Job 35:9

Elihu here returns an answer to another word that Job had said, which, he thought, reflected much upon the justice and goodness of God, and therefore ought not to pass without a remark. Observe,

I. What it was that Job complained of; it was this, That God did not regard the cries of the oppressed against their oppressors (Job 35:9): "By reason of the multitude of oppressions, the many hardships which proud tyrants put upon poor people and the barbarous usage they give them, they make the oppressed to cry; but it is to no purpose: God does not appear to right them. They cry out, they cry on still, by reason of the arm of the mighty, which lies heavily upon them." This seems to refer to those words of Job (Job 24:12), Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded cries out against the oppressors, yet God lays not folly to them, does not reckon with them for it. This is a thing that Job knows not what to make of, nor how to reconcile to the justice of God and his government. Is there a righteous God, and can it be that he should so slowly hear, so slowly see?

II. How Elihu solves the difficulty. If the cries of the oppressed be not heard, the fault is not in God; he is ready to hear and help them. But the fault is in themselves; they ask and have not, but it is because they ask amiss, Jam 4:3. They cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty, but it is a complaining cry, a wailing cry, not a penitent praying cry, the cry of nature and passion, not of grace. See Hos 7:14, They have not cried unto me with their heart when they howled upon their beds. How then can we expect that they should be answered and relieved?

1. They do not enquire after God, nor seek to acquaint themselves with him, under their affliction (Job 35:10): But none saith, Where is God my Maker? Afflictions are sent to direct and quicken us to enquire early after God, Psa 78:34. But many that groan under great oppressions never mind God, nor take notice of his hand in their troubles; if they did, they would bear their troubles more patiently and be more benefited by them. Of the many that are afflicted and oppressed, few get the good they might get by their affliction. It should drive them to God, but how seldom is this the case! It is lamentable to see so little religion among the poor and miserable part of mankind. Every one complains of his troubles; but none saith, Where is God my Maker? that is, none repent of their sins, none return to him that smites them, none seek the face and favour of God, and that comfort in him which would balance their outward afflictions. They are wholly taken up with the wretchedness of their condition, as if that would excuse them in living without God in the world which should engage them to cleave the more closely to him. Observe, (1.) God is our Maker, the author of our being, and, under that notion, it concerns us to regard and remember him, Ecc 12:1. God my makers, in the plural number, which some think is, if not an indication, yet an intimation, of the Trinity of persons in the unity of the Godhead. Let us make man. (2.) It is our duty therefore to enquire after him. Where is he, that we may pay our homage to him, may own our dependence upon him and obligations to him? Where is he, that we may apply to him for maintenance and protection, may receive law from him, and may seek our happiness in his favour, from whose power we received our being? (3.) It is to be lamented that he is so little enquired after by the children of men. All are asking, Where is mirth? Where is wealth? Where is a good bargain? But none ask, Where is God my Maker?

2. They do not take notice of the mercies they enjoy in and under their afflictions, nor are thankful for them, and therefore cannot expect that God should deliver them out of their afflictions. (1.) He provides for our inward comfort and joy under our outward troubles, and we ought to make use of that, and wait his time for the removal of our troubles: He gives songs in the night, that is, when our condition is ever so dark, and sad, and melancholy, there is that in God, in his providence and promise, which is sufficient, not only to support us, but to fill us with joy and consolation, and enable us in every thing to give thanks, and even to rejoice in tribulation. When we only pore upon the afflictions we are under, and neglect the consolations of God which are treasured up for us, it is just with God to reject our prayers. (2.) He preserves to us the use of our reason and understanding (Job 35:11): Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, that is, who has endued us with more noble powers and faculties than they are endued with and has made us capable of more excellent pleasures and employments here and for ever. Now this comes in here, [1.] As that which furnishes us with matter for thanksgiving, even under the heaviest burden of affliction. Whatever we are deprived of, we have our immortal souls, those jewels of more worth than all the world, continued to us; even those that kill the body cannot hurt them. And if our affliction prevail not to disturb the exercise of their faculties, but we enjoy the use of our reason and the peace of our consciences, we have much reason to be thankful, how pressing soever our calamities otherwise are. [2.] As a reason why we should, under our afflictions, enquire after God our Maker, and seek unto him. This is the greatest excellency of reason, that it makes us capable of religion, and it is in that especially that we are taught more than the beasts and the fowls. They have wonderful instincts and sagacities in seeking out their food, their physic, their shelter; but none of them are capable of enquiring, Where is God my Maker? Something like logic, and philosophy, and politics, has been observed among the brute-creatures, but never any thing of divinity or religion; these are peculiar to man. If therefore the oppressed only cry by reason of the arm of the mighty, and do not look up to God, they do no more than the brutes (who complain when they are hurt), and they forget that instruction and wisdom by which they are advanced so far above them. God relieves the brute-creatures because they cry to him according to the best of their capacity, Job 38:41; Psa 104:21. But what reason have men to expect relief, who are capable of enquiring after God as their Maker and yet cry to him no otherwise than as brutes do?

