Job's metaphor of friends as "deceitful brooks" (6:15) uniquely combines water imagery with betrayal language, appearing nowhere else in biblical wisdom literature's treatment of friendship.
Job 6
Job's First Reply to Eliphaz
1Then Job answered,
2“Oh that my anguish were weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances!
3For now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas, therefore my words have been rash.
4For the arrows of the Almighty are within me. My spirit drinks up their poison. The terrors of God set themselves in array against me.
5Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass? Or does the ox low over his fodder?
6Can that which has no flavor be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
7My soul refuses to touch them. They are as loathsome food to me.
8“Oh that I might have my request, that God would grant the thing that I long for,
9even that it would please God to crush me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!
10Let it still be my consolation, yes, let me exult in pain that doesn’t spare, that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
11What is my strength, that I should wait? What is my end, that I should be patient?
12Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh of bronze?
13Isn’t it that I have no help in me, that wisdom is driven away from me?
14“To him who is ready to faint, kindness should be shown from his friend; even to him who forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
15My brothers have dealt deceitfully as a brook, as the channel of brooks that pass away;
16which are black by reason of the ice, in which the snow hides itself.
17In the dry season, they vanish. When it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.
18The caravans that travel beside them turn away. They go up into the waste, and perish.
19The caravans of Tema looked. The companies of Sheba waited for them.
20They were distressed because they were confident. They came there, and were confounded.
21For now you are nothing. You see a terror, and are afraid.
22Did I ever say, ‘Give to me’? or, ‘Offer a present for me from your substance’?
23or, ‘Deliver me from the adversary’s hand’? or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the oppressors’?
24“Teach me, and I will hold my peace. Cause me to understand my error.
25How forcible are words of uprightness! But your reproof, what does it reprove?
26Do you intend to reprove words, since the speeches of one who is desperate are as wind?
27Yes, you would even cast lots for the fatherless, and make merchandise of your friend.
28Now therefore be pleased to look at me, for surely I will not lie to your face.
29Please return. Let there be no injustice. Yes, return again. My cause is righteous.
30Is there injustice on my tongue? Can’t my taste discern mischievous things?
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Theme
Job responds to Eliphaz's counsel with raw anguish, defending his desperate words by comparing his overwhelming suffering to arrows from the Almighty. He expresses his longing for death as relief from unbearable pain, while maintaining his integrity before God. Job then turns to critique his friends, comparing them to unreliable seasonal streams that fail travelers in their time of greatest need, and challenges them to show him his actual wrongdoing rather than merely criticizing his words of desperation.
Context
This chapter begins Job's systematic response to each friend's counsel, directly answering Eliphaz's speech from chapters 4-5 with increasing boldness.
Key Themes
Outline
- 1-7 Job's Anguish Justified Job defends his harsh words by describing his immeasurable suffering as God's arrows and comparing his situation to animals crying out when in need.
- 8-13 Longing for Death Job expresses his desire for God to end his life, finding potential comfort only in maintaining his integrity despite overwhelming pain.
- 14-21 Friends Like Failing Streams Job criticizes his friends for being unreliable like seasonal brooks that disappoint travelers, showing fear instead of kindness in his time of need.
- 22-30 Challenge to Show His Error Job points out he never asked for material help and challenges his friends to identify his actual wrongdoing rather than condemning his desperate words.
Job's First Reply to Eliphaz
6:1–7:21 poetry speech anguished
Job responds to Eliphaz by describing the weight of his anguish and expressing disappointment in his friends' lack of compassion, comparing them to unreliable streams.
person_contrast
Job's metaphor of friends as "deceitful brooks" (6:15) uniquely combines water imagery with betrayal language, appearing nowhere else in biblical wisdom literature's treatment of friendship.
Insights
Cross-References
Connected passages across Scripture
Job 6:2 3 references
Lexicals 3
Jeremiah 32:10 Lexical
I signed the deed, sealed it, called witnesses, and weighed the money in the balances to him.
Job 31:6 Lexical
(let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know my integrity);
Isaiah 40:12 Lexical
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the sky with his span, and calculated the dust of…
Job 6:4 1 reference
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