1Elihu continued to speak [to Job],

2"Be patient with me a little longer, and I will show you that there is more to be said in God's defense.

3I will get my knowledge from far away and prove that my Creator is fair.

4Certainly, my words are not lies. The one who knows everything is [speaking] with you.

5"Certainly, God is mighty. He doesn't despise anyone. He is mighty and brave.

6He doesn't allow the wicked person to live. He grants justice to those who are oppressed.

7He doesn't take his eyes off righteous people. He seats them on thrones with kings to honor them forever.

8However, if righteous people are bound in chains and tangled in ropes of misery,

9he tells them what they've done wrong and that they've behaved arrogantly.

10He makes them listen to his warning and orders them to turn away from wrong.

11"If righteous people listen and serve [him], they will live out their days in prosperity and their years in comfort.

12But if they don't listen, they will cross the River [of Death] and die like those who have no knowledge.

13But those who have godless hearts remain angry. They don't even call for help when he chains them up.

14They die while they're young, or they live on as male prostitutes in the temples of idols.

15He rescues suffering people through their suffering, and he opens their ears through distress.

16"Yes, he lured you away from the jaws of trouble into an open area where you were not restrained, and your table was covered with rich foods.

17But you are given the judgment evil people deserve. A fair judgment will be upheld.

18Be careful that you are not led astray with riches. Don't let a large bribe turn you [to evil ways].

19Will your riches save you from having to suffer? Will all your mighty strength help you?

20Don't look forward to the night, when people disappear from their places.

21Be careful! Don't turn to evil, because you have chosen evil instead of suffering.

22"God does great things by his power. Is there any teacher like him?

23Who can tell him which way he should go? Who can say to him, 'You did wrong'?

24Remember that you should praise his work. People have sung about it.

25Every person has seen it. Mortals have looked at it from a distance.

26"Certainly, God is so great that he is beyond our understanding. The number of his years cannot be counted.

27He collects drops of water. He distills rain from his mist,

28which then drips from the clouds. It pours down on many people.

29Can anyone really understand how clouds spread out or how he thunders from his dwelling place?

30Look, he scatters his flashes of lightning around him and covers the depths of the sea.

31This is how he uses the rains to provide for people and to give them more than enough food.

32He fills his hands with lightning and orders it to hit the target.

33The thunder announces his coming. The storm announces his angry wrath.