Job6

Job responds to Eliphaz by expressing the overwhelming weight of his grief, which he attributes to the arrows and terrors of the Almighty. He longs for death as a release from his suffering, questioning his own strength to endure. Job then criticizes his friends for their lack of pity and unreliability, challenging them to teach him his error rather than reprove his desperate words, while asserting his own righteousness.

Job Justifies His Complaint

1
Then Job answered,
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“Oh that my anguish were weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances! ​
3
For now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas, therefore have my words been rash. ​
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For the arrows of the Almighty are within me. My spirit drinks up their poison. The terrors of God set themselves in array against me. ​
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Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass? Or does the ox low over his fodder? ​
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Can that which has no flavor be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg? ​
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My soul refuses to touch them. They are as loathsome food to me. ​

Job Prays for Immediate Death

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“Oh that I might have my request, that God would grant the thing that I long for, ​
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even that it would please God to crush me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! ​
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Be it still my consolation, yes, let me exult in pain that doesn’t spare, that I have not denied the words of the Holy One. ​
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What is my strength, that I should wait? What is my end, that I should be patient?
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Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh of brass? ​
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Isn’t it that I have no help in me, That wisdom is driven quite from me?

The Unreliability of His Friends

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“To him who is ready to faint, kindness should be shown from his friend; even to him who forsakes the fear of the Almighty. ​
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My brothers have dealt deceitfully as a brook, as the channel of brooks that pass away; ​
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Which are black by reason of the ice, in which the snow hides itself.
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In the dry season, they vanish. When it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.
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The caravans that travel beside them turn aside. They go up into the waste, and perish.
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The caravans of Tema looked. The companies of Sheba waited for them.
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They were distressed because they were confident. They came there, and were confounded. ​
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For now you are nothing. You see a terror, and are afraid. ​
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Did I say, ‘Give to me?’ or, ‘Offer a present for me from your substance?’
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or, ‘Deliver me from the adversary’s hand?’ or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the oppressors?’

Job Demands Constructive Counsel

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“Teach me, and I will hold my peace. Cause me to understand wherein I have erred. ​
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How forcible are words of uprightness! But your reproof, what does it reprove? ​
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Do you intend to reprove words, since the speeches of one who is desperate are as wind?
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Yes, you would even cast lots for the fatherless, and make merchandise of your friend. ​
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Now therefore be pleased to look at me, for surely I shall not lie to your face.
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Please return. Let there be no injustice. Yes, return again. My cause is righteous. ​
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Is there injustice on my tongue? Can’t my taste discern mischievous things? ​

Study Notes for Job 6

Verse 2

Job wishes his suffering could be objectively measured, implying that if the friends truly understood the weight of his calamity, they would not criticize his words.

Verse 3

The hyperbole ('heavier than the sand of the sea') explains why his words are rash and uncontrolled. His overwhelming pain causes his desperate expressions to be 'swallowed up' by bitterness.

Verse 4

Job attributes his despair directly to God ('the Almighty'), viewing his affliction not as random chance but as a deliberate military assault (arrows, poison, terrors set in array) from the divine.

Verse 5

Job uses natural analogies to argue that complaining is a normal, expected response to pain. Animals only cry out when they lack what they need; his outcry proves his state is unnatural and painful.

Verse 6

This verse reinforces the idea that suffering requires a response. Just as bland food needs salt, his life requires something to alleviate its bitterness; the friends' words offer no such relief.

Verse 7

His current circumstances are so repulsive that they are compared to food his soul previously refused to touch. His physical revulsion mirrors his spiritual and emotional distress.

Verse 8

Job shifts from justifying his complaints to expressing a fervent death wish, framing death as the only true relief he desires from God.

Verse 9

Job asks God to complete the destruction that has already begun, using the physical imagery of God 'letting loose his hand' to cut him off swiftly.

Verse 10

Job suggests that death would bring comfort because it would end his pain, and he would die knowing he had remained faithful ('not concealed the words of the Holy One'), confirming his integrity.

Verse 12

These rhetorical questions emphasize Job’s profound physical weakness. He contrasts his fragile human body with the imagined strength of stones and brass, concluding that he cannot endure indefinitely.

Verse 14

Job states the moral necessity of compassion for the afflicted. He accuses his friends of failing this fundamental duty, suggesting their lack of pity indicates a forsaking of true piety.

Verse 15

The friends are compared to wadis (seasonal streams) that promise water in the desert but are ultimately unreliable, disappearing when the heat (Job's crisis) is most intense.

Verse 20

The travelers (like the friends) are ashamed because their expectations of finding sustenance (comfort, wisdom) were dashed. False hope leads only to confusion and disappointment.

Verse 21

Job applies the metaphor directly, stating the friends have proven worthless, seeing his utter collapse and reacting with fear rather than supportive intimacy.

Verse 24

Job challenges his friends to move beyond condemnation and provide specific, constructive instruction. He promises silence and acceptance if they can point out his exact error.

Verse 25

Job contrasts the power of 'right words' (truthful and helpful counsel) with the futility of their current, judgmental arguments, which have only served to expose his desperation.

Verse 27

This is a severe accusation of betrayal. Job suggests that in their misguided zeal, they are exploiting his vulnerability ('overwhelm the fatherless') and acting treacherously against their 'friend'.

Verse 29

Job appeals for them to reconsider their judgment, arguing that a true examination of his situation will prove his righteousness and show that their previous condemnation was based on iniquity.

Verse 30

Job concludes his defense by asserting his moral and intellectual clarity. He affirms that despite his suffering, he retains the ability to distinguish between truth and falsehood.

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