Job 34:9-11

The Voice

⁹ In fact he even suggests, “A person receives no benefit
from pleasing God.”

In his first speech to Job, Elihu has been a cowboy, brazenly calling Job out for his blasphemous words about God. He has not exactly condemned Job as a wicked man; he has condemned Job for his reaction to his suffering and to God. This is unprecedented behavior, since a younger man would never contradict an elder, especially in the presence of other elders. Possibly realizing how disrespectfully he has been acting, and certainly noticing that Job isn’t responding well to his arguments, Elihu begins this second speech with a new approach. He tries to gain the support of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Maybe if other elders are on his side, Elihu can make Job understand that it is wrong to question God, the very Creator of justice.

¹⁰Elihu: So, you men whose hearts have embraced wisdom, listen to me:
        far be it from God to commit evil acts;
        and from the Highest One^[a] to engage in wrongdoing!
¹¹    For He is like an employer
        who pays workers according to what they have done;
        He makes sure the rewards they receive match their conduct.