Job 4:5
in Job 4But now trouble has come upon you, and you are weary. It strikes you, and you are dismayed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But now it is come unto thee, and thou faintest; It toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.
KJV
But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.
⋯
This verse in Job 4
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
But now it is come upon thee - That is, calamity; or, the same trial which others have had, and in which thou hast so successfully exhorted and comforted them. A similar sentiment to that which is here expressed, is found in Terence: Facile omnes, cum valemus, recta consilia aegrotis damus. And. ii. i. 9. It toucheth thee - That is, affliction has come to yourself. It is no longer a thing about which you can coolly sit down and reason, and on which you can deliver formal exhortations.
This site's exposition
Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied
on Job 4:1-6
Eliphaz opens with a question that answers itself, so his gentleness is a formality before the argument begins. He recalls the counsel Job once gave, how he "strengthened their feeble hands". Then he turns that memory into a charge, "But now trouble has come upon you, and you are weary".
This site's exposition
But now trouble has come upon you
Trouble now strikes the man who steadied others, and Clarke paraphrases Eliphaz as saying Job cannot use the words he once gave. Matthew Henry answers that Eliphaz makes too light of Job's afflictions, as if trouble had only touched him. The one who strengthened others is dismayed.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Eliphaz wants to show as a consequence that Job did not practice the things he taught others and so he continues, "But now a trial has come to you, and you too have fallen away," namely, from the firmness of mind which you seemed to …
But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest: it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. All men of froward mind assail the life of the righteous in two ways; for either they assert that what they say is wrong, or that what they say aright they never observe; and hence blessed Job is reproved by his friends further on for his mode of speech, whereas now he is torn in pieces for having spoken right things, but not having observed them.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
. " Now that it has come upon thee, now that it is thy turn to be afflicted, and the bitter cup that goes round is put into thy hand, now that it touches thee, thou faintest, thou art troubled. " Here, [1.] He makes too light of Job's afflictions: "It touches thee." The very word that Satan himself had used, ch. i.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest,....
O that this example of Job were imitated by our great men! If he met with those who were ready to fall into sin, or sink under their troubles, his words upheld them: a wonderful dexterity he had in offering that which was proper to fortify persons against temptations, to support them under their burdens, and to comfort afflicted consciences.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
But now it is come upon thee - Now it is thy turn to suffer, and give an example of the efficacy of thy own principles; but instead of this, behold, thou faintest. Either, therefore, thou didst pretend to what thou hadst not; or thou art not making a proper use of the principles which thou didst recommend to others.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עַתָּ֨ה׀ | ʾatah | now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| תָּב֣וֹא | tavo' | it comes | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֵלֶ֣יךָ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וַתֵּ֑לֶא | vatele' | and you have become impatient | H3811 → | 19 times |
| תִּגַּ֥ע | tiga' | it reaches | H5060 → | 150 times |
| עָ֝דֶ֗יךָ | ʾadeikha | to you | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| וַתִּבָּהֵֽל׃ | vatibahel | and you have become dismayed | H926 → | 39 times |
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
עַתָּ֨ה׀now
ʾatahH6258 →433 times
תָּב֣וֹאit comes
tavo'H935 →2568 times
אֵלֶ֣יךָto you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
וַתֵּ֑לֶאand you have become impatient
vatele'H3811 →19 times
תִּגַּ֥עit reaches
tiga'H5060 →150 times
עָ֝דֶ֗יךָto you
ʾadeikhaH5704 →1261 times
וַתִּבָּהֵֽל׃and you have become dismayed
vatibahelH926 →39 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Corinthians 4:16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
it leads to
- Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
- Colossians 3:10
and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
- Isaiah 40:29
He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.
- Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of…
- Psalms 73:26
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
- Isaiah 40:31
Through
Job 2:5But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”
it leads to
- Job 1:11
But stretch out Your hand and strike all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 1:11
Through
Job 1:11But stretch out Your hand and strike all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”
it leads to
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Job
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book V; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.