3. They are proud and unhumbled under their afflictions, which were sent to mortify them and to hide pride from them (Job 35:12): There they cry - there they lie exclaiming against their oppressors, and filling the ears of all about them with their complaints, not sparing to reflect upon God himself and his providence - but none gives answer. God does not work deliverance for them, and perhaps men do not much regard them; and why so? It is because of the pride of evil men; they are evil men; they regard iniquity in their hearts, and therefore God will not hear their prayers, Psa 66:18; Isa 1:15. God hears not such sinners. They have, it may be, brought themselves into trouble by their own wickedness; they are the devil's poor; and then who can pity them? Yet this is not all: they are proud still, and therefore they do not seek unto God (Psa 10:4), or, if they do cry unto him, therefore he does not give answer, for he hears only the desire of the humble (Psa 10:17) and delivers those by his providence whom he has first by his grace prepared and made fit for deliverance, which we are not if, under humbling afflictions, our hearts remain unhumbled and our pride unmortified. The case is plain then, If we cry to God for the removal of the oppression and affliction we are under, and it is not removed, the reason is not because the Lord's hand is shortened or his ear heavy, but because the affliction has not done its work; we are not sufficiently humbled, and therefore must thank ourselves that it is continued.

4. They are not sincere, and upright, and inward with God, in their supplications to him, and therefore he does not hear and answer them (Job 35:13): God will not hear vanity, that is, the hypocritical prayer, which is a vain prayer, coming out of feigned lips. It is a vanity to think that God should hear it, who searches the heart and requires truth in the inward part.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Job 35:9 By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make [the oppressed] to cry: they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty.

Ver. 9. By reason of the multitude (or magnitude) of oppressions, &c.] Or, of the oppressed, whom they (that is, whom the oppressors, not worthy to be named, as neither is that rich glutton, Luk 16:19-31) make to cry. Job had said, Job 24:12, "Men groan out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them." He punisheth not the wrong dealers according to their deserts, as Elihu interprets Job; and here refuteth him, as one that accused God of injustice, because he heareth not the cries of the oppressed. But this is merely their own fault, saith Elihu; because they cry not to God with truth and devotion. They ask and miss, because they ask amiss. For God never faileth to be with his afflicted, Psa 91:1-16, to preserve the simple, as David found by experience, &c., Psa 116:1-19, to hear those that call upon him in truth, Psa 145:1-21; he requireth nothing of them but lawful petitions aud honest hearts, and then they are sure to have out their prayers, either in money or money’s worth; either the same thing they ask or a better.

They cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty] Magnatum. Such as was Pompey, of whom the Romans cried out, Nostra miseria tu es Magnus, We rue by thy greatness, and are ruined. The greater any man is, unless gracious also, the more he thinks he may oppress the meaner sort. They "eat up my people as they eat bread," Psa 14:4, as so many cannibals, and as the bigger fishes devour the lesser; they lay load upon them without mercy or measure; they beat them with a strong arm, and make them cry aloud, filling the air with their complaints, as nature teacheth even brute beasts to do when they are hurt: Videri possunt magnates non alio loco habere tenues quam minutos pisciculos, quos confertim et pleno ore pro deliciis esitent (Merl.). It was not patience, but pertinace, an obstinate stiffness of mind, that made some heathens, as Mithridates, Marius, Epicurus, &c., forbear crying when grievously tormented.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Job 35:9-10. By reason of the multitude of oppressions — This verse has been supposed by many to contain an argument to prove what he had said Job 35:8, that the wickedness of one man may hurt another: but Elihu rather seems to be here beginning a new subject, and, having answered one of Job’s objections, to proceed to another. Job had often complained that he cried to God, and God did not hear his cry. This Elihu may here be considered as answering by a parallel case of men crying out for oppression; whom yet God did not immediately relieve, for just reasons, which he leaves Job to apply to himself. Or he refers to what Job had alleged, (Job 24:12,) respecting men’s groaning out of the city, &c., which might seem to reflect on God’s providence. This Elihu repeats in this verse, and answers in those following. But none saith — Few or none of the great numbers of oppressed persons, seriously or sincerely inquire, Where is God? — They cry out of men, and to men, but they seek not after God, and therefore if God do not hear their cries, he is neither unjust nor unkind; my Maker — Who alone made me, and who only can deliver me. Who, when our condition is ever so dark and sad, can turn our darkness into light, can quickly put a new song into our mouth, a thanksgiving unto our God.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Second half — PIETY (SO CALLED) THAT CALLS FORTH NO RESPONSIVE BENEFIT, IS UNREAL AND WORTHLESS, IN THAT IT IS EXTORTED FROM THE SOUL OF MAN BY SUFFERING, Job_35:9-16.

a. The objection of Job, stated in Elihu’s own language, (Job_35:9,) that the prayers of human sufferers are unanswered of God, Elihu refutes by the suggestion that they have in them no more moral element than the cries of the brute, and that, too, notwithstanding God has so richly endowed the wicked with faculties for love, trust, and worship; and, consequently, God is under no moral obligations to hear. The reason why they are not heard lies in the oppressed themselves, Job_35:9-14.

9. By reason… they make the oppressed to cry — The correct reading is, Because of the multitude of oppressions they cry out. A statement Job had made, (Job_24:12,) with the additional remark that God paid no heed to the outrage.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9 By reason of the multitude of oppressions they raise a cry,

They call for help by reason of the arm of the great,

10 But none saith: Where is Eloah my Creator,

Who giveth songs of praise in the night,

11 Who teacheth us by the beasts of the earth,

And maketh us wise by the fowls of heaven?

12 Then they cry, yet He answereth not,

Because of the pride of evil men.

13 Vanity alone God heareth not,

And the Almighty observeth it not.

In Job 35:9 the accentuation of מרוב with Dech, according to which Dachselt interprets: prae multitudine (oppressionum) oppressi clamabunt, is erroneous; it is to be written מרב, as everywhere else, and this (according to Codd. and the editions of Jablonski, Majus, Michaelis, and others) is to be accented with Munach, which is followed by עשׁוּקים with a vicarious Munach: prae multitudine oppressionum (עשׁוקים like Ecc 4:1, and probably also Amo 3:9) edunt clamorem (Hiph. in the intensive Kal signification, as e.g., הזנה, to commit fornication, Hos 4:10). On זרוע, Job 35:9; רבּים are the great or lords (Arab. arbâb). The plur. with a general subj. is followed by the sing. in Job 35:10: and no one says (exactly as in האמר, Job 34:31). Elihu weakens the doubt expressed by Job in Job 24:12, that God allows injustice to prevail, and oppressed innocence remains without vindication. The failure of the latter arises from the fact of the sufferers complaining, but not seeking earnestly the only true helper, God their maker (עשׂים, intensive plur., as Isa 22:11; Isa 54:5; Psa 149:2), who gives (to which may be compared a passage of the Edda: "Wuodan gives songs to the Scalds") songs (זמרות, from the onomatopoetic זמר) in the night, i.e., who in the night of sorrow puts songs of praise concerning the dawning light of help into the mouth of the sufferers. The singing of the glory of the nightly heavens (Stick., Hahn) is to be as little thought of as the music of the spheres; the night is, as Job 34:20, Job 34:25, the time of unexpectedly sudden change.

