Job · Chapter 35

Explanation of the words of this response.

'Moreover Elihu answered' — since in his second speech he had responded on the matter of reward and punishment, and now he comes to respond concerning the suffering that befell Job himself, he therefore left a pause between one topic and the next, so as to reflect well on every matter; and he paused after the second speech and began the third.

Elihu’s Address Do you consider this to be customary that this is the custom of the creatures toward their Creator, what you said—‘My righteousness is greater than that of the Creator’?

'Do you think this to be your right' — meaning: my righteousness is greater than God's righteousness.

'I am righteousness before God' [tzidki me'el] — meaning: that I am more righteous than God.

'Do you think this to be your right' — do you consider this to be a just claim, when you said, 'I am more righteous than God,' meaning that I have done what is right, while He withholds the recompense, in that He has handed everything over to the celestial order?

'Do you think this to be your right' — Now that he [Elihu] has refuted Job's position that governance has been handed over to the celestial order — from which it would follow that this is a sweeping injustice, since [in that case God] would not ensure that governance accords with deeds, so that those governed would receive reward and punishment according to their actions, as stated in the previous response — Elihu now says: suppose that, following your own position, you were to answer that there is no injustice in this, because the celestial order rules even over the voluntary acts of human beings, and decrees their deeds, whether they do good or evil. In that case they would have no free choice, their deeds would be compelled, and no reward or punishment would be due them. This is the meaning of 'Do you think this to be your right' — to justify Hashem's ways on this score — in that you said, 'I am righteousness before God,' meaning: my righteousness does not come through my own choice; rather, it is decreed and fixed by God — that He decreed that I should act righteously, and I did not act righteously by my own choice, and so no reward is due me.

That you say, ‘What will it benefit you ways of uprightness, and what profit will I have more than if I had sinned?’

'What advantage will it be to You' — yiskan is like "benefit," as in "should he argue with useless talk" (Job 15:3).

'Advantage' [yisken] — meaning: it will profit.

'What advantage will it be to You' — if everything comes about through the celestial order, what benefit do you gain from serving God, or what profit is there in refraining from my sin — meaning, from the sin ingrained in man, whose very nature all but compels him to it, and which is hard to separate himself from?

What advantage (yiskon) - An expression of benefit, of profit, as in 'it profits a man nothing (lo yiskon gaver)' (above, 34).

'That you inquire: “What advantage will it be to You?”' — that you bring a proof for this from the fact that you gain no benefit at all from righteousness. 'And: “What profit shall I have, more than if I had sinned?”' — that there is no difference between one who does righteousness and one who sins. And from this you conclude that both are compelled in their deeds, and therefore they do not receive reward and punishment. And by this you would justify Hashem's governance in not arranging governance according to voluntary deeds that would receive reward and punishment — because there are no voluntary deeds at all, since human beings are compelled in their actions.

and your companions with you who remained silent at your words.

'And your companions with you' — meaning, just as I differ with you, so too do I differ with your companions; for they judged that the sufferings came upon you because of the abundance of your sin, and my own mind does not think so.

'I will give you answer, and your companions with you' — for their position, too, is not correct in this matter, as he will explain. For this [reasoning of yours] would be correct if [divine] service existed for God's own need and benefit — (as Eliphaz said, 'Shall mortal man be just before God?' [Job 4:17], meaning that man is obligated to serve Him because He is his Maker, and thus the service is for God, who is boundless, so that even a small sin would be accounted great, and the service would be without measure — which implies that God commanded [man] to serve Him for His own sake; and so, in like manner, He would have to render reward and punishment, like a king who rewards one who has done him a favor and punishes one who has wronged him). On that basis you would be right to argue: why has my reward not been paid to me, after I served [Him] in perfection? And you would conclude that man is compelled in his actions, and therefore no reward is due him — just as wages are not paid to millstones that turn by the power of water and do the work of grinding flour. But all this is a mistake, as he will explain.

