Job 32

1 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

2 Then the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel, the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was kindled against Job. His wrath was kindled because he justified himself rather than God.

3 Also his wrath was kindled against his three friends, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.

4 Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job, because they were older than he.

5 When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was kindled.

6 Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered, “I am young, and you are very old. Therefore I held back, and didn’t dare show you my opinion.

7 I said, ‘Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.’

8 But there is a spirit in man, and the Spirit of the Almighty gives them understanding.

9 It is not the great who are wise, nor the aged who understand justice.

10 Therefore I said, ‘Listen to me; I also will show my opinion.’

11 “Behold, I waited for your words, and I listened for your reasoning, while you searched out what to say.

12 Yes, I gave you my full attention, but there was no one who convinced Job, or who answered his words, among you.

13 Beware lest you say, ‘We have found wisdom. God may refute him, not man;’

14 for he has not directed his words against me; neither will I answer him with your speeches.

15 “They are amazed. They answer no more. They don’t have a word to say.

16 Shall I wait, because they don’t speak, because they stand still, and answer no more?

17 I also will answer my part, and I also will show my opinion.

18 For I am full of words. The spirit within me constrains me.

19 Behold, my breast is as wine which has no vent; like new wineskins it is ready to burst.

20 I will speak, that I may be refreshed. I will open my lips and answer.

21 Please don’t let me respect any man’s person, neither will I give flattering titles to any man.

22 For I don’t know how to give flattering titles, or else my Maker would soon take me away.

Around Job 32

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

About Job as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

The storm comes at last. After chapters of grief, argument and silence from heaven, the LORD answers Job “out of the whirlwind”. He does not explain. He asks: “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?”

How Job got there is the rest of the book. He is a good man who loses his children, his wealth and his health. Three friends come to comfort him and end up arguing that he must have sinned to suffer so much. Job insists he has not, and demands an answer from God.

A younger man, Elihu, adds his view. Then God speaks, not with an explanation but with questions about the making and running of the world. Job is humbled. God says that Job spoke rightly and the friends did not, and Job is restored.

Background

The story is set in the land of Uz, outside Israel, in a time that resembles the age of Abraham. Its author and date are unknown. The opening and closing are prose; everything between is poetry, some of the most demanding in the Bible.

How Christians read it

The book rejects the idea that suffering is always punishment for sin, without offering a full account of why people suffer. Readers differ on what God's answer means: a rebuke, a comfort, or an invitation to trust a wisdom larger than our own. The accuser in the opening chapters is understood by most Christian tradition as Satan; the Hebrew uses the word as a title. James 5:11 holds up Job as an example of endurance.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes