God reigns over nations and peoples, preventing 'the godless from ruling,' suggesting that divine governance of history prevents the triumph of the wicked. This verse asserts that God's providential control of political history ensures that ultimate power rests with the righteous or at least prevents evil from achieving absolute dominion. Elihu uses this affirmation of divine providential governance to suggest that the universe is ordered justly at the level of nations and peoples. Yet the verse also presents a problem: if God prevents the godless from ruling at the level of nations, why does he not prevent the godless from ruling within individual lives, or prevent the righteous from suffering unjustly? The verse suggests that divine justice operates more reliably at the macro level of history than at the micro level of individual experience, a distinction that does not reduce Job's suffering or answer his complaint. The verse demonstrates a pattern in Elihu's arguments: he can affirm divine justice at a sufficient distance from Job's particular suffering, but when focused directly on Job's case, the arguments become less persuasive.

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