Gaze at the heavens And since He is high and you are low, and He has no benefit from your wickedness and righteousness, why do you boast to Him about your righteousness?

'And behold [the skies]' — veshur is like "see," as in "I behold him" (Numbers 24:17). 'From the multitude of oppressions' — Elihu says: do as you please, it will neither help nor harm God; rather, God hears the outcry of the oppressed. [The word] "multitude" may mean "greatness" [i.e., intensity], or it may be taken literally [as a large number of oppressed people] — and the first is more correct, since the verse goes on to say, "they cry out because of the arm of the mighty."

'And behold' [veshur] — meaning: and see.

'And see' — the very structure of the heavens, which bears no comparison or relation to you. 'Which are higher than you' — which are far higher than you, and at a great distance above you.

And behold (veshur) - And see, as in 'I behold him (ashurenu), but not near' (Numbers 24:17).

'Look to the heavens, and see' — behold, when you look to the heavens, which are higher than you, and all the more so the skies, which are higher still than the heavens — from this you will see, • A) that it is impossible to say that the distant heavens act upon your voluntary deeds — for they are too far from you to move you or compel you in your actions. • B) that from this you will also see that it is impossible to say that you act upon them through your deeds, whether good or bad; and all the more so is it impossible for your deeds to act upon the Creator, blessed be He, who is higher than the highest and farther than the farthest. And so —

'If you have sinned' — that is: reason from the heavens about Him who sits above them — if you have sinned, what could you possibly do to Him? 'And if your transgressions be multiplied' — here too: if your transgressions be multiplied, what do you do to Him? This repeats the same idea in other words.

'If you have sinned, what do you do against Him?' — you cannot bring about any change in Him through your sins. Nor can it even be said that He becomes angry, or that His wrath is kindled, or that He grieves because of your deeds — for that would mean [attributing to Him] being acted upon, which cannot rightly be said of Hashem. And wherever it is said that Hashem is angry or grieved because of the deeds of human beings, all of this is said relative to those who receive [His response], not that there is, Heaven forbid, any being-acted-upon or change on high, as is known. And 'if your transgressions be multiplied' — even if they are transgressions and rebellions, which are worse than sin, and even if they are many — even so, not only can you not act upon Him in His essence, you cannot even do Him any injury to His honor. And likewise —

'If you be righteous' — likewise: if you are righteous, what do you give Him by this, or what does He take from your hand, of His own?

'If you be righteous, what do you give Him?' — for you have nothing to give Him, since all your physical deeds bear no relation to His spirituality. And even if you had something related to Him that you could give Him — 'Or what does He receive of your hand?' — is not everything His, and everything in His hand, so that He has no need to take it from your hand?

a man like yourself your wickedness or your righteousness can and will benefit. Observe [that there are] many wicked men. who,...

'A man as you are' — one who has an essential bond with you, and dwells with you in your midst — it is he whom your wickedness that you do would harm, and so too the righteousness you perform would benefit him — but not Hashem. As if to say: since this is so, it is not incumbent upon the Omnipresent to pay a person reward, neither for his refraining from sin nor for his doing righteousness; rather, the reward that comes to a person comes through His great goodness and abundant kindness.

