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34:1  Then Elihu continued, saying:
34:2  Hear my words, you wise ones, and listen to me, you knowledgeable ones.
34:3  Doesn’t the ear test words as the palate tastes food?
34:4  Let us judge for ourselves what is right; let us decide together what is good.
34:5  For Job has declared, “I am righteous, yet God has deprived me of justice.
34:6  Would I lie about my case? My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.”
34:7  What man is like Job? He drinks derision like water.
34:8  He keeps company with evildoers and walks with wicked men.
34:9  For he has said, “A man gains nothing when he becomes God’s friend.”
34:10  Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding. It is impossible for God to do wrong, and for the Almighty to act unjustly.
34:11  For he repays a person according to his deeds, and he gives him what his conduct deserves.
34:12  Indeed, it is true that God does not act wickedly and the Almighty does not pervert justice.
34:13  Who gave him authority over the earth? Who put him in charge of the entire world?
34:14  If he put his mind to it and withdrew the spirit and breath he gave,
34:15  every living thing would perish together and mankind would return to the dust.
34:16  If you have understanding, hear this; listen to what I have to say.
34:17  Could one who hates justice govern the world? Will you condemn the mighty Righteous One,
34:18  who says to a king, “Worthless man!” and to nobles, “Wicked men!”?
34:19  God is not partial to princes and does not favor the rich over the poor, for they are all the work of his hands.
34:20  They die suddenly in the middle of the night; people shudder, then pass away. Even the mighty are removed without effort.
34:21  For his eyes watch over a man’s ways, and he observes all his steps.
34:22  There is no darkness, no deep darkness, where evildoers can hide.
34:23  God does not need to examine a person further, that one should approach him in court.
34:24  He shatters the mighty without an investigation and sets others in their place.
34:25  Therefore, he recognizes their deeds and overthrows them by night, and they are crushed.
34:26  In full view of the public, he strikes them for their wickedness,
34:27  because they turned aside from following him and did not understand any of his ways
34:28  but caused the poor to cry out to him, and he heard the outcry of the needy.
34:29  But when God is silent, who can declare him guilty? When he hides his face, who can see him? Yet he watches over both individuals and nations,
34:30  so that godless men should not rule or ensnare the people.
34:31  Suppose someone says to God, “I have endured my punishment; I will no longer act wickedly.
34:32  Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I won’t do it again.”
34:33  Should God repay you on your terms when you have rejected his? You must choose, not I! So declare what you know.
34:34  Reasonable men will say to me, along with the wise men who hear me,
34:35  “Job speaks without knowledge; his words are without insight.”
34:36  If only Job were tested to the limit, because his answers are like those of wicked men.
34:37  For he adds rebellion to his sin; he scornfully claps in our presence, while multiplying his words against God.