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Job: Have Pity on Me

19 Job responded, saying:

“How long will you torment my soul
    and crush me with words?
Ten times now you have reproached me;
    you attack me shamelessly.
But even if it is true that I have erred,
    my error remains with me.
If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me
    and prove my humiliation against me,
then know that God has wronged me
    and encircled me with His net.

“Though I cry out, ‘Violence!’ I get no response.
I cry for help, but there is no justice.
He has blocked my way so I cannot pass,
    and has shrouded my path in darkness.
He has stripped me of my honor,
    and removed the crown from my head.
10 He tears me down on every side until I am gone;
    He uproots my hope like a tree.
11 His anger burns against me,
    and He considers me among His enemies.
12 His troops advance together;
    they build a siege ramp against me
    and encamp around my tent.

13 “He removed my brothers far from me;
    my acquaintances are only strangers to me.
14 My relatives have gone away and my close friends
    have forgotten me.
15 My houseguests and my maidservants consider me a stranger.
I have become a foreigner in their eyes.
16 I call my servant but he does not reply
    though I beg him with my own mouth.
17 My breath is repulsive to my wife;
    I am loathsome to my children.
18 Even young children despise me;
    when I stand, they speak against me.[a]
19 All my close friends despise me;
    those I love have turned against me.
20 My bones cling to my skin and my flesh;
    I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.

21 “Have pity on me my friends, have pity,
for the hand of God has struck me.
22 Why do you pursue me—like God?
    Are you not satisfied with my flesh?
23 Oh that my words were written,
    that they were recorded in a scroll
24 that with an iron pen and lead,
    they were engraved in stone forever!

My Redeemer Lives!

25 “Yet I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and in the end, He will stand on earth.
26 Even after my skin has been destroyed,
    yet in my flesh I will see God;[b]
27 I myself will see Him with my own eyes,
    I and not a stranger.
My heart[c] grows weak within me.

28 “If you say, ‘How we will pursue him,
    since the root of the matter is found in him;’
29 then you should fear the sword for yourselves;
    for wrath brings the punishments of the sword—
    so that you may know 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