'Your wickedness concerns a man as you are; And your righteousness a son of man' — only your wickedness harms a man like yourself. For the wickedness done between one man and his fellow harms other people, whereas the wickedness one does to himself harms only himself. So too your righteousness benefits only a fellow man. If so, how could you ask a reward for this from Hashem, or expect Hashem to take particular note in order to punish the wicked man — as though he had done Him some benefit or harm? This is comparable to a sick man who would not ask a reward from his physician for having heeded everything the physician commanded him for the preservation of his health, nor would the physician punish him with the rod for failing to heed his warning. For reward and punishment are bound up in the deed itself: if he heeded, he is healed of his illness, and that is his reward; if he did not heed, he sickens and dies, and that is his punishment — not at the physician's hand, but at his own. So too, the reward is simply the good way itself, by which one acquires perfection for his soul. One who does good to another gains the benefit of a well-governed society; one who does evil harms his own body and soul; and one who does evil to another will be met with the punishing hand of that same society's governance. For Hashem created man to be civic by nature, so that the people of a commonwealth would help one another in securing their needs, and would have good laws and righteous statutes to protect the community from all wrongdoing. And if all the members of the community join together to do good and kindness to their fellows, to take care not to harm one another in any way, and to carry out strict justice against those who transgress these laws, then all will live in peace and prosperity, and no one will suffer any civic misfortune. So a community founded upon righteous statutes and laws will safeguard all its members from every evil and harm, and each will help his fellow. But if they all agree instead upon evil laws — to oppress, to rob, and to become like wolves of the evening — then each one will receive evil, and will not be secure for a moment from robber or plunderer, and his life will hang in the balance before him at the hand of the wrongdoer and the murderer; for then they will be like fish of the sea, each swallowing the other alive. Hashem arranged the creation of man so that reward and punishment are bound up in his very nature — both in man himself and in the workings of civic society. As regards the governance of himself: if he walks the path of happiness, directing his character and restraining his desires and the like, he will by nature be blessed with bodily well-being; and conversely, he will bring evil upon himself from nature itself — 'the glutton and the drunkard shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags' (cf. Proverbs 23:21); 'the desire of the slothful shall kill him' (cf. Proverbs 21:25); 'anger kills the foolish man' (cf. Job 5:2), 'and envy is the rot of the bones' (cf. Proverbs 14:30); 'wounding stripes purge away evil' (cf. Proverbs 20:30); and if he multiplies his pleasures, he will fall ill with lasting diseases, and 'numerous are the slain' of the wanton woman (cf. Proverbs 7:26). So too, one who sins in his conduct within society will be pursued by the community of mankind, who will execute judgment upon him, and the zealous will assail him — and the opposite holds for the opposite. In light of this, the question Job asked in chapter 24 falls away — namely, that there are wicked men who lay waste to society, pirates of the sea and bandits of the wilderness who murder souls and destroy the world, and why does Hashem not destroy them, to remove their evil? For the answer to this is as follows:

Because of the many oppressed ones whom they oppress, they [the wicked] cause the creatures to cry out before Him, and the poor cry for help from the arm of those who oppress them.

'By reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out' [merov ashukim yiz'aku] — this addresses what you claimed: that many oppressed people are to be found whom their oppressors cause to cry out. Or perhaps 'merov' relates to the notion of strife [riv], the intent being: because of that which the oppressed contend about, on account of which their oppressors make them cry out. 'They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty' [yeshavu mizroa rabim] — meaning: they cry out because of the strength of the many powerful men who oppress them.

'By reason of the multitude of oppressions' — and therefore, when the outcry of the oppressed grows greater — those whom their oppressors cause to cry out — their cry, which they cry out because of the arm of the mighty, who force them by strength of arm; and this repeats the same idea in other words.

They cry for help (yeshav'u) - [Meaning] they cry out.

'By reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out; They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty' — for Hashem arranged the remedy for this within human nature itself. Since Hashem watched over all living creatures, giving them the tools and faculties by which they are protected from their enemies, so that their species and individuals might endure, how much more so was this providence extended to man, the choicest of creatures! He created him to be civic by nature, and planted in his nature that men would gather together in society to establish upright laws among themselves, to render judgment and justice against anyone who transgresses the laws of the community and its statutes, and to root out all evildoers from the land. If so, when most people are good, lovers of justice and uprightness, it is impossible for robbers and murderers to multiply and lay waste to society; for then the good people of the nation — who are the majority — will at once band together and destroy these predators and cut them off from the earth, so that Hashem Himself need not descend from on high to fight these destroyers, since all upright men are His agents to execute judgment upon them, gathering as one man, with their judges at their head, to destroy and finish them off. This is the meaning of 'by reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out' — is it not set in human nature that, from the multitude of the oppressed, all people cry out and gather together? And 'from the arm' of the violent and the robbers, many 'cry out for help' — that is, all the people of the commonwealth, who are always the majority, gather against the murderers and robbers, and cry out to assemble for the rescue of the oppressed, and they destroy the oppressors, who are always few relative to the community as a whole. In this Hashem has already arranged man himself to be safeguarded from those who oppress souls and do such harm, in that the community as a whole will destroy all these destroyers.

