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¹Then Elihu continued and said,

²“Do you think this is in accordance with justice? Do you say, ‘My righteousness is more than God’s’?

³For you say, ‘What advantage will it be to You? What benefit will I have, more than if I had sinned?’

⁴I will answer you, And your friends with you.

⁵Look at the heavens and see; And look at the clouds—they are higher than you.

⁶If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against Him? And if your wrongdoings are many, what do you do to Him?

⁷If you are righteous, what do you give to Him, Or what does He receive from your hand?

⁸Your wickedness is for a man like yourself, And your righteousness is for a son of man.

⁹“Because of the multitude of oppressions they cry out; They cry for help because of the arm of the mighty.

¹⁰But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs in the night,

¹¹Who teaches us more than the animals of the earth And makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’

¹²There they cry out, but He does not answer Because of the pride of evil people.

¹³God certainly will not listen to an empty cry, Nor will the Almighty regard it.

¹⁴How much less when you say you do not look at Him, The case is before Him, and you must wait for Him!

¹⁵And now, because He has not avenged His anger, Nor has He acknowledged wrongdoing well,

¹⁶So Job opens his mouth with empty words; He multiplies words without knowledge.”

¹Then Elihu continued and said,

²“Wait for me a little, and I will show you That there is still more to be said on God’s behalf.

³I will bring my knowledge from afar, And ascribe righteousness to my Maker.

⁴For truly my words are not false; One who is perfect in knowledge is with you.

⁵Behold, God is mighty but does not reject anyone; He is mighty in strength of understanding.

⁶He does not keep the wicked alive, But gives justice to the afflicted.

⁷He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous, But with kings on the throne He has seated them forever, and they are exalted.

⁸And if they are bound in shackles, And are caught in the snares of misery,

⁹Then He declares to them their work And their wrongdoings, that they have been arrogant.

¹⁰He opens their ears to instruction, And commands that they return from injustice.

¹¹If they listen and serve Him, They will end their days in prosperity, And their years in happiness.

¹²But if they do not listen, they will perish by the sword, And die without knowledge.

¹³But the godless in heart nurture anger; They do not call for help when He binds them.

¹⁴They die in youth, And their life perishes among the cult prostitutes.

¹⁵He rescues the afflicted in their misery, And opens their ears in time of oppression.

¹⁶Then indeed, He induced you away from the mouth of distress, And instead of it, a broad place with no constraint; And your table was full of rich food.

¹⁷“But you were full of judgment on the wicked; Judgment and justice take hold of you.

¹⁸Beware that wrath does not entice you to mockery; And do not let the greatness of the ransom turn you aside.

¹⁹Will your cry for help keep you from distress, Or all the exertions of your strength?

²⁰Do not long for the night, When people vanish in their places.

²¹Be careful, do not turn to evil, For you preferred this to misery.

²²Behold, God is exalted in His power; Who is a teacher like Him?

²³Who has appointed Him His way, And who has said, ‘You have done wrong’?

²⁴“Remember that you are to exalt His work, Of which people have sung.

²⁵All people have seen it; Mankind looks at it from afar.

²⁶Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him; The number of His years is unsearchable.

²⁷For He draws up the drops of water; They distill rain from its celestial stream,

²⁸Which clouds pour down; They drip upon mankind abundantly.

²⁹Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds, The thundering of His pavilion?

³⁰Behold, He spreads His lightning about Him, And He covers the depths of the sea.

³¹For by them He judges peoples; He gives food in abundance.

³²He covers His hands with the lightning, And commands it to strike the target.

³³Its thundering voice declares His presence; The livestock also, concerning what is coming up.

¹“At this also my heart trembles, And leaps from its place.

²Listen closely to the thunder of His voice, And the rumbling that goes out from His mouth.

³Under the whole heaven He lets it loose, And His lightning travels to the ends of the earth.

⁴After it, a voice roars; He thunders with His majestic voice, And He does not restrain the lightning when His voice is heard.

⁵God thunders wondrously with His voice, Doing great things which we do not comprehend.

