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Job Feels Insulted

19 Then Job answered and said,


“How long will you torment and exasperate me
And crush me with words?

“These ten times you have insulted me;
You are not ashamed to wrong me [and harden your hearts against me].

“And if it were true that I have erred,
My error would remain with me [and I would be conscious of it].

“If indeed you [braggarts] vaunt and magnify yourselves over me
And prove my disgrace (humiliation) to me,

Know then that God has wronged me and overthrown me
And has closed His net around me.

Everything Is Against Him


“Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!’ but I am not heard;
I shout for help, but there is no justice.

“He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass,
And He has set darkness upon my paths.

“He has stripped me of my honor
And removed the crown from my head.
10 
“He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone;
He has uprooted my hope like a tree.
11 
“He has also kindled His wrath [like a fire] against me
And He considers and counts me as one of His adversaries.
12 
“His troops come together
And build up their way and siege works against me
And camp around my tent.

13 
“He has put my brothers far from me,
And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.
14 
“My relatives have failed [me],
And my intimate friends have forgotten me.
15 
“Those who live [temporarily] in my house and my maids consider me a stranger;
I am a foreigner in their sight.
16 
“I call to my servant, but he does not answer;
I have to implore him with words.
17 
“My breath is repulsive to my wife,
And I am loathsome to my own brothers.
18 
“Even young children despise me;
When I get up, they speak against me.
19 
“All the men of my council hate me;
Those I love have turned against me.
20 
“My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh,
And I have escaped [death] by the skin of my teeth.
21 
“Have pity on me! Have pity on me, O you my friends,
For the hand of God has touched me.
22 
“Why do you persecute me as God does?
Why are you not satisfied with my flesh (anguish)?

Job Says, “My Redeemer Lives”

23 
“Oh, that the words I now speak were written!
Oh, that they were recorded in a scroll!
24 
“That with an iron stylus and [molten] lead
They were engraved in the rock forever!
25 
“For I know that my Redeemer and Vindicator lives,
And at the last He will take His stand upon the earth.(A)
26 
“Even after my [mortal] skin is destroyed [by death],
Yet from my [immortal] flesh I will see God,
27 
Whom I, even I, will see for myself,
And my eyes will see Him and not another!
My heart faints within me.
28 
“If you say, ‘How shall we [continue to] persecute him?’
And ‘What pretext for a case against him can we find [since we claim the root of these afflictions is found in him]?’
29 
Then beware and be afraid of the sword [of divine vengeance] for yourselves,
For wrathful are the punishments of that sword,
So that you may know there is judgment.”

Job

19 Then Job replied:

“How long will you torment(A) me
    and crush(B) me with words?
Ten times(C) now you have reproached(D) me;
    shamelessly you attack me.
If it is true that I have gone astray,
    my error(E) remains my concern alone.
If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me(F)
    and use my humiliation against me,
then know that God has wronged me(G)
    and drawn his net(H) around me.(I)

“Though I cry, ‘Violence!’ I get no response;(J)
    though I call for help,(K) there is no justice.(L)
He has blocked my way so I cannot pass;(M)
    he has shrouded my paths in darkness.(N)
He has stripped(O) me of my honor(P)
    and removed the crown from my head.(Q)
10 He tears me down(R) on every side till I am gone;
    he uproots my hope(S) like a tree.(T)
11 His anger(U) burns against me;
    he counts me among his enemies.(V)
12 His troops advance in force;(W)
    they build a siege ramp(X) against me
    and encamp around my tent.(Y)

13 “He has alienated my family(Z) from me;
    my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.(AA)
14 My relatives have gone away;
    my closest friends(AB) have forgotten me.
15 My guests(AC) and my female servants(AD) count me a foreigner;
    they look on me as on a stranger.
16 I summon my servant, but he does not answer,
    though I beg him with my own mouth.
17 My breath is offensive to my wife;
    I am loathsome(AE) to my own family.
18 Even the little boys(AF) scorn me;
    when I appear, they ridicule me.(AG)
19 All my intimate friends(AH) detest me;(AI)
    those I love have turned against me.(AJ)
20 I am nothing but skin and bones;(AK)
    I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.[a]

21 “Have pity on me, my friends,(AL) have pity,
    for the hand of God has struck(AM) me.
22 Why do you pursue(AN) me as God does?(AO)
    Will you never get enough of my flesh?(AP)

23 “Oh, that my words were recorded,
    that they were written on a scroll,(AQ)
24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool(AR) on[b] lead,
    or engraved in rock forever!(AS)
25 I know that my redeemer[c](AT) lives,(AU)
    and that in the end he will stand on the earth.[d]
26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
    yet[e] in[f] my flesh I will see God;(AV)
27 I myself will see him
    with my own eyes(AW)—I, and not another.
    How my heart yearns(AX) within me!

28 “If you say, ‘How we will hound(AY) him,
    since the root of the trouble lies in him,[g]
29 you should fear the sword yourselves;
    for wrath will bring punishment by the sword,(AZ)
    and then you will know that there is judgment.[h](BA)

Footnotes

  1. Job 19:20 Or only by my gums
  2. Job 19:24 Or and
  3. Job 19:25 Or vindicator
  4. Job 19:25 Or on my grave
  5. Job 19:26 Or And after I awake, / though this body has been destroyed, / then
  6. Job 19:26 Or destroyed, / apart from
  7. Job 19:28 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts me
  8. Job 19:29 Or sword, / that you may come to know the Almighty