Online Bible

Elihu Says God Gives the Afflicted Justice

Then Elihu continued and said,

2 “Wait for me a little, and I will show youThat there ¹is yet more to be said in God’s behalf.3 “I will take up my knowledge from afar,And I will ascribe ^arighteousness to my Maker.4 “For truly ^amy words are not a lie;One who is ¹^bperfect in knowledge is with you.5 “Behold, God is mighty but does not ^areject;He is ^bmighty in the power of His heart.6 “He does not ^akeep the wicked alive,But gives justice to ^bthe afflicted.7 “He does not ^awithdraw His eyes from the righteous;But ^bwith kings on the throneHe has seated them forever, and they are exalted.8 “And if they are bound in fetters,And are caught in the cords of ^aaffliction,9 Then He declares to them their workAnd their transgressions, that they have ^amagnified themselves.10 “^aHe opens their ear to discipline,And ^bsays that they return from wickedness.11 “If they hear and serve Him,They will ^aend their days in prosperityAnd their years in ^bpleasures.12 “But if they do not hear, they shall pass away ^aby a weaponAnd they will ^bbreathe their last without knowledge.13 “But the godless in heart lay up anger;They do not cry for help when He binds them.14 “¹They die in youth,And their life perishes among the ^acult prostitutes.15 “He delivers the afflicted in ¹their ^aaffliction,And ^bopens their ear in ²time of oppression.16 “Then indeed, He ^aenticed you from the mouth of distress,Instead of it, a broad place with no constraint;And the comfort of your table full of ¹fatness.

17 “But you were full of ^ajudgment on the wicked;Judgment and justice take hold of you.18 “Beware lest ^awrath entice you to scoffing;And do not let the greatness of the ^batonement turn you aside.19 “Will your ¹cries keep you from distress,Or all the forces of your power?20 “Do not long for ^athe night,When people ¹vanish in their place.21 “Be careful, do ^anot turn to wickedness,For you have chosen this to ^baffliction.22 “Behold, God is exalted in His power;Who is a ^ateacher like Him?23 “Who has appointed Him His way,And who has said, ‘^aYou have worked out ¹unrighteousness’?

24 “Remember that you should ^aexalt His work,Of which men have ^bsung.25 “All men have beheld it;Man looks from afar.26 “Behold, God is ^aexalted, and ^bwe do not know Him;The ^cnumber of His years is unsearchable.27 “For ^aHe draws up the drops of water,They distill rain for His ¹stream,28 Which the clouds pour down,They drip upon man abundantly.29 “Can anyone discern the ^aspreading of the clouds,The ^bthundering of His ¹pavilion?30 “Behold, He spreads His ¹lightning about Him,And He covers the depths of the sea.31 “For by these He ^ajudges peoples;He ^bgives food in abundance.32 “He covers His hands with the ¹lightning,And ^acommands it to strike the mark.33 “Its ^athundering declares about Him;The cattle also, concerning what is coming up.

Elihu Speaks of God’s Dealings with Men

Elihu continued and said,

2 “Bear with me a little longer, and I will show you,That there is yet more to say on God’s behalf.3 “I will bring my knowledge from afar,And will ascribe ^arighteousness to my Maker.4 “For truly ^amy words are not false;He who is ^bperfect in knowledge is with you.5 “Behold, God is mighty, and yet does not ^adespise anyone nor regard any as trivial;He is ^bmighty in the strength and power of understanding.6 “He does not ^aprolong the life of the wicked,But gives ^bthe afflicted their justice.7 “He does not ^awithdraw His eyes from the righteous those in right standing with Him;But ^bwith kings upon the throneHe has seated them forever, and they are exalted.8 “And if they are bound in bonds of adversity,And held by cords of ^aaffliction, Ps 107:10, 119 Then He declares to them the true character of their deedsAnd their transgressions, that they have ^aacted arrogantly with presumption and notions of self-sufficiency.10 “^aHe opens their ears to instruction and discipline,And ^bcommands that they return from evil.11 “If they hear and serve Him,They will ^aend their days in prosperityAnd their years in ^bpleasantness and joy.12 “But if they do not hear and obey, they will die ^aby the sword of God’s destructive judgmentsAnd they will ^bdie in ignorance without true knowledge.13 “But the godless in heart store up anger at the divine discipline;They do not cry to Him for help when He binds them with cords of affliction. Rom 2:514 “They die in youth,And their life ends among the ¹^acult prostitutes. Deut 23:1715 “He rescues the afflicted in their ^aaffliction,And ^bopens their ears so that they pay attention to His voice in times of oppression.16 “Then indeed, He ^aenticed you from the mouth of distress and confinement,Into a broad place where there is no constraint or distress;And that which was set on your table was full of fatness (rich food) .

17 “But you Job were full of ^ajudgment on the wicked,Judgment and justice take hold of you.18 “Do not let ^awrath entice you into scoffing;And do not let the greatness and the extent of the ^bransom turn you aside.19 “Will your wealth be sufficient to keep you from the confinement of distress,Or will all the force of your strength do it?20 “Do not long for ^athe night,When people vanish from their places.21 “Take heed and be careful, ^ado not turn to wickedness,For you have chosen this the vice of complaining against God rather than learning from ^baffliction.22 “Behold, God is exalted in His power;Who is a ruler or a ^ateacher like Him?23 “Who has appointed God His way,And who can say to Him, ‘^aYou have done wrong’?

24 “Remember that you should ^amagnify God’s work,Of which men have ^bsung.25 “All men have seen God’s work;Man looks at it from a distance.26 “Behold, God is ^aexalted, and ^bwe do not know Him;The ^cnumber of His years is unsearchable. 1+@Cor 13:1227 “For ^aHe draws up the drops of water,They distill rain from the mist,28 Which the clouds pour down,They drop abundantly upon mankind.”29 “Can anyone understand the ^aspreading of the cloudsOr the ^bthundering of His pavilion? Ps 18:11; Is 40:2230 “Behold, He spreads His lightning around Him against the dark clouds,And He covers the depths of the sea.31 “For by these mighty acts He ^ajudges the peoples;He ^bgives food in abundance.32 “He covers His hands with the lightning,And ^acommands it to strike the mark.33 “His ^athundering voice declares awesomely His presence;The cattle also are told of His coming storm.