Job 16
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 16
Job’s Fourth Reply. 1 Then Job answered and said:
2 I have heard this sort of thing many times.(A)
Troublesome comforters, all of you!
3 Is there no end to windy words?
What sickness makes you rattle on?
4 I also could talk as you do,
were you in my place.
I could declaim over you,
or wag my head at you;
5 I could strengthen you with talk,
with mere chatter give relief.
6 If I speak, my pain is not relieved;
if I stop speaking, nothing changes.
7 But now he has exhausted me;
you have stunned all my companions.
8 You[a] have shriveled me up; it is a witness,
my gauntness rises up to testify against me;
9 His wrath tears and assails me,
he gnashes his teeth against me;
My enemy looks daggers at me.
10 They gape at me with their mouths;
They strike me on the cheek with insults;
they are all enlisted against me.
11 God has given me over to the impious;
into the hands of the wicked he has cast me.
12 I was in peace, but he dislodged me,
seized me by the neck, dashed me to pieces.
He has set me up for a target;
13 his arrows strike me from all directions.
He pierces my sides without mercy,
pours out my gall upon the ground.
14 He pierces me, thrust upon thrust,
rushes at me like a warrior.
15 I have sewn sackcloth on my skin,
laid my horn low in the dust.
16 My face is inflamed with weeping,
darkness covers my eyes,
17 Although my hands are free from violence,
and my prayer sincere.
18 O earth, do not cover my blood,
nor let my outcry come to rest![b]
19 Even now my witness[c] is in heaven,
my advocate is on high.
20 My friends it is who wrong me;
before God my eyes shed tears,
21 That justice may be done for a mortal with God:
as for a man with his neighbor.
22 For my years are numbered,
and I go the road of no return.
Footnotes
- 16:8 You: God. Job then describes in vv. 9–17 the savage treatment that he has received from God.
- 16:18 As the exposed blood of those who were unjustly slain cries to heaven for vengeance (Gn 4:10; Ez 24:6–9), so Job’s sufferings demand redress.
- 16:19 Witness: refers perhaps to God (is Job appealing to God against God?), or to a mediator (cf. 9:33), or to a personification of Job’s prayer.
Giobbe 16
La Nuova Diodati
16 Allora Giobbe rispose e disse:
2 «Di cose come queste ne ho udite tante! Siete tutti dei consolatori molesti!
3 Quando finiranno i vostri discorsi vuoti? O che cosa ti spinge a rispondere?
4 Anch'io potrei parlare come voi, se foste al mio posto, potrei mettere assieme parole contro di voi scuotendo il mio capo contro di voi.
5 Ma vi incoraggerei con la mia bocca e il conforto delle mie labbra allevierebbe il vostro dolore.
6 Se parlo il mio dolore non è alleviato: se cesso di parlare, che sollievo ne ho?
7 Ora però egli mi ha ridotto allo stremo delle forze. Tu hai devastato l'intera mia famiglia
8 mi hai coperto di rughe e questo testimonia contro di me, la mia magrezza si leva e testimonia contro di me.
9 La sua ira mi dilania e mi perseguita, digrigna i denti contro di me. Il mio nemico aguzza il suo sguardo su di me.
10 Spalancando la loro bocca contro di me, mi percuotono con disprezzo sulle guance, si radunano assieme contro di me.
11 Dio mi ha dato in balìa degli empi, mi ha consegnato nelle mani dei malvagi.
12 Vivevo tranquillo ma egli mi ha distrutto, mi ha preso per il collo e mi ha fatto a pezzi, e ha fatto di me il suo bersaglio.
13 I suoi arcieri mi circondano da ogni parte, mi trafigge i reni senza pietà, versa a terra il mio fiele.
14 Egli mi assale ripetutamente con violenza, mi si avventa contro come un guerriero.
15 Ho cucito un cilicio, sulla mia pelle, ho abbassato la mia fronte nella polvere.
16 Il mio viso è rosso per il pianto, e sulle mie palpebre si posa l'ombra di morte
17 anche se non c'è alcuna violenza nelle mie mani e la mia preghiera e pura.
