Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 34:16
If now [thou hast] understanding, hear this: hearken to the voice of my words.
16 19. The second thought: without justice rule is impossible; and therefore injustice in the supreme Ruler is inconceivable. The thought is one that finds repeated expression in Scripture, as in the words of Abraham, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Gen 18:25, and in those of St Paul, “Is God unrighteous ? God forbid; for then how shall God judge the world?” Rom 3:5; comp. Mat 12:25.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
If now thou hast understanding hear this – This appears to be addressed to Job. The discourse before this had been directed to his three friends, but Elihu appears here to have turned to Job, and to have made a solemn appeal to him, whether this were not so. In the subsequent verses he remonstrates with him about his views, and shows him that what he had said implied severe reflections on the character and government of God.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Job 34:16-30
If now thou hast understanding, hear this.
Elihus remonstrance
I. Founded on the supremacy of God. Where there is absolute supremacy, there can be no injustice. There are some who speak of the absolute law of right as something outside the Almighty, independent of Him, and to which He is accountable. What the Supreme wills, is right, and right because He wills it.
II. On the impartiality of the Eternal. God is no respecter of persons. This is a fact proclaimed over and over again in the Bible, and which all nature and history demonstrate. The thought of Gods impartiality serves two purposes.
1. To alarm the influentially wicked.
2. To encourage the godly poor.
III. On the omniscience of the Eternal. There is no darkness nor shadow of death where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
1. Wicked men perform their deeds in darkness.
2. However deep the darkness, Gods eye is on them.
IV. On the power of the Eternal. What a description of power we have here. Are not these views of God sufficient to hush every murmuring thought, to subdue every rebellious will, and to bring every heart into a loving agreement with His plans? (Homilist.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
As thou art a man of understanding, hear and consider what I say.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16. In Job34:2, Elihu had spoken to all in general, now he callsJob’s special attention.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
If now [thou hast] understanding, hear this,…. Not as calling his understanding in question, as if he, had none; for Job was a very understanding man; he had not lost his natural understanding by his afflictions, see Job 6:13; nor was he without an understanding of divine things, as his speeches and answers show; but rather it is taken for granted that he was a man of understanding: “if” or “seeing” thou hast understanding, art a man of knowledge and intelligence, therefore hearken and attend to what has been said or about to be said; though, as some Jewish interpreters a observe, the word is not a noun, but a verb, and is imperative, “understand thou now, hear this”; and then the sense is, “if” things are so as before related, Job 34:13; then now understand this, take it into thy heart and mind, and well weigh and consider it:
hearken to the voice of my words; either the preceding or following ones.
a Jarchi, Bar Tzemach, in loc. so Cocceius, Schmidt, and Schultens.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
16 And oh understand now, hear this;
Hearken to the sound of my words.
17 Would one who hateth right also be able to subdue?
Or wilt thou condemn the All-just?
18 Is it becoming to say to a king: Worthless One!?
Thou evil-doer! to princes?
19 To Him who accepteth not the person of rulers,
And regardeth not the noble before the poor:
For they are all the work of His hands.
20 In a moment they die, and at midnight
The people are overthrown and perish,
And they put aside the mighty – not by the hand of man.
This strophe contains several grammatical rarities. At first sight it appears that Job 34:16 ought to be translated: “and if there is understanding (viz., to thee = if thou hast), then hear this.” But is accented as Milel and with Mercha, and can therefore not be a substantive (Hirz., Hahn, and others); for the retreat of the accent would be absolutely incomprehensible, and instead of a conjunctive, a distinctive, viz., Dech, ought to be expected. Several of the old expositors, therefore, interpret with Nolde: quod quum ita sit, intellige ; but this elliptical , well as it might also be used for Job 21:4, is unsupportable; the Makkeph between the two words is also against it, which rather arises from the assumption that is the imperat., and as an exception, like Gen 23:13, is an optative particle joined to the imper. 2 instead of to the fut.: “and if thou shouldst observe” (= ). To translate Job 34:17 with Schultens: num iram osor judicii frenabit , is impracticable on account of the order of the words, and gives a thought that is inappropriate here. is a particle, and the fut. is potentialis : is it also possible that an enemy of right should govern? ( , imperio coercere , as 1Sa 9:17, Psa 105:22); right and government are indeed mutually conditioned, without right everything would fall into anarchy and confusion. In Job 34:17 this is applied to the Ruler of the world: or ( , an, as Job 8:3; Job 21:4; Job 40:9) wilt thou condemn the mighty just One, i.e., the All-just? As Elihu calls God , Job 37:23, as the Almighty, and as the Omniscient One, , Job 37:16, so here as the All-just One, . The two adjectives are put side by side , as is frequently the case in Arabic, and form one compound idea, Ew. 270, d.
