Job

Job

Book Outhne

Key theme: God’s goodness in the face of suffering

Key verses: ,

I. Job’s Distress ()

A. His prosperity ()

B. His adversity (loss of wealth, family, and health) ()

C. His perplexity ()

II. Job’s Defense ()

A. The first round ()

1. Eliphaz (); Job’s reply ()

2. Bildad (); Job’s reply ()

3. Zophar (); Job’s reply ()

B. The second round ()

1. Eliphaz (); Job’s reply ()

2. Bildad (); Job’s reply ()

3. Zophar (); Job’s reply ()

C. The third round ()

1. Eliphaz (); Job’s reply ()

2. Bildad (); Job’s reply ()

3. Elihu ()

III. Job’s Deliverance ()

A. God humbles Job ()

B. God honors Job ()

1. God rebukes his critics ()

2. God restores his wealth ()

Book Overview

You have heard of the perseverance of Job” (). Yes, many people have heard about Job and his trials; but not many people understand what those trials were all about and what God was trying to accomplish. Nor do they realize that Job suffered as he did so that God’s people today might learn from his experiences how to be patient in suffering and endure to the end.

You, too, may have to go through the furnace in order to really grasp the message of the Book of Job. If so, don’t be afraid. By faith, just say with Job, “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold” (). Gold fears no fire. Whatever we have that is burned up in the furnace wasn’t worth having anyway.

Job’s trials were not easy. Not only was he crushed by grief in the loss of practically all of his family and worldly goods, he also had to cope with friends who chose to comfort him by confronting him. They were convinced that he was experiencing the severe consequences of sin. If Job would simply realize where he had gone wrong, he could make things right with God, they asserted. They couldn’t imagine any other explanation for bad things happening than that God was punishing Job. Jesus’ disciples had the same assumptions when they asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (). Jesus’ answer applies to Job’s experience: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him” ().

As you study the Book of Job, two things most likely will be accomplished in your life: You will learn to be patient in your own trials, and you will learn how to help others in their trials. Your world is filled with people who need encouragement, and God may be preparing you for just that ministry.

The Book of Job is not religious fiction. Job was a real person, not an imaginary character; both Ezekiel (, ) and James () attest to that., because he was a real man who had real experiences, Job can tell us what we need to know about life and its problems in this real world.

“Be Transformed”

Job’s difficult story does have a good ending. But we must not misinterpret his experience and conclude that every trial will end with all problems solved, all hard feelings forgiven, and everybody “living happily ever after.” Life doesn’t always happen that way! The conclusion of Job’s story assures us that, no matter what happens to us, God always writes the last chapter; therefore, we don’t have to be afraid. We can trust God to do what is right, no matter how painful our situation might be.

Job’s greatest blessing, however, was not the regaining of his health and wealth or the rebuilding of his family and circle of friends. It was in knowing God better and understanding His working in a deeper way. As James wrote, “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful” (). And Hebrews reminds us, “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” ().

No matter what God permits to come into our lives, He always has His afterword. He writes the last chapter—and that makes the story worth it all. So be patient along the way.

Job and His Family in Uz

2And seven sons and three daughters were born to him.

3Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.

4And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

Satan Attacks Job’s Character

7And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”

9So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing?

11“But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”

Job Loses His Property and Children

13Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house;

14and a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them,

15“when the Sabeans raided them and took them away—indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

16While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

17While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

18While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

19“and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,

And naked shall I return there.

The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;

Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

22In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.

Satan Attacks Job’s Health

2And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”

3Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.”

4So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.

5“But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”

6And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.”

8And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.

Job’s Three Friends

12And when they raised their eyes from afar, and did not recognize him, they lifted their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe and sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven.

13So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.

Job Deplores His Birth

2And Job spoke, and said:

3“May the day perish on which I was born,

And the night in which it was said,

‘A male child is conceived.’

4May that day be darkness;

May God above not seek it,

Nor the light shine upon it.

May a cloud settle on it;

May the blackness of the day terrify it.

6As for that night, may darkness seize it;

May it not rejoice among the days of the year,

May it not come into the number of the months.

7Oh, may that night be barren!

May no joyful shout come into it!

8May those curse it who curse the day,

Those who are ready to arouse Leviathan.

9May the stars of its morning be dark;

May it look for light, but have none,

And not see the dawning of the day;

10Because it did not shut up the doors of my mother’s womb,

Nor hide sorrow from my eyes.

Why did I not perish when I came from the womb?

12Why did the knees receive me?

Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?

13For now I would have lain still and been quiet,

I would have been asleep;

Then I would have been at rest

14With kings and counselors of the earth,

Who built ruins for themselves,

15Or with princes who had gold,

Who filled their houses with silver;

Like infants who never saw light?

17There the wicked cease from troubling,

And there the weary are at rest.

18There the prisoners rest together;

They do not hear the voice of the oppressor.

19The small and great are there,

And the servant is free from his master.

20“Why is light given to him who is in misery,

And life to the bitter of soul,

21Who long for death, but it does not come,

And search for it more than hidden treasures;

22Who rejoice exceedingly,

And are glad when they can find the grave?

23Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,

And whom God has hedged in?

24For my sighing comes before I eat,

And my groanings pour out like water.

25For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me,

And what I dreaded has happened to me.

26I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;

I have no rest, for trouble comes.”

Eliphaz: Job Has Sinned

2“If one attempts a word with you, will you become weary?

But who can withhold himself from speaking?

3Surely you have instructed many,

And you have strengthened weak hands.

4Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,

And you have strengthened the feeble knees;

It touches you, and you are troubled.

6Is not your reverence your confidence?

And the integrity of your ways your hope?

Or where were the upright ever cut off?

8Even as I have seen,

Those who plow iniquity

And sow trouble reap the same.

9By the blast of God they perish,

And by the breath of His anger they are consumed.

10The roaring of the lion,

The voice of the fierce lion,

And the teeth of the young lions are broken.

11The old lion perishes for lack of prey,

And the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

And my ear received a whisper of it.

13In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night,

When deep sleep falls on men,

14Fear came upon me, and trembling,

Which made all my bones shake.

15Then a spirit passed before my face;

The hair on my body stood up.

But I could not discern its appearance.

A form was before my eyes;

There was silence;

Then I heard a voice saying:

17‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?

Can a man be more pure than his Maker?

If He charges His angels with error,

19How much more those who dwell in houses of clay,

Whose foundation is in the dust,

Who are crushed before a moth?

20They are broken in pieces from morning till evening;

They perish forever, with no one regarding.

21Does not their own excellence go away?

They die, even without wisdom.’

Eliphaz: Job Is Chastened by God

Is there anyone who will answer you?

And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

2For wrath kills a foolish man,

And envy slays a simple one.

3I have seen the foolish taking root,

But suddenly I cursed his dwelling place.

4His sons are far from safety,

They are crushed in the gate,

And there is no deliverer.

5Because the hungry eat up his harvest,

Taking it even from the thorns,

And a snare snatches their substance.

6For affliction does not come from the dust,

Nor does trouble spring from the ground;

7Yet man is born to trouble,

As the sparks fly upward.

And to God I would commit my cause—

9Who does great things, and unsearchable,

Marvelous things without number.

10He gives rain on the earth,

And sends waters on the fields.

11He sets on high those who are lowly,

And those who mourn are lifted to safety.

12He frustrates the devices of the crafty,

So that their hands cannot carry out their plans.

13He catches the wise in their own craftiness,

And the counsel of the cunning comes quickly upon them.

14They meet with darkness in the daytime,

And grope at noontime as in the night.

15But He saves the needy from the sword,

From the mouth of the mighty,

And from their hand.

16So the poor have hope,

And injustice shuts her mouth.

Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.

18For He bruises, but He binds up;

He wounds, but His hands make whole.

19He shall deliver you in six troubles,

Yes, in seven no evil shall touch you.

20In famine He shall redeem you from death,

And in war from the power of the sword.

21You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,

And you shall not be afraid of destruction when it comes.

22You shall laugh at destruction and famine,

And you shall not be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

23For you shall have a covenant with the stones of the field,

And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.

24You shall know that your tent is in peace;

You shall visit your dwelling and find nothing amiss.

25You shall also know that your descendants shall be many,

And your offspring like the grass of the earth.

26You shall come to the grave at a full age,

As a sheaf of grain ripens in its season.

It is true.

Hear it, and know for yourself.”

Job: My Complaint Is Just

2“Oh, that my grief were fully weighed,

And my calamity laid with it on the scales!

3For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea—

Therefore my words have been rash.

4For the arrows of the Almighty are within me;

My spirit drinks in their poison;

The terrors of God are arrayed against me.

5Does the wild donkey bray when it has grass,

Or does the ox low over its fodder?

6Can flavorless food be eaten without salt?

Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

7My soul refuses to touch them;

They are as loathsome food to me.

8“Oh, that I might have my request,

That God would grant me the thing that I long for!

9That it would please God to crush me,

That He would loose His hand and cut me off!

10Then I would still have comfort;

Though in anguish I would exult,

He will not spare;

For I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.

11“What strength do I have, that I should hope?

And what is my end, that I should prolong my life?

12Is my strength the strength of stones?

Or is my flesh bronze?

13Is my help not within me?

And is success driven from me?

14“To him who is afflicted, kindness should be shown by his friend,

Even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

15My brothers have dealt deceitfully like a brook,

Like the streams of the brooks that pass away,

16Which are dark because of the ice,

And into which the snow vanishes.

17When it is warm, they cease to flow;

When it is hot, they vanish from their place.

18The paths of their way turn aside,

They go nowhere and perish.

19The caravans of Tema look,

The travelers of Sheba hope for them.

20They are disappointed because they were confident;

They come there and are confused.

21For now you are nothing,

You see terror and are afraid.

22Did I ever say, ‘Bring something to me’?

Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth’?

23Or, ‘Deliver me from the enemy’s hand’?

Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of oppressors’?

Cause me to understand wherein I have erred.

25How forceful are right words!

But what does your arguing prove?

26Do you intend to rebuke my words,

And the speeches of a desperate one, which are as wind?

27Yes, you overwhelm the fatherless,

And you undermine your friend.

28Now therefore, be pleased to look at me;

For I would never lie to your face.

29Yield now, let there be no injustice!

Yes, concede, my righteousness still stands!

30Is there injustice on my tongue?

Cannot my taste discern the unsavory?

Job: My Suffering Is Comfortless

Are not his days also like the days of a hired man?

2Like a servant who earnestly desires the shade,

And like a hired man who eagerly looks for his wages,

3So I have been allotted months of futility,

And wearisome nights have been appointed to me.

4When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise,

And the night be ended?’

For I have had my fill of tossing till dawn.

5My flesh is caked with worms and dust,

My skin is cracked and breaks out afresh.

And are spent without hope.

7Oh, remember that my life is a breath!

My eye will never again see good.

8The eye of him who sees me will see me no more;

While your eyes are upon me, I shall no longer be.

9As the cloud disappears and vanishes away,

So he who goes down to the grave does not come up.

10He shall never return to his house,

Nor shall his place know him anymore.

11“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;

I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;

I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

12Am I a sea, or a sea serpent,

That You set a guard over me?

13When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,

My couch will ease my complaint,’

14Then You scare me with dreams

And terrify me with visions,

15So that my soul chooses strangling

And death rather than my body.

16I loathe my life;

I would not live forever.

Let me alone,

For my days are but a breath.

17“What is man, that You should exalt him,

That You should set Your heart on him,

18That You should visit him every morning,

And test him every moment?

19How long?

Will You not look away from me,

And let me alone till I swallow my saliva?

What have I done to You, O watcher of men?

Why have You set me as Your target,

So that I am a burden to myself?

21Why then do You not pardon my transgression,

And take away my iniquity?

For now I will lie down in the dust,

And You will seek me diligently,

But I will no longer be.”

Bildad: Job Should Repent

2“How long will you speak these things,

And the words of your mouth be like a strong wind?

3Does God subvert judgment?

Or does the Almighty pervert justice?

4If your sons have sinned against Him,

He has cast them away for their transgression.

And make your supplication to the Almighty,

6If you were pure and upright,

Surely now He would awake for you,

And prosper your rightful dwelling place.

7Though your beginning was small,

Yet your latter end would increase abundantly.

And consider the things discovered by their fathers;

9For we were born yesterday, and know nothing,

Because our days on earth are a shadow.

10Will they not teach you and tell you,

And utter words from their heart?

Can the reeds flourish without water?

12While it is yet green and not cut down,

It withers before any other plant.

13So are the paths of all who forget God;

And the hope of the hypocrite shall perish,

14Whose confidence shall be cut off,

And whose trust is a spider’s web.

15He leans on his house, but it does not stand.

He holds it fast, but it does not endure.

And his branches spread out in his garden.

17His roots wrap around the rock heap,

And look for a place in the stones.

18If he is destroyed from his place,

Then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have not seen you.’

19“Behold, this is the joy of His way,

And out of the earth others will grow.

20Behold, God will not cast away the blameless,

Nor will He uphold the evildoers.

21He will yet fill your mouth with laughing,

And your lips with rejoicing.

22Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,

And the dwelling place of the wicked will come to nothing.”

Job: There Is No Mediator

2“Truly I know it is so,

But how can a man be righteous before God?

3If one wished to contend with Him,

He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.

4God is wise in heart and mighty in strength.

Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?

When He overturns them in His anger;

6He shakes the earth out of its place,

And its pillars tremble;

7He commands the sun, and it does not rise;

He seals off the stars;

8He alone spreads out the heavens,

And treads on the waves of the sea;

9He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,

And the chambers of the south;

10He does great things past finding out,

Yes, wonders without number.

If He moves past, I do not perceive Him;

12If He takes away, who can hinder Him?

Who can say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’

13God will not withdraw His anger,

The allies of the proud lie prostrate beneath Him.

And choose my words to reason with Him?

15For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him;

I would beg mercy of my Judge.

16If I called and He answered me,

I would not believe that He was listening to my voice.

17For He crushes me with a tempest,

And multiplies my wounds without cause.

18He will not allow me to catch my breath,

But fills me with bitterness.

19If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong;

And if of justice, who will appoint my day in court?

Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse.

21“I am blameless, yet I do not know myself;

I despise my life.

22It is all one thing;

Therefore I say, ‘He destroys the blameless and the wicked.’

23If the scourge slays suddenly,

He laughs at the plight of the innocent.

24The earth is given into the hand of the wicked.

He covers the faces of its judges.

If it is not He, who else could it be?

They flee away, they see no good.

26They pass by like swift ships,

Like an eagle swooping on its prey.

27If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,

I will put off my sad face and wear a smile,’

28I am afraid of all my sufferings;

I know that You will not hold me innocent.

29If I am condemned,

Why then do I labor in vain?

30If I wash myself with snow water,

And cleanse my hands with soap,

31Yet You will plunge me into the pit,

And my own clothes will abhor me.

32“For He is not a man, as I am,

That I may answer Him,

And that we should go to court together.

Who may lay his hand on us both.

34Let Him take His rod away from me,

And do not let dread of Him terrify me.

35Then I would speak and not fear Him,

But it is not so with me.

Job: I Would Plead with God

I will give free course to my complaint,

I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

2I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me;

Show me why You contend with me.

3Does it seem good to You that You should oppress,

That You should despise the work of Your hands,

And smile on the counsel of the wicked?

4Do You have eyes of flesh?

Or do You see as man sees?

5Are Your days like the days of a mortal man?

Are Your years like the days of a mighty man,

6That You should seek for my iniquity

And search out my sin,

7Although You know that I am not wicked,

And there is no one who can deliver from Your hand?

8‘Your hands have made me and fashioned me,

An intricate unity;

Yet You would destroy me.

9Remember, I pray, that You have made me like clay.

And will You turn me into dust again?

10Did You not pour me out like milk,

And curdle me like cheese,

And knit me together with bones and sinews?

12You have granted me life and favor,

And Your care has preserved my spirit.

13‘And these things You have hidden in Your heart;

I know that this was with You:

14If I sin, then You mark me,

And will not acquit me of my iniquity.

15If I am wicked, woe to me;

Even if I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head.

I am full of disgrace;

See my misery!

16If my head is exalted,

You hunt me like a fierce lion,

And again You show Yourself awesome against me.

17You renew Your witnesses against me,

And increase Your indignation toward me;

Changes and war are ever with me.

Oh, that I had perished and no eye had seen me!

I would have been carried from the womb to the grave.

20Are not my days few?

Cease! Leave me alone, that I may take a little comfort,

21Before I go to the place from which I shall not return,

To the land of darkness and the shadow of death,

22A land as dark as darkness itself,

As the shadow of death, without any order,

Where even the light is like darkness.’ ”

Zophar Urges Job to Repent

2“Should not the multitude of words be answered?

And should a man full of talk be vindicated?

And when you mock, should no one rebuke you?

4For you have said,

‘My doctrine is pure,

And I am clean in your eyes.’

And open His lips against you,

For they would double your prudence.

Know therefore that God exacts from you

Less than your iniquity deserves.

7“Can you search out the deep things of God?

Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?

Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?

9Their measure is longer than the earth

And broader than the sea.

Then who can hinder Him?

11For He knows deceitful men;

He sees wickedness also.

Will He not then consider it?

12For an empty-headed man will be wise,

When a wild donkey’s colt is born a man.

And stretch out your hands toward Him;

14If iniquity were in your hand, and you put it far away,

And would not let wickedness dwell in your tents;

15Then surely you could lift up your face without spot;

Yes, you could be steadfast, and not fear;

16Because you would forget your misery,

And remember it as waters that have passed away,

17And your life would be brighter than noonday.

Though you were dark, you would be like the morning.

18And you would be secure, because there is hope;

Yes, you would dig around you, and take your rest in safety.

19You would also lie down, and no one would make you afraid;

Yes, many would court your favor.

And they shall not escape,

And their hope—loss of life!”

Job Answers His Critics

2“No doubt you are the people,

And wisdom will die with you!

3But I have understanding as well as you;

I am not inferior to you.

Indeed, who does not know such things as these?

4“I am one mocked by his friends,

Who called on God, and He answered him,

The just and blameless who is ridiculed.

5A lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease;

It is made ready for those whose feet slip.

6The tents of robbers prosper,

And those who provoke God are secure—

In what God provides by His hand.

And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;

8Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;

And the fish of the sea will explain to you.

9Who among all these does not know

That the hand of the LORD has done this,

10In whose hand is the life of every living thing,

And the breath of all mankind?

11Does not the ear test words

And the mouth taste its food?

And with length of days, understanding.

13“With Him are wisdom and strength,

He has counsel and understanding.

If He imprisons a man, there can be no release.

15If He withholds the waters, they dry up;

If He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth.

16With Him are strength and prudence.

The deceived and the deceiver are His.

17He leads counselors away plundered,

And makes fools of the judges.

18He loosens the bonds of kings,

And binds their waist with a belt.

19He leads princes away plundered,

And overthrows the mighty.

20He deprives the trusted ones of speech,

And takes away the discernment of the elders.

21He pours contempt on princes,

And disarms the mighty.

22He uncovers deep things out of darkness,

And brings the shadow of death to light.

He enlarges nations, and guides them.

24He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth,

And makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.

25They grope in the dark without light,

And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.

My ear has heard and understood it.

2What you know, I also know;

I am not inferior to you.

3But I would speak to the Almighty,

And I desire to reason with God.

4But you forgers of lies,

You are all worthless physicians.

5Oh, that you would be silent,

And it would be your wisdom!

6Now hear my reasoning,

And heed the pleadings of my lips.

7Will you speak wickedly for God,

And talk deceitfully for Him?

8Will you show partiality for Him?

Will you contend for God?

9Will it be well when He searches you out?

Or can you mock Him as one mocks a man?

10He will surely rebuke you

If you secretly show partiality.

11Will not His excellence make you afraid,

And the dread of Him fall upon you?

12Your platitudes are proverbs of ashes,

Your defenses are defenses of clay.

13“Hold your peace with me, and let me speak,

Then let come on me what may!

And put my life in my hands?

15Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.

Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.

16He also shall be my salvation,

For a hypocrite could not come before Him.

And to my declaration with your ears.

18See now, I have prepared my case,

I know that I shall be vindicated.

19Who is he who will contend with me?

If now I hold my tongue, I perish.

Job’s Despondent Prayer

20“Only two things do not do to me,

Then I will not hide myself from You:

21Withdraw Your hand far from me,

And let not the dread of You make me afraid.

22Then call, and I will answer;

Or let me speak, then You respond to me.

23How many are my iniquities and sins?

Make me know my transgression and my sin.

24Why do You hide Your face,

And regard me as Your enemy?

25Will You frighten a leaf driven to and fro?

And will You pursue dry stubble?

26For You write bitter things against me,

And make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.

27You put my feet in the stocks,

And watch closely all my paths.

You set a limit for the soles of my feet.

28“Man decays like a rotten thing,

Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

Is of few days and full of trouble.

2He comes forth like a flower and fades away;

He flees like a shadow and does not continue.

3And do You open Your eyes on such a one,

And bring me to judgment with Yourself?

4Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?

No one!

5Since his days are determined,

The number of his months is with You;

You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass.

6Look away from him that he may rest,

Till like a hired man he finishes his day.

If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,

And that its tender shoots will not cease.

8Though its root may grow old in the earth,

And its stump may die in the ground,

9Yet at the scent of water it will bud

And bring forth branches like a plant.

10But man dies and is laid away;

Indeed he breathes his last

And where is he?

11As water disappears from the sea,

And a river becomes parched and dries up,

12So man lies down and does not rise.

Till the heavens are no more,

They will not awake

Nor be roused from their sleep.

That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,

That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!

14If a man dies, shall he live again?

All the days of my hard service I will wait,

Till my change comes.

You shall desire the work of Your hands.

16For now You number my steps,

But do not watch over my sin.

17My transgression is sealed up in a bag,

And You cover my iniquity.

18“But as a mountain falls and crumbles away,

And as a rock is moved from its place;

And as torrents wash away the soil of the earth;

So You destroy the hope of man.

20You prevail forever against him, and he passes on;

You change his countenance and send him away.

21His sons come to honor, and he does not know it;

They are brought low, and he does not perceive it.

22But his flesh will be in pain over it,

And his soul will mourn over it.”

Eliphaz Accuses Job of Folly

2“Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge,

And fill himself with the east wind?

3Should he reason with unprofitable talk,

Or by speeches with which he can do no good?

