Job 6:8-13 shows that Job’s suffering is so great that the wishes God would end his life. It seems God could end his pain if He put Job to death. Instead, Job is alive and suffering terribly. But, incredibly, Job also offers praise to God. He rejoices, though pained, that he still obeys and reveres God and His commandments. He has not sinned. Even so, he feels no hope for himself, as his body is deteriorating and he has no way to help himself or change his circumstances.
In Job 6:8-13, Job continues his reply to Eliphaz by expressing his weakness and a specific desire to be released from his pain through death, while gaining comfort from knowing he is innocent before God of Eliphaz’s insistence that his suffering is a result of his own sin. But Job has not sinned, and the reader knows his suffering is not a payment for sin, as Eliphaz has claimed.
In fact, Job’s trial is a test of cosmic significance of the greatest interest to God and Satan. Yet Job himself is unaware of this heavenly contest. He simply hurts, and feels as though God has turned His hand against him without cause. We will later find that Job suspects God has overlooked his circumstance, and with some appropriate information and coaching would restore Job (Job 23:6-7). Job will be appropriately chastised and redirected in his understanding in chapters 38-41.
Job begins with a wish that sounds like a prayer request: Oh that my request might come to pass, And that God would grant my longing! (v.8). The posture of request reveals that Job has a desire, but that desire has not come to pass. God receives this kind of prayer—like David’s repeated cries in the Psalms when he begs for deliverance and asks God to consider his distress (Psalm 13:1-2). Like Jesus’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:34-36).
Job’s “request” is the language of a wounded believer who has run out of strength. Yet Job does not take things into his own hands. His respect for God’s sovereignty is consistent throughout this book (Job 2:10). This is likely one of the key reasons God elevates Job and makes him an example of faithfulness for all time (Ezekiel 14:14,James 5:11).
The Hebrew word translated longing is often translated “hope.” We usually think of “hope” as looking forward to a great improvement of our situation. In Job’s case, the improved status he seeks is death. Job names what he is hoping for with clarity: Would that God were willing to crush me, That He would loose His hand and cut me off! (v.9)
The phrase cut me off refers to severing Job’s lifeline. It means to cut Job off from the land of the living. Job perceives God as holding him in His hand and preserving his life. His desire is for God to loose His hand and let him die. His longing that God were willing to crush me is a recognition that life is God’s to take or give. Job honors God’s prerogative in this respect, which is consistent with God’s statement honoring Job at the end, that he spoke rightly of God (Job 42:7).
This sentiment mirrors Job’s lament in Chapter 3 where he longed for the comfort of death (Job 3:11). We know Job has faith that he will enjoy life after death, as he states that sentiment plainly in Job 19:25-27. The Apostle Paul says something similar in his hope for heaven in 2 Corinthians 5:2-4. However, Paul stated that he would keep his focus on pleasing the Lord, whether on earth or in heaven (2 Corinthians 5:9).
Job now speaks of a comfort that repudiates the accusation of Eliphaz: But it is still my consolation, And I rejoice in unsparing pain, That I have not denied the words of the Holy One. (v.10)
Eliphaz’s words sting. They provide no sustenance (like tasteless food, per Job 6:6). Job’s comfort is not that he feels better; his hurt is so intense that he calls it unsparing pain. Job’s consolation is that has not disobeyed the LORD. When he says he has not denied the words of the Holy One, he is saying that he has honored and followed God’s word.
It is interesting to note that the book of Job is likely the first book of scripture to be committed to writing. So the words Job refers to are likely words of oral tradition, handed down through the generations. Since we are given supernatural insight as observers to this grand drama, we know that Job is speaking accurately (Job 1:22, 42:7).
This is a key window into Job’s integrity. Job is locating comfort in the one remaining anchor he still possesses: his faithfulness to God. Everything else has been stripped away—wealth, children, health, social stability—but Job’s loyalty to the Holy One remains. We saw this in his initial reaction to losing everything but his wife and health—he fell down and worshipped God (Job 1:20-21).
