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Job 36 (GN)

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¹ Be patient and listen a little longer to what I am saying on God's behalf. ² (SEE 36:1) ³ My knowledge is wide; I will use what I know to show that God, my Creator, is just. ⁴ Nothing I say to you is false; you see before you a truly wise man. ⁵ How strong God is! He despises no one; there is nothing he doesn't understand. ⁶ He does not let sinners live on, and he always treats the poor with justice. ⁷ He protects those who are righteous; he allows them to rule like kings and lets them be honored forever. ⁸ But if people are bound in chains, suffering for what they have done, ⁹ God shows them their sins and their pride. ¹⁰ He makes them listen to his warning to turn away from evil. ¹¹ If they obey God and serve him, they live out their lives in peace and prosperity. ¹² But if not, they will die in ignorance and cross the stream into the world of the dead. ¹³ Those who are godless keep on being angry, and even when punished, they don't pray for help. ¹⁴ They die while they are still young, worn out by a life of disgrace. ¹⁵ But God teaches people through suffering and uses distress to open their eyes. ¹⁶ God brought you out of trouble, and let you enjoy security; your table was piled high with food. ¹⁷ But now you are being punished as you deserve. ¹⁸ Be careful not to let bribes deceive you, or riches lead you astray. ¹⁹ It will do you no good to cry out for help; all your strength can't help you now. ²⁰ Don't wish for night to come, the time when nations will perish. ²¹ Be careful not to turn to evil; your suffering was sent to keep you from it. ²² Remember how great is God's power; he is the greatest teacher of all. ²³ No one can tell God what to do or accuse him of doing evil. ²⁴ He has always been praised for what he does; you also must praise him. ²⁵ Everyone has seen what he has done; but we can only watch from a distance. ²⁶ We cannot fully know his greatness or count the number of his years. ²⁷ It is God who takes water from the earth and turns it into drops of rain. ²⁸ He lets the rain pour from the clouds in showers for all human beings. ²⁹ No one knows how the clouds move or how the thunder roars through the sky, where God dwells. ³⁰ He sends lightning through all the sky, but the depths of the sea remain dark. ³¹ This is how he feeds the people and provides an abundance of food. ³² He seizes the lightning with his hands and commands it to hit the mark. ³³ Thunder announces the approaching storm, and the cattle know it is coming.