Job 6:5

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 6:1-7

Eliphaz, in the beginning of his discourse, had been very sharp upon Job, and yet it does not appear that Job gave him any interruption, but heard him patiently till he had said all he had to say. Those that would make an impartial judgment of a discourse must hear it out, and take it entire. But, when he had concluded, he makes his reply, in which he speaks very feelingly. I. He represents his calamity, in general, as much heavier than either he had expressed it or they had apprehended it,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 6:5

Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder? No, they neither of them do, when the one is in a good pasture, and the other has a sufficiency of provender; but when they are in want of food, the one will bray, and the other will low, which are tones peculiar to those creatures, and express their mournful complaints; wherefore Job suggests, that should he make no moan and complaint in his sorrowful circumstances, he should be more stupid and senseless than those... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 6:5

Doth the wild ass - פרא pere , translated onager , by the Vulgate, from the ονος αγριος of the Septuagint, which we properly enough, translate wild ass. It is the same with the tame ass; only in a wild state it grows to a larger size, is stronger, and more fleet. The meaning of Job appears to be this: You condemn me for complaining; do I complain without a cause? The wild ass will not bray, and the ox will not low, unless in want. If they have plenty of provender, they are silent.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 6:1-13

Job to Eliphaz: 1. Apologies and prayers. I. A DESPERATE MAN 'S DEFENCE . 1. Job ' s calamities surveyed. 2 . Job ' s grief justified. II. A MISERABLE MAN 'S PRAYER . 1 . Job ' s urgent request. "Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for!" (verse 8)—that thing being death (cf. Job 3:21 ). Job longed for death as a release from his sufferings ( Job 3:13 ); Elijah, under a sense of weariness and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 6:1-13

The sufferer's self-justification. ( Job 6:1-30 ; Job 7:1-21 .) We have seen that Eliphaz's counsels, though well-meant, were ill-timed. They were right words ' but not fitly spoken as to person, time, and place. They cause the poor sufferer to wince afresh instead of soothing his pain. The tumult of his spirit is now aggravated into a very tempest of woe. The human spirit is a thing of moods. We have watched the marvellous changes that pass over the surface of a lake beneath a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 6:1-13

A true estimate of grief under the severities of affliction. Even the strong man cries for help and release. Job, in his extreme sufferings, desires that a fair judgment may be formed of them and of his complaint. Put this into one seals, and them into the other, and behold which of them is the lighter. Thus he describes them— I. THE INSUFFERABLE WEIGHT OF HIS AFFLICTION . It is as the unknown weight of the sand of the seashore. Affliction is truly as the pressure of a great... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 6:1-30

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 6:5

Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? literally, over grass ; i.e. when he has grass under his feet, and has consequently no cause of complaint. Job means to say that his own complainings are as natural and instinctive as these of animals (On the species of wild asses known to Job, see the comment on Job 39:5 .) Or loweth the ox over his fodder? The lowing of the ox, like the braying of the wild ass, is a complaint—a sign of distress and discomfort. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 6:5-6

Satisfaction and discontent. Job proceeds to show the reasonableness of his grief, and with it the unreasonableness of his censor's accusations. Eliphaz had been wasting his eloquence on the assumption that Job's outburst of despairing grief was uncalled for; or, at all events, he had not appreciated the tremendous distress of which it was the result. He regarded the effect as preposterous, because he had not seen the greatness of the cause. I. THE SATISFIED ARE NOT DISCONTENTED... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 6:5

Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? - On the habits of the wild ass, see the notes at Job 11:12. The meaning of Job here is, that he did not complain without reason; and this he illustrates by the fact that the wild animal that had a plentiful supply of food would be gentle and calm, and that when its bray was heard it was proof that it was suffering. So Job says that there was a reason for his complaining. He was suffering; and perhaps he means that his complaint was just as natural,... read more

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