Job 35:14–35:16, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Job 35:14–35:16
Elihu Tells Job to Wait and Calls His Words Empty
Job cannot see the case, so Elihu tells him to wait
Although Job says he will not behold God, yet judgment is before him; therefore Job must trust in him. Elihu has already decided that the court is in session above the clouds.
But now, because God has not visited in his anger, Job has spoken in his great arrogance, in some English lines, or the text is cramped and difficult. The close is clearer in intent than in every phrase: therefore Job opens his mouth in vain. He multiplies words without knowledge.
Waiting can be faith; dismissal is not the last word
Job will later hear a whirlwind. Waiting is not nothing. Elihu's dismissal of Job's words as empty is still not the divine verdict of 42:7, which will say that Job has spoken of God what is right, unlike the three.
The unit cannot be used to silence evidence-based protest, a request for a doctor, a cry for justice, or a lament that has not yet found a hymn.
How this should shape us
Trust may include waiting. It does not include calling a wounded mouth empty. Do not use this close of the speech to shut down help-seeking or truthful complaint.
Teach it back
Explain Job 35:14–35:16 in your own words. Name the speaker, the unit's place in Job, one source-controlled textual or literary observation, one uncertainty, and one harmful use the passage does not authorize.
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Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Job 35:14–35:16, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Job.xml, OSIS 35:14–35:16
Supports: Verse-level controls for Job's difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, textual issues, speech boundaries, and alternatives in Job 35:14–35:16.
Official NET Job PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Job 35:14–35:16
Supports: Book-level and passage-level literary, historical, theological, and pastoral synthesis with speaker distinctions and visible uncertainty.
Enter the Bible Job course, Introductory Issues and Outline: Elihu speeches; applied to Job 35:14–35:16
Sources for This Section
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Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Job 35:14–35:16, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Job
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Job.xml, OSIS 35:14–35:16
Open the fixed Hebrew Job file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Job
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for Job's difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, textual issues, speech boundaries, and alternatives in Job 35:14–35:16.
Exact location: Official NET Job PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Job 35:14–35:16
Open the official NET Job PDF ↗modern scholarly book course
Job course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Daniel J. Simundson and Kathryn Schifferdecker
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, current online edition inspected 2026
Supports: Book-level and passage-level literary, historical, theological, and pastoral synthesis with speaker distinctions and visible uncertainty.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Job course, Introductory Issues and Outline: Elihu speeches; applied to Job 35:14–35:16
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