Bible Strands
Job 35:14
How much less, then, when you say that you do not see Him, that your case is before Him and you must wait for Him,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Elihu addresses Job, responding to Job’s repeated claims that God ignores his suffering and refuses to answer his cries. The speech occurs within a structured debate where Elihu challenges Job’s accusations of divine injustice.
The words — The Hebrew תְשׁוּרֶ֑נּוּ (te.shu.re.nu) literally means “you observe him,” while דִּין (din) denotes “the case” or legal dispute. These terms frame the contrast between human perception of God’s presence and the reality of a divine courtroom.
The thread — This tension between divine hiddenness and judicial presence runs through Job 9:11, Job 9:19, and Job 19:7, where similar motifs of an unseen God and unanswered pleas appear.
Why it lands — The text asserts that claiming God is invisible while simultaneously demanding He adjudicate your case is logically inconsistent. It requires the reader to abandon the premise that human perception dictates divine responsiveness.
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
Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, yet judgment is before him; therefore trust thou in him.
Cross-references
- Job 9:11 Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him; were He to move, I would not recognize Him.
- Job 9:19 If it is a matter of strength, He is indeed mighty! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?
- Job 19:7 Though I cry out, ‘Violence!’ I get no response; though I call for help, there is no justice.
- Job 23:3 If only I knew where to find Him, so that I could go to His seat.
- Job 23:8 If I go east, He is not there, and if I go west, I cannot find Him.
- Psalms 27:12 Do not hand me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.
- Psalms 37:5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it.
- Psalms 62:5 Rest in God alone, O my soul, for my hope comes from Him.
- Psalms 62:8 Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah
- Psalms 77:5 I considered the days of old, the years long in the past.