4Yes, you cast off fear,

And restrain prayer before God.

5For your iniquity teaches your mouth,

And you choose the tongue of the crafty.

6Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;

Yes, your own lips testify against you.

Or were you made before the hills?

8Have you heard the counsel of God?

Do you limit wisdom to yourself?

9What do you know that we do not know?

What do you understand that is not in us?

10Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,

Much older than your father.

And the word spoken gently with you?

12Why does your heart carry you away,

And what do your eyes wink at,

13That you turn your spirit against God,

And let such words go out of your mouth?

14“What is man, that he could be pure?

And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?

15If God puts no trust in His saints,

And the heavens are not pure in His sight,

16How much less man, who is abominable and filthy,

Who drinks iniquity like water!

What I have seen I will declare,

18What wise men have told,

Not hiding anything received from their fathers,

19To whom alone the land was given,

And no alien passed among them:

And the number of years is hidden from the oppressor.

21Dreadful sounds are in his ears;

In prosperity the destroyer comes upon him.

22He does not believe that he will return from darkness,

For a sword is waiting for him.

23He wanders about for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’

He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand.

24Trouble and anguish make him afraid;

They overpower him, like a king ready for battle.

25For he stretches out his hand against God,

And acts defiantly against the Almighty,

26Running stubbornly against Him

With his strong, embossed shield.

27“Though he has covered his face with his fatness,

And made his waist heavy with fat,

28He dwells in desolate cities,

In houses which no one inhabits,

Which are destined to become ruins.

29He will not be rich,

Nor will his wealth continue,

Nor will his possessions overspread the earth.

30He will not depart from darkness;

The flame will dry out his branches,

And by the breath of His mouth he will go away.

31Let him not trust in futile things, deceiving himself,

For futility will be his reward.

32It will be accomplished before his time,

And his branch will not be green.

33He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine,

And cast off his blossom like an olive tree.

And fire will consume the tents of bribery.

35They conceive trouble and bring forth futility;

Their womb prepares deceit.”

Job Reproaches His Pitiless Friends

2“I have heard many such things;

Miserable comforters are you all!

3Shall words of wind have an end?

Or what provokes you that you answer?

If your soul were in my soul’s place.

I could heap up words against you,

And shake my head at you;

5But I would strengthen you with my mouth,

And the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief.

6“Though I speak, my grief is not relieved;

And if I remain silent, how am I eased?

7But now He has worn me out;

You have made desolate all my company.

8You have shriveled me up,

And it is a witness against me;

My leanness rises up against me

And bears witness to my face.

He gnashes at me with His teeth;

My adversary sharpens His gaze on me.

10They gape at me with their mouth,

They strike me reproachfully on the cheek,

They gather together against me.

11God has delivered me to the ungodly,

And turned me over to the hands of the wicked.

12I was at ease, but He has shattered me;

He also has taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces;

He has set me up for His target,

13His archers surround me.

He pierces my heart and does not pity;

He pours out my gall on the ground.

14He breaks me with wound upon wound;

He runs at me like a warrior.

And laid my head in the dust.

16My face is flushed from weeping,

And on my eyelids is the shadow of death;

17Although no violence is in my hands,

And my prayer is pure.

And let my cry have no resting place!

19Surely even now my witness is in heaven,

And my evidence is on high.

20My friends scorn me;

My eyes pour out tears to God.

As a man pleads for his neighbor!

22For when a few years are finished,

I shall go the way of no return.

Job Prays for Relief

My days are extinguished,

The grave is ready for me.

2Are not mockers with me?

And does not my eye dwell on their provocation?

3“Now put down a pledge for me with Yourself.

Who is he who will shake hands with me?

4For You have hidden their heart from understanding;

Therefore You will not exalt them.

5He who speaks flattery to his friends,

Even the eyes of his children will fail.

6“But He has made me a byword of the people,

And I have become one in whose face men spit.

7My eye has also grown dim because of sorrow,

And all my members are like shadows.

8Upright men are astonished at this,

And the innocent stirs himself up against the hypocrite.

9Yet the righteous will hold to his way,

And he who has clean hands will be stronger and stronger.

10“But please, come back again, all of you,

For I shall not find one wise man among you.

11My days are past,

My purposes are broken off,

Even the thoughts of my heart.

12They change the night into day;

‘The light is near,’ they say, in the face of darkness.

13If I wait for the grave as my house,

If I make my bed in the darkness,

14If I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’

And to the worm, ‘You are my mother and my sister,’

As for my hope, who can see it?

Shall we have rest together in the dust?”

Bildad: The Wicked Are Punished

Gain understanding, and afterward we will speak.

3Why are we counted as beasts,

And regarded as stupid in your sight?

4You who tear yourself in anger,

Shall the earth be forsaken for you?

Or shall the rock be removed from its place?

And the flame of his fire does not shine.

6The light is dark in his tent,

And his lamp beside him is put out.

And his own counsel casts him down.

8For he is cast into a net by his own feet,

And he walks into a snare.

9The net takes him by the heel,

And a snare lays hold of him.

10A noose is hidden for him on the ground,

And a trap for him in the road.

And drive him to his feet.

12His strength is starved,

And destruction is ready at his side.

13It devours patches of his skin;

The firstborn of death devours his limbs.

14He is uprooted from the shelter of his tent,

And they parade him before the king of terrors.

15They dwell in his tent who are none of his;

Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling.

And his branch withers above.

17The memory of him perishes from the earth,

And he has no name among the renowned.

18He is driven from light into darkness,

And chased out of the world.

19He has neither son nor posterity among his people,

Nor any remaining in his dwellings.

20Those in the west are astonished at his day,

As those in the east are frightened.

And this is the place of him who does not know God.”

Job Trusts in His Redeemer

2“How long will you torment my soul,

And break me in pieces with words?

3These ten times you have reproached me;

You are not ashamed that you have wronged me.

4And if indeed I have erred,

My error remains with me.

5If indeed you exalt yourselves against me,

And plead my disgrace against me,

6Know then that God has wronged me,

And has surrounded me with His net.

7“If I cry out concerning wrong, I am not heard.

If I cry aloud, there is no justice.

8He has fenced up my way, so that I cannot pass;

And He has set darkness in my paths.

9He has stripped me of my glory,

And taken the crown from my head.

10He breaks me down on every side,

And I am gone;

My hope He has uprooted like a tree.

11He has also kindled His wrath against me,

And He counts me as one of His enemies.

12His troops come together

And build up their road against me;

They encamp all around my tent.

And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.

14My relatives have failed,

And my close friends have forgotten me.

15Those who dwell in my house, and my maidservants,

Count me as a stranger;

I am an alien in their sight.

16I call my servant, but he gives no answer;

I beg him with my mouth.

17My breath is offensive to my wife,

And I am repulsive to the children of my own body.

18Even young children despise me;

I arise, and they speak against me.

19All my close friends abhor me,

And those whom I love have turned against me.

20My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh,

And I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

21“Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends,

For the hand of God has struck me!

22Why do you persecute me as God does,

And are not satisfied with my flesh?

Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!

24That they were engraved on a rock

With an iron pen and lead, forever!

And He shall stand at last on the earth;

26And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,

That in my flesh I shall see God,

27Whom I shall see for myself,

And my eyes shall behold, and not another.

How my heart yearns within me!

Since the root of the matter is found in me,

29Be afraid of the sword for yourselves;

For wrath brings the punishment of the sword,

That you may know there is a judgment.”

Zophar’s Sermon on the Wicked Man

1Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:

2“Therefore my anxious thoughts make me answer,

Because of the turmoil within me.

3I have heard the rebuke that reproaches me,

And the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer.

Since man was placed on earth,

5That the triumphing of the wicked is short,

And the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment?

And his head reaches to the clouds,

7Yet he will perish forever like his own refuse;

Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’

8He will fly away like a dream, and not be found;

Yes, he will be chased away like a vision of the night.

9The eye that saw him will see him no more,

Nor will his place behold him anymore.

10His children will seek the favor of the poor,

And his hands will restore his wealth.

11His bones are full of his youthful vigor,

But it will lie down with him in the dust.

And he hides it under his tongue,

13Though he spares it and does not forsake it,

But still keeps it in his mouth,

14Yet his food in his stomach turns sour;

It becomes cobra venom within him.

15He swallows down riches

And vomits them up again;

God casts them out of his belly.

16He will suck the poison of cobras;

The viper’s tongue will slay him.

17He will not see the streams,

The rivers flowing with honey and cream.

And will not swallow it down;

From the proceeds of business

He will get no enjoyment.

19For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor,

He has violently seized a house which he did not build.

He will not save anything he desires.

21Nothing is left for him to eat;

Therefore his well-being will not last.

22In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress;

Every hand of misery will come against him.

23When he is about to fill his stomach,

God will cast on him the fury of His wrath,

And will rain it on him while he is eating.

24He will flee from the iron weapon;

A bronze bow will pierce him through.

25It is drawn, and comes out of the body;

Yes, the glittering point comes out of his gall.

Terrors come upon him;

26Total darkness is reserved for his treasures.

An unfanned fire will consume him;

It shall go ill with him who is left in his tent.

27The heavens will reveal his iniquity,

And the earth will rise up against him.

28The increase of his house will depart,

And his goods will flow away in the day of His wrath.

29This is the portion from God for a wicked man,

The heritage appointed to him by God.”

Job’s Discourse on the Wicked

2“Listen carefully to my speech,

And let this be your consolation.

3Bear with me that I may speak,

And after I have spoken, keep mocking.

And if it were, why should I not be impatient?

5Look at me and be astonished;

Put your hand over your mouth.

6Even when I remember I am terrified,

And trembling takes hold of my flesh.

Yes, become mighty in power?

8Their descendants are established with them in their sight,

And their offspring before their eyes.

9Their houses are safe from fear,

Neither is the rod of God upon them.

10Their bull breeds without failure;

Their cow calves without miscarriage.

11They send forth their little ones like a flock,

And their children dance.

12They sing to the tambourine and harp,

And rejoice to the sound of the flute.

13They spend their days in wealth,

And in a moment go down to the grave.

For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.

15Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?

And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’

16Indeed their prosperity is not in their hand;

The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

How often does their destruction come upon them,

The sorrows God distributes in His anger?

18They are like straw before the wind,

And like chaff that a storm carries away.

Let Him recompense him, that he may know it.

20Let his eyes see his destruction,

And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

21For what does he care about his household after him,

When the number of his months is cut in half?

Since He judges those on high?

23One dies in his full strength,

Being wholly at ease and secure;

24His pails are full of milk,

And the marrow of his bones is moist.

25Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul,

Never having eaten with pleasure.

And worms cover them.

And the schemes with which you would wrong me.

28For you say,

‘Where is the house of the prince?

And where is the tent,

The dwelling place of the wicked?’

29Have you not asked those who travel the road?

And do you not know their signs?

30For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom;

They shall be brought out on the day of wrath.

And who repays him for what he has done?

32Yet he shall be brought to the grave,

And a vigil kept over the tomb.

33The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him;

Everyone shall follow him,

As countless have gone before him.

Since falsehood remains in your answers?”

Eliphaz Accuses Job of Wickedness

2“Can a man be profitable to God,

Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself?

Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless?

4“Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you,

And enters into judgment with you?

5Is not your wickedness great,

And your iniquity without end?

And stripped the naked of their clothing.

And you have withheld bread from the hungry.

8But the mighty man possessed the land,

And the honorable man dwelt in it.

9You have sent widows away empty,

And the strength of the fatherless was crushed.

And sudden fear troubles you,

11Or darkness so that you cannot see;

And an abundance of water covers you.

And see the highest stars, how lofty they are!

13And you say, ‘What does God know?

Can He judge through the deep darkness?

14Thick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see,

And He walks above the circle of heaven.’

Which wicked men have trod,

16Who were cut down before their time,

Whose foundations were swept away by a flood?

17They said to God, ‘Depart from us!

What can the Almighty do to them?’

18Yet He filled their houses with good things;

But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

19“The righteous see it and are glad,

And the innocent laugh at them:

20‘Surely our adversaries are cut down,

And the fire consumes their remnant.’

Thereby good will come to you.

22Receive, please, instruction from His mouth,

And lay up His words in your heart.

You will remove iniquity far from your tents.

24Then you will lay your gold in the dust,

And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.

25Yes, the Almighty will be your gold

And your precious silver;

26For then you will have your delight in the Almighty,

And lift up your face to God.

27You will make your prayer to Him,

He will hear you,

And you will pay your vows.

28You will also declare a thing,

And it will be established for you;

So light will shine on your ways.

29When they cast you down, and you say, ‘Exaltation will come!’

Then He will save the humble person.

30He will even deliver one who is not innocent;

Yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands.”

Job Proclaims God’s Righteous Judgments

2“Even today my complaint is bitter;

My hand is listless because of my groaning.

3Oh, that I knew where I might find Him,

That I might come to His seat!

4I would present my case before Him,

And fill my mouth with arguments.

5I would know the words which He would answer me,

And understand what He would say to me.

6Would He contend with me in His great power?

No! But He would take note of me.

7There the upright could reason with Him,

And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

8“Look, I go forward, but He is not there,

And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;

9When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him;

When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.

When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.

11My foot has held fast to His steps;

I have kept His way and not turned aside.

12I have not departed from the commandment of His lips;

I have treasured the words of His mouth

More than my necessary food.

And whatever His soul desires, that He does.

And many such things are with Him.

15Therefore I am terrified at His presence;

When I consider this, I am afraid of Him.

16For God made my heart weak,

And the Almighty terrifies me;

17Because I was not cut off from the presence of darkness,

And He did not hide deep darkness from my face.

Job Complains of Violence on the Earth

Why do those who know Him see not His days?

2“Some remove landmarks;

They seize flocks violently and feed on them;

3They drive away the donkey of the fatherless;

They take the widow’s ox as a pledge.

4They push the needy off the road;

All the poor of the land are forced to hide.

5Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert,

They go out to their work, searching for food.

The wilderness yields food for them and for their children.

6They gather their fodder in the field

And glean in the vineyard of the wicked.

7They spend the night naked, without clothing,

And have no covering in the cold.

8They are wet with the showers of the mountains,

And huddle around the rock for want of shelter.

9“Some snatch the fatherless from the breast,

And take a pledge from the poor.

10They cause the poor to go naked, without clothing;

And they take away the sheaves from the hungry.

11They press out oil within their walls,

And tread winepresses, yet suffer thirst.

And the souls of the wounded cry out;

Yet God does not charge them with wrong.

13“There are those who rebel against the light;

They do not know its ways

Nor abide in its paths.

14The murderer rises with the light;

He kills the poor and needy;

And in the night he is like a thief.

15The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,

Saying, ‘No eye will see me’;

And he disguises his face.

16In the dark they break into houses

Which they marked for themselves in the daytime;

They do not know the light.

17For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death;

If someone recognizes them,

They are in the terrors of the shadow of death.

Their portion should be cursed in the earth,

So that no one would turn into the way of their vineyards.

19As drought and heat consume the snow waters,

So the grave consumes those who have sinned.

20The womb should forget him,

The worm should feed sweetly on him;

He should be remembered no more,

And wickedness should be broken like a tree.

And does no good for the widow.

22“But God draws the mighty away with His power;

He rises up, but no man is sure of life.

23He gives them security, and they rely on it;

Yet His eyes are on their ways.

24They are exalted for a little while,

Then they are gone.

They are brought low;

They are taken out of the way like all others;

They dry out like the heads of grain.

25“Now if it is not so, who will prove me a liar,

And make my speech worth nothing?”

Bildad: How Can Man Be Righteous?

2“Dominion and fear belong to Him;

He makes peace in His high places.

3Is there any number to His armies?

Upon whom does His light not rise?

Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman?

5If even the moon does not shine,

And the stars are not pure in His sight,

6How much less man, who is a maggot,

And a son of man, who is a worm?”

Job: Man’s Frailty and God’s Majesty

2“How have you helped him who is without power?

How have you saved the arm that has no strength?

3How have you counseled one who has no wisdom?

And how have you declared sound advice to many?

4To whom have you uttered words?

And whose spirit came from you?

Those under the waters and those inhabiting them.

6Sheol is naked before Him,

And Destruction has no covering.

He hangs the earth on nothing.

8He binds up the water in His thick clouds,

Yet the clouds are not broken under it.

9He covers the face of His throne,

And spreads His cloud over it.

At the boundary of light and darkness.

11The pillars of heaven tremble,

And are astonished at His rebuke.

And by His understanding He breaks up the storm.

13By His Spirit He adorned the heavens;

His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.

And how small a whisper we hear of Him!

But the thunder of His power who can understand?”

Job Maintains His Integrity

2“As God lives, who has taken away my justice,

And the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,

3As long as my breath is in me,

And the breath of God in my nostrils,

4My lips will not speak wickedness,

Nor my tongue utter deceit.

5Far be it from me

That I should say you are right;

Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.

My heart shall not reproach me as long as I live.

And he who rises up against me like the unrighteous.

Though he may gain much,

If God takes away his life?

9Will God hear his cry

When trouble comes upon him?

10Will he delight himself in the Almighty?

Will he always call on God?

What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.

12Surely all of you have seen it;

Why then do you behave with complete nonsense?

13“This is the portion of a wicked man with God,

And the heritage of oppressors, received from the Almighty:

14If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword;

And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

15Those who survive him shall be buried in death,

And their widows shall not weep,

16Though he heaps up silver like dust,

And piles up clothing like clay—

17He may pile it up, but the just will wear it,

And the innocent will divide the silver.

18He builds his house like a moth,

Like a booth which a watchman makes.

19The rich man will lie down,

But not be gathered up;

He opens his eyes,

And he is no more.

20Terrors overtake him like a flood;

A tempest steals him away in the night.

21The east wind carries him away, and he is gone;

It sweeps him out of his place.

22It hurls against him and does not spare;

He flees desperately from its power.

23Men shall clap their hands at him,

And shall hiss him out of his place.

Job’s Discourse on Wisdom

And a place where gold is refined.

2Iron is taken from the earth,

And copper is smelted from ore.

3Man puts an end to darkness,

And searches every recess

For ore in the darkness and the shadow of death.

4He breaks open a shaft away from people;

In places forgotten by feet

They hang far away from men;

They swing to and fro.

5As for the earth, from it comes bread,

But underneath it is turned up as by fire;

6Its stones are the source of sapphires,

And it contains gold dust.

7That path no bird knows,

Nor has the falcon’s eye seen it.

8The proud lions have not trodden it,

Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.

9He puts his hand on the flint;

He overturns the mountains at the roots.

10He cuts out channels in the rocks,

And his eye sees every precious thing.

11He dams up the streams from trickling;

What is hidden he brings forth to light.

And where is the place of understanding?

13Man does not know its value,

Nor is it found in the land of the living.

14The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;

And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

Nor can silver be weighed for its price.

16It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,

In precious onyx or sapphire.

17Neither gold nor crystal can equal it,

Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold.

18No mention shall be made of coral or quartz,

For the price of wisdom is above rubies.

19The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,

Nor can it be valued in pure gold.

And where is the place of understanding?

21It is hidden from the eyes of all living,

And concealed from the birds of the air.

22Destruction and Death say,

‘We have heard a report about it with our ears.’

23God understands its way,

And He knows its place.

24For He looks to the ends of the earth,

And sees under the whole heavens,

25To establish a weight for the wind,

And apportion the waters by measure.

26When He made a law for the rain,

And a path for the thunderbolt,

27Then He saw wisdom and declared it;

He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.

28And to man He said,

‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,

And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”

Job’s Summary Defense

As in the days when God watched over me;

3When His lamp shone upon my head,

And when by His light I walked through darkness;

When the friendly counsel of God was over my tent;

5When the Almighty was yet with me,

When my children were around me;

And the rock poured out rivers of oil for me!

When I took my seat in the open square,

8The young men saw me and hid,

And the aged arose and stood;

9The princes refrained from talking,

And put their hand on their mouth;

10The voice of nobles was hushed,

And their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.

11When the ear heard, then it blessed me,

And when the eye saw, then it approved me;

The fatherless and the one who had no helper.

13The blessing of a perishing man came upon me,

And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.

14I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;

My justice was like a robe and a turban.

15I was eyes to the blind,

And I was feet to the lame.

16I was a father to the poor,

And I searched out the case that I did not know.

17I broke the fangs of the wicked,

And plucked the victim from his teeth.

And multiply my days as the sand.

19My root is spread out to the waters,

And the dew lies all night on my branch.

20My glory is fresh within me,

And my bow is renewed in my hand.’

And kept silence for my counsel.

22After my words they did not speak again,

And my speech settled on them as dew.

23They waited for me as for the rain,

And they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain.

24If I mocked at them, they did not believe it,

And the light of my countenance they did not cast down.

25I chose the way for them, and sat as chief;

So I dwelt as a king in the army,

As one who comforts mourners.

Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.

2Indeed, what profit is the strength of their hands to me?

Their vigor has perished.

3They are gaunt from want and famine,

Fleeing late to the wilderness, desolate and waste,

4Who pluck mallow by the bushes,

And broom tree roots for their food.

5They were driven out from among men,

They shouted at them as at a thief.

6They had to live in the clefts of the valleys,

In caves of the earth and the rocks.

7Among the bushes they brayed,

Under the nettles they nestled.

8They were sons of fools,

Yes, sons of vile men;

They were scourged from the land.

Yes, I am their byword.

10They abhor me, they keep far from me;

They do not hesitate to spit in my face.

11Because He has loosed my bowstring and afflicted me,

They have cast off restraint before me.

12At my right hand the rabble arises;

They push away my feet,

And they raise against me their ways of destruction.

13They break up my path,

They promote my calamity;

They have no helper.

14They come as broad breakers;

Under the ruinous storm they roll along.

15Terrors are turned upon me;

They pursue my honor as the wind,

And my prosperity has passed like a cloud.

The days of affliction take hold of me.

17My bones are pierced in me at night,

And my gnawing pains take no rest.

18By great force my garment is disfigured;

It binds me about as the collar of my coat.

19He has cast me into the mire,

And I have become like dust and ashes.

20“I cry out to You, but You do not answer me;

I stand up, and You regard me.

21But You have become cruel to me;

With the strength of Your hand You oppose me.

22You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride on it;

You spoil my success.

23For I know that You will bring me to death,

And to the house appointed for all living.

If they cry out when He destroys it.

