He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness.
The Hebrew word roo-agh in the verse means breath, so that Job is saying God does not suffer him to draw breath but fills him with bitterness. The verse belongs to Job's answer to Bildad within the debate between Job and his three friends on the subject of his afflictions, about the cause and purpose of human suffering, in chapters 4 to 31, made up of three circles of speeches on the part of each. That debate is the second of four parts of the book of Job. The book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible and the oldest poetical book come down to us, with a prose prologue in chapters 1 and 2 and a prose epilogue in chapter 42:7-17, followed by the speeches of Elihu in chapters 32 to 37 and the speeches of the Lord out of the storm-cloud.
The verse belongs to Job's affliction under God's overruling providence and presents the great problem of sin and suffering that has perplexed humanity through all ages. Job's afflictions are no proof that he has sinned, teaching that suffering does not prove a person is under God's displeasure. His three friends charged him with sin and declared his sufferings were because of sin, speaking general truths that evil is punished and good rewarded but wrongly applying them to Job.
The verse shows God disciplining Job and bringing him through the fire of affliction, not punishing him for sin, and that God may work through a trial for his own glory and for the sufferer's good. It warns against misjudging fellow sufferers in the same way the friends misjudged Job. Trust in God can sustain a person in affliction.
The Hebrew word roo-agh in the verse means breath, so that Job is saying God does not suffer him to draw breath but fills him with bitterness. The verse belongs to Job's answer to Bildad within the debate between Job and his three friends on the subject of his afflictions, about the cause and purpose of human suffering, in chapters 4 to 31, made up of three circles of speeches on the part of each. That debate is the second of four parts of the book of Job. The book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible and the oldest poetical book come down to us, with a prose prologue in chapters 1 and 2 and a prose epilogue in chapter 42:7-17, followed by the speeches of Elihu in chapters 32 to 37 and the speeches of the Lord out of the storm-cloud.
The verse belongs to Job's affliction under God's overruling providence and presents the great problem of sin and suffering that has perplexed humanity through all ages. Job's afflictions are no proof that he has sinned, teaching that suffering does not prove a person is under God's displeasure. His three friends charged him with sin and declared his sufferings were because of sin, speaking general truths that evil is punished and good rewarded but wrongly applying them to Job.
The verse shows God disciplining Job and bringing him through the fire of affliction, not punishing him for sin, and that God may work through a trial for his own glory and for the sufferer's good. It warns against misjudging fellow sufferers in the same way the friends misjudged Job. Trust in God can sustain a person in affliction.