Job 19
Job laments the prolonged suffering and verbal attacks from his friends, feeling that God has unfairly afflicted him. He expresses his desperation and isolation, as even his family and friends have turned against him. Despite his circumstances, Job holds onto his faith, affirming that his Redeemer lives and that he will one day rise from the earth to see God. He warns his friends to stop pursuing him and to be aware that there will be a judgment for their actions.
But Job answered by sayingHow long will you afflict my soul and wear me down with wordsSo, ten times you confound me and are not ashamed to oppress meNow, of course, if I have been ignorant, my ignorance will be with meBut you have risen up against me, and you accuse me to my disgraceAt least now you should understand that God has not afflicted me with a balanced judgment, though he has encompassed me with his scourgesBehold, I will cry out, enduring violence, and no one will hear. I will announce loudly, but there is no one who may judgeHe has hemmed in my path, and I cannot pass; he has added darkness to my difficult pathHe has plundered me of my glory, and he has stolen the crown from my headHe has destroyed me on every side, and I am lost, and, like an uprooted tree, he has taken away my hopeHis fury has raged against me, and in this way he has treated me like his enemyHis troops have gathered together, and they have made their way to me, and they have besieged my tabernacle all aroundHe has put my brothers far from me, and my friends have withdrawn from me like strangersMy kinsmen have forsaken me, and those who knew me, have forgotten meThe inhabitants of my house and my maidservants treat me just as if I were a stranger, and I have been like a sojourner in their eyesI called my servant, and he did not respond; I pleaded with him with my own mouthMy wife has shuddered at my breath, and I have begged the sons of my loinsEven the foolish have looked down on me, and, when I withdrew from them, they spoke ill of meThose who were sometimes my counselors, treat me like an abomination; and he whom I valued the most has turned against meSince my flesh has been consumed, my bone adheres to my skin, and only my lips have been left around my teethHave mercy on me, have compassion on me, at least you my friends, because the hand of the Lord has touched meWhy do you pursue me just as God does, and satiate yourselves with my fleshWho will grant to me that my words may be written down? Who will grant to me that they may be inscribed in a bookwith an iron pen and a plate of lead, or else be carved in stoneFor I know that my Redeemer lives, and on the last day I will rise out of the earthAnd I will be enveloped again with my skin, and in my flesh I will see my GodIt is he whom I myself will see, and he whom my eyes will behold, and no other. This, my hope, has taken rest in my bosomWhy then do you now say: "Let us pursue him, and let us find a basis to speak against him?So then, flee from the face of the sword, for the sword is the avenger of iniquities; but know this: there is to be a judgment
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