Job 35:1-16

Does Your Righteousness Benefit God?

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1And Elihu went on to say:

2“Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I am more righteous than God.’

3For you ask, ‘What does it profit me, and what benefit do I gain apart from sin?’

4I will reply to you and to your friends as well.

5Look to the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds high above you.

6If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him? If you multiply your transgressions, what do you do to Him?

7If you are righteous, what do you give Him, or what does He receive from your hand?

8Your wickedness affects only a man like yourself, and your righteousness only a son of man.

9Men cry out under great oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the mighty.

10But no one asks, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives us songs in the night,

11who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?’

12There they cry out, but He does not answer, because of the pride of evil men.

13Surely God does not listen to empty pleas, and the Almighty does not take note of it.

14How much less, then, when you say that you do not see Him, that your case is before Him and you must wait for Him,

15and further, that in His anger He has not punished or taken much notice of folly!

16So Job opens his mouth in vain and multiplies words without knowledge.”

Berean Standard Bible

Read aloud

Elihu hears Job’s defense as a claim to be more righteous than God. He also challenges the question of what a person gains by avoiding sin. His answer begins with the heavens: God is not dependent on human conduct, as though our goodness supplied something He lacked.

Our choices do affect other people. Elihu points to oppression and the cries it brings. People plead for relief, he says, without seeking the Maker who gives songs in the night and teaches human beings understanding. He distinguishes wanting the pressure removed from turning toward God Himself.

Elihu attributes unanswered cries to pride and says God does not heed empty pleas. Then he addresses Job, who cannot see God and says His anger has not brought punishment. Job’s case is before God, Elihu says, and he must wait. He concludes that Job has multiplied words without knowledge.

This speech calls us to seek God rather than treat goodness as a bargain for benefits. But a delay in receiving an answer cannot, by itself, prove that someone’s prayer is proud or empty. Elihu’s explanation does not give us access to the heart of every person who cries for help.

Questions

1 What does Elihu ask about human righteousness?

AnswerWhat does it give God that He needs? Elihu points to God’s greatness and independence.

2 Who is affected by human wickedness and righteousness?

AnswerOther people. Elihu immediately describes people crying out under oppression.

3 How does Elihu describe God as Maker?

AnswerAs the One who gives songs in the night and teaches us more than the animals and birds.

4 What does Elihu say about Job’s case?

AnswerIt is before God, and Job must wait for Him, even though he cannot see Him.

What This Means for Us

Doing right is not a way to put God in our debt. He needs nothing from us, yet our choices matter deeply to the people who live beside us.

When we pray for relief, we can also ask to know and trust our Maker. And when someone else is still waiting for an answer, we can wait with them. Their continued suffering is not evidence that their prayer was insincere.

Prayer

LORD, hear people who cry out and receive no visible answer. Keep us from dismissing their pain, give them companions who will stay, and teach us to trust You without pretending silence is simple. Amen.

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