As for me, is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled?
Job 21:4 stands within Job's answer to Zophar's second speech concerning the portion of the wicked. It sets forth that the wicked enjoy prosperity in this present life while their punishment remains future.
The complaint voiced there is addressed to God rather than to any human person, since the suffering at issue lies between the sufferer and God, and on that account the spirit is troubled. In the same sense the distress expressed is a reaction to the situation itself rather than an accusation aimed at other people, and because the complaint is not made to man the spirit has cause to be troubled. The word spirit here denotes the inward seat of distress that is capable of being troubled, paralleling the way soul is spoken of as troubled or overwhelmed.
Job 21:4 stands within Job's answer to Zophar's second speech concerning the portion of the wicked. It sets forth that the wicked enjoy prosperity in this present life while their punishment remains future.
The complaint voiced there is addressed to God rather than to any human person, since the suffering at issue lies between the sufferer and God, and on that account the spirit is troubled. In the same sense the distress expressed is a reaction to the situation itself rather than an accusation aimed at other people, and because the complaint is not made to man the spirit has cause to be troubled. The word spirit here denotes the inward seat of distress that is capable of being troubled, paralleling the way soul is spoken of as troubled or overwhelmed.