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Proof that man is not right in doubting God’s righteousness:
Job 34
a. Opening: Censure of the doubt of God’s righteousness expressed by Job:
Job_34:1-9
2 Hear my words, O ye wise men;
and give ear unto me, ye that have knowledge.
3 For the ear trieth words,
as the mouth tasteth meat.
4 Let us choose to us judgment:
let us know among ourselves what is good.
5 For Job hath said: “I am righteous;
and God hath taken away my judgment.
6 Should I lie against my right?
my wound is incurable without transgression.”
7 What man is like Job,
who drinketh up scorning like water?
8 Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity,
and walketh with wicked men?
9 For he hath said: “It profiteth a man nothing
that he should delight himself with God.”
á . From God’s disinterested love of His creatures:
Job_34:10-15
Far be it from God that He should do wickedness;
and from the Almighty, that He should commit iniquity!
11 For the work of a man shall He render unto him,
and cause every man to find according to his ways.
12 Yea, surely God will not do wickedly,
Neither will the Almighty pervert judgment.
13 Who hath given Him a charge over the earth?
or who hath disposed the whole world?
14 If He set His heart upon man,
if He gather unto Himself his spirit and his breath;
15 All flesh shall perish together,
and man shall turn again unto dust.
â
Job_34:16-30.
hearken to the voice of my words.
17 Shall even he that hateth right govern?
and wilt thou condemn Him that is Most Just?
18 Is it fit to say to a king, “Thou art wicked?”
and to princes, “Ye are ungodly?”
19 How much less to Him that accepteth not the persons of princes,
nor regardeth the rich more than the poor?
for they all are the work of His hands.
20 In a moment shall they die,
and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away:
and the mighty shall be taken away without hand.
21 For His eyes are upon the ways of man,
and He seeth all his goings.
22 There is no darkness, nor shadow of death,
where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
23 For He will not lay upon man more than right;
that he should enter into judgment with God.
24 He shall break in pieces mighty men without number,
and set others in their stead.
25 Therefore He knoweth their works,
and He overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed.
26 He striketh them as wicked men
in the open sight of others;
27 Because they turned back from Him,
and would not consider any of His ways:
28 So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto Him,
and He heareth the cry of the afflicted.
29 When He giveth quietness, who then can make trouble?
and when He hideth His face, who then can behold Him?
whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only:
30 That the hypocrite reign not,
lest the people be ensnared.
Job_34:31-37
“I have borne chastisement, and will not offend any more:
32 That which I see not teach Thou me:
If I have done iniquity, I will do no more.”
33 Should it be according to thy mind? He will recompense it, whether thou refuse,
or whether thou choose; and not I:
therefore speak what thou knowest.
34 Let men of understanding tell me,
and let a wise man hearken unto me.
35 Job hath spoken without knowledge,
and his words were without wisdom.
36 My desire is that Job may be tried unto the end,
because of his answers for wicked men.
37 For he addeth rebellion unto his sin,
he clappeth his hands among us,
and multiplieth his words against God.
Refutation of the false position that piety is not productive of happiness to men:
35
a. The folly of the erroneous notion that piety and godliness are alike of little advantage to men:
Job_35:1-8
2 Thinkest thou this to be right,
that thou saidst “My righteousness is more than God’s?”
3 For thou saidst, “What advantage will it be unto thee?”
and, “What profit shall I have if I be cleansed from my sin?”
4 I will answer thee,
and thy companions with thee.
5 Look unto the heavens, and see;
and behold the clouds which are higher than thou.
6 If thou sinnest, what doest thou against Him?
or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto Him?
7 If thou be righteous, what givest thou Him?
or what receiveth He of thine hand?
8 Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art,
and thy righteousness may profit the son of man.
á . The lack of true godly fear:
Job_35:9-14
they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty.
10 But none saith, “Where is God, my Maker,
who giveth songs in the night;
11 Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth,
and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?”
12 There they cry, but none giveth answer,
because of the pride of evil men.
13 Surely God will not hear vanity,
neither will the Almighty regard it.
14 Although thou sayest, thou shalt not see Him,
yet judgment is before Him; therefore trust thou in Him.
â
Job_35:15-16
yet He knoweth it not in great extremity:
16 Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain;
he multiplieth words without knowledge.
2. The second discourse: Job 34 a. Opening: Job_34:1-9. And Elihu began and said, being incited by Job’s silence [hence åַéַּòַï as elsewhere—“and answered”], who had nothing to reply to that which El. had hitherto brought forward. So again in Job_35:1 (but somewhat differently on the contrary in the introduction of the fourth discourse, Job_36:1).
