Job 33 Footnotes

33:13 Elihu’s remarks should not be understood as indicating that God is callous, frivolous, or inconsistent in dealing with peoples’ prayers. God is under no obligation to answer prayer but the Bible indicates that he does answer prayers that are in accordance with his will (Jms 5:13-18; 1Pt 3:12). The answer may not be what the petitioner is seeking but it will be that which is best (2Co 12:7-10). Many believers testify to God’s gracious answers to prayer (Ps 34:6).

33:18 Some scholars suggest that this is a mythological allusion to passing through a river into the underworld, where all the departed enter. But this is erroneous. The Scriptures reveal a difference between the state of the saved and unsaved dead (Ps 49:10-15; Lk 16:22-23). The imagery here is a passing through “the river of death” into the grave (the “Pit”).