As for me, is my complaint against man? Why should I not be impatient?
Job's friends have argued long with him about his suffering, and his answer moves the whole case away from them. His first question asks who he is really complaining to, and his second asks why he should be expected to stay patient.
The Case Is With God, Not With the Friends
Job's first question is not a denial that he is complaining. It says who he is complaining to. One commentator quotes the line in older wording. He sees real godliness in that instinct, and names the thing Job still cannot explain:
William Kelly"As for me, is my complaint to man?" In all of this he has the deep sense of having to do with God, and that is true godliness. "And if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled?" — that is, I do not understand it; that is the thing that makes it so terrible.
Another commentator sees the start of a search here. Job turns away from his friends and looks elsewhere:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinHe is not complaining to man, or making his appeal to these human friends. He begins to look for another helper, even to God.
Why His Spirit Is Short
The second half of the verse is often rendered "troubled," but the Hebrew picture is of a spirit running out. One translation of the line reads:
William KellyAs for me, is my complaint to man? And why then should not my spirit be short?
That shortness is impatience, and Job's argument is that it would be the natural response if men were the problem. Since they are not, his trouble runs deeper:
F. B. HoleHis first point is this: his complaint was not to man but to God. If it had been to man, his spirit might well have been troubled, or "impatient." He reminded them that both he and they had to do with God.
Giving Up on Human Verdicts
Job has stopped expecting a fair verdict from people. One commentator sees more than despair in that:
Samuel RidoutFor himself, he says he has ceased to expect any right judgment from man; and well he might, if that were all his hope. This implies that he has turned to God, which is in itself an indication of the faith at the bottom of his heart. But his difficulties have not vanished.
What the Complaint Is Aimed At
Commentators differ over how kindly to read Job here. One says the complaint was aimed at God's way of dealing with him. He also points to what the friends never did:
Leslie M. GrantHe asks them, "Is my complaint against man?" In fact, his complaint was against the way God was dealing with him... If it were men who were causing his suffering, he would have had plenty of reason to complain. But it was God who was dealing with him... If they had really cared about Job, could they not have prayed to God about how to help the poor sufferer? Probably they never thought of praying for him. They were sure they had the right answers for God, with no need of prayer.
The Difference Between a Groan and a Grumble
Job took his trouble to God instead of trading it back and forth with men. One commentator shows how easily believers lose that habit:
Hamilton SmithGod's word allows a groan, but never a grumble... Sadly, we as believers often discuss the failures of God's people among ourselves in a bitter spirit. Then the groaning becomes mere grumbling, or complaining about what God allows in His dealings with His people. Complaining words to one another may betray a hidden spirit of rebellion against God. Or they may be an effort to lift ourselves up by belittling others. It is good for us if we escape these traps. We escape them by pouring out the anguish of our spirits, and the exercises of our souls, before the LORD.
Summary
- Address. Job's first move names the right hearer: his complaint is not to man. He has the deep sense of having to do with God, and that is true godliness.
- Impatience. If men were the cause of his pain, impatience would make sense. The hand on him is God's, and that is the thing he cannot explain.
- Turning. He has given up expecting a right verdict from people. That is not collapse: it shows he has turned to God, and it reveals the faith underneath.
- Honesty. Commentators differ in tone. Some hear faith reaching for a helper. Another says the complaint was against God's way of dealing with him — honest, but still a complaint.
- Habit. A groan is poured out before God; a grumble gets traded between people. The friends had answers but no prayer. That is the mark of talking about a sufferer instead of carrying him to God.