Job_34:2. Hear, ye wise men, my words. The “wise and knowing ones” here appealed to (comp. Job_34:10, “men of understanding”) are neither all in the world capable of forming a judgment (Hirzel), nor the circle of listeners who had gathered around the disputants, i.e. to say, all those present with the exception of Job and the three, all “impartial experts, whose presence is assumed” (Schlott., Del., Dillm.). There is no reason apparent why Job and the three should be regarded as excluded from the number of the wise men addressed; except that they are included only in so far as they are prepared to lift themselves above their own partisan stand-point to those higher points of view established by Elihu. In other words that which is really wise and intelligent in them is set over against that which is erroneous and in need of correction.
Job_34:3. For the ear trieth words. Here Elihu’s own ear is intended as well as that of the wise men addressed; for it is a trial of the truth in common to which he would summon them by this appeal to the natural capacity of judgment, which man possesses. In regard to b, comp. Job_12:11. Instead of the form àëì éèòí ìå found there, we have here éèòí ìàëì : “proves, tastes in order to eat,” i.e. when it would eat [or gerundive, vescendo.]
Job_34:4. The right would we choose for ourselves; i.e. in the controversy between God and Job we would test, find out, and choose for ourselves that which is right; comp. 1Th_5:21. It is to this testing and choosing in common that the “knowing among ourselves what is good” in b refers.
Job_34:5-9. The special theme of the investigation which now follows, accompanied by the expression of Elihu’s moral indignation over the fact that Job had been able to put forth such expressions. For Job has said: I am innocent; yet God has taken away from me my right. The clause—“I am innocent”—is simply auxiliary or preparatory to what follows. The main emphasis rests on the second proposition, which is taken verbally from Job_27:2; in like manner as öָãַ÷ְúִּé is taken from Job_13:18 (comp. Job_23:10; Job_27:7).
Job_34:6. In spite of my right I shall lie;i.e. notwithstanding òַì as in Job_10:17; Job_16:17) that the right is on my side, I shall still be [accounted] a liar, if I maintain it. Job had not so expressed himself literally; nevertheless comp. the utterances, related in meaning, in Job_9:20; Job_16:8. [E. V. “Should I lie against my right?” i.e. confess my guilt when I am innocent?—a suitable meaning, but less forcible than the above; and here it is natural to suppose that Elihu would refer to the strongest expressions which Job had used. Instead of the Masoretic àֲëַæֵּá Carey suggests àַëְæָá : “Concerning my right He [God] is a false one.” The conjecture however is unnecessary.—E.]. My arrow is incurable, i.e. the arrow of God’s wrath sticking in me, or rather the wound occasioned by the same (comp. Job_6:4); this being the case “without transgression,” without áְּìִé as in Job_8:11) my having deserved it; comp. Job_33:9.
Job_34:7 seq. Sharp rebuke of Job’s conduct in thus suspecting the divine justice: Where is there a man like Job, who drinketh scornful speeches like water?—Elihu evidently borrows this harsh figurative expression from one of the earlier discourses of Eliphaz (Job_15:16), with a considerate limitation however of the charge there brought forward to Job’s scornful and blasphemous speeches against God ( ìòâ ), which really deserved to be rebuked thus harshly, whereas the charge of Eliphaz, that he drank “iniquity” ( òåìä ) as water, besides being urged indirectly and covertly, and so much the more irritatingly, was in its indefinite and general form much less accurate and must for that very reason have inflicted a much more cutting wound. The expression being thus palpably borrowed from that former attack on Job, the charge which from Antiquity has been founded on this passage of immoderate violence and bluntness on the part of Elihu, is certainly unmerited (against the Pseudo-Jerome, Gregory the Great, Beda, etc., also Delitzsch).
Job_34:8. And goes in company (lit. “to the company”) with evil-doers, and is wont to go about with men of wickedness. åììëú , continuation of the finite verb åàøç ; comp. Ewald, § 351, 100. What is meant is, of course, only that by blasphemous speeches, such as might be quoted in the way of example, he lowers himself to the companionship of wicked men (comp. Psa_1:1 seq.), that accordingly by his frivolous and wanton sins of the tongue he puts himself on a level with the evil world. Elihu does intend an actual participation by Job in the society of evil-doers, as the following verse clearly shows.
Job_34:9. For he saith: A man hath no profit (comp. Job_22:2), if he lives in friendship with God (lit. “from his having pleasure with God,” i.e., in fellowship with God; comp. Psa_50:18). Job had never expressed himself in this way literally, but he had often uttered this sentiment; e.g., Job_9:22 seq.; Job_21:7 seq.; Job_24:1 seq. But how blameworthy such frivolous utterances were, he himself repeatedly acknowledged (Job_17:9; Job_21:15; Job_28:28), without however ceasing from them.