Job 34:18 The interrogative is joined to the inf., not, however, as Job 40:2 ( num litigare cum Deo castigator, scil. vult ), with the inf. absol., but with the inf. constr.; the form for occurs also in Pro 25:7, and is also otherwise not rare, especially in combination with particles, e.g., , Num 26:10, Olsh. 160, b.
(Note: Eze 25:8 is also to be read according to the Masora and old editions (as Deu 7:20, Deu 12:23, 1Ki 6:6), for distinction from the imperatives, which have Chateph-Segol.)
It is unnecessary to suppose that the inf. constr., which sometimes, although rarely, does occur (Ges. 131, rem. 2), is used here instead of the inf. absol.; it is thus, as after , e.g., Jdg 9:2 ( ), Pro 24:7; Psa 133:1, and Psa 40:6 after , used as n. actionis , since ha in a pregnant sense is equivalent to num licet ( ), if one does not prefer, with Olsh., to suppose an aposiopesis: ”(dare one be so bold as) to say to a king: Thou worthless one! Thou evil-doer! to princes?” The reading is an unnecessary lightening of the difficulty. It were a crimen laesae , if one reproached a king with being unjust, and therefore thereby denied him the most essential requisite of a ruler; and now even Him (Merc. correctly supplies tanto minus ei ) who does not give the preference to the person ( as Job 13:8; Job 32:21) of princes, and does not (with preference) regard (on vid., on Job 21:29, also here Piel, and according to the statement of the Masora, Milel, for an acknowledged reason which can be maintained even in remarkable instances, like Deu 10:5 in , Eze 32:26 in , whereas 1Sa 23:7 is Milra) the rich before ( in the sense of prae) the poor! therefore the King of kings, who makes no partial distinction, because the king and the beggar are the work of His hands: they stand equally near to Him as being His creatures, and He is exalted above both alike as their Creator, this order and partiality are excluded; – what a nota bene against the doctrine of the decretum absolutum , which makes the love of the Creator a partial love, and turns this love, which in its very nature is perfect love, into caprice! In Job 34:20 Elihu appeals to human history in favour of this impartiality of the Ruler of the world. It may there appear as though God with partiality suffered rulers and peoples in authority in the world to do as they please; but suddenly they die away, and in fact in the middle of the night (here Mercha-mahpach), the individuals of a great people (thus must be understood in accordance with the prominently-placed plur. predicate, Ges. 146, 1) tremble and perish; and they remove ( instead of the passive, as Job 4:20 and frequently) the mighty – . It is not the hand of man which does this, but an invisible higher power (which, if it is called yd, only bears this name per anthropomorphismum); comp. Dan 2:34, ; Dan 8:25, ; and also Job 20:26, like the New Testament use of . The subj. of Job 34:20 are the previously mentioned princes. The division according to the accents may be received with hesitation, since the symmetry of the sticks, which it restores, is not unfrequently wanting in the Elihu section. Job 34:20 refers back to the possessors of power, and in the interval, Job 34:20 describes the fate of those who belong to the people which has become subservient to their lust of conquest, for cannot signify “in crowds” (Ew., Hahn); it is therefore, and especially when mentioned as here between princes and rulers, the people, and in fact, in distinction from gwy, the people together forming a state.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
16 If now thou hast understanding, hear this: hearken to the voice of my words. 17 Shall even he that hateth right govern? and wilt thou condemn him that is most just? 18 Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly? 19 How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands. 20 In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand. 21 For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings. 22 There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. 23 For he will not lay upon man more than right; that he should enter into judgment with God. 24 He shall break in pieces mighty men without number, and set others in their stead. 25 Therefore he knoweth their works, and he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed. 26 He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others; 27 Because they turned back from him, and would not consider any of his ways: 28 So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted. 29 When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only: 30 That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared.
