Job 16 4

Job 16:4 kjv

I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my soul's stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at you.

Job 16:4 nkjv

I also could speak as you do, If your soul were in my soul's place. I could heap up words against you, And shake my head at you;

Job 16:4 niv

I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could make fine speeches against you and shake my head at you.

Job 16:4 esv

I also could speak as you do, if you were in my place; I could join words together against you and shake my head at you.

Job 16:4 nlt

I could say the same things if you were in my place.
I could spout off criticism and shake my head at you.

Job 16 verses

Job 16 4 Meaning

Job 16:4 captures Job's raw frustration and despair as he confronts his three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. He essentially tells them that if their roles were reversed and they were suffering as he was, he could just as easily offer them the same empty, judgmental platitudes they were offering him. The verse highlights the ease of criticizing or "stringing together words" of supposed wisdom when one is not personally afflicted, and the readiness to display outward signs of scorn, like shaking the head, without true empathy. It exposes the superficiality and lack of genuine compassion in their comfort, presenting a rhetorical reversal to highlight their insensitivity.

Job 16 4 Context

Job 16:4 occurs in Job's third response to his friends' cycle of arguments, following Eliphaz's speech in Job 15. The overarching theme of Job chapter 16 is Job's direct confrontation and lament against his friends, whom he labels "miserable comforters" (Job 16:2). Having exhausted his pleas for understanding and his friends' continued accusations of hidden sin, Job flips the script. He highlights their hypocrisy and lack of empathy, suggesting that their comfort is cheap and easy when delivered from a position of comfort. Culturally, expressions of scorn like "shaking the head" (נוע ראש – nua rosh) were universally understood in the ancient Near East as gestures of derision and mocking, signifying contempt and delight in another's misfortune. Job is thus illustrating the ease with which one can inflict emotional pain through verbal and non-verbal means, especially when devoid of personal experience of the suffering.

Job 16 4 Word analysis

• I also: (גַּם-אֲנִי, gam-'anî). The particle gam emphasizes "also" or "even I," highlighting the rhetorical inversion. Job implies that he too possesses the intellectual capacity and rhetorical skill to deliver similar unhelpful speeches. It asserts his equality in the exchange, not inferiority.
• could speak: (אֲדַבֵּר, 'adabber). From the root דבר (dabar), "to speak." This is a conditional perfect, indicating Job's ability and willingness, under a hypothetical reversal of roles, to speak in the same manner. It implies that their speeches are not uniquely wise or profound.
• as you do: (כָּכֶם, kāḵem). Literally, "like you." This directly compares his potential speech to their actual words, highlighting the formulaic and predictable nature of their "comfort."
• if you were in my place: (לוּ יֵשׁ נַפְשְׁכֶם תַּחַת נַפְשִׁי, lû yêš nap̄šəḵem taḥaṯ nap̄šî). Literally, "if your soul/being were under/instead of my soul/being." Nephesh (נפש) signifies the entire being, not just the "soul." This is the core of Job's argument, stressing the fundamental difference in their situations: Job suffers, his friends do not. He challenges them to true empathy—to put themselves in his excruciating position before judging him. This is the condition upon which his "speaking like them" hinges.
• I could string together words against you: (אֲחִידָה עֲלֵיכֶם בְּמִלִּים, 'aḥîḏâ ʿăleyḵem bəmillîm). The verb אחידה (aḥîḏâ) means "to compose, to arrange, to link together," here implying rhetorical skill. The phrase "string together words" denotes crafting articulate, perhaps even persuasive, arguments, possibly even of accusation. Job implies their words are not necessarily divinely inspired wisdom but skillfully constructed human rhetoric aimed at condemnation. "Against you" ('aleykhem) reinforces the adversarial nature of their interaction.
• and shake my head at you: (וְאָנִיעָה עֲלֵיכֶם רֹאשׁ, wə'ānîʿâ ʿăleyḵem rōš). Nua' (נוע) means "to wave, shake, waver." This gesture is a universal sign of scorn, mockery, derision, or triumph over a fallen foe (as seen in many passages concerning Israel's enemies, or those mocking Christ). Job notes that this gesture, typical of his accusers, is also easy to perform from a position of false superiority, without any true compassion or understanding.

Words-Group Analysis:

• "I also could speak as you do, if you were in my place": This entire phrase sets up a stark hypothetical reversal of roles. Job is not just expressing a capability but is exposing the moral and emotional distance between himself and his friends. It highlights that their "wisdom" lacks genuine empathy, which only comes from shared experience or profound compassion. It's a poignant call for experiential understanding rather than detached theological pronouncements.
• "I could string together words against you and shake my head at you": This pairing encapsulates Job's perception of his friends' methods: articulate condemnation combined with dismissive contempt. The "stringing of words" signifies the intellectual exercise and rhetorical effort in their accusations, while "shaking the head" adds the physical manifestation of disdain and self-righteousness. Together, these phrases depict a form of "comfort" that is hurtful and accusatory rather than soothing.

Job 16 4 Bonus section

This verse carries a significant warning against judging others' struggles from a place of presumed moral or theological superiority. It reminds believers that true ministry to the suffering requires listening, humility, and the willingness to enter into another's pain, rather than providing immediate, often simplistic, answers. Job's rhetorical "could speak as you do" isn't a boast of equal suffering or equal theological error, but a powerful lament against the human tendency to offer condemnation when what is desperately needed is quiet, empathetic presence and genuine love, even in the absence of understanding the "why" behind the suffering.

Job 16 4 Commentary

Job 16:4 is a bitter outcry from Job, exposing the painful disconnect between his suffering and his friends' theological discourse. It is Job's challenge to the very foundation of their "comfort" – an assertion that their arguments are easily produced and morally lacking because they originate from a place of comfort, not calamity. He highlights the ease of formulating an argument and expressing contempt when one is not bearing the brunt of unimaginable pain. This verse reveals the critical need for empathy in comforting the afflicted, demonstrating that words, even seemingly wise ones, can become tools of condemnation when unaccompanied by compassion. It underscores the universal truth that advice offered without understanding the lived experience of another often feels hollow and adds insult to injury, leading to isolation rather than solace.