25Have I not wept for him who was in trouble?

Has not my soul grieved for the poor?

And when I waited for light, then came darkness.

27My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest;

Days of affliction confront me.

28I go about mourning, but not in the sun;

I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.

And a companion of ostriches.

30My skin grows black and falls from me;

My bones burn with fever.

31My harp is turned to mourning,

And my flute to the voice of those who weep.

Why then should I look upon a young woman?

2For what is the allotment of God from above,

And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?

3Is it not destruction for the wicked,

And disaster for the workers of iniquity?

4Does He not see my ways,

And count all my steps?

Or if my foot has hastened to deceit,

6Let me be weighed on honest scales,

That God may know my integrity.

7If my step has turned from the way,

Or my heart walked after my eyes,

Or if any spot adheres to my hands,

8Then let me sow, and another eat;

Yes, let my harvest be rooted out.

Or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,

10Then let my wife grind for another,

And let others bow down over her.

11For that would be wickedness;

Yes, it would be iniquity deserving of judgment.

12For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction,

And would root out all my increase.

When they complained against me,

14What then shall I do when God rises up?

When He punishes, how shall I answer Him?

15Did not He who made me in the womb make them?

Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?

Or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

17Or eaten my morsel by myself,

So that the fatherless could not eat of it

18(But from my youth I reared him as a father,

And from my mother’s womb I guided the widow);

19If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,

Or any poor man without covering;

20If his heart has not blessed me,

And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

21If I have raised my hand against the fatherless,

When I saw I had help in the gate;

22Then let my arm fall from my shoulder,

Let my arm be torn from the socket.

23For destruction from God is a terror to me,

And because of His magnificence I cannot endure.

Or said to fine gold, ‘You are my confidence’;

25If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,

And because my hand had gained much;

26If I have observed the sun when it shines,

Or the moon moving in brightness,

27So that my heart has been secretly enticed,

And my mouth has kissed my hand;

28This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment,

For I would have denied God who is above.

29“If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me,

Or lifted myself up when evil found him

30(Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin

By asking for a curse on his soul);

31If the men of my tent have not said,

‘Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?’

32(But no sojourner had to lodge in the street,

For I have opened my doors to the traveler);

33If I have covered my transgressions as Adam,

By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,

34Because I feared the great multitude,

And dreaded the contempt of families,

So that I kept silence

And did not go out of the door—

35Oh, that I had one to hear me!

Here is my mark.

Oh, that the Almighty would answer me,

That my Prosecutor had written a book!

36Surely I would carry it on my shoulder,

And bind it on me like a crown;

37I would declare to Him the number of my steps;

Like a prince I would approach Him.

And its furrows weep together;

39If I have eaten its fruit without money,

Or caused its owners to lose their lives;

And weeds instead of barley.”

The words of Job are ended.

Elihu Contradicts Job’s Friends

3Also against his three friends his wrath was aroused, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.

4Now because they were years older than he, Elihu had waited to speak to Job.

5When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was aroused.

6So Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said:

“I am young in years, and you are very old;

Therefore I was afraid,

And dared not declare my opinion to you.

7I said, ‘Age should speak,

And multitude of years should teach wisdom.’

And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.

9Great men are not always wise,

Nor do the aged always understand justice.

10“Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me,

I also will declare my opinion.’

I listened to your reasonings, while you searched out what to say.

12I paid close attention to you;

And surely not one of you convinced Job,

Or answered his words—

13Lest you say,

‘We have found wisdom’;

God will vanquish him, not man.

So I will not answer him with your words.

15“They are dismayed and answer no more;

Words escape them.

Because they stood still and answered no more.

17I also will answer my part,

I too will declare my opinion.

18For I am full of words;

The spirit within me compels me.

19Indeed my belly is like wine that has no vent;

It is ready to burst like new wineskins.

20I will speak, that I may find relief;

I must open my lips and answer.

21Let me not, I pray, show partiality to anyone;

Nor let me flatter any man.

22For I do not know how to flatter,

Else my Maker would soon take me away.

Elihu Contradicts Job

And listen to all my words.

2Now, I open my mouth;

My tongue speaks in my mouth.

3My words come from my upright heart;

My lips utter pure knowledge.

4The Spirit of God has made me,

And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

5If you can answer me,

Set your words in order before me;

Take your stand.

6Truly I am as your spokesman before God;

I also have been formed out of clay.

7Surely no fear of me will terrify you,

Nor will my hand be heavy on you.

8“Surely you have spoken in my hearing,

And I have heard the sound of your words, saying,

I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me.

He counts me as His enemy;

11He puts my feet in the stocks,

He watches all my paths.’

12“Look, in this you are not righteous.

I will answer you,

For God is greater than man.

13Why do you contend with Him?

For He does not give an accounting of any of His words.

Yet man does not perceive it.

When deep sleep falls upon men,

While slumbering on their beds,

16Then He opens the ears of men,

And seals their instruction.

17In order to turn man from his deed,

And conceal pride from man,

18He keeps back his soul from the Pit,

And his life from perishing by the sword.

And with strong pain in many of his bones,

20So that his life abhors bread,

And his soul succulent food.

21His flesh wastes away from sight,

And his bones stick out which once were not seen.

22Yes, his soul draws near the Pit,

And his life to the executioners.

A mediator, one among a thousand,

To show man His uprightness,

‘Deliver him from going down to the Pit;

I have found a ransom’;

25His flesh shall be young like a child’s,

He shall return to the days of his youth.

26He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him,

He shall see His face with joy,

For He restores to man His righteousness.

27Then he looks at men and says,

‘I have sinned, and perverted what was right,

And it did not profit me.’

28He will redeem his soul from going down to the Pit,

And his life shall see the light.

29“Behold, God works all these things,

Twice, in fact, three times with a man,

30To bring back his soul from the Pit,

That he may be enlightened with the light of life.

Hold your peace, and I will speak.

32If you have anything to say, answer me;

Speak, for I desire to justify you.

33If not, listen to me;

Hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Elihu Proclaims God’s Justice

2“Hear my words, you wise men;

Give ear to me, you who have knowledge.

3For the ear tests words

As the palate tastes food.

4Let us choose justice for ourselves;

Let us know among ourselves what is good.

But God has taken away my justice;

6Should I lie concerning my right?

My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’

7What man is like Job,

Who drinks scorn like water,

8Who goes in company with the workers of iniquity,

And walks with wicked men?

9For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing

That he should delight in God.’

Far be it from God to do wickedness,

And from the Almighty to commit iniquity.

11For He repays man according to his work,

And makes man to find a reward according to his way.

12Surely God will never do wickedly,

Nor will the Almighty pervert justice.

13Who gave Him charge over the earth?

Or who appointed Him over the whole world?

14If He should set His heart on it,

If He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath,

15All flesh would perish together,

And man would return to dust.

Listen to the sound of my words:

17Should one who hates justice govern?

Will you condemn Him who is most just?

18Is it fitting to say to a king, ‘You are worthless,’

And to nobles, ‘You are wicked’?

19Yet He is not partial to princes,

Nor does He regard the rich more than the poor;

For they are all the work of His hands.

20In a moment they die, in the middle of the night;

The people are shaken and pass away;

The mighty are taken away without a hand.

And He sees all his steps.

22There is no darkness nor shadow of death

Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.

23For He need not further consider a man,

That he should go before God in judgment.

24He breaks in pieces mighty men without inquiry,

And sets others in their place.

25Therefore He knows their works;

He overthrows them in the night,

And they are crushed.

26He strikes them as wicked men

In the open sight of others,

27Because they turned back from Him,

And would not consider any of His ways,

28So that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him;

For He hears the cry of the afflicted.

And when He hides His face, who then can see Him,

Whether it is against a nation or a man alone?—

30That the hypocrite should not reign,

Lest the people be ensnared.

31“For has anyone said to God,

‘I have borne chastening;

I will offend no more;

32Teach me what I do not see;

If I have done iniquity, I will do no more’?

Just because you disavow it?

You must choose, and not I;

Therefore speak what you know.

34“Men of understanding say to me,

Wise men who listen to me:

35‘Job speaks without knowledge,

His words are without wisdom.’

36Oh, that Job were tried to the utmost,

Because his answers are like those of wicked men!

37For he adds rebellion to his sin;

He claps his hands among us,

And multiplies his words against God.”

Elihu Condemns Self-Righteousness

2“Do you think this is right?

Do you say,

‘My righteousness is more than God’s’?

3For you say,

‘What advantage will it be to You?

What profit shall I have, more than if I had sinned?’

4“I will answer you,

And your companions with you.

5Look to the heavens and see;

And behold the clouds—

They are higher than you.

6If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him?

Or, if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to Him?

7If you are righteous, what do you give Him?

Or what does He receive from your hand?

And your righteousness a son of man.

9“Because of the multitude of oppressions they cry out;

They cry out for help because of the arm of the mighty.

10But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker,

Who gives songs in the night,

And makes us wiser than the birds of heaven?’

12There they cry out, but He does not answer,

Because of the pride of evil men.

13Surely God will not listen to empty talk,

Nor will the Almighty regard it.

Yet justice is before Him, and you must wait for Him.

15And now, because He has not punished in His anger,

Nor taken much notice of folly,

16Therefore Job opens his mouth in vain;

He multiplies words without knowledge.”

Elihu Proclaims God’s Goodness

2“Bear with me a little, and I will show you

That there are yet words to speak on God’s behalf.

3I will fetch my knowledge from afar;

I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.

4For truly my words are not false;

One who is perfect in knowledge is with you.

He is mighty in strength of understanding.

6He does not preserve the life of the wicked,

But gives justice to the oppressed.

7He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous;

But they are on the throne with kings,

For He has seated them forever,

And they are exalted.

8And if they are bound in fetters,

Held in the cords of affliction,

9Then He tells them their work and their transgressions—

That they have acted defiantly.

10He also opens their ear to instruction,

And commands that they turn from iniquity.

11If they obey and serve Him,

They shall spend their days in prosperity,

And their years in pleasures.

12But if they do not obey,

They shall perish by the sword,

And they shall die without knowledge.

They do not cry for help when He binds them.

14They die in youth,

And their life ends among the perverted persons.

15He delivers the poor in their affliction,

And opens their ears in oppression.

Into a broad place where there is no restraint;

And what is set on your table would be full of richness.

17But you are filled with the judgment due the wicked;

Judgment and justice take hold of you.

For a large ransom would not help you avoid it.

19Will your riches,

Or all the mighty forces,

Keep you from distress?

When people are cut off in their place.

For you have chosen this rather than affliction.

22“Behold, God is exalted by His power;

Who teaches like Him?

23Who has assigned Him His way,

Or who has said, ‘You have done wrong’?

Elihu Proclaims God’s Majesty

24“Remember to magnify His work,

Of which men have sung.

25Everyone has seen it;

Man looks on it from afar.

26“Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him;

Nor can the number of His years be discovered.

27For He draws up drops of water,

Which distill as rain from the mist,

28Which the clouds drop down

And pour abundantly on man.

29Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds,

The thunder from His canopy?

30Look, He scatters His light upon it,

And covers the depths of the sea.

31For by these He judges the peoples;

He gives food in abundance.

32He covers His hands with lightning,

And commands it to strike.

33His thunder declares it,

The cattle also, concerning the rising storm.

1“At this also my heart trembles,

And leaps from its place.

2Hear attentively the thunder of His voice,

And the rumbling that comes from His mouth.

3He sends it forth under the whole heaven,

His lightning to the ends of the earth.

4After it a voice roars;

He thunders with His majestic voice,

And He does not restrain them when His voice is heard.

5God thunders marvelously with His voice;

He does great things which we cannot comprehend.

6For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth’;

Likewise to the gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength.

7He seals the hand of every man,

That all men may know His work.

8The beasts go into dens,

And remain in their lairs.

9From the chamber of the south comes the whirlwind,

And cold from the scattering winds of the north.

10By the breath of God ice is given,

And the broad waters are frozen.

11Also with moisture He saturates the thick clouds;

He scatters His bright clouds.

12And they swirl about, being turned by His guidance,

That they may do whatever He commands them

On the face of the whole earth.

13He causes it to come,

Whether for correction,

Or for His land,

Or for mercy.

14“Listen to this, O Job;

Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.

15Do you know when God dispatches them,

And causes the light of His cloud to shine?

16Do you know how the clouds are balanced,

Those wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge?

17Why are your garments hot,

When He quiets the earth by the south wind?

Strong as a cast metal mirror?

19“Teach us what we should say to Him,

For we can prepare nothing because of the darkness.

20Should He be told that I wish to speak?

If a man were to speak, surely he would be swallowed up.

21Even now men cannot look at the light when it is bright in the skies,

When the wind has passed and cleared them.

22He comes from the north as golden splendor;

With God is awesome majesty.

23As for the Almighty, we cannot find Him;

He is excellent in power,

In judgment and abundant justice;

He does not oppress.

He shows no partiality to any who are wise of heart.”

The LORD Reveals His Omnipotence to Job

By words without knowledge?

3Now prepare yourself like a man;

I will question you, and you shall answer Me.

Tell Me, if you have understanding.

5Who determined its measurements?

Surely you know!

Or who stretched the line upon it?

Or who laid its cornerstone,

7When the morning stars sang together,

And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

When it burst forth and issued from the womb;

9When I made the clouds its garment,

And thick darkness its swaddling band;

10When I fixed My limit for it,

And set bars and doors;

11When I said,

‘This far you may come, but no farther,

And here your proud waves must stop!’

And caused the dawn to know its place,

13That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,

And the wicked be shaken out of it?

14It takes on form like clay under a seal,

And stands out like a garment.

15From the wicked their light is withheld,

And the upraised arm is broken.

Or have you walked in search of the depths?

17Have the gates of death been revealed to you?

Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?

18Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?

Tell Me, if you know all this.

19“Where is the way to the dwelling of light?

And darkness, where is its place,

20That you may take it to its territory,

That you may know the paths to its home?

21Do you know it, because you were born then,

Or because the number of your days is great?

22“Have you entered the treasury of snow,

Or have you seen the treasury of hail,

23Which I have reserved for the time of trouble,

For the day of battle and war?

24By what way is light diffused,

Or the east wind scattered over the earth?

25“Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water,

Or a path for the thunderbolt,

26To cause it to rain on a land where there is no one,

A wilderness in which there is no man;

27To satisfy the desolate waste,

And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass?

28Has the rain a father?

Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

29From whose womb comes the ice?

And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth?

30The waters harden like stone,

And the surface of the deep is frozen.

Or loose the belt of Orion?

32Can you bring out Mazzaroth in its season?

Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs?

33Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?

Can you set their dominion over the earth?

34“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,

That an abundance of water may cover you?

35Can you send out lightnings, that they may go,

And say to you, ‘Here we are!’?

36Who has put wisdom in the mind?

Or who has given understanding to the heart?

37Who can number the clouds by wisdom?

Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,

38When the dust hardens in clumps,

And the clods cling together?

Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

40When they crouch in their dens,

Or lurk in their lairs to lie in wait?

41Who provides food for the raven,

When its young ones cry to God,

And wander about for lack of food?

Or can you mark when the deer gives birth?

2Can you number the months that they fulfill?

Or do you know the time when they bear young?

3They bow down,

They bring forth their young,

They deliver their offspring.

4Their young ones are healthy,

They grow strong with grain;

They depart and do not return to them.

Who loosed the bonds of the onager,

6Whose home I have made the wilderness,

And the barren land his dwelling?

7He scorns the tumult of the city;

He does not heed the shouts of the driver.

8The range of the mountains is his pasture,

And he searches after every green thing.

9“Will the wild ox be willing to serve you?

Will he bed by your manger?

10Can you bind the wild ox in the furrow with ropes?

Or will he plow the valleys behind you?

11Will you trust him because his strength is great?

Or will you leave your labor to him?

12Will you trust him to bring home your grain,

And gather it to your threshing floor?

But are her wings and pinions like the kindly stork’s?

14For she leaves her eggs on the ground,

And warms them in the dust;

15She forgets that a foot may crush them,

Or that a wild beast may break them.

16She treats her young harshly, as though they were not hers;

Her labor is in vain, without concern,

17Because God deprived her of wisdom,

And did not endow her with understanding.

18When she lifts herself on high,

She scorns the horse and its rider.

Have you clothed his neck with thunder?

20Can you frighten him like a locust?

His majestic snorting strikes terror.

21He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;

He gallops into the clash of arms.

22He mocks at fear, and is not frightened;

Nor does he turn back from the sword.

23The quiver rattles against him,

The glittering spear and javelin.

24He devours the distance with fierceness and rage;

Nor does he come to a halt because the trumpet has sounded.

25At the blast of the trumpet he says, ‘Aha!’

He smells the battle from afar,

The thunder of captains and shouting.

26“Does the hawk fly by your wisdom,

And spread its wings toward the south?

27Does the eagle mount up at your command,

And make its nest on high?

28On the rock it dwells and resides,

On the crag of the rock and the stronghold.

29From there it spies out the prey;

Its eyes observe from afar.

30Its young ones suck up blood;

And where the slain are, there it is.”

2“Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?

He who rebukes God, let him answer it.”

Job’s Response to God

4“Behold, I am vile;

What shall I answer You?

I lay my hand over my mouth.

5Once I have spoken, but I will not answer;

Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.”

God’s Challenge to Job

6Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

7“Now prepare yourself like a man;

I will question you, and you shall answer Me:

Would you condemn Me that you may be justified?

9Have you an arm like God?

Or can you thunder with a voice like His?

10Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor,

And array yourself with glory and beauty.

11Disperse the rage of your wrath;

Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him.

12Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him low;

Tread down the wicked in their place.

13Hide them in the dust together,

Bind their faces in hidden darkness.

14Then I will also confess to you

That your own right hand can save you.

He eats grass like an ox.

16See now, his strength is in his hips,

And his power is in his stomach muscles.

17He moves his tail like a cedar;

The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.

18His bones are like beams of bronze,

His ribs like bars of iron.

19He is the first of the ways of God;

Only He who made him can bring near His sword.

20Surely the mountains yield food for him,

And all the beasts of the field play there.

21He lies under the lotus trees,

In a covert of reeds and marsh.

22The lotus trees cover him with their shade;

The willows by the brook surround him.

23Indeed the river may rage,

Yet he is not disturbed;

He is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth,

24Though he takes it in his eyes,

Or one pierces his nose with a snare.

Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower?

2Can you put a reed through his nose,

Or pierce his jaw with a hook?

3Will he make many supplications to you?

Will he speak softly to you?

4Will he make a covenant with you?

Will you take him as a servant forever?

5Will you play with him as with a bird,

Or will you leash him for your maidens?

6Will your companions make a banquet of him?

Will they apportion him among the merchants?

7Can you fill his skin with harpoons,

Or his head with fishing spears?

8Lay your hand on him;

Remember the battle—

Never do it again!

9Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false;

Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him?

10No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up.

Who then is able to stand against Me?

11Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him?

Everything under heaven is Mine.

His mighty power, or his graceful proportions.

13Who can remove his outer coat?

Who can approach him with a double bridle?

14Who can open the doors of his face,

With his terrible teeth all around?

15His rows of scales are his pride,

Shut up tightly as with a seal;

16One is so near another

That no air can come between them;

17They are joined one to another,

They stick together and cannot be parted.

18His sneezings flash forth light,

And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.

19Out of his mouth go burning lights;

Sparks of fire shoot out.

20Smoke goes out of his nostrils,

As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.

21His breath kindles coals,

And a flame goes out of his mouth.

22Strength dwells in his neck,

And sorrow dances before him.

23The folds of his flesh are joined together;

They are firm on him and cannot be moved.

24His heart is as hard as stone,

Even as hard as the lower millstone.

Because of his crashings they are beside themselves.

26Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail;

Nor does spear, dart, or javelin.

27He regards iron as straw,

And bronze as rotten wood.

28The arrow cannot make him flee;

Slingstones become like stubble to him.

29Darts are regarded as straw;

He laughs at the threat of javelins.

30His undersides are like sharp potsherds;

He spreads pointed marks in the mire.

31He makes the deep boil like a pot;

He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.

32He leaves a shining wake behind him;

One would think the deep had white hair.

33On earth there is nothing like him,

Which is made without fear.

34He beholds every high thing;

He is king over all the children of pride.”

Job’s Repentance and Restoration

2“I know that You can do everything,

And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.

3You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’

Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,

Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

4Listen, please, and let me speak;

You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’

5“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,

But now my eye sees You.

And repent in dust and ashes.”

9So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD commanded them; for the LORD had accepted Job.

10And the LORD restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

11Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before, came to him and ate food with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the LORD had brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold.

13He also had seven sons and three daughters.

14And he called the name of the first Jemimah, the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-Happuch.

15In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.

16After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations.

Annotations for Job

The word “upright” here is sometimes translated “integrity”; the original Hebrew word implies perfection and maturity. Integrity is an important concept in Job (, ; ; ). People with integrity are whole persons, without hypocrisy or duplicity. In the face of his friends’ accusations and God’s silence, Job maintained his integrity, and the Lord ultimately vindicated him. The foundation for Job’s character was the fact that he “feared God and shunned evil” (). “The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding” (). To fear the Lord means to respect and obey Him because of who He is, what He says, and what He does.

The land of Uz was probably in or near Edom (). Eliphaz, one of Job’s friends, came from Teman (), which is associated with the Edomites ().

Job was prosperous in his family life. The events in this book took place during the Patriarchal Age (Job may have been a contemporary of Abraham or Isaac), when a large family was seen as a blessing from God (; ; ). The children must have enjoyed each other’s company, since they met frequently to celebrate their birthdays. This speaks well of the way Job and his wife reared them. The fact that their father offered special sacrifices after each birthday feast does not imply that their celebration was wicked and that they needed to repent. It only shows that Job was a pious man and wanted to be sure his family was right with God.

Job knew what had happened, but he did not know why it had happened; and that is the crux of the matter. Because the author allows us to visit the throne room of heaven and hear God and Satan speak, we know who caused the destruction and why he was allowed to cause it. But if we did not have this insight, we would probably take the same approach as Job’s friends and blame Job for the tragedy.

God found no fault with Job, but Satan did. God’s statement in verse echoes the description of Job in verse , but Satan questioned it. The word “Satan” means “adversary—one who opposes the law.” This is a courtroom scene, and God and Satan each deliver different verdicts about Job. As you study this book, keep in mind that God said, “Not guilty!” (v. ; ; ).

