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.
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Job Justifies His Complaint

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But Job answered and said,
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Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together! ​
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For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up. ​
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For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me. ​
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Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder? ​
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Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg? ​
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The things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat. ​

Job Prays for Immediate Death

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Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for! ​
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Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! ​
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Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One. ​
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What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong my life?
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Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass? ​
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Is not my help in me? and is wisdom driven quite from me?

The Unreliability of His Friends

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To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty. ​
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My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away; ​
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Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid:
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What time they wax warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.
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The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing, and perish.
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The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them.
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They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed. ​
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For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid. ​
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Did I say, Bring unto me? or, Give a reward for me of your substance?
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Or, Deliver me from the enemy's hand? or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty?

Job Demands Constructive Counsel

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Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred. ​
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How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove? ​
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Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as wind?
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Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your friend. ​
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Now therefore be content, look upon me; for it is evident unto you if I lie.
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Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return again, my righteousness is in it. ​
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Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse 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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