A verse by verse commentary on Job 34 dealing with ELIHU'S BRUTAL ATTACK ON JOB.

1. JOB 34 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
1 Then Elihu said:
BAR ES, "Furthermore, Elihu answered and said - That is, evidently, after a pause
to see if Job had anything to reply. The word answered in the Scriptures often
means “to begin a discourse,” though nothing had been said by others; see Job 3:2;
Isaiah 14:10; Zechariah 1:10; Zechariah 3:4; Zechariah 4:11-12. Sometimes it is
used with reference to a subject, meaning that one replied to what could be
suggested on the opposite side. Here it maybe understood either in the general sense
of beginning a discourse, or more probably as replying to the sentiments which Job
had advanced in the debate with his friends.
GILL, "Furthermore Elihu answered and said. It is reasonable to suppose that
Elihu made a considerable pause, to see whether Job would make any reply to what he
had delivered, or object to what he had said; which he gave him free liberty to do, if he
had anything upon his mind: but perceiving he was not inclined to return any answer to
him, he went on with his discourse; and which is called a further answer to him: for
though Joh had made no reply to which this could be called an answer, yet as there were
several things remaining for Elihu to answer to, and which he proposed to answer and
did, it may with great propriety here be said that he answered him.
HE RY 1-4, "Here, I. Elihu humbly addresses himself to the auditors, and
endeavours, like an orator, to gain their good-will and their favourable attention. 1. He
calls them wise men, and men that had knowledge, Job_34:2. It is comfortable dealing
with such as understand sense. I speak as to wise men, who can judge what I say, 1Co_
10:15. Elihu differed in opinion from them, and yet he calls them wise and knowing men.
Peevish disputants think all fools that are not of their mind; but it is a piece of justice
which we owe to those who are wise to acknowledge it, though our sentiments do not
agree with theirs. 2. He appeals to their judgment, and therefore submits to their trial,
Job_34:3. The ear of the judicious tries words, whether what is said be true or false,
right or wrong, and he that speaks must stand the test of the intelligent. As we must
prove all things we hear, so we must be willing that what we speak should be proved. 3.
He takes them into partnership with him in the examination and discussion of this
matter, Job_34:4. He does not pretend to be sole dictator, nor undertake to say what is
just and good and what is not, but he is willing to join with them in searching it out, and
desires a consultation: “Let us agree to lay aside all animosities and feuds, all prejudices
and affectation of contradiction, and all stiffness in adhering to the opinion we have once
espoused, and let us choose to ourselves judgment; let us fix right principles on which to
proceed, and then take right methods for finding out truth; and let us know among
ourselves, by comparing notes and communicating our reasons, what is good and what

2. is otherwise.” Note, We are then likely to discern what is right when we agree to assist
one another in searching it out.
K&D 1-4. "After his first speech Elihu has made a brief pause; now since Job is silent,
he begins anew. ‫ויאמר‬ ‫,ויען‬ lxx correctly, here as in all other instances where the phrase
occurs: ᆓπολαβᆹν λέγει, taking up the word he said. The wise and the knowing (Arab.
‛ulamâ), whose attention he bespeaks, are not Job and the three (Umbr., Hahn), who are
indeed a party, and as such a subject for the arbitrative appearance of Elihu; also not
every one capable of forming a judgment (Hirz.); but those in the circle of spectators and
listeners which, as is assumed, has assembled round the disputants (Schlottm.). In Job_
33:4 Elihu does not expressly mean his own ear, but that of the persons addressed: he
establishes his summons to prove what he says by the general thought brought over
from Job_12:11, and as there (comp. Job_5:7; Job_11:12), clothed in the form of the
emblematic proverb, - that as there is a bodily, so there is also a mental organ of sense
which tries its perceptions. ‫ּל‬‫כ‬ ֱ‫ֽא‬ ֶ‫ל‬ is not intended as expressing a purpose (ad
vescendum), but as a gerundive (vescendo). The phrase ‫ט‬ ָ ְ‫שׁ‬ ִ‫מ‬ ‫ר‬ ַ‫ח‬ ָ , occurring only here,
signifies neither to institute a search for the purpose of decision (Schult. and others),
since ‫בחר‬ does not signify to decide upon anything, nor to investigate a cause (Hahn),
which would be ‫,נבחנה‬ but to test and choose what is right, δοκιµάζειν καᆳ τᆵ καλᆵν
κατέχειν, 1Th_5:21, after which the parallel runs: cognoscamus inter nos (i.e., in
common) quid bonum.
BE SO , "Job 34:1. Furthermore Elihu answered and said — Job making no reply
to what Elihu had said, probably because he saw that he had touched the particular
point in which he was especially defective, Elihu carries the charge a little higher,
and tells him, with more sharpness than before, that there were some words in his
discourse which sounded in his ears as if he accused God’s justice and goodness: for
what else did he mean when he complained that God did not do him right, and that
he destroyed alike both good and bad? Which rash assertions Elihu overthrows
from the consideration of the sovereign dominion, power, righteousness, and
wisdom of God. That it was impossible God could act unjustly: for were he so
disposed, what could hinder him from annihilating the whole human race at once?
He needed only withdraw his preserving power, and they would instantly fall into
dust. Since, then, he did not act in this manner, but his ways were perfectly
agreeable to righteousness, he was not to be addressed in so rude a manner as Job
had made use of. Reverence and respect were due to earthly princes; how much
more to Him in whose sight the prince and beggar were the same! for he was the
Maker of them all. That though God would look with a merciful eye on the
infirmities of human nature, when accompanied with humility, yet the arrogant
were sure to find no favour at his hands; he would not fail to execute his vengeance
on them, that they might be an example to others. That submission and resignation
were the behaviour fit for man in the presence of God; and therefore, toward the
conclusion of the chapter, he represents to Job what behaviour and discourse would

3. have better become him than that which he had used.
COFFMA , "ELIHU'S SECO D SPEECH:
ELIHU'S BRUTAL ATTACK O JOB
The whole cycle of speeches in Job is a marvel of human failure to understand. The
relation between sin and suffering Job never for a moment disputed. The thing that
confronted Job was that, in spite of his integrity toward God and the absence of any
gross wickedness that could possibly have deserved the terrible misfortunes that had
overtaken him, he was judged by his friends, and everyone else, as a wicked sinner
who was getting exactly what his wicked conduct deserved.
It appears to this writer that one of the primary purposes of this book was that of
contradicting that nearly universal fallacy. The false idea that wickedness is at once
punished by God with retribution in kind is not true. It was not true in the days of
Job; it was not true in the days of Christ; and it is not true today.
In Luke 13:1-5, Christ pointed out that those men whose blood Pilate had mingled
with the sacrifices, and that those men upon whom the tower of Siloam fell were not
any worse sinners than other citizens of Jerusalem; and in John 9:2-3, even the
apostles of Christ had to be told that neither the blind man nor his parents had
committed sins that resulted in his being born blind. The relevance of these ew
Testament passage is seen in the fact that people supposed the victims of those
tragedies were being punished for their sins.
Since it was this very fallacy that was so vigorously alleged against Job by the
instruments of Satan in this terrible campaign to compel him to renounce his
integrity, we must conclude that the doctrine itself is a primary weapon of Satan,
invented by him and continually advocated by evil men.
"Elihu continued to ignore the particular situation of Job and dealt only in
generalities. Whereas Job had argued from the particular to the general, from his
own case, to the character of God, as confirmed by other injustices around him,
Elihu dealt only with his concept of theology (which was in error), concluding from
it that Job was wicked."[1]
"There are three charges which Elihu brought against Job: (1) he said he was
righteous (Job 9:21; 13:18); (2) this was an implication (in the sight of Elihu) that
Job was accusing God of injustice; and (3) he even claimed that religion brought no
profit to man. "It is impossible to justify this third charge from anything that Job
had said. It was only a deduction made by Elihu from the general drift of what Job
was saying."[2]
It was the erroneous views of Elihu and Job's other accusers that led to their false
judgment of him.

4. "This second speech of Elihu is not addressed primarily to Job, but to a group
called `wise men'; and Elihu is no longer reasoning with Job with a view to helping
him. He is attacking Job."[3]
COKE, 'Elihu accuseth Job of charging God with injustice: he avers, that the
Almighty can never act unjustly; and that humility and submission were required
from man towards so great a Being.
Before Christ 1645.
Job 34:1. Furthermore Elihu answered and said— Elihu goes on with his
impeachment of Job. He accuses him of having charged the Almighty with a denial
of justice, and with having punished him beyond his deserts, Job 34:2-6. This is a
language, he tells him, which could be used only by the profligate and abandoned,
among whose party he seemed willing to enrol himself; otherwise he would never
have said, that God makes no difference between the righteous and the wicked;
referring to chap. Job 9:22-23. That it was impossible to suppose God could act
unjustly; for, were he so disposed, what could hinder him from annihilating the
whole human race at once? He needed only to withdraw his preserving power, and
they would instantly fall into dust. Job 34:7-15. Since then he did not act in this
manner, but his ways were perfectly agreeable to righteousness, he was not to be
addressed in so rude a manner as Job had made use of. Reverence and respect were
due to earthly princes; how much more to him in whose sight the prince and the
beggar were the same: for he was the maker of them all. Job 34:16-19. That though
God would look with a merciful eye on the infirmities of human nature, when
accompanied with humility; yet the arrogant were sure to find no favour at his
hands; he would not fail to execute his vengeance on them, that they might be an
example to others, Job 34:23-30. That submission and resignation was the behaviour
fit for man in the presence of God; and that were he really a man of that knowledge
which he pretended, he would not act in this manner: but it was apparent that he
was not so, by his acting the part of a wicked man, and adding contumacy to his sin.
Job 34:31-37.
ELLICOTT, "(1) Furthermore Elihu.—Elihu here hardly makes good the
profession with which he starts, for he begins immediately to accuse Job in no
measured language. Elihu makes, indeed, a great profession of wisdom, and
expressly addresses himself to the wise (Job 34:2), and insists upon the necessity of
discrimination (Job 34:3-4). It is to be observed that Job himself had given utterance
to much the same sentiment in Job 12:11.
EBC, "An invocation addressed by Elihu to the bystanders begins chapter 34. Again
he emphatically asserts his right to speak, his claim to be a guide of those who think
on the ways of God. He appeals to sound reason and he takes his auditors into
counsel-"Let us choose to ourselves judgment; let us know among ourselves what is

