Job 8:21
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting.
William Blake, Job Rebuked by His Friends, Engraving, Circa 1825
Job Rebuked by His Friends
William Blake
Job’s three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, have historically been known for offering lengthy speeches that resulted in their being condemned by God (Job 42:7–9). At one point Job, weary of their unhelpful rhetoric, told them, “You are miserable comforters, all of you!” (Job 16:2). But did they get everything wrong? Perhaps they got a few things right.
The artwork depicts the scene where Job’s friends offer him unhelpful advice and moral judgments, reflecting Blake’s interpretation that Job’s suffering came from a rigid adherence to the letter of God’s law rather than its spirit.