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Texts -- Job 34:1-31 (NET)

Context
Elihu’s Second Speech
34:1 Elihu answered : 34:2 “Listen to my words , you wise men ; hear me, you learned men. 34:3 For the ear assesses words as the mouth tastes food . 34:4 Let us evaluate for ourselves what is right ; let us come to know among ourselves what is good . 34:5 For Job says , ‘I am innocent , but God turns away my right . 34:6 Concerning my right , should I lie ? My wound is incurable , although I am without transgression .’ 34:7 What man is like Job , who drinks derision like water ! 34:8 He goes about in company with evildoers , he goes along with wicked men . 34:9 For he says , ‘It does not profit a man when he makes his delight with God .’
God is Not Unjust
34:10 “Therefore , listen to me, you men of understanding . Far be it from God to do wickedness , from the Almighty to do evil . 34:11 For he repays a person for his work , and according to the conduct of a person , he causes the consequences to find him. 34:12 Indeed , in truth , God does not act wickedly , and the Almighty does not pervert justice . 34:13 Who entrusted to him the earth ? And who put him over the whole world ? 34:14 If God were to set his heart on it, and gather in his spirit and his breath , 34:15 all flesh would perish together and human beings would return to dust .
God Is Impartial and Omniscient
34:16 “If you have understanding , listen to this , hear what I have to say . 34:17 Do you really think that one who hates justice can govern ? And will you declare guilty the supremely righteous One, 34:18 who says to a king , ‘Worthless man’ and to nobles , ‘Wicked men,’ 34:19 who shows no partiality to princes , and does not take note of the rich more than the poor , because all of them are the work of his hands ? 34:20 In a moment they die , in the middle of the night , people are shaken and they pass away . The mighty are removed effortlessly . 34:21 For his eyes are on the ways of an individual , he observes all a person’s steps . 34:22 There is no darkness , and no deep darkness , where evildoers can hide themselves . 34:23 For he does not still consider a person , that he should come before God in judgment . 34:24 He shatters the great without inquiry , and sets up others in their place . 34:25 Therefore , he knows their deeds , he overthrows them in the night and they are crushed . 34:26 He strikes them for their wickedness , in a place where people can see , 34:27 because they have turned away from following him, and have not understood any of his ways , 34:28 so that they caused the cry of the poor to come before him, so that he hears the cry of the needy . 34:29 But if God is quiet , who can condemn him? If he hides his face , then who can see him? Yet he is over the individual and the nation alike , 34:30 so that the godless man should not rule , and not lay snares for the people .
Job Is Foolish to Rebel
34:31 “Has anyone said to God , ‘I have endured chastisement , but I will not act wrongly any more.

Pericope

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Bible Dictionary

  • WORKER; WORKFELLOW; WORKMAN

    [isbe] WORKER; WORKFELLOW; WORKMAN - wur'-der, wurk'-fel-o, wurk'-man (charash, pa`al; ergates, sunergos): "Worker" (artificer) is the translation of charash, "to cut in" (1 Ki 7:14, "a worker in brass"), and of charash, "artificer...

  • WAY

    [isbe] WAY - wa ('orach, orcha', 'erets, bo', derekh, halikhah, ma`galah, nathibh; hodos, parodos, poreia, tropos; "highway," mecillah, meclul; diexodoi ton hodon): The list just cited contains only a portion of the words translate...

  • RIGHT

    [isbe] RIGHT - rit (yashar, mishpaT; dikaios, euthus): Many Hebrew words are translated "right," with different shades of meaning. Of these the two noted are the most important: yashar, with the sense of being straight, direct, as ...

  • PROVIDENCE, 1

    [isbe] PROVIDENCE, 1 - prov'-i-dens: I. PROVIDENCE DEFINED II. DIFFERENT SPHERES OF PROVIDENTIAL ACTIVITY DISTINGUISHED III. BIBLICAL PRESENTATION OF THE DOCTRINE OF PROVIDENCE 1. Divine Providence in the Old Testament Scriptures (...

