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 5:16
KJVSo the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
Read it in context
Eliphaz Continues: God Blesses those Who Seek Him
Start reading at Job 5:1 (Job 5:1 to Job 5:27).
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.
- 5:1 Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?
- 5:2 For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.
- 5:3 I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
- 5:4 His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.
- 5:5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.
- 5:6 Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;
- 5:7 Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
- 5:8 I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:
- 5:9 Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:
- 5:10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields:
- 5:11 To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.
- 5:12 He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.
- 5:13 He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.
- 5:14 They meet with darkness in the day time, and grope in the noonday as in the night.
- 5:15 But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.
- 5:16 So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
- 5:17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:
- 5:18 For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.
- 5:19 He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
- 5:20 In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.
- 5:21 Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.
- 5:22 At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
- 5:23 For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.
- 5:24 And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin.
- 5:25 Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth.
- 5:26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season.
- 5:27 Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.
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 Continues: God Blesses those Who Seek Him. Read Job 5:1 through Job 5:27 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 Continues: God Blesses those Who Seek Him (Job 5:1 to Job 5:27). Start reading at Job 5:1. 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 5:1, Job 5:27, 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
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 5
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.