Continuation: Proof that God really is righteous in His dispensations: (a) from His love to His creatures: Job_34:10-15.
Job_34:10. Therefore men of understanding, hearken to me. Lit. “men of heart” (LXX. óõíåôïὶ êáñäßáò ); comp. Delitzsch, Biblical Psychology, p. 293; Beck, Umriss der bibl. Seelenlehre, 3d Ed., p. 99. Far from God be wickedness, etc. çָìִéìָä here with îִï of the thing abjured, as in Gen_18:25. In the third member åְùַׁãַּé is used by abbreviation for åּìִùַׁãַּé ; comp. Job_15:3.
Job_34:11. Rather ( ëִּé , comp. Job_33:14) man’s work He recompenseth to him, and according to a man’s conduct (lit. “way”) He causeth it to be with him, lit. “He causeth it to find him, to overtake him” äִîְöִéà , only here and Job_37:13).
Job_34:12. Yea verily ( àַó àָîְðָí , as in Job_19:4) God doth not act wickedly, doth not act as a øùׁò ( ìà éøùׁéò ). In respect to b comp. Job_8:3.
Job_34:13. Who hath delivered over to Him the earth?— àøõ = àøöä only here, and Job_37:12 [with He paragogic therefore, not directive; see Green, § 61, 6, a]. ôּ÷ã with òַì , of the person and accus. of the thing, denotes: To trust any one with anything, to commit anything to any one, to deliver over to one’s ch arge ( ðéóôåýåéí ôéíÜ ôé ); comp. Num_4:27 ; 2Ch_36:23 . Without sufficient support from the language Hahn explains: “Who besides (or except Him cares for the earth? “and similarly Ewald: “who investigates the earth against him” [ i.e., against man, in order to punish him when necessary]? And who hath established (founded, ùָׂí as in Job_38:5; Isa_44:7) the whole globe?—The answer to both these questions is self-evident: “None other than Himself.” This reference however to God’s independent glory, and to the relation of absolute causality between Him and all that has been created, is made in order to exclude as strongly as possible the thought of any selfish, or unloving conduct whatever on the part of God.
Job_34:14. If He should set His heart only upon Himself, gather unto Himself (again) His spirit and His breath.—The case here supposed is an impossible one, as Job_34:15 shows. The twice-used àֵìָéå refers both times to God as subject, not merely the second time (as Jerome, Targ., Pesh., Grotius, Rosenm., Delitzsch [E. V. Scott, Con., Lee, Noyes] explain). In respect to the withdrawal of His spirit and breath, comp. Psa_104:29 seq.; Ecc_12:7, in which passages indeed the withdrawal of the divine vital spirit spoken of is not, as here sudden and total, but that successive and gradual process, which takes place continually in the death of individual creatures. The fact therefore that God does not, as He well might, put an end at once to the independent life of His creatures, but gives to each one of them a respite to enjoy life, this is here brought forward as proof of the disinterested fatherly love, and at the same time of the righteousness of His conduct. [“Elihu says this, to assert God’s sovereignty, and the bearing of this on the main argument is, if God be sovereign, and amenable to no superior, then he can have no motive for doing what is otherwise than right. The argument is not unlike that of Abraham, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” and that of St. Paul, “Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? God forbid, for then how shall God judge the world?” Carey].
4. Continuation. The divine justice proved: ( â ) from the conception of God as Ruler of the universe: Job_34:16-30.
Job_34:16. And if there is understanding (with thee), then hear this.—So according to the punctuation of áִּéðָä as Milra, preferred by the Targ., Pesh., Jer., and in general most of the ancients, as well as the moderns [so E. V.]. If the word be rendered as Imperative, the preceding åְàִí should be taken as an optative particle—“and oh that thou wouldst observe, oh understand now.” (Del.). This rendering however is equally destitute of support from the language as the åἰ äὲ ìὴ íïõèåôῆ of the LXX., and various similar renderings. The punctuation of the Masoretes [as Milel] is to be explained by their desire to remove the apparent discourtesy and insult implied in the expression—“and if there is understanding with thee.” But this by no means implies a real doubt of Job’s intelligence. In regard to b comp. Job_33:8. Will even an enemy of the right be able to govern?— àַó here meaning “even,” as in Job_40:8 seq., not the object of åçáù : num. iram osor judicii refrenabit (Schult., Umbr., Welte, etc.), against which the position of the words is decisive. Rather is çáù here objectless, meaning to bind, to hold the reins of authority, to govern, (as elsewhere òöø , 1Sa_9:17). [“Right and government are indeed mutually conditioned, without right everything would fall into anarchy and confusion.” Delitzsch]. Or wilt thou condemn (i.e., declare unjust; äøùéò here in its usual sense, differing in this from Job_34:12) the All-just; lit. “the mighty just One;” comp. Ewald, § 270, d.
