Instruct me, and I, for my part, shall be silent; And what mistake I have committed make me understand (Job 6:24)

Yomelijah Yomelijah

6 min readOct 31, 2024

Job chapters 6 and 7:

“Job then said in reply:

2 “If only my anguish could be fully weighed

And put on scales together with my calamity!

3 For now it is heavier than the sands of the seas.

That is why my words have been wild talk.

4 For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me,

And my spirit is drinking their venom;

The terrors from God are lined up against me.

5 Will a wild donkey cry out when it has grass,

Or will a bull bellow when it has fodder?

6 Is tasteless food eaten without salt,

Or is there flavor in the juice of a mallow?

7 I have refused to touch such things.

They are like contamination in my food.

8 O that my request would be realized

And that God would grant my desire!

9 That God would be willing to crush me,

And that he would reach out his hand and do away with me!

10 For even that would bring me comfort;

I would leap for joy despite the unrelenting pain,

For I have not denied the sayings of the Holy One.

11 Do I have the strength to keep waiting?

And what end awaits me, that I should continue to live?

12 Is my strength like that of rock?

Or is my flesh made of copper?

13 Is there any way that I can help myself

When all my means of support has been driven from me?

14 Anyone who withholds loyal love from his fellow man

Will forsake the fear of the Almighty.

15 My own brothers have been as treacherous as a winter stream,

Like the water of winter streams that dry up.

16 They are darkened by ice,

And in them the melting snow is hidden.

17 But in due season they become waterless and come to an end;

When it becomes hot, they dry up.

18 Their course is diverted;

They flow into the desert and vanish.

19 The caravans of Teʹma look for them;

The travelers from Sheʹba wait for them.

20 They are ashamed because of their misplaced trust;

They come there only to be disappointed.

21 For this is how you have become to me;

You have seen the terror of my calamity, and you are afraid.

22 Have I said, ‘Give me something,’

Or requested that you make a gift for me from your wealth?

23 Have I asked to be rescued from the hand of an enemy

Or to be saved from oppressors?

24 Instruct me, and I will be silent;

Help me to understand my mistake.

25 Honest words are not painful!

But what benefit can be found in your reproof?

26 Are you scheming to reprove my words,

A desperate man’s sayings, which the wind blows away?

27 You would also cast lots over an orphan

And sell your own friend!

28 So now turn and look at me,

For I would not lie to your very faces.

29 Reconsider, please — do not misjudge me —

Yes, reconsider, for my righteousness is yet intact.

30 Is my tongue speaking unjustly?

Does my palate not discern that something is wrong?

7 “Is not the life of mortal man on earth like compulsory labor,

And are not his days like those of a hired worker?

2 Like a slave, he longs for the shadow,

And like a hired worker, he waits for his wages.

3 Thus I have been assigned months of futility

And nights of misery have been counted out for me.

4 When I lie down I ask, ‘When will I get up?’

But as the night drags on, I toss restlessly until the dawning of the day.

5 My flesh is covered with maggots and clods of dirt;

My skin is full of scabs and pus.

6 My days go by more quickly than a weaver’s shuttle,

And they come to an end without hope.

7 Remember that my life is wind,

That my eye will never again see happiness.

8 The eye that sees me now will see me no more;

Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.

9 Like a cloud that fades and vanishes,

The one who goes down to the Grave does not come back up.

10 He will not return again to his house,

And his place will acknowledge him no more.

11 Therefore, I will not restrain my mouth.

I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;

I will complain in my bitter distress!

12 Am I the sea or a sea monster,

That you should set a guard over me?

13 When I say, ‘My couch will comfort me;

My bed will help ease my misery,’

14 Then you terrify me with dreams

And frighten me with visions,

15 So that I would choose suffocation,

Yes, death rather than this body of mine.

16 I loathe my life; I do not want to go on living.

Leave me alone, for my days are like a breath.

17 What is mortal man that you should concern yourself with him

And fix your attention on him?

18 Why do you inspect him every morning

And test him every moment?

19 Will you not look away from me

And leave me alone long enough to swallow my saliva?

20 If I have sinned, how could I harm you, the Observer of mankind?

Why have you made me your target?

Have I become a burden to you?

21 Why do you not pardon my transgression

And excuse my error?

For soon I will lie down in the dust,

And you will look for me, but I will be gone”” (Job chapters 6 and 7).

In response to the serious innuendos of Eliphaz of unfaithfulness of Job toward God, he simply asks him to say what kind of faults he made: “Instruct me, and I, for my part, shall be silent; And what mistake I have committed make me understand” (Job 6:24).

Job has a clear conscience before God, and even if he can make involuntary mistakes, why would God not forgive him? “If I have sinned, what can I accomplish against you, the Observer of mankind? Why is it that you have set me as your target, so that I should become a burden to you? And why do you not pardon my transgression And overlook my error? For now in dust I shall lie down; And you will certainly look for me, and I shall not be” (Job 7:20.21).

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