God 'declares to them their work and their transgression, because they have acted proudly,' suggesting that affliction functions to reveal to people their own wrongdoing. This verse specifies the pedagogical purpose of affliction: it teaches by revealing sin and pride that the sufferer might not otherwise recognize. God uses affliction as a mirror, showing people their own faults so they can repent and reform. The verse implies that affliction is often sent in response to hidden pride or transgression that the sufferer fails to recognize voluntarily. Yet the verse also raises a profound question for Job: if Job's affliction is sent to reveal his sin and pride, and Job genuinely does not perceive such sin, then either Job is deceived about himself or Elihu is wrong about the purpose of Job's affliction. The verse provides no mechanism for distinguishing between a genuine case of hidden sin revealed through affliction and a case of unjust suffering in which the sufferer correctly perceives their innocence.

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