, Satan’s accusation against Job was really an attack on God. We might paraphrase it like this: “The only reason Job fears You is because You pay him to do it. You two have made a contract: You protect him and prosper him as long as he obeys You and worships You. You are not a God worthy of worship! You have to pay people to honor You.”

Some of the so-called tragedies in the lives of God’s people have really been weapons of God when He “[silences] the enemy and the avenger” (). The angels watch the church and learn from God’s dealings with His people (; ). We may not know until we get to heaven why God allowed certain things to happen. Meanwhile, we walk by faith and say with Job, “Blessed be the name of the LORD” ().

The hosts of heaven and of hell watched to see how Job would respond to the loss of his wealth and his children. He expressed his grief in a manner normal for that day, for God expects us to be human (). After all, even Jesus wept (). But then Job worshiped God and uttered a profound statement of faith ().

, Job looked up and uttered a magnificent statement of faith: “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” Instead of cursing God, as Satan said Job would do, Job praised the Lord! Anybody can say, “God gave me what I had” or “God has taken it away,” but real faith says, in the midst of sorrow and suffering, “Praise the name of the Lord.” “In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong” (v. ).

Satan does not give up easily, and he returned to God’s throne to accuse Job again. As in the first meeting (), God brought up the subject of His servant Job; and Satan accepted the challenge. We get the impression that God was confident that His servant would not fail the test.

Not all physical affliction comes directly from the evil one, although Satan’s demons can cause (among other things) blindness (), an inability to speak (, ), physical deformities (), incessant pain (), and insanity (). Sometimes physical affliction is the natural result of carelessness on our part, and we have nobody to blame but ourselves. But even then, Satan knows how to use our folly to further his cause.

“Curse God and die!” was exactly what Satan wanted Job to do, and Job’s wife put the temptation before her husband. What did she have left? Rather than watch her husband waste away in pain and shame, she would prefer that God strike him dead and get it over with immediately. Perhaps if Job cursed God, God would do it.

In times of severe testing, our first question must not be, “How can I get out of this?” but “What can I get out of this?” Job’s wife thought she had the problem solved; but following her counsel would have only made the situation worse. Faith is living without scheming. It is obeying God despite feelings, circumstances, or consequences, knowing that He is working out His perfect plan in His way and in His time.

The two things Job would not give up were his faith in God and his integrity, and that’s what his wife wanted him to do. Even if God had permitted evil to come into his life, Job would not rebel against God by taking matters into his own hands. In the end, Job’s wife was reconciled to her husband and to the Lord, and God gave her another family (). We don’t know how much Job’s wife learned from her sufferings, but we can assume that she grew through this experience.

The best way to help people who are hurting is just to be with them, saying little or nothing and letting them know we care. We shouldn’t try to explain everything; explanations never heal a broken heart. If Job’s friends had listened to him, accepted his feelings, and not argued with him, they would have helped him greatly; but they chose to be prosecuting attorneys instead of witnesses. In the end, the Lord rebuked them; and they had to ask Job’s forgiveness ().

Catalyst

Who are Job’s friends? All three of the men were old (), older than Job (), but we assume that Eliphaz was the oldest. He is named first (), he spoke first, and God seems to have accepted him as the elder member of the trio (). Eliphaz was associated with Teman, a place known for its wisdom (). Eliphaz based his speeches on two things: his own observations of life “I have seen,” “this we have searched out”—; , ) and a frightening personal experience he had one night (). Eliphaz put great faith in tradition (, ), and the God he worshiped was an inflexible Lawgiver. “Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off?” he asked (); and a host of martyrs could have answered, “We have!” (And what about our Lord Jesus Christ?) Eliphaz had a rigid theology that left little or no room for God’s grace.

Bildad must have been the second oldest of the three since he is named second and spoke after Eliphaz. In a word, Bildad was a legalist. His life-text was, “Behold, God will not cast away the blameless, nor will He uphold the evildoers” (). He could quote ancient proverbs, and like Eliphaz, he had great respect for tradition. For some reason, Bildad was certain that Job’s children had died, because they also were sinners (). The man seemed to have no feeling for his hurting friend.

Zophar was the youngest of the three and surely the most dogmatic. He spoke like a schoolmaster addressing a group of ignorant freshmen. “Listen!” was his unfeeling approach (). He was merciless and told Job that God was giving him far less than he deserved for his sins (). The key text to understanding Zophar is, “Do you not know this of old, since man was placed on earth, that the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment?” (, ). Interestingly enough, Zophar spoke to Job only twice. Either he decided he was unable to answer Job’s arguments, or he felt that trying to help Job was a waste of time.

All three men made some good and true statements, as well as some foolish ones; but these friends were of no help to Job, because their viewpoint was too narrow. Their theology was not vital and vibrant but dead and rigid, and the God they tried to defend was small enough to be understood and explained. By maintaining his integrity and refusing to say he had sinned, Job undermined the theology of his friends and robbed them of their peace and confidence; and this made them angry. God used Job to destroy their shallow theology and challenge them to go deeper into the heart and mind of God. Alas, they preferred the superficial and safe to the profound and mysterious.

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar have many disciples today. Whenever you meet a person who feels compelled to explain everything, who has a pat answer for every question and a fixed formula for solving every problem, you are back at the ash heap with Job’s three friends.

Go to the

Job cursed two nights: the night of his conception and the night of his birth. Conception is a blessing that comes from God (, ; ); thus, when we curse a blessing, we are questioning the goodness of God. (Note that Job said a child was conceived, not “a mass of protoplasm” or “a thing.” Job was a person from the moment of conception.)

The key word here is “darkness.” At birth, a baby comes out of darkness into the light; but Job wanted to stay in the darkness. In fact, he thought being born dead would have been better. Then he would have gone to the world of the dead (Sheol) and not have had to face all this misery.

Nothing is wrong with asking “Why?” as long as we don’t get the idea that God owes us an answer. Even our Lord asked, “Why have You forsaken Me?” (). But if the Lord did tell us why certain events occur as they do, would that ease our pain or heal our broken hearts? Does reading the X-ray take away the pain of a broken leg? We live on promises, not explanations; so we shouldn’t spend too much time asking God why.

The last half of the lament is a description of the world of the dead, the place the Jews called Sheol (vv. ). That’s where Job wanted to be. The Old Testament does not give a complete and final revelation of life after death; that had to await the coming of the Savior (). Job saw Sheol as a shadowy place where the small and great rested together, away from the burdens and sufferings of life on earth. Job would rather be dead and have rest than be alive and bear the misery that had come to him. After all, he was in the dark as far as his future was concerned (), so he might as well be in the darkness of Sheol.

The first round of speeches. The three friends had been silent for seven days (), and Job later confessed he wished they had stayed that way (). But “Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered” (). Did he address the pain in Job’s heart? No, he replied to the words from Job’s lips; and this was a mistake. A wise counselor and comforter must listen with the heart and respond to feelings as well as to words. A broken heart is not healed with logic, but with love. Yes, we must speak the truth, but we should do that in love ().

Never underestimate the power of words to encourage people in the battles of life. Moffatt translates verse , “Your words have kept men on their feet.” The right words, spoken at the right time, and with the right motive, can make a tremendous difference. Your words can nourish those who are weak and encourage those who are defeated. But your words can also hurt those who are broken and add to their burdens. So be careful what you say and how you say it.

Eliphaz then moved into his accusation: Job could give it, but he couldn’t take it! Eliphaz asserted that Job could tell others how to handle their trials; but when trials came to his life, he didn’t practice what he preached. If Job had been living a godly life, Eliphaz argued, then he had nothing to fear, because God always blesses the righteous and judges the wicked.

, This is the basic premise of all three friends: Do what is right and life will go well for you; do what is wrong and God will send pain and punishment. God’s judgment may sometimes be gradual, like the growing of a crop for harvest (v. ); or it may be sudden, like the coming of a storm or the attack of a lion (vv. ). But we can be sure that judgment will come; for God is a righteous Judge.

Most people will agree that ultimately God blesses the righteous, His own people, and judges the wicked; but that is not the question discussed in Job. The immediate, not the ultimate judgment, concerned Job and his three friends and also David (), Asaph (), and even the prophet Jeremiah ().

Eliphaz presented two arguments to prove his point: experience () and observation (). He based his first argument on an eerie experience he had one night when he saw “visions” and heard a voice. This he backed up with an argument from observation. Neither of Eliphaz’s sources replaces the Word of God.

Is this statement (v. ) a direct revelation from God? Probably not; the whole experience doesn’t seem to fit God’s pattern for revealing truth. For one thing, it lacks the authority of “The Word of the Lord came to me saying” or “Thus says the Lord.” And God doesn’t usually sneak up on people and scare them. We don’t know for sure, but Eliphaz may have had a dream, meditated on it, and gradually transformed it into a vision.

Because the Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament have no punctuation marks, we are not always certain where quotations begin and end. Most English translations make verses the complete statement of the “spirit”; but some Bible scholars believe the statement is limited to verse , and the rest was commentary by Eliphaz. Either way, the message is the same: a human life is brief and frail, and a person can never be righteous enough in himself or herself to please God.

One thing is sure: Eliphaz was not telling the whole story about God and humanity. Yes, humans live in houses of clay that eventually turn to dust; and a person’s life can be snuffed out like swatting a moth or pulling down a tent. But each human being is also made in the image of God, and the God who made that person is a God of grace and mercy as well as a God of justice.

Eliphaz’s second argument was based on his personal observations of life. He had seen sinners prosper and take root, only to be destroyed and lose everything. This was a not-so-subtle description of Job’s situation. Job must have felt deeply hurt to hear that his sin brought the death of his children. But contrast this with , where Asaph takes a wholly different view. He concludes that God allows the wicked to prosper in this life because that is the only “heaven” they will know. God will adjust things in the next life and see to it that His people are rewarded and that the wicked are punished. The problem with arguing from observation is that our observations are severely limited.

Eliphaz’s conclusion led to his appeal to Job to seek God and commit himself to Him. His point was that the God who does wonders and cares for His creation would surely help Job if he were to humble himself and confess his sins. Job should see his trials as discipline from God to make him a better man (vv. , ), a theme that would later be taken up by Elihu.

Eliphaz closes his speech with words of assurance: The same God who wounds will also heal (; , ). His point was that God would deliver Job from trouble, save him from his enemies, and give him a long and happy life and a peaceful death. “Behold, this we have searched out; it is true. Hear it, and know for yourself” ().

Eliphaz’s argument is, in reality, Satan’s philosophy in different words! Satan had said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him . . . . Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life” (, ; ). Eliphaz was saying, in effect, “Confess your sins and God will restore all that you have lost.” If Job had given up his integrity and “confessed” just to appease Eliphaz’s theology, he would have disgraced Jehovah and vindicated Satan; and Job was not about to do it.

Job responded with two passionate appeals. First, he appealed to his three friends that they might show more understanding and sympathy (ch. ). Then he appealed to God, that He would consider his plight and lighten his sufferings before he died (ch. ).

Out of his deep sorrow and brokenness, Job tried to respond to his friends. He voiced some eloquent observations that we ought to keep in mind anytime we are spending time with people who are hurt. Job’s words of confrontation represent accountability with tears.

• Job’s friends did not feel the heaviness of his suffering (). No wonder Job had spoken so impetuously! His friends would have done the same if they carried the load that he carried. Job didn’t have the full revelation of heaven that believers have today, so his future was dim. We can read and take heart.

• Job’s friends did not understand the bitterness of his suffering (). Job felt like a target at which God was shooting poisoned arrows, and the poison was making Job’s spirit bitter. God had His army in array, shooting at one weak man; and Job’s friends were adding to the poison. What Job needed were words of encouragement that would feed his spirit and give him strength, but his friends only fed him useless and tasteless words.

• Job tried to get them to feel the hopelessness of his situation (). Prolonged and intense suffering can make a person feel powerless to handle life, and this can lead to hopelessness. If you can’t control some of the elements that make up life, how can you plan for the future? Job exclaimed, “What strength do I have, that I should hope?” (v. ).

• Job demonstrated how hopelessness can lead to a feeling of uselessness (, ). When you feel useless, you don’t want to live. This explains why Job wanted God to take his life (; , ; , ; , ; ). Job didn’t attempt this himself, for he knew that suicide was wrong; but he prayed that God might take him out of his misery.

• Job pointed out the ineffectiveness of his friends’ ministry to him (). They didn’t pity him or try to meet his needs. They were like a dry brook in the desert that disappoints thirsty travelers. They were his “friends” as long as he was prosperous; but when trouble came, they turned against him.

Go to the

Job made two requests of his friends: “Teach me” (v. ) and “Look at me!” (v. ). He didn’t need accusation; he needed illumination! But Job’s friends wouldn’t even look him in the face and behold his plight. Physically, the three men were sitting with Job on the ash heap, but emotionally they were like the priest and Levite, passing by “on the other side” ().

Job used several vivid pictures to describe the futility of life. He felt like a man who had been conscripted into the army against his will (v. —the image of “hard service”), and like a laborer (v. ) or a hired hand waiting for sunset and his or her daily wages (v. ). At least these people had something to look forward to, but Job’s future was hopeless. His nights were sleepless, his days were futile (), and God didn’t seem to care.

Next, Job focused on the brevity of life. Time was passing swiftly; so, if God were going to do anything, He had better hurry! Job’s life was like the weaver’s shuttle (v. ), moving swiftly with the thread running out. Job also saw his life as a breath or a cloud, here for a brief time and then gone forever, never to return (see also ).

, Job closed his appeal with a request for forgiveness. “Have I sinned?” This was not a confession of sin, for Job still maintained his integrity; instead, it was an opportunity for God to deal with areas in Job’s life that Job knew nothing about (). Then Job was silent. He had vented his pain and frustration and appealed to his friends for understanding and encouragement.

Catalyst

How are these two attributes of God reconciled? At the cross. When Jesus died for the sins of the world, the righteousness of God was vindicated, for sin was judged; but the love of God was demonstrated, for a Savior was provided. At Calvary, God is both just and the Justifier ().

In Old Testament times, believers looked forward to the cross and were saved by faith in a Savior yet to come (; ; ). Job was a believer; therefore, his sins had been dealt with by God. Even if Job had sinned against God in some great way, God would deal with His child on the basis of grace and mercy and not justice. When we confess our sins, God forgives us because He is faithful to His promise and just toward His Son who died for those sins ().

Go to the

“The words of your mouth [are] like a strong wind” (v. ). Can you imagine a counselor saying that to a suffering individual who wanted to die? Well that’s what Bildad did. In fact, he used the same approach in his next speech (). Job had poured out his grief and was waiting to hear a sympathetic word, but his friend said that Job’s words were just so much hot air. Bildad was so concerned about defending the justice of God that he forgot the needs of his friend.

Bildad was angry that Job could even think that God would do anything wrong. Had Job forgotten what God did to sinners at the flood or what He did to Sodom and Gomorrah? Isn’t He the holy God, and doesn’t His very nature demand that He do what is right? Job was blaspheming God by questioning Him and accusing Him of wrongdoing. While Bildad’s theology was correct—God is just—his application was wrong. Bildad was looking at only one aspect of God’s nature—His holiness and justice—and had forgotten God’s love, mercy, and goodness.

Bildad’s appeal in these verses is another echo of Satan’s philosophy. He was saying, “You say you have not sinned. Then plead with God to restore your prosperity. If you were right before God, He would do great things for you. Isn’t prosperity better than pain?” Little did Bildad realize that his words would come true, and Job’s latter end would be greater than his beginning. Eventually Job’s prayer would be for Bildad and the others, because they were the ones not right with God ().

Bildad did not quote from the ancients; he knew that Job was just as familiar with the past as he was. Bildad emphasized, however, that he respected the wisdom of the ancients more than the teachings of his contemporaries. The accumulated wisdom of the ages was bound to be worth more than the words of people who were born only yesterday. Life is too brief for us to learn all the ancients can teach us. We are fleeting shadows, so we had better learn wisdom while we have the opportunity.

To Bildad, the past was a parking lot; but God wants the past to be a launching pad. We stand with the ancients so that we can walk with them and move toward the goals that they were seeking. This includes our knowledge of God as well as our knowledge of humanity and the world.

In this wisdom poem, Bildad may have summarized some of the sayings of the ancients as he argued from the law of cause and effect. If this law applies in nature, why not in human life as well?

Nobody pulls up a good plant and destroys it, so, according to Bildad, something must have been wrong with Job for God to so uproot him. God doesn’t cultivate weeds and cast away the good plants! Bildad reaffirmed his earlier promise that God would restore Job’s fortunes if he would only admit his sins and get right with God. It was the devil’s invitation all over again!

In these two chapters, Job asks three questions: [1] “How can I be righteous before God?” (); [2] “How can I meet God in court?” (); and [3] “Why was I born?” (; see v. ). We can see how these questions connect. Job is righteous, but he has to prove it. How can a mortal man prove himself righteous before the Lord? Can he take God to court? But if God doesn’t step in and testify on Job’s behalf, what is the purpose of all this suffering? Why was Job even born?

“How can I be righteous before God?” This is not a question about salvation (“How may I be justified?”) but about vindication (“How can I be declared innocent?”). Anyone who tried to take God to court would not be able to answer God’s questions one time in a thousand! Yet Job didn’t know any other way to clear himself before his friends. He learned, as we all must learn, that after explanations and right living, the outcome is still in God’s hands.

Catalyst

From this point on, the emphasis in the discussion is on the justice of God; and the image that is uppermost in Job’s mind is that of a legal trial. He wants to meet God in court and have an opportunity to prove his own integrity. With his friends acting as witnesses against him, Job repeatedly appealed to the necessity of a trial before God. Throughout the Book of Job, we constantly see legal language about charges, arguments, and defenses.

Job was serious about wanting to face God in court, even though he had no one to represent him. “But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God” (). “Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him” (). “I have prepared my case, I know that I shall be vindicated” (). He felt that God was not treating him justly. “If I cry out concerning wrong, I am not heard. If I cry aloud, there is no justice” (). God had “taken away” his “justice” (), and Job demanded an opportunity to be heard before the throne of God. But when the opportunity came, Job had nothing to say.

In the end, Job discovers that even our deepest longings to be justified (or to justify ourselves) before God fail to recognize our inability to stand before Him on our merits or hold Him accountable. These longings are satisfied by God freely, not because we demand satisfaction from Him.

Go to the

Most of this section is a declaration focusing on the attributes of God, especially His invincible wisdom and power that control the earth and the heavens. Would anybody dare go to court with an opponent powerful enough to shake the earth, make the stars, and walk on the waves? (See and .)

God is not only invincible, He is also invisible. Job couldn’t see God or stop Him to give Him a summons to court. God can do whatever He pleases, and nobody can question Him! Even monsters of the sea (; ) have to bow before God’s power.

“How can I meet God in court?” In order to prove himself righteous, Job would have to take God to court. But suppose God accepted the summons? What would Job say or do? He discussed this by imagining several situations.

Here Job is saying, “If God came, what would I say?” How could Job answer God’s cross-examination? How does anyone reason with God or present a case before God? If God should answer, Job would not believe it was really His voice; and if Job should give the wrong response, God would only afflict him more.

“It is all one thing . . .’He destroys the blameless and the wicked.’ ” (v. ). This is no assurance that God will set Job free. Both Eliphaz and Bildad claimed that God rewards the righteous and judges the wicked, but Job said that sometimes God destroys both the righteous and the wicked. Job was admitting his frustration by the apparent injustice when those who haven’t committed the sin sometimes suffer and die through no direct fault of their own. But what if the ultimate resolution to this universal question isn’t settled until after death?

Here Job was asking, “If I try to be happy, what good will it do?” Time was running out for Job, his days passing like the king’s messengers who hasten to their destinations, ships driven before a strong wind, or the eagle that swoops down from the sky. Perhaps, Job surmises, he should take a more positive attitude toward his afflictions, forget his pain, and smile (v. ). But would that change anything? No! He would still be guilty before God, rejected by his friends, and sitting on an ash heap in sickness and pain.

“Nor is there any mediator,” Job exclaims. The Hebrew word translated “mediator” means “to act as umpire.” The mediator is the one with authority to set the day when competing parties must come together to settle their dispute. In the East, the mediator would put his hands on the heads of the two disputing parties to remind them that he was the one with the authority to settle the question. Job longed for somebody who could do this for him and God.

If God were a man, then Job could approach Him and plead his case. This mediator between God and Job could take away the rod of judgment and bring Job and God together. This discussion gives a clear picture of Christ’s work. Jesus is God and became man to reveal the Father () and to bring sinners to God (, ; ). He is the mediator that Job was pleading for centuries earlier ().

Job’s argument here is that God made him and gave him life (vv. , , , ), but God was not treating him like one of His own creations. After putting time and effort into making Job, God was destroying him! Furthermore, God was judging Job without even telling him what the charges were against him (v. ). No wonder Job was weary, bitter, and confused (vv. , ).

Note that in this chapter Job speaks directly to God and not to his friends. God is not a human being who has to investigate matters and fight against time (vv. ). God is eternal and can take all the time He needs, and God is all-knowing and doesn’t have to investigate like a private detective. Job had previously yearned for an umpire (), but now he asks for a deliverer () so he can escape judgment. In Christ, we know and experience what Job could only vaguely hope for as he considered his place before God.

God was an ever-present guard, watching Job’s every move (v. ). He was stalking Job like a lion (v. ) and attacking him with His army (v. ). Job felt hemmed in, with no way out. In his state of grief, Job was reading God’s nearness and love as threatening. Yet even the freedom to level with God was an amazing gift Job was able to use. God doesn’t turn away from us, even when we come to Him with honest anger.

Job’s existence on the earth seemed so purposeless that he begged God to give him a few moments of peace and happiness before his life ended. Job could see his life going by swiftly (, ; , ), so he had not a moment to waste. “Leave me alone,” he prays, “that I may take a little comfort before I go . . . to the land of darkness” (, ).

Job could not understand what God was doing, and it was important that he not understand. Had Job known that God was using him as a weapon to defeat Satan, he could have simply sat back and waited trustfully for the battle to end. But as Job surveyed himself and his situation, he asked the same question the disciples asked when Mary anointed the Lord Jesus: “Why this waste?” (see ). Before we criticize Job too severely, let’s recall how many times we have asked that question ourselves, when a baby has died or a promising young person has been killed in an accident.

