Job 36

Elihu's fourth and final speech, part of the series of speeches that begins in chapter 32 of the Book of Job, opens in this chapter and continues through Job 37. In Job 38, God Himself then speaks to Job.

Outline

• Verses 1–4 Elihu asks to be heard a little longer, saying that he still has more to say on God's behalf. He insists that his words are not false.
• Verses 5–15 God is mighty, yet He despises no one. He does not preserve the life of the wicked, and He gives justice to the afflicted. When people are bound in affliction, He shows them their transgressions and opens their ears to instruction. Those who obey will prosper; those who do not will perish by the sword.
• Verses 16–21 Elihu applies this principle to Job. God sought to lead Job out into a broad place, so Elihu warns him not to harbor anger, resist discipline, or turn aside to iniquity.
• Verses 22–26 Elihu exalts God's power and teaching. No one can say that God has done wrong. He urges Job to praise God's work and declares that God is so great that human beings cannot fully know Him.
• Verses 27–33 Elihu describes how drops of water become mist and fall as rain, along with the clouds, thunder, and lightning. By these God both judges the peoples and gives food in abundance.

Key Verses

• Job 36:15 "He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression." This verse sums up in a single sentence Elihu's claim that suffering is a channel through which people hear God's instruction.
• Job 36:26 "Behold, God is great, and we know him not." Coming just before the divine speeches that begin in chapter 38, this verse exposes the limits of human wisdom.

Characters and Places

• Elihu: The son of Barachel the Buzite (Job 32:2). He is a young man who steps forward to speak after the debate between Job and Job's three friends has ended.
• Job: The one Elihu addresses; he does not speak in this chapter.

Points for Reflection

• Interpreters differ in their assessment of Elihu. Some hold that, unlike the three friends, he emphasizes the instructive purpose of suffering, namely discipline; on this reading, Elihu serves to prepare the way for God's speech. Others hold that his words ultimately repeat the three friends' logic of retribution. The two sides also interpret differently the fact that in Job 42:7–10 God rebukes the three friends but makes no mention of Elihu.
• The Hebrew text of verses 16–21 is difficult, and translations differ considerably in meaning. For this reason, readers often compare Korean versions such as the Korean Revised Version, the New Korean Revised Version, and the New Korean Standard Version.
• The idea that God corrects people through discipline is often read alongside Hebrews 12:6–11 in the New Testament.