< Job 19 >
2 “How long will you go on tormenting me? How long will you go on crushing me with words?
“How long will you [three] torment me and crush my spirit by saying to me [that I am wicked]?
3 Ten times already you have humiliated me. Aren't you ashamed for treating me so badly?
You have already insulted me many [HYP] times; (are you not ashamed for saying these things to me?/you should be ashamed for saying these things to me.) [RHQ]
4 Even if I did sin, that's my problem, and has nothing to do with you.
Even if it were true that I have done things that are wrong, I have not injured you!
5 You think you're so much better than me, and you use my degradation against me.
If you truly think that you are better than I am, and you think that my being miserable now proves that I (am guilty/have committed many sins),
6 But you should realize that it's God who has wronged me, he has trapped me in his net.
you need to realize that it is God who has caused me to suffer. [It is as though] he has trapped me with his net.
7 Even though I cry for help, I get no answer; even though I shout my objections, I get no justice.
“I cry out, ‘Help me!’, but no one answers me. I call out loudly, but there is no one, [not even God, ] who acts fairly toward me.
8 God has walled me in so I can't escape; he has plunged my path into darkness.
[It is as though] [MET] God has blocked my way, with the result that I cannot go where I want to; [it is as though] he has forced me to try to find my way in the darkness.
9 He has stripped my honor from me; he has taken away my reputation.
He has (taken away my good reputation/caused people not to honor me any more); [it is as though] he removed [MET] a crown from my head.
10 He tears me down from all sides until I am finished; he has destroyed my hope like a tree that is uprooted.
He batters me from every side, and I will soon die. He has caused me to no longer confidently expect [him to do good things for me].
11 His anger burns against me; he treats me as one of his enemies.
He attacks me because he is extremely angry with me [MET], and he considers that I am his enemy.
12 God's troops assemble to attack me. They build ramparts against me. They encircle and besiege my home.
[It is as though] he sends his army to attack me; they surround my tent, preparing to attack me.
13 He has driven my brothers far away from me; all my former friends are estranged from me.
“God has caused my brothers to abandon me, and all those who know me act like strangers to me.
14 My relatives have abandoned me; my close friends have forgotten me.
All my relatives and good friends have left me.
15 My house guests and my maidservants treat me as a stranger—to them I have become a foreigner.
The people who were guests in my house have forgotten me, and my female servants consider that I am a stranger or that I am a foreigner.
16 I call my servant, but he doesn't reply. I have to beg him!
When I summon my servants, they do not answer; I plead with them to come [to help me, but they do not come].
17 I am repulsive to my wife, and I am loathsome to my own brothers.
My wife does not want to come close to me because my breath [smells very bad], and even my brothers detest me.
18 Even young children despise me; when I stand up they ridicule me.
Even young children despise me; when I stand up [to talk to them], they laugh at me.
19 All my closest friends despise me, and those I loved have turned on me.
My dearest friends detest me, and those whom I love [very much] have turned against me.
20 I've been reduced to skin and bones and I survive by the skin of my teeth.
My body is [only] skin and bones; I am barely alive [IDM].
21 Have pity on me, my friends, have pity on me, because God has struck me down!
[“I plead with] you, my [three] friends, pity me, because God has (struck [EUP] me with his hand/caused me to suffer greatly).
22 Why are you persecuting me like God does? Aren't you satisfied with getting your pound of flesh?
Why do you cause me to suffer like God does? Why do you continue to slander [MET] me?
23 I wish my words could be written down, recorded in a book,
“I wish/desire that someone would take these words of mine and write them permanently in a book [in order that people can read them].
24 or engraved with an iron pen and molten lead in the rock forever.
Or else, I wish that he would carve them on a rock with (a chisel/an iron tool) in order that they would last forever.
25 I know my Redeemer is alive, and that he shall finally take the stand for me on the earth.
But I know that the one who vindicates/defends me in court is alive, and that some day he will stand [here] on the earth [and make the final decision about whether I deserve to be punished].
26 Even though my skin is destroyed, in my body I shall see God.
And even after diseases have eaten away my skin, while I still have my body, I will see God.
27 I myself will see him—with my own eyes, and not those of someone else! The thought overcomes me!
I will see him myself; I will see him with my own eyes! I am overwhelmed [as I think about that]!
28 You say to yourselves, ‘How can we make him suffer so he can see he is the source of his problems?’
“If you three men say, ‘What more can we do to cause Job to suffer?’ and if you say, ‘He has caused his own [troubles],’
29 You yourselves should fear being punished by God, for you know anger brings God's punishment that accompanies judgment.”
you should be afraid that God will punish [MTY] you; he punishes those [like you] with whom he is angry; and when that happens, you will know that there is [someone who] judges [people].”