We could wish for better translations of Job into English. The underlying sarcasm and wit are not easily translated across the centuries, miles and cultural distance. Having been pushed relentlessly by the idiotic arguments of his erstwhile friends, having bounced his facts off the stony heads and hearts of this trio, Job sometimes pushes into hyperbole. We recall the prologue says Job does not sin in his words, but he does overstate his case as it becomes obvious here. He vows to the God who has denied him justice that he will never admit to their accusations. Job asserts that would be a blasphemous lie against God.
It takes a very hardened heart to imagine that Job recants his previous contentions here. He is mocking the three elders. Yes, it would be great if God’s judgment on unjust behavior was so obvious. Would that God put Job’s suffering on them! But would the wicked in such a state call out to God and sing His praises as Job had done? They have watched Job from the first day of his mourning. How could they accuse him of evil when he clearly and potently stands with God?
To prove this subtle point, Job repeats some of the assertions they made. When those assertions about God come from the mouths of comfortable men addressing someone in sorrow, it says one thing. When the same characterizations come from the mouth of the one who suffers the literal symptoms of that litany of wrath against sin, it means something else entirely. Job confesses God’s justice in condemning the wicked. But as Job has contended from the start, those characterizations of how God judges sin cannot be taken with such bald literalism. Job’s recitation is quite obviously parabolic, loaded with symbolism, not literal description.