5. good." The proposal is that there shall be conference on the subject of Job’s claim.
But Elihu alone speaks. It is he who selects "what is good."
Certain words that fell from the lips of Job are again his text. Job hath said, I am
righteous, I am in the right; and, God hath taken away my judgment or vindication.
When those words were used the meaning of Job was that the circumstances in
which he had been placed, the troubles appointed by God seemed to prove him a
transgressor. But was he to rest under a charge he knew to be untrue? Stricken with
an incurable wound though he had not transgressed, was he to lie against his right
by remaining silent? This, says Elihu, is Job’s unfounded impious indictment of the
Almighty; and he asks:-
"What man is like Job,
Who drinketh up impiety like water,
Who goeth in company with the workers of iniquity,
And walketh with wicked men?"
Job had spoken of his right which God had taken away. What was his right? Was
he, as he affirmed, without transgression? On the contrary, his principles were
irreligious. There was infidelity beneath his apparent piety. Elihu will prove that so
far from being clear of blame he has been imbibing wrong opinions and joining the
company of the wicked. This attack shows the temper of the writer. o doubt
certain expressions put into the mouth of Job by the original dramatist might be
taken as impeaching the goodness or the justice of God. But to assert that even the
most unguarded passages of the book made for impiety was a great mistake. Faith in
God is to be traced not obscurely but as a shaft of light through all the speeches put
into the mouth of his hero by the poet. One whose mind is bound by certain pious
forms of thought may fail to see the light, but it shines nevertheless.
The attempt made by Elihu to establish his charge has an appearance of success.
Job, he says, is one who drinks up impiety like water and walks with wicked men, -
"For he hath said,
It profiteth a man nothing
That he should delight himself with God."
If this were true, Job would indeed be proved irreligious. Such a statement strikes at
the root of faith and obedience. But is Elihu representing the text with anything like
precision? In Job 9:22 these words are put into Job’s mouth:-
"It is all one, therefore I say,

6. He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked."
God is strong and is breaking him with a tempest. Job finds it useless to defend
himself and maintain that he is perfect. In the midst of the storm he is so tossed that
he despises his life; and in perplexity he cries, -It is all one whether I am righteous
or not, God destroys the good and the vile alike. Again we find him saying,
"Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?" And in
another passage he inquires why the Almighty does not appoint days of judgment.
These are the expressions on which Elihu founds his charge, but the precise words
attributed to Job were never used by him, and in many places he both said and
implied that the favour of God was his greatest joy. The second author is either
misapprehending or perverting the language of his predecessor. His argument
accordingly does not succeed.
Passing at present from the charge of impiety, Elihu takes up the suggestion that
Divine providence is unjust and sets himself to show that, whether men delight
themselves in the Almighty or not, He is certainly All-righteous. And in this
contention, so long as he keeps to generalities and does not take special account of
the case which has roused the whole controversy, he speaks with some power. His
argument comes properly to this, If you ascribe injustice or partiality to Him whom
you call God, you cannot be thinking of the Divine King. From His very nature and
from His position as Lord of all, God cannot be unjust. As Maker and Preserver of
life He must be faithful.
"Far be from God a wickedness,
From the Almighty an injustice!
For every one’s work He requiteth him,
And causeth each to find according to his ways.
Surely, too, God doth not wickedness.
The Almighty perverteth not justice."
Has God any motive for being unjust? Can any one urge Him to what is against His
nature? The thing is impossible. So far Elihu has all with him, for all alike believe in
the sovereignty of God. The Most High, responsible to Himself, must be conceived of
as perfectly just. But would He be so if He were to destroy the whole of His
creatures? Elihu says, God’s sovereignty over all gives Him the right to act
according to His will; and His will determines not only what is, but what is right in
every case.
"Who hath given Him a charge over the earth?
Or who hath disposed the whole world?

7. Were He to set His mind upon Himself,
To gather to Himself His spirit and His breath,
Then all flesh would die together,
Man would return to his dust."
The life of all creatures, implies that the mind of the Creator goes forth to His
universe, to rule it, to supply the needs of all living beings. He is not wrapped up in
Himself, but having given life He provides for its maintenance.
GUZIK 1-9, "a. Hear my words, you wise men: Here Elihu again gave a wordy
introduction to his point. In this speech he would quote the words of Job, the ones
he felt accused God and justified himself.
i. “Of course, neither of these quotations was direct. They rather summarize the
conclusions which Job’s arguments seemed to warrant.” (Morgan)
b. My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression: This was another
slight mischaracterization of what Job said. Job certainly did claim to be wounded
so severely by his trials that it might seem incurable; yet again he never claimed to
be sinless. He only claimed that there was not some special sin that made him the
target of this special catastrophe.
i. Elihu tried to quote specific statements of Job to rebuke, but he quoted selectively
and unfairly. “Elihu picked out only those words of Job that he needed in order to
prove his point.” (Smick)
ii. “True it is, that Job in his heat had let fall very many lavish and inconsiderate
speeches, as is to be seen almost throughout the tenth chapter; but yet it was far
from him ever to say either that himself was without sin or that God was unjust, as
Elihu would bear him down.” (Trapp)
iii. Should I like concerning my right? “Should I falsely accuse myself of such sins of
which I am in no way conscious to myself? Should I betray mine own cause, and
deny my integrity, and say that I deserved worse than I have done?” (Poole)
c. What man is like Job . . . who goes in company with the workers of iniquity: It
seems unthinkable that Elihu believed that Job actually was companion of wicked
men. Perhaps he meant that what he considered to be Job’s confused moral thinking
led him to associate with the morally corrupt.
i. “In language even stronger than that of his elders, the youthful speaker attacks
Job, not for some concealed guilt in his past life – of this, unlike his three elders, the

8. youthful speaker says nothing – but as uttering blasphemy with delight, as drinking
up scorning, as one athirst beneath an Eastern sun drinks water, and by so doing
throwing himself on the side of the wicked.” (Bradley)
d. For he has said, “It profits a man nothing that he should delight in God”: Job
certainly said nothing like this. We can understand how Elihu thought this about
Job; because Job claimed to delight in God and he now seemed to claim that it
profited him nothing. But Elihu is taking general trains of thought of Job, and
extending them further than Job did.
i. “Job had wailed ‘that those who provoke God are secure’ (Job 12:6) while one
who is ‘righteous and blameless’ is made ‘a laughingstock’ (Job 12:4; cf. Job 10:3;
Job 21:7-8; Job 24:1-12). To Elihu this could mean nothing else than an accusation
that God does wrong and it is unthinkable that God would do wrong.” (Smick)
ii. “What most alarmed Elihu about Job was that somehow this man had the cheek
to blame God for his problems, and yet still to consider himself righteous and
faithful.” (Mason)
PULPIT, "In this chapter Elihu turns from Job to those whom he addresses as
"wise men" (verse 2), or "men of understanding" (verse 10). Whether these are
Job's three special friends, or others among the company which had perhaps
gathered to hear the debate, is uncertain. He makes the subject of his address to
them Job's conduct—scarcely a polite thing to do in Job's presence. Job, he says,
has scorned God and charged him with injustice (verses 5-9). He will vindicate him.
This he proceeds to do in verses 10-30. He then points out what Job's course ought
to be (verses 31-33), and winds up by an appeal to the "men of understanding" to
endorse his condemnation of Job as a sinner and a rebel (verses 34-37).
Job 34:1, Job 34:2
Furthermore Elihu answered and said, Hear my words, O ye wise men. Having, as
he may have thought, reduced Job to silence by the fame of his reasonings, Elihu,
wishing to carry with him the general consent of his audience, makes an appeal to
them, or, at any rate, to the wise among them, to judge Job's conduct and pronounce
upon it. It is probable, as Schultens remarks, that a considerable number of
influential persons had by this time collected together to hear the discussion which
was going on. To these Elihu specially addresses himself: Give ear unto me, ye that
have knowledge.
2 “Hear my words, you wise men;

9. listen to me, you men of learning.
BAR ES, "Hear my words, O ye wise men - Addressing particularly the three
friends of Job. The previous chapter had been addressed to Job himself. He had
stated to him his views of the design of affliction, and he had nothing to reply. He
now addresses himself to his friends, with a particular view of examining some of
the sentiments which Job had advanced, and of showing where he was in error. He
addresses them as “wise men,” or sages, and as endowed with “knowledge,” to
conciliate their attention, and because he regarded them as qualified to understand
the difficult subject which he proposed to explain.
GILL, "Hear my words, O ye wise men,.... This is not an address to Job's three
friends, as some think; for Elihu had expressed his displeasure at them, in condemning
Job without convicting him, and returning solid answers to him; and therefore he should
not take their method of dealing with him, but take another; and plainly suggests that
wisdom was not with them, nor taught by them; and therefore, as he could not give
flattering titles to men, it could not well be thought that he should address them as wise
and understanding men, unless indeed in an ironic way, as some choose to interpret it;
see Job_32:3. Rather therefore some bystanders are here spoken to, whom Elihu knew
to be men of wisdom and knowledge, &c. as it follows,
and give ear unto me, ye that have knowledge; and as they were endued not only
with natural and political wisdom and knowledge, but with that which is divine and
spiritual, they were proper judges of the affair in controversy, and could best discern
whether what Elihu delivered was right or wrong, and to the purpose or not. And
besides, though they had a large share of wisdom and knowledge, yet it was but
imperfect; and the most wise and knowing may become more so, and that sometimes by
means of their inferiors and juniors: and therefore Elihu craves their attention to what
he had said or should say, though he was but a young man, and they aged, and men of
great geniuses and abilities; and the rather he might be pressing on them to be his
hearers and judges, because, generally speaking, such, as they are the most judicious, so
the most candid hearers.
JAMISO , "This chapter is addressed also to the “friends” as the thirty-third chapter
to Job alone.
BE SO , "Job 34:2-4. Hear my words O ye wise men — Who are here present: do
you judge whether what I have said, and have still further to say, be not reasonable
and true. For the ear trieth words — Man’s mind judgeth of the truth and propriety
of things spoken and heard; as the mouth tasteth meat — And distinguishes what is
sweet and palatable from what is otherwise. The ear is put for the mind, to which
things are conveyed by it. Let us choose to us judgment — Let us agree to examine
the business, that we may be able to pronounce a righteous judgment. Let us not

