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Texts -- Job 6:3-30 (NET)

Context
6:3 But because it is heavier than the sand of the sea , that is why my words have been wild . 6:4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me ; my spirit drinks their poison ; God’s sudden terrors are arrayed against me.
Complaints Reflect Suffering
6:5 “Does the wild donkey bray when it is near grass ? Or does the ox low near its fodder ? 6:6 Can food that is tasteless be eaten without salt ? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg ? 6:7 I have refused to touch such things; they are like loathsome food to me.
A Cry for Death
6:8 “Oh that my request would be realized , and that God would grant me what I long for! 6:9 And that God would be willing to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and kill me. 6:10 Then I would yet have my comfort , then I would rejoice , in spite of pitiless pain , for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One . 6:11 What is my strength , that I should wait ? and what is my end , that I should prolong my life ? 6:12 Is my strength like that of stones ? or is my flesh made of bronze ? 6:13 Is not my power to help myself nothing, and has not every resource been driven from me?
Disappointing Friends
6:14 “To the one in despair , kindness should come from his friend even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty . 6:15 My brothers have been as treacherous as a seasonal stream , and as the riverbeds of the intermittent streams that flow away . 6:16 They are dark because of ice ; snow is piled up over them. 6:17 When they are scorched , they dry up , when it is hot , they vanish from their place . 6:18 Caravans turn aside from their routes ; they go into the wasteland and perish . 6:19 The caravans of Tema looked intently for these streams; the traveling merchants of Sheba hoped for them. 6:20 They were distressed , because each one had been so confident ; they arrived there, but were disappointed . 6:21 For now you have become like these streams that are no help; you see a terror , and are afraid .
Friends’ Fears
6:22 “Have I ever said , ‘Give me something, and from your fortune make gifts in my favor’? 6:23 Or ‘Deliver me from the enemy’s power , and from the hand of tyrants ransom me’?
No Sin Discovered
6:24 “Teach me and I , for my part, will be silent ; explain to me how I have been mistaken . 6:25 How painful are honest words ! But what does your reproof prove ? 6:26 Do you intend to criticize mere words , and treat the words of a despairing man as wind ? 6:27 Yes , you would gamble for the fatherless , and auction off your friend .
Other Explanation
6:28 “Now then, be good enough to look at me; and I will not lie to your face ! 6:29 Relent , let there be no falsehood ; reconsider , for my righteousness is intact ! 6:30 Is there any falsehood on my lips ? Can my mouth not discern evil things ?

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Complaint

    [nave] COMPLAINT of Israelites against Moses, Ex. 5:21; 15:24; 16:2, 3; Num. 16:2, 3, 13, 14, 41; 20:2-4. Against God Ex. 5:22, 23; Ex. 16:8, 12; Num. 14:26-37 Num. 17:10, 11. Job 15:11-13; Job 33:12, 13; Job 34:37; Psa. 37:1; Ps...

  • Job

    [nave] JOB 1. A man who dwelt in Uz, Job 1:1. Righteousness of, Job 1:1, 5, 8; 2:3; Ezek. 14:14, 20. Riches of, Job 1:3. Trial of, by affliction of Satan, Job 1:13-19; 2:7-10. Fortitude of, Job 1:20-22; 2:10; Jas. 5:11. Visite...

  • Afflictions and Adversities

    [nave] AFFLICTIONS AND ADVERSITIES. List of Sub-Topics Miscellany of Minor Sub-Topics; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Benefits of; Benefits of, Illustrated; Consolation in; Deliverance from; Design of; Despondency in; Dispe...

  • JOB, BOOK OF

    [isbe] JOB, BOOK OF - || I. INTRODUCTORY 1. Place in the Canon 2. Rank and Readers II. THE LITERARY FRAMEWORK 1. Setting of Time, Place and Scene 2. Characters and Personality 3. Form and Style III. THE COURSE OF THE STORY A) To Jo...

  • Death

    [nave] DEATH. Called in some versions &ld;Giving Up the Ghost,&rd; Gen. 25:8; 35:29; Lam. 1:19; Acts 5:10. King of Terrors Job 18:14. A Change Job 14:14. Going to your Fathers Gen. 15:15; 25:8; 35:29. Putting Off This Tabe...

