Bible Strands
Job 34:23
For God need not examine a man further or have him approach for judgment.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Elihu addresses Job and his companions during the dialogue, immediately following his statement that no darkness hides the wicked. He speaks to clarify how divine judgment operates in contrast to human legal procedures.
The words — The Hebrew לֹא (lo') = not and עוֹד (od) = again negate the need for repeated scrutiny. The verb יָשׂים (ya.Sim) = he will appoint confirms God’s decisive judicial action.
The thread — The tension between God’s direct judgment and human accountability appears in Ezra 9:13, where God punishes less than deserved and preserves a remnant. Psalms 119:137 and Daniel 9:7 similarly anchor judgment in God’s inherent righteousness rather than human appeal.
Why it lands — The text asserts that God requires no further investigation or summons to execute judgment. It demands recognition that divine authority operates independently of human procedural delays.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
For he will not lay upon man more than right; that he should enter into judgment with God.
Cross-references
- Ezra 9:13 After all that has come upon us because of our evil deeds and our great guilt (though You, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve and have given us such a remnant as this),
- Psalms 119:137 Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments.
- Daniel 9:7 To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, and all Israel near and far, in all the countries to which You have driven us because of our unfaithfulness to You.
- Romans 9:20 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?”
- Job 9:32 For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him, that we can take each other to court.
- Job 11:6 and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know then that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves.
- Job 11:11 Surely He knows the deceit of men. If He sees iniquity, does He not take note?
- Job 16:21 Oh, that a man might plead with God as he pleads with his neighbor!
- Job 23:7 Then an upright man could reason with Him, and I would be delivered forever from my Judge.
- Job 34:10 Therefore listen to me, O men of understanding. Far be it from God to do wrong, and from the Almighty to act unjustly.