10. contend for victory, but for truth and justice. Let us know among ourselves what is
good — Let us show one another who hath the best cause.
COFFMA , ""Hear my words, ye wise men" (Job 34:2). The break at the
beginning of this chapter means that Job had completely ignored Elihu, and that
here Elihu turned to address the crowd that is imagined to have assembled to hear
the speeches.[4] Kelly pointed out that the crowd of onlookers here is
"imagined,"[5] there being no reference whatever to it in the text. However, the idea
that the wise men here are a different group from the three friends is supported by
the fact that, "The tone of reproof Elihu used in addressing the three friends (Job
32:7ff) is no longer present in this chapter."[6]
" otwithstanding my right, I am accounted a liar" (Job 34:6). We protest the evil
rendition of Job 34:6 by Pope in the Anchor Bible. He rendered it, "Concerning my
case, he (God) lies, wounded with his dart, yet sinless."[7] Many of the greatest
scholars reject such a rendition. Atkinson translated it, "Although I am right, I am
considered a liar,"[8] which without any doubt is the true meaning of the place. The
noted Albert Barnes gave it as, "In respect to my cause, I am regarded a liar. The
arrow in me is fatal, though I am free from transgression."[9] oyes, as quoted by
Barnes, rendered it this way: "Though I am innocent I am made a liar."
"What man is like Job, who drinketh up scoffing like water" (Job 34:7). "In this
Elihu repeats the slander of Eliphaz, replacing `iniquity' with `scoffing,' and adding
a totally groundless accusation that Job is a companion of evildoers (Job 34:8)."[10]
The word here rendered `scoffing,' according to Keil, carries the meaning of
`blasphemy.'"[11]
"For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself in God"
(Job 34:9). "Again it must be remarked that Job had not said this."[12] The nearest
approach to anything like this that Job has said is in Job 9:22, where he stated that
"God destroyeth the perfect and the wicked," with the meaning that fatal accidents
happen to good and bad alike.
3 For the ear tests words
as the tongue tastes food.
BAR ES, "For the ear trieth words - Ascertains their meaning, and especially

11. determines what words are worth regarding. The object of this is, to fix the
attention on what he was about to say; to get the ear so that every word should
make its proper impression. The word ear in this place, however, seems not to be
used to denote the external organ, but the whole faculty of hearing. It is by hearing
that the meaning of what is said is determined, as it is by the taste that the quality of
food is discerned.
As the mouth tasteth meat - Margin, as in Hebrew “palate.” The meaning is, as the
organ of taste determines the nature of the various articles of food. The same figure
is used by Job in Job 12:11.
CLARKE, "The ear trieth words - I do not think, with Calmet, that the inward
ear, or judgment, is meant simply. The Asiatics valued themselves on the nice and
harmonious collection of words, both in speaking and in writing; and perhaps it will be
found here that Elihu labors as much for harmonious versification as for pious and
weighty sentiments. To connect sense with sound was an object of general pursuit
among the Hebrew, Arabic, and Persian poets; and so fond are the latter of euphony,
that they often sacrifice both sense and sentiment to it; and some of the Greek poets are
not exempt from this fault.
GILL, "For the ear trieth words,.... Not only the musical sound of them, the
goodness of the language and diction, and the grammatical construction of them, but the
sense of them, and whether the matter of them is good or not; that they are sound
speech, which cannot be condemned, or unsound; whether they are right or wrong,
agreeably to right reason, sound doctrine, and the word of God; for there are words and
words, some the words of men, others the words of God. A sanctified ear tries these; but
then men must have such ears to hear, and be attentive to what they hear, and retain it;
hear internally as well as externally; and which a man does when his ears are opened by
the Lord, from whom are the hearing ear and seeing eye; and such try what they hear,
distinguish between good and bad, approve truth and receive it, and retain and hold it
fast:
as the mouth tasteth meat; words and doctrines are like meat, some good and some
bad; and such that have a good taste try them, either a rational or rather a spiritual
discernment: some have no spiritual taste, their taste is not changed, and therefore
cannot distinguish, nor make any good judgment of things; but others have, and these
discern the difference, relish truth, savour the things that be of God, taste the good word
of God, and esteem it more than their necessary food; and it is sweeter to them than the
honey or the honeycomb. Such Elihu judged these men to be he addressed, and therefore
desired their attention to what he had to say.
JAMISO , "palate — (See on Job_12:11; see on Job_33:2).
PULPIT, "For the ear trieth words, as the mouth tasteth meat. A proverbial
expression, already used by Job in the dialogue (Job 12:11). "It is as much the
business of the ear to discriminate between wise and foolish words, as of the palate

12. to distinguish between wholesome and unwholesome food."
4 Let us discern for ourselves what is right;
let us learn together what is good.
BAR ES, "Let us choose to us judgment - That is, let us examine and explore what
is true and right. Amidst the conflicting opinions, and the sentiments which have
been advanced, let us find out what will abide the test of close investigation.
CLARKE, "Let us choose to us judgment - Let us not seek the applause of men,
nor contend for victory. Let our aim be to obtain correct views and notions of all things;
and let us labor to find out what is good.
GILL, "Let us choose to us judgments,.... Take the part of the question or
controversy in which truth and justice lie, and he doubtless has respect to the present
controversy with Job;
let us know among ourselves what is good; agree upon that which is best to be
done in the present case, what judgment to be made of the dealings of God with Job, and
his behaviour under them, and what the best advice to give to him.
JAMISO , "judgment — Let us select among the conflicting sentiments advanced,
what will stand the test of examination.
PARKER, ""Let us know among ourselves what is good."— Job 34:4
The Church should be united in its testimony. Before going forth to the world the
Church should agree upon what is eternal and what is temporal; in other words,
between what is fundamental and what is changeable.—The Church suffers for
want of self-consultation; each man seems to run at his own bidding, and to go a
warfare at his own charges.—This is the exaggeration of individualism.—Man
belongs to Prayer of Manasseh , and should consult Prayer of Manasseh , especially
when the purpose is to represent a common message from heaven.—It is perfectly
possible to be substantially one, and yet individually varied, so that there shall be a
great element of permanence, and also a fascinating element of variety in the
testimony and teaching of the Church.—They that love the Lord should speak often

13. one to another, and their object should be to say, with a loud and unanimous voice,
that in which they are agreed with regard to the kingdom of heaven.—How is it
today? do we not hear more about controversies than about points of union? is not
he the clever man who can create a new contention? and is not he considered as
commonplace and wanting in originality who calls the Church to obedience, to duty,
and to sacrifice?—Conference amongst Christians is a sure way to union.—When
they cannot agree in speech to one another, they can agree in speech to God.—By
praying much to God they may learn the art of speaking concedingly and
fraternally to one another.—The action towards union which is to end aright must
begin at the divine end; that is to say, it must begin by increasing our communion
with God and out love to God, and when we are right with the Father we shall soon
be right with one another.—If thou hast aught against thy brother, go and speak to
him.—Instead of representing in our own language what other men are supposed to
think, we should go to those men and ask them what their real meaning Isaiah , and
should endeavour to find their standpoint, and to enter sympathetically into their
whole mental action.—There might be more outward union if there were really a
deeper desire in the hearts of men to be one in Christ and in love of truth.
PULPIT, "Let us choose to us judgment; i.e. "Let us seek to come to a right
conclusion (mishphat) on each subject that comes before us for consideration." Let
us know among ourselves that which is good. "Let us know, discern, and recognize
that which is right and good." Excellent sentiments, but somewhat pompously put
forth by a young man addressing elder ones.
5 “Job says, ‘I am innocent,
but God denies me justice.
BAR ES, "For Job hath said, I am righteous - see Job 13:18, “I know that I shall be
justified;” compare Job 23:10-11, where he says, if he was tried he would come forth
as gold. Elihu may have also referred to the general course of remark which he had
pursued as vindicating himself.
And God hath taken away my judgment - This sentiment is found in Job 27:2; see
the notes at that place.
CLARKE, "Job hath said, I am righteous - Job had certainly said the words
attributed to him by Elihu, particularly in Job_27:2, etc., but it was in vindication of his

14. aspersed character that he had asserted his own righteousness, and in a different sense
to that in which Elihu appears to take it up. He asserted that he was righteous quoad the
charges his friends had brought against him. And he never intimated that he had at all
times a pure heart, and had never transgressed the laws of his Maker. It is true also that
he said, God hath taken away my judgment; but he most obviously does not mean to
charge God with injustice, but to show that he had dealt with him in a way wholly
mysterious, and not according to the ordinary dispensations of his providence; and that
he did not interpose in his behalf, while his friends were overwhelming him with
obloquy and reproach.
GILL, "For Job hath said, I am righteous,.... Not in express words, but what
amounted to it: no doubt he was a righteous man in an evangelic sense, being justified
by the righteousness of Christ, as all the Old Testament saints were, who looked to him
and believed in him as the Lord their righteousness, and said, as the church in those
times did, "surely in the Lord have I righteousness and strength"; Isa_45:24. And
moreover he was an upright man, to which the Lord himself bore testimony, Job_1:8;
and had the truth of grace in him, that "new man which is created in righteousness and
true holiness"; and also lived an holy life and conversation; but then he did not say or
think that he was righteous in or of himself, or so as to be free from sin: Job could not
judge or speak thus of himself, which would be contrary to what he expressly declares,
Job_7:20; though it must be owned, that he thought himself so righteous, holy, and
good, that he ought not to have been afflicted in the manner he was; in which sense it is
probable Elihu understood him: and besides, these words are not to be taken separately,
but in connection with what follows, which shows Job's sense, and how Elihu
understood him, that though he was a righteous person, he had not justice done him:
and God hath taken away my judgment; which words he did say; see Gill on Job_
27:2; or, as Mr. Broughton renders the words, "the Omnipotent keeps back my right";
does not vindicate my cause, nor so much as give it a hearing, nor lets me know why he
contends with me; and, though I call for justice to be done, cannot be heard, Job_19:7; a
like complaint of the church in Isa_40:27.
HE RY 5-6, "II. He warmly accuses Job for some passionate words which he had
spoken, that reflected on the divine government, appealing to the house whether he
ought not to be called to the bar and checked for them.
1. He recites the words which Job had spoken, as nearly as he can remember. (1.) He
had insisted upon his own innocency. Job hath said, I am righteous (Job_34:5), and,
when urged to confess his guilt, had stiffly maintained his plea of, Not guilty: Should I
lie against my right? Job_34:6. Job had spoken to this purport, My righteousness I
hold fast, Job_27:6. (2.) He had charged God with injustice in his dealings with him,
that he had wronged him in afflicting him and had not righted him: God has taken away
my judgment; so Job had said, Job_27:2. (3.) He had despaired of relief and concluded
that God could not, or would not, help him: My wound is incurable, and likely to be
mortal, and yet without transgression; not for any injustice in my hand, Job_16:16,
Job_16:17. (4.) He had, in effect, said that there is nothing to be got in the service of God
and that no man will be the better at last for his (Job_34:9): He hath said that which
gives occasion to suspect that he thinks it profiteth a man nothing that he should delight
himself with God. It is granted that there is a present pleasure in religion; for what is it
but to delight ourselves with God, in communion with him, in concurrence with him, in
walking with him as Enoch did? this is a true notion of religion, and bespeaks its ways to

