Job 35: What Is It to Him?
Elihu argues that human sin and righteousness affect people more than God, and that unanswered cries often rise from pride rather than humble seeking.
Job 35 (WEB)
1 Moreover Elihu answered,
2 “Do you think this to be your right, or do you say, ‘My righteousness is more than God’s,’
3 That you ask, ‘What advantage will it be to you? What profit shall I have, more than if I had sinned?’
4 I will answer you, and your companions with you.
5 Look to the heavens, and see. See the skies, which are higher than you.
6 If you have sinned, what effect do you have against him? If your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?
7 If you are righteous, what do you give him? Or what does he receive from your hand?
8 Your wickedness may hurt a man as you are, and your righteousness may profit a son of man.
9 “By reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out. They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty.
10 But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night,
11 who teaches us more than the animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’
12 There they cry, but no one gives answer, because of the pride of evil men.
13 Surely God will not hear an empty cry, neither will the Almighty regard it.
14 How much less when you say you don’t see him. The cause is before him, and you wait for him!
15 But now, because he has not visited in his anger, neither does he greatly regard arrogance.
16 Therefore Job opens his mouth with empty talk, and he multiplies words without knowledge.”
Job 35 (KJV)
1 Elihu spake moreover, and said,
2 Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God’s?
3 For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? and, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin?
4 I will answer thee, and thy companions with thee.
5 Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou.
6 If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him?
7 If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?
8 Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; and thy righteousness may profit the son of man.
9 By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry: they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty.
10 But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night;
11 Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?
12 There they cry, but none giveth answer, because of the pride of evil men.
13 Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it.
14 Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, yet judgment is before him; therefore trust thou in him.
15 But now, because it is not so, he hath visited in his anger; yet he knoweth it not in great extremity:
16 Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.
Job 35 (ASV)
1 Moreover Elihu answered and said,
2 Thinkest thou this to be thy right, Or sayest thou, My righteousness is more than God’s,
3 That thou sayest, What advantage will it be unto thee? And, What profit shall I have, more than if I had sinned?
4 I will answer thee, And thy companions with thee.
5 Look unto the heavens, and see; And behold the skies, which are higher than thou.
6 If thou hast sinned, what effectest thou against him? And if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him?
7 If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? Or what receiveth he of thy hand?
8 Thy wickednessmay hurta man as thou art; And thy righteousness may profit a son of man.
9 By reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out; They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty.
10 But none saith, Where is God my Maker, Who giveth songs in the night,
11 Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, And maketh us wiser than the birds of the heavens?
12 There they cry, but none giveth answer, Because of the pride of evil men.
13 Surely God will not hear an emptycry, Neither will the Almighty regard it.
14 How much less when thou sayest thou beholdest him not, The cause is before him, and thou waitest for him!
15 But now, because he hath not visited in his anger, Neither doth he greatly regard arrogance;
16 Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vanity; He multiplieth words without knowledge.
Summary
Elihu presses Job on his claim that righteousness gains him nothing, asking whether Job really thinks his own righteousness exceeds God's. He directs Job to look up to the heavens and the skies, far higher than himself, and to consider the vast distance between Creator and creature. If a man sins, Elihu argues, he does no damage to the transcendent God; if he is righteous, he gives God nothing God did not already possess. Human wickedness and goodness fall mainly upon other human beings, not upon the self-sufficient Almighty. Elihu then turns to the problem of unanswered prayer: many cry out under oppression, but their cries are empty because they do not truly seek God their Maker, who gives songs in the night and teaches us more than the beasts and birds. God will not listen to a proud, empty cry, and Elihu suggests Job's complaints fall into this category, multiplying words without knowledge. Though Elihu rightly magnifies God's transcendence, he wrongly implies that God is indifferent to human suffering, an imbalance the book will correct when God himself answers Job. The chapter invites reflection on why we pray and whether we seek God himself or merely relief.
Voices
- Elihu — The speaker who stresses God's self-sufficiency and the emptiness of proud, self-centered cries.
- God our Maker — The transcendent Creator who gives songs in the night and is not enriched or diminished by human conduct.
- Job — The sufferer whose claim that godliness profits nothing Elihu seeks to refute.
Key Verse
Job 35:10 (WEB)
But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night,
Lessons Learned
- God is so great that our sin cannot diminish him and our righteousness cannot enrich him.
- The reach of our choices falls largely on our fellow human beings, for good or for ill.
- Prayer that seeks only relief, without seeking God himself, can become an empty cry.
- God gives songs in the night, joy that meets us in darkness when we truly turn to him.
- God is gloriously self-sufficient. “If you are righteous, what do you give him?” (Job 35:7, WEB); we cannot put God in our debt, which means his grace is never wages but always gift.
- Our deeds affect our neighbors. “Your wickedness may hurt a man… and your righteousness may profit a son of man” (Job 35:8, WEB); how we live touches those around us more than we know.
- God gives songs in the night. He is the Maker “who gives songs in the night” (Job 35:10, WEB); even in darkness, those who seek him receive joy that the world cannot give.
- Proud prayers go unheard. “God will not hear an empty cry” (Job 35:13, WEB); prayer that demands relief without humbly seeking God himself misses its true aim.
- How does Elihu use the height of the heavens to teach about God's transcendence?
- What does Elihu mean by saying our sin and righteousness affect people more than God?
- Why does Elihu say many cries go unanswered, and where is he partly right?
- What is comforting about a God who “gives songs in the night”?
- When you pray in hardship, are you mostly seeking relief or seeking God himself, and how might Elihu's words reshape your prayers?
- Elihu points Job to the heavens far above him to show that God is exalted beyond human reach (35:5). The vast distance is meant to humble Job's complaints against the Almighty.
- Because God is self-sufficient, human conduct cannot add to or subtract from him; its effects land chiefly on other people (35:6-8). This guards against thinking we obligate God by our goodness.
- Elihu says many cry out in oppression but do not truly seek God, so their proud cries go unheard (35:9-13). He is right that prayer must seek God, yet wrong to imply God is unmoved by genuine suffering.
- The God who gives “songs in the night” meets his people with joy even in darkness (35:10). It assures us that worship and gladness are possible before circumstances change.
- This is a personal-application question. Invite honest reflection on the motives of our prayers. As leader, affirm that seeking relief is not wrong, while gently encouraging members to seek the Giver above the gifts, and to listen for songs in the night.