Elihu here addresses himself more directly to Job. He had spoken to the rest (v. 10) as men of understanding; now, speaking to Job; he puts an if upon his understanding: If thou hast understanding, hear this and observe it, v. 16.
I. Hear this, That God is not to be quarrelled with for any thing that he does. It is daring presumption to arraign and condemn God’s proceedings, as Job had done by his discontents. It was, 1. As absurd as it would be to advance one to power that is a professed enemy to justice: Shall even he that hates right govern? v. 17. The righteous Lord so loves righteousness that, in comparison with him, even Job himself, though a perfect and upright man, might be said to hate right; and shall he govern? Shall he pretend to direct God or correct what he does? Shall such unrighteous creatures as we are give law to the righteous God? or must he take his measures from us? When we consider the corruption of our nature, and the contrariety there is in us to the eternal rule of equity, we cannot but see it to be an impudent impious thing for us to prescribe to God. 2. It was as absurd as it would be to call a most righteous innocent person to the bar, and to give judgment against him, though it appeared ever so plainly, upon the trial, that he was most just: Wilt thou condemn him that is righteous in all his ways, and cannot but be so? 3. It is more absurd and unbecoming than it would be to say to a sovereign prince, Thou art wicked, and to judges upon the bench, You are ungodly, v. 18. This would be looked upon as an insufferable affront to majesty and to magistracy; no king, no prince, would bear it. In favour of government, we presume it is a right sentence that is passed, unless the contrary be very evident; but, whatever we think, it is not fit to tell a king to his face that he is wicked. Nathan reproved David by a parable. But, whatever a high priest or a prophet might do, it is not for an ordinary subject to make so bold with the powers that are. How absurd is then to say so to God–to impute iniquity to him, who, having no respect of persons, is in no temptation to do an unjust thing! He regardeth not the rich more than the poor, and therefore it is fit he should rule, and it is not fit we should find fault with him, v. 19. Note, Rich and poor stand upon the same level before God. A great man shall fare never the better, nor find any favour, for his wealth and greatness; nor shall a poor man fare ever the worse for his poverty, nor an honest cause be starved. Job, now that he was poor, should have as much favour with God, and be as much regarded by him, as when he was rich; for they are all the work of his hands. Their persons are so: the poor are made by the same hand, and of the same mould, as the rich. Their conditions are so: the poor were made poor by the divine providence, as well as the rich made rich; and therefore the poor shall fare never the worse for that which is their lot, not their fault.
II. Hear this, That God is to be acknowledged and submitted to in all that he does. Divers considerations Elihu here suggests to Job, to beget in him great and high thoughts of God, and so to persuade him to submit and proceed no further in his quarrel with him.
1. God is almighty, and able to deal with the strongest of men when he enters into judgment with them (v. 20); even the people, the body of a nation, though ever so numerous, shall be troubled, unhinged, and put into disorder, when God pleases; even the mighty man, the prince, though ever so honourable, ever so formidable among men, shall, if God speak the word, be taken away out of his throne, nay, out of the land of the living; they shall die; they shall pass away. What cannot he do that has all the powers of death at his command? Observe the suddenness of this destruction: In a moment shall they die. It is not a work of time, with God, to bring down his proud enemies, but, when he pleases, it is soon done; nor is he bound to give them warning, no, not an hour’s warning. This night thy soul shall be required. Observe the season of it: They shall be troubled at midnight, when they are secure and careless, and unable to help themselves; as the Egyptians when their first-born were slain. This is the immediate work of God: they are taken away, without hand, insensibly, by secret judgments. God can himself humble the greatest tyrant, without the assistance or agency of any man. Whatever hand he sometimes uses in the accomplishing of his purposes, he needs none, but can do it without hand. Nor is it one single mighty man only that he can thus overpower, but even hosts of them (v. 24): He shall break in pieces mighty men without number; for no combined power can stand it out against Omnipotence. Yet, when God destroys tyranny, he does not design anarchy; if those are brought down that ruled ill, it does not therefore follow that people must have no rulers; for, when he breaks mighty men, he sets others in their stead, that will rule better, or, if they do not, he overturns them also in the night, or in a night, so that they are destroyed, v. 25. Witness Belshazzar. Or, if he designs them space to repent, he does not presently destroy them, but he strikes them as wicked men, v. 26. Some humbling mortifying judgments are brought upon them; these wicked rulers are stricken as other wicked men, as surely, as sorely, stricken in their bodies, estates, or families, and this for warning to their neighbours; the stroke is given in terrorem–as an alarm to others, and therefore is given in the open sight of others, that they also may see and fear, and tremble before the justice of God. If kings stand not before him, how shall we stand!