15. be pleasantness. Yet the advantage of it is denied, as if it were vain to serve God, Mal_
3:14. This Elihu gathers as Job's opinion, by an innuendo from what he said (Job_9:22),
He destroys the perfect and the wicked, which has a truth in it (for all things come alike
to all), but it was ill expressed, and gave too much occasion for this imputation, and
therefore Job sat down silently under it and attempted not his own vindication, whence
Mr. Caryl well observes that good men sometimes speak worse than they mean, and that
a good man will rather bear more blame than he deserves than to stand to excuse himself
when he has deserved any blame.
JAMISO , "judgment — my right. Job’s own words (Job_13:18; Job_27:2).
K&D 5-9, "That in relation to God, thinking of Him as a punishing judge, he is
righteous or in the right, i.e., guiltless (‫י‬ ִ ְ‫ק‬ ַ‫ד‬ ָ‫צ‬ with Pathach in pause, according to Ew. §
93, c, from ‫ק‬ ֵ‫ד‬ ָ‫צ‬ = ‫ק‬ ַ‫ד‬ ָ‫,צ‬ but perhaps, comp. Pro_24:30; Psa_102:26, because the Athnach
is taken only as of the value of Zakeph), Job has said verbatim in Job_13:18, and
according to meaning, Job_23:10; Job_27:7, and throughout; that He puts aside his
right (the right of the guiltless, and therefore not of one coming under punishment):
Job_27:2. That in spite of his right (‫,על‬ to be interpreted, according to Schultens'
example, just like Job_10:7; Job_16:17), i.e., although right is on his side, yet he must be
accounted a liar, since his own testimony is belied by the wrathful form of his affliction,
that therefore the appearance of wrong remains inalienably attached to him, we find in
idea in Job_9:20 and freq. Elihu makes Job call his affliction ‫י‬ ִ ִ‫,ח‬ i.e., an arrow sticking
in him, viz., the arrow of the wrath of God (on the objective suff. comp. on Job_23:2),
after Job_6:4; Job_16:9; Job_19:11; and that this his arrow, i.e., the pain which it causes
him, is incurably bad, desperately malignant without (‫י‬ ִ‫ל‬ ְ as Job_8:11) ‫ע‬ ַ‫שׁ‬ ֶ , i.e., sins
existing as the ground of it, from which he would be obliged to suppose they had thrust
him out of the condition of favour, is Job's constant complaint (vid., e.g., Job_13:23.).
Another utterance of Job closely connected with it has so roused Elihu's indignation,
that he prefaces it with the exclamation of astonishment: Who is a man like Job, i.e.,
where in all the world (‫י‬ ִ‫מ‬ as 2Sa_7:23) has this Job his equal, who ... . The attributive
clause refers to Job; “to drink scorn (here: blasphemy) like water,” is, according to Job_
15:16, equivalent to to give one's self up to mockery with delight, and to find satisfaction
in it. ‫ה‬ ָ‫ר‬ ְ‫ב‬ ֶ‫ח‬ ְ‫ל‬ ‫ח‬ ַ‫ר‬ፎ, to go over to any one's side, looks like a poeticized prose expression. ‫ת‬ ֶ‫כ‬ ֶ‫ל‬ ְ‫ל‬
is a continuation of the ‫ח‬ ַ‫ר‬ፎ, according to Ew. §351, c, but not directly in the sense "and
he goes,” but, as in the similar examples, Jer_17:10; Jer_44:19; 2Ch_7:17, and freq., in
the sense of: “he is in the act of going;” comp. on Job_36:20 and Hab_1:17. The
utterance runs: a man does not profit, viz., himself (on the use of ‫ן‬ ַ‫כ‬ ָ‫ס‬ of persons as well
as of things, vid., on Job_22:2), by his having joyous and familiar intercourse (‫ּו‬‫ת‬ּ‫צ‬ ְ‫ר‬ ִ , as
little equivalent to ‫רוּץ‬ ְ as in Psa_50:18) with God. Job has nowhere expressly said this,
but certainly the declaration in Job_9:22, in connection with the repeated complaints
concerning the anomalous distribution of human destinies (vid., especially Job_21:7,
Job_24:1), are the premises for such a conclusion. That Elihu, in Job_34:7, is more
harsh against Job than the friends ever were (comp. e.g., the well-measured reproach of

16. Eliphaz, Job_15:4), and that he puts words into Job's moth which occur nowhere
verbatim in his speeches, is worked up by the Latin fathers (Jer., Philippus Presbyter,
Beda,
(Note: Philippus Presbyter was a disciple of Jerome. His Comm. in Iobum is extant
in many forms, partly epitomized, partly interpolated (on this subject, vid.,
Hieronymi Opp. ed. Vallarsi, iii. 895ff.). The commentary of Beda, dedicated to a
certain Nectarius (Vecterius), is fundamentally that of this Philippus.)
Gregory) in favour of their unfavourable judgment of Elihu; the Greek fathers, however,
are deprived of all opportunity of understanding him by the translation of the lxx (in
which µυκτηρισµόν signifies the scorn of others which Job must swallow down, comp.
Pro_26:6), which here perverts everything.
BE SO , "Job 34:5-6. Job hath said, I am righteous — I am so far righteous that I
have not deserved, nor had any reason to expect, such hard usage from God. God
hath taken away my judgment — So Job had said, Job 27:2; that is, he denies me
that which is just and equal, namely, to give me a fair hearing. Should I lie against
my right — Thus Job had spoken in effect, Job 27:4-6. Should I falsely accuse
myself of sins of which I am not guilty? Should I betray mine own cause, and deny
that integrity which I am conscious I possess? My wound is incurable without
transgression — Without any such crying sin as might reasonably bring down such
terrible judgments upon my head.
COKE, "Job 34:5. God hath taken away my judgment— This refers to the words of
Job, chap. Job 27:2 and the force of the exception lies in a misinterpretation. Job
had said, God hath respited my judgment: this Elihu turns to, God hath refused me
justice.
PULPIT, "For Job hath said, I am righteous. Job had maintained his
"righteousness" in a certain sense, i.e. his integrity, his honesty, his conviction that
God would ultimately acquit him; but he had not maintained his sinlessness (see the
comment on Job 33:9). He had not even said, in so many words, "I am righteous."
The nearest that he had come to saying it was when (in Job 13:18) he had exclaimed,
"I know that I shall be held righteous," or "justified." And God hath taken away
my judgment. Job had said this (Job 27:2), but in the sense that God had withheld
from him the judgment on his cause which he desired, not that he had perverted
judgment, and wrongfully condemned him.
6 Although I am right,
I am considered a liar;

17. although I am guiltless,
his arrow inflicts an incurable wound.’
BAR ES, "Should I lie against my right? - These are also quoted as the words of
Job, and as a part of the erroneous opinions on which Elihu proposes to comment.
These words do not occur, however, as used by Job respecting himself, and Elihu
must be understood to refer to what he regarded as the general strain of the
argument maintained by him. In regard to the meaning of the words, there have
been various opinions. Jerome renders them, “For in judging me there is falsehood -
mendacium est; my violent arrow (the painful arrow in me) is without any sin.” The
Septuagint, “He the Lord hath been false in my accusation” - ἐψένσατο δὲ τῳ
κρίµατί µου epseusato de tō krimati mou - “my arrow is heavy without
transgression.” Coverdale, “I must needs be a liar, though my cause be right.”
Umbreit renders it, “I must lie if I should acknowledge myself to be guilty.”
oyes, “Though I am innocent, I am made a liar.” Prof. Lee, “Should I lie
respecting my case? mine arrow is mortal without transgression.” That is, Job said
he could not lie about it; he could use no language that would deceive. He felt that a
mortal arrow had reached him without transgression, or without any adequate
cause. Rosenmuller renders it, “However just may be my cause, I appear to be a
liar.” That is, he was regarded as guilty, and treated accordingly, however conscious
he might be of innocence, and however strenuously he might maintain that he was
not guilty. The meaning probably is, “I am held to be a liar. I defend myself; go over
my past life; state my course of conduct; meet the accusations of my friends, but in
all this I am still held to be a liar. My friends so regard me - for they will not credit
my statements, and they go on still to argue as if I was the most guilty of mortals.
And God also in this holds me to be a liar, for he treats me constantly as if I were
guilty. He hears not my vindication, and he inflicts pain and woe upon me as if all
that I had said about my own integrity were false, and I were one of the most
abandoned of mortals, so that on all hands I am regarded and treated as if I were
basely false.” The literal translation of the Hebrew is, “Concerning my judgment (or
my cause) I am held to be a liar.”
My wound is incurable - Margin, as in Hebrew “arrow.” The idea is, that a deadly
arrow had smitten him, which could not be extracted. So in Virgil:
Haeret lateri letalis arundo. Aeneid iv. 73.
The image is taken from an animal that had been pierced with a deadly arrow.
Without transgression - Without any sin that deserved such treatment. Job did not
claim to be absolutely perfect; he maintained only that the sufferings which he

