Job 36:1-15

Here Elihu took a deep breath, but kept going: “Stay with me a little longer. I’ll convince you. There’s still more to be said on God’s side. I learned all this firsthand from the Source; everything I know about justice I owe to my Maker himself. Trust me, I’m giving you undiluted truth; believe me, I know these things inside and out. “It’s true that God is all-powerful, but he doesn’t bully innocent people. For the wicked, though, it’s a different story— he doesn’t give them the time of day, but champions the rights of their victims. He never takes his eyes off the righteous; he honors them lavishly, promotes them endlessly. When things go badly, when affliction and suffering descend, God tells them where they’ve gone wrong, shows them how their pride has caused their trouble. He forces them to heed his warning, tells them they must repent of their bad life. If they obey and serve him, they’ll have a good, long life on easy street. But if they disobey, they’ll be cut down in their prime and never know the first thing about life. Angry people without God pile grievance upon grievance, always blaming others for their troubles. Living it up in sexual excesses, virility wasted, they die young. But those who learn from their suffering, God delivers from their suffering.