Job 34

Chapters 32–37 of Job record the speeches of the young man Elihu, and chapter 34 is the second of them. In Job 33, Elihu had spoken directly to Job. In this chapter he addresses "wise men" as his audience and rebuts Job's claims.

Outline

• Verses 1–4: Elihu asks the wise to listen. Just as the mouth tastes food, so the ear tests words; he therefore proposes that they discern together what is right.
• Verses 5–9: Elihu summarizes Job's words. According to Elihu, Job has said that although he is righteous and upright, God has taken away his right, and that it profits a man nothing to delight himself with God. Elihu charges that Job drinks up scorning like water and keeps company with the wicked.
• Verses 10–15: Elihu declares that God never does wickedness or commits iniquity, and that He repays every person according to his deeds. He adds that if God were to withdraw His spirit and breath, all flesh would perish and return to dust.
• Verses 16–20: Elihu asks how one who hates justice could govern. God shows no partiality even to kings or the rich, for they too are all the work of His hands.
• Verses 21–30: God sees every step a person takes, so there is no darkness where the wicked can hide. God breaks the mighty and sets others in their place, and He hears the cry of the poor. He also keeps the godless from holding power.
• Verses 31–33: Elihu asks whether anyone has accepted chastening and repented. He then asks whether God must repay in the way Job wishes.
• Verses 34–37: Elihu says that men of understanding will conclude that Job speaks without knowledge. He states his desire that Job be tried to the end and concludes that Job adds rebellion to his sin.

Key Verses

• Job 34:10 "Far be it from God, that he should do wickedness": This is the starting point of Elihu's argument, declaring God's justice in a single sentence.
• Job 34:14–15 "If he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath … man shall turn again unto dust": This is a confession that all life depends on God.
• Job 34:19 "That accepteth not the persons of princes": This verse brings out the theme that God shows no partiality.

Characters and Places

• Elihu: The son of Barachel the Buzite, who first appears in chapter 32. He explains that he had held back from speaking because he was younger than Job and his three friends.
• Job: The one whom Elihu rebuts. He does not speak in this chapter.
• The wise men: The audience Elihu addresses. Interpreters differ on whether the term refers to Job's three friends or to other bystanders.
• No place is specifically mentioned.

Points for Reflection

• Assessments of Elihu vary among interpreters. Some hold that, unlike the three friends, he emphasizes God's sovereignty and thus prepares the way for God's speeches beginning in chapter 38. Others see him as ultimately repeating the three friends' logic of retribution. In Job 42, God rebukes the three friends but makes no mention of Elihu, and the meaning of this silence is also disputed.
• Opinions also differ on how accurately Elihu's summary of Job's words (verses 5–9) reflects what Job actually said. Some scholars regard Elihu's speeches as a later addition to the book.
• The idea of repayment according to one's deeds in verse 11 resembles the wording of Romans 2 (Romans 2:6). Verse 19 is often read alongside the statement in Acts 10 (Acts 10:34) that God is no respecter of persons. The Book of Job as a whole, however, questions the view that suffering can be explained simply as retribution. For this reason, a common approach to reading wisdom literature is to consider what place such verses hold within the book as a whole.