Zophar dogmatically asserts that God punishes the wicked and that Job's condition proves that he is unrighteous. Job counters with examples of the wicked prospering.

In his second speech, Bildad describes what the wise believe is in store for the wicked. Since those very things are happening to Job, his accusation is that, despite what everyone had believed about him, Job is a wicked man.

Eliphaz rebukes Job for insisting on his own wisdom. He says that Job's stiff neck is what is hindering God from showing him mercy.

Zophar, the third of Job's friends to speak, opines that Job is getting far less punishment than he deserves. In this Zophar is presuming to understand both the mind of God and the heart of Job. The first is logically impossible and the second is presumptuous.

Bildad's first accusation: God does not do any injustice, therefore Job's problems are of his own making. Job's reply is that he is innocent, but there is no court to which he can go for justice when God is the accuser.

Eliphaz, the first of Job's friends to speak, rebukes Job for claiming that he is righteous and does not deserve the woe that has befallen him. Job answers that his friend's comfort is no comfort at all and the he is indeed righteous.

In this introduction, God challenges Satan with Job's righteousness. Satan's response, that Job is fundamentally physical and not spiritual, sets up the rest of the book.Satan takes everything away from Job in the belief that he will eventually lose his faith and curse God.

At the end of the letter, James returns to the theme that great wealth is dangerous. Here he speaks against the one who has accumulated wealth by oppression, withholding the wages of those who labor in his fields. The letter concludes with a call to prayer and helping one another stay on the path.

The tongue reveals the contents of the heart. In Scripture, God does not have a high opinion of man's heart. Accordingly James counsels keeping the tongue under control to avoid being consumed by the fires it can start.

Some have trouble reconciling James with Paul's emphasis on grace. There is really no conflict. James is emphasizing that a faith which does not translate into action is of no use. In other words, it would not meet Paul's definition of faith.