Second Part: Elihu Intervenes
1 The three men made no further reply to Job, because in their opinion, he was guiltless.
2 But Elihu, son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became angry with Job for justifying himself before God.
3 He was also angry with the three friends for their failure to refute Job, because they had allowed God to be condemned.
4 Because they were older than he, Elihu had bided his time;
5 but when the three gave up the argument, his anger burst out.
6 Thus Elihu, son of Barachel the Buzite, spoke:
I am young and you are quite old;
therefore I was timid and afraid
and dared not tell you of what I know.
7 “Age should speak,” I thought;
“advanced years should teach wisdom.”
8 But it is the spirit in man,
the breath of the Almighty,
that makes him understand.
9 It is not the old alone who are wise,
nor the aged who understand what is right.
10 Therefore I said: “Listen,
let me also show my knowledge.
11 I waited for you to speak,
listening for your reasons,
as you searched for words.
12 I gave you my full attention
but none of you has proved Job wrong,
none has refuted his arguments.
13 Stop saying, “We have met wisdom;
God has instructed us, not man.”
14 I will not resume your argument
or answer Job with your reasoning.
15 They keep quiet for they are dismayed
and have nothing more to say.
16 Must I wait, now that they are silent,
making no effort to reply?
17 I, too, will show my knowledge.
18 For I am full of words
and prodded on by the spirit.
19 I am like bottled-up wine,
or a wineskin bursting with wine.
20 I have to speak to find relief,
open my lips and make reply.
21 I will be partial to no one
and will not flatter anyone.
22 For if I were skilled in flattery,
my Maker would soon do away with me.
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Comments Job, Chapter 32
• 32.1 The intervention of Elihu marks the beginning of a new part of the poems, inserted later and placed in chapters 32–37.
Elihu’s discourses add little to previous discussion. Elihu has nevertheless his point of view. It seems that for him the discussion so far has been rather theoretical. For one part he insists on the pedagogical aspect of the divine work: many situations which seem unjust to us cease to be so provided we go beyond our first impressions. He also holds that even if God does not show him self, he knows how to communicate his counsels:
– You ask where your faults are, but perhaps God has warned you in a thousand ways and you have not taken it into account (33:13-18).
– You despair in your illness, but perhaps God wants to teach you: you did not invoke him when all was going well (35:8-13).
Elihu senses that there is something false in Job’s righteousness, but he does not know what it is. He looks for secret sins that Job might have committed. The fact is that what Job lacks is evan gelical justice which is the humble love of God.