Job 6 Summary

Well, even though Eliphaz seems quite pleased with what he just said in Job 5 summary, it becomes very apparent in Job 6 and Job 7 summary that his speech has not helped Job trust God.

Job 6 Summary of Verses 1-3

Great misery has brought rash words | Job 6:1-3

To begin, Job just admits that he is so miserable and that’s why his words have been so rash – verses 1-3…

Job 6:1 But Job answered and said,

Job 6:2 Oh that my [grief/vexation/anguish/misery] were throughly weighed,
and my [calamity/misfortune] laid in the balances together!

Job 6:3 For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea:
therefore my words [are swallowed up/have been rash|wild].

Job 6 Summary of Verse 4

God is the source of Job’s misery | Job 6:4

What is the source of Job’s misery – in his mind? It’s God – verse 4…

Job 6:4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me,
the poison [whereof/of them] drinketh up my spirit:
the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.

So, Job doesn’t deny that God seems to be punishing him. But since he’s a genuinely righteous man he can’t understand why God is doing this.

Job 6 Summary of Verses 5-7

Job can’t and won’t eat | Job 6:5-7

Job moves on to describe part of his misery as being his inability and unwillingness to eat food in verses 5-7…

Job 6:5 Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass?
or loweth the ox over his fodder?

No – these creatures don’t do this. When they have food in front of them they keep quiet and eat.

Job 6:6 Can that which is [unsavoury/tasteless] be eaten without salt?
or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

No – you need salt to season tasteless food and egg whites don’t taste very good by themselves.

And yet, even though food is set before Job with as much salt as he’d like to season it, he’s finding that he just can’t eat anything – verse 7…

Job 6:7 [The/These are the] things that my soul refused to touch
 [they…] are [as my/to me] [sorrowful meat/loathsome food].

Job 6 Summary of Verses 8-9

Job wants to die | Job 6:8-9

So, Job can’t eat. He’s miserable. God seems to be punishing him for no reason whatsoever. And so, Job just wants God to take his life in verses 8 and 9…

Job 6:8 Oh that I might have my request;
and that God would grant me the thing that I long for!

What is that? Verse 9…

Job 6:9 Even that it would please God to destroy me;
that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!

Job 6 Summary of Verse 10

Death would help Job not deny God | Job 6:10

Because if God were to take Job’s life at this point, Job is convinced that he would at least have the honor of not concealing or denying God’s words. But very much longer and he feels the pull to do just that – to deny God’s words – verse 10…

Job 6:10 {Then/If I died now} should I yet have comfort;
yea, I would [harden myself/rejoice] in sorrow: [let him not spare/unsparing]; {i.e., if I died… why?… }
for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.

Job 6 Summary of Verses 11-13

Job pleads for mercy based on his weakness | Job 6:11-13

Job goes on to plead for mercy from both God and his friends based on the reality that he’s very weak – verses 11-13…

Job 6:11 What is my strength, that I should [hope/wait]?
and what is mine end, that I should prolong my life?

Job has no strength. So why should God let him keep living?…

Job 6:12 Is my strength the strength of stones?
or is my flesh of brass?

Obviously it’s not…

Job 6:13 Is not my help in me? [i.e., as weak as he is…]
and is wisdom driven quite from me? [he lacks wisdom to help himself…]

Job’s only help seems to be himself. He feels like he no longer has wisdom to deal with his life situations.

If only he had some friends to help him trust God!

Job 6 Summary of Verses 14-30

Job laments his friends’ treatment of him | Job 6:14-30

But Job goes on to lament his friends’ treatment of him for pretty much the rest of chapter 6.

Job 6 Summary of Verse 14

Be kind

Job says that – even if he has sinned – his friends ought to be kind to him because he’s suffering – verse 14…

Job 6:14 To him that is afflicted [pity/kindness] should be shewed from his friend;
[but/even if] he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.

Job 6 Summary of Verses 15-21

Unreliable and unhelpful like a wadi

But instead, Job’s friends have come and appeared to be a help at first – but have revealed themselves to be unreliable and unhelpful – verse 15…

Job 6:15 My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a [seasonal…] brook,
 and as the stream of brooks they pass away;

Why do seasonal brooks disappear in the middle east? Well, some – perhaps at higher elevations – are sometimes covered with snow and ice – verse 16…

Job 6:16 Which are [blackish/dark] by reason of the ice,
 and wherein the snow is hid: [piles of snow hide them…]

Or – more common – these seasonal brooks go through a dry season where there’s no water replenishing them. And with the scorching heat, they dry up – verses 17 and 18…

Job 6:17 What time they [wax warm/are scorched], they vanish:
when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.

