Job 6

Job responds to Eliphaz by expressing the overwhelming weight of his grief, which he attributes to the arrows and terrors of the Almighty. He longs for death as a release from his suffering, questioning his own strength to endure. Job then criticizes his friends for their lack of pity and unreliability, challenging them to teach him his error rather than reprove his desperate words, while asserting his own righteousness.

Job begins by wishing his immense grief and calamity could be weighed, asserting it would be heavier than the sand of the sea, thus explaining his desperate words. He attributes his suffering to the 'arrows of the Almighty' and the 'terrors of God,' which consume his spirit. Job expresses a fervent desire for God to destroy him, believing death would bring comfort and end his relentless sorrow. He questions his own strength to prolong his life, emphasizing his physical and emotional exhaustion. Job then turns to his friends, lamenting their lack of pity and comparing their support to deceitful, vanishing brooks. He criticizes them for failing to offer true support and for being confounded by his downfall. Job challenges them to teach him his sin, asserting that his desperate words are not worthy of their reproof and that his tongue speaks no iniquity.

Job opens his discourse by wishing that his profound grief and calamity could be thoroughly weighed, stating that it would prove heavier than the sand of the sea, thereby justifying his desperate utterances. He attributes his intense suffering directly to divine affliction, declaring that 'the arrows of the Almighty are within me' and 'the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me,' consuming his spirit. Job employs analogies of wild animals and tasteless food to explain the naturalness of his lament, implying that his outcry is a necessary response to his unbearable condition. He then expresses a deep longing for death, pleading with God to grant his request to be cut off, believing that such an end would bring comfort and release from his ceaseless sorrow. Job questions the purpose and capacity of his own strength to prolong his life, highlighting his utter weariness. He shifts his focus to his companions, lamenting their lack of compassion and likening their unreliability to deceitful brooks that vanish when most needed, failing to provide the expected solace. Job notes that those who hoped in such brooks were confounded, just as his friends are now confounded by his plight. He accuses them of observing his 'casting down' and being afraid, rather than offering genuine support. Job challenges his friends, asking if he requested material aid or deliverance from enemies. Instead, he implores them to 'teach me, and I will hold my tongue,' desiring to understand any error on his part. He criticizes their arguments, suggesting their reproofs are directed at the desperate words of one in anguish, which are like wind. Job further accuses them of overwhelming the fatherless and digging a pit for their friend. He urges them to look upon him and discern if he lies, inviting them to return and acknowledge his righteousness, asserting that his tongue holds no iniquity.