Job 6:1–7:21 Job’s First Reply to Eliphaz

 ¹Then Job answered and said:

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’?

²⁴“Teach me, and I will hold my tongue;

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?

¹“Is there not a time of hard service for man on earth?

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.

⁶“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,

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?

²⁰Have I sinned?

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.”

Commentary

6:1-4 ¹Then Job answered and said:

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.

Job now replies to Eliphaz after his less than gracious words to him, by asking him and his friends to consider the depths of his grief and calamity, how heavily it is weighing down upon him, which he now says is the source of his rash words, which they found so offensive. Job then continues seeking their compassion by saying that the Almighty has struck him with His arrows of poison, that God is the One who is filling his life with terrors. Obviously neither Job nor his friends really know the source of Job’s troubles is from Satan, indeed Satan is never mentioned in this Book by any of them, he might then have been an unknown entity to them at that time.

6:5 ⁵Does the wild donkey bray when it has grass,

Or does the ox low over its fodder?

Job now points to the wild donkey, saying to them it does bray when it has grass, nor does the ox low over its fodder, to explain his own very natural response for his grieving all his great looses so deeply. For one does mourn when one has no reason to mourn, but Job has plenty.

6:6-7 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.

And so just as unseasoned food is unpalatable, and there is no flavor in the white of an egg, so is Eliphaz’s words to Job, for suffering and mourning go hand in hand. Therefore, Job says his soul refuses them, that is Eliphaz's less then comforting words, indeed Job considers them as only loathsome food to him, for Job will not be hard hearted and indifferent to his loses like his friends, he will express his grief.

6:8-10 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.

Job’s grief and pain is so great that he now wishes death upon himself, that God Himself would crush him and end it all, that He would cut him off from the land of the living. For then Job believes that he would have comfort, that he would even exult in God then. Now with Job saying that he has not concealed the words of the Holy One, is his saying that he has always lived by His Word, thus even though he believes himself greatly and unjustly afflicted, Job has not turned himself against God and His Word.

6:11 ¹¹“What strength do I have, that I should hope?

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

 Job’s mournful plea continues, for in losing all his strength (his health) he feels all hope is gone, why then should God prolong his life, for what end has he now?

6:12-13 ¹²Is my strength the strength of stones?

Or is my flesh bronze?

¹³Is my help not within me?

And is success driven from me?

Job with some questions to God now declares his frailty to Him in these verses, declaring that he has no help from within himself, that all his success has already been driven from him.

6:14 “To him who is afflicted, kindness should be shown by his friend,

Even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.”

This is one of the most memorable verses in this Book, and should be remembered by all who study God’s Word. For by it Job makes an appeal for kindness from his friends, even though they believe he has forsaken the fear of the Almighty with some of his less than stately words. Therefore, giving people grace, even when they ungracefully mourn their loses and affliction is the calling card of every Christian; or at least it should be. For sharing kindness to the broken is being exactly like our King.

6:15-23 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’?

Jon now likens his friends, i.e. brothers, to that of a deceitful brook, whose hearts are like its icy frozen waters into which snow vanishes, whose river beds in the heat and trials of of summer become nothing more than a dry stream bed from which no refreshing water can be drawn. Thus those who go seeking refreshing waters from them are only left disappointed. Indeed Job says they go no where and perish. So too then have Job’s friends, (he calls them brothers here), have been towards him. For he looked to them with great anticipation of finding some comfort and solace and relief in his mourning, but instead all they did was leave him dry and thirsty and wanting (vs. 15-20). Thus, Job’s once mighty and noble friends he hoped in, are now nothing to him, for they see him in his terribly afflicted state, and they are afraid to help him, and none of them dare say anything in his defense (vs. 21). And yet Job never asked them for anything, he never asked them to bring him something, or to give him a bribe from their wealth, or to deliver him from the enemy’s hand, or redeem him from the hand of oppressors (vs. 22-23). And yet now in his great time of need they find occasion to condemn him, all because he is suffering such things.

6:24 “Teach me, and I will hold my tongue;

Cause me to understand wherein I have erred.”

And so, Job now asks his friends to teach what he has done wrong to deserve all of this and he will hold his tongue, that by their counsel and reasoning’s cause him to understand how in errored in his conduct so gravely that all of these things should have befallen him. In other words, before you go on with your condemnation of me, lay out my sin and error before me.

6:25 “How forceful are right words!

But what does your arguing prove?”

Job now mocks the strong speech Eliphaz has used against him, as if his strongly worded accusations give any validity to his false assumptions about him. Again, Job asks him what does your arguing prove? Does contending with the broken Job explain why any of this is happening to him.

