Chapters of the Bible

Job replies, agreeing that God is powerful and perfectly just, but arguing that no human can ever be justified before God. He questions how he can ever plead his case against an omnipotent God.

Job questions God's motives for afflicting him, asking if God enjoys crushing him. He appeals to God’s memory of creating him and asks why he was ever born, begging for a moment of peace before death.

Zophar enters the debate, claiming Job talks too much and is too self-righteous. He suggests Job's suffering is actually less than he deserves and commands Job to put away his iniquity.

Job sarcastically replies to his friends, stating he already knows God’s power and wisdom. He argues that God is sovereign and can destroy both the wicked and the righteous, showing no partiality.

Job declares he has finished debating his friends and directly challenges God. He urges his friends to be silent, as he is determined to defend his integrity directly before his Maker.

Job expresses a deep fear of God’s anger, lamenting that human life is short and temporary. He asks why God focuses so relentlessly on crushing such a frail, mortal being.

Eliphaz begins the second cycle, harshly accusing Job of undermining reverence for God. He claims Job is presumptuous and uses his suffering as evidence that wicked men are always afflicted by God's terror.

Job responds to his friends' painful words, calling them "miserable comforters." He complains that God has attacked him like a warrior and wishes he could find a mediator in heaven to plead his case.

Job continues to lament his loneliness, feeling despised by his friends and abandoned by God. He pleads for proof of his integrity, as his only hope now lies in the grave.

Bildad continues the attack, describing the certain fate of the wicked. He suggests that the miseries Job is experiencing (loss, terror, disease) are all inevitable parts of the wicked man's demise.

Job laments that his friends and family have abandoned him. He famously proclaims his faith in a Redeemer who will one day stand on the earth, stating that even after his skin is destroyed, he will see God.

Zophar gives a long discourse on the temporary triumph of the wicked. He stresses that the wicked man's joy is short, and he will inevitably lose his prosperity and be consumed by God's wrath.