Job 35:1-8

Elihu’s Third Speech ¹ 

35:1 Then Elihu answered:

35:2 “Do you think this to be ²  just:

when ³  you say, ‘My right before God.’ ⁴ 

35:3 But you say, ‘What will it profit you,’ ⁵ 

and, ‘What do I gain by not sinning?’ ⁶ 

35:4 I ⁷  will reply to you, ⁸ 

and to your friends with you.

35:5 Gaze at the heavens and see;

consider the clouds, which are higher than you! ⁹ 

35:6 If you sin, how does it affect God? ¹⁰ 

If your transgressions are many,

what does it do to him? ¹¹ 

35:7 If you are righteous, what do you give to God,

or what does he receive from your hand?

35:8 Your wickedness affects only ¹²  a person like yourself,

and your righteousness only other people. ¹³ 

[35:1]  ¹ sn This short speech falls into two sections: Elihu refutes Job’s claim that goodness avails nothing (35:2-8), asserting that when the cry of the afflicted goes unanswered they have not learned their lesson (35:9-16).

[35:2]  ² tn The line could be read as “do you reckon this for justice? Here “to be” is understood.

[35:2]  ³ tn The word “when” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[35:2]  ⁴ tn The brief line could be interpreted in a number of ways. The MT simply has “my right from God.” It could be “I am right before God,” “I am more just/right than God” (identifying the preposition as a comparative min (מִן); cf. J. E. Hartley, Job [NICOT], 463), “I will be right before God,” or “My just cause against God.”

[35:3]  ³ tn The referent of “you” is usually understood to be God.

[35:3]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text merely says, “What do I gain from my sin?” But Job has claimed that he has not sinned, and so this has to be elliptical: “more than if I had sinned” (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 224). It could also be, “What do I gain without sin?”

[35:4]  ⁴ tn The emphatic pronoun calls attention to Elihu who will answer these questions.

[35:4]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text adds, “with words,” but since this is obvious, for stylistic reasons it has not been included in the translation.

[35:5]  ⁵ tn The preposition is taken here as a comparative min (מִן). The line could also read “that are high above you.” This idea has appeared in the speech of Eliphaz (22:12), Zophar (11:7ff.), and even Job (9:8ff.).

[35:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “him” (also in v. 7); the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[35:6]  ⁷ tn See Job 7:20.

[35:8]  ⁷ tn The phrase “affects only” is supplied in the translation of this nominal sentence.

[35:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “and to [or for] a son of man, your righteousness.”