And he did not say The wicked man [did not say] ‘Where is God, my Maker?’ to fear Him. Who deals destruction Heb. זמירות like (Lev. 25:4), “nor prune (תזמר) your vineyard,” for He cuts off the wicked at night, e.g., Amraphel and his allies, Egypt, and Sennacherib.

'Who gives songs in the night' — Some say that this is said directly of God, in the manner of "You make the mornings and evenings shout for joy" (Psalms 65:9), and like "when I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars" (Psalms 8:4). But most of the commentators say that the word "not" serves twice — once for itself and once for what follows — so that the verse means: he does not say, "Where is God my Maker," nor [does he say,] "who gives songs in the night."

'Songs' [zemirot] — meaning: words of praise.

'But none says,' etc. — that is: the righteous man among them, who by night, in secret and alone, offers songs to Hashem with his mouth, does not say to another, 'Where is God my Maker?' — meaning: why have you forgotten Hashem, and do not keep His commandments, but oppress your fellow?

Who gives (noten) - [Meaning] speaks, says, as in 'nor ascribe (natan) aught unseemly to God' (above, 1). Songs (zemirot) - An expression of zemer (song) and renanah (glad singing).

'But none says: Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs in the night' — consider: even the bird that gives forth songs at night — these being the weak birds, whom Hashem set by nature to sing at night, because at night they fear the predators lying in wait for their lives, and so they sing at night to rouse one another to gather together, to be ready to fight for their lives should a predator come upon them, and to warn one another of the terrors of the night — so that through this they are protected, and thereby their species survives — none of them says, 'Where is God my Maker.' That is to say, one might think that such a bird is not watched over by God its Maker, who created it weak and ready to become prey to predators stronger than itself; but Hashem has in fact already watched over this bird as well, and created it in a manner that it is protected from those that would harm it. And if Hashem, in His providence, placed such a safeguard in the nature of the small creatures, that they cry out loudly and call for help against those who oppress them, and fight against the predators of their kind, how much more so has He watched with such providence over man — for behold—

Who teaches us He teaches us more wisdom than [He does] the beasts; i.e., He esteemed us and made us greater than the beasts and the birds.

'Who teaches us' — [the word] is missing an aleph; it is from the same root as "and I will teach you wisdom" (Job 33:33).

'Who teaches us' [malfeinu] — like 'me'alfeinu'; the intent of it is: [He who] teaches us.

'Who teaches us more' — has not the Omnipresent taught us knowledge beyond the beasts of the earth, and made us wiser than the birds of heaven? And if among them there is none that robs his fellow of his share, how much more so man, whom Hashem has graced with understanding, for whom it is surely not fitting to rob his fellow of his share.

Who teaches us (malfenu) - Equivalent to 'me'alfenu,' spelled with an aleph; it is an expression of teaching, as in 'and I will teach you (a'alefcha) wisdom' (above, 33).

'Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth' — has God not given man more wisdom than the beasts and than the fowl of heaven? How then could man say, 'Where is God my Maker' — meaning, that He does not watch over me to protect me from those who tear prey and rob souls? Surely Hashem watches over mankind in a still more excellent way, inasmuch as man is wise and learns from the nature of every creature, his intellect encompassing them all. It is of this that he also said, 'who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth' — meaning, that man should learn from their traits and their deeds what he himself ought to do to protect his own species and its individual members. If so, it is fitting that human beings, too, should all gather together as one, assemble, and stand up for their lives against the robbers and murderers who destroy them, and give forth song and voice in the night when an ambusher falls upon them.