The title Holy One emphasizes God’s set-apart transcendence as the Creator who is before time. He describes Himself as Holy, saying in Leviticus:
“For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:45)
This validates the accuracy of the oral tradition handed to Job, as well as his faithfulness to follow the words of the Holy One. That kind of perseverance foreshadows the call to hold fast to faith under trial (James 1:12) and points toward Jesus, who remained faithful in suffering, entrusting Himself to the Father even when the path led to death (1 Peter 2:23,Revelation 3:21).
In verses 11-13, Job begins to describe his lack of strength as a prelude to the next section where he will express his frustration with the accusations of his friends in his time of great weakness.
Job asks two rhetorical questions that expose how depleted he is: What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should endure? (v.11).
The expected answer is “None” to the question What is my strength, that I should wait? And the question And what is my end, that I should endure is an expression of hopelessness. Job can see no future possibility, no end, other than death, so he longs for it to come swiftly and end his suffering. Again, as spectators we know that there is, in fact, a quite glorious end for Job that exceeds his wildest dreams (Job 42:10).
Paul later described a season where the pressure was so great he felt beyond his strength, so that he despaired even of life (2 Corinthians 1:8). God promises to all who love Him that His rewards will be beyond their capacity to imagine (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Job adds two more rhetorical questions that anticipate the answer “No”: Is my strength the strength of stones, Or is my flesh bronze? (v.12). He is fragile, exhausted, and wounded. Job is rejecting any expectation that he should carry this weight as though his bones were metallic. This description of his feebleness is a prelude to the next section, where he will shame Eliphaz and his friends for kicking him when he is down, so to speak.
We can observe that God will speak sternly to Job in a similar manner to Eliphaz and his friends. The difference is that God’s words are true. The primary problem with Eliphaz’s criticism is that it is not true. When Job hears God’s chastisement, he will fully recognize his need to repent of his false perspective (Job 42:6).
Job ends this section with a final admission of weakness. Is my help not within me, And is deliverance driven from me? (v.13) Job confesses that the resources he once relied on—inner resilience, clear-minded hope, the ability to make a plan—are no longer available. His executive skills have escaped him. His inner drive is gone. The Hebrew word translated deliverance is rendered success in the prior chapter, in Job 5:12. His success, and the capabilities it gave him, are all gone. None of his prior resources are at his disposal.
This lays the groundwork for the next section, where Job will ask his friends to show kindness and to share truth with him, rather than accusations.
Set to dark mode
Job 6:8-13 meaning
In Job 6:8-13, Job continues his reply to Eliphaz by expressing his weakness and a specific desire to be released from his pain through death, while gaining comfort from knowing he is innocent before God of Eliphaz’s insistence that his suffering is a result of his own sin. But Job has not sinned, and the reader knows his suffering is not a payment for sin, as Eliphaz has claimed.
In fact, Job’s trial is a test of cosmic significance of the greatest interest to God and Satan. Yet Job himself is unaware of this heavenly contest. He simply hurts, and feels as though God has turned His hand against him without cause. We will later find that Job suspects God has overlooked his circumstance, and with some appropriate information and coaching would restore Job (Job 23:6-7). Job will be appropriately chastised and redirected in his understanding in chapters 38-41.
Job begins with a wish that sounds like a prayer request: Oh that my request might come to pass, And that God would grant my longing! (v.8). The posture of request reveals that Job has a desire, but that desire has not come to pass. God receives this kind of prayer—like David’s repeated cries in the Psalms when he begs for deliverance and asks God to consider his distress (Psalm 13:1-2). Like Jesus’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:34-36).
Job’s “request” is the language of a wounded believer who has run out of strength. Yet Job does not take things into his own hands. His respect for God’s sovereignty is consistent throughout this book (Job 2:10). This is likely one of the key reasons God elevates Job and makes him an example of faithfulness for all time (Ezekiel 14:14, James 5:11).
The Hebrew word translated longing is often translated “hope.” We usually think of “hope” as looking forward to a great improvement of our situation. In Job’s case, the improved status he seeks is death. Job names what he is hoping for with clarity: Would that God were willing to crush me, That He would loose His hand and cut me off! (v.9)
The phrase cut me off refers to severing Job’s lifeline. It means to cut Job off from the land of the living. Job perceives God as holding him in His hand and preserving his life. His desire is for God to loose His hand and let him die. His longing that God were willing to crush me is a recognition that life is God’s to take or give. Job honors God’s prerogative in this respect, which is consistent with God’s statement honoring Job at the end, that he spoke rightly of God (Job 42:7).
