Commentary - Job 34:31-37

Bird's-eye view

In this portion of Elihu's discourse, we are presented with a sharp and necessary corrective to Job's line of reasoning. Job has been, to put it mildly, demanding an explanation from the Almighty, teetering on the edge of accusing God of mismanagement. Elihu, the younger man who has waited patiently while his elders fumbled the diagnosis, now steps in to reframe the entire situation. He is not just another one of Job's miserable comforters; he is shifting the categories. The central issue is not God's obligation to explain Himself to man, but rather man's obligation to submit to God, regardless of what he understands. Elihu presents the posture of true repentance, contrasting it starkly with Job's self-righteous demands. This passage is a call for Job to abandon his courtroom drama and adopt the posture of a penitent sinner before a holy and sovereign God. Elihu argues that true wisdom begins not with getting answers from God, but with surrendering to Him.

Elihu essentially puts a hypothetical, and proper, confession into the mouth of a sufferer. This is what someone should say to God. He then turns the tables on Job, pointing out that Job's attitude is the polar opposite. Job is not choosing this path of humble submission; instead, he is rejecting God's terms and attempting to set his own. Elihu concludes by calling on wise men to judge the matter, confident they will agree that Job is speaking foolishly, like a wicked man, and is only compounding his sin by multiplying his words against God. This is not the therapeutic counsel of our modern age; it is a sharp, theological rebuke intended to bring Job to his senses and, ultimately, to true restoration.

Outline

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 31 “For has anyone said to God, ‘I have borne chastisement; I will not work destructively anymore;

Elihu begins with a rhetorical question, and it is a piercing one. He is asking, in effect, "Has anyone, Job included, actually approached God in the right way?" He then provides the script for what that right way looks like. The first part is an acknowledgment: "I have borne chastisement." This is not a complaint. It is not "I have borne unjust chastisement." It is the simple, humble recognition that the affliction one is under is, in fact, discipline from the hand of a sovereign God. It accepts the premise that God is the one who brings both prosperity and adversity, and that He does so with purpose. This is the starting point of all true repentance: ceasing to argue with the facts of your situation and, by extension, with the God who ordained them. The second clause, "I will not work destructively anymore," is the fruit of this recognition. The Hebrew word can mean to offend or to act corruptly. True repentance is not just a feeling of sorrow; it is a turning, a commitment to change course. It says, "I see that my way is ruinous, and I am done with it."

v. 32 Instruct me what I do not behold; If I have done injustice, I will not do it again’?

This follows directly from the previous statement. The truly penitent man knows that his own understanding is faulty. He has blind spots. So, the next thing he does is ask for light. "Instruct me what I do not behold." This is a prayer for illumination, a confession of ignorance. It is the polar opposite of Job's approach, which has been to instruct God on the finer points of justice. The humble man says, "Lord, I don't even know what I don't know. My sin is likely deeper and wider than I can see. Please, show it to me." This is the spirit of David in Psalm 139: "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me." And again, this plea is tied to a promise of amendment: "If I have done injustice, I will not do it again." Repentance is not an academic exercise. It is intensely practical. The goal of seeing sin is not to wallow in it, but to forsake it.

v. 33 Shall He repay on your terms, because you have rejected it? For you must choose, and not I; Therefore say what you know.

Here Elihu pivots from the ideal confession to Job's actual response. The "it" Job has rejected is this humble posture of repentance. Job has refused to accept God's chastisement without a full explanation and a justification that satisfies his own sense of right and wrong. Elihu's question is devastating: "Shall He repay on your terms?" Does Job really think that God Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth, is going to negotiate the terms of His justice with a creature of dust? The idea is ludicrous, and Elihu exposes it as such. God does not operate on our terms. We operate on His. The universe is not a democracy. Then comes the challenge: "For you must choose, and not I." Elihu is forcing the issue. Job is at a crossroads. He can either adopt the posture of repentance Elihu has just outlined, or he can continue down his path of self-righteous indignation. The choice is his. Elihu is not going to make it for him, and neither are his other friends. "Therefore say what you know." This is a summons. "Make your case, Job. But understand what you are doing. You are setting your knowledge against God's."

v. 34 Men with a heart of wisdom will say to me, And a wise man who hears me,

Elihu now appeals to a jury. He is confident in his assessment, and he knows that any truly wise, discerning person will see the situation the same way. He is not just offering his private opinion. He is stating what he believes to be the objective, godly verdict on Job's words. He is saying that there is a spiritual consensus among the righteous, and it is not in Job's favor. This is a way of saying that Job has lost his theological bearings. He is out of step with the communion of saints, with those who have a "heart of wisdom." This is a serious charge. It implies that Job's suffering has clouded his judgment to the point where he is no longer thinking or speaking like a member of the covenant community.

v. 35 ‘Job speaks without knowledge, And his words are without insight.’

