35:10 But no one says, ‘Where is God, my Creator,
who gives songs in the night, 1
35:11 who teaches us 2 more than 3 the wild animals of the earth,
and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’
35:12 Then 4 they cry out – but he does not answer –
because of the arrogance of the wicked.
1 tn There have been several attempts to emend the line, none of which are particularly helpful or interesting. H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 225) says, “It is a pity to rob Elihu of a poetic line when he creates one.”
2 tn The form in the text, the Piel participle from אָלַף (’alaf, “teach”) is written in a contracted form; the full form is מְאַלְּפֵנוּ (mÿ’allÿfenu).
3 tn Some would render this “teaches us by the beasts.” But Elihu is stressing the unique privilege humans have.
4 tn The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) connects this verse to v. 11. “There” can be locative or temporal – and here it is temporal (= “then”).