Job Answers Bildad
19 Then Job answered:
2 “How long will you ·hurt [torment] me
and crush me with your words?
3 You have ·insulted [disgraced; shamed] me ten times ·now [over]
and ·attacked me without shame [or are you not shamed to wrong me?].
4 Even if I have ·sinned [erred; made a mistake],
·it is my worry alone [L my sin/mistake lodges within me].
5 If you want to make yourselves ·look better than I [or powerful against me],
you can ·blame me for my suffering [make my shame/disgrace an argument against me].
6 Then know that God has ·wronged [or a distorted view of; unjustly blamed] me
and ·pulled [thrown] his net around me [C like a hunter].
7 “I shout, ‘·I have been wronged [L Violence]!’
But I get no answer.
I scream for help
but I get no justice.
8 God has ·blocked [walled up] my way so I cannot pass;
he has covered my paths with darkness [Prov. 4:19].
9 He has ·taken away [stripped off] my ·honor [glory]
and removed the crown from my head.
10 He beats me down on every side until I am gone;
he ·destroys [uproots] my hope like a fallen tree.
11 ·His anger burns [L He kindles his anger] against me,
and he ·treats [or considers] me like an ·enemy [foe].
12 His ·armies [troops] gather;
they ·prepare to attack [L build up a road against; C a siege ramp] me.
They camp around my tent.
13 “God has ·made my brothers my enemies [L moved my brothers far from me],
and my friends have become strangers.
14 ·My relatives [L Those near me] have ·gone away [or failed me],
and my ·friends [acquaintances] have forgotten me.
15 My guests and my ·female servants [T maidservants] ·treat [or consider] me like a stranger;
they look at me as if I were a foreigner.
16 I call for my servant, but he does not answer,
even when I ·beg him with my own mouth [ask him for a personal favor].
17 My wife ·can’t stand [abhors] my breath,
and my own family ·dislikes me [finds me repulsive].
18 Even the little boys ·hate [L reject] me
and talk ·about [or against] me when I leave.
19 All my close friends ·hate [L detest] me;
even those I love have turned against me.
20 ·I am nothing but skin and bones [L My bones cling to my skin and my flesh];
I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
21 Pity me, my friends, pity me,
because the hand of God has ·hit [touched; struck] me.
22 Why do you ·chase [pursue; persecute] me as God does?
·Haven’t you hurt me enough [L Aren’t you satisfied with my flesh]?
23 “How I wish my words were written down,
·written [L inscribed] on a scroll.
24 I wish they were carved with an iron pen ·into [L and] lead,
or carved into stone ·forever [or as a witness; C Job wants the following statement to last].
25 I know that my ·Defender [Redeemer; or defender; redeemer; C likely referring to God himself] lives,
and ·in the end [or at last] he will ·stand upon [rise up on] the earth [L dust].
26 Even after my skin has been ·destroyed [or peeled off],
·in [from; or without] my flesh I will see God.
27 I will see him myself;
I ·myself [L and not a stranger] will see him with my very own eyes.
How my heart ·wants that to happen [L fades/faints within me]!
28 “·If [or When] you say, ‘·We will continue to trouble Job [L How should we pursue/persecute him?],
because the ·problem [L root of the matter] lies with him,’
29 you should be afraid of the sword yourselves.
·God’s anger [L Wrath] will bring punishment by the sword.
Then you will know there is judgment.”