11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, they came each one from his own place , Eliphaz the Temanite , Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite ; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and comfort him. 12 When they lifted up their eyes at a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept . And each of them tore his robe and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky . 13 Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Job 2:11-13
Commentary on Job 2:11-13
(Read Job 2:11-13)
The friends of Job seem noted for their rank, as well as for wisdom and piety. Much of the comfort of this life lies in friendship with the prudent and virtuous. Coming to mourn with him, they vented grief which they really felt. Coming to comfort him, they sat down with him. It would appear that they suspected his unexampled troubles were judgments for some crimes, which he had vailed under his professions of godliness. Many look upon it only as a compliment to visit their friends in sorrow; we must look life. And if the example of Job's friends is not enough to lead us to pity the afflicted, let us seek the mind that was in Christ.