Job 36
Tree of Life Version
Elihu Magnifies the Almighty
36 Then Elihu said further:
2 “Be patient with me a bit longer and I will show you
that there is more to say on God’s behalf.
3 I get my knowledge from afar;
I ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
4 For truly, my words are not false;
One who is perfect in knowledge is with you.
5 “Indeed, God is mighty, but despises none,
He is mighty in strength of understanding.
6 He does not keep the wicked alive,
but gives justice to the afflicted.
7 He does not take His eyes from the righteous,
but enthrones them with kings and exalts them forever.
8 But if they are bound in chains,
and held captive by cords of affliction,
9 then He declares to them their deed
that they have transgressed arrogantly.
10 And He opens their ear to instruction,
and commands that they turn from evil.
11 If they obey and serve, they will end their days in prosperity,
and their years in happiness.
12 But if they do not listen, they will perish by the sword,
and die without knowledge.
13 “The godless in heart harbor anger,
they do not cry for help even when He binds them.
14 Their souls die in youth,
their life ends among cult prostitutes.
15 He delivers the afflicted by his affliction
and opens their ear in oppression.
16 “And indeed, He will draw you from the mouth of distress,
to a spacious place without constraint, and the comfort of a table full of rich food.
17 But you are full of judgment on the wicked,
judgment and justice take hold of you!
18 Beware lest wrath entice you with riches;
or a large bribe turn you aside.
19 Will your wealth sustain you to keep you from distress,
or even all your mighty efforts?
20 Do not long for the night,
when people vanish from their places.
21 Be careful, do not turn to iniquity;
for you have chosen this rather than affliction.
22 “Indeed, God is exalted in His power.
Who is a teacher like Him?
23 Who has prescribed His way for Him?
Or said ‘You have done wrong’?
24 Remember to magnify His work,
of which people have sung.
25 All mankind has seen it;
people gaze on it from afar.
26 Behold, God is exalted—beyond our knowledge!
The number of His years is unsearchable.
27 For He draws up the drops of water;
they distill rain into its mist,
28 which the clouds pour down
and shower mankind abundantly.
29 Indeed, who can understand the spreading of the clouds,
and the thunder from His pavilion?
30 “See how He scatters His lightning about Him,
covering the depths of the sea.
31 For by these, He judges peoples
and supplies food in abundance.
32 He covers His hands with lightning
and commands it to strike its target.
33 His thunder declares His presence,
the cattle also, about what is coming.
Job 36
New Century Version
Elihu’s Speech Continues
36 Elihu continued:
2 “Listen to me a little longer, and I will show you
that there is more to be said for God.
3 What I know comes from far away.
I will show that my Maker is right.
4 You can be sure that my words are not false;
one who really knows is with you.
5 “God is powerful, but he does not hate people;
he is powerful and sure of what he wants to do.
6 He will not keep evil people alive,
but he gives the poor their rights.
7 He always watches over those who do right;
he sets them on thrones with kings
and they are honored forever.
8 If people are bound in chains,
or if trouble, like ropes, ties them up,
9 God tells them what they have done,
that they have sinned in their pride.
10 God makes them listen to his warning
and commands them to change from doing evil.
11 If they obey and serve him,
the rest of their lives will be successful,
and the rest of their years will be happy.
12 But if they do not listen,
they will die by the sword,
and they will die without knowing why.
13 “Those who have wicked hearts hold on to anger.
Even when God punishes them, they do not cry for help.
14 They die while they are still young,
and their lives end in disgrace.
15 But God saves those who suffer through their suffering;
he gets them to listen through their pain.
16 “God is gently calling you from the jaws of trouble
to an open place of freedom
where he has set your table full of the best food.
17 But now you are being punished like the wicked;
you are getting justice.
18 Be careful! Don’t be led away from God by riches;
don’t let much money turn you away.
19 Neither your wealth nor all your great strength
will keep you out of trouble.
20 Don’t wish for the night
when people are taken from their homes.
21 Be careful not to turn to evil,
which you seem to want more than suffering.
22 “God is great and powerful;
no other teacher is like him.
23 No one has planned his ways for him;
no one can say to God, ‘You have done wrong.’
24 Remember to praise his work,
about which people have sung.
25 Everybody has seen it;
people look at it from far off.
26 God is so great, greater than we can understand!
No one knows how old he is.
27 “He evaporates the drops of water from the earth
and turns them into rain.
28 The rain then pours down from the clouds,
and showers fall on people.
29 No one understands how God spreads out the clouds
or how he sends thunder from where he lives.
30 Watch how God scatters his lightning around him,
lighting up the deepest parts of the sea.
31 This is the way God governs the nations;
this is how he gives us enough food.
32 God fills his hands with lightning
and commands it to strike its target.
33 His thunder announces the coming storm,
and even the cattle know it is near.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
