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Job 19-20
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Job 19-20
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Job’s Reply to Bildad
19 Then Job answered:
2 How long will you torment me
and crush me with words?
3 You have humiliated me ten times now,
and you mistreat[a] me without shame.(A)
4 Even if it is true that I have sinned,
my mistake concerns only[b] me.
5 If you really want to appear superior(B) to me
and would use my disgrace as evidence against me,
6 then understand that it is God who has wronged me
and caught me in His net.(C)
7 I cry out: “Violence!” but get no response;(D)
I call for help, but there is no justice.
8 He has blocked(E) my way so that I cannot pass through;
He has veiled my paths with darkness.(F)
9 He has stripped me of my honor
and removed the crown from my head.
10 He tears me down on every side so that I am ruined.[c]
He uproots my hope like a tree.(G)
11 His anger(H) burns against me,
and He regards me as one of His enemies.(I)
12 His troops advance together;
they construct a ramp[d] against me
and camp(J) around my tent.
13 He has removed my brothers from me;
my acquaintances have abandoned me.(K)
14 My relatives stop coming by,
and my close friends have forgotten me.
15 My house guests[e] and female servants regard me as a stranger;
I am a foreigner in their sight.(L)
16 I call for my servant, but he does not answer,
even if I beg him with my own mouth.
17 My breath is offensive to my wife,
and my own family[f] finds me repulsive.
18 Even young boys scorn me.
When I stand up, they mock me.(M)
19 All of my best friends[g] despise me,(N)
and those I love have turned against me.(O)
20 My skin and my flesh cling to my bones;
I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
21 Have mercy on me, my friends,(P) have mercy,
for God’s hand(Q) has struck me.(R)
22 Why do you persecute me as God does?
Will you never get enough of my flesh?
23 I wish that my words were written down,
that they were recorded on a scroll
24 or were inscribed in stone forever
by an iron stylus and lead!
25 But I know my living Redeemer,[h](S)
and He will stand on the dust[i] at last.[j](T)
26 Even after my skin has been destroyed,[k]
yet I will see God in[l] my flesh.(U)
27 I will see Him myself;
my eyes will look at Him, and not as a stranger.[m]
My heart longs[n] within me.(V)
28 If you say, “How will we pursue him,
since the root of the problem lies with him?”[o]
29 then be afraid of the sword,
because wrath brings punishment by the sword,(W)
so that you may know there is a judgment.
Zophar Speaks
20 Then Zophar the Naamathite(X) replied:
2 This is why my unsettling thoughts compel me to answer,
because I am upset![p]
3 I have heard a rebuke that insults me,
and my understanding[q] makes me reply.(Y)
4 Don’t you know that ever since antiquity,
from the time man was placed on earth,
5 the joy of the wicked has been brief
and the happiness of the godless has lasted only a moment?(Z)
6 Though his arrogance reaches heaven,
and his head touches the clouds,(AA)
7 he will vanish forever like his own dung.
Those who know[r] him will ask, “Where is he?”(AB)
8 He will fly away like a dream and never be found;
he will be chased away like a vision in the night.(AC)
9 The eye that saw him will see him no more,(AD)
and his household will no longer see him.(AE)
10 His children will beg from[s] the poor,
for his own hands must give back his wealth.
11 His bones may be full of youthful vigor,
but will lie down with him in the grave.(AF)
12 Though evil tastes sweet in his mouth
and he conceals it under his tongue,
13 though he cherishes it and will not let it go
but keeps it in his mouth,(AG)
14 yet the food in his stomach turns
into cobras’ venom inside him.
15 He swallows wealth but must vomit it up;
God will force it from his stomach.
16 He will suck the poison of cobras;
a viper’s fangs[t] will kill him.(AH)
17 He will not enjoy the streams,
the rivers flowing with honey and cream.(AI)
18 He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it;
he doesn’t enjoy the profits from his trading.
19 For he oppressed and abandoned the poor;
he seized a house he did not build.(AJ)
20 Because his appetite is never satisfied,[u]
he does not let anything he desires escape.
21 Nothing is left for him to consume;(AK)
therefore, his prosperity will not last.
22 At the height of his success[v] distress will come to him;(AL)
the full weight of misery[w] will crush him.
23 When he fills his stomach,
God will send His burning anger against him,
raining(AM) it down on him while he is eating.[x]
24 If he flees from an iron weapon,
an arrow from a bronze bow will pierce him.