Job was asking, “Why was I ever born?” In the light of his losses and his personal suffering, his life seemed such a waste! But God knew what He was doing then, and He knows what He is doing now.

Job’s three friends were old men, and Zophar must have been the youngest since he spoke last. What his first, short speech lacks in length, it makes up for in animosity, for it reveals that Zophar was angry. Righteous anger has a proper time and place (), but Job’s ash heap was not the place, and it wasn’t even close to the right time. Suffering can’t be measured quantitatively, the way we might measure produce at the supermarket. Job’s friends’ flippant approach to his situation reveals that they lacked understanding. “The deeper the sorrow,” says the Jewish Talmud, “the less tongue it has.”

Zophar made three accusations against Job: Job was guilty of sin (vv. ); Job was ignorant of God (vv. ); and Job was stubborn in his refusal to repent (vv. ). Job’s reply answered all three accusations: He affirmed God’s greatness (ch. ) and his own innocence (ch. ), but he had no hope, so why should he repent (ch. )?

Not only was Job’s speech a lot of wind, said Zophar, but it was also “empty talk” and mockery. What Job said about God was not true and could only be compared to the idle chatter of people who speak without thinking. And what Job said about himself was an outright lie, for he was not pure before God. In maintaining his integrity, Job may have given the impression that he thought he was sinless, which, of course, was not true (see ; , ; ).

Zophar accused Job of being ignorant of God. Zophar’s request in verse was answered when God appeared (); but Zophar and his two friends were later rebuked by God—but Job was not. In fact, God commended Job for telling the truth. Beware of asking God to tell others what they need to know, unless you are willing for Him to show you what you need to know.

What did Zophar mean when he said that the secrets of God’s wisdom “would double your prudence”? It could mean that God’s wisdom is full and complete () or that God has twice as much wisdom as Job thinks he has. The phrase can also be translated, “true wisdom has two sides”—the small side that we see and the huge side that only God can see.

, Zophar wanted Job to grasp the height, depth, breadth, and length of God’s divine wisdom. In saying this, Zophar was hinting that he himself already knew the vast dimensions of God’s wisdom and could teach Job if he would listen. Unfortunately Zophar didn’t know the vast dimensions of God’s love () and couldn’t share that love with Job.

God is not accountable to us. He can arrest and imprison anybody He chooses, convene the court and pronounce the sentence; and nobody can say a word in protest (see ). God knows who is wise and who is foolish, who is pure and who is sinful. So, according to Zophar, because God has passed judgment on Job, Job must be guilty.

Zophar asserted that Job was stubborn and should repent. “Have hope!” summarizes Zophar’s encouraging word to Job (v. ), and he described what Job could experience. God would bless Job abundantly, and his troubles would be over. Job would be able to lift his head again, and his fears would be gone (v. ; ).

, But if Job wanted these blessings, he had to get them on Zophar’s terms. Yes, hope was there, but this was hope with a condition attached: Job must repent and confess his sins. Zophar was tempting Job to bargain with God so he could get out of his troubles. This is exactly what Satan wanted Job to do! “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan demanded, assuming that Job’s faith was shallow (). Satan accused Job of having a commercial faith that expected prosperity in return for obedience. If Job had followed Zophar’s advice, he would have played right into the hands of the enemy.

Job did not have a “commercial faith” that made bargains with God. He had a confident faith that said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (). That doesn’t sound like a man looking for an easy way out of difficulties.

Job affirmed God’s greatness. First, Job challenged his friends’ declaration that they had more wisdom than he did. True, they were older than Job; but age is no guarantee of wisdom. Fools come in both varieties—old and young. Then, Job rebuked his friends for being so unfeeling toward him and turning him into a laughingstock. He felt he was just and upright, which is the way God described him (, ; ).

Zophar claimed that wisdom was not accessible to humans (), but Job said that God’s creatures could teach them what they needed to know (see ). Even the creatures know that God’s hand made everything and keeps everything going. In fact, the very breath they were using to accuse Job was God’s gift to them; and He could remove it without their permission.

These lines of Job’s response describe the wisdom and power of God; they are a rebuke to Job’s aged friends who thought that their years of experience had taught them so much.

, Job pointed out that God is completely sovereign in what He does with nature (vv. , ) and with people (vv. ). What God destroys cannot be rebuilt, and what He locks up cannot be released (). God can send drought or flood, and nobody can stop Him (). God has the wisdom to know what to do, and He has the power to accomplish it (vv. , ). In His sovereignty over people, no matter what their status, God is in control. Job’s argument is that all kinds of people experience difficulties in life, because God can do what He pleases. He is no respecter of persons and is not impressed by a person’s rank, wealth, or social status.

God is sovereign over nations as well as individuals (; ). He can enlarge or destroy a nation and give it freedom or bondage. God just needs to take wisdom away from the leaders, and the nation’s destruction is sure. Proud people don’t like to hear this message. Ever since the city of Enoch () and the Tower of Babel (), humankind has been trying to build and manage things without God; the end has always been failure and judgment.

In this part of his defense, Job first expressed his disappointment in his three friends (vv. ), then his declaration of faith in God (vv. ), and finally his desire that God come to him and get the issue settled once and for all (vv. ).

Catalyst

Job’s friends had not been an encouragement to him. They had taken a superior attitude as judges, assuming that they knew God better than Job did. They did not identify with him in his grief and pain; “But you forgers of lies, you are all worthless physicians” (). They smeared the whitewash of their lies (; ) over the discussion so that they avoided the difficult problems while maintaining their traditional ideas. They stayed on the surface of things and never went deep into God’s truth or Job’s feelings.

Counseling that stays on the surface accomplishes very little. If we are going to help people, we must go much deeper; but this demands love, courage, and patience. What the three friends thought were profound statements of truth were only warmed-over ashes from ancient fires, clay pots that would fall apart (). A good counselor needs much more than “platitudes” (v. ). He or she also needs wisdom to know how to apply the truth to the needs of hurting people.

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This is one of the greatest declarations of faith found anywhere in Scripture, but it must be understood in its context. Job is saying, “I will take my case directly to God and prove my integrity. I know I am taking my life in my hands in approaching God, because He is able to slay me. But if He doesn’t slay me, it is proof that I am not the hypocrite you say I am.” Later, Job will take an oath and challenge God to pass judgment (ch. ). To approach God personally was a great act of faith (; , ), but Job was so sure of his integrity that he would take his chances. After all, if he did nothing, he would die; and if he was rejected by God, he would die; but there was always the possibility that God would prove him right.

These words are addressed to God. Job has “prepared [his] case” (v. ) and is sure that he will win. Job has two desires: that God would remove His chastening hand and give Job relief, and that God would come to Job in such a way that He would not frighten him. Job is asking God to meet him in court so they can talk over God’s “case” against Job and Job’s “case” against God. In verse , Job gives God the option of speaking first!

, Zophar had assured Job that he could have hope if only he would acknowledge his sins and repent (). But Zophar was not standing in Job’s shoes! From Job’s point of view, his future was bleak. Job used several images to illustrate the hopeless condition of a person in this world (). God knows the limits of our days (; ; ). A suicide may foolishly hasten the day of death, but no one will go beyond the limits that God has set for his or her life.

Catalyst

If everybody believed as Job believed—that God does not always punish the wicked and reward the godly—then what motive would people have for obeying God? Religion would not be worth it! But this is the devil’s theology, the very idea that God was using Job to refute! If people serve God only for what they get out of it, then they are not serving God at all; they are only serving themselves by making God their servant. Their religion is only a pious system for promoting selfishness and not for glorifying God.

When the new generation of Israelites was about to enter Canaan, Moses gave them a higher motive for obedience: their love for God (, ; ; ; , , ; ). They were no longer children, and God didn’t need to frighten them (or bribe them) into obeying Him. Love is the fulfillment of the law () and the highest motive for obedience ().

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Job’s strongest image is that of the tree. Chop it down, and its stump remains, and the possibility always exists that the tree might sprout again. The tree has hope, but humans have no hope. At death, a person leaves no stump behind. A human being is more like water that evaporates or soaks into the ground; it can never be recovered (v. ; ). Someone may lie down at night and awaken in the morning; but when that person lies down in death, he or she has no assurance of waking again. Early believers like Job did not have the revelation of future life as we now have it in Christ (). Passages in the Old Testament hint at future resurrection (; ; ; ), but Job did not have any of these books to read and ponder. “If a man dies, shall he live again?” Job asked (), but he did not answer this important question. Later on, Job would make a great statement about future resurrection (, ); but at this point he was vacillating between despair and hope.

Job asks God to give Himself a reminder to bring Job back from Sheol, the realm of the dead. Job was probably not thinking of resurrection but of a brief return to earth so God could vindicate him before his accusers. Of course, a believer today is sealed by the Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption (, ), and God will not forget one of His children at the resurrection ().

Job reminded God that he was the work of God’s hands, an argument he had used before (). Job thought that, instead of caring for His creature, God was doing nothing but keeping a record of his sins. What hope could Job have as long as God was investigating him and building a case against him? Instead of cleansing Job’s sins, God was covering them and would not even tell Job what they were!

When people are experiencing intense grief and pain, they can easily feel that the future is hopeless and that God has forsaken them. Hopeless people may believe life is not worth living since they have nothing to look forward to but suffering and failure. They can conclude that dying is better than living and burdening themselves and others. Hopes without roots die and fade away, but our “living hope” grows because it is rooted in the living Christ and His living Word (). The assurance of resurrection and life in glory with Christ is a strong motivation for us to keep going even when the going is tough ().

The second round of speeches. During this round of speeches, the fire became hotter as the three friends focused more on proving Job wrong than on giving Job help. After all, their own peace of mind was at stake; and they were not about to surrender. If Job was not a sinner being punished by God, then the three friends’ understanding of God was all wrong. But giving up that understanding meant they had no protection against personal suffering themselves. If obedience is not a guarantee of health and wealth, then what happened to Job might happen to them. God forbid!

In his first speech (chs. ), Eliphaz had displayed some kindness toward Job; but his second address contains neither patience nor kindness—nor any new ideas: Eliphaz merely repeated his former thesis that people are sinners, and God must punish sinners ().

Eliphaz’s first warning: Job lacks wisdom. How did Eliphaz know this? For one thing, he had listened to Job’s words (vv. ) and found them to be nothing but wind. Job’s ideas were only “unprofitable talk” and useless words (vv. , ). Job’s words came from a belly filled with the hot desert wind () and not from a heart filled with true wisdom. Eliphaz was using one of the oldest tactics in debate: If you can’t refute your opponent’s arguments, attack his or her words and make them sound like a lot of hot air.

At this point, Eliphaz turned on the sarcasm, another proof that he had run out of intelligent things to say. This is another debater’s trick: When you can’t refute the speech, ridicule the speaker. Job never claimed that he was the first man God created, that he was God’s confidant, or that God had given him a monopoly on wisdom.

According to Eliphaz, Job’s attitude was wrong because he refused God’s help. Eliphaz saw himself and his friends as God’s messengers, sent to bring Job the consolation he needed. Eliphaz said their words were God speaking gently (v. ), with Job’s words spoken in anger. In his view, the three friends were serving God, but Job was resisting God.

Eliphaz’s second warning: God judges the wicked. In his first speech, Eliphaz had described the blessings of the godly person (); but here he described the sufferings of the ungodly person. Eliphaz was careful to remind Job that these were not his ideas alone, but that the ancients all agreed with him. Thus, the argument went, if Job rejected what Eliphaz said, he would be turning his back on the wisdom of their fathers. Eliphaz found great strength in tradition.

. In this description of a wicked person, Eliphaz had Job in mind. Eliphaz was not at all subtle in his approach; everybody knew he was talking about Job.

Catalyst

The problem with Eliphaz’s statement about the judgment of the wicked () is that it is not always true in this life. Many wicked people go through life apparently happy and successful, while many godly people experience suffering and seeming failure. Ultimately the wicked do suffer, and the godly are blessed; meanwhile, however, the situation often looks reversed (; ). Furthermore, God gives sunshine to the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust (). He is longsuffering toward sinners () and waits for His goodness to lead them to repentance (; ).

The greatest judgment God could send to the wicked in this life would be to let them have their own way. They who “have glory from men . . . they have their reward” (, , ). The only heaven the godless will know is the enjoyment they have on earth in this life, and God is willing for them to have it. The only suffering the godly will experience is in this life, for heaven will have no pain or tears. Furthermore, the suffering that God’s people experience now is working for them and will one day lead to glory (; ; ; ). Eliphaz and his friends had the situation all confused and reversed.

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, In his closing words, Eliphaz gave the hardest blow of all: He called Job a hypocrite and a godless man, and he blamed Job for the tragedies that had befallen him and his family. Job had secretly “conceived” sin, and now sin had given birth to suffering and death (; ; , ).

Job’s response was to utter three heartfelt requests: first, a plea to his friends for sympathy (); then, a plea to God for justice (); and finally, a plea to God to end his life and relieve him of suffering ().

Job’s friends still had not identified with his situation; they did not feel his agony or understand his perplexity. Job had already called them “the streams of the brooks that pass away” () and “worthless physicians” (), but now he calls them “miserable comforters” (). All of their attempts to comfort him only made him more miserable!

Job assured his friends that if the roles were reversed, he would treat them with more understanding than they were showing him. Instead of making long speeches, Job would give them words of encouragement. He would listen with his heart and try to help them bear their burdens. Sometimes we have to experience misunderstanding from unsympathetic friends in order to learn how to minister to others. This was a new experience for Job, and he was trying to make the most of it. Whether Job spoke or kept quiet, however, he was still suffering (v. ).

In his appeal for loving sympathy, Job told his friends what he was receiving from the hand of God (vv. ). Job was worn out; his family was gone; he was gaunt and weak. Both men and God had attacked him. Job felt as though God had painted a target on his back and handed everybody bows and arrows! He felt no relief—God kept assaulting him like a relentless warrior. He asserted, in effect, “I didn’t attack God; He attacked me!” Job saw God as his enemy (v. ; ), and nothing he could do would bring about a truce.

How did Job respond to God’s attacks? He put on sackcloth, wept in humiliation and contrition, and buried his face in the dust. Despite the accusations of Eliphaz (), Job knew he was right before God and that God would hear his prayers ().

Job’s repeated cry has been for a fair trial before God (, , , , ; ; , ). He has lamented the fact that he had no advocate to represent him before God’s throne (). None of his friends would defend him, so his only hope was that God in heaven would defend him and bear witness to his integrity (). But Job yearned for someone to plead with God on his behalf (v. ).

The Christian believer has this heavenly Advocate in Jesus Christ (, ). As our interceding High Priest, Christ gives us the conquering grace we need when we are tempted and tested (, ; ). If we fail, then He is our Advocate to forgive us and restore us when we confess our sins to Him ().

Job wanted a “mediator,” a lawyer to plead his case before God and convince Him that he was innocent. Once Job had won his case, then God would vindicate him before his critical friends and restore Job’s honor. God’s people don’t need that kind of intercession, because the Father and the Son are in perfect agreement in Their love for us and Their plan for our lives. The Lord Jesus ever lives to make intercession for His people (; ) and to perfect them in the will of God (, ). We come to a throne of grace, not a throne of judgment; and we have confidence that our loving Father will do that which is best for us.

One reason Job wanted his heavenly Advocate to act quickly was because he sensed that death was very near, “the way of no return” (). When people suffer so much that their “spirit is broken” (), then they lose their fight and want life to end. Job’s friends were against him and would not go to court and post bond for him (vv. ). People treated Job as if he were the scum of the earth (v. ). His body was only the shadow of what it had been (v. ), and all of his plans had been shattered (v. ). Job’s friends would not change their minds and come to his defense (v. ). In fact, instead of facing his situation honestly, they kept saying the light would soon dawn for him (v. ). No wonder Job saw in death the only way of escape.

At no time did Job ever consider taking his own life or asking someone else to do it for him. Life is a sacred gift from God, and only God can give it and take it away. Also, Job wanted to live long enough to see himself vindicated, but he didn’t know how much more he could endure. Once he was in Sheol, the realm of the dead, he could not be vindicated on earth unless God were to bring him back.

God did not answer Job’s plea for death, because He had something far better planned for him. God looked beyond Job’s depression and bitterness and saw that he still had faith. In the darkness of despair and the prison of pain, we often make statements that we later regret. But God understands all about it, and He lovingly turns a deaf ear to our words but a tender eye to our wounds. Many believers find the grace in living long enough to be thankful for unanswered prayer.

But would there be any hope in the grave? Could Job take his hope with him to Sheol? Paul answers the question: “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (, ). Our hope does not die, nor is it buried and left to decay; we have a “living hope” because Christ has won the victory over death and the grave! Christians sorrow, but they must not sorrow “as others who have no hope” ().

, Bildad opened his second speech with the same words he had used in his first speech: “How long?” (see ), and Job said the same thing when he replied (). The friends were growing impatient with each other because their conversation seemed to be getting nowhere.

Bildad blamed Job for the stalemate and admonished him, “Gain understanding, and afterward we will speak.” Bildad never realized that he and his two friends were playing the same tunes over and over again: (1) God is just; (2) God punishes the wicked and blesses the righteous; (3) since Job is suffering, he must be wicked; (4) if Job turns from his sins, God will again bless him. They were going in circles.

Bildad planned to use a stronger weapon than sarcasm: fear. If the three friends could not reason with Job or shame him into repenting, perhaps they could frighten Job by describing what happens when wicked people die. Before we study Bildad’s terrifying speech, we should note that fear is a normal human emotion, and nothing is wrong with it. We use the fear of sickness, injury, or death to teach children to wash their hands, stay away from power lines, and look carefully before crossing a street. Fear of financial loss motivates people to buy insurance, and fear of death encourages them to have an annual physical checkup.

When he gave this speech about the horrors of death, Bildad made two mistakes. First, he preached it to the wrong man, for Job was already a believer (, ). Second, he preached it with the wrong motive, for he had no love in his heart.

The road of life that ignores death turns out to be the most dangerous place of all because it is filled with traps. Bildad used different kinds of traps to describe the dangers people face when they try to run away from death (walking into a net or a snare). These devices were used to catch birds and animals, not people; but the wicked person is like a beast because he has left God out of his life.

Death is “the king of terrors” (v. ), determined to arrest the culprit no matter where he is. If the escaped criminal runs on the path and escapes the traps, then death will send some of his helpers to chase him. Terror frightens him, calamity eats away at his strength, and disaster waits for him to fall (vv. , ).

Sometimes death is not as dramatic and sudden as the arresting of a criminal. Death may be gradual, like the dying of a tree. The roots dry up, the branches start to wither, and the dead branches are cut off one by one. Soon the tree is completely dead, and men chop it down.

Though Bildad was talking to the wrong man and with the wrong motive, what he said about death should be taken seriously. Death is an enemy to be feared by all who are not prepared to die (), and the only way to be prepared is to trust Jesus Christ (). For the Christian believer, death means going home to the Father in heaven (), falling asleep on earth and waking up in heaven (; ), entering into rest (), and moving into greater light (). None of the pictures Bildad used should be applied to those who have trusted God for salvation.

When Bildad finished describing the terrors of death, Job replied by describing the trials of life, his own life. In essence he was saying to his friends, “I don’t have to die to experience trials. I’m experiencing them right now, and you don’t seem to care!”

Our words either hurt others or heal them; we either add to their burdens or help them bear their burdens with courage. Job’s friends crushed him with their words; they made him feel worthless and helpless in the face of all his suffering. How sensitive we should be to the needs and struggles of others! Even if people do need rebuke, we should do it in love. And our words should hearten them and not weaken them.

Bildad had given four frightening pictures of the terrors of death, so Job countered with seven vivid pictures of the trials of his life, what he was experiencing right then and there! In all these examples, Job still saw himself pursued by God and he wanted to meet Him, rather than trying to avoid Him.

• An animal trapped (). Job saw himself caught in God’s net, not because of his sins but because God had trapped him. Bildad described six different kinds of traps that would catch a fleeing criminal (), but Job did not put himself into that picture. He was not running away from God, nor was he guilty of sin. God was the one who had suddenly caught him, for reasons Job did not understand.

• A criminal in court (). God had wronged Job by arresting him and bringing him into judgment. What had he done? Why were the charges not read to him? Why was he not permitted a defense? “If I cry aloud, there is no justice” (v. ). Throughout the book, Job pleads for justice and cries out for an advocate to defend him before God.

• A traveler fenced in (). Satan had complained that God had walled in Job and his family, protecting them from trouble (). Here Job was complaining that because God had blocked his path, he could not move. Job could not see what lay ahead because God had shrouded the way with darkness. At times God permits His children to experience darkness on a dead-end street where they don’t know which way to turn. When this happens, we should wait for God to give us light in His own time. We shouldn’t try to manufacture our own light or to borrow light from others (, ).

• A king dethroned (). Before his calamities came, Job had been the leading man in Uz and the greatest man in the East (; ); but now all that honor and authority were gone. God had taken from him his royal robes and crown, and he had become the lowest instead of the highest. What humiliation!

• A structure destroyed (). This could refer to a wall or a building that God’s troops swooped down on and left in ruins. Job may have been looking back at his business affairs or his household; or perhaps he was contemplating his emaciated body. In any event, what was once strong and useful was now useless and destroyed. Bildad had spoken about a tent being destroyed (), and Job knew what that meant.

• A tree uprooted (, see ). Job had used the tree as a picture of hope (), but here he saw it as a symbol of lost hope. But in chapter , Job was speaking about a tree that had been chopped down, while here the tree had been uprooted. Without a root system, the tree cannot live.

• A besieged city (, ). God had declared war on Job () and was treating him like an enemy. God’s troops have attacked Job and settled down for a long, hard siege. Imagine a large army building a ramp just to attack a tent! Once again, Job could not understand why God has sent so much suffering. Why use an atomic bomb just to destroy a shack?

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Job went on to explain how his suffering affected his relationship with people. We must recognize that extreme and prolonged pain often isolates sufferers from people and circumstances around them. When people really hurt, they may tend to withdraw and give the impression that others can’t really understand what they are going through. Job felt alienated from those left in his family, from his friends, and even from his servants. One evidence of our Lord’s compassion is the way He identified with outcasts. He ate with “tax collectors and sinners” (), touched people with leprosy (), accepted gifts from prostitutes (), and even died between two criminals (, ). Jesus knew what it was like to be “despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (). How important it is that we, His disciples, have this same kind of compassion.

