TRV
Translation
King James Version
Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together!
Complete Jewish Bible
"I wish my frustration could be weighed, all my calamities laid on the scales!
Berean Standard Bible
“If only my grief could be weighed and placed with my calamity on the scales.
American Standard Version
Oh that my vexation were but weighed, And all my calamity laid in the balances!
World English Bible Messianic
“Oh that my anguish were weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances!
Geneva Bible (1599)
Oh that my griefe were well weighed, and my miseries were layed together in the balance.
Young's Literal Translation
O that my provocation were thoroughly weighed, And my calamity in balances They would lift up together!
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In the KJVVerse 12,981 of 31,102
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Commentary on Job 6 verses 1–7
1 ¶ But Job answered and said,
2 Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together!
3 For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up.
4 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.
5 Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder?
6 Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
7 The things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat.
Eliphaz, in the beginning of his discourse, had been very sharp upon Job, and yet it does not appear that Job gave him any interruption, but heard him patiently till he had said all he had to say. Those that would make an impartial judgment of a discourse must hear it out, and take it entire. But, when he had concluded, he makes his reply, in which he speaks very feelingly.
I. He represents his calamity, in general, as much heavier than either he had expressed it or they had apprehended it, Job 6:2, Job 6:3. He could not fully describe it; they would not fully apprehend it, or at least would not own that they did; and therefore he would gladly appeal to a third person, who had just weights and just balances with which to weigh his grief and calamity, and would do it with an impartial hand. He wished that they would set his grief and all the expressions of it in one scale, his calamity and all the particulars of it in the other, and (though he would not altogether justify himself in his grief) they would find (as he says, Job 23:2) that his stroke was heavier than his groaning; for, whatever his grief was, his calamity was heavier than the sand of the sea: it was complicated, it was aggravated, every grievance weighty, and all together numerous as the sand. "Therefore (says he) my words are swallowed up;" that is, "Therefore you must excuse both the brokenness and the bitterness of my expressions. Do not think it strange if my speech be not so fine and polite as that of an eloquent orator, or so grave and regular as that of a morose philosopher: no, in these circumstances I can pretend neither to the one nor to the other; my words are, as I am, quite swallowed up." Now, 1. He hereby complains of it as his unhappiness that his friends undertook to administer spiritual physic to him before they thoroughly understood his case and knew the worst of it. It is seldom that those who are at ease themselves rightly weigh the afflictions of the afflicted. Every one feels most from his own burden; few feel from other people's. 2. He excuses the passionate expressions he had used when he cursed his day. Though he could not himself justify all he had said, yet he thought his friends should not thus violently condemn it, for really the case was extraordinary, and that might be connived at in such a man of sorrows as he now was which in any common grief would by no means be allowed. 3. He bespeaks the charitable and compassionate sympathy of his friends with him, and hopes, by representing the greatness of his calamity, to bring them to a better temper towards him. To those that are pained it is some ease to be pitied.
II. He complains of the trouble and terror of mind he was in as the sorest part of his calamity, Job 6:4. Herein he was a type of Christ, who, in his sufferings, complained most of the sufferings of his soul. Now is my soul troubled, Joh 12:27. My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, Mat 26:38. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Mat 27:46. Poor Job sadly complains here, 1. Of what he felt The arrows of the Almighty are within me. It was not so much the troubles themselves he was under that put him into this confusion, his poverty, disgrace, and bodily pain; but that which cut him to the heart and put him into this agitation, was to think that the God he loved and served had brought all this upon him and laid him under these marks of his displeasure. Note, Trouble of mind is the sorest trouble. A wounded spirit who can bear! Whatever burden of affliction, in body or estate, God is pleased to lay upon us, we may well afford to submit to it as long as he continues to the use of our reason and the peace of our consciences; but, if in either of these we be disturbed, our case is sad indeed and very pitiable. The way to prevent God's fiery darts of trouble is with the shield of faith to quench Satan's fiery darts of temptation. Observe, He calls them the arrows of the Almighty; for it is an instance of the power of God above that of any man that he can with his arrows reach the soul. He that made the soul can make his sword to approach to it. The poison or heat of these arrows is said to drink up his spirit, because it disturbed his reason, shook his resolution, exhausted his vigour, and threatened his life; and therefore his passionate expressions, though they could not be justified, might be excused. 2. Of what he feared. He saw himself charged by the terrors of God, as by an army set in battle-array, and surrounded by them. God, by his terrors, fought against him. As he had no comfort when he retired inward into his own bosom, so he had none when he looked upward towards Heaven. He that used to be encouraged with the consolations of God not only wanted those, but was amazed with the terrors of God.
