36 1 Elihu showeth the power of God. 6 And his justice. 9 And wherefore he punisheth. 13 The property of the wicked.
1 Elihu also proceeded and said,
2 Suffer me a little and I will instruct thee: for I have yet to speak on God’s behalf.
3 I will fetch [a]my knowledge afar off, and will attribute righteousness unto my maker.
4 For truly my words shall not be false, and he that is [b]perfect in knowledge, speaketh with thee.
5 Behold, the mighty God casteth away none that is [c]mighty and valiant of courage.
6 He [d]maintaineth not the wicked, but he giveth judgment to the afflicted.
7 He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous, but they are with [e]kings in the throne, where he placeth them forever: thus they are exalted.
8 And if they be bound in fetters and tied with the cords of affliction,
9 Then will he show them their [f]work and their sins, because they have been proud.
10 He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth them that they return from iniquity.
11 (A)If they obey and serve him, they shall end their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures:
12 But if they will not obey, they shall pass by the sword and perish [g]without knowledge.
13 But the hypocrites [h]of heart increase the wrath: for they [i]call not when he bindeth them.
14 Their soul dieth in [j]youth, and their life among the whoremongers.
15 He delivereth the poor in his afflictions, and openeth their ear in trouble.
16 Even so would he have taken thee out of the straight place into a broad place, and not shut up beneath: and [k]that which resteth upon thy table had been full of fat.
17 But thou art full of the [l]judgment of the wicked, though judgment and equity maintain all things.
18 [m]For God’s wrath is, lest he should take thee away in thine abundance: for no multitude of gifts can deliver thee.
19 Will he regard thy riches? he regardeth not gold, nor all them that excel in strength.
20 [n]Be not careful in the night, how he destroyeth the people out of their place.
21 Take thou heed: look not to [o]iniquity: for thou hast chosen it rather than affliction.
22 Behold, God exalteth by his power: what teacher is like him?
23 Who hath appointed to him his way? or who can say, Thou hast done wickedly?
24 Remember that thou magnify his work, which men behold.
25 All men see it, and men behold it [p]afar off.
26 Behold, God is excellent, [q]and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.
27 When he restraineth the drops of water, the rain [r]poureth down by the vapor thereof,
28 Which rain the clouds do drop and let fall abundantly upon man.
29 Who can know the divisions of the clouds, and the thunders of his [s]Tabernacle?
30 Behold, he spreadeth his light upon [t]it, and covereth the [u]bottom of the sea.
31 For thereby he judgeth [v]the people, and giveth meat abundantly.
32 He covereth the light with the clouds, and commanded them to go [w]against it.
33 [x]His companion showeth him therefore, and there is anger in rising up.
Footnotes
- Job 36:3 He showeth that when we speak of God, we must lift up our spirits more high, than our natural sense is able to reach.
- Job 36:4 Thou shalt perceive that I am a faithful instructor, and that I speak to thee in the name of God.
- Job 36:5 Strong and constant, and of understanding: for these are the gifts of God, and he loveth them in man: but forasmuch as God punished now Job, it is a sign that these are not in him.
- Job 36:6 Therefore he will not preserve the wicked: but to the humble and afflicted heart he will show grace.
- Job 36:7 He preferreth the godly to honor.
- Job 36:9 He will move their hearts to feel their sins that they may come to him by repentance as he did Manasseh.
- Job 36:12 That is, in their folly or obstination, and so shall be cause of their own destruction.
- Job 36:13 Which are maliciously bent against God, and flatter themselves in their vices.
- Job 36:13 When they are in affliction, they seek not to God for succor, as Asa in 2 Chron. 16:12; Rev.16:11.
- Job 36:14 They die of some vile death, and that before they come to age.
- Job 36:16 If thou hadst been obedient to God, he would have brought thee to liberty and wealth.
- Job 36:17 Thou art altogether after the manner of the wicked: for thou dost murmur against the justice of God.
- Job 36:18 God doth punish thee, lest thou shouldest forget God in thy wealth and so perish.
- Job 36:20 Be not thou curious in seeking the cause of God’s judgments, when he destroyeth any.
- Job 36:21 And so murmur against God through impatience.
- Job 36:25 The works of God are so manifest, that a man may see them afar off, and know God by the same.
- Job 36:26 Our infirmity hindereth us so, that we cannot attain to the perfect knowledge of God.
- Job 36:27 That is, the rain cometh of those drops of water, which he keepeth in the clouds.
- Job 36:29 Meaning, of the clouds, which he calleth the Tabernacle of God.
- Job 36:30 Upon the cloud.
- Job 36:30 That men cannot come to the knowledge of the springs thereof.
- Job 36:31 He showeth that the rain hath double use: the one that it declareth God’s judgments, when it doth overflow any places, and the other that it maketh the land fruitful.
- Job 36:32 That is, one cloud to dash against another.
- Job 36:33 The cold vapor showeth him: that is, the cloud of the hot exhalation, which being taken in the cold cloud mounteth up toward the place where the fire is, and so anger is engendered: that is, noise, and thunderclaps.