1Moreover, Elihu continued to speak:

2“Listen to my words, you wise men;
hear me, you who have knowledge.

3For the ear tries words
as the palate tastes food.

4Let us choose for ourselves what is just:
let us discover among ourselves what is good.

5For Job has said, 'I am righteous,
but God has taken away my rights.

6Regardless of my rights, I am considered to be a liar.
My wound is incurable, although I am without sin.'

7What man is like Job,
who drinks up mockery like water,

8who goes around in the company of those who do evil,
and who walks with wicked men?

9For he has said, 'It is no use to a person
to take pleasure in doing what God wants.'

10So listen to me, you men of understanding:
far be it from God that he should do wickedness;
far be it from the Almighty that he should commit sin.

11For he pays back a person's work;
he makes every man come upon the reward of his own ways.

12Indeed, God does nothing wicked,
nor does the Almighty ever pervert justice.

13Who put him in charge over the earth?
Who put the whole world under him?

14If he ever set his intentions only on himself,
and if he ever gathered back to himself his spirit and his breath,

15then all flesh would perish together;
mankind would return to dust again.

16If now you have understanding, listen to this;
listen to the sound of my words.

17Can one who hates justice govern?
Will you condemn God, who is righteous and mighty?

18God, who says to a king, 'You are vile,'
or says to nobles, 'You are wicked'?

19God, who does not show favoritism to leaders
and does not acknowledge rich people more than poor,
for they all are the work of his hands.

20In a moment they will die;
at midnight people will be shaken and will pass away;
mighty people will be taken away, but not by human hands.

21For God's eyes are upon a person's ways;
he sees all his steps.

22There is no darkness, no thick gloom
where the doers of iniquity may hide themselves.

23For God does not need to examine a person further;
there is no need for any person to go before him in judgment.

24He breaks mighty men into pieces for their ways that need no further investigation;
he puts others in their places.

25In this way he has knowledge of their deeds;
he overthrows these people in the night; they are destroyed.

26In the open sight of others, he kills them for their wicked deeds like criminals

27because they turned away from following him
and refused to acknowledge any of his ways.

28In this way, they made the cry of poor people come to him;
he heard the cry of afflicted people.

29When he stays silent, who can condemn him?
If he hides his face, who can perceive him?
He rules over nation and individual alike,

30so that a godless man may not rule,
so that there may be no one to entrap people.

31Suppose someone says to God,
'I am certainly guilty, but I will not sin any longer;

32teach me what I cannot see;
I have committed sin, but I will do it no longer.'

33Do you think that God will punish that person's sin, since you dislike what God does?
You must choose, not I.
So say what it is that you know.

34Men of understanding will say to me—
indeed, every wise man who hears me will say,

35'Job speaks without knowledge;
his words are without wisdom.'

36If only Job were put on trial in the smallest details of his case
because of his talking like wicked men.

37For he adds rebellion to his sin;
he claps his hands in mockery in our midst;
he piles up words against God.”