There they cry out And see that there the poor cry out because of the pride of those who oppress them, and He does not answer, for...

'There they cry' — this refers back to the many oppressors: God brings troubles upon them too, and they cry out but are not answered, because of the arrogance of other evildoers.

'There they cry,' etc. — meaning: because the wise, righteous man remains silent at such a time, and does not protest against the wicked of the generation, to say words such as these to them, therefore, in that very place of these wicked men, even the righteous cry out over their pains, and the Omnipresent does not answer them, for He hides His face because of the pride and arrogance of the wicked oppressors. For all reward comes by way of kindness; but when the wicked increase and the righteous man does not protest against them, then He hides His face from all of them together, and no longer performs kindness even for the righteous. It is as if he is saying to Job that everything that has happened to him came because he did not protest properly against the wicked of his generation.

'There' — and from this you will find the answer to the question you raised: why is it that 'there they cry, but none gives answer' — the very question he asked in chapter 24, 'From out of the populous city men groan, and the soul of the wounded cries out,' yet 'God imputes it not for unseemliness' (Job 24:12). For surely the murderers lay waste and destroy in the city, felling many slain, and these cry out to Hashem — as it is written, 'and the soul of the wounded cries out,' meaning that they cry to Hashem for salvation. Why, then, does He not answer, and does He not regard their prayer? The answer is 'because of the pride of evil men' — because the wicked have overpowered the good through pride and force. This is a sign that the human community is mostly wicked, and its members do not strive to execute justice and root out evildoers; for had they done so, the wicked would not have grown so strong as to fall upon the city and leave it filled with slain. For then, out of the multitude of the oppressed and of those wronged by violence, many would have cried and shouted, hastening to save the oppressed and root out evildoers. If so, this is a matter that falls upon the community itself, not upon Hashem.

Indeed, God will not hear vanity immediately. neither will the Almighty see it to avenge it immediately, but He is longsuffering.

'Surely vanity' — for God does not hear vanity; their outcry is vanity, because God will repay them their due regardless. 'Will regard it' — [refers to] the empty word [their vain complaint].

'Surely God will not hear vanity' — meaning: although the Omnipresent does hide His face at times — this being when transgressors increase and the righteous man does not protest against them — nevertheless, false are the words of one who says that at all times God does not hear, and the Almighty does not regard the deed that is done; for in truth He watches over everything.

Regard it (yeshurenah) - [Meaning] He will see it.

'Surely' — meaning, nevertheless, it is false and empty for you to argue from this that God does not hear the cry of the oppressed, and that the Almighty does not regard it, inferring that He does not watch over and does not see the wrongdoing of the oppressors. This is vanity and falsehood, for Hashem hears and sees all that is done on earth.

Surely you who say Surely you, whose cry comes only because of Him, and you say and cry that you do not see Him to debate with Him. That is to say that those who complain and cry, He does not hasten to answer, yet you cry that you do not see Him? present your case before Him (Your arguments—absent in some editions) wherever He is. and wait And hope for consolations.

'You cannot see Him' — even though you have no ability to see God. 'The cause is before Him; therefore wait for Him' — [techolel is] like "hope." Some say it is from the root chil (to labor in pain), meaning: bear the labor for His sake, as in "be still before Hashem, and wait patiently for Him" (Psalms 37:7).

'Therefore wait you for Him' [vetecholel lo] — related to the sense of 'tochelet' [hope, expectation].

'Indeed, when you say' — although you say to the Omnipresent, 'You do not see man, to watch over him' — as in the verses 'What is man...' and 'You visit him...' (above, Job 7) — from which it would follow that there is no judgment on high and no room for prayer — that is not so, for there is judgment on high. Therefore, pray to Him, for prayer avails: since He does watch over the world, it necessarily follows that there is judgment, and there is room for prayer.

Therefore wait you for Him (uttecholel) - An expression of prayer, of entreaty, as in 'and Moses entreated (vayechal Moshe)' (Exodus 32).

