12:1–2 Verse 1 continues with the formula, “Then Job answered and said.” What follows this neutral opening is an insult pregnant with passion. Job mocks his wise friends: “No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you” (v. 2). Peterson’s paraphrase captures the biting sarcasm well: “I’m sure you speak for all the experts, and when you die there’ll be no one left to tell us how to live” (MESSAGE).

12:3–13:2 In 12:3 Job builds on the theme of “wisdom” introduced in verse 2 and in answer to Zophar’s speech in chapter 11. Job’s musings on wisdom in 12:3–13:2—what his friends know versus what he knows—are framed by an inclusio:

Job is upset that his friends are not taking him seriously. Twice he calls himself a “laughingstock” (12:4ad). This statement—another inclusio itself—surrounds two important statements:

    I, who called to God and he answered me,

    a just and blameless man (12:4bc)

These might be quotes from his friends, mocking him. As they are laughing at him, they use his own claims to deride him, “Oh, look at Job! So devout. He prays to God and God always answers him. Some holy man he is!” Or these words might be Job’s sincere claims in summary form. In other words, Job is reminding his friends—as they laugh at him—that this is no laughing matter. He is innocent. He is in relationship with God, despite God’s silence and the sufferings Job is experiencing.

Next, in 12:5–9, Job returns (cf. 12:2) to mocking his friends’ lack of wisdom. They are approaching Job’s situation as outsiders. Unlike Job, they are not living through inexplicable sufferings. They are “at ease” as they theologize over him. Whereas they once had sympathy for Job’s sufferings, now they have “contempt for [his] misfortune” (12:5a). They have arrived at such contempt because they have deduced that Job’s sin is the cause of Job’s sufferings. Misfortune (“it”) is like a trap, one that will catch sinners the moment they slip into sin (“it is ready for those whose feet slip”; 12:5b). The friends are wrong, however. They have no category for what is happening to Job, but they should. Job illustrates the obvious using the opposite of his situation:

    The tents of robbers are at peace,

    and those who provoke God are secure,

    who bring their god in their hand. (12:6)

Sometimes wicked men (such as “robbers”) reap the rewards of the “blessed” life: prosperity (“are at peace”; the Hebrew word yishlayu can also be rendered “prosper”) and security (“are secure”; 12:6). Even though they “provoke God” with their actions and idolatry (perhaps “their god in their hand” [12:6] means they trust in money; cf. 31:24–28), he does not punish them. If this is true (evil men are not always punished), then why would Job’s story not also be true (a good man is sometimes punished)?

Job explores this idea further in Job 12:7–11, calling upon creation to testify to the truth of his claim that Yahweh is the cause of his calamities:

    But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;

    the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;

    or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you;

    and the fish of the sea will declare to you.

    Who among all these does not know

    that the hand of the Lord has done this? (12:7–9)

God is completely sovereign. He can do whatever he deems right:

Just as the ear is designed for hearing (“Does not the ear test words . . .”) and mouths water over spicy curry (“. . . as the palate tastes food?”; 12:11), God’s exercising an absolute, free sovereignty is basic to how the world works. And while it is true that the older you get, the more you know from experience and observation (“Wisdom is with the aged,” or, put a slightly different way, “understanding in length of days”; 12:12), God’s wisdom surely surpasses even the oldest and wisest of humans. For “with God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding” (12:13; cf. 12:16; 9:4).

In 12:14–25 Job expands this thought with a poem centered on God and what he does. Each line begins with the phrase “if he” or “with him,” or simply “he” (only 12:25 is the exception), followed by various actions, which are a mix of synonymous, antithetic, and synthetic parallels:

He tears down (12:14a)

He shuts . . . in (12:14b)

He withholds (12:15a)

He sends . . . out (12:15b)

He leads . . . away (12:17a)

He makes (12:17b)

He looses (12:18a)

[He] binds (12:18b)

He leads . . . away (12:19a)

[He] overthrows (12:19b)

He deprives (12:20a)

[He] takes away (12:20b)

He pours [out] (12:21a)

[He] loosens (12:21b)

He uncovers (12:22a)

[He] brings (12:22b)

He makes (12:23a)

He destroys (12:23a)

He enlarges (12:23b)

He leads . . . away (12:23b)

He takes away (12:24a)

[He] makes (12:24b)

He makes (12:25b)

