Job 6:14

My Notes

What Does Job 6:14 Mean?

"To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty." Job speaks about what he expected from his friends — and what he received instead. The verse is debated: is Job saying his friend (Eliphaz) has forsaken the fear of God by withholding compassion? Or that the afflicted person (Job himself) is being accused of forsaking God? Either reading reveals the failure: when someone is afflicted, the proper response is chesed — loyal love, covenant kindness — not theological prosecution.

Job compares his friends to a dried-up wadi — a seasonal stream that floods in winter but vanishes in summer, exactly when travelers need water most (v. 15-20). They're present when conditions are easy and absent when the need is real.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Have you ever been a 'dry wadi' to a friend in need — present when things were easy, absent when they were hard?
• 2.What does Job's expectation of 'pity from a friend' teach about the obligations of friendship?
• 3.When have you received theology when you needed presence — and how did it feel?
• 4.How do you stay a flowing stream rather than a seasonal wadi in your closest relationships?

Devotional

Pity from a friend. That's what the afflicted person deserves. And that's what Job didn't get. Instead of compassion, he got a lecture. Instead of loyal love, he got theological analysis. Instead of someone sitting with him in the dark, he got someone explaining why the dark was his fault.

Job's metaphor for his friends is brutal: they're like a wadi. A seasonal stream that floods with water during the rainy season — when nobody needs it — and dries up completely during the summer heat — when the thirsty caravan is desperate. His friends are present when presence is easy and absent when presence costs something.

"To him that is afflicted, pity should be shewed from his friend." Should. The word carries the weight of moral obligation. It's not optional. It's not a nice extra. It's what friendship requires. When your friend is in the ash heap, you owe them pity — chesed, loyal love, the kind of compassion that stays when staying is uncomfortable.

Job's friends traveled to sit with him. They wept when they saw him. They sat in silence for seven days. And then they opened their mouths and everything went wrong. The compassion of the first week was replaced by the prosecution of the following weeks. They started as mourners and became prosecutors. And Job says: when I needed water, the stream was dry.

The afflicted don't need your theology. They need your presence. They need pity — not as condescension but as loyal love that says: I'm here, I see you, and I'm not going to explain your pain. I'm going to carry it with you.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture