Job35

Elihu continues his discourse, challenging Job's assertion that his righteousness surpasses God's and that there is no profit in being cleansed from sin. He argues that human actions do not directly affect God, who is transcendent, but rather impact other men. Elihu criticizes those who cry out under oppression but fail to seek God, their Maker, concluding that Job speaks ignorantly and without true understanding.
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Elihu Challenges Job's Claims

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And Elihu went on to say:
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“Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I am more righteous than God.’ ​
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For you ask, ‘What does it profit me, and what benefit do I gain apart from sin?’
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I will reply to you and to your friends as well.

Human Actions Do Not Affect God

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Look to the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds high above you. ​
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If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him? If you multiply your transgressions, what do you do to Him? ​
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If you are righteous, what do you give Him, or what does He receive from your hand? ​
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Your wickedness affects only a man like yourself, and your righteousness only a son of man.

Why Cries Go Unanswered

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Men cry out under great oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the mighty.
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But no one asks, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives us songs in the night, ​
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who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?’
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There they cry out, but He does not answer, because of the pride of evil men.
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Surely God does not listen to empty pleas, and the Almighty does not take note of it. ​
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How much less, then, when you say that you do not see Him, that your case is before Him and you must wait for Him, ​
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and further, that in His anger He has not punished or taken much notice of folly! ​
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So Job opens his mouth in vain and multiplies words without knowledge.” ​

Study Notes for Job 35

Verse 2

Elihu believes Job has implied that his moral integrity is superior to God’s concern, a dangerous theological claim that elevates the creature above the Creator.

Verse 5

Elihu employs the vast distance of the heavens as a metaphor for God’s transcendence and immutability, arguing that human actions cannot truly reach or alter the divine nature.

Verse 6

This rhetorical question establishes God's aseity (self-existence). Human sin harms fellow humans and the sinner, but it does not diminish God’s glory or power.

Verse 7

Just as sin cannot harm God, human righteousness cannot profit Him; God is already complete. Therefore, rewards for righteousness are given by grace, not necessity.

Verse 10

Elihu critiques the afflicted: they cry out against oppressors (v. 9) but fail to seek God as the source of true comfort and hope, who sustains the faithful even in suffering.

Verse 13

Elihu asserts that God ignores 'vanity'—prayers offered out of pride, resentment, or empty complaint. Only genuine, humble pleas are appropriate before the Almighty.

Verse 14

This verse advises Job to trust God’s timing. Even if Job cannot perceive God’s presence, divine judgment is certain and will be executed when appropriate.

Verse 15

A notoriously difficult verse, often interpreted as Elihu criticizing Job for impatience, suggesting that Job assumes God has overlooked his suffering because immediate retribution has not occurred.

Verse 16

Elihu concludes his second speech by condemning Job for multiplying words without knowledge, implying that Job's self-justification is rooted in ignorance of God’s transcendent nature.

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