Job 6:8

KJV

¶ Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant [me] the thing that I long for!

KJV (with Strong's)

Oh that I might have {H935} my request {H7596}; and that God {H433} would grant {H5414} me the thing that I long for {H8615}!

Complete Jewish Bible

"If only I could have my wish granted, and God would give me what I'm hoping for -

Berean Standard Bible

If only my request were granted and God would fulfill my hope:

American Standard Version

Oh that I might have my request; And that God would grantmethe thing that I long for!

Commentary

### SUMMARY
Job 6:8 captures the raw, unvarnished cry of a man pushed to the absolute limits of human endurance by unimaginable suffering. In this intensely personal lament, Job addresses God directly, articulating a fervent, desperate desire not for healing or restoration, but for the ultimate cessation of his profound agony through death, revealing the crushing weight of his despair and the radical nature of his plea.

### CONTEXT
* **Literary Context:** This verse is embedded within Job's first impassioned rebuttal (Job 6-7) to the conventional wisdom offered by his friend Eliphaz (Job 4-5). Eliphaz, operating under the prevalent retribution theology, has subtly implied Job's sin as the cause of his suffering, urging repentance. Job vehemently rejects this simplistic framework, dismissing Eliphaz's words as "vain words" and "wind" in [Job 6:26](/job/6-26 "Job 6:26 - Job's Rejection of Eliphaz's Counsel"). Thus, [Job 6:8](/job/6-8 "Job 6:8 - Job's Desperate Plea for Death") transcends a mere complaint; it is a visceral counter-argument, a desperate cry from a man whose suffering defies easy theological categorization. It intensifies the desperate longing for death first articulated in [Job 3](/job/3 "Job 3 - Job's Lament and Curse of His Birth"), as Job feels increasingly misunderstood and abandoned by both his friends and, seemingly, by God.
* **Historical & Cultural Context:** The Book of Job stands as a profound piece of ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature, meticulously exploring the enduring problem of innocent suffering in the context of a just and sovereign God. Culturally, the prevailing retribution principle posited a direct correlation between one's moral conduct and their earthly circumstances: righteousness led to prosperity, while wickedness resulted in affliction. Job's profound, undeserved suffering shatters this simplistic worldview, presenting a righteous man enduring inexplicable torment. The cultural expectation would have been for Job to confess hidden sin and seek restoration, yet his unwavering insistence on his innocence and his direct, often confrontational, appeals to God radically challenge these established theological paradigms. His fervent desire for death, while jarring to modern sensibilities, reflects a common human response to unbearable pain in a world devoid of modern palliative care, where death could indeed be perceived as a merciful release from an agonizing existence, a sentiment echoed in various ancient laments and even in the despair of [King David](/psalms/55-4-5 "Psalm 55:4-5 - David's Anguish").
* **Key Themes:** [Job 6:8](/job/6-8 "Job 6:8 - Job's Plea for Release") profoundly contributes to several overarching themes within the Book of Job. It powerfully underscores the theme of **unjustified suffering**, presenting a righteous individual enduring profound, inexplicable pain, thereby challenging the conventional retribution theology. This verse also vividly illustrates the **limits of human endurance**, portraying a man pushed beyond all conceivable bounds of physical and emotional agony. Furthermore, it highlights the profound **mystery of suffering** and the inherent inadequacy of human wisdom to fully comprehend or explain divine actions in the face of such affliction. Crucially, Job's direct, albeit desperate, appeal to God, even amidst his desire for death, reinforces the theme of **persistent faith amidst doubt and lament**. Despite his anguish and radical plea for release, Job continues to engage with God, demonstrating a strained yet unbroken relationship that sets the stage for the later divine encounters and his ultimate vindication. His cry echoes the deepest human anguish when confronted with overwhelming adversity, intensifying his earlier wish that he had never been born, as seen in [Job 3:11](/job/3-11 "Job 3:11 - Job's Wish for Non-Existence").

### EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

#### Key Word Analysis
* **Request (Hebrew, _shᵉʼêlâh'_):** This term (H7596) denotes a "petition" or "request." In Job's desperate cry, it signifies a deeply personal and urgent plea, a specific entreaty directed towards God. It is not a casual wish but a fervent, almost desperate, articulation of his deepest desire, born out of extreme duress and profound suffering. The use of "my request" emphasizes the intensely personal nature of Job's anguish and his direct, unmediated appeal to the divine.
* **Long for (Hebrew, _tiqvâh'_):** This word (H8615) literally means "a cord" (as an attachment) and figuratively "expectancy" or "hope." In this context, "the thing that I long for" or "my expectation" is paradoxically death, as confirmed by the subsequent verse ([Job 6:9](/job/6-9 "Job 6:9 - Job's Desire for God to Crush Him")). This creates a profound and tragic irony: Job's "hope" is for the ultimate cessation of life, a morbid expectation born from the unbearable reality of his physical and emotional torment. It powerfully underscores the severity of his plight, where the normal human desire for life is inverted into an earnest yearning for its end, seeing death as the only true relief.

#### Verse Breakdown
* **"Oh that I might have my request;":** This opening exclamation, rendered from the Hebrew phrase *mî-yittēn* (מִי־יִתֵּן), conveys a profound and fervent wish, bordering on an anguished plea. It expresses an intense, almost impossible longing for something to be granted, setting a tone of deep personal distress and desperate yearning for divine intervention. Job is not merely contemplating this desire but crying it out, articulating a specific petition for release from his unbearable suffering.
* **"and that God would grant [me] the thing that I long for!":** This clause explicitly directs Job's plea to God (אֱלוֹהַּ, *ʼĕlôwahh*), placing the responsibility for its fulfillment squarely in the divine realm. The verb "grant" (יִתֵּן, *yittēn*, from H5414 *nâthan*) emphasizes the divine agency required to bring about his desire. The "thing that I long for" (תִּקְוָה, *tiqvâh*) is understood from the immediate context, particularly [Job 6:9](/job/6-9 "Job 6:9 - Job's Desire for God to Crush Him"), to be death—a swift, decisive, and merciful end to his life and profound suffering. This direct, almost demanding, appeal to the Almighty underscores Job's desperate state and his conviction that only God possesses the power to alleviate his torment.

#### Literary Devices
[Job 6:8](/job/6-8 "Job 6:8 - Job's Desperate Plea for Death") is rich with literary devices that powerfully amplify Job's profound despair and the radical nature of his plea. The most prominent device is **Lament**, a pervasive form of poetic expression in biblical literature that provides a channel for voicing suffering, grief, and complaint, often directly addressed to God. Job's entire speech in this chapter functions as an extended lament, articulating his overwhelming pain and his desperate desire for an end to it. The verse also exhibits clear **Parallelism**, where the two clauses—"Oh that I might have my request" and "that God would grant [me] the thing that I long for"—express a singular, intensifying idea through distinct yet reinforcing phrases, emphasizing the desperate desire for release. The opening phrase "Oh that" functions as an **Exclamatory Wish** or **Supplication**, conveying the immense depth and urgency of Job's yearning. Furthermore, the verse employs a poignant **Irony** in the use of "long for" or "hope" (*tiqvâh*), as Job's ultimate "hope" is for death, a stark and tragic inversion of the typical human desire for life. This paradoxical hope underscores the extreme nature of his suffering, where death is not feared but earnestly desired as the ultimate, merciful relief.

### THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
[Job 6:8](/job/6-8 "Job 6:8 - Job's Desperate Plea for Death") serves as a profoundly poignant testament to the raw human experience of suffering and the complex theological questions it inevitably raises. It powerfully affirms the biblical permission to lament, demonstrating that believers are free to bring their most raw emotions, deepest pains, and even their darkest desires for release directly before God. Job's cry, born of utter despair, is not a rejection of God but rather a deeply honest and desperate engagement with Him, revealing that authentic faith can indeed coexist with profound anguish, confusion, and even a longing for death. This verse challenges simplistic notions of divine justice and the retribution principle, reminding us that suffering is not always a direct consequence of sin. It compels us to wrestle with the mystery of pain and God's sovereignty, inviting deep empathy for those who suffer and acknowledging the immense psychological and emotional toll that prolonged affliction can exact, pushing individuals to the very brink of endurance.

