The big picture
Elihu, the younger man who has entered the debate, widens his address to those who count themselves wise. Job, the sufferer before them, has insisted that his wounds do not prove guilt. Elihu hears that defence as an attack on God's justice. He argues that the maker of all life cannot be a corrupt judge or favour the wealthy. His speech will also press hard against Job himself. Praise of divine fairness stands beside a severe human judgement of a man in pain.
In this chapter
- Listeners Are Asked to Test Words Job 34:1-9
Elihu calls on wise hearers to examine his speech as the mouth tests food.
- All Life Depends on God Job 34:10-15
For Elihu, wrongdoing is wholly foreign to God.
- Rank Does Not Protect a Ruler Job 34:16-20
Elihu asks whether someone who hates right could govern the world.
- Oppression Cannot Hide from God Job 34:21-30
Every human step lies within God's sight, Elihu says.
- A Call for Change Becomes Condemnation Job 34:31-37
Elihu describes the response he thinks a corrected person should make: accept the discipline, ask to be taught and stop doing wrong.
Central truth
Elihu defends God's fair rule over all people but turns that defence into a harsh demand for Job's continued testing.
Scripture beside the summary
Job · King James Version · 37Job 34:1-9
Listeners Are Asked to Test Words
Elihu calls on wise hearers to examine his speech as the mouth tests food. He wants them to decide what is right together. He repeats Job's claim of innocence and the complaint that God has denied him justice. Then Elihu treats Job as a man drinking scorn like water and keeping company with evildoers. He says Job has claimed that delighting in God brings no gain. These are Elihu's charges and his account of Job's position. Inviting careful judgement does not make those charges proved before the hearing begins.
In everyday life
The restaurant taster asks the panel to sample a sauce before judging it. Then he calls its maker careless before anyone lifts a spoon. His demand for a fair test sits uneasily beside a verdict already spoken. Elihu accuses a suffering man of speaking wrongly about God, not a cook of spoiling a dish.
Notice
Job 34:3 The image of tasting calls for careful testing of words. That standard must apply to Elihu's claims as well as to the words he attributes to Job.
Job 34:1-9
King James Version1Furthermore Elihu answered and said,
2Hear my words, O ye wise men; and give ear unto me, ye that have knowledge.
3For the ear trieth words, as the mouth tasteth meat.
4Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good.
5For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment.
6Should I lie against my right? my wound is incurable without transgression.
7What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water?
8Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity, and walketh with wicked men.
9For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God.
Job 34:10-15
All Life Depends on God
For Elihu, wrongdoing is wholly foreign to God. He insists that God deals with people according to their actions and does not bend justice. No higher ruler assigned him the earth or put him in charge of the world. Life depends on his own gift. If he gathered back the spirit and breath he gives, every living person would die and return to dust. Elihu uses this dependence to support God's rightful rule. His argument concerns the source of all life rather than evidence about one sufferer's conduct.
In everyday life
A greenhouse caretaker checks the main water valve that feeds every bed. No plant supplies the flow that keeps the others alive. She traces each pipe back to the same tank before discussing a dry patch. Elihu says God supplies life itself and acts without injustice, claims no water system can fully illustrate.
Notice
Job 34:14 The thought of God withdrawing breath includes everyone, not only the accused sufferer. Elihu points to a dependence shared by those who speak and those they judge.
Job 34:10-15
King James Version10Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.
11For the work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find according to his ways.
12Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment.
13Who hath given him a charge over the earth? or who hath disposed the whole world?
14If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;
15All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.
Job 34:16-20
Rank Does Not Protect a Ruler
Elihu asks whether someone who hates right could govern the world. He challenges the attempt to condemn the one he calls wholly fair. Even earthly rulers are treated with respect; how much more the maker of rich and poor alike. God does not favour princes or value the wealthy above those with little. A ruler can die suddenly, and whole peoples can be shaken in the night. Great power can vanish without a visible human attacker. Wealth and office give no exemption from the rule Elihu is describing.
In everyday life
An estate valuer places a prince's worn shoes beside the rest of a dead owner's effects. The title on the papers cannot stop the inventory or preserve the life that ended. Each item now needs the same careful handling as any other estate. Elihu speaks of God's judgement over rulers, not the work of valuing their goods.
Notice
Job 34:19 Both poor people and princes are called the work of God's hands. Their shared maker is the reason Elihu gives for God showing no preference by wealth.
Job 34:16-20
King James Version16If now thou hast understanding, hear this: hearken to the voice of my words.
17Shall even he that hateth right govern? and wilt thou condemn him that is most just?
18Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly?
19How 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.
20In 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.
Job 34:21-30
Oppression Cannot Hide from God
Every human step lies within God's sight, Elihu says. Darkness gives evildoers no place to hide. God does not need a long inquiry to learn their deeds. He removes the mighty and puts others in their place. Their fall can be public because they turned away from him and made poor people cry for help. God hears those cries. No one can undo his peace or force his face into view when he hides it. His rule reaches one person or a nation, preventing false rulers from trapping the people.
In everyday life
The factory safety inspector opens a locked store after workers report blocked exits. The owner has kept the room out of visitors' view, but the trapped workers' complaints have reached the inspection team. Public access now exposes what the lock concealed. Elihu attributes complete sight and rule to God, beyond an inspector's limited evidence.
Notice
Job 34:28 The cries of poor people reach God because rulers have harmed them. Elihu's defence of divine rule includes attention to those without influence at court.
Job 34:21-30
King James Version21For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.
22There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
23For he will not lay upon man more than right; that he should enter into judgment with God.
24He shall break in pieces mighty men without number, and set others in their stead.
25Therefore he knoweth their works, and he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed.
26He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others;
27Because they turned back from him, and would not consider any of his ways:
28So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted.
29When 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:
30That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared.
Job 34:31-37
A Call for Change Becomes Condemnation
Elihu describes the response he thinks a corrected person should make: accept the discipline, ask to be taught and stop doing wrong. God's repayment cannot be set by Job's preferences. He urges Job to state what he knows, then appeals again to wise listeners. In his judgement, Job's words lack knowledge. He wants Job tested to the end because he thinks the answers support evil people. He accuses Job of adding rebellion to sin. The speaker who promised fair attention now asks for further pressure on the sufferer.
In everyday life
The sports assessor starts a review by inviting a runner to explain a missed test. Before hearing the answer, he asks for more penalties because she questioned the process. His tone changes from correction to condemnation. Elihu's verdict concerns sin and rebellion before God, which no training review can decide.
Notice
Job 34:37 Elihu treats Job's protest as another offence added to guilt. That is Elihu's conclusion, not fresh proof of the hidden crimes the earlier friends claimed.
Job 34:31-37
King James Version31Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more:
32That which I see not teach thou me: if I have done iniquity, I will do no more.
33Should 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.
34Let men of understanding tell me, and let a wise man hearken unto me.
35Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom.
36My desire is that Job may be tried unto the end because of his answers for wicked men.
37For he addeth rebellion unto his sin, he clappeth his hands among us, and multiplieth his words against God.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Job 34:1 begins with “Furthermore Elihu answered and said,”
Where the chapter turns
Job 34:19 forms a natural hinge: “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.”
The final note
Job 34:37 leaves the reader with “For he addeth rebellion unto his sin, he clappeth his hands among us, and multiplieth his words against God.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words words, iniquity, judgment, wicked, hearken, right help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- recompense
- Repay or give a person what their actions deserve.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
