# Job 16 đź“–: Job Calls His Friends Miserable Comforters
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#🧠Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#đź’¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đź“‚ Internal Notes]]
## đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### Job’s Reply to Eliphaz
[[#Verse 01.]]Â Then Job replied:
[[#Verse 02.]] “I have heard many things like these before.
What miserable comforters are you all!
[[#Verse 03.]] Will there be an end to your windy words?
Or what provokes you that you answer?
[[#Verse 04.]] 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.
[[#Verse 05.]] But I would strengthen you with my words;
comfort from my lips would bring you relief.
## Abandonment by God and Man
[[#Verse 06.]] “But if I speak, my pain is not relieved,
and if I refrain from speaking,
how much of it goes away?
[[#Verse 07.]] Surely now he has worn me out,
you have devastated my entire household.
[[#Verse 08.]]Â You have seized me,
and it has become a witness;
my leanness has risen up against me
and testifies against me.
[[#Verse 09.]] His anger has torn me and persecuted me;
he has gnashed at me with his teeth;
my adversary locks his eyes on me.
[[#Verse 10.]] People have opened their mouths against me,
they have struck my cheek in scorn;
they unite together against me.
[[#Verse 11.]]Â God abandons me to evil men,
and throws me into the hands of wicked men.
[[#Verse 12.]]Â I was in peace, and he has shattered me.
He has seized me by the neck and crushed me.
He has made me his target;
[[#Verse 13.]] his archers surround me.
Without pity he pierces my kidneys
and pours out my gall on the ground.
[[#Verse 14.]]Â He breaks through against me, time and time again;
he rushes against me like a warrior.
[[#Verse 15.]]Â I have sewed sackcloth on my skin,
and buried my horn in the dust;
[[#Verse 16.]] my face is reddened because of weeping,
and on my eyelids there is a deep darkness,
[[#Verse 17.]] although there is no violence in my hands
and my prayer is pure.
## An Appeal to God as Witness
[[#Verse 18.]] “O earth, do not cover my blood,
nor let there be a secret place for my cry.
[[#Verse 19.]] Even now my witness is in heaven;
my advocate is on high.
[[#Verse 20.]]Â My intercessor is my friend
as my eyes pour out tears to God;
[[#Verse 21.]] and he contends with God on behalf of man
as a man pleads for his friend.
[[#Verse 22.]]Â For the years that lie ahead are few,
and then I will go on the way of no return.
## đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. The Hebrew phrase translated "miserable comforters" (16:2) is literally "comforters of trouble."
2. Job says he could also shake his head at his friends (16:4), a gesture of mockery.
3. Job pictures God as a warrior who has shot arrows at him and split open his kidneys (16:12-13).
4. Job sewed sackcloth over his skin (16:15), a sign of deep mourning.
5. Job's face is red from weeping and his eyelids show deep shadows (16:16).
6. Job asks the earth not to cover his blood (16:18), echoing Abel's blood crying out from the ground (Genesis 4:10).
7. The word for "witness" in 16:19 is Hebrew, and the word for "advocate" is a related Aramaic word.
8. Job wishes someone would plead for a man with God as one pleads for a friend (16:21).
9. Job insists there is no violence in his hands and his prayer is pure (16:17).
10. Job's hope in a heavenly witness grows into his confession of a living Redeemer in 19:25.
## 🧠Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is our Advocate on high. Job said his witness is in heaven (16:19), and when we sin we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1).
## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đź’¬ Discussion Questions
1. Job calls his friends miserable comforters (16:2). What makes comfort helpful instead of hurtful?
2. Job says if he were in their place he could strengthen them with his words (16:4-5). How can we use our words to strengthen others?
3. Job believes he has a witness and advocate in heaven (16:19). How does that give hope when people misunderstand us?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- đź“– verse 2: Job calls his friends miserable comforters.
- đź“– verse 5: Job says he would strengthen others with his words and bring relief.
- đź“– verses 19-21: Job's witness is in heaven and his advocate is on high.
## đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đź”— [[1 John 02#Verse 01.|1 John 2:1]] - We have an Advocate with the Father.
- đź”— [[Hebrews 07#Verse 25.|Hebrews 7:25]] - He always lives to intercede for them.
- đź”— [[Romans 08#Verse 34.|Romans 8:34]] - Christ intercedes for us.
- đź”— [[Genesis 04#Verse 10.|Genesis 4:10]] - Abel's blood cries out from the ground.
- đź”— [[Proverbs 25#Verse 11.|Proverbs 25:11]] - A word spoken at the right time.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
đź“ť SOAP: [[Job 16 - SOAP|Be An Encouragement]]
## đź“‚ Internal Notes