All of these actions involve something God does in his “strength and sound wisdom” (12:16) that cannot be thwarted. He cannot be thwarted by anything on earth (“the waters” or “the land”; 12:15) or under the earth (“the deeps”; 12:22a). He cannot be thwarted by “nations” (12:23). He cannot be thwarted by men, no matter how wise, holy, respected, or powerful they might be—“counselors” (12:17a), “judges” (12:17b), “kings” (12:18), “priests” (12:19a), “the mighty” (12:19b), “the elders” (12:20b), “princes” (12:21a), and “the strong” (12:21b). Even “the chiefs of the people of the earth” (12:24a) cannot resist his will. Job 12:24–25 offers the longest comparison, with 12:25 breaking the pattern of 12:14–15 and 12:17–23. The point is to emphasize that if God can make even the greatest people on earth “wander in a trackless waste” (12:24) or “grope in the dark” or “stagger like a drunken man” (12:25)—think of Pharaoh (Isa. 19:14) or Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4:33)—then his power is irresistible.

Job’s point is plain. Job 12:16, which breaks the pattern by beginning with the phrase “with him” instead of “if he” or “he,” highlights the poem’s main point:

    With him are strength and sound wisdom;

    the deceived and the deceiver are his.

Like 1 Corinthians 13, the poem of Job 12:14–25 is a rebuke. Its purpose is not just to highlight God’s amazing power and wisdom but also to teach or remind Eliphaz, Bildad, and, Zophar that God in his wisdom can use his sovereign power however he deems fit. They have somehow been deceived and are imploring Job to join in such deception (12:16; cf. 13:9b). He will have none of it!

13:3–12 Verse 3 reintroduces the idea of talking directly to God about Job’s situation. Job wants to “speak to the Almighty” and “argue” his “case with God” himself. He will do so later in this chapter, in a kind of solo mock trial. First, however, he returns to confronting his friends. His accusatory “As for you,” which starts verse 4, is followed by a list of what they have done wrong and the judgment that is on its way due to their behavior (vv. 4–12). Their list of offenses is shown in table 4.4.

TABLE 4.4: Offenses of Job’s Friends

Job’s solution is for them to keep their “wisdom” to themselves (“Oh that you would keep silent, and it would be your wisdom!”; v. 5) and listen afresh to his version of the story (“Hear now my argument and listen to the pleadings of my lips”; v. 6).

Job not only wants to point out their sins; he also wants them to grasp the fact that judgment for such sins is looming. In verses 7–9 and 11, using a series of questions, Job informs them that their court date with God is not looking so promising. The first two questions remind them of what they have done wrong in relation to God (note the terms “for” and “toward”):

The second two questions speak of the coming judgment of God. Their day in court will end with a guilty verdict.

    Will it be well with you when he searches you out?

    Or can you deceive him, as one deceives a man? (v. 9)

In verse 10, Job asks no rhetorical statements. He instead makes a prophetic assertion: “He will surely rebuke you if in secret you show partiality.”

13:13–27 Returning to his initial goal in verse 3, Job will speak both about God (vv. 13–19) and to him (vv. 20–27), seeking to argue his case. Both at the start of verses 13–19 and in the middle, he reiterates what he said in verses 5 and 6, namely, that his friends should listen to him as he speaks: “Let me have silence, and I will speak” (v. 13a); “Keep listening to my words, and let my declaration be in your ears” (v. 17). He will live with the repercussions of his words (“and let come on me what may”; v. 13b). He is not afraid, however, to present his case to God (“argue my ways to his face”; v. 15b). While this might seem like a perilous proposal, he does not think he is putting his life in jeopardy:

Put simply, he sees no risk here. He is in no mortal danger, for his case is irrefutable—he knows that he is innocent. “Behold, I have prepared my case; I know that I shall be in the right” (v. 18). He knows that God will not even grant him a hearing if this is not the case: “the godless shall not come before him” (v. 16b). He knows that his friends cannot substantiate their claims: “Who is there who will contend with me? For then I would be silent and die” (v. 19). Thus, if God indeed hears his case, Job is not certain, but quite optimistic, that the judge’s verdict will be just. “Though he slay me, I will hope in him” (v. 15a). God might destroy him, but he trusts that, in the end, the Lord will vindicate the righteous: “This will be my salvation” (v. 16a).

