FocusSuffering questioned and explained
Connection to the wholeJob's lament leads into the first cycle of speeches, in which the friends' explanations are challenged by Job's experience.
interpretation Job 6:21
KJVFor now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid.
Read it in context
Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just
Start reading at Job 6:1 (Job 6:1 to Job 6:30).
An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
Job's lament leads into the first cycle of speeches, in which the friends' explanations are challenged by Job's experience.
- 6:1 But Job answered and said,
- 6:2 Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together!
- 6:3 For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up.
- 6:4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.
- 6:5 Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder?
- 6:6 Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
- 6:7 The things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat.
- 6:8 Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for!
- 6:9 Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!
- 6:10 Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.
- 6:11 What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong my life?
- 6:12 Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass?
- 6:13 Is not my help in me? and is wisdom driven quite from me?
- 6:14 To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.
- 6:15 My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away;
- 6:16 Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid:
- 6:17 What time they wax warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.
- 6:18 The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing, and perish.
- 6:19 The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them.
- 6:20 They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed.
- 6:21 For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid.
- 6:22 Did I say, Bring unto me? or, Give a reward for me of your substance?
- 6:23 Or, Deliver me from the enemy's hand? or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty?
- 6:24 Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
- 6:25 How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove?
- 6:26 Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as wind?
- 6:27 Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your friend.
- 6:28 Now therefore be content, look upon me; for it is evident unto you if I lie.
- 6:29 Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return again, my righteousness is in it.
- 6:30 Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse things?
Who
- Who wrote the book? The author is unknown. Moses is one ancient traditional proposal, but neither that proposal nor another named author can be established with confidence. Historical source: Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 14b–15a (record of Jewish attribution, not contemporary proof). book background
- Who was present or being addressed in this passage? In the surrounding chapter context (Job 6:1–7:21): Job replies to his friends and addresses God within his lament. stated in the text
- Who was the book written to? Readers within Israel's wisdom tradition, wrestling with innocent suffering, justice, and the limits of human judgment. No named individual or first community is identified. Biblical references: Job 28:28; Job 42:7. book background
What
- What is the topic of this reading unit? Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just. Read Job 6:1 through Job 6:30 as a connected unit. interpretation
- How does it contribute to the book? Job's lament leads into the first cycle of speeches, in which the friends' explanations are challenged by Job's experience. interpretation
When
- When are the events or message set? The book supplies no royal date or exact historical year for Job's experiences. Proposed patriarchal-era settings are historical inferences, not a date explicitly stated by the narrative. book background
Where
- What is the book’s geographic setting? Job is introduced as a man in the land of Uz. The poetic speeches range through imagined and remembered scenes that should not all be treated as the speakers' physical locations. book background
- Where does the context start? This passage sits in Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just (Job 6:1 to Job 6:30). Start reading at Job 6:1. An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
How
- How does this book connect with Jesus Christ? James refers to Job's endurance and the Lord's compassion. Connections between Job's suffering and Christ may be considered as comparisons; Job's speeches should not all be treated as direct predictions of Jesus. See Job 1:1, James 5:11, Hebrews 4:15. interpretation
- How should this book guide our response? Do not assume that a sufferer's losses prove a hidden sin. Listen carefully, distinguish the speakers, and read their claims alongside the LORD's concluding rebuke of the friends. interpretation
Cited: Job 6:1, Job 6:30, Job 1:1, James 5:11, Hebrews 4:15
Who wrote it, and how we know
Uncertain; among the oldest books of Scripture
Not known
What Scripture saysThe book does not name its author.
Early traditionJewish tradition (Baba Bathra 14b) suggested Moses, but ancient opinion varied widely.
What is debatedThe author is unknown and the date is uncertain. The setting appears patriarchal, but the book could have been written far later.
Related passages
- ye are nothing Job 6:15 Job 13:4 Ps 62:9 Isa 2:22 Jer 17:5-6
- ye see Job 2:11-13 Ps 38:11 Prov 19:7 Jer 51:9 Matt 26:31,56 2 Tim 4:16 Rev 18:9-10,17-18
Cross references from CrossReferences-org (CC BY 4.0).
Macro-Structure
See how this passage fits the chapter and the book.
Macro-Structure of Job 6
Job contains narrative, lament, and extended disputation. The speakers must be identified before treating an assertion as the book's teaching: the LORD explicitly rebukes Job's friends near the end. Neither the author nor an exact historical date is stated. Local headings and stanza divisions are editorial reading aids adapted from public-domain BSB headings; verse boundaries and Scripture links use the KJV. Connections describe the surrounding book movement.
Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.
Macro-Structure of Job
Job contains narrative, lament, and extended disputation. The speakers must be identified before treating an assertion as the book's teaching: the LORD explicitly rebukes Job's friends near the end. Neither the author nor an exact historical date is stated.
Job's losses and the friends' arrival
Job 1:1–2:13FocusSuffering and the opening test
Connection to the wholeThe narrative establishes Job's losses and integrity before the speeches begin, giving readers information the disputing friends do not possess.
interpretation FocusSuffering questioned and explained
Connection to the wholeJob's lament leads into the first cycle of speeches, in which the friends' explanations are challenged by Job's experience.
interpretation The second exchange
Job 15:1–21:34FocusAccusation and protest intensify
Connection to the wholeThe argument sharpens as the friends connect suffering with wickedness and Job challenges their account of the wicked's fortunes.
interpretation The final exchange and Job's defense
Job 22:1–31:40FocusWisdom and the demand for an answer
Connection to the wholeThe later speeches, poem on wisdom, and Job's final defense bring the dispute to the point of his appeal for an answer.
interpretation Elihu speaks
Job 32:1–37:24FocusClaims about God's justice and instruction
Connection to the wholeA new speaker responds to Job and the friends before the LORD's speeches begin; his speech must be distinguished from the divine answer.
interpretation The LORD answers
Job 38:1–41:34FocusCreation and the limits of human knowledge
Connection to the wholeThe LORD questions Job concerning the created order, confronting the limits of his knowledge and his attempt to contend with God.
interpretation Job's response and the conclusion
Job 42:1–17FocusRepentance, rebuke, and restoration
Connection to the wholeJob responds, the friends are rebuked, and the narrative closes with intercession and restoration without turning every speech into endorsed doctrine.
interpretation Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.