Elihu's second speech addresses a wider audience — he calls upon the wise men to listen and judge between his words and Job's. He quotes Job's claim that he is righteous but denied justice, then methodically argues that God cannot be unjust. His argument is structural, not evidential: God governs the entire earth; if God withdrew his spirit, all flesh would perish. Therefore God cannot act with partiality or injustice, because the one who holds all life in his hands has no motive for corruption. God does not need to examine anyone at length — he knows their works and overturns them in a night. He strikes the wicked in open sight, because they turned aside from following him and caused the cry of the poor to reach his ears. When God is silent, who can condemn? When he hides his face, who can see him? Yet he rules over nations and individuals alike. Elihu concludes by calling on Job to submit: if Job has sinned without knowing it, let God teach him; if Job has done wrong, let him repent. The decision is Job's, not Elihu's.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
Elihu's argument in this chapter operates at a different level than the friends' arguments. The friends reasoned backward from suffering to guilt: you suffer, therefore you sinned. Elihu reasons forward from God's nature to God's justice: God governs all things, therefore God cannot be unjust. This is a cosmological argument, not a forensic one. The most powerful section (vv. 14-15) imagines what would happen if God withdrew his spirit from the world — all flesh would expire, all humanity would return to dust. This counterfactual proves God's ongoing sustaining will: the fact that anything exists at all demonstrates that God is actively choosing to sustain life. A God who sustains everything by choice cannot be accused of indifferent injustice. The argument has force, but it also has a blind spot: it proves that God can do justice but does not explain why God's justice sometimes looks like injustice from the human side. Elihu knows this — his conclusion (vv. 31-37) shifts from argumentation to exhortation, urging Job to let God be the teacher rather than the defendant.
Translation Friction
Elihu's quotation of Job in verses 5-6 is more pointed than his previous summary: he now attributes to Job the claim that 'God has taken away my justice' and 'my wound is incurable though I am without transgression.' These are fair paraphrases of Job's actual words (27:2, 6:4, 9:17). But Elihu then adds a charge that is more aggressive: 'What man is like Job, who drinks scorn like water, who walks in company with evildoers?' (vv. 7-8). This is not something Job said — it is Elihu's characterization of the effect of Job's words. By claiming innocence while accusing God, Job has, in Elihu's view, aligned himself with those who mock God. This is a harder edge than Elihu showed in chapter 33, and it raises the question of whether Elihu is beginning to slide into the same condemnation that defeated the three friends. The chapter oscillates between genuine theological insight (vv. 14-15) and rhetorical aggression (vv. 7-8, 36-37), making Elihu a more complex and less sympathetic figure than in his first speech.
Connections
The counterfactual of verses 14-15 (if God withdrew his spirit, all would die) connects to Psalm 104:29-30 ('when you take away their breath, they die and return to dust; when you send forth your spirit, they are created') and to Genesis 2:7 / 3:19 (from dust, to dust). Elihu's assertion that God shows no partiality to princes (v. 19) echoes Deuteronomy 10:17 ('the LORD your God is God of gods, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribe'). The image of God overturning the mighty in a night (v. 25) anticipates Daniel's theology of divine sovereignty over kingdoms (Daniel 2:21, 'he removes kings and sets up kings'). Elihu's final challenge — 'should God repay according to your terms?' (v. 33) — foreshadows God's own challenge to Job in 38:2 and 40:8.
Job 34:1
וַיַּ֥עַן אֱלִיה֗וּא וַיֹּאמַֽר׃
Then Elihu answered and said:
KJV Furthermore Elihu answered and said,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The standard speech-introduction formula. Elihu continues without any indication that Job has responded to the invitation of 33:32-33. Job's silence is itself significant — he does not rebut Elihu as he rebutted the three friends.
Hear my words, you who are wise;
you who have knowledge, listen to me.
KJV Hear my words, O ye wise men; and give ear unto me, ye that have knowledge.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Elihu broadens his audience: shim'u chakhamim ('hear, wise ones'). He is no longer addressing Job alone but appealing to a wider circle of sages — possibly the three friends, possibly a broader assembly, possibly a rhetorical audience. The yode'im ('those who know, the knowledgeable') in the parallel line forms a jury: Elihu wants his case judged by competent minds.
For the ear tests words
as the palate tastes food.
KJV For the ear trieth words, as the mouth tasteth meat.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
This proverb appeared in Job 12:11 in Job's own mouth: 'Does not the ear test words as the palate tastes food?' Elihu either borrows Job's saying or draws from a common wisdom tradition. By using Job's own proverb, Elihu implicitly invites Job to apply his own standard of discernment to what follows.
