As for me, is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled?

JOB 21:4KJV
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Job 21:4 (KJV)

What does Job 21:4 mean?

Job 21:4 shows Job insisting that his complaint reaches beyond a dispute with other people. He is troubled by a larger question about what has happened to him, and he asks why he should not feel distressed.

Job is speaking to the friends who have been arguing with him. After asking them to listen in verse 3, he uses two questions to draw their attention to the seriousness of his complaint. In the KJV, “spirit” points to his inner state, and “troubled” describes his distress.

The Hebrew behind Job 21:4

  • “complaint” — שִׂיחַ (siach): This word can refer to an expression of distress or concern. Here it gives weight to Job’s spoken protest, rather than suggesting a minor grievance.
  • “spirit” — רוּחַ (ruach): This word can mean breath, wind, or a person’s inner spirit. Here it points to Job’s inward condition as he speaks.

Why Job 21:4 matters

  • Job’s question places his friends in the position of listeners, not the final audience for his complaint. “Is my complaint to man?” directs their attention beyond their exchange with him.
  • Job presents his distress as understandable in light of what he is facing. His question, “Why should not my spirit be troubled?” asks his friends to take that distress seriously.
  • The verse prepares the reader for Job’s challenge to a simple link between conduct and outward success. In verse 7, he asks why wicked people live on and grow powerful.

Where else these words appear

“complaint” Hebrew H7879 · used in 14 verses

  • 1 Samuel 1:16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.
  • Job 9:27 If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself:
  • Psalms 64:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

“troubled” Hebrew H7114 · used in 46 verses

  • Leviticus 19:9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.
  • Ruth 2:9 Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.
  • Isaiah 17:5 And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.