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36:1  Elihu continued to speak [to Job],
36:2  "Be patient with me a little longer, and I will show you that there is more to be said in God's defense.
36:3  I will get my knowledge from far away and prove that my Creator is fair.
36:4  Certainly, my words are not lies. The one who knows everything is [speaking] with you.
36:5  "Certainly, God is mighty. He doesn't despise anyone. He is mighty and brave.
36:6  He doesn't allow the wicked person to live. He grants justice to those who are oppressed.
36:7  He doesn't take his eyes off righteous people. He seats them on thrones with kings to honor them forever.
36:8  However, if righteous people are bound in chains and tangled in ropes of misery,
36:9  he tells them what they've done wrong and that they've behaved arrogantly.
36:10  He makes them listen to his warning and orders them to turn away from wrong.
36:11  "If righteous people listen and serve [him], they will live out their days in prosperity and their years in comfort.
36:12  But if they don't listen, they will cross the River [of Death] and die like those who have no knowledge.
36:13  But those who have godless hearts remain angry. They don't even call for help when he chains them up.
36:14  They die while they're young, or they live on as male prostitutes in the temples of idols.
36:15  He rescues suffering people through their suffering, and he opens their ears through distress.
36:16  "Yes, he lured you away from the jaws of trouble into an open area where you were not restrained, and your table was covered with rich foods.
36:17  But you are given the judgment evil people deserve. A fair judgment will be upheld.
36:18  Be careful that you are not led astray with riches. Don't let a large bribe turn you [to evil ways].
36:19  Will your riches save you from having to suffer? Will all your mighty strength help you?
36:20  Don't look forward to the night, when people disappear from their places.
36:21  Be careful! Don't turn to evil, because you have chosen evil instead of suffering.
36:22  "God does great things by his power. Is there any teacher like him?
36:23  Who can tell him which way he should go? Who can say to him, 'You did wrong'?
36:24  Remember that you should praise his work. People have sung about it.
36:25  Every person has seen it. Mortals have looked at it from a distance.
36:26  "Certainly, God is so great that he is beyond our understanding. The number of his years cannot be counted.
36:27  He collects drops of water. He distills rain from his mist,
36:28  which then drips from the clouds. It pours down on many people.
36:29  Can anyone really understand how clouds spread out or how he thunders from his dwelling place?
36:30  Look, he scatters his flashes of lightning around him and covers the depths of the sea.
36:31  This is how he uses the rains to provide for people and to give them more than enough food.
36:32  He fills his hands with lightning and orders it to hit the target.
36:33  The thunder announces his coming. The storm announces his angry wrath.