Let us choose what is just;
let us determine among ourselves what is good.
KJV Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb nivcharah ('let us choose') from bachar implies a deliberate, considered selection — not impulse but judgment. The mishpat ('justice, judgment, right ruling') is the object of choice: Elihu frames the discussion as a collective search for justice. The ned'ah beinenu mah tov ('let us know among ourselves what is good') invites communal discernment. Elihu positions himself not as a dictator of truth but as a participant in a shared inquiry.
For Job has said, 'I am righteous,
but God has taken away my justice.'
KJV For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Elihu quotes Job's two-part claim: tsadaqti ('I am righteous') and El hesir mishpati ('God has removed my justice'). The first part echoes Job 27:6 ('I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go'). The second echoes Job 27:2 ('As God lives, who has taken away my justice'). Elihu accurately captures Job's position: I am innocent, and God has denied me the vindication I deserve.
'Should I lie about my own case?
My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.'
KJV Should I lie against my right? my wound is incurable without transgression.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Elihu continues the quotation. The rhetorical question al mishpati akhazzev ('against my justice should I lie?') paraphrases Job's refusal to recant (27:4-5). The anush chitsi beli fasha ('my arrow-wound is incurable without transgression') captures Job's protest that his suffering (described as an arrow wound, echoing 6:4) has no cause in his behavior. Elihu presents the full force of Job's complaint before attempting to answer it.
What man is like Job,
who drinks scorn like water?
KJV What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The image of drinking scorn like water recurs in Job 15:16 (Eliphaz: 'how much less one who drinks injustice like water'). Elihu may be consciously echoing Eliphaz while applying the image differently — not to humanity in general but to Job specifically. The shift from empathetic interlocutor (ch. 33) to accuser marks a tonal change in Elihu's rhetoric.
He keeps company with workers of evil
and walks alongside wicked men.
KJV Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity, and walketh with wicked men.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb arach ('he travels, he journeys') le-chevrah ('for companionship') im po'alei aven ('with workers of iniquity') accuses Job of ideological companionship with the wicked — not that Job commits evil acts, but that his theology aligns him with those who deny God's justice. The parallel ve-lalekhet im anshei resha ('and to walk with men of wickedness') uses the metaphor of walking together, implying shared direction and shared conclusions. Elihu's argument: by saying 'God denies justice,' Job walks the same road as those who reject God entirely.
For he has said, 'It profits a person nothing
to take delight in God.'
KJV For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb ratsah ('to be pleased with, to take delight in') here describes the human side of the relationship: taking pleasure in God, delighting in obedience. Elihu charges that Job has declared this delight worthless. The same question will be raised more subtly by the Adversary's original challenge in 1:9: 'Does Job fear God for nothing?' Elihu, without knowing it, is revisiting the book's foundational question.
Therefore, you who have understanding, listen to me:
Far be it from God to do wickedness,
far from the Almighty to commit injustice.
KJV Therefore hearken unto me ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
חָלִלָהchalilah
"far be it"—profanation, abomination, 'God forbid,' an expression of moral impossibility or outraged rejection
chalilah is the Hebrew Bible's strongest way of saying 'this must never be thought, let alone said.' It appears in Genesis 18:25 on Abraham's lips ('far be it from you to do such a thing — to kill the righteous with the wicked') and in 1 Samuel 26:11 ('the LORD forbid that I should put out my hand against the LORD's anointed'). Elihu uses it as the foundation of his entire argument: divine injustice is not merely unlikely but conceptually impossible.
Translator Notes
The word chalilah derives from chalal ('to profane, to defile'). To say that God commits evil is to profane God — it violates the sacred nature of divinity itself. Elihu's argument is that Job's accusation is not merely incorrect but sacrilegious. This is stronger language than the friends used, but it rests on a different foundation: the friends accused Job of sin; Elihu accuses Job of theological error.
For he repays a person according to their deeds
and makes everyone find what their path deserves.
KJV For the work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find according to his ways.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The positive statement of divine justice: fo'al adam yeshallem lo ('a person's work he repays to him'). The verb shillem ('to repay, to complete, to make whole') implies exact correspondence between action and consequence. The parallel u-khe-orach ish yamtsi'ennu ('and according to a person's path he causes him to find') uses the metaphor of a road: the path you walk leads to the destination you reach. Elihu states retribution theology in its simplest form. The question, which Elihu does not fully address, is what to do when the evidence contradicts this principle — as it does in Job's case.
