Job 19
Darby Translation
19 And Job answered and said,
2 How long will ye vex my soul, and crush me with words?
3 These ten times have ye reproached me; ye are not ashamed to stupefy me.
4 And be it [that] I have erred, mine error remaineth with myself.
5 If indeed ye will magnify yourselves against me, and prove against me my reproach,
6 Know now that +God hath overthrown me, and hath surrounded me with his net.
7 Behold, I cry out of wrong, and I am not heard; I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.
8 He hath hedged up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths.
9 He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head.
10 He breaketh me down on every side, and I am gone; and my hope hath he torn up as a tree.
11 And he hath kindled his anger against me, and hath counted me unto him as one of his enemies.
12 His troops have come together and cast up their way against me, and have encamped round about my tent.
13 He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are quite estranged from me.
14 My kinsfolk have failed, and my known friends have forgotten me.
15 The sojourners in my house and my maids count me as a stranger; I am an alien in their sight.
16 I called my servant, and he answered not; I entreated him with my mouth.
17 My breath is strange to my wife, and my entreaties to the children of my [mother's] womb.
18 Even young children despise me; I rise up, and they speak against me.
19 All my intimate friends abhor me, and they whom I loved are turned against me.
20 My bones cleave to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.
21 Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, ye my friends; for the hand of +God hath touched me.
22 Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh?
23 Oh would that my words were written! oh that they were inscribed in a book!
24 That with an iron style and lead they were graven in the rock for ever!
25 And [as for] me, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and the Last, he shall stand upon the earth;
26 And [if] after my skin this shall be destroyed, yet from out of my flesh shall I see +God;
27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another:—my reins are consumed within me.
28 If ye say, How shall we persecute him? when the root of the matter is found in me,
29 Be ye yourselves afraid of the sword! for the sword is fury against misdeeds, that ye may know there is a judgment.
Job 19
New King James Version
Job Trusts in His Redeemer
19 Then Job answered and said:
2 “How long will you torment my soul,
And break me in pieces with words?
3 These ten times you have [a]reproached me;
You are not ashamed that you [b]have wronged me.
4 And if indeed I have erred,
My error remains with me.
5 If indeed you (A)exalt yourselves against me,
And plead my disgrace against me,
6 Know then that (B)God has wronged me,
And has surrounded me with His net.
7 “If I cry out concerning [c]wrong, I am not heard.
If I cry aloud, there is no justice.
8 (C)He has [d]fenced up my way, so that I cannot pass;
And He has set darkness in my paths.
9 (D)He has stripped me of my glory,
And taken the crown from my head.
10 He breaks me down on every side,
And I am gone;
My (E)hope He has uprooted like a tree.
11 He has also kindled His wrath against me,
And (F)He counts me as one of His enemies.
12 His troops come together
And build up their road against me;
They encamp all around my tent.
13 “He(G) has removed my brothers far from me,
And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.
14 My relatives have failed,
And my close friends have forgotten me.
15 Those who dwell in my house, and my maidservants,
Count me as a stranger;
I am an alien in their sight.
16 I call my servant, but he gives no answer;
I beg him with my mouth.
17 My breath is offensive to my wife,
And I am [e]repulsive to the children of my own body.
18 Even (H)young children despise me;
I arise, and they speak against me.
19 (I)All my close friends abhor me,
And those whom I love have turned against me.
20 (J)My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh,
And I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
21 “Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends,
For the hand of God has struck me!
22 Why do you (K)persecute me as God does,
And are not satisfied with my flesh?
23 “Oh, that my words were written!
Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!
24 That they were engraved on a rock
With an iron pen and lead, forever!
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
26 And after my skin is [f]destroyed, this I know,
That (L)in my flesh I shall see God,
27 Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another.
How my [g]heart yearns within me!
28 If you should say, ‘How shall we persecute him?’—
Since the root of the matter is found in me,
29 Be afraid of the sword for yourselves;
For wrath brings the punishment of the sword,
That you may know there is a judgment.”
