And when they cry out, God does not answer because of their pride.
Parallel translations
- WEB There they cry, but no one gives answer, because of the pride of evil men.
- KJV There they cry, but none giveth answer, because of the pride of evil men.
- BSB There they cry out, but He does not answer, because of the pride of evil men.
- NKJV There they cry out, but He does not answer, Because of the pride of evil men.
- NASB “There they cry out, but He does not answer Because of the pride of evil people.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
They cry out but receive no answer because of the pride of evil men. Unrepentant pride hinders the cry from being heard.
Overview
Elihu explains that some cries go unanswered because they rise from proud and evil hearts rather than humble seeking of God. This is not that God cannot hear, but that empty, arrogant cries do not seek Him rightly. Scripture affirms that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6), a humility the gospel produces in those who come to Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Prov 1:28Then will they call on me, but I will not answer. They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me;
- John 9:31We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God, and does his will, he listens to him.
- Ps 123:3–4Have mercy on us, Yahweh, have mercy on us, for we have endured much contempt.
- Isa 14:14–17I will ascend above the heights of the clouds! I will make myself like the Most High!”
- Ps 18:41They cried, but there was no one to save; even to Yahweh, but he didn’t answer them.
- Ps 73:6–8Therefore pride is like a chain around their neck. Violence covers them like a garment.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 35:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.