This is the verdict of the wise men Elihu has just summoned. It is blunt and to the point. For all his eloquent speeches, for all his passionate pleas, Job's discourse is fundamentally flawed. It is "without knowledge" and "without insight." Why? Because it proceeds from a faulty premise: the premise that a man can stand on his own integrity and demand that God justify His actions. Job knows many things about his own life and his own suffering, but in this matter, he is speaking about things that are beyond his pay grade. He lacks the God-centered knowledge that would enable him to interpret his suffering correctly. He has insight into his own pain, but he lacks the divine insight that would show him God's sovereign purpose in it. God Himself will later confirm this assessment when He asks Job, "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?" (Job 38:2).

v. 36 Job ought to be tested to the limit Because he answers like wicked men.

This sounds harsh to our modern, therapeutic ears, but it is the logical conclusion of Elihu's argument. The word for "ought" carries a sense of desire or wish. "My desire is that Job be tried to the end." Why? Not out of cruelty, but because Job's responses are mirroring those of the ungodly. He is answering "like wicked men." The wicked are those who challenge God, who accuse Him of injustice, who believe they know better. Because Job is talking like them, he needs to be tested "to the limit" to purge this dross from him. The trial must continue until the pride is broken, until the self-righteousness collapses, and until Job sees himself as he truly is: a sinner in need of grace, not a plaintiff in need of a verdict. The purpose of the test is not punitive, but purifying. It is a severe mercy.

v. 37 For he adds transgression to his sin; He strikes his hands together among us, And multiplies his words against God.’ ”

Elihu concludes by summarizing the charge. Job's problem is not just the original, unknown sin for which he might be suffering. His problem is that he is now adding new sin on top of the old. He is adding "transgression to his sin." The transgression is rebellion. The sin might have been some prior fault, but the current problem is his defiant reaction to the trial. "He strikes his hands together among us" is a gesture of contempt and mockery. It is an expression of defiance. And finally, "he multiplies his words against God." This has been Job's central error. Instead of humbling himself in silence, or speaking words of repentance, he has filled the air with speeches, arguments, and accusations directed at the Almighty. He has tried to reason his way out of his suffering, and in the process, has only talked himself into more sin. The sheer volume of his words has become an offense. This is a solemn warning for all of us. When we are in the crucible, the temptation is to talk, to explain, to justify. But often, the wisest course is to be still, to listen, and to say nothing more than what Elihu prescribed at the beginning: "I have borne chastisement... Instruct me."

Application

The message Elihu brings is a hard one, but it is a necessary one. We live in an age that pampers and coddles our sense of grievance. When we suffer, the world tells us we are victims and that we have every right to be angry, to demand answers, and to shake our fist at the heavens. But the Bible's counsel, articulated here by Elihu, is precisely the opposite.

First, we must learn to accept chastisement without demanding a line-item explanation. Our relationship with God is not one of equals. He is the potter, we are the clay. The sovereign Lord of the universe owes us no explanation for His providences. Our task is to trust Him, even when, and especially when, we cannot trace His hand. To say, "I have borne chastisement," is to confess that God is God, and we are not.

Second, true repentance is forward-looking. It is not enough to feel bad about the past; we must commit to a different future. This requires us to plead with God for instruction, because our own hearts are deceitful and our understanding is dim. We must be willing to have God show us our blind spots, and we must be resolved to forsake the sins He reveals. Repentance is not a negotiation; it is an unconditional surrender.

Finally, we must be exceedingly careful with our words in the midst of suffering. Job's great error was that he "multiplied his words against God." He tried to litigate his case when he should have been repenting. When trials come, our first instinct should be to quiet our souls and listen for the voice of God, not to broadcast our complaints. The wisdom of God is often found in the silence of a submitted heart. Elihu's rebuke serves to remind us that God is not on trial; we are. And the purpose of the trial is not to destroy us, but to purify us, so that we might come forth as gold.