ESTUDIO DEL CAPÍTULO

Job 36 — Elihu on God's Justice and Greatness

Elihu argues that God is mighty and just, that affliction disciplines the righteous, that the wicked who refuse to repent perish, and that God's greatness in nature exceeds human comprehension.

Escritura

  1. 1.Añadió Eliú y dijo:Elihu also proceeded, and said,
  2. 2.Espérame un poco, y te enseñaré; Porque todavía tengo razones en defensa de Dios.Suffer me a little, and I will show thee; For I have yet somewhat to say on God's behalf.
  3. 3.Tomaré mi saber desde lejos, Y atribuiré justicia a mi Hacedor.I will fetch my knowledge from afar, And will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
  4. 4.Porque de cierto no son mentira mis palabras; Contigo está el que es íntegro en sus conceptos.For truly my words are not false: One that is perfect in knowledge is with thee.
  5. 5.He aquí que Dios es grande, pero no desestima a nadie; Es poderoso en fuerza de sabiduría.Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: He is mighty in strength of understanding.
  6. 6.No otorgará vida al impío, Pero a los afligidos dará su derecho.He preserveth not the life of the wicked, But giveth to the afflicted their right.
  7. 7.No apartará de los justos sus ojos; Antes bien con los reyes los pondrá en trono para siempre, Y serán exaltados.He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous: But with kings upon the throne He setteth them for ever, and they are exalted.
  8. 8.Y si estuvieren prendidos en grillos, Y aprisionados en las cuerdas de aflicción,And if they be bound in fetters, And be taken in the cords of afflictions;
  9. 9.El les dará a conocer la obra de ellos, Y que prevalecieron sus rebeliones.Then he showeth them their work, And their transgressions, that they have behaved themselves proudly.
  10. 10.Despierta además el oído de ellos para la corrección, Y les dice que se conviertan de la iniquidad.He openeth also their ear to instruction, And commandeth that they return from iniquity.
  11. 11.Si oyeren, y le sirvieren, Acabarán sus días en bienestar, Y sus años en dicha.If they hearken and serve him, They shall spend their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasures.
  12. 12.Pero si no oyeren, serán pasados a espada, Y perecerán sin sabiduría.But if they hearken not, they shall perish by the sword, And they shall die without knowledge.
  13. 13.Mas los hipócritas de corazón atesoran para sí la ira, Y no clamarán cuando él los atare.But they that are godless in heart lay up anger: They cry not for help when he bindeth them.
  14. 14.Fallecerá el alma de ellos en su juventud, Y su vida entre los sodomitas.They die in youth, And their life perisheth among the unclean.
  15. 15.Al pobre librará de su pobreza, Y en la aflicción despertará su oído.He delivereth the afflicted by their affliction, And openeth their ear in oppression.
  16. 16.Asimismo te apartará de la boca de la angustia A lugar espacioso, libre de todo apuro, Y te preparará mesa llena de grosura.Yea, he would have allured thee out of distress Into a broad place, where there is no straitness; And that which is set on thy table would be full of fatness.
  17. 17.Mas tú has llenado el juicio del impío, En vez de sustentar el juicio y la justicia.But thou art full of the judgment of the wicked: Judgment and justice take hold on thee.
  18. 18.Por lo cual teme, no sea que en su ira te quite con golpe, El cual no puedas apartar de ti con gran rescate.For let not wrath stir thee up against chastisements; Neither let the greatness of the ransom turn thee aside.
  19. 19.¿Hará él estima de tus riquezas, del oro, O de todas las fuerzas del poder?Will thy cry avail, that thou be not in distress, Or all the forces of thy strength?
  20. 20.No anheles la noche, En que los pueblos desaparecen de su lugar.Desire not the night, When peoples are cut off in their place.
  21. 21.Guárdate, no te vuelvas a la iniquidad; Pues ésta escogiste más bien que la aflicción.Take heed, regard not iniquity: For this hast thou chosen rather than affliction.
  22. 22.He aquí que Dios es excelso en su poder; ¿Qué enseñador semejante a él?Behold, God doeth loftily in his power: Who is a teacher like unto him?
  23. 23.¿Quién le ha prescrito su camino? ¿Y quién le dirá: Has hecho mal?Who hath enjoined him his way? Or who can say, Thou hast wrought unrighteousness?
  24. 24.Acuérdate de engrandecer su obra, La cual contemplan los hombres.Remember that thou magnify his work, Whereof men have sung.
  25. 25.Los hombres todos la ven; La mira el hombre de lejos.All men have looked thereon; Man beholdeth it afar off.
  26. 26.He aquí, Dios es grande, y nosotros no le conocemos, Ni se puede seguir la huella de sus años.Behold, God is great, and we know him not; The number of his years is unsearchable.
  27. 27.El atrae las gotas de las aguas, Al transformarse el vapor en lluvia,For he draweth up the drops of water, Which distil in rain from his vapor,
  28. 28.La cual destilan las nubes, Goteando en abundancia sobre los hombres.Which the skies pour down And drop upon man abundantly.
  29. 29.¿Quién podrá comprender la extensión de las nubes, Y el sonido estrepitoso de su morada?Yea, can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, The thunderings of his pavilion?
  30. 30.He aquí que sobre él extiende su luz, Y cobija con ella las profundidades del mar.Behold, he spreadeth his light around him; And he covereth the bottom of the sea.
  31. 31.Bien que por esos medios castiga a los pueblos, A la multitud él da sustento.For by these he judgeth the peoples; He giveth food in abundance.
  32. 32.Con las nubes encubre la luz, Y le manda no brillar, interponiendo aquéllas.He covereth his hands with the lightning, And giveth it a charge that it strike the mark.
  33. 33.El trueno declara su indignación, Y la tempestad proclama su ira contra la iniquidad.The noise thereof telleth concerning him, The cattle also concerning the storm that cometh up.

