Surely God does not hear an empty cry, nor does the Almighty regard it.
English Standard Version (ESV)
What's easy to miss here is that "vanity" doesn't just mean empty or hollow. It refers to prayers offered by those who lack sincerity, faith, or humility, especially when they're crying out selfishly rather than genuinely seeking God. God doesn't ignore cries of distress, but He does withhold His attention from prayers that are fundamentally flawed in their intent or the spirit from which they arise.
Surely God does not hear an empty cry, nor does the Almighty regard it.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Elihu is responding to Job’s frustration that God seems deaf to his suffering. Elihu argues that God doesn’t hear empty or insincere cries, suggesting that Job’s complaints, while passionate, might lack the humility and sincerity required for God to truly listen and act. This verse sets up Elihu's assertion that people's own attitudes and actions can hinder God's response to their prayers.
Does God really not hear some cries? Elihu argues that prayers can be 'vain,' not because God is deaf, but because of the state of the one praying.
Elihu's point in Job 35:13 isn't that God is unwilling to listen, but that certain types of prayers He doesn't 'regard' or pay attention to. He calls these 'vain' cries.
What Makes a Prayer 'Vain'?
Elihu says God doesn't just 'not hear' these cries; He doesn't 'regard' them. What does this active disregard mean?
The word 'regard' here suggests more than just passively not hearing. It implies a deliberate turning away, a refusal to look upon or pay attention.
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Why the Disregard?
Elihu's argument, especially in the context of Job's suffering and his friends' counsel, is that God does respond to genuine cries. However, He cannot, in His perfect justice and holiness, simply ignore prayers that are:
Elihu believes that God's very nature—being pure and just—means He cannot look favorably upon or give weight to pleas that are fundamentally flawed in their source or intent.
Understand the original words
šadday · Hebrew Noun
A designation for God (Shaddai) that emphasizes His absolute power, sovereignty, and sufficiency to judge or provide. It acknowledges that He is the ultimate authority before whom all creation must bow.
This passage echoes the sentiment by stating that if we ask anything according to God's will, He hears us, implying that prayers not aligned with His will, or offered with impure motives, may not be heard.
Psalm 66:18This verse explicitly states, 'If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened,' directly linking the absence of God's attention to the presence of sin or unrighteousness in the one praying.
James 1:6-7This passage warns against asking with doubt, comparing the person to a 'wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind,' suggesting that prayers lacking sincerity or faith are unlikely to receive anything from the Lord, similar to 'vain' cries.
Isaiah 58:9Here, God promises to hear prayers 'before they call,' but this is preceded by a description of righteous living, implying that a life of obedience and justice is a prerequisite for effective prayer, contrasting with the 'vain' cries mentioned in Job.
wesleyJob 35:13: "Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it."
35:13 Vanity - Vain persons, that have no wisdom or piety in them.
ellicottJob 35:13: "Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it."
(13) God will not hear vanity. —Some understand this as part of the cry in Job 35:12 : “Seeing it is all in vain, God doth not hear, neither doth the Almighty regard it.”
What's easy to miss here is that "vanity" doesn't just mean empty or hollow. It refers to prayers offered by those who lack sincerity, faith, or humility, especially when they're crying out selfishly rather than genuinely seeking God. God doesn't ignore cries of distress, but He does withhold His attention from prayers that are fundamentally flawed in their intent or the spirit from which they arise.
Elihu is responding to Job’s frustration that God seems deaf to his suffering. Elihu argues that God doesn’t hear empty or insincere cries, suggesting that Job’s complaints, while passionate, might lack the humility and sincerity required for God to truly listen and act. This verse sets up Elihu's assertion that people's own attitudes and actions can hinder God's response to their prayers.
Elihu is responding to Job’s frustration that God seems deaf to his suffering. Elihu argues that God doesn’t hear empty or insincere cries, suggesting that Job’s complaints, while passionate, might lack the humility and sincerity required for God to truly listen and act. This verse sets up Elihu's assertion that people's own attitudes and actions can hinder God's response to their prayers.
"Surely God does not hear an empty cry, nor does the Almighty regard it." — What's easy to miss here is that "vanity" doesn't just mean empty or hollow. It refers to prayers offered by those who lack sincerity, faith, or humility, especially when they're crying out selfishly…
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Last reviewed October 2026