Job 6:27
Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your friend.
Original Language Analysis
אַף
H637
אַף
Strong's:
H637
Word #:
1 of 7
meaning accession (used as an adverb or conjunction); also or yea; adversatively though
עַל
H5921
עַל
Strong's:
H5921
Word #:
2 of 7
above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications
תַּפִּ֑ילוּ
Yea ye overwhelm
H5307
תַּפִּ֑ילוּ
Yea ye overwhelm
Strong's:
H5307
Word #:
4 of 7
to fall, in a great variety of applications (intransitive or causative, literal or figurative)
וְ֝תִכְר֗וּ
and ye dig
H3738
וְ֝תִכְר֗וּ
and ye dig
Strong's:
H3738
Word #:
5 of 7
properly, to dig; figuratively, to plot; generally, to bore or open
Cross References
Psalms 7:15He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made.Job 22:9Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.Job 24:3They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge.Job 24:9They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.2 Peter 2:3And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.Nahum 3:10Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.James 1:27Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.Joel 3:3And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.
Historical Context
Protection of orphans and widows was a covenant responsibility in ancient Near Eastern society, with special penalties for those who exploited the vulnerable (Exodus 22:22-24). Job's accusation that his friends would even mistreat orphans represents the ultimate moral failure in his culture. Friendship bonds were considered sacred, often formalized through covenantal meals and oaths, making betrayal of a friend particularly heinous.
Questions for Reflection
- In what ways might our theological certainty cause us to 'dig a pit' for those who are suffering?
- How does Jesus's treatment of the broken and desperate contrast with Job's friends' approach?
- What safeguards can prevent us from valuing doctrinal correctness above Christlike compassion?
Analysis & Commentary
Job's accusation intensifies with two vivid metaphors of betrayal. 'Overwhelm' (naphal, נָפַל) literally means to cause to fall or cast lots over, suggesting his friends would exploit even orphans for personal gain. 'Dig a pit' (karah, כָּרָה) evokes the hunter's trap, a premeditated act of destruction against one who should be protected. The progression from 'fatherless' to 'friend' is devastating—Job claims his companions would harm both the defenseless stranger and their intimate ally. This hyperbolic language expresses Job's perception that his friends' theological assault feels worse than physical violence. By prioritizing their doctrinal framework over Job's actual condition, they commit a form of spiritual violence. This verse foreshadows Jesus's teaching that religious leaders can burden people rather than help them (Matthew 23:4), and James's warning that faith without works—including compassion—is dead (James 2:15-17).