This sentiment mirrors Job’s lament in Chapter 3 where he longed for the comfort of death (Job 3:11). We know Job has faith that he will enjoy life after death, as he states that sentiment plainly in Job 19:25-27. The Apostle Paul says something similar in his hope for heaven in 2 Corinthians 5:2-4. However, Paul stated that he would keep his focus on pleasing the Lord, whether on earth or in heaven (2 Corinthians 5:9).
Job now speaks of a comfort that repudiates the accusation of Eliphaz: But it is still my consolation, And I rejoice in unsparing pain, That I have not denied the words of the Holy One. (v.10)
Eliphaz’s words sting. They provide no sustenance (like tasteless food, per Job 6:6). Job’s comfort is not that he feels better; his hurt is so intense that he calls it unsparing pain. Job’s consolation is that has not disobeyed the LORD. When he says he has not denied the words of the Holy One, he is saying that he has honored and followed God’s word.
It is interesting to note that the book of Job is likely the first book of scripture to be committed to writing. So the words Job refers to are likely words of oral tradition, handed down through the generations. Since we are given supernatural insight as observers to this grand drama, we know that Job is speaking accurately (Job 1:22, 42:7).
This is a key window into Job’s integrity. Job is locating comfort in the one remaining anchor he still possesses: his faithfulness to God. Everything else has been stripped away—wealth, children, health, social stability—but Job’s loyalty to the Holy One remains. We saw this in his initial reaction to losing everything but his wife and health—he fell down and worshipped God (Job 1:20-21).
The title Holy One emphasizes God’s set-apart transcendence as the Creator who is before time. He describes Himself as Holy, saying in Leviticus:
“For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.”
(Leviticus 11:45)
This validates the accuracy of the oral tradition handed to Job, as well as his faithfulness to follow the words of the Holy One. That kind of perseverance foreshadows the call to hold fast to faith under trial (James 1:12) and points toward Jesus, who remained faithful in suffering, entrusting Himself to the Father even when the path led to death (1 Peter 2:23, Revelation 3:21).
In verses 11-13, Job begins to describe his lack of strength as a prelude to the next section where he will express his frustration with the accusations of his friends in his time of great weakness.
Job asks two rhetorical questions that expose how depleted he is: What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should endure? (v.11).
The expected answer is “None” to the question What is my strength, that I should wait? And the question And what is my end, that I should endure is an expression of hopelessness. Job can see no future possibility, no end, other than death, so he longs for it to come swiftly and end his suffering. Again, as spectators we know that there is, in fact, a quite glorious end for Job that exceeds his wildest dreams (Job 42:10).
Paul later described a season where the pressure was so great he felt beyond his strength, so that he despaired even of life (2 Corinthians 1:8). God promises to all who love Him that His rewards will be beyond their capacity to imagine (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Job adds two more rhetorical questions that anticipate the answer “No”: Is my strength the strength of stones, Or is my flesh bronze? (v.12). He is fragile, exhausted, and wounded. Job is rejecting any expectation that he should carry this weight as though his bones were metallic. This description of his feebleness is a prelude to the next section, where he will shame Eliphaz and his friends for kicking him when he is down, so to speak.
We can observe that God will speak sternly to Job in a similar manner to Eliphaz and his friends. The difference is that God’s words are true. The primary problem with Eliphaz’s criticism is that it is not true. When Job hears God’s chastisement, he will fully recognize his need to repent of his false perspective (Job 42:6).
Job ends this section with a final admission of weakness. Is my help not within me, And is deliverance driven from me? (v.13) Job confesses that the resources he once relied on—inner resilience, clear-minded hope, the ability to make a plan—are no longer available. His executive skills have escaped him. His inner drive is gone. The Hebrew word translated deliverance is rendered success in the prior chapter, in Job 5:12. His success, and the capabilities it gave him, are all gone. None of his prior resources are at his disposal.
This lays the groundwork for the next section, where Job will ask his friends to show kindness and to share truth with him, rather than accusations.