Job 36

Elihu Extols God’s Greatness

1 Then Elihu continued and said,
2 "Bear with me a little longer, and {I will explain}, for {I still have something to say on God's behalf}.
3 I will bring my knowledge from far away, and I will ascribe righteousness to my maker,
4 for truly my words [are] not falsehood; [one who has] perfect knowledge [is] with you.
5 Look, God [is] mighty but does not despise [anyone]; [he is] mighty [and] {good in understanding}.
6 He does not keep [the] wicked alive but grants justice [to the] afflicted.
7 He does not withdraw his eyes from [the] righteous, but he sets them forever with kings on the throne, and they are exalted.
8 "And if [they] are tied up with fetters, [if] they are caught in [the] cords of misery,
9 then he declares their work to them, and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly.
10 So he opens their ear to the discipline, and he commands that they return from mischief.
11 If they listen and serve [him], they complete their days in prosperity and their years in pleasantness.
12 But if they do not listen, they perish by [the] sword, and they pass away without knowledge.
13 And [the] godless of heart cherish anger; they do not cry for help when he binds them.
14 {They die in their youth}, and their life [ends] among the male shrine prostitutes.
15 He delivers [the] afflicted by his misery, and he opens their ears by the adversity.
16 And what's more, he allured you {out of distress} [into] a broad place, [where] in place of it [was] no constraint; and [what] was set on your table is full of fatness.
17 But you are obsessed with [the] judgment of [the] wicked; judgment and justice take hold of you.
18 Yes, [it is] wrath, so that it will not incite you into mockery; and do not let [the] ransom's greatness turn you aside.
19 Will your cry for help sustain [you] without distress, or all [the] efforts of [your] strength?
20 You must not long for the night, to cut off people {in their place}.
21 Take care, you must not turn to mischief, for because of this you have been tried by misery.
22 "Look, God is exalted in his power; who [is] a teacher like him?
23 Who has prescribed his way for him? Or who says, 'You have done wrong'?
24 Remember that you should extol his work, [of] which people have sung.
25 All human beings have looked on it; everyone watches from afar.
26 "Look, God [is] exalted, and we do not know [him]; the number of his years is unsearchable.
27 Indeed, he draws up [the] drops of water; he distills [the] rain into its mist,
28 which [the] clouds pour down; they shower abundantly on human beings.
29 "Moreover, {can anyone understand} [the] spreading of clouds, [the] thundering of his dwelling place?
30 Look, he scatters his lightning around him, and he covers the roots of the sea.
31 Indeed, he judges people by them; he gives food {in abundance}.
32 He covers [his] hands [with] lightning, and he commands it the place at [which] to strike.
33 His thundering tells about him; [the] livestock also [tell] {concerning what rises}.

Footnotes 22

  • [a]. Hebrew "And"
  • [b]. Literally "I will show you"
  • [c]. Literally "yet on behalf of God words/sentences"
  • [d]. Or "what I have to say"
  • [e]. In other words, "Somebody who knows what he is talking about is addressing you"
  • [f]. Hebrew "and"
  • [g]. Literally "strength of heart"
  • [h]. Hebrew "and"
  • [i]. Hebrew "and"
  • [j]. Hebrew "and"
  • [k]. Hebrew "And"
  • [l]. Hebrew "And"
  • [m]. Literally "It dies in the youth of their self"
  • [n]. Literally "from [the] mouth of distress"
  • [o]. Hebrew "And"
  • [p]. Or "Indeed"
  • [q]. Hebrew "and"
  • [r]. Literally "in place of them"
  • [s]. Hebrew "And"
  • [t]. Literally "if he can understand"
  • [u]. Literally "as far as providing in abundance"
  • [v]. Literally "about going up"

Job 36 Commentaries

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.