2. God is omniscient, and can discover that which is most secret. As the strongest cannot oppose his arm, so the most subtle cannot escape his eye; and therefore, if some are punished either more or less than we think they should be, instead of quarrelling with God, it becomes us to ascribe it to some secret cause known to God only. For, (1.) Every thing is open before him (v. 21): His eyes are upon the ways of man; not only they are within reach of his eye, so that he can see them, but his eye is upon them, so that he actually observes and inspects them. He sees us all, and sees all our goings; go where we will, we are under his eye; all our actions, good and evil, are regarded and recorded and reserved to be brought into judgment when the books shall be opened. (2.) Nothing is or can be concealed from him (v. 22): There is no darkness nor shadow of death so close, so thick, so solitary, so remote from light or sight as that in it the workers of iniquity may hide themselves from the discovering eye and avenging hand of the righteous God. Observe here, [1.] The workers of iniquity would hide themselves if they could from the eye of the world for shame (and that perhaps they may do), and from the eye of God for fear, as Adam among the trees of the garden. The day is coming when mighty men, and chief captains, will call to the rocks and mountains to hide them. [2.] They would gladly be hid even by the shadow of death, be hid in the grave, and lie for ever there, rather than appear before the judgment-seat of Christ. (3.) It is in vain to think of flying from God’s justice, or absconding when his wrath is in pursuit of us. The workers of iniquity may find ways and means to hide themselves from men, but not from God: He knows their works (v. 25), both what they do and what they design.
3. God is righteous, and, in all his proceedings, goes according to the rules of equity. Even when he is overturning mighty men, and breaking them in pieces, yet he will not lay upon man more than right, v. 23. As he will not punish the innocent, so he will not exact of those that are guilty more than their iniquities deserve; and of the proportion between the sin and the punishment Infinite Wisdom shall be the judge. He will not give any man cause to complain that he deals hardly with him, nor shall any man enter into judgment with God, or bring an action against him. If he do, God will be justified when he speaks and clear when he judges. Therefore Job was very much to be blamed for his complaints of God, and is here well-advised to let fall his action, for he would certainly be cast or non-suited. It is not for man ever to purpose to enter into judgment with the Omnipotent; so some read the whole verse. Job had often wished to plead his cause before God. Elihu asks, “To what purpose? The judgment already given concerning thee will certainly be affirmed; no errors can be found in it, nor any exceptions taken to it, but, after all, it must rest as it is.” All is well that God does, and will be found so. To prove that when God destroys the mighty men, and strikes them as wicked men, he does not lay upon them more than right, he shows what their wickedness was (Job 34:27; Job 34:28); and let any compare that with their punishment, and then judge whether they did not deserve it. In short, these unjust judges, whom God will justly judge, neither feared God nor regarded man, Luke xviii. 2. (1.) They were rebels to God: They turned back from him, cast off the fear of him, and abandoned the very thoughts of him; for they would not consider any of his ways, took no heed either to his precepts or to his providences, but lived without God in the world. This is at the bottom of all the wickedness of the wicked, they turn back from God; and it is because they do not consider, not because they cannot, but because they will not. From inconsideration comes impiety, and thence all immorality. (2.) They were tyrants to all mankind, v. 28. They will not call upon God for themselves; but they cause the cry of the poor to come to him, and that cry is against them. They are injurious and oppressive to the poor, wrong them, crush them, impoverish them yet more, and add affliction to the afflicted, who cry unto God, make their complaint to him, and he hears them and pleads their cause. Their case is bad who have the prayers and tears of the poor against them; for the cry of the oppressed will, sooner or later, draw down vengeance on the heads of the oppressors, and no one can say that this is more than right, Exod. xxii. 23.