* [Psalm 42:1-3](/psalms/42-1 "Psalm 42:1-3 - The Psalmist's Thirst for God in Distress")
* [Lamentations 3:1-20](/lamentations/3-1 "Lamentations 3:1-20 - Jeremiah's Personal Lament")
* [Philippians 1:21-23](/philippians/1-21 "Philippians 1:21-23 - Paul's Desire to Depart and Be with Christ")

### REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
[Job 6:8](/job/6-8 "Job 6:8 - Job's Desperate Plea for Death") serves as a profound mirror, reflecting both our own potential experiences of suffering and the way we ought to approach those in deep distress. It grants us invaluable permission to be utterly honest and transparent with God about our pain, our confusion, and even our darkest, most desperate desires for escape. The biblical narrative, far from sanitizing human experience, unflinchingly validates the reality of overwhelming anguish and the desperate thoughts it can engender. For those who feel abandoned, misunderstood, or unheard in their suffering, Job's raw cry powerfully reminds us that God hears, even when He seems silent or when His answers are not what we expect. This verse challenges us to cultivate a profoundly compassionate heart, recognizing that others' despair may lead them to desperate expressions, and to respond with genuine empathy rather than offering simplistic theological platitudes or unhelpful advice. Ultimately, [Job 6:8](/job/6-8 "Job 6:8 - Job's Plea for Release") encourages us to bring our whole selves—our pain, our questions, our longing, and our brokenness—before the God who is intimately acquainted with suffering and who invites us into honest dialogue.

#### Questions for Reflection
* **How does Job's raw honesty in this verse challenge or affirm your own approach to prayer during times of intense suffering?**
* **In what ways might we, like Job's friends, inadvertently offer unhelpful or insensitive counsel to those in deep distress?**
* **What does Job's continued appeal to God, even for death, reveal about the nature of his relationship with the divine?**

### FAQ
**Is it acceptable for a believer to wish for death, as Job does here?**

Answer: [Job 6:8](/job/6-8 "Job 6:8 - Job's Desperate Plea for Death"), along with numerous other passages in the Book of Job and the Psalms (e.g., [Psalm 88](/psalms/88 "Psalm 88 - A Psalm of Utter Despair")), demonstrates that the Bible does not shy away from depicting the raw, unfiltered emotions of human suffering, including a longing for death as an escape from unbearable pain. While Scripture unequivocally condemns suicide, expressing a desperate desire for release from suffering to God is presented as a legitimate, albeit agonizing, form of lament. Job's cry is a profound testament to the extreme limits of human endurance and the crushing depth of his anguish. It is not an endorsement of taking one's own life, but rather a powerful affirmation that God is vast enough to handle our most desperate and honest prayers, even when they are born of profound despair. This passage invites deep empathy and understanding for those who reach such a breaking point, reminding us that God is intimately present even in the darkest valleys of human experience, and that honest lament can be a pathway to divine encounter.

### CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
[Job 6:8](/job/6-8 "Job 6:8 - Job's Desperate Plea for Death"), with its poignant cry for an end to suffering through death, finds its profound and redemptive fulfillment in the person and atoning work of Jesus Christ. While Job longed for death as an escape from his overwhelming personal agony, Jesus willingly embraced suffering and death, not as an escape from pain, but as the divinely ordained means to conquer sin, death, and the power of the grave itself. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus expressed an anguish that resonates deeply with Job's despair, crying out, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" ([Matthew 26:38](/matthew/26-38 "Matthew 26:38 - Jesus' Anguish in Gethsemane")), and pleading for the cup of suffering to be taken from Him ([Luke 22:42](/luke/22-42 "Luke 22:42 - Jesus' Prayer in Gethsemane")). Yet, unlike Job's desire for an end to his own life, Jesus' ultimate submission to the Father's will led to His crucifixion—a death that was not a personal escape but a singular, redemptive act for all humanity. Through His voluntary death, Jesus entered into the deepest depths of human suffering, validating every tear and every cry of pain, and ultimately triumphed over the very power of death itself, offering true and lasting hope beyond the grave ([Hebrews 2:14-15](/hebrews/2-14 "Hebrews 2:14-15 - Christ's Victory Over Death")). Thus, Job's desperate longing for release is ultimately answered not by a merciful end to his earthly life, but by the [Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world](/john/1-29 "John 1:29 - Jesus, the Lamb of God") and promises eternal life to all who believe ([John 3:16](/john/3-16 "John 3:16 - God's Love and Eternal Life")).

Note: Commentary is generated by AI with a directive for Biblical fidelity. Always rely on the Holy Spirit for discernment. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

Cross-References

Psalms 119:81

¶ CAPH. My soul fainteth for thy salvation: [but] I hope in thy word.

Job 6:11

What [is] my strength, that I should hope? and what [is] mine end, that I should prolong my life?

Job 6:13

[Is] not my help in me? and is wisdom driven quite from me?

Job 17:14

I have said to corruption, Thou [art] my father: to the worm, [Thou art] my mother, and my sister.

Job 17:16

They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when [our] rest together [is] in the dust.