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Texts -- Job 16:1-11 (NET)

Context
Job’s Reply to Eliphaz
16:1 Then Job replied : 16:2 “I have heard many things like these before. What miserable comforters are you all ! 16:3 Will there be an end to your windy words ? Or what provokes you that you answer ? 16:4 I also could speak like you, if you were in my place ; I could pile up words against you and I could shake my head at you. 16:5 But I would strengthen you with my words ; comfort from my lips would bring you relief .
Abandonment by God and Man
16:6 “But if I speak , my pain is not relieved , and if I refrain from speaking –how much of it goes away ? 16:7 Surely now he has worn me out , you have devastated my entire household . 16:8 You have seized me, and it has become a witness ; my leanness has risen up against me and testifies against me. 16:9 His anger has torn me and persecuted me; he has gnashed at me with his teeth ; my adversary locks his eyes on me. 16:10 People have opened their mouths against me, they have struck my cheek in scorn ; they unite together against me. 16:11 God abandons me to evil men , and throws me into the hands of wicked men .

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • What this book is all about has been the subject of considerable debate. Many people think God gave it to us to provide His answer to the age-old problem of suffering. In particular, many believe it is in the Bible to help us...
  • I. Prologue chs. 1-2A. Job's character 1:1-5B. Job's calamities 1:6-2:101. The first test 1:6-222. The second test 2:1-10C. Job's comforters 2:11-13II. The dialogue concerning the basis of the divine-human relationship 3:1-42...
  • The writer composed the prologue and epilogue of this book in prose narrative and the main body (3:1-42:6) in poetry. The prologue and epilogue form a frame around the main emphasis of the revelation, the poetic section, and ...
  • The two soliloquies of Job (chs. 3 and 29-31) enclose three cycles of dialogue between Job and his three friends. Each cycle consists of speeches by Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar in that order interspersed with Job's reply to e...
  • Job said his visitors had said nothing new to help him (v. 1). He picked up Eliphaz's word (translated "mischief"in 15:35) and used it to describe him and his companions as "sorry"comforters (v. 2). Eliphaz's words had not br...
  • Job's friends did not cause his greatest discomfort, however; from Job's perspective God did. Most of the verses in this pericope are easy to understand. A better translation of verse 6b might be, "And if I hold back, it does...
  • Obviously Bildad was impatient because Job refused to change his mind or admit great guilt (vv. 1-2). Job had claimed that God was tearing him as a beast tears its prey (16:9), but Bildad said Job was tearing himself (v. 4a)....
  • "But it is just here, when everything is blackest, that his faith . . . like the rainbow in the cloud . . . shines with a marvelous splendor."89This short section contains probably the best known verses in the book (vv. 23-27...
  • "Therefore"(v. 2) must refer to what Job had said. Job had previously asked why his friends answered him (16:3). Zophar replied that the spirit of his understanding made him answer (v. 3b). Again he seems to be claiming innat...
  • As was common in ancient Near Eastern judicial cases, Job concluded his summary defense with an oath of innocence. He did so in the form of a negative confession complete with self-imprecations.127He concluded with a challeng...
  • Elihu began by voicing his respect for Job's three friends (vv. 6-10). They were older than he, and for this reason he said he had refrained from speaking until now. However he had become convinced that advancing age does not...
  • The preceding section answered the question that the people of Isaiah's day had about God's desire to deliver them. Yes, He wantedto deliver them. This section answered their question about whether He could save them. Yes, He...
  • One of the events that would occur before the realization of these great promises of blessing was Israel's exile, but the burden of this pericope is also future restoration.4:9 Micah, speaking for the Lord, addressed the Jews...
  • Another question led to this teaching. The thematic connection with Jesus' words about the small beginning of the kingdom (vv. 19, 21) should be obvious. As elsewhere, Luke recorded Jesus teaching lessons and using illustrati...
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