4. God has an uncontrollable dominion in all the affairs of the children of men, and so guides and governs whatever concerns both communities and particular persons, that, as what he designs cannot be defeated, so what he does cannot be changed, v. 29. Observe, (1.) The frowns of all the world cannot trouble those whom God quiets with his smiles. When he gives quietness who then can make trouble? v. 29. This is a challenge to all the powers of hell and earth to disquiet those to whom God speaks peace, and for whom he creates it. If God give outward peace to a nation, he can secure what he gives, and disable the enemies of it to give it any disturbance. If God give inward peace to a man only, the quietness and everlasting assurance which are the effect of righteousness, neither the accusations of Satan nor the afflictions of this present time, no, nor the arrests of death itself, can give trouble. What can make those uneasy whose souls dwell at ease in God? See Phil. iv. 7. (2.) The smiles of all the world cannot quiet those whom God troubles with his frowns; for if he, in displeasure, hide his face, and withhold the comfort of his favour, who then can behold him? that is, Who can behold a displeased God, so as to bear up under his wrath or turn it away? Who can make him show his face when he resolves to hide it, or see through the clouds and darkness which are round about him? Or, Who can behold a disquieted sinner, so as to give him effectual relief? Who can stand a friend to him to whom God is an enemy? None can relieve the distresses of the outward condition without God. If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I? 2 Kings vi. 27. Nor can any relieve the distresses of the mind against God and his terrors. If he impress the sense of his wrath upon a guilty conscience, all the comforts the creature can administer are ineffectual. As vinegar upon nitre, so are songs to a heavy heart. The irresistibleness of God’s operations must be acknowledged in his dealings both with communities and with particular persons: what he does cannot be controlled, whether it be done against a nation in its public capacity or against a man only in his private affairs. The same Providence that governs mighty kingdoms presides in the concerns of the meanest individual; and neither the strength of a whole nation can resist his power nor the smallness of a single person evade his cognizance; but what he does shall be done effectually and victoriously.
5. God is wise, and careful of the public welfare, and therefore provides that the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared, v. 30. See here, (1.) The pride of hypocrites. They aim to reign; the praise of men, and power in the world, are their reward, what they aim at. (2.) The policy of tyrants. When they aim to set up themselves they sometimes make use of religion as a cloak and cover for their ambition and by their hypocrisy come to the throne. (3.) The danger the people are in when hypocrites reign. They are likely to be ensnared in sin, or trouble, or both. Power, in the hands of dissemblers, is often destructive to the rights and liberties of a people, which they are more easily wheedled out of than forced out of. Much mischief has been done likewise to the power of godliness under the pretence of a form of godliness. (4.) The care which divine Providence takes of the people, to prevent this danger, that the hypocrite reign not, either that he do not reign at all or that he do not reign long. If God has mercy in store for a people, he will either prevent the rise or hasten the ruin of hypocritical rulers.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
3. God is supreme, sees every hidden thing, and is an impartial judge. (Job. 34:16-30)
TEXT 34:1630
16 If now thou hast understanding, hear this:
Hearken to the voice of my words.
17 Shall even one that hateth justice govern?
And wilt thou condemn him that is righteous and mighty?
18 Him that saith to a king, Thou art vile,
Or to nobles, Ye are wicked;
19 That respecteth not the persons of princes,
Nor regardeth the rich more than the poor;
For they are all the work of his hands.
20 In a moment they die, even at midnight;
The people are shaken and pass away,
And the mighty are taken away without hand.
21 For his eyes are upon the ways of a man,
And he seeth all his goings.
