Bible Commentaries

The Speeches of Elihu (continued)

1-8. Elihu (Job 34:9) had charged Job with saying that there was no advantage in being righteous. He now deals with this assertion.

2. Right] RV 'thy right,' thy just cause.

3. If I he cleansed from my sin] RV 'more than if I had sinned.'

4. Thy companions] those who held the same views.

5-8. Elihu points to the infinite distance between God and man, and shows that He cannot be injured by the evil or benefited by the good which we do. But a man's conduct is most important both to himself and to his fellows.

9-16. Coming to the problem why the cry of the oppressed seems often unanswered, Elihu replies it is because there is a lack of real prayer and trust in God. Hence Job must not expect to be heard so long as he murmurs at the way God treats him.

9. They make the oppressed to cry] rather, 'men cry out.'

10. Who giveth songs in the night] i.e. who delivers in the night of trouble, and causes men to sing with joy.

12. Render, 'They cry because of the pride of evil men, but none giveth answer'; i.e. because there is no humble, trustful appeal to God.

13. Vanity] or, unreality.

14. Shalt] rather, 'dost.' Although Job thinks God is indifferent to his cause, it is not forgotten, only he must wait patiently.

15. RV 'But now, because he hath not visited in his anger, neither doth he greatly regard arrogance'; i.e. because God does not seem to punish sin at once.

16. In vain] i.e. with foolish views.

In this chapter Elihu follows Eliphaz in explaining that righteousness is profitable to the upright, since God is too exalted to have any interest of His own to serve in perversion of justice. He urges further that the reason for God's silence when the wretched appeal to Him is that their cry is prompted by their selfishness. Both arguments are quite irrelevant to the case of Job.