  • Tema

    [ebd] south; desert, one of the sons of Ishmael, and father of a tribe so called (Gen. 25:15; 1 Chr. 1:30; Job 6:19; Isa. 21:14; Jer. 25:23) which settled at a place to which he gave his name, some 250 miles south-east of Edom, on...
    [isbe] TEMA - te'-ma (tema', "south country"; Thaiman): The name of a son of Ishmael (Gen 25:15; 1 Ch 1:30), of the tribe descended from him (Jer 25:23), and of the place where they dwelt (Job 6:19; Isa 21:14). This last was a loca...
    [smith] (a desert), the ninth son of Ishmael, (Genesis 25:15; 1 Chronicles 1:30) whence the tribe called after him, mentioned in (Job 6:19; Jeremiah 25:23) and also the land occupied by this tribe. (Isaiah 21:13,14) (B.C. after 18...
    [nave] TEMA 1. Son of Ishmael, Gen. 25:15; 1 Chr. 1:30. 2. A people of Arabia, probably descendant from Tema, Ishmael's son, Job 6:19; Isa. 21:14; Jer. 25:23.

  • Ice

    [ebd] frequently mentioned (Job 6:16; 38:29; Ps. 147:17, etc.). (See CRYSTAL.)
    [isbe] ICE - is (qerach): Ice is almost unknown in Palestine and Syria except on the highest mountains. At moderate heights of less than 4,000 ft. a little ice may form during the night in winter, but the warm rays of the sun melt ...
    [nave] ICE, Job 6:16; 38:29; Psa. 147:17; Prov. 25:13.

  • Snow

    [isbe] SNOW - sno (shelegh, telagh (Dan 7:9); chion): (1) Snow is not uncommon in the winter in Jerusalem, but it never reaches any depth and in many winters it is not seen at all. It usually disappears, for the most part, as soon ...
    [nave] SNOW In Palestine, 2 Sam. 23:20. In Uz, Job 6:16; 9:30; 37:6. On mount Lebanon, Jer. 18:14. Figurative Of purity, Psa. 51:7; Isa. 1:18; Lam. 4:7.

  • CARAVAN

    [isbe] CARAVAN - kar'-a-van, kar-a-van' ('orach): This word is not found in the King James Version, but the Revised Version (British and American) employs it three times, namely, in Job 6:18,19 ('orchoth), where the King James Vers...

  • REPROOF; REPROVE

    [isbe] REPROOF; REPROVE - re-proof', re-proov': "Reprove" in Elizabethan English had a variety of meanings ("reject" "disprove" "convince," "rebuke"), with "put to the proof" (see 2 Tim 4:2 the Revised Version margin) as the force ...

  • COLOR; COLORS

    [isbe] COLOR; COLORS - kul'-er, kul'-erz: The word translated "color" in the King James Version is `ayin, which literally means "eye" or "appearance," and has been so translated in the Revised Version (British and American). In the...

  • Friendship

    [nave] FRIENDSHIP. Deut. 13:6-9; Job 6:14, 15; Job 16:2, 20; Job 19:13-22; Psa. 35:13, 14; Psa. 41:9; Psa. 55:12-14; Psa. 88:8, 18; Prov. 11:13; Prov. 17:9, 17; Prov. 18:24; Prov. 22:24-27; Prov. 25:17, 19; Prov. 27:6, 9, 10, 14, ...

  • PALESTINE, 3

    [isbe] PALESTINE, 3 - IV. Palestine in the Poetic Books of the Old Testament. 1. Book of Job: In Job the scene is distinctively Edomite. Uz (Job 1:1; compare Gen 22:21 the English Revised Version; Jer 25:20; Lam 4:21) and Buz (Job ...

  • SALT

    [ebd] used to season food (Job 6:6), and mixed with the fodder of cattle (Isa. 30:24, "clean;" in marg. of R.V. "salted"). All meat-offerings were seasoned with salt (Lev. 2:13). To eat salt with one is to partake of his hospitali...
    [isbe] SALT - solt (melach; halas, hals): Common salt is considered by most authorities as an essential ingredient of our food. Most people intentionally season their cooking with more or less salt for the sake of palatability. Oth...

