One key to unlocking the mysteries of the Old Testament book of Job is comparing Job's words and actions with other Scriptures. Here are some examples from The Joy of Job.

Praise of Men

Compare Job's Words . . . 

Job, Recalling His Former Life . . . 

"When I went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square, the young men saw me and stepped aside and the old men rose to their feet; the chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands; the voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths. Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me." 

- Job 29:7-11

To Christ's

Jesus Christ About the Pharisees

"Everything they do is done for people to see . . . . they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called “Rabbi” by others." 
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- Matthew 23:5-7.

In One's Own Eyes

Compare . . .

“So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes."

Job 32:1.

To . . . 

"Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them."

Proverbs 26:12

About Glory

Compare Job's Words to . . . God's Words

Job: "[I thought] my glory will not fade.”

Job 29:20

God: “I will not yield my glory to another.”

Isaiah 42:8

Compare Job's Words . . . 

“From my birth I guided the widow . . . .”

​Job 31:18:

To King David's . . . 

“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”

Psalm 51:5

Compare Job's Words . . . 

“Let God weigh me in honest scales and He will know that I am blameless . . . .” Job 31:6: 

“I have become a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God and He answered—a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!” Job 12:4: ​

To Other Scriptures

“If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.” ​Galatians 6:3 

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” ​1 John 1:8 

“Who can say, ‘I have kept my heart pure. I am clean and without sin’?” Proverbs 20:9 

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” 

Luke 18:9-14, 

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