Job 36:1-15
Job 36:1-15 The Message (MSG)
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.
Job 36:1-15 King James Version (KJV)
Elihu also proceeded, and said, Suffer me a little, and I will shew thee That I have yet to speak on God's behalf. I will fetch my knowledge from afar, And will ascribe righteousness to my Maker. For truly my words shall not be false: He that is perfect in knowledge is with thee. Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: He is mighty in strength and wisdom. He preserveth not the life of the wicked: But giveth right to the poor. He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous: But with kings are they on the throne; Yea, he doth establish them for ever, and they are exalted. And if they be bound in fetters, And be holden in cords of affliction; Then he sheweth them their work, And their transgressions that they have exceeded. He openeth also their ear to discipline, And commandeth that they return from iniquity. If they obey and serve him, They shall spend their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasures. But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, And they shall die without knowledge. But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath: They cry not when he bindeth them. They die in youth, And their life is among the unclean. He delivereth the poor in his affliction, And openeth their ears in oppression.
Job 36:1-15 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
Then Elihu continued and said, “Wait for me a little, and I will show you That there is yet more to be said in God’s behalf. I will fetch my knowledge from afar, And I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker. For truly my words are not false; One who is perfect in knowledge is with you. Behold, God is mighty but does not despise any; He is mighty in strength of understanding. He does not keep the wicked alive, But gives justice to the afflicted. He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous; But with kings on the throne He has seated them forever, and they are exalted. And if they are bound in fetters, And are caught in the cords of affliction, Then He declares to them their work And their transgressions, that they have magnified themselves. He opens their ear to instruction, And commands that they return from evil. If they hear and serve Him, They will end their days in prosperity And their years in pleasures. But if they do not hear, they shall perish by the sword And they will die without knowledge. But the godless in heart lay up anger; They do not cry for help when He binds them. They die in youth, And their life perishes among the cult prostitutes. He delivers the afflicted in their affliction, And opens their ear in time of oppression.
Job 36:1-15 New Century Version (NCV)
Elihu continued: “Listen to me a little longer, and I will show you that there is more to be said for God. What I know comes from far away. I will show that my Maker is right. You can be sure that my words are not false; one who really knows is with you. “God is powerful, but he does not hate people; he is powerful and sure of what he wants to do. He will not keep evil people alive, but he gives the poor their rights. He always watches over those who do right; he sets them on thrones with kings and they are honored forever. If people are bound in chains, or if trouble, like ropes, ties them up, God tells them what they have done, that they have sinned in their pride. God makes them listen to his warning and commands them to change from doing evil. If they obey and serve him, the rest of their lives will be successful, and the rest of their years will be happy. But if they do not listen, they will die by the sword, and they will die without knowing why. “Those who have wicked hearts hold on to anger. Even when God punishes them, they do not cry for help. They die while they are still young, and their lives end in disgrace. But God saves those who suffer through their suffering; he gets them to listen through their pain.
Job 36:1-15 American Standard Version (ASV)
Elihu also proceeded, and said, Suffer me a little, and I will show thee; For I have yet somewhat to say on God’s behalf. I will fetch my knowledge from afar, And will ascribe righteousness to my Maker. For truly my words are not false: One that is perfect in knowledge is with thee. Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: He is mighty in strength of understanding. He preserveth not the life of the wicked, But giveth to the afflicted their right. He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous: But with kings upon the throne He setteth them for ever, and they are exalted. And if they be bound in fetters, And be taken in the cords of affliction; Then he showeth them their work, And their transgressions, that they have behaved themselves proudly. He openeth also their ear to instruction, And commandeth that they return from iniquity. If they hearken and serve him, They shall spend their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasures. But if they hearken not, they shall perish by the sword, And they shall die without knowledge. But they that are godless in heart lay up anger: They cry not for help when he bindeth them. They die in youth, And their life perisheth among the unclean. He delivereth the afflicted by their affliction, And openeth their ear in oppression.
Job 36:1-15 New International Version (Anglicised) (NIVUK)
Elihu continued: ‘Bear with me a little longer and I will show you that there is more to be said on God’s behalf. I get my knowledge from afar; I will ascribe justice to my Maker. Be assured that my words are not false; one who has perfect knowledge is with you. ‘God is mighty, but despises no-one; he is mighty, and firm in his purpose. He does not keep the wicked alive but gives the afflicted their rights. He does not take his eyes off the righteous; he enthrones them with kings and exalts them for ever. But if people are bound in chains, held fast by cords of affliction, he tells them what they have done – that they have sinned arrogantly. He makes them listen to correction and commands them to repent of their evil. If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment. But if they do not listen, they will perish by the sword and die without knowledge. ‘The godless in heart harbour resentment; even when he fetters them, they do not cry for help. They die in their youth, among male prostitutes of the shrines. But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction.
