Job 34:37
in Job 34For he adds rebellion to his sin; he claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For he addeth rebellion unto his sin; He clappeth his hands among us, And multiplieth his words against God.
KJV
For he addeth rebellion unto his sin, he clappeth his hands among us, and multiplieth his words against God.
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This verse in Job 34
Commentary
12 notes on this verseWho hath added blasphemy upon his sins. He accuses him of having deserved scourges for his sins, and of having sinned after the scourges. But the Lord judges far otherwise, Who both asserts that he was scourged without reason, and conferred on him double goods, after his scourges. Blessed Job, then, is proved to have spoken without sin, whom rewards follow after his speech. Because, therefore, Eliu, when speaking in the Lord's defence, thinks of blessed Job differently from the Lord, he is at variance with the truth, while multiplying, as it were, his words in behalf of the truth.
This site's exposition
Men of understanding will declare to me
on Job 34:34-37
Elihu puts “Job speaks without knowledge” in the mouths of the wise. The wish “If only Job were tried” is his overreach, where the commentators see zeal for God's justice outrun charity. The closing charge, “he claps his hands among us”, is harsher than anything the friends said so plainly.
This site's exposition
he claps his hands among us
Clapping the hands is a gesture of scorn, as Jamieson, Fausset and Brown show from Job 27:23. Gregory the Dialogist answers Elihu from the book's end. The Lord gave Job double after his trials, and Gregory takes that as proof Job spoke without sin.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
He did not say, in an iniquitous and impious manner, but "for a long time," showing that we must not argue with God for a long time. If, when we are in the presence of a king, we do not dare argue with him for a long time, even more so we must behave before God.
The Medieval Church1 voice
He says with greater exaggeration, "Who in addition to all his sins," to the past sins for which he has been scourged, "adds blasphemy," in saying he is just, but God is unjust. For this he first desires punishment for him in the present, and …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Addeth - He sinned before, by impatience under his afflictions, now he is grown obstinate, and instead of humbling himself for his sins, justifies himself, and accuses the blessed God.
4 Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good. 5 For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment. 6 Should I lie against my right? my wound is incurable without transgression.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Had taken - So Job had said, chap. xxvii, 2, he denies me that which is just and equal, to give me a fair hearing. Should I lie - So Job had said in effect, chap. xxvii, 4, 5, 6, should I falsely accuse myself of sins of which I am not guilty? Without transgression - Without any such crying, sin, as might reasonably bring down such terrible judgments upon my head.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
For he addeth rebellion unto his sin,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For he addeth rebellion unto his sin - To the sin which he has formerly committed and which bas brought these trials upon him, he now adds the sin of complaining and rebellion against God. Of Job, this was certainly not true to the extent which Elihu intended, but it is a very common case in afflictions. A man is visited with calamity as a chastisement for his sins.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
clappeth . . . hands--in scorn (Job 27:23; Eze 21:17). multiplieth . . . words-- (Job 11:2; To his original "sin" to correct which trials have been sent, "he adds rebellion," that is, words arraigning God's justice.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
He addeth rebellion unto his sin - An ill-natured, cruel, and unfounded assertion, borne out by nothing which Job had ever said or intended; and indeed, more severe than the most inveterate of his friends (so called) had ever spoken. Mr. Good makes this virulent conclusion still more virulent and uncharitable, by translating thus: - “For he would add to his transgressions apostasy; He would clap his hands in the midst of us: Yea, he would tempest his words up to God.” There was no need of adding a caustic here; the words in the tamest translation are tart enough. Though Elihu began well and tolerantly, he soon got into the spirit, and under the mistake, of those who had preceded him in this “tempest of words.” On Job 34:30 I have referred to the case of Hegiage, governor of the Babylonian Irak, under the caliph Abdul Malec. When Hegiage was informed that the people were in a state of mutiny because of his oppressive government, before they broke out into open acts of hostility, he mounted on an eminence, and thus harangued them: - “God has given me dominion over you; if I exercise it with severity, think not that by putting me to death your condition will be mended. From the manner in which you live you must be always ill-treated, for God has many executors of his justice; and when I am dead he will send you another, who will probably execute his orders against you with more rigour. Do you wish your prince to be moderate and merciful? Then exercise righteousness, and be obedient to the laws. Consider that your own conduct is the cause of the good or evil treatment which you receive from him. A prince may be compared to a mirror; all that you see in him is the reflection of the objects which you present before him.” The people immediately dropped their weapons, and quietly returned to their respective avocations. […]
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יֹ֘סִ֤יף | yosif | he adds | H3254 → | 212 times |
| עַֽל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| חַטָּאת֣וֹ | chatato | sin his | H2403 → | 295 times |
| פֶ֭שַׁע | fesha' | transgression | H6588 → | 93 times |
| בֵּינֵ֣ינוּ | beineinu | between us | H996 → | 407 times |
| יִסְפּ֑וֹק | yispok | he claps | H5606 → | 10 times |
| וְיֶ֖רֶב | veyerev | and he multiplies | H7235 → | 227 times |
| אֲמָרָ֣יו | ʾamarav | words his | H561 → | 49 times |
| לָאֵֽל׃ ס | lael | to <the> God | H410 → | 241 times |
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
יֹ֘סִ֤יףhe adds
yosifH3254 →212 times
עַֽל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
חַטָּאת֣וֹsin his
chatatoH2403 →295 times
פֶ֭שַׁעtransgression
fesha'H6588 →93 times
בֵּינֵ֣ינוּbetween us
beineinuH996 →407 times
יִסְפּ֑וֹקhe claps
yispokH5606 →10 times
וְיֶ֖רֶבand he multiplies
veyerevH7235 →227 times
אֲמָרָ֣יוwords his
ʾamaravH561 →49 times
לָאֵֽל׃ סto <the> God
laelH410 →241 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 15:23For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 28:16
Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. You will die this year because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.’”
- 1 Samuel 13:14
But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept the command of the LORD.”
- Leviticus 20:6
Whoever turns to mediums or spiritists to prostitute himself with them, I will also set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.
- Galatians 5:20
idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions,
- Jeremiah 29:32
this is what the LORD says: ‘I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good that I will…
- Jeremiah 28:16
Through
Job 35:16So Job opens his mouth in vain and multiplies words without knowledge.”
it leads to
- Job 38:2
“Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge?
- Job 38:2
Through
Job 27:23It claps its hands at him and hisses him out of his place.
it leads to
- Lamentations 2:15
All who pass by clap their hands at you in scorn. They hiss and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the…
- 1 Kings 9:8
And when this temple has become a heap of rubble, all who pass by it will be appalled and will hiss and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land…
- Lamentations 2:15
About Job
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Job; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXVI; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON JOB 34:36-37; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.