Job 6
Job 6 is Job’s first response. In it, he candidly pours out the depth of his suffering and torment regarding the advice and comfort his friend Eliphaz has offered. Job describes his affliction as something beyond imagination, and challenges his friend’s logic that links everything through a simple cause-and-effect idea. The whole chapter proceeds by laying bare, as they are, Job’s anguish, his friends’ inadequate comfort, his desperate state of mind before God, and human weakness.
1verseThen Job answered,
2verse“Oh that my anguish were weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances!
3verseFor now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas, therefore my words have been rash.
4verseFor the arrows of the Almighty are within me. My spirit drinks up their poison. The terrors of God set themselves in array against me.
5verseDoes the wild donkey bray when he has grass? Or does the ox low over his fodder?
6verseCan that which has no flavor be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
7verseMy soul refuses to touch them. They are as loathsome food to me.
8verse“Oh that I might have my request, that God would grant the thing that I long for,
9verseeven that it would please God to crush me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!
10verseLet it still be my consolation, yes, let me exult in pain that doesn’t spare, that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
11verseWhat is my strength, that I should wait? What is my end, that I should be patient?
12verseIs my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh of bronze?
13verseIsn’t it that I have no help in me, that wisdom is driven away from me?
14verse“To him who is ready to faint, kindness should be shown from his friend; even to him who forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
15verseMy brothers have dealt deceitfully as a brook, as the channel of brooks that pass away;
16versewhich are black by reason of the ice, in which the snow hides itself.
17verseIn the dry season, they vanish. When it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.
18verseThe caravans that travel beside them turn away. They go up into the waste, and perish.
19verseThe caravans of Tema looked. The companies of Sheba waited for them.
20verseThey were distressed because they were confident. They came there, and were confounded.
21verseFor now you are nothing. You see a terror, and are afraid.
22verseDid I ever say, ‘Give to me’? or, ‘Offer a present for me from your substance’?
23verseor, ‘Deliver me from the adversary’s hand’? or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the oppressors’?
24verse“Teach me, and I will hold my peace. Cause me to understand my error.
25verseHow forcible are words of uprightness! But your reproof, what does it reprove?
26verseDo you intend to reprove words, since the speeches of one who is desperate are as wind?
27verseYes, you would even cast lots for the fatherless, and make merchandise of your friend.
28verseNow therefore be pleased to look at me, for surely I will not lie to your face.
29versePlease return. Let there be no injustice. Yes, return again. My cause is righteous.
30verseIs there injustice on my tongue? Can’t my taste discern mischievous things?
Structure of the Passage
- Verses 1-7: Job speaks about how great and heavy his suffering is, using comparisons. He says that his troubles are heavier than the sand of the sea, and asks that his words not be taken lightly.
- Verses 8-13: Job expresses that, because his situation is so unbearable, he even wishes that God would crush him. He also describes how human beings are limited in the face of his suffering.
- Verses 14-23: Job points out that the comfort from his friends is cold and unhelpful, contrary to expectations. He reveals his expectation that, in a difficult time, he wanted to receive sincere comfort from his friends.
- Verses 24-30: Job challenges his friends to reveal his wrongdoing accurately. He pleads his innocence, and points out that his friends’ judgment of him is careless.
Overall Meaning
Job 6 confronts the meaning of suffering and the limits of human understanding. The friends interpret Job’s affliction in a straightforward way, but Job honestly vents the pain and unfairness within his own heart. Through this, it leads one to reflect on, as life’s core, the importance of a “heart that aches together” and “careful words” in the face of suffering. In addition, Job’s confession clearly shows human weakness and the instinctive longing to be understood.
Points to Reflect On
- Consider the importance of listening to the words of the one who is suffering and of attentively hearing the weight of what they say.
- Rather than looking at things with a simple cause-and-effect perspective, reflect on whether an effort is needed to empathize with the heart and circumstances of the one who is suffering.
- When I offer comfort to someone, what about my manner and attitude—how do they compare to what they should be? Reflect on that.
Apply It to Yourself
- When I am in a difficult situation, I reflect on whether I have the courage to express my feelings honestly too.
- When I encounter someone nearby who is suffering, I pray that I can, like Job’s friends, not judge them, but instead have a heart that aches together with them and listens to them.
