Job's friends have come to comfort him, but their words feel more like accusations. What's behind Job's cutting sarcasm in calling them 'the people'?

Job uses biting irony here. When he says, “No doubt you are the people,” he's not actually praising them. The context shows they've been speaking with great confidence, acting like they possess all the wisdom in the world. Job is sarcastically agreeing with their self-assessment, highlighting their arrogance and their failure to truly comfort him. It’s a way of saying, 'Oh yes, you’re so wise, aren't you?'

Job’s friends are acting like their understanding is the final word. Job calls them out on a dangerous assumption they seem to hold about their own knowledge.

The second part of Job's statement, 'and wisdom will die with you,' is the core of his critique. His friends aren't just proud; they're acting as if their specific brand of wisdom is the only true wisdom, and that it will be lost to the world when they’re gone. This reveals a profound self-importance. Job is pointing out that true wisdom, ultimately God's wisdom, doesn't depend on any single person or group. It’s a warning against thinking our own understanding is so unique and irreplaceable that the world couldn’t possibly go on without it.