In Job 35:11 most expositors (last of all Schlottm.) take the two מן as comparative. Elihu would then, since he feels the absence of the asking after this God on the part of the sufferers, mean the conscious relation in which He has placed us to Himself, and in accordance with which the sufferer should not merely instinctively complain, but humbly bow himself and earnestly offer up prayer. But according to Job 12:7 (comp. Pro 6:6, וחכם), it is to be translated: who teaches (מלּפנוּ = מאלּפנוּ, comp. Sa2 22:40, Psalter i. 160) us from the beasts of the earth (so that from them as a means of instruction teaching comes to us), and makes us wise from the birds of heaven. The fut. interchanging with the part. better accords with this translation, according to which Job 35:11 is a continuation of the assertion of a divine instruction, by means of the animal creation; the thought also suits the connection better, for of the many things that may be learned from the animal creation, prayer here comes under consideration, - the lions roar, Psa 104:21; the thirsty cattle cry to God, Joe 1:20; the ravens call upon God, Psa 147:9. It we now determine the collective thought of Job 35:10, that affliction does not drive most men to God the almighty Helper, who will be humbly entreated for help: it is more natural to take שׁם (vid., on Job 23:7) in the sense of then (τότε), than, with reference to the scene of oppression, in the sense of there (lxx, Jer.: ibi). The division of the verse is correct, and H. B. Starcke has correctly interpreted: Tunc clamabunt (sed non respondebit) propter superbiam (insolentiam) malorum. מפּני is not to be connected with יענה in the sense of non exaudiet et servabit, by which constr. praegnans one would expect מן, Psa 22:22, instead of מפני, nor in the sense of non exaudiet propter (Hirz., Schlottm.), for the arrogant רעים are not those who complain unheard: but, as the connection shows, those from whom the occasion of complaint proceeds. Therefore: not allowing themselves to be driven to God by oppression, they cry then, without, however, being heard of God, by reason of the arrogance of evil men which they have to endure. Job 35:13 gives the reason of their obtaining no answer: Only emptiness (i.e., mere motion of the lips without the true spirit of prayer) God heareth not, and the Almighty observeth it not. Hahn wrongly denies אך the significations certo and verumtamen; but we prefer the restrictive signification (sheer emptiness or hollowness) which proceeds from the affirmative primary signification

(Note: Vid., Hupfeld in the Zeitschr. fr Kunde des Morgenl. ii. 441f.)

here, to the adversative (nevertheless emptiness), since the adversative thought, verumtamen non exaudit, has found its expression already in ולא יענה.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

The wicked may hurt man and cause him to cry, who if he sought to God which sendeth comfort should be delivered.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(Ecc 4:1.) Elihu states in Job's words (Job 24:12; Job 30:20) the difficulty; the "cries" of "the oppressed" not being heard might lead man to think that wrongs are not punished by Him.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 9. By reason of the multitude] Or rather, "From among the multitude" the oppressed clamour, יזעיקו yaziku: they shout, ישועו yeshavveu, because of the mighty.

The wicked rich oppress the wicked poor; these cry aloud because of their oppressors; but they have no relief, because they call not upon God.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(9) By reason of the multitude of oppressions.—The argument seems to be that among men there may be oppression, but not with an almighty and just Judge. The right course, therefore, is to wait. “Men may, indeed, complain because of the oppression of an earthly tyrant; but how canst thou say thou beholdest Him not?” (See Job_9:9.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9. they make the Oppressed to cry] Rather, men cry out because of the multitude of oppressions—which powerful and cruel men lay upon them (Job_35:12). This is the anomaly.

9–15. Having laid down his principle Elihu now proceeds to clear away some anomalies which seem to support Job’s contention. There are instances where godliness does not seem to advantage men, where oppressed innocence cries in vain for redress. The reason is that the cry is merely the natural voice of suffering; it is no true devout appeal to heaven—none saith, Where is God my maker?