18. endured were no proper proof of his character; compare Job 6:4.
CLARKE, "Should I lie against my right? - Should I acknowledge myself the
sinner which they paint me, and thus lie against my right to assert and maintain my
innocence?
My wound is incurable without transgression - If this translation is correct, the
meaning of the place is sufficiently evident. In the tribulation which I endure, I am
treated as if I were the worst of culprits; and I labor under incurable maladies and
privations, though without any cause on my part for such treatment. This was all most
perfectly true; it is the testimony which God himself gives of Job, that “he was a perfect
and upright man, fearing God and eschewing evil;” and that “Satan had moved the Lord
against him, to destroy him, Without a Cause. See Job_1:1; Job_2:3.
The Chaldee translates thus: -
“On account of my judgment, I will make the son of man a liar, who sends forth
arrows without sin.”
Mr. Good thus: -
“Concerning my cause I am slandered;
He hath reversed my lot without a trespass.”
The latter clause is the most deficient, ‫פשע‬ ‫בלי‬ ‫חצי‬ ‫;אנוש‬ Miss Smith’s translation of
which is the best I have met with: “A man cut off, without transgression.” The word ‫חצי‬
chitstsi, which we translate my wound, signifies more literally, my arrow; and if we take it
as a contracted noun, ‫חצי‬ chitstsey for ‫חצים‬ chitstsim, it means calamities. ‫אנוש‬ anush,
which we translate incurable, may be the noun enosh, wicked, miserable man; and then
the whole may be read thus: “A man of calamities without transgression.” I suffer the
punishment of an enemy to God, while free from transgression of this kind.
GILL, "Should I lie against my right?.... No; I ought not: this though Job had not
said in so many words, yet this seems to be his sense in Job_27:4; that should he own
and say that he was a wicked man, a hypocrite, and destitute of the grace of God, he
should not only speak against himself, but, contrary to his conscience, say an untruth,
and not do justice to his character. Some read the words without an interrogation, as Mr.
Broughton,
"for my right I must be a liar;''
that is, for vindicating my right, seeking and endeavouring to do myself justice, and clear
myself from false imputations, I am reckoned a liar. And to this purpose is the
paraphrase of Aben Ezra,
"because I seek judgment, they say that I lie.''
Others render them, "there is a lie in judging me", so the Vulgate Latin version; that is,

19. "I am falsely accused, I am judged wrongfully:''
things I know not are laid to my charge, which has often been the case of good men: or,
"I have lied in judgment"; that is, "failed", as the word is sometimes used, Isa_58:11;
failed in his expectation of judgment or of justice being done him; he looked for it, but
was disappointed; but the first sense seems best;
my wound is incurable without transgression; not that he thought himself
without transgression, but that his wound or stroke inflicted on him, or the afflictions he
was exercised with, were without cause; were not for any injustice in his hands, or
wickedness that he had committed; and that he utterly despaired of being rid of them, or
restored to his former health and prosperity; and to this sense he had expressed himself,
Job_9:17. In the Hebrew text it is, "my arrow" (y), that is, the arrow that was in him, the
arrows of the Lord that stuck fast in him; these were thrown at him and fastened in him
without cause; and there was no hope of their being drawn out, or of the wounds made
by them being healed; see Job_6:4. Now what Elihu was offended at in these
expressions was, that Job should so rigidly insist on his innocence, and not own himself
faulty in any respect; nor allow there was any cause for his afflictions, nor entertain any
hope of the removal of them: whereas it became him to acknowledge his sins, which no
man is free from, and that he was dealt with less than his iniquities deserved; and that,
instead of indulging despair, he should rather say, "I will return" to the Lord; he hath
"torn" and he will "heal", he hath "smitten" and he will "bind up", Hos_6:1.
JAMISO , "Were I to renounce my right (that is, confess myself guilty), I should die.
Job virtually had said so (Job_27:4, Job_27:5; Job_6:28). Maurer, not so well,
“Notwithstanding my right (innocence) I am treated as a liar,” by God, by His afflicting
me.
my wound — literally, “mine arrow,” namely, by which I am pierced. So “my stroke”
(“hand,” Job_23:2, Margin). My sickness (Job_6:4; Job_16:13).
without transgression — without fault of mine to deserve it (Job_16:17).
COKE, "Job 34:6. Should I lie against my right?— As to my accusation, I am
belied: my wound is mortal, though I have not transgressed. Heath and Houb.
ELLICOTT, "(6) Should I lie against my right?—Comp. Job 27:2-6.
My wound is incurable.—Literally, my arrow, i.e., the arrow which hath wounded
me. (See Job 16:11; Job 17:1, &c.)
Without transgression.—That is to say, on my part. (See Job 16:17.) Some
understand the former clause, “ otwithstanding my right, I am accounted a liar,”
but the Authorised Version is more probably right.
PULPIT, "Should I lie against my right? This was an essential portion of Job's

20. argument (see Job 27:4). Against the theory of his secret heinous wickedness put
forward by his "comforters," he maintained consistently his freedom from
conscious deliberate opposition to the will of God, and refused to make the
confessions which they suggested or required, on the ground that they would have
been untrue—in making them he would have "lied against his right." In this
certainly Job "sinned not." But it was essential to the theory of Elihu, no less than to
that of Eliphaz and his friends, that Job was suffering on account of past iniquity,
whether he were being punished for it in anger or chastised for it in love (see Job
33:17, Job 33:27). My wound (literally, my arrow; comp. Job 6:4) is incurable
without transgression; i.e. without my having committed any transgression to
account for it.
BI 6-9, "
What man is like Job?
Elihu’s estimate of Job
It was natural that, with all his reverence for Job, Elihu should be offended by the heat
and passion of his words, by the absence of moderation and self-restraint, and tell him
that “this strained passion did him wrong.” No doubt it is easier for a friend on the bank
to maintain his composure, than it is for the man who has been swept away by the
stream of calamity, and is doing instant battle with its fierce currents and driving waves.
Job is not to be overmuch blamed if, under the stress of calamity, and stung by the
baseless calumnies of the friends, he now and then lost composure, and grew
immoderate both in his resentments and his retorts. Remembering the keen agony he
had to endure, we may well pardon an offence for which it is so easy to account; we may
cheerfully admit, as Jehovah Himself admitted, that in the main he spoke of God aright;
we may even admire the constancy and patience with which, on the whole, he met the
provocations and insults of the friends; and yet we cannot but feel that he often pushed
his inferences against the Divine justice and providence much too far: as, indeed, he
himself confessed that he had, when at last he saw Jehovah face to face, and carried his
just resentment against the friends to excess. There are points in the progress of the
story where he seems to revel in his sense of wrong, and to lash out wildly against both
God and man. With fine moral tact, Elihu had detected this fault in his tone and bearing,
and had discovered whither it was leading him. (Samuel Cox, D. D.)
7 Is there anyone like Job,
who drinks scorn like water?

21. BAR ES, "What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water? - A similar
image occurs in Job 15:16. The idea is, that he was full of reproachful speeches
respecting God; of the language of irreverence and rebellion. He indulged in it as
freely as a man drinks water; gathers up and imbibes all the language of reproach
that he can find, and indulges in it as if it were perfectly harmless.
CLARKE, "Drinketh up scorning like water? - This is a repetition of the charge
made against Job by Eliphaz, Job_15:16. It is a proverbial expression, and seems to be
formed, as a metaphor, from a camel drinking, who takes in a large draught of water,
even the most turbid, on its setting out on a journey in a caravan, that it may serve it for
a long time. Job deals largely in scorning; he fills his heart with it.
GILL, "What man is like Job,.... This is said as wondering at the part he acted, that a
man so wise and good as Job was esteemed to be should behave in such a manner as he
did;
who drinketh up scorning like water? For a foolish and wicked man to do so is not
strange nor uncommon; but for a man of such sense and grace as Job was to do this was
astonishing; to have no more regard to his character than to expose himself to the scorn
and ridicule of men: for a man to become a laughing stock to profane and wicked men
for his religion and piety, it is no disgrace, but an honour to him; but by unbecoming
words and gestures to make himself justly jeered and scoffed at is great indiscretion. Or
it may be understood actively of his dealing very freely and frequently in scoffs and jeers,
which he poured out very liberally and plentifully, and seemingly with as much delight
as a man drinks water when thirsty; see Job_11:3.
HE RY 7-9, "2. He charges Job very high upon it. In general, What man is like Job?
Job_34:7. “Did you ever know such a man as Job, or ever hear a man talk at such an
extravagant rate?” He represents him, (1.) As sitting in the seat of the scornful: “He
drinketh up scorning like water,” that is, “he takes a great deal of liberty to reproach
both God and his friends, takes a pleasure in so doing, and is very liberal in his
reflections.” Or, “He is very greedy in receiving and hearkening to the scorns and
contempts which others cast upon their brethren, is well pleased with them and extols
them.” Or, as some explain it, “By these foolish expressions of his he makes himself the
object of scorn, lays himself very open to reproach, and gives occasion to others to laugh
at him; while his religion suffers by them, and the reputation of that is wounded through
his side.” We have need to pray that God will never leave us to ourselves to say or do any
thing which may make us a reproach to the foolish, Psa_39:8. (2.) As walking in the
course of the ungodly, and standing in the way of sinners: He goes in company with the
workers of iniquity (Job_34:8), not that in his conversation he did associate with them,
but in his opinion he did favour and countenance them, and strengthen their hands. If
(as it follows, Job_34:9, for the proof of this) it profits a man nothing to delight himself
in God, why should he not lay the reins on the neck of his lusts and herd with the
workers of iniquity? He that says, I have cleansed my hands in vain, does not only
offend against the generation of God's children (Psa_72:13, Psa_72:14), but gratifies his
enemies, and says as they say.

22. JAMISO , "(Job_15:16). Image from the camel.
scorning — against God (Job_15:4).
BE SO , "Job 34:7-9. Who drinketh up scorning like water — That is, abundantly
and greedily: who doth so break forth into scornful expressions, not only against his
friends, but, in some sort, even against God himself. The Hebrew may be
interpreted, What man, being like Job, would drink up scorning? &c. That a wicked
or foolish man should act thus, is not strange; but that a man of such piety, gravity,
wisdom, and authority, as Job, should be guilty of such a sin, this is wonderful.
Which walketh with wicked men — Although I dare not say he is a wicked man, yet
in this matter he speaks and acts like one of the wicked. For he hath said — ot
absolutely, and in express terms, but by consequence, It profiteth a man nothing.
&c. —
That though a man study to please God, he shall not be profited by it. For he said
that good men were no less, nay, sometimes more miserable here than the wicked,
Job 9:22; Job 30:26. And that, for his part, he was no gainer, as to this life, by his
piety, but a loser, and that God showed him no more kindness and compassion than
he usually did to the vilest of men.
ELLICOTT, "(7) Who drinketh up scorning?—The same word had been applied to
Job by Zophar (Job 11:3), “And when thou mockest, shall no man make thee
ashamed?” and the same reproach by Eliphaz (Job 15:16)
PULPIT, "What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water? This
comment is not only unnecessary, but unfair. It was not for Elihu, who professed a
desire to "justify" (or completely exonerate) Job, to aggravate his guilt by means of
rhetorical comment; and the comment itself was unfair, for Job had not indulged in
scorn to any extent, much less "drunk it up like water" (comp. Job 15:16). He had
in no respect scorned God; and if he had occasionally poured some scorn upon his
"comforters" (Job 6:21; Job 12:2; Job 13:4-13; Job 16:2; Job 21:2-5; Job 26:2-4),
must it not be admitted that they had deserved it? It was the duty of Elihu to act as
moderator between Job and the "comforters," whereas he here seeks to exasperate
them, and lash them up to fury against their afflicted friend. Perhaps Job's
impassive attitude has embittered him.
8 He keeps company with evildoers;
he associates with the wicked.

