1
Elihu continued:
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"Bear with me a little longer and I will show you
that there is more to be said in God's behalf.
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I get my knowledge from afar;
I will ascribe justice to my Maker.
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Be assured that my words are not false;
one perfect in knowledge is with you.
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"God is mighty, but does not despise men;
he is mighty, and firm in his purpose.
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He does not keep the wicked alive
but gives the afflicted their rights.
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He does not take his eyes off the righteous;
he enthrones them with kings and exalts them forever.
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But if men are bound in chains, held fast by cord of affliction,
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he tells them what they have done - that they have sinned arrogantly.
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He makes them listen to correction and commands them to repent of their evil.
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If they obey and serve him they will spend the rest of
their days in prosperity and their years in contentment.
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But if they do not listen, they will perish by the sword
and die without knowledge.
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"The godless in heart harbor resentment;
even when he fetters them, they do not cry for help.
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They die in their youth, among male prostitutes of the shrines.
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But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering;
he speaks to them in their affliction.
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"He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place
free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food.
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But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked;
judgment and justice have taken hold of you.
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Be careful that no one entices you by riches;
do not let a large bribe turn you aside.
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Would your wealth or even all your mighty efforsts sustain you
so you would not be in distress?
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Do not long for the night, to drag people away from their homes.
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Beware of turning to evil, which you seem to prefer to affliction.
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"God is exalted in his power.Who is a teacher like him?
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Who has prescribed his ways for him,
or said to him, 'you have done wrong'?
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Remember to extol his work, which men have praised in song.
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All mankind has seen it; men gaze on it from afar.
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How great is God - beyond our understanding!
The number of his years is past finding out.
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"He draws uop the drops of water,, which distill as rain to the streams;
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the clouds pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind.
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Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds,
how he thunders from his pavilion?
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See how he scatters his lightning about him, bathig the depths of the sea.
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This is the way he governs the nations and provides food in abundance.
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He fills his hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark.
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His thunder announces the coming storm;
even the cattle make known its approach.
