FocusClaims about God's justice and instruction
Connection to the wholeA new speaker responds to Job and the friends before the LORD's speeches begin; his speech must be distinguished from the divine answer.
interpretation Job 36:4
KJVFor truly my words shall not be false: he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee.
Read it in context
Elihu Describes God’s Power
Start reading at Job 36:1 (Job 36:1 to Job 36:33).
An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
A new speaker responds to Job and the friends before the LORD's speeches begin; his speech must be distinguished from the divine answer.
- 36:1 Elihu also proceeded, and said,
- 36:2 Suffer me a little, and I will shew thee that I have yet to speak on God's behalf.
- 36:3 I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
- 36:4 For truly my words shall not be false: he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee.
- 36:5 Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom.
- 36:6 He preserveth not the life of the wicked: but giveth right to the poor.
- 36:7 He 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.
- 36:8 And if they be bound in fetters, and be holden in cords of affliction;
- 36:9 Then he sheweth them their work, and their transgressions that they have exceeded.
- 36:10 He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity.
- 36:11 If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.
- 36:12 But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.
- 36:13 But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath: they cry not when he bindeth them.
- 36:14 They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean.
- 36:15 He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression.
- 36:16 Even 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.
- 36:17 But thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked: judgment and justice take hold on thee.
- 36:18 Because there is wrath, beware lest he take thee away with his stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee.
- 36:19 Will he esteem thy riches? no, not gold, nor all the forces of strength.
- 36:20 Desire not the night, when people are cut off in their place.
- 36:21 Take heed, regard not iniquity: for this hast thou chosen rather than affliction.
- 36:22 Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him?
- 36:23 Who hath enjoined him his way? or who can say, Thou hast wrought iniquity?
- 36:24 Remember that thou magnify his work, which men behold.
- 36:25 Every man may see it; man may behold it afar off.
- 36:26 Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.
- 36:27 For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:
- 36:28 Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly.
- 36:29 Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle?
- 36:30 Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea.
- 36:31 For by them judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance.
- 36:32 With clouds he covereth the light; and commandeth it not to shine by the cloud that cometh betwixt.
- 36:33 The noise thereof sheweth concerning it, the cattle also concerning the vapour.
Who
- Who wrote the book? The author is unknown. Moses is one ancient traditional proposal, but neither that proposal nor another named author can be established with confidence. Historical source: Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 14b–15a (record of Jewish attribution, not contemporary proof). book background
- Who was present or being addressed in this passage? In the surrounding chapter context (Job 32:1–37:24): Elihu addresses Job and the listening wise men after the three friends cease answering. stated in the text
- Who was the book written to? Readers within Israel's wisdom tradition, wrestling with innocent suffering, justice, and the limits of human judgment. No named individual or first community is identified. Biblical references: Job 28:28; Job 42:7. book background
What
- What is the topic of this reading unit? Elihu Describes God’s Power. Read Job 36:1 through Job 36:33 as a connected unit. interpretation
- How does it contribute to the book? A new speaker responds to Job and the friends before the LORD's speeches begin; his speech must be distinguished from the divine answer. interpretation
When
- When are the events or message set? The book supplies no royal date or exact historical year for Job's experiences. Proposed patriarchal-era settings are historical inferences, not a date explicitly stated by the narrative. book background
Where
- What is the book’s geographic setting? Job is introduced as a man in the land of Uz. The poetic speeches range through imagined and remembered scenes that should not all be treated as the speakers' physical locations. book background
- Where does the context start? This passage sits in Elihu Describes God’s Power (Job 36:1 to Job 36:33). Start reading at Job 36:1. An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
How
- How does this book connect with Jesus Christ? James refers to Job's endurance and the Lord's compassion. Connections between Job's suffering and Christ may be considered as comparisons; Job's speeches should not all be treated as direct predictions of Jesus. See Job 1:1, James 5:11, Hebrews 4:15. interpretation
- How should this book guide our response? Do not assume that a sufferer's losses prove a hidden sin. Listen carefully, distinguish the speakers, and read their claims alongside the LORD's concluding rebuke of the friends. interpretation
Cited: Job 36:1, Job 36:33, Job 1:1, James 5:11, Hebrews 4:15
Who wrote it, and how we know
Uncertain; among the oldest books of Scripture
Not known
What Scripture saysThe book does not name its author.
Early traditionJewish tradition (Baba Bathra 14b) suggested Moses, but ancient opinion varied widely.
What is debatedThe author is unknown and the date is uncertain. The setting appears patriarchal, but the book could have been written far later.
Related passages
- my Job 13:4,7 Job 21:27,34 Job 22:6-30 Prov 8:7-8 2 Cor 2:17
- perfect Job 37:16 Luke 1:3 Acts 24:22 1 Cor 14:20 Col 4:12 2 Tim 3:16-17
- in Ps 49:3 Prov 22:20-21
Cross references from CrossReferences-org (CC BY 4.0).
Macro-Structure
See how this passage fits the chapter and the book.
Macro-Structure of Job 36
Job contains narrative, lament, and extended disputation. The speakers must be identified before treating an assertion as the book's teaching: the LORD explicitly rebukes Job's friends near the end. Neither the author nor an exact historical date is stated. Local headings and stanza divisions are editorial reading aids adapted from public-domain BSB headings; verse boundaries and Scripture links use the KJV. Connections describe the surrounding book movement.
Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.
Macro-Structure of Job
Job contains narrative, lament, and extended disputation. The speakers must be identified before treating an assertion as the book's teaching: the LORD explicitly rebukes Job's friends near the end. Neither the author nor an exact historical date is stated.
Job's losses and the friends' arrival
Job 1:1–2:13FocusSuffering and the opening test
Connection to the wholeThe narrative establishes Job's losses and integrity before the speeches begin, giving readers information the disputing friends do not possess.
interpretation The lament and first exchange
Job 3:1–14:22FocusSuffering questioned and explained
Connection to the wholeJob's lament leads into the first cycle of speeches, in which the friends' explanations are challenged by Job's experience.
interpretation The second exchange
Job 15:1–21:34FocusAccusation and protest intensify
Connection to the wholeThe argument sharpens as the friends connect suffering with wickedness and Job challenges their account of the wicked's fortunes.
interpretation The final exchange and Job's defense
Job 22:1–31:40FocusWisdom and the demand for an answer
Connection to the wholeThe later speeches, poem on wisdom, and Job's final defense bring the dispute to the point of his appeal for an answer.
interpretation FocusClaims about God's justice and instruction
Connection to the wholeA new speaker responds to Job and the friends before the LORD's speeches begin; his speech must be distinguished from the divine answer.
interpretation The LORD answers
Job 38:1–41:34FocusCreation and the limits of human knowledge
Connection to the wholeThe LORD questions Job concerning the created order, confronting the limits of his knowledge and his attempt to contend with God.
interpretation Job's response and the conclusion
Job 42:1–17FocusRepentance, rebuke, and restoration
Connection to the wholeJob responds, the friends are rebuked, and the narrative closes with intercession and restoration without turning every speech into endorsed doctrine.
interpretation Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.