Job_34:18 seq. He who exercises justice in union with omnipotence is now more particularly described in this aspect of His activity. Him, who says to a king: Thou worthless one! So according to the reading äָֹàîֵø , which is attested, not indeed by the Masoretes, but by the LXX. and Vulg., and in favor of which most of the moderns declare (Hirz., Ew., Hahn., Stick., Vaih., Dillm., [Renan, Elz.], etc.). The Mas., Targ., Luth., Del. [E. V., Con., Car., Noy., Rod., Ber., Bar., Lee, Schlott.], etc., read äַàֲîֹø , Inf. constr. with äֲ interrogatives “is it (fit) to say to a king—Thou worthless one,” etc.? But it would be very difficult to connect the clause àֲùֶׁø åâå× in Job_34:18 with such a question, which would express a conclusio a min. ad majus (even to a human king one would not dare to speak thus, etc.).
Job_34:19. Him, who accepteth not the person of rulers (comp. Job_32:21), and knoweth not (i.e., considers, regards not; concerning ðִëַּø see Job_21:29) the rich before the poor, i.e., in preference to the poor (comp., Job_8:12). God exercises this strict impartiality, because, as the parenthetical clause in c explains, His creatures are all of equal worth to Him.
Job_34:20. In a moment they perish, even at midnight, i.e., suddenly and unexpectedly, at night, (comp. Psa_119:62; and for the thought Job_27:19; also below Job_34:25). Their people are shaken and pass away.—The subject of the verse is those who are expressly mentioned first in the third member as “the strong” or “mighty ones,” the same who are specially distinguished in the two preceding verses as kings, princes, rulers and rich men, and who then in Job_34:23 seq. become again the principal object of consideration. The clause in b, éְâֹòֲùׁåּ òָí , is neither (with Ewald) to be explained “they stagger in crowds,” nor (with Hirzel and others) “nations are shaken.” The word òָí admits of neither rendering; in connection with the princes it can signify only their people, their subjects. And the mighty are removed (lit. “the mighty one is, etc.”)—not by the hand of man, i.e., without needing to be touched by hand, referring to a higher invisible power as cause; comp. Job_20:27; Zec_4:6; also the expression of Daniel, áְּàֶñֶó éָã , Dan_8:25; comp. Dan_2:34.
Job_34:21-24 give the reason why such a mighty administration of justice on the part of God is possible, or rather why it actually exists, by calling attention to His omniscience. In respect to Job_34:21 comp. Job_31:4; on Job_34:22 see Job_24:13 seq.; Psa_139:11 seq.; and parallel passages.
Job_34:23. For He doth not long regard man;i.e., He needs not to wait a long time for him, until he submits himself to His judicial examination, because He has him, like all His creatures, continually present before Him. [“A single thought of God, without the uttering of a word, is enough to summon the whole world to judgment. Job had earnestly craved for leave to enter into judgment with God (see Job_13:8; Job_16:21; Job_23:3; Job_31:35). Elihu replies that God of His own accord, finds out men in a moment, without any effort, and summons them to judgment. Job ought therefore to change his tone, and say, “Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord, for in Thy sight shall no man living be justified” (Psa_143:2). Wordsworth], òåã here not “again and again, a long time (Hirzel, Del. [Ber., Bar., Noy., Rod.] etc.) [nor “more than right,” E. V., Rashi, Wolfsohn, Elzas], but simply, “more, yet, again,” as e.g., Isa_5:4, and often.
Job_34:24. Respecting ìֹà çֵ÷ֶø , instead of çׇ áְּìֹà , comp. Job_12:24; Job_38:26. [Pesh. Vulg. E. V. Rod. render “without number;” but the meaning “without inquiry,” without undertaking a long process of investigation, is better suited to the context. E.]. In respect to àַçֵø in b, see Job_8:19; Isa_45:15.
