1Then Elihu continued, saying:

2Be patient with me a little longer, and I will inform you,

for there is still more to be said on God’s behalf.

3I will get my knowledge from a distant place

and ascribe justice to my Maker.

4Indeed, my words are not false;

one who has complete knowledge is with you.

5Yes, God is mighty, but he despises no one;

he understands all things.a a

6He does not keep the wicked alive,a

but he gives justice to the oppressed.

7He does not withdraw his gaze from the righteous,

but he seats them forever with enthroned kings,

and they are exalted.

8If people are bound with chains

and trapped by the cords of affliction,

9God tells them what they have done

and how arrogantly they have transgressed.

10He opens their earsa to correction

and tells them to repent from iniquity.

11If they listen and serve him,

they will end their days in prosperity

and their years in happiness.a

12But if they do not listen,

they will cross the river of deathA

and die without knowledge.a

13Those who have a godless heart harbor anger;

even when God binds them, they do not cry for help.

14They die in their youth;

their life ends among male cult prostitutes.a

15God rescues the afflicted by their affliction;

he instructs them by their torment.

16Indeed, he lured you from the jawsA of distress

to a spacious and unconfined place.

Your table was spread with choice food.

17Yet now you are obsessed with the judgment due the wicked;

judgment and justice have seized you.

18Be careful that no one lures you with riches;A

do not let a large ransomB lead you astray.a

19Can your wealthA or all your physical exertion

keep you from distress?a

20Do not long for the night

when nations will disappear from their places.

21Be careful that you do not turn to iniquity,

for that is why you have been tested byA affliction.

22Look, God shows himself exalted by his power.

Who is a teacher like him?

23Who has appointed his way for him,

and who has declared, “You have done wrong”?a

24Remember that you should praise his work,

which people have sung about.a

25All mankind has seen it;

people have looked at it from a distance.a

26Yes, God is exalted beyond our knowledge;a

the number of his years cannot be counted.b

27For he makes waterdrops evaporate;A

they distill the rain into itsB mist,a

28which the clouds pour out

and shower abundantly on mankind.

29Can anyone understand how the clouds spread out

or how the thunder roars from God’s pavilion?a

30See how he spreads his lightninga around him

and covers the depths of the sea.

31For he judges the nations with these;

he gives food in abundance.a

32He covers his hands with lightning

and commands it to hit its mark.

33TheA thunder declares his presence;B

the cattle also, the approaching storm.