The Living Word

KING JAMES VERSION

"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."

— Isaiah 40:8

Job 16

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Then Job answered and said,

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I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all.

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Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest?

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I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my soul's stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at you.

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But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should asswage your grief.

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Though I speak, my grief is not asswaged: and though I forbear, what am I eased?

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But now he hath made me weary: thou hast made desolate all my company.

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And thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me: and my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face.

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He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.

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They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me.

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God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked.

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I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.

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His archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground.

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He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon me like a giant.

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I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust.

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My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death;

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Not for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer is pure.

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O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place.

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Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high.

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My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God.

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O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour!

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When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.

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Chapter Study & Analysis

Overview

Job 16 sees Job calling his friends "miserable comforters." He laments that God has delivered him into the hands of the ungodly and that his face is foul with weeping.

CONTEMPORARY APPLICATIONS

1. Evaluating Our Support: A "miserable comforter" is one who adds to the pain instead of sharing it. We should strive to be listeners and burden-bearers.
2. The Witness in Heaven: "Behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high" (v. 19). When the world misjudges us, our ultimate vindication comes from God alone.
3. The Loneliness of Trial: Job felt abandoned by God and man. Even in loneliness, he continued his "pleading" with God, showing that his relationship with the Creator was still active.

Practical Lessons

FORMAL PRAYER

O Lord, be our witness and our advocate. When the world misunderstands us, remind us that our record is on high and that Thy judgment is the only one that truly matters. Amen.

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