6:26 “Do you intend to rebuke my words,

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

Job knows his friends all to well, that they are already preparing their rebuke of him, that they will soon be setting their words against him, even though he is truly a desperate one, a man whose words while in such state should only be regarded like wind, and not be seized upon to be used as judgment against him.

6:27 “Yes, you overwhelm the fatherless,

And you undermine your friend.”

Job goes on venting his feelings most strongly, saying of Eliphaz that all he has thus far accomplished is to overwhelm the fatherless, (for that is how he now feels, like a defenseless fatherless child), and yet he hoped that Eliphaz would support him in his time of need, not undermine him.

6:28-30 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 now asks his friends to look at him, which may mean that he wants them to see how horrible afflicted he is and pleased with that, rather than be pleased with condemning him, to remember his long-standing integrity which they have all known, before they so quickly and easily condemn him, for as he says he would never lie to their faces (vs. 28). Job then goes on and demands that there be no injustice, that they concede that his righteousness still stands (vs. 29), that Job did not sin in any of this, Job 1:22; 2:10 (more on this later). Then in verse thirty Job tells them that there is no injustice on his tongue, that what he is saying is not his trying to be deceitful or devious, unlike their words towards him which job discerns only bear the flavor of the unsavory, for their words are not being given with pure motives.

 7:1-11 ¹“Is there not a time of hard service for man on earth?

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.

⁶“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,

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.

Job now sees his life as only being akin to that of the hard service of a man. Comparing it now to that of a hired servant who desires the shade, or the hired man who looks eagerly for his wages, thus Job is longing for some relief, something to lift his spirit and relieve his pain. That his life cease being a dreary and meaningless existence. For months have passed since the initial tragedy, and yet even in the night Job finds no relief, for when he lies down, he only wishes for the night to be ended, for all he does is toss and turn all night on his bed, it offers him no relief. Indeed, he looks at his flesh in the morning and it is covered in dust and caked with worms (i.e. maggots) eating his rotting flesh, and soon enough as it begins to heal it only cracks once again and breaks out in fresh boils.

Job goes onto to described his days though seemingly long in misery on the one hand, as now swiftly passing away, moving with the speed of weaver’s shuttle, all without hope. Job then pleads with God to remember that is life is but a breath, that he is here only for a moment and then he is gone, for he believes that he will never see good again (7:6-7). Job then goes onto say that the eye that now sees him will see him no more, that even while his friends’ eyes are upon him, he shall soon enough perish. And so, just as the cloud disappears and vanishes away, so is he who goes down to the grave, he does not come back again to return to his house, nor to his place anymore (7:8-10). Because of this sense of complete hopelessness Job now says that he will not restrain his mouth, (as Eliphaz wishes), but rather he will speak in the anguish of his spirit and complain in the bitterness of his soul (7:11). Thus, Job wants to give free vent to his feelings, (for he feels there is nothing more to lose now), and so it will be in his doing so that Job will say some very indefensible things (but that will all be addressed much later). For now, Job is at the beginning of his search for answers.

7:12-21 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?

²⁰Have I sinned?

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.”

Job's  now asks God is he a sea, or a sea serpent that He sets a guard over him, basically, am I a threat to anyone or anything that I need to be afflicted and kept in a state like this. Obviously, we know this is not God’s doing, but Satan’s, who very likely sees Job as a threat to his works and ways on earth (7:12). Job then in appealing to God for some relief now describes his bed as not being a place of rest and refreshing for him, but only one of terror, for even there he is being visited with scary dreams and nightmarish visions (7:13-14), So much so that his soul would rather be strangled and his body given over to death rather than to continue going through those things (7:15). Job then decries his life, saying he loathes it, saying that he would rather not live on, Job then asks God to let him alone, for again he says his life is but a breath (7:16). Job then asks God why did He ever exalt him? Why does He set His heart upon him and visit him every morning and test him every moment? (7:17-18). Now these questions are not positive reaffirmations of God’s Work in Jobs life, but rather are Job’s misguided views of God, for he does not know that it has been Satan who is continually watching over him for harm. Job then asks, God, “how long?”; the most natural and yet most unanswerable question that everyone asks who is being afflicted; saying “Will You not look away from me, and let me alone till I swallow my saliva?” (7:19). That is will you never stop until I am dead? Job now poignantly asks God “have I sinned?”, that such things have befallen me. For what have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me up as Your target, so that Job is even a burden to himself. (7:20). Thus, Job reasons if I have sinned, “Why 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.” (7:21). In closing then Job sees himself as only destined for the grave, and yet he still feels that even there God will seek him, but he shall no longer be. It is a very sad state that Job is in, and yet as we will see, the worst is yet to come from Job’s friends.

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.