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry - It is not quite easy to see the connection which this verse has with what goes before, or its bearing on the argument of Elihu. It seems however, to refer to the “oppressed in general,” and to the fact, to which Job had himself adverted Job 24:12, that people are borne down by oppression and that God does not interpose to save them. They are suffered to remain in that state of oppression - trodden down by people, crushed by the armor of a despot, and overwhelmed with poverty, sorrow, and want, and God does not interpose to rescue them. He looks on and sees all this evil, and does not come forth to deliver those who thus suffer. This is a common case, according to the view of Job; this was his own case, and he could not explain it, and in view of it he had indulged in language which Elihu regarded as a severe reflection on the government of the Almighty. He undertakes, therefore, to “explain the reason” why people are permitted thus to suffer, and why they are not relieved.

In the verse before us, he states “the fact,” that multitudes “do” thus suffer under the arm of oppression - for that fact could not be denied; in the following verses, he states “the reason” why it is so, and that reason is, that they do not apply in any proper manner to God, who could “give songs in the night,” or joy in the midst of calamities, and who could make them acquainted with the nature of his government as intelligent beings, so that they would be able to understand it and acquiesce in it. The phrase “the multitude of oppressions” refers to the numerous and repeated calamities which tyrants bring upon the poor, the down-trodden, and the slave. The phrases “to cry” and “they cry out,” refer to the lamentations and sighs of those under the arm of the oppressor. Elihu did not dispute the truth of “the fact” as it was alleged by Job. That fact could not then be doubted any more than it can now, that there were many who were bowed down under burdens imposed by hard-hearted masters, and groaning under the government of tyrants, and that all this was seen and permitted by a holy God. This fact troubled Job - for he was one of this general class of sufferers; and this fact Elihu proposes to account for. Whether his solution is satisfactory, however, may still admit of a doubt.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Out. The wicked shall cry out, through vexation, but still they will not address themselves to God, ver. 10. Why are the abandoned, but because He takes cognizance of all?

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The multitude, or greatness. This verse is supposed to contain an argument to prove what he said Job 35:8, that one man’s wickedness may hurt another. But he rather seems to begin a new matter, and having answered one of Job’s objections, to proceed to another, which may be either,

1. That which Job had oft complained of, that he cried to God, and God did not hear his cry; which Elihu answers by a parallel case of men crying out for oppression; whom yet God doth not hear nor help, and that for just reasons, which he leaves to Job to apply to himself. Or,

2. That which Job had alleged, Job 24:12, and which might seem to reflect upon God’s providence. This therefore Elihu repeats in this verse, and answereth in the following.

To cry; not only to murmur and complain, but to cry out by reason of sore oppression, and to cry to the oppressors or others for pity and help. By reason of the arm of the mighty; because their oppressors are too strong for them.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vers. 9-14. Job had made it a frequent subject of complaint that God did not hear, or at any rate did not answer, his prayers and cries for relief. Elihu answers that Job"s case is not exceptional. Those who cry out against oppression and suffering frequently receive no answer, but it is because they "ask amiss." Job should have patience and trust.

By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry; rather, by reason of the multitude of oppressions, men cry out. It is not Job only who cries to God. Oppressors are numerous; the oppressed are numerous; everywhere there are complaints and outcries. They cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty. The oppressors are, for the most part, the mighty of the earth kings, princes, nobles. (see Isa_1:23 Isa_3:14, 15 Hos_5:10 Amo_4:1, etc.)

HOMILIES BY R. GREEN Vers. 9-11. The cry that is not unto God.

Elihu continues to press Job severely. His teachings run in the lines of truth, and they approach more nearly to the design of Job"s suffering than those of Job"s friends, but they fail actually to reach it. He makes many sagacious reflections on human conduct. This is one. There is a cry raised by the suffering ones under the heavy burden of their multiplied oppressions, and "by reason of the arm of the mighty." How often is it that these address not their cry to God! It is not, therefore, to be wondered at that relief does not come. Job seems to imply that God does not vindicate the sufferers. Here is a reason. They cry not to God. "None saith, Where is God. my Maker, who giveth songs in the night?

