Translations
Modern
I sigh when food is put before me, and my groans pour out like water.
Traditional
For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters.
Literal
For before my food my sighing comes, and my groanings pour out like the waters.
Latin
Antequam comedam, suspiro; et tamquam inundantes aquæ, sic rugitus meus:
Original
Hebrew
English
I sigh when food is put before me, and my groans pour out like water.
Notes
Job's language shifts from wishing he was never born to grief. He goes from hating life towards an attraction for death. Job asks "why" seven times, as he has grief for his situation (3:11, 12, 16, 20, 23; see Psalms 10:1; 22:1; Jeremiah 20:18; Lamentations 5:20).
Job's outbreak of emotion did not mean his integrity failed under pressure (42:7–8; James 5:11). The prophets Elijah and Jeremiah, both men of God, exaggerated with similar language (1 Kings 19:4; Jeremiah 20:14–18).
Theme notes and profiles
Events
- Job's Trialc. 1650 BC
Glossary
Topics
Afflictions and Adversities: Unclassified Scriptures Relating To Despondency: General Scriptures Concerning