Job42
American Standard Version · Public Domain
1Then Job answered Jehovah, and said,
2I know that thou canst do all things, And that no purpose of thine can be restrained.
3Who is this that hideth counsel without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that which I understood not, Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
4Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak; I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
5I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; But now mine eye seeth thee:
6Wherefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.
7And it was so, that, after Jehovah had spoken these words unto Job, Jehovah said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends; for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
8Now therefore, take unto you seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt-offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you; for him will I accept, that I deal not with you after your folly; for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
9So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as Jehovah commanded them: and Jehovah accepted Job.
10And Jehovah turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: and Jehovah gave Job twice as much as he had before.
11Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him concerning all the evil that Jehovah had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one a ring of gold.
12So Jehovah blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: and he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses.
13He had also seven sons and three daughters.
14And he called the name of the first, Jemimah; and the name of the second, Keziah; and the name of the third, Keren-happuch.
15And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren.
16And after this Job lived a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, even four generations.
17So Job died, being old and full of days.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Job 42.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Job humbly submits unto God. (1–6). Job intercedes for his friends. (7–9). His renewed prosperity. (10–17).
vv1-6
Job was now sensible of his guilt; he would no longer speak in his own excuse; he abhorred himself as a sinner in heart and life, especially for murmuring against God, and took shame to himself. When the understanding is enlightened by the Spirit of grace, our knowledge of Divine things as far exceeds what we had before, as the sight of the eyes excels report and common fame. By the teachings of men, God reveals his Son to us; but by the teachings of his Spirit he reveals his Son in us, Ga 1:16, and changes us into the same image, 2Co 3:18. It concerns us to be deeply humbled for the sins of which we are convinced. Self-loathing is ever the companion of true repentance. The Lord will bring those whom he loveth, to adore him in self-abasement; while true grace will always lead them to confess their sins without self-justifying.
vv7-9
After the Lord had convinced and humbled Job, and brought him to repentance, he owned him, comforted him, and put honour upon him. The devil had undertaken to prove Job a hypocrite, and his three friends had condemned him as a wicked man; but if God say, Well done, thou good and faithful servant, it is of little consequence who says otherwise. Job's friends had wronged God, by making prosperity a mark of the true church, and affliction a certain proof of God's wrath. Job had referred things to the future judgment and the future state, more than his friends, therefore he spake of God that which was right, better than his friends had done. And as Job prayed and offered sacrifice for those that had grieved and wounded his spirit, so Christ prayed for his persecutors, and ever lives, making intercession for the transgressors. Job's friends were good men, and belonged to God, and He would not let them be in their mistake any more than Job; but having humbled him by a discourse out of the whirlwind, he takes another way to humble them. They are not to argue the matter again, but they must agree in a sacrifice and a prayer, and that must reconcile them, Those who differ in judgment about lesser things, yet are one in Christ the great Sacrifice, and ought therefore to love and bear with one another. When God was angry with Job's friends, he put them in a way to make peace with him. Our quarrels with God always begin on our part, but the making peace begins on his. Peace with God is to be had only in his own way, and upon his own terms. These will never seem hard to those who know how to value this blessing: they will be glad of it, like Job's friends, upon any terms, though ever so humbling. Job did not insult over his friends, but God being graciously reconciled to him, he was easily reconciled to them. In all our prayers and services we should aim to be accepted of the Lord; not to have praise of men, but to please God. (Job 42:10-17)
vv10-17
In the beginning of this book we had Job's patience under his troubles, for an example; here, for our encouragement to follow that example, we have his happy end. His troubles began in Satan's malice, which God restrained; his restoration began in God's mercy, which Satan could not oppose. Mercy did not return when Job was disputing with his friends, but when he was praying for them. God is served and pleased with our warm devotions, not with our warm disputes. God doubled Job's possessions. We may lose much for the Lord, but we shall not lose any thing by him. Whether the Lord gives us health and temporal blessings or not, if we patiently suffer according to his will, in the end we shall be happy. Job's estate increased. The blessing of the Lord makes rich; it is he that gives us power to get wealth, and gives success in honest endeavours. The last days of a good man sometimes prove his best, his last works his best works, his last comforts his best comforts; for his path, like that of the morning light, shines more and more unto the perfect day.
Key Words
אִיּוֹב: Ijob, the patriarch famous for his patience
עָנָה: properly, to eye or (generally) to heed, i.e. pay attention; by implication, to respond; by extension to begin to speak; specifically to sing, shout, testify, announce
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
יָדַע: to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing); used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially (including observation, care, recognition; and causatively, instruction, designation, punishment, etc.)
כִּי: (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed
יָכֹל: to be able, literally (can, could) or morally (may, might)
כֹּל: properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense)
לֹא: not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles
מְזִמָּה: a plan, usually evil (machination), sometimes good (sagacity)
מִן: properly, a part of; hence (prepositionally), from or out of in many senses
Cross References
Job 42Job quotes God's opening challenge verbatim as the groundwork of his deep repentance.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Job repeats God's demand back to Him in a spirit of absolute surrender.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Job's progressive self-abasement, building on his previous confession of being vile.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
New Testament summary of Job's patience and the ultimate merciful end provided by the Lord.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Abimelech's healing through Abraham's prayer foreshadows Job's intercessory role for his friends.
Supported by JFB
The restoration of captive fortunes is a well-known Hebrew idiom for total vindication.
Supported by JFB
Prophetic parallel of receiving double restoration for shame and confusion.
Supported by JFB
The return of Job's brethren contrasts sharply with their earlier painful estrangement.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Jeremiah's similar confession of God's absolute omnipotence and sovereign power.
Supported by JFB
Isaiah's self-loathing upon seeing the holy presence of God matches Job's response.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Peter's realization of his own sinfulness when confronted directly by the divine.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Fulfills Job's warning that God would surely reprove his friends for speaking falsely.
Supported by JFB
Eliphaz's own earlier words are fulfilled: the innocent Job delivers those who are not innocent.
Supported by JFB
The covenant blessing of seeing one's children and grand-children to multiple generations.
Supported by Matthew Henry