But you, come on again, all of you, and I shall not find a wise man among you.
Job has just described himself as a public byword, spat on and worn to a shadow. Now he turns back to the three men sitting with him and tells them to try again. Is he inviting them to speak, or daring them to? And what is missing in men who were sure they had wisdom?
"Come on again" — invitation or dare
Commentators differ on the tone of Job's words. One reading takes it as a genuine appeal: Job wants the men to come back and be real comforters.
Leslie M. GrantIn verse 10 Job pleads with his friends to come back again. He means, no doubt, that they should come back to a sensible position of really being comforters. He had found none of the three to be wise men.
The other reading hears a dare: keep attacking, since you still lack the discernment of the wise. This view also notices something uncomfortable in Job's own tone.
Samuel RidoutIn the way he meets the attacks of his friends, though, there is a tone of self-satisfaction that does not suit a humble man. Verse 10 seems to be a challenge to them to keep attacking, since they completely lack the discernment that marks the wise. They hold out light to him if he will repent, while he is drawing ever nearer to death.
Why not one of them counted as wise
Their words were not all wrong. Something else was missing.
C. H. MackintoshNot one of the three friends understood Job. What is more, they did not know God's character, or His purpose in dealing with His dear servant. They were completely mistaken. They did not know how to present God to Job. As a result, they did not know how to bring Job's conscience into the presence of God. Instead of leading him to judge himself, they only fed a spirit of self-defence. They did not bring God into the scene. They said some true things, but they did not have the truth.
Behind their words lay a whole system of thinking about how God runs the world.
J. N. DarbyThey press the teaching that God's government of this world is a full measure and display of His righteousness, and of the righteousness of man, which would match it. That teaching proves total ignorance of what God's righteousness is, and of His ways.
Job turns the accusation around
Just before this verse, Job hints that the men judging him may be the ones in the wrong. His verdict on their wisdom closes that argument.
F. B. HoleJob seems to turn the tables on his critics. He suggests that they might prove to be the hypocrites, while the righteous man would hold on his way, and the one with clean hands would grow stronger. As for these "friends," there was not one wise man among them.
Wisdom cannot be bought
The friends spoke as men who already had the answer. Job did not believe them, and later in the book he presses the point.
Leslie M. GrantJob's friends thought they had "the secrets of wisdom" (ch.11:6), but Job could see that their arguments were not wise at all. So he faces them with this: wisdom is not so easily obtained. In fact, wisdom cannot be bought with gold or silver.
What their failure achieved
Their failure was not the end of the story. It had a result none of them intended.
The Bible TreasuryThey might have been of use if his had been an ordinary case. But here was a deeply righteous man stripped of every earthly possession in a way never seen before, and their tongues were silent. They did not understand the ways of God with His own at all. By their false and unworthy suggestions they made Job feel how powerless they were to help him, and they threw him back on God Himself. So in the end he said, "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you" (Job 42:5).
Summary
- Verdict. Job invites the three to speak again and tells them in advance what the result will be: no wise man among them. Commentators differ on whether this is a plea for real comfort or a dare to keep going.
- Reason. They said some true things, but they did not have the truth. They never brought God into the room. So they left Job defending himself instead of judging himself.
- Root. Their whole system said that God's dealings on earth measure out just what each man deserves. It showed they did not know His righteousness or His ways.
- Reversal. Job points the suspicion back at them. Maybe they are the hypocrites, while the righteous man holds his course and clean hands grow stronger.
- Result. Their failure was not wasted. With no help from men, Job fell back on God Himself. He ended with words no friend could have given him: now my eye sees you.