Job_34:25-30 recur to the previous description of God’s fearful judgments upon the mighty of earth (Job_34:18 seq.). Therefore He knoweth their works.— ìָëֵï , lit. “therefore, on that account,” means here “accordingly, and so, hence,” as a formula denoting a logical inference from that which precedes; comp. Job_42:3. Rosenmüller, Umbreit erroneously: “Because that He knoweth their works;” for which meaning we should have rather ìëï àùׁø . [Alike incorrect is the rendering “for”—Noyes, Barnes, Rodwell]. îַòְáָּã , only here in Elihu, an Aramaizing word, used interchangeably with îַòֲùֶׂä . And overthrows them in the night (i.e., suddenly; comp. Job_34:20) so that they are crushed; comp. Job_5:4. From this verb åַéִãַּëָּàåּ the object of the preceding verb çôêְ is to be supplied (Pro_12:7). The object cannot be ìéìä , (which is evidently an adverbial specification of time), as Umbreit renders it: “He changes the night,” i.e., into day.
Job_34:26. Instead of the wicked He scorns them, i.e., the mighty; lit. “Ho claps, slaps them,” ñô÷ as in Job_34:37, used metaphorically in the sense of scorning, mocking; comp. the full phrase ñָôַ÷ , ëַּôַּéִí Job_27:23. [Vulg., E. V., Rosenm., Del., Con., Car., Noy., etc. render the verb “to strike, smite,” but less in accordance with the usage].— úַּäַúÎøְùָׁòִéí does not mean exactly “in the place of execution of the wicked” (Hirzel), but more “in the stead, after the manner of the wicked” comp. Vulg,: quasi impios) [and E. V. “as wicked men”]. In the place where all see it; lit. “in the place of those seeing,” i.e., publicly, in propatulo. [Grotius: ἐèåÜôñéóåí áὐôïὺò ; Cocceius: (1) cum pudore el ignominia; (2) in exemplum].
Job_34:27-28. They, who for that reason turn away from Him, etc. òַìÎëֵּï points forward to that which follows (comp. Job_20:2), and is explained in ìäáéà , and so forth (Job_34:28). In order vividly to characterize the insolent, and persistently wicked conduct of evildoers, it is represented as their purpose to continue torturing the oppressed until their cry pierces through the clouds, and as it were compels God to hear it. [If àùׁø àìÎëï be rendered “because” (LXX. E. V. Rosenm., Umbr., Hahn, Con., etc.). ìçáéà will be Inf. epexeget. In that case ëִּé=àֲùֶׁø , This however seems a less probable construction than that given above].
Job_34:29 seq. And if He giveth rest who will condemn (Him) äù÷éè , Hiph. of ùׁ÷è in the sense of Isa_14:7; Jdg_5:31, hence “to give rest,” viz. by resisting and overcoming the violence of mighty tyrants, which drives the poor to cry out for help (comp. Psa_94:13). åְäåּà , referring to God is prefixed for emphasis, as is the case also with åּîִé at the head of the following interrogative sentence, which signifies that it would be impossible to object to that which has been ordained by God, or to condemn it (as e.g., Job had undertaken to do Job_9:22 seq.). [This is the meaning of äøùéò favored by all the ancient versions, by usage, and by the parallelism, which suggests God as the object of the verb here, as in b. The meaning “to make trouble” (E. V.) is not inappropriate however: and either rendering leads to the same result, to wit, a rest for the oppressed against which oppressors will be impotent]. The structure of the second parallel member is essentially the same: if He hides His face (in wrath above those wicked ones)—who will behold Him, again find Him graciously disposed? To the clause åְéַñְúֵּø ôָּðִéí , from which it is separated only on account of the rhythm, belongs the close specification in the third member, together with the doubled negative statement of the end aimed at in Job_34:30 : alike above a people and above man ( éַçַã serving to strengthen the correlation and correspondence expressed by åְ – åְ ), in order that ungodly men might not rule ( = îִï that not; comp.2Ki_23:33, K’ri), not ( îִï by ellipsis, instead of the repetition of îִîְּìֹêְ ) snares of the people;i.e., ungodly misleaders, who would plunge the people into ruin; comp. Exo_10:7; Hos_5:1.
