Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him.
The verse stands within the extended debate between Job and his three friends that runs from chapters 4 to 31, a dispute over the cause and object of human suffering. It is one of the words spoken by the friends in that argument, and inspiration guarantees the truth that the words were spoken, not that what was said was true in Job's case. Their claims about Job and about God were generally true as principles but were misapplied to Job, so such statements are not automatically reliable and must be tested against other inspired Scripture. As a general truth the verse teaches that the wicked man's gain turns bitter within him, because evil is ultimately punished and good is ultimately rewarded.
Adversity, affliction, and suffering do not prove that a person is under God's displeasure, and what is for God's glory is for a person's best good if he will trust God. The same turning from sweet to bitter is seen in the body, for what is sweet to the taste can become bitter and harmful inside. Sweets and confections act like gall in the stomach by disturbing digestion and creating unnatural cravings. Those cravings can foster intemperance.
The verse stands within the extended debate between Job and his three friends that runs from chapters 4 to 31, a dispute over the cause and object of human suffering. It is one of the words spoken by the friends in that argument, and inspiration guarantees the truth that the words were spoken, not that what was said was true in Job's case. Their claims about Job and about God were generally true as principles but were misapplied to Job, so such statements are not automatically reliable and must be tested against other inspired Scripture. As a general truth the verse teaches that the wicked man's gain turns bitter within him, because evil is ultimately punished and good is ultimately rewarded.
Adversity, affliction, and suffering do not prove that a person is under God's displeasure, and what is for God's glory is for a person's best good if he will trust God. The same turning from sweet to bitter is seen in the body, for what is sweet to the taste can become bitter and harmful inside. Sweets and confections act like gall in the stomach by disturbing digestion and creating unnatural cravings. Those cravings can foster intemperance.