Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Job
Job is Scripture's great book on the suffering of the righteous. When a blameless man loses everything, his friends insist he must have sinned, but the truth lies in an unseen realm and, finally, in the greatness of God Himself. This commentary walks through it verse by verse.
About This Commentary
The Book of Job wrestles with the hardest question of faith: why do the righteous suffer? Job, a blameless and prosperous man, loses his wealth, his children, and his health in a series of blows he cannot explain. Through long dialogues, his friends argue that suffering must be punishment for sin, and Job maintains his integrity while crying out for answers. In the end God Himself speaks, not with explanations, but with a revelation of His own majesty and wisdom that brings Job to peace.
This commentary covers Job verse by verse, with the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, verified background, and an Apostolic reading. Job's trust in a living Redeemer, and his suffering as a blameless man, point us to Jesus, the truly righteous Sufferer who trusted His Father through the darkness. References are given at the foot of each chapter.
This commentary on the Book of Job is now complete, all forty-two chapters, from the loss of everything in a single day to the sight of God from the whirlwind and the restoration of Job's latter end. Job never received an explanation for his suffering, but he received God Himself, and in that vision found the answer deeper than any argument: a God too great to be fully understood, yet good enough to be wholly trusted, revealed for ever in Jesus Christ, the living Redeemer.
Author
Unknown; the story is set in the ancient patriarchal era.
Setting
The land of Uz, in the days of the patriarchs.
Key People
Job, his three friends, Elihu, and the LORD who answers.
Theme
The suffering of the righteous and the sovereign wisdom of God.
Translation
King James Version (KJV) throughout.
The Chapters
Job Commentary
The chapters below are available now. The rest are being written and will open here as they are finished and verified.
Job 1:1-22
The LORD Gave, and the LORD Has Taken Away
A blameless man loses everything in a single day. Behind the scenes the accuser charges that Job serves God only for blessings, yet Job falls down and worships.
Read Chapter 1 →Job 2:1-13
Shall We Receive Good, and Not Evil?
Struck now in his own body, Job still holds fast his integrity, and God declares he is afflicted without cause. When his broken wife urges him to curse God and die, Job answers, shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? and sins not with his lips. His three friends come and sit with him in silence seven days.
Read Chapter 2 →Job 3:1-26
Job Opened His Mouth
After seven days of silence Job opens his mouth and curses the day of his birth, not cursing God, but pouring out anguish; he longs for the grave as rest, why died I not from the womb, and confesses that the thing he greatly feared has come upon him. The raw lament of a suffering saint, recorded without rebuke, showing faith has room for lament.
Read Chapter 3 →Job 4:1-21
Who Ever Perished, Being Innocent?
Eliphaz breaks the silence with a rigid formula: the innocent never perish, and they that plow iniquity reap the same, so suffering must prove sin. He states, from a night vision, the true doctrine that no mortal is more just than God, yet wields it wrongly against a man God has called blameless. Here begins the failure of easy answers.
Read Chapter 4 →Job 5:1-27
He Woundeth, and His Hands Make Whole
Eliphaz rightly observes that man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward, and speaks a beautiful truth about God's discipline, happy is the man whom God correcteth, for he maketh sore and bindeth up, he woundeth and his hands make whole. Golden words, echoed in Hebrews 12, yet wrongly assuming Job needs correction.
Read Chapter 5 →Job 6:1-30
Pity Should Be Shewed
Job replies to Eliphaz out of the depths, longing even for death, but his sharpest pain is the failure of his friends. He pleads for the kindness they withheld, to him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend, and exposes their cold logic: how forcible are right words, but what doth your arguing reprove? A cry for compassion over argument.
Read Chapter 6 →Job 7:1-21
I Will Speak in the Anguish of My Spirit
Job turns from his friends to God Himself, refusing to hide his pain: I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit. He marvels that God takes such notice of frail man, what is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and ends with a raw plea for pardon, why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? Honest lament brought straight to God.
Read Chapter 7 →Job 8:1-22
Doth God Pervert Judgment?
Bildad the Shuhite speaks, harsher than Eliphaz, insisting that God never perverts justice and hinting that Job's children died for their sin. He offers a self-righteous bargain, seek God and thy latter end should greatly increase, and closes with a true principle, God will not cast away a perfect man, the very word God had spoken over Job. Sound doctrine wrongly aimed at a blameless sufferer.
Read Chapter 8 →Job 9:1-35
How Should Man Be Just With God?
