Jó 36

ARC · Chapter 36/42

1Proseguiu ainda Elihu, e disse:

2Espera-me um pouco, e mostrar-te-hei que ainda ha razões a favor de Deus.

3Desde longe repetirei a minha opinião; e ao meu Creador attribuirei a justiça.

4Porque na verdade, as minhas palavras não serão falsas: comtigo está um que é sincero na sua opinião.

5Eis que Deus é mui grande, comtudo a ninguem despreza: grande é em força de coração.

6Não deixa viver ao impio, e faz justiça aos afflictos.

7Do justo não tira os seus olhos; antes estão com os reis no throno; ali os assenta para sempre, e assim são exaltados.

8E, se estando presos em grilhões, os detem amarrados com cordas de afflicção,

9Então lhes faz saber a obra d'elles, e as suas transgressões; porquanto prevaleceram n'ellas.

10E revela-lh'o aos seus ouvidos, para seu ensino; e diz-lhes que se convertam da maldade.

11Se o ouvirem, e o servirem, acabarão seus dias em bem, e os seus annos em delicias.

12Porém se o não ouvirem, á espada os passarão, e expirarão sem conhecimento.

13E os hypocritas de coração amontoam para si a ira; e amarrando-os elle, não clamam por soccorro.

14A sua alma morre na mocidade, e a sua vida entre os sodomitas.

15Ao afflicto livra, da sua afflicção, e na oppressão o revelará aos seus ouvidos.

16Assim tambem te desviará da bocca da angustia para um logar espaçoso, em que não haja aperto, e as iguarias da tua mesa serão cheias de gordura.

17E estarás satisfeito com o juizo do impio: o juizo e a justiça te sustentarão.

18Porquanto ha furor, guarda-te de que porventura te não tire de pancada, pois por grande preço te não poderiam retirar d'ali.

19Estimaria elle tanto tuas riquezas, ou alguns esforços da força, que por isso não estivesses em aperto?

20Não suspires pela noite, em que os povos sejam tomados do seu logar.

21Guarda-te, e não declines para a iniquidade: porquanto n'isto a escolheste, por causa da tua miseria.

22Eis que Deus exalta com a sua força; quem ensina como elle?

23Quem lhe pedirá conta do seu caminho? ou, quem lhe disse: Tu commetteste maldade?

24Lembra-te de que engrandeças a sua obra que os homens contemplam.

25Todos os homens a veem, e o homem a enxerga de longe.

26Eis que Deus é grande, e nós o não comprehendemos, e o numero dos seus annos se não pode esquadrinhar.

27Porque faz miudas as gottas das aguas que derramam a chuva do seu vapor.

28A qual as nuvens distillam e gotejam sobre o homem abundantemente.

29Porventura tambem se poderão entender as extensões das nuvens, e os estalos da sua tenda?

30Eis que estende sobre ellas a sua luz, e encobre os altos do mar.

31Porque por estas coisas julga os povos e lhes dá mantimento em abundancia.

32Com as mãos encobre a luz, e faz-lhe prohibição pela que passa por entre ellas.

33O que dá a entender o seu pensamento, como tambem aos gados, ácerca do temporal que sobe.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Elihu declares that he still has more to say in God's defense, affirming that He is mighty in power but despises no one, and uses suffering to warn people and turn them away from evil. He praises God's greatness as revealed through weather phenomena such as clouds, rain, and thunder.

Explanation

Elihu develops in greater detail his central idea that affliction can have a pedagogical, redemptive purpose, opening people's ears to divine instruction and turning them away from pride (verses 8-10). The extensive description of meteorological phenomena — clouds bearing water, lightning, thunder — directly anticipates the style and content of God's final speeches beginning in chapter 38, suggesting that Elihu, in a sense, prepares the way and sets the tone for the approaching divine intervention. Application for today: observing the complexity and grandeur of natural phenomena can inspire genuine humility before the power and wisdom of God, which lie beyond full human comprehension.