22 There is no darkness, nor thick gloom,
Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
23 For he needeth not further to consider a man,
That he should go before God in judgment.
24 He breaketh in pieces mighty men in ways past finding out,
And setteth others in their stead.
25 Therefore he taketh knowledge of their works;
And he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed.
26 He striketh them as wicked men
In the open sight of others;
27 Because they turned aside from following him,
And would not have regard to any of his ways:
28 So that they caused the cry of the poor to come unto him,
And he heard the cry of the afflicted.
29 When he giveth quietness, who then can condemn?
And when he hideth his face, who then can behold him?
Alike whether it be done unto a nation, or unto a man:
30 That the godless man reign not,
That there be none to ensnare the people.
COMMENT 34:1630
Job. 34:16If God is truly all powerful, then no one can influence His decisionsGen. 18:25; Rom. 3:5 ff. If God is all knowing, then He must be infallible. When He observes unrighteousness, He punishes. But the dilemma remains, why some victims and some victors?Job. 33:31; Job. 33:33. The text has only if understanding and is in the singular, and thus invites Jobs close attention.
Job. 34:17The cogency of Elihus argument has often been attacked. Cosmic control, i.e., divine government, does not guarantee justice. This is precisely Jobs point. Elihu is saying that God can condemn kings and nobles and that this power makes Him righteous. But this is bold assertion, not balanced argument. Omnipotence is neither necessary nor sufficient power of impartiality. The word rendered govern in the first line of the A. V. means bind upHos. 6:1; Isa. 1:6; Exo. 29:9. Only in this verse does it have a sense of governing a kingdom[342]compare Psa. 31:19 with Job. 34:17.
[342] For possible variation, see E. F. Sutcliffe, Biblica, 1949, pp. 73ff. He suggests medical sense here, i.e., God can heal a hater of justice; also see M. Dahood, Psalms, Vol. II, p. xxiv.
Job. 34:18Elihus argument is crushed against the rocks of reality. A fool may be set in high placesEcc. 10:5; Ecc. 10:20. Present world condition hardly supports the naive but often suggested thesis of natural leadership, locally, state, nationally, or internationallyIsa. 32:5. Elihu merely continues a theme set forth by Job in Job. 12:17-21, i.e., Gods humiliation of the mighty. He also begs the question at hand. The word rendered in the A. V. as vile (beliyyaalworthlessness) is applied to such conduct as greedDeu. 15:9; 1Sa. 25:25; 1Sa. 30:22; and sexual perversionJdg. 19:22; and lying1Ki. 21:10; Pro. 19:28.
Job. 34:19Since all are derived from Gods creative power, He is impartial to both the rich and poor.[343] Impartiality does not mean that we are all equal in ability or capacity to produce. The fallacy that we are all equal is resident in western thought from the French Revolution (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity) to our canonical national literature, egs. Declaration of Independence, Constitution, etc. It should be empirically evident that we are not all equal in the sense of creative intelligence, abilities, etc. This central error is the basis of much human rights discussion, at least since 1948 and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the UN. Rights entail responsibilities just like freedom does. Contemporary man has chosen security over freedomIsa. 32:5; Deu. 10:17; Pro. 22:2; Act. 10:34-35; Rom. 2:11; Eph. 6:9; Col. 3:25; and 1Pe. 1:17.
[343] P. Jouon, Biblica, 1937, p. 207 regards the “poor” as a social distinction.
Job. 34:20Proof of Gods impartiality is His swift removal, i.e., at midnight, of the mighty. Unexpectedly God visits allLuk. 12:20; 1Th. 5:2.[344] The people all violently agitated or taken away by no human hand. This emphasizes the effortlessness of Gods removal of the unjust from the world.
[344] E. F. Sutcliffe, Biblica, 1949, pp. 75ff.
Job. 34:21Gods decisions are made with full awareness of all details. This verse is almost a verbatim citation of Job. 24:23 b; Job. 31:4; Eccl. 23:19. When disaster falls, it is evidence of wickedness. Jobs thesis is that God knows everything; therefore, He knows that he is innocentJob. 10:7. The Prologue is proof that Job is correct concerning this point. But he is mistaken in inferring that God is indifferent to moral issues.
