months past. Job's sufferings had been protracted over many weeks, now climaxed by these agonizing charges from those he had considered close and understanding friends.

when God preserved me. As Job recalls his earlier and happier times in this chapter, he recounts the many deeds of his righteous life that had earned him the love and respect of all who knew him, deeds diametrically different from those with which he had been unjustly charged by his “miserable comforters.” Note the similar defense uttered two thousand or more years later by Paul (2 Corinthians 11:16-12:15).