'Indeed, when you say you cannot see Him' — even though you say that you do not see Him, meaning that you do not see with your own eyes how He watches to render justice for the oppressed — nevertheless, the truth is that 'the cause is before Him': the case stands before Him, to render judgment on the earth. 'And you were fashioned for it' — you were created for this very judgment: you were created to be an agent of His providence, to execute judgment against those who rob the poor and murder the needy. That is, it was set into the very nature of your creation that you should strive to root out evil from the earth and render justice for the oppressed, and that you should fight with force against those who violate the law and disturb the peace of the land. And in this he also alludes to Job himself — that he was created for this, to render judgment. For since he was a judge of the land and the greatest of all the people of the East, it was fitting that he root out the oppressors and robbers, and fight against them with his great power, together with all the people of the East who obeyed his command; and he was meant to be the agent of providence, to chastise these wicked men and to destroy and eradicate them from the face of the earth.

And now you should know that this visitation [of His Wrath upon you is nothing according [compared] to your many iniquities. and He did not know because of the great multiplicity Because of your many sins, the Creator acted as though He did not know them. of the...multiplicity Heb. בפש, an expression of multiplicity, like (Malachi 3:20), “and be fat (ופשתם),” and like (Jer. 50:11), “as you become fat (תפושו)”; (Lev. 13:51), “that the mark has spread (פשה).”

'And now, since it is not' — Some say that bafash is a term for rest, missing a nun, from "and He rested" (Exodus 31:17); and the sense is: because Job lacks understanding, [even though] He has held back His anger, Job does not know that the rest of his reward is great. Others say: because you did not wait patiently for Him, He has visited His anger upon you. 'And has He not full knowledge...' — They explained [bafash] as being of the language of "be fruitful and multiply," to increase and grow numerous, and similarly, "and you shall go forth and grow fat like stall-fed calves" (Malachi 3:20). The sense is that He kept silent and did not bring His anger to bear in judgment — as if He took no notice of the abundance of your words.

'Arrogance' [bafash] — meaning: in abundance, greatly.

'And now' — although He does watch over the world, nevertheless, now that the wicked have increased, and there is no one who says, 'Where is God my Maker,' etc., He therefore removes and hides His face, and acts as though He did not know and did not watch over the people of that generation — because wickedness had grown so great, unabated; and even the righteous man does not receive the kindness, because he did not protest.

He punished (pakad) - [Meaning] is lacking, is absent, as in 'and David's place was empty (vayipaked mekom David)' (I Samuel 20:25). His anger (apo) - [Literally] his face, as in 'in the sweat of your face (bezeat apecha)' (Genesis 3). Of arrogance (bafash) - An expression of increase, of spreading, as in 'has spread much (paso tifseh)' (Leviticus 13).

'And now, is it for nought' — since Hashem saw that there was no justice in the land, and that you did not carry out your mission to root out every evildoer, and the community as a whole likewise did not band together to destroy them — therefore, 'He visited His anger': the robbers banded together, laying waste to the cities, and 'the soul of the wounded cries out, yet God imputes it not for unseemliness' (Job 24:12). And therefore the robbers came upon you as well — the Sabeans and the Chaldeans — and plundered all that was yours; for had you rooted out evildoers, they would not have been able to raise their heads against you. 'And has He not full knowledge' — yet despite all this, Job did not know that this was a providential punishment from Hashem for his failing to execute justice for the benefit of the political community as a whole. Therefore His anger increased exceedingly against him, and His wrath multiplied against him, so that his children, too, were killed, and he was struck with afflictions.

he increases Heb. כביר, an expression meaning, exceedingly.