Job concedes God's justice but presses it to its terrifying edge: how should man be just with God? He confesses God's unsearchable greatness, wonders without number, and then utters one of the great cries of the Old Testament, that there is no daysman betwixt us, no mediator who might lay his hand upon both God and man. A longing answered only in Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, the one Mediator.
Read Chapter 9 →Job 10:1-22
Thine Hands Have Made Me
Weary of life, Job turns his complaint into prayer: do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me. He appeals to God as his Maker whose hands fashioned him like clay, and remembers the life and favour God once granted, thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. Anguish that still clings to its Creator, pointing to the God who visited and redeemed us in Christ.
Read Chapter 10 →Job 11:1-20
Canst Thou by Searching Find Out God?
Zophar the Naamathite, harshest of the friends, dismisses Job's words as empty talk and cruelly claims God exacts less than his sin deserves. Yet he speaks a glorious truth, canst thou by searching find out God? the Almighty is past finding out, before ending with a formula: repent, and all will be well. Right doctrine, wrong heart, wrong diagnosis, each truth finding its true home in the Gospel.
Read Chapter 11 →Job 12:1-25
With Him Is Wisdom and Strength
Stung by Zophar, Job answers with irony and then soars into a grand confession of God's sovereignty: in His hand is the soul of every living thing, with Him is wisdom and strength, He overturns kings and counsellors, and He discovereth deep things out of darkness. Job's view of God was never small. Every truth here is fulfilled in Christ, the pierced hand, the wisdom of the cross, the light out of death's shadow.
Read Chapter 12 →Job 13:1-28
Though He Slay Me, Yet Will I Trust in Him
Job rebukes his friends as false advocates who speak wickedly for God, then reaches the summit of the book: though he slay me, yet will I trust in him, faith stripped of every prop, clinging to God even unto death. Yet he still aches, wherefore hidest thou thy face? Trust and anguish together, pointing to Christ, the true Advocate, who was slain trusting His Father and endured the hidden face for us.
Read Chapter 13 →Job 14:1-22
If a Man Die, Shall He Live Again?
Job meditates on human frailty, man of few days and full of trouble, a flower cut down; confesses that none can bring a clean thing out of an unclean; and reaches out of despair toward the great question, if a man die, shall he live again? He waits till his change come. A longing for resurrection answered by the empty tomb of Christ, the firstfruits of them that slept.
Read Chapter 14 →Job 15:1-35
What Is Man, That He Should Be Clean?
The second round of speeches begins, and Eliphaz has hardened. He falsely accuses the most God-fearing man on earth of casting off fear and restraining prayer, wields the true doctrine that no man born of woman is clean only as a weapon, and paints the terror of the wicked to make Job see himself in it. Orthodoxy grown cold, right words with no mercy, every strand answered at the cross.
Read Chapter 15 →Job 16:1-22
My Witness Is in Heaven
Job calls his friends miserable comforters and describes his suffering as a violent assault in which God seems his enemy. Yet from the depths faith flashes upward: my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high, and he longs that one might plead for a man with God. The cry for a heavenly advocate, answered in Christ, the faithful Witness who ever lives to intercede.
Read Chapter 16 →Job 17:1-16
Where Is Now My Hope?
Near despair and the grave, Job asks God to be his surety since no man will strike hands with him, declares that the righteous shall hold on his way and grow stronger and stronger, and cries, where is now my hope? Faith flickering in the deepest darkness, reaching toward Christ, the surety of a better testament, and the living hope that answers the grave.
Read Chapter 17 →Job 18:1-21
The Light of the Wicked Shall Be Put Out
Bildad's second speech is one long, terrifying portrait of the doom of the wicked: his light put out, his candle snuffed, terrors on every side, dragged to the king of terrors, his place that of him that knoweth not God. Grim truth without grace, aimed to condemn a righteous man. Yet every terror is undone in Christ, the unquenchable Light who holds the keys of death, that we might know God.
Read Chapter 18 →Job 19:1-29
I Know That My Redeemer Liveth
The summit of the book. Stripped of everything and abandoned by all, Job pleads for pity, then rises to one of the greatest confessions of faith ever spoken: I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth, and though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. A living Redeemer, bodily resurrection, and the sight of God, all fulfilled in the risen Jesus Christ.
Read Chapter 19 →Job 20:1-29
The Triumphing of the Wicked Is Short
Zophar's second speech insists the triumphing of the wicked is short and their joy but for a moment, pictures sin sweet in the mouth turning to the gall of asps within, and concludes that ruin is the portion of a wicked man from God. Partial truth aimed at a righteous sufferer, answered in Christ, who took our portion of wrath that our portion might be God Himself.
