understands all things.[b](A)
6 He does not keep the wicked alive,(B)
but He gives justice to the afflicted.
7 He does not remove 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(C) to correction
and insists they repent from iniquity.
11 If they serve Him obediently,
they will end their days in prosperity
and their years in happiness.(D)
12 But if they do not obey,
they will cross the river of death[c]
and die without knowledge.(E)
13 Those who have a godless heart harbor anger;
even when God binds them, they do not cry for help.
14 They die in their youth;
their life ends among male cult prostitutes.(F)
15 God rescues the afflicted by their affliction;
He instructs them by their torment.
16 Indeed, He lured you from the jaws[d] 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;[e]
do not let a large ransom[f] lead you astray.(G)
19 Can your wealth[g] or all your physical exertion
keep you from distress?(H)
20 Do not long for the night
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[h] 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”?(I)
24 Remember that you should praise His work,
which people have sung about.(J)
25 All mankind has seen it;
people have looked at it from a distance.(K)
26 Yes, God is exalted beyond our knowledge;(L)
the number of His years cannot be counted.(M)
27 For He makes waterdrops evaporate;[i]
they distill the rain into its[j] mist,(N)
28 which the clouds pour out
and shower abundantly on mankind.
29 Can anyone understand how the clouds spread out
or how the thunder roars from God’s pavilion?(O)
30 See how He spreads His lightning(P) around Him
and covers the depths of the sea.
31 For He judges the nations with these;
He gives food in abundance.(Q)
32 He covers His hands with lightning
and commands it to hit its mark.
33 The[k] thunder declares His presence;[l]
the cattle also, the approaching storm.
Footnotes
- Job 36:4 Lit my words are not false
- Job 36:5 Lit He is mighty in strength of heart
- Job 36:12 Or will perish by the sword
- Job 36:16 Lit from a mouth of narrowness
- Job 36:18 Or you into mockery
- Job 36:18 Or bribe
- Job 36:19 Or cry for help
- Job 36:21 Or for you have preferred this to
- Job 36:27 Lit He draws in waterdrops
- Job 36:27 Or His
- Job 36:33 Lit His, or Its
- Job 36:33 Lit thunder announces concerning Him or it
Job 36
EasyEnglish Bible
Elihu continues to speak[a]
36 Elihu continued to speak to Job. This is what he said:
2 ‘Be patient a little bit longer,
so that I can teach you some more.
I still have more to say
to show you that God is right.
3 I will tell you the many different things that I know.
I will show you that God, my Maker, is completely fair.
4 Everything that I say to you is true.
I am speaking to you as someone who knows everything.
5 God is very powerful
but he does not turn anyone away.
When he decides to do something,
he surely does it.
6 He does not allow wicked people to continue to live.
But he is always fair to those who are poor and weak.
7 He takes care of righteous people.
He gives them authority to rule like kings.
He gives them honour for ever.
8 People who do wrong things may suffer in prison.
Chains may hold their legs so that they cannot move.
9 When that happens,
God shows them what they have done.
He shows them their sins.
They have done wrong things because they are proud.
10 He tells them this to warn them.
They must turn away from wicked things.
11 They must obey him and agree to serve him.
If they do that, they will have everything that they need.
They will enjoy all the days that they live.
12 But if they refuse to listen to God,
they will go to their graves.
They will die
and they still will not understand what is right.
13 People who turn away from God are always angry.
Even when God punishes them,
they do not pray for help.
14 They die while they are still young.
Their lives finish in shame.
They live among the male prostitutes who serve false gods.
15 But God rescues people who suffer.
He uses their troubles to teach them about himself.
16 God has called you out of your troubles, Job.
He wants you to live in a safe place
where you have no problems.
He wants you to have a comfortable life
with plenty of good food to eat.
17 But now you have a lot of trouble,
because God is punishing you as wicked people deserve.
God is right and fair to judge you like that.
18 Be very careful!
Do not let anyone use their riches to deceive you.
Do not let them pay you a lot of money
to do something that is wrong.
19 Even if you become rich,
that would not keep you safe.
Even if you were strong and powerful,
that would not keep trouble away from you.
20 Do not wait for the night to hide what you want to do.
That is the time when people disappear from their homes.
21 Be careful! Do not try to do wicked things.
God has sent these troubles to test you.
He wants to stop you doing evil things.
22 Yes, God is very powerful.
There is no teacher as good as he is.
23 Nobody can tell him what he should do.
No one can say to him, “You have done things that are wrong.”
24 People sing songs to praise God
for the things that he has done.
You also should remember to praise him.
25 People everywhere have seen the things that God has done.
But we look at them from far away.
26 Yes, God is very great!
We cannot know him completely.
Nobody can count the number of his years!
27 It is God who pulls up water from the earth
to make the clouds.
Then he causes it to become rain.
28 The rain pours down from the clouds.
There is plenty for the people on the earth.
29 Who understands how the clouds move across the sky?
How does the noise of thunder come from God's home?
30 Look at the lightning that God sends all over the sky!
But he causes the bottom of the sea to remain dark.
31 This is the way that God rules the people of the world.
He sends the rain to give them plenty of food.
32 He sends his lightning like an arrow.
He commands it to hit the right place.
33 He sends thunder to show that a storm is coming.
Even the cows know what is happening.’
Footnotes
- 36:1 Perhaps the most important thing that Elihu says is in this chapter. God does help people who have trouble. Often this is the best time for them to hear God. And in chapters 36 and 37, Elihu describes for Job what God is like. God is always fair (chapter 36, verse 3). He is powerful and he does not hate anyone (chapter 36, verse 5). He is a good teacher (chapter 36, verse 22). He rules the world (chapter 36, verse 31). He speaks to people (chapter 37, verse 5). He does great things (chapter 37, verse 14). Only God is really wise (chapter 37, verse 24). And there are lots of other things about God that you can read about in these chapters.
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