  • EGG

    [ebd] (Heb. beytsah, "whiteness"). Eggs deserted (Isa. 10:14), of a bird (Deut. 22:6), an ostrich (Job 39:14), the cockatrice (Isa. 59:5). In Luke 11:12, an egg is contrasted with a scorpion, which is said to be very like an egg i...
    [isbe] EGG - (betsah; oon; Latin ovum): An oval or spheroid body produced by birds, fishes and reptiles, from which their young emerge when incubated or naturally developed. The fertile egg of a bird consists of the yolk, a small d...

  • RIGHT

    [isbe] RIGHT - rit (yashar, mishpaT; dikaios, euthus): Many Hebrew words are translated "right," with different shades of meaning. Of these the two noted are the most important: yashar, with the sense of being straight, direct, as ...

  • SHEBA (1)

    [isbe] SHEBA (1) - she'-ba (shebha'; Saba): (1) Sheba and Dedan are the two sons of Raamah son of Cush (Gen 10:7). (2) Sheba and Dedan are the two sons of Jokshan the son of Abraham and Keturah (Gen 25:3). (3) Sheba is a son of Jok...

  • SAND

    [isbe] SAND - (chol; ammos; a variant of the more usual psammos; compare amathos, psamathos): Sand is principally produced by the grinding action of waves. This is accompanied by chemical solution, with the result that the more sol...

  • SABAEANS

    [isbe] SABAEANS - sa-be'-anz (shebha'im (Joel 3:8 the King James Version), cebha'-im; Sabaeim, Sebaeim (Isa 45:14); read cabha'im, but rendered as though from cabha', "to imbibe," hence, "drunkards"; oinomenoi, "wine-drunken" (Ezek...

  • PROLONG

    [isbe] PROLONG - pro-long' ('arakh, mashakh): "Prolong," "prolonged" are the translations of 'arakh, "to stretch," "to make long" (Dt 4:26, and frequently, "prolong days"; 4:40, etc.; Job 6:11 the King James Version; Prov 28:16; Ec...
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Arts

Questions

  • They were descendants of Ishmael, Abraham's son, and were divided into twelve tribes (Gen. 25:16; Gen. 16:15,16). They were also called Hagarites, Hagarenes and Arabians (I Chron. 5:10; Psa. 83:6; Isa. 13:20). They were gover...

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • "Verse 2 describes the condition of the land before God prepared it for human beings."31"Deep"(tahom) describes the world. In the Old Testament tahomrefers to the ocean, which the ancient world regarded as symbolic of chaos a...
  • 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 began not with a direct reply to Eliphaz but with another complaint about his condition. Then he responded to Eliphaz's speech but addressed all three of his friends. The "you"and "yours"in 6:24-30 are plural in the Hebre...
  • Job said he complained because of his great irritation. His calamities were as heavy as wet sand (vv. 2-3). The Hebrew word translated "iniquity"in verse 2 occurs only here in the Old Testament. We should probably translate i...
  • Job longed for death. He wished God would release him from his enslavement to life (cf. Ps. 105:20) and snip off his life as a weaver cuts thread (v. 9). He affirmed his faithfulness to God's words (v. 10) but acknowledged th...
  • "If, up to this point, Job has been praying, or at least soliloquizing, now he makes a more direct attack on the friends (the you' in verse 21 is plural)."42Job's friends had not been loyal to him when they judged him as they...
  • Next Job invited his friends to identify the sin for which they believed God was punishing him.46So far Eliphaz had only alluded to it. Job welcomed specific honest criticism, not arguments based on insinuations (v. 25). In v...
  • "The rest of Job's speech is more like a soliloquy which turns into a remonstration against God Himself. His theme is once more the hard servicethat men have upon earth."47In this complaint (cf. ch. 3; 6:8-13) Job compared hi...
  • Throughout his sufferings Job did not turn away from God. Often people undergoing severe affliction do forsake Him. However, Job kept God in view and kept talking to God even though he did not know what to ask, which was a ma...
  • This whole chapter, another prayer (cf. 7:7-21), is a cry to God for answers: "Let me know why . . ."(v. 2). Notice the legal setting again, especially in verse 2. Job again claimed to be not guilty (v. 7)."It is a remarkable...
  • 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...
  • This pericope contains two instances in which Jeremiah faced crushing discouragement in his ministry (vv. 10-14, 15-21). He confessed his frustration to the Lord, and the Lord responded with encouragement.15:10 Jeremiah addre...
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