23. BAR ES, "Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity - That is, in his
sentiments. The idea is, that he advocated the same opinions which they did, and
entertained the same views of God and of his government. The same charge had
been before brought against him by his friends; see the notes at Job 21.
CLARKE, "Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity - This is
an allusion to a caravan: all kinds of persons are found there; but yet a holy and
respectable man might be found in that part of the company where profligates
assembled. But surely this assertion of Elihu was not strictly true; and the words literally
translated, will bear a less evil meaning: “Job makes a track ‫ארח‬ arach, to join fellowship,
‫לחברה‬ lechebrah, with the workers of iniquity;” i.e., Job’s present mode of reasoning,
when he says, “I am righteous, yet God hath taken away my judgment,” is according to
the assertion of sinners, who say, “There is no profit in serving God; for, if a man be
righteous, he is not benefited by it, for God does not vindicate a just man’s cause against
his oppressors.” By adopting so much of their creed, he intimates that Job is taking the
steps that lead to fellowship with them. See Job_34:9.
GILL, "Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity,.... The worst of
men, who make it their constant business and employment to commit sin:
and walketh with wicked men; the most abandoned of mankind. Not that Job kept
company with such, and walked with them in all excess of not; nor did Elihu think so;
Job was "a man that feared God, and eschewed evil", and evil men; he was "a companion
of them that feared the Lord"; his delight was "with the excellent of the earth": nor
should a good man keep company and walk with the wicked, nor can he with any
pleasure. But the sense is, that by his words, the expressions that dropped from his lips,
he seemed to agree with them, and to be of the same sentiments with them; and what he
delivered tended to encourage and harden them in their sinful ways; and what those
words were follow.
JAMISO , "Job virtually goes in company (makes common cause) with the wicked,
by taking up their sentiments (Job_9:22, Job_9:23, Job_9:30; Job_21:7-15), or at least
by saying, that those who act on such sentiments are unpunished (Mal_3:14). To deny
God’s righteous government because we do not see the reasons of His acts, is virtually to
take part with the ungodly.
PULPIT, "Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity. It is impossible to
supply any other antecedent to "which" than Job himself. Elihu therefore accuses
Job of having turned aside from righteousness, and betaken himself to the "counsel
of the ungodly, the way of sinners, and the seat of the scornful" (Psalms 1:1). This is
grossly to exaggerate Job's faults of temper, and puts Elihu very nearly on a level
with Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar in respect of misconception and rudeness. And
walketh with wicked men. If no more is meant than that Job has adopted principles

24. and arguments commonly used by wicked men (Canon Cook), the language
employed is unfortunate.
9 For he says, ‘There is no profit
in trying to please God.’
BAR ES, "For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight
himself in God - That is, there is no advantage in piety, and in endeavoring to serve
God. It will make no difference in the divine dealings with him. He will be treated
just as well if he lives a life of sin, as if he undertakes to live after the severest rules
of piety. Job had not used precisely this language, but in Job 9:22, he had expressed
nearly the same sentiment. It is probable, however, that Elihu refers to what he
regarded as the general scope and tendency of his remarks, as implying that there
was no respect paid to character in the divine dealings with mankind. It was easy to
pervert the views which Job actually entertained, so as to make him appear to
maintain this sentiment, and it was probably with a special view to this charge that
Job uttered the sentiments recorded in Job 21; see the notes at that chapter.
GILL, "For he hath said,.... Not plainly and expressly, but consequentially; what it
was thought might be inferred from what he had said, particularly in Job_9:22;
it profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God; in his
house and ordinances, ways and worship; he may as well indulge himself in the
pleasures of sin, and in the delights of the world, if God destroys the perfect and the
wicked, as Job had said in the place referred to; if this be the case, it is in vain to serve
God, and pray unto him, or keep his ordinances; which are the language and sentiments
of wicked men, and according to which they act, see Job_21:14, Mal_3:14. Mr.
Broughton renders it,
"when he would walk with God;''
and so the Targum,
"in his walking with God;''
and another Targum,
"in his running with God:''

25. though he walks and even runs in the way of his commandments, yet it is of no
advantage to him; or he does the will of God, as Aben Ezra; or seeks to please him or be
acceptable to him, and to find grace in his sight. Whereas though love and hatred are not
known by prosperity and adversity, but both come to good and bad men, which seems to
be Job's meaning in the above place, from whence this inference is deduced; yet it is
certain that godliness is profitable to all, 1Ti_4:8.
JAMISO , "with God — in intimacy (Psa_50:18, Margin).
ELLICOTT, "9) It profiteth a man nothing.—Comp. what Job had said (Job 9:20-
22; Job 9:30-31; Job 10:6-7; Job 10:14-15). Eliphaz had virtually said the same
thing, though the form in which he cast it was the converse of this (see Job 22:3), for
he had represented it as a matter of indifference to God whether man was righteous
or not, which was, of course, to sap the foundations of all morality; for if God cares
not whether man is righteous or not, it certainly cannot profit man to be righteous.
On the other hand, Eliphaz had in form uttered the opposite doctrine (Job 22:21).
PULPIT, "For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight
himself with God. Again it must be remarked that Job had not said this. The nearest
approach to it is to be found in Job 9:22, where this passage occurs: "It is all one;
therefore I say, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked" (Revised Version).
Elsewhere Job speaks, not generally, but of his own individual case, remarking that
his righteousness has not saved him from calamity (Job 9:17, Job 9:18; Job 10:15;
Job 17:9 -17, etc.). And the fact is one that causes him the deepest perplexity.
10 “So listen to me, you men of understanding.
Far be it from God to do evil,
from the Almighty to do wrong.
BAR ES, "Therefore hearken unto me - Elihu proceeds now to reply to what he
regarded as the erroneous sentiments of Job, and to show the impropriety of
language which reflected so much on God and his government. Instead, however, of
meeting the facts in the case, and showing how the actual course of events could be

26. reconciled with justice, he resolves it all into a matter of sovereignty, and maintains
that it is wrong to doubt the rectitude of the dealings of one so mighty as God. In
this he pursues the same course substantially which the friends of Job had done, and
does little more to solve the real difficulties in the case than they had. The facts to
which Job had referred are scarcely adverted to; the perplexing questions are still
unsolved, and the amount of all that Elihu says is, that God is a sovereign, and that
there must be an improper spirit when people presume to pronounce on his
dealings.
Ye men of understanding - Margin, as in Hebrew men of “heart.” The word heart is
used here as it was uniformly among the Hebrews; the Jewish view of physiology
being that the heart was the seat of all the mental operations. They never speak of
the head as the seat of the intellect, as we do. The meaning here is, that Elihu
regarded them as sages, qualified to comprehend and appreciate the truth on the
subject under discussion.
Far be it from God - Hebrew ‫חלילה‬ châlı̂ylâh - “profane, unholy.” It is an expression
of abhorrence, as if the thing proposed were profane or unholy: 1 Samuel 20:2;
Genesis 18:25; Joshua 24:16. The meaning here is, that the very idea that God
would do wrong, or could patronize iniquity, was a profane conception, and was not
to be tolerated for a moment. This is true enough, and in this general sentiment, no
doubt, Job would himself have concurred.
CLARKE, "Far be it from God - Rather, Wickedness, far be that from God; and
from iniquity, the Almighty. The sense is sufficiently evident without the paraphrase in
our version.
GILL, "Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding,.... The same
persons he addresses as wise men and men of knowledge, Job_34:2; and here as men of
understanding, or "heart" (z); the heart being the seat of wisdom and knowledge; and
such Elihu desired to be his hearers, to attend to what he was about to say; which was to
refute the words of Job, or his sense expressed in the preceding verses;
far be it from God that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty,
that he should commit iniquity; do any injustice or injury to any person, there
being no unrighteousness in him, nor in any of his ways and works; which Job tacitly
seemed to charge God with, at least as Elihu understood him. But sin is contrary to his
pure and holy nature; he cannot look upon it with pleasure, much less commit it; it is
forbidden by his holy righteous law, and therefore would never he done by him the
lawgiver; nor can anyone single instance be given of wickedness and unrighteousness
committed by him in any of his works of nature, or providence, or grace. He is the
author of the evil of afflictions, whether as punishments or fatherly corrections; and in
neither case does he commit or do any injustice; not in punishing wicked men less than
they deserve, as he does in this life; nor in correcting his own people, which is always for
their good: but not of the evil of sin; this may be concluded from the titles here given, of
"Almighty and All-sufficient"; for being so he can be under no temptation of doing an
unjust thing; and which is expressed with the like abhorrence and indignation by Elihu

27. as the same sentiment is by the Apostle Paul, Rom_9:14.
HE RY 10-11, "The scope of Elihu's discourse to reconcile Job to his afflictions and
to pacify his spirit under them. In order to this he had shown, in the foregoing chapter,
that God meant him no hurt in afflicting him, but intended it for his spiritual benefit. In
this chapter he shows that he did him no wrong in afflicting him, nor punished him
more than he deserved. If the former could not prevail to satisfy him, yet this ought to
silence him. In these verses he directs his discourse to all the company: “Hearken to me,
you men of understanding (Job_34:10), and show yourselves to be intelligent by
assenting to this which I say.” And this is that which he says, That the righteous God
never did, nor ever will do, any wrong to any of his creatures, but his ways are equal,
ours are unequal. The truth here maintained respects the justice of equity of all God's
proceedings. Now observe in these verses,
I. How plainly this truth is laid down, both negatively and positively. 1. He does wrong
to none: God cannot do wickedness, nor the Almighty commit iniquity, Job_34:10. It is
inconsistent with the perfection of his nature, and so it is also with the purity of his will
(Job_34:12): God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment. He
neither can nor will do a wrong thing, nor deal hardly with any man. He will never inflict
the evil of punishment but where he finds the evil of sin, nor in any undue proportion,
for that would be to commit iniquity and do wickedly. If appeals be made to him, or he
be to give a definitive sentence, he will have an eye to the merits of the cause and not
respect the person, for that were to pervert judgment. He will never either do any man
wrong or deny any man right, but the heavens will shortly declare his righteousness.
Because he is God, and therefore is infinitely perfect and holy, he can neither do wrong
himself nor countenance it in others, nay more than he can die, or lie, or deny himself.
Though he be Almighty, yet he never uses his power, as mighty men often do, for the
support of injustice. He is Shaddai - God all-sufficient, and therefore he cannot be
tempted with evil (Jam_1:13), to do an unrighteous thing. 2. He ministers justice to all
(Job_34:11): The work of a man shall he render unto him. Good works shall be
rewarded and evil works either punished or satisfied for; so that sooner or later, in this
world or in that to come, he will cause every man to find according to his ways. This is
the standing rule of distributive justice, to give to every man according to his work. Say
to the righteous, it shall be well with them; woe to the wicked, it shall be ill with them. If
services persevered in now go unrewarded, and sins persisted in now go unpunished, yet
there is a day coming when God will fully render to every man according to his works,
with interest for the delay.
JAMISO , "The true answer to Job, which God follows up (Job_38:1-41). Man is to
believe God’s ways are right, because they are His, not because we fully see they are so
(Rom_9:14; Deu_32:4; Gen_18:25).
K&D 10-11, "“Men of heart,” according to Psychol. S. 249, comp. 254, is equivalent
to noee'mones or noeeroi' (lxx συνετοᆳ καρδίας). The clause which Elihu makes
prominent in the following reply is the very axiom which the three defend, perfectly true
in itself, but falsely applied by them: evil, wrong, are inconceivable on the part of God;
instead of ‫י‬ ַ ַ‫שׁ‬ ְ‫וּל‬ it is only ‫י‬ ַ ַ‫שׁ‬ְ‫ו‬ in the second member of the verse, with the omission of the