Job 19
New Catholic Bible
Job’s Fifth Response[a]
Chapter 19
God Has Wronged Me.[b] 1 Job then answered with these words:
2 “How much longer will you torment me
and oppress me with your words?
3 You have reproached me now ten times,
and you mistreat me shamelessly.
4 And even if it were true that I have erred,
the fault would be completely mine.
5 “If indeed you want to exalt yourselves above me
and use my humiliation against me,
6 know that God has wronged me
and cast his net over me.
7 Even when I protest that I have been wronged,
no one comes forward to support me,
and I receive no justice when I cry out for help.
8 “He has blocked my path so that I cannot pass,
and he has shrouded my way in darkness.
9 He has deprived me of my honor
and removed the crown from my head.
10 He assails me on every side until I succumb;
he has uprooted my hope like a tree.
11 He has inflamed his anger against me
and looks upon me as his enemy.
12 His troops move forward as a single force;
they have surrounded me with siegeworks
and encamped around my tent.
13 “He has caused my brethren to turn against me;
my friends are completely estranged from me.
14 My relatives and my companions now ignore me,
and those who were guests in my house have forgotten me.
15 Even my serving girls regard me as a stranger;
I have become an alien in their eyes.
16 When I summon my servant, he does not respond,
no matter how much I plead with him.
17 “My wife finds my breath repulsive;
my stench is loathsome to my relatives.
18 Even young children despise me;[c]
when I approach, they turn their backs on me.
19 All of my dearest friends abhor me;
those I love have turned against me.
20 I have become just skin and bones
and have escaped with only my gums.[d]
21 “Have pity on me, my friends, have pity on me,
for the hand of God has touched me.
22 Must you pursue me just as God does?
Will not my flesh ever be enough to satisfy you?[e]
I Know That My Redeemer Lives[f]
23 “How I wish that my words might be written down
and inscribed on a scroll!
24 How I wish that with an iron chisel and with lead
they were engraved in stone forever!
25 “But I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that at the end he will stand upon the dust.
26 After my awakening, he will call me close to him,
and then from my own flesh I will see God.
27 I will see him with my own eyes;
my eyes, not those of another, will behold him.
How my heart within me yearns for that moment!
28 “As for you who say,
‘How we will persecute him,
for the root of the trouble lies in him,’
29 beware of the sword that is pointed toward you,
for the avenger of wickedness is the sword,
and then you will know that there is indeed a judgment.”
Footnotes
- Job 19:1 Though persecuted by God and condemned by humans, Job remains certain that he will someday see his cause triumphant and God himself acting as his defender.
- Job 19:1 Job is not going to justify himself before his friends any longer; it is the justice of God and not his own that is at issue. Job lets forth an ardent lamentation, an appeal for pity.
- Job 19:18 Even young children despise me: this fact was a great embarrassment in a patriarchal society, which insisted that its elders be respected and honored (see Ex 20:12).
- Job 19:20 The translation of this verse is uncertain. Most commentators believe it means “I am nothing and possess nothing except my skin and bones.”
- Job 19:22 To eat someone’s flesh meant to mistreat him and especially to slander him (see Ps 27:2).
- Job 19:23 This is regarded as the best-known and most-beloved passage in the Book of Job as well as the culmination of Job’s understanding of his situation and his relationship with God. At the end of his life, Job is convulsed by a cry of hope, which he utters like a challenge, and also by the prospect of meeting his God, whom he will really see with his own eyes (Job 42:5).
God is Job’s defender; originally, a goel was a close relative of somebody slain, who had to avenge that relative’s blood, raise up a posterity to the dead man’s wife, and redeem his property. Job, therefore, expects a liberation.
The Vulgate Latin translation interpreted this as resurrection of the body after death. The direct meaning of the Hebrew text may be extended, in a Christian perspective, to include the resurrection, but the Book of Job does not perceive this so clearly.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
