The Bible — World English Bible
Job 42
In brief
Job 42 concludes the book. After God's answer from the storm, Job acknowledges that he can do nothing against the Lord's power and that he had spoken of things he did not understand. He had known God by hearsay, and now he has seen him. God then rebukes the three friends for speaking wrongly about him, and Job prays for them. The Lord then restores Job: he receives twice what he had, new children and long days. The chapter gives no explanation for suffering, but an encounter with God.
The chapter in 3 parts
1Then Job answered Yahweh,
2“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be restrained.
3You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ therefore I have uttered that which I didn’t understand, things too wonderful for me, which I didn’t know.
4You said, ‘Listen, now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you will answer me.’
5I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you.
6Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
7It was so, that after Yahweh had spoken these words to Job, Yahweh said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you, and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job has.
8Now therefore, take to yourselves seven bulls 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 I will accept him, that I not deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job has.”
9So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did what Yahweh commanded them, and Yahweh accepted Job.
10Yahweh turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends. Yahweh gave Job twice as much as he had before.
11Then came there to him all his brothers, and all his sisters, and all those who had been of his acquaintance before, and ate bread with him in his house. They comforted him, and consoled him concerning all the evil that Yahweh had brought on him. Everyone also gave him a piece of money, and everyone a ring of gold.
12So Yahweh blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys.
13He had also seven sons and three daughters.
14He called the name of the first, Jemimah; and the name of the second, Keziah; and the name of the third, Keren Happuch.
15In all the land were no women found so beautiful as the daughters of Job. Their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.
16After this Job lived one hundred forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, to four generations.
17So Job died, being old and full of days.
Key verses
“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be restrained.
Job acknowledges that God can do all things and that none of his purposes can be thwarted. He stops demanding an account and places himself before God's sovereignty.
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
Job moves from knowledge heard to an encounter. His repentance is not the confession of a hidden fault, but the humility of a man before the greatness of God.
Yahweh turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends. Yahweh gave Job twice as much as he had before.
The Lord restores him after he has prayed for his friends. The text ties the forgiveness given to those who had hurt him to the restoration, without making it a mechanism.
So Yahweh blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys.
The Lord blesses the latter part of Job's life more than the first. The restoration is a gift from God, and it does not answer the questions of the book but goes beyond them.
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Frequently asked questions about Job 42
What does Job 42:5 mean?
Job says that he had heard about God, but now he sees him. He moves from secondhand knowledge to a real encounter. After so many discussions with his friends, it is the experience of God's presence that transforms him, more than answers to his questions.
Why does Job repent in chapter 42?
Job does not repent of a sin that would have caused his misfortunes: God even says that he spoke more rightly than his friends. He repents of having spoken of things too high for him and of having questioned God's wisdom. Before the greatness of the Lord, he humbles himself.
Why does God give Job twice as much as he had?
The text says that the Lord restored Job and gave him twice what he had owned. It presents this as an act of grace after his trial, and not as the wage for his conduct. It does not promise that every suffering will be compensated in this way in this life.
Articles quoting Job 42
World English Bible translation — public domain.