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Elihu Continues

I Am Frightened

37 I am frightened
    and tremble all over,
when I hear the roaring voice
    of God in the thunder,
and when I see his lightning
    flash across the sky.
God's majestic voice
    thunders his commands,[a]
creating miracles too marvelous
    for us to understand.
Snow and heavy rainstorms
make us stop and think
    about God's power,[b]
and they force animals
    to seek shelter.
The windstorms of winter strike,
10 and the breath of God
    freezes streams and rivers.
11 Rain clouds filled with lightning
    appear at God's command,
12 traveling across the sky
13     to release their cargo—
sometimes as punishment for sin,
    sometimes as kindness.

Consider Carefully

14 Job, consider carefully
    the many wonders of God.
15 Can you explain why lightning
flashes at the orders
16     of God who knows all things?
Or how he hangs the clouds
    in empty space?
17 You almost melt in the heat
of fierce desert winds
    when the sky is like brass.
18 God can hammer out the clouds
in spite of the oppressive heat,
    but can you?

19 Tell us what to say to God!
    Our minds are in the dark,
and we don't know how
    to argue our case.
20 Should I risk my life
by telling God
    that I want to speak?
21 No one can stare at the sun
after a breeze has blown
    the clouds from the sky.
22 Yet the glorious splendor
of God All-Powerful
    is brighter by far.
23 God cannot be seen—
but his power is great,
    and he is always fair.
24 And so we humans fear God,
    because he shows no respect
for those who are proud
    and think they know so much.

Footnotes

  1. 37.4 commands: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 4.
  2. 37.7 God's power: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 7.

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