Let thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley. The words of Job are ended — the agricultural curse formula that closes the oath invokes the earth itself to judge Job if any of his sworn denials were false. Thorns instead of wheat recalls the curse of Genesis 3:18, where the ground's productivity turns to struggle as a consequence of sin; for Job's ground to produce only thorns would be a sign of divine judgment confirming his guilt. But Job has sworn truthfully, so this curse serves only to underscore the gravity of his oath. The closing editorial note — 'the words of Job are ended' — marks a literary boundary before the Elihu speeches and the divine voice from the whirlwind.

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