Truly, God does not act wickedly,
and the Almighty does not pervert justice.
KJV Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The af omnam ('truly indeed, most certainly') is emphatic: El lo yarshi'a ('God does not act wickedly') uses the Hiphil of rasha — God does not cause wickedness, does not practice it, does not produce it. The parallel ve-Shaddai lo ye'avvet mishpat ('and the Almighty does not twist justice') uses the verb ivvet ('to twist, to pervert, to make crooked') — the same verb Bildad used in 8:3. Elihu and Bildad agree on this point, but Elihu will ground it differently: not in tradition but in cosmology.
Who entrusted him with the earth?
Who appointed him over the whole world?
KJV Who hath given him a charge over the earth? or who hath disposed the whole world?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb paqad ('to appoint, to charge, to visit, to attend to') is rich with meaning — it can mean appointing someone to a task, visiting someone for judgment, or entrusting someone with responsibility. The rhetorical answer to both questions is 'no one' — God is self-appointed, self-authorized, and self-sustained.
If God set his heart on it,
if he gathered his spirit and his breath back to himself —
KJV If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The pairing of ruach and neshamah echoes 33:4 and 32:8, creating a thematic chain: the spirit that gives Elihu authority to speak (32:8), that gives him life (33:4), could be withdrawn at any moment (34:14). Elihu's wisdom, his very existence, depends moment by moment on God's choice to sustain it.
all flesh would perish together,
and humanity would return to dust.
KJV All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
This is arguably the most theologically sophisticated moment in the Elihu speeches. The argument is not 'God is powerful and you should fear him' but 'God actively sustains all life by choice, and the continuation of existence is itself evidence of divine care.' This anticipates the theology of Paul in Acts 17:28 ('in him we live and move and have our being') and Colossians 1:17 ('in him all things hold together').
If you have understanding, hear this;
listen to the sound of my words.
KJV If now thou hast understanding, hear this: hearken to the voice of my words.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Elihu pauses for emphasis: ve-im binah ('and if understanding') shim'ah zot ('hear this'). He is about to shift from cosmological argument to political theology — applying the principle of divine justice to the governance of nations and rulers. The ha'azinah le-qol millay ('give ear to the voice of my words') is a formal demand for attention, signaling that a new section of the argument begins.
Can one who hates justice govern?
Will you condemn the Righteous and Mighty One?
KJV Shall even he that hateth right govern? and wilt thou condemn him that is most just?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The word kabbir ('mighty, powerful, great') is rare, appearing mainly in Job. It describes God's overwhelming power combined with righteousness. Elihu's rhetorical question assumes that power and justice are inseparable in God — an assumption Job would challenge by pointing to his own experience.
Does one say to a king, 'Worthless one!'?
Or to nobles, 'Wicked!'?
KJV Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Elihu argues from lesser to greater: ha-amor le-melekh beliyya'al ('does one say to a king, worthless?'). Even human kings are not addressed with such contempt. The beliyya'al ('worthless, wicked, useless') is one of the harshest terms in Hebrew — it will later become a name for the ultimate adversary (Belial). If you would not say this to a human king, how much less to the divine King? The rasha el nedivim ('wicked to nobles') extends the point: you do not accuse rulers of wickedness to their faces. Job, in Elihu's view, has done exactly this to God.
How much less the One who shows no favoritism to princes
and does not prefer the rich over the poor —
for they are all the work of his hands.
KJV How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase ma'aseh yadav ('the work of his hands') echoes Psalm 8:7 and Isaiah 64:7. Elihu's logic is: favoritism requires that some people matter more than others to the judge. But if the judge made all of them, no one has a prior claim on his attention. God's impartiality flows from his role as universal Creator.
In a moment they die.
At midnight people are shaken — they pass away.
The mighty are removed, not by human hands.
KJV In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verse describes divine judgment on the powerful: rega yamuthu ('in an instant they die') — death comes without warning. The va-chatsot lailah ('and at midnight') yigo'ashu am ('the people are shaken') echoes the tenth plague in Egypt (Exodus 12:29), when at midnight God struck down the firstborn. The ve-yasiru abbir lo ve-yad ('and they remove the mighty not by a hand') — the mighty are swept away without any visible human agency. God's justice operates directly, without intermediaries, without armies, without visible mechanism.
For his eyes are on the ways of every person,
and he sees all their steps.