Job 36:1-15 New King James Version (NKJV)
Elihu also proceeded and said: “Bear with me a little, and I will show you That there are yet words to speak on God’s behalf. I will fetch my knowledge from afar; I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker. For truly my words are not false; One who is perfect in knowledge is with you. “Behold, God is mighty, but despises no one; He is mighty in strength of understanding. He does not preserve the life of the wicked, But gives justice to the oppressed. He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous; But they are on the throne with kings, For He has seated them forever, And they are exalted. And if they are bound in fetters, Held in the cords of affliction, Then He tells them their work and their transgressions— That they have acted defiantly. He also opens their ear to instruction, And commands that they turn from iniquity. If they obey and serve Him, They shall spend their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasures. But if they do not obey, They shall perish by the sword, And they shall die without knowledge. “But the hypocrites in heart store up wrath; They do not cry for help when He binds them. They die in youth, And their life ends among the perverted persons. He delivers the poor in their affliction, And opens their ears in oppression.
Job 36:1-15 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Elihu continued and said, “Bear with me a little longer, and I will show you, That there is yet more to say on God’s behalf. “I will bring my knowledge from afar, And will ascribe righteousness to my Maker. “For truly my words are not false; He who is perfect in knowledge is with you. “Behold, God is mighty, and yet does not despise anyone [nor regard any as trivial]; He is mighty in the strength and power of understanding. “He does not prolong the life of the wicked, But gives the afflicted their justice. “He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous [those in right standing with Him]; But with kings upon the throne He has seated them forever, and they are exalted. “And if they are bound in bonds [of adversity], And held by cords of affliction, [Ps 107:10, 11] Then He declares to them [the true character of] their deeds And their transgressions, that they have acted arrogantly [with presumption and notions of self-sufficiency]. “He opens their ears to instruction and discipline, And commands that they return from evil. “If they hear and serve Him, They will end their days in prosperity And their years in pleasantness and joy. “But if they do not hear and obey, they will die by the sword [of God’s destructive judgments] And they will die [in ignorance] without [true] knowledge. “But the godless in heart store up anger [at the divine discipline]; They do not cry [to Him] for help when He binds them [with cords of affliction]. [Rom 2:5] “They die in youth, And their life ends among the cult prostitutes. [Deut 23:17] “He rescues the afflicted in their affliction, And opens their ears [so that they pay attention to His voice] in times of oppression.
Job 36:1-15 New Living Translation (NLT)
Elihu continued speaking: “Let me go on, and I will show you the truth. For I have not finished defending God! I will present profound arguments for the righteousness of my Creator. I am telling you nothing but the truth, for I am a man of great knowledge. “God is mighty, but he does not despise anyone! He is mighty in both power and understanding. He does not let the wicked live but gives justice to the afflicted. He never takes his eyes off the innocent, but he sets them on thrones with kings and exalts them forever. If they are bound in chains and caught up in a web of trouble, he shows them the reason. He shows them their sins of pride. He gets their attention and commands that they turn from evil. “If they listen and obey God, they will be blessed with prosperity throughout their lives. All their years will be pleasant. But if they refuse to listen to him, they will cross over the river of death, dying from lack of understanding. For the godless are full of resentment. Even when he punishes them, they refuse to cry out to him for help. They die when they are young, after wasting their lives in immoral living. But by means of their suffering, he rescues those who suffer. For he gets their attention through adversity.
Job 36:1-15 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
And Elihu continued, and said: “Bear with me a little, and I will show you, for I have yet something to say on God’s behalf. I will get my knowledge from afar and ascribe righteousness to my Maker. For truly my words are not false; one who is perfect in knowledge is with you. “Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise any; he is mighty in strength of understanding. He does not keep the wicked alive, but gives the afflicted their right. He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous, but with kings on the throne he sets them forever, and they are exalted. And if they are bound in chains and caught in the cords of affliction, then he declares to them their work and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly. He opens their ears to instruction and commands that they return from iniquity. If they listen and serve him, they complete their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasantness. But if they do not listen, they perish by the sword and die without knowledge. “The godless in heart cherish anger; they do not cry for help when he binds them. They die in youth, and their life ends among the cult prostitutes. He delivers the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ear by adversity.