Job 37 Contemporary English Version
Elihu Continues
I Am Frightened
37 I am frightened
and tremble all over,
2 when I hear the roaring voice
of God in the thunder,
3 and when I see his lightning
flash across the sky.
4 God's majestic voice
thunders his commands,[a]
5 creating miracles too marvelous
for us to understand.
6 Snow and heavy rainstorms
7 make us stop and think
about God's power,[b]
8 and they force animals
to seek shelter.
9 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.
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