1Elihu spake moreover, and said,
2Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God’s?
3For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? and, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin?
4I will answer thee, and thy companions with thee.
5Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou.
6If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him?
7If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?
8Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; and thy righteousness may profit the son of man.
9By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry: they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty.
10But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night;
11Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?
12There they cry, but none giveth answer, because of the pride of evil men.
13Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it.
14Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, yet judgment is before him; therefore trust thou in him.
15But now, because it is not so, he hath visited in his anger; yet he knoweth it not in great extremity:
16Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.
Understand This
Job 35, explained
What Job 35 is saying
Elihu argues that human righteousness or wickedness does not affect God—they only affect other humans. He then addresses the problem of unanswered prayer: the oppressed cry out but receive no answer because their cries lack genuine faith, being reflexive rather than truly directed to God their Maker. He accuses Job of speaking without knowledge.
The background behind it
Elihu's theology of divine impassibility—God is unaffected by human virtue or vice—represents a philosophical position that would develop significantly in later Jewish and Christian theology. His distinction between instinctive cries of pain and genuine prayer directed to God reflects wisdom tradition concerns about the quality of worship.
Themes running underneath
Elihu raises an important point about divine transcendence: God's justice is not motivated by self-interest, since human behavior cannot benefit or harm Him. However, this argument cuts both ways—if God is unaffected by human suffering, why should He respond at all? The chapter inadvertently strengthens Job's complaint about divine indifference.
Why it still matters
The distinction between crying out in pain and crying out to God in faith, while potentially valid, is dangerous when applied to someone in extremis. Not every cry needs to meet a theological standard to deserve a divine response.
Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.