Job 6 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Job 6

Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just

6:1 Then Job answered and said:

2   “Oh that my vexation were weighed,
    and all my calamity laid in the balances!
3   For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;
    therefore my words have been rash.
4   For the arrows of the Almighty are in me;
    my spirit drinks their poison;
    the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
5   Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass,
    or the ox low over his fodder?
6   Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt,
    or is there any taste in the juice of the mallow?¹
7   My appetite refuses to touch them;
    they are as food that is loathsome to me.²
8   “Oh that I might have my request,
    and that God would fulfill my hope,
9   that it would please God to crush me,
    that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!
10   This would be my comfort;
    I would even exult³ in pain unsparing,
    for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
11   What is my strength, that I should wait?
    And what is my end, that I should be patient?
12   Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?
13   Have I any help in me,
    when resource is driven from me?
14   “He who withholds⁴ kindness from a friend
    forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
15   My brothers are treacherous as a torrent-bed,
    as torrential streams that pass away,
16   which are dark with ice,
    and where the snow hides itself.
17   When they melt, they disappear;
    when it is hot, they vanish from their place.
18   The caravans turn aside from their course;
    they go up into the waste and perish.
19   The caravans of Tema look,
    the travelers of Sheba hope.
20   They are ashamed because they were confident;
    they come there and are disappointed.
21   For you have now become nothing;
    you see my calamity and are afraid.
22   Have I said, ‘Make me a gift’?
    Or, ‘From your wealth offer a bribe for me’?
23   Or, ‘Deliver me from the adversary’s hand’?
    Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless’?
24   “Teach me, and I will be silent;
    make me understand how I have gone astray.
25   How forceful are upright words!
    But what does reproof from you reprove?
26   Do you think that you can reprove words,
    when the speech of a despairing man is wind?
27   You would even cast lots over the fatherless,
    and bargain over your friend.
28   “But now, be pleased to look at me,
    for I will not lie to your face.
29   Please turn; let no injustice be done.
    Turn now; my vindication is at stake.
30   Is there any injustice on my tongue?
    Cannot my palate discern the cause of calamity?

Footnotes

[1] 6:6 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
[2] 6:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
[3] 6:10 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
[4] 6:14 Syriac, Vulgate (compare Targum); the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain

Commentary

v1-4: The depths of Job's grief. It is no wonder that his words have been so impetuous or rash. It is in severe sorrow that we may say things that we would not otherwise say. Job also states that it is God that has sent his trials. This is one of his constant themes.

v5-7: Job feels that Eliphaz has belittled his suffering. Eliphaz has treated Job in a superficial way, showing little real concern for him. In the illustration, Job would not complain if he had sufficient food; his diet was one of sorrow and trouble.

v8-10: Job's desire to die, seeking rest in death (see 3.26). He looks to God to "let loose His hand", which had been restrained (compare 1.12; 2.6).

v11-13: The strength of his past life has gone.

v14: Job looks for kindness from his friends, whether or not he had forsaken God. The man who is suffering must receive some comfort, but Job didn't.

v15-21: The illustration of the dried-up stream; promising something, but delivering nothing. The expected kindness from his friends, "my brothers", does not come. Job is hurt all the more since he had confidence in what they would bring. They see his suffering, and are afraid.

v22-23: Job does not ask for too much, for riches or even deliverance, but just kindness.

v24-27: Job is willing to acknowledge any wrong-doing, but Eliphaz' arguments of general sinfulness are not helpful.

v28-30: Job is not conscious of personal sins, in the sense that his lifestyle was of consistent godliness and integrity; yet the accusation is of general sinfulness. Note that, in 1.5; 2.10, he is conscious of the sins of his family.