微读圣经

Elihu Speaks of God’s Dealings with Men

1Elihu continued and said,

2“Bear with me a little longer, and I will show you,

That there is yet more to say on God’s behalf.

3I will bring my knowledge from afar,

And will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.

4For truly my words are not false;

He who is perfect in knowledge is with you.

5Behold, God is mighty, and yet does not despise anyone [nor regard any as trivial];

He is mighty in the strength and power of understanding.

6He does not prolong the life of the wicked,

But gives the afflicted their justice.

7He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous [those in right standing with Him];

But with kings upon the throne

He has seated them forever, and they are exalted.

8And if they are bound in bonds [of adversity],

And held by cords of affliction,

9Then He declares to them [the true character of] their deeds

And their transgressions, that they have acted arrogantly [with presumption and notions of self-sufficiency].

10He opens their ears to instruction and discipline,

And commands that they return from evil.

11If they hear and serve Him,

They will end their days in prosperity

And their years in pleasantness and joy.

12But if they do not hear and obey, they will die by the sword [of God’s destructive judgments]

And they will die [in ignorance] without [true] knowledge.

13But the godless in heart store up anger [at the divine discipline];

They do not cry [to Him] for help when He binds them [with cords of affliction].

14They die in youth,

And their life ends among the I.e. those practicing sodomy and prostitution in pagan religious rites.cult prostitutes.

15He rescues the afflicted in their affliction,

And opens their ears [so that they pay attention to His voice] in times of oppression.

16Then indeed, He enticed you from the mouth of distress and confinement,

Into a broad place where there is no constraint or distress;

And that which was set on your table was full of fatness (rich food).

17“But you [Job] were full of judgment on the wicked,

Judgment and justice take hold of you.

18Do not let wrath entice you into scoffing;

And do not let the greatness and the extent of the ransom turn you aside.

19Will your wealth [be sufficient to] keep you from [the confinement of] distress,

Or will all the force of your strength do it?

20Do not long for the night,

When people vanish from their places.

21Take heed and be careful, do not turn to wickedness,

For you have chosen this [the vice of complaining against God] rather than [learning from] affliction.

22Behold, God is exalted in His power;

Who is a ruler or a teacher like Him?

23Who has appointed God His way,

And who can say [to Him], ‘You have done wrong’?

24“Remember that you should magnify God’s work,

Of which men have sung.

25All men have seen God’s work;

Man looks at it from a distance.

26Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him;

The number of His years is unsearchable.

27For He draws up the drops of water,

They distill rain from the mist,

28Which the clouds pour down,

They drop abundantly upon mankind.”

29“Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds

Or the thundering of His pavilion?

30Behold, He spreads His lightning around Him [against the dark clouds],

And He covers the depths of the sea.

31For by these [mighty acts] He judges the peoples;

He gives food in abundance.

32He covers His hands with the lightning,

And commands it to strike the mark.

33His thundering voice declares [awesomely] His presence;

The cattle also are told of His coming storm.