III. He reflects upon his friends for their severe censures of his complaints and their unskilful management of his case. 1. Their reproofs were causeless. He complained, it is true, now that he was in this affliction, but he never used to complain, as those do who are of a fretful unquiet spirit, when he was in prosperity: he did not bray when he had grass, nor low over his fodder, Job 6:5. But, now that he was utterly deprived of all his comforts, he must be a stock or a stone, and not have the sense of an ox or a wild ass, if he did not give some vent to his grief. He was forced to eat unsavoury meats, and was so poor that he had not a grain of salt wherewith to season them, nor to give a little taste to the white of an egg, which was now the choicest dish he had at his table, Job 6:6. Even that food which once he would have scorned to touch he was now glad of, and it was his sorrowful meat, Job 6:7. Note, It is wisdom not to use ourselves or our children to be nice and dainty about meat and drink, because we know not how we or they may be reduced, nor how that which we now disdain may be made acceptable by necessity. 2. Their comforts were sapless and insipid; so some understand Job 6:6, Job 6:7. He complains he had nothing now offered to him for his relief that was proper for him, no cordial, nothing to revive and cheer his spirits; what they had afforded was in itself as tasteless as the white of an egg, and, when applied to him, as loathsome and burdensome as the most sorrowful meat. I am sorry he should say thus of what Eliphaz had excellently well said, Job 5:8, etc. But peevish spirits are too apt thus to abuse their comforters.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 1–7. Public domain.
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John ChrysostomAD 407
COMMENTARY ON JOB 6:2A-3A
This is what Job means, you show wisdom in the misfortunes of other people. Since you are far away from my misfortunes, you admonish me while you experience a peaceful life. This remark is an answer to the words that were said earlier, “You have instructed many.” “You have strengthened the feeble knees.” “But now misfortune has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches you, and you are dismayed.” Why does he say, “You are dismayed”? I wanted my affliction to become evident, so you would understand that nobody has ever suffered such tribulations. But I perceive my bad luck. He who should have provided me with forgiveness makes me absolutely unforgivable. My misfortune’s magnitude, he says, not only doesn’t intercede for me, not only makes me seem unworthy of mercy, but condemns me. What should have obtained mercy for me instead makes me hateful and condemnable, and I cannot gain any mercy, in spite of what I say. And the proof is that Eliphaz imputed Job’s misfortune to impiety.
Gregory the DialogistAD 604
2. Who else is set forth by the title of ‘the balances,’ but the Mediator between God and man, Who came to weigh the merit of our life, and brought down with Him both justice and loving-kindness together? But putting the greater weight in the scale of mercy, He lightened our transgressions in pardoning them. For in the hand of the Father having been made like scales of a marvellous balancing, in the one scale He hung our woe in His own Person, and in the other our sins. Now by dying He proved the woe to be of heavy weight, and by releasing it showed the sin to be light in mercy's scale [a], Who vouchsafed this instance of grace first, that He made our punishment to be known to us. For man, being created for the contemplation of his Maker, but banished from the interior joys in justice to his deserts, gone headlong into the wofulness of a corrupt condition, undergoing the darkness of his exile, was at once subject to the punishment of his sin, and knew it not; so that he imagined his place of exile to be his home, and so rejoiced under the weight of his corrupt condition as in the liberty of a state of salvation. But He Whom man had forsaken within, having assumed a fleshly nature, came forth God without; and when He presented Himself outwardly, He restored man, who was cast forth without, to the interior life, that He might henceforth perceive his losses, that he might henceforth lament the sorrows of his blind state. Man’s woe then was found to be heavy in the balance, in that the ill, which he was laid under, he only knew in his Redeemer's appearing presence. For not knowing the right, he bore with delight the darkness of his state of condemnation. But after he saw a thing for him to delight in, he likewise perceived a thing to grieve over, and what he underwent he felt was grievous, in that what he had lost was made known as sweet. Let then the holy man, thrown out of the barriers of silence by the sayings of his friend in discourse, and filled with the overflowing of the prophetic spirit, exclaim with his own voice, yea, with the voice of mankind, Oh that my sins were thoroughly weighed, whereby I have deserved wrath, and the calamity that I suffer laid in the balances together! It should be found heavier even as the sand of the sea. As if it were in plain words, ‘The evil of our condition under the curse is thought light, in that it is weighed without the Redeemer's equity [aequitate] being as yet known, but oh that He would come, and hang in the scale of His Mercy the wofulness of this dismal exile, and instruct us what to seek back for after that exile. For if He makes known what we have lost, He shows that to be grievous which we endure.’ But this same misery of our pilgrimage is fitly compared to the sand of the sea, (for the sand of the sea is forced without by the chafing of the waters,) in that man too in transgressing, because he bore the billows of temptation unsteadily, was carried out of himself from within. Now of great weight is the sand of the sea, but the calamity of man is said to be ‘heavier than the sand of the sea,’ for his punishment is shown to have been hard, at the time when the sin is lightened by the merciful Judge. And because every man that owns the grace of the Redeemer, everyone that longs for a return to his Country, now that he is instructed, groans beneath the burthen of his pilgrimage.