KJV For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The basis of divine judgment: ki einav al darkhei ish ('for his eyes are upon a person's ways'). God's vision is total — ve-khol tse'adav yireh ('and all his steps he sees'). Every movement, every decision, every path is observed. This answers Job's complaint that God is not paying attention (24:1): God sees everything. The question Job raises — then why does God not act? — is one Elihu addresses in the verses that follow.
There is no darkness, no deep shadow,
where workers of evil can hide.
KJV There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The ein choshekh ve-ein tsalmaveth ('there is no darkness and no death-shadow') lehissater sham po'alei aven ('for workers of iniquity to hide there'). The choshekh and tsalmaveth that Job invoked as a refuge (3:5, 10:21-22) are declared insufficient as hiding places from God. The verb hissater ('to hide oneself') from satar implies deliberate concealment — but no darkness is deep enough to escape God's vision. This counters Job's implicit suggestion that God cannot see what happens in the dark corners of the world.
He does not need to examine a person further
for them to come before God in judgment.
KJV For he will not lay upon man more than right; that he should enter into judgment with God.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
A difficult verse. The ki lo al ish yasim od ('for he does not place upon a person further') may mean: God does not need additional time or evidence to render judgment. The lahalokh el El ba-mishpat ('to go to God in judgment') suggests that the judicial process does not require prolonged investigation. God's knowledge is immediate and complete. The verse may also mean: God does not impose on anyone more than is right — he does not need to burden people with excessive scrutiny because he already knows everything.
He shatters the mighty without investigation
and sets others in their place.
KJV He shall break in pieces mighty men without number, and set others in their stead.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb yaro'a ('he shatters, he breaks') kabbirim ('mighty ones') lo cheqer ('without investigation, without limit') — God removes the powerful without needing a formal inquiry. His knowledge is already complete (v. 21). The parallel vayyaa'amed acherim tachtam ('and he stations others in their place') describes the replacement of rulers — one regime falls, another rises, all by divine action. This anticipates Daniel's theology of divine sovereignty over kingdoms.
Therefore he knows their deeds;
he overturns them in the night, and they are crushed.
KJV Therefore he knoweth their works, and he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The laken yakkir ma'badeihem ('therefore he recognizes their works') — God's knowledge of human deeds is the basis for judgment. The ve-hafakh lailah ('and he overturns in the night') — the reversal comes suddenly, under cover of darkness, without warning. The ve-yiddakke'u ('and they are crushed') from daka ('to crush, to be pulverized') describes total destruction. Elihu's image of nighttime overthrow echoes the fall of Babylon (Isaiah 21:4, Daniel 5:30) and the Egyptian plague.
Job 34:26
תַּ֣חַת רְ֭שָׁעִים סְפָקָ֑ם בִּמְק֖וֹם רֹאִֽים׃
He strikes them down for their wickedness
in a place where all can see —
KJV He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others;
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The tachat resha'im ('in the place of wicked ones' or 'because of their wickedness') sefaqam ('he slaps them, he strikes them'). The verb safaq ('to slap, to strike, to clap') implies public humiliation — not secret judgment but open shaming. The bimqom ro'im ('in a place of observers, in the sight of onlookers') makes the judgment visible. God's justice, when it comes, is not hidden but public, serving as both punishment and warning.
because they turned away from following him
and gave no thought to any of his ways,
KJV Because they turned back from him, and would not consider any of his ways:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The reason for the public judgment: asher al ken saru me-acharav ('because they turned aside from after him') — they abandoned God's path. The ve-khol derakhav lo hiskilu ('and all his ways they did not consider') uses hiskil ('to consider, to understand, to act wisely') — they did not even attempt to understand God's requirements. Their sin was not mere failure but deliberate indifference.
so that the cry of the poor reached him,
and he heard the cry of the afflicted.
KJV So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The tsa'aqah ('cry') is the Exodus word: when the oppressed cry out, God hears and acts. Elihu places God's justice in the framework of exodus theology: God is the liberator of the oppressed, and the oppressor's downfall is certain even if delayed.
When he is silent, who can condemn?
When he hides his face, who can see him? —
whether over a nation or over a single person.
KJV When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb yashqit ('he is quiet, he gives rest') from shaqat can mean both 'to be silent' and 'to give rest/peace.' Elihu may be saying: when God gives peace, who can make trouble? Or: when God is silent, who can condemn him? The ambiguity is likely intentional — both meanings are theologically valid.
Job 34:30
מִ֭מְּלֹךְ אָדָ֣ם חָנֵ֑ף מִמֹּ֥קְשֵׁ֥י עָֽם׃
so that a godless person does not reign,
so that the people are not ensnared.
