FocusSuffering questioned and explained
Connection to the wholeJob's lament leads into the first cycle of speeches, in which the friends' explanations are challenged by Job's experience.
interpretation Job 4:21
KJVDoth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.
Read it in context
Eliphaz: The Innocent Prosper
Start reading at Job 4:1 (Job 4:1 to Job 4:21).
An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
Job's lament leads into the first cycle of speeches, in which the friends' explanations are challenged by Job's experience.
- 4:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
- 4:2 If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking?
- 4:3 Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.
- 4:4 Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.
- 4:5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.
- 4:6 Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?
- 4:7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?
- 4:8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.
- 4:9 By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.
- 4:10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
- 4:11 The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad.
- 4:12 Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof.
- 4:13 In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,
- 4:14 Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.
- 4:15 Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up:
- 4:16 It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,
- 4:17 Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?
- 4:18 Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly:
- 4:19 How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?
- 4:20 They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.
- 4:21 Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.
Who
- Who wrote the book? The author is unknown. Moses is one ancient traditional proposal, but neither that proposal nor another named author can be established with confidence. Historical source: Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 14b–15a (record of Jewish attribution, not contemporary proof). book background
- Who was present or being addressed in this passage? In the surrounding chapter context (Job 4:1–5:27): Eliphaz addresses Job, with the other friends present in the ongoing discussion. stated in the text
- Who was the book written to? Readers within Israel's wisdom tradition, wrestling with innocent suffering, justice, and the limits of human judgment. No named individual or first community is identified. Biblical references: Job 28:28; Job 42:7. book background
What
- What is the topic of this reading unit? Eliphaz: The Innocent Prosper. Read Job 4:1 through Job 4:21 as a connected unit. interpretation
- How does it contribute to the book? Job's lament leads into the first cycle of speeches, in which the friends' explanations are challenged by Job's experience. interpretation
When
- When are the events or message set? The book supplies no royal date or exact historical year for Job's experiences. Proposed patriarchal-era settings are historical inferences, not a date explicitly stated by the narrative. book background
Where
- What is the book’s geographic setting? Job is introduced as a man in the land of Uz. The poetic speeches range through imagined and remembered scenes that should not all be treated as the speakers' physical locations. book background
- Where does the context start? This passage sits in Eliphaz: The Innocent Prosper (Job 4:1 to Job 4:21). Start reading at Job 4:1. An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
How
- How does this book connect with Jesus Christ? James refers to Job's endurance and the Lord's compassion. Connections between Job's suffering and Christ may be considered as comparisons; Job's speeches should not all be treated as direct predictions of Jesus. See Job 1:1, James 5:11, Hebrews 4:15. interpretation
- How should this book guide our response? Do not assume that a sufferer's losses prove a hidden sin. Listen carefully, distinguish the speakers, and read their claims alongside the LORD's concluding rebuke of the friends. interpretation
Cited: Job 4:1, Job 4:21, Job 1:1, James 5:11, Hebrews 4:15
Who wrote it, and how we know
Uncertain; among the oldest books of Scripture
Not known
What Scripture saysThe book does not name its author.
Early traditionJewish tradition (Baba Bathra 14b) suggested Moses, but ancient opinion varied widely.
What is debatedThe author is unknown and the date is uncertain. The setting appears patriarchal, but the book could have been written far later.
Related passages
- excellency Ps 39:5,11 Ps 49:14 Ps 146:3-4 Isa 14:16 Luke 16:22-23 Jas 1:11
- die Job 36:12 Ps 49:20 Isa 2:22 Luke 12:20
Cross references from CrossReferences-org (CC BY 4.0).
Macro-Structure
See how this passage fits the chapter and the book.
Macro-Structure of Job 4
Job contains narrative, lament, and extended disputation. The speakers must be identified before treating an assertion as the book's teaching: the LORD explicitly rebukes Job's friends near the end. Neither the author nor an exact historical date is stated. Local headings and stanza divisions are editorial reading aids adapted from public-domain BSB headings; verse boundaries and Scripture links use the KJV. Connections describe the surrounding book movement.
Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.
Macro-Structure of Job
Job contains narrative, lament, and extended disputation. The speakers must be identified before treating an assertion as the book's teaching: the LORD explicitly rebukes Job's friends near the end. Neither the author nor an exact historical date is stated.
Job's losses and the friends' arrival
Job 1:1–2:13FocusSuffering and the opening test
Connection to the wholeThe narrative establishes Job's losses and integrity before the speeches begin, giving readers information the disputing friends do not possess.
interpretation FocusSuffering questioned and explained
Connection to the wholeJob's lament leads into the first cycle of speeches, in which the friends' explanations are challenged by Job's experience.
interpretation The second exchange
Job 15:1–21:34FocusAccusation and protest intensify
Connection to the wholeThe argument sharpens as the friends connect suffering with wickedness and Job challenges their account of the wicked's fortunes.
interpretation The final exchange and Job's defense
Job 22:1–31:40FocusWisdom and the demand for an answer
Connection to the wholeThe later speeches, poem on wisdom, and Job's final defense bring the dispute to the point of his appeal for an answer.
interpretation Elihu speaks
Job 32:1–37:24FocusClaims about God's justice and instruction
Connection to the wholeA new speaker responds to Job and the friends before the LORD's speeches begin; his speech must be distinguished from the divine answer.
interpretation The LORD answers
Job 38:1–41:34FocusCreation and the limits of human knowledge
Connection to the wholeThe LORD questions Job concerning the created order, confronting the limits of his knowledge and his attempt to contend with God.
interpretation Job's response and the conclusion
Job 42:1–17FocusRepentance, rebuke, and restoration
Connection to the wholeJob responds, the friends are rebuked, and the narrative closes with intercession and restoration without turning every speech into endorsed doctrine.
interpretation Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.