Chronological
Elihu Continues
Are You Really Innocent?
35 Elihu said:
2 Job, are you really innocent
in the sight of God?[a]
3 Don't you honestly believe
it pays to obey him?
4 I will give the answers
to you and your friends.
* 5 Look up to the heavens
6 (A) and think!
Do your sins hurt God?
7 Is any good you may have done
at all helpful to him?
8 The evil or good you do
only affects other humans.
9 In times of trouble,
everyone begs the mighty God
to have mercy.
10 But after their Creator
helps them through hard times,
they forget about him,
11 though he makes us wiser
than animals or birds.
12 God won't listen to the prayers
of proud and evil people.
13 If God All-Powerful refuses
to answer their empty prayers,
14 he will surely deny
your impatient request
to face him in court.
15 Job, you were wrong to say
God doesn't punish sin.
16 Everything you have said
adds up to nonsense.
Elihu Continues
Be Patient a While Longer
36 Elihu said:
2 Be patient a while longer;
I have something else to say
in God's defense.
3 God always does right—
and this knowledge
comes straight from God.[b]
4 You can rest assured
that what I say is true.
5 Although God is mighty,
he cares about everyone
and makes fair decisions.
6 The wicked are cut down,
and those who are wronged
receive justice.
7 God watches over good people
and places them in positions
of power and honor forever.
8 But when people are prisoners
of suffering and pain,
* 9 God points out their sin
and their pride,
10 then he warns them
to turn back to him.
11 And if they obey,
they will be successful
and happy from then on.
12 But if they foolishly refuse,
they will be rewarded
with a violent death.
Godless People Are Too Angry
13 Godless people are too angry
to ask God for help
when he punishes them.
14 So they die young
in shameful disgrace.
15 Hard times and trouble
are God's way
of getting our attention!
16 And at this very moment,
God deeply desires
to lead you from trouble
and to spread your table
with your favorite food.
17 Now that the judgment
for your sins
has fallen upon you,
18 don't let your anger
and the pain you endured
make you sneer at God.
19 Your reputation and riches
cannot protect you
from distress,
20 nor can you find safety
in the dark world below.[c]
21 Be on guard! Don't turn to evil
as a way of escape.
22 God's power is unlimited.
He needs no teachers
23 to guide or correct him.
Others Have Praised God
24 Others have praised God
for what he has done,
so join with them.
25 From down here on earth,
everyone has looked up and seen
26 how great God is—
God is more than we imagine;
no one can count the years
he has lived.
* 27 God gathers moisture
into the clouds
28 and supplies us with rain.
29 Who can understand
how God scatters the clouds
and speaks from his home
in the thunderstorm?
30 And when God sends lightning,
it can be seen
at the bottom of the sea.[d]
31 By producing such rainstorms,
God rules the world
and provides us with food.
32 Each flash of lightning
is one of his arrows
striking its target,
33 and the thunder tells
of his anger against sin.[e]
Elihu Continues
I Am Frightened
37 I am frightened
and tremble all over,
2 when I hear the roaring voice
of God in the thunder,
3 and when I see his lightning
flash across the sky.
4 God's majestic voice
thunders his commands,[f]
5 creating miracles too marvelous
for us to understand.
6 Snow and heavy rainstorms
7 make us stop and think
about God's power,[g]
8 and they force animals
to seek shelter.
9 The windstorms of winter strike,
10 and the breath of God
freezes streams and rivers.
11 Rain clouds filled with lightning
appear at God's command,
12 traveling across the sky
13 to release their cargo—
sometimes as punishment for sin,
sometimes as kindness.
Consider Carefully
14 Job, consider carefully
the many wonders of God.
15 Can you explain why lightning
flashes at the orders
16 of God who knows all things?
Or how he hangs the clouds
in empty space?
17 You almost melt in the heat
of fierce desert winds
when the sky is like brass.
18 God can hammer out the clouds
in spite of the oppressive heat,
but can you?
19 Tell us what to say to God!
Our minds are in the dark,
and we don't know how
to argue our case.
20 Should I risk my life
by telling God
that I want to speak?
21 No one can stare at the sun
after a breeze has blown
the clouds from the sky.
22 Yet the glorious splendor
of God All-Powerful
is brighter by far.
23 God cannot be seen—
but his power is great,
and he is always fair.
24 And so we humans fear God,
because he shows no respect
for those who are proud
and think they know so much.
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