Read Chapter 20 →Job 21:1-34
Wherefore Do the Wicked Live?
Job dismantles the friends' whole system with the plain facts of life: the wicked often live long, grow mighty, and die in peace, all while sneering, what is the Almighty, that we should serve him? He exposes mercenary religion versus true faith, and sees that since all lie down alike in the dust, the reckoning must lie beyond the grave, answered in the resurrection secured by the risen Christ.
Read Chapter 21 →Job 22:1-30
Acquaint Now Thyself With Him, and Be at Peace
Eliphaz's last speech, unable to prove Job's guilt, simply invents it, fabricating sins Job never committed. Yet from that false premise he issues a gospel-shaped invitation, acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace, and promises that God shall save the humble person. False accusation and true invitation side by side, the sweet words fulfilled in Christ, our peace, who saves all who humble themselves.
Read Chapter 22 →Job 23:1-17
He Knoweth the Way That I Take
Job aches to find God and plead his cause, sure God would strengthen rather than crush him, yet God seems hidden on every side. From that darkness comes a jewel of faith: but he knoweth the way that I take; when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. And he treasures God's words more than his necessary food. Tried faith trusting the God it cannot see, fulfilled in Christ the Way, the refiner, and the living Bread.
Read Chapter 23 →Job 24:1-25
They Are Exalted for a Little While
Job presses the hardest form of the problem of evil: the wicked oppress the helpless while God seems silent, men groan yet God layeth not folly to them. He asks why the all-seeing Judge delays, yet ends in confidence: the wicked are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low, cut off as the tops of the ears of corn. The delay of justice is not its denial, answered in Christ's appointed day and harvest.
Read Chapter 24 →Job 25:1-6
How Then Can Man Be Justified With God?
Bildad's brief final speech, just six verses, exhausts the friends' argument. He can only repeat the greatness of God who maketh peace in his high places and the lowliness of man: how then can man be justified with God, and what is man but a worm? He states the problem but has no answer, a God who stays high and a man in the dust. The unanswerable question is answered in Christ, who came down and justifies the ungodly.
Read Chapter 25 →Job 26:1-14
He Hangeth the Earth Upon Nothing
Job answers Bildad with a soaring hymn to God's majesty: hell is naked before Him, He hangeth the earth upon nothing, He binds the seas and garnishes the heavens. Then he bows: these are but the parts of his ways; how little a portion is heard of him? The wonders we see are the whispered edges of a God whose thunder none can understand, made known and near in Christ, who upholds all things and was hung upon a tree for us.
Read Chapter 26 →Job 27:1-23
My Righteousness I Hold Fast
Under oath, Job refuses to lie about himself to please his friends: my righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go. He exposes the empty hope of the hypocrite when God taketh away his soul, and names the true test of faith, will he delight himself in the Almighty? The line between real faith and false, answered in Christ, our righteousness, our living hope, and our exceeding joy.
Read Chapter 27 →Job 28:1-28
Where Shall Wisdom Be Found?
The great hymn to wisdom. Man can mine the deepest treasures of the earth, but where shall wisdom be found? Its price is above rubies, unbuyable with gold, and God alone knows its place. And to man He gives the answer that is the heart of the book: the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding. Fulfilled in Christ, the wisdom of God, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom.
Read Chapter 28 →Job 29:1-25
When the Secret of God Was Upon My Tabernacle
Job remembers his former days with aching longing, and what he misses most is not wealth but the presence of God, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle. He recalls a life poured out in mercy: eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, a father to the poor. A portrait of true godliness, close to God and generous to the needy, fulfilled in Christ, who tabernacled with us and took up our hopeless cause.
Read Chapter 29 →Job 30:1-31
I Cry Unto Thee, and Thou Dost Not Hear Me
But now: the dark mirror of chapter 29. Once honored, Job is now mocked by the basest of men, his body racked, and worst of all God seems silent, I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me. He recalls how he wept for the troubled, and laments that when he looked for good, evil came. The anguish of unanswered prayer, answered in Christ, forsaken that we might be heard, who weeps with us and turns darkness to dawn.
Read Chapter 30 →Job 31:1-40
I Made a Covenant With Mine Eyes
Job's great closing oath of integrity, one of the highest ethics in the Old Testament, reaching to the secret heart. He made a covenant with his eyes against lust, honored his servants as fellow creatures of the one God, and refused to make gold his hope. The words of Job are ended. His integrity points beyond itself to the one perfectly righteous Man, Christ, who gives His righteousness to all who trust Him.
