Job

About this book

Chapter 13

1 “Indeed, my eyes have seen all this; my ears have heard and understood it. 2 What you know, I know also; I am not inferior to you! 3 But I wish to speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God. 4 But you, however, smear with lies¹⁰;⁠ all of you are worthless physicians! 5 If only you would keep completely silent! For you, that would be wisdom.⁠ 6 Listen now to my argument, and be attentive to my lips’ contentions. 7 Will you speak wickedly on God’s behalf? Will you speak deceitfully for him? 8 Will you show him partiality? Will you argue the case for God? 9 Would it turn out well if he would examine you? Or as one deceives a man would you deceive him? 10 He would certainly rebuke you if you secretly showed partiality. 11 Would not his splendor terrify you and the fear he inspires fall on you? 12 Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay. 13 “Refrain from talking with me so that I may speak; then let come to me what may. 14 Why do I put myself in peril, and take my life in my hands? 15 Even if he slays me, I will hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face. 16 Moreover, this will become my deliverance, for no godless person would come before him. 17 Listen carefully to my words; let your ears be attentive to my explanation. 18 See now, I have prepared my case; I know that I am right. 19 Who will contend with me? If anyone can, I will be silent and die. 20 Only in two things spare me, O God, and then I will not hide from your face: 21 Remove your hand far from me and stop making me afraid with your terror. 22 Then call, and I will answer, or I will speak, and you respond to me. 23 How many are my iniquities and sins? Show me my transgression and my sin. 24 Why do you hide your face and regard me as your enemy?⁠ 25 Do you wish to torment a windblown leaf and chase after dry chaff? 26 For you write down bitter things against me and cause me to inherit the sins of my youth. 27 And you put my feet in the stocks and you watch all my movements; you put marks on the soles of my feet. 28 So I waste away like something rotten, like a garment eaten by moths.

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 88:14 and Job 13:24

Hebrew Bible

Summary

Psalm 88 and Job 13 describe God as hidden when help is needed, capturing the weight of divine silence for those asking for justice. The similar language points to a tradition that treats God’s rule as unpredictable rather than fixed.

Passages

Psalm 88:14

Hebrew Bible

12 Are your amazing deeds experienced in the dark region, or your deliverance in the land of oblivion? 13 As for me, I cry out to you, O Lord; in the morning my prayer confronts you. 14 O Lord, why do you reject me, and hide your face from me?²³ 15 I am oppressed and have been on the verge of death since my youth. I have been subjected to your horrors and am numb with pain. 16 Your anger overwhelms me; your terrors destroy me.

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Job 13:24

Hebrew Bible

22 Then call, and I will answer, or I will speak, and you respond to me. 23 How many are my iniquities and sins? Show me my transgression and my sin. 24 Why do you hide your face and regard me as your enemy? 25 Do you wish to torment a windblown leaf and chase after dry chaff? 26 For you write down bitter things against me and cause me to inherit the sins of my youth.

500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Job

References

"... The biblical writers portray God as a righteous judge to whom the oppressed may turn in the expectation of finding the justice they seek. However, God is sovereign also in his manner of dispensing justice. It is this sovereignty that gives rise to so much of the perplexity expressed. If God is able to withhold punishment and show mercy, then God’s exercise of justice does not proceed according to a formula (Psalm 30:5; 85:1-3; 103:10). Seifrid observes that there are more than four times as many references to a “saving righteousness” in the Old Testament than to punitive divine justice; thus, there has been significant discussion as to whether God’s righteousness is to be seen as primarily relational, consistent with his saving purposes toward the elect, or norm based and retributive. This question cannot be explored in the present article, but it may be the case that a resolution is to be found in an understanding of the character of the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-33), with its congruence of covenantal relationship and heart-inscribed righteousness. Sometimes the involvement of God in the administration of justice is not in the foreground (Esther), which might lead us to assume that the writer accepted with equanimity the fact that God seems inactive, remote or hidden. More commonly, the distance of God compounds the distress factor, all the more perplexing because it seems out of character for God to be silent to his people’s pleas, or worse, actively hostile toward them (Job 13:24; 24:1; 34:29; Psalm 10:1; 13:1; 44:24; 69:17; 88:14; 102:2) ..."

Tremper Longman and Peter Enns, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings (Inter-Varsity, 2008), 815.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Job42 chapters

Compare Psalm 88:14 and Job 13:24

Summary

Passages

Psalm 88:14

Job 13:24

References

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