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Job 35 Bible study: Songs in the night
Elihu's "There they cry, but no one answers" (35:12) has, in Hebrew, the verbs of Job's own "I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard" (19:7), and his "what effect do you have against him?" (35:6) begins with the same two Hebrew words as Zophar's "What can you do?" (11:8).
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“But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night, who teaches us more than the animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“In chapter 12, Job had said the animals would teach you, and the birds of the sky would tell you.”
Is that in Job 35, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
"Moreover Elihu answered"
Every word of this chapter after its first verse is Elihu's: "Moreover Elihu answered" (35:1). By the book's headings it is his third speech (32:6, 34:1, 35:1), and one more follows: "Elihu also continued, and said" (36:1). He opens with a question for Job: "Do you think this to be your right" (35:2), or does Job say, "My righteousness is more than God’s" (35:2) (tap righteousness), and ask, "What advantage will it be to you? What profit will I have, more than if I had sinned?" (35:3) (tap advantage, profit). Then: "I will answer you, and your companions with you" (35:4). Keep in mind whose words these are. When the LORD speaks of Job's friends at the end, his words are to Eliphaz, about him and "your two friends" (42:7); Elihu isn't named in 42:7-9, or anywhere after 36:1. These notes say what Elihu says and add no verdict on his speeches, for them or against them. The first honest question below sets the words Elihu gives Job beside Job's own.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Job 35
That was a taste
The rest of Job 35 is waiting in Favor
- "Look to the skies"
- "They cry, but no one answers"
- "Empty talk"
- Songs in the night, elsewhere
- "All the oppressions"
- 6 questions as you read
- 12 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Job 35 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
זָמִירzamirsay za-MEER
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "song". Strong's: "a song to be accompanied with instrumental music". Elihu says no one says, "Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night" (35:10). The Hebrew Bible has the word six times, and this is its only time in Job. David's last words call him "the sweet psalmist of Israel" (2 Samuel 23:1), where psalmist stands for this word. A psalm says, "Let’s extol him with songs!" (Psalm 95:2), and another, "Your statutes have been my songs in the house where I live" (Psalm 119:54).
For your group
Job 35 Bible study questions
- 1Elihu speaks of "God my Maker, who gives songs in the night" (35:10). Has there been a night when you found something to sing or pray? What was it?
- 2Elihu says, "Your wickedness may hurt a man as you are, and your righteousness may profit a son of man" (35:8). Who will be touched this week by how you live?
- 3Elihu says to Job, "you say you don’t see him" (35:14). When you can't see what God is doing, what helps you keep going?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Job 35 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Your first week is free. After that it's $10 a month per person, the same for everyone, including groups and churches. There are no tiers and nothing extra to unlock.
Can I read Job 35 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Job 35 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
Do I need a group?
No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
I've never really read the Bible. Is this for me?
Yes. Favor starts where you are and explains as it goes. The questions along the way aren't marked right or wrong: you answer, then see what the text shows.
Which Bible does Favor use?
The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
Is Favor tied to a church?
No. Favor is non-denominational. Where Christians read a passage differently, it shows the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home