What is the meaning of Job 34:26?

He strikes them

Elihu points squarely to God as the One acting: “He strikes….”

• The verb paints God as active, not passive. Psalm 94:1–2 calls Him the “God of vengeance… Rise up, O Judge of the earth.”

• Earlier in the chapter Elihu insists, “Surely God will never do wrong; the Almighty will never pervert justice” (Job 34:12). When He strikes, it is always righteous.

• Deuteronomy 32:39 reminds us, “There is no god besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal.”

• This blow is never random. Proverbs 11:21 assures, “Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished.”

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for their wickedness

God’s judgment has a clear target: sin.

• Sin provokes His action—not personal whim, not cosmic mood swings. As Romans 2:5-6 says, He “will repay each one according to his deeds.”

• Job 34:10 has already declared, “Far be it from God to do wickedness, and from the Almighty to do wrong.” By definition, then, His strike must be deserved.

• Consider Korah’s rebellion (Numbers 16:30-35). The earth swallowed the rebels “so that you will understand that these men have treated the LORD with contempt.” God’s strike exposed the true nature of their wickedness.

• Wickedness carries its own boomerang effect: “His own iniquities entrap the wicked man” (Proverbs 5:22-23). God’s blow often arrives through the very evil people choose.

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in full view

The judgment is not hidden.

• Elihu stresses public exposure. “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight” (Hebrews 4:13), and sometimes He lets everyone else see it too.

• Pharaoh’s Egypt felt ten plagues “so that My name may be proclaimed in all the earth” (Exodus 9:16).

• Ananias and Sapphira were struck down “and great fear came upon the whole church” (Acts 5:11). Open judgment warns others and vindicates God’s holiness.

• 1 Timothy 5:24 notes, “The sins of some men are obvious, leading them to judgment,” capturing this principle precisely.

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summary

Job 34:26 underscores three timeless truths: God Himself executes justice, He does so because of real wickedness, and He sometimes makes that justice unmistakably public. The verse comforts the righteous—evil will not escape—and cautions the wicked—no corner is dark enough to hide from the Judge who sees all.