KJV That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The purpose of divine intervention in governance: mi-melokh adam chanef ('from the reigning of a godless person'). God acts to prevent chanef ('godless, profane, hypocritical') rulers from holding power. The mi-moqeshei am ('from the snares of the people') — God prevents the population from being trapped by corrupt leadership. Elihu's political theology: God is active behind the scenes of human governance, removing tyrants and preventing the enslavement of the people.
For has anyone said to God,
'I have borne my punishment — I will offend no more'?
KJV Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Elihu shifts to exhortation. The ki el El he-amar ('for to God has [anyone] said') nasati ('I have borne, I have carried') lo echbol ('I will not act corruptly') — this is the response Elihu thinks Job should give: an acknowledgment of suffering received and a commitment to further obedience. The verse is textually difficult; some read it as a statement ('surely one should say to God') and others as a question ('has anyone said to God?').
'What I cannot see, teach me.
If I have done wrong, I will do it no more.'
KJV That which I see not teach thou me: if I have done iniquity, I will do no more.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The ideal response continues: bil'adei echezeh ('apart from what I see, beyond my sight') attah horeni ('you teach me'). The confession is: my vision is limited; show me what I cannot see on my own. The conditional im avel pa'alti ('if I have committed injustice') lo osif ('I will not continue') — if shown specific wrongdoing, the person commits to repentance. Elihu models the prayer Job should pray: one that acknowledges limited understanding and submits to divine instruction.
Should God repay on your terms, since you reject his?
You must choose — not I.
So speak what you know.
KJV Should it be according to thy mind? he will recompense it, whether thou refuse, or whether thou choose; and not I: therefore speak what thou knowest.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
This verse is among the most difficult in Job to translate. The Hebrew is compressed and ambiguous. The general sense is clear: Elihu challenges Job to either accept God's terms or articulate a better alternative. The phrase ve-lo ani ('and not I') distances Elihu from the decision — he is facilitator, not judge.
People of understanding will say to me,
and every wise person who hears me will agree:
KJV Let men of understanding tell me, and let a wise man hearken unto me.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Elihu appeals to his wider audience: anshei levav ('people of heart/understanding') yomeru li ('will say to me') — the wise will confirm his argument. The ve-gever chakham shome'a li ('and a wise man listening to me') reinforces the appeal: wisdom recognizes wisdom. Elihu is confident that competent judges will rule in his favor.
'Job speaks without knowledge,
and his words lack insight.'
KJV Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verdict Elihu expects from the wise: Iyov lo veda'at yedabber ('Job speaks not with knowledge'). The u-devarav lo vehaskeil ('and his words are not with understanding'). This is a blunt assessment, but it is also a quotation of what Elihu thinks the wise will say — he attributes the verdict to them rather than pronouncing it himself. The words lo veda'at ('without knowledge') will be echoed almost exactly by God in 38:2 ('who is this who darkens counsel with words without knowledge?'), suggesting that Elihu's diagnosis, if not his prescription, is correct.
Would that Job were tested to the limit
for answering like men of wickedness!
KJV My desire is that Job may be tried unto the end because of his answers for wicked men.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
This is Elihu's harshest verse. The avi ('my father' or 'my wish, would that') yibbachen Iyov ('let Job be tested') ad netsach ('to the end, to the limit, forever') — Elihu wishes prolonged testing on Job. The al teshuvot be-anshei aven ('because of answers among men of wickedness') accuses Job of speaking like the wicked. This outburst has troubled commentators who see Elihu as a mediating figure — here he sounds more like the friends at their worst. Some scholars read avi as 'my father' (an invocation of God) rather than 'my wish,' softening it to a prayer rather than a curse.
For he adds rebellion to his sin;
he claps his hands in scorn among us
and multiplies his words against God.
KJV For he addeth rebellion unto his sin, he clappeth his hands among us, and multiplieth his words against God.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Elihu's closing accusation: ki yosif al chattato ('for he adds to his sin') fesha ('rebellion') — Job's initial suffering may not have been caused by sin, but his response to it (accusing God) compounds the problem. The beinenu yispoq ('among us he claps') — the clapping of hands is a gesture of mockery or contempt (Lamentations 2:15, Nahum 3:19). The ve-yerev amarav la-El ('and he multiplies his words against God') is the final charge: Job talks too much against God. Elihu ends his second speech on a note of frustration, having moved from empathetic engagement (ch. 33) to outright exasperation. His argument that God cannot be unjust is theologically sound; his characterization of Job's response as mockery and rebellion is less defensible.