Job. 34:22No human thought or act is concealed from GodJob. 31:3; Psa. 139:11 ff; Jer. 23:24; Amo. 9:2-3; Mat. 6:4.
Job. 34:23Job has lamented that he could not bring God to a law courtJob. 9:32even though God would be both adversary and judgeJob. 10:2. Here, Elihu declares that God does not need to go through a legal process to establish guilt. God can summon man any time He chooses. Job has asked God for a time of hearingJob. 9:32; Job. 14:13; Job. 24:1. The text has odyet and the late G. E. Wright proposed a set time which would require moed.
Job. 34:24God does not need to investigate (A. V. considerheqersearch, inquiry, and inquisition) the human situation in order to know what is going on. Gods will and power are fused by His loving mercy in all His pronouncements. Elihu says there is no need for the inquiry which Job has requested.
Job. 34:25God knows (yakhir) their works and overthrows them in the night. Punishment comes with swift certainty to the tyrannical oppressors.
Job. 34:26In spite of the difficulties in this verse, its meaning is that God judges the wicked in public. The A. V. rendering in the open sight means under or among as Greenfield has shown.[345]
[345] See his arguments, J. C. Greenfield, Zeitschriftf fur alttestamentlische Wissenschaft, 1961 p. 227.
Job. 34:27Whoever turns from God is punished regardless of who he is. This verse contains only three Hebrew wordsJob. 24:13. The parallel line is preserved almost intact in The Qumran Targum and supports the reading of the Hebrew text.
Job. 34:28The difficulties in Job. 34:28-33 perhaps caused the LXX translators to remove them from the text. The verb is infinitive and could be translated as either singular or plural. The infinitive to bring implies that the cries of the oppressed brought the oppressor to Gods attention. If He is all-knowing, their cries could bring Him no knowledge which He did not already possess. The grammar does not necessarily imply that their cries caused Gods response, but could also be understood as consequential.
Job. 34:29This verse is very cryptic. But probably the meaning is that no man has a right to condemn God, even if He is silent in the presence of injustice. Jobs fundamental question is not Why does not God punish the wicked? but rather Why do the innocent suffer? The last line reads upon a nation or upon a man together. The word together is our problem in this text. Perhaps the verse means that God is watching over all His creation with unceasing vigilance, though He does often in fact hide His face from our view. His presence returns only after The Shattering of Silence. Gods visibility returns when He speaks. He has spoken with finality in Jobs redeemer, our LordJoh. 1:1-18 and Heb. 1:1-4. His silence becomes our ultimate vindication, when His silence is broken by resurrection. Blommerde renders the final line as upon nation and man he gazes.
Job. 34:30The text reads literally from the ruling of an impious man. The A. V. rendering godless is abstract, and the text suggests an existential situation or concrete expression of unrighteousness. The last line reads from snares of the people, and means God intervenes to remove any and every unrighteous ruler. But the verse does not relate either the method of removal, or the length of time involved in the process of removal. Israels history is full of such examples.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
b. The divine justice is still further proven from the conception of God as ruler of the universe, (Zockler,) Job 34:16-30. . Without justice the administration of the world could not be carried on; for “right and government are mutually conditioned.” (Delitzsch.) The impartiality of the divine government, and the equal regard of God for his creatures, are made manifest through the mode in which he treats the great ones of the earth; also by the way he inflicts the one common doom of death, Job 34:16-20.
16. If now thou, etc. And if there is understanding. The original does not necessarily convey any reflection upon Job: it rather invites Job’s special attention to another form of argumentation. Elihu is about to announce truths that ought to be self-evident, and yet that had been overlooked by the friends.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 34:16 If now [thou hast] understanding, hear this: hearken to the voice of my words.
Ver. 16. If now thou hast understanding, hear this ] Hear it, and know it for thy good, as Job 4:2-7 , if at least thou hast any wit for thyself or care of thine own well doing. This is a stinging apostrophe to Job. Si vel mica est in te bonae mentis; unless thou hast buried thy brains and lost thy senses, listen as for life.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Job 34:16-20
Job 34:16-20
THE FACT OF GOD’S RULE PROVES ITS JUSTICE
“If now thou hast understanding, hear this:
Hearken to the voice of my words.
Shall even one that hateth justice govern?
And wilt thou condemn him that is righteous and mighty? –
Him that saith to a king, Thou art vile,
Or to nobles, Ye are wicked;
That respecteth not the persons of princes,
Nor regardeth the rich more than the poor;
For they all are the work of his hands.
In a moment they die, even at midnight;
The people are shaken and pass away,
And the mighty are taken away without hand.”
“Shall even one that hateth justice govern” (Job 34:17)? The thought here is that, “The very continuation of the rule of God implies its justice.”
“Him that saith to a king, Thou art vile” (Job 34:18). “The charge of injustice is serious enough if made only against an earthly ruler, but how much more serious is such a charge against God”? However, Elihu was not logical in bringing in the matter of earthly rulers here; because, “Fools may be set in high places (Ecc 10:5), and addressed with noble titles (Isa 32:5).”
“The mighty are taken away without hand” (Job 34:20). Both these verses (Job 34:19-20) deal with the doom of persons who accuse rulers (especially God) of injustice. Driver noted that, “The reason why God does not excuse wickedness in the rich and powerful is that they are his creatures with whom he has no cause to curry favor; and the proof that they are wicked is the fact that such persons die early.” It is not hard to discern Elihu’s intended application of these words to Job. According to Elihu, Job was an example of how God would not excuse the wickedness of the rich and powerful. Yes, Job was not yet dead; but Elihu expected him to die at any time. Elihu was a very effective instrument of Satan.
E.M. Zerr:
Job 34:16-17. Elihu asked Job to give him close attention as if he were going to make some important statement. It turned out to be the same false accusation that has been made against Job by the three friends and now by Elihu.
Job 34:18-19. It would be highly improper to charge even a human being with wicked conduct. It would be much more so to charge such against God.
Job 34:20. If any man should be so rash as to charge God with wickedness, he will utterly perish.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Job 12:3, Job 13:2-6
Reciprocal: Job 34:34 – understanding Pro 1:5 – wise
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 34:16-17. If thou hast understanding, hear this As thou art a man of understanding, hear and consider what I say. Shall even he that hateth right That is unrighteous; govern Hebrew, , jachabosh, bind, as the word properly signifies, but is fitly rendered govern by most interpreters, because governors have a power to bind their subjects by laws and penalties, and they are the ligaments by which societies are bound and kept together, which, without them, would be dissolved and broken to pieces. Elihus argument is the same with that of Abraham, Gen 18:25, and that of St. Paul, Rom 3:5-6. If God be unrighteous, how shall he judge, or govern the world? And the argument is undeniable; if God were unjust, there would be nothing but injustice and confusion in the world; whereas we see there is a great deal of justice administered in the world, and all this must proceed from Him who is the fountain of all justice, and rule, and authority. And as the psalmist says, He that formed the eye, shall he not see? so we may say, He that makes men just, shall he be unjust? Wilt thou condemn him that is most just? God, who hath given so many clear and unquestionable evidences of his justice, in giving just and holy laws, in encouraging and rewarding righteous persons in this life, and inflicting dreadful judgments upon tyrants and oppressors.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 34:16-28. Injustice is incompatible with rule. How does Job condemn God, before whom even kings and princes are vile, and who regards rich and poor alike? He sees the oppressor and suddenly destroys him.
In Job 34:16 follow mg. only understand. In Job 34:18 read with LXX, Vulg. Who saith to a king, Thou art vile, and to nobles, Ye are wicked; that respecteth not the persons of princes. It is God who so speaks. In Job 34:20 b read for the people with Budde the rich; without hand means by the act of God. In Job 34:23 read, For he appointeth no set time for a man that he should go before God in judgment (Wright, Budde, Duhm). In Job 34:26 a some emendation is necessary; the oppressors were wicked and cannot well be struck as wicked men. Perhaps we should read, His wrath breaks the wicked, He striketh at them in the open sight of the others (Bickell, Budde).