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Job 36

KJV · Chapter 36/42

1Elihu also proceeded, and said,

2Suffer me a little, and I will shew thee that I have yet to speak on God’s behalf.

3I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.

4For truly my words shall not be false: he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee.

5Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom.

6He preserveth not the life of the wicked: but giveth right to the poor.

7He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous: but with kings are they on the throne; yea, he doth establish them for ever, and they are exalted.

8And if they be bound in fetters, and be holden in cords of affliction;

9Then he sheweth them their work, and their transgressions that they have exceeded.

10He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity.

11If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.

12But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.

13But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath: they cry not when he bindeth them.

14They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean.

15He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression.

16Even so would he have removed thee out of the strait into a broad place, where there is no straitness; and that which should be set on thy table should be full of fatness.

17But thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked: judgment and justice take hold on thee.

18Because there is wrath, beware lest he take thee away with his stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee.

19Will he esteem thy riches? no, not gold, nor all the forces of strength.

20Desire not the night, when people are cut off in their place.

21Take heed, regard not iniquity: for this hast thou chosen rather than affliction.

22Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him?

23Who hath enjoined him his way? or who can say, Thou hast wrought iniquity?

24Remember that thou magnify his work, which men behold.

25Every man may see it; man may behold it afar off.

26Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.

27For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:

28Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly.

29Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle?

30Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea.

31For by them judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance.

32With clouds he covereth the light; and commandeth it not to shine by the cloud that cometh betwixt.

33The noise thereof sheweth concerning it, the cattle also concerning the vapour.

📖 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. Job 36:1“Elihu also proceeded, and said” marks the beginning of his fourth and final speech, the longest of them all.
  2. Job 36:2Elihu asks for patience, stating that he still has more to say on God’s behalf.
  3. Job 36:3He says he will fetch his knowledge “from afar” — a wide-ranging perspective — in order to ascribe righteousness to his Maker.
  4. Job 36:4Elihu affirms the sincerity of his own words, even suggesting that he has an almost complete understanding of the subject.
  5. Job 36:5He begins to describe God’s character: mighty, yet despising no one, strong in understanding.
  6. Job 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. Job 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. Job 36:8Elihu introduces an important scenario: what if the righteous are bound in chains and cords of affliction?
  9. Job 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. Job 36:10God opens their ears to instruction and commands them to turn away from wrongdoing — affliction has, according to Elihu, an educational purpose.
  11. Job 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. Job 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. Job 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. Job 36:14They die young, in a shameful end — Elihu describes the early, ignoble fate reserved for the truly wicked and unrepentant.
  15. Job 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. Job 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. Job 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. Job 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. Job 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. Job 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. Job 36:21Elihu warns that Job runs the risk of turning to iniquity, choosing revolt instead of patiently accepting his own affliction.
  22. Job 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. Job 36:23No one can prescribe God’s way to Him or say, “Thou hast wrought iniquity” — reaffirming that God answers to no one.
  24. Job 36:24Elihu invites everyone to remember and exalt God’s work, which men have long celebrated in song.
  25. Job 36:25All humanity has already seen this work, even if only from afar — God’s greatness is universally visible, never hidden.
  26. Job 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. Job 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. Job 36:28The clouds pour down that rain upon mankind in abundance — nature’s constant provision is attributed directly to God’s action.
  29. Job 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. Job 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. Job 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. Job 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. Job 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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