Why did Job want his words to be recorded permanently? He thought he was going to die before God would vindicate him, and he wanted people to remember how he suffered and what he said. Bildad had warned him, “The memory of him perishes from the earth” (), and Job wanted his record to remain.

The Hebrew word translated “Redeemer” in verse refers to the family redeemer, the near relative who could avenge his brother’s blood (), reclaim and restore his brother’s property (, , ), and set his brother free from slavery (). The family redeemer could also go to court on behalf of a wronged relative (, ). Of course, this family redeemer is Jesus Christ. He took upon Himself a human nature so that He might reveal God to us, experience all that we experience, die for our sins, and then return to heaven to represent us before the Father. He is willing to save and able to save. One day He will stand upon the earth and exercise judgment, and He will vindicate His own people.

, Job closed his speech with a word of warning to his three critical friends: They too will stand at God’s judgment throne, so they had better be ready. They accused Job of being a sinner, but were they not also sinners? They said that God was judging Job for his sins, but will He not judge them as well? One day they will have to answer to God for the way they have spoken to and about Job, so they had better beware.

Zophar made three affirmations to prove that the fate of the wicked is indeed terrible: Their life is brief (vv. ), their pleasure is temporary (vv. ), and their death is painful (vv. ).

The life of the wicked is brief. Zophar declared that from the beginning of human history the triumph of the wicked has been short-lived. We wonder where he got his information, for God waited 120 years before sending the flood (see ), and God gave the wicked Canaanites at least four centuries before He judged them (). Contrary to Zophar’s statement, the wicked often seemed blessed with longevity.

In surveying both sacred and secular history, we find no ironclad rules that govern when either the wicked or the righteous will die. Generally speaking, people who ignore God’s laws are more vulnerable to problems that could lead to an early death. Sexual promiscuity, the use of narcotics (including alcohol and tobacco), and a reckless lifestyle can all help shorten a person’s life; but that is not guaranteed to happen. Amazingly, some godless people live to an old age. Perhaps this is the grace of God in giving them time to repent.

, According to Zophar, the higher the wicked climb in their success, the farther down they will fall when their judgment comes. When they fall, they will go down the drain like their own dung; and people will wonder where they are. They will vanish like a forgotten dream or like a night vision that cannot be called back (v. ).

The pleasure of the wicked is temporary. Zophar uses eating as his basic image here. The wicked enjoy sin the way people enjoy food, keeping it in their mouths where they can taste it before swallowing it. In fact, they enjoy sin so much that they can’t make themselves swallow it. But eventually that delicious food in their mouths becomes poison in their systems, and they become ill and vomit everything up.

, Using the image of eating, Zophar has made two points: What the wicked swallow will make them sick, and it will take away their desire for the good things of life. He makes a third point in vv. and : The wicked will not be able to enjoy (swallow) some of the things they labored for. Because they acquired their wealth through sinning, that wealth will not satisfy them. This certainly has been reflected in the lives of many people who have rejected Christ and devoted themselves to the pleasures of sin. The more they indulge, the more they crave; and the more they satisfy that craving, the less they enjoy. The less they enjoy, the more they have to sin in order to recapture the old thrills; and the more they sin, the more they destroy their ability to enjoy anything.

The death of the wicked is painful. Not even their riches will be able to prevent them from dying (v. ; see ). While they are enjoying their prosperity, the wicked will experience distress, misery, and God’s burning anger.

After appealing once more to his friends’ understanding and sympathy (vv. ), Job replied to Zophar’s statements and refuted each of them. Job stated that, from his point of view, it appears that the wicked have long lives (vv. ), they are not often sent calamity (vv. ), and their death is no different from the death of other men (vv. ). Point by point, Job took Zophar’s speech and shredded it to bits.

Job pointed out that his complaint was not against humans but against God. People had not caused his afflictions, and people could not take them away. If Job was impatient, it was because God had not answered him (v. ). The longer God waited, the worse Job’s situation became.

In contrast to Zophar’s text (), Job responded, “Why do the wicked live and become old, yes, become mighty in power?” (). They have security on every side: Their children and homes are safe (vv. , , , ), their business prospers (v. ), and they have long lives in which to enjoy their prosperity (v. ). They also have many descendants, who share the family wealth and enjoy it. The death of the wicked is sudden; they don’t linger in agony and long for deliverance. Job’s situation was just the opposite: His family had been destroyed, his wealth had been taken, and he was suffering greatly as he waited to die.

, The saddest characteristic of the wicked is the way they leave God out of their lives and still prosper. They want nothing to do with God; in fact, they say to Him, “Get away from us! Leave us alone!” They refuse to pray to God, obey Him, or give Him credit for their success. This is the philosophy of most unsaved people today; we might call it “practical atheism” (see ). God is not in their thoughts, let alone in their plans (). Job hastened to say that this was not his philosophy of life: “The counsel of the wicked is far from me” (). The wicked take credit for their wealth, but Job acknowledged that everything comes from God (). How, then, could Job’s three friends classify him with the wicked?

The wicked do not often experience calamity. The wicked seem to be secure in this world, while the righteous suffer (but see ).

Scripture clearly states that the fathers are not punished for the sins of the children or the children for the sins of the fathers (, ; .). Certainly parents may be deeply hurt by the sins of their children, and children may suffer from the consequences of their parents’ sins, but the judgment of God is always just (). For the three friends to suggest that Job’s sins had caused the death of his children was very cruel.

The wicked die just like other people. Life and death are in the hands of God, so what are humans that they should teach God or claim to be able to explain God’s ways (v. )? God will ask Job a similar question when He finally appears and gives Job his long-awaited opportunity to defend himself. Instead of Job questioning God, God will question Job and humble Job with His questions.

Some people enjoy long and happy lives, while others spend their days in misery, but death is the same for all of them. Strictly speaking, “infant death” or “tragic death” or “unexpected death” don’t exist, because death is death no matter when or how it comes. The rich person dies, and the poor person dies; the believer dies, and the unbeliever dies; and “They lie down alike in the dust, and worms cover them” (v. ).

“I know your thoughts,” Job told his friends. He could tell that his speech had not convinced them, and he knew just what they were going to say when he finished speaking—exactly what they had said before! Verse quotes two of their statements that he had already refuted (see and ), but he expected to hear similar statements again.

Then Job became very personal and asked his friends, “If you really believe that the wicked are destined for an early death, have you ever warned them? Have you ever denounced them to their face?” (paraphrase). If Job’s friends had replied, “No, we have never talked to the wicked about their future,” then Job could have said, “Then why are you warning a righteous man about his future?” How inconsistent can you get?

Job’s closing words in this chapter let the three friends know that he had no confidence in what they said. Their comfort was in vain (“empty words”), and their answers were nothing but lies. The Hebrew word translated “falsehood” means “deliberate violations of God’s law, acts of treachery.” It is often translated “trespasses.”

The third round of speeches.

Like any effective attorney, Eliphaz had the case well in hand and his brief all prepared. He made three serious accusations against Job: He is a sinner (vv. ); he is hiding his sins (vv. ); he must confess his sins and repent before God can help him (vv. ).

Eliphaz couldn’t resist shooting a sarcastic barb at Job. “Is it because of your fear of [God] that He corrects you, and enters into judgment with you?” (v. ). Courts don’t try people for their righteousness but for their lawlessness! Thus, asserted Eliphaz, since God had sent terrible judgments upon Job, Job must be guilty of sin.

Eliphaz first accused Job of the sin of pride, acting as though his character and conduct were important to God and beneficial to Him in some way. Eliphaz’s theology centered around a distant God who was the Judge of the world but not the Friend of sinners ().

Job’s character and conduct were important to God, for God was using Job to silence the devil. Neither Job nor his three friends knew God’s hidden plan, but Job had faith to believe that God was achieving some purpose in his life and would one day vindicate him. Furthermore, the character and behavior of God’s people are important to God because His people bring Him either joy or sorrow (, ; ; ; ). God is not a passive and distant God, who does not identify with His people. Instead, God delights in them as they delight in Him (; ; ).

Along with pride, Eliphaz accused Job of covetousness, of being a greedy man who abused people to acquire more wealth. According to Eliphaz, Job used his power and reputation (v. ) to intimidate people and rob them. In the Mosaic law, a creditor could take security from a debtor but not anything that would jeopardize the person’s work, health, or dignity as a human being (; ). Eliphaz accused Job of taking security from his brothers when none was needed and leaving people naked because he took their clothing from them until they paid their debts.

Eliphaz argued that Job’s third great sin was lack of mercy and compassion, which was a sin of omission. No wonder God was not answering Job’s prayers, he exclaimed: “Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard” (). Eliphaz said that Job had turned away the weary, the hungry, the widows, and the orphans, instead of sharing with them out of his rich resources. Since showing hospitality is one of the first laws of the East, Job’s sin was especially heinous.

, Eliphaz clinched his first point with evidence anybody could see: Job was suffering great trials, which must be the consequences of his many sins. Why else would he be in darkness, danger, and the depths of suffering? This was the hand of God indicating that Job was a godless man.

Eliphaz thought Job must be hiding his sins. In other words, Job was godless (a hypocrite). This accusation had been made—or hinted at—more than once since the discussion began. Bildad had said that the paths of all who forget God are like reeds that wither without water, and that “the hope of the hypocrite will perish” (). “The company of hypocrites will be barren,” had said Eliphaz (). And Zophar had said, “the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment” (). A godless hypocrite is not a person who fails to reach his or her desired spiritual goals—everyone fails in one way or another. Instead, a hypocrite doesn’t even try to reach any goals but tries to make people think that he or she has. This person’s profession and practice don’t match.

Eliphaz advised Job to remember what has happened to sinners in the past. Job had clearly stated that he had nothing to do with wicked “counsel” (), but Eliphaz accused him of walking on that very path (). History shows that hypocrites can hide their sins for only so long, and then their sins find them out. God is not only patient with them, but He is also good to them and fills their houses with good things (v. ). The fact that Job was a very wealthy man was evidence of God’s kindness and not Job’s righteousness.

Job must repent of his sins. Eliphaz was sincere in his appeal to Job, just as Zophar had been sincere when he had asked Job to return to God (). Of course, a hypocrite should return to God, not just to get out of trouble and restore his or her fortunes, but to please and glorify God in the rebuilding of character and service.

What does God promise to those who repent and return to Him? God promises to restore them (v. ) and make Himself precious to them (v. ) so that all their delight will be in God and not in earthly wealth or pleasure (v. ). God will answer their prayers and enable them to do His will (v. ) as He gives direction and light (v. ). Because they are restored to fellowship with God, they can help others who have fallen (vv. ).

Job claimed that God was hiding from him. This was another appeal to meet God in court and have a fair trial. Job was prepared to state his case, present his arguments, and let God give the verdict. Job was confident that, despite God’s great power as a Lawgiver, Job would win his case because he was an upright man, and God could not condemn the upright in heart.

God knew where Job was—in the furnace! But it was a furnace of God’s appointment, not because of Job’s sin, and God would use Job’s affliction to purify him and make him a better man. This is not the only answer to the question “Why do the righteous suffer?” but it is one of the best, and it can bring the sufferer great encouragement. Scripture often uses the image of a furnace to describe God’s purifying ministry through suffering (; ; ; , ). When God puts His own people into the furnace, He keeps His eye on the clock and His hand on the thermostat. He knows how long and how much. We may question why He does it to begin with or why He doesn’t turn down the heat or even turn it off; but our questions are only evidences of unbelief. The answer is in this verse: Gold does not fear the fire. The furnace can only make the gold purer and brighter. It’s important to note that Job’s life was pleasing to God before he went into the furnace (, ).

Job was sighing, “God is frightening me, but He stands alone, and who can oppose Him? He does whatever He pleases” (see v. ). Job had no other gods to turn to for help, and no way to oppose God or change His mind. God runs the universe by decree, not by consensus or democratic vote. His thoughts and ways are far above ours, but He knows what is best, and we must accept His will and rejoice in it (). Those who resist or deny the sovereignty of God rob themselves of peace and courage.

, If the doctrine of the sovereignty of God is such a source of strength, then why was Job so frightened when he thought about it? It was because Job suffered so much and wondered what Almighty God would send to him next. We may find submitting to God easy when we can see His face and hear His voice in His Word. But when, like Job, we are in darkness and pain, we can easily fall apart and become frightened.

This entire chapter focuses on the seeming injustices that God permits in this world. Job opens his speech by asking, in effect, “Why doesn’t God have specific days to hold court? Then I could attend and tell Him what I think of the way He is running the world!” Job starts with injustices in the country (vv. ), and then moves to crimes in the city (vv. ). He closes his speech with a curse on the wicked (vv. ). If God won’t judge them, Job will!

For the most part in the ancient world, no walls or fences separated the farmlands; each family had its plot, and people respected the landmarks that served as boundary markers (see ; ; ). God promised to curse those who moved the landmarks and stole property (), but wicked men did it just the same. They didn’t stop there. They not only claimed the land, but also the animals that grazed on the land. They took flocks, donkeys, and oxen from widows and orphans and left them in poverty. This passage gives one of the most graphic pictures of the plight of the poor found anywhere in the Bible.

How can God allow such crimes in the city? Job begins with murders (vv. ); he hears the groans of the wounded and sees the death of the innocent. Job had never murdered anybody, yet his friends said he was under God’s judgment. In verse , Job mentions sexual sins, which are certainly rampant in some parts of our cities. The adulterer and the rapist wait for the darkness before they sneak out to satisfy their desires. Also waiting for the darkness is the thief, who breaks into houses (vv. , ).

This passage may be seen as a description of what will happen to the wicked; or it may be interpreted as a denunciation, a curse on the wicked. Given the speaker’s state of mind, it seems to express Job’s personal curse on the wicked, who appear to escape judgment.

Injustices in society cause a good deal of pain in people’s lives, and we should certainly do all we can to uphold the law and promote justice. But those who make the laws and those who enforce them are only human and can’t deal with everything perfectly. One of these days, the Lord Jesus Christ will return, judge the wicked, and establish His righteous kingdom. Until He comes, we will have to accept the reality of evil in this world and keep praying, “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” ().

Bildad’s speech in this chapter is the shortest in the book and focuses on God’s power (vv. ) and justice (vv. ). It is disturbing to see how Job’s friends speak so knowingly about God when, in the end, God revealed that they really didn’t know what they were talking about. Too often, those who say the most about God know the least about God.

God’s power is inherent in His nature: “Dominion and fear belong to Him,” and He reigns sovereignly in the heavens. God has everything under control and sees what is going on in all places. His army of angels is at His command and ready to obey His will. Who can resist Him?

God’s justice is the outworking of His holy nature, for “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (). Since God is holy and just, how can a mere human claim to be righteous before Him? (Remember, Job was holding fast to his integrity and refusing to confess that his sins had brought God’s judgment on him.) How can a mere man claim to be righteous before God, man who is nothing but a maggot and a worm? (See , ; ; .)

Before magnifying God’s great power in the universe, Job first rebuked Bildad for giving him no help. Job had no power, but Bildad didn’t make him stronger. According to his friends, Job lacked wisdom; yet Bildad didn’t share one piece of wisdom or insight.

Job extolled the greatness of God. God sees everything, even the realm of the dead (vv. , ). Job used three different names for the place of the dead: “the waters,” “Sheol,” and “Destruction” (“Abaddon,” ). If God sees what’s going on in the world of the dead, then surely He knows what is happening in the world of the living.

God not only sees everything, but He also made everything and controls it.

Job’s hymn of praise begins with a statement about God’s power in the heavens, and it describes the earth’s appearance in space with remarkable scientific accuracy (v. ). God also controls the clouds and the rain.

, Job praised God for marking out the horizon where the sun rises and sets. God controls day and night, land and water. The “pillars of heaven” is a poetic phrase for the mountains; they rest on earth, but they seem to hold up the heavens. When God speaks, the mountains tremble ().

, The last stanza of Job’s hymn centers on God’s power in the waters. God can stir up the sea or still it as He desires, and He has power over sea creatures (“the fleeing serpent”). He can blow the storm clouds away and clear the sky after the storm.

Because Job’s friends saw God’s handiwork in nature, they thought they knew all about God and could, therefore, explain God to Job. Job said that just the opposite was true: “the thunder of His power who can understand?” What we see of God in creation is but the fringes of His ways, and what we hear is but a whisper of His power!

Once again, Job stood fast in affirming his integrity (; ; ; ), but this time, he gave an oath: “As God lives” (). Among Eastern people in that day, taking an oath was a serious matter. It was like inviting God to kill you if what you said was not true. Job was so sure of himself that he was willing to take that chance.

Job declared that, as long as he lived, he would defend himself and maintain his integrity. He would not lie just to please his friends or to try to bribe God into restoring his fortunes. (Satan would have rejoiced at that.) Job had to live with his conscience no matter what his friends said or his God did to him.

In the East, accused people thought they had to more than simply affirm their innocence; they also felt compelled to call down the wrath of God on those who said they were guilty. Job’s words remind us of the imprecatory psalms (; ; ; etc.), in that they are a prayer for God’s judgment on his enemies. Who were Job’s enemies? Anybody who agreed with Job’s three friends that he was not the man of integrity that he claimed to be. While this conversation had been going on, many people had likely gathered around the ash heap and listened to the debate; and most of them probably sided with Bildad, Zophar, and Eliphaz. Job could see the spectators nod their heads in agreement with his friends, and he knew he was outnumbered.

Job’s words sound cruel to us, especially in light of what we are taught about forgiving our enemies by both Jesus () and Paul (). But Job lived even before the Mosaic law was given, let alone the Sermon on the Mount, and we must not expect him to manifest the kind of spirit that was seen in Jesus () and Stephen (). In God’s sight, however, Job was right. God had twice declared before the court of heaven that “there is none like [Job] on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil” (; ). Job’s enemies were wrong, and Job had the right to ask God to vindicate him. In fact, God was the only one who could prove Job right and his enemies wrong.

Bildad had affirmed that God is just and punishes those who disobey Him. But this does not mean that everybody who suffers is being punished for his or her sins. Sometimes we suffer because of the sins of others (for example, Joseph) or because God is keeping us from sin (for example, Paul in ). Jesus suffered, not for His own sins, for He had none, but for the sins of the world (; ); and because of His suffering and death, sinners can believe and receive eternal life.

Job teaches a lesson, and he describes God’s judgment of the wicked. On the day when God vindicates Job, this is what will happen to his enemies. We can recognize in this description many of the images that Job’s friends used in their “judgment” speeches against him. Job did this deliberately to remind them that they had better be careful what they say, lest they declare their own punishment.

Job takes us deep into the earth, where brave men are mining gold, iron, copper, and precious stones. Precious metals and precious stones are often used in Scripture as symbols of wisdom (; ; ; ). Once we have found it, we must “refine” it in the furnace and “mint” it for practical use. Paul said that the opposite of God’s wisdom is human wisdom—“wood, hay, straw”—materials that are not beautiful, durable, or valuable (). We can find wood, hay, and straw on the surface of the earth. If we want real treasures, however, we must dig deep.

Job describes how people work hard and face great danger to find material wealth. They tunnel through hard rock and risk their lives to get rich. Why will men and women not put that much effort into gaining God’s wisdom? The Word of God is like a deep mine filled with precious treasures; but the believer must put forth effort to discover its riches.

People today think that anything can be obtained or accomplished if only they have enough money. Government agencies ask for a bigger slice of the annual budget so they can do a better job of fighting crime, ending pollution, providing jobs, and building a better environment. While a certain amount of money is necessary to survive in modern society, money is not the do-all and be-all that the world says it is. Enjoying what money can buy is good () if we don’t lose the things that money can’t buy.

Wisdom comes only from God. Go as high as the birds can fly, and you won’t find wisdom there. Go as deep as Abaddon and death, and wisdom is not there. Only God knows where to find wisdom, for God sees everything. Job answers the question of “Where is wisdom” in : “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding” (see also ; ; ). This also summarizes God’s description of Job (; ); thus, despite what his friends said about him, Job was a man of wisdom.

Catalyst

The first step toward true wisdom is a reverent and respectful attitude toward God, which also involves a humble attitude toward oneself. Personal pride is the greatest barrier to spiritual wisdom. “When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom” (). The next step is to ask God for wisdom () and make diligent use of the means He gives us for securing His wisdom, especially knowing and doing the Word of God (). Just studying is not enough; we must also obey what God tells us to do ().

As we fellowship with other believers in the church and share with one another, we can learn wisdom. Reading the best books can also help us grow in wisdom and understanding. The important thing is that we focus on Christ, for He is our wisdom (see ), and in Him is hidden “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (). The better we know Christ and the more we become like Him, the more we will walk in wisdom and understand the will of God. We must allow the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of our heart, so we can see God in His Word and understand more of the riches we have in Christ ().

Go to the

Job had opened his defense by saying that he wished he had never been born (ch. ). Here he closed his defense by recalling the blessings he and his family had enjoyed prior to this terrible crisis. This provides a good reminder that we should try to see life in a balanced way. Yes, God permits us to experience difficulties and sorrows, but God also sends victories and joys. This chapter is a list from Job of the things that have brought him joy.

Memory can minister to us if used properly. Moses admonished Israel to remember the way God had led them and cared for them (). In fact, the word “remember” is found fourteen times in Deuteronomy and the word “forget” nine times. In days of disappointment, to “remember [God’s] wonders of old” (; see ) can be valuable. But the past must be a rudder to guide us and not an anchor to hold us back. If we try to duplicate today what we experienced yesterday, we may find ourselves in a rut that robs us of maturity.

Significantly, Job mentioned the presence of God in his home as his number-one joy. God had watched over him and shared “friendly counsel” with him (v. ). God’s light was on Job, and His presence was with Job and his children. God was the source of all of Job’s wealth and success, when “my steps were bathed with cream, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for me” (v. ).

Job longed to be back in the prime of life. This is a natural desire, but it also can be dangerous. If we focus so much on the glories of the past that we ignore the opportunities of the present, we may end up unprepared to meet the future. The future will come whether we like it or not. Few people eagerly anticipate old age and its special problems, but we can’t avoid that destiny (except by early death).

Job could remember a time when, as he walked through the city, the young men stepped aside to let him pass. He had his seat at the city gate with the leading men of the city, and even they ceased their speaking when he arrived. Wherever he went, he was treated with respect.