25 He pulls it out of his back,
the flashing tip out of his liver.[y]
Terrors come over him.(AN)
26 Total darkness is reserved for his treasures.
A fire unfanned by human hands will consume(AO) him;
it will feed on what is left in his tent.
27 The heavens will expose his iniquity,(AP)
and the earth will rise up against him.(AQ)
28 The possessions in his house will be removed,
flowing away on the day of God’s anger.
29 This is the wicked man’s lot(AR) from God,
the inheritance God ordained for him.
Footnotes
- Job 19:3 Hb obscure
- Job 19:4 Lit mistake lives with
- Job 19:10 Lit gone
- Job 19:12 Lit they raise up their way
- Job 19:15 Or The resident aliens in my household
- Job 19:17 Lit and the sons of my belly
- Job 19:19 Lit of the men of my council
- Job 19:25 Or know that my Redeemer is living
- Job 19:25 Or earth
- Job 19:25 Or dust at the last, or dust as the Last One
- Job 19:26 Lit skin which they destroyed, or skin they destroyed in this way
- Job 19:26 Or apart from
- Job 19:27 Or not a stranger
- Job 19:27 Lit My kidneys grow faint
- Job 19:28 Some Hb mss, LXX, Vg; other Hb mss read me
- Job 20:2 Lit because of my feeling within me
- Job 20:3 Lit and a spirit from my understanding
- Job 20:7 Lit have seen
- Job 20:10 Or children must compensate
- Job 20:16 Lit tongue
- Job 20:20 Lit Because he does not know ease in his stomach
- Job 20:22 Lit In the fullness of his excess
- Job 20:22 Some Hb mss, LXX, Vg; other Hb mss read the hand of everyone in misery
- Job 20:23 Text emended; MT reads him, against his flesh
- Job 20:25 Or gallbladder
Job 19-20
New International Version
Job 19-20
New International Version
Job
19 Then Job replied:
2 “How long will you torment(A) me
and crush(B) me with words?
3 Ten times(C) now you have reproached(D) me;
shamelessly you attack me.
4 If it is true that I have gone astray,
my error(E) remains my concern alone.
5 If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me(F)
and use my humiliation against me,
6 then know that God has wronged me(G)
and drawn his net(H) around me.(I)
7 “Though I cry, ‘Violence!’ I get no response;(J)
though I call for help,(K) there is no justice.(L)
8 He has blocked my way so I cannot pass;(M)
he has shrouded my paths in darkness.(N)
9 He has stripped(O) me of my honor(P)
and removed the crown from my head.(Q)
10 He tears me down(R) on every side till I am gone;
he uproots my hope(S) like a tree.(T)
11 His anger(U) burns against me;
he counts me among his enemies.(V)
12 His troops advance in force;(W)
they build a siege ramp(X) against me
and encamp around my tent.(Y)
13 “He has alienated my family(Z) from me;
my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.(AA)
14 My relatives have gone away;
my closest friends(AB) have forgotten me.
15 My guests(AC) and my female servants(AD) count me a foreigner;
they look on me as on a stranger.
16 I summon my servant, but he does not answer,
though I beg him with my own mouth.
17 My breath is offensive to my wife;
I am loathsome(AE) to my own family.
18 Even the little boys(AF) scorn me;
when I appear, they ridicule me.(AG)
19 All my intimate friends(AH) detest me;(AI)
those I love have turned against me.(AJ)
20 I am nothing but skin and bones;(AK)
I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.[a]
21 “Have pity on me, my friends,(AL) have pity,
for the hand of God has struck(AM) me.
22 Why do you pursue(AN) me as God does?(AO)
Will you never get enough of my flesh?(AP)
23 “Oh, that my words were recorded,
that they were written on a scroll,(AQ)
24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool(AR) on[b] lead,
or engraved in rock forever!(AS)
25 I know that my redeemer[c](AT) lives,(AU)
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.[d]
26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet[e] in[f] my flesh I will see God;(AV)
27 I myself will see him
with my own eyes(AW)—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns(AX) within me!
28 “If you say, ‘How we will hound(AY) him,
since the root of the trouble lies in him,[g]’
29 you should fear the sword yourselves;
for wrath will bring punishment by the sword,(AZ)
and then you will know that there is judgment.[h]”(BA)
Zophar
20 Then Zophar the Naamathite(BB) replied:
2 “My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer
because I am greatly disturbed.(BC)
3 I hear a rebuke(BD) that dishonors me,
and my understanding inspires me to reply.
