Job 42 King James Version (KJV)
42 Then Job answered the Lord, and said,
2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
4 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
7 And it was so, that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
8 Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.
9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the Lord commanded them: the Lord also accepted Job.
10 And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.
11 Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold.
12 So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.
13 He had also seven sons and three daughters.
14 And he called the name of the first, Jemima; and the name of the second, Kezia; and the name of the third, Kerenhappuch.
15 And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren.
16 After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, even four generations.
17 So Job died, being old and full of days.
Commentary
Job submits to God (42:1-6)
Although Job does not have the answer to his problems, he knows now that God does – and God will not fail. God has not given Job any reason for his sufferings, but he has given Job a fuller knowledge of the all-powerful and all-wise God, and this has changed Job’s thinking.
Now Job sees that God is above all and in control of all; he is concerned about the smallest detail. Although Job may not understand the reason why God does things, he is assured that God is working according to his own purposes, and those purposes are perfect. Job has been conquered but he has also found peace, for the God who has been revealed to him is greater than Job ever imagined. Job no longer demands anything of God. He only worships (42:1-2).
Humbly Job confesses the truth of God’s accusation against him that he ‘darkened counsel without knowledge’ (3; see 38:2). God had challenged Job to answer his questions (4; see 38:3), but Job now has nothing to say. Previously, he had a theoretical knowledge of God, but now he has personally met God. Although his questions are not answered, he himself is fully satisfied (5-6).
God exalts Job (42:7-17)
The three friends, in spite of the truths mixed in with their speeches, are now declared wrong. Job, in spite of his rash speech and irreverent protest, is now declared right. In accusing Job of great sin, the three friends had not spoken the truth, whereas Job, in claiming to be upright and not guilty of great sin, is now proved to be truthful. The friends’ theory that suffering is always the result of personal sin is proved wrong, whereas Job’s desire for a just God is satisfied. The friends had relied upon traditional theories, whereas Job had searched for the truth. The friends talked about God, whereas Job talked to God (7-8).
Job was not haughty in victory, nor were the friends bitter in defeat. In loving forgiveness, Job prayed for the friends, and in humble repentance the friends asked God’s forgiveness by offering the sacrifices he demanded of them (9).
Apparently Job still did not know (and possibly never knew) that the main reason for his sufferings was an accusation made against him by Satan (see 1:11; 2:5). Now that Satan had been proved wrong, it was only fair that Job’s former prosperity and family happiness should return. At the same time it might have shown to Job’s fellow citizens, in the only way they understood, that God was pleased with Job. The turning point in Job’s sufferings came when he prayed for his critics. His disease was healed, good health returned, children were born to replace those who had died, and his wealth grew to twice that of former days (10-17).