God 'strikes them for their wickedness' in a way that is visible and public, 'in the sight of onlookers,' suggesting that divine punishment is manifest and evident. This verse adds a dimension of publicness to divine justice, suggesting that God's punishment is not hidden but observable, presumably so that observers might learn from the punishment of the wicked. The image of striking 'in the sight of onlookers' suggests that divine justice operates as a kind of public spectacle or demonstration, designed to teach moral lessons to those who witness it. Elihu uses this claim to suggest that justice is not obscure but manifest, yet Job's case again presents a problem: Job's suffering has not been a public spectacle of obvious punishment, and observers have been confused rather than instructed about what divine lesson his suffering might convey. The verse reveals an assumption in Elihu's theology that divine justice is transparent and readable, an assumption that Job's suffering fundamentally challenges by presenting a situation in which the connection between conduct and consequence is precisely not evident to onlookers.

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