Job 6:18 The paths of their way are turned aside;
they go to nothing, and perish.

Job goes on to describe how travelers look for refreshment from these seasonal brooks and are greatly disappointed when they don’t find any water there – just like Job feels about his three friends – verses 19 and 20…

Job 6:19 The [troops/caravans] of Tema {perhaps Eliphaz the Temanite’s home land… } looked, [for these streams…]
the [companies/traveling merchants] of Sheba waited for them.

Job 6:20 They were [confounded/distressed] because they had [hoped/been so confident];
they came thither, and were [ashamed/disappointed].

And Job is now going to explicitly draw the comparison between those seasonal brooks and his three friends in verse 21…

Job 6:21 For now ye are nothing [like those streams…];
ye see my casting down, and are afraid.

Job 6 Summary of Verses 22-23

Why are the friends treating Job this way?

Job then tries to imagine why they’d be treating him the way that they are – as he asks them four rhetorical questions – and the answer to each is “no.” Verses 22 and 23…

Job 6:22 Did I say, Bring [something…] unto me?
or, Give a [reward/gift] for me of your substance?

Job 6:23 Or, Deliver me from the enemy’s hand?
or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty?

So, did Job ask his friends to give him anything? No. Even though he lost everything, Job hasn’t asked them for any material provision.

Did Job ask them to rescue him from some human oppressor? Did he ask them to help him go get his possessions back from the Chaldeans and Sabeans? No.

So, these aren’t satisfactory explanations as to why his friends are treating him so poorly and not showing any mercy to him.

Job 6 Summary of Verse 24

Help me understand

No – instead all that Job is asking from these three friends is that they help him understand what is going on in his life. Verse 24…

Job 6:24 Teach me, and I will hold my tongue:
and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.

And of course, the problem with this request is evident. No human being understands why Job is suffering at this point. Eliphaz tried his best and failed. The others will do the same. They all attempt this feat numerous times and it never works.

Because Job – like you and me – doesn’t need to understand. That’s not our primary need in this life. Our primary need is to trust God – trust his ways, trust his nature and character, trust his provision for our sins to be forgiven – through Jesus Christ.

Increased understanding is good and something for which we should all be striving. But your understanding will always be deficient on some level. Because ultimately, God’s ways are beyond your understanding. And what God really wants from you is – not your perfect understanding, but – your complete trust.

Job 6 Summary of Verse 25

Unhelpful communication

Well, Job goes on to acknowledge that right and honest words are helpful, if a bit painful. But that’s not how he’d classify Eliphaz’s previous comments – verse 25…

Job 6:25 How [forcible/painful] are [right/honest] words!
but what doth your arguing [reprove/prove]?

Job 6 Summary of Verse 26

Job is desperate

Once again Job acknowledges that his words are born of desperation and are therefore to be treated as such – verse 26…

Job 6:26 Do ye imagine to [reprove/criticize] [mere…] words,
and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as wind?

Job 6 Summary of Verse 27

Bullying

But instead of treating Job as one who is desperate and in need of compassion, Eliphaz is bullying the weak and helpless Job – verse 27…

Job 6:27 Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless,
and ye dig a pit for your friend.

Job 6 Summary of Verse 28

Job is not lying

Eliphaz – in his assuming that Job is secretly sinning – is acting as if Job is lying. But Job wants Eliphaz to look him straight in the eye and know that this is not the case – verse 28…

Job 6:28 Now therefore be [content,/good enough to] look upon me;
for it is evident unto you if I lie.

Job 6 Summary of Verses 29-30

Job’s personal righteousness defended

Job defends his personal righteousness in verses 29 and 30 to end chapter 6…

Job 6:29 [Return/Relent], I pray you, let [it not be iniquity/there be no falsehood];
yea, [return again/reconsider for], my righteousness is [in it/intact].

Job 6:30 Is there iniquity in my tongue?
cannot my taste discern perverse things?