'Does open his mouth' — meaning: he opens his mouth. 'Multiplies' — meaning: he increases. Explanation of the words of this response: Elihu responds to some of the things he recalled that Job had said, and he says: Did you think it a sound assertion to say that you are more righteous than Hashem, on the strength of the blows and afflictions He brought upon you — since He brought them upon you though you had committed no transgression? For you say: What good does it do you that your ways are blameless, and what benefit is there in your punishment, since you claimed, “It is all one — He destroys the blameless and the wicked alike” (Job 9:22)? And you brought a proof from experience, in that one finds wicked men who destroy others while no one stops them, and you told this long story in the response that opens “Even today my complaint is bitter” (Job 23:2). I will answer you with words on this argument — you and your companions with you, who have found no answer to resolve this difficulty. Now, he says this because Eliphaz had begun to resolve the difficulty by saying that the wickedness of a wicked man does not harm Hashem, and the righteousness of a righteous man does not benefit Him, so that it is possible for Him to prolong the wicked man's days, as was said earlier in the response “Can a man be profitable unto God?” (Job 22:2). And when Job argued against this premise, as he argued in the response “Even today my complaint is bitter,” not one of his friends found an answer to his argument — for what Bildad answered did not resolve the difficulty at all, and after that none of his other companions answered these words of his. Look to the heavens and see how high they stand above you, in place and in rank — how much more so is Hashem exceedingly far above our rank. And since this is so, what harm can our sins and transgressions do Him, and what benefit can our righteousness bring Him? Rather, our wickedness and our righteousness belong to us alone, and the benefit or harm they bring is ours alone. The benefit of righteousness lies, in its essence, in attaining the survival of the soul, and, secondarily, in being protected from bodily harms through divine providence; while the punishment of wickedness lies, in its essence, in the loss of the soul, and, incidentally, in being abandoned to bodily harms through the absence of divine providence. Now, as for what might seem, from the many oppressed people found in the world, to indicate a flawed ordering of things — their oppressors making them cry out, and the oppressed crying for help against the strength of their oppressors, who are many — that is what you argued in the response “Even today my complaint is bitter,” concerning this very point I have mentioned, in reply to what Eliphaz had said. Know in truth that the cause of this is the absence of divine providence from the oppressed, because they did not strive to cling to Him; not one of them said, “Where is God my Maker?” — to inquire into Him, to gain insight and to know Him, He who grants these wondrous intellects in this dark, lowly world (meaning, that He brings forth wondrous phenomena within them, through which He is recognized and praised), and who teaches us wisdom and understanding. This learning and understanding is our advantage over the other living creatures, yet they did not take this understanding of theirs to heart, to bring it into actuality, until they should apprehend Hashem according to their capacity. This, then, is the reason the oppressed cry out to Hashem because of the arrogance of the evildoers who oppress them, and Hashem does not answer — not that Hashem hears this falsehood and violence, and takes note of it, and it is set in order by Him, for He does not attend to these particular matters insofar as they are particular. Rather, He knows them all — not one is missing from His knowledge — in a different manner, as we have explained in the Wars of Hashem and in our commentary on the book of Sense and the Sensible. But we ourselves are the cause of this violence, when we turn aside from the ways of Hashem and do not strive to walk in His ways and to apprehend Him, in the manner that would bring divine providence to rest upon us. Moreover, though you say, “I cannot see Hashem” — as you said, “on the left, where He works, but I cannot behold Him,” etc. (Job 23:9) — set your ways right in judgment before Him, and hope in Him that He will make your end good. And now, since it is not the case that He has fully visited His anger, Job did not know how much evil there could yet be — for it is entirely possible there was more evil, beyond all measure, than the evil that had actually befallen him — and therefore he ought to have feared that more evil would be added to his evil. Instead, Job opens his mouth to speak vanity against Hashem, and speaks against Him without knowledge. Alternatively, the phrase may be understood as continuing directly from his own words, “and now, since He has not punished in anger” — that is why “Job opens his mouth in vanity.” Now, as for what you argue — that acts of violence are visibly seen to be done under the sun — although these are not, in fact, violence in the sense you mean, since we ourselves are their cause, this occurs only very rarely, and no great abundance of it is to be found. It is therefore clear that you had no grounds, on the strength of this phenomenon — which occurs only rarely in relation to the good found in this lower world — to judge that Hashem does injustice, or that it profits a man nothing to keep his ways blameless. But you speak whatever you speak, and argue against Hashem without knowledge. The general conclusion that emerges from all this is that Elihu answers Job's argument — drawn from the prosperity found among the wicked for a long time, even while they inflict pain on other people with every kind of injury and harm — by saying that the wicked man's wickedness does not harm Hashem, and it is therefore not necessary that He punish him the instant he rebels. And should one say that Hashem cannot escape the charge of injustice in prolonging the wicked man's days until the time comes for his foot to slip according to the constellation, since in the meantime he harms many people, as Job argued — Elihu answers that these people are not, in fact, harmed by the wicked man except because they themselves failed to strive to cling to Hashem according to their capacity, as was said before; and it is through their own doing that the harm ordained for them by the constellation reaches them, or the harm that comes to them by way of providence — and not otherwise. This is why harm from the wicked comes upon people only rarely, even though it is the wicked man's intention to do harm, and he exerts every effort toward it in every way available to him. It is therefore clear that they themselves are the cause of the harm that reaches them, not the prolonging of days that Hashem grants the wicked man. And with this, the difficulty raised by this argument has been resolved. Now, as for what Job argued against his friends regarding their claim that Hashem examines a person's deeds and knows him — and Job showed this to be impossible on the basis of sense-experience and reasoning, as stated earlier — it is clear that this difficulty has already been resolved by what Elihu has laid down in this discourse: namely, that he does not hold that Hashem knows these particular matters insofar as they are particular, and therefore he says, “Surely God will not hear an empty cry.” Rather, Hashem knows them all, in a different manner, as we have explained fully in the Wars of Hashem; and it is by virtue of this knowledge He has of them that knowledge of these particular matters reaches the prophets from Him, by way of the imaginative faculty, before these matters occur. Elihu goes on to rebuke Job further for having formed a sweeping generalization — that Hashem abandons and forgets the individuals of mankind — on the basis of the evils found within the human race, which are in truth very few in relation to the good things found within it. For this reason, it is not proper to conclude, from the small measure of such evil found among mankind, that Hashem abandons and forgets human individuals; rather, it is proper to inquire into this small measure of evil that is found, to determine to what cause it may be attributed, without thereby denying what is evident of Hashem's wondrous providence over human individuals from the good that is found among them for the most part.

