Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest?
Job 16:3 stands in the debate between Job and his three friends on the subject of his afflictions in chapters 4 to 31, consisting of three circles of speeches on the part of each. That debate is the second of four parts of the book, together with the prose prologue in chapters 1 and 2 and the prose epilogue in chapter 42:7-17, the speeches of Elihu in chapters 32 to 37, and the speeches of the Lord out of the storm-cloud. The book of Job is the oldest of all poetical books that have come down, held by many to be the oldest book in the Bible and conjectured to have been written by Moses in the land of Midian.
In its immediate setting the verse belongs to Job's reply to Eliphaz's fresh accusations within his dispute with his friends over the cause and purpose of suffering, where Job protests his innocence and desires death. The word vain means wind, so the phrase refers literally to words like wind, or empty words. The verse challenges the uselessness and persistence of the friends' empty words and asks what emboldens them or gives them confidence to keep answering him.
The friends' arguments came from their own wisdom and observation and, although generally true, were misapplied to Job's case. Their insistence that his suffering proves he has sinned illustrates the misjudgment of people who blame sufferers.
Job 16:3 stands in the debate between Job and his three friends on the subject of his afflictions in chapters 4 to 31, consisting of three circles of speeches on the part of each. That debate is the second of four parts of the book, together with the prose prologue in chapters 1 and 2 and the prose epilogue in chapter 42:7-17, the speeches of Elihu in chapters 32 to 37, and the speeches of the Lord out of the storm-cloud. The book of Job is the oldest of all poetical books that have come down, held by many to be the oldest book in the Bible and conjectured to have been written by Moses in the land of Midian.
In its immediate setting the verse belongs to Job's reply to Eliphaz's fresh accusations within his dispute with his friends over the cause and purpose of suffering, where Job protests his innocence and desires death. The word vain means wind, so the phrase refers literally to words like wind, or empty words. The verse challenges the uselessness and persistence of the friends' empty words and asks what emboldens them or gives them confidence to keep answering him.
The friends' arguments came from their own wisdom and observation and, although generally true, were misapplied to Job's case. Their insistence that his suffering proves he has sinned illustrates the misjudgment of people who blame sufferers.