[1] Elihu continued talking. He said:
[2] “Be patient with me a little longer. God has a few more words ˻that he wants me to say˼.
[3] I will share my knowledge with everyone. God made me and I will prove that God is fair.
[4] Job, I am telling the truth. I know what I am talking about.
[5] “God is very powerful, but he doesn’t hate people. God is very powerful, but he is also very wise.
[6] God won’t let evil people live. God always treats poor people fairly.
[7] God watches over people who live right. He lets good people be rulers. God gives good people honor forever.
[8] So if people are punished, if they are tied with chains and ropes then they did something wrong.
[9] And God will tell them what they did. God will tell him that they sinned. God will tell him that they were proud.
[10] God will force those people to listen to his warning. He will command them to stop sinning.
[11] If those people listen to God, and obey him, then God will make them successful and they will live a happy life.
[12] But if those people refuse to obey God, then they will be destroyed. They will die like fools.
[13] “People that don’t care about God are always bitter. Even when God punishes them, they refuse to pray to God for help.
[14] Those people will die when they are still young, like the male prostitutes.
[15] But God will humble people from their troubles. God uses those troubles to make people wake up and listen to him.
[16] “Job, God wants to help you. God wants to get you out of trouble. God wants to make life easy for you. God wants to put plenty of food on your table.
[17] But now, Job, you were judged guilty. So you were punished like an evil man.
[18] Job, don’t let riches fool you. Don’t let money change your mind.
[19] Your money can’t help you now. And powerful people can’t help you either!
[20] Don’t wish for the night to come. People try to disappear into the night. ˻They think they can hide from God.˼
[21] Job, you have suffered a lot. But don’t choose evil. Be careful not to do wrong.
[22] “Look, God’s power makes him great! God is the greatest teacher of all.
[23] No person can tell God what to do. No person can say to God, 'God, you have done wrong.’
[24] “Remember to praise God for the things he did. People have written many songs praising God.
[25] Every person can see what God did. People in faraway countries can see those things.
[26] Yes, God is great. But we can’t understand his greatness. We don’t know how long God has lived.
[27] “God takes up water from the earth and changes it into mist and rain.
[28] So the clouds pour out the water, and the rain falls on many people.
[29] No person can understand how God spreads the clouds out or how the thunder rumbles in the sky.
[30] Look, God spread the lightning over the earth and covered the deepest part of the ocean.
[31] God uses them to control the nations and to give them plenty of food.
[32] God grabs the lightning with his hands, and commands it to hit where he wants.
[33] The thunder warns that a storm is coming. So even the cattle know it is coming.