5. Conclusion: Exhibition of the inconsistency and folly of Job’s accusations of the divine righteousness: Job_34:31-37.
Job_34:31-32. For does one say indeed to God—“I expiate without doing evil; what I see not, that show Thou me; if I have done iniquity I will do it no more.”—So (in essential agreement with Schult., Ew., Vaih., Heil. Dillm.) are these two obscure verses to be rendered, which have been variously misunderstood by the ancient versions of expositors. For (1) äֶֽàָîֵø , Job_34:31 a, can only be 3 Perf. sing. with äֲ interrogative (comp. Job_21:4; Eze_28:9), not Imperat. Niph. (= äֵàָîֵø , dicendum est), as Rosenm., Schlottm. [E. V. Noy., Con., Rod.], etc., take it. The subject of this interrogative num. dicit however cannot be the àָãָí çָðֵó of the preceding verses, but is indefinite, any one (comp. Job_21:22; Job_30:24.). [“It is observed by Scott that the petition and confession, which Elihu recommends to Job, would be highly improper for one who knows himself to be guilty of heinous crimes, but highly fit for a person, who though good in the main, has reason to suspect somewhat amiss in his temper and conduct, for which God is displeased with him. It appears plainly that Elihu did not suppose Job to be a wicked man, suffering for his oppressions, bribery, inhumanity, and impiety, with which his three friends had charged him.” Noyes]. (2) The difficult expression ðָùָׂàúִé is most simply understood of the bearing of sins in respect of their punishment, an object which is easily supplied out of the asyndetically added circumstantial clause ìֹà àֶçְáֹּì ; hence—“I bear (or expiate), without doing evil.” ( çáì as e.g., Neh_1:7; comp. Dan_6:23). This rendering of the second member of Job_34:31 is, on account of its simplicity, and the established character of the linguistic construction in all its parts, greatly to be preferred to any other, as e.g., to that of Rashi, Merc, Schlottmann [E. V. Noyes, Con., Rod., Bar.], etc. “I expiate, I will do evil no more;” of Hirzel—” I bear the yoke of punishment, and will not cast it off;” of Hahn and Delitzsch—“I have been proud, I will do evil no more;” of Kamphausen (who following the LXX. reads ðָùָׂàúִé )—“I have practiced oppression, I will take a pledge no more”—LXX.: “I have received (scil. blessings), I will not take a pledge”], etc. (3) The elliptical objective clause áìòãé àçæä the beginning of Job_34:32 is according to Ew., § 333 b to be explained: “that which lies beyond what I see, teach Thou me;” i.e., that which lies beyond the circle of my vision, that which I do not see, teach Thou me respecting it. By this is meant the errors unknown to the speaker, which in Psa_19:13 are called ðִñְúָּøåֹú —only that here the person introduced as speaking is not a truly pious and penitent self-observer, like the poet of that Psalm, but one who confesses reluctantly, who regards himself as being, properly speaking, wholly innocent, and who (according to Job_34:32) announces himself as ready to repent only in case ( àִí ) iniquity should be proved upon him. And on the whole Job had indeed heretofore always expressed himself essentially in this impenitent, rather than in a truly contrite way; comp. Job_7:20; Job_19:4, etc.
Job_34:33. Should He recompense it to thee according to thy will ( òִí as in îֵּòִîְּêָ Job_23:10; Job_27:11, and often), that thou hast despised, scil. His usual way of recompensing. The question may also be expressed thus: “Should He allow thy discontented fault finding, and blaming of His method of retribution to go unpunished, and take up instead with a method corresponding to thy way of thinking?” which is equivalent to saying: Should He change the laws of His righteous administration (his justitia retribuens) to please thee?—so that thou must choose, and not I?i.e., so that thou wouldst have to determine the mode of retribution, and not I (God). Instead of àֲðִé we should properly expect äåּà , but Elihu here, after the manner of the prophets, introduces God Himself as speaking, and thus makes himself the organ of God (so correctly Rashi, Rosenm., Ewald, etc.). [“The abrupt and bold personation of the Deity in the first person (“and not I”) is not unnatural in one who is speaking on behalf of God, and representing his just prerogatives and claims.” Con.]. And what knowest thou then? speak; i.e., in respect to the only true method of retribution. What more correct knowledge than all others canst thou claim for thyself respecting this obscure province of the divine way of retribution?
On Job_34:34 comp. Job_34:2; Job_34:10.
Job_34:35-37 contain the speech of the men of understanding, to whose judgment Elihu appeals as agreeing with his own.
Job_34:35. Job speaks without knowledge, and his words are without wisdom.— äַùְׂëֵéì , substant. Inf. absol. Hiph., instead of the usual form äַùְׂëֵּì ; so also in Jer_3:15.
