Elihu Describes God’s Power 1 UST Then Elihu said some more things to Job: BSB BSB: And Elihu continued:
2 UST “Job, be patient with me a little longer as I explain things to you. Be patient, because I have more to say in order to show that God does not do anything wrong. BSB BSB: “Bear with me a little longer, and I will show you that there is more to be said on God’s behalf.
3 UST I will tell you what I have learned from many sources. I will show that God, who made me, always does what is right. BSB BSB: I get my knowledge from afar, and I will ascribe justice to my Maker.
4 UST You can indeed listen patiently because I will not say anything to you that is false. I am here with you as someone who understands things well. BSB BSB: For truly my words are free of falsehood; one perfect in knowledge is with you.
5 UST Truly, God is very powerful, but he values every person. He understands everything completely. BSB BSB: Indeed, God is mighty, but He despises no one; He is mighty in strength of understanding.
6 UST He does not allow wicked people to remain alive, but he helps people whom others have been oppressing. BSB BSB: He does not keep the wicked alive, but He grants justice to the afflicted.
7 UST He always protects people who are righteous. He makes them prosper as if they were kings, and he causes others to honor them continually. BSB BSB: He does not take His eyes off the righteous, but He enthrones them with kings and exalts them forever.
8 UST Sometimes people suffer great troubles because they have done wrong things. BSB BSB: And if men are bound with chains, caught in cords of affliction,
9 UST When they do, God shows them what they have done wrong. He shows them that they committed these sins because they were proud. BSB BSB: then He tells them their deeds and how arrogantly they have transgressed.
10 UST He enables them to understand what he is teaching them. He commands them to stop sinning. BSB BSB: He opens their ears to correction and commands that they turn from iniquity.
11 UST If they obey him and once again live as he wishes, they will prosper and be happy for as long as they live. BSB BSB: If they obey and serve Him, then they end their days in prosperity and their years in happiness.
12 UST But if they do not obey him, they will die violently because they did not seek to understand how God wanted them to live. BSB BSB: But if they do not obey, then they perish by the sword and die without knowledge.
13 UST People who do not respect God continue to be angry with God. They do not ask God to help them even when they are suffering because of their sins. BSB BSB: The godless in heart harbor resentment; even when He binds them, they do not cry for help.
14 UST They can only make a living in a dishonorable way, and they die while they are still young. BSB BSB: They die in their youth, among the male shrine prostitutes.
15 UST God actually uses suffering to keep people from perishing because of their sins. By making them suffer, he causes them to listen to what he is telling them. BSB BSB: God rescues the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ears in oppression.
16 UST Job, I believe that God wants to bring you out of your troubles and allow you to live without distress. He wants you to be happy and prosperous. BSB BSB: Indeed, He drew you from the jaws of distress to a spacious and broad place, to a table full of richness.
17 UST However, you are still saying bad things about God the way a wicked person would. That is why God is punishing you so severely. BSB BSB: But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked; judgment and justice have seized you.
18 UST You are angry with God, but do not let that lead you to say disrespectful things about God. If you did that, God would not accept even a very large bribe to pardon you. BSB BSB: Be careful that no one lures you with riches; do not let a large bribe lead you astray.
19 UST God would not want your money and so pardon you. He would not take gold or a great deal of money as a bribe. BSB BSB: Can your wealth or all your mighty effort keep you from distress?
20 UST You should not wish that you could die so that your suffering would be over. Once people die, they are gone. BSB BSB: Do not long for the night, when people vanish from their homes.
21 UST Be careful not to commit sin. It seems that you would rather defy God than learn what he wants to teach you through suffering. BSB BSB: Be careful not to turn to iniquity, for this you have preferred to affliction.
22 UST Truly, God is so powerful that he can do great things. He is better than any other teacher. BSB BSB: Behold, God is exalted in His power. Who is a teacher like Him?
23 UST No one has ever told him what he should do. No one has ever had to tell him that what he was doing was wrong. BSB BSB: Who has appointed His way for Him, or told Him, ‘You have done wrong’?
24 UST People have often sung songs to praise him. You too should remember what he has done and praise him for it. BSB BSB: Remember to magnify His work, which men have praised in song.
25 UST Everyone has seen what God has done, but even so, people only understand it a little. BSB BSB: All mankind has seen it; men behold it from afar.
26 UST How great God is! We are not able to understand how great he is, and we are not able to determine how old he is. BSB BSB: Indeed, God is great—beyond our knowledge; the number of His years is unsearchable.
27 UST Indeed, God draws water up from the earth and puts it in clouds and causes it to become rain. BSB BSB: For He draws up drops of water which distill the rain from the mist,
28 UST This rain pours down from the clouds and abundant showers fall on the earth, where people live. BSB BSB: which the clouds pour out and shower abundantly on mankind.
29 UST No one can really understand how the clouds spread across the sky or how it thunders in the sky where God lives. BSB BSB: Furthermore, who can understand how the clouds spread out, how the thunder roars from His pavilion?
30 UST See how God causes lightning to flash all around him! The lightning is so bright that it lights up even the deep ocean. BSB BSB: See how He scatters His lightning around Him and covers the depths of the sea.
31 UST Because his storms are so great, God uses them to punish wicked people. But he also uses the rain from these storms to provide abundant food for righteous people. BSB BSB: For by these He judges the nations and provides food in abundance.
32 UST It is as if God picks up lightning in his hands and sends it to strike where he wants it to. BSB BSB: He fills His hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark.
33 UST God makes thunder to announce that there will be a storm. We also know that a storm is coming when we hear cattle making extra noise. BSB BSB: The thunder declares His presence; even the cattle regard the rising storm.
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