Job 34:10

“Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding, etc.] The same persons he addresses as wise men and men of knowledge, (<183402>Job 34:2); and here as men of understanding, or “heart” f1195; the heart being the seat of wisdom and knowledge; and such Elihu desired to be his hearers, to attend to what he was about to say; which was to refute the words of Job, or his sense expressed in the preceding verses; far be it from God [that he should do] wickedness; and [from] the Almighty, [that he should commit] iniquity; do any injustice or injury to any person, there being no unrighteousness in him, nor in any of his ways and works; which Job tacitly seemed to charge God with, at least as Elihu…”

“The true answer to Job, which God follows up (Job 38:1-41). Man is to believe God's ways are right, because they are His, not because we fully see they are so (Rom 9:14; Deu 32:4; Gen 18:25).”

“Therefore hearken unto me - Elihu proceeds now to reply to what he regarded as the erroneous sentiments of Job, and to show the impropriety of language which reflected so much on God and his government. Instead, however, of meeting the facts in the case, and showing how the actual course of events could be reconciled with justice, he resolves it all into a matter of sovereignty, and maintains that it is wrong to doubt the rectitude of the dealings of one so mighty as God. In this he pursues the same course substantially which the friends of Job had done, and does little more to solve the real difficulties in the case than they had. The facts to which Job had referred are scarcely adverted…”

“34:10-15 The passage attaches three ideas to the truth that God can do no wrong (34:10, 12): (1) God pays back all people according to their behavior (34:11); (2) as the Creator, God is not answerable to anyone (34:13); and (3) every living being depends upon God for its existence, and God can withdraw that gift without doing anything wrong (34:14-15; cp. Rom 9:19-29).”

“understanding: Heb. heart, Job 34:2, Job 34:3, Job 34:34; Pro 6:32, Pro 15:32 \*marg. far: Job 8:3, Job 36:23, Job 37:23; Gen 18:25; Deu 32:4; Ch2 19:7; Psa 92:15; Jer 12:1; Rom 3:4, Rom 3:5, Rom 9:14; Jam 1:13 Job 34:11”

“10 Therefore, men of understanding, hearken to me! Far be it from god to do evil, And the Almighty to act wrongfully. 11 No indeed, man's work He recompenseth to him, And according to man's walk He causeth it to be with him. "Men of heart," according to Psychol. S. 249, comp. 254, is equivalent to noee'mones or noeeroi' (lxx συνετοὶ καρδίας). The clause which Elihu makes prominent in the following reply is the very axiom which the three defend, perfectly true in itself, but falsely applied by them: evil, wrong, are inconceivable on the part of God; instead of וּלשׁדּי it is only ושׁדּי in the second member of the verse, with the omission of the praep. - a frequent form of ellipsis,…”