· Translation: KJV

Job 5:16So the poor has hope, and injustice shuts her mouth.

The setting

Job's friend Eliphaz continues his theological lecture, painting a picture of perfect divine justice that doesn't match Job's current reality...

The emotion here: preaching with certainty about mysteries

The original word

tiḳwāh (תִּקְוָה) — hope, expectation, literally 'a cord stretched tight'

Why it matters

In ancient courts, the poor rarely had advocates, making this promise of divine justice especially powerful

Read with care

What most readers miss in Job 5:16

The irony: Eliphaz is promising hope to Job while Job sits hopeless in ashes

Common misconceptionPeople think this guarantees immediate earthly justice, but Job's story shows that God's timeline for justice isn't always ours.

Bible Genome reading

Job 5:16 — Bible Genome reading

SpeakerEliphaz
EraPatriarchal
Primary emotionjoyful
Literary typepoetry
MarkPromise of God

Emotional genome

Comfort power90%
Quotability90%
Memorability80%
Crisis relevance90%
Standalone90%
Themes:hopedivine justice

In context

No verse stands alone.

Read the conversation around it.

Open Job 5

Job 5:16 comes from the book of Job, written during the Patriarchal period. These words are attributed to Eliphaz. The dominant emotion in this verse is joyful, with a comfort power of 90% and a tone that is joyful. It belongs to the poetry genre of biblical literature. Key themes include hope, divine justice. Notable phrases: poor has hope; injustice shuts her mouth. This verse contains a promise of God.

Your reflection

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