Elihu also proceeded, and said,
{Hebrew: Wait for.}Suffer me a little, and I will show thee;
For {Hebrew: there are yet words for God.}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 {Hebrew: heart.}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 afflictions;
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 {Or, pleasantness}pleasures.
But if they hearken not, they shall perish by {Or, weapons}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.
{Hebrew: Their soul dieth.}They die in youth,
And their life perisheth {Or, like}among the {Or, sodomites See Deuteronomy 23:17.}unclean.
He delivereth the afflicted {Or, in}by their affliction,
And openeth their ear {Or, by adversity}in oppression.
Yea, he would have allured thee {Hebrew: out of the mouth of.}out of distress
Into a broad place, where there is no straitness;
And that which is set on thy table would be full of fatness.
But thou {Or, hast filled up}art full of the judgment of the wicked:
Judgment and justice take hold on thee.
{Or, Because there is wrath, beware lest thou be led away by the sufficiency}For let not wrath stir thee up against chastisements;
Neither let the greatness of the ransom turn thee aside.
Will thy cry avail, that thou be not in distress,
Or all the forces of thy strength?
Desire not the night,
When peoples {Hebrew: go up.}are cut off in their place.
Take heed, regard not iniquity:
For this hast thou chosen rather than affliction.
Behold, God doeth loftily in his power:
Who is a teacher like unto him?
Who hath enjoined him his way?
Or who can say, Thou hast wrought unrighteousness?
Remember that thou magnify his work,
Whereof men have sung.
All men have looked thereon;
Man beholdeth it afar off.
Behold, God is great, and we know him not;
The number of his years is unsearchable.
For he draweth up the drops of water,
Which distil in rain {Hebrew: belonging to.}from {Or, the vapor thereof}his vapor,
Which the skies pour down
And drop upon man abundantly.
Yea, can any understand the spreadings of the clouds,
The thunderings of his pavilion?
Behold, he spreadeth his light {Or, thereon}around him;
And he {Or, covereth it with the depths of the sea}covereth the bottom of the sea.
For by these he judgeth the peoples;
He giveth food in abundance.
He covereth his hands with the {Hebrew: light.}lightning,
And giveth it a charge {Or, against the assailant}that it strike the mark.
The noise thereof telleth concerning {Or, it}him,
The cattle also concerning {Or, him}the storm that cometh up.
Querverweise zu Hiob 36,4 Hiob 36,4
But ye are forgers of lies;Ye are all physicians of no value.
Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds,The wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge?
My mouth shall speak wisdom;And the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
Will ye speak unrighteously for God,And talk deceitfully for him?
it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus;
Have not I written unto thee {The word is doubtful. Another reading is, heretofore.}excellent things {Or, in}Of counsels and knowledge,
Behold, I know your thoughts,And the devices wherewith ye would wrong me.
But Felix, having more exact knowledge concerning the Way, deferred them, saying, When Lysias the {Or, military tribune Greek: chiliarch.}chief captain shall come down, I will determine your matter.
To make thee know {Or, of a certainty the words &c.}the certainty of the words of truth,That thou mayest carry back words of truth to them that send thee?
How then comfort ye me {Or, with vanity}in vain,Seeing in your answers there remaineth only {Or, faithlessness}falsehood?
Brethren, be not children in mind: yet in malice be ye babes, but in mind be {Greek: of full age. Compare chapter 2:6.}men.
For thou hast taken pledges of thy brother for nought,And stripped the naked of their clothing.
Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink,And thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
But as for the {Hebrew: the man of arm.}mighty man, he had the {Or, land}earth;And {Hebrew: he whose person is accepted.}the honorable man, he dwelt in it.
Thou hast sent widows away empty,And the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
Therefore snares are round about thee,And sudden fear troubleth thee,
{Or, Or dost thou not see the darkness, And the flood of waters that covereth thee?}Or darkness, so that thou canst not see,And abundance of waters cover thee.
Is not God in the height of heaven?And behold the {Hebrew: head.}height of the stars, how high they are!
And thou sayest, What doth God know?Can he judge through the thick darkness?
Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he seeth not;And he walketh on the vault of heaven.
{Or, Dost thou mark}Wilt thou keep the old wayWhich wicked men have trodden?
Who were snatched away before their time,Whose foundation was poured out as a stream,
Who said unto God, Depart from us;And, What can the Almighty do {Or, to}for {Hebrew: them.}us?
Yet he filled their houses with good things:But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
The righteous see it, and are glad;And the innocent laugh them to scorn,
Saying, Surely they that did rise up against us are cut off,And the {Or, that which remained to them Or, their abundance}remnant of them the fire hath consumed.
Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: {Or,as otherwise read, Thereby shall thine increase be good.}Thereby good shall come unto thee.
Receive, I pray thee, {Or, instruction}the law from his mouth,And lay up his words in thy heart.
If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, {Or, Thou shall put away…And shall lay up}If thou put away unrighteousness far from thy tents.
And lay thou thy {Hebrew: ore.}treasure {Or, on the earth}in the dust,And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks;
And the Almighty will be thy {Hebrew: ore.}treasure,And {Or, precious silver shall be thine}precious silver unto thee.
For then shalt thou delight thyself in the Almighty,And shalt lift up thy face unto God.
Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he will hear thee;And thou shalt pay thy vows.
Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee;And light shall shine upon thy ways.
When they {Or, are made low}cast thee down, thou shalt say, There is lifting up;And {Hebrew: him that is lowly of eyes.}the humble person he will save.
He will deliver even him that is not innocent:Yea, he shall be delivered through the cleanness of thy hands.
Epaphras, who is one of you, a {Greek: bondservant.}servant of Christ Jesus, saluteth you, always striving for you in his prayers, that ye may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God.
For my mouth shall utter truth;And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
{Or, Every scripture is inspired of God, and profitable}Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for {Or, discipline}instruction which is in righteousness:
All the words of my mouth {Or, are righteousness}are in righteousness;There is nothing crooked or perverse in them.
that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.
For we are not as the many, {Or, making merchandise of the word of God. Compare 2 Peter 2:3}corrupting the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God, speak we in Christ.