Job 17:7Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

My vision is clouded with outrage, and all my limbs seem to wither away. Job 17:7. Indeed, 'the eye is clouded with outrage' when those who are part of the body of Christ, which is the Church, and who possess the illumination of truth, find themselves scorned and belittled by the wicked. They are left in wonderment at the mystery of divine judgment, struggling to grasp why the unrighteous prevail over the innocent. Who can remain unshaken upon witnessing how Herodias, seizing the moment of her daughter's dance, demands the beheading of the Friend of the Bridegroom, John the Baptist, as commanded by the inebriated king, presented before the assembled guests? As the righteous experience their vision clouded by indignation, the vulnerable may falter in their faith.

As Job senses the impending nature of death and struggles to convince his companions of his integrity, he implores the Lord to intervene (16: 22; 17: 1-5). Addressing his friends with renewed assertions of his righteousness, he declares that they are mistaken and that his end is approaching (6 - 16).