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Pages you visit will appear hereThe problem of suffering and trusting God
| Chapter | Summary | Commentary |
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| 1 |
Job, a righteous man, is blessed with wealth and family. Satan challenges his integrity. God permits Satan to test him. Job loses possessions and children but remains faithful.
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Commentary
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| 2 |
Satan is allowed to afflict Job with painful sores. Job’s wife urges him to curse God, but he refuses. Three friends—Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar—come to comfort him.
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| 3 |
Job laments his birth, wishing he had never lived, and pours out his anguish.
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| 4 |
Eliphaz speaks, suggesting Job’s suffering is due to hidden sin and urging him to seek God for restoration.
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| 5 |
Eliphaz continues, emphasizing that God disciplines but also heals those who repent.
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| 6 |
Job responds, expressing the weight of his suffering and disappointment with his friends’ lack of compassion.
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| 7 |
Job laments life’s brevity and misery, questioning why God seems to target him.
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| 8 |
Bildad argues that Job’s children may have sinned, and that Job should repent for God to restore him.
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| 9 |
Job acknowledges God’s power and sovereignty but despairs of contending with Him, longing for a mediator.
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| 10 |
Job pleads with God to explain his suffering and laments being born only to suffer.
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| 11 |
Zophar accuses Job of great guilt and urges him to repent, promising restoration if he does.
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| 12 |
Job responds by affirming his knowledge of God’s wisdom and power, countering his friends’ simplistic views.
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| 13 |
Job declares his desire to argue his case before God and accuses his friends of speaking falsely for God.
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| 14 |
Job reflects on human frailty, death, and his longing for renewal beyond the grave.
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| 15 |
Eliphaz insists Job’s words show guilt, describing the fate of the wicked as hopeless.
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| 16 |
Job laments his friends’ cruelty, describing himself as crushed by God, yet he hopes for a heavenly witness.
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| 17 |
Job despairs of life, feeling mocked and abandoned, and longs for the grave as relief.
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| 18 |
Bildad describes the terrifying fate of the wicked, implying Job fits this pattern.
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| 19 |
Job laments abandonment by friends and family but declares faith: “I know my Redeemer lives.”
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| 20 |
Zophar argues that the wicked prosper briefly but quickly face judgment and destruction.
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| 21 |
Job observes that many wicked live long, prosperous lives, contradicting his friends’ claims.
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| 22 |
Eliphaz accuses Job of oppression and great sin, urging him to repent for restoration.
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| 23 |
Job longs to present his case before God, confident he would be vindicated, though he cannot find Him.
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| 24 |
Job observes injustice in the world, with the wicked oppressing the poor, seemingly unpunished.
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| 25 |
Bildad emphasizes human unworthiness before God’s greatness and holiness.
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| 26 |
Job marvels at God’s power in creation, describing His control over the heavens and seas.
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| 27 |
Job maintains his integrity, insisting he will not deny his righteousness, though describing the fate of the wicked.
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| 28 |
A poem on wisdom: true wisdom is hidden from man and found only in the fear of the Lord.
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| 29 |
Job recalls his past honor, prosperity, and respect, when God’s blessing was evident in his life.
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| 30 |
Job laments his present humiliation and suffering, contrasting it with his former honor.
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| 31 |
Job makes his final defense, declaring his innocence and integrity in moral, social, and spiritual matters.
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| 32 |
Elihu, a younger man, speaks after the friends fall silent, angry at both Job and the friends’ failure.
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| 33 |
Elihu argues that God speaks through suffering to correct and save people from pride and destruction.
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| 34 |
Elihu defends God’s justice, insisting He cannot do wrong, and challenges Job’s claims of innocence.
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| 35 |
Elihu argues that human sin or righteousness does not affect God’s nature but affects other people.
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| 36 |
Elihu insists God uses suffering to teach and discipline, calling Job to humble submission.
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| 37 |
Elihu describes God’s greatness in creation and His control over storms, preparing for God’s appearance.
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| 38 |
God speaks from the whirlwind, questioning Job about creation to reveal His wisdom and Job’s limitations.
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| 39 |
God continues, describing animals and nature to highlight His power and wisdom beyond human control.
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| 40 |
God challenges Job again. Job humbles himself. God describes the behemoth as an example of His mighty creation.
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| 41 |
God describes Leviathan’s power, emphasizing human inability and His own unmatched strength.
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| 42 |
Job repents in humility. God rebukes Job’s friends for misrepresenting Him. Job intercedes for them, and God restores Job’s fortunes, blessing him greatly.
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