What God had given to him, Job had shared with others. Eliphaz had accused Job of exploiting the poor and needy (), but Job denied it. These verses describe the ministry of a compassionate man who brought help and happiness to many.

Receiving honors was another source of joy to Job before his calamities hit. God was blessing Job, and Job was sharing those blessings with others; he assumed that life would continue that way for many years. Job was confident that he would stay fresh and vigorous, live to an old age, and die in peace and glory. He saw himself as a deeply rooted tree that would continue to bear fruit (v. ; ).

Job was indeed a Barnabas, a “Son of Encouragement” (), whose words were respected and appreciated. When he spoke, his words were as gentle and refreshing as the rain. His smile lit up the whole situation and gave people hope. Job’s approval was like the dawning of a new day! He was a leader who helped the perplexed make wise decisions and gave mourners fresh comfort and hope.

Job’s five complaints in this chapter parallel the joys that he named in chapter . These can be summarized as follows: “I have no respect” (, see ); “I have no blessing” (, see ); “I have no help” (, , see ); “I have no future” (, see ); “I have no ministry” (, see ). Job is stunned by the way in which his life has been changed.

Young men who once stepped aside for Job () now mocked him and even spat in his face (, , ). But the worst part of this experience was that these young men were the sons of men so despicable that Job compared their fathers to donkeys wandering in the desert. He called them “sons of fools, yes, sons of vile men; they were scourged from the land” (v. ). These men were unworthy to carry Job’s sandals, yet they were openly ridiculing him. What made the difference? Job had become an outcast like them.

From the delightful past, Job was suddenly thrust back into the dismal and disappointing present. You can almost hear him groan his first words, “But now” (v. ; see vv. , ). Job was wise enough to know that he had to face the reality of the present and not escape into the memory of the past. People who refuse to come to grips with life are in danger of losing touch with reality, and soon they lose touch with themselves.

, Job experienced sufferings similar to those of our Lord Jesus Christ. The basest of people falsely accused Jesus (), spat upon Him (), and ridiculed Him while He was suffering (); and He was “the song of the drunkards” (). Job didn’t know it, but he was being honored by God to share in Christ’s sufferings, in His death ().

“And now . . . the days of affliction take hold of me,” groaned Job (v. ). What a contrast to the days of cream and oil ()! Instead of enriching him with blessing, God was robbing him of even the basic enjoyments of life. In the daytime, Job endured unbearable suffering; at night, God wrestled with him, made his clothing like a straitjacket, and threw him in the mud (see ). Every night, God wrestled with Job—and Job lost.

, Job had faithfully helped others in their need (), but now nobody would help him. They wouldn’t weep with him or even touch him. Job was treated like a leper who might contaminate them, or like a condemned man whom God might destroy at any time. Getting too close just wasn’t wise. Our motive for serving others is certainly not to obligate them to serve us (). We help others because we love Christ and want to glorify Him () and because we sympathize with their needs and want to help them (; see ).

During the days of his prosperity, Job had expected to enjoy a long and comfortable life and a peaceful death (); but now that had all changed. He looked for good, but God sent evil; he looked for light, but God sent darkness. Instead of comfort and peace, he experienced constant turmoil within: “My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest; days of affliction confront me” ().

In the past, Job’s words had brought encouragement and hope to many (); but now his words were like the howhng of the jackals and the moaning of the owls and ostriches (). Because his hope was dead, Job’s song was a funeral dirge. His harp and flute were tuned to a minor key. How could he speak encouraging words to others when he was in the pit of discouragement himself?

This chapter records Job’s final defense. It reads like a legal document in which Job puts himself under oath before God and asks for judgment to fall if God can prove him wrong (vv. ). Job’s only hope was that God would hear his cry and vindicate his name. He could die in peace if he knew that his enemies had been silenced and his reputation restored.

Job concluded his defense by mentioning three specific sins that could trip up anyone: lust (vv. ), deceit (vv. ), and adultery (vv. ).

Lust is the first step toward sin, and sin is the first step toward death (). Seeing and admiring an attractive person is one matter, but it is quite something else to look with lust. Sin in the mind and heart is not as destructive as sin actually committed, but it is the first step toward the act; and we never know where a polluted imagination will lead us. Furthermore, God above looks down and sees both our actions and “the thoughts and intents of the heart” (, ); and He will judge both. “Is it not destruction for the wicked, and disaster for the workers of iniquity?” ().

Deceit is the second sin that Job denied. He never used deception in his business dealings in order to make more money. In fact, he wouldn’t even walk with those who did such things. Job’s scales were honest (; ), and he was not afraid for God to weigh him ()! His heart had not been covetous, nor were his hands defiled, because he had not taken what was not his. If Job were guilty of covetousness and deception, then he was willing for his next season’s crops to be taken by others.

Adultery begins with lust in the heart (v. ) that leads to furtive attempts to satisfy sinful desires. Job had never lurked about to see when his neighbor’s wife would be alone. If he were guilty, then he was willing for his own wife to become another man’s slave and mistress! Adultery is a heinous crime that brings shameful and painful consequences in this life and judgment in the next (; ; ).

So careful was Job in his self-examination that he even included his treatment of his servants. Most masters in that day would have ignored this aspect of life. Job treated his servants generously and settled their grievances fairly because he knew that one day he would have to give an account to God (v. ; ).

Job had already explained how he had cared for the poor and needy (); but here he repeated it as a part of his oath. Job was not boasting; he was defending himself before men and women and seeking vindication from God. If he had lifted his hand in court against any man, Job said that he hoped God would rip that arm from its socket.

Job worshiped God with a sincere heart. He didn’t worship his wealth or trust it for his security, nor did he take credit for earning it (, ). Job did not worship gold, nor did he worship the heavenly bodies. If Job had committed such a sin, people might not see it; but God would, and He would judge Job for being unfaithful to Him.

In verses , Job had completed his official demand for a hearing and had signed the document. Then he remembered one more area that needed to be covered: his stewardship of the land God had given him. Job treated the land as though it were a person. If Job had abused the land, it would have cried out against him and wept in pain (v. ). If Job’s field hands had been overworked and underpaid, then God would have had every reason to give Job a harvest of weeds instead of wheat and barley.

When the words of Job were ended, everybody sat in silence, wondering what would happen next. Would God send immediate judgment and prove Job guilty? Or would God accept Job’s challenge, appear to him, and give Job opportunity to defend himself? Perhaps God would speak from heaven and answer Job’s questions. Job had challenged God because he was sure God would vindicate him. Job’s three friends were sure that God would condemn him.

This six-chapter section records Elihu’s long speech, in which he explained the character of God and applied this truth to Job’s situation. One way to summarize his speech is as follows: [1] God is speaking through me (ch. ; see v. ); [2] God is gracious (ch. ; see v. ); [3] God is just (chs. ; see ); and [4] God is great (chs. ; see , ).

Job’s three friends were silent, appalled that Job had dared to speak so boldly to God and about God. They were sure that God’s judgment of Job was the next thing on the agenda. God was silent. No fire came from heaven, and no voice spoke in divine wrath. The silence was God’s eloquent witness to the three friends that they were wrong in what they had said both about Job and about God. It was also God’s witness to Job that God of the universe is not at the beck and call of his creatures. God doesn’t appear just because somebody wants a showdown.

In the crowd around the ash heap, though everyone else was silent, one person was not. Elihu was so unknown that his full pedigree had to be given so people could identify him. Neither Job () nor his three friends () needed that kind of detailed identification for others to know who they were.

Elihu was indignant (vv. , , ). Four times in these verses we are told that Elihu was angry. He was angry with the three friends for not refuting Job, and he was angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. Job claimed that God was wrong, and the three friends couldn’t prove that Job was wrong!

While Elihu’s speech contains some of the content as the other speakers, his purpose was different from theirs. He was not trying to prove that Job was a sinner, but that Job’s view of God was wrong. Elihu introduced a new truth into the debate: God sends suffering, not necessarily to punish people for their sins, but to keep them from sinning (, ) and to make them better persons (). Paul would have agreed with the first point () and the writer of Hebrews with the second ().

Age should bring wisdom, but that is not guaranteed (). Alas, old fools and young fools can be found. As a younger man, Elihu couldn’t claim to have wide experience in the ways of God and humanity, but he claimed to have something better: the insight of the Spirit of God. He asserted that the Holy Spirit had instructed his spirit () and revealed God’s truths to him.

The fact that Elihu quoted from the other speeches indicates that he had listened closely and remembered what each man had said. Like many young theologians, Elihu had a bit of youthful conceit in his speeches (“Listen to me”—see vv. , , ; ); but for the most part, he was a sincere young man who really thought he could help Job find answers to his questions.

Elihu made clear that he had no reason for taking sides, since neither Job nor any of the three friends had attacked him personally. Elihu also said that he would avoid rehashing the same arguments that the others had used, though he didn’t fully live up to that promise.

Elihu had waited a long time for the opportunity to speak; and while he was waiting, the pressure within him had built up to the bursting point. He was full of words like a wineskin full of wine. As the new wine ferments, it produces gas that inflates the wineskin. If the skin is old and dry, it will break (). He didn’t realize that when God eventually appeared and spoke, He would completely ignore Elihu and his words.

This is a remarkable speech because it introduces into the debate a new insight into the purpose of suffering. Job’s friends had argued that his suffering was evidence that God was punishing him for his sins, but Elihu argued that sometimes God permits us to suffer to keep us from sin. In other words, suffering may be preventive and not punitive.

Before launching into his argument, Elihu assured Job that his words were sincere and given by God’s Spirit, so Job had no reason to be afraid. Elihu didn’t claim to have any inside track with God; he was made of clay just like Job. He promised not to be heavy-handed in his speaking, and he invited Job to feel free to reply. Having assured Job that his words would be helpful and not hurtful, Elihu then proceeded to quote what Job had said about himself (vv. ). Job’s words would form the premise for Elihu’s argument.

Elihu said that Job had claimed to be sinless (v. ), which was not what Job had said. That Job claimed to be sinless had been Zophar’s interpretation, not Job’s declaration (). Job did say that he did not lie (), that he was not wicked (), that he was just and upright (), and that he had not disobeyed God (, ); but he never said he was sinless. He consistently maintained his integrity (; , ) but never said he was perfect. In fact, he denied perfection (, ).

, Elihu quoted Job as saying that God was unjust and was treating him like an enemy. This quotation was true (, ; ; , ). In his speeches, Job had repeatedly asked God why He was attacking him and why He didn’t give him a fair trial. Elihu’s great concern was not to debate what Job had said about himself but to refute what Job had said about God.

God’s purpose in discipline is to save people from death (, ) by breaking their pride and bringing them back to the place of obedience (, ). God seeks to keep them from the grave (v. ), but rebellious sinners draw near to death (v. ), then go down to the grave (v. ), and into the grave (v. ). When it is almost too late, the Mediator brings them back from the grave (v. ), and they are rescued. “God works all these things, twice, in fact, three times with a man, to bring back his soul from the Pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of life” (vv. , ). God is “not willing that any should perish” ().

In Bible times, God sometimes spoke to people through dreams and visions; today His Spirit directs us primarily through His Word (, ). If sinners have frightening visions or dreams, that might shock them and keep them from committing the sins they had planned.

Not all dreams have hidden meanings, and not all dreams come from God with special messages in them. More than one nightmare has been caused by improper diet! People who plan their lives around what they learn from their dreams are asking for confusion rather than direction. God can use dreams to shake the confidence of a proud sinner, but this is not His normal approach today.

God sometimes uses pain to warn us, humble us, and bring us to the place of submission (). Elihu described a sick man, suffering on his bed, wasting away because he had no appetite. (Is this a picture of Job? See ; ; ; ; .) But this man was suffering because God wanted to get his attention and prevent him from breaking God’s law. To say that all suffering comes from God is a mistake, because we cause much of our own suffering.

We should not say that all suffering is a punishment for sin. Elihu argued that sometimes God permits suffering in order to keep people from sinning and going to the pit. God gave Paul a “thorn in the flesh” to keep him from getting proud, and Paul learned to thank God for it (see ). Elihu hoped that Job would submit to God, accept his painful situation, and receive from it the blessings God had for him.

Elihu painted an awesome picture. The sinner had been warned by dreams and visions and had been chastened by sickness and suffering. He was drawing near to the grave, and “the executioners” were about to capture him (v. ). Then a special messenger, “A mediator, one among a thousand,” suddenly stood up to plead his case. This angelic messenger had a twofold ministry: He told the sufferer what he ought to do (v. ), and he interceded with God to have the person restored (v. ).

This special messenger is the heavenly mediator that Job has been asking for throughout the debate! Job wanted an “umpire” to bring him and God together for a trial (), a heavenly “witness” to argue his case before God (), a “redeemer” who would vindicate him even after his death (). The ministry of this angel is purely an act of God’s grace ().

The concept of “the ransom” is woven into the fabric of biblical theology. The Hebrew word means “to atone for sin by the offering of a substitute.” The condemned sinner can’t be set free by the paying of some cheap price such as money (), good works, or good intentions. This ransom must be one that God will accept, and God asks for the shedding of blood (). Job didn’t ask his three friends to ransom him, because he knew they couldn’t (). Only God can provide the ransom, and He did. If God has provided a ransom for lost sinners about to go down into the pit, how foolish of them not to receive it!

This passage suggests that Elihu wanted Job’s response, but at the same time Elihu wanted Job to keep quiet! Elihu was filled to the brim with his subject and didn’t want to stop talking. But Job didn’t reply, because he was waiting for God to speak. Job had already stated his case and thrown down the gauntlet. What Elihu thought about him or said to him made little difference to Job.

Elihu had promised not to use flattery (), but he came close to it in when he addressed his audience as “wise men” and “you who have knowledge.” Actually, Elihu was flattering himself because if these learned “wise men” were willing to listen to him, they must have thought that he was more learned and wise than they. Elihu compared his speaking to the enjoyment of a tasteful and nourishing meal.

, God’s injustice was one of the major themes in Job’s speeches. He felt that he was being treated like a sinner, yet God would not come to court and tell Job what he had done wrong. (See , ; , ; .) Elihu recalled Job saying that he was innocent and had been denied justice (; ; ) and that God was shooting arrows at him (; ).

Elihu declared that if God is unjust, then He is not God. “Far be it from God to do wickedness” (v. ), and “Surely God will never do wickedly” (v. ). In fact, God is so just that He has ordained that sin itself will punish the evildoer (see ; , ; ). No one can escape God’s justice.

In Elihu’s view, if God were unjust, the earth would have no just government. As a respected elder, Job had participated in local government and had helped to bring justice to the afflicted (). But all human government was established by God (; ); thus, if mortal humans can execute justice on earth, why can’t a holy and sovereign God execute justice from heaven? He can dethrone kings and remove nobles, and He shows no partiality (, , ). If the God who rules the world were unjust, we would have no order or harmony—everything would fall apart.

Elihu also argued that if God were unjust, then He must not see what is going on in the world. But God is omniscient and sees all things! A human judge, with human limitations, hears a case and makes the best decision he or she can, and sometimes the judge is wrong. But God sees every step we take, and we can find no place to hide from Him ().

One of Job’s complaints was that God was silent and had hidden His face from him (; ), but here is Elihu’s answer for that: God can do what He wants because He is God. In chapter , Job had accused God of ignoring people’s sins; but what right had he to judge the Judge? God waited four centuries before judging the wicked nations in Canaan () and 120 years before sending the flood (). Sinners should be grateful that God gives them time to repent (). God rules over nations and individuals (), but He is not responsible for their sins; for He gives them freedom to make decisions. They also have the freedom to turn from their sins and trust God.

Elihu paused and gave Job opportunity to speak (v. ), but Job said nothing. This may have angered Elihu even more, because he ended this part of the address with a terrible accusation against Job.

Elihu turned to deal with Job’s second complaint: “Why waste time trying to please God?” (). He had said, “Whatever happens, I will be found guilty. So what’s the use of trying?” (; ). Job never did bargain with God as Satan said he would (, ; , ). Eliphaz had discussed this topic (ch. ) and had come to the conclusion that neither a person’s piety nor iniquity could make any difference to the character of God. But Elihu felt it was important to deal with the theme again.

Our sins or good works may affect people around us (v. ), but God is not affected by them. Certainly God grieves over humanity’s sins () and delights in the obedience of the faithful (). But our good deeds can’t bribe Him, and our misdeeds can’t threaten Him. God’s character is the same whether people obey Him or disobey Him. God can’t change for the better, because He is perfect, and He can’t change for the worse, because He is holy.

Elihu continued: God cares for the birds and beasts, and they trust Him (see ), but people made in the image of God don’t cry out to God until they are under a terrible burden of oppression (). They forget God until trouble comes. God knows that their prayers are insincere, however, so He doesn’t answer them (vv. , ). According to Elihu, this explains why Job’s prayers hadn’t been answered: His heart was not right with God (v. ).

Elihu dismissed Job’s complaint that he couldn’t see God. Much more important was that God could see Job and knew his case completely (v. ). Job’s situation wouldn’t be changed by his empty talk and many words (v. ), so the only thing for Job to do would be to wait and trust (v. ). God is gracious (ch. ), and God is just (chs. ); but God is also great and mighty (chs. ), and Elihu thought that Job needed to recognize the greatness of God.

In Elihu’s speech recorded in these two chapters, he magnified the greatness of God in His merciful purpose for humanity () and in His mighty power in nature (). Elihu concluded by making one last appeal to Job to fear God and repent ().

Elihu’s self-importance reached new heights as he introduced the last third of his speech (vv. ). His listeners must have been getting restless; otherwise, why did he say, “Bear with me a little” (v. )? The statement “I will fetch my knowledge from afar” (v. ) suggests that he was boasting either of wide knowledge or of getting his knowledge right from heaven. And to call himself “One who is perfect in knowledge” (v. ) is hardly an evidence of humility!

Job thought that God was ignoring him, but God keeps His eyes on the righteous (v. ; ) and eventually transforms their circumstances. He lifts them from the ash heap to the throne (, ) and sets them free from their chains (, ). He chastens us that He might correct us and teaches us the right way to live. If we learn our lesson and obey, He will bless us once again. But if we rebel, He will destroy us (vv. ).

The “hypocrites” only heap up wrath as they harden themselves against God. No matter how much God disciplines them, they refuse to cry out for help. But the humble in heart get God’s message (“[He] opens their ears in oppression” v. ) and turn from their sins.

According to Elihu, Job must make a decision: “He would have brought you out of dire distress” (v. ; ). Job’s table was laden with suffering when it could be laden with the choicest of foods. How would Job respond?

, Elihu saw several dangers ahead for Job and tried to warn him. The first was that Job might look for some shortcut for getting out of trouble and thereby miss the message God had for him. Job might agree to let somebody buy his way out, but no amount of money could do that.

The second danger was that Job might consider taking his own life. “The night” is an image of death, and Job often expressed a longing to die (, ; ; ). Many sufferers have committed suicide in order to escape their hopeless situations, but Job would not likely take this route. Job was a man of faith and was not about to go into God’s presence uninvited.

Elihu saw a third danger: that Job might give up all hope and turn to a life of sin. Some, bitter against God, abandon their professions of faith and return to the world. “If life is going to be this tough,” they say, “then we might just as well enjoy ourselves while we can.” They forget that no true enjoyment is possible without God, and that sin eventually brings its own harvest of suffering and sorrow.

Elihu called attention to God’s mighty power in nature. “Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him” (). This is the theme of the last part of Elihu’s speech; and he illustrated it with the works of God in nature, specifically, God’s control of His world during the seasons of the year.

• Autumn (). In the East, after the heat and drought of summer, both the land and the people welcome the autumn rains. It is interesting to discover Elihu’s insight into the water cycle of nature (evaporation, condensation, precipitation) and the need for electricity (lightning) to help the system work.

• Winter (). At some point, the autumn rains become winter ice and snow. Workers must stop their labor, and wild animals retreat to the protection of their dens. God breathes on the waters, and they freeze.

• Spring (). Eventually the warmer winds start to blow, the snow and ice melt, and the rain clouds appear once again. Elihu knew that the wind plays a most important part in the world’s weather. Nobody can predict exactly what the wind will do (), but God is in complete control ().

• Summer (). Now the clouds mysteriously “are balanced” (v. ), or “the earth is quieted” (v. ). The summer sun heats the air, the south wind (the “sirocco”) blows from the desert, and people’s “garments [are] hot” (v. ). The sky is like a brass mirror, and nobody feels like doing anything but resting.

The continued cycles of nature and the infinite variety of days point to a great Creator beyond our full understanding!

Go to the

Elihu wanted Job to consider God’s greatness and the wonders of nature and realize how little Job really knew about God and His working in this world. Behind Elihu’s statement to Job lie three rhetorical questions—about the clouds, the lightning, the wind, and the rainless skies. “Can you explain these things?” he asked. “Can you control them?” And “Can you do that?” The questions we ask about God shouldn’t drive us to unbelief but to humility!

Elihu’s closing words remind us that even though we can’t fully understand God, we know that He is great and just and does not afflict people to no purpose. What should our personal response be? “Therefore men fear Him.” Job had come to that same conclusion after pondering the works of God in the world ().

God’s address to Job centers on His works in nature and consists of seventy-seven questions interspersed with divine commentary relating to the questions. The whole purpose of this interrogation was to make Job realize his own inadequacy and inability to meet God as an equal and defend his cause.

The storm that Elihu had been describing finally broke, and God spoke to Job out of the whirlwind. The answer to Job’s problems was not an explanation about God, such as the three friends and Elihu had given, but a revelation of God. The four men had declared and defended the greatness of God but had failed to persuade Job. But the display of God’s majesty and greatness humbled Job and brought him to the place of silent submission before God. That was the turning point.

We prefer that God speak to us in the sunshine, but sometimes He must speak out of the storm. This is how He spoke to Israel on Mount Sinai (; ) and centuries later to Elijah (). Ezekiel saw the glory of God in a storm and heard the voice of God speaking to him (). Experiencing this majestic demonstration of God’s power made Job open to God’s message for him.

Catalyst

Staggered by grief and offended by the harsh treatment of his friends, Job had cried out, “Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, then You respond to me” (). And here God responded to Job’s challenge.

