Elihu Defends God’s Justice

34:1 Elihu answered: 34:2 “Listen to my words, you wise men; hear me, you learned men. 34:3 For the ear assesses words as the mouth tastes food. 34:4 Let us evaluate for ourselves what is right; let us come to know among ourselves what is good. 34:5 For Job says, ‘I am innocent, but God turns away my right. 34:6 Concerning my right, should I lie? My wound is incurable, although I am without transgression.’ 34:7 What man is like Job, who drinks derision like water! 34:8 He goes about in company with evildoers, he goes along with wicked men. 34:9 For he says, ‘It does not profit a man when he makes his delight with God.’ 34:10 “Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding. Far be it from God to do wickedness, from the Almighty to do evil. 34:11 For he repays a person for his work, and according to the conduct of a person, he causes the consequences to find him. 34:12 Indeed, in truth, God does not act wickedly, and the Almighty does not pervert justice. 34:13 Who entrusted to him the earth? And who put him over the whole world? 34:14 If God were to set his heart on it, and gather in his spirit and his breath, 34:15 all flesh would perish together and human beings would return to dust. 34:16 “If you have understanding, listen to this, hear what I have to say. 34:17 Do you really think that one who hates justice can govern? And will you declare guilty the supremely righteous One, 34:18 who says to a king, ‘Worthless man’ and to nobles, ‘Wicked men,’ 34:19 who shows no partiality to princes, and does not take note of the rich more than the poor, because all of them are the work of his hands? 34:20 In a moment they die, in the middle of the night, people are shaken and they pass away. The mighty are removed effortlessly. 34:21 For his eyes are on the ways of an individual, he observes all a person’s steps. 34:22 There is no darkness, and no deep darkness, where evildoers can hide themselves. 34:23 For he does not still consider a person, that he should come before God in judgment. 34:24 He shatters the great without inquiry, and sets up others in their place. 34:25 Therefore, he knows their deeds, he overthrows them in the night and they are crushed. 34:26 He strikes them for their wickedness, in a place where people can see, 34:27 because they have turned away from following him, and have not understood any of his ways, 34:28 so that they caused the cry of the poor to come before him, so that he hears the cry of the needy. 34:29 But if God is quiet, who can condemn him? If he hides his face, then who can see him? Yet he is over the individual and the nation alike, 34:30 so that the godless man should not rule, and not lay snares for the people. 34:31 “Has anyone said to God, ‘I have endured chastisement, but I will not act wrongly any more. 34:32 Teach me what I cannot see. If I have done evil, I will do so no more.’ 34:33 Is it your opinion that God should recompense it, because you reject this? But you must choose, and not I, so tell us what you know. 34:34 Men of understanding say to me – any wise man listening to me says – 34:35 that Job speaks without knowledge and his words are without understanding. 34:36 But Job will be tested to the end, because his answers are like those of wicked men. 34:37 For he adds transgression to his sin; in our midst he claps his hands, and multiplies his words against God.” Elihu’s Third Speech 35:1 Then Elihu answered: 35:2 “Do you think this to be just: when you say, ‘My right before God.’ 35:3 But you say, ‘What will it profit you,’ and, ‘What do I gain by not sinning?’ 35:4 I will reply to you, and to your friends with you. 35:5 Gaze at the heavens and see; consider the clouds, which are higher than you! 35:6 If you sin, how does it affect God? If your transgressions are many, what does it do to him? 35:7 If you are righteous, what do you give to God, or what does he receive from your hand? 35:8 Your wickedness affects only a person like yourself, and your righteousness only other people. 35:9 “People cry out because of the excess of oppression; they cry out for help because of the power of the mighty. 35:10 But no one says, ‘Where is God, my Creator, who gives songs in the night, 35:11 who teaches us more than the wild animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’ 35:12 Then they cry out – but he does not answer – because of the arrogance of the wicked. 35:13 Surely it is an empty cry – God does not hear it; the Almighty does not take notice of it. 35:14 How much less, then, when you say that you do not perceive him, that the case is before him and you are waiting for him! 35:15 And further, when you say that his anger does not punish, and that he does not know transgression! 35:16 So Job opens his mouth to no purpose; without knowledge he multiplies words.” Elihu’s Fourth Speech

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Elihu says that God is perfectly just, fully sovereign, and never partial. He argues that Job is wrong to speak as if serving God is pointless, but he applies that truth too harshly to Job’s suffering.

Elihu speaks to the wise and asks them to test his words carefully. He first repeats what he thinks Job has said: that Job is innocent, that God has taken away his right, and that it does no profit to delight in God. Elihu believes that this kind of speech is dangerous, because it sounds like Job is joining the company of wicked people.

Elihu then gives a strong defense of God. God cannot do evil or twist justice. He made the world, gives life, and could end all human life at any moment. Because God is Creator and Lord over all, no one can put him on trial as if he were answerable to a higher judge. Elihu also says that God does not favor kings over poor people. He sees every person, knows every step, and can remove the powerful in a moment. He hears the cries of the poor and the needy, and he judges oppressive power.

But Elihu also goes too far in how he uses these truths. He treats Job’s suffering as if it must prove Job’s guilt or pride. In chapter 35 he says that human sin does not damage God and human righteousness does not make God richer. That is true in the sense that God does not depend on people. But Elihu turns that truth into an attack on Job’s questions. He says Job is wrong to ask what good it does to avoid sin and wrong to complain that God does not answer quickly.

So this passage is both right and incomplete. It rightly teaches that God is holy, sovereign, just, and not controlled by human beings. But it does not give the final answer to Job’s suffering, and it should not be used to say that every sufferer is secretly wicked.

• God cannot do wickedness or pervert justice.
• God is the Creator and the giver of life; all people depend on him.
• God is impartial and does not favor the rich or powerful over the poor.
• God sees every person and every step, even when people think they are hidden.
• God hears the cries of the oppressed and judges corrupt power.
• Human sin does not harm God, and human righteousness does not enrich him.
• Speaking about God without knowledge is serious and dangerous.
• Elihu is right about God’s holiness, but wrong to reduce Job’s suffering to obvious guilt.

• Do not accuse God of injustice.
• Do not think your obedience puts God in your debt.
• Do not assume that suffering always means personal sin.
• Listen carefully before speaking about a sufferer’s case.
• Cry out to God in humility, not in arrogance.
• Remember that God sees what people cannot see.

Job belongs to the Old Testament wisdom books and speaks about God’s rule over all people, not just Israel under the Mosaic covenant. This passage contributes to the Bible’s larger answer to suffering by showing that God is just even when his ways are hidden, and that human beings cannot judge him by immediate gain or loss. The book points beyond simple retribution thinking and helps prepare for God’s fuller self-disclosure later in Scripture.

When you read Elihu, hold on to what is true: God is holy, fair, and never partial. But also be careful not to use true statements in a cruel way. If someone is suffering, do not rush to say, ‘This must be your fault.’ Trust God’s justice, stay humble, and speak with care. Also remember that serving God is not pointless, even when you cannot see immediate benefit.

• Lite Commentary
• In-depth Commentary