Job
Chapter 6
Job’s Response to Eliphaz
Job replied:
If only my anguish could be measured and my misery put on the scales;
they would outweigh the sands of the seashore! It is for this that I speak impulsively.
Pierced by the arrows of the Almighty, my spirit absorbs their poison; my heart fails before the terrors of God.
Does a wild ass bray when it has fodder? Does an ox bellow when it has grass?
What taste would food have without salt? What flavor is there in the white of an egg?
So everything is tasteless to me, I am bored with my bread.
Would that I get my request, that God grant me what I want—
that he would decide to crush me, let loose his hand and strike me down!
Then this at least would comfort me, my only joy in merciless dread, that I have not cursed the will of the Holy One.
Will I be able to go on hoping, what expectation to keep on waiting?
Do I possess the strength of stone, and is my flesh of bronze?
There is no one to help me, all aid has departed from me.
Friends without compassion made me lose my fear of the Almighty.
My brothers have been unpredictable, like the flow of seasonal waters.
They were but melted ice running from under the snow.
But summer arrives, and the river dries up, under the blazing sun, no water remains.
Because of this, caravans get lost, they go to wastelands and perish.
The merchants of Tema seek the streams, the travelers of Sheba search for them.
In vain they expected, they are frustrated on arriving there.
Now you too are unable to help me; you see horror and draw back in fear.
Have I asked you to give me anything? Did I say, “Pay a ransom for me,
deliver me from the enemy or rescue me from a tyrant?”
Teach me and I will remain silent; show me where I am wrong.
Honest words I must not resent, but what have your arguments revealed?
Are you intending to dismiss my words, or to ignore a cry of despair?
Would you gamble for the orphan and negotiate with your friend?
But now, give me your attention; surely I will not lie to your face.
Relent, and grant me justice; reconsider, my case is not yet tried.
Is there insincerity on my tongue? Have I misunderstood suffering?
Commentaries
First Speech Session.
Appalled by Job’s laments and his repeated “whys,” the three friends break their wise silence and feel urged to reply. The speeches are divided into three sessions: 4:1-14:22, 15:1-21:34, and 22:1-27:23. In the first two, each friend speaks, and Job responds extensively. The third session seems somewhat disorganized, likely due to confusion in the text.
Job’s Response to Eliphaz.
Job responds with a powerful emotional outburst. His pain and suffering are too overwhelming for calm words (6:1f), but he must speak; indeed, he needs to speak. Job then turns to prayer. Like in chapter 3, he still longs for death, but this desire never leads him to consider suicide. Job is not a cold stone or a bronze statue without feelings (6:12), but a living person who has hit rock bottom. Finally acknowledging his friends’ presence, he shares what friendship means to him. A friend is expected to be loyal and kind during times of distress. However, his friends are like the streams of Palestine that quickly fill with rain but then dry up. They cannot be trusted (6:14-21): they came, they saw, and they left (6:21). Job challenges them to tell him how he has sinned to deserve such suffering (6:24). Job does not stay silent. In the context of the entire book, verse 7:11 is particularly significant. The test Satan proposed was to see how Job would react, what he would say. Now he speaks. Why does God not leave him alone, or at least give him enough time to catch his breath? (7:19). Even if he has sinned (again, the question!), can’t God forgive him? An abyss separates any possible guilt on Job’s part from his sufferings. Soon he will die, and then it will be too late (7:20ff).