⁶For to the snow He says, ‘Fall on the earth,’ And to the downpour and the rain, ‘Be strong.’

⁷He seals the hand of every person, So that all people may know His work.

⁸Then the animal goes into its lair And remains in its den.

⁹From the south comes the storm, And from the north wind the cold.

¹⁰From the breath of God ice is made, And the expanse of the waters is frozen.

¹¹He also loads the clouds with moisture; He disperses the cloud of His lightning.

¹²It changes direction, turning around by His guidance, That it may do whatever He commands it On the face of the inhabited earth.

¹³Whether for correction, or for His earth, Or for goodness, He causes it to happen.

¹⁴“Listen to this, Job; Stand and consider the wonders of God.

¹⁵Do you know how God establishes them, And makes the lightning of His clouds to shine?

¹⁶Do you know about the hovering of the clouds, The wonders of One who is perfect in knowledge,

¹⁷You whose garments are hot When the land is still because of the south wind?

¹⁸Can you, with Him, spread out the skies, Strong as a cast metal mirror?

¹⁹Teach us what we are to say to Him; We cannot present our case because of darkness.

²⁰Shall it be told Him that I would speak? Or should a man say that he would be swallowed up?

²¹“Now people do not see the light which is bright in the skies; But the wind has passed and cleared them.

²²From the north comes golden splendor; Around God is awesome majesty.

²³The Almighty—we cannot find Him; He is exalted in power And He will not violate justice and abundant righteousness.

²⁴Therefore people fear Him; He does not regard any who are wise of heart.”

¹Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind and said,

²“Who is this who darkens the divine plan By words without knowledge?

³Now tighten the belt on your waist like a man, And I shall ask you, and you inform Me!

⁴Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding,

⁵Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the measuring line over it?

⁶On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone,

⁷When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

⁸“Or who enclosed the sea with doors When it went out from the womb, bursting forth;

⁹When I made a cloud its garment, And thick darkness its swaddling bands,

¹⁰And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors,

¹¹And I said, ‘As far as this point you shall come, but no farther; And here your proud waves shall stop’?

¹²“Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, And made the dawn know its place,

¹³So that it would take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked would be shaken off from it?

¹⁴It is changed like clay under the seal; And they stand out like a garment.

¹⁵Their light is withheld from the wicked, And the uplifted arm is broken.

¹⁶“Have you entered the springs of the sea, And walked in the depth of the ocean?

¹⁷Have the gates of death been revealed to you, And have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

¹⁸Have you understood the expanse of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.

¹⁹“Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place,

²⁰That you would take it to its territory, And discern the paths to its home?

²¹You know, for you were born then, And the number of your days is great!

²²Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, And have you seen the storehouses of the hail,

²³Which I have reserved for a time of distress, For a day of war and battle?

²⁴Where is the way that the light is divided, And the east wind scattered on the earth?

²⁵“Who has split open a channel for the flood, And a way for the thunderbolt,

²⁶To bring rain on a land without people, On a desert without a person in it,

²⁷To satisfy the waste and desolate land, And to make the seeds of grass to sprout?

²⁸Does the rain have a father? Or who has fathered the drops of dew?

²⁹From whose womb has come the ice? And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?

³⁰Water becomes hard like stone, And the surface of the deep is imprisoned.

³¹“Can you tie up the chains of the Pleiades, Or untie the cords of Orion?

³²Can you bring out a constellation in its season, And guide the Bear with her satellites?

³³Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, Or do you establish their rule over the earth?

³⁴“Can you raise your voice to the clouds, So that an abundance of water will cover you?

³⁵Can you send flashes of lightning, so that they may go And say to you, ‘Here we are’?

³⁶Who has put wisdom in the innermost being, Or given understanding to the mind?

³⁷Who can count the clouds by wisdom, And pour out the water jars of the heavens,

³⁸When the dust hardens into a mass And the clods stick together?

³⁹“Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the appetite of young lions,

⁴⁰When they crouch in their hiding places, And lie in wait in their lair?

⁴¹Who prepares feed for the raven When its young cry to God, And wander about without food?