'But Job' — but Job opens his mouth in words of vanity, to say that He does not watch over the lowly at all times. 'Without knowledge' — because his understanding was not whole, from the greatness of the pain of his suffering, he therefore multiplies mere words, without wisdom. (What emerges from this address — a response to Job's complaints, who protested his sufferings even though he had done good — is that he answers with these words, to say: is it not so that the Omnipresent is not obligated to repay a person reward? For what benefit does He gain from a person's righteousness, and what harm does He suffer from his wickedness? Rather, reward comes about through kindness alone; and so, when transgressors increase and the righteous man does not protest against them, he no longer receives that kindness. For this reason, Job does not receive reward for his good deeds, because he did not protest properly against the wicked of his generation.)

Does open (yiftzeh) - [Meaning] opens, as in 'I have opened my mouth (patziti fi)' (Judges 11). He multiplies (yachbir) - [Meaning] increases, as in 'very small, not much (mize'ar lo chabir)' (Isaiah 16).

'But Job' — and despite all this, Job still does not feel it, and still 'opens his mouth in vanity, and multiplies words without knowledge' — as it is written, 'it set him on fire round about, yet he knew it not; and it burned him, yet he did not lay it to heart' (Isaiah 42:25). He ought to have laid to heart that everything that happened to him was itself the cause of what followed: that his possessions were plundered because he had not rooted them out from the land; that the killing of his children came about because he did not lay to heart the need to turn back from his sin; and that this evil boil, too, came upon him from his own doing, from excessive pleasure and luxury — for reward and punishment are bound up in man's own nature and in his good or evil deeds.