  • OMNISCIENCE

    [isbe] OMNISCIENCE - om-nish'-ens: The term does not occur in Scripture, either in its nominal or in its adjectival form. 1. Words and Usage: In the Old Testament it is expressed in connection with such words as da'ath, binah, tebh...

  • Job

    [nave] JOB 1. A man who dwelt in Uz, Job 1:1. Righteousness of, Job 1:1, 5, 8; 2:3; Ezek. 14:14, 20. Riches of, Job 1:3. Trial of, by affliction of Satan, Job 1:13-19; 2:7-10. Fortitude of, Job 1:20-22; 2:10; Jas. 5:11. Visite...

  • God

    [ebd] (A.S. and Dutch God; Dan. Gud; Ger. Gott), the name of the Divine Being. It is the rendering (1) of the Hebrew 'El, from a word meaning to be strong; (2) of 'Eloah_, plural _'Elohim. The singular form, Eloah, is used only in...
    [nave] GOD. List of Sub-Topics Miscellany; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Access to; Compassion of; Creator; Creator of Mankind; Eternity of; Faithfulness of; Fatherhood of; Favor of; Foreknowledge of; Glory of; Goodness of...

  • FURTHER; FURTHERANCE

    [isbe] FURTHER; FURTHERANCE - fur'-ther, fur'-therans (yacaph; eti, prokope); Further, adverb and adjective, is comparative of "forth," meaning "to a greater distance," "something more," "moreover," etc.; the verb "to further," mea...

  • FOREKNOW; FOREKNOWLEDGE

    [isbe] FOREKNOW; FOREKNOWLEDGE - for-no', for-nol'-ej: 1. Meaning of the Term 2. Foreknowledge as Prescience 3. Foreknowledge Based on Foreordination 4. Foreknowledge as Equivalent to Foreordination LITERATURE 1. Meaning of the Ter...

  • FAR; FARTHER

    [isbe] FAR; FARTHER - far, far'-ther: "Far" (adj.), distant, remote; (advb.) widely removed, is most frequently in the Old Testament the translation of rachoq, and in the New Testament of makran, but also of other Hebrew and Greek ...

  • FACE

    [isbe] FACE - fas: In Hebrew the translation of three expressions: (1) panim (2) `ayin, literally, "eye" and (3) 'aph, literally, "nose," "nostril," already noted under the word COUNTENANCE, which see. The first and second of these...

  • Elihu

    [ebd] whose God is he. (1.) "The son of Barachel, a Buzite" (Job 32:2), one of Job's friends. When the debate between Job and his friends is brought to a close, Elihu for the first time makes his appearance, and delivers his opini...
    [nave] ELIHU 1. A Buzite and one of Job's three friends, Job 32-37. 2. Son of Tohu, 1 Sam. 1:1. Probably identical with Eliel, 1 Chr. 6:34, and Eliab, 1 Chr. 6:27. 3. A Manassite warrior, who joined David at Ziklag, 1 Chr. 12:20...

  • DUST

    [isbe] DUST - dust (`aphar; koniortos, chous): Small particles of earth. The word has several figurative and symbolic meanings: (1) Dust being the material out of which God is said to have formed man (Gen 2:7), it became a symbol o...

  • DESPAIR

    [isbe] DESPAIR - de-spar': The substantive only in 2 Cor 4:8, "perplexed, but not in (the Revised Version (British and American) "yet not unto") despair," literally, "being at a loss, but not utterly at a loss." "Unto despair" here...

  • CONDEMN; CONDEMNATION

    [isbe] CONDEMN; CONDEMNATION - kon-dem', kon-dem-na'-shun: 1. In the Old Testament: (1) The causative stem of rasha` "to declare (or make) wrong," "to condemn," whether in civil, ethical or religious relations. Taken in this sense ...

  • COMPANY

    [isbe] COMPANY - kum'-pa-ni: The fertility of the original languages in synonyms and varied shades of meaning is seen by the fact that 20 Hebrew and 12 Greek words are represented by this single term. An analysis of these words sho...

