Job 16
Common English Bible
Job’s response
16 Then Job answered:
2 I’ve heard many things like these.
All of you are sorry comforters.
3 Will windy talk ever cease;
what bothers you that you must argue?
4 In your situation I could speak like you;
I could put words together to oppose you,
shake my head over you.
5 I could heap up words, strengthen you with my speech;
my trembling lips would be held in check.
6 If I speak, my pain is not eased;
if I hold back, what have I lost?
The innocent are God’s targets
7 Now God has surely worn me out.
You have destroyed my entire group,
8 seized me, which became grounds for an accusation.[a]
My leanness rises to bear witness against me.
9 His anger tears me and afflicts me;
he slashes at me with his teeth.
My enemy pierces me with his eyes.
10 They open their mouths at me
and strike my cheek in a taunt;
they gang up on me.
11 God delivers me to a criminal
and forces me into the hands of the wicked.
12 I was at rest, but he shattered me,
seized me by the back of my neck,
dashed me into pieces;
he raised me up for his target.
13 His archers surround me;
he cuts my kidneys open without pity and doesn’t care,
pours my gall on the ground,
14 bursts me open over and over,
runs against me like a strong man.
15 I’ve sewed rough cloth over my skin
and buried my dignity in the dust.
16 My face is red from crying,
and dark gloom hangs on my eyelids.
17 But there is no violence in my hands,
and my prayer is pure.
Lingering hope
18 Earth, don’t cover my blood;
let my outcry never cease.
19 Surely now my witness stands in heaven;
my advocate is on high;
20 my go-between, my friend.[b]
While my eyes drip tears to God,
21 let him plead with God for a human being,
like a person pleads for a friend.
22 A number of years will surely pass,
and then I’ll walk a path that I won’t return.
Job 16
Evangelical Heritage Version
Round Two: Job’s First Speech
16 Job responded:
2 I have heard many things just like these.
You are miserable comforters, all of you!
3 Is there any end to your windy words?
What provokes you to respond like this?
4 I also could speak just like you,
if your lives were in the same condition that my life is.
I could weave fancy words against you
and shake my head at you.
5 But instead, I would build you up with the words from my mouth,
and comforting words from my lips would ease your pain.
6 Now if I speak up, it does not lessen my pain,
and if I hold back, how much of my pain goes away?
7 Surely, he[a] has worn me out!
You have devastated everyone close to me.
8 You have made me shrivel up,[b]
and this testifies against me.
My emaciated body stands up
and is a witness against me.
9 His anger has torn me.
He has been hostile to me.
He has gnashed his teeth at me.
My opponent glares at me with piercing eyes.
10 People have opened their mouths wide against me.
They have slapped my face with contempt.
They have ganged up on me.
11 God hands me over to evil people.[c]
He throws me into the hands of the wicked.
12 When I was at ease, he shattered me.[d]
He seized me by the neck and has ripped me to pieces.
He has set me up as his target.
13 His archers surround me.
He pierces my kidneys and has no pity.
He pours out my bile on the earth.
14 He breaks down my walls in many places.
He runs against me like a warrior.
15 I have stitched sackcloth to my skin.
My horn[e] is stuck in the dust.
16 My face is red from my weeping.
There are dark circles under my eyes,
17 even though there is no violence in my hands,
and my prayer is pure.
18 O earth, do not cover my blood.
Let my cry never find a place to rest.
19 Even now, my witness is in heaven.
My advocate is on high.
20 My intercessor is my friend.
My eyes never stop weeping to God.
21 My intercessor pleads with God for a man,
as another human pleads for his friend.
22 A few more years will come.
Then I will go the way of no return.
Footnotes
- Job 16:7 The reading he follows the Hebrew text. It refers to God. Hebrew poetry sometimes alternates between third and second person pronouns, as is the case here.
- Job 16:8 The meaning of this verb is uncertain.
- Job 16:11 The reading evil people follows the ancient versions. The Hebrew reads a boy.
- Job 16:12 Or tossed me about
- Job 16:15 A horn is a symbol of strength.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.