Job 19
Legacy Standard Bible
My Redeemer Lives
19 Then Job answered and said,
2 “How long will you torment my soul
And crush me with words?
3 These ten times you have dishonored me;
You are not ashamed that you wrong me.
4 [a]Even if I have truly erred,
My error lodges with me.
5 If truly you (A)magnify yourselves against me
And argue my disgrace to me,
6 Know then that (B)God has wronged me
And has closed (C)His net around me.
7 “Behold, (D)I cry, ‘Violence!’ but I get no answer;
I shout for help, but there is no justice.
8 He has (E)walled up my way so that I cannot pass,
And He has put (F)darkness on my paths.
9 He has (G)stripped my honor from me
And removed the (H)crown from my head.
10 He (I)breaks me down on every side, and I am gone;
And He has uprooted my (J)hope (K)like a tree.
11 He has also (L)kindled His anger against me
And (M)counted me as His adversary.
12 His (N)troops come together,
And (O)build up their [b]way against me
And camp around my tent.
13 “He has (P)removed my brothers far from me,
And my (Q)acquaintances are completely estranged from me.
14 My relatives have failed,
And my (R)familiar friends have forgotten me.
15 Those who sojourn in my house and my maidservants count 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 my mouth.
17 My breath is [c]offensive to my wife,
And I am loathsome to my own brothers.
18 Even young children reject me;
I rise up, and they speak against me.
19 All the men of my (S)counsel abhor me,
And those I love have turned against me.
20 My (T)bone clings to my skin and my flesh,
And I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.
21 Pity me, pity me, O you my friends,
For the (U)hand of God has smitten me.
22 Why do you (V)persecute me as God does,
And are not satisfied with my flesh?
23 “Oh that my words were written!
Oh that they were (W)inscribed in a book!
24 That with an iron stylus and lead
They were engraved in the rock forever!
25 As for me, I know that (X)my [d]Redeemer lives,
And [e]at the last He will rise up over the dust of this world.
26 Even after my skin [f]is destroyed,
Yet from my flesh I shall (Y)behold God,
27 Whom I [g]myself shall behold,
And whom my eyes will see and not another.
My [h]heart (Z)faints [i]within me!
28 If you say, ‘How shall we (AA)persecute him?’
‘And the root of the matter is found in [j]him?’
29 Then be afraid of (AB)the sword for yourselves,
For wrath brings the punishment of the sword,
So that you may know (AC)there is judgment.”
Job 19
Common English Bible
Failed friendship
19 Then Job responded:
2 How long will you harass me
and crush me with words?
3 These ten times you’ve humiliated me;
shamelessly you insult me.
4 Have I really gone astray?
If so, my error remains hidden inside me.
5 If you look down on me
and use my disgrace to criticize me,
6 know then that God has wronged me
and enclosed his net over me.
God’s treatment of Job
7 If I cry “Violence!” I’m not answered;
I shout—but there is no justice.
8 He walled up my path so I can’t pass
and put darkness on my trail,
9 stripped my honor from me,
removed the crown from my head,
10 tore me down completely so that I’ll die, and uprooted my hope like a tree.
11 His anger burns against me;
he considers me his enemy.
12 His troops come as one
and construct their siege ramp[a] against me;
they camp around my tent.
Social ostracism
13 He has distanced my family from me;
my acquaintances are also alienated from me.
14 My visitors have ceased;
those who know me have forgotten me.
15 My guests and female servants think me a stranger;
I’m a foreigner in their sight.
16 I call my servant, and he doesn’t answer;
I myself must beg him.
17 My breath stinks to my wife;
I am odious to my children.
18 Even the young despise me;
I get up, and they rail against me.
19 All my closest friends despise me;
the ones I have loved turn against me.
Misery
20 My bones cling to my skin and flesh;
I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
21 Pity me. Pity me. You’re my friends.
God’s hand has truly struck me.
22 Why do you pursue me like God does,
always hungry for my flesh?
Brief hope
23 Oh, that my words were written down,
inscribed on a scroll
24 with an iron instrument and lead,
forever engraved on stone.
25 But I know that my redeemer[b] is alive
and afterward he’ll rise upon the dust.
26 After my skin has been torn apart this way—
then from my flesh[c] I’ll see God,
27 whom I’ll see myself—
my eyes see,[d] and not a stranger’s.
I am utterly dejected.
Warning
28 You say, “How will we pursue him
so that the root of the matter can be found in him?”[e]
29 You ought to fear the sword yourselves,
for wrath brings punishment by the sword.
You should know that there is judgment.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible