“How long will you torment me, and crush me with words?
Parallel Translations
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“How long will you torment me, and crush me with words?
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How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?
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How long will ye vex my soul, and crush me with words?
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to Job 19:2 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Judges 16:16 When she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, his soul was troubled to death.
- Job 8:2 “How long will you speak these things? Shall the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?
- Job 18:2 “How long will you hunt for words? Consider, and afterwards we will speak.
- Job 27:2 “As God lives, who has taken away my right, the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter
- Psalms 6:2-3 Have mercy on me, Yahweh, for I am faint. Yahweh, heal me, for my bones are troubled. My soul is also in great anguish. But you, Yahweh—how long?
- Psalms 13:1 How long, Yahweh? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
- Psalms 42:10 As with a sword in my bones, my adversaries reproach me, while they continually ask me, “Where is your God?”
- Psalms 55:21 His mouth was smooth as butter, but his heart was war. His words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.
- Psalms 59:7 Behold, they spew with their mouth. Swords are in their lips, “For”, they say, “who hears us?”
- Psalms 64:3 who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and aim their arrows, deadly words,
- Proverbs 12:18 There is one who speaks rashly like the piercing of a sword, but the tongue of the wise heals.
- Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue; those who love it will eat its fruit.
- James 3:6-8 And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by Gehenna. For every kind of animal, bird, creeping thing, and sea creature, is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind; but nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
- 2 Peter 2:7-8 and delivered righteous Lot, who was very distressed by the lustful life of the wicked (for that righteous man dwelling among them was tormented in his righteous soul from day to day with seeing and hearing lawless deeds):
- Revelation 6:10 They cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Job 19:2 How long will ye vex my soul,…
Job 19:2 How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?
Ver. 2. How long will ye vex my soul?] viz. With your furious and reproachful charges and criminations? Have I not misery enough already, but you must lay more load of scorn and contempt upon me; and so go on to trouble me by adding to my saddest sorrows, such as pierce to the very soul? Call you this comforting an afflicted friend? Hoccine est maestum consolari?
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How long will ye break me in pieces with words?] Words also have their weight, and if hard and harsh, Leniter volant, non leniter violant. Like mauls, they break the heart in pieces; like a rack, they torment it, Psa 42:10. As with a murdering weapon in my bones, mine enemies reproached me. You shall find some, saith Erasmus, that if death be threatened can despise it; but to be belied, reproached, slandered, they cannot brook, nor from revenge contain themselves. Job was a strong man both in faith and patience, yet put hard to it by the hard words given him by Bildad and the rest, who did rather hurt his ear, by the loudness of their voices, than helped his heart, by the force of their reproofs. God’s servants "must not strive, but be gentle," 2Ti 2:23-24, "showing all meekness to all men," Tit 3:2 Jas 3:17. Gentle showers comfort the earth, when dashing storms drown the seed. There is a twofold inconvenience followeth upon bitter and boisterous proceedings with a supposed offender. First, the party looketh not so much to his own failing as to their passion. Secondly, as he is unconvinced, so they are not esteemed; but though they have the right on their side, yet they lose the due regard of their cause and reverence of their persons.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain With mere empty words, void of sense or argument;…
With mere empty words, void of sense or argument; with your impertinent and unedifying discourses, and bitter reproaches, as it followeth.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain These ten times have ye reproached me,.... Referring not…
These ten times have ye reproached me,.... Referring not to ten sections or paragraphs, in which they had done it, as Jarchi; or to the five speeches his friends, in which their reproaches were doubled; or to Job's words, and their answer, as Saadiah; for it does not denote an exact number of their reproaches, which Job was not so careful to count; but it signifies that he had been many times reproached by them; so Aben Ezra, and in which sense the phrase is often used, see Gen 31:7; it is the lot of good men in all ages to be reproached by carnal and profane sinners, on account of religion, and for righteousness' sake, as Christians are for the sake of Christ and his Gospel; and which Moses esteemed greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt; but to be reproached by friends, and that as an hypocrite and a wicked man, as Job was, must be very cutting; and this being often repeated, as it was an aggravation of the sin of his friends, so likewise of his affliction and patience:
ye are not ashamed, so that ye make yourselves strange to me; they looked shy at him; would not be free and friendly with him, but carried it strange to him, and seemed to have their affections alienated from him. There should not be a strangeness in good men one to another, since they are not aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, to the grace of God, and communion with him; since they are fellow citizens, and of the household of God; belong to the same city, share in the same privileges, are of the same family, children of the same father, and brethren one of another, members of the same body, heirs of the same grace and glory, and are to dwell together in heaven to all eternity; wherefore they should not make themselves strange to each other, but should speak often, kindly, and affectionately, one to another, and freely converse together about spiritual things; should pray with one another, and build up each other on their most holy faith, and by love serve one another, and do all good offices mutually that lie in their power, and bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law Christ: but, instead of this, Job's friends would scarcely look at him, much less speak one kind word to him; yea, they "hardened themselves against" him, as some (e) render the word; had no compassion on him or pity for him in his distressed circumstances, which their relation to him obliged unto, and was due unto him on the score of friendship; nay, they "mocked" at him, which is the sense of the word, according to Ben Gersom (f); and of this he had complained before, Job 12:4; and with some (g) it has the signification of impudence and audaciousness, from the sense of the word in the Arabic language, see Isa 3:9; as if they behaved towards him in a very impudent manner: or, though they "knew" him, as the Targum paraphrases it, yet they were "not ashamed" to reproach him; though they knew that he was a man that feared God; they knew his character and conversation before his all afflictions came on, and yet traduced him as an hypocrite and a wicked man. Whatever is sinful, men should be ashamed of, and will be sooner or later; not to be ashamed thereof is an argument of great hardness and impenitence; and among other things it becomes saints to be ashamed of their making themselves strange to one another. Some render it interrogatively (h), "are ye not ashamed?" &c. you may well be ashamed, if you are not; this is put in order to make them ashamed.
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(e) "indurastis facies vestras contra me", Vatablus; so Broughton. (f) "Erubescitis subsannare me", Pagninus. (g) Drusius; so Schultens. (h) So Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 2. How long will ye vex my soul]…
Verse 2. How long will ye vex my soul] Every thing that was irritating, vexatious, and opprobrious, his friends had recourse to, in order to support their own system, and overwhelm him. Not one of them seems to have been touched with a feeling of tenderness towards him, nor does a kind expression drop at any time from their lips! They were called friends; but this term, in reference to them, must be taken in the sense of cold-blooded acquaintances. However, there are many in the world that go under the sacred name of friends, who, in times of difficulty, act a similar part. Job's friends have been, by the general consent of posterity, consigned to endless infamy. May all those who follow their steps be equally enrolled in the annals of bad fame!
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Job 19:2-3. And break me in pieces with words…
Job 19:2-3. And break me in pieces with words — With mere empty words, void of sense or argument; with your impertinent and unedifying discourses and bitter reproaches. These ten times have ye reproached me — That is, many times, a certain number being put for an uncertain. Ye make yourselves strange — You carry yourselves like strangers to me, are not affected with my calamities, and condemn me as if you had never known my integrity and piety.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain How long will ye vex my soul? - Perhaps…
How long will ye vex my soul? - Perhaps designing to reply to the taunting speech of Bildad; Job 18:2. “He” had asked “how long it would be ere Job would make an end of empty talk?” “Job” asks, in reply, “how long” they would torture and afflict his soul? Or whether there was on hope that this would ever come to an end!
And break me in pieces - Crush me, or bruise me - like breaking any thing in a mortar, or breaking rocks by repeated blows of the hammer. “Noyes.” He says they had crushed him, as if by repeated blows.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 1. Then Job answered — His friends ought to…
JOB’S FIFTH REPLY
1. Then Job answered — His friends ought to be ashamed of their ill-treatment, for he, and he alone, has the brunt of his error, if error there be, to bear; and the cause at issue really lies between him and his God. It was not enough, however, that God should have overthrown him, hedged him in, degraded and altogether ruined him; but his brethren, his wife, and his bosom friends, and even his servants, have turned against him. His wreck is so complete that he has thus far escaped only with the skin of his teeth. Yet in the darkest of all mortal hours there gleams upon him an incomparable revelation of hope, which he esteems so precious that he would have it inscribed on the rock, where all the world might see and read, and that forever.
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Introduction — Even suppose there should be error, it is sad enough for Job that he bear its consequences, without being perpetually and maliciously reminded not only of his error but of his shame, Job_19:2-5.
2. Bildad’s repeated how long, (see chap. 18,) Job hurls back with an indignation which is reflected in an exaggerated “ten times” of the next verse.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 2. Job_19:13-22. Then even a more touching complaint of…
2. Job_19:13-22. Then even a more touching complaint of the alienation of men from him—which God has caused.
2. There is more than impatience expressed in the words vex (afflict) and “break in pieces”; the words suggest the crushing effect which the friends’ insinuations of wickedness had on Job’s spirit.
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Job, forsaken of God and men, and without hope in this life, rises to the assurance that God will yet appear to vindicate him, and that his eyes shall see him on his side in joy
2–5. Job expresses his impatience of his friends’ words; and repudiates the inferences of his guilt which they draw from his calamities, declaring that his calamities are due to the unjust dealing of God.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (2) How long?—Job begins as Bildad himself had begun…
XIX.
(2) How long?—Job begins as Bildad himself had begun in both cases. His last speech had been so offensive and unfeeling that Job may well ask “How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?” Moreover, Bildad had infused a kind of personal malice into his charges, which Job felt most keenly, so that he is constrained to ask, “If indeed I have erred, doth not my error remain with myself? I alone suffer for it, and ye do not even sympathise or suffer with me.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.