Editing Book of Job (section)

===Two speeches by God===
From chapter&nbsp;[[Job 38|38]], God speaks from a [[whirlwind]].<ref>{{bibleverse|Job|38:1}}</ref> God's speeches do not explain Job's suffering, defend divine justice, enter into the courtroom of confrontation that Job has demanded, or respond to his oath of innocence of which the narrative prologue shows God is well aware.{{sfn|Walton|2008|p=339}}

Instead, God changes the subject to human frailty and contrasts Job's weakness with divine wisdom and [[omnipotence]]: ''"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?"'' Job responds briefly, but God's monologue resumes, never addressing Job directly.{{sfn|Sawyer|2013|p=28}}

In [[Job 42]]:1–6, Job makes his final response, confessing God's power and his own [[ignorance|lack of knowledge]] ''"of things beyond me which I did not know"''. Previously, he has only heard God, but now his eyes have seen God, and therefore, he declares, ''"I retract and repent in dust and ashes"''.{{sfn|Habel|1985|p=575}}