1ELIHU SPOKE MORE: 2»Hear my words, you wise men, and give ear to me, you who know. 3»For the ear tests words like the palate tastes food. 4»Let us choose what is right. Let us determine among ourselves what is good. 5»Job has said: ‘I am innocent, and God has taken away my right. 6»‘In spite of being right I am counted a liar. My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’ 7»Who is there like Job, who drinks up scoffing like water? 8»Who goes in company with evildoers and walks with the wicked? 9»He has said: ‘It profits one nothing to take delight in God.’ 10»Hear me, you who have sense, far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should do wrong. 11»According to their deeds he will repay them. According to their ways he will make it befall them. 12»Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice. 13»Who gave God authority over the earth? Who has laid on him the entire world? 14»If He should determine to do so, If He should gather to himself his spirit and his breath, 15»All flesh would perish and man would return to dust. 16»But if you understand, hear this; Listen to the sound of my words. 17»Shall one who hates justice rule? And will you condemn the righteous Mighty One? 18»Should anyone even say to a king: You good-for-nothing scoundrel! Or to nobles, you wicked people! 19»The one who is righteous and mighty does not grant special favors to princes or prefer important people to poor people because his hands made them all. 20»They die suddenly in the middle of the night. People have seizures and pass away. Mighty people are taken away but not by human hands. 21»God's eyes are on a person's ways. He sees all his steps. 22There is no darkness or deep shadow where troublemakers can hide. 23»He does not have to set a time for a person in order to bring him to divine judgment. 24»He breaks mighty people into pieces without examining them and puts others in their places. 25»He knows what they do, so he overthrows them at night, and they are crushed. 26»In return for their evil, he strikes them in public. 27»This is because they turned away from following him. They did not consider any of his ways. 28»They forced the poor to cry out to him, and he hears the cry of those who suffer. 29»If God decided to do nothing at all, no one could criticize him. If he hid his face refused to assist, we would be helpless. 30»There would be nothing that nations could do to keep godless oppressors from ruling them. 31»Job, have you confessed your sins to God and promised not to sin again? 32»Have you asked God to show you your faults, and have you agreed to stop doing evil? 33»Since you object to what God does, can you expect him to do what you want? The decision is yours, not mine. Tell us now what you think. 34»Any sensible person will agree; and the wise that hear me will say 35that Job is speaking from ignorance and that nothing he says make sense. 36»Think through everything that Job says. You will see that he talks like an evil man. 37»To his sins he adds rebellion and in front of us all he mocks God.