Job_34:36. O would that Job were proved continually.— àָáִé cannot signify “my Father,” as though it were an address to God (Vulg., Saad., Luther [Bernard], etc.), for in Elihu’s mouth, judging by numerous parallels, we should rather look for “my Maker,” or “my God;” and the address “my Father” does not once elsewhere throughout the Old Testament proceed from a single person to God, and just here would have but little propriety. [Words, suggests that it may have been addressed by Elihu, as a young man, to Job; which in view of the mention of Job immediately after in the third person, would be singularly harsh]. Hence the word should either (with Targ., Kimchi, Umbr., Schlottm. [E. V.], etc.) be derived from a subst. àָáֶä , “wish,” to be assumed, and to be rendered either “my desire is,” or “I desire;” or—which is in any case to be preferred—with Död., Ew., Del., Dillm., be rendered as an interjectional optative particle, synonymous with ìåּ , and resting on a root áéà or áåé .—Etymologically related are the well known áּé in the formula áִּé àֲãֹðִé , (quæso domine), on the other side the optative interjection, still very common with the Syrian Arabs of Damascus, abi (which is formally inflicted abî, tebî, jebî; nebî, tebû, Jebû); comp. the elaborate and learned discussion of Wetzstein in Delitzsch, p. 431 seq.—In respect to òַã ðֶöַç , “continually,” or “to the extreme end,” comp. the similar ìַðֶּöַç in Job_23:7. What Elihu here desires for Job is not that the chastisements inflicted on him should increase in severity, that his sufferings should continually grow more intense (such cruelty would in connection with his mild and friendly treatment, of Job elsewhere be simply inconceivable). It is rather that the divine operation of proving his heart and working on his conscience now going on (comp. Psa_139:23; also áçï in Job_7:18) should be carried on until he had been brought at last to confess his guilt, and to humble himself beneath the hand of God (comp. Brentius, and von Gerlach below, Homiletical Remarks). The reason why Elihu desires that he may thus continue under the influence of the divine process of proving and punishing him,—or more accurately, why he introduces the men of understanding as uttering this wish in what they say, is given in Job_34:36 b taken together with Job_34:37 : on account of his answers after the manner of wicked men ( úְּùֻׁáåֹú ) “replies,” viz. to the speeches of the friends rebuking him; comp. Job_21:34; áְּ here signifying “in the manner, after the fashion of”).
Job_34:37. Because he addeth to his sin transgression (i.e. by his presumptuous speeches against God) [hence ôֶּùַׁò here may be rendered “blasphemy”], in the midst of us he mocks (“claps” [his hands in scorn]; see on Job_34:26), and multiplieth his speeches against God.— éֶøֶá , imperf. apoc. Hiph. (as in Job_10:17) is used instead of the unabbreviated Imperf., like åְúָùֶׂí Job_13:27, instead of åַúָּùֶׂí , or like éָùֹׁø , Job_33:27, etc.— ìָàֵì , “towards God, against God,” refers back both to this éֶøֶá and to éñôå÷ ; for the mocking is also described as being against God.
6. The third discourse: Job 35. First Half: The folly of the erroneous notion that piety and ungodliness are alike of little profit: Job_35:1-8. In respect to Job_35:1, comp. Job_34:1. The conjecture of Köster and Schlottmann, that the verse is a later interpolation, because Job 35. gives evidence of being a simple appendage to Job 34., has no foundation. For with just as good right might Job 34. also be regarded as a simple appendage to Job 33., because the theme of this second discourse has also received expression at the beginning of the discourse preceding (Job_30:9 sq.). All four discourses are closely bound together, and Job_33:9-11 contains the common point of procedure for all alike (see on the passage).
Job_35:2-3 formulate, in an interrogative form, the special theme of the discourse, as a repetition of that which has already been said (Job_34:9).—Hast thou considered this ( æֹàú pointing forwards to Job_35:3) to be right (Job_33:10), and spoken of it as “my righteousness before God” ( îִï coram, as in Job_4:7; Job_32:2), that thou sayest, what advantage is it to thee ( ñëï as in oh. Job_34:9), “what doth it profit me more than my sin?”—As frequently with Elihu, the direct interrogation interchanges here with the indirect (comp. e.g.Job_34:33). The force of the whole question, moreover, is that of a strong negation: a righteous man speaks not thus. [The construction here given of these two verses seems awkward and artificial. Extremely so in particular is it to render àîøú öã÷é îàì “(hast thou) defined it as ‘my righteousness before God’ that thou hast said,” etc. And besides how can it be said that he had made his saying that there is no profit in holiness a part of his righteousness before God? Here, moreover, it cannot well be denied that the comparative sense of îִï , “my righteousness is more than God’s,” makes the proposition introduced by àָîַøְúָּ more complete and forcible. Had he designed to say: “I am righteous before God,” he would have used the verb öָãַ÷ְúִּé (which Olshausen indeed proposes to read), rather than öִãְ÷ִé . The meaning of the claim which Job had made, according to Elihu, is not that his character was more righteous than that of God, but that his cause, as against God, was more just than that of his Almighty antagonist. In Job_35:3 Elihu gives the proof, or rather the specification in support of his charge. Job had denied that there was any profit in holiness:—in other words he had charged God with indifference to moral character in his treatment of men. The rendering of E. V. is to be preferred except in the last clause, where îִï is again comparative, and which should be rendered, not—“what profit shall I have if I be cleansed from my sin?” but—“what profit shall I have more than by my sin?”—E.]