With this groundwork laid (he has almost talked himself into actually filing the claim), Job addresses God (vv. 20–27). However, the scene is not what is expected. There is no courtroom. Instead, we find a prayerful conversation in preparation for the case. Perhaps at this point Job realizes that direct complaint to God has gotten him nowhere. So he humbly asks God for help. He petitions, “Only grant me two things, then I will not hide myself from your face” (v. 20). First, he asks God to remove his present afflictions: “Withdraw your hand far from me, and let not dread of you terrify me” (v. 21). Once Job’s health is restored, he will be ready to present his case. Second, “Call, and I will answer; or let me speak, and you reply to me” (v. 22). Job knows that some present sin, or sin of the past few months, is not the cause of his sufferings. But he also knows that he is a sinner (cf. 7:21; 9:29–31) and that he has a sinful teenage past (cf. 13:23, 26b). So he asks God to reveal whatever sin might be hindering the two of them from meeting face to face to discuss and resolve the matter: “How many are my iniquities and my sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin” (v. 23).

At this point one gets the impression that Job is genuinely hopeful that all that he has laid out makes sense. God might actually agree to Job’s plan. But, with the word “why” that begins verse 24 and “your enemy” that ends it, a shadow covers these glimmers of light. In verses 24–27, Job seems to return to his personal land of darkness (10:21). He has lost hope:

    Why do you hide your face

    and count me as your enemy? (13:24)

Job cannot comprehend why (after so many days of horrific suffering) God is not communicating to him. Why not send a dream, a vision, or an angel? Why not write something upon a stone or a scroll? Why not speak truth through the three worthless physicians? Instead of treating him like a friend, God is treating him as an enemy (like the wicked of Ps. 1:4). God’s opposition to him seems so senseless. Why is the great God of the universe pursuing him like a windblown “leaf” or “dry chaff,” only to catch the useless and dying object in order to “frighten” and torment it (Job 13:25)? To Job, his sufferings seem like “long-delayed punishment for his sins as a young man, which God has recorded and remembered.”86

    You write bitter things against me

    and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth. (v. 26)

To him, “his present predicament” is that of a “prisoner closely confined and constantly watched.”87 He is incarcerated by the Almighty!

    You put my feet in the stocks

    and watch all my paths;

    you set a limit for the soles of my feet. (v. 27)

As Job has been “struck” physically “with loathsome sores” on “the sole of his foot” (2:7), so has he been assailed psychologically by Yahweh. He cannot even move without God’s watchful eye. He has not a moment of remission from his pain. Oh, that God would speak to him!

13:28–14:22 Job was strong and confident as he rebuked his friends at the start of his third reply. And, as he has addressed God, there at times have been glimmers of hope. He hopes God will hear his case and vindicate him. However, in the final section of his speech, he is now hopeless. He despairs. This does not surprise the readers, as this has been Job’s pattern thus far—every speech ends in a dark place (cf. 3:20–26; 7:19–21; 10:18–22)—but it does perhaps make this reality emphatic. When will the suffering end? When will Job get the answers he is looking for?

What has brought him to this depressing place is his meditation on humanity as a whole. Job sets aside his personal suffering (he mentions himself only in 14:3, 13–17), as the sad fate of the human condition is the subject of these verses. The ESV begins 13:28 with the word “man.” The word in Hebrew is simply the pronoun “he” (huʼ). However, “man” is a good way to start this final section because mankind is the subject of Job’s musings, with the word “man” employed six times. Indeed, the state of Adam’s offspring is in focus (the Hb. word for “man” in 14:1 is ʼadam).

First, Job focuses on the fragile and fleeting nature of man’s existence. The statement that “man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble” (14:1) is surrounded by illustrations from creation:

    Man wastes away like a rotten thing,

    like a garment that is moth-eaten. (13:28)

    He comes out like a flower and withers;

    he flees like a shadow and continues not. (14:2)

The question then arises: if man is like a decomposing pumpkin, a pair of old moth-eaten trousers, a shriveling daisy, and a passing cloud, then why does God focus his attention on us?

    Do you open your eyes on such a one

    and bring me into judgment with you? (14:3)

Job wonders why God would drag him into court (“bring me into judgment”; 14:3b). Job is as sinful as any human being, who can only look so presentable before a perfectly pure Judge:

    Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?

    There is not one. (14:4)

And Job is as transient as any human being. He cannot live longer than God has ordained:

    Since his days are determined,

    and the number of his months is with you,

    and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass. (14:5)

Thus Job offers a solution, one he has suggested before (7:16, 19; 10:20). He wants God to leave man alone (“look away from him and leave him alone”; 14:6a) so that he can find some delight in the few days he might have left (“that he may enjoy, like a hired hand, his day”; 14:6b).

