Job 34:10

God is Not Unjust

34:10 “Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding. ¹ 

Far be it from ²  God to do wickedness,

from the Almighty to do evil.

Job 34:18-19

34:18 who says to a king, ³  ‘Worthless man’ ⁴ 

and to nobles, ‘Wicked men,’

34:19 who shows no partiality to princes,

and does not take note of ⁵  the rich more than the poor,

because all of them are the work of his hands?

Job 40:4-8

40:4 “Indeed, I am completely unworthy ⁶  – how could I reply to you?

I put ⁷  my hand over my mouth to silence myself. ⁸ 

40:5 I have spoken once, but I cannot answer;

twice, but I will say no more.” ⁹ 

The Lord’s Second Speech ¹⁰ 

40:6 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:

40:7 “Get ready for a difficult task ¹¹  like a man.

I will question you and you will inform me!

40:8 Would you indeed annul ¹²  my justice?

Would you declare me guilty so that you might be right?

Romans 9:20

9:20 But who indeed are you – a mere human being ¹³  – to talk back to God? ¹⁴  Does what is molded say to the molder, “Why have you made me like this?” ¹⁵ 

[34:10]  ¹ tn Heb “men of heart.” The “heart” is used for the capacity to understand and make the proper choice. It is often translated “mind.”

[34:10]  ² tn For this construction, see Job 27:5.

[34:18]  ³ tc Heb “Does one say,” although some smooth it out to say “Is it fit to say?” For the reading “who says,” the form has to be repointed to הַאֹמֵר (ha’omer) meaning, “who is the one saying.” This reading is supported by the LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac. Also it seems to flow better with the following verse. It would be saying that God is over the rulers and can rebuke them. The former view is saying that no one rebukes kings, much less Job rebuking God.

[34:18]  ⁴ tn The word בְּלִיָּעַל (bÿliyya’al) means both “worthless” and “wicked.” It is common in proverbial literature, and in later writings it became a description of Satan. It is usually found with “son of.”

[34:19]  ⁵ tn The verb means “to give recognition; to take note of” and in this passage with לִפְנֵי (lifne, “before”) it means to show preferential treatment to the rich before the poor. The word for “rich” here is an unusual word, found parallel to “noble” (Isa 32:2). P. Joüon thinks it is a term of social distinction (Bib 18 [1937]: 207-8).

[40:4]  ⁶ tn The word קַלֹּתִי (qalloti) means “to be light; to be of small account; to be unimportant.” From this comes the meaning “contemptible,” which in the causative stem would mean “to treat with contempt; to curse.” Dhorme tries to make the sentence a conditional clause and suggests this meaning: “If I have been thoughtless.” There is really no “if” in Job’s mind.

[40:4]  ⁷ tn The perfect verb here should be classified as an instantaneous perfect; the action is simultaneous with the words.

[40:4]  ⁸ tn The words “to silence myself” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[40:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “I will not add.”

[40:6]  ¹⁰ sn The speech can be divided into three parts: the invitation to Job to assume the throne and rule the world (40:7-14), the description of Behemoth (40:15-24), and the description of Leviathan (41:1-34).

[40:7]  ¹¹ tn See note on “task” in 38:3.

[40:8]  ¹² tn The verb פָּרַר (parar) means “to annul; to break; to frustrate.” It was one thing for Job to claim his own integrity, but it was another matter altogether to nullify God’s righteousness in the process.

[9:20]  ¹³ tn Grk “O man.”

[9:20]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “On the contrary, O man, who are you to talk back to God?”

[9:20]  ¹⁵ sn A quotation from Isa 29:16; 45:9.