28. praep. - a frequent form of ellipsis, particularly in Isaiah (Isa_15:8; Isa_28:6; Isa_
48:14; Isa_61:7, comp. Eze_25:15). Far removed from acting wickedly and wrongfully,
on the contrary He practises recompense exactly apportioned to man's deeds, and ever
according to the walk of each one (‫ח‬ ַ‫ּר‬‫א‬ like ְ‫ך‬ ֶ‫ר‬ ֶ or ‫י‬ ֵ‫כ‬ ְ‫ר‬ ַ , e.g., Jer_32:19, in an ethical
sense) He causes it to overtake him, i.e., to happen to him (‫יא‬ ִ‫צ‬ ְ‫מ‬ ִ‫ה‬ only here and Job_
37:13). The general assertion brought forward against Job is now proved.
BE SO , "Job 34:10-12. Hearken to me, ye men of understanding — Ye who are
present, and understand these things, do you judge between Job and me. Far be it
from God that he should do wickedness — This I must lay down as a principle, that
the righteous and holy God neither does nor can deal unjustly with Job, or with any
man, as Job insinuates that God hath dealt with him. For the work of a man — That
is, the reward of his work; shall he render unto him, &c. — Job’s afflictions, though
great and distressing, are not undeserved, but justly inflicted upon him, both for the
original corruption of his nature, and for many actual transgressions, which are
known to God, though Job, through partiality, may not see them. And Job’s piety
shall be recompensed, it may be, in this life, but undoubtedly in the next; and
therefore piety is not unprofitable, as Job signifies. either will the Almighty
pervert judgment — As Job hath erroneously affirmed.
ELLICOTT, "(10) Ye men of understanding.—Elihu now appeals to the men of
understanding, by whom he can hardly mean the three friends of whom he has
already spoken disparagingly, but seems rather to appeal to an audience, real or
imagined, who are to decide on the merits of what he says. This is an incidental
indication that we are scarcely intended to understand the long-continued argument
as the record of an actual discussion. Elihu begins to take broader ground than the
friends of Job, inasmuch as he concerns himself, not with the problems of God’s
government, but with the impossibility of His acting unjustly (Genesis 18:25), and
the reason he gives is somewhat strange—it is the fact that God is irresponsible, He
has not been put in charge over the earth; but His authority is ultimate and original,
and being so, He can have no personal interests to secure at all risks; He can only
have in view the ultimate good of all His creatures, for, on the other hand, if He
really desired to slay them, their breath is in His hands, and He would only have to
recall it. The earth and all that is in it belongs to God: it is His own, and not
another’s entrusted to Him; His self-interest, therefore, cannot come into collision
with the welfare of His creatures, because their welfare is the welfare of that which
is His—of that, therefore, in which He Himself has the largest interest. The
argument is a somewhat strange one to us, but it is sound at bottom, for it recognises
God as the prime origin and final hope of all His creatures, and assumes that His
will can only be good, and that it must be the best because it is His. (Comp. St. John
10:12-13.)
PARKER, "Of one thing Elihu seems to be supremely certain—

29. "Far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he
should commit iniquity" ( Job 34:10).
Elihu now occupies moral ground. His deity is not a majestic outline; it is a heart, a
conscience, the very source and centre of life. This gives comfort wherever it is
realised. A thought like this enables man to give time to God, that he may out of a
multitude of details shape a final meaning. Elihu says in effect, Things look very
troubled now: it seems as if we were dealing with shapelessness, rather than with
order and definite meaning: now the great space of the firmament is full of thunders
and lightnings and tempests, and the very foundations of things seem to be ploughed
up; but write this down as the first item in your creed, and the middle, and the
last—"far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty,
that he should do iniquity.... Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the
Almighty pervert judgment." Then wait: he will bring forth judgment as the
morning, and righteousness as the noonday. Such doctrines establish the heart in
gracious confidence. They do not blind men to the tumult and confusion which are
so manifest on all the surface of life; such doctrines enable men to cultivate and
exemplify the grace or virtue of patience: they acknowledge that appearances are
against their doctrine, but they claim time for the Almighty: they reason
analogically; they say, Look at nature; look at human life; look at any great
enterprise entered into by men: what digging, what blasting of rocks, what
marvellous confusion, what a want of evident form and shape and design! Yet when
months have come and gone, and architects and builders have carried out their
whole purpose, they retire, and say, Behold what we have been aiming at all the
time,—then in great temple, or wide noble bridge spanning boiling rivers, we see
that when we thought all things were in confusion, they were being carried on to
order and shape and perfectness and utility. So Elihu says, One thing is certain: to
be God he must be good; if he were wicked he would not be God: brethren, he
would say in modern language, Let us pray where we cannot reason, let us wait
where we cannot move: our waiting may be service, our prayer may be the
beginning of new opportunities.
Following this doctrine, and part and parcel of it, Elihu advances to say—
"For the work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find
according to his ways" ( Job 34:11).
Being righteous, he will cause the law of cause and effect to proceed whatever
happens in relation to human conduct and spiritual results. This is what Paul
said—"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: whatsoever a man soweth that shall he
also reap." That is a ew Testament translation of Old Testament words—"For the
work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find according to
his ways." How much have we advanced beyond that doctrine? Where is the
difference between the Old Testament and the ew in this particular? God is of one
mind; who can turn him as to the law of moral cause and moral effect? A man
cannot sow one kind of seed and reap another: the sowing determines the harvest.

30. Elihu might make a false application of this principle to Job , but the principle itself
is right. It is of value as showing the conception which Elihu had formed of God"s
nature. He was worshipping a God worthy of his homage. Again let us say, he was
not worshipping an idol, a vain imagination of his own; and again let us apply to
ourselves the holy proof of God"s rule, that whatever he does he does it from a spirit
of right and with a purpose of right, and that in all his doing there is no compromise
with evil, no concession to wicked principles or powers. God is righteous; true and
righteous altogether. Let a man have that conception of God, and how quiet he is!
Though the floods lift up their voice and roar, yet still he says, There is a river the
streams whereof shall make glad the city of God: though the wicked triumph for a
time, yea, in great noise and great pomp; yet, he says, his triumphing is but for a
moment, his joy is but a flash, to be lost in the enclosing and eternal darkness.
Without such convictions we are driven about by every wind of doctrine; the
doctrines themselves, which are unformed and unsettled, trouble us. What are we to
do in relation to such doctrines? To come back every night to our rocky home, to the
great fortresses established in the holy Revelation , to the sanctuary of God"s
righteousness, to the impossibility of his thinking, being, or doing anything that is
wrong. Here we find rest, and from this high sanctuary we can look abroad upon all
the excitement and tumult of the times, and wait in loving and expectant patience
for the growing light, for the descending Revelation , for the new promise that shall
give us new consolation.
Then Elihu might have lived today. Verily he seems to be worshipping the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He might not be able to say so in words, to realise
it in all the fulness and sweetness of its meaning; but Hebrews , in the far-away time,
had a clear vision of God"s personality, God"s government, and God"s holiness.
GUZIK 10-15, "a. For he repays man according to his work: Elihu followed the
simple “you always reap what you sow” equation earlier promoted by Eliphaz in the
very first speech of Job’s friends (Job 4:7-11).
i. Many people today believe the idea of Elihu (and Eliphaz), and believe it as an
absolute spiritual law instead of a general principle. Some take the passage from
Galatians 6:7 : Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; whatever a man sows, that
he will also reap. Yet it is important to understand the context of Paul’s statement,
which was encouragement and exhortation for Christians to give materially for the
support of their ministers. It is true that the principle of Galatians 6:7 has
application beyond giving and supporting teachers and ministers. It has a general
application in life; what we get out is often what we put in. Yet Paul did not promote
some law of spiritual karma that ensures we will get good when we do good things
or always get bad when we do bad things. If there were such an absolute spiritual
law it would surely damn us all. Instead, Paul simply related the principle of sowing
and reaping to the way we manage our resources before the Lord. He used the same
picture in 1 Corinthians 9:11 and 2 Corinthians 9:6-10.
b. Surely God will never do wickedly, nor will the Almighty pervert justice: Elihu