I THE ERROR OF SUCH A CRY. God only is able truly to respond to the cry of suffering. It is expending the breath in vain to invoke help from other sources. Man is often utterly powerless; and, even when able, is not always willing to help. If the cry is to a false god, it is a still greater error, and can only end in disappointment.

II BUT THE CRY WHICH IS AN ERROR IS ALSO A FOLLY. Such a cry ends in vexation; the unheard cry aggravates the sorrow and makes the burden greater. Why should man in his feebleness appeal to his feeble fellow? and why forsake the Maker of all, who alone can give songs of joy in the night of mourning?

III THIS CRY IS ALSO A WRONG. It is a moral wrong for man to turn his face away from God in the time of his trouble. It reflects upon the Divine goodness and upon the ability and willingness of God to help. It casts an unjust reproach upon a loving Creator, "who teacheth us" lessons by "the beasts of the earth," and "maketh us wise" by the very "fowls of heaven.

IV BUT THIS IS ALTOGETHER A VAIN CRY. "None giveth answer." Evil men in their pride will not humble themselves to call upon Jehovah; they will not acknowledge their dependence upon him, will not submit to him. Their cry is as one made to the wind. Even if addressed to God, it is void of all truth and meaning. It is the cry of vanity. "God will not hear, neither will the Almighty regard it." From all which comes the great lesson, Though God is hidden, and men see him not, "yet judgment is before him": therefore may men trust in him, and, believing "that he is, and that he is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek him," make their supplication unto God, their cry to the Almighty. R.G.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Cry - Thus one man's wickedness may hurt another.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The Reasons For God’s Delay in Helping Suffering

v. 9. By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry, that is the way of men, to make an outcry over cruelty thus shown; they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty, wailing on account of the violence shown by those in power,

v. 10. but none saith, Where is God, my Maker, who giveth songs in the night, His speedy and mighty deliverance causing men to rejoice and sing while the darkness of their affliction is still about them;

v. 11. who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, setting men high above the brutes in wisdom, honor, and blessing, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven? Man’s relation toward God should be that of a creature endowed with reason and understanding, and his prayer should not be the involuntary cry of distress, but the outpouring of the heart which sees in God the kind heavenly Father.

v. 12. There they cry, but none giveth answer, God pays no attention to such prayers, because of the pride of evil men, He will not hear so as to deliver them from the oppression of wicked men.

v. 13. Surely God will not hear vanity, what is only empty sound, neither will the Almighty regard it, namely, all such crying and praying which is not done in sincerity, whereas, on the other hand, as is here implied, the earnest prayer of the righteous avails much in His sight.

v. 14. Although thou sayest thou shalt not see Him, in such a case when, as Job insisted, the Lord would not show His face at all, He would most assuredly withdraw His kind presence entirely, yet judgment is before Him, namely, the cause of Job which he was trying to defend; therefore trust thou in Him. As long as Job felt that way about his case, as up for trial at the hand of God, namely, that he believed God had no intention to let justice prevail, so long he would wait and trust in vain for a vindication.

v. 15. But now, because it is not so, He hath visited in His anger, because the wrath of God had not yet interposed to punish, yet He knoweth it not in great extremity, rather, should He not nevertheless be well acquainted with presumption? Elihu contended that God knew the arrogance of Job and would treat it accordingly.

v. 16. Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain, to no purpose, without object; he multiplieth words without knowledge, in an altogether unintelligent and foolish manner. For this reason sufferers remain unheard for a long time, both because they have no genuine reverence for God and because they are presumptuous in their speeches against Him.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Elihu continues speaking.

Because of many acts of oppression

The word "oppression" can be translated with a verbal phrase. AT: "Because of the many things that people do to oppress others" (See: Abstract Nouns)

they call for help from the arms of mighty men

Here "arms" refers to power or strength. AT: "they call for someone to deliver them from the power of mighty men" (See: Metonymy)

who gives songs in the night

Elihu speaks of God enabling people to have hope in troubling circumstances as if he were giving to them songs which they can sing during the night. (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

oppress

might

wise

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

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.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.