Job 42:6

The context

Job 42 closes the dialogues. After the whirlwind speeches, Job answers briefly, conceding that he spoke of things he did not understand, and says that he had heard of God by report but now sees him. Verse 6 is the last line of that answer, and the prose epilogue follows immediately with God's verdict on the friends.

What it establishes

The verse establishes a reversal, though the content of the reversal is disputed. Job withdraws his case and places himself in the posture of mourning. What he repents of, whether his protests, his words about God, or his creatureliness, is not spelled out.

What it does not establish

It does not say Job was wrong about everything. God says later that Job spoke rightly while the friends did not, which makes a simple reading of this verse as a retraction of the book's central complaint difficult. The Hebrew is also uncertain at this point, and translations differ noticeably.

Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.

Cited in these answers

• Job is described as “righteous” and “blameless.” Can these descriptions be taken seriously if the Bible is said to teach the universal sinfulness of mankind?

Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.