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Job Answers Bildad

19 Then Job answered:

“How long will you hurt me
    and crush me with your words?
You have insulted me ten times now.
    You attack me without shame.
If I have sinned,
    it is my worry alone.
Maybe you want to make yourselves look better than I do
    so you can blame me for my suffering.
Then know that God has wronged me.
    He has pulled his net around me.

“I shout, ‘I have been wronged!’
    But I get no answer.
I call loudly for help,
    but I receive no justice.
God has blocked my way so I cannot pass.
    He has covered my paths with darkness.
He has taken away my honor.
    He has removed the crown from my head.
10 He beats me down on every side until I am gone.
    He pulls up my hope as a tree is pulled up by its roots.
11 His anger burns against me.
    And he treats me as one of his enemies.
12 His armies gather.
    They prepare a way to attack me.
    They camp around my tent.

13 “God has made my brothers my enemies.
    My friends have become complete strangers.
14 My relatives have gone away.
    My friends have forgotten me.
15 My guests and my women servants think of me as a stranger.
    They look at me as if I were a foreigner.
16 I call for my servant, but he does not answer.
    I even beg him with my own mouth.
17 My wife hates my breath.
    My own family hates me.
18 Even the little boys hate me.
    When I leave, they talk about me.
19 All my close friends hate me.
    Even those I love have turned against me.
20 I am nothing but skin and bones.
    I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth.
21 Pity me, my friends. Pity me!
    The hand of God has hit me.
22 Why do you chase me as God does?
    Haven’t you had enough of hurting my body?

23 “How I wish my words were written down.
    I wish they were written on a scroll.
24 I wish they were carved with an iron pen into lead,
    or carved into stone forever!
25 I know that my Defender lives.
    And in the end he will come to show that I am right.
26 Even after my skin has been destroyed,
    in my flesh I will still see God.
27 I will see him myself.
    I myself will see him with my own eyes.
    How my heart wants that to happen!

28 “You may say, ‘We will continue to trouble Job.
    The problem lies with him.’
29 But you should be afraid of the sword yourselves.
    God’s anger will bring punishment by the sword.
    Then you will know that 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