Job 5:1 Meaning: To Whom Will You Turn?
“Call now; is there any who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?
Call now; is there any that will answer thee? And to which of the holy ones wilt thou turn?
Pray, call, is there any to answer thee? And unto which of the holy ones dost thou turn?
Call, I pray thee! Is there any that answereth thee? and to which of the holy ones wilt thou turn?
Meaning in one sentence
Eliphaz challenges Job to call on any holy one for an answer. What does this rhetorical question reveal about suffering and divine justice?
Context
Job has just poured out his anguish, cursing the day he was born. His friend Eliphaz responds not with comfort but with a challenge. He is convinced that suffering is always punishment for sin, so Job must have hidden wrongdoing. In this verse, Eliphaz throws down a gauntlet: call out to any holy being you like, will anyone answer your complaint against God? The question is pointed and rhetorical. No one, he insists, will take Job's side. It is the opening move in a long debate about whether God always rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked.
Key Words
The Hebrew word behind “call” (qara) is a cry for help or a summons, the same word used when someone calls out to God in desperate prayer. Eliphaz uses it mockingly: “Go ahead, call.” The “holy ones” (qedoshim) normally refers to angels, the set-apart beings who serve God’s throne. To “turn” (panah) means to face someone, seeking their support. So Eliphaz is asking: if you try to find any angel who will side with you against God, will you find one? The implied answer is no. Even the holiest creatures know their place before the Creator. The words expose the loneliness of someone who feels God has turned against him, no earthly friend, no heavenly ally can stand as a mediator.
How Christians Read This Verse
Many Christian commentators agree that the “holy ones” here are angels, as in Psalm 89:5, 7 and Job 15:15. Eliphaz argues that these beings, for all their holiness, are still creatures; they cannot and will not answer a complaint against God. Some traditions, reading the Septuagint’s “saints,” have applied the verse more broadly to human intercessors. For centuries, both Catholic and Protestant interpreters have used this verse to discuss whether we can appeal to saints or angels for help. The verse itself does not settle that question, but it does remind every reader that no created power stands above God’s justice.
A common misunderstanding
A common misreading is to take Eliphaz’s challenge as genuine advice, as if he is urging Job to call on the angels for help. In fact, the opposite is true. The question is rhetorical and laced with irony. Eliphaz means that no one, not even the holiest angel, will answer Job’s cry against God. The verse is a sharp rebuke, not a spiritual practice.
Living This Out
When you are hurt and feel misunderstood, it is natural to want someone, anyone, to take your side. You may search for a friend, a leader, even a spiritual being who will validate your pain and tell you God is wrong. This week, when that urge rises, remember Eliphaz’s challenge. No created being can stand as a judge over God. Instead of looking for an ally against Him, consider turning your face toward the One who alone can answer. The search for a mediator ends not in finding someone else but in waiting on God Himself.
Main takeaway: No holy being will take your side against God; only God Himself can answer the cry of your heart.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
Job was very sad, but his friend Eliphaz said some things that were not kind. He told Job, “No one will help you if you complain about God.” We can always talk to God when we are sad.
For ages 9, 12
Eliphaz was trying to prove that Job must have sinned. He asked, “If you call on the angels, will any of them answer you against God?” It was a trick question, the answer is no. Eliphaz was wrong about Job, but his question is still worth thinking about: when we suffer, we can’t find anyone to blame God except God Himself. The Book of Job teaches us to bring our hardest questions to God and trust Him with the answers.
Questions People Ask
Who is speaking in Job 5:1?
Eliphaz the Temanite is speaking. He is one of Job's three friends who came to comfort him but ended up arguing that Job’s suffering must be punishment for sin.
What does 'the holy ones' refer to in Job 5:1?
Most Old Testament scholars and ancient translations understand 'the holy ones' as angels, the heavenly beings who serve God. A few older translations use 'saints,' referring to faithful human beings, but the context and parallel passages (like Job 15:15) point to angels.
Is Eliphaz telling Job to call on the angels?
No. His words are a rhetorical challenge, not a command. He means that if Job tries to find any angel who will answer his complaint against God, he will find none. It's a sarcastic way of saying Job is on his own against God.
Does the Book of Job agree with Eliphaz's view here?
Not fully. The book presents Eliphaz's speeches as limited and often mistaken. Later, God Himself speaks to Job and does not endorse Eliphaz's rigid view that suffering always equals punishment. The verse is part of a flawed argument, not the book's final answer.
How can this verse help me when I suffer?
It can remind you that no one, not an angel, not a saint, not a friend, can take your side against God. But that can be a relief: you don’t need to find a mediator among creatures. You can bring your pain directly to God, who hears and who alone can answer.
For pastors & researchers
Hebrew interlinear, 8 commentaries & word study