Why do you hide your face and count me as your enemy?
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job isn't just asking why God has turned away, but he's grieving that God is treating him as an outright enemy. Hiding God's face signifies a withdrawal of favor and intimacy that Job once knew, and this feels to Job like being classified among those God opposes.
Why do you hide your face and count me as your enemy?
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job, overwhelmed by suffering and unanswered prayers, directly confronts God, questioning why He seems to have withdrawn His favor and is treating him like an adversary rather than a faithful servant. This cry follows Job's insistence that he doesn't know the extent of his transgressions and implores God to reveal them, setting the stage for his deepening lament over God's perceived silence and harshness.
Ever feel like you're calling out to God, but there's just… silence? Job knew that feeling all too well. He describes God's presence as being 'hidden.'
Withdrawing Favor
When Job asks, 'Why do you hide your face?', he's not just talking about a physical absence. The imagery here is of someone turning away, withdrawing their approval and help. Think about a parent turning their face from a child they're displeased with – it’s a powerful sign of distress and disapproval.
Not About Being an Enemy
Job wasn't actually God's enemy; he was deeply devoted. But God's silence and severity made it feel that way to Job. He experienced God's actions as harsh, like one would treat a sworn enemy. This highlights the intense emotional and spiritual pain of feeling abandoned by God, even when you're striving to be faithful.
Job felt God was treating him not just as a stranger, but as an outright enemy. What does it mean when God’s actions feel hostile?
The Weight of God's Displeasure
Job’s question, 'and count me as your enemy?', reveals his deep distress. He felt God was dealing with him with extreme harshness, as if Job had actively rebelled or opposed God. This isn't about Job being an enemy, but about experiencing God's dealings as if he were one.
A Plea for Clarity
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Job wasn't necessarily accusing God of being his enemy. Rather, he was seeking understanding. He was faithful, and yet he was suffering immensely. This disconnect led him to question God's perspective and actions. He wanted to know the reason behind this perceived hostility, highlighting the human need for answers when facing inexplicable hardship.
Understand the original words
panim · Hebrew Noun
A metaphor for divine favor, presence, and intimacy. God's face being hidden signifies the withdrawal of His blessing, divine displeasure, or a period of testing and silence in the life of the believer.
oyeb · Hebrew Noun
An adversary or opponent. In a biblical context, it describes one who is set in opposition to another's well-being, often used here to express the agony of feeling as though God has turned into a combatant rather than a deliverer.
This passage echoes Job's cry, with the Psalmist lamenting, 'How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?' showing that this feeling of abandonment is a deeply human experience in suffering.
Psalm 44:23-26Here, the people of God cry out to Him in distress, 'Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever! Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression?' This highlights the communal pain of feeling God's distant silence.
Isaiah 54:7-8This prophetic passage offers a contrasting hope, revealing God's heart even in His seeming withdrawal: 'For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you.'
Job 23:2-3Job himself expresses a similar longing in this earlier passage, 'Even today my complaint is bitter; my groans are heavier than my sighing. Oh, that I knew where I could find him, that I might come even to his place!' showing his desperate search for God's presence.
clarkeJob 13:24: "Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy?"
Wherefore hidest thou thy face - Why is it that I no longer enjoy thy approbation? Holdest me for thine enemy? - Treatest me as if I were the vilest of sinners?
pooleJob 13:24: "Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy?"
Hidest thou thy face, i.e. withdrawest thy favour and help which thou didst use to afford me; as this phrase is commonly used, as Deu 31:17 Psalm 13:1 102:2 , &c. Holdest me for thine enemy, i.e. dealest as sharply with me as if I were thy professed enemy.
Job isn't just asking why God has turned away, but he's grieving that God is treating him as an outright enemy. Hiding God's face signifies a withdrawal of favor and intimacy that Job once knew, and this feels to Job like being classified among those God opposes.
Job, overwhelmed by suffering and unanswered prayers, directly confronts God, questioning why He seems to have withdrawn His favor and is treating him like an adversary rather than a faithful servant. This cry follows Job's insistence that he doesn't know the extent of his transgressions and implores God to reveal them, setting the stage for his deepening lament over God's perceived silence and harshness.
Job, overwhelmed by suffering and unanswered prayers, directly confronts God, questioning why He seems to have withdrawn His favor and is treating him like an adversary rather than a faithful servant. This cry follows Job's insistence that he doesn't know the extent of his transgressions and implores God to reveal them, setting the stage for his deepening lament over God's perceived silence and harshness.
"Why do you hide your face and count me as your enemy?" — Job isn't just asking why God has turned away, but he's grieving that God is treating him as an outright enemy. Hiding God's face signifies a withdrawal of favor and intimacy that Job once knew, an…
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Last reviewed October 2026