The next petition from Job is in 14:13. He asks God to bury him in the grave (“Oh that you would hide me in Sheol”; 14:13a). He gives two reasons for this apparently grim prayer. First, he hopes that Sheol will protect him from his present sufferings (“conceal me until your wrath be past”; 14:13b). Second, he hopes that Sheol is not the end of the story, that God will someday retrieve Job from this pit (“that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!”; 14:13c). What comes before 14:13 are his observations on the bleak reality of human death (14:7–12), but what follows is his hope that God might make an exception in his case (14:14–17).

In 14:7–12 Job contrasts man’s death with the death of a tree. A tree dies and is chopped down. But what happens next is amazing: just a few drops of water cause new life to sprout. A sapling buds out of the dead trunk. Poetically, Job says it this way:

    There is hope for a tree,

    if it be cut down, that it will sprout again,

    and that its shoots will not cease.

    Though its root grow old in the earth,

    and its stump die in the soil,

    yet at the scent of water it will bud

    and put out branches like a young plant. (14:7–9)

In contrast to a tree, a man dies and that is the end of him:

Man’s death is like dried-up “waters”—“a river” or “lake” that “fails” (or “disappears”), “wastes away and dries up” (14:11). Once he is dead (“so a man lies down”), there is no hope of life again (“and rises not again”; 14:12a); he is dead forevermore (“till the heavens are no more he will not awake or be roused out of his sleep”; 14:12bc).

From this bleak reality, Job asks God to act. As stated above, he petitions God to “hide” him “in Sheol” (14:13a). While the image of throwing Job into a pit or tossing him in an open grave is not a pleasant one, Job seems to take a positive angle on it. In 14:7–12 Job has bemoaned man’s fate after death. In 14:14–17 he hopes that God might do something even more miraculous than sprouting a new tree from a dead one. He wants God to resurrect him! His plan has two parts to it. First, to free him from his present pain, he wants God to send him to Sheol (14:13ab). Second, when the time is right, God will (a) remember what he did with Job and (b) retrieve him from the grave (14:13c).

This plan makes good sense to Job. As it stands, there is currently no hope for such a resurrection (“If a man dies, shall he live again?”; 14:14a). But if God is willing to offer resurrection, Job is willing to wait in Sheol for it (“All the days of my service I would wait, till my renewal [or “change”] should come”; 14:14bc). It is difficult to know precisely what is being said in the second half of 14:14. What change is Job envisioning? If he is dead in Sheol, it must be a bodily resurrection. What he pictures next is his version of “Lazarus, come out” (John 11:43). God would beckon Job (“You would call”); Job would hear him (“and I would answer you”; Job 14:15a).

Why would God do this? Two reasons are given. First, as the end of 14:15 states, “you would long for the work of your hands.” Put differently, the reason for this resurrection is God’s love: he loves man, whom he has made from the dust with his own hands (cf. Gen. 2:7) to rule over the trees and rivers, along with the birds of the air and the fish of the sea (Gen. 1:26–27). The second reason involves the forgiving of man’s iniquities. Job wants to be saved not only from Sheol, but also from his sin. He envisions God as dismissing incriminating evidence in the case against Job. Although God would still oversee every aspect of Job’s life (“you would number my steps”; Job 14:16a), omniscience will not be confining but freeing, for God will not be keeping track of every transgression (“you would not keep watch over my sin”; 14:16b). Instead,

    my transgression would be sealed up in a bag,

    and you would cover over my iniquity. (14:17)

Perhaps it is best to envision God as taking all of Job’s sin, sealing it in a safe, placing the safe at the bottom of Death Valley, and then sending forth the torrents of rain.

All of this sounds good. However, Job is not done. He wakes from his delightful daydream, and 14:18–22 are a reality check. These lines are Job’s pessimistic admission, “Ah, but none of this will happen.” The word “but” (14:18) introduces the contrast to come. Just as a mountain erodes (“the mountain . . . crumbles away”; 14:18a) completely (“the rock is removed from its place”; v. 18b), with stormwaters eating away “the stones” (14:19a) and “the soil” (14:19b), so God levels all anticipation of life after death (“you destroy the hope of man”; 14:19c). Now, to Job, God is a destroyer, not a savior. When God overpowers a man at death, it is permanent (“you prevail forever against him, and he passes”; 14:20). When man is sent to Sheol (“you . . . send him away”), he is changed (“you change his countenance”; 14:20b), but not for the good. In the grave he is unaware of anything that happens on the earth above. If his children prosper, thrive, and enjoy life (“sons come to honor”), “he does not know it” (14:21a); if they lose it all, get sick, and die (“are brought low”), “he perceives it not” (14:21b). He sees none of their successes or failures. His eternal hell is a lonely place:

    He feels only the pain of his own body,

    and he mourns only for himself. (14:22)