31. was correct, and this was an idea agreed upon by Job and his three friends. Yet the
problem was that Elihu and Job three friends also seemed to assume that God
would never do mysteriously, and were too confident in their ability to understand
God and His ways.
i. “Elihu is now caught in the same logic as the friends. By affirming that God’s
ways cannot be questioned, he is forced to denounce Job’s opinions as impious.”
(Andersen)
c. If He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath, all flesh would perish
together, and man would return to dust: Here Elihu wanted to emphasize the idea of
God’s independence and transcendence. He wanted Job to remember that God was
so mighty that Job was entirely wrong to question Him at all.
PULPIT, "Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding (comp. Job 34:2).
Elihu repeats himself, wishing to call special attention to his justification of God
(Job 34:10-30). Far be it from God, that he should do wickedness. Elihu probably
means that to do wickedness is contrary to the very nature and idea of God; but he
does not express himself very clearly. And from the Almighty, that he should
commit iniquity. An evil God, a God who can do wrong, is a contradiction in
terms—an impossible, inconceivable idea. Devil-worshippers, if there are or ever
have been such persons, do not conceive of the object of their worship as really God,
but as a powerful malignant spirit. Once rise to the height of the conception of a
Power absolutely supreme, omniscient, omnipresent, the Author of all things, and it
is impossible to imagine him as less than perfectly good.
BI 10-12, "Neither will the Almighty pervert Justice.
On the justice of God
These words are a description of the justice and righteousness of the supreme Governor
of all things; introduced with an affectionate appeal to the common reason of mankind
for the truth of the assertion, and closed with an eloquent repetition of the assurance of
its certainty. There are, and must be, difficulties in the administration of providence; but
these difficulties affect only such as are careless in matters of religion, and they can
never make reasonable and considerate persons, men of attention and understanding, to
doubt concerning the righteousness of the Divine government.
I. God is, and cannot but be, just in all His actions. There being necessarily in nature a
difference of things, which is what we call natural good and evil, and a variety in the
dispositions and qualifications of persons, which is what we call moral good and evil,
from the due or undue adjustment of these natural qualities of things to the moral
qualifications of persons, arise unavoidably the notions of right and wrong. Now, the will
of every intelligent agent being always directed by some motive, it is plain Chat the
natural motive of action, where nothing irregular interposes, can be no other than this
right or reason of things. Whenever this right and reason are not made the rule of action,
it can only be, either because the agent is ignorant of what is right, or wants ability to
pursue it, or else is knowingly and willingly diverted from it, by the hope of some good,

32. or fear of some evil. But none of these causes of injustice can possibly have any place in
God. His actions must necessarily be directed by right, and reason, and justice only. It is
sometimes argued that the actions of God must needs be just, for whatever He does is
just, because He does it. But this argument is not proving, but supposing the thing in
question. It has been unworthily used, as if, because whatever God does is certainly just,
therefore whatsoever unjust and unreasonable things men, in their systems of Divinity
ascribe to Him, were made just and reasonable by supposing God to be the author of
them. Or that, God being all-powerful, therefore whatever is ascribed to Him, though in
itself it may seem unjust, and would be unjust among men, yet by supreme power is
made just and right. Upon this kind of reasoning is built the doctrine of absolute
reprobation, and some other the like opinions. But this is speaking deceitfully for God.
In Scripture, God perpetually appeals to the common reason and natural judgment of
mankind for the equity Of His dealings with them.
II. Wherein the nature of God’s justice consists. Justice is of two sorts. There is a justice
which consists in a distribution of equality; and there is a justice which consists in a
distribution of equity. Of this latter sort is the justice of God. In the matter of
punishment, His justice requires that it should always be apportioned with the most
strict exactness, to the degree or demerit of the crime. The particulars wherein this
justice consists are—
1. An impartiality with regard to persons.
2. An equity of distribution with regard to things; that is, the observing an exact
proportion in the several particular degrees of reward and punishment, as Well as an
impartiality and determining what persons shall be in general rewarded or punished.
III. Objections arising from particular cases against the general doctrine of the Divine
justice.
1. From the unequal distributions of providence in the present life. This is answered
by the belief of a future state, wherein, by the exactness and precise equity of the
final determinations of the great day, shall be abundantly made up all the little
inequalities of this short life. There are also many special reasons of these seeming
inequalities. God frequently afflicts the righteous, for the trial and improvement of
their virtue, for the exercise of their patience, or the correction of their faults. On the
other hand, God frequently, for no less wise reasons, defers the punishing of the
wicked. Besides these, there are also particular difficulties arising from singular
inequalities, even with regard to spiritual advantages.
The uses of this discourse are—
1. Let us acknowledge and submit to the Divine justice, and show forth our due sense
and fear of it in the course of our lives.
2. A right notion of the justice of God is matter of comfort to good men.
3. The justice of God is a matter of terror to all wicked and unrighteous men, how
great and powerful soever they may be.
4. From a consideration of the justice of God arises a true notion of the heinousness
of sin.
5. If God, who is all-powerful and supreme, yet always confines Himself to what is
just, how dare mortal men insult and tyrannise over each other, and think
themselves by power and force discharged from all obligations of equity towards
their fellow creatures? (S. Clarke, D. D.)

33. The perdition of the unconverted, not attributable to God
I. God cannot wish that any human mind should continue unconverted. It would be
strange indeed if He did. It is blasphemy to think that God should wish any creature to
commit sin. The holy God cannot wish any human mind either to begin to be unholy, or
to continue to be unholy.
II. God cannot wish that any human being should perish. God has declared that they
shall. It is inevitable in order to the ends of justice, and the maintenance of His moral
government. But, then, He does not desire this issue. To say He did would be to say that
God is malevolent. He cannot take any pleasure in suffering.
III. God has not decreed that any single mind should continue unconverted and should
perish. There is no such decree. If there were, it would be substantially the same with the
last, only that it would be underhand and clandestine. It would be charging God, not
only with sin, but with cowardice and hypocrisy.
IV. God never acts with the view that any should continue unconverted and should
perish. God never operates upon the mind with this view. He never interposes
difficulties in the way of its conversion, and with a view to its perdition. God does wish
that every human mind should be converted and saved.
1. Prove this from God’s words.
2. The actions of God will be found in harmony with His word.
3. Prove this from the death Of Christ.
4. This doctrine is deducible from the entire plan of salvation. (John Young, M. A.)
11 He repays everyone for what they have done;
he brings on them what their conduct deserves.
BAR ES, "For the work of a man shall he render unto him - He shall treat each
man as he deserves - and this is the essence of justice. Of the truth of this, also, there
could have been no question. Elihu does not, indeed, apply it to the case of Job, but
there can be little doubt that he intended that it should have such a reference. He
regarded Job as having accused God of injustice, for having inflicted woes on him
which he by no means deserved. He takes care, therefore, to state this general
principle, that with God there must be impartial justice - leaving the application of
this principle to the facts in the world, to be arranged as well as possible. o one can

34. doubt that Elihu in this took the true ground, and that the great principle is to be
held that God can do no wrong, and that all the facts in the universe must be
consistent with this great principle, whether we can now see it to be so or not.
CLARKE, "For the work of a man shall he render - God ever will do justice;
the righteous shall never be forsaken, nor shall the wicked ultimately prosper.
GILL, "For the work of a man will he render unto him,.... The reward of his
work, as Ben Gersom interprets it, whether the work of a wicked man or of a good man:
and cause every man to find according to his ways. Which is a truth frequently
inculcated in the Scriptures; and will take place especially at the resurrection of the dead,
which is for that purpose, and at the final judgment, by the righteous Judge of all; for,
though wicked men may not be punished now according to their deserts, they will
hereafter, which is sufficient to vindicate the justice of God: and as for the works and
ways of good men, though God does not proceed according to them in the methods of his
grace, they are not justified by them, nor called and saved according to them; for, though
evil works deserve damnation, good works do not merit salvation; yet they are not
neglected by the Lord; he is not unrighteous to forget them, and verily there is a reward
for righteous men though it is not of debt but grace; and not for, but in keeping the
commands of God, is this reward; even communion with him and peace in their souls,
which they enjoy in, though not as arising from their keeping them; and at the last day,
when their justification will be pronounced before men and angels, it will be according to
their works of righteousness, not done by themselves, but done by Christ, in their room
and stead and reckoned to them; for the obedience of Christ, by which they are made
righteous, though imputed to them without works, is nothing else but a series of good
works most perfectly done by Christ for them; and according to which the crown of
righteousness in a righteous way will be given them by the righteous Judge. All which
therefore is a full proof that no iniquity is, will, or can be committed by the Lord.
JAMISO , "Partly here; fully, hereafter (Jer_32:19; Rom_2:6; 1Pe_1:17; Rev_
22:12).
COFFMA , ""The work of a man he (God) will render unto him" (Job 34:11).
Elihu here repeats, "In crass individualistic terms the doctrine that God requites
every man according to his behavior."[13] In context, this was merely Elihu's way of
saying that, "Job is getting exactly what he deserves." The great error of Elihu's
bombastic words here is that, "He says a lot about God's justice but not a word
about divine grace."[14]
"God will not do wickedly" (Job 34:12). "Elihu said this as an effort to refute that
which he (erroneously) supposed that Job had said."[15] "Job had not accused God
of injustice, nor was he inclined to do so."[16]
"Who gave him a charge over the earth" (Job 34:13)? "The thought here is that

35. God rules the earth and is answerable to no one for his actions, a thought repeated
again by Elihu in Job 36:23; but this truth Job had already stated emphatically in
Job 9:12."[17]
"All flesh shall perish together" (Job 34:15). "If God Chose, he would have a right
to cut down the whole race of mankind. How then should men complain of loss of
health, comforts, friends, or anything else, and presume to arraign God as if he were
unjust"?[18] This was Elihu's answer to what he conceived as Job's accusation
against God. Although Job's persistent affirmation of his integrity seemed to his
friends to be an accusation against God, they had totally misunderstood Job's
position. Job was not affirming that God was wicked or unjust; but that it could not
have been his personal wickedness that led to his sufferings. ot God, but his
sufferings were unjust; but since that contradicted the false theology of his friends,
they erroneously concluded that Job was wicked.
PULPIT, "For the work of a man shall he render unto him. God "rewardeth every
man according to his work" (Ps 62:13), renders to each one good or evil, according
as his own deeds have been the one or the other. But this must be understood of the
man's whole conduct, and God's entire treatment of him. Such an absolute rectitude
of God's moral government, considered as a whole, is implied and involved in his
absolute and perfect justice. And cause every man to find according to his ways. We
"find according to our ways" when, having "ploughed iniquity, and sown
wickedness, we reap the same" (Job 4:8), or when, on the other hand, having "sown
in righteousness, we reap in mercy" (Hosea 10:12). Exact retribution is the law of
God's rule; but the exactness cannot be seen, or tested, or demonstrated in this life.
It will appear, however, and be recognized by all, at the consummation of all things.
12 It is unthinkable that God would do wrong,
that the Almighty would pervert justice.
BAR ES, "Yea, surely God will not do wickedly - So important does Elihu hold this
principle to be, that he repeats it, and dwells upon it. He says, “it surely (‫אמנם‬
'omnâm ) must be so.” The principle must be held at all hazards, and no opinion
which contravenes this should be indulged for one moment. His ground of complaint
against Job was, that he had not held fast to this principle, but, under the pressure
of his sufferings, had indulged in remarks which implied that God might do wrong.