Qué significa este pasaje

Elihu defends God's righteousness against Job's complaints, presenting suffering not as cruelty but as divine discipline (verses 8–10). He claims affliction is meant to reveal transgression, open the ear to instruction, and turn the sufferer from iniquity, echoing a covenant theology of chastening that presupposes God's uprightness.

The chapter builds a clear moral contrast: those who heed God's voice through suffering will spend their days in prosperity (v. 11), while those who refuse perish by the sword without knowledge (v. 12). The 'godless in heart' who will not cry for help die in youth (vv. 13–14), whereas the afflicted whom God delivers through suffering find broad places and a table full of fatness (vv. 15–16).

Elihu then turns from moral reasoning to doxology. After warning Job not to despise chastening or be swayed by ransom (vv. 17–21), he extols God as a sovereign teacher whose power is unsearchable (vv. 22–26), and praises the thunder, lightning, rain and storm as instruments of divine judgment and provision (vv. 27–33). The rhetorical climax is theological: God's greatness outstrips human knowledge.

Contexto

The provided material frames chapter 36 as a continuation of Elihu's speech within the book of Job. The curated note indicates the chapter was backfilled outside an earlier prioritized range, and no surrounding chapters are given, so the reference page focuses on internal logic rather than narrative placement. The 33 verses move from Elihu's request to be heard (vv. 1–4), through warnings to Job about God's justice (vv. 5–21), into a hymn-like description of God's power in the storm (vv. 22–33).

Palabras clave del original

  • H3254 The verb יָסַף (transliterated yyōsep̄, glossed 'continued') opens the chapter, marking Elihu's resumed speech and underscoring that his discourse is sequential and additive rather than concluding.
  • H2191 The adjective זְעֵיר (zəʿêr, 'a little longer') describes the brief tolerance Elihu asks of Job, signaling that his argument is nearly finished and heightening the urgency of vv. 2–4.
  • H6664 The noun צֶדֶק (ṣeḏeq, 'righteousness') appears in Elihu's pledge to 'ascribe righteousness to my Maker' (v. 3), establishing the central theological claim that frames the entire chapter.

Versículos relacionados

  • Psalms 34:15 Job 36:7 says God does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous; Psalm 34:15 makes the same claim that God's eyes are toward the righteous and His ears open to their cry. The parallelism shows that Elihu's theology of divine attention to the just is rooted in a broader canonical tradition.
  • Jeremiah 7:23 Job 36:11–12 frames obedience and prosperity, disobedience and the sword, as a covenant choice. Jeremiah 7:23 echoes this same 'hear My voice and it will be well with you' structure, connecting Elihu's speech to the prophetic call to heed God.
  • Deuteronomy 4:30 The scenario in Job 36:8–10 of being bound in affliction, shown transgression, and called to return from iniquity mirrors Deuteronomy 4:30's picture of tribulation in the latter days prompting a return to the Lord. Both passages treat affliction as the setting in which repentance is recovered.

Preguntas frecuentes

Who is speaking in Job 36, and how does the chapter fit the wider argument?

Elihu is the speaker, continuing the discourse begun in earlier chapters. He contends that God is both mighty and righteous (vv. 5–7), that affliction functions as discipline meant to produce repentance (vv. 8–10), and that God's greatness in nature exceeds human comprehension (vv. 22–33). The chapter moves from defense of God's justice to a doxology of His power.

Does Elihu say affliction is always a punishment for sin?

Not exactly. The chapter presents affliction as moral instruction: it reveals transgression, opens the ear to discipline, and calls the sufferer to return from iniquity (vv. 9–10). The outcome is bifurcated — the obedient spend their days in prosperity, the disobedient perish (vv. 11–12). Elihu addresses Job as someone whose 'table' could be full of fatness if he receives correction (v. 16), treating suffering as a summons, not as an automatic verdict of guilt.

What is the point of the storm imagery in verses 27–33?

The storm language functions as doxology and theology together. Elihu describes God drawing up drops of water, spreading lightning, commanding thunder, and covering the bottom of the sea — actions by which He 'judges the peoples' and gives food in abundance (vv. 30–31). The point is not meteorological detail but confession: God's power in the storm is unsearchable, and even the cattle sense His coming (vv. 29, 33).

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