Then Elihu continued and said,

Hear my words, you wise men; And you who know, give ear to me.

For the ear tries words As the palate tastes food.

Let us choose for ourselves what is right; Let us know among ourselves what is good.

For Job has said, I am righteous, And God has taken away my right;

Should I lie against my right? My arrow wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.

What man is like Job, Who drinks up scoffing like water,

Who goes in company with the workers of iniquity And walks with wicked men?

For he has said, It does not profit a man To delight himself in God.

Therefore, you men of understanding, hear me: Far be it from God that He would do evil, And from the Almighty that He would commit iniquity.

For He will render a man's work to him And will cause a man to find that which is according to his own way.

Indeed in all certainty God will not do evil, And the Almighty will not pervert justice.

Who has ever put the earth in His charge? Or who has ever set in order the whole world?

If He were to consider Himself only, He would gather back to Himself His Spirit and His breath;

All flesh would perish together, And man would return to dust.

If then you have understanding, hear this; Give ear to the voice of my words.

Shall one who hates justice govern? And will you condemn the just and mighty One,

He who says to a king, You worthless one! And to nobles, You wicked one!

He who does not respect the persons of princes, Nor regard the rich man more than the poor, For they are all the work of His hands?

In a moment they die, and in the middle of the night The people are shaken, and they pass away; And the mighty are taken away, but by no human hand.

For His eyes are upon the ways of a man, And He sees all his steps.

There is no darkness and no shadow of death Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.

For He does not need to consider a man further, That he should go to God in litigation.

He breaks mighty men in pieces without inquiry And puts others in their stead.

Hence He knows their actions, And He overturns them in the night so that they are crushed.

He strikes them as He would evil men, In a place where all can see;

Because they turned aside from following after Him And would not regard any of His ways,

So that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him, And He heard the cry of the afflicted.

When He is silent, who can condemn Him? When He hides His face, who can behold Him? He does so toward a nation and toward a man alike,

That no profane man would reign, that there would be no snares for the people.

For has anyone ever said to God, I have borne chastisement; I will offend no more;

What I do not see teach me; If I have committed iniquity, I will do it no more?

Should He recompense to fit you, since you have rejected it? For you must choose, and not I. So speak what you know.

Men of understanding will say to me, As well as the man of wisdom who hears me,

Job has spoken without knowledge, And his words are without insight.

I wish that Job were tried to the limit Because of his answering like evil men.

For he adds rebellion to his sin; Among us he claps his hands And multiplies his words against God.