Job 15 11

Job 15:11 kjv

Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee?

Job 15:11 nkjv

Are the consolations of God too small for you, And the word spoken gently with you?

Job 15:11 niv

Are God's consolations not enough for you, words spoken gently to you?

Job 15:11 esv

Are the comforts of God too small for you, or the word that deals gently with you?

Job 15:11 nlt

"Is God's comfort too little for you?
Is his gentle word not enough?

Job 15 verses

Job 15 11 Meaning

Job 15:11 presents Eliphaz's sharp rhetorical questions to Job, suggesting that Job either undervalues the comfort God provides or harbors some unconfessed secret that prevents him from receiving it. Eliphaz, speaking from his limited human understanding and conventional wisdom, implicitly accuses Job of dismissing divine solace and possessing hidden iniquity, which he believes is the root cause of Job's profound suffering. This reflects Eliphaz's conviction that suffering is always a direct result of sin.

Job 15 11 Context

Job 15:11 occurs within the second cycle of speeches between Job and his three friends. This particular verse is part of Eliphaz the Temanite's second response to Job's continued lament. After Job has vehemently defended his innocence and expressed his despair (Job 12-14), Eliphaz's patience wears thin. His tone becomes more direct, accusing, and less empathetic than in his first speech. He no longer simply infers Job's sin but directly challenges Job's piety and suggests specific, albeit unnamed, transgressions. The chapter as a whole (Job 15) outlines Eliphaz's conviction that the wicked suffer greatly and will not prosper, implying Job must be wicked. This verse is a direct rhetorical thrust, implying that Job is either blind to God's available comfort or actively suppressing truth about himself, choosing not to find solace. The historical-cultural context for Eliphaz's thinking is likely a pervasive retribution theology where all suffering is a direct consequence of sin, a belief prevalent in some ancient Near Eastern wisdom traditions. Eliphaz, representing this conventional wisdom, struggles to reconcile Job's claims of innocence with his immense suffering, thereby resorting to accusations of hidden sin or a rejection of God's ways.

Job 15 11 Word analysis

• Are: A particle introducing a rhetorical question, designed to provoke an answer and imply an obvious (to Eliphaz) conclusion. It carries a confrontational tone.
• the consolations: Hebrew: נחמת (nechmot) from the root נחם (nacham), meaning "to comfort, console, repent, have compassion." It signifies deep emotional solace and divine compassion. Eliphaz suggests Job fails to value or acknowledge this fundamental aspect of God's character.
• of God: Hebrew: אֵל ('El), referring to the supreme divine Being, God Almighty. This highlights the source of comfort as ultimate, infinite, and authoritative, emphasizing the gravity of neglecting it.
• small: Hebrew: מעט (ma'at), meaning "little, few, small, insufficient." Eliphaz's question implies that Job perceives God's vast comforts as meager, which for Eliphaz is incomprehensible, unless Job is hiding something.
• with thee?: Points directly to Job's personal perception, reception, or understanding. It implies Job's individual failure to recognize, accept, or benefit from divine comfort, rather than a lack of comfort from God.
• and is there any: Another interrogative, seamlessly linking the two parts of Eliphaz's accusation, suggesting that Job's first failing leads to the second.
• secret thing: Hebrew: דבר נחבה (davar nichvah) where דבר (davar) is "word, matter, thing" and נחבה (nichvah) means "hidden, concealed, secret." Eliphaz points to a hidden truth, implying a secret sin, a concealed act of wickedness, or even a hidden rebellious thought that prevents Job from truly embracing God's consolation.

Words-Group by words-group analysis:

• "Are the consolations of God small with thee?": This opening rhetorical question immediately places the blame on Job. Eliphaz asserts that God's comforts are inherently great and abundant. Therefore, if Job feels deprived of comfort, the fault lies with Job for perceiving them as "small" or inadequate. This suggests a deficiency in Job's faith or understanding, rather than in God's provision. It also subtly undermines Job's laments by suggesting his suffering is due to his own unresponsiveness to divine comfort, rather than a unique trial.
• "and is there any secret thing with thee?": This second question proposes the logical (to Eliphaz) reason for Job's apparent insensitivity to God's comfort. It directly implies hidden sin. In Eliphaz's theological framework, a person experiencing such severe and prolonged suffering must be hiding some significant transgression that estranges them from God's favor and comfort. This is a pointed accusation of unconfessed sin, presented as a "secret" held by Job.

Job 15 11 Bonus section

• Eliphaz's Theological Flaw: The underlying error in Eliphaz's questions (and the friends' entire argument) is their unyielding adherence to a rigid retribution theology – that suffering is always a direct result of personal sin. They cannot conceive of righteous suffering or suffering that serves a purpose beyond punishment. This perspective leads them to falsely accuse Job and misrepresent God's character and methods.
• Irony: The irony lies in Eliphaz accusing Job of devaluing God's comfort, when Job himself deeply longs for and cries out for divine presence and solace, though he is bewildered by its apparent absence. It's not that Job finds God's comfort "small," but that he genuinely feels it withheld for reasons unknown to him.
• Job's Response to Comfort: Job did not feel the comfort from his friends. In fact, he called them "miserable comforters" (Job 16:2), indicating that their form of "consolation" (i.e., accusation) only compounded his distress, starkly contrasting with true divine comfort.
• The Ultimate Comforter: The Bible consistently reveals God as the source of all comfort and consolation, especially through the Holy Spirit, often referred to as the "Comforter" or "Helper" in the New Testament (John 14:16, 26). Eliphaz, though pointing to the source of comfort, profoundly misunderstands its application in Job's specific situation.

Job 15 11 Commentary

Eliphaz, from a place of limited human understanding, challenges Job with two sharp rhetorical questions. First, he accuses Job of undervaluing God's consolations, implying that if Job feels comfortless, it is due to Job's own perception, not God's lack of provision. He posits that the infinite and perfect comforts of God ('El) could not possibly be "small" unless viewed so by an unperceptive or recalcitrant individual. Second, he then proposes a reason for this perceived devaluation: a "secret thing" within Job. This refers to unconfessed sin, an hidden act or attitude of rebellion, which Eliphaz believes is blocking God's comfort and justifying Job's intense suffering. This reflects a rigid retribution theology where suffering equals sin and divine comfort is contingent upon confessed righteousness. Eliphaz completely misses the mark of God's sovereign purposes in Job's trial, highlighting the danger of simplistic theological frameworks in the face of profound human suffering. His advice, though framed as concern, serves as an accusation that deepens Job's anguish rather than alleviating it.