Fun facts

  • Elihu's description of clouds that "drop" rain and the "balancing of the clouds" (verses 27-29) shows careful observation of weather patterns, a clear stylistic bridge to the language God Himself will use about creation in the following chapters.
  • The statement that God "preserveth not the life of the wicked" and "giveth right to the poor" (verse 6) maintains the same theological framework of retribution defended by the three earlier friends, showing that, despite his new ideas about the pedagogical purpose of suffering, Elihu still operates within the same general theological paradigm.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Jó 36:1“Elihu also proceeded, and said” marks the beginning of his fourth and final speech, the longest of them all.
  2. Jó 36:2Elihu asks for patience, stating that he still has more to say on God’s behalf.
  3. Jó 36:3He says he will fetch his knowledge “from afar” — a wide-ranging perspective — in order to ascribe righteousness to his Maker.
  4. Jó 36:4Elihu affirms the sincerity of his own words, even suggesting that he has an almost complete understanding of the subject.
  5. Jó 36:5He begins to describe God’s character: mighty, yet despising no one, strong in understanding.
  6. Jó 36:6God does not preserve the life of the wicked, but grants justice to the afflicted — Elihu reaffirms his faith in God’s just governance of the world.
  7. Jó 36:7God does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous; He seats them with kings on the throne and exalts them forever — describing the divine favor that lifts up the faithful.
  8. Jó 36:8Elihu introduces an important scenario: what if the righteous are bound in chains and cords of affliction?
  9. Jó 36:9In that case, God shows them their own deeds and transgressions, revealing where they acted with pride — suffering becomes an instrument of personal revelation.
  10. Jó 36:10God opens their ears to instruction and commands them to turn away from wrongdoing — affliction has, according to Elihu, an educational purpose.
  11. Jó 36:11If they listen and serve God, they will end their days in prosperity and their years in pleasure — the reward promised to those who accept correction.
  12. Jó 36:12But if they do not listen, they will perish by the sword and die without understanding — the warning on the other side, for those who reject the lesson.
  13. Jó 36:13The hypocrites at heart store up wrath and do not even cry for help when God binds them — describing the stubbornness of those who refuse to seek help even in suffering.
  14. Jó 36:14They die young, in a shameful end — Elihu describes the early, ignoble fate reserved for the truly wicked and unrepentant.
  15. Jó 36:15Here is Elihu’s central point: God delivers the afflicted through their very affliction, opening their ear through adversity — suffering itself can be the path of deliverance, not only punishment.
  16. Jó 36:16Elihu suggests that Job too could be drawn out of distress into a broad place, with a table full of plenty — hinting that restoration is still possible, if he responds rightly to correction.
  17. Jó 36:17But Elihu warns that Job is caught up in “the judgment of the wicked” — seeming to side with rebellion against the divine judgment rather than accepting correction.
  18. Jó 36:18He warns Job not to let his own anger lead him into mockery, nor to be distracted by the idea of some great “ransom” he demands.
  19. Jó 36:19Elihu asks whether Job’s own outcry or strength could pull him out of distress — suggesting that only submission to God would resolve it, not protest.
  20. Jó 36:20He warns Job not to long for the night, the death that wipes out entire peoples — a reference to the wish for death Job expressed in earlier chapters.
  21. Jó 36:21Elihu warns that Job runs the risk of turning to iniquity, choosing revolt instead of patiently accepting his own affliction.
  22. Jó 36:22He shifts tone, moving on to exalt God’s power: who is a teacher like Him? A new hymn of praise to divine greatness begins.
  23. Jó 36:23No one can prescribe God’s way to Him or say, “Thou hast wrought iniquity” — reaffirming that God answers to no one.
  24. Jó 36:24Elihu invites everyone to remember and exalt God’s work, which men have long celebrated in song.
  25. Jó 36:25All humanity has already seen this work, even if only from afar — God’s greatness is universally visible, never hidden.
  26. Jó 36:26“God is great, and we know him not” is the turning point of the speech — Elihu leaves theological argument behind and begins describing natural phenomena, clouds, rain, storms, setting the stage for what comes in the next chapter.
  27. Jó 36:27Continuing the previous verse on God’s incomprehensible greatness: He draws up the drops of water that then become rain from the vapor — Elihu begins describing the water cycle as proof of divine wisdom.
  28. Jó 36:28The clouds pour down that rain upon mankind in abundance — nature’s constant provision is attributed directly to God’s action.
  29. Jó 36:29He asks whether anyone can truly understand the spreading of the clouds and the thunder — meteorology becomes an example of mystery beyond human comprehension.
  30. Jó 36:30God spreads His lightning around and covers even the depths of the sea with His light — the image expands from the sky down to the bottom of the ocean.
  31. Jó 36:31It is through these natural phenomena that God judges the peoples and also gives them food in abundance — rain and storm serve both as judgment and as provision.
  32. Jó 36:32This description of clouds and lightning as instruments under God’s control directly foreshadows the storm out of which God will speak in chapter 38 — Elihu is, without knowing it, setting the stage.
  33. Jó 36:33Continuing the previous verse on God covering the light with His hands: the roar of thunder announces His presence, noticed even by the cattle — a natural bridge to the storm out of which God will finally speak, in chapters 38 through 41.

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