Job 35-36

Job 35

¹And Elihu made answer and said,

²Does it seem to you to be right, and righteousness before God, to say,

³What profit is it to me, and how am I better off than if I had done wrong?

⁴I will make answer to you and to your friends:

⁵Let your eyes be turned to the heavens, and lifted up to see the skies; they are higher than you.

⁶If you have done wrong, is he any the worse for it? and if your sins are great in number, what is it to him?

⁷If you are upright, what do you give to him? or what does he take from your hand?

⁸Your evil-doing may have an effect on a man like yourself, or your righteousness on a son of man.

⁹Because the hand of the cruel is hard on them, men are making sounds of grief; they are crying out for help because of the arm of the strong.

¹⁰But no one has said, Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night;

¹¹Who gives us more knowledge than the beasts of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the heaven?

¹²There they are crying out because of the pride of the evil-doers, but he gives them no answer.

¹³But God will not give ear to what is false, or the Ruler of all take note of it;

¹⁴How much less when you say that you do not see him; that the cause is before him, and you are waiting for him.

¹⁵And now ... ;

¹⁶And Job's mouth is open wide to give out what is of no profit, increasing words without knowledge.

Job 36

¹And Elihu went on to say,

²Give me a little more time, and I will make it clear to you; for I have still something to say for God.

³I will get my knowledge from far, and I will give righteousness to my Maker.

⁴For truly my words are not false; one who has all knowledge is talking with you.

⁵Truly, God gives up the hard-hearted, and will not give life to the sinner.

⁶His eyes are ever on the upright, and he gives to the crushed their right;

⁷Lifting them up to the seat of kings, and making them safe for ever.

⁸And if they have been prisoned in chains, and taken in cords of trouble,

⁹Then he makes clear to them what they have done, even their evil works in which they have taken pride.

¹⁰Their ear is open to his teaching, and he gives them orders so that their hearts may be turned from evil.

¹¹If they give ear to his voice, and do his word, then he gives them long life, and years full of pleasure.

¹²But if not, they come to their end, and give up their breath without knowledge.

¹³Those who have no fear of God keep wrath stored up in their hearts; they give no cry for help when they are made prisoners.

¹⁴They come to their end while they are still young, their life is short like that of those who are used for sex purposes in the worship of their gods.

¹⁵He makes the wrong done to the poor the way of their salvation, opening their ears by their trouble.

¹⁶...

¹⁷...

¹⁸...

¹⁹...

²⁰...

²¹Take care not to be turned to sin, for you have taken evil for your part in place of sorrow.

²²Truly God is lifted up in strength; who is a ruler like him?

²³Who ever gave orders to him, or said to him, You have done wrong?

²⁴See that you give praise to his work, about which men make songs.

²⁵All people are looking on it; man sees it from far.

²⁶Truly, God is great, greater than all our knowledge; the number of his years may not be searched out.

²⁷For he takes up the drops from the sea; he sends them through his mist as rain,

²⁸Flowing down from the sky, and dropping on the peoples.

²⁹And who has knowledge of how the clouds are stretched out, or of the thunders of his tent?

³⁰See, he is stretching out his mist, covering the tops of the mountains with it.

³¹For by these he gives food to the peoples, and bread in full measure.

³²He takes the light in his hands, sending it against the mark.

³³The thunder makes clear his passion, and the storm gives news of his wrath.