18 O terra, non coprire il mio sangue, e il mio grido non trovi alcun luogo di riposo.
19 Già fin d'ora, ecco, il mio testimone è in cielo, il mio garante è in alto.
20 I miei amici mi deridono, ma i miei occhi versano lacrime davanti a Dio.
21 Possa egli sostenere le ragioni dell'uomo presso Dio, come fa un uomo con il suo vicino.
22 Passeranno infatti pochi anni ancora, e me ne andrò quindi per una via senza piú ritorno».
Job 16
King James Version
16 Then Job answered and said,
2 I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all.
3 Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest?
4 I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my soul's stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at you.
5 But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should asswage your grief.
6 Though I speak, my grief is not asswaged: and though I forbear, what am I eased?
7 But now he hath made me weary: thou hast made desolate all my company.
8 And thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me: and my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face.
9 He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.
10 They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me.
11 God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked.
12 I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.
13 His archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground.
14 He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon me like a giant.
15 I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust.
16 My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death;
17 Not for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer is pure.
18 O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place.
19 Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high.
20 My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God.
21 O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour!
22 When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.
Job 16
Amplified Bible
Job Says Friends Are Sorry Comforters
16 Then Job answered and said,
2
“I have heard many such things;
Wearisome and miserable comforters are you all.
3
“Is there no end to [your futile] words of wind?
Or what plagues you [so much] that you [so boldly] answer [me like this]?
4
“I also could speak like you,
If you were in my place;
I could compose and join words together against you
And shake my head at you.
5
“[But instead] I could strengthen and encourage you with [the words of] my mouth,
And the consolation and solace of my lips would soothe your suffering and lessen your anguish.
Job Says God Shattered Him
6
“If I speak [to you miserable comforters], my pain is not relieved;
And if I refrain [from speaking], what [pain or anguish] leaves me?
7
“But now God has exhausted me.
You [O Lord] have destroyed all my family and my household.
8
“You have taken a firm hold on me and have shriveled me up,
It has become a witness [against me];
And my leanness [and infirmity] rises up [as evidence] against me,
It testifies to my face [about my guilt].
9
“His wrath has torn me and hunted me down,
He has gnashed at me with his teeth;
My adversary sharpens His gaze and glares [with piercing eyes] at me.
10
“They have gaped at me with their mouths,
With contempt they have struck me on the cheek;
They massed themselves together [and conspired] against me.(A)
11
“God hands me over to [a]criminals
And tosses me [headlong] into the hands of the wicked.
12
“I was [living] at ease, but He crushed me and broke me apart,
And He has seized me by the neck and has shaken me to pieces;
He has also set me up as His target.
13
“His arrows surround me.
He pierces my kidneys (vital organs) without mercy;
He pours out my gall on the ground.
14
“He attacks me, making wound after wound;
He runs at me like a warrior.
15
“I have sewed sackcloth over my skin [as a sign of mourning]
And have defiled my horn (symbol of strength) in the dust.
16
“My face is red and swollen with weeping,
And on my eyelids is the shadow of death [my eyes are dimmed],
17
Although there is no violence or wrongdoing in my hands,
And my prayer is pure.
18
“O earth, do not cover my blood,
And let there be no [resting] place for my cry [where it will cease being heard].
19
“Even now, behold, my Witness is in heaven,
And my Advocate [who vouches and testifies for me] is on high.(B)
20
“My friends are scoffers [who ridicule];
My eye pours out tears to God.
21
“Oh, that a man would mediate and plead with God [for me]
Just as a man [mediates and pleads] with his neighbor and friend.(C)
22
“For when a few years are past,
I shall go the way of no return.
Footnotes
- Job 16:11 MT reads boys.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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