Then Elihu continued, saying:
Hear my words, you wise ones,
and listen to me, you knowledgeable ones.
Doesn’t the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?
Let us judge for ourselves what is right;
let us decide together what is good.
For Job has declared, “I am righteous,
yet God has deprived me of justice.
Would I lie about my case?
My wound is incurable,
though I am without transgression.”
What man is like Job?
He drinks derision like water.
He keeps company with evildoers
and walks with wicked men.
For he has said, “A man gains nothing
when he becomes God’s friend.”
Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding.
It is impossible for God to do wrong,
and for the Almighty to act unjustly.
For he repays a person according to his deeds,
and he gives him what his conduct deserves.
Indeed, it is true that God does not act wickedly
and the Almighty does not pervert justice.
Who gave him authority over the earth?
Who put him in charge of the entire world?
If he put his mind to it
and withdrew the spirit and breath he gave,
every living thing would perish together
and mankind would return to the dust.
If you have understanding, hear this;
listen to what I have to say.
Could one who hates justice govern the world?
Will you condemn the mighty Righteous One,
who says to a king, “Worthless man! ”
and to nobles, “Wicked men! ”?
God is not partial to princes
and does not favor the rich over the poor,
for they are all the work of his hands.
They die suddenly in the middle of the night;
people shudder, then pass away.
Even the mighty are removed without effort.
For his eyes watch over a man’s ways,
and he observes all his steps.
There is no darkness, no deep darkness,
where evildoers can hide.
God does not need to examine a person further,
that one should approach him in court.
He shatters the mighty without an investigation
and sets others in their place.
Therefore, he recognizes their deeds
and overthrows them by night, and they are crushed.
In full view of the public,
he strikes them for their wickedness,
because they turned aside from following him
and did not understand any of his ways
but caused the poor to cry out to him,
and he heard the outcry of the needy.
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