Job 35:9-13

3. Pride will keep men from God. (Job 35:9-13)

TEXT 35:9-13

9 By reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out;

They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty.

10 But none saith, Where is God my Maker,

Who giveth songs in the night,

11 Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth,

And maketh us wiser than the birds of the heavens?

12 There they cry, but none giveth answer,

Because of the pride of evil men.

13 Surely God will not hear an empty cry,

Neither will the Almighty regard it.

COMMENT 35:9-13

Job 35:9Job has expressed his attitude toward the magnitude of human misery and injustice in Job 24:2-17 and there noted that God does not respond to the social injustices caused by unrighteous men in Job 24:12. Job had already raised the question, If God's rule is righteous, why the cry of the oppressed? in Job 24:12. The phrase multitude of oppressions means the excess of oppression and comes from the root for youth or virginityAmos 3:9; Ecclesiastes 4:1. The arm is an image or instrument of oppression.

Job 35:10A righteous God gives songs in the night even to the oppressedPsalms 42:8; Acts 16:25. The scriptures bear witness that God grants songs in the night to the oppressedPsalms 137; Psalms 150:1; Psalms 150:5. The Jews, in Fiddler on the Roof, sang Psalms 137 asking, How does one sing songs in a strange land? In the birth record of Job's redeemer we are given Mary's song, Luke 1:46-56; Zechariah's song, Luke 1:68-79; the angels-' song, Luke 2:14; and Simeon's song, Luke 2:29-35. Each of these were songs from a weary world, as were those of Moses and Hannah in the Old Testament. The word zemirot is usually rendered songs but can mean strength.[348]

[348] See Pope, Job, pp. 263-264; and The Qumran Targum rendering of pour notre Plantation dans la nuit, and IQS VIII, 5, 10; Isaiah 61:3.

Job 35:11God teaches us (mallepenu) continually because man has a higher intelligence and wisdom than animals. He communicates to man with continuous instruction. The preposition -min is usually interpreted as the comparative, i.e., more than, implying that man derives wisdom from the observation of the natural world. This is a common theme in Wisdom Literature1 Kings 4:33; Proverbs 6:6; Proverbs 26:2; Proverbs 26:11; Proverbs 30:24-31; Job 38:41. What the content of the instruction is is not clear. The Qumran Targum preserves the verb he makes us wise, as in A. V. as wiser than. Elihu instructs Job to learn from the animal world how to respond to GodPsalms 104:21; Psalms 147:9; and Joel 1:20.

Job 35:12The verse harks back to verse nine but also connects with what follows, so the verse should not be transferred to follow verse nine. Elihu often goes back to something already said. It is not clear whether the verse is discussing the reason for their cry or the reason for not being heard. But in Elihu's view, if one is not heard, one is in fact evil. Suffering is for discipline, but evil men do not recognize it.

Job 35:13That God requires pious petitions before His righteousness will prevail on earth but reveals the theological perspective of loquacious ElihuHabakkuk 1:13. It is possible that the verse says that the petition is not even addressed to God, but to empty space or void.