Job_35:4. I will answer thee words (comp. Job_33:32), and thy companions with thee, i.e. Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, who have shown themselves incompetent to contend with thee effectively, and who deserve to be reprimanded together with thee ( òִîָּêְ ). We are scarcely to render òִîָּêְ (with Dillmann, etc.), “who are with thee.” Still more impossible is it to understand by øֵòִéí not the three friends, but all others associated with Job in sentiment and character, the àðùׁé òåï of Job_34:8; Job_34:36 (Umbr., Heil., Vaih., Del.), for øֵòִéí constantly denotes throughout the book the three friends of Job (Job_2:11; Job_19:21; Job_32:3; Job_42:7).
Job_35:5-8. Refutation of the ensnaring proposition that it is useless to be pious by calling attention to God’s blessed self-sufficiency in His heavenly exaltation, the contemplation of which shows that of necessity man only can derive profit from his righteousness (a thought which had been already expressed by Job himself, Job_7:20; and by Eliphaz, Job_22:2 seq.).
Job_35:5. Look up to heaven, and see, etc.—In the same way that Zophar (Job_11:7 seq.) points Job to the height of the heavenly vault, and its loftiest luminous fleece-like clouds (which is what ùְׁçָ÷ִéí means here, not precisely a synonym of “heaven,” or of the “ether,” as Vaihinger, Delitzsch, etc., say), in order to illustrate God’s absolute exaltation above the world.
On Job_35:6 seq. comp. ch Job_7:20; Job_22:2 seq.
Job_35:8. To man like thee thy wickedness availeth (i.e. it produces its effects on him), and for a son of man thy righteousness.—By the “son of man” Job himself, or one of his kind, is again intended. The expression serves to set forth their need of help, and frailty in contrast with the exaltation and blessedness of God.
7. Continuation and close.—Second Half: The true reason why sufferers remain for a long time unheard, to wit: a. Their lack of genuine reverence for God; b. The presumptuousness of their speeches against God.
a. Job_35:9-14. On account of the multitude of oppressions they cry out, they wail because of the violence (lit. “because of the arm,” æְøåֹòַ as in Job_22:8) of the mighty ( øַáִּéí here in another sense than in Job_32:9). The Hiph. éַåְòִé÷åּ in the sense of Kal, or as intensive of Kal (comp. Job_19:7; Job_31:18) [not Hiphil proper, “they make the oppressed to cry,” (E. V.) which is unsuitable in connection with îֵøåֹá òùׁׅ ]. òֲùׁåּ÷ִéí , “oppressions,” as in Amo_3:9; Ecc_4:1.
Job_35:10 seq. introduce the refutation of this objection [contained in Job_35:9, to wit, that oppression goes unpunished, hence that the wicked fare no worse than the righteous], by calling attention to the guilt of the suffering. But they do not say (as they could say)—Where is Eloah my creator? This is the question asked by those who seek God (comp. Jer_2:6; Jer_2:8). òùָֹׁé intensive plur., as in Isa_22:11; Isa_54:5; Psa_149:2. Who giveth songs in the night; i.e., by granting sudden and wonderful deliverance (comp. Job_34:25).
Job_35:11. Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth—not “by them, as our mute instructors” (Hahn, Delitzsch), but with a comparative rendering of îִï , “in preference to the beasts, esteeming us worthy of higher honor and blessing than they.” The form îַìְôֵðåּ is either an error of transcription, or syncopated from îְàַìְּôֵðåּ ; comp. àִìֵּó in Job_15:5. On b comp. Job_12:7, where in like manner the mention of the birds of heaven is parallel to that of the beasts of the field. [A pregnant passage. The instinctive cry of distress for relief is not the prayer which God requires. The former goes up from the brute creature (comp. Psa_104:21; Joe_1:20; Psa_149:9); man’s prayer should be worthy of a rational being, should proceed from the recognition of God the creator, and from gratitude for His interposition in our behalf in the night of calamity. If (as he proceeds to show) man’s prayers are not heard, it is because they are too much the cry of animal instinct, not the outpouring of the heart, conscious of its wants, of God, and of His goodness.—E.].
Job_35:12. There cry they—but He answers not (or: “without indeed God’s answering them”)—on account of the pride of the evil.—Respecting the construction of the verb öò÷ with îְôְּðֵé , “before,” or “on account of,” comp. Isa_19:20. [It seems most natural to put îôðé