Job 35
Elihu: Job’s sin hurts people, not God
Job, out of line
1Elihu kept talking:2Do you think it’s fair of you to say these things:
“I got it right and God is wrong.
3What good is religion? [1]
Look at me suffering.
How am I better off now,
Than if I had sinned?”
Elihu: Job’s sin doesn’t hurt heaven
4I'll tell you what I think.And I'll tell your friends here with you.
5Look up in the sky, Job. [2]
Take a good look at those clouds high above you.
6Do your sins reach high enough to hurt God?
If you could pile your sins on top of each other
How would that affect God?
7And if you are righteous,
What's in it for him?
Are you making heaven better for God?
8When you do something wicked,
It hurts people here on earth.
When you are righteous,
You manage to help other people.
9People complain about oppression.
They ask for help
In dealing with strong leaders.
10But they don’t call out to God.
They don’t say, “Where is my Creator
Who helps us through dark times? [3]
11He teaches us.
He makes us smarter than animals,
And wiser than the birds."
12The people cry out their complaints.
But God doesn’t answer them.
They’re too wicked and full of pride.
God doesn’t answer foolish prayers
13If you go to God with a foolish request,He’s not going to take it seriously.
14Even more so if you say you can’t see him,
And you’re waiting for him
To answer the court case you filed against him.
15Even worse, you say he doesn't punish sin
And it doesn't matter to him
If people are good or bad.
16When Job opens his mouth
Nothing but ignorant words fall out.
Footnotes
More literally, “How does it profit me?” The “it” seems to refer to serving God, which is another way of referring to Job’s religion.
Elihu isn’t just telling Job to look at the sky. Eliphaz said earlier, “God lives high above us in the sky, (Job 22:12).
This is a guess. Scholars debate how to interpret what is more literally “No one prays, ‘Where is God my Creator who gives songs in the night.’” The setting is of people complaining about oppression. Perhaps “songs in the night” is a metaphor for peace, encouragement, and courage in the middle of the trouble they’re facing. They’re not bothering to ask God for all the things that music can do to inspire and refresh our souls. The guess is that this wasn’t about music or visions in the night but about getting through the night and the days ahead.
Discussion Questions
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