16 My face is [a]flushed from weeping,
And on my eyelids is the shadow of death;
17 Although no violence is in my hands,
And my prayer is pure.

18 “O earth, do not cover my blood,
And (A)let my cry have no resting place!

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Footnotes

  1. Job 16:16 Lit. red

16 Mein Angesicht ist gerötet vom Weinen,
und auf meinen Augenlidern liegt Todesschatten -
17 dafür, daß kein Unrecht an meinen Händen klebt
und mein Gebet lauter ist!

Hiob ruft den Tod herbei

18 O Erde, decke mein Blut nicht zu,
und mein Geschrei komme nicht zur Ruhe!

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16 my face is reddened[a] because of weeping,[b]
and on my eyelids there is a deep darkness,[c]
17 although[d] there is no violence in my hands
and my prayer is pure.

An Appeal to God as Witness

18 “O earth, do not cover my blood,[e]
nor let there be a secret[f] place for my cry.

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Footnotes

  1. Job 16:16 tn An intensive form, a Qetaltal form of the root חָמַר (khamar, “red”) is used here. This word has as probable derivatives חֹמֶר (khomer, “[red] clay”) and חֲמוֹר (khamor, “[red] ass”) and the like. Because of the weeping, his whole complexion has been reddened (the LXX reads “my belly”).
  2. Job 16:16 sn A. B. Davidson (Job, 122) notes that spontaneous and repeated weeping is one of the symptoms of elephantiasis.
  3. Job 16:16 sn See Job 3:5. Just as joy brings light and life to the eyes, sorrow and suffering bring darkness. The “eyelids” here would be synecdoche, reflecting the whole facial expression as sad and sullen.
  4. Job 16:17 tn For the use of the preposition עַל (ʿal) to introduce concessive clauses, see GKC 499 §160.c.
  5. Job 16:18 sn Job knows that he will die, and that his death, signified here by blood on the ground, will cry out for vindication.
  6. Job 16:18 tn The word is simply “a place,” but in the context it surely means a hidden place, a secret place that would never be discovered (see 18:21).