4 “Surely you know how it has been from of old,(BE)
ever since mankind[i] was placed on the earth,
5 that the mirth of the wicked(BF) is brief,
the joy of the godless(BG) lasts but a moment.(BH)
6 Though the pride(BI) of the godless person reaches to the heavens(BJ)
and his head touches the clouds,(BK)
7 he will perish forever,(BL) like his own dung;
those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’(BM)
8 Like a dream(BN) he flies away,(BO) no more to be found,
banished(BP) like a vision of the night.(BQ)
9 The eye that saw him will not see him again;
his place will look on him no more.(BR)
10 His children(BS) must make amends to the poor;
his own hands must give back his wealth.(BT)
11 The youthful vigor(BU) that fills his bones(BV)
will lie with him in the dust.(BW)
12 “Though evil(BX) is sweet in his mouth
and he hides it under his tongue,(BY)
13 though he cannot bear to let it go
and lets it linger in his mouth,(BZ)
14 yet his food will turn sour in his stomach;(CA)
it will become the venom of serpents(CB) within him.
15 He will spit out the riches(CC) he swallowed;
God will make his stomach vomit(CD) them up.
16 He will suck the poison(CE) of serpents;
the fangs of an adder will kill him.(CF)
17 He will not enjoy the streams,
the rivers(CG) flowing with honey(CH) and cream.(CI)
18 What he toiled for he must give back uneaten;(CJ)
he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.(CK)
19 For he has oppressed the poor(CL) and left them destitute;(CM)
he has seized houses(CN) he did not build.
20 “Surely he will have no respite from his craving;(CO)
he cannot save himself by his treasure.(CP)
21 Nothing is left for him to devour;
his prosperity will not endure.(CQ)
22 In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him;(CR)
the full force of misery will come upon him.(CS)
23 When he has filled his belly,(CT)
God will vent his burning anger(CU) against him
and rain down his blows on him.(CV)
24 Though he flees(CW) from an iron weapon,
a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.(CX)
25 He pulls it out of his back,
the gleaming point out of his liver.
Terrors(CY) will come over him;(CZ)
26 total darkness(DA) lies in wait for his treasures.
A fire(DB) unfanned will consume him(DC)
and devour what is left in his tent.(DD)
27 The heavens will expose his guilt;
the earth will rise up against him.(DE)
28 A flood will carry off his house,(DF)
rushing waters[j] on the day of God’s wrath.(DG)
29 Such is the fate God allots the wicked,
the heritage appointed for them by God.”(DH)
Footnotes
- Job 19:20 Or only by my gums
- Job 19:24 Or and
- Job 19:25 Or vindicator
- Job 19:25 Or on my grave
- Job 19:26 Or And after I awake, / though this body has been destroyed, / then
- Job 19:26 Or destroyed, / apart from
- Job 19:28 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts me
- Job 19:29 Or sword, / that you may come to know the Almighty
- Job 20:4 Or Adam
- Job 20:28 Or The possessions in his house will be carried off, / washed away
Job 19-20
King James Version
Job 19-20
King James Version
19 Then Job answered and said,
2 How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?
3 These ten times have ye reproached me: ye are not ashamed that ye make yourselves strange to me.
4 And be it indeed that I have erred, mine error remaineth with myself.
5 If indeed ye will magnify yourselves against me, and plead against me my reproach:
6 Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net.
7 Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.
8 He hath fenced 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 hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone: and mine hope hath he removed like a tree.
11 He hath also kindled his wrath against me, and he counteth me unto him as one of his enemies.
12 His troops come together, and raise up their way against me, and encamp round about my tabernacle.
13 He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me.
14 My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me.
15 They that dwell in mine house, and my maids, count me for a stranger: I am an alien in their sight.
16 I called my servant, and he gave me no answer; I intreated him with my mouth.
17 My breath is strange to my wife, though I intreated for the children's sake of mine own body.
18 Yea, young children despised me; I arose, and they spake against me.
19 All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me.
20 My bone cleaveth 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, O 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 that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!
24 That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!
25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.
28 But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me?
29 Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.
20 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
2 Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste.
3 I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer.
4 Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,
5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?
6 Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;
7 Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?
8 He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.
9 The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him.
10 His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods.
11 His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.
12 Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;
13 Though he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his mouth:
14 Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him.
15 He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.
16 He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper's tongue shall slay him.
17 He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.
18 That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.
19 Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;
20 Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired.
21 There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods.
22 In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.
23 When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.
24 He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through.
25 It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him.
26 All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.
27 The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.
28 The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.
29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
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