  • CHARGE; CHARGEABLE

    [isbe] CHARGE; CHARGEABLE - charj, char'-ja-b'-l (from Latin carrus, "a wagon," hence, "to lay or put a load on or in," "to burden, or be a burden"): Figurative: (1) of a special duty mishmereth, "thing to be watched"), "the charge...

  • BREAK

    [isbe] BREAK - brak: shabhar = "break" (down, off, in pieces, up), "destroy," "quench" (Isa 14:25; Jer 19:10,11; Ezek 4:16; Am 1:5); paraq = "to break off" or "craunch"; figuratively "to deliver" (Gen 27:40 the King James Version);...

  • BEAR; BORNE

    [isbe] BEAR; BORNE - bar, born (nasa'; lambano, anaphero, bastazo): In English Versions of the Bible the physical sense is familiar, of supporting or carrying any weight or burden. The translation of the Revised Version (British an...

  • Arrows

    [ebd] At first made of reeds, and then of wood tipped with iron. Arrows are sometimes figuratively put for lightning (Deut. 32:23, 42; Ps. 7:13; 18:14; 144:6; Zech. 9:14). They were used in war as well as in the chase (Gen. 27:3; ...

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • What this book is all about has been the subject of considerable debate. Many people think God gave it to us to provide His answer to the age-old problem of suffering. In particular, many believe it is in the Bible to help us...
  • I. Prologue chs. 1-2A. Job's character 1:1-5B. Job's calamities 1:6-2:101. The first test 1:6-222. The second test 2:1-10C. Job's comforters 2:11-13II. The dialogue concerning the basis of the divine-human relationship 3:1-42...
  • The writer composed the prologue and epilogue of this book in prose narrative and the main body (3:1-42:6) in poetry. The prologue and epilogue form a frame around the main emphasis of the revelation, the poetic section, and ...
  • "But it is just here, when everything is blackest, that his faith . . . like the rainbow in the cloud . . . shines with a marvelous splendor."89This short section contains probably the best known verses in the book (vv. 23-27...
  • Because the speech in this chapter is more soliloquy than dialogue some scholars have concluded that someone other than Job spoke it: Zophar, Bildad, or God. One writer argued for its being a speech by none of the characters,...
  • Many critical scholars believe that a later editor inserted chapters 32-37 in the text of Job.135Most conservatives believe there is ample external and internal evidence indicating that this section of chapters fits into the ...
  • Elihu began by voicing his respect for Job's three friends (vv. 6-10). They were older than he, and for this reason he said he had refrained from speaking until now. However he had become convinced that advancing age does not...
  • Elihu sought to refute Job's charge that God was unjust in this speech. He tried to answer Job's question, "Why doesn't God have mercy on me?"He first addressed the three friends (vv. 10-15, plural "you"in Hebrew) and then sp...
  • As the three friends, Elihu believed God was acting perfectly justly in allowing Job to suffer and that Job was insolent to accuse God of being unjust (v. 10). He then reviewed God's character to illustrate His justice (vv. 1...
  • We could chart the differences in Elihu's first three speeches this way.Elihu's SpeechJob's question that Elihu answeredJob's charge that Elihu refutedFirstWhy doesn't God respond to me?God is insensitive (ch. 33).SecondWhy d...
  • Job had said that living a righteous life does not benefit a person since God does not consistently bless the righteous and punish the wicked in this life (9:30-31; cf. 34:9; 35:3). Elihu thought this assertion was hardly a s...
  • Andersen, Francis I. Job. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries series. Leicester, Eng. and Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1976.Archer, Gleason L., Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction. Revised ed. Chicago: Moody...
  • 12:6 Solomon described the end of life first as the extinguishing of a light. The "golden bowl"is a bowl that holds a flame. When the "silver cord"that holds it breaks, the bowl crashes to the floor and the light goes out. Go...
  • John now presented evidence that Jesus knew people as no others did and that many believed in His name (2:23). This constitutes further witness that He is the Son of God. John summarized several conversations that Jesus had w...
  • Peter's sermon on this occasion is the first sermon in Acts addressed to a Gentile audience (cf. 14:15-17; 17:22-31). It is quite similar to the ones Peter preached in 2:14-40 and 3:11-26 except that this one has more informa...
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