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36:1  Elihu continued to speak to Job. This is what he said:
36:2  ‘Be patient a little bit longer, so that I can teach you some more. I still have more to say to show you that God is right.
36:3  I will tell you the many different things that I know. I will show you that God, my Maker, is completely fair.
36:4  Everything that I say to you is true. I am speaking to you as someone who knows everything.
36:5  God is very powerful but he does not turn anyone away. When he decides to do something, he surely does it.
36:6  He does not allow wicked people to continue to live. But he is always fair to those who are poor and weak.
36:7  He takes care of righteous people. He gives them authority to rule like kings. He gives them honour for ever.
36:8  People who do wrong things may suffer in prison. Chains may hold their legs so that they cannot move.
36:9  When that happens, God shows them what they have done. He shows them their sins. They have done wrong things because they are proud.
36:10  He tells them this to warn them. They must turn away from wicked things.
36:11  They must obey him and agree to serve him. If they do that, they will have everything that they need. They will enjoy all the days that they live.
36:12  But if they refuse to listen to God, they will go to their graves. They will die and they still will not understand what is right.
36:13  People who turn away from God are always angry. Even when God punishes them, they do not pray for help.
36:14  They die while they are still young. Their lives finish in shame. They live among the male prostitutes who serve false gods.
36:15  But God rescues people who suffer. He uses their troubles to teach them about himself.
36:16  God has called you out of your troubles, Job. He wants you to live in a safe place where you have no problems. He wants you to have a comfortable life with plenty of good food to eat.
36:17  But now you have a lot of trouble, because God is punishing you as wicked people deserve. God is right and fair to judge you like that.
36:18  Be very careful! Do not let anyone use their riches to deceive you. Do not let them pay you a lot of money to do something that is wrong.
36:19  Even if you become rich, that would not keep you safe. Even if you were strong and powerful, that would not keep trouble away from you.
36:20  Do not wait for the night to hide what you want to do. That is the time when people disappear from their homes.
36:21  Be careful! Do not try to do wicked things. God has sent these troubles to test you. He wants to stop you doing evil things.
36:22  Yes, God is very powerful. There is no teacher as good as he is.
36:23  Nobody can tell him what he should do. No one can say to him, “You have done things that are wrong.”
36:24  People sing songs to praise God for the things that he has done. You also should remember to praise him.
36:25  People everywhere have seen the things that God has done. But we look at them from far away.
36:26  Yes, God is very great! We cannot know him completely. Nobody can count the number of his years!
36:27  It is God who pulls up water from the earth to make the clouds. Then he causes it to become rain.
36:28  The rain pours down from the clouds. There is plenty for the people on the earth.
36:29  Who understands how the clouds move across the sky? How does the noise of thunder come from God's home?
36:30  Look at the lightning that God sends all over the sky! But he causes the bottom of the sea to remain dark.
36:31  This is the way that God rules the people of the world. He sends the rain to give them plenty of food.
36:32  He sends his lightning like an arrow. He commands it to hit the right place.
36:33  He sends thunder to show that a storm is coming. Even the cows know what is happening.’