Elihu asserts that God 'does not listen to an empty cry' and does not answer 'vanity or emptiness,' suggesting that God responds only to genuine, morally serious prayer. This verse distinguishes between different types of human prayer and cry, suggesting that some prayer is frivolous or morally empty while other prayer is genuine and serious. God responds, Elihu suggests, to substantive prayer rooted in moral seriousness, not to empty complaint or rebellious crying. Elihu implicitly categorizes Job's complaint as empty vanity—complaint without moral substance, rooted in pride rather than genuine need. Yet the verse also raises questions: who determines which prayer is empty and which is substantive? From Elihu's perspective, any prayer that disputes his theology is empty; from Job's perspective, his prayer is rooted in the most profound moral seriousness—the cry of an innocent person against injustice. The verse demonstrates how different parties to a dispute can understand the very nature of speech differently, with each side viewing the other's utterance as empty or insubstantial.

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