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Job 6:2 encapsulates Job's desperate cry for his immense suffering to be objectively measured and validated. In response to Eliphaz's unhelpful and accusatory counsel, Job wishes his profound grief and calamity could be placed on a scale, convinced that their overwhelming weight would not only justify his bitter lament but also silence the misguided judgments of his friends. This verse powerfully conveys his longing for empathy and understanding in the face of incomprehensible anguish and a plea for an impartial assessment of his unmerited pain.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Job 6:2 is rich in Imagery, primarily that of weighing and balances. This Metaphor of a scale transforms Job's intangible grief and calamity into concrete, measurable entities, allowing him to articulate the overwhelming, almost physical, burden of his suffering. The use of a commercial or judicial scale (Symbolism) evokes a sense of fairness, precision, and an objective standard of truth, which Job desperately seeks in contrast to the subjective and judgmental interpretations of his friends. The opening "Oh that..." is an Exclamation or a Lament, immediately establishing the emotional intensity and desperate yearning of Job's plea. This passionate cry also functions as Hyperbole, as Job exaggerates the weight of his suffering to convey its incomprehensible magnitude.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Job 6:2 serves as a pivotal expression of Job's profound anguish and his longing for an objective assessment of his suffering, a theme that resonates throughout biblical literature. It challenges the simplistic retribution theology often espoused in ancient Near Eastern thought and by Job's friends, asserting that suffering is not always a direct consequence of personal sin. Job's cry for his pain to be "weighed" is, at its core, a plea for God to acknowledge the overwhelming reality of his affliction and to provide a just, impartial judgment that would vindicate him. This desire for divine intervention and validation in the face of unmerited suffering is a recurring motif for those who wrestle with the problem of evil and the justice of God, finding echoes in the laments of other biblical figures.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Job 6:2 offers profound insights into the human experience of suffering and the appropriate response to those in distress. It reminds us that grief and calamity can feel immeasurable and overwhelming, defying easy categorization or simplistic explanations. Job's raw, unfiltered cry for his pain to be "weighed" underscores the deep human need for validation, empathy, and understanding when facing profound loss and injustice. This verse challenges us to resist the urge to offer quick theological answers or judgmental assessments to those who suffer, instead calling us to a posture of compassionate listening and presence. It also assures us that honest lament, even bordering on complaint, is permissible before God; He is big enough to handle our deepest anguish and our most desperate questions, inviting us to bring our true selves, brokenness and all, into His presence. In a world often quick to judge or dismiss pain, Job's plea calls us to a deeper, more empathetic engagement with human suffering.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why does Job want his grief "weighed"? Is he questioning God's justice?
Answer: Job's desire for his grief to be "weighed" is not necessarily a direct questioning of God's justice in a rebellious sense, but rather an impassioned plea for objective validation and understanding. He feels his suffering is so immense and disproportionate to any sin he believes he has committed that it defies the simplistic explanations offered by his friends. By wishing for his pain to be put on a scale, Job is essentially saying, "If you could truly measure the depth of my anguish and the totality of my ruin, you would see that my complaints are justified, and my suffering is beyond human comprehension or easy explanation." It's a cry for a fair assessment, a desperate hope that the sheer weight of his affliction would silence the accusations and reveal his innocence. This longing for an impartial arbiter is a recurring theme for Job, as he later expresses a desire for someone to lay a hand on both him and God in Job 9:33 and for a Redeemer who will stand upon the earth in Job 19:25.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Job's desperate cry for his grief to be "throughly weighed" and his calamity "laid in the balances" finds its ultimate and profound fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Job, in his suffering, longs for a just arbiter, an impartial judge who can truly understand and validate his pain. This longing is met in Christ, who is not only the righteous Judge but also the Suffering Servant who bore the full weight of human grief and calamity. The prophet Isaiah foretold of one who would be "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3), a description perfectly embodied by Jesus. On the cross, Jesus fully entered into and experienced the immeasurable weight of sin, sorrow, and separation from God, a burden far exceeding anything Job endured. His cry, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46), echoes Job's lament, demonstrating that the very Son of God truly understood what it meant for His grief and calamity to be "weighed" in the divine balances of justice and mercy. Through His suffering, death, and resurrection, Christ not only validated the depth of human pain but also provided the ultimate vindication for the innocent and the path to redemption for the guilty, offering a hope and understanding that transcends Job's initial desperate plea for an earthly scale. He is the one who truly knows our suffering, for He has borne it all (Hebrews 4:15).