God’s address can be summarized in three questions:

1. “Can you explain my creation?” ()

2. “Can you oversee my creation?” ()

Job’s first response ()

3. “Can you subdue my creation?” ()

Job’s second response ()

The first question deals with God’s power and wisdom in bringing the universe into being. The second deals with God’s providential care of His creatures, and the third centers on two creatures (probably the hippopotamus and the crocodile) that defy humans’ ability to subdue them. Twice Job responded, deeply aware of his insignificance. But when Job repented of his self-righteousness, God restored him ().

God is now called “the LORD” (), that is, Jehovah God, a name that (except for ) has not been used in the Book of Job since the first two chapters. In their speeches, the men have called Him “God” and “the Almighty” but not “Yahweh.” This is the name that God revealed to Israel centuries later (.), the name that speaks of His self-existence (“I AM WHO I AM”) and His personal covenant relationship to His people.

Go to the

Job was sure that his speeches had been filled with wisdom and knowledge, but God’s first question put an end to that delusion (v. ). God didn’t question Job’s integrity or sincerity; He only questioned Job’s ability to explain the ways of God in the world. Job had spoken the truth about God (), but his speeches had lacked humility. Job thought he knew about God, but he didn’t realize how much he didn’t know. Knowledge of our own ignorance is the first step toward true wisdom.

In his response, God began with the creation of the earth and compared Himself to a builder who surveys the site, marks off the dimensions, pours the footings, lays the cornerstone, and erects the structure. Creation was so wonderful that the stars sang in chorus and the angels (; ) shouted for joy, but Job wasn’t on the scene! How, then, can he claim to know so much about God’s works?

, God had planned His creation to be a garden of joyful beauty; but sin had turned creation into a battlefield of ugliness and misery. Human beings, in their selfishness, waste natural resources, pollute land, air, water, and outer space, and so ravage God’s creation that scientists wonder how long our planet will support life as we know it.

The Lord then moved to a consideration of the seas. The image here is not building but birth: God “shut in the sea with doors” (v. ; see ) and then the ocean burst forth like a baby emerging from the womb. The sea was clothed with clouds and darkness, and their limits were set by God. “Who did all of this?” asked God of Job, and Job knew the answer.

The next aspect of creation that God mentioned was the sun. Here God pictured Himself as a general commanding His troops (the heavenly host). Had Job ever told the sun to rise and dispel the darkness? As light spreads across the world, it reveals the details of the landscape, like the impression of a seal on clay or the unfolding of a beautiful garment taken out of a dark closet. But the light also can end the evil deeds done in the darkness ().

The next eleven questions relate to the vast dimensions of creation. The average child today knows more about the heights and depths of the universe than Job and his friends could ever have imagined. Yet we are no closer to comprehending all of God than were our ancient ancestors.

, By this time, Job was probably wishing for a reprieve; but the Lord kept right on. He centered Job’s attention on the heavens—the Pleiades, Orion the hunter, the various constellations, including the Great Bear with her cubs. Did Job understand the laws that governed their movements, and could he control these stars and planets and make them appear in their proper seasons? People can study the heavens, but they can’t control them.

The Lord brought before Job’s imagination a parade of six beasts (lioness, wild goat, wild deer, wild donkey, wild ox, and horse) and five birds (raven, ostrich, stork, hawk, and eagle). As he contemplated these creatures, Job had to answer the question, “Do you understand how they live and how to take care of them?” Obviously, Job’s reply had to be no.

God’s providence is certainly remarkable (see ). In His wisdom and power, He supervises the whole universe and makes sure that His creatures are cared for. We humans have a difficult time keeping the machinery of life operating successfully, but God runs the whole universe with such precision that we base our scientific laws on His creation.

God then moved from the topic of death to the subject of birth. Did Job know the gestation periods for the goats and deer and how the young are born? How do the little ones grow up safely, and how does the mother know when they are ready to leave home? Shepherds and farmers assist their animals during pregnancy and birth, but the wild beasts bring forth their young alone.

The wild donkey (“onager”) roamed the wilderness freely and refused to be domesticated. It survived without human assistance, because God taught it how to take care of itself. The wild ox was another loner in the animal kingdom (vv. ), refusing to yield to human authority. You couldn’t keep it in your barn, harness it to your plow, or force it to do your threshing.

The stork has beautiful wings that are very serviceable, but all the ostrich can do with her wings is fan the air! Why did God make a bird that couldn’t fly but that could run faster than a horse? Why did He make a bird that puts her nest in such a vulnerable place, where her eggs might be destroyed or eaten by a predator? Unlike most birds, why does she seem to be unmindful of her young?

The horse is next in line, an animal that was greatly admired and valued for strength and courage. This is a description of a war horse, not a farm horse; and we can visualize it prancing and pawing, eager to rush into the battle. When the horse hears the trumpet, it can’t stand still but runs so fast that it seems to be eating up the ground. God, not Job, made the horse with the strength and ability it needed to face danger and serve effectively on the field of battle.

“Now, Job,” asked the Lord, in effect, “if you can’t succeed with these animals, how do you expect to succeed when you meet Me in court? How strong do you think you are?” God knows there won’t be an argument, but He treats Job with dignity. He gives this righteous man an opportunity to declare his awe before God.

Job had told his friends to cover their mouths (), and others had covered their mouths when Job appeared (); but now Job had to put his hand over his mouth lest he say something he shouldn’t say (; ). Until we are silenced before God, He can’t do for us what needs to be done. As long as we defend ourselves and argue with God, He can’t work for us and in us to accomplish His plan through us. But Job was not quite broken and at the place of sincere repentance. He was silent but not yet submissive, so God continued His address.

The issue now is not the power of God but the justice of God. Job had said that God was unjust in the way He was treating him (; ) and in the way He had failed to judge the wicked (; ). In , God asked, in effect, “Job, do you have the strength and holy wrath it takes to judge sinners? If so, then start judging them! Humble the proud sinners and crush the wicked! Bury them! You claim that you can do a better job than I can of bringing justice to the world, so I’ll let you do it!”

God reminded Job that He was the Creator of both hippos and humans, yet He made them different. The hippo eats grass and is strong and mighty; Job ate a variety of fine foods and was weak and unable to fight with the hippo. The hippo has a powerful body, with strong muscles and bones like iron rods; while a human body is (comparatively speaking) weak and easily damaged. The hippo lounges in the river, hidden under the water, and feeds on the vegetation that washes down from the hills; while people need to work hard to earn their daily bread. A raging river doesn’t frighten the hippo, and hunters don’t alarm it. In Job’s day, capturing a hippopotamus was next to impossible, but capturing a person wasn’t very difficult. “Now, Job,” asked the Lord, “can you capture and subdue this great creature? If so, then I’ll believe that you have the power and wisdom to judge the world justly.”

(and ) Instead of confronting Job again with the broad sweep of His creation, God selected only two creatures and asked Job to consider them. It’s as though God were saying, “My whole universe is too much for you to handle. But here are two of My best projects. What can you do with them?”

The word “Leviathan” is the transliteration of a Hebrew word, the root of which means “to twist, to writhe.” People used the word to describe the “sea monsters” that were supposed to inhabit the Mediterranean. , may refer to whales or dolphins. The Jews also used the word to describe their enemies (), especially Egypt (, ). refers to Satan as “the serpent of old.” In mythology, the Leviathan was a many-headed monster that ruled the waters and feared no human.

You can’t make a pet out of Leviathan, no matter how agreeable the animal seems to be (vv. ); and the merchants won’t want to buy it from you (v. ). If you try to train this monster, you’ll quit in a hurry and never try to do it again (vv. , )! God drew a practical conclusion, saying, in effect, “If you can’t come to grips with the crocodile, how will you ever be able to stand before Me?” (vv. , ).

God gave a poetic description of this great creature’s mighty limbs, fierce teeth, strong jaws, and impregnable covering (vv. ). When the crocodile churns up the river and blows out water, the sun reflects from the vapor; and it looks like fire and smoke from a dragon’s mouth (vv. ). The creature’s armor is so strong that it can go anywhere without fear (vv. ).

The chapter closes with a description of Leviathan’s anger and courage. People flee from it in fear (v. ), but it doesn’t flee from them. In verses , God named eight different weapons that Leviathan laughs at and treats like pieces of straw or rotten wood. Just as this creature fears nothing around it, so he fears nothing underneath; for its underside is protected with a covering like sharp pieces of pottery (v. ). The creature fears no enemy on the land or in the water (vv. , ), for it makes the water to foam like the ingredients in the apothecary’s mixing pot. And when this monster swims through the water, the wake looks like the white hair of an old man!

Job knew he was beaten. He had no chance in arguing his case with God. Quoting God’s very words (vv. , ), Job humbled himself before the Lord and acknowledged His power and justice in executing His plans (v. ). Then Job admitted that his words had been wrong and that he had spoken about things he didn’t understand (v. ). Job withdrew his accusations that God was unjust and not treating him fairly. He realized that whatever God does is right, and people must accept it by faith.

Job told God, in effect, “I can’t answer your questions! All I can do is confess my pride, humble myself, and repent.” Until now, Job’s knowledge of God had been indirect and impersonal; but that had changed. Job had met God personally and had seen himself to be but “dust and ashes” (see , ; ).

In the climax of the book, Job the sinner became Job the servant of God. Four times in these verses God called Job by that special Old Testament title “My servant” (see ; ). How did Job serve God? By enduring suffering and not cursing God, and thereby silencing the devil! Suffering in the will of God is a ministry that God gives to a chosen few.

Job the servant became Job the intercessor. God was angry with Job’s three friends because they hadn’t told the truth about Him (v. ), and they had to be reconciled to Job so he could pray for them. Job became the umpire between God and his three friends! By forgiving his friends and praying for them, Job brought back the blessing to his own life (v. ). We only hurt ourselves when we refuse to forgive others ().

Job ended up with twice as much as he had before. He had twenty children, ten who were now with God and ten in his home. (He and his wife were also reunited.) Friends and relatives brought money for a restoration fund, which Job must have used for purchasing breeding stock; and eventually, Job had twice as much livestock as before. He once again became a wealthy man. If the double formula also applied to Job’s age, then he must have been seventy when the story began (), and God allowed Job to live twice as many years ().

To die after a long, full life, as Job did, is every person’s goal. More than merely living for a long time, this means experiencing a rich and full life that ends well. This is what Abraham and Isaac experienced (; ), and also King David (). However long our lives may be, allowing God to make them full can be our worthy goal.

Job 1

1:1

1:1 ,

1:1 ;

1:1 []

1:5 []

1:5 ,

1:5 Literally blessed, but used here in the evil sense, and so in verse and ,

1:6

1:6 Literally the Adversary, and so throughout this book

1:7 []

1:10

1:10 []

1:11 ;

1:11

1:13 []

1:15 Literally Sheba (compare )

1:18 ,

1:19 Septuagint omits across.

1:20 ,

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1:21 []

1:21 []

1:21

1:21

1:22

Job 2

2:1

2:2

2:3 ,

2:3 ,

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2:5

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Job 3

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3:5

3:6 Septuagint, Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate read be joined.

3:8

3:11 ,

3:12

3:14

3:16

3:17

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3:21

3:21

3:22 ,

3:23

3:24 Literally my bread

3:25 [; ]

Job 4

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4:8 []

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4:20 ,

Job 5

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5:4

5:5 Septuagint reads They shall not be taken from evil men; Vulgate reads And the armed man shall take him by violence.

5:5 Septuagint reads The might shall draw them off; Vulgate reads And the thirsty shall drink up their riches.

5:7

5:10 [; ; ]

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5:18 [, ]

5:19 ;

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5:20 , ;

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5:25

5:26 [; ]

5:27

Job 6

6:4

6:4 ,

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6:9 ; ;

6:10

6:10 []

6:14 []

6:15

6:15

6:19

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6:29

6:29 , ;

Job 7

7:1 [, , ]

7:3 []

7:4

7:5

7:6 ; ;

7:7 ;

7:8 ;

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7:15 Literally my bones

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7:20 Following Masoretic Text, Targum, and Vulgate; Septuagint and Jewish tradition read to You.

Job 8

8:3 []

8:4 , ,

8:5 [; ]

8:7

8:8 ;

8:9

8:12

8:13

8:13 ; ;

8:15 ;

8:18

8:19

8:20

8:22 ;

8:22 Literally will not be

Job 9

9:2 [; ]

9:2 []

9:4

9:6

9:6

9:8 ,

9:9

9:10

9:11 [, ; ]

9:12 []

9:13

9:13 Hebrew rahab

9:15 ;

9:17

9:22

9:25 ,

9:26

9:27

9:28

9:28

9:30 []

9:32 []

9:33 []

9:34 ,

Job 10

10:1

10:1

10:4 []

10:8

10:8 []

10:9

10:10 []

10:14

10:15

10:15 [, ]

10:15

10:16

10:18

10:20

10:20 ,

10:21

10:21

Job 11

11:4

11:6 []

11:7 []

11:10 []

11:11 []

11:12

11:13 []

11:13

11:14

11:15

11:16

11:17 ,

11:18 ,

11:20

11:20 []

Job 12

12:3

12:4

12:4

12:5

12:5 Or disaster

12:6 [; ]

12:10 []

12:10 ;

12:13 ;

12:14

12:15 [, ]

12:15

12:19 Literally priests, but not in a technical sense

12:20

12:21

12:22 []

12:23 ;

12:24

12:24 Literally heart

12:25 ; ;

12:25

Job 13

13:2

13:3 ;

13:4

13:5

13:7 ;

13:14

13:15

13:15

13:16

13:18 []

13:19

13:20

13:21

13:22 ;

13:24 []

13:24

13:25

13:26

13:27

13:27 Literally inscribe a print

13:28 Literally He

Job 14

14:1

14:2

14:3 ;

14:3 []

14:3 Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate read him.

14:4 [, , ]

14:5 ;

14:6

14:6

14:10 ,

14:12 [; ; ]

14:14

14:15

14:16

14:17

14:17 Literally plaster over

14:21

Job 15

15:1

15:6 []

15:7

15:8

15:9 ;

15:10 ; ; ,

15:11 Septuagint reads a secret thing.

15:14

15:15 ;

15:16 ;

15:16

15:18 ;

15:19

15:20

15:21

15:22

15:23 ;

15:23

15:27 ; ;

15:29 ; ,

15:30

15:31

15:32

15:35

Job 16

16:2 ;

16:4 ;

16:7

16:7 ;

16:8

16:9

16:9 ;

16:10 ;

16:10

16:11 ,

16:12

16:12

16:13 Literally kidneys

16:14 Vulgate reads giant.

16:15

16:15 Literally horn

16:18 []

16:19

16:21

16:22

Job 17

17:1 ,

17:2 ; ; , ;

17:3 ; ;

17:4 ;

17:5

17:6

17:7 ;

17:9

17:9

17:10

17:10 Following some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate; Masoretic Text and Targum read all of them.

17:11

17:15 ; ; ;

17:16

17:16 ;

Job 18

18:1

18:3

18:4

18:5 ; ;

18:6

18:7 , ;

18:8

18:9

18:11

18:12

18:14

18:16

18:17 []

18:17 Literally before the outside, meaning distinguished, famous

18:19

18:20

18:21

Job 19

19:3 A Jewish tradition reads make yourselves strange to me.

19:5 ; ; ,

19:6

19:8

19:9

19:10

19:11 ;

19:13 ; ; ; ,

19:18

19:19 ; ,

19:20

19:22

19:26 []

Job 20

20:1

20:4 ;

20:5 ,

20:5 [; ; ; ]

20:6 ,

20:8 ;

20:8 ;

20:11

20:11

20:17

20:20

20:20 Literally belly

20:24

20:25

20:25 ,

20:26

20:28 ;

20:29 ; ,

Job 21

21:3

21:5

21:7 []

21:9

21:10

21:13 ;

21:13 Or Sheol

21:14

21:15

21:15

21:16

21:17 []

21:18 ;

21:19 []

21:19 Literally his

21:20

21:22 [; ]

21:24 Septuagint and Vulgate read bowels; Syriac reads sides; Targum reads breasts.

21:26

21:28 Vulgate omits the tent.

21:30 []

21:33

Job 22

22:1 ; ;

22:2 []

22:6 [, ]

22:7

22:11 , ;

22:13

22:14 ,

22:16 ;

22:17 ,

22:17 Septuagint and Syriac read us.

22:19 ; ;

22:20 Septuagint reads substance.

22:21

22:22

22:22 []

22:24

22:25 The ancient versions suggest defense; Hebrew reads gold as in verse .

22:26 ; ;

22:27 []

22:29 []

Job 23

23:2

23:2 Following Masoretic Text, Targum, and Vulgate; Septuagint and Syriac read His.

23:3 , ; ;

23:6

23:8 ;

23:10 [; ]

23:10 []

23:11

23:12 ;

23:12

23:13 []

23:14 []

23:16

23:17 ,

Job 24

24:1 []

24:1 []

24:2 [; ]

24:3 [, , , ]

24:4

24:7 ,

24:8

24:10

24:14

24:15

24:15

24:16 []

24:19 Or Sheol

24:20

24:23 []

Job 25

25:1 ;

25:3

25:4 ;

25:4 []

25:5

25:6

Job 26

26:6

26:7

26:8

26:10

26:12

26:13

26:13

Job 27

27:2

27:5 ;

27:6 ;

27:6

27:8

27:9

27:10 ,

27:13

27:14

27:15

27:15 Literally his

27:17

27:18

27:18 Following Masoretic Text and Vulgate; Septuagint and Syriac read spider (compare ); Targum reads decay.

27:19 , ;

27:19 Following Masoretic Text and Targum; Septuagint and Syriac read But shall not add (that is, do it again); Vulgate reads But take away nothing.

27:20

27:22

Job 28

28:8 Literally sons of pride, figurative of the great lions

28:12

28:13

28:14

28:15 ; , ,

28:17 ;

28:18 ;

28:19

28:20

28:22

28:24 []

28:25

28:26 ;

28:27 Literally it

28:28 [; ]

Job 29

29:2

29:2

29:3

29:4 []

29:6 ;

29:6

29:6 Masoretic Text reads wrath; ancient versions and some Hebrew manuscripts read cream (compare ).

29:9

29:10

29:12 []

29:14 [; ]

29:15

29:16

29:17

29:18

29:19

29:19

29:20

29:23 []

Job 30

30:9

30:10

30:11

30:11 Following Masoretic Text, Syriac, and Targum; Septuagint and Vulgate read His.

30:12

30:16

30:16

30:20

30:21 ; , ; ,

30:23 []

30:25 ,

30:26

30:28 ; ;

30:29

30:30

30:30

Job 31

31:1 []

31:2

31:4 []

31:6 ; ,

31:7

31:8

31:10

31:11

31:13 [, ]

31:14 []

31:15

31:16

31:18 Literally her (compare verse )

31:20 []

31:20 Literally loins

31:21

31:23

31:24 []

31:25

31:26

31:26 Literally light

31:29 [; ]

31:30 []

31:32 ,

31:32 Following Septuagint, Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate; Masoretic Text reads road.

31:33 []

31:34

31:35 ; , ,

31:35 , ;

31:39 ,

31:39

31:39 Literally its strength

31:40

Job 32

32:1 ; ;

32:2

32:2 ,

32:4 Vulgate reads till Job had spoken.

32:6

32:7 Literally Days, that is, years

32:8 []

32:9 []

32:9 Or Men of many years

32:13 []

32:22

Job 33

33:4 []

33:6

33:6 Literally as your mouth

33:7

33:9

33:10 ;

33:11 ;

33:13 []

33:14

33:15 []

33:16 [, ]

33:19

33:20

33:20 ;

33:27 []

33:27 []

33:28

33:28 Or my (Kethib)

33:30

33:33

Job 34

34:3 ;

34:5 ;

34:5

34:6 ;

34:7

34:9

34:10 ;

34:11

34:12

34:14

34:15 []

34:17

34:17

34:18

34:19 []

34:19

34:20

34:21

34:22 [, ]

34:24 []

34:27

34:27

34:28

34:28 []

34:35 ;

34:37 ;

Job 35

35:3 ;

35:4

35:5 []

35:6 []

35:7

35:9

35:10

35:10

35:11

35:12

35:13 []

35:14

35:14 [, ]

35:15

35:16 ;

Job 36

36:5 , ;

36:6

36:7 [; ]

36:7

36:8

36:10 ;

36:11 [, ]

36:12

36:12 Masoretic Text reads as one without knowledge.

36:13 []

36:14

36:14 Hebrew qedeshim, that is, those practicing sodomy and prostitution in religious rituals

36:16 ; ;

36:16

36:16

36:17 , ,

36:18

36:19 []

36:21 [; ]

36:21 []

36:23 ; [, ]

36:23

36:24 []

36:26 []

36:26

36:27

36:28 []

36:30

36:31 []

36:31 ,

36:32

36:33

Job 37

37:4

37:5 ; ;

37:6 ,

37:7

37:7 ,

37:8 ,

37:10 ,

37:12

37:12 Literally the world of the earth

37:13 ,

37:13 ,

37:13

37:14

37:16

37:16

37:18 []

37:18

37:23 []

37:23 [; ]

37:24 []

37:24 []

Job 38

38:1

38:2 ;

38:2

38:3

38:4

38:7

38:8

38:10

38:11 [; ]

38:12 [; ]

38:13

38:15

38:15 ;

38:16 []

38:17

38:22

38:23

38:25

38:27 , ;

38:28 ,

38:29 ,

38:30 []

38:31

38:32 Literally Constellations

38:33 ,

38:36 []

38:36 Literally inward parts

38:39

38:41 []

Job 39

39:1

39:1

39:3 Literally pangs, figurative of offspring

39:6

39:8

39:9

39:16

39:17

39:19 Or a mane

39:21

39:27 ,

39:27

39:30

Job 40

40:1

40:2 ; ;

40:2 ;

40:4

40:4

40:6

40:7

40:7

40:8 []

40:9 [, ]

40:10 ;

40:12

40:15 A large animal, exact identity unknown

40:19

40:20

Job 41

41:1

41:1 A large sea creature, exact identity unknown

41:2

41:6 Or bargain over him

41:11 []

41:11 ;

41:12 Literally keep silent about

41:25 Or purify themselves

Job 42

42:2 []

42:3

42:3 ; ;

42:4 ;

42:5

42:6

42:8

42:8 []

42:8

42:10

42:10

42:10 Literally Job’s captivity, that is, what was captured from Job

42:11

42:12

42:12

42:13

42:16 ;

42:17 ;

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