Read Chapter 31 →Job 32:1-22
The Inspiration of the Almighty Giveth Understanding
A new voice enters. Elihu, a young man, breaks his silence, angry that Job justified himself and the friends failed. He declares that understanding comes not from age but from the inspiration of the Almighty, that great men are not always wise, and that he will speak without flattery or partiality. The source of true wisdom, given by the Spirit to the humble, and the courage of honest speech that fears God above men.
Read Chapter 32 →Job 33:1-33
I Have Found a Ransom
Elihu answers Job's complaint of silence: God does speak, once, yea twice, in dreams and in the chastening of pain. Then he reaches one of the clearest Gospel shadows in the Old Testament, a messenger and interpreter, one among a thousand, and God's gracious word, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom. A shadow of the Mediator and the ransom of Christ, who gave His life a ransom for many.
Read Chapter 33 →Job 34:1-37
Far Be It From God, That He Should Do Wickedness
Elihu defends the justice of God against Job's rash words: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness. His eyes are upon all the ways of man, and no darkness can hide from Him; and His sovereignty rules over peace and trouble alike, when he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? Bedrock truth, fulfilled in Christ, whose cross upholds God's justice and gives a peace the world cannot take away.
Read Chapter 34 →Job 35:1-16
Who Giveth Songs in the Night
Elihu answers the complaint that righteousness profits nothing, showing that God is self-sufficient, needing nothing from us, yet He is the Maker who giveth songs in the night, praise in the heart even in the darkest hour. And though we cannot see Him, judgment is before Him; therefore trust thou in Him. Fulfilled in Christ, the song no night can silence, whom having not seen we love and trust.
Read Chapter 35 →Job 36:1-33
He Delivereth the Poor in His Affliction
Elihu at his finest, edging close to the answer. God is mighty, yet despiseth not any, His greatness joined to tenderness. And He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression, affliction is often not punishment but God's gracious school. He closes lifting our eyes: God is great, and we know him not. Fulfilled in Christ, who despised not the lowly, works our suffering for good, and makes the unsearchable God known.
Read Chapter 36 →Job 37:1-24
Stand Still, and Consider the Wondrous Works of God
Elihu's climactic vision of God in the gathering storm, the very whirlwind from which God will speak. He hears God's voice in the thunder, doing great things which we cannot comprehend, summons Job to stand still and consider the wondrous works of God, and bows: touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out. Too great to grasp, good enough to trust. The human voices fall silent; now Job will hear from God.
Read Chapter 37 →Job 38:1-41
Where Wast Thou When I Laid the Foundations of the Earth?
At last the LORD answers Job out of the whirlwind, not with an explanation but with question after unanswerable question about creation. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? When the morning stars sang together? Who set the bounds of the sea, saying, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further? God does not defend Himself; He unveils His majesty, and gives Job something better than an answer, Himself, fulfilled in the Creator who became our Saviour.
Read Chapter 38 →Job 39:1-30
Who Hath Sent Out the Wild Ass Free?
The LORD parades the wild creatures before Job: the free wild ass, the fierce wild ox, the ostrich, the war horse clothed with thunder, the soaring hawk and eagle, none of which man made, tames, or sustains, yet all known and provided for by God. The vast, wild world beyond human control is under His loving care, and so is Job. Fulfilled in the God who bids us not to be anxious and bears His people on eagles' wings.
Read Chapter 39 →Job 40:1-24
I Will Lay Mine Hand Upon My Mouth
The turning of Job's heart. Invited to answer, the man of many arguments falls silent: I am vile; I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. Meeting God has humbled his complaint. Yet God presses the deepest issue, wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous? and points to behemoth, a beast Job could never master. The stopped mouth is the door to grace, fulfilled in the God who is just and the justifier and masters every power.
Read Chapter 40 →Job 41:1-34
Whatsoever Is Under the Whole Heaven Is Mine
God's climactic illustration: leviathan, the untamable monster no man can capture or stand against. If Job cannot draw leviathan out with a hook, how will he contend with its Maker? God states the towering truth, whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine, He owes no one, and leviathan is king over all the children of pride. Fulfilled in Christ, who crushed the ancient serpent and gives all grace freely.
Read Chapter 41 →Job 42:1-17
Now Mine Eye Seeth Thee
The book comes home in grace. Having heard God from the whirlwind, Job repents: I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee. He never got his explanation, but he received God, and it was enough. Then the wronged sufferer prays for his friends, and the LORD turns his captivity and blesses his latter end more than his beginning. Sight of God, intercession, and restoration, every longing fulfilled in Christ.
Read Chapter 42 →