Elihu speaks for the 4th time
1Elihu spoke again. He said:
2‘Job, listen to me a little longer.
I want to say something more.
I want to tell you
what God wants you to hear.
3I will show you how much I know.
I want to show you that God, who made me, is fair.
4You can believe the words
I say, because I speak the truth.
5You must remember that God is powerful.
He does not think that some people are unimportant.
He is so great that He understands everything.
6He does not keep sinful people alive,
but He is good to people who can not help themselves.
7He always protects people
who do what is right.
He puts them on thrones like kings,
and they become important forever.
8If they become prisoners in chains
and they suffer,
9it is because God makes them
feel what they did wrong
when they were proud.
10He makes them obedient
to everything that He wants them to do.
He tells them to stop doing things
that are wrong.
11If they listen to Him and serve Him,
then all will be well with them.
They will be happy,
and they will succeed all their lives.
12But if they don't obey Him, they will die.
They will die because they do not know
what God wants them to do.
13People who don't believe in God
and don't serve Him
make God even more angry,
because when they become prisoners
they don't pray to Him and ask Him for help.
14Those people die when they are young
because they do very bad things
like prostitutes do.
15God lets people suffer
so that He can save them.
He lets them suffer so that He
can teach them to become obedient.
16Job, God is going to help you,
and you will not suffer anymore.
All will be well with you again,
and there will be good food on your table.
17But He is punishing you now
like He punishes people who have done wrong.
He decided to punish you
and you must accept it.
18You are angry now but that
must not make you choose to do wrong.
Don't let bribe money make you do wrong.
19It will not help if you shout
when you suffer
and you ask someone for help.
Not even your strength will help you now.
20Do not hope that death
or darkness will come
and take you away or cover you
so that no one can see you.
21Be careful not to turn_to_sin
because you think that doing wrong
will be easier than suffering.
22Remember, God is great and powerful,
and there is no one who can teach like He does.
23No one can tell Him what He must do
and no one can tell Him
that He has done wrong.
24Do not forget to praise
the things that He does.
People have always sung
about the things that He has done.
25Everyone has seen what God has done,
but they can only see it from far away,
and they don't fully understand it.
26Remember, God is great.
We will never know how great He is
and no one knows how old He is.
27He takes drops of water
from the earth and He sends rain or mist.
28The clouds give the rain
and water falls onto all people.
29No one understands how the clouds
come together and how
the thunder roars where God lives.
30God makes lightning strike
everywhere, but it stays dark
deep down in the sea.
31He rules. He gives the rain
and everyone has more than enough food to eat.
32He takes the lightning in his hand,
and He sends it where He wants it to go.
33Thunder roars and shows
us that a storm is coming.
Cattle also know when it is coming.’
