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Job 32

VBL · Chapter 32/42

1Los tres amigos de Job dejaron de responderle porque él seguía protestando su inocencia.

2Entonces Eliú, hijo de Baraquel el Buzita, de la familia de Ram, se enojó. Se enojó con Job por afirmar que él tenía la razón y no Dios.

3Eliú también se enfadó con los tres amigos de Job porque hacían ver que Dios estaba equivocado, ya que no habían sido capaces de responder a Job.

4Elihú había esperado a que los otros tres hablaran con Job, ya que eran mayores que él.

5Pero al ver que no podían responder a Job, se enojó mucho.

6Eliú, hijo de Baraquel el Buzita, dijo: “Yo soy joven y ustedes son viejos, por eso me resistí a decirles lo que sé.

7Me dije a mí mismo: ‘Los que son mayores deben hablar, los que son mayores deben enseñar la sabiduría’.

8Sin embargo, hay un espíritu en los seres humanos, el aliento del Todopoderoso, que les da entendimiento.

9No son los viejos los que son sabios, ni los ancianos los que saben lo que es correcto.

10Por eso te digo que me escuches ahora: déjame decirte lo que sé.

11Pues bien, esperé a oír lo que tenías que decir, escuchando tus ideas mientras buscabas las palabras adecuadas para hablar.

12Les he prestado mucha atención a todos, y ninguno ha demostrado que Job estuviera equivocado ni ha respondido a sus argumentos.

13No digan dentro de ustedes mismo: ‘Somos muy sabios’, porque Dios, y no un ser humano, les demostrará que están equivocados.

14Job no alineó sus argumentos contra mí, y yo no le responderé como ustedes lo hicieron.

15Se quedaron sin palabras, sin nada más que decir.

16¿Debo seguir esperando, siendo que no hablan y solo están ahí de pie sin decir nada?

17Pues ahora yo también daré mi respuesta. Les diré lo que sé.

18¡Tengo tanto que decir que no puedo retener las palabras!

19Por dentro soy como un vino en fermentación, embotellado; como odres nuevos a punto de estallar.

20Tengo que hablar antes de estallar; abriré mis labios para responderle.

21No tomaré partido, y no voy a adular a nadie.

22No sé adular, y si lo hiciera mi Creador pronto me destruiría”.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

A new character, the young Elihu, is introduced as someone who listened to the whole debate in silence but now grows angry both at Job, for justifying himself rather than God, and at the three friends, for failing to refute him properly. He announces that he will finally speak his own opinion.

Explanation

Elihu is introduced differently from the other characters, with a detailed genealogy (son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram) and an explanation for his previous silence: the respect due to the older age of the other participants in the debate. His twofold irritation — at Job for excessively justifying himself, and at the friends for lacking convincing arguments — sets the stage for a new angle in the debate, although his subsequent speeches still repeat several elements of the earlier positions. Application for today: sometimes it is wise to wait patiently before sharing an opinion in a debate, but that does not mean the new perspective offered will necessarily be more correct than those that came before.

Fun facts

  • Elihu is the only character in the book identified as a descendant of Buz, a region associated with a brother of Uz in the genealogy of Nahor, Abraham's uncle (Genesis 22:20-21), suggesting a distant family connection to the biblical patriarchs.
  • Interestingly, Elihu is mentioned neither in the book's prologue (chapters 1-2) nor in the final conclusion (chapter 42), when God specifically rebukes the three friends for their errors — an omission noted and debated by commentators throughout the history of the book's interpretation.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Job 32:1The three friends stop answering because Job considered himself righteous in his own eyes — the narrator closes their cycle of speeches and prepares the entrance of a fourth character.
  2. Job 32:2Elihu appears out of nowhere, a new and younger character, angry at Job for justifying himself rather than God, and also angry at the three friends for having failed to truly refute Job.
  3. Job 32:3Elihu also grows irritated with the three friends: they could not refute Job, yet they kept condemning him anyway — Elihu notices the inconsistency in all three of them.
  4. Job 32:4Elihu had waited to speak out of respect for the others’ age — the culture of the time gave priority to the elders when it came to giving an opinion.
  5. Job 32:5Seeing that the three had no answer left at all, Elihu’s anger finally kindles and he decides to break the silence.
  6. Job 32:6Elihu apologizes for speaking as the youngest of them all — in the ancient world, age was synonymous with authority, so he needs to justify why he thinks he has something to add.
  7. Job 32:7Elihu explains the logic he used to follow: he thought that age and years of experience should teach wisdom — this is the very idea he is about to challenge.
  8. Job 32:8Elihu presents his central argument: it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives understanding — not simply the accumulation of years lived.
  9. Job 32:9He directly challenges the assumption that only the old understand what is right — thereby justifying his own right to speak despite his young age.
  10. Job 32:10So Elihu asks to be heard too, with the same right to state his opinion that the elders had.
  11. Job 32:11He recounts that he waited patiently, paying close attention to the three friends’ arguments while they searched for what to say.
  12. Job 32:12Elihu judges that none of the three actually managed to refute Job or answer his arguments — a harsh verdict on the trio’s failure.
  13. Job 32:13He warns them not to fall back on the easy excuse, “We have found out wisdom: God thrusteth him down, not man” — Elihu believes he has something new and better to offer.
  14. Job 32:14Elihu says he will answer in a different way from the three, since Job never directed any words specifically against him.
  15. Job 32:15He describes the three friends as dismayed and speechless — confirming that their silence is not a strategy, but a genuine exhaustion of arguments.
  16. Job 32:16Elihu explains why he will wait no longer: since they have stopped speaking and have nothing more to add.
  17. Job 32:17Elihu announces that he too will make his contribution, stating his own opinion in the debate.
  18. Job 32:18Elihu compares himself to fermenting new wine, full of words, about to burst its container if it is not released soon.
  19. Job 32:19Continuing the previous verse’s image of being “full of matter”: Elihu compares himself to new wine with no vent, about to burst like new bottles — the physical urgency to speak.
  20. Job 32:20He says he must speak to find relief, as if staying silent were physically unbearable.
  21. Job 32:21Elihu promises not to show favoritism or use flattery toward anyone — he sets out to be more honest and direct than the three friends.
  22. Job 32:22He states that he does not even know how to flatter, because that would quickly bring his own Maker’s judgment down on him — sincerity as a matter of personal piety.

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