Yes, God is exalted beyond our knowledge;
the number of His years cannot be counted.

For He makes waterdrops evaporate;
they distill the rain into its mist,

Indeed, He lured you from the jaws of distress
to a spacious and unconfined place.
Your table was spread with choice food.

Look, God shows Himself exalted by His power.
Who is a teacher like Him?

If they serve Him obediently,
they will end their days in prosperity
and their years in happiness.

God rescues the afflicted by their affliction;
He instructs them by their torment.

Then Elihu continued, saying:

Yes, God is mighty, but He despises no one;
He understands all things.

He does not remove His gaze from the righteous,
but He seats them forever with enthroned kings,
and they are exalted.

Those who have a godless heart harbor anger;
even when God binds them, they do not cry for help.

If people are bound with chains
and trapped by the cords of affliction,

Be careful that no one lures you with riches;
do not let a large ransom lead you astray.

Remember that you should praise His work,
which people have sung about.

They die in their youth;
their life ends among male cult prostitutes.

For He judges the nations with these;
He gives food in abundance.

He opens their ears to correction
and insists they repent from iniquity.

He covers His hands with lightning
and commands it to hit its mark.

For my arguments are without flaw;
one who has perfect knowledge is with you.

But if they do not obey,
they will cross the river of death
and die without knowledge.

The thunder declares His presence;
the cattle also, the approaching storm.

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Can anyone understand how the clouds spread out
or how the thunder roars from God’s pavilion?

Be patient with me a little longer, and I will inform you,
for there is still more to be said on God’s behalf.

I will get my knowledge from a distant place
and ascribe justice to my Maker.

which the clouds pour out
and shower abundantly on mankind.

God tells them what they have done
and how arrogantly they have transgressed.

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

All mankind has seen it;
people have looked at it from a distance.

Be careful that you do not turn to iniquity,
for that is why you have been tested by affliction.

Can your wealth or all your physical exertion
keep you from distress?

Yet now you are obsessed with the judgment due the wicked;
judgment and justice have seized you.

See how He spreads His lightning around Him
and covers the depths of the sea.

Who has appointed His way for Him,
and who has declared, “You have done wrong”?

Do not long for the night
when nations will disappear from their places.