Job 16

Job responds to his friends, calling them "miserable comforters" who offer vain words and fail to assuage his grief. He vividly describes his profound physical and emotional suffering, which he attributes to God's relentless hand. Despite his torment and the scorn of his friends, Job steadfastly maintains his innocence and appeals to a divine witness in heaven.

Job opens by rebuking his friends, labeling them "miserable comforters" whose words are empty and unhelpful. He asserts that if their roles were reversed, he would offer comfort rather than condemnation. Job then describes his profound and unceasing grief, which is not assuaged by speaking or forbearing. He vividly portrays his physical deterioration and the relentless attacks he perceives from God, who has delivered him to the wicked and broken him apart. Job feels targeted by divine wrath, experiencing both internal and external torment. Despite this immense suffering and the scorn of his friends, Job insists on his innocence, declaring that his hands are free of injustice and his prayer is pure. He appeals to heaven, believing he has a divine witness and record on high, and longs for an advocate with God before his inevitable death.

Job begins his discourse by directly addressing his friends, dismissing their counsel as "miserable comforters" and their words as "vain." He challenges their presumption, suggesting that if their circumstances were reversed, he would offer genuine solace rather than heaping up words of accusation. Job expresses his profound and unremitting grief, stating that neither speaking nor remaining silent brings him relief. He describes his current state as one of utter weariness, feeling that God has made him desolate and filled him with wrinkles, a testament to his suffering. Job perceives God as his tormentor, tearing him in wrath, gnashing teeth upon him, and sharpening eyes against him. He recounts being physically assaulted and reproached by others, whom he believes God has delivered him to. Job vividly details how he was once at ease but has been broken apart, shaken to pieces, and set up as a target for divine arrows. He describes internal agony, with his reins cleaved and gall poured out, experiencing breach upon breach as if attacked by a giant. In his despair, Job has donned sackcloth and defiled his horn in the dust, his face disfigured by weeping and overshadowed by death. Yet, amidst this intense suffering, Job steadfastly affirms his innocence, declaring that his hands are free of injustice and his prayer is pure. He makes a poignant appeal to the earth not to cover his blood, signifying his desire for justice. Crucially, Job asserts that he has a "witness in heaven" and a "record on